THREE] GROWING THE HOUSE 



simply toward a public road where Tom, Dick, and 

 Harry drive by. Generally the front away from 

 the street should be the more healthful, and freest 

 from possible annoyance to the eye of him who is 

 living the place into shape. 



It is a curious fact that economy in house building 

 is almost always shown at the foundation. Cellar 

 walls should be solid, thick, and eight feet high — 

 no wasteful economy hereabout. There is no reason 

 why one should creep about a dark underground 

 dungeon to find potatoes for dinner. Where stone 

 is plentiful, it is the only and fit material for foun- 

 dation of either house or barn. Where stone is 

 scarce, grout may be convenient — made of broken 

 stone, sharp sand, and cement, laid slowly and 

 thoroughly between plank supports, that are pulled 

 up as the wall rises. 



Do not construct any half story. They are hot 

 in summer, and generally uncomfortable at all 

 times — without being economical. There is no 

 reason why walls should so slope that we cannot 

 stand erect anywhere about a room. You may 

 spend more in five years trying to heat a cheapened 

 house, with thin walls and ugly cellar and cheap 

 materials, than a really well-built house would have 



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