Evening star., 1939-10-21
First Aid
For the
-AHing House
By ROGER b. WHITMAN.

0y hONIEn d. " M 1 MAN.
Question: I am planning to build
q small cottage, doing all the work
myself. Starting now. plan that
in two months I can finish the ex-
ternals, and complete the interior
at leisure Does this seem too short?
My idea is one-room Cottage, with
a garage, altogether about 17x25
feet. Can you suggest a list Of
books containing instructions for
the different trades that will carry
me through to the end of the prof.
ect?
Answer-If you have had no ex-
perience in building, you are tackling
Job that is bigger than think you
realize. I greatly doubt if two
months would be enough for the ex-
terror. For information on concrete,
write to the Portland Cement AS
sociation. 347 Madison avenue, New
York City. The National Lumber
Manufacturers Association, WASH
ington, has very good pamphlet
on the details of house framing. The
large mail order houses issue in
structions on plumbing and wiring.
You should visit every house under
construction that you can find, to
see how the different materials are
being put together. Before you
start, you should be sure that the
local building authorities approve of
your plan and will let you go ahead
Types of Heat.
Question: Can you advise me as
to the heating of a house that I
plan to build?- Is steam heat more
efficient than gas or oil-fired air.
conditioned heat? Can you tell me
about how much more expensive gas
Is to operate than fuel oil? Is the
maintenance cost about the same on
each? Which system would you ad-
wise?
Answer-The efficiency of heat
ing system is not gagged by the type
OF heat, but by the quality and de-
sign OF the equipment that Is in
stalled. Steam or ir-conditioned
heat will keep the house warm, If
the heating plant is suffciently
large. The air flltering and humidi-
Tying features in conditioning
systems are favored by many home
owners. These features are desir-
able, providing, of course, the sys-
tenn Is installed by a reliable firm
having thorough knowledge of this
type OF heating. Comparative costs
depend entirely upon local gas rates
and fuel oil costs. Your local gas
company and oil burner man can
help you on this better than I can.
The maintenance cost may be Slight
~ higher on oil-fired units.
Question: Please give me the
requirements for building a cold
room for the storage of fruit, veee-
tables. etc.
Answer-Inclose the area to be
used for the storage room with a
rigid insulating board. Use T.
inch studding, and cover both sides
Of the walls with the insulating
board. A small window in the
partition will help ventilate the
storage room. The window should
not be opened so wide as to permit
the warm air of the cellar to get
into the cold room. The walls and
boards could be painted with
aluminium paint to keep any pos
sible dampness from damaging the
insulating board. as well as provide
additional insulation. The door
must fit snugly in the wall.
L. l.
f1reproof?
Answer-Soak it in a solution of
8 ounces boracic acid and 10
ounces borax in one gallon of water
Float the paper on the liquid until
thoroughly saturated. and then
hang up to drip and dry.
Painting a Floor.
Question: Printed linoleum in
my kitchen is so worn that I want
to remove it, but must wait for about
two years before laying new lino-
leum. In the meantime. what will
be the most practical finish for the
wood floor?
Answer-If your printed inoleum
Is not worn through, it can be
painted with floor enamel, after
thorough washing and then wiping
with turpentine to remove all traces
of grease and wax. If you must
paint the wood floor, it should first
be smoothed with sandpapering
machine to take off all splintering
particles and roughness, and to give
a smooth surface. You can then
use any good quality floor paint or
floor enamel. Waxing will not be