Jasper County Democrat, Volume 14, Number 97, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 March 1912 — THE AMERICAN HOME [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE AMERICAN HOME

Wm A.RADFORD EDITOR

Mr. William A. Radford will answer questions and give advice FREE OF COST on all subjects pertaining to the subject of building, for the readers of this paper. On account of his wide experience as Editor, Author and Manufacturer, he is, without doubt, the highest authority on all these subjects. Address all Inquiries to William A. Radford, No. 178 West Jackson boulevard, Chicago, 111., and only •nclose two-cent stamp for reply.

The accompanying illustrations show a concrete house design, which, although simple and Inexpensive, can be made exceedingly attractive. The lower portions of this house, the foundations and first story walls, are made of concrete blocks of uniform size; and right here is where a most artistic and interesting effect can be obtained by means of a proper surface finish on these blocks. The concrete block industry has passed through a number of years of experimentation. It has suffered at the hands of inexperienced block makers whose product has been used by amateur and unskilled house designers, the result in general being a poor building material used in an awkward and Inappropriate way. The little block men have talked “cheapness” until this fine material was in danger of becoming discredited for anything but cheap work. The recent “cement shows” have proved conclusively, however, that there have been giant strides in the concrete block industry, both in the manufacture of the blocks and in the methods of flushing them, and of using them in modern constrtictlon. The complaint has been made that blocks absorb so much water that any house made of them is always very damp. At several of the exhibits, however, demonstration concrete blocks were made showing an absorption of less than one per cent, which is much less than the standard grades of brick and building stone. These blocks were made with a very wet mlvture and were put under great

pressure in the molds by simple, me chanical means. The business-like equipment used for compressing these blocks allowed a comparatively lean mixture to be used, resulting in the low cost block, but the extreme pressure compacts the material to such an extent that it is as nearly Impervious to water as any building material can be. The complaint has also been made against concrete blocks that they are Inartistic and uninteresting In appearance. And It must be admitted that the pld-fashloned, Imitation, rock

face finish deserved most of the hard things said about It The blocks that are now being made, however, are finished In an infinite variety of ways. There are faces with pebbles showing of different sizes and colors; there are faces formed of variously colored sands; there are marble dust faces and crushed granite faces. In fact, by the simple process of selecting the material to produce the surface finish desired and then deposit-

‘■*B it in a half-inch layer next the face plate of the block machine, any one of the unique and artistic surface finishes is easily obtained. One of the mott interesting of these surface finishers is produced with fine pebbles, one-eighth to one-quarter inches in size. A layer of the mixture , containing these pebbles is placed a quarter to a half inch thick next the face plate of the mold with the ordinary concrete block mixture filling the remainder. The intense pressure is applied-and the block removed. The end of the first day the

face of the block is scrubbed with a wire or fiber brush which brushes away a part of the cement and sand, leaving the pebbles exposed. The surface is then brightened by being washed ov»r lightly with water to

which a small amount of muriatic acid has been added. As these pebbles are of all different colors and shapes the interesting character of this surface finish can be easily imagined; yet one has to see a wall of these blocks to really appreciate the beauty and char acter of this material. With material of this kind a house would not need to be elaborate nor decorated in any way to attract favorable attention. In fact, square cut, ■imple designs are most effective for work of this kind. This keeps the cost down, for It Is the towers and angles, bay windows and fancy porches, complicated roofs, etc., that run into money In building, without making any reasonable return in the way of conveniences or utility. This house is almost square in its general outline, being 22 feet 8 Inches wide by 28 feet 8 Inches. It has a simple gable roof, the slope of the roof being toward the front. A low dormer window breaks the llpe of this roof. A simple square porch projects In front The concrete block wall from grade to the second floor line is designed to have one of these attractive surface finishes. The second story harmonizes with this; yet is lighter In effect. Cement plaster on wood lath, divided Into panels In English half-timber style Is used for the second, story. The whole building has the appearance of durability and comfort. It would certainly be a desirable addition to any neighborhood. The floor plans will show the convenient arrangement of this house. The first floor is nicely laid out with large living room, and dining-room, kitchen, stair hall, etc. There are three good sized bedrooms and bath on the second floor. The cost of this house, using first-class materials and workmanship throughout Is Estimated at $2,500.

Second Floor Plan.

First Floor Plan.