Coming- of Cement-Overcoated House Shows Possibilities of Stucco
21
TWIN" RESIDENCES ONE OVTHCOATED
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BJ progressive citizens In every city and town
In the country look wjth despair on the old
frame houses. They exist in every section
in almost countless numbers and seemins-iv
are the one Insuperable obstacle to every
plan for the artistic regeneration of early crudeness in
construction and design. They are used for every sort
of business and residential purpose, and occupy such
relation to existing economic conditions that any at
tempt at a wholesale demolition must be regarded aa
among the present impossibilities. They are too good
'to pull down and not good enough to justify a con
tinued existence. Singly they are cold in winter and
hot In summer and require frequent and expensive
renewals of paint. Severally their Inflammability is
a constant menace to the safety of city or town and
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violates every instinctive desire for the artistic and
beautiful.
Happily by a process of evolution It has been re
cently demonstrated that the needed remedy is now
available and its name ia "stucco." This material is
composed of Portland cement and RftnH In a lis iif tha
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ame proportions used In making sidewalks. The worn
to the average mind conveys an impression of some
thing cheap and perishable.
On the contrary, it is the most durable building
material known. It does not ahrlnk, burn or decay
and readily adapts itself to every form of architectural
expression. It Is, further, not realised even by many
foreign travelers that at least 90 per cent of the build
ings In continental Europe, both public and private,
are finished in stucco laid on rough brick surfaces.
rar irom Demg a sham, it is the aristocrat of building
materials; aa It covers the palaces of the royalties and
nobility in every country and climate. The ancient
Greeks and Romans knew ita value and gave it almost
These things are
taken into considera
tion by the present day
home builder. No mat
ter how weather beaten
the rough coat house
may be, It darkenB in
keeping with its ex
posure to sun, weather
and the inevitable
north exposure. There
fore its appearance Is
pleasing, always. It
has the appearance of
"ripening."
But to any present
.owner of a frame house
who ia tired of Its con
tinual paintings, or its
continual lack of this
work, the buildera of
the cement house are
prepared to take over
his old frame structure
and without removing
a nail from its weather
boarding make it over
Into a distinctly new
house.
The newest of appli
cations of stone effects
to disreputable old
frame houses that are
sound in Bills, joists
and every supporting
rejuvenation of whole
mjMm mi tt outmxmm m
But, as is usual in most neceasltles of the ri'mftrf fV? , , fTl t U rTrfer"""n
Twin- stoke buildings
- OWL VltH. STUCCO FRCNT
part makes possible the
districts In cities and towns
where age has told on roofs and weatherboardings. Iu
llltlVAMfll iioa Tf 1 . .a- 1 . .
.,., . ' . u 41 " 11 me ingenious the case of the house of twenty years ago when the kind, the metallurgist and the steel manufac-
u, vi Buiuu iiiuo uncuver ua aaaptanuuy
for their purposes. Their tardlnoss in this respect may
be explained by the former abundance and cheapness
of lumber, which was the "good enough" of early and
hasty days, when shelter and cheapness were the rul
ing considerations.
Western architects, ever on the alert for improve
ments, are among tho first to realize that with the
aid of metal lath aa a holding device stucco could be
used in combination with wood, aot only on new atruc-
auburban "artist contractor" made deformities out of
house lines and proportions, the tearing away of the
old cupola and the hump-backed roof will be the only
real carpentry work necessary. The house may be
brought up to the most artistic standards of the pres
ent, and over all the stone work finish is practical and
more than in the quality of the lath. But poor and
"sappy" as the lath may be, it is used only on the in
terior walls of the frame house, which leaves it free
of wet and of extreme changes of temperature. But
turer got together and solved this problem in
the manufacture of the steel lathing, of which
cements are a preservative from rust.
"Retarded" cement is explanatory in the
name. All cements of the better grades
harden quickly after water is applied and the
mixture worked up. Eight or nine years
ago S. W. Curtlss of Chicago began experi
ments with cement with the object of rendering them
plastic for a seasonable working period. Hardening as
AN" "OLD TIMER" TtAixE TTCW
Labor Saving" Possibilities of Electricity in the Home
N
turea but the old ones. Those who occupy standing , t -w.rHo rr,n ,v .. , ..
rrame houses have cause to rejoice over their ability complete. In these years of diminishing good timber no tions of cement and sand, with other stony substances,
to quickly and economically convert their structures part of the modern frame house of average cost suffers which would leave the mixture workable for the period
into the more comfortable and sightly stucco finish i
by attaching metal lath to the weather boarding and , -
applying the plastio overcoating. As a rule those de
voted to business purposes require only that the fronts
be treated.
It will readily be seen that when ihls process
spreads to the towns and farms in its general trans
formation of houses, stables and other outbuildings,
from the appearance of wood to that of stone, the re
sult will be as if some fairy had waved a magic wand
and in a twinkling the hovels became palaces. The
rule of construction is to leave an air space between
the plaster and the weather boarding in the interest
of dryness and uniformity of temperature. Experi
ments in the use of wood lath for this purpose have
been uniformly disastrous. The cement Is protective
of rust on metal lath.
The Bee gives space tor several examples of over
coating old houses in the hope that the success of the
initial efforts may Induce a general adoption, and the
weatern cities and towns be redeemed from the appear
ance of ragged and nondescript architecture worked
out in the most unaubatantial material. The citizens
of Wheaton and Lake Forest, important suburbs of
Chicago, have undertaken at public expense to recon
struct the fronts of their business section along' har
monious and correct lines and when completed it will
mark the elimination of much that is offensive to good
taste and the substitution of beautiful and artistic ef-
facts. It is to be done in white cement and dark roof
ing tile, affording a judicious combination of colors
very satislfying to the eye.
If by co-operation of effort the property owners of
this city should in like manner inaugurate a wholesale
reconstruction of the fronts of the frame buildings
used for business purposes under skillful architectural
advice, an immediate and substantial increase of trade
and real eBtate valuea would doubtless be the profit
able result.
It Is a fact that the frame house is passing. Two
factors are at work to this end. First, it is almost Im
possible nowadays to get the white pine building ma
terial which once ranked a real "first claps." But la
accepting that which is not the old first class material
good aa it may be the builder of the frame house is
discovering that the cost of building ia greatly
enhanced in the last fifteen yeara. Hemlock la worked
In on' the building, especially In rafters, joints and
beavy supports, and hemlock is an uncertain piece of
Umber.
That other great reason for interest in the cement
coated structure it that while ita coat may be no less,
if properly constructed it has proved ttaelf in stability
and workmanship. To all purposes it becomes a stone
building, warmer in winter and cooler in summer. And
more than anything else, the necessity for painting
and repainting Is eliminated. Honest paint and honest
painters applying it cost money if a frame house is to
be "kejt u$.M
required for plastering it into place.
He succeeded and today his formula la a manufac
turlng formula by which the dry material is shipped plied to cement to make it plastic and workable. These
to finish the house.
"After that," 6aid Mr. Curtlss, ' "I
can take any plasterer in a country
town and make an expert of him in ce
ment surfacing iuslde of two hours. The
brick mason isn't particularly a good
candidate. He slashes at his regular
work and Is likely to keep to his pace.
But almost anyone with a mechanical
taste can become the 'plastering
mechanic' of this new trade."
In the present-day markets are all
kinds of plastic materials manufactured
for this building or recoating work. In
the best of the work, however, the old
rule once applied or suggested by
the drayman who had the fat horse
holds good. This drayman was asked
how he kept his horse in such good con
dition. He replied:
"Well, I feed hiin a mixture of oats
. . and sawdust, but on the principle of the
less sawdust the better."
Lime and plaster of parts have been mixtures ap-
dry to the point of working. Water proportions are
given for the mixing of the two or three coats that are
OW that electricity has become
0 easily accessible, not only
In large cltlei, but In towns
and village as well, why are
we not maklna the household
work lighter, quicker and more
agreeable? A power that create neither
superfluous heat, odors nor dirt should
bit Invaluable In kitchen and laundry
In fact, throughout the house. Most of
us know the comfort and luxury of turning
a button to bring light out of darkness, but
we are only beginning to comprehend the
other uses to which that same magical but
ton may be put. All of us have taken a more
or less Impersonal Interest In watching the
progress from hand power to 'electrical
power In the large manufacturing concerns
surrounding us, and the Interest has been
far from Impersonal in observing and en
Joying tho advanced, methods of transporta
tion; but w have tolled on patiently In our
own kitchens, dependent upon the uncer
tainties of coal and wood and enduring the
. heat during the summer months as best we
may. Oas stoves have relieved that situa
tion tremendously, and thoss who are
awake to the possibilities of this progres
siva age are enjoying the economy of time,
strength and patience afforded by the In
troduction of washing machines, bread
mixers, cake-beaters, etc. What we want
now Is a power to run the washing machine
and the bread-mixer. The halcyon day Is
undoubtedly not far distant when the
turning of a few magic buttons will bring
the required power to turn every domestic
crank. We of the twentieth century are in
the dawn of that day, and It is time for us
to open our eyes and become willing experimenters.
A Joy Forever.
.The vacuum cleaner Is at present making
us all gasp with wonder. We see dirt and
dust disappear as it by a miracle and fore
see with incredulity a speedy relief from
the necessity of those semi-annual trials of
patience and strength, the spring and fall
house cleanings. We may have one In the
house to be worked by two people or, bet
ter still, by one person with the assistance
of electricity.
For our laundry work we can get eleo
trio Irons. The most trying part of Ironing
has always been the heat the heat of the
room and the heat of the Iron. The electric
Iron may be used In any room where there
la ao electric attachment, tor a large wash
ing la the laundry or for a little pressing
In the bedroom. There need be no stove of
any kind In the room where the work la
done, nor la there any heat from the Iron
to penetrate to th hand or rise In wave to
the taee, Moreover, the convenience of fee
ing able to press out the wrinkles in a linen
skirt or shirtwaist without either rousing
the ire of the cook by getting in her way
or taking the time and trouble to heat an
Iron In the usual way is Inexpressible. The
price of the iron, $3.75 for the small size,
will soon be saved In laundry bill The
traveler will find one of these Irons ex
tremely useful. Wrinkles come so easily
In traveling, rates for pressing and laundry
work are high at hotels, and time is limited.
Helpfol Devices.
The Irlons come In all weights from three
pounds up to eight. The three-pound iron is
particularly adapted to light work and Is
easily carried by a traveler. The six-pound
iron Is used for ordinary laundry work. A
six-foot length of flexible cord comes with
the Iron, together with the necessary plug
for attachment to any ordinary electrio
light fixture. It takes tut a second for the
attachment and it is absolutely without dif
ficult y or danger.
The amount of power required to run
a range for the kitchen still makes them
too expensive at present prices to be prac
ticable. When the electrio companies are
willing to make special prices for cooking
we may hope to use them.
The small portable electric stoves from
four and a half to fifteen Inches In diame
ter are not expensive to run and are ex
tremely convenient for use In place of the
more or less dangerous alcohol lamp. They
are round and flat, with four feet raising
them about two inches from the flat marble
or asbestos stands to which they are at
tached. With them comes the same cord
and plug as with the Iron. They will bring
water to a boiling point in a very few min
utes. Coffee made over them in a perco
lator Is ready in about eight minutes.
Borne of the stoves have more power than
others Some give one degree of heat, and
others, equipped with a regulating switch,
give three degrees. The pivice for those giv
ing three degrees Is more than for those
giving one degree. One giving one degree
costs approximately to and one giving three
degrees about a dollar more.
Speuial Vtenalls.
One must get special dishes tor these
etoves, because they must be made with
flat bottoms jto fit exactly to the stove.
They are fastened to them so that no power
can be lost on account of poor contact. Ths
dishes made for them are either of alum
inum or of copper. The copper dishes are
plated with tin on the Inside and nickel
on the outside. It is possible to use the
ordinary tin dishes, but those specially pre
pared are more economical In the end. The
different sised stoves fit the smaller and
larger dishes.
J Th.ert are chafing dishes opening up vis-
Ions of after-theater suppers and midnight
spreads. One could cook almost. If not
quite, an entire dinner, If need be, including
the toast made on the flat surface of the
stove itself. A double boiler and saute pan
are equally useful, and for traveling or for
a cup of hot water or tea In one's room ,
there Is either a cup or a tea-kettle. They
have a coffee percolator also to fit the
stove, so thait one may prepare her cup of
breakfast coffee for luxurious consumption
In bed with just as little effort. Baby's
food can be prepared by electricity at home
or abroad. When boarding or living at a
hotel something of this kind is a necessity.
'Aside from the UBes of electricity for
cleaning, Ironing and cooking, there is that
ever-present necessity for most of us the
curling iron. The .little electric heater
solves the problem. One la so frequently
in huubes where there Is no gas, and even
with gas the process of holding the Iron
over the flame and waiting patiently for it
to heat is a very tiresme one. These little
time and patience savers cost about 13.
Still another ingenious device is the
electric-heating pad to be used In applying
heat to the body. It should be Invaluable
In Illness, taking the place of the flannels
, heated at such an expenditure of time,
strength and trouble, and with such an un
avoidable loss of heat and consequent ef
fectiveness in transmission from stove to
patient. The electric pad may even take the
place of our Invaluable friend, the hot
water bag, as a foot warmer. It is very
light and soft, with covering first of mus
lin and then of eider-down. It will heat
In about fifteen minutes, and by means of
an Internal arrangement the heat may be
controlled and kept at a definite point.
An effort is being made to combine the
use of electricity for cooking with the
firclua cooker, the caloric. Why should
that not be the ideal arrangement and
solve the problem? At present the use of
electricity for a range Is too expensive for
most consumers. Since the caloric Is for the
express "purpose of saving fuel as well as
heat and trouble, why can't we start our
boiling, stewing and baking on an electric
stove, saving heat, odors, etc., there, and
then at the magical moment transfer every
thing to the caloric? The caloric has now
been brought to the state of perfection
(somewhat beyond the huybox), In which it
wtU carry on every cooking process, with
the possible exception of frying and broil
ing. Since these processes are brief, the
good offices of the caloric are hardly
needed. Helen Lanborn In Harper's
bazar.
Photoarrapl tor Wirt.
Thvrne Baker, a technical expert and
inventor of London, thrilled the engineers'
Society of New York when he explained
the operation of a new contrivance by
which photographs are set by wire.
For more than sixty years Inventors
have beeif trying to perfect a machine that
would transmit photographs over the wire.
Mr. Baker has worked out a method based
partly upon the Inventions of others, for
sending an exact reproduction of a photo
graph. Mr. Baker had a portable mauWne with
him, and gave a clear illuminating Idea of
how it works. The inventor told the en
gineers the wire photography abroad has
reached a stage where It Mas loVig since
ceased to be experimental.
Practical tests were made during the re
cent trial of Mme Steinheil In Paris, when
photographs of the principals were trans
mitted over the wire from Paris to Lon
don, and were printed in a London news
paper. No demonstration has been made
of the system for any distance equal to
that from New York to Boston. Mr. Baker
told the engineers that he was certain the
teat on Saturday would be successful.
The wire photography machine exhibited
by Mr. Baker resembles In Us chief as
pects, the phonograph, with its cylinder
. adjustment There are two principal parts,
for sending and receiving, exactly alike as
to appearance The process by which the
photographs are sent closely follows the
Idea of the transmission of telegrams.
A print Is made from the negative In
the usual way. From this print a wet
plate negative Is taken, and this is printed
upon a film of highly sensitised tin foil,
with a screen of lines running one way,
instead of crossing, as is the case with ordi
nary sine half tones.
The tinfoil "film la then wrapped around
the phonograph-like cylinder dr drum of
the sending machine. Adjusted above the
cylinder is a stylus with a fine point. An
electrio current is sent through the stylus,
and as the cylinder revolves the stylus
records the lines urjon the film. In turn,
the current waves thus produced are sent
over wires to the receiving machine.
Upon the - receiving machine there Is
similar stylus, poised above the cylinder
upon which Is wrapped a sheet of paper
which has been treated with a chemical
substance so that It records the faintest
movement of the stylus.
As the stylus, animated by the electrio
current, goes over this sensitised sheet, the
photograph is traced exactly as It 1c re
corded by the sending stylus, giving a
complete reproduction of the origtnal pho
. tograpb upon the sensitised sheet.
are cheaper ingredients and are held to be Inferior to
just the extent they enter into the mortar. At the
same time Canada has made wide and lasting experi
ments with lime mixtures, forced into the "diamond
shape" crevices made by nailing on two layers of lath,
criss-cross. Some of the critics of lime in cement,
however, still hold that the Canadian lime is a hydrau
lic lime, and that in that country the burnt limestone
Is "seasoned" for two or three months before It is
worked up.
In a general way the making over of the old frame
bouse into a new one of plastic front, sides and reaa
the desirability of an air space between the weather- '
boarding and the inner coating of cement is empba- j
sized. Using the steel lath it is not sufficient for best
results that the small air seams made by nailing thJ
steel to the laps of the weatberboarding are depended"
upon. To start from a waterproof eave of the frame i
house two Inches may be allowed, with a slightly
greater slope downward to the projecting center belt
of the two-story house. From'thls projecting strip the (
same proportionate distance may be maintained to the
projecting water table at the base of the structure.
A double purpose is served in this air space. Having
this closed air chamber on the sides of the house, it
serves to preserve dryness In wet seasons, while the
extremes of outside beat and cold are reduced, sum
mpr and winter. The scientific nrinciple is that which,
onnlloa nnwndnva fn thA rnmmnn Irpr hest. Once the'
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space between the outer and inner framework of the
refrigerator was filled with charcoal In the best grade
of icebox. Today it is accepted by the builders of these
commodities that to leave the BDUce open serves as
well or better, for the reason that the filling material I
acted equally as a conductor of either heat or cold.
And to prevent the ingress of heat was the main de
sideratum. With this innovation of making over the old frame
house Into the new and tested cement exteriors, not
only the whole character of houses and even streets
may be changed artistically, as Wheaton now is pre
paring for, but the fire risk is immensely discounted.
Especially in the older buildings of wood, crowded to
gether in solid blocks, not only Is the outer timber In
dry weather extremely Inflammable, but the coatings of
paint that cling to them Is an added danger. Whersj
tile roofing is substituted for shingles as finally iMTt
come about -the cement house that has been "made
over" will be close to the fireproof test.
But the frame bouse of long or short standing is
not the only subject for overcoating and rejuvenating.
The brick bouse or store building lends the same in
viting sides to the artist in stone effects. The great
residence of one of the Studebakers at South Bend,
Ind., baa been undergoing theae artistic touches, where
columns of Bedford stone in the walls were set be
tween bricks. After the brick walls were set the
cement workers stepped In and effaced alltt e '
bricks in Its const ruction. With the BedforCtone
decorations in relief, the cement work brings out the
fieU im leasing manner. 4
