HOUSE AND GARDEN 
206 
March, 
1914 
mfS determination to build 
iSfjSr ^ fireproof should be formed 
Wm with the very first thought of 
building at all. 
No plans should be gone into, even 
tentatively, that do not contemplate 
construction of 
Fireproof, age-proof, damp-proof, vermin-proof; warmer in Winter, cooler in Summer 
All classes of buildings are open to Natco fireproof construc¬ 
tion. The different forms of Natco blocks extend its utility 
to the entire structure — floors, partitions, roofs and walls. 
Natco construction involves essential advantages beside 
that of fire safety. Natco Hollow Tile never deteriorates in 
any degree in any climate, no matter what the weather 
or how long the building stands. With the insulation of its 
air chambers, it nullifies the effect of outside upon inside 
temperature. 
The genuine Natco Hollow Tile is always to 
be distinguished from its imitations by the 
trademark “Natco” pressed into every block. 
Before defining your building plans, send for our 64-page handbook, “Fireproof Houses,’* 
fully describing, with illustrations, every detail and phase of Natco construction. Contains 
80 photographs of Natco buildings. Mailed anywhere for 20 cents to cover postage, 
NATIONAL- FIRE • PROOFING • COMPANY 
Dept. Y. Offices in all Principal Cities PITTSBURGH, PA, 
The Water Tank That 
Stays Water Tight 
and you can set it up yourself with only a wrench. 
There is no paint, putty, white-lead or caulking required: the feature 
is in the bands, with adjustable drawrods at the intersections, operating 
over antifriction plates that make every joint absolutely tight under all 
conditions of weather. 
There’s 45 years of manufacturing experience behind it. Every Tank 
is set up at the factory and every part numbered. 
Before you buy a tank of any kind give us the opportunity to prove 
the superiority of the Corcoran. Get our Catalogue of Windmills & Tanks. 
A. J. CORCORAN, Inc., ^ J w°^r S k TR n EF y T 
Houses That Architects Have Buil 
For Themselves 
(Continued from page 148) 
temperature, but does not use gas beyond 
what is necessary to do this. The fire¬ 
places have rolling spark screens that 
pull down like window-shades, and the 
vestibule doors have removable panels of 
glass for winter and of wire screens for 
summer. 
These merits or conveniences are, nev¬ 
ertheless, of minor importance. The es¬ 
sential features of the planning are the 
small amount of space wasted in halls, 
windows on two sides of all rooms, ex¬ 
cept two small ones in the attic, and the 
convenient grouping of the bedrooms for 
different purposes. 
I have often asked myself the question 
why my own house, built at the same 
time and in the same locality as four 
others of similar construction, and all 
built by our own organization, should 
have cost some 20% more per cubic foot 
than the others. The answer to this 
question throws considerable light on the 
cost of a house. My own and the other 
four houses, with one exception, were of 
so-called fireproof construction; that is, 
the walls were of hollow tile blocks with 
cement stucco applied on the exterior and 
plaster on the interior. The floors were 
constructed of the same tile with rein¬ 
forced concrete beams holding them in 
place, and were finished with wood floor 
nailed to wooden sleepers. 
While the inerior finish woodwork of 
the other houses was of simple design 
and of chestnut in the important rooms, 
and of yellow pine elsewhere, my own 
house was finished in oak and gum wood, 
and the trim itself a trifle more elabo¬ 
rate. This doubled the cost of the mill 
work. 
The cellar cost more because I experi¬ 
mented on the employment of Italian 
laborers by the day and insisted upon the 
work being pushed, even though the earth 
was damp. 
Experience on my house also resulted 
in a saving on the other houses by the 
imbedded boulders in the concrete of the 
foundation walls. In this, however, I 
had the satisfaction of a better result 
than in the other houses. My walls were 
more compact and less pervious to water. 
Another source of additional cost in 
my house was our desire to choose the 
better of any two alternatives, a course 
whose wisdom one recognizes more as 
the house ages than when it is new. We 
wished copper gutters, down-spouts and 
metal work, instead of galvanized iron 
at a third the cost. We wished a tile 
roof, rather than slate, and a better grade 
of plumbing fixtures. 
There were other additional items that 
might be considered as luxuries, such as 
oak-finished floors throughout, instead of 
in the principal rooms only; cork compo¬ 
sition floors in the bathrooms, and an 
added number of fireplaces. 
In writing to advertisers please mention House & Garden. 
