The Small House Which is Good 
A House at $5,000 
William Draper Brinckle, Architect 
N OT “a $5,000 house;” but a house that was 
contracted for and built, at a total expense 
of $4,970.19. The time was the spring of 
1907; the place was Wilmington, Delaware. 
The contract price was $4,733.52; the architect’s 
commission was $236.67. That represented the 
house, all complete; but some additional money was 
spent, as follows:—Gas and electric fixtures, $104.43; 
the lot cost, $1,246.00; while sodding, hedges and 
walks cost $52.55. 
The cellar walls are stone; all other walls are 
second grade brick, plastered; with belt and base 
courses of red brick. Exterior woodwork has been 
eliminated as far as possible. The front porch has 
a brick floor, and brick pillars. The roof and 
gable cornices are covered with red stained shingles. 
The cemented cellar holds the hot-air heater, the 
coal bins and the preserve closet. 
The dining-room, living-room, pantry and kitchen 
take up the first floor; with front and back stair¬ 
ways. Three bedrooms and a bath-room occupy 
the second; two more bedrooms, storage closet, 
and linen room are on the third. Every bedroom 
but the very smallest has at least one closet. A 
coat-closet separates the living-room and pantry. 
The front stairway, the dining-room and the 
living-room, are all finished in darkest oak, carried 
out in straight, plain, restful lines against a 
background of warm yellow sand-finish plas¬ 
ter. The fireplaces are laid with dark, rough 
New Jersey brick. The rest of the house has a 
plain hard white plaster, set off with woodwork of a 
rich ivory tone. 
Sunlight and air are everywhere; windows are 
carried, almost, to excess; the front doors are all 
glass, and glass panes are even set in the door to the 
balcony. Why not ? We all admit in these days, 
that sunshine and fresh air are more essential to 
our life and comfort than any other two things. 
The hardware is of the very best: glass knobs, 
old brass metal work, well made locks and hinges. 
This is almost an axiom:—never try to save on your 
hardware bill. 
The house is wired for electricity and piped for gas; 
all plumbing was included in the contract. 
Outside of the large cities a very considerable 
saving could be made by omitting gas-piping, wiring, 
etc.; the house might be frame construction, plas¬ 
tered on metal lath; and so forth. And then, too, 
labor is very much less in the country districts. 
But what it might, could, would or should cost 
is mere speculation; we know what it did cost. 
A House of Reinforced Concrete 
Christopher Meyf.r, Architect 
T HERE has just been completed for Mr. Charles 
E. Churchill near Montclair, New Jersey, a 
very interesting residence, pleasing in design 
and up-to-date in its construction. 
The house will rivet the attention of the passer-by 
because of its long roof lines, its dormers of liberal 
size yet good proportions, and the charming “English 
Cottage” air which it unmistakably suggests. The 
projecting eaves and the long sweep given to the 
roof is conducive to that feeling of sheltering pro¬ 
tection so essential in a suburban home. 
The house is built of reinforced concrete—a rich 
mixture of cement, sharp sand and crushed stone; 
no gravel or cinders. The outside walls, all inside 
partitions, all floors and ceilings, all stairways and 
all beams are concrete. It is absolutely fireproof. 
You can build a fire in any room without disturbing 
any other room. The walls are twelve inches thick, 
with a four inch air space between the outer and 
inner walls. 
The house is larger than it looks because a cot¬ 
tage effect has purposely been given to it. The plans 
show the dimensions. 
The concrete floors are covered with birch. 
The living-room is beamed and trimmed in quarter- 
sawed oak, antique finish. The rest of the wood¬ 
work in the house is poplar, in the dining-room 
stained silver gray, but on the second floor rubbed 
cream white. The den under the stairs is ap¬ 
proached by descending four steps, and has a con¬ 
crete floor and concrete walls, giving a very attractive 
effect. 1 he kitchen is especially convenient. The 
range is in an alcove which is both well lighted 
and well ventilated. The refrigerator is built in 
and is iced from the outside. A radiator has been 
installed in the kitchen as well as in the other rooms 
so that it is necessary in cooking to use only a gas 
range. Besides the two bath-rooms on the second 
floor there is a toilet in the basement, and running 
water on the third floor, where there are two large 
rooms and plenty of storage room. 
I he house is piped for gas in the kitchen and 
electricity elsewhere. The porch is lighted, and 
garage and chicken coop are wired for electric lights. 
The barn or garage is 16 x 20 feet, has a room 
for the man, box stall for horse and single stall, 
with plenty of room for both carriage and auto¬ 
mobile. 
The site is a particularly good one—the large elm 
trees about it form a beautiful background, while 
the “lay of the land” makes the garden possibilities 
most delightful to think of. 
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