Choice of an Architect.

To Estimate Costs.

Location.

City, Country, and Suburban Houses.

The Making of Contracts.

Plans and Specifications.
Good and Bad Heating.

Chimney Draughts and Ventilation.

W"

WITH assurance and hope, yet with many a misgiving, the would-be house-owner begins the preliminaries that shall lead to the ultimate production of an earthly heaven, the ideal home. He feels from the start that some help is needed other than friends' suggestions that the drawing-room should be "done in the Louis," and that the front door must have a quaint old brass knocker instead of a bell.

The architect is naturally the staff upon which he must lean, and to the selection of a proper architect must be devoted all the experience of a lifetime of observation of men and works. That large class of humble strivers after the right which, for convenience, is broadly designated as the laity, feel their own dependence and inferiority before the professional man, and stand a little in awe of his knowledge, as well as of that adjustable code known as professional etiquette. Throw away such thoughts and regard him not as a superior, to be delicately handled, but as a man whose duty and pleasure it is to serve you. Select, then, the man whose work expresses the best combination of taste The selection of and practicality. In your first conference with him he will lead you gently from one style of house to another, shown by photo

an architect.

VOL. II.-5

"The Danger of Extras."

Light and Windows.

Stair Planning.

The Laying of Floors.
Plumbing.

The Trim and Hard Woods.
Lighting.

The Matter of Cellars.

graphs or water-color sketches, until, by your expressions of approval or otherwise, he has gained an idea of your inclinations. If there are houses of his in your vicinity, he will take you through them, that you may learn more easily the characteristics of his work. If he feels certain of pleasing you, he will draw rough sketches of elevations and ground plans of the proposed house, to be perfected afterward if you decide to retain him.

In looking at houses through which your possible architect is conducting you, notice particularly the condition of the work, the amount of cracking in the walls, the number of gaps in the wood-trim, etc.; for, in choosing contractors, a knowledge of the durability of their work will be useful. Have also a keen eye directed to the arrangement of the house, its convenience as well as its appearance, and, if possible, see its owner and ascertain whether the architect possesses a practical knowledge of actual building, as well as the artistic ability which enables him to produce a thing of beauty.

It is safe to assume that a woman who has kept house intelligently for ten years knows more than any architect about the best practical arrangement of rooms for her family. On that point she should not be too self-effacing

The best location for the butler's pantry, the dumb-waiter, the kitchen range and windows, the arranging of cupboards into shelves and hanging-room, the location of linen and cedar closetsall these things can be determined best by a woman who knows their uses. Any unpractical suggestions she might make owing to her ignorance of furnace flues, building supports, structural strength, etc., will of course be met and altered by the architect.

According to the reputation and ability of an architect are his fees determined. The usual fee for a trustworthy man of experience is five per cent. on the entire outlay, to be paid as the work progresses. This includes preliminary studies, working plans and specifications, with all details, and also superintendence of the erection of the building. Ten per cent. is the usual

for works where the total expendi

ture is as low as from five thousand down to one thousand dollars. Every architect has a set of gen

eral conditions which give in detail many points regarding the relations between himself and his client, and which it would be well to read carefully before irrevocably engaging him.

LIVING ROOM.

PIAZZA

Cost.

The cost of the proposed work is like the algebraic x, an unknown quantity, unless one of two methods is adopted and they are open to adverse criticism. To sell a house for thirty thousand dollars one must ask thirty-five thousand for it; to build a house for a prescribed sum one must name to the architect twenty per cent. less. It is quite impossible to determine whether it is the ambition of the architect, or the extravagance of his client, or the unstable scale of prices for either labor or materials, which makes this a truism; but certain it is that no one ever yet built within his first-named sum. If time were plenty and years did not count, it would be possible to use the other method of keeping within a certain amount. The architect would then finish his drawings and specifications, from excavations to brass keys, and draw and sign all contracts. Then, by adding the amounts, he would know the entire necessary expenditure. This sounds simple, but experiment has proved it to be almost impracticable, as well as unsatisfactory to the owner, for it makes changes impossible, and few know from drawings what the completed structure will be.

67

occupancy all the year, is about three thousand dollars. A drawing of one such is given in Fig. 1. This sum includes cesspool, plumbing, and everything complete for occupancy.

The price of materials and of labor varies in different localities, according to the cost of transporting the one or the difficulty of obtaining the other. But there is less difference than would at first appear, for where timber and quarries abound, skilled labor, owing to the sparse population, is usually scarce and expensive. Transportation prices have much to do with the cost of materials, and wages are largely regulated by competition and accessibility. Thus, in summer settlements, building is much more expensive than in towns where mechanics form a part of the stable population and permanent houses are the rule. The relative difference between the cost of stone and frame houses is generally maintained throughout the country, owing to the counterbalancing effects of the prices of labor and materials.

Impress upon the architect the necessity of not exceeding a certain sum, and he will conscientiously do his best to keep within it; but, as everyone employed on the building is trying to circumvent his amiable intentions, you may be quite sure he will be worsted, and to meet the difference you must hold in reserve an extra bank account. To ask the cost of building a house is very much the same as inquiring the price of diamonds by the dozen. All depends upon the size and quality. Little boxes, carpenter built, for brief use at some summer camp, can be put up as low as one thousand dollars, but the lowest sum for which a house of seven to nine rooms can be built for

Every thousand dollars added gives more space or better interior finishing, so that five thousand dollars will build a convenient frame house with good architectural effects to the elevations and many conveniences inside. Ten thousand dollars gives the owner handsome effects, good materials, and the best plumbing, as well as a large opportunity for many tasteful devices. Cheap houses may be in quite as good taste as expensive ones, however, for simplicity often produces the best results.

If the purse is small, let the necessary economy be confined to the elimination of ornament, but never let it tempt the builder to slight the construction of the house. Where there is a choice between showiness and worth, put effect aside, and aim first of all to have the house well constructed of durable, but not extravagant, materials.