26 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
January, 1911 
A shower arranged over the tub, with a linen duck curtain, is almost 
a necessity if one cannot afford a separate enclosure for it. A 
plan of this room is shown below, at the right 
which may be a medi¬ 
cine closet built into 
the wall with mirror 
door set in; the bath¬ 
room door should 
h aye a full-length 
mirror. In the illus¬ 
tration at the bottom 
of the page is shown a 
silent syphon-jet clos- 
e t w i t h low-down 
tank finished in ma¬ 
hogany. The “low- 
down combinations," 
as they are called, are 
made in oak, cherry, 
mahogany and white enamel. I he 
tub should be at least 5 ft. long, 
of enameled iron or porcelain, 
finished on both sides if enameled, 
and supported on porcelain block 
feet, with standing waste and 
mixing cocks. The tub must be 
set far enough from the wall to 
permit cleaning back of it—very 
often a difficult task. 
Every fitting or exposed pipe in 
the bathroom should be nickel- 
plated. The shower may be in¬ 
stalled over the tub, as in one of 
the illustrations, or made a sep¬ 
arate fixture with a floor receptor 
to drain off the water. It may be 
enclosed with a cotton duck cur¬ 
tain, which is more agreeable to 
the body than rubber or marble 
slabs. The merits of each fixture 
and its equipment T shall leave to 
the reader, because these things he 
can readily determine for himself ; 
but the arrangements and number 
of fixtures required must be con¬ 
sidered — the quality is a matter of 
price. The general bathroom of 
a house should be similar to the 
owner’s — in some cases it is di- 
A space 6x7 ft. is almost the 
minimum that will accom¬ 
modate three fiixtures 
vided into two compartments, as shown in a plan on the next page, 
with the water-closet by itself—permitting independent use. 
In homes costing from $15,000 up, the number of bathrooms 
is in proportion to the number of occupants. Every room may 
have a connecting bath with tile floor and wainscot, completely 
equipped—in such a case the visit of a guest is not fraught with 
hasty skirmishes to the nearest bath, perhaps only to retreat, 
and wait and listen for an opportunity to use it. 
Plumbing fixtures are made in many materials; the most 
popular of these, on account of durability and cost, is cast iron 
with an enamel glaze fused on the iron. This ware will stand 
hard usage, is not easily fractured, does not craze and therefore 
holds its color. The vitreous china ware is, I think, more ap¬ 
propriate for bathrooms finished in tile, because the materials, 
being similar, are in harmony, while the enameled iron is not 
quite as heavy or substantial looking when used with tile. V it- 
reous china is potter's clay, properly fired, with a vitreous glaze 
baked on; porcelain is similar and their cost is about the same, 
except that this increases rapidly with the larger pieces ; because 
fewer perfect fixtures are obtained. Fixtures cut from solid 
marble block are the 
most expensive and 
their relative merit 
with relation to cost is 
a question for the 
owner to determine. 
There is little dif¬ 
ference between the 
enameled iron, vitre¬ 
ous china and porce¬ 
lain or marble as far 
as the retention of 
heat is concerned, or 
the feeling from bod- 
lavatories are sometimes provided for the 
owner’s private bath 
The modern “low-down” tank has almost entirely displaced 
the old-fashioned sort near the ceiling 
ily contact. There 
are in every kiln some 
fixtures that are not 
quite perfect; they are called 
“seconds,” and catalogued as 
"Class B” goods, with a lower 
price. 
The weight of massive plumb¬ 
ing in a frame dwelling is consid¬ 
erable and will cause a settlement 
of the floors unless carefully sup¬ 
ported. 
The fashions in tubs are many. 
The usual shape is square at the 
foot and round at the head—at 
the foot are the waste and sup¬ 
ply pipes which are made in sev¬ 
eral combinations. The double 
bath cock, which gives hot or cold 
water or a mixture of both, is ad¬ 
visable for tubs — the small cup 
between the faucets is a ring tray 
and can be replaced with a soap 
dish if desired. Most shower- 
baths have a shampoo attachment 
or body spray that can be used 
instead of the overhead shower, 
so that the head and hair is kept 
dry if desired, and if a shower is 
not going to be installed this at¬ 
tachment can be provided for in 
the tub. 
A tub encased in tile is a per- 
