AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



October, 19 13 



The house of Mr. N. Comes, Jr., and house of Mr. C. C. Fay, at Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey 



Building a House in the Autumn 



By O. J. Gette 



HE general impression prevails at large that 

 the best time or season in which to build a 

 house is in the Spring and Summer time. 

 The general supposition, and rightly, is,, 

 that the seasons are accompanied by pre- 

 vailing good weather. There are, however, 

 a number of points that enter into the consideration of 

 the problems of building a house that are generally over- 

 looked. Owing to the fact that most people prefer to 

 commence building in the Spring, contractors and builders 

 are naturally very busy at this season of the year, and in 

 consequence there is a great demand for competent me- 

 chanics at a time the supply is not equal to the demand. 



The general tendency of the present day to rush things 

 very often finds one confronted by workmen who appear 

 to have skipped their apprenticeships and who, barely able 

 to drive a nail and use a saw, assume the dignity of calling 



themselves 

 carpenters, 

 but without 

 any true 

 knowledge 

 of this trade. 

 Many times, 

 in conse- 

 quence, a 

 person em- 

 ployed in 

 building a 

 house is com- 

 pelled to 



EED ROOM 



BED EDDM 



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Floor plans of the Comes house 



take on a number of men who are more or less incompe- 

 tent. In the Fall when work is not so plentiful, the builder 

 can choose his employees with better results, though, of 

 course, if he is a large contractor he will have a number of 

 mechanics steadily employed the year around. 



A house started in the early part of October has a great 

 many advantages over one begun in the Spring. October 

 offers the home-builder sufficient time to erect the founda- 

 tions or even upper part if that is built of masonry, be- 

 fore real cold weather commences. The frame can be 

 erected, the house properly enclosed, and the furnace or 

 boiler set. There is nothing better for thoroughly drying 

 out the building generally than artificial heat. The progress 

 may not be quite so rapid, but the results obtained will 

 be much the better. 



Plastering can continue, and even that, in most cases, 

 will be better for being dried with artificial heat, as the 

 process of 

 drying is 

 much slower. 

 In the Sum- 

 mer time the 

 excessive 

 heat and the 

 building 

 being left 

 more open, 

 exposing the 

 plaster to 

 any winds 

 will dry the 



Plans of the Fay house 



