The Washington times., 1924-10-04

$ home Just completed at 1916 w
I Builders. This hOuse was espe-
! resale.
down neighborhoods, bringing back
real estate values, and it is. at the
same time preserving hundreds Of
the charming specimens Of The
architecture Of the period preced-
ing the civil war.
Old Homes WeIl-BuiIt.
It Is almost invariably found that
these solid homes Of our foretathers
were SO well planned and built that
any structural defects. they have
developed have been due to the
settling Of walls and foundations
rather than to any weakness OF
material or poor workmanship. Re.
Gently q 2O0-yearold house on the
New England sea coast was re.
stored. 1t was found that tho soft.
wood underfloors. put down so
long ago, were as sound MS the day
they were cut and so much hard
ened by age that when dressed
they made excellent top-fIooring.
Rebuilders are finding everywhere
that almost all of the lumber in
these old houses, whether they are
of frame or masonry construction,
Is as good as new, and wherever
the dimensions permit It Is being
used In the alterations, When ad.
ditional new material Is required
the renovator finds that he has
undertaken his work opportunely
as lumber is now about 40 per cent
cheaper than II was in 1920. and
even 10 per cent cheaper than IN
1928. Other building material shows
similar declines.
Rebuild "EyesOres."
In the smaller and also in the
newer towns and cities Of the coun-
trY there is just now being ,devel-
oped a systematic drive to rebuild
houses Of a comparatively recent
period. 1t is well understood that
dwelling architecture was at q
low ebb In the last part of the
nineteenth century and the first
part Of this. For nearly q quar-
ter of a century q small home that
was not an eyesore from the day
1t was built was rare, and ma
Jority Of the large homes were
atrocities perpetrated on defense.l
less eyes. Many OF these houses
are lunber-built and contain so
much sturdy material that to wreck
them Is apt to be sheer waste. So
everywhere we hear Of men, Who,
having grown into larger means
and better taste. are examining
their old homes with d view to
improving their architecture by al
terations and extending them to
meet new requirements.
Salvage Il Simple.
Thousands of people who hate
to let the old home 60 are find.
ing that simple external altera.
tons and additions transform an
ugly edifice into a home OF beauty
and that the additional room re.
quired may be secured at lower
cost by additions and rearrange-
ments than by the erection Of a
new house.
In the cities, unfortunately, hid
eous architecture appears to have
been accompanied frequently by
Bodybuilding" during the period
of architectural twilight, so that
there It does not always pay to
reconstruct house of the first or
second generation back. The good
materials in such structures do not
have the salvage value in place"
which is realized in the building
OF careful workmanship. But that
reconstruction and alteration are
vastly improving the residence dis
trlcts OF the smaller cities Is evil
dent to every automobile tourist.
Painting in Good Taste.
incidentally. there is little doubt
about the influence Of the automo-
bile in broadening the architectural
appreciation OF the average citizen.
Along with improved form there is
also an advance in the use Of color.
Our fathers and grandfathers seem
to have gone color.blind about the
time they lost their appreciation OF
proportion, so that inferior paint
ing OF tl-assorted colors was often
added to shocking architecture. The
rebuilt houses are generally, being
painted in good taste.
Changes Good Investment.
Rebuilding or altering are often
excellent investments even where
not necessary from the utilization
point of view. Selling values thus
gained are frequently out Of proper.
ton to the expense. This is par
ticularly true of lumber-built houses,
which are peculiarly susceptible to
alteration, and they are large pro.
portion Of the houses which are
available for renovation. Building
material dealers throughout the
country are actively assisting their
clients in studying and planning
alterations Of an improving nature,
both practically and esthetically:
and the local architect viii usually
he found to be a very staunch
supporter Of any departure that
promises a better looking town.