86 
House & G ar d en 
Both Luxury and Economy 
Oak Floors create a bright, cheerful environment 
of their own. There is a warmth, a welcome that you 
reel the moment you enter an Oak Floored house. 
No amount of costly decorations can achieve the quiet 
elegance, the refinement of Oak Floors. They are a 
constant source of pride and satisfaction to those who 
care about home—who study to make it more delightful. 
Properly waxed or varnished Oak Floors only im¬ 
prove with age and use. Many old time mansions 
have Oak Floors that have passed the century mark. 
Oak Floors save time and labor, being easy to keep 
clean and dustless. They are more healthful, too. 
And you may be surprised to learn that they cost 
less than ordinary floors, plus the unwieldy, unsani¬ 
tary carpets they are so largely displacing. Build¬ 
ings of any kind with Oak Floors sell or rent for 25% 
more. Hence they are an investment for your de¬ 
scendants. 
If you are going to remodel, there is a special thick¬ 
ness of Oak Flooring Q4 of an inch) which goes right 
on top of your old floors. It costs less than the other 
thicknesses. 
Two interesting booklets, in colors, will be mailed to 
yon free, upon request. Or any architect, contractor 
or lumber dealer will give you exact cost covering 
your requirements. 
OAK FLOORING ADVERTISING BUREAU 
1047 Ashland Block, Chicago, III. 
A Review of Ceiling Catalogs 
(Continued from page 84) 
able plan on page 82 explaining how 
to order a plaster ceiling. The chart is 
very simple and can be easily used. 
This book, of course, is not devoted 
to the question of plaster ceilings 
alone, but to walls, floor deadeners, re¬ 
inforcing systems and so on, through 
80 pages. 
“Edwards Metal Ceilings”—Two 
catalogs under this title are published 
by the Edwards Mfg. Co., Cincinnati, 
O., and they are a revelation of what 
can be done with metal for the making 
of really fine ceilings. An immense va¬ 
riety of designs is given, some of them 
modern and others in various periods 
to suit the architecture of the house and 
the furnishing of the room. These 
books show Colonial ceilings, French 
Renaissance, Greek, Romanesque, Roc- 
coco, and different patterns for what 
is called the stucco-steel ceiling. Ap¬ 
propriate borders and cornices are 
shown with these ceiling designs. In 
addition to ceilings, a variety of zinc 
ventilating centers are shown and 
metal wall friezes and mouldings as 
well as side wall plates. Pictures are 
given of these metal ceilings in rooms, 
offices and clubs, directions for mea¬ 
suring are given, also for applying. 
“Home Sweet Horae” published by 
the Penn Metal Company, Philadel¬ 
phia, Pa.: This pamphlet is a descrip¬ 
tion of Penco metal ceilings and walls 
which, it is contended, add beauty and 
comfort to thousands of homes. A 
variety of designs is given for the bed¬ 
room, kitchen, bath, dining room and 
parlor, also some simple, practical pat¬ 
terns for the garage, workroom, laun¬ 
dry, heater room or cellar. This com¬ 
pany not only makes ceilings and walls 
of metal, but roofs and sidings, ven¬ 
tilators, pipes, gutters, etc. They are in 
every detail manufacturers of sheet 
iron and steel building materials and 
specialties. 
“Bestwall” published by the Best- 
wall Mfg. Company, Chicago, Ill.: A 
small leaflet printed in blue and black 
sets forth the facts that “bestwall” is a 
combination of fireproof cement plas¬ 
ter, between two heavy sheets of im¬ 
pregnated paper. This sheet is so con¬ 
structed that it is tough without being 
brittle and will not warp, shrink or 
buckle. “Bestwall” is non-porous, it 
will 1 keep the house cool in summer, 
and warm in winter and can be used in 
an infinite variety of ways for ceilings 
as well as walls. 
The Newer Permanent Floor Covering 
(Continued 'from page 68) 
Some of the soft woods, pine, red 
gum, etc. are finished most successfully 
to imitate the hardwoods, mahogany, 
black walnut, French and Italian wal¬ 
nut and so on. This is particularly 
practicable where the floors are limited 
in price and yet where it is desirable 
to have them match interesting and 
unusual furniture. 
Hard or yellow pine includes, South¬ 
ern, Georgian, and Oregon pine, and all 
are desirable where the initial cost has 
to be considered. It is always wise 
when ordering floors to ask for pam¬ 
phlets giving instructions, not only as 
to the proper method of laying them 
but their subsequent care; otherwise the 
very best floors can be injured in time 
by careless treatment or neglect. Prac¬ 
tically all the good floor companies, as 
well as the paint, stain and varnish 
people send out practical pamphlets 
telling the housewife how to care for 
her floors to the best advantage. We 
shall review in this number of House 
& Garden (or one in the immediate 
future) a variety of these pamphlets 
which it is well worth ordering and 
studying. 
Birch is a practical wood to consider, 
not only if you intend to reveal the 
wood itself by using only rugs, or if 
you intend to cover it with an enamel. 
As birch can also be used interestingly 
for the woodwork of a house, it is 
importar t to think about when you 
are first planning your floors. 
Tiles are again coming into fashion 
for indoor floors not only in the en¬ 
trance, but for the dining room and 
living room. They are peculiarly in¬ 
teresting in the way they break up the 
surface of the floor and give a varia- 
tjon of color. Tile had its origin in the 
Anglo-Saxon word “tigel” which in turn 
is derived from a latin word meaning to 
cover. In the main, tiles are made from 
either natural clay or from different 
kinds of clay, feldspar and flints which 
are selected, proportioned and com¬ 
bined according to the kind of tiles to 
be manufactured. There are two 
divisions of the modern tiles, the plastic 
and the dust-pressed. Such tiles as 
faience are made by plastic progress 
vitreous tiles and glazed tiles are dust- 
pressed. All tiles undergo one or more 
firing at high temperature in the kiln. 
There are several questions to be set¬ 
tled if you are going to use tile, whether 
you will have them glazed or unglazed, 
whether you wish a bright-finished 
glaze or colorless one, and, of course, 
there is a great range of colors and 
many finishes, such as egg shell, vellum, 
orange skin, crystalline, etc. 
In ordering tiles the type of room 
should be considered. They are im¬ 
mensely interesting for Tudor houses, 
for Spanish architecture, for some of 
the most charming of the modern 
American houses; but there are types 
of period room fittings which are more 
interesting with carpets or parquetry 
flooring. There are a great variety of 
patterns in tiles, and any one consider¬ 
ing them for floors should send to the 
manufacturers for catalogues and if 
possible for samples. In this way the 
effect in the room can be nicely ascer¬ 
tained. Also many of these catalogues 
give instructions for the laying of tiles, 
and this is most important unless there 
are expert tile men in your town. If 
tiles are specified for floors by the 
architect, he will no doubt be able to 
advise you as to their purchase and 
proper laying. 
If you are planning floors for a 
house that you expect to have last, 
tiles will certainly prove a very satis¬ 
factory investment. In the first place 
they are not susceptible of becoming 
shabby. They are literally sunfast, just 
as the rocks are in the everlasting hills. 
The surface does not wear off and there 
is never any danger from the spilling of 
water or from scratches or dents. They 
are immeasurably easy to keep clean 
and they suggest a certain pomp and 
dignity. We know that they were 
considered very fine in Cleopatra’s time, 
even by Persia before she had invaded 
Greece. 
And so the tile manufacturers have 
had memorable and beautiful back- 
