May, 1 9 10 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



203 



the final s^Yeep glosses over the surface and closes only the 

 tops of the fissures. 



We have pretty well saturated our building with mois- 

 ture by this time in spite of the building paper. The wood- 

 work will swell and later shrink. The sun will open the 

 little hieiden fissures, moisture will travel in; later it may 

 freeze and we have a damaged wall. It would be well to 

 wait a year and let most of this inevitable cracking and set- 

 tling take place. The cracks can then be cut out and filled 

 with cement and a final finishing coat applied. 



There is only one cement finish that really withstands the 

 weather. That is the old-fashioned splash dash coat. 



The materials are pure cement, preferably a white or 

 non-staining variety, mixed with water to form a paste, and 

 stirred into this, clean small grit or pebbles the size of buck- 

 wheat. This is splashed onto the wall with a blunt paddle 

 and left as it falls. If a spot Is left bare here and there by a 

 slide, it can be covered later. Cement without sand has no 

 capillarv voids. Water will not travel from the wet to the 



thing that a trained plasterer has in mind is the appearance 

 of the surface, and tons of cement and many dollars' worth 

 of wages are being wasted by his misguided efforts. 



This narrows the cement building to apparently one fin- 

 ish and does not offer an alluring variety that aims to please 

 every taste. This may not be a vital matter, because the 

 beauty and variety of cement surfaces are in its simple 

 masses and proportions, in its value as a contrast to foliage 

 and flowers and in its play of lights and shadows from over- 

 hanging trees. 



The soffits of overhanging eaves may be painted in the 

 most brilliant colors, yet by reason of intercepting rafters be 

 only evident to the eye by the reflected lights on the wall 

 below. 



The reflections from a brick pavement or red tiled bal- 

 cony floor will tinge a whole wall. It seems hardly worth 

 while to worry over much about the ultimate texture of a 

 building or even over fine points in its color so long as it is a 

 natural color and thoroughly characteristic of a good ma- 



Fig. 9 — Tlie windows and doors of the living-room are built on a line with each other 



dry spaces and leave a stain. Such trifling incidents as the 

 workmen stopping to shift the scaffold or for luncheon are 

 not commemorated everlastingly by unsightly streaks and 

 stains on the wall. 



Pure cement when it dries is checked with minute hair 

 cracks. The pebbles tend to prevent this, but as the cracks 

 are merely superficial, a coat of cement wash put on with a 

 brush will fill them. 



This slap dash method has been used for centuries in 

 England and Scotland on masonry buildings. It will shed 

 water and stand hard usage. It will stick to glass or brick 

 or glazed tile. It is the only practical application for solid 

 concrete walls. No mechanical key is required. When it 

 lands on a surface it drives out the air film and is held by 

 suction until it sets. It is the only kind of cement stucco 

 that is really essential and you will observe that the plasterer 

 with his trowel plays no part in its application. It is better 

 tc» keep the plasterer entirely away from any outdoor job 

 and employ a good stone mason to do the work. The only 



terial. Time will then bring it into the scheme of things. 



The illustration (Fig. 14) of the garage, by Charles A. 

 Piatt, Architect, shows in the basement of the dwelling one 

 solution of a very modern problem. The dignified entrance 

 gate frames a vista of gable end and distance. We cannot 

 seriously find fault if the owner prefers an entrance for his 

 motor in the foreground to a bed of hardy perennials. The 

 cellar wall of this building is of solid concrete. 



The hint of the forms or board marks still showing on 

 the wall are not unpleasant to the eye. The surfaces are 

 picked with a chisel or brush hammer instead of being plas- 

 tered. When a concrete wall is well made there is no better 

 method of finishing the surface than that of brush hammer- 

 ing or picking with a sharp-pointed chisel. A ^-ariety of 

 color tones may be obtained by the selection of the stone 

 used in the mixing of the concrete. The tool removes the 

 surface mortar and reveals the color of the freshly broken 

 stone. 



The illustrations shown in Fig. 8 of a house built for Mr. 



