The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1905-06-13

II COulplSIS Q6uOUllOQ IOllOWSs liz
surance rates are so high on country
wooden homes that not more than a
small percentage of the owners feel
able to carry full insurance on the
risks. The life of modern wooden
house may be anywhere from fifty to
hundred years the latter being
reached only where annual exependi-
lures are freely made to protect it
from the elements and ordinary wear
and tear. The early colonial build
ings owe their long life to the careful
selection and drying of the hardwood
timber obtained from the primeval
forests. There is very little such lum-
her to be obtained today. and when it
is offered for sale. prices are almost
prohibitive.
Therefore, it is hardly possible to
construct wooden houses today that
will last as long, and prove as service
able, as those which the early settlers
built Each year the supply of ade-
quate material for wooden houses of
permanent value diminishes. The
only possible solution of the question
is to turn to the brick, stone, and 9TH
er freproof material manufactured SO
abundantly in this country. AT the
best the home becomes an imperish-
able monument to the skill and wis
dom of its builder.
The general comfort of the modern
country fireproof home must also be
considered. This is no unimportant
feature of the new field of architec-
ture. The housewife will appreciate
"a home whose walls are practically
sound-proof, nloisture-proof, wind
proof, and vermin-proof.
The saving on the coal bill for heat
ing such fireproof house runs from
twenty to thirty per cent. In addition
to this the saving on insurance risks
is sufficient to form a considerable
item Of economy in the course of a
few years. In exposed parts Of the
country where the winter winds are
peculiarly severe a wooden home is a
temporary and insecure habitation.
The ordinary wooden house offers
every inducement for yermin to breed
in the walls and partitions, and that
they do it in nearly every home is
quite evident In the burnt-clay walls
there is no chance of mice or other
vermin finding lodgment. 1t is i'm
possible for them to gnaw their way
through, and there is no inducement
offered when they once get inside.
Consequently, the fireproof walls are
practically vermin-proof, and resi-
dents in the country find one of the
most troublesome nuisanqes thus elm
mated From sanitary point of view
the fireproof structure is pre-eminent-
ly desirable, Any overflow of sewer
age, water from drain pipes, or waste
fluids of any kind, can be carried
away without staining and soaking in
to wood work. In the case of con-
tagious diseases the tile walls offer no
lodgment for germs, and when the
sick rooms are properly cleaned and
disinfected the house is as pure and
healthful as though sickness had new
er visited it.
The modern f1reproof private resi-
dence in the country is built without
expensive steel and iron framing. It
is the elimination of the steel part that
has made it possible to construct pri-
vate residences at a cost no greater
than that of wood While the large
city houses and commercial buildings
require the steel framework supports,
the country house is spread over so
much ground, and offers so little ac-
tual resistance surface to the high
winds, that it's stability and perma-
nency are not weakened by the abb
sence of steel columns and frames.
1t may not be desirable to observe
the same precaution in private resi-
dence as in public one, and the
equipment of the interior can be made
to suit individual tastes. It is gen
orally sufficient that the walls, roof
and partitions are made of fireproof
material The furnishings Of the in
terror can then take whatever form
and character desired. Wood trim,
doors, closets and dadoes can relieve
any austerity of design that may have
been impaired to the rooms by the
fireproof material But even this is
unnecessary Perfect limitations of
wood carving are made for trim,
doors. ceiling and dadoes, SO that it
would require almost an expert to de-
tect the difference. Both warmth and
artistic beauty may be obtained in
using fireproof material and metal for
nearly every part of the interior trim.
Metal-lined, fireproof doors are manu-
factured to initiate carved wooden
ones, and they open and close with as
much ease and noiselessness as those
built Of hard or soft wood Metal
ceilings that are as artistic in effect
as any designed in plaster are attach
ed to the overhead tiling, and they
have the advantage of never falling or
cracking, while in times of fire they
would offer stout resistance to the
spread of any flames.
The sense of safety and security OF
life and property are after all the
most important asset that the indi-
vidual housekeeper can possess.
Peace Of mind makes the home a
place of comfort and happiness. The
fear of fire and loss of treasures must
always prove irritating and unpleas-
antly annoying. The practical elimi-
nation of such fear from the mind
adds contentment that few other gifts
can give to our lives. In the past the
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