Imperial Valley press., 1925-10-19
HOUSES BUILT OF CYPSUM)PLANNED
ASSOLUTlON OF VALLEY PROBLEMS

Houses built Of gypsum, providing
cool dwellings, in summer and warm
pues IN wintcr.-thc, ioval type need
ed for Imperial Valley, houses that
are firenroof. vermin and bug proof
and which can lie made unusually
attractive and all at a moderate
cost, is the plan of the Pacific
Portland Cement company, cOnsol-
idated, which is now building sev-
eral such houses for its employees
at Plaster City.
From centuries of experience in
mers and chilly winter winds. the
wealthy Mexican or Spaniard built
his home of thick adobe walls that
kept his house cool in summer. and
i'll winter shielded him from the
winds so that fireplace made
everyone comfortable.
While the comforts Of such Il
house appealed to the American
man, its erection was too slow, la
borious and costly. To the Amcri-
can woman such home was not at
tractive to the eve and possessed
no style. As consequence the ear
lv homes in the valley have all been
built along the style Of the wooden
house Of the balance Of California,
and are not adapted to the peculiar
climatic conditions Of the valley.
Now that the early pioneer days
have passed and the ranch and town
people are able and desire to build
more comfortable homes in the land
of their adoption, the question of
how to build these homes both at
tractivc aud comfortable is an ab-
sorbing one.
Present Solution
The Pacific Portland Cement COM
panv, consolidated, with an invest
mcnt of million and half dollars
i'll Imperial county and with a gvp-
sum mine and mill right nearby.
employing 12j mcn, comes forward
with a solution Of the house prob
lem by manufacturing Empire gyp.
sum blocks and lnsulcx.
Gypsum blocks Of equal thickness,
are much superior to adobe in keep
ing out heat, wind and dust, with
the great advantage of coming in
light, large by -. foot blocks,
that arc quickly built up into walls,
with pure white beauty that sug-
/ gests cleanliness, and ncatncss 10
the housewife.
For single story bungalows a
single q inch wall, or even n / inch
/ wall, has both the strength and heat
! resistance feature OF 10 inch adobe
! wall. For two story houses or build,
! ings, double wall Of 1 inch blocks
is recommended. This use Of gvp
sum blocks gives the home coo
walls that a brick, cement, tile OF
stone house would have with wall,
twice as thick. However, n house
with cool walls is still subject Il
the heat of the summer sun ON the
roof. To shield the house from thi.
heat, many homes in the valley hay,
been equipped with roofs above tn,
, first roof.
Buy Patent Rights
! TO solve the problem Of the roof
the Pacific Portland company pur
HHo'h INV fdtNhl iiShtS VI II won
derfuI new insulating material call
! cd insulex, which is gypsum mad
light with air cells. This materia
is poured or east with greater cas-
than concrete, and has only u frac
tion Of the weight. BY the use o
insuleX, homes can be built in til
valley with the flat roofs Of tn
| Spanish bungalow type, SO fashion
/. able in California. BY pouring owe
the flat roof deck boards or gypsum
wall board, IA layer of Insulex
inches or 3 inches thick, the sun
mcr : heat cannot penetrate tli
home through the roof, and the roo
as wdlI as the walls cool the air i
the house to delightful tcmpcra
, turc.
BY using double wall Of gypsur
blocks and pouring lnsulcX bctwec,
aud then pouring ! to ichcs Of Ii
sulex on the roof q modern and a.
tr3"llve house can be built ~