The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1912-11-29
WHEN LOVELY
WOMAN BUILDS
She May Not Know Much About
Architecture, but She Has Made
Up Her Mind What She Wants
and Gets 1t.
wv YOMEN who are interested

W w well Informed. In ract, II
one may rely on the word
Of the average contractor the woman
who builds house is often too well IN
formed to suit him.
When man decides that the old
house ia which the family has been
living shall be replaced by new one
be seeks his favorlte among the local
builders and, after looking over pIauS,
makes up his mind what he wants.
Then when the preliminaries In regard
10 expense have been settled he tells
the contractor to go ahead and put
itup.
That isn't n wOman's way II her
husband leaves the matter to her or
II she happens to be a widow or
splnster.
Before she considers bids or plans
she has decided just how much she
will pay for the house. Circumstances
usually have Jurisdiction where the
matter OF cost is concerned.
As to location. circumstances again
come into play, for woman will not
fare far from friends or relatives
IL she can help It. She In more apt to
consider the neghbors than the quality
OF the Investment 1t IL more lmp0r'
tant to her that her mother lives
around the corner or that she Is near
the church or the schOOlhouse than
that lots in that locality ARE likely to
20 up in value in year or two.
As to plans, she doesn't consider
them until she has decided whether
she will have u Queen Anne, colonial,
Dutch or Swiss chalet house.
Then she scours the neighhOrhOOd to
CLEAN acceptable TEXTURES from all the
new houses which she IL able to find.
These ideas must he carried out III
her own new house or the builder Will
have dissatisfied patron.
Il don't want to put up any more
houses for women" said one cOntrac'
tor, who bad been unlucky In regard
TO the women patrons he had dealt
with "The idea that woman may
not be safely trusted TO look after her
own interests Is an old fashioned no
ton. SO far as building Is concerned
1t does not hold good. Many women
are great deal sharper than men
even II they can't call piece Of lum
Der by its right name.
$40 begin with. it's harder to satisfy
A woman than it is a man. There are,
of course, some women who are never
satisfied
"A woman will preface her dealings
with you by declaring her ignorance
Of every detail connected with house
building, but before you have the eel
lar walls cemented together you dis
cover that she is better informed than
her husband, who struts about bossing
the carpenters and trying to make the
masons believe that he has forgotten
more about stOnewOrk than they ever
knew.
"a woman may not be able to dis
tinguish putty from paint when she
starts 10 think about her house, but
by the time work begins she has &C
gulred wonderful assortment Of In
formation. Try to fool her on one tiny
detail Of the specifications and she will
quickly show yOu what mistake Won
are making she simply commits those
specifications TO memory. for, no mat
ter how honorable your intentions may
have been, she has started out with
the notion that because she Is wO'
man you are deliberately planning to
cheat her at every point She will
vigllantly measure the outlines Of tue
windows and doors, gauge>the capac-
lty OF skeleton closets, inspect the
mortar box and question the quality Of
the best Of lumber, Even though she
may not know as much as she thinks
she does II will take some one other
than her builder to show her she is In
error Indeed. sometimes she Will go
to law rather than concede point
"lf she brings suit against him It Is
all up with the contractor. The judge
will say the poor woman didn't under
stand. and the jury will chivalrously
bring In a verdict In her favor.
'In one house | built owing to
foreman's oversight pantry window
was put In with two panes OF glass In
stead of four rs the contract called
tOr. ! explained to my fair patroness
that the two panes Of glass were real
~ more expensive for me than four
panes would he. while she was not
paying a cent more. She always harp
ed back to her original contention that
abe had wanted four panes Of glass In
her pantry window and had meanly
aud doubtless with malice afore
thought given her two. She sued me
about 1t. too. and not only had to
take out the two panes and put In
four. but I had to pay her damages
because the trouble had caused her
delay in taking possession of her
house.
I'm another case after | had begun
work on II the woman for whom I
was building asked for triiug changes
In the kitchen. willingly Obliged her
In the matter only to be astOunded
when the house was finished to have
her decline to pay for the house be
cause hadn't followed the plans. She
denied all recollection Of asking for
the alterations from the plans which