394 



TIMBER RESOURCES FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE 



and additions will not be less than the 1950-55 

 annual average of $23.80 per household: 



Volume of alterations and 



additions in dollars at 



195S prices 



Number of 



households Total volume Per household 

 (million) (million) (dollars) 



1950 43.6 $1,012 $23.2 



1951 44.7 976 21.8 



1952 45.5 1,063 23.4 



1953 46.3 1,108 23.9 



1954 46.9 1,138 24.3 



1955 47.8 1,246 26.1 



1975 65.0 1,550 23.8 



„nnn / 91. 2, 166 23. 8 



zuuu \ 101. 2,400 23.8 



The lesser of the two projections for 2000 is based 

 on a total population of 275 million; the greater 

 on a population of 360 million. 



Residential Maintenance and Repair Involves 

 Replacement of Lumber 



Maintenance and repair of residential property 

 include a rather wide range of work that does not 

 change the capacity nor the service function of 

 the building. From the standpoint of expendi- 

 ture, the largest item is probably painting, but 

 also included are renewal of floors, roofs, porches, 

 and other parts of dwellings. In older houses, 

 maintenance and repair may involve recovering 

 exterior walls or renewal of sills, and even floor 

 joists. A 1954 sample survey by the Bureau of 

 the Census '°* showed that more than half of the 

 expenditure being made by owner-occupants was 

 on housing more than 25 years old, indicating 

 that a major part of maintenance and repair is 

 probably in the form of replacements of compo- 

 nents subject to deterioration. 



Estimates of the annual expenditure for resi- 

 dential maintenance and repair (converted to 

 dollars at 1953 costs of new residential construc- 

 tion) show fluctuations in volume similar to those 

 of alterations and additions, but maintenance 

 activity has been far more constant. Both 

 suffered about the same percentage decrease 

 during and immediately after World War I; but 

 the decreases in maintenance and repair activity 

 during the early 1930's, and during World War II, 

 were comparatively mild. The probable ex- 

 planation is that a large part of maintenance and 

 repair cannot be postponed; alterations and addi- 

 tions can be deferred. Since the end of World 

 War II, the volume of maintenance and repair 

 has been far above any previous level. This is 

 probably a reflection of higher standards of main- 

 tenance, increased owner-occupancy, and favor- 

 able economic conditions. 



In general, as disposable personal income in- 

 creases, it is reasonable to expect that the stand- 

 ards of residential maintenance and repair will 



"* U. S. Bureau of the Census. Housing and Construc- 

 tion Reports, Alterations and Repairs. Ser. H-101, No. 1. 

 1954. 



rise and thus increase the volume of such activitj- 

 at a rate that will not be less, and may be some- 

 what greater than the average outlay per house- 

 hold during the period 1950-54: 



Volume of residential main- 



1950. 

 1951. 

 1952. 

 1953. 

 1954. 

 1975_ 



2000. 



Number of 

 households 

 (million) 



tenance and repair, in 

 dollars at 195S costs 



Total volume Per household 

 (million) (dollars) 



43. 6 



$5, 408 $124 



44. 7 



5, 469 122 



45.5 



5, 637 124 



46.3 



5,519 119 



46.9 



5, 939 127 



65.0 



8, 000 124 



91.0 



11, 800 130 



101. 



13, 000 130 



The 1952-75 increase would amount to 42 percent 

 and the 1952-2000 increase would be either 109 

 percent or 131 percent, depending on whether 

 households by that time total 91 million or 101 

 million. 



Nonresidential Maintenance and Repair Re- 

 lated to Gross National Product 



Estimates of expenditures for nonresidential 

 maintenance and repair (other than raUroad and 

 farm), compiled by the Department of Commerce 

 from a variety of sources,'"' show that volume has 

 apparently increased at a fairly steady rate, with 

 the exception of the deep slump during and im- 

 mediately after World War I (table 225 and fig. 



Table 225. — Estimated volume oj nonresidential 

 maintenance and repair construction {excluding 

 railroad and farm), 1915-54 



[At 1953 prices] ' 



Year 



Volume 



Year 



Volume 



Year 



Volume 





Million 





Million 





Million 





dollars 





dollars 





dollars 



1915____ 



2,424 



1929.... 



4,085 



1943.... 



4, 166 



1916____ 



2, 202 



1930 



4,315 



1944 



4,591 



1917.__. 



1,939 



1931... . 



4,037 



1945.-.- 



5,338 



1918 



1,894 



1932.... 



4,048 



1946 



5,867 



1919 



1,937 



1933.... 



3,388 



1947 



5,668 



1920.. __ 



1,846 



1934.... 



3,689 



1948.... 



5,857 



1921 



2,694 



1935 



3,819 



1949 



6, 162 



1922 



3,015 



1936-.. 



4,720 



1950.... 



6,294 



1923 



2,879 



1937.... 



4,314 



1951 



6,441 



1924.... 



3, 156 



1938.... 



4,664 



1952 



6, 600 



1925.... 



3,398 



1939...- 



4,611 



1953...- 



6,636 



1926 



3,657 



1940 



4,557 



1954-.. 



7, 116 



1927..-. 



3,857 



1941.... 



4,575 







1928 



3,897 



1942.... 



4, 188 







' Derived from Department of Commerce estimate of 

 annual expenditure by use of implicit construction-cost 

 index for new nonresidential construction. Implicit cost 

 index based on relationship of annual expenditures to dol- 

 lar volume at 1953 costs. 



Source: U. S. Department of Commerce and U. S. 

 Department of Labor. Construction Volume and Costs, 

 1915-1954. Washington, D. C. 1956. 



'" The Department has warned that such estimates are 

 subject to rather large margins of error. For that reason, 

 it appears best to treat nonresidential mam tenance and 

 repair as a whole, rather than by type classificatioD. 



