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The elevation of one or two steps is sufficient for appearances and for dryness, 

 and all steps should, at any cost, be made of very easy pitch. In adopting ratios 

 for outside steps, one should realize that the situation is quite different from that 

 of the inside, and that flights indoors which are good would be very impractical 

 outside. On a lot where the ground is rolling or evenly sloping, if it is not econom- 

 ical to level it all about the house, the grade lines may well be varied in accordance 

 with these requirements. 



Planning for sunlight is always an important factor in the designing of small 

 properties. Windows are not likely to be darkened by adjoining houses when 

 lot frontages are several times wider than the house fronts. Nevertheless, if 

 buildings can be turned approximately forty-five degrees to the t)oints of the 

 compass, instead of directly north and south or east and west, interior light will 

 be better and more evenly distributed during every day in the year. Likewise 

 only under the same conditions may the maximum amount of sunlight be obtained 

 about the exterior of the house. If one will but recall where the sun rises and 

 sets in the different seasons — in summer rising and setting a little north of due 

 east and west, and in winter a little south of due east and west — the reason for this 

 suggestion will be readily understood. Abundance of sunlight is one of the 

 jBrst requirements for health. This has been appreciated more in the planning 

 of interiors than in planning yards. But not only the insides of buildings, but 

 the exteriors of houses and the surface of the ground about them should be 

 designed with a view to obtaining plenty of sunlight. In fact, all ground about 

 buildings should be exposed to the direct rays of the sun for at least part of every ' 

 day. An excess of sunlight may be relieved by the shade of tall trees over the 

 house, and cool retreats in some part of the yard are quite to be desired; but 

 about buildings the dampness due to permanent shadows should be avoided. 



Frequently there are strips of ground close to the house walls in which but few 

 things will grow because of the excessive shade. If a little sunlight reaches all 

 sides of a house, one thus has the additional advantage of being able to raise 

 successfully a greater variety of plants, or even good turf close up to and all 

 about the foundations. Nowhere in a yard is thrifty vegetation more necessary 

 than about the house, and therefore both dampness due to too much shade, and 

 an excessively dry condition due to unnecessarily wide eaves, should, if possible, 

 be avoided. U-shaped courts on the northerly sides will always be dark and 

 damp; but no such difficulty will result from L-shaped houses if the interior 

 angle is so oriented as to receive some sunlight during the winter solstice. Con- 

 fined yards, and damp, shaded surfaces of bare ground are with difficulty made 

 fit and attractive for out door life. Moreover, they are by no means healthful 

 places for children to play in. A considerable and worthwhile advantage is 

 obtained by eliminating excess shade, and it should be remembered that such 

 precautions will at the same time improve the conditions both indoors and out. 



While the factor of sunlight is important, on small lots houses must be parallel 

 with the streets on which they face. In the case of properties of several acres in 

 extent, few if any difficultis are encountered in so orienting and planning the 

 houses as to obtain the desired light. Therefore those who purchase lots of a 

 half acre or less should choose streets running either northwest and southeast or 

 northeast and southwest, or those of curved or irregular lines which will allow 

 the desired freedom in the placing of buildings. Residential developments on 



