RESTORING A COLONIAL HOUSE 



BY RAWSON W. HADDON 



Th< 



THE HOUSE 

 fine old trees give an air of intimacy and add greatly to the 

 charm of the place. 



forests by the proper use of 



MR. HERBERT M. BAER'S house at Westport, 

 Connecticut, is chosen for illustration at just this 

 time for a number of interesting reasons in addi- 

 tion to its interest as a successful restoration of a pre 

 Revolutionary farmhouse. 



In the December Number of American Forestry were 

 some notes on the use of wood in fireplaces for heating 

 as a means of saving coal for use in the various "neces- 

 sary industries." In 

 the present instance, in 

 addition to its charm 

 as an example of un- 

 usually good architec- 

 ture and in addition to 

 its interest as showing 

 us what an architect 

 chooses in the con- 

 struction and design of 

 his own residence, Mr. 

 Baer's house is a build- 

 ing that suggests some 

 serious thoughts upon 

 the use of wood as a 

 building materi al 

 thoughts, it might be 

 better to say, upon how 

 we may conserve our 

 them. 



What I hope to illustrate to you with the help of this 

 ancient house is that just in the same way that wood 

 can be used in fireplaces to save coal so, as Mr. Baer's 

 house suggests, can wood be used as a means of saving 

 steel and iron and concrete for those same industries 

 without sacrificing in any way the stability and struc- 

 tural integrity of the house. And indeed, if we follow 

 the question to a logical though rather paradoxical 

 conclusion it would appear that when we once establish 

 the fact in our minds that 

 coal and steel must be saved 

 it will be evident also that 

 an unusual demand for 

 wood must be the result 

 of our economy in the use 

 of the other materials. 



And in order to meet 

 this demand (keeping to 

 our logical conclusion, 

 again) the utmost economy 

 in the use of wood must 

 be exercised. Now comes 

 the point of the discussion, 

 and the one that Mr. Baer's 

 house illustrates, which is 

 that the most satisfactory 

 way of saving wood is 



300 



indescribable 



THE DINING ROOM 



Beautiful in its simplicity and filled with the charm of atmosphere, ac- 

 centuated by the old fireplace and oven seen on the extreme left. 



by using it but by using it in the proper way. 

 Lumber, that is the tree in its growing state when it 

 is simply the promise of material that can be secured 

 from it, is one of the most important natural resources 

 of our country which can be put to good and successful 

 commercial use. 



"Yes," say those persons whose interests lead them to 

 advise other materials for building, "but lumber is an 



extravagant building 

 material. It is not sub- 

 stantial, and the life of 

 a frame house is a 

 short one." If poorly 

 built it is true that n 

 frame house will not 

 last many years. The 

 same thing, however, 

 is true in the use of 

 other materials. 



The question to be 

 answered, though, is 

 whether it is econom- 

 ical or extravagant to 

 build of wood. And 

 the best answer is to 

 point to the fact that 

 Mr. Baer's house was built about 1760 more than a cen- 

 tury and a half ago. One hundred and fifty-eight years 

 to be exact. Grandfathers and great grandfathers ; chil- 

 dren, grandchildren and great-grandchildren have lived 

 in it, and still it is strong and sound and, structurally, in 

 so good and safe a state of preservation that an architect 

 a man whose daily work consists in the task of de- 

 manding and superintending safe, sturdy and good con- 

 struction, found the house in spite of many years of 

 neglect and lack of repair in such good structural con- 

 dition as to be worthy of restoration for his own use. 



So this house does not 

 prove that wood is a flimsy 

 or unsubstantial building 

 material. What it does 

 prove, instead, is that with 

 proper attention to struc- 

 tural requirements, wood is 

 as safe and sound, and 

 from the point of view of 

 the period of life that may 

 be expected of the house, 

 as satisfactory a material 

 as can be found. A life of 

 one hundred and fifty-eight 

 years with expectations 

 of as many to come can 

 surely not be called unsub- 

 stantial or short. 



