The Ideal Home for $5,000 



By Geo. M. Petersen 



THE ideal home which we will de- 

 scribe this month, is a building in 

 which everything was studied out 

 in advance; in which every dollar was 

 reckoned before the job was started and 

 one which, through attention to details 

 of small things, was kept down to a very 

 reasonable figure. The house is 

 modern in every respect, has an at- 

 tractive exterior and 

 pleasant interior and 

 altogether a very desira 

 home for the person 

 of average means. 



Many per- 

 sons who are 

 now living in 

 rent are per- 

 fectly able to 

 build a home 

 of their own 

 but dread to 

 begin opera- 

 tions because 

 they are afraid 



The completed five-thousand-dollar home. Note the 

 spacious closed veranda and the broad cornice 



that the ultimate cost will far exceed the 

 appropriation. This item of "extras" is, 

 in the great majority of cases, one which 

 causes a great deal of trouble between 

 the owner and the contractor, but if 

 the proper attention is paid to the little 

 things before the contract is awarded 

 there will be no chance for the extra 

 expense. 



The cost of the house under discussion 

 was as follows: 



Lumber, Millwork and Glazing. $1541.00 



Carpenter Labor 705.75 



Mason Work, complete 1425.00 



Plumbing 425.00 



Heating, Hot Water System. . . 400.00 



Painting 275.00 



Electrical Work 7500 



Decorations and Fixtures 150.25 



Total Cost $4997.00 



In the first place the plan was drawn 

 and then studied until each room was 

 reduced to the minimum size which 

 could be used and still have it desirable; 



in this way three feet were saved in the 

 length and two feet in the width of the 

 house. The next step was to figure the 

 framing of the house so as to reduce 

 everything to stock lengths and sizes 

 in order to avoid waste of material and 

 the cost of labor for cutting. Following 

 this the interior finish was 

 gone over very carefully and 

 everything which would not 

 actually add to the value 

 of the premises was elim- 

 inated, the finish of the 

 various rooms was gone 

 over thorough- 

 ly and another 

 floor plan made 

 for future addi- 

 t i o n s and 

 equipment. 

 The electrical 

 work was then 

 taken up and 

 only such out- 

 lets as were 

 actually necessary were provided; the 

 plumbing and heating were also gone 

 over very thoroughly as was the paint- 

 ing. The exterior also received its share 

 of thoughtful attention with the result 

 that not only was a nice sum saved on 

 this item but the appearance of the 

 house was actually improved. 



We will now investigate the house 

 floor by floor and see what was finally 

 accomplished. 



A Baseynent Complete in Every Detail 



In the basement we have a billiard 

 room eleven feet wide and twenty-two 

 feet long, which has a nook fourteen 

 feet wide and seven feet deep, in which 

 may be placed a card table and some 

 easy chairs for the onlookers. The floor 

 of these rooms is of No. 2 common 

 yellow pine, seven-eighths of an inch 

 thick laid over 2 by 4 No. 2 hemlock 

 sleepers which are laid on top of the 

 concrete cellar floor. The tongues of 

 the boards in this floor were painted with 

 white lead and oil before they were 



957 



