The Washington times., 1929-05-20
Sound Construction
With Pleasing Effect
In Permanent Garage

by the Architects Small
House Service Bureau Of the
United States, Inc.
Common practice seems to die
tate that the garage be treated as
a necessary evil, designed to be-
come . neglected backyard acces-
sorry, and showed as completely out
of the picture as possible. And this
In spite Of the many pleasant solu-
tions Of the problem offered by
present-day building materials and
practice. The tying in of the ga
rage with the house to form Q
charming group Is neither difficult
nor expensive.
The attached garage Is . frank
admission Of q modern necessity.
The detached garage, on the other
hand, is patterned after the defunct
horse barn Of q nearly forgotten
age. II the modern automobile
makes a condition such that new
form of house architecture Is neces-
sary, the solution becomes modern
art in a real and vital sense.
Garages, for the sake Of conven-
fence. are loosely classified In three
groups: attached, semi-attached and
detached. In considering the at
tached type, getting the garage
into the picture does not neces-
sarily mean getting 1t into the
house: although this Is being done
frequently with delightful success
The advantages Of the built-in type
centralized heating system, con-
Venience In stormy weather, etc
are 20 obvious a. hardly to need
mention.
Fire Protection Essential
Where property is limited in area,
the attached type is obviously the
most desirable and IN many cases
the only one possible. This ar
rangement IL well designed may be
picturesque, adding pleasant quail
ties to the house. In any case, It
is certainly convenient and 1t may
be the most economical.
Unity Of design Is, OF course. de-
sirable. Sharp contrast Is to be
avoided. Usually this Is most
successfully accomplished by 1ncor-
noratinp some dominant feature of
the house in the design Of the ga
rage and by softening down the
roof lines. II the topography per-
iently built in the basement and
then q sleeping porch or sun room
placed above.
II the garage is entered directly
from the house, the opening should
be equipped with an automatic
closing fire door. It's floor level
should be below that Of the house
to prevent gas fumes from seep-
ing into the residence. Ceilings as
well as walls should be of fireproot
materials. A reinforced concrete
slab provides the best means OF
fireproofing the ceiling and is gen
orally required by most cities.
Garages to Fit the Site
All garages, and particularly
those Of the built-in and semi-at'
tached types, should employ every
possible measure of fire protection
A garage which increases the fire
risk is an acute menace, for, IN ad
dition to the fire hazard common
to all buildings, the garage has
hazard of its own due to the pres
ence of gasoline and oil.
Undoubtedly the picturesque pos
sibilities of the semi-attached ga
rage offer the greatest variety O.
style and lead, as a rule, to out
lines thoroughly pleasing. Their
is something that attracts the fame!
in the low roof line of the one
story building tied to the end o
the house by some architecture
device. And when sound fireproo
construction is employed, there 4
q distinct sence of satisfaction AM
security. Copyright 1929. Tn
Architects Sman House Servic
Bureau Of the United States, Inc.