June, 1908 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



243 



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There Should Be Simplicity in the Concrete Garage 



Of course, concrete construction is unburn- 

 able, which is very necessary in connection with 

 the storage of automobiles. When properly 

 made and placed it is non-porous, which is very 

 desirable, as it prevents the absorption of gaso- 

 line and oil. Its cost as a structural material 

 is moderate, the raw materials are easily ob- 

 tained, and the building work is easily done 

 by unskilled labor under competent supervi- 

 sion. A number of enthusiastic automobile 

 owners, in building themselves concrete houses, 

 have set apart a portion of the cellar for 

 the garage, especially the portion under the 

 kitchen. This effects an economy without re- 

 sultant fire risk, as the whole house construc- 

 tion is then unburnable, and a fire or the stor- 

 age of gasoline in the cellar does not endanger 

 the structure of the house. 



Having settled the preliminary work, the 

 actual building operation requires decision as 

 to form of construction. The walls may be 

 built of solid or reinforced concrete, the rein- 

 forcement serving to economize in the thick- 





In deciding the question of separate stalls 

 or a single room for housing the machines, 

 the possibility of fire and its communication 

 from one machine to another, and the pos- 

 sibility of unauthorized use, should be con- 

 sidered. 



The next question is the material of 

 which the garage is to be built. Concrete 

 in its many forms is by far the best ma- 

 terial, when reinforced with its proper 

 quota of steel, making reinforced concrete. 



If the concrete construction, as subse- 

 quently described, is for any reason con- 

 sidered undesirable, the concrete garage 

 may be finished with a facing of brick or 

 stone, or of any other building material 

 which may be preferred as more in har- 

 mony with the surroundings or the archi- 

 tectural treatment of neighboring buildings. 



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Concrete Construction Readily Lends Itself to Simple Design 



