A HOMELIKE, ARTISTIC DWELLING OF STONE AND HALF-TIMBER BUILT FOR $ 1500 .--WHAT 
BUILDING ECONOMIES MAY BE ACCOMPLISHED BY THE USE OF LOCAL MATERIAL 
by Frederick S. Lamb 
Photographs by the Author 
T O everyone sooner or later comes the problem of the build¬ 
ing - of a home. Does it come with preparation, or does it 
come on the spur of the moment—unexpected ? 
To us who for years had looked forward to this event, to us 
who had wandered through the fields in search of a location, to 
us who had dreamed of this little spot apart from the rest of the 
world where thought and medita¬ 
tion were a possibility, it did not 
come unannounced. 
Night after night as a commuter, 
leaving the train and walking to 
what was then our abode, I passed 
many important country residences 
and at the same time many cot¬ 
tages of workingmen, and it oc¬ 
curred to me that it would be pos¬ 
sible to build something better, for 
the same expenditure, than had 
been obtained in the workingman’s 
cottage—for are we not all work¬ 
ingmen, and is not the problem of 
home building the same to us all? 
Upon inquiry it was found that 
these cottages cost $1,500, $1,800, 
or $2,000 and upwards; and cer¬ 
tainly the result was anything but 
satisfactory. And then came the 
idea—why could not something 
better be done for the same ex¬ 
penditure ? 
It would be an interesting story 
to relate our interview with the old 
farmer who had known us from 
childhood, and who wished us to 
purchase the corner lot nearest the 
railroad station. It would be interesting to follow our progress 
from the little village through field after field, until we arrived at 
a knoll at the border of the woodland, where with much regret 
upon his part, and the fear that he had robbed us, we selected the 
site of our future home. It was an old abandoned field, no 
longer farm land, no longer even good pasture land, but what is 
known as “poor man’s land,” with 
its cedars and birches, its weeds and 
brambles. And here, overlooking 
the great valley of the Hackensack, 
with the deed of the property in our 
hands, we started. 
Of course there was a design, 
drawing its inspiration from the 
chalet on the mountainside. Of 
course there were the necessary 
drawings and plans, pondered over 
thoughtfully night after night—and 
then the work started. As the 
ground sloped to the west, but half 
the foundation was excavated for 
the cellar, and an initial saving of 
expense made thereby. 
The design was for a stone and 
half-timber construction. The tim¬ 
ber was found in the woodland near¬ 
by, was sawed at the local mill, and 
was delivered at short notice. The 
module of the house was selected as 
eight feet, and as this was the usual 
length of a railroad tie, we bought 
one-half our timber as railroad ties 
at one-third the cost of ordinary tim¬ 
ber. These were of chestnut of the 
very best wood, but by a strange 
Instead of the conventional awning a pergola-like roof was 
formed of lath. Over this vines were trained 
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