Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-01-23
AS ONE WOMAN SEES 1T
Building House Without a Contract
Is Unusual Nowadays, but II Has
Its compensstions and Its
Fascinations
BY SARAH ID, LOWRIE

not to mention the inside-Cost of cOnstruc-
ton. IT they figure on a maximum of cost
ana on maximum of time over which the
operation is to extend. they are probably
iln"Iihg themselves a substantial net proht,
nut lheN are ms aware as the next man that
Ihr price Is too discouraging even yet for
Ih' man with the capital to accept. IL they
pa'e me thlng down to meet the capital halt
way thry really take great risks of coming
out with no profit
nave been interested in an experiment
OF building n house without n contract that
mas Deeh going on this winter. The builder
ana the owner agreed on the builders per
t'!t OF all the costs they made conscrv-
atlNc guess-it was not more than n guess
us 10 the probable cost of the construction
ana material, and they made another guess.
bearing the weather and labor conditions In
mihn; as to the probable time needed to
complete the job. An arrangement was made
Tor monthly payments on the part of the
owner up TO half the value of the house,
ana whenever the cost of any particular part
oI IN" construction or for any specific ma
l'rlaI went over the calculated price II was
TSreeu IS that the owner should be notified.
INC hnal payment was TO be after the final
inspection of the house by the owner.
TNilRIl years ago house on this same
property was built by carpenter builder
undcr these terms and turned out TO he less
than nc rough estimate. The man who took
over that builders business is the one who
Is now constructing the second house. He
VIII not he able to match that ones good
fortune, for he already has run over his
estimates by good many hundred dollars
nero or there, but his constant letters and
REPORTS and his calculations have come
faithfully to hand SO far. and the house Is
under cover and being partitioncd and pas-
terboardcd and foored
Nhat made the owner suggest this way
oi meeting the uncertainty was that in case
thc contract agreed upon had failed 10 cover
Inc reasonable profit of the builder he would
nave hnd no pleasure in owning a house
Whlrh had cost workman his legitimate
proht. And since he had TO trust the man
10 make the house as good aS was possible
lor as llttlc cost az was possible. and ns the
sncr'ilcations .i stipulated just in what that
as good ms possible was TO consist. it
seemed that TO trust him just ono stretch
inrthcr, }. -. TO keep down to a reasonable
Ilm't the actual cost involved by labor was
nor inconsistent with other trusts men show
each other.
TT MUST have been the way most of our
l. ancestors built their good solid houses
round these parts Tho owner in those cases
probably had Il separate agreement with any
number of mechanics and carpenters and
ahorcrs at so much u week and for such
and such type of labor and for such and
they went along. stopped when the funds
ran low and began again when the funds
'Spruced up In any ease he must have
constantly inspected the work, not so much
from suspicion uf its being S"ampcd as from
interest that it was eventually TO house
himself and his descendants.
Nowadays the advent of the real owner
anywhere AROUND building operation is
received with grOans by most contractor
builders aud as an inevitable curse by most
hit
ticularly welcome TO the foreman, and
neither is tho foreman to the sub foreman.
The whole affair has ceased to be n thing
don" for person It is done by company
for company. and long before it is com
pirtcd the original carpenters and muSons
and workmen have been taken of TO other
jobs. or been taken off or taken themselves
off ON strike FOR n company in the next
town.
WE HAVE got too complicated by over
w organization from ihr Office Of tho archi-
t"ct to the padrOnC bureau of the drain
digCcrs
Th" JOY "f finishing something we'll has
been taken from tho workman and given 10 n
machine "f efficiency, and the real triumph
e pleasing person has got lost in the great
shufi" or the cards Of labor unions and
capital unions.
So it comes about that such pleasant little
reports on the building Of little house MS
the "ure that follow are no longer common
experiences in the building world. And one
cnt"rs ones new house as any stranger
might.
Dear -----:
trust that YOU will forgive mo NOT
acknowledging the check at once aud also
for leaving y"1r last nnanswcred it got
mi>aid for II day or two.
We have got the wall board about on
and some of the second flooring down. the
windows in and the doors for the outside
arc delivered and will be hung this week.
Your pnn for the fireplace cupbonrIs
rNn be mad" very good looking, but 1t will
add about S1OO. Let Inc know If that
seems nl right. had to finish part Of
N" chimney that docs not show with a
liitl" different color brick or send a great
distances for the small amount needed to
complete the job.
The roof cost moro in the end than we
both hoped owing 10 the higher level of the
sleeping porch aud the necessity for
enough pitch for the SuoW figure that
came to NV original estimate. The
other itnm that comes 10 more for ma
torIHl f. tho plaster board. but If is n far
better ar'%" than J knew was in the
market and should doadcn all sounds be-
tween the rooms DO you still feel that
IL" little trunk room does not have to be
plNAtercl?
| nm nbout 70 turn in tho plumbing
order, and ! find there IS no difference IN
price between the small bGthtubs your
specifications called for and the five foot
tubs. DO you still prefer the small ones?
! know you thought they would fit in n
better place in the bathrooms than tho
larger ones. but SUPPOSE the plumbers find
You aud | cnlrulatrh that space foo
stiuGly. what then? They would fit under
the windows.
Very respectfully yours,
70 Mr.. -