390 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



October, 1907 



with a high wainscoting finished with a plate rack. The stair- 

 case to the second story is recessed into an alcove just be- 

 yond the space occupied by the study. Opening from the 

 alcove is the lavatory. 



The kitchen is conveniently arranged with a large pantry, 

 range, sink and laundry tubs. The shop off the living- 

 room is fitted with all the appliances for work. The 

 room could be util- 

 ized for a dining- 

 room under ordi- 

 nary circumstances. 



There are two 

 bedrooms and a 

 large bathroom on 

 the second floor; the 

 bathroom is wain- 

 scoted with tiles and 

 is furnished with 

 porcelain fixtures 

 and exposed plumb- 

 ing. 



The house cost 

 five thousand five 

 hundred dollars 

 complete, and was 

 designed by Mr. C. 

 Schubert, architect, 

 of Dyker Heights. 



A Vjoncrete Block 

 H ouse on 

 Staten Island 



The blocks of 

 which the m a i n 

 walls of this house, 

 which was built by 

 Mr. James W. 

 Hughes, were con- 

 structed were made 

 in a Normandin ma- 

 chine, a small shed 

 supplying the neces- 

 sary shelter for the 

 blocks until hard- 

 ened enough to be 

 piled in the yard, 

 where they werekept 

 wet for about ten 

 days. While the 

 blocks were hard en- 

 ough to be laid in 

 the wall in two 

 weeks, it was possi- 

 ble to make enough 

 in advance so that 

 the majority were 

 nearer a month old 

 before moving them 

 from the y ^ r d. 

 Three sizes of blocks 



were used, 1 2 inch for the basement, 8 inch for the walls 

 and 6 inch for the interior partition walls. The blocks were 

 made of Atlas Portland cement and coarse sand, in the pro- 

 portion of one of cement to four of sand. The walls were 

 laid up in a cement mortar. These blocks are easily laid, 



9-A He 



Built 



for they require a small number of joints and little mortar. 

 There is, of course, some objection to the uneven breaks in 

 the blocks about the windows and doors and at the corners 

 of the building, but this is very easily overcome, as in the 

 present case, by giving the whole structure a coat of cement 

 mortar finished with a pebble dash. 



There have been quite a few houses built with solid re- 

 inforced concrete 

 walls, but this hol- 

 low block construc- 

 tionhasan ad- 

 vantage over the 

 former, for the rea- 

 son that the hollow 

 spaces keep out all 

 possible dampness 

 and also form good 

 ducts for the run- 

 ning of ventilating 

 flues, pipes and elec- 

 tric wires. 



The exterior 

 walls are tinted a 

 cream yellow, while 

 the sashes and the 

 smooth spaces about 

 the windows are 

 painted white. The 

 blinds are painted 

 bottle green, and 

 the roof is covered 

 with shingles 

 stained a moss 

 green. The plans 

 practically reproduce 

 an earlier house. 

 The hall is trimmed 

 with oak, and it has 

 an ornamental stair- 

 case with turned 

 balusters and newel 

 posts. The parlor 

 and dining-r 00m 

 are separated by 

 sliding doors, and 

 each is trimmed 

 with oak. The din- 

 ing-room has an 

 open fireplace built 

 with brick facings 

 and hearth and an 

 oaken mantel. The 

 den is also trimmed 

 with oak and con- 

 tains an open fire- 

 place the same as the 

 dining-room. The 

 kitchen and its de- 

 pendencies are com- 

 plete in their ap- 

 pointments. There 

 are four bedrooms 



and a bathroom on the second floor, and one servants' bed- 

 room and trunk room on the third floor. The bathroom is 

 finished with porcelain fixtures and exposed nickelplated 

 plumbing. The cellar, cemented, is provided with a hot- 

 water system of heating, fuel rooms and storage space. 



Second J'Looa pLri/si 

 of Concrete Blocks 



