May, 19 21 
11 
tome J5ai/cfer 
Asenath Leavitt 
JSditor* 
MAY 192,1 
W in. Hart Longliion Architect 
Associate Htditor* 
Published Monthly by NORTH WESTERN EXPANDED METAL CO. 937 °chica6o 1c!S 
Little Features Which Add 
Greatly to the Home 
upon,” writes a woman who will soon 
have a home of her own with the many con¬ 
veniences she has been longing for. “Just as 
every attic has a past, so every cellar has a 
future,” and the possibilities of the basement 
as an attractive inhabitable section of the 
house rather than a dumping ground for 
trash are not sufficiently realized. 
Sleeping porches too deserve consideration. 
Architect Aymar Embury II has this to say 
concerning them: “For myself I prefer a well- 
ventilated bedroom to all the sleeping porches 
in the world. They are unsightly, make¬ 
shift affairs, but if we are to have them, let 
us have proper ones, permanently useful each 
with its dressing room. If we are to have 
sleeping porches for everybody the sensible 
thing would be to do away with bedrooms 
and use dressing rooms only for sleeping 
porches, when enclosed and heated as is so 
often the case, become practically rooms; the 
bedrooms have little or no outside air, are 
dark, stuffy, unpleasant.” 
Some Necessary Precautions 
Against Fire 
No home builder dare overlook this ever¬ 
present danger. If the exterior finish of the 
house is to be stucco, you can obtain much of 
the necessary protection by using steel (Kno- 
Burn) Metal Lath as a base for the 
stucco. Since 
70% of all fires 
start from within. 
it is, however, 
even more neces¬ 
sary that the in¬ 
terior walls and 
ceilings be made 
fire-safe. 
The fireplace, hospitable and enticing though 
it be, is a potential “danger point” unless the 
chimney breast be protected with metal lath. 
Its use is also advisable under the tile of the 
hearth reinforcing the concrete. 
Wliat Most Builders Advise 
Planning Ahead to Keep Down 
Building experts advise that metal lath be 
used as a base for the interior plaster. This 
type of construction will resist the passage of 
fire for an hour, while flames will eat through 
the other types in less than 10 minutes. The 
“Repair” Bills 
Some houses like some people always have some¬ 
thing the matter with them—this means constant 
repair bills in time exceeding the initial cost of 
the house. 
This expense can be saved largely if the right 
method of construction be used. 
Take the plastering for instance. Cracks can 
easily be prevented if the plaster be properly applied 
over the right kind of support. 
Architects advise the use of Kno-Burn Metal Lath 
for this purpose since the mesh web of steel grips 
the mortar firmly reinforcing it in every direction. 
No matter where a crack may start to form there is 
always a strand of steel across its path to check 
the tendency. Metal Lath walls are always firm and 
smooth, free from streaks and cracks. 
Other Economies in 
Home Building 
Kno-Burn heart of steel in each wall or ceil¬ 
ing is a safety guard which checks the spread 
of any incipient fire and if the metal lath be 
used to protect the five 
danger points and also 
on the exterior, there 
need be no fear as to 
the fire hazard of even 
a frame building, for 
the house is literally 
sheathed in steel and 
cement. 
Contrary to expec¬ 
tation perhaps, this 
construction is not ex¬ 
pensive—far from it. 
It adds only about 
1% to the cost of the building. When you 
recall that 23,000 people and thousands of 
homes were destroyed last year by fire doesn’t 
1 % seem a ridiculously small price for safety ? 
A Good Architect Can Often 
■* 
Save Money for His Clients 
Please send me your home building booklet. Am 
interested particularly in... 
Straight Walls with as few angles and projections 
as possible. 
The nearer a house approaches a square, in plan, 
the more space you get for the same wall area as 
compared with the rectangular form. 
One chimney instead of 
two may often be made 
to answer the purpose, 
thus cutting cost. 
Frequently one stair¬ 
way can be made to serve. 
Changes from the orig¬ 
inal plan cost money. 
Decide definitely what 
is wanted before starting 
building. 
Fill out the coupon 
below. We shall gladly 
assist you in your hom,e 
building plans. 
t 
and help avoid costly mistakes. When his fee can¬ 
not be afforded the next best thing is to employ a 
reliable contractor and have him cooperate with the 
manufacturer. 
If you wish we will recommend reliable men. 
Name. . 
Address 
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