THE NEW HOUSE 
HOW FIREPROOFING METHODS ARE APPLICABLE TO ANY TYPE OF DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE 
By F. W. Fitzpatrick, Architect, Washington 
“And the wise man buildeth his house so that his enemy, nor the 
elements, may not destroy it . . . 
A ND how many of our homes are so constructed ? 
^ And what greater enemy have we than the 
destroying element, Fire ? The very rich among us 
have built their palatial residences of fireproof con¬ 
struction, in a general way, as far as the structural 
parts are concerned, but they have ignored the very 
first principles of the prevention of fire by bowing 
to precedent and installing the beautiful open stair, 
well-holes into the second storey hall that assure the 
complete destruction of at least all the interior 
decoration should fire declare itself anywhere about 
the house. But in the great bulk of our homes, 
15,000,000 of them, there are probably not 100, 
barring the ones that cost $100,000 or more, in which 
the slightest effort is made at fire-prevention, and 
indeed very little in the way of fire-retarding, and I 
A COLONIAL EFFECT ADAPTED TO TYPE A—DESIGN NO. I 
Wilson & Marshall, Architects, Chicago 
Plans “A” are my first studies for a house, a fully fireproof house, for a gentleman in Chicago. It is to be built about 30 miles 
out of town and on the shore of Lake Michigan, a country home, with ample grounds and the surroundings that will make it a “manor.” 
His is a large family, hence the necessity of many bedrooms. It is not desirable to have these upon the ground floor, so I have extended 
the second storey over the porches, keeping the ground floor, where fewer rooms are required, of reasonable size. The floors being 
of hollow tile the projecting rooms will not be cold. Note that the servants’ quarters are ample, and with the automobile shed are all 
under the one roof, yet absolutely detachable from the house. 
The exterior will be of brick, Colonial in style, good lines but not fussy or expensive. All the finish in the interior will be of asbestos, 
dependence is placed for effective decorations upon rich coloring in place of expensive wood wainscoting, etc. 
Design No. 1 would be well suited to this plan, or design No. 2 could be followed if that style be desirable, all of the work being 
absolutely fireproof, columns of cement, walls of brick or stucco, roof of asbestos shingles, etc. 
This house is to cost not to exceed $20,000, including everything. There is much plumbing, a fine heating plant, etc., etc., all in¬ 
cluded, and there will be no “extras.” 
Built of ordinary wood construction, wood joists, partitions, floors and finish, perhaps $2000 could be saved in first cost, certainly 
not more than that. 
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