WHAT THEY DO IN GERMANY TO RENDER THE RADIATOR AN ATTRACTIVE PIECE OF 
FURNITURE—PRACTICAL METHODS WHICH GIVE BEAUTY WITHOUT IMPAIRING ITS 
EFFICIENCY—AN EXPLANATION OF VARIOUS SUCCESSFUL METHODS IN USE ABROAD 
I N view of the demands 
of the present time for 
convenient and comfortable 
dwellings, and with the 
number and complicated 
nature of the necessary 
technical and sanitary ar¬ 
rangements, it has become 
impossible for the architect 
of to-day to master all 
these different branches of 
house structure, each of 
which requires a special 
study. In this, he must 
rely upon the advice and 
co-operation of experi¬ 
enced, practical men in the 
various special depart¬ 
ments ; particularly in that 
most disputed section of 
modern house building, the 
heating arrangements. 
Which of the different sys¬ 
tems — water, steam, or air 
heating — is most suitable 
for the case in point, can 
be always best decided by 
the heating engineer, for 
not only the object of the 
building must be taken into 
consideration, but also the 
size of the structure, the 
number of its rooms per¬ 
manently or transitorily oc¬ 
cupied, the position, wheth¬ 
er sheltered or exposed to 
violent changes of tempera¬ 
ture and great cold, the 
amount of money available, 
and other circumstances are 
determining factors. Y e t 
even here there are funda¬ 
mental conditions, and stip¬ 
ulations respecting which 
every architect should be 
posted in order to protect 
his principals from decep¬ 
tion, disappointment and 
material loss. 
For small and moderate¬ 
sized one-familv houses in 
Germany warm water heat¬ 
ing is generally the most 
suitable; the installation 
being, it is true, more ex¬ 
pensive than that of steam 
heating, but the operation 
notably cheaper. Moreover, 
it offers the comfort of 
keeping the whole house 
supplied with hot water. 
In consequence of the 
closed nature of the plant, 
it gives a uniformly mild 
heat, and if the diameter of 
the pipes and the size of 
by Ludwig Deubner 
The fireplace in many American houses is merely a useless fixture. 
be turned to practical benefit by building the radiator in it 
may 
The brass molding cap of this 
radiator cover may be lowered 
Thin metal plates hung on wood 
screen a radiator 
A wooden radiator cover set in 
the wall between two rooms 
This is an example of the better 
type of thin metal plates 
(212) 
