Evening star., 1924-09-28
HOUSES FOR $1,9D0
T0bE MADE IN DAY
Lord Weir, Steel Producer in
Glasgow, Proposes New
Housing Method.
Special Dispa tch to The Star.


LONDON, September 27.-Mass
production of standardized steel
houses for the working class Is Lord
Weirs solution of the present hous-
ing problem in Great Britain. Lord
Weir is a big Glasgow iron and steel
manufacturer, was Scottish controller
of munitions for a year during the
war and later held important admin
istrative posts in the British air min
istry.
From the time Of the armistice cleo
ton onward the cry. homes for
heroes" has been an election slogan
for all three parties in this country
and each succeeding government has
passed housing bill" which. how
ever, has failed to produce enough
houses. In Lord Weirs city of Glas-
gov alone there is a shortage Of Co.
600 dwellings,.
Now Lord Weir has erected near
his factories there three-room
workingman's house of steel which,
he says, can be built. after mass pro-
duction has been started. for $1,000,
exclusive Of the cost of the land and
sewerage and which can be erected in
a day after the concrete foundations
are completed.
Less Skill Required.
Lord Weir's scheme provides for
the almost complete replacement Of
brick and mortar by steel construc-
tion and by his process of factory
Standardization the building opera
tions will not require the services Of
the highly skilled men in the build
ing trades needed to erect an ordi-
narily constructed dwelling.
In addition to the saving Of time
and money effected by the employ
ment of unskilled or semi-skilled Ia
Dor, the substitution, he says, will
meet the building difficulties of the
past caused by the postwar short
plumber will be dispensed with. as
the piping in these houses will be
made in standard lengths and screwed
instead of Soldered together.
Externally the experiment house
built in Glasgow looks much like the
ordinary, small working class home.
The framework is Of wood. to which
are bolted steel plates. All the fac
tory-produced pieces of the house
are numbered, so that the assembling
job is a simple one. Between the ex
terror and interior sheets of steel
there is 4 felt lining. which is damp
proof and will tend to act as an in
sulator against changes of tempera
ture within.
Lined. With Beaverboard.
The outside steel shell is painted
while the interior one, forming the
inner walls Of the house, is lined with
beaverboard. The roofing can be slate
or one of the various patent f1reproof
substitutes on the market. Included
in the total building cost of $500 are
the kitchen and other CRATES, electric
light fittings and bathtub.
John Wheatley, NJ. P, minister OF
health, has visited the experimental
house and given it his tentative ap-
provaI, as have also various municipal
housing officials and several Scottish
members Of Parliament. But Lord
Weir is not content with this first
experiment and is calling upon women
connected with labor organizations to
advise him regarding an improved
labor-saving design and the details
Of the interior equipment before put
ting the house into mass production.
The present house took about a
week to build, but Lord Weir is
shortly giving a "while-you-wait"
demonstration before government and
municipal authorities. when he ex-
poets to have the job done in a few
hours