BETTER BUILDINGS 



Jones Builds a Garage. 



I have a very good friend whom we will call Jones, because that is 

 not his name. He is the only man with whom I have come in direct con- 

 tact who makes the housing of his car pay him a cash dividend. We 

 had often talked of his buying a car but he seemed to think that he had 

 no use for one and said he had not the mechanical ability which he 

 deemed necessary to operate a car. However, a wide-awake automobile 

 salesman, a good wife and a young hopeful were too much for him and 

 he placed an order for a car to be delivered within thirty days. The 

 following day we talked over the advisability of his building a garage. 

 The car he purchased was one that had at least helped to make Detroit 

 famous and was long on reputation but short on wheel-base, and he had 

 about made up his mind to build a garage just large enough for this 

 type of car. 



I argued against this, giving as my reason the fact that almost 

 every man who started 'out with a small car drifted gradually to the 

 larger car type, and I suggested that he build a two-car garage and rent 

 one stall. Jones owned a deep lot, 200 feet, I think, with a width of 75 

 feet. He argued that if a two-car garage were profitable a six-car garage 

 ought to be considerably more so. We immediately got busy with the 

 contractor and lumberman and between us the six-car garage was ready 

 for occupancy, complete in every detail, within 27 days. 



The garage is of frame construction with hip roof, shingled. The 

 building itself is 63 feet 6 inches in length and 20 feet wide and is set 

 four feet from the alley line to allow plenty of turning room. The floor 

 is of concrete with plank cover over the pit. The drain for sewer con- 

 nection is located in the center of the pit. Each stall is 10x19 feet in 

 the clear and is, equipped with water and sewer connection, hot water 

 heat, pit, work-bench, electric lights, in fact, everything that is essential 

 to a first-class garage. Attached to his own garage is a small room 

 where he has a small heater installed, and underground outside is a 200- 

 gallon gasoline tank with pump equipment inside. The building, exclu- 

 sive of his gas tank and pump, cost Jones in the neighborhood of $1,050. 

 His son looks after this end of the business and provides the five tenants 

 with gasoline at two cents a gallon over the wholesale rate. 



Jones' investment, everything included and allowing $100 as value 

 of the land the building stands on, is approximately $1,400. His invest- 

 ment account reads like this : 



Initial investment $1,400. 



Five tenants, $90 per year each $450.00 



Depreciation on building 2% $28.00 



Four tons coal, $8 per ton 32.00 



Water tax 12.00 



Taxes 6.00 



Electric light 12.00 90.00 



Total Expense $90.00 $360.00 



A little arithmetic will readily show you that he is cleaning up at 

 least 25% on his investment besides getting his own garage rent free. 

 Of course, everyone is not the possessor of a 75-foot lot, but the average 

 lot in cities of smaller size is at least 50 feet, and remember that garages 

 are in big demand and are l>iji interest payers if your location is good. 



Page Fourteen 



