xviii 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GA 



RDENS 



October, 1907 



How About Your Water Supply? 



Are your water rates high? 

 Do you have to carry the water? 

 Does your water freeze in winter? 

 Do you have a supply of running water? 

 Is your drinking water always fresh and pure? 

 Do you enjoy the comforts of a modern bath room ? 

 Does your water get warm and stagnant in summer? 

 Have you a dangerous and unsightly attic or elevated tank ? 

 Could you fight a fire effectively with your present arrangement ? 



If any of these questions fit your case, we 

 have something important to say to you. 



The Kewanee System 



of Water Supply 



is a perfect system in every way, easily installed, can be operated successfully by 

 the most inexperienced person, has no unsightly or dangerous elevated tank and 

 provides an abundance of pure, aerated water at any part of your building or 

 grounds. The pressure can be relied upon for perfect service and effective fire 

 protection. Over biOOU Kewanee Systems in successful operation. 



Let us tell you more about this successful and efficient water supply system. 

 Send for our (j4-page illustrated catalog which is the most complete book published 

 on the subject of water supply for country and city , residences, farms, villages, 

 clubs, public institutions, hotels, etc. Our hydraulic engineers will plan your whole 

 water supply system free of all charge. Our guarantee protects you. 



Write us to-day. Ask for Catalog No 36. It is free. 



Kewanee Water Supply Company, Kewanee, 111. 



No. 32 Broadway, New York City. 820 Marquette 

 Building, Chicago. 404 Equitable BIdg., Baltimore. 



HARTSHORN SHADE ROLLERS Bear the acript name of Stewart 



Hartshorn on label. 



Wood Rollers Tin Rollers Get "improved," no tacks required. 



JftBROOKSfiCO-CUj^'O- 



|KooR«5iDEWALK Lights, 



F EVERY DESCRIPTION, 

 ENDt^p Catalogue. 



-Philosophy of Protective Paint- 



A practical treatise on the subject of protective paint by a practical 

 paint man of long experience. Write for free copy No. 106 B. 



-Joseph Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City, N. J.- 



drainage should be made to carry the water 

 from the house. This can be done by digging 

 ditches from the house site to the lowest level 

 and laying drain pipes in them. A few dol- 

 lars expended in this way will add immeas- 

 urably to the healthfulness of the future 

 residence. 



But the bungalow for summer residence is 

 not the only problem in making the house 

 sanitary. Many of our homes built for all- 

 the-year-round occupancy present some doubt- 

 ful features that our common sense should 

 teach us to avoid. In this type of house the 

 drainage is even more important than in the 

 summer bungalow. The rains and snows of 

 winter settle around the improperly built home 

 and slowly filter through poor foundations 

 into the cellar. A perfectly dry cellar in the 

 country used to be a rarity. It is becoming 

 more common to-day, and architects are solving 

 the problem better every year. Much depends 

 on the character of the soil to begin with. A 

 porous, sandy soil makes the proposition a 

 simple one, but a stiff clay soil brings troubles. 

 Sometimes a hard pan is found a few feet be- 

 low the surface, and if the cellar excavation 

 goes below this the water which is caught by 

 the hard pan will most naturally flow into the 

 cellar. There is only one absolute way to 

 remedy this. A ditch a foot or two wide 

 should be excavated around the house a foot 

 or two from the foundations, cutting through 

 the hard pan and extending it at least two feet 

 below the cellar floor. Fill this ditch with 

 loose stones, broken bricks or similar material 

 up to a level with the cellar bottom. Then 

 add a layer or two of sand, and finally top 

 off with ordinary soil. The effect of this 

 method of protection will be apparent to any 

 one. The water from the surrounding soil 

 guided by the layer of hard pan will flow into 

 the ditch and sink into the sand and loose 

 stones before it reaches the foundations of the 

 house. If the foundations are of stone or 

 brick properly waterproofed inside or outside 

 the cellar will remain practically dry, even in 

 the wetest weather. The cost of digging 

 such a ditch and filling it with loose material 

 will not be much greater than the expense re- 

 quired for an additional window or extra 

 fancj^'ork in plumbing. 



There are many methods of waterproofing 

 cellars, but few of these will answer if the 

 house has "wet feet" most of the time. A 

 substitute for the more expensive method, and 

 suitable for ordinary houses not standing on 

 extremely wet soil, is to run around on the 

 foundation of brick or stones a layer of some 

 very impervious stone or other non-conducting 

 material. This tends to keep the dampness 

 from creeping up the foundation and enter- 

 ing the living part of the house. The liberal 

 use of waterproof paper and paints inside and 

 outside also counteract dampness in houses. 

 The use of hollow concrete and terra cotta 

 blocks for building houses has to some ex- 

 tent inaugurated a reform in this direction. 

 The hollow space inside of the blocks acts as 

 a non-conductor of air and water, and the 

 walls are thus well adapted to keeping the in- 

 terior from violent atmospheric changes. While 

 many object to using concrete blocks as build- 

 ing material, owing to the similarity of ar- 

 tistic effects, none can refuse to utilize hollow 

 blocks for foundations. Hollow blocks of any 

 material prove good "anti-damp" when put in 

 good solid foundations a few feet above the 

 ground level. 



The proper concreting of the cellar floor 

 and walls gives a finish to the lower part of 

 the house that has a hygienic result of no small 

 benefit. The concrete adds greatly to the fin- 

 ish of the cellar, and at the same time makes it 

 less liable to accumulation of water. But 

 withal there must be perfect ventilation. The 

 sanitation of the cellar can not be achieved 



