960 



Popular Science Monthly 



when it is so easy to obtain money on 

 first and second mortgages. There are 

 other designs which may be built at the 

 same price, or even less, and perhaps are 

 more desirable than the one illustrated 

 herewith, but this plan is used as an 

 example of what can be done when 

 economy is the rule of the day and the 

 owner will consult with the planing mill- 

 man, the mason contractor, the electri- 

 cian, the painter, the plumber and the 

 heating contractor instead of leaving 

 everything to the architect, who in many 

 cases, although fully able to draw 

 beautiful pictures and artistic plans, is 



The bedrooms on the second floor are all 

 located conveniently near the bath 



totally unfamiliar with building condi- 

 tions at the time the house is to be 

 erected and in all probabilities could 

 not tell you what the sizes of stock 

 materials are. 



For instance, it is a common occur- 

 rence for architects to lay out a building 

 which will call for a stud of such a 



length that perhaps a foot and a half 

 will have to be cut from each one. 

 Practically all lumber, both dimension 

 and boards, come in even feet such as 

 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 

 30, with a different price on nearly every 

 length so that a plan calling for an 

 i8-ft. 6-in. stud for instance, would 

 require the owner to pay the long price 

 for a 20-f t. stud and then pay a carpenter 

 50 cents to 70 cents an hour to cut it 

 down to size. The most economical 

 sizes to use are from 12 to 16 ft. 



Useless Expense Should be Avoided 



Also in the matter of electric light 

 outlets and plumbing the owner can 

 generally save money by consulting the 

 man who will do the actual work unless 

 he is positive that he has an architect 

 who is perfectly capable of cutting out 

 all the surplus expense without spoiling 

 the effect of the finished house. Now 

 the builder is being run by the architect 

 who wants to try out some theory at 

 someone else's expense. He incorporates 

 this theory and that idea into the 

 builder's plan, tells the builder that the 

 house can be put up for so much money 

 and collects his fee. Along comes 

 Mr. Millman to put in his figure for the 

 lumber and millwork. He sees this, 

 that and the other thing in the specifica- 

 tions and a plan with a lot of knick- 

 knacks on it and immediately shoots 

 his price up to cover items that are 

 indefinite or questionable. It is not up 

 to him to make suggestions to the 

 owner or he will get in bad with the 

 architect, and the owner is liable to get 

 provoked because he has not asked for 

 any advice. The owner becomes dis- 

 couraged and drops the matter until a 

 friend whispers in his ear. He digs up 

 the old plan, calls on Mr. Millman and 

 asks where the expense could be cut. 

 He is shown a few items which will re- 

 duce the cost several hundred dollars and 

 with a new courage, he goes after the 

 other contractors until he is surprised 

 to find that he has not only kept the cost 

 below his estimate, but has, in many 

 cases, greatly improved the arrangement 

 and appearance of his house. The opin- 

 ion and advice of the man who is to do 

 the work is far more desirable than that 

 of some cub architect. 



