46 
House 
& Garden 
PLUMBING FOR THE SMALL HOUSE 
The Simple System Developed by the Emergency Fleet Corporation Affords 
a Basis for an Easily Constructed , One-Stack System 
WILLIAM C. TUCKER 
W ITH the introduction of the emer¬ 
gency program of ship construc¬ 
tion, after this country entered the war, 
it became evident that there would be 
serious congestion of the housing of the 
workers employed, and Congress con¬ 
ferred upon the Emergency Fleet Cor¬ 
poration powers to meet this situation. 
An expenditure of $40,000,000 was au¬ 
thorized for this purpose, which amount 
was later increased to $75,000,000. 
The small houses as designed by the 
Fleet Corporation for the different 
projects were generally about 30' x 23'. 
The number of small houses in these 
projects totaled 9,762, of which Hog 
Island alone had 1,989 either bunga¬ 
lows or those of two stories and cellar, 
generally constructed of brick or stucco 
and with slate or composition roofs. 
Those at Hog Island cost about $3,704 
each. The houses were built either iso¬ 
lated, semi-detached or in groups of 
three, four or five, but rarely in large 
groups. 
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Government Plumbing! 
In designing the plumbing for these 
buildings a number of important items 
had to be kept constantly in mind. The 
specifications of the National Housing 
other commissions had to be diligently 
lowed and had to fit in with those of the de¬ 
signing office. It was the general desire to 
follow the local State plumbing regulations in 
designing the work. All material employed 
upon the plumbing work was purchased by the 
Government, forwarded to the storehouses at 
the different jobs, and issued as the work pro¬ 
gressed. It was the most earnest desire and 
wish of the Government that the occupant be¬ 
come the owner of the dwelling he occupied 
and every inducement was made to make this 
possible. With tins in view 
the plumbing was designed 
most simply and direct, and 
it was so installed that each 
building was complete in it¬ 
self, and thus could be pur¬ 
chased by its occupant at any 
time. As it developed, it 
proved to be an almost ideal 
system of one-stack plumbing 
for the small house. 
The plumbing was designed 
in the most economical man¬ 
ner so as to keep the first cost 
of the building down to the 
lowest figure. To accomplish 
this there were important re¬ 
ductions made in size and 
quality of material employed, 
some of which were great de¬ 
partures from customary 
practice. This was partially 
brought about by the scarcity 
of material itself, and also 
the necessity for designing so 
as to bring the items of man¬ 
ual labor down to the small¬ 
est quantity. 
There are shown in the three 
The proximity of 
the downstairs 
bath and the kitch¬ 
en washtubs and 
sink makes this sys¬ 
tem very compact, 
reducing piping to 
a minimum 
These Government 
houses were pro¬ 
vided with two 
baths; in the usual 
small house one on 
the second floor 
will serve all the 
family needs 
Bert Boot*? 
Booty 
cross section of the house shows the complete system with 
hot and cold water piping indicated and all fixtures in place 
cuts herewith plans and section of a 
typical two-story dwelling, such as was 
built generally at most of the projects. 
These dwellings were usually built of 
brick or stucco, were provided with a 
cellar, and had a roof either of tin or 
composition material, and were finished 
inside in a satisfactory manner. They 
were extremely small but most compact 
and quite livable, and every foot of 
space was serviceable. The arrange¬ 
ment of the bathroom and kitchen ad¬ 
joining each other as shown on the first- 
story plan is excellent from the plumb¬ 
ing viewpoint. The position of the 
laundry tubs and sink is good. By this 
arrangement there are no long runs of 
pipes, particularly the supplies. 
The soil riser of extra heavy cast 
iron occupies a corner of the kitchen 
and interferes in no way with the 
kitchen equipment. It extends straight 
from the cellar to roof without bend or 
offset, receiving the soil and waste 
branches from the different fixtures. 
The soil is 3" in diameter, a size made 
necessary primarily by the scarcity of 
pig iron, but a change from the usual 
size of 4" which is compatible with good 
designing and perfectly safe. This 
small size for the soil riser, however, should not 
be carried too far and should not extend be¬ 
yond two stories. 
Bathroom and Laundry Equipment 
The location of the bathroom on the second 
story directly over the bathroom on the first 
story is good designing, and most economical; 
it simplifies the plumbing in runs of pipe. 
The soil riser is in the corner of the room; im¬ 
mediately adjoining it is placed the closet. 
In small houses, the laundry tubs should be 
placed in the kitchen immediately adjoining 
the kitchen sink, and the waste 
should connect with the waste 
from kitchen sink. They 
should be provided with 
hinged covers, covered with 
zinc, with catch attached to 
wall to prevent falling. The 
tubs should be two compart¬ 
ments and set 36" above the 
floor to top, and of size either 
24" x 40" or 24" x 48". 
Because of the cost the 
kitchen sink was rolled rim, 
enameled iron with integral 
back, size 18"x24" or 24" x 
30", good sizes for the small 
house. It should be set 
about 1" below the top cf the 
laundry tubs so that all ref¬ 
use may be brushed directly 
into the sink. The supports 
for the sink should be wall 
brackets of strong pattern 
and securely bolted to the 
wall. The faucets for all 
plumbing fixtures should be 
of the compression variety, 
so that repairs may be easily, 
(Continued on page 56 ) 
