Wall construction in this house at Marblehead was a deliberate effort to suit the setting—rough fieldstone laid in open bond tones in with the roc 
timber following lines of nearby trees; and the remainder stucco, a reproduction of the generally unobstructed atmosphere about the house. 
W. Jackson, associate architects 
ky foreground; vertical half- 
Charles M. Baker and Allen 
used in house-building, and not only their surface appearance, 
but also below the surface, and see how they are made. 
The use of stone, perhaps the most substantial material, will 
depend upon the amount of money one wishes to spend. It is 
the most expensive of all the walls. The cost of stone will de¬ 
pend upon what the immediate locality of the building has to 
offer and whether or not we wish cut stone. Cut stone is the 
most expensive ; then we have the split stones, and last, the field 
stones. The wall, in any case, is laid up in mortar, the stones 
being cushioned in place and the interstices filled with spatts and 
mortar, so that at the end of the wall, theoretically at least, is a 
perfectly solid mass of masonry with no air spaces. With a 
rubble or field stone wall, however, such perfection is too much 
to expect. As a matter of fact, our wall will probably let through 
enough moisture in a driving storm to make it advisable to take 
care of it on the inside. This is usually done by lining the in¬ 
side wall with lath and plaster on vertical studs placed against the 
rough wall. This gives an air space which prevents any moisture 
from getting at the plaster or inside the house. 
In the case of cut stone, only the facing stones are cut, and 
they are backed up for the remainder of the thickness by rougher 
stone or brick, the two banded securely together to make a solid 
wall. The inside plaster is then applied on lining studs, as be¬ 
fore. 
The use of brick for the walls of dwelling houses is daily be¬ 
coming more common. This is largely due to the fact that while 
the cost of brick work shows a tendency to decrease, the growing 
scarcity of lumber in this country is causing the frame house to 
rise steadily in cost, so that from year to year there is a nearer 
and nearer approach between the two materials. At the present 
time there is a difference of from 10 to 15 per cent. When we 
weigh the two methods against each other we shall see that they 
realty approach even nearer. The substantial character of the 
brick, its enduring qualities; its freedom from deterioration and 
expense for up-keep; the fact that it is fireproof, together with 
its superior esthetic possibilities, must be set off against the 
perishable nature of the wood, both from fire and decay, the 
necessary expense of up-keep, its vulnerability against change of 
temperature and general ephemeral, not to say flimsy, appearance. 
One is not apt to think of this latter phase of the matter until he 
chances to come from a prolonged stay in any of those countries 
where the frame house is unknown and suddenly finds himself 
surrounded by these large wooden boxes. They seem extraordi¬ 
nary and anaemic after the masonry walls of the rest of the world 
The pressed brick wall of the Victorian era, with its colored 
mortar, has departed. It was a smooth, characterless affair, of 
no texture or color, and has given place to the much more charm¬ 
ing and sensible common brick. Of course, there is an infinite 
Where clapboard and stone are effectively combined in a house of difficult position 
and unusual lines 
All-over clapboard walls in a Dutch Colonial house where simplicity of wall treat¬ 
ment was most desired 
