Many Inventions for the Home Builder 
THE DEVICES WHICH GO FAR TOWARD SAVING LABOR AND TIME IN HOUSEKEEPING 
AND ADD MATERIALLY TO THE COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE OF THE HOME 
by E. J. Goodhue 
T HERE have been many inventions 
which have grown out of the 
elaboration of buildings and the addi¬ 
tional needs and luxuries of modern 
buildings, and many of these devices 
apply specifically to the home. Strangely 
enough, they are not generally known 
to the prospective housebuilder. 
Brief mention of some of these inven¬ 
tions might begin with the window. 
It is time now to forget the old prejudice 
against casement windows. There is no 
architect of reputation but speaks for 
them. They assist in design, they make 
the house homelike, and give a better 
ventilation than other sash. The objec¬ 
tions of additional difficulty in keeping 
them clean has been removed by the 
metal leading and metal casement sash. 
The leads are flat and the window can 
be cleaned with as little labor as of a 
single pane. Such a window is perfectly 
tight against all weather, and an efficient 
burglar-proof lock may be used. Any 
casement window of good construction 
is serviceable if placed as single sash 
not over 18 inches wide and arranged in 
groups with mullions between and tran¬ 
som sash above. These casement ar¬ 
rangements as used in old English houses result in an 
attractive appearance. 
Opening and closing devices have been perfected so 
that a bar connected with the casement can operate by 
simply moving a small projecting handle and the window 
can be operated without moving the screen. A like 
device has been patented and operates on outside shutters. 
A little crank is turned and the shutter is closed or 
opened—a great convenience on a rainy night. It is 
especially valuable as an 
improvement over the 
old turn-buckle, since it 
automatically locks the 
shutter and keeps it flat 
against the house in all 
weather. 
The attractiveness of 
casement windows has 
been increased by 
the development of 
the leaded glass in¬ 
dustry. Various 
designs and units 
of leaded glass may 
be furnished to be 
set in with little 
difficulty by the or¬ 
dinary workman, so 
that antique effects 
may be reproduced 
The lever on the inside of the screen, when moved either 
to the right or the left, opens or closes the window 
without interfering with the screen 
The thermostat 
at little cost or attractive designs made. 
We spoke of screens; a most efficient 
screen operates on a spring roller as a 
shade. The whole screen is contained 
in a metal sleeve that fits along the sill 
and becomes apparently part of it. 
When the screen is not in use, it is rolled 
back out of sight. 
Houses in a sea-shore location, or un¬ 
protected by trees, find some form of 
Venetian blinds a necessity. These have 
been improved so that they combine the 
functions of awning and blind, and may 
be rolled up as an awning. 
After windows come doors in the in¬ 
ventor’s attention, and various interest¬ 
ing devices have been patented. There 
is a door-checking hinge, which is of 
considerable value in butler’s pantry and 
dining-room swinging doors, and should 
be a consideration at the time the 
house is being planned, for it hangs a 
swinging door, and mechanism placed 
beneath a brass plate in the floor operates 
to check the door, preventing it from 
slamming back behind the individual. 
For the dining-room or pantry door, 
too, a door-holder is prepared. A small 
socket of brass is fastened to the door, 
and simply a pressure of the foot lets down a rubber- 
tipped upright which holds the door open. When there 
is any moving or sweeping to be done, this simple device 
of holding the door open is a great assistant. It does not 
require to be operated by the hands, a pressure of the foot 
releases the rod and permits the door to swing closed. 
Within the household there are many doors to rooms, 
storage closets and cabinets that should be kept locked. 
Some need to be taken care of by the domestics, but 
others need not; therefore, 
it is desirable to have 
many different patterns of 
locks. But it is a burden 
to carry a great, bulky 
mass of keys. The solu¬ 
tion to this problem is a 
new cylinder lock of most 
modern design, which can 
be set for a num¬ 
ber of different 
keys, but is con¬ 
trolled by but a 
single master key. 
A built-in ward¬ 
robe is often a de- 
A useful Venetian blind that is 
both shade and awning gives ven¬ 
tilation without letting in the rain 
A heat regulator which works 
by the expansion of a vola¬ 
tile liquid and maintains a 
stated temperature 
sir able thing for 
the old house as 
well as the new, and 
can be put in at 
anv time. But when 
An efficient form of filter that 
cleanses the water at the point 
where it enters the house 
