THE UNHEALTHFULNESS OF BASEMENTS. 115 



are constantly produced by such conditions. Humanitarians and phi- 

 lanthropists have painted the pitiable horrors of poor wretches living 

 in cellars and dungeons. Are not many of the modern basements prac- 

 tically just as objectionable and injurious as the former ? 



Modern basements are, first, usually damp. In a clay soil, water 

 is frequently found standing beneath the floor. There is commonly 

 little air-space, the floor being usually laid almost upon the ground. 

 The ground beneath the floor is almost always moist, as far as I have 

 observed in this locality, and this is due to the following facts : 1. It 

 being lower than the street it receives some surface drainage ; 2. It 

 often dips far enough down to encounter subsoil saturation, or subter- 

 ranean streams; 3, Because it is usually improperly drained, if drained 

 at all ; and, 4. It is often subject to the leakage of broken or defect- 

 ive drains, cess-pools, etc. 



The modern basement is, secondly, in danger of such air contami- 

 nation as would naturally occur from unimpeded communication, 

 through porous soil, with defective drains, sewer-leaks, and the gen- 

 eral subsoil filthiness of a city. 



To guard against the undesirable conditions mentioned several 

 things are necessary, and should doubtless be considered in building 

 all basement-houses. First, area-ways, or air-spaces, should be con- 

 structed around the outside walls to guard against lateral dampness, 

 and carry off the surface-drainage, which has a tendency to sink down 

 by the outside walls to the foundations. Second, air-spaces should be 

 allowed under basement-floors, and these should be ventilated. Third, 

 damp-proof courses should be laid in all foundation-walls, to prevent 

 the upward spread of moisture throughout the house. An ordinary 

 brick will hold nearly a pint of water. A house not thus protected 

 will always remain damp and unhealthy. Fourth, the entire surface 

 of the ground under a basement-floor should be covered with a layer 

 of concrete, at least six inches thick, and this in turn covered and 

 hermetically sealed, from wall to wall, with a coating of coal-tar or 

 Portland cement. This keeps out vermin as well as damp, and effect- 

 ually shuts out dangers from leaking sewers or drains. Fifth, the 

 foundations of a house, in a moist soil especially, should be drained. 

 Sixth, the main soil or drainage pipes, which are frequently laid 

 beneath city houses, should not be constructed of tile, brick, etc. 

 With numerous joints, leaks and settlings are apt to occur. Heavy 

 cast-iron pipes are best, as demonstrated by most recent experience. 



The above precautions, if not defective, guard a basement against 

 dampness, and also against foul air, coal-gas, efiluvia from privy-wells 

 and cess-pools, sewer-gas, and the various exhalations of a not infre- 

 quently filth-sodden soil, and it should not be forgotten that an un- 

 healthy basement usually means an unhealthy house. Polluted air is 

 sucked all over the house by the rise of heated air from the basement. 



If we must have basements to live in, such safeguards should be 



