The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1906-08-23
CONCRETE HOMES.
Buildings to be Castof Concrete
in Four Days.
COST GREATLY REDUCED
New York Man Has Novel Scheme for
Constructing Concrete Houses by
MoIds,

constructing Concrete Houses by
MoIds,
Whole houses nodded in a single
casting, out of solid concrete, which
will provide coy homes for working
men at a cost of from $500. to 5000,
much less than the average mechanic
pays today, is the goal which Edison
is striving to reach. He is confident
of success. Combined with economy
of construction and maintenance, the
inventor aims to embody architectural
beauty and practical indestructibilitv.
Mr.. Edison intends to make his
first practical experiments next year
in his new village in Warren county,
N. j. One of the big Edison indus
trial establishments is situated there,
and he purposes to erect the homes by
the new process for the families of
the hundreds of employees of the plant.
If he succeeds in demonstrating the
practicability of the scheme he will
introduce it generally. He already
has conceived every detail of the pro-
ject. Four days at the outside is the
period Edison estimates will be nee
essary to cast and turn out whole
houses of from eight to ten rooms
each, complete in almost every detail
and ready to be furnished and complet-
ed. The actual time for pumping the
concrete into the metallic molds will
be only few hours, and the rest of
the time will be consumed in drying
out and hardening. Whole cities of
concrete may be reared in the brief
period Of four days if only enough of
molds and men can be provided.
Mr.. Edison thinks that the time is
near when the world must find some
substitute for brick and morton. The
yellow pine forests of the United
States will be destroyed within fifty
years if the present drain upon them
is maintained. Describing the plan
in detail Mr.. Edison said:
"The first step will be to employ
an architect to design, say, a dozen
dwelling houses of different patterns.
l propose to have metallic molds made
to correspond. The mold for each
house will be made in detachble parts.
There will be separate plates and
small molds that can be screwed
together easily to form one mold for
the entire house. That fine finish
may be obtained the inside surface of
the parts will be nickel plated.
@ "After the mold for the house is
set up it will be simple matter to
pump the concrete into every nook
and Granny. After four days the
parts of the molds will be unscrewed
and taken off and the solid concrete
house will remain.
Edison says the plan will be carried
out in such detail that dormer win
dows, chimneys, and ornamental de-
signs will be nodded with the whole
and that inside cupboards, freplaces,
stairways with ornamental banisters,
mantel pieces and even bath tubs will
be formed in the cast in which the
house proper will be made.
The house will be so complete that
when the mold is removed the install
lation of electric wires, window
sashes etc. will be all that will be
necessary before the furnishers and
carpet layers may go to work. Even
the plumbing and gas piping will be
of concrete and nodded in the original
cast.
At a practical demonstration of
what may be accomplished by the
process Edison has built complete
chicken house in his back yard. mold
ed in one solid piece of concrete.
1t has many compartments and door,
ways and decorations of intricate de-
sign.
The original cost of each, mold,
with all its component parts, the in
ventor estimates at $25, From
each mold, however, he says an un-
limited number of houses may be pro-
duced. Because the parts of the
mold are to be detachable. it will be
portable and one mold may be sent
with little difficulty from town to
town. About ninety homes could be
built in one year by the use of single
mold at cost of from $500 to $500
a piece. Exchange