88 
“Lift up the latch 
—walk ini” 
Colonial 
Knockers 
H ospitality radiates from 
the colonial doorway when 
each detail is gracefully and gen¬ 
uinely in keeping. Latches and 
door handles are manufactured by 
Sargent & Company to harmonize 
with all colonial doorways, whether 
Dutch or New England in style. 
These handles may be used on one 
or both sides of the door, connecting 
with the Sargent Cylinder Lock that 
provides complete security. Their 
cordial gleam of welcome comes 
from the finest solid brass or bronze. 
They are beautifully designed—as 
lasting and as satisfying as the home. 
For every door and window in 
every room in your house there is the 
proper Sargent Hardware. And re¬ 
member that it offers you the utmost 
in security and life-long service. 
Send for the Sargent Book of De¬ 
signs and select with your architect 
just the hardware needed for your 
home. 
These knockers are 
the finishing touch in 
decorative hardware 
for the colonial door. 
They come in several 
designs—each quaint 
and beautiful and 
each made of solid, 
time-resisting brass. 
Put both Sargent 
latch and knocker on 
your Colonial door¬ 
way! 
Sargent 
Door Closers 
close all doors silently 
and surely and keep 
them shut. A small 
size, most reasonably 
priced, is convenient 
for the door within 
the home that must 
be closed. 
SARGENT & COMPANY 
Hardware Manufacturers 
31 Water St. New Haven, Conn. 
House & Garden 
The Newer Permanent Floor Covering 
('Continued from page 86) 
grounds to turn to for their inspiration, 
not only for colors and finishes, but for 
fascinating designs, and practical meth¬ 
ods of laying down this floor covering. 
Of course, in the main, it is put down 
over cement, just as most of the fine 
composition floors are, and the cement 
may be put over wood or directly on 
the hollow tile blocks. 
Another very interesting floor, which 
we find increasingly popular, is slate. 
It is cut in an immense variety of shapes 
and beautiful patterns and is extremely 
interesting for sunrooms, loggias, indoor 
patios, even for the living room if you 
are building just that kind of a house. 
Of course, concrete is being used, 
plain or marked off in patterns. The 
rough stucco surface is liked by many, 
others prefer the smooth cement and 
these surfaces are treated in a variety 
of ways. They are extremely interesting 
oiled, and, if waxed, soon mellow into 
delightful tones. It is very easy to 
get exactly the color you want in a 
concrete floor, because the color can be 
adjusted in the mixture before the floor 
is poured. A more sanitary floor it 
would be impossible to imagine. It 
makes an interesting surface for a ter¬ 
race, for a sleeping porch and is also 
used effectively indoors. 
A satisfactory poured floor covering 
really forms a hermetic seal for the 
floor, filling every joint and crevice. It 
is easy to keep clean and is quiet under 
the foot. It also has great structural 
strength. This flooring can be poured 
over old wood, concrete or iron. Dif¬ 
ferent textures can be had and it is 
among the first on the list of fireproof 
floorings. Although it has been more 
generally used in public buildings be¬ 
cause of its intrinsic worth it is finding 
its way into residences and apartment 
houses. The surface has warmth and 
quietness and the effects are varied and 
interesting. 
Not only are such floors as these 
fire proof, but they are fire-retarding 
and that is an important point for the 
Insurance Company and for the safety 
of employees. 
An extremely durable and interesting 
floor consisting of magnesium-oxide, 
asbestos and mineral colors, is one of 
the practical, new pleasant floor cov¬ 
erings. The texture is fibrous and 
tough, resilient and non-fatiguing. It 
comes in a variety of colors, buffs, grays 
and reds, and may be spread over a 
new or old wood floor or over cement 
or steel. It sets hard in a very few 
hours and is then immediately fire¬ 
proof, water proof and germproof. In 
tile designs it is quite handsome for the 
interiors of homes as it has a warmth 
and lustre that makes the surface very 
attractive. 
A safety tile makes a very interesting 
floor. It is hard and tough and gives 
a surface that is practically guaranteed 
non-slipping. It is composed of sand¬ 
stone, granite, limestone, marble, trap 
and other ingredients. It is interesting 
in color, and economical because it is 
extremely durable and safe. 
The new composition floorings could 
readily absorb an entire article if they 
were completely handled. We are told 
that they are sanitary, non absorbing, 
smooth, free from cracks, resilient and 
weather-proof and we know that all of 
this is true. We know that they are 
inexpensive to keep in order and eco¬ 
nomical and that there is an immense 
variety, with a range of colors only 
second to the New York Annual Flower 
Show. Today these composition floor¬ 
ings, not only first of all stand on their 
own merits, which is best of all; but 
are also made to imitate marble, antique 
rugs, carpets, mosaics, and wood. 
Sometimes these reproductions an¬ 
nounce that they are imitations, and 
other times the effect is quite astonish¬ 
ing; so beautiful is the lustre, so mel¬ 
low the tone and so appropriate the 
texture that the richest old floors are 
suggested. Certain of these floors are 
especially good if they are waxed oc¬ 
casionally; constant scrubbing and re¬ 
finishing is not necessary, just the 
rubbing in of wax and the daily dusting 
keeps them in good condition. 
Of course, these composition floor 
coverings should be carefully selected 
to suit the type of house you are going 
to build and the kind of furniture you 
are going to use, and there is such an 
infinite variety that it is almost impos¬ 
sible to go wrong on them. 
They can be put down easily over 
existing floors, over old wood, metal or 
concrete. The best and most durable 
way is to put them down over a fresh 
cement which will hold them in place 
and keep them from buckling. Provi¬ 
sions should be made where they are put 
down over cement for troweling cement 
when it is wet to an absolutely smooth 
and level surface. Many of these com¬ 
position floors have a layer of felt di¬ 
rectly underneath. This acts as a cush¬ 
ion, deadens the sound and when prop¬ 
erly pasted to the surface it prevents 
bulging, expanding or contracting. They 
can also be put down over felt paper 
or directly on wood. In the latter case 
the wood should be dry and well sea¬ 
soned and all cracks should be filled. 
Very many of these composition 
floorings are now also preparing a sani¬ 
tary cover base. These do away with 
crevices or grooves between the wall 
and the floor. They also prevent cor¬ 
ners of rooms from becoming water 
soaked when they are washed. They 
are easy to dust and they are absolutely 
germ and insect proof. 
Some of the very finest of these 
permanent floor coverings are made 
with a cork base and sometimes com¬ 
posed entirely of cork. The cork tiles 
are baked in molds for five hours at 
a temperature of 500 Fahrenheit. This 
fuses the natural waterproof gum in the 
cork, making a compact waterproof 
mass. In these tiles there is a delight¬ 
ful variation of color running from 
light tan to dark tobacco brown. They 
are naturally elastic and tough and 
wear-resisting and so tenacious are they 
that they cannot grain or splinter. 
Their color weathers beautifully, holding 
always the effect of a rich, warm toned 
wood floor. As good floors go they are 
not expensive; that is, of course, if you 
buy a good cork floor. But if you buy 
a cheap imitation you cannot expect 
the same results. They can be laid on 
concrete or metal with a special water¬ 
proof elastic cement and if the back¬ 
ing is of nailable concrete, the tiles are 
nailed in place. When laid on wood 
a heavy felt paper is spread upon the 
wood and the tile cemented on. 
With this flooring, as with practi¬ 
cally all others, the best manufacturers 
will send out catalogues showing how to. 
write specifications and giving instruc¬ 
tions as to the best method of laying 
the floor for durability and attractive¬ 
ness. Many of these catalogues are 
richly illustrated in color showing a. 
variety of patterns as well as endless 
tones. 
Of course, the finest floors with the 
richest surfaces and the most fascinating 
variety of color schemes can be com¬ 
pletely wasted if they are not suited to 
the house, to the furnishings and furni¬ 
ture, and to an extent the purpose for 
which the house is built. 
