162 
14 —The entrance porch is covered with a shingled hood 
crete or its derivative stucco. First in such a list would be 
the house with reinforced concrete skeleton and floors, and 
cement block or tile exterior. 
Not much can be said for the appearance of the ordinary 
cheap cement block uncovered, though as a basis for “‘ex- 
terior plaster’’ it is quite pleasing. It is entirely possible, 
however, to construct true concrete blocks at somewhat 
higher labor cost (wet mix), and finished either in the 
exact texture of stone or any of the frank concrete finishes. 
Cement mortar or concrete hollow tile ordinarily cov- 
AMERICAN HOMES 
AND GARDENS 
April, 1909 
15—A glimpse of the piazza showing the reinforced concrete columns 
ered with plaster are a third possibility. The superiority 
of cement to terra cotta tile lies in the color, which, if the 
plaster flakes off, does not show unpleasantly; in the re- 
sistances to moisture and frost; and that the expansion under 
heat and cold is the same as the covering cement mortar. 
The important point, however, is the skeleton, and 
the incombustible outside is the least important. ‘The prac- 
tise of making a cement block or tile outside with wooden 
frame and floors, and calling it “fireproof,” can not 
be too strongly deprecated. Probably that construction for 
16—The living-room has a fireplace built of Tiffany brick laid in wide 
white mortared joints 
17—An ornamental staircase of Colonial style is a 
feature of the hall 
