1864.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
105 
Dwelling Houses—Plans and Suggestions. 
An intelligent New-England mechanic, R 
W. Woodville, Hampden County, Mass., for¬ 
wards two good house-plans, and some excel¬ 
lent hints on building. He writes: “I send 
I am a practical builder, 
and iiave given much 
study to the class of 
dwellings coming with¬ 
in the means of the mid¬ 
dle .arid;'poorer classes. 
In travelling' through 
thirteen States and the 
•Canadas; I have found 
the greatest ignorance to 
prevail'in regard to the 
first, principles of house¬ 
building. , 1 Many think ' 
that! long; low, narrow i 
houses, with many “ L”s, ! 
and ‘continuations, are ' 
. the i most < [convenient' 
and cheap wdiich can be : 
built. A littl'e* thought. 
■will change such erro- 1 
neOus views. A cardi¬ 
nal principle in building 
dwelling houses, is to get 
the greatest area of floor with the least lateral 
extent of walls—so that the’ rooms will be as 
ncarljr square as possible, and near each other. 
They should be of easy access, with large 
closets, and so arranged as to avoid passing f 
through one room to reach another. The chim¬ 
neys should be placed so as to accommodate as 
many rooms as. possible, and stand opposite 
the centers of the rooms. No one should com¬ 
mence to build until a plan has been decided 
upon which has had the most careful study, so 
as to avoid any alteration after the work has 
commenced. Thus, much expense, and no lit¬ 
tle vexation to the architect or carpenter will 
be saved! Never build a siory-and-a-half house 
unless the house is to be quite small. Small 
houses cost more in proportion than large ones. 
Chambers in a half-story are necessarily low, 
disfigured and /inconvenient, by having a large 
portion cu t off by the roof, and are usually poor¬ 
ly lighted and ventilated. A two story house 
costs but little more, requires no more floor, 
length .of walls or roof. The extra cost is in 
four or five feet more in hight and a few win- 
dews, while the well lighted symmetrical and 
convenient rooms, the strength of the roof and 
outside appearance, will more than pay the ex¬ 
tra cost. The roof of a story-and-a-half house, 
is apt to sag, and spread out the walls, as the 
“ plates ” can not be “ tied ” together. 
In building chimneys, always start from a 
solid stone foundation on the ground, and run 
them up straight if possible; carefully avoid 
resting any part on the timber-work, as the part 
below might settle and leave an opening into 
the flue, and burn the house. The size for com¬ 
mon flues should be about one foot square, thor¬ 
oughly plastered or cemented all over inside. 
Never plaster upon the chimney as part of the 
wall of a. room, but lath over it if you would 
have no unsightly cracks when it has dried. 
Please compare No. 1, and “Jack Plane’s” 
house (in Dec. No.) which is on the long plan, 
(and which he thinks is about all that is desir¬ 
able). ' Let both be built of the same material, 
and style of finish, and the square plan will cost 
but a mere trifle more, will have eight feet less 
in length of outside walls, with 738 square feet 
more in floors (attics not reckoned). Observe 
the difference in the number, size, beauty and 
convenience of the rooms, in closet room, in lo¬ 
cation of chimneys, etc. There is no wood-room 
in the first story of either plan, a room in the 
basement, which if properly made will be suf- 
ciently dry, being designed for fuel. 
Plan No. 2, is designed for a smaller family, 
where less.cost is necessary, -yet.it is compact, 
and conveniently arranged with good closets 
and cupboards. Please criticise both plans.” 
[We have sketched two elevations to accord 
with the plans—introducing a ten-foot verandah 
in the larger plan, and have modified the plan, 
iii introducing a side door to open upon the ve¬ 
randah, and a door connecting the kitchen with 
this entry; under some circumstances this might 
Plan no. 2, elevation. 
make it worth while to omit the back door al¬ 
together; more than, two outside doors are un¬ 
desirable in this latitude. The ornamentation is 
Piazza i 
Plan no. 2, main floor. 
References. —A, Sitting room ; B, Kitchen ; C, Bed¬ 
room ; D, Front entry and stairway. 
very substantial and simple; and scarcely more 
expensive than the usual casing to the eaves.] 
Plan no. 2, second floor. 
References.— E, Guests’, bed room; F, and 6, Bed¬ 
rooms ; H, Store room. 
We have few criticisms to make. The plans are 
excellent for their purposes, but we think 
No. 1 would be more generally valued with 
back stairs and servants’ rooms in the attic. 
