New-York tribune., 1922-09-03
Answers Tribune
Readers Inquiries
On Home Building
Charles E. Cutler, of West
port, Replies Pessimisti-
cally to Letters Published
ON This Page Last Sunday

To the Real Estate Editor of The
Tribune
Sir: l have just finished reading
your page concerning house building
and synpathie deeply with you. Your
desire to assist your readers of moder-
ate income to obtain separate homes
for themselves is laudable, but I fear
you are doomed to disappointment or
rather they are they continue to
believe that they will ever obtain all
the reuirements they mention for the
sums they have in mind. The fault
is not with the present building situa-
tion or at least not all Of the fault is
with it. The chief fault is with the
desire Of the people. Why must they
all wish tile bathrooms and slate roofs
and steam heat. A tile bathroom for
house within the scope you are try
ing to serve. is q useless expense;
many housekeepers have found that
tiled oor adds to the labor instead
of deducting. Slate for roofing is fine
if one uses the slate thick enough, and
then it is too costly. Slate roofs of
the commercial thickness used on
houses built to sell give more trouble
In repairs often than do wood shin
giles, because they break easily from
limbs dropping and from frost. Where
wood shingles are not allowed by fire
laws asphalt shingles should be used,
costing about the same as wood and
having the advantage of being spark
proof and of obtaining the same in
surance rates as slate. One corre-
spondent wishes tile roof which is
even worse for cost.
Can't Build at Price Named
The letter signed Mrs. j. H. Gaiser
states requirements desired for S15,-
600, which are absolutely impossible to
furnish even in this community where
labor costs are considerably less than
the New York one. A house such as
she describes could not be built here
for less than $4,000 If honestly built,
and the price Of the lot to be added.
1t seems to me, Mr.. Editor, that you
could do better service among your
readers by educating them to desiring
less frills. The price Of building out
side of the zones of large cities is
considerably cheaper than your New
York zone and is about as cheap to-
day as it will be for many, many years.
And Judging from the viewpoint of the
cheaper localities such as this / find
your aims impossible.
Another point, it seems terrible to me
to let or lead people to build homes on
such narrow lots. Ii land values are
so large that they cannat afford at
semi-detached. House rs, which you
illustrated to-day, would be a disap-
pointment to the owner on a 40-foot
lot Your attitude is inconsistant to
publish five-room house costing be-
tween $4,000 and $4,000 on the same
page as the letter signed Armitage
without o word of remonstrance to the
I latter.
| The real answer to the letter signed
| Soderberg is taht such houses as he
! describes cannot be built even without
profit for $4,000 in detached houses,
The houses at New Brunswick could
not be duplicated at that price. ! am
sorry to say it, but the salaried man
of $4,000 cannot afford a detached
house in the New York zone. The only
solution is the block house and am
not sure he can even afford that. The
air-light row houses in Washington,
which are better looking than your
Brooklyn houses Of the same type sell
for about $1,000 for six rooms. The
builders profit is probably not more
| than $500 on a large operation, per
house.
Another thing is to start building in
the late fall. The foolish virgins all
s tart when the birds begin to mate and
the weather is warm and rush into the
market and bid for limited supply
of material, creating rising market.
This is the case every year and always
changes. c.. E. CUTLER.
Westnort Conn Aug 27 1922