Fr. 23, 1872. THE BUILDING NEWS. 145
THE BUILDING NEWS.
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LONDON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1872.
THE CHOICE OF A DWELLING.*
Me WHEELER'S handy little work will,
we have no doubt, be highly appre-
ciated amongst a large section of the public.
It is for the public that itis designed, and, un-
like Mr. Kerr’s more elaborate treatise, it is
not likely to become a study-book for the
professional man. It gives, in the convenient
form of a series of short paragraphs with con-
Spicuous headings, a great deal of information
which is familiar to every one connected with
the building trades, and a number of sugees-
tions which have more or less originality.
There are five general divisions. The first
comprises matters common to all houses—such
as soil, drainage, water supply, choice of
situation, and selection of materials. The
second supplies the necessary cautions, and
suggests the most important inquiries neces-
sary in buying orrenting a house. ‘The third
relates to building one, and gives useful advice
as to the appointment and duties of the
architect, the builder, and the clerk of works,
and also as to the mode of preparing estimates.
Next comes a division on ‘The House as it
Should Be ;” and finally one on its outdoor
adjuncts, such as stables, coachhouses, and
conseryatories. Properly speaking, these two
last sections of the book should have been
merged in the third—since the planning of the
house and offices is certainly implied and in-
cluded in the building of them. Having thus
indicated the general system followed, we
mmay note a few of Mr. Wheeler’s statements
and suggestions as they occur.
On the subject of drainage, and in cases
where no outfall exists, the use of earth
closets isrecommended. They doubtless have
their advantages, but before specifying them,
we should feel it desirable to point out to a
client the constant amount of labour which
their use involves and the inconvenience
which is liable to arise from the dust of the
falling earth. To prevent the annoyance of
constant and only partially foreseen trouble,
these evils ought to be made clear before-
hand: though we do not say that in many
cases the good will not counterbalance them.
Where drains are used, in a country place,
Mr. Wheeler recommends the making of some
permanent marks to show their position and
depth. Much trouble and unpleasantness
would be saved if this obvious means of find-
ing them was always provided, and if moy-
able lids were affixed to the lengths of drain-
pipe nearest each mark. The necessary fall
is set down here at lin. to 4ft., and
it is directed to be as much greater as pos-
sible. This is very plausible, but not equally
sound. It is no uncommon thing for a water-
closet drain to become stopped from the very
fact of its having too great a fall: the water
runs away so fast that the solid matter is left |
behind. Such a thing could, of course, never
happen if the flow of water was continual.
In a constantly running brook, Mr. Wheeler’s
direction would be practical enough, and the |
| rally adopted.
more fall it had, the more completely it would
carry suspended matters along with it. he
case, however, is different where only a few
quarts of water pass through the channel at
a time, and, paradoxical as it may seem, a
drain may slope so rapidly as to be constantly
choking up. In connection with this item we
may note two others, as to which the ordi-
nary practice may be calledin question: one
is the use of glazed pipes, and the other, the
setting of them in cement. It is doubtful
whether a glazed surface ig not more easily
fouled than a rough one, and in ease of settle-
- “The Choice of a Dwelling: a practical handbook
of useful information on all points connected with hiring, buying, or building a house, with its stables and garden outbuildings.” By GERVASE WHEELER, architect, With Plans and Views. London : John Murray, 1871.
ment it is certain that cement joints are more apt to leak than clay ones. With regard to building materials, enough can hardly be learnt from a book to be of much real use to intending purchasers or lessees of house pro- perty. Under this head, we are told that fil- tered rain-water makes the best mortar; but while we do not feel sure of the advantage, we have no doubt about the expense. ,The notes about bricks do not apply. well to any neighbourhood except that of London—and though a Middlesex or Essex stock may be up to the average at a weight of seven pounds, a Staffordshire brick, whether white or blue, ought to be a great deal heavier. Even those made round Manchester, of a stiff clay with little sand, should considerably ex- ceed the density here specified. Myr. Wheeler has some good, though familiar, information about Bath and Portland stone, and refers to the quantity of the latter very objectionable in quality which is always being brought into the London market under the name of ‘+ best bed.” The difficulty of avoiding this trea- cherous and perishable substance, and of ob- taining really durable Portland, is a serious objection to its use. The quarry owners in this case seem as anxious to ruin the reputa- tion of their stone, as those of Wiltshire are to raise theirs ; and while Bath stone is better picked for the market, and less liable to decay than it was some yearsago, Portland seems to be always getting worse and worse. Mr. Wheeler talks about the need of a Goyern- ment report on stone, and does not seem to be aware that precisely the report he asks for already exists. A Commission was appointed about the year 1838, consisting both of practical and scientific men, who examined the quarries all over the kingdom, and the buildings, ancient and modern, in which the pro- duce of those quarries had been employed. Their report, which, we believe, was pub- lished by Messrs. Longmans, contains a vast amount of useful information. It is true that it was connected with that great masonry failure, the Houses of Parliament, but this circumstance, to any one who is aware of the facts of the case, will not discredit it. Al- most every quarry, and the Bolsover or Church Anston quarry amongst the rest, has good and bad beds init. When the Palace of Westminster was begun, it was proposed to appoint a practical man to live at the quarry, and keep constant watch that none but good stone was sent up.. This expense, however, involving as it did the payment of | an annual salary of about £150, the House of Commons declined to sanction; we should like to know how much they have expended since as the result of their short-sighted economy. The second and third divisions of the book contain little that would interest our readers, and we therefore turn to the fourth, which relates to planning and design. ‘The first suggestion as to houses in our city streets is that they should be deeper from back to front. Of course, it needs no argument to prove, that with a given frontage, this is the only way of getting larger rooms; and Mr. Wheeler notices the reasons why itis not gene- These are, the difficulty of lighting and ventilating long apartments, when, as in a row of buildings, they can have no side windows; and also the English desire to haye as much space as possible reserved at the back for a garden. How to remove these objections, except by raising the height of the stories, we are not told; and this sug- gestion, therefore, seems of no great value. Mr. Wheeler gives some examples of the | treatment, but his internal rooms, with their borrowed lights, or narrow openings into an area not much bigger than a chimney flue, | suggest painful ideas of darkness and un- healthiness. His deviations from the regular oblong into dining and drawing-rooms of | octagonal and other unusual shapes we are not Much may often be | addressed. disposed to commend.
gained by such departures fromthe stereo- typed pattern, and itis a pleasure to meet with aroom possessing some character and in- dividuality of its own. Some of the plans for villas are convenient, though it is not always clear how they would work out as regards roofing and external design. Judging from the views, the author does not shine as an architect ; his most ambitious exterior reminds one of Hereford Cathedral at the first glance, and of Strawberry Hill at the second. His notion of the picturesque, as he describes it in a paragraph on cottage building, seems to be that it involves queer- shaped roofs and multitudinous gables, and these, he says, are a constant source of ex- pense. We have seen, and we do see, every day, every hour, and almost every minute, a great many very unpicturesque roofs which are a constant source of ex- pense. In every streetin London, lead flats and false construction are introduced for the very purpose of keeping the roofs from being picturesque ; and yet lead flats are not to be had for nothing, and are not to be kept in re- pair without continual outlay. Between the designers who construct their roofs absurdly for the sake of making them pretty, and those who do the same thing for the sake of making them plain, there is not much to choose; true picturesqueness, in nine cases out of ten, is reached by following convenience without regard to uniformity, and by roofing in the sinplest and safest ways which the plan will allow. We must, however, do Mr. Wheeler the justice to say that he does not obtrude his architectural notions on his readers; he sticks to planning, and his remarks about it deserve attention. There isa useful chapter onthe several parts of a house, beginning with the entrance-lobby, and staircase, and going onto the dining-room, serving-room, library, drawing-room, billiard-room, gentle- men’s-rooms, kitchen, larder, laundry, cellars, bath-room, and bedrooms. It is re- commended, with doubtful expediency, to have all external walls battened, and to insert horizontal strips of wood by way of keeping the space from becoming a rat and mouse run. In the paragraph on roofs there is a section showing a modification, by no means adyan- tageous, of the common queenpost truss; a small kingpost truss being inserted, quite uselessly, above the straining piece. ‘The | latter is not even required, according to the plate, to carry a purlin, for the top one would have rested far better on a queenpost. There is a good piece of advice, less needed now thanit was twenty years ago, to run the roof, wherever practicable, over the walls; and so defy snow and leaves and leaky gutters. The remarks on floors are also worth regarding ; a good floor is indeed a luxury, and one that can seldom be met with in London. On the subject of plumbing, which is con- nected with more inconvenience than any other trade employed about a house, our author says but little. He objects to lead pipes on account of the supposed danger of their contaminating the water which passes through them. This, however, is exceedingly | small, unless in the rare case of absolutely pure water; and even here it can be spre- vented by allowing a hot solution of sulphide of potassium to stand for a few minutes in the pipes after they are first fixed. This con- verts the internal surface into sulphide of lead, which is quite insoluble in spring or rain-water. In the matter of sink-traps, stop- cocks, water-closets, and similar details, Mr. Wheeler recommends nothing in particular ; though it is just here that not only the public but the profession would value the opinion of a really practical man. We have noted rather what we object to than what we agree with throughout the work; but though it does not contain very much that demands the architect’s attention, it will be a useful manual for the class to whom it is
