Evening star., 1922-11-18

Declaring that many persons buy
houses almost wholly On their out
ward appearance. without taking the
trouble to investigate the principal
elements of construction. the Nation
al Lumber Manufacturers Associa-
tion today issued a statement from
local headquarters pointing out the
salient fv lures which even an anna
teur may examine to prove the stur-
diness and worth of a building.
Most people buy houses in the
manner of the man who ordered
blue automobile" it is stated. They
purchase almost wholly on outward
appearances, so far as the physical
condition of the property Is con-
cerned. Paint, varnish and newness
sell many houses. Very few pur-
chasers concern themselves with the
invisible construction OF house or
with external evidences of the ma
ture of the internal work. Yet. what
is not seen largely determines the fu
ture value of the property. the cost
of upkeep and the satisfaction of the
owner. The passing years inevitably
reveal the true nature Of the con-
struction.
Not Dinicult Matter.
buyer to find out whether the house
is of proper and suitable materials
and correct methods of construction"
says the technical department of the
National Lumber Manufacturers AS
sociation. in answer to inquiles. The
best way, of course, Is to have the
house inspected by some competent
person. but there are certain funda-
mentals which any one may apply
for himself with the probability: of
being guided to a correct determine
tion of the intrinsic value of house.
will soon develop cracked plaster,
sagging doors. jamming windows.
floors that spring and creak, unsight,
ly open joints in woodwork and
spaces between castings, baseboard
and floors: leaky roofs. unsightly
sagging porches and leaky or spilling
cutters. swayback gables. etc.
ITO insure against these annoying
developments. the foundation first
should be carefully examined. for
tain to be reflected in the super
structure. no matter how good. The
footing of the foundation should be
wider than the foundation itself and
should be placed below the frost line.
If the foundation Is not a single unit.
carefully inspected to insure that 1t
Is Of good materials we'll put to-
gether
About half the weight of build
ing is carried on the posts. which
should rest on piers. The posts sup
port girder on which the inner
ends of floor joists rest. as well as
the partitions which carry the upper
floors of the house. The piers should
be higher than the basement floor
in order to prevent rot II the base
ment should be damp. Often the
concrete of the floor is run up around
the bases of the posts. thus sealing
up the end and creating a favorable
condition for dry-rot. In either case
the post will eventually settle with
unpleasant results. The piers should
be carefully made. fiat on the bot
tom and of adequate bearing surface
on the soil underneath.
when bearing partitions run
across the joists, which is not often.
solid bridging of the same size as
the joists should unite them directly
beneath. and the joists should be
larger, doubled or placed closer to-
gether. In this connection it should
be noted that it is better to increase
the depths OF the jo:sts rather than
to double them.
"All bearing partitions that sup
port partitions above should have |
double plates across the top of the |
STUDS. and also at the bottom. unless
the studs run down between the