March, 1906 
AMEE ANes HOMES AND GARDENS 
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House Hygiene 
I1].—Sanitary Construction 
By Ralph Ernest Blake 
ANITARY construction is the basis on which 
all good construction rests. The house 
must be built with due regard to sanitary 
Cy? 3} requirements and conditions or it will be 
PAR ES completely unfit for occupancy. Some con- 
OWE 4 \)) ditions to building are so essential as to be 
axiomatic. ‘Uhus brick, though unavoidably porous, should 
be as free from porosity as possible; the wood should be 
well seasoned and sound; the plaster and wall coverings 
should be impermeable. Even quite modest house building 
is an expensive undertaking, and the best possible materials 
should always be used. These not only have greater durability 
than materials of lesser grade, but their superior properties 
render the dwelling much more fit for habitation. There 
is no greater crime in building than to build ‘‘cheap.” 
The great problem of sanitary construction is the exclu- 
sion of damp. It is the most serious natural force the house 
builder has to contend against, because it is always present. 
Most of his materials are porous, both brick and stone, and 
many woods, and he can not build well unless he fights this 
enemy of houses at every point. 
The driest of soils is not without its inherent moisture, 
and a complete cementing of the foundation walls and cellar 
is generally recommended as an obvious and perhaps neces- 
sary safeguard. If the subsoil contains dampness to any ex- 
tent it should first be drained before any work of construc- 
tion is begun. If there is no cellar the lowest floor should 
be raised a foot and a half or two feet above the ground, in 
order to provide ventilation. 
Dampness is chiefly brought into the house through the 
walls. It enters horizontally through the damp earth or 
by rain beating against the outer surface; or, vertically, by 
the drawing up of the ground water by capillary attraction. 
The top of the wall demands efficient covering and protec- 
tion, with ample and well made gutters connected with suit- 
ably proportioned waste water pipes to drain the roof. 
Any wall of brick or stone being more or less porous, it 
is essential that every wall should contain some special de- 
vice for preventing dampness. A number of methods have 
come into use for this purpose, their availability dependent, 
in most cases, upon the expense permitted and the predilec- 
tions of the architect. In a general way it may be said that 
the horizontal entrance of damp may be prevented by hollow 
walls, areas, or an impervious covering, as tiles affixed to 
the walls; and the vertical entrance by a horizontal damp 
course of non-absorbent material. 
A very simple method is to lay a course of concrete and 
erect the wall on it; but it should be remembered that all 
concrete is not impervious, and a course of damp-proof ma- 
terial must be introduced between the concrete and the foot- 
ings. Various materials are employed for this purpose: 
vitrified pottery slabs; natural and artificial asphalt, which 
must be impervious to damp; slates laid in double courses 
in cement; boiling pitch and tar run on hot and sprinkled 
with sand. Sheets of lead have sometimes been used for 
this purpose, and some patented materials are also available. 
Another method is to build the wall in two parts, sep- 
arated by a central space, the outer of which is called the air 
space, and with a channel or drain in the concrete footing, 
lined with cement; small gulleys at convenient intervals are 
connected with drains to carry off the water. ‘The inner 
or main wall has a damp course at its foot; but the outer 
wall, which is simply a shield to the inner, may carry a slate 
slab at the surface or be attached. A simple cavity in the 
wall is sometimes sufficient, the two parts being connected 
with iron ties, so designed that any water accumulating on 
them will drop off on the base of the cavity, which is drained 
in a suitable manner. The simplest method of all is to apply 
a coating of natural asphalt cement or pitch and tar to the 
exterior face of the wall in contact with the ground. ‘Tiles 
are also sometimes applied to walls as protective coverings 
and are particularly available for exposed situations. 
The structure of external walls above the ground de- 
mands great care and attention. ‘The materials must be of 
the best quality, the brick as impervious as possible and 
always sound and good. Cavity walls, as just described, 
will often be found of special value in exposed positions. 
Walls are affected not only by dampness from rain, but from 
the absence of sunlight. In using stone, therefore, care must 
be taken to use as non-porous a stone as possible. In cavity 
walls special attention must be paid to the junction with 
door and window frames, or the purpose of the cavity will 
be defeated. ‘The cavity may be filled with a damp-proof 
material in a fluid state which, when set, makes a solid wall; 
in this construction the joints are left clear of mortar next 
the cavity for the bonding of the added material. 
It need hardly be pointed out that the roof is the most im- 
portant part of the construction of any building. Its struc- 
tural purpose is to exclude rain and wet, and its material is 
unimportant so long as this prime essential is fulfilled. The 
gutters and rain pipes must be thoroughly ample for the 
work they have to do. While the material of the roof is 
unimportant compared with its protective qualities, it may 
be well to remember that tiles are warmer in winter and 
cooler in summer; bad tiles are very absorbent. Slates are 
non-absorbent but are good conductors of heat, being cold 
in winter and warm in summer. Lead, zinc and copper, 
which are used for flat roofs, are good conductors of heat, 
and therefore objectionable on this score, but answer every 
requirement of imperviability. 
Attic space, which is often more or less valuable, is often 
unavailable for use by reason of the construction of the roof. 
Even with the construction of an air space between the ceil- 
ing and outer roof covering, or with a space filled in with 
slag wool and with roofing paper under the tiles, the attic 
is hardly suited for sleeping purposes. If the space is 
actually required for such purposes too much care can not 
be taken in the construction of the roof, and the best avail- 
able means should always be provided. Ample window 
space, with shaded windows, affording free circulation of 
air, often helps immensely in relieving the stufhiness of the 
attic. “The attic, however, serves a useful purpose as a butter 
between the upper rooms and the roof, and if used for 
storage purposes only it becomes one of the most serviceable 
parts of the house, so serviceable, indeed, that no country 
house should be built without one. 
Solid floors are alone satisfactory. Several types are in 
use, any form of fireproof floor being preferable to an ordi- 
nary floor as described above. A fireproof floor is some- 
what more expensive than an ordinary floor. 
