Evening star., 1934-06-30
OUTL|NESBU|LD|NG'
PLANS OF FUTURE
Research Director Tells As
sociation of Real Estate
Boards Possibilities.
Special Dispa tch to The Star.

Special DiSpa tch to The star.
MINNEAPOLIS, Mimi. June 30
What the best and cheapest type Of
home construction may be in the fu-
ture, as it looks now to a research
agency which has been experiment.
ing for the last three and a half
years on the problem of better con-
struction materials and methods, was
outlined before the National Associa-
ton OF Real Estate Boards in con-
vention here by Robert L. Dawson,
New York, director of housing re-
search, John B. Pierce Foundation.
The foundation was set up by the
will of the late John B. Pierce and
by a special act of the New York
State Legislature as non-proflt or
eanization that comfort of human
beings and their habitations may be
advanced"
Mr.. Dawson, who has been free,
as he says, to experiment in ways
which would be impractical. If not
criminal for the ordinary builder" D."
indicated fundamental changes in
building method now under study.
which could. very literally, turn pres
ent methods inside out.
Present Plans Not to Be Upset.
The prospective home builder
however, will be first of all interested
in the fact that this survey of tech
biological developments would indi-
Il,
which has been going on for years
In manufacturers laboratories every
where. no change in building method
is in sight which would upset the
present day planned home, or radi-
cslly under-cut its construction costs.
Here is the paradox, as Mr.. Dawson
states it:
A dif1culty encountered in the de-
velopment of new construction meth
ods is that the better they are the
worse they are. To the degree that
any new method approaches the
theoretically desired qualities it will
be impractical for use with existing
construction methods. One cannot
put a motor in a buggy and have a
satisfactory automobile, not even a
satisfactory horseless buggy. 1t is
necessary to redesign the entire We
hicle to make it practical.
Mr.. Davison's talk was made to
the associations Land Developers
and Home Builders Division as part
Of its all-day discussion of new
home-building ideas and methods
now practically available.
Cost Lowering Plans.
Most promising method of attack
in lowering home construction costs,
as Mr.. Dawson sees it: Begin with
the objectives one wants in his house
The building must stand up. 1t
should be weatherproof. 1t is desir-
able to have it warm. From these
desiderata go back and find what
materials and methods will best reach
these objectives.
He foresees thin walls. made strong
enough to support the insulating ma
terial which gives the house comfort
made also weatherproof Elimination
Of the present practice of tolerance
fprovision for inaccuracies) in the
building industry.
Hitherto ample allowance of space
for errors IN materials, fabrication
erection, has been a fundamental con-
cept of the building industry. The
ideal future method will take leaf
from the automobile industry and
will have, Mr.. Dawson predicts. at
least no more tolerance than per-
mitted in the steel used in a sky
scraper.
On wall thickness Mr.. Dawson
said: "It is strange how blind we get
on this question. A couple of years
ago I was sitting In the twenty-sec-
onds floor ONCE of one of New York
City's leading architects discussing
the question of thinner walls. was
advocating walls 8 inches thick.
"A 3-inch thick wall would never
stand the wind pressure in a tall
building Habit had so obscured his
vision that he would not see the ex-
ceptionally large sheet of A-inch
glass we were looking through
Question Of Weather -proofing.
A critica, point Of departure for
present-day experimenters in the
field, as Mr.. Dawson sees 1t. is the
question of whether to insulate and
weather-proof the supporting wall. or
to support and weather-proof the in
sulation. II believe the solution OF
the exterior wall lies in water
proofing and supporting the insula-
ton. rather than -proofing and
insulating the supporting wall" he
said
The speaker gave this advice on
how to judge a new building method
Get from the person advocating
4 new construction method the cost
per square foot of wall surface, floor
surface or roof surface Of their
method when erected and finished;
compare these costs with the cost
per square foot of existing methods
of comparable quality I would get
these costs on two bases-what it
would actually cost at this time and
what the new method would cost
under ideal conditions of quality pro-
duction.
Get all the data possible on COM
fort factors of the construction
method in measurable terms, such as
heat lost in BTU's hours to bring
the wall to equilibrium under vary
ing temperature conditions, moisture
absorption and fire resistance.
Decide whether it is basic
change in constructive method or
only substitute material. Substitute
method may be worth using, but the
knowledge of which class it falls in
will help one to form an opinion as
to the potential value of the new ma
terial."