The Treatment of Porch Floors 
By CHARLES JAMES FOX, Ph. D. 
A MERICANS live much in the open air. Even 
in those sections of the country where the 
winter is most severe, there are a few months 
in the summer during which the climate invites an 
open air existence. Much of our out-door life, 
which was formerly merely a matter of choice, is now 
encouraged as a method of retaining good health or 
of building up constitutions that have been under¬ 
mined by the nerve-shattering intensity of our modern 
existence. This condition has made the porch, or 
veranda, or piazza, as it is known in different parts 
of the country, an important feature in American 
domestic architecture. This is true more especially 
of our suburban homes, but even in the modern 
city residence, the porch is becoming more and more 
popular. It is no longer a mere “stoop,” serving 
as a sort of entrance to the front door, but is now 
regarded as a living-room, situated at different parts 
of the house, so as to furnish both sunshine and shade, 
and often supplied with wire screens and awnings 
for summer, and with glass protection against the 
cool air for fall and winter. In country and suburban 
homes the front porch frequently takes the place of 
the reception-hall and the dining-room; while the 
porches of the upper stories are often used as summer 
sleeping apartments for those who advocate the open 
air life. 
The porch is a much used and also a much abused 
part of the house. It is subjected to all the rigors of 
our changing climate, from the baking sun and rain 
of summer to the snow and ice of winter. Its wooden 
floor is consequently the first part of the house to 
show evidences of wear and tear. Long before the 
rest of a new house begins to betray the slightest 
indications of age, the wooden porch floor looks worn 
and defaced. The finer the wood and the closer the 
boards are jointed together the quicker the floor gives 
evidence of the deteriorating effects of the elements. 
Even the old-fashioned rough board walk can with¬ 
stand the effects of the weather better than the hard¬ 
wood porch floors of our finest suburban residences. 
The construction of the porch floor, however, has at 
AN ATTRACTIVE PORCH FLOOR OF TILE 
23O 
