VOL. XXXV. No. 3. 
WHOLE No. 14OS. 
NEW YORK CITY, JANUARY 20, 1877 ,__ 
_ _ _ - - - ■ y ■ ~ —-- • -' - - -i ~ii - - - - — . ■ - 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 1S77. by the Rural Publishm* Company, in the office of the Librar ian of Congress at Washington.] 
[PRICE SIX CENTS, 
t t'2.30 I'ER YEAR. 
plural ga-dntcctuvc, 
DESIGN FOR A CHEAP HOUSE. 
It can hardly be expected that we should 
offer a design for a residence which would, in all 
its parts, exactly suit any considerable number 
of our readers who might be in waut of such 
assistance in deciding what style of house they 
should build. But .while we do not 
anticipate the furnishing of our read¬ 
ers with Indispensable information 
in this direction, still the plans giv¬ 
en from time to time in the Rural 
New-Yorker may be of service in 
aiding them to decide, wherever oc¬ 
casion presents itself to act in such 
matters. g«n 
It should always be borne in mind, 
however, that architects and carpen¬ 
ters arc rather more inclined to un- 
del-estimate than to overestimate the 
cost of a building, or perhaps we | g 
might qualify the remark by saying ill 
that there arc many “extras" that 
come in during the construction of 
an edition not thought of at the 
commencement. Then, again, an 
estimate may ho made in one town BOB 
or county and the building put up ■ 
iu another; and a few miles of dis¬ 
tance sometimes makes a consider¬ 
able difference in cost of materials lil 
and labor. 
For those and other reasons which 
will Buggcst themselves to thoso 
about erecting a residence, it is well 
to keep on the safe side of one's purse, because 
it is far better to come out with a small sum 
unexpended tiiau to finish up in debt. Better 
have a small house complete iu all its parts than 
undertake to build a large and pretentious ouo 
which, for the lack of the necessary means, 
must be finished in so cheap a manner that the 
cause of the cheapness becomes painfully appar¬ 
ent to the most casual observer. 
There is still another point which many per¬ 
sona overlook when laying plans for making 
themselves a home, and this is that the house is 
not quite all that is needed to complete a resi¬ 
dence either in the country or in the suburbs of 
a city. The grounds about a dwelling, whether 
circumscribed or of considerable extent, must 
be laid out and ornamented to complete the un¬ 
dertaking, and this will cost, more or less accord¬ 
ing to circumstances. Now, a small, cheap, but 
neatly-finished residence, surrounded by hand¬ 
some trees, shrubs, and Rowers, looks far better, 
and in fact richer, than a large and expensive 
building without these adjuncts. Tho first 
shows taste on the part of the owner; the latter 
room, 15x16; 0. kitchen, 11x15; D, hall, 7 ft.; 
E, vestibule, 2' 10"x7; F. pantry, 5x1; G, 
kitchen porch ; H, front porch. I, ,T, and K are 
bedrooms, as follows:—I, 15x16; J, 15x21; K, 
1-1x15. I, bath-room, 8x10; M, dressing-room, 
7x9; N, hall, 7 ft.; a, wash-stand; b, cellar 
stairs; c, back stairway to second story; d, 
main stairway; e, bay window ; /, roof of same; 
(j. bath-tub. h, water-closet; i, i, closets ; l, 
kitchen cupboard; m, sink ; n, dining-room cup¬ 
board. 
FIRST FLOOR. 
may all come from having money enougn to 
build a mansion and pay an architect to draw 
the plans, and that is all. Many such residences 
can be seeu in town and country, the surround¬ 
ings speaking, what it is unnecessary to repeat 
in words. Of the want of cultivation and good 
taste on tho part of the occupants. 
Our illustrations this week give the front and 
side elevations and that and second floor plans 
of a plain resideuce of six good sized rooms, ex¬ 
clusive of pantry, bath-room, room over hall, or 
attic rooms. Tho rooms arc lettered and are in 
size as follows:—A, parlor, 15x21; B, dining- 
SECOXD FLOOR. 
The inner arrangement of the house is very 
convenient. The rooms are all of good size, 
and ar#all accessible from the main hall. A con¬ 
venience that should never be overlooked. 
Tf built on an elevated position, the house 
would present a bold and attractive appearance, 
and. if surrounded with tasteful walks and trees, 
would look exceedingly well. 
The construction of the building, if composed 
of good materials and workmanship and built of 
wood, with good stone foundations and cellar 
throughout, would probably cost $3,000 in these 
cheap times. 
CELLARS. 
As a rule, in the planning of country dwellings, 
it is a fact that' the most important part, if tho 
health of tho future inmates be considered, is 
that which is generally given tho least considera¬ 
tion, viz., the cellar. If the ground upon which 
the foundation is laid is not wall-drained, then 
tho collar should be above ground altogether. 
The depth of tho collar beneath the surface of 
the earth should bo only such that the floor will 
bo, oven during the most protracted 
1 111 il seasons of rain, perfectly dry. An 
I earth floor, unless dry enough to be¬ 
come dusty, evolves moisture, always 
I more or less charged with particles 
Ijl arising from decomposing organic 
1 matter. This, unless the cellar is 
_I provided with many windows which 
[—T—are opened almost daily, not only 
L—/iEil porvadcs its entire atmosphere, but 
< j}i ~ .lirn iJ ma l £CS ite way through tho celling, to 
vitiato tho air of tho rooms which 
■ aro moBt used by tho occupants of 
I tho bouse. 
I ||] A layer of broken stones several 
II inches thick, puddled with coment to 
a uniform surfaco, is probably the 
most serviceable flooring that cun bo 
laid, as it is unquestionably the 
| cheapest, if the expenses which in- 
*T ra3M jury to health is likely to induce are 
_I • well considered. 
\ But a dry cellar bottom is not alone 
\ sufficient. A freo circulation of air 
_A/ is not only as important in the collar 
as it is in any other part of tho house, 
but moro so, on account of tho quan¬ 
tities of vegetables usually stored 
therein, a certain proportion of which are always 
in a state of decay. 
Cellars, therefore, instead of being the dis¬ 
mal, poisonous places they often arc, should bo 
provided with windows large enough and numer¬ 
ous enough to furnish sun-light and air; and 
architecture will have accomplished an excellent 
work when it shall have converted this ordinarily 
dreary hole into the light and bright apartment 
it might be made with little injury to vegetables 
and with great benefit to human health. Whether 
the preservation of vegetables or of health is of 
paramount importance, our readers must decide. 
