Evening star., 1940-04-13
Research Seeks Cut
In Construction Cost
OF Small Homes
Novel Methods Used to
Eliminate Waste Are
Described by Architect

Building costs in the small-house
field are now being combated by
architects and builders through a
series of novel methods in plan
ming and construction, resulting in
larger rooms for less money, it was
revealed in the April issue of the
American Builder magazine. Arthur
E. Allen, architect of more than
$4,000 private homes built and sold
In the Long Island suburban area
of New York, points out in an arti-
Gle that striking economies are be-
Ing effected by using standard size
building materials just as they are
delivered to the job.
Blueprints calling for standard
length floor beams and wall studs
are eliminating waste and consider
able trimming on the jo'>. and COM
bined with other achievements in
efficient planning. actually are pro-
ducing more house for the home
buyers money, the architect re-
ports.
One Example.
"When floor beams can be pur-
chased in standard multiples of 2
feet it is more expedient to plan
a room width of 13 feet inches
in the rough, with a l4-foot beam,
than to plan it II feet wide or 121a,
or 49, Mr.. Allen writes. "Since a
bearing of 4 inches is required on
each end of floor beam, stand
ard length of IA feet can be used
without cutting beams down and a
room width of 13 feet 4 inches can
be obtained.
IF room width is planned to
be exactly IL feet wide, Is inches
on each floor beam must be cut off
and wasted, for a 14-foot beam still
Is necessary"
The architect points out that
economies In this direction have re-
suited in most room widths in the
newest houses running 8 feet 4
inches, IL feet inches, or 13 feet
4 inches, rather than in arbitrarily
smaller widths.
Noticeable savings can be ef-
fected," he continues, 'in strategic
planning of ceiling heights by en-
ploying standard length studs. Since
studs. like floor beams, also come
In multiples of 2 feet, an 8-foot
stud resting on a 2-inch shoe and
carrying a 4-inch plate will provide
clear ceiling height of feet 3
inches. This allows 2 inches for
double flooring and l inch for lath
and plaster ceilings. Occasionally
certain amount of trimming or
dressing of studs or beams may be
necessary on the job, but this is
minor item compared to the waste
of materials and time when non-
standard sizes are used"
Explanation of Shape.
The reason that so many low
cost dwellings are regularly rec
tangular in shape also is explained
by the architect in his article.
"A small house." he says, meas
uring about 20 feet wide and 80
feet deep will have a. perimeter of
100 feet and cover a total area of
600 square feet. If one corner of
this house is to be left unexcavated
for stepback of about SKIS feet,
the perimeter of the foundation
work will still be 100 feet, cost the
same to build, and yet the house
will be smaller by Is square feet.
THE proper placing of windows
and doors often spells the differ
ence between comfortable rooms
and white elephants. The architect
always must plan room with def
mite furniture pieces in mind. Wall
space is as valuable as window
space and door space. Allowance
must be made for the swinging of
doors, and this is necessarily waste
space. The distance between a win
dow and the nearest corner of
room, or between one window and
another, must be studied for its
utility in the placing of furniture.
If this wall is inadequate to ac-
commodate definite furniture
piece, it may be expedient to move
the placement of the window or the
door.
The elimination of one interior
door is big saving in the cost of
house under the modern scale of
home building. Sometimes door
from living room to kitchen can
easily and logically be eliminated in
bungalow layout when the natural
passage is through a seldom used
dining room. A saving of this kind
in development calling for 1000
houses is not an item of $40 for one
doorway, but total of $4,000.
Arrangement of Rooms.
"Stock sizes of windows should
be specified in planning the small
house. Steel easement windows save
on the cost of trim, and in the Long
Island field where they have been
found to. add to the stability of
homes because of popular demand,
their cost averages about the same
as double-hung millwork SASH"
The architect also pointed out
that the arrangement of rooms is
vital point in controlling building
costs and value OF house delivered.
Railways for example" he said,
"can waste more cubic space in a
house than they are worth. At the
same time it is undesirable to place
undue use on any room as passage
way to another room. An architect
can allow himself about 10 per cent
of the cubic content of a house for
more or less waste space. However,
the further he can reduce that 10
per cent margin the more efficient
his floor plan will prove to be.
"Circulation-that is easy and
convenient access to any one room
from another, is major factor in
planning the efficient house. If one
may enter either living room or
kitchen from front vestibule, or If
one may enter directly either kitchen