May, 1910 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



183 



A base plug or two, foi" reading lamp con- 

 nections, gives a great deal ot com tort, 

 and ought not to cost much over six dol- 

 lars apiece. Tiie best place for the radia- 

 tors is next to the little parapet and under 

 tne shelf of the window sills. Here they 

 take care of most cold air, and are out ot 

 the way. Connections should be made so 

 that they may easily be reached and the 

 radiators disconnected like the windows in 

 the spring. A single run of pipe should 

 span the width of the piazza room, as 

 trouble and leaks happen at joints, which 

 thus should be handy. 



The floor timbering should be run with 

 forethought for the heating pipes, both 

 perpendicularly to the main wall of the 

 tiouse, on to which the piazza abuts. This 

 allows heating pipes, with their packing 

 and boxing against frost, to be run be- 

 tween the joists, and no cutting away and 

 weakening of these become necessary. 



One flue more or less to a chimney does 

 not add much to its expense. If it thus is 

 possible to place the chimney of the room 

 which is adjacent to the piazza in the wall 

 between the two, it becomes very simple 

 to obtain a little fireplace in the out-of-doors room, adding 

 much to its heat and cheer during the colder weather. If 

 the wall is of stucco, a few simple stucco mouldings around 

 and on top of the brick opening may be formed by the 

 plasterer without additional charge, and give all the mantel 

 and shelf that is needed. 



The room must be covered and be water-tight. Sup- 

 ports and hammock or plant hooks, in the same way as ceil- 

 ing lights, must be thought of before the finish. A good 

 and inexpensive method of finishing the under side of the 

 ceiling is with matched and beaded, tongued and grooved 

 half-inch or seven-eighth-inch pine sheathing, left unstained, 

 but filled and varnished with spar varnish. Weather will 

 not affect this finish, and it will look well. As the roof 

 covering must be made tight, it is very simple to construct 

 it with a flat deck, and in such a manner that it may serve 

 as an uncovered piazza leading out of a second-story bed- 

 room, at the same time that it serves as a 

 covering for the first floor out-of-doors 

 room. 



The flooring of this second story piazza 

 may be formed in as many ways as that 

 below. Flat roofing tile laid in cement, 

 with waterproofing underneath, is excel- 

 lent. An inexpensive covering is heavy 

 canvas tacked down in strips with staples, 

 after being painted on its under side and 

 stretched over the boarding. On its upper 

 surface the canvas should be fairly soaked 

 in paint, so that every pore of the fabric 

 is filled with oil. Six coats are none too 

 many. On the edges and along the angle 

 where the flooring meets the uneven sur- 

 face of the outside of the house, are 

 where water is liable to beat through. 

 Here the joints should be carefully flashed 

 with tin or lead. 



Though the sun may be the pleasantest 

 feature of the out-of-doors room in early 

 and late seasons, it is liable in the middle 

 of the summer to make the room unlive- 

 able, unless some protection is afforded. 

 The outside ceiling beams should thus be 

 made sufficiently deep to allow, inside the 



The possibility of glazing without obstructing the view 



screens, for a space into which bamboo shades, Venetian 

 blinds or awnings may be hung and conveniently rolled up 

 or down and the room more or less added to those of the 

 inner house, and furnished accordingly; this pocket will 

 very conveniently serve for the curtain poles. 



The decoration and furnishing of the room is a simple 

 matter, after the structure has been properly carried out. 

 If the carpentry and masonry are correct, the fitting up 

 almost speaks for itself. Nothing heavy or stuffy will look 

 right, nor will objects that are easily spoiled. Trellises, in 

 connection either with the flowers and vines or merely as 

 decoration of the wall surface or posts and columns, are of 

 the best forms of ornamental treatment. Tiles and pottery 

 and earthenware, wooden benches and bamboo and wicker 

 chairs are all fitting, as belonging half in the garden and 

 half in the house. It is really a little "summer-house" in 

 itself and should be treated accordingly. Indian carpets 



The best place for the radiators is under the window sil 



