Evening star., 1924-10-04
HOME RESTORATION
BECOMES POPULAR
Reconstruction of Houses of
Other Days Adding to
Beauty of Cities.
ny RICHARD G.. kINBELI..

In Washington. in New York. and
in doubtless many other of the oIGer
cities of the United States. one OF
the most marked and Inter"@'r"'.
phases of hOme-making al IHesent is
the systematic, one might almost say,
professional reoorstructinn ana mou-
ernization of old homes. 1t Is not
only Il Salvagin& pro eSS OF muCh
economic value, but it is also an alb
Sortine and edttat'vt ,'"+ erpr'e" a.
is having no little civic value In
that it is restoring whole run-Jow.
neighhorhoOds bringing back real cs-
tate values and is at the same tG'nf
preserving hundreds Of the charming
specimens Of the architecture OF the
period preceding the civil war.
1t is almost invariahlv t"'",' t'"'
these solid homes of our forefa Tiers
were 50 we1I planned and buIlt taar
any structural defects that have DC
Neloped have been due to the self mn
Of walls and foundations rather than
10 any Wen kneSS of material or poor
orkmanshir Recently Il "nn-y"ar-
old house on the New t.n&'and seq
coast was restored II was foun@
that the >oftWood uudertioors put
down so long apo. were "s sound q"
the dav the" were ,.ut AMI - much
hardened by ace that when dressed
thev made excellent ton tto0r'n". E"-
builders are finding everywhere that
almost al of the lumber in these ol6
houses. whether thev are OF frame or
masonry construction is as good as
new. and wherever the dimensions
permit it is hning ra-usad in the
alterations. When ad'Itlonal new
mat. riai is required tie "-noEatOr
find" that he has undertaken his
work o'portuuc'N as lumber is now
about 10 per cent cheaper than II WAS
in 1920, and even J." per cent cheaper
than in 1923. Other hurdlng mate
rial shows similar declines.
Rebuilding Newer Houses.
In the smaller aud also in the
rewer towns a"d r't5rS at the coun-
trv there is jr,S- uow being dev"'-
Cped systematic drive to rehuiid
houses Of a ConrarattVelv recent
pario'. 1t is we'll understood that
dwelling architecture was at a low
ebh in the last part Of the nineteenth
century and tn" first rart OF TINS.
For nearly n quarter OF 4 century
small home that was not an eye#o~e
from the DAY it wa bui was rare.
and a majority o. the larger homes
We're atrocities perpCtTated ON de
fense'ess eyes. Many of thes" house
are lumher-huilt and contain 80 much
sturdy material sthar to wreck them
where we hear OF men. who, having
grown into larger means and better
taste are examining their Old homes
with Il view to improving their ar
chiteCture by alterations and extend
ing them to meet new requirements.
Thousands of Ttouto Wao hat. to let
t',e old home go a"c hpDIng that SIM
pie external a teratIou> and a'ditICnS
transform an ugly rdIt,co INTO nome
of beauty and that the additional
room required may be secured at
lower cost by additions and Tear
rangements better than by the cree
tion of d new house.
Many Hfdeiu> Forms.
In the cities. unfortunately. hide
Gus architecture appears t" have
been accompanied freuentIv by "Jer-
ry-building" during the period OF ar
chitectural twilight. 50 that there 1t
does not always ray to reconstruct
house of the first or second genera
tion back. The good materials IN
such structures do not have the "SalV-
age value in place" when is realized
in the building of careful Workman
ship. But that reconstruction ana
alteration are vastly improving the
residence districts of the smaller
cities is evident to every automobile
tourist. InCiGentall". there is little
doubt "a bout the influence OF the du-
tomobi,e in broadening the archItec-
tural appreciation OF the average
citizen. Along with improved torn
there is also an advance in the use
of color. Our fathers and grand
fathers seem to have gone color
blind about the time they lost their
appreciation Of proportion. 50 that
inferior painting of iil-aSSOrted col
ors was often added to shocking ar
chitecture. The rebuilt houses are
generally being painted III good
taste.
Rebuilding or altering are often
excellent investments even where not
necessary from the utilization point
of view. Selling values thus gainef
are frequently out OF proportion to
the expense. This Il particularly
true of lumber-built houses. which
are peculiarly susceptible to aitera-
ton, and they are a large proportion
of the houses which are available tor
renovation. Building material deaf
crS throughout the country are ac-
lively assisting their clients in study
ing and planning alterations OF an
Improving nature. both practically
and eSthetically. and the local archi-
tect Will usually be found TO be a
very stanch supporter of any depar-
ture that promises a better looking
town.