FINE HOMEBUILDING

ADOBE CONSTRUCT ION • BUILDING CODES • A SOLAR MASK • TREATED WOOD FOUNDATIONS

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1981 No.5 $3.00

 A CUT ABOVE . � \' \lO :VIF.flL1\1 I)\:--<C 'Ii\G
IN QUALITY. �
,. l 'I � " EflC\
FI"S \
\. D " C.
I V.ou
•• can
still . get
In on
.
\ the
ground
r floor.
'1\1 \
Whether you're building a new home from the
ground up, or trying to bring an old home back to
life, you won't want to miss the information and
There's no better value than the AEG Powercut Artisan. From
its high-performance motor to its heavy-gauge aluminum
shoe, the Powercut Artisan is built for durability, ease of opera­
ideas that fill the back issues of Fine Homebuilding.
tion and precision. A special blade lock holds the blade shaft And you don't have to, because we keep all our back
motionless for easier, faster blade changes. Unique top handle
design gives you better cutting control and carrying comfort.
You get all this value plus a free carbide blade and one year of $3 4
issues in print. T he first issues are now available at
each, postpaid. To order, just send your name and
free maintenance. 7-1/4" PC 70 is $146.00,8-1/4" PC 80
is address along with your payment to T he Taunton
$165.00. Call 1-800-243-8182 toll free and order today. In
Conn., call collect 1-886-5426.

QUALITY TOOL SHOP

06470. 52
Press, Church Hill Road, Box 355,
Newtown, CT
(Don't forget to tell us which issues you want.)
If you'd like more information, just ask.
Quality tools for quality workmanship
Box 565, Escoheag, RI 02821
MasterCard & Visa Accepted
FINE HOMEBUILDING
Back Issues of
C£ool(ing forc.AutlIentic Period
/?Estomtioll WardWiire ?
We can help -- whether you are involved in
"Old House Restoration", "Historic
Building Preservation", "Recycling
Antique Interiors" or "Building a Fine New
Home" according to early traditions.

Baldwin offers an extensive line of quality

locks suitable for buildings of Colonial and
Victorian architecture. Our locks and
related hardware pieces are faithful
reproductions of the best designs of these
periods. Equally important, Baldwin locks
are built with modern security features to
meet p r e s e nt- d a y protection re­
quirements.

Baldwin Hardware Mfg. Corp. is located

in Berks County, Pennsylvania, the center
of America's early hardware industry. Our
Lock Makers take great pride in their craft
and would like to offer you a colorful, informative
brochure illustrating Baldwin's complete Historical Lock
Collection. Please include 50C and write to: Baldwin
Hardware Mfg. Corp., 841 Wyomissing Blvd., Box 82,
Reading, PA 19603.

2 F I NE H O MEB U I LD I N G
FIN E HOMEBUILDING OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1 9i1l No. 5

18 Moving a House
Skill, experience and hard work give new life to an old home by Tim Snyder
22 Rebuilding an Addition
Porches and a bow ceiling enlarge an old house by Nelson Denny
25 Making Curvilinear Sash
How to lay out and assemble a semi-elliptical window by Norman Vandal
28 Bow-Cot and the Honeymoon Cottage
Two experimental stone houses by New York architect Ernest Flagg by Daniel A. Levy
36 Restoring Brownstone Facades
Techniques for repairing and replacing 19th-century structured elements by Sarah Latham
40 Wood Foundations
Pressure-treated studs and plywood make an economical system by Irwin L. and Diane L. Post
43 Understanding Building Regulations
In vestigate local codes before you buy land or construct a home by Edmund Vitale, Jr.
46 Ageless Adobe
A 'passive solar' house of molded mud by Myrtle Stedman
48 Building a Contemporary Adobe Home
Insulation and solar panels update a Southwest tradition by Doug McDowell
52 Solar Site Evaluation
Some approaches that can help you analyze your site by Daniel K. Reif
54 Truss Frame Construction
A simple construction method especially suited to the owner-builder by Mark White

DEPARTM ENTS Editor

46
Letters
Don Raney, AlA
Art Director
Betsy Levine Mastel l i
Copy Chief
T ips & Techniques Ruth Dobsevage
810
Details
Assistant Editors
Mark Alvarez
Kenneth Lelen
Q&A Ti m Snyder
1460
Reports
Western Editor
Chuck M i l l er
Editorial Secretary
Reviews Debra Polakoff

6264
Calendar Cover: Moving a house is
a delicate but demand­
i n g op e r a t i o n. S teet
Product News beams and cribbing sup­

66
G reat Moments
port the house as it is di­
vided (teft) and trucked
to a new site. See p. 18.

The Taunton Press: Paul Roman, publisher: Janice A. Roman. associate publisher: JoAnn Muir,
director of administration: Jon Miller. assistant to the publisher: Lois Beck, secretary to the pub­
Fine Homebuitding cr
(tSSN 0273-1398) is published bimonthly. February. April. June. August. October. and

lisher. Accounting: Irene Arfaras. manager; Madeline Colby. Elaine Yamin. Art: Roger Barnes.
director: Lee Hov. E. Marino III. Jeanne Criscola. Books: Laura Cehanowicz Tringali. editor:
paid at Newtown,IT
December. by T he Taunton Press. Inc .. Newtown. 06470. Telephone (203) 426-8171. Second-class postage is

Fine Homebuilding
U6470 and at additional mailing offices. Copyright 1981 by T he Taunton Press, Inc. No re­

Deborah Cannarella. editorial assistant. Fulfillment: Thomas P. Luxeder. manager: Carole E.

Ando. subscription manager: Gloria Carson, Dorothy Dreher, Marie Johnson. Cathy Sakolsky,
Subscription rates:
production without permission of T he Taunton Press, Inc.
Taunton Press, Inc.
® is a registered trademark of T he
United States and possessions, S l 4/one year, $26/two years; Canada,
Sl7 /one year, S321two years (in U.S. dollars. please); other countries, SIS/one year, S34/two years (in U.S.
Nancy Schoch, Cathy Sullivan. Terry Thomas: Robert Bruschi. mailroom supervisor: Marchelle
Sperling. Marketing: Jack F. Friedman. director; Ellen McGuire, assistant sales manager; Karl
Ackerman. sales coordinator; Kimberly Mithun. secretary; Kathy Springer. Production: Cindy
PO
T he Taunton Press. Inc.. cr
dollars, please). Single copy, $3.00. Single copies outside U.S. and possessions, $4.00. Send to Subscription Dept..
Box 355. Newtown. 06470. Addressall correspondence to the appropriate depart·
ment (Subscription. Editorial or Advertising). T he Taunton Press. 52 Church Hill Rd.. PO Box 355, Newtown, CT
Lee Nyitray. manager: Barbara Hannah. darkroom: Nancy-Lou Zabriskie Knapp. typesetting;
06470. US newsstand distribution by Eastern News Distributors.Inc., III Eighth Ave., New York. NY 1 0011.
Kathryn Olsen. paste-up.

Advertising Sales
Richard Mulligan, manager Western Slates Southern States M idwest States Postmaster:
Carole Weckesser and W illiam W. Hague Jack F. Cozier Edward A. Schaedel Send address changes
V ivian E. Dorman. coordinators
The Taunton Press
52 Church Hill Rd.. Box 365
Richard Ayer
Media Sales Associates
26944 Camino de Estrella
Timothy John Nelson
Marketing Communications
5115 So. Vandalia. Suite E
Tim Schaedel
Edward A. Schaedel
934-A Apparel Center
Son & New Engtand
Granville Fillmore
98 Peartree Point Rd.
to The Taunton Press,
PO Box 355,
Newtown. CT 06470 Capistrano Beach. CA 92624 Tulsa. OK 74135 Chicago, IL 60654 Darien, CT 06820
(203) 426-8171
Newtown, CT 06470.
(203) 426-8171 (714) 661-2423 (918) 496-8777 (312) 329-0885

O C TO B E R/NOV E M B E R 1981 3
 L ETT ERS

I am familiar with the Consumer Energy arises when the alpha-emitting radon temperature that is much too low (in Portland,
Council of America, but I do not understand daughters attach to dust particles, are inhaled , Maine, the average daily temperature is
why they are so negative with respect to gas a n d lodge i n the l u n g . Alpha i n radiation of 2 3 . 7 °F in our coldest month, and everyone
use for home heating in your Product News sensitive lung tissue can double a person's knows how cold it gets in Maine), and also an
(FHB #2 , p. 65). The truth about gas is that lifetime lung cancer risk. incorrect R-value for the Thermoply
with controlled gas prices, o il-to-gas The means to control this risk is to control (Thermoply is a denser material than
conversions pay back very fast. This makes the amount of radon and radon daughters i n fiberboard sheathing).
conversion h i ghly desirable for homeowners room air. Lead shielding won't work because
who have to replace their heating systems radon gas, like air, will seep into a room There are some errors i n your article " Hybrid
now or who will have to replace them soon. through m i n ute cracks, joints and even Trombe Wall Additions" in your June/July
Of course, other conservation i nvestments are pinholes in an otherwise impervious vapor issue. Most important i s that the article is
also very cost-effective. In my own small barier. Although lead is a relatively i mpervious m isnamed. The term "hybrid," when used with
apartment building, weatherstripping, attic barrier, the seams between lead sheets would passive applications, implies the use of
insulation, and oil-to-gas conversion have be cavernous entry points for radon gas. mechanical equipment such .as a pump or a
reduced my heating bill 60% i n one year. The best solution to the problem i s to allow fan to assist either i n the collection or in the
Since the building already had gas service the radon gas to escape from the room via distribution of energy. However your device
for cooking and hot-water uses, no hook-up or ventilation. You were correct i n stating that has no parasitic dependence on outside power
charges were involved in the conversion. poor ventilation will contribute to elevated sources and thus is truly passive and not
It is true that gas prices will rise and will be concentrations of radon gas and its decay hybrid at all. . . .
more comparable to heating oil prices i n the products and that houses built over vented Your published design is for an application
future when natural gas prices are crawl spaces are relatively free from radon without thermal mass and thus has another
decontrolled. However, the outlook for gas danger. More study would be helpful to define name belonging to another generic type. It is a
supplies is very good, and we forecast natural methods of ventilation that are efficient both site-built convective air collector, or
gas prices to be lower than heating oil prices in exchanging air and retaining heat. This thermosiphon air panel system (TAPS).
i n most parts of the country even after gas would be an appropriate and t imely subject for At this stage your readers might feel
price decontrol. Prior to decontrol, which may an article in Fine Homebuilding, as many deceived except that whatever you call it you
not occur for another three years, gas will cost people strive to control air i nfiltration. will still get solar heat, even though there are
considerably less than heating oil i n most -F. Paul Wagner, Assistant Radiation some serious faults in the details. The use of
areas of the country. u.s. Environmental Protection
Representative, the sheathing painted black to produce solar
- Theodore R. Breton, Energy Consultant, Agency, Denver, Colo. hot air may be i nnovative, but it is not nearly
ICF Corp . , Washington, D. C. Editor 's note: We are working on an article
as effective as using a black painted sheet­
about installing air-to-air heat exchangers
metal plate suspended in the middle of the air­
I read with interest Thomas Heinz's " Frank which, among other benefits, will reduce the space so that air can pass on both sides. Such
Lloyd Wright's Jacobs II House" (FHB #3). I radon gas accumulation in airtight houses. construction would more than double the hot­
became acquainted with this house during air output and would also be a lot easier on
graduate studies in solar energy at the Your issue #Z contains some m isleading the envelope materials of the house itself.
University o f Wisconsin-Madison. The article i n formation. On p. 52 Stan Griskivich's design Fortunately solar always works, even when
illuminates the design and construction i s presented for insulated window shutters poorly done. However it is disappointing that
innovations of the home. However, your claiming an R-value of 8. The resistance of the your exemplary magazine is not more
readers should also know about the thermal shutters is the sum o f four resistances in the definitive with this important and economical
performace of the home. The Jacobs II home series. From the inside of the room these are passive solar application. Many examples have
typicall y consumes more than 6,000 therms of Ys-in. Thermoply (fiberboard with foil face), been built from Maine to Arizona that
natural gas per year. Last winter's heating bill 0.33; %-in . air gap between low-emissivity properly illustrate this lightweight, easil y
was in excess of $3,000. This energy surfaces, 1 . 1 8 ; Ys-in . Thermoply, 0.33; assumed constructed solar heating device.
consumption rate is exorbitant even by 1 948 1 Yz-in. gap between shutter and window, 1 . 1 2 ; -Jeffrey Cook, Chairman, Passive Systems
standards of house construction. this adds up t o a n R-value of 2 . 9 6 . These Division, A m erican Section of the International
The lesson of the Jacobs I I house i s that values come from the ASH RAE 1 97 7 Solar Energy Society, Killeen, Tex.
impeccable passive solar and earth shelter Handbook of Fundamentals (table 2, p. 22. 1 2
design concepts with disregard for energy for air gaps at OaF average temperature, and Robert Bruno's House of Steel (back cover,
conservation details will lead to i ncreased table 3A, p. 22. 1 4 for resistance of fiberboard FHB #4) seems an almost superhuman
rather than decreased energy consumption. sheathing. -Jeffrey Kessel, Oakland, Calif. undertaking. Strangely, the fact that he works
Were the ceiling and floor insulated, double­ alone may well have enabled him to proceed
glazed windows used, and thermal bridges The R-value of the
Stan Griskivich replies:
more expeditiously than some of the rest of us
(such as the south edge of the concrete floor Thermoply shutter in conjunction with a owner-builders who are at the mercy of
slab) insulated, the Jacobs II house would sealed, double-glazed window is R-8. 1 1 . It is subcontractors. I made the mistake of rejecting
stand as an excellent example of energy­ calculated as follows: even my best friends' warnings when they told
Emissivity R-value
conserving passive solar design. me of subcontractors' lack o f compunction i n
-Michael Utzinger, assistant professor of
'I.-in. insulating glass 0.82 1.23 following schedules which makes their very
'I.-in. air gap
architecture, Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwa ukee. appearance on site seem m i raculous. I have
between glass
and shutter 0.05 2.80 been slowly restoring an 1 880 Victorian
I would l ike to offer a correction concerning Shutter: house, doing whatever I can myself.
your National Reports piece (FHB # 1 , p. 1 0) on Two }i.-in. Thermo- Occasionally a job like casting a concrete patio
elevated i n door concentrations of radon. It is ply layers 0.32 is beyond my capabi l ities. So I designed the
true that lead shielding can stop very 3kin. air space and patio of my dreams and after many interviews
penetrating gamma rays, but gamma rays are wood frame 0.03 2.06 I found a contractor I could afford. He, like the
not the problem in this case. Radon and its Inside surface 1.70 subcontractors in my friends' stories, took
daughters emit alpha radiation. If one were R total 8.11 weeks to show. In the meantime I thought up
trying to stop only the alpha radiation, lead These figures are from table 2 7 (p. 1 49) and an elaborate scoring pattern. I savored sweet
would be overdoing it because alpha rays can table IG (p. 81) in the book From The Walls In, revenge when my concrete contractor
generally be stopped by a piece of paper or a by Charles Wing. muttered as he raced the blazing sun and
p erson's skin. Alpha rays pose a serious risk Mr. Kessel i s using an incorrect value for setting mud, "If I had seen this design I never
only when they expose the inn er tissues of the emissivity in determining the R-value o f the would have taken the job."
body. The risk of cancer associated with radon air space in the shutter, an average -David Jacobs, Seacliff, N. Y.
4 FINE HOMEBUILDING
 NOT OLDER-JUST BETTER Build this bea
utiful
Dome Home by
yourself!
A non-profit organization.

BUILDERS:
HOUSEBUI LDINGTEACH
CLASSES
After 3 years and 4000 students
in t he San Francisco Bay
Enjoy super-low energy bills
A rea we are no w offering pro­
gr ams to t r ain others to teach and house payments
A comprehensive color catalog of
h ousebuilding classes in t heir Save up to 50% on utilities, and up to 60% on building
old-style hardware, lighting and costs. Beautiful Monterey Domes geodesic homes are
area. The tw o week program plumbing fixtures, decorative acces­ extremely energy-effiCient, unbelievably strong, earth­
quake resistant, and easy to assemble. No special tools
off
. er s t r aining in teac h ing, sories, and other hard-to-find or skills necessary. Our unique, patented building sys­
co n s u lting, ad vertising, and products. This catalog includes tem makes home construction a reality for the novice.

pro motio n and includes 2500 pieces from the Colonial Era Monterey Domes pre-cut, color-coded shell packages

s lides , teacher m anual and through the 19th Century in solid

brass, wrought iron, porcelain,
Send for our color Catalog &
start at $3995. Models up to 3,500 sq. ft.
Plan Book - 90 fact-filled
pages of exciting, affordable homes. Sales representa­
stu dent texts. Tot al co st­ tives available for all 50 States. Write today'
pewter, and oak. All items are
$6000 . (This is not a franchise
newly-manufactured for a lifetime
�-----------.
offering.) We h ave been fea­
tured in Newsweek and on
of use-many are authentic 0RUlh me your 90 page CATALOG
I Encloled II $6.00, pOltage Included.
&
PLANS BOOK.

NBC News.
reproductions of period pieces.
Catalog costs $2,refundable with OAllo lend your ASSEMBLY MANUAL for an add'i
I
purchase. I $5.00. I
For information, contact: R.ES"£TF-F-L"Y
1V"<>�..A.'T'<>R. S I NAME I
Owner B uilder Center I ADDRESS I
1824 Fourth 51. CITY, STATE, ZIP
Berkeley, CA 94710
(415) 848-5950
124(413) 659-348101349
Northfield Rd.,
Millers Falls, MA I Mall To: MONTEREY DOMES
I 1855 I owa, Dept. BK-10
Riverside, CaUl. 92517
--
,.&2..
I
MOtmI�yIf DOMES
I
_
------------�

Main Offices and Warehouse: 45 Halladay S t reet

Jersey City, New Jersey 07304
(201) 433·3800

F ree Blade with Unisaw Order Only!

All Prices F.O.B. Jersey City, N.J.
r-----------------------�
THE Builds Profits on the Job : NOW AVAILABLE :
: The Most Complete
,
ROCKWELL
ALL-PURPOSE and in the Piant! I
ROCKWELL
I
Catalog
I
12"Portable I ever compiled

UNISAW® RADIAL SAW

I
:
I
for the
Homebuilder I
I

B
L
A
D
E • 6'1<" capacity, 12'1<" with height

First Choice in 10" Saws!

• Patented UNIGUARD or splitter·

i
mounted guard' Triple V·belt drive
Micro·Set'" rip fence. R ps to center
W
I
T
attachment . 3,000 FPM cutting
speed with 1725 RPM motor. Mi·
crometer adjustment blade guides
Double sealed ball bearing con·
• •
struction Precision balanced
•• E
asily carried through a standard

cuts 15v," wide, rips oj

doorway. Cuts stock 4'" thick, cross
50'" panel
Features famous "Turret-Arm"
of a 50'" panel. 100'" w�h long guide
bars. 3V,'" depth of cut
H aluminum wheels' Table tilts 45°R,
100L
action, up·front controls, powerful
motor and much more!

SEE IT IN ACTION TODAY! o SEE IT IN ACTION TODAY! SEE ITiN ACTION TODAY!
R
SPECIAL
D SPECIAL SPECIAL
PROMOTIONAL
PRICE!
E PROMOTIONAL
PRICE!
PROMOTIONAL
PRICE
34·761
Model R MODEL 28·281 33-790
MODEL
Regular-$1,692,OO Regular·$795.00 Regular-$957.00
NOW! $1,399.50 NOW! $611.00 NOW! $749.00 leg srand
mc.
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1981 5
 T I P S & T E C H N IQU E S

Tips and Techniques is a forum for readers to ex­ Drywall lift

change the methods, tools and jigs they've de­ My homemade drywall hanger, basically a
vised. We'll pay for any we publish. Send details,
frame that can be raised up with an automobile
sketches and negatives with photographs to Tips
jack, takes a lot of the work out of putting dry­
a nd Techniques, Fine Homebuilding, Box 355,
wall on a ceiling. The size can vary-mine has a
Newtown, Conn. 06470.
24-in. by 48-in. plywood base with a 20-in. by
gO-in. top, which easily accommodates 4-ft. by
Blocked-up chimney 12-ft. sheets of drywall. The unit can be jacked
Prefabricated metal chimneys (whether insu­ up to a height of 8� ft. The riser pipe should be of
lated or not) have become almost universal for a large enough diameter fo slide over the jack­
use with woodburning appliances. When we in­ stand. Notch and weld one end to the ratchet
stalled one, we thought, like most people, that mechanism and screw the other end into a
our $20-a-foot expenditure was a lifetime invest­ flange at the top. Many automobile jacks aren't
ment. It hasn't been for us-after two years we made to stand plumb, so some shimming of the. nail. Here's a trick that a veteran carpenter
have already had to paint the exposed pipe, base may be necessary. showed me for just such circumstances. Hold the
which was badly corroded (in an admittedly se­ The completed unit is surprisingly stable and head of the nail against the side of your hammer
vere coastal environment). We have heard that should be able to accept 4-ft. by 16-ft. drywall between the index finger and middle finger as
metal chimneys can be badly damaged by un­ shown in the drawing. Take aim at the spot you
detected chimney fires. With many builders in­ want to start your nail and hit it hard enough to
stalling them in hard-to-reach places, it seems make the nail stick. With a little practice you'll
that the alternative of terra-cotta chimney liners have an accurate method of one-handing it.
set in standard 16-in. by 16-in. by 8-in. concrete -Jim Miller, St. Louis, Mo.
chimney blocks is a safer and more permanent
choice. The cost is comparable or less, the units 2x4 frame, Grout gun
20 in . by90 i n.
self-aligning, and the blocks can be tied together We bought a house with a nicely remodeled
P i pe is notched
with rebar for earthquake resistance. a n d welded to bathroom. All it lacked to make it look really fin­
Automobile
Flue liners and chimney blocks vary in size ratchet mechanism ished was a tile baseboard.
bumper
from location to location, but the local sources
probably make compatible blocks and liners.
The blocks around here are as shown in the
�S---JI' �- jack and base With the sink, toilet and other fixtures still in
place, I was able to spread the mastic to hold the
tiles to the bathroom wall with a fair amount of
drawing below. Liners are usually started 4 in. contortion but no real trouble. The only prob­
above the bottom so they align each chimney lem I foresaw was with the unwieldy rubber
block as it is laid. grout trowel-there simply wasn't enough room
Depending on local codes, earthquake and to maneuver it in some of the tight places.
wind conditions, and the height of the chimney, sheets with no trouble at all. The jig is portable Casting about for an alternative grouting
it's usually wise to run �-in. rebars up from the and easily disassembled into three pieces for method led me to the kitchen drawer and the
footings to the top of the chimney on opposite di­ storage by unscrewing the top and lifting the seldom-used cake-decorating device. It looks
agonal corners and grout them in place. Usually jack out of the base. like a caulking g u n , w i t h several int e r ­
4-ft. to 5-ft. rods are as long as is comfortable to The lowered height of my unit is about 6 ft., so changeable metal tips and a piston plunger at
work with. Be sure to overlap them 20 diameters my wife and I can easily lift a sheet overhead one end to control the flow of icing, or whatever.
(10 in.). It is also advisable to tie the chimney to and slide it on top of the carpet-padded lifter. The cap unscrews for loading. I filled the thing
Then it is simply a matter of jacking it up into with grout and went to work.
place. Our old house has very few square cor­ The device worked remarkably well for this
ners, and the sheet can be trimmed to fit while application. I was able to reach remote crevices
up in the air. There is enough play in the jack to with ease and fill them with a high degree of ac­
allow a back and forth movement of about 4 in., curacy. The only problem came when I failed to
for fine tuning. - John Bower, Lafayette, Ind. screw the cap completely on after reloading; it
popped off, firing a messy blob onto the floor.
Patching plaster My new tool was easy to clean when I was
In the course of restoring several old homes I've done with it, and I returned it to its kitchen duties
come across a solution for filling cracks in sound none the worse for wear.
plaster in lieu of removing for complete replace­ -Chuck Gomez, Ponca City, Okla.
ment. First, correct any structural problems that
may have led to cracks or separations. Second, Power miter-box jig
channel out the cracks with a church key or On a construction site, a convenient setup for a
similar tool to a depth of at least Ys in., then fill power miter box saw is essential if the tool is to
the cracks with a quick-setting, non-shrinking earn its keep. A good setup must combine easy
drywall compound (i.e., Durabond by U.S.G.) or removal of the saw for secure lock-up, long sup­
a lime putty. After it dries, tape the cracks with ports on each side of the saw, easy storage, and a
plasterer's fiberglass mesh and all-purpose dry­ waist-high saw table. My jig, shown in the draw­
wall compound. Then float the entire surface ing below, allows for lift-off removal of the saw,
with one or two coats of drywall compound, us­
ing a trowel or wide knife. Sand out when dry Power miter box
and prep for finish. Large areas of new plaster
can be blended with old in the same manner.
-Alan Berkowitz, Kansas City, Mo.
Concrete
foundation Starting a nail
or footing Ever find yourself perched at the end of a scaf­
fold or ladder when you needed to start a nail in
the ceiling and roof structure with steel straps, a piece of framing or siding? If you're like me,
leaving at least a 2-in. clearance to combustible chances are you'll be hanging onto the ladder
materials. - Tom Bender, Nehalem, Ore. with one hand, leaving you one short to hold the

6 FINE HOME BUILDING

 T I P S & T E C H N IQU E S

which means it can be brought to a construction

site before the building i s enclosed and taken
piece. Rock-hard putty can sometimes make i t
nearly i mpossible. H ere's h o w t o d o i t :
.------ P lywood

away each night. Lay your w indow down on a flat surface and

�l
Because accurate cuts are so easy to make paint the old putty with lacquer thinner. Then

,
with one of these saws, inexperienced workers wait five or ten m i nutes, and go after i t with a S pacing
can get excellent results for such tasks as rough scraper. The thinner penetrates underneath the
"d
framing. If the jig has sufficiently long side putty, allowing i t to be l i fted away i n large
Gauge for
boards, a stop for identical-length studs may be chunks. I've never seen putty that wouldn't suc­
plywood siding
fastened to them . I haven't found it necessary to cumb to this treatment.

;,.Ll���.�
fasten my saw to this j ig, but i f you want you -Ron Davis, Novato, Calif
could insert dowels through the bolt holes in the
box into the 2x 1 O. Button vents revisited
My 1 0-in. saw will not quite cut through 2x6
material unless I use one of these two tricks: On
The April/May Tips and Techniques col u m n
contains a method for venting the space be­
..---,- P l ywood
fences

90° cuts, I first bring the saw down through the tween insulation and the roof of a cathedral ceil­
wood as far as it can go, leaving the last Yz in. or ing, using button vents on both sides of the roof
so uncut. Then I lift up the front edge of the at the bottom of the rafters. Supposedly this
board to complete the cut. If I am m aking nu­ would allow a flow of air i n one side, up to the
merous cuts, or cuts at an angle other than 90°, I
fasten a suitable length of �-i n . plywood along R idge vent extends
the side boards and across the saw table i n order length of roof
to jack up the bottom of the lumber up the saw's
range. - Phillip Zimmerman, Berkeley, Calif

B utton
Double decking
When our house was bui lt i n 1 958, the plan i n­ Last i nch of
cluded large decks on two sides. They were built ��"'---L-""-J
8d galvan ized na i l , d riven from top
conventionally: 2x8 joists set on 4-ft. centers
covered with 2x6 planks set on 6-in . centers. By board against both fences face down and apply­
1 980 I had to replace the decking, primarily be­ i n g pressure; once again, the perforations indi­
cause of rot that started wherever two 2x6s but­ cate nail locations. Boards can be positioned and
ted each other over a joist. marked at various points along the gauge to al­
My design i nvolved doubling up the joists at low for joints in the siding, or openings such as
each station, as shown in the drawing. This peak, down the other side and out. This is not an w indows and doors. Nail temporary stops on the
simple change accomplishes the following: no effective method of venti lation. Hot air will gauge to locate these positions. These easily
tight butts i n planking, no butts over joists, no gather at the peak and stay there unless ridge made jigs enable you to produce accurate, even­
venting is installed to let i t out, as shown in the ly spaced nailing l ines at production speed.
drawing; cool air will then replace the vented -Malcolm McDaniel, Berkeley, Calif ,

Orig i n a l deck warmer air, allowing the desired air flow. Tables and Paul Spring, Oakland, Calif.
B utt joint
are available with specific vent dimensions for
Joist ----b1I the area to be vented. Local building depart­
ments can usually supply them.
Double-beveled rafters
Carpenters in central California use this tech­
-Steve Minkwitz, Marblehead, Mass. n ique for cutting double bevels on h i p or valley
rafters fashioned from conventional 2x framing
Chalkless nailing gauges l umber. Set the tongue of the framing square on
T h e s e two s ite-b u i l t g a uges for m a r k i n g one end of the rafter as shown and draw two
plywood and board siding for nailing come i n
handy where nail l ines and spacing have t o be
uniform, or where visible chalk l ines cannot be
l eft on the siding.
The nailing gauge for plywood (drawing, top
o f next column) is like a very long T-square. The
blade o f the square has n a i l poi n t s o n i ts
centerline at the specified nailing schedule. We
found that the last inch of an 8d galvanized nail,
driven blunt end first, worked best when the
point was left to protrude about Ys in.
spli t 2x6s from n ailing them at their ends, and Allowing for th e offset between the nail points
the entire structure can now "breathe." and the edge of the gauge, lay out stud centers
The deck has a width of 1 5 2x6s. With careful on the plywood top and bottom , hook the
l ayout using lengths up to 20 ft., I have no more marker over the top edge of the plywood (ply­
than four joints at any station, minimizing waste. wood should be face up) and along the layout
I used pressure-treated southern yellow pine. All marks, and strike the device with a hammer
the lumber cost about $ 1 ,000, and only $64 was along its lengt h . The perforations that will be left
added by doubling up on the 2x8s. represent the nail holes to be used in attachi n g parallel pitch l ines (they will be 1 � in. apart).
- James B. French, Portsmouth, R.1. the siding. Then adjust the foot o f the circular saw to cut a
The gauge for board siding is made from 2x 4 5 ° bevel, and make the first cut i n the direc­
Removing window glass framing lumber (as wide as the boards to be tion i n d icated in the drawing. The second cut
Extracting the glass from discarded windows for marked) with plywood fences nailed to one edge starts from the opposite side of the board. The
re-use is a sensible idea; many t imes the glass and to one end. The nail points in the 2x are resulting double bevel allows the carpenter to
can be cut to fill a gap somewhere around the spaced on stud centers along its length, and as tuck the rafter between two perpendicular com­
house. The only real drawback to window recy­ desired across its widt h . mon rafters.
cling is getting the glass out of its old frame in one The siding is marked by positioning a precut -Andrew Kujawa, Santa Cruz, Calif
.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1981 7
 D ETA I LS

Carved corbel
On the Santa Fe (N. Mex.) Courthouse,
designed b y John Gaw Meem AlA and
built in 1 939, a corbel , mortised to ac­
cept t h e natural post, is used to de­
c rease the spans required for the heavy
viga (beam) abo ve . Shaped from a
7 I
b lock about ft. long and ft . square, it
is adorned with decorati ve carvings in
t h e Santa Fe style o f architecture. In
some places the carved designs are in­
laid with bright colors to counterpoint
the somber weathered wood tones.

Stone shower
We built this outdoor shower with local
river rock and tapered its sloping side
for a garden path border. The reverse
S-shaped concrete foundation is about
I Yz ft. wide and I ft. deep. Every 2 ft . ,
# 4 rebars r u n vertically, and w e wired
in horizontal rebars every few courses.
as the stones were laid up. Water flow
to t h e shower head is controlled with
an overhead valve connected to a rigid
steel handle; pull to open, push to close.
-Randy Morris, Aptos, Calif

8 F I NE H O M E B U I LD I N G
This column features attractive and well-designed details, both traditional and con­ photos (with negatives if possible), sketches (we'll redraw them) and brief descriptions
temporary. We pay $50 for items that are published. Readers are invited to send to Details, Fine Homebuilding, Box 355. Newtown, Conn. 06470.

Stick style
This porch post-to-rafter configuration
is from the patternbook era of contrac­
tor-built houses at the turn of the cen­
tury. The exaggerated dimensions and
implied construction are a hallmark of
the Craftsman style. Short toenailed
blocks masquerading as tenons appear
to pass through the post and diagonal 4B i n .
bracing. Chamfered edges further con­
tribute to the geometric interplay.

l - i n . chamfer 6x6

·
Garden gate
This adobe wall in Santa Fe, N. Mex., is
enhanced by a simple gate of modest
materials. \\Tought iron hinges work as
brackets to tie together rails and stiles.
The delicate screens at the top of each
door are cast iron, probably ventilation
grates commonly used in Victorian
buildings above the foundations.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1981 9
 Q & A

The editors invite questions from readers on all has excellent stability (when exposed to temper­ green anyway. Pegged, well-made joints keep
aspects of building, renovation and restoration. ature and humidity changes) and is thus a good the frame together as shrinkage occurs. If you're
We're also happy to publish reader comment on choice for the core of your planks. In fact. given building with pine or other softwoods, however,
the answers. Send questions and comments to the size and spacing of your joists, you could let the wood dry for at least several months if it's
Q&A, Fine Homebuilding, Box 355, Newto wn,
easily use �-in . plywood rather than thicker ma­ been milled green.
Conn. 06470.
terial and save some money. You don't mention Yellow poplar has a low resistance to decay, so
This winter I plan to make laminated floor· a tongue-and-groove joint at the ends of your I would season this wood well and then treat it
boards in my shop to install in a new room planks, and this is a feature you should incor­ with clear, paint-on preservative before nailing
upstairs next year, I want to use ash and porate. Otherwise you'll get deep voids if the it up as board-and-batten siding. For more in­
walnut as the exposed boards and plywood planks shrin k . formation about ti mber framing, see Building
as the core. The finished floor will be ex· I'd recommend using yellow wood glue to the Tim ber Fra m e Ho use by Tedd Ben son
posed from below, which is why I'm using bond the ash and walnut to the ply core. This is (Charles Scribner's Sons, 597 Fifth Ave . , New
walnut as the bottom face. The floor joists an aliphatic resin glue that sets in 30 to 45 min­ York, N . Y. IOO I 7) . -TS
are 4x 10 oak on 32·in. centers. The jig I de· utes (depending on the temperature and humid­
signed for gluing the three pieces together ity in your workshop), achieves maximum bond What kind of casting material is used for ex·
is based on two hydraulic jacks exerting strength in 24 hours, and can be purchased i n terior ornaments like capitals, brackets and
pressure on a steel I·beam frame. Will this
lumber sandwich hold together? What glue
large, economical quantities. You'll b e using gal­ the like? I am
referring to a material similar
lons of the stuff, so cost is a factor here. If you to plaster in appearance but a lot harder,
should I use? Hot melt glue works too fast, keep your shop temperature at 70 °F, you should and water resistant,
but I do need a fast·setting glue. be able to remove the clamps after 30 minutes -Josee Dunn, Claremore, Okla.
I had planned on simply nailing the floor· and glue up another plank. John Todaro, an expert in molding and casting
ing to the joists but a friend suggested put· Running a bead of glue along the joist and in for restoration work, replies: There are several
in
ting glue the tongue·and·groove joints and the tongue-and-groove joint of each plank is casting materials that will hold up well outdoors.
on top of the oak joists. Which is the better costly and time-consuming. It's no guarantee Cement, of course, can be used. Increasing the
plan? -DonaldJochem,Mazoman;e, Wis. against squeaking, either. Your best bet is to lay proportion of cement i n the mix and using a fine
The design for your laminated floorboards is two strips of flat foam weatherstripping (1 in. grain cf sand will provide a smoother finished
good, although you'll be spending plenty of time wide by Y.t in. thick, sticky on one side and sold i n surface. Hydrostone, available at most art sup·
i n your workshop to get the job done. Plywood rolls) along each joist, a n d use a power nailer to ply stores, is an extremely hard, dense casting
blind-nail the planks fast against the joists (draw­ material. Vatican Art Casting Stone is another al­
Lami nated p l a n k
i ng, left). The foam will compress between joist ternative; it comes in white, brown, grey-green,
and plank, making up for the slight depressions black or terra-cotta. You can also formulate your
or wanes which are the major cause of squeaks. own color by adding pigments. Twenty-five
The reason I recommend the power nailer is to pounds costs about $ 1 0. Both these products
make the job go quicker and easier. Rent one come in powder form and require mixing with
that can drive 3-in. spiral-shank nails. Nailing in­ water. They can be ordered from Sculpture
to oak by hand can be very tough. Ring-shank or House, 38 E. 30th St. , New York, N . Y. 100 1 6.
spiral-shank nails should be used, and you may
have to drill pilot holes in the flooring and joists, Please help me with the wall paneling in the

�C�J
if the oak is especially hard. den of our 12·year·old house. The book·
For a strong floor, you'll also want to stagger cases and wall paneling were stained to
the joints between planks and leave about Y.t in. match when the house was built. I know that
between the wall and the edge of the adjacent t his is the case because I have looked
Tongue-and-groove plank. This space is for expansion and is covered behind the molding and seen unstained
Joints at sides by the base molding. - TS wood. As you can see from the sample I've
and ends enclosed, the paneling is murky, without
I want to use roughsawn lumber directly character and depth. I have attempted to
from the sawmill, rather than conventional liven it up with Scott's Liquid Gold and
joists and studs, to build my own house. In Formby's Furniture Refinisher, all without
so doing, my goals are to save money and to any noticeable effect. Is there a workable
create a rustic, handcrafted structure. I solution short of stripping and refinishing?
realize some problems will arise from the I'd rather not resort to stripping because
fact that roughsawn lumber is not of stan· there are detailed moldings around the
dard dimension, but they could be over· bookcase and windows, and I don't want to
come by having it milled to finished dimen· risk damaging the carpet.
sion. Can I use the lumber directly as it -Jane S. Bonny, Spring, Tex.
Oak joist comes from the sawmill, or must it first be George Frank, master wood fin isher, replies:
seasoned? Are there special procedures to There are no miracles in woodfinishing. Don't
follow during construction? My final ques· expect any and you will be far closer to the solu­
tion concerns the exterior siding. I plan on tion of your problem. Your description of the
using yellow poplar board·and·batten sid· present finish on your paneling is confirmed by
ing, leaving it to weather unfinished. Will the sample. The wood is a birch veneer, and
this appreciably shorten the life of the birch is a wood typically devoid of decent mark­
wood? -LarryE. Conley, Corbin,Ky. i ngs. Even if you remove the finish from the
Whoa there. You can forget about saving money wood and restore it to its natural state, there
i f you have all your beams m i l led to finished would be no guarantee that through some chem·
d i m e n s i o n . Post-and-beam b u i lders are ac­ ical treatment or modern dyeing you could
customed to working with roughsawn, roughly achieve a significant improvement over your
d imensioned lumber, and this is the route you present finish. Here are several ways you might
should pursue. Since thick hardwood beams i mprove the appearance of your paneling with­
(especially oak) can actually take years to reach out stripping it:
equilibrium moisture content , most b u i l ders G r a i n i n g is a w oo d f i n i s h i n g t e c h n i q u e
work this wood as it comes from the mill- green whereby the characteristics o f nearly any wood
or not. Hardwoods are far easier to work when can be duplicated, usually over a nondescript

10 F I NE H O M EB U I LD I N G
 POWER TOOL SALE
EXCELLENCE IN W OO D WORKING SHOW SPECIALS

FR EE ••
30
board feet of either oak, maple, ash, hickory or elm with each purchase
•
of a major stationary power tool shipped freight collect. ·CALL FOR SPECIRC DETAILS *
Honda Generators Makita
Fi rst & foremost in portable gene rators. From a 10" Table Saw Model 1 5%" Planer 2040
40 Ib, 500 watt 1 1 5 volt AC/12 volt DC generator 66 c o m p l e t e w i t h : 48" 2hp 1 1 5 volt 6500 rpm
to a 216 I b , 4500 watt 1 15/220 voltl12 volt DC, rai l s ; s i ng l e phase 2hp motor; full cutting
electric start generator. Honda has a generator
for every need from camping boating to heavy &
( 1 1 5/230 v o l t ) m o t o r ;
push button switch.
·range: W'
thru 7%" ; 2
q u ic k set knives;
duty construction. All Honda generators run on Sale $1450 s peed re d u c i n g k i t ;
gasoline or for permanent installations; L.P
(bot­ Tab l e Saw Accessories B i esemeyer T­ delivered assembled.
tled) gas. Honda also makes super water pumps square fence system with 7'Z' rails &
32" exten­ Sale $1225
& o u t b o a r d m o t o r s . S e n d one d o l l a r for a l l
sion table $250. Freurl Saw blade LU8 1 , 1 CY' 40 1 2" Planer/6" Joiner 2030 2hp 1 1 5 volt
Honda information booklets.
EM 500 G E NERATOR 500 watt, 4.3 amp 1 1 5
tooth t r i p c h i p $33, P S606 1 0" 60 Tooth All.
Bevel $35. HTC Mobile base $85, 3 hp Motor & motor; full cutting range: W'-6W'; 2 quick set
k n i v e s ; s p e e d red u c i ng k i t ; d e l ivered
volt AC/100 watt, 8 . 3 amp 1 2 volt D C , V2 g a l gas Controls 1 or 3 III add $160 assembled. Sale $1 399
tank (approx 4 hours running time) 40 Ibs, recoil
Shaper Model 26 complete with: 2hp ( 1 1 51 New Product: The Makita Triple Ball Bearing
start dimensions 9.8" x 1 2 . 8" x 14", auto throttle
2 3 0 volt) m o t o r ; s i n g l e p h ase p u s h b u t to n Guide System now turns the 2 1 1 6 resaw into a
control, frequency meter auto voltage regu lator,
switch; interchangeable 3/4 " and W ' spindles.
fused, charger cables &
tools. Sale $370
Sale $1660
super scroll saw, a b l e to accept blades from
2%" to as thin as VB"
without further alteration.
E 1 500K4 GENERATOR 1500 watt, 13 amp May be purchased directly from us or through
Shaper Accessories Router b i t adaptor
1 1 5 volt AC/100 watt, 8.3 amp 12 volt D.C. , 2.4 your local dealer. Complete with instructions.
$80, Perfecta by Freud $ 1 70 Woodworking
7
gal gas tank (approx hours running time) 105
box by Freud $290, Depth Collars $10, HTC $275
Ibs, recoil start, dimensions 1 3 . 8" x 1 9 . 9" x 24",
mobile base $85 forward reversing switch $75 16" Band Saw 2 1 1 6; 2 h p . , ( 1 1 5/230 volt), 1 or
auto throttle control, auto frequency contro l ,
auto voltage control &
meter, circuit breakers & Lathe Model 45 complete with: 4 speed g a p 3 phase high torque 1 1 50 rpm motor, 2" wide
&
fuses, cables tools. Sale $540 b e d ; single phase 3/.1hp motor ( 1 1 5/230 volt); sin­ b l ade . Can accept down to VB" b la d e s . List
$ 1 880. Sale $1399
gle phase p u s h button switch; safety guard.
E 2500K4 GENERATOR 2500 watt, 21 . 7 amp 2 1 1 6 with triple bearing guide system $1 599
Sale $1 560
1 15/230 volt AC/100 watt, 8.3 amp 12 volt D.C. ,
2.4 gal gas tank (approx 4 . 5 hrs running time) Lathe Accessories 8-pc G reen l ee wood Router 3600 B P l u n g e Cutt i n g , f u l l 23/.1 h p ,
141 1bs, recoil start, dimensions 1 5" x 2 1 . 7" x 26", turning set $85, Bowl turning tool rest $30, Ball 22,000 r. p . m . , 1 2 a m p , accepts %" & 3/B" &
W'
auto throttle control auto frequency control, auto bearing dead center $99, Tool s u p port $70. shank bits, wrenches, Sale $199
&
voltage control meter, circuit breakers fuses, & 24" Tool rest $33 Miter box 2400 B, 1 CY' with a Freud 60 tooth
&
cables tools. Sale $820
6" Joiner Model 50 complete w i t h : s i n g l e C.1.saw blade. Miter cuts to 45° left and right,
ES 3500 GEN ERATOR 3500 watt, 30.4 amp phase 3/.1hp ( 1 1 5/230 volt) motor; s i n g l e phase electric break, safety lock, dust bag, cuts to 4W'
1 1 5/230 volt AC/100 watt .8.3 amp 1 2 volt D C , push button switch; stand. Sale $1 040 at 900/3W' at 45°, wrench, Sale $295
3 . 7 gal gas tank (approx 5.5 hrs running time) Jointer Accessories Knife setting gauge Blade Sharpener 9820·2 Sharpens planer &
&
1 93 1bs recoil electric dimensions 1 5 . 9" x 23.4" $38, Extra set of knives H.S.S. 8"1$35, 6"1$18 jointer knives up to 153/.1" wide, 7W' wheel, water
x 28.2", auto throttle control, auto frequency con­ cooled, 560 rpm, 1 . 6 am p . , med . grit stone &
t r o l , auto voltage control c i rc u i t breakers & 8" Joiner Model 60 comp lete with: stand, wrenches & blade holder. Sale $165
&
fuses, cables tools. Sale $1 1 00 1 V2hp single phase or 3 phase motor, push but­
ton switch Sale $1 508 Finishing Sander B04510 Heavy duty; dou­
ES 4500 GENERATOR 4500 watt, 39.1 amp, ble insulated ; 12000 rpm; 43/B" x 4" pad size.
1 1 5/230 volt AC 1 00 watt, 8.3 amp, 1 2 volt D . C . , 12" Planer Model 100 complete with: single Sale $45
4 . 6 g a l fuel tank (approx 5 h r s running time) 216 phase or 3 phase 3hp motor, magnetic switch.
Ibs, transport wheel s , recoil &
e l ectric start , Sale $2550 Blade Sharpener 9804 Powerful 4 . 7 amp
motor, full 3600 rpm sharpens blades u p to 153/4"
dimensions 1 9 . 8" x 2 7 . 3" x 28.2" , auto t h rottle 14" Bandsaw Model 141 complete with: sin­
control, auto frequency control, auto voltage gle phase push button switch; stand; blade; W' both coarse &
fine wheels mounted , manual
control, circuit breakers fuses, cables & tools. & 3/.1h p motor. Sale $1040
break, dressing stone, wrenches, screw driver,
set gauge, grinding wheels very stable Ibs. 66
Sale $1 350

Catalog
Sale $445
All ES models are available without electric start­

DeWalt
ing at a lesser cost, inquire for speCifics. The 1980 -81 cat ,

Phase Converters alog contains the widest collection of profes­

s i onal tool s , hardwood lumber, supplies and Model 7790·10 12" Radial arm saw; 3V2 hp;
Arco rotary phase converters convert s i n g l e accessories ever printed between two covers. single phase; 1 1 5/230 volt; 3450 rpm motor; o/s"
phase 220 volt electricity into 3 phase 220 volt Va luable informat i o n , new products, special arbor; cuts 4" deep at 90°; 23/4" at 45°; crosscut to
electricity easily &
safely. Arco rotary phase purpose tool s , hard-to-find items, in all sizes; 1 6" ; rip 27"; stand; 1 2" , 45 tooth C.T. saw blade.
converters are available from 1 h p to 150 hp. professional s u p p l i e s , all i n d ustrially priced. Sale $779
We have chosen Arco rotary phase converters Send $3 for this valuable catalog.
because of their high standing in the electric
DPS
phase conversion industry- they are # 1 . The
Arco rota phase converter is the top of the line Fralll SAW BLADES
Deep Penetrating Sealer
because: motors run at 1 00% of their rating, rota Model Diam Teeth Arbor Use List/SALE
phase has a 100% power factor, Rotophase's nte
expectancy is 20 years of continuous service
72 ME 10" 40 %" All Purp $66 1$42 DPS penetrates deeply, seals, stabilizes and
applies easily. It retards the movement of mOIs­
with a 1 3 month guarantee from date of shipping. 73 MD 1 0" 60 %" Cut Off $76 1$48
ture from inside and outside by l i ning the cellular
We are stocking d istributors. Call for specifics. 84 MD 1 0" 50 %" RiplCross $72 1$48 walls and sealing those cells.
71 MA 1 0" 18 %" Rip $61 1$39 Polymeriza tion is complete i n 24 hours, leav­
ing a dry, clear, non-toxIc, water-proof finish . .
72 ME 1 0" 40 20mm All Purp $69 1$47
DPS penetrates from 1 -4" deep on end grain,

GREENLEE
73 MD 1 0" 60 20mm Cut Off $84 1$57 and u p to 1 /8" deep on surface grain.
84 MD 1 0" 50 20mm RiplCross $81 1$55 DPS can be applied by rag, brush, spray or by
G r e e n l e e b r a d p o i n t d r i l l s ; h ave p r e c i s i on di pping. It will enhance the wood's natural color
ground flutes that shave the inside of the hole
Pertecta 3 �" Molding $220/$179 and can be mixed With any all based stain. Var­
smooth, a sharp brad point that prevents skating Wood Working Doors & n i s h , s h e l l a c , lacqu er, enamels or u rethanes
may be applied over DPS; or two coats of DPS
and two razor sharp cutting spurs keep holes Box 3 34" Molding $379/$299
will provide a durable undercoat for all finishes.
extra clean. Made from the finest grade of high Cassette 65
carbon steel, tempered for long l ife, designed Plus 3 34" Molding $428/$360 Introductory Pint: $6 including shipping.
for use in drill press or 3/B" portable drills. The set

�John
3/'t, 5/,0" , 71,s",
VB", 3/B", 72 MD 9" 36 %" All Purp $62 1$40
includes
protective pouch. Sale $18
%", V2" bits and a
74 ME 1 0" 80 %" Thin Kert $96 1$62 Harra
Sizes 9/,6': o/s': rB" &
3/.1': 1" all have W' shanks and
are loose packed, cost $40, both sets together
84 MC 1 0" 40 %"
%"
RiplCross $68 1$43
%-13/'6 Wood C1 Supply Co.
$54
DADO 3 8" 18 $1 62/$1 1 0
000
511 West 25th Street. New York. NY 1 1 212-741-0290

OCT OBER/N O VE MB ER 1981 II

 Q & A

surface such as yours. It is a passing craft. but Below is a sketch of the front elevation of Can you recommend a book that deals with
you may stil l find an old-timer familiar with my house, including the post·and·beam ad· repairing a slate roof? I have just purchased
graining technique. dition I'd like to build. The house is standard an old house and would like to do the roof
You m ight also consider using aniline dyes. stud·frame construction, resting on an
I I·in. repair myself.
There are many colors to choose from; most poured foundation. I'd like to make the addi· -Art Connolly, Burlington, Vt.
paint stores stock alcohol-soluble aniline dyes. tion 10 ft. wide and 30 ft. long. Can I add a Phoenix Reprints, a publishing house that spe­
Dissolve a dye i n alcohol and strain it through a cializes in out-of-print books and pamphlets. has
Proposed reprinted an illustrated technical manual called
paper filter to eliminate undissolved particles.
t i m ber-frame
Then add to this solution 10'1.>
to 1 5 % water and a d d i t ion
"Slate Roofing." Cost is $3 ppd . , and the mailing
apply the stain to your wood with a soft rag, us­ address is 2500 Observatory Ave . . Cincinnati.
ing easy, clean strokes. Experiment on the least Ohio 45208.
exposed parts of the room first, and don't make
your dye too concentrated. Go over the same We bought our house knowing that there
areas two or three ti mes until you' re satisfied was some termite damage in several ground·
with the color. This technique doesn 't take long level casement window frames. Although
to learn and will allow you to change the color of it's a brick building and I can't spot other
your panel ing to a more pleasing one. termite locations, we want to prevent addi·
Personally I would try another method, which tional infestation. If we must resort to ex·
is simply to improve the present finish. Two termination, where can I get the latest infor·
coats of polyurethane varnish would render the mation on the various chemicals used to kill
paneling more glossy; the markings would be Basement G a rage termites? The most recent reports I've read
more readable. and the room more elegant. I on chlordane leaching into basements are
would also replace the moldings with new dark­ not very encouraging.
colored trim: base, crown. chair-rails. and even­ -James Kuellmer, Toronto, Onto
tually door and corner trim. This would h igh­ tE 20 It. '"I'E 1 0 ft. ---+i We have had a number of queries from readers
light the i mproved finish on your paneling. timber·frame room to a stud·frame house? If on chlordane. The following information has
Let me mention as a last possibility that you so, how do I attach the beams to the stud been provided by the Office of Pesticides and
might choose to leave the paneling alone. Its frame? Will the heavy beams of the addition Toxic Substances, a division of the Environ­
dull. murky look could serve as an excellent be too much weight for the house to bear? mental Protection Agency:
background for ornately framed paintings. en­ -Jim Ryan, Putnam Valley, N. Y. Chlordane has been shown to be carcinogenic
gravings, photos or any sort of collectible. Ed Levin, a housewright from Canaan, N.H., re­ in test animals (mice), and is regarded as having
plies: Standard practice with ti mber-frame addi­ the potential to cause cancer in humans.
Where can I find information on waterless tions is to construct a freestanding new structure Chlordane is a persistent pesticide in soi l , with
toilets and other water-conserving plumb· adjacent to the old one. In your situation this residues detectable for up to 20 years.
ing practices? means running the i nside posts i n each bent all Chlordane i s a relatively immobile substance
-Bruce Weber, Cincinnatus, N. Y. the way to the floor as shown below. You will i n soil , so that food crops grown at some distance
Send a check or money order for $4 to Minimum from the site of use (about 15 ft . to 20 ft . from the
2x anchored to roof Irame
Cost Housing Studies, School of Architecture, ( na i led a t rafter)
house) would not be expected to have measur­
McGill University, 3480 University St. , Montreal , able residues. This relative immobility should
Canada H3A 2A 7 and ask for their pamphlet en­ also preclude chlordane contamination of any
nearby groundwater.
Beam
titled "Stop the 5-gallon Flush - A survey of al­
ternate waste disposal systems." Termite control is one of those problems with
no simple solution. Chlordane is definitely haz­
I'm contracting my own solar house, using ardous but there are at present no alternative
exposed beams in a loft area. I am unable to termiticides which are safer or more effective.
afford the cost of fine joinery and so must Chlordane is no longer manufactured for con­
use joist hangers. Can you recommend sumer use, so that once current retail stocks are
either a supplier of handsome hardware or exhausted only l icensed commercial users will
a clever, inexpensive way to make ordinary be able to obtain it. Termite extermination takes
j o i s t h a n g e r s l o o k m o r e a p p e al i n g ­ Existing house place outside the house, in the ground around
perhaps even hide them entirely? B races the foundation. This is true even if there is active
-So Morgan, HalfMoon Bay, Calif. where possible infestation i nside, since all termites must return
One of our editors came up with the suggestion to the ground at some point in their life cycle. If
i l l ustrated below. As you can see, no joist your foundation is waterproofed and the exter­
hangers are required, only three identical open minator applies the insecticide properly, then
the chances of harmful contact with chlordane
Double 2 x 1 2 bea m Addi tional are few. Problems arise when chlordane finds its
braces u n der
way into the basement through a permeable
posts
foundation. Then i t can be tracked through the
house or blown through the interior if forced-air
heating or air-conditioning ducts run through
the basement or crawl space.
probably need additional supports in the garage Research on chlordane and other pesticides is
to pick up the load. This way, the addition will continuing, and a detailed article on pest control
support its own roof load rather than transfer it in the house will appear i n a future issue of this
to the original structure. Beam rafters should magazine. As for immediate recommendations,
end at the j uncture between the two buildings, don't undertake an extermination job involving
with short 2 x rafters making the connection to chlordane yourself. Leave i t to a qualified pro­
the existing roof. Make sure they are nailed into fessional. And don't risk chlordane contamina­
slot cuts. This method works best with dimen­ rafters and not simply butted against the sheath­ tion if your foundation is suspect. I wouldn't rely
sioned lumber, however, and you'd have to i ng. Sheathing and siding will join the old and solely on an exterminator to assess the condi­
make certain the single joist could carry the load new walls, and they could also be held together tion of my foundation. It's wise to get an inde­
required of it. Any other ideas? by bolting through the studs and into the timbers. pendent opinion too. T.5.
-

12 F IN E H O M E B U I L D IN G
 SPEC IAL OFFER From Replica Builders, Inc.

Your home BUILD A GREAT AMERICAN HOME

workshop FOR JUST $149!
Learn Actual Construction Techniques ­

can PAY-OFF
Save Over Half the Cost of Your Own
New Home !
Now you canbuild a replica of your dream
home and learn to save up to $30,000 or nwre
on actual construction! You'll amaze yourself

BIG • • • START and impress your banker.

YOUR OWN
MONEY
MAKING
Your First Move
Choose one of these fine passi ve solar homes
and build an RBI construction replica. You'll

Earn Extra Income BUSINESS! erect the house in 1"scale, learning tricks of
fOlmdation, floor and wall framing, interior
Right At RBI-l Solar Green This large 2,000 layout and roof construction. RBI kits include
Home. sq. ft. passive solar home is designed all necessary materials along with manual,
for high-tech foam core panel construc­ patterns, and books on latest construction tech­
tion. Features include outstanding niques used in full·size homes. You'll grow
strength, easy assembly, low cost, and into a confident owner/builder, ready to take
even super· insulated R-40 walls and roof. charge of construction.
Looking into your finished replica, you'll
marvel at how spaces come alive. After build·
ing your replica you'll be anxious to get
started on your new home. Order your RBI kit
today and move into your real dream home
next yearl
When your banker examines your completed
replica the door should swing open to you,
Power Feed because it will be clear you can manage your
own construction. By doing that, you'll build
Power Tool .
in equity while you build your new home for

Planer Molder Saw

RBI-2 California Gold Beginners de· 25% to 50% below market value -and in today's
marketplace of the $72,600 median, that
light in this 2·bedroom expandable

Three powera realtomoney-

ols in one- home designed with claSSIC elegance
for the American Plywood Association.
You can add a greenhouse, another bed­
Latecanst Design and Technology
savings be tremendous!

These are the best homes you could hope to

The BELSA W
maker foryou!
Planer/Molder/Saw is
room, a garage later. Grand space! find. Excellent starter homes for the owner/
builder, each model has its track record estab·
lished with satisfied residents around America :
Solar Green, a highly efficient and inexpen­
a versatile piece of machinery. It
sive package by U.S. Systems, leading manu­
turns out profitable precision molding,
facturers of high·tech foam core panels;
trim, flooring, furniture . . . in all
California Gold, the hit of the National Asso·
popular patterns. Rips, planes, molds ciation of Homebuilders' Las Vegas convention,
separately " . or all at once. Used by presents well·designed small spaces that seem
individual home craftsman, cabinet grand; and Solar Starr, tradition and passive
and picture framing shops, lumber
yards, contractors and carpenters.
Never before has there been a
��
RBI-3 SolarStarr This classic shape
wraps a housewright's traditional timber
solar technology, wrap a timber frame in a solar
envelope that gives residents an atmosphere of
perpetual spring.

three·way, heavy-duty woodworker

that does so many jobs for so little
cost. Saws to width, planes desired to
frame in a passive solar envelope. You
canbuild the envelope design in replica.
Demonstrate with incense and a flood
Each Kit, a Complete Experience
Your RBI replica kit will truly teach you how
to build your home. Each kit contains:
lamp how the system works.
thickness, and molds to any choice of • Complete patterns for assembly
Framing lumber, sheet stock, everything you
you desire. A Wise Investment •
patterns. Cuts any molding pattern
Provides trouble· free
performance. And is so simple to
operate even beginners can use it!
You want a new home but need to l earn more
before investing thousands, so invest just a
need to build your replica
Building manual with step·by·step kit instruc·
tions and descriptions of how you build the
little in an RBI replica and learn a lot. Our real home

30-Day FREE Trial! EXC���r?GF��CTS

NO OILlGATlON-NO SALESMAN WILL CALL
policy: Satisfaction is �aranteed or you'll get
••
a full refund. Prices WIll increase soon, so take
advantage of this introductory offer. Order your
first kit today!
Complete full-scale materials list ( You can get
bids from suppliers. )
Access to full·scale housebuilding plans for
your new home
RUSHTODAY'
COUPON BELSAW POWER TOOLS
----------------------- ---
9273 Field Building
... Replica Builders, Inc.
� 9417 Russell Road, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Kansas City, MO 64111

, .. .. '
• �
---Co..-. .. .
•
BELSAW-.
:I
POWER TOOLS
l.ii!iI @ $149.
, �
.. ••
9273 Field Building
Kansas City, MO 64111
0 1
Please rush me the following kits:
o
___ _ RBI· Solar Green
RBI-2 California Gold @ $149.

I,
0 YES,
__ _ o
RBI·3 Solar Starr @ $149.
please send me rhe FREE Booklet rhar
(Maryland residents please add 5% sales tax.)
l
,
I
gives me complete facts about Be/sa w ' s Planer­
Molder-Saw and full details on how can qualify
for a 3D-Day Free Trial right in my own shop.
__ _ TOTAL
o Brochure describing RBI kits and products.
understand there is No Obligation and that No

l
Salesman will mil. ________________________ e
Naml� __
Name
II ..
_______________________ s
Addres'& __
� :
�Address __________ City, State,
__________ _ Zip,
�SNMASTERCARD #--
__
City �
__________ __ ______________
• State Zip Iii
_____________________ Expiration date
__
Kits are shipped library rate. For first class postage and handling, add $5. per kit.
� ... � .... .- ... .
OCTO B E R / N OVEM B E R 1 9 8 1 13
 R E P O RT S

cut and drilled at the factory. Everything­ windows on the south side can be sized
Five small-house plans from hardware, doors and windows to roofing according to the climate. South-facing
for owner-builders and siding-is labeled and packaged in 1 00-lb. clerestories admit sunli ght to the upper-story
For industrious but inexperienced owner­ bundles. Illustrated, step-by-step instructions l anding and provide venti lation. A woodstove
builders, small-house plans are an affordable correspond to the labeled parts. A two-story, provides supplementary heating.
and practical way to build a home. With their 1 6-ft. by 1 6-ft. shell costs $5,932 ($ 1 1 .58 per Canadian design Over 50 owner-builders
-
simple floor plans, economical building sq. ft. ) and can be put together by two i n the Pacific Northwest have constructed their
systems and clear instructions, most of these inexperienced builders in about one week. A own 1 ,000-sq. ft., two-story passive solar house
houses can be built at a cost ranging from $ 1 0 20-ft. by 20-ft. model costs $8,9 1 3 ($ 1 1 . 1 4 per developed by architect Charles Haynes of The
to $25 per. sq. ft . i n materials. sq. ft. ) and takes about two weeks to build. Architecture Shop (Box 4 1 34, Vancouver, B.C.
Intended as starter units, vacation homes or
studios, these spartan structures generally
c
Builder's ch oi e- Architect Leslie Canada V6B 3Z6; 604-263-50 1 3) . Called
Armstrong's Little House offers owner-builders Acadia House, its lower level contains a
contai n one or two bedrooms on two floors an economic alternative to prefabricated kitchen, dining room, l iving room and space
and range in size from 500 to 1 ,000 sq. ft. Most houses, which she says most people modify for mechanicals. Upstairs there are two
models adapt to any site including sloping beyond affordability. " You're encouraged to do bedrooms and a bathroom with clerestory
terrain, allow the use of passive solar heating this by the manufacturer, and you end up windows and loft storage areas. The energy­
and easily expand when the need arises and spending as much as if you'd started from efficient design incorporates a preservative­
the budget permits. Most small-house plans do scratch with your own architect." treated wood foundation, an insulated crawl
not include mechanical systems, appliances or Her book, The Little House ( $ 1 4.95 from space used as a hot-air plenum, 2 x6 stud walls
interior finishing materials. Macmillan Publishing Co., 866 Third Ave . , 24 i n . o.c., a surface-bonded concrete-block
Simplified process- "We've always N e w York, N .Y. 10022 ; 2 1 2-935-2000), shows Trombe wall , a solar water-heating system and
maintained that it's more economical to build people how to design, organize materials and double-glazed windows.
one's own home than to hire a contractor," tasks and then build their own 20-ft. by 20-ft. A prototype Acadia House was built i n 1 9 7 7
says Andy Prokosch, president of Shelter-Kit shell. The book's format allows owner-builders b y 20 novice builders participating i n a
(22 Mill St. , Tilton, N . H . 03276; 603-934-432 7). as much choice and participation i n the design construction course given by the Canadian Sel f
"This is even more true now than i n 1 970 and construction as they are willing to take. H e l p Housing Association. Building materials
when we started to develop and market a Because Armstrong's basic house can be cost $ 1 5 per sq. ft . Space-heating costs for this
building that could be assembled by anyone, finished i n any number of ways according to house i n the 5,520-degree day climate of
not just by skilled workers. We felt people taste and budget, building material costs vary. Vancouver amounted to $200 during the
would enjoy building their own homes if the But one Maryland builder (see FHB # 1 , w inter of 1 980-8 1 .
process could be simplified to the extent that pp. 55-58) completed a Little House i n 1 980 To construct or manage the construction of
the success of the project was assured. " for $25 per sq. ft. Acadia House, owner-builders today can work
L i k e Erector sets, Shelter-Kit's post-and-beam Starter home- According to David from a detailed set of 3 4 blueprint plans,
houses are bolted together. Doors and Knepper, "Two-thirds of the people who permit and finance instructions and a
windows can be located anywhere. Common qual i fy for public housing programs can't build 300-page, illustrated Self Help Solar Housing
walls are easily removed when two or more their own house because most plans are too Manual. The combined cost of these materials
house units are joined. Lumber is measured, compl icated and expensive." Knepper is i s $68.95. The plans allow design changes
energy and construction specialist for Rural according to the builder's needs and materials
America ( 1 346 Connecticut Ave. NW, at hand. Thus recycled or handmade building
Washington, D.C. 20036; 202-659-2800), a materials can be used and extensions built for
nonprofit advocacy group for rural people. As extra bedrooms, a carport/workshop or an
an example, he cites the Farmer's Home enlarged solar greenhouse.
Administration (FmHA) 502 program for rural " Blueprint plans and instructions for Acadia
home builders. " It provides a maximum of House are written specifically for owner­
$ 1 6 , 700," he says, "which doesn't build a lot of builders," explains Haynes. " For example, the
house these days." design uses a wood foundation because it
In 1 980 Knepper designed an easy-to-build provides a durable wall that can be easily
starter home (drawing, left) i n one, two and i nsulated and sealed and because i t gives the
three-bedroom versions. The design provides builder an opportunity to learn stud wall
for future expansion and allows the maximum construction on a small scale before beginning
use of sweat equity by the owner. A three­ the main house walls."
bedroom demonstration model was built in x
Planned e pansion - According to Gloice
Metcalf. Mississippi, earlier this year. Building Works, a Birmingham, Alabama designer,
materials cost $ 1 3 ,400, or $ 1 6. 7 5 per sq. ft. "When people select a house design and
Knepper's Rural Starter Homes received one choose a building contractor, they lose a lot of
of H U D's Building Value into Housing Awards pleasing details because of cost. But when they
:; for 1 980. The basic plans cost $ 10 each and build their own house, they absorb the cost of
r.J: I ·..!1 �... u..1'- !L,
,I.._ _..I . .._ _ _ _.J create 528 sq. ft . , 583 sq. ft. and 648 sq. ft . of
l iving space (respectively) within 1 6-ft. by
these extra details because they tend to build
only what they can afford."
East elevation 20-ft. , 1 8-ft. by 20-ft. and 20-ft. by 20-ft. shells. Ten years ago Works built a 320-sq. ft., post­
The east windows of each unit can convert to mounted tree house for his son . When
doors when the house is expanded. A sense of neighbors asked for plans and posed questions
Second floor spaciousness is achieved by a cathedral ceiling about construction techn i ques, he developed
over the living area, numerous built-ins and the Tuck-A-Way Chalet (Box 1 672,
extra storage i n the airlock entry. Birmingham, Ala. 3520 1 ; 205-49 1 -2 1 3 1 ).
a Bedroom For simplicity and economy, this small-house
plan uses a pier foundation, which reduces the
Eventually he produced a $49.50 builder's
manual for people who do not have a
need for site excavation; standard framing construction background. Its blueprint
l umber; 24-i n . o.c. studs; joist and rafter drawings, which include a building materials
spacing; single top plates, drywall clips; single­ l ist and post-setting plans, show construction
layer plywood floorirog; and doorless closets. steps on the right-hand page and written
'Section and floor plan of Rural America's
Starter Home, which received one of HUD's For energy efficiency, the house has no directions for each task on the left-hand page.
Building Value into Housing Awards for 1 980. north and mini mal west glazing. Eye-level It takes two inexperienced builders about two

14 F I N E H O M E B U I LD I NG
 R E P O RTS

weeks to build a Chalet unit. While costs exchange, depending on the use of the course of action for homeowners should be to
depend on the type of materials used, Works enclosed space. ASHRA J:: expects the new prevent or reduce pollutant emissions right at
says an all-cedar unit costs between $:l ,SOO standard will be adopted into the building the source. In most houses, t h is sort of control
and $4,SOO, or about $ 1250 per sq. ft. codes of many states within the next year. i nvolves a combination of prevention, removal
"Some people develop an affordable home The health problems associated with indoor and suppression."
for themselves by expanding as they go," he air pollution are more serious than commonly A second course of action aims to conserve
adds. "They i nstall eight posts, erect two units recognized, according to Dr. Jan A.J. Stolwijk energy and improve venti lation in existing
to create a small house over six of the posts of the Pierce Foundation Laboratory, Yale homes. DOE research engineers recommend
and a deck over the remaining two. When University School of Medicine, New Haven, the following:
they get more money, they build more house. Connecticut. At least two common pollutants spot ventilators to exhaust pollutants before
Ultimately," Works says, "they get the house are carcinogens-formaldehyde and the by­ they migrate to the rest of the house;
they originally planned using techniques they products of radon. Others such as carbon whole-house fans to ventilate a house in
already know." monoxide and sulfur dioxide, are toxic. warm weather less expensively than using an
Pollution caused by t i ghtening homes for air conditioner;
energy efficiency has caused discomfort, heat exchangers to bring in fresh air and
ill ness and even death. "We cannot sacrifice flush out indoor pollutants while recovering

New standard for

indoor air quality to the demand for energy SO'Y., 80%
to of the heat that is normally lost
conservation," says Dr. Stolwijk. "We must in this process;
indoor air quality reconcile the two. The revised ASH RAJ:: filters-electronic air filters remove smoke;
Sealing houses to conserve energy without standard attempts to do just this." fiber filters remove particles from the air;
adequate ventilation has led to the enactment Indoor air pollution i n energy-tight homes charcoal filters remove indoor odors, carbon
of a revised building standard to avert indoor can be traced to several causes, according to monoxide, formaldehyde and certain organic
air pollution in new residential structures. In Howard Ross, program manager in the chemicals; and dehum idi fiers remove excess
addition, engineers and others are now U . S. Dept. of Energy's Architectural and moisture (which attracts and suspends
recommending numerous strategies to control Engineering Systems Branch. Among them are pollutants) from the air of a house;
indoor air quality i n existing homes. design features, such as an un vented gas stove operahle windows (when heating and
The revised standard, developed by the or un vented combustion space heater; site cool ing systems are turned off) to provide
American Society of Heati ng, Refrigeration selections, such as phosphate-reclaimed land ventilation without wasting energy and to
and Air-Conditioning Engineers and or land rich i n uranium mill tailings; selection substitute for exhaust fans.
designated ASHRAE 62-1 Yil l , establishes of products, such as smelly furniture, "We used to rely on air leakage as a form of
guidelines and procedures for detecting and carpeting, particleboard, urea formaldehyde natural ventilation for our homes," says Dr.
monitoring various pollutants found i n homes foam insulation and asbestos; and occupant David T. Harrje, senior researcher and lecturer
and buildings i n the U.S. It replaces an earlier habits, such as smo king and the use of paint or at the Center for Energy and Environmental
regulation that required a specific rate of air glue. " Whenever possible," says Ross "the first Studies at Princeton University. " Now, with

AMSTERDAM
CORPORATION NEW YORK: 950 Third Avenue (corner 571h SI.). New York, N.Y. 1 0022/(212) 644-1 350 PHILADELPHIA: 2275 Washinglon Avenue. Philadelphia, Pa.
1 9 1 46 / ( 2 1 5 ) 732-1492
$2.50 950 10022
SAN FRANC ISCO: Galleria-Design Cenler, 1 0 1 Kansas Street, San Francisco, Ca. 94103/(415) 861 -3354 HAYWARD: 25031
Viking Street, Hayward, Ca. 94545/(4 1 5) 887-2050 For full color catalog, send to Amsterdam Corporation, Third Avenue, New York, N. Y.

OCTOBER/ NOVEMBER 1981 15

 R E P O RTS

t ighter construction standards, this natural gain windows heat and l ight the daytime explains Bank Board chairman Richard Pratt,
ventilation may no longer be sufficient and l iving areas, the master bedroom and the hall, "the consumer must be prepared to pay a fair
toxic materials can be sealed i n . By opening a with heat stored i n the brick floor. A water and competitive rate for mortgages. Mortgage
window when outdoor air is acceptable, we heater/skylight system with reflector heats lending must be profitable in times of h igh
can combat indoor air pollution . " and l ights the kitchen. A 22-ft . Trombe wall interest rates as well as low, while interest rate
radiates heat to the bedroom wing. limitations and adjustments should be a by­
The house is built on a 1 6-ft. wide product of competitive market forces."
rectangular module that eliminates i nterior Since the AML is a new mortgage
bearing walls and reduces lumber waste. It i nstrument, lending i nstitutions are just
Low-cost solar also means the exterior shell can be built, begi nning to develop their individual versions.
for the Southwest roofed and weathered i n and the brick floor Already competition i n the mortgage
In 1 979 an elderly couple approached laid before interior walls are installed. marketplace has forced some lenders to limit
Albuquerque's Housing Rehabilitation Section Cei l i ngs are insulated to R-33 with 9-in . the frequency of payment i ncreases to once a
for help in repairing their home. It was fiberglass batts. The 2 x 6 stud walls are year or once every three or five years. Others
inspected, and rehabilitation was found to be insulated to R-26 with 6-in. fiberglass batts and have capped the amount of the increase.
unfeasible. Entitled to about $35,000 in low­ I -in. Styrofoam panels. Because the brick floor In addition, the secondary market
income family relocation assistance, the mass is intended to store solar heat , it was ( institutions that purchase loans from lenders,
couple decided to demolish the old structure i nsulated to R-22 using 6-in. Styrofoam blocks providing cash for making additional
and let Perry Wilkes, a designer/builder in filled with concrete. mortgages) affects the kinds of AML most
Housing Rehabilitation, replace it with an Wilkes figures the same house would cost borrowers will find. For example, the Federal
i nexpensive passive solar home. He designed a $2,435 less if it were built with conventional , National Mortgage Association ( Fannie Mae)
1 ,072-sq. ft ., two-bedroom , pueblo-style home. non-solar methods. But such features as double will buy eight different types of AML that
" In the end the clients decided that they glazing, extra windows, Trombe wall masonry, have adjustment periods ranging from six
didn't really want a solar home," Wilkes says. the water heater/skylight and extra insulation months to five years, based on shifts i n interest
" Instead they had the standard tract house of will reduce heating bills enough to pay for rate i ndices.
their dreams built on the site where their old themselves in less than five years. In the By their nature adjustable mortgage loans
home had stood. 4,389-degree day climate of Albuquerque, the contain an element of uncertainty that makes
" Low and moderate-income people do not entire back-up gas bill for one month last shopping for one harder than comparing
think well of solar heating," says Wilkes. "The winter was $ 1 1 ; this included space heating, conventional, fixed-rate mortgages. Because
view prevails that solar heating i mplies a cooking, water heati ng and laundry. AML plans vary greatly from lender to lender,
willingness to be cold i n the winter and hot i n A complete set of plans is available for $5. borrowers should investigate several possible
t h e summer. People t h i n k it's available o n l y t o Shading angles may be adapted to other areas sources of loans.
t h e rich, complicated, prone to breakdown of the Southwest, including Corpus Christ i , Interest rates may be initially lower for
and that solar homes simply look strange." Denver, Santa F e a n d E I Paso. Contact: AMLs than for conventional loans. For
In an effort to challenge this view, Wilkes Housing Rehabilitation Section, Plaza del Sol i nstance, San Diego Federal Savings & Loan
showed his unbuilt design to city council Building, Room 706, 600 2nd St. NW, offered one of the country's first AML plans
president Marion Cottrel l . He liked the design Albuquerque, N. Mex. 87 1 0 2 ; (505) 766-7708. with monthly payments for the first five years
and helped plan the Low-Cost Passive Solar based on a 1 3'Y., i nterest rate when prevailing
Home Project-a joint venture to build two of fixed-rate loans were made at 1 7% .
Wilkes' solar homes. The city enlisted the aid How much a n AML interest rate changes
of two utility companies for energy design and depends on its statistical index base. Some
monitoring and three banks for loans. Caution: i ndices are more volatile, such as the rate of
Permanent financing was secured for the two hazardous loans ahead six-month Treasury bills. Others change more
models at 8Yz% interest, and the houses were The adjustable mortgage loan, a new and slowly, such as five-year Treasury securities or
built during the summer of 1 980. controversial mortgage authorized by the the Bank Board's average home mortgage
Each house took six weeks to construct, and Federal Home Loan Bank Board earlier this rate. Thus monthly payments can rise or fall as
buyers were selected through a widely year, i ncreases the financial risk borrowers often as every month or as seldom as every
publicized lottery. The houses cost $32 .65 per must assume when they buy a house. five years. Generally, the longer the term o f
sq. ft. to build and were sold for $39,000 each, Banks, savings and loan associations and the i ndex, the less risk involved for t h e
i ncluding $3 ,000 for the lot. While they cost mortgage companies that offer AMLs can mortgage holder. However, the longer t h e
about as much as nearby tract houses, each change the i nterest rate on the mortgage and period between adjustments, the h igher t h e
gains more than 75% of its space-heating the monthly payment as often as every month. payment i s likely to be.
requirements from the sun. I nterest rate adjustments can also increase the Fortunately, some AMLs have limits on the
Passive solar systems are used throughout principal loan balance or extend the term o f amount a monthly payment may increase or
(see floor plan and elevation, below). Direct- the loan up to 40 years (negative decrease at each adjustment period. In some
amortization). Lenders must base their i nterest cases, where the interest rate is adjusted more
rates on published l ists of Treasury bill rates, frequently than the payment, the rise or fall i n
the national cost of funds to thrift institutions i nterest is limited also. These l imits are
Master or the Bank Board's current index of average intended to lower the risk assumed by the
bedroom
mortgage rates. However, banks cannot use borrower. But let the buyer beware: the price
Entry their own cost of funds or current mortgage for this assurance is usually a higher initial

Living
_�_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _=JiI_"I
--- 3======="'""�
-0-
low-cost,
rates as an index.
Over the past decade, lenders have made
i ncreasingly futile attempts to recover the
interest rate and monthly payments.
Finally, lenders are required to tell potential
borrowers in advance the interest rate, the
room passive solar difference between their return on monthly payment and the changes in loan
t demonstration house conventional, fixed-rate mortgages and their balance that will occur under declining
s cost of obtaining funds to lend. They even i nterest rates (the best case for the borrower)
'-, _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _J, devised numerous alternative mortgage plans and rising or continued h igh interest rates (the
Trombe wa l l (see FHB #2, pp. 8- 1 0 ) based on the sales of worst case). If you are considering an
increasingly expensive money market adjustable mortgage loan, this information will
certi ficates in an effort to cont i n ue offering help you determine for yourself if you will be
mortgages. "Given the volatility of interest able to pay the price no matter what
rates and the uncertainties of i n flation," happens. -K. L.

16 F I NE H O M EB U I LD I NG
 A CUT ABOVE
IN CONVENIENCE.

There's no better value than the AEG Powercut Artisan. Set­

tings are easy and convenient. A special blade sight wi ndow
gives you a clear view of the blade as it enters the cut. The
front shoe notch is on-line with the i nside edge of the blade
for sure alignment of the saw with the line of cut. The base­
mounted front control handle and interchangeable depth
adjustment control knob give you maximum control of straight
and angle cuts. You get all this value plus a free carbide blade
70 $146.00,
and one year of free maintenance. 7-V4 " PC is
8-%" PC 80 $165.00.
is 1-800-243-81 82
Call toll free and order
1-886-5426.
today. In Conn . , call collect

QUALITY TOOL SHOP

Quality tools for quality workmanship
x RI 02821
Bo 565, Escoheag,
&
MasterCard Visa Accepted

-t- Objective : Trade in 40ur old J i g Saw

II
1 ,-t" or", Belt Sander .fOt'" qual iT4 a :! l­ The 1982 Woodcraft Catalog
.J
-
Bosch/Stanlel(
..j
Jig saw or Belt sal1de�
!- The Woodcraft Tool Catalog has been
Ot-bi-tal ty:tioA Jig saws.
Adjustable one
Ot-bit�· Slckup
mller f'or bIa:Ie SUf'?'lrt ·1 neludes
four assorted bladeS and
..... Tt-r-1r-r-r-+-
I -+-[ do exacdy what is expected-shave
wood smoother and more precl6ely
than any other tools made. European
craftsmen have relied upon these
imitated but never equaled. For 18
years it has brought the finest
woodworking tools in the world to
American carvers, cabinetmakers,
s:re.wdriver·AIl I:eIl and roller Swiss Made carving tools for,80 years. wood turners, and other
�rin9 construc.tion.
I Mo:leJ In- Their excellence is the result of three discriminating craftsmen.

t,ao Barre! GMp·$195·� generations of Swiss toolmaking

I wi11, 'flade $155.� experience and the continuing

Two year subscription, $2.50. Color,
r r.1odel1577TopHarr:He.$195<l1;' qp
wi-th 1I'-&:ie in· $1515.
1578 'TOp Handle'$
Model VClriable ). ..
cooperation and advice of the Swiss
Carving School at Brienz.
Swiss Made carving tools have earned
112 pages, perfect bound

a reputation for precision and quality

�' 2.15.0<>
$40.29 off
i n
with �e .$ 1 75.lJE
with artl Saw Belt tr-� 1 t_
Jig or Sande r in !
among American craftsmen since their
introduction by Woodcraft, as sole
U.S. agent, 18 years ago. To meet the
needs of carvers and craftsmen who
desire the finest woodworking instru­
8mn{eI..( \ndustMal Ball Be8n� ...j
11jpe 'tr<'lSa�. C9rb\de i"atJs
c k
lWist in<;! ad j iul'l'3�jnsef1S. T
'--
ments, Woodcraft offers 8 different
sets and over 150 styles of Swiss Made
carving tools. For complete informa­
Model 90321"1- n--3X24-3x2i1n-$,$'$25.5:19I9.S9.�.�QQ'
with ade
tion on styles, specifications, usage
and ordering information, please refer

::=:..:. " I,\WVTII\\

to our catalog.

Ci)
Model 900'31·
i n - $
wi1t1 1r-ade 2I S I
. QQ
1 r---------- ---
- 4 )(2 4- $ 269. 92- - I
rv\cde\ �96
T ' r'1 -
with rcide
90497,- 1.11$-$249.':E..
Nledel
$ 229.
Lp<-2'-t Z89.qQ
with Trade
112 enclose $2.50 for a
I o I2-year
I Catalog
Woodcraft Tool
subscription '. \..X.D.I CRAFT® I
I
Dept. FBI01, 313 Montvale Ave.

Glenn!Yl�g
(refundable). Woburn, MA 01801
I I
I NAME
I
1437 S. Woodward
Bi(313)r mi n644·5440
gham, Michigan 48011
Ave. Wflle tOf S2 00 fOf Of OUf
our caralog o n Pof/able a n d Sraltonaf'l
I ADDRESS
I
$6 00 postage
Tools Enclose
catalog at
posrage
Includmg
complere

I CITY/STATE/ZIP I
Rockwell Stan ley Bosch M i l w a u kee M ak i ta L_ __ _ _ _ __ _ ___
_ _ ___�
OCTOBER/ NOVEM BER 1981 17
 F I N E H O M E B U I L D I N G
OCTOBER/ NOV EMBER 1981 No. 5

Moving a House
Skill, experience and hard work give new life to an old home

by Tim Snyder
 R The moving experience
aising houses from their foundations and beams, and various other carpentry repairs are
t ransporting them to new locations is performed at this time.
somethi ng of an American tradition. Illustrated For this small post-and-beam Colon ial, Ken­ Houses are dear to our hearts but the property
records of house-moving exist as far back as the nelly's plan was to cut off the two small lean-to they sit on sometimes isn't. As a result
late 1 8th century, and by the mid- 1 800s an as­ Americans frequently move their houses. Each
additions at the back of the house and separate
year about 85,000 houses are moved,
sortment of house-moving tools and techniques the roof from the main part of the building according to The House and Building Mover, a
had already developed. Visitors from Europe (photo, facing page). Each of the four parts was trade journal for the nation's 2,000-plus house·
were astonished by this phenomenon, which to be moved separately and re-assembled at the moving contractors.
was unfamiliar to them. Perhaps the American new site , some 20 miles away. Movers cite a host of reasons, mostly
economic, for all this activity. As real estate
penchant for house-moving had something to
values rise, people move their houses and
do with the openness of the land, the need to The work begins- Any house-moving can eas­ subdivide the property for development. A
widen roads as pioneer settlements became i ly get bogged down if the crew isn't carefully su­ change from residential to commercial zoning
towns, and pure Yankee ingenuity. Even today pervised or the work schedule doesn't go ac­ also prompts house·moving.
the vocation of moving houses is often handed cording to plan. One of the first things I noticed Faced with a crumbling foundation, some
people lift their house to repair timbers, sill
down from father to son. " It's not something you about Kennelly's crew was the speed with which and frame. Often a new base is built on the
can learn from a book," says Robert Kennelly, of they worked. Lyle Smith, a foreman who has same property, and the house is shifted just a
Southampton, N.Y. When I went to visit this well­ worked with Kennelly for over 25 years, skill­ short distance. Winterization of a vacation
known house-mover, he was working on the fully shifts h is five-man crew from one part of home and the addition of a basement to an
existing home are related reasons.
project described in this article. Kennelly has the house to another; several jobs get done at There are people who move bargain houses
moved thousands of houses since buying out an once. Plumbing and heating lines usually get cut that housing authorities or historical societies
old-time house-mover some 3 5 years ago, and first. The cut location is in the basement, just be­ want relocated and preserved. Properties with
even as we drove down old Route 25 he would low the first floor. The pipes (or ductwork, if the unpaid taxes, condemned structures and
occasionally point to a house he had moved and historic landmarks are often rescued by
house has forced-air heating) must not extend
moving them out from under the shadow of a
relate some of the story behind its relocation. below the main floor joists, but they can't be so wrecker's ball and crane.
Eastern Long Island is a good location for a close to the subfloor that reconnection will be Finally, people move their houses to get out
house-mover. It's relatively flat and still has cramped. While this is being done, the rest of the of the way of riverbank or beach erosion,
more potato farms than shopping malls or hous­ crew is busy digging trenches to expose sections reservoir or dam building, new highways or
existing roads that are heavily trafficked.
ing developments. Many of the beach houses of the foundation that have to be removed so the Moving an existing house is usually less
(which are usually large enough to qualify as steel I-beams can be run under the house. expensive than building the same structure at
mansions) built on the main dune sooner or later Kennelly hired a mason to take out the stone a new location. Consider these recent house­
need to be shifted back as the coastline erodes. chimney at the center of the house. In general, moving jobs and their costs:
And there are also a great number of old houses, In Boulder, Colorado, a two·story wood­
chimneys are left intact during a move, but in
built when clipper ships and whalers crowded this case the old, lime-based mortar between the
•
frame Victorian house was moved 10 miles.
The cost, including permits, was $ 1 1 ,000.
the harbors of Greenport, Southampton and Sag stones had disintegrated, and the structural in­ • In Eugene, Oregon, a pair of 50-year-old,
Harbor. The project shown here was one such tegrity of the chimney was doubtful. two-story bungalows were moved seven blocks
house. Kennelly's clients had already purchased Massive I-beams, known simply as "steel" to in the same neighborhood. The cost, including
new foundations and utility charges, was
a lot and were looking for an old house of histori­ house-movers, form the base on which a house $ 14,800 for both houses.
cal value to move to the site. The two-story Colo­ rests during a move (drawing, p. 2 1 ) . The beams • In San Francisco, California, 12 landmark
nial they eventually found near Cutchogue, on that run the length of the house are called main wood-frame Victorian houses slated for
Long Island's North Fork, had been built in 1 720. steel; they are most frequently used i n pairs. demolition were moved at an average cost of
$ 1 2,829 each-plus $3,420 for utilities, $ 1,972
The owners were willing to sell the house sepa­ Cradle steel beams are set on top of the main
for engineering and $3,227 for soil compacting.
rately from the lot, so all that remained was to steel, at a 900 angle to the longer beams. This No two jobs are alike, as any house-mover
find a good house-mover. strong grid supports the sills and other framing will say. In the absence of standard practices,
members of the house. The main steel goes i n it's important to manage the major elements of
Planning the job - Underpasses, bridges, nar­ first, and while these beams are being slid into the moving process. These include the house
and lot, a mover and several contractors who
row roads, trees and utility wires are some of the position, level beds are prepared beneath the will prepare the new site and get the house
obstacles that can stand between a house and its house for the 8x8 oak cribbing beams. Like most back to livable condition once it's relocated.
new destination. One of the first things Kennelly old houses this one had only a partial basement, Other important elements of the job that add
does when asked about the feasibility of a move so digging in under the house was real ground­ to the cost include consulting fees for a lawyer.
architect and engineer; permits for moving,
is to figure out a route that fits the dimensions of hog work. Once the cradle steel is in position,
building or renovations, and sanitary system;
the house. The size of the house, rather than its the crew begins laying in the cribbing to raise utilities and subcontractors for disconnecting
weight, is the critical factor. the steel up against the sill beams of the house. and restoring service for water, sewage, cable
Except in cases where a house is to be moved Careful shimming keeps each beam in contact TV, telephone, heating and air conditioning,
only a short distance-just down the street, for with the frame of the house. Since the hand­ electricity and plumbing; wire costs for
moving, dropping or raising telephone lines,
example, or to another part of the same lot-the hewn timbers in this old house are of different cable TV wires, traffic lights or utility power
house-mover's strategy usually calls for cutting sizes, shimming was more extensive than it lines along the route between house locations.
the building into manageable parts, each of would have been for a house constructed from If you are about to move a house, you should
which is supported by steel I-beams and then d i mensioned l u m ber. Kennelly uses enough obtain bids from several house· moving
contractors. Ask for references to a mover's
trucked to the new site. Utility l ines are one of steel to provide more bearing surface than the
previous clients and call them. In the absence
the main reasons for this "divide and conquer" original foundation afforded; this is one of the of standard prices, look for a mover with
approach. Two-story buildings cannot fit be­ secrets of keeping a house, or part of a house, experience in the area. In general, a reputable
neath the 1 8-ft. minimum clearance and the cost structurally secure during a move. mover who is familiar with local officials, road
for raising power l ines, even from one town to The next step is to jack the house up to its final conditions and administrative details will do a
better job than someone without local contacts.
the next, is prohibitively high. height, so that the sliding steel can later be placed Two useful publications about moving houses
Ideally, a new foundation or new footings will under (and at a 90 0 angle to) the main steel. Slid­ are Housemoving ($3.50, payable to the City of
be waiting for t h e house when i t arrives; ing steel is a misleading term, since these beams Eugene) from the Housing and Community
assembly occurs in the reverse order of the take­ serve as a stationary surface for the main steel to Conservation Dept., 777 Pearl St., Room 106,
Eugene, Ore. 97401 ; and Moving Historic
apart sequence. Usually new beams must be in­ slide on as the house is winched off its original
Buildings, $3.50 (Stock No. 024·016-00109·5)
stalled along the cut-lines to rein force these foundation. Over 20 years ago, Kennelly devel­ from the U.S. Govt. Printing Office,
joints. Replacing shingles, repairing rotten sill oped special hydraulic jacking rams to do most Washington, D.C. 20402. -K.L.

OCTOBER/ NOVEMBER 1981 19

Lifting the roof: A small bulldozer
cradle steel beams into place beneath the top
plate. Underneath the sill beams, main and cradle
steel support the house, which has already been
jacked up from its foundation. The roof has been
cut away, and main steel has been let in under the
roof. To make sure the roof won't snag when the
cranes lift it, the crew jacks up the main steel
beams a few inches, adding new cribbing (right) to
maintain the separation. Under the house, sliding
steel is positioned beneath and at right angles to
the lower main steel beams. Below, as the cranes
pull on all four ends of the roof main steel and lift
the roof free, Kennelly watches as the main sec·
tion of the house is winched out from under the
suspended roof.

20 FINE HOM EBUI LDING

of the heavy l ifting. He still uses them today. the crew raised the roof section up a few inches, each piece had to be jacked up off the sliding
(One set is rated at 65 tons, the other at 25. Only just to make sure the break with the second floor steel so that dollies could be let i n underneath
the 2 5-tonners were needed on this job.) They was complete and there would be no binding them. The wheeled dollies are low-slung, so that
are placed under the main steel and activated si­ when the cranes started to winch. the structure moving on them i s as close to the
multaneously by remote control to lift the house ground as possible, allowing maximum clear­
in increments of 8 i n . Workers position blocks Lift-off- The two cranes arrived early one ance above. It's also important to position the
under the elevated steel , the hydraulic pressure morni ng, and the air was soon charged with ex­ dollies so that there will be even weight distribu­
is relieved, and the house sits 8 in. higher. Then citement. In spite of the extensive preparation tion when the truck hooks onto the house. The
the process is repeated and the building moves and triple-checking, the potential for disaster crew had to build a special rig on the protruding
up, block by block. seemed greatest at this point. The house had main steel that would fit onto the bearing plate
When I first arrived at the site, all the prelimi­ been divided like a giant birthday cake and was, of the tractor.
nary lifting was done and the crew was prepar­ in relative terms, equally delicate. Kennelly moved the smaller lean-to sections
ing to separate the roof from the main part of the The two sliding steel beams were placed un­ and roof first, giving him a chance to measure
house. Main steel beams had already been lifted der the two main steel beams, which supported clearances along the transport route and antici­
up to the second floor, supported by cribbing on the main section of the house. Then the entire pate tight squeezes that would occur later, when
the outside of the house. The sliding steel hadn't top surface of the sliding steel was coated with a the larger main section hit the road. Road signs
been positioned yet because it would have got­ soap paste, followed by a sprinkling of graphite were temporarily removed, and overhanging
ten i n the way of the bulldozer used to lift the flakes. This treatment provided a slick surface branches trimmed. On the morning of the big
cradle steel for the roof into position. for the main steel beams to slide on. The main move, the police escort arrived on schedule and
The cut separating the roof was made just be­ steel beams were connected with chain (see started to shunt traffic to alternate routes, giving
low the sills of the gable windows in order to drawing, below) so they wouldn't pull apart as the house an open road. Maxi mum speed was
leave these frames and sashes intact. After snap­ the house was winched across the sliding steel. 1 5 m.p.h., with quite a few stops along the way
ping a chalkline on the inside walls to mark the Once the cable connections were secure at the to trim more branches. At intersections, traffic
cut line, a crewman used a reciprocating saw to ends of the roof's main steel, the lift-off could be l ights were the main obstacle, but skillful zig­
cut through the walls. Beams required a hand­ made. Coordinating the controls of their respec­ zagging by the driver avoided them.
saw, and often a circular saw could be used for tive cranes, both operators gently raised the With the fragmented house finally delivered
long stretches of shingles and furring strips. The roof about 3 ft. above the rest of the house. As to its new home (photo below), the movers could
cutting edges of all these tools were soon dulled soon as the roof was steady, Kennelly gave the breathe a sigh of rel ief. It would be only a brief
by the wrought iron nails they encountered. signal to start his two truck-mounted winches. rest, however, since i n a few days the cranes
Like the grid supporting the main section of The bottom section of the house slid forward would be called in to start putting everything
the house, main and cradle steel were posi­ onto the sliding steel and started to move out back together. For all the excitement reflected
tioned under the top plate of the second floor, from under the suspended roof. The crane oper­ i n the faces of many onlookers along the route,
supported by cribbing on the outside of the ators turned their booms slightly so the I-beams moving houses is still a dangerous occupation.
house. Kennelly elected to use two cranes (see would clear the cribb i ng as they lowered the Even with the greatest respect for precision and
photo, p. 18) to lift the roof free rather than crib­ roof section. In about 1 5 m inutes, the entire lift, safety, the element of risk is always present. No
bing the roof up with hand jacks and then letting slide, and lower operation was complete. To pro­ one knows this better than Kennelly, who was
i t down again, block by block. Positioned at both tect the interior of the house from the weather, hit by a falling I-beam during a move 12 years
ends of the house and hooked onto all four ends the second floor had to be temporarily sheathed ago. Lucky to be alive, he walks with amazing
of the roof main steel , the cranes could do the and covered with plastic sheeting. spryness for one who is paralyzed below both
job in a single morning. By hand, it would have knees. As to the possibility of his retirement, he
taken two days. The trunnels (wooden pegs) that On the road- With each section of the house hasn't given i t a thought. " Every job is different,"
secured the top plate to the second-floor posts on its own, Kennelly could start transporting he says, "and it's a good feeling to save an old
had to b� pounded out with a long drift pin. Then them to the new site. The main steel beams on house-give it new l i fe i n a new location. " D

.=- C r a d l e steel

Chain keeps main steel

from pulling apart
during slide-out.

Steel I-beam layout

The house moves slowly down the road, above right, with its steel framework resting on
dollies and hooked up to a powerful truck. Tree-trimming work is greatest along narrow
streets like this one. Right, the new owners watch as
the main section joins the rest of the
house at its new location. Dollies in the foreground were used to transport the roof.

OCTO B E R / N OVEMBER 1 9 8 1 21
 Rebuilding an Addition
Porches and a room with a bow ceiling
enlarge an old house
without changing its character

by Nelson Denny

O wners of old houses have special problems

when they are faced with the need to repair or
rectilinear spaces. A bow cei l ing is a gentle ges­
ture, a way to give a room a special sense of self­
renovate. The Coxes of Durham, Con n . , were conta i nment and comfort. The quality of sound
sensitive to the responsibilities of caring for their is different i n a curved space. A bow ceiling
home, a two-story structure in a historic district, focuses sound i n certain areas of the room and
but they had some requirements-mainly, the leaves others quiet. The effect is restful and
desire for a large room in which to entertain ­ elegant. It is also a way to attain the spacious­
that hadn't been considered when the house was ness of a cathedral ceiling without leaving the
built over 1 50 years ago. They needed to reno­ design vernacular of an old house. Plenty of
vate. They also had to repair structural damage space for insulation is another advantage.
between the original house and a dining-room In designing details, we had to consider the
addition built a century or so ago. As designer d ifficulty and expense of matching the original
and builder, my job was to carry out the owners' trim. The job was to be done i n the field, without
wishes without violating the historical integrity a shop full of fancy molding cutters, and on a lim­
of the house. i ted budget. I considered the weight and texture
The pedimented gable front of the Cox house of the exterior trim and tried to build something
faces the town green. The facade has an attic compatible out of available stock items. For in­
fanlight. The front door is sheltered by a classic stance, the old house had gutters built in the roof
columned and pedimented entry porch, and i s above the cornice moldings. I was looking for a
topped by a half-round light. T h e dining-room heavy cornice molding to match the scale of the
addition created a small ell to the south, toward old ones, and the addition also needed gutters.
the back of the house. The solution was t.o use stock wooden gutters as
The existing house had small dark rooms with cornice moldings on the addition. The gutters
low ceilings. The parlor, 10 ft. by 14 ft., was the were expensive and we had to go to Massachu­
largest room. Gutting the house or removi ng in­ setts to find them, but even so, they were much
terior walls to create the open space the Coxes cheaper than duplicating the old built-in gutters
wanted would have changed the character of and cornices. And we avoided aluminum gut­
the house, and that was out of the question. The ters, which on old structures inevitably look like
dining-room addition, besides being the source an afterthought.
of major structural problems, was too smal l Although old and new roofs were pitched dif­
anyway, and was the logical place t o add on. ferently, I approximated the gable pediment
The Coxes and I decided to remove the old treatment of the old house on the addition. We
addition, repair structural damage to the main built up moldings and made corner boards from
house and build a larger addition to replace the regular stock lumber. We lapped new cedar clap­
old one. We planned a large room w i th a bow boards to the same width as the old pine clap­
ceiling, which would open onto a new screened boards on the main house. Twelve-over-twelve
porch in back and a new narrow porch in front. w indows are still available, although they were
An adjacent room i n the main house previously not locally stocked and had to be ordered ahead
used as a den would become the new dining of time so they would be on site when needed.
room (see floor plan, facing page). Inside the addition, the floor is of square-edge
The ideas for the narrow porch and the bow random-width oak, butted, screwed and plugged.
ceiling came from my childhood memories. My The owners liked oak tri m , which isn't authen­
uncle's Colonial home had a long side porch tic, but has a clean look and ties the other mate­
with columns. It was only wide enough to act as rials in the room together visually. Walls and
a shelter over the door, good for storing a little c e i l i n gs were of drywall. The c h imney and
stack of firewood or for setting out a rocking woodstove hearth we faced with used brick.
chair, yet it was open and inviting. The ceiling I Structural problems were concentrated on the
remembered from an early 1 9th-century school­ i nside of the ell where the old addition met the
house in Newtown, Con n . The building was di­ main house. The roof of the old addition had not
lapidated and had spread badly, but retained its been flashed where it joined the side wall of the
original bow ceiling. Schoolteacher friends who The house, before (top photo) and after the main house, and over the years, water seepage
bought the building tied i t back together, re­ small dining-room addition was replaced by a had damaged posts, joist tenons and the sill. Part
paired the ceiling and wound up with an en­ larger room for entertaining. The new addition of the foundation bowed inward. Before we
(photographed later in the year) has a screened
chanting one-room home. porch off its rear, a shallow, columned porch fac­ could begin on the new addition, we had to jack
We normally experience straight l ines and ing the street, and a curved chimney cap. up the house a few inches and replace the rotted

22 FINE HOM EB UI LD I NG
To fashion the bow ceiling, pieces of "/.-in. COX plywood were fastened together as forms. Strapping of :y" . i n. fir tacked and glued around the curve is a nailing
surface for drywall. The forms were attached to the rafters and rafter ties as
shown in the detail drawing at the bottom of this page.

wooden members. We also poured a new section Laying out the bo w We began by lofting grid
- and flatten out at the top below the collar ties.
of foundation. lines full scale on the subfloor. On my plans I That meant that i t had to start far enough into
We built the addition using standard frame drew the shape I wanted with a French curve to the room to be able to reach some height with­
construction with walls of 2x4s 1 6 in. o.c., and the scale of 1 :24. Over the drawing I superim­ out touc h i n g the rafters. To manage t h is I
floors with 2x l 2s 12 in. o.c. over a 20-ft. span. I:
posed a grid on a scale of 12 and plotted points planned a soffit extending into the room 8 i n . ,
We ran the new joists front to back so the newly along the curve. At the tight ends of the curve I t h e bottom o f which was o n a level with the
replaced sill would not have to carry any more superimposed a 1 :6-scale grid so that the curve rough openings for the windows. A wood ledger
weight than the old one had. The front and back at its extremes would be rendered more accu­ strip nailed to the inside of the walls acted as a
walls of the addition support the roof. The floors rately. 1 had considered the spring of the curve i n horizontal reference point and a ledge upon
of the front and back porches rest on concrete relation to the placement o f rafters and window which plywood gussets would rest and form the
piers. The front roof is cantilevered, allowing headers, and carefully located these on the full­ shape of the curve.
the decorative front porch columns to bear only scale grid laid out on the floor. I wanted a curve Once the measurements were worked out, I
minor loads. that would spring sharply from header height transferred them to the full-scale grid on the sub-

Section through addition

with first-floor plan

library
Dlnmg room
Screened porch
Plywood form

2x8 rafter
lx3
I fir st rapping

2x4 ledger to
support forms
2x4
wall st u d Detail o f plywood form

O C T O B t: R / N O V E M B t: R 1 9 8 1 23
The completed addition. The curved ceiling creates a spacious room in keeping with the style of the house. The oa k soffit that covers the ends of the plywood
forms also serves as
discreet and elegant trim. Window frames are also of oak.

flooring. I then snapped a chalk line parallel to either end of the room, we ran string lines at in­ long dimension going across the room's width.
as
the end wall to act a baseline. From there I mea­ tervals between them . The taut stringlines acted Running the sheets around the curve this way
sured and marked the begin n i ng of the curve as positioning guides for the rest of the forms. allows the joint knife to be pulled with the curve
and where the rafters and collar ties would fall. I After we had nailed them all to rafters and collar rather than across i t (just think about trying to
marked the curve's coordinates by hammering a ties, we tacked %-in . fir strapping to them the spread joint compound neatly against a tight in­
nail i nto every plotted point on the grid, then length of the room at intervals around the curve. side curve with a flat knife). The seams that must
pressed a batten around the curve against the row The strapping provided an even surface for dry­ run across the curve are at the center of the
of nails. I used a long piece of Xt-in . by Xt in. white wall and a good base for nailing. room, where the ceiling is nearly flat. In this in­
oak for my batten because i t was handy, but any­ There are a few tricks to bending drywall . stance, the tapers did such a good job that after
thing with a good edge that was flexible enough Making a curved surface requires more care the skim coat, no further surface preparation
to take the curve would have done. Anchoring than does a normal flat wall, but there's no real was needed before painting. Normally I woul d
the batten i n place with another row of nails al­ difficulty to it. We used Xt-in. Gold Bond gypsum expect t o wash t h e drywall w i t h a w e t sponge to
l owed me to step back and look. When I saw the board, which is softer than the other major smooth over pits and bumps in the joint com­
curve laid out ful l size, its top wasn't flat enough brands. The 4x8 sheets were laid on sawhorses pound. Washing creates a gesso paste over the
to suit me, so I fine-tuned the curve by moving set up outside, then hosed down on only the surface and doesn't raise the nap of the paper, as
the nails and batten until the shape looked right. back side. If the face gets wet as well , the board sanding does.
will split. The back side is the wet side whether
Constructing the bow-I drew a line along the you're making an inside curve as we did for the Curved chimney cap-The new chimney (bot­
curve for my pattern. From the curve, we cut ceiling, or an outside curve. tom photo, p. 22) was used brick over cinder
forms out of %-in. COX plywood. We used nar­ Don't be discouraged if there is some rippling blocks. The curved cap was constructed over
row pieces of plywood to construct the curved of the paper surface. The gypsum board will curved forms set on the flat chimney top and
form i n sections, and lapped the joints with ply­ break at the tightest part of the curve, but as long shimmed to raise the curve to the proper height.
wood gussets. We nailed finished forms to rafters as the surface paper is more or less intact, skim­ The width of the mortar joints was calculated so
and collar ties on each end of the room. The bot­ coating the ceiling with joint compound will that no bricks had to be cut to fit the curve. The
tom of the curve on each form was notched to fit h ide these minor defects. Skim-coati ng should bricks were set i n from each end, working toward
i nto posi t i o n over the strappi n g at header be left to professionals who are adept at using the top. To prevent standing water from freezing
height. Later on we built over this strapping an long trowels (in the 2-ft. range). Three skim coats i nside the mortar joints and cracking them, the
oak soffit that covered the bottom ends of the should be applied, each l ighter than the last. top of the chimney was coated with cement. 0
plywood arches and acted as top window trim. When done correctly, no sanding is needed.
When the forms had been nailed and leveled at We decided to lay the gypsum board with its Nelson Denny lives in Stony Creek, Conn.

24 FINE HOMEBUILDING
 Making Curvilinear Sash
How to lay out and assemble a semi-elliptical window

by Norman Vandal

I n fine Federal and Greek Revival structures,

curvil i near windows are common -above pi­
the enti re ellipse to be able to locate the compass
points from which the top of the curve is de­
lastered entrances, in gable pediments and i n­ scribed. The window I made (photo left) is rather
corporated with Palladian windows. Built under elongated in comparison to many old windows I
roof gables or in other confined areas where have seen. You can change the proportion of
conventional rectangular windows couldn't fit, your ellipse simply by experimenting with the
the curvilinear window was a decorative means compass points d and d ' . Moving them closer to
of providing light to upstairs rooms and attic the center point in equal increments will elevate
space. Since I'd recently been commissioned to the semi-ellipse by the amount of one incre­
build such a window for a nearby restoration ment. With a little experimentation, you'll even­
project, I began to notice many more of the type tually reach a pleasant proportion.
I 'd been asked to create. I became critical, not­
ing some of the small details that separate the Making the templates After determining the
-
fine from the not-so-fine. Fortunately, there are proportions of your semi-ellipse, begi n to con­
many semi-el l i pt i c a l w indows to be found struct the templates. For these I use poster
Curvilinear windows were popular features in
around Roxbury, Vermont, where I live. I was houses built during the Federal and Greek Re· board, available i n art-supply stores. Try to get
able to examine different styles and to develop a vival period. Even today curved sash must be board as large as the full-scale sash to avoid
taste for the most desirable features. made largely by hand, using traditional tech­ taped seams on the template. You'll also need a
niques of fine joinery.
There are probably many ways of producing piece for exterior and interior casing templates.
curved sash, but I could find little information on To construct the templates, you'll need a com­
building this type of window by hand. Avid old­ The A merican Builder 's Companion, an 1 806 pass capable of scribing large-diameter circles.
tool enthusiasts, concerned with the function of guide to neo-classical detail and proportions, re­ For smaller sash, a pair of large dividers will suf­
the tools in their collections, seem to be doing printed by Dover Publications ( l 80 Varick St. , fice, though large dividers are difficult to locate.
most of the research. As a rule, most craftsmen N e w York, N.Y. 1 00 1 4) in 1 969. The method I You can make dividers of wood, using a nail and
rely on large millwork companies to produce on find most valuable for making a full-scale tem­ a pencil as points and a wing-nutted bolt to
the assembly line the items they need, although plate is illustrated i n figure I. Using this tech­ secure the joint-a little crude, but functional .
cabinetmakers som e t i m es stumble into sash n ique, one can draw concentric ellipses, a neces­ My beam compass, an old set of wooden tram­
work when making such pieces as corner cup­ sity for making templates. Note, however, that mel points fastened to a wooden beam, is shown
boards or secretaries. the resulting curve merely approximates an el­ in figure 2. One point is permanently attached;
l ipse, since the points d and d ' on the major axis the other, which slides along the beam , can be
Drawing the semi-ellipse-This is the first are not foci i n the usual sense. set i n place with a wooden wedge.
step in making curvilinear sash, and will deter­ The distance between a and b will be the max­ Begin by compassing your exterior sash di­
mine the proportions of the window. I learned i mum length of the bottom rail (in my window, mensions on the poster board. Then determine
how to draw an ellipse from Asher Benjamin's 3 ft. , with a height of 1 3 Yz in.), but you must draw the width of the rail (mine generally measure

OCTO B E R / NOVEMBER 1 9 8 1 25
 I � i n . to I % in.) and the width of the bow. Draw
the l ine representing the top of the bottom rail
parallel to the line abo To draw the inner contour
of the bow, you must reduce the radii of the
circles with the centers d and d ' by the exact
width of the bow.
To avoid the disadvantages of short grain, it is
best to make the bow out of three pieces of wood
i nstead of one, orienting each to maximize long
grain. Draw the lines ci and cf on the template to
i ndicate the position and angle of the joints on
the bow. Later, when you're cutting up the tem·
plate, you can divide the bow into three seg·
ments. The sash shown in figure 3 has an inter·
mediate bow, something you may want to avoid
in early attempts at making curvilinear sash. If
you decide to use an intermediate bow a short
distance out from the hub, make it concentric
with the curve of the primary bow. An interme·
diate bow will have one more segment than the
number of mullions.
You need not cut templates for the mullions, as
they are of straight stock and will be cut to
proper length later. But you'll need to decide
how many mullions you want in your sash, and
to determine what angles they form with bow
and hub sections. At this stage you may want to
consult old work-the joinery details you are
able to uncover in a traditionally made window
will prove helpful from this stage onward. In
terms of workability and h istorical accuracy,
mullion width should be between % in. and % in.
This will equal twice the width of the bead plus
the width of the fillets.
The hub, where the mullions will converge,
can be either semicircular or semi-el liptical, but
make it large enough to keep the rays from com­
ing into contact with each other, thus keeping
the joinery less complicated. The hub must be
cut separately, mortised to the rail , and then
mortised to receive the mullions.
I usually make my templates YR in. longer than
their finished dimensions. You need this extra
length when you cut and fit the joints, and any
excess can be trimmed off during final assembly.
When you have completed the sash templates,
make templates for the exterior and interior cas­
i ngs. My exterior casing, which overlaps the
sash � in. to keep it from falling out, is in two sec­
t ions, divided by a keystone. Cut out the tem­
plates with a stencil knife. I use a surgical scalpel
with sharp blades to keep the edges crisp.

Cutting the parts- Your cardboard templates

will serve as patterns for laying out all the parts
to be cut. I use clear 5/4 eastern pine stock, al­
though mahogany, clear spruce or basswood
would serve equally well. Curved cuts for bow
sections and the hub can be accomplished with
frame saw, bandsaw or saber saw, depending on
your equipment and inclination. Remember to
cut the mullions a bit long, since some trimming
is inevitable with the type of joinery you'll be do­
i ng. To join the bow segments, I use a simple butt
j oi n t rei n forced with dowe l s - two to each
joint-and yellow wood glue.
During the Federal and Greek Revival peri­
Making the mullion·to·bow joint: Once the intersection angle has been marked out on both mullion and
bow, the mortises can be drilled out and squared with a chisel. Then the tenon is cut in the mullion and ods, a complete set of highly specialized tools
test· fitted in the mortise so the curve can be scribed in the bead, as shown. Use a coping saw to cut the available from tool-makers and woodworking
curve and a rattail file or an in·cannel gouge to shape the joint for a snug fit. suppliers provided the joiner with everything

26 F I N E H ( ) M E B U I L I) I N G
needed to make all types of sash. While many of of the mullions into the bow, and snug up the rai l i ng's face. A groove cut to accept the clapboard­
these tools are still around today, most are useful t o t h e bow a s you're fitting mullion tenons into ing under the stool is an aid to both fitting the
i n dealing only with square or rectangular sash. the hub. With luck, everything will fit as you siding and weatherproofing the unit.
One elusive tool is the sash shave, a cross be­ planned, but don't be alarmed if a little further The sides of the jamb unit can be made from
tween a spokeshave and a plane; without it trimming is necessary. When you are satisfied two pieces of exterior-grade plywood - I used
curved sash is practically impossible to make by with the results, glue up all the joints and re­ %-in. thick pine stock, although �-in. plywood
hand. I could not locate an old sash shave to assemble the sash. A peg glued in the two bow­ will be strong enough if you use more blocking.
match any of my planes, so I began to make one to-rail joints will provide extra strength. The elliptical opening i n each panel should be a
from scratch. I quickly realized it was going to Making an elliptical sash without an interme­ full };6 in. greater than the final dimensions of
take more time and research than I had antici­ diate bow, as described above, is the easier and the sash on all sides. Once these are cut, attach
pated (I still haven't finished it), so instead I used more advisable route if you've never built a the blocking that connects both panels. Now
a router to cut the molding and the rabbets. You curved sash before. If you're incorporating an you've got a single unit to work on. Invert it to at­
can also use a shapero The only bits you'll need intermediate bow, as I did, then these bow sec­ tach the };6-in. thick jamb sections. They have to
are a simple �-in. bead (with integral stop) and a tions would be cut and mortised i nto the mul­ be bent to conform to the curve in the plywood
�-in. rabbet (also with integral stop). The bead l ions before final glue-up of the sash. frame. I used clear pine and soaked the wood to
cutter gives an ovolo molding profile (figure 3), make it more flexible before fastening it to the
the easiest shape to work with when coped The jamb-Since all of the old curvilinear win­ ply edges with glue and small brads.
mortise-and-tenon joints have to be cut. dow units I observed were in place, I was not The stool can be attached next, but test-fit the
able to examine the way in which the jamb units completed sash first -fine adjustments at sash,
w
Mortise-and-tenon ork -This is where the were constructed and framed into the walls. I jamb and stool contact points are more difficult
craftsmanship comes in. The two bow-to-rai l had to work out my own system , shown in fig­ to make once the stool is i n place. I used glue and
joints are t h e first ones t o make. Here you have ure 4; you may wish to do l ikewise. Total wall dowel pegs to join the stool to the plywood, but
the option of either mortising a bow tenon into thickness, sheathing material and stud spacing screws will work equally well . Once this is done
the rail , or cutting a slip joint. I chose the latter will determine the width of the jamb and the the exterior casing can be fastened to the exte­
because part of the slot and tenon-cutting work framing details. rior side of the frame. It should overlap the bow
could be done on my radial arm saw. The mor­ Before you can make the jamb unit, first make section of the sash by about Ys in. Several small
tise is more secure in terms of joint movement. the w indow stool to support the casings. I use stops, tacked to the jamb on the interior side of
The procedure for making all sash joints is the 8/4 native white pine, and bevel the stool 1 0 ° the bow, force it securely against the casing.
same: Lay out the joint first by aligning the parts, toward the outside t o shed water. (You also have Allow � in. to % in. on both the width and
mark the stock, and then cut the tenons and to bevel the bottom of the rai l so the rail-to-stool height of the wall opening to shim the jamb unit
mortises. I cut my mortises all the way through, joint is sound.) The stool should be longer than plumb and level . Fasten the unit by nailing
since this makes squaring the cavity easier (you the rail i f you want ears at each end. I f ears are through the exterior casing into the sheathing
can chisel in from both sides). Check and adjust not part of the design, trim the stool flush once and frame of the building. Now the siding must
these for fit, mark where shoulder areas must be you've attached the jamb. be cut to fit the curvature of the casing, but don't
coped, and then cope the contoured part of the Although you can make the stool any width, despair. You still have the templates, from which
joint. This is by far the toughest part of the join­ extending it too far increases the amount of you can fit the siding and the interior trim. D
ery work, and must also be a "check and adjust" weather it w i l l have to endure. Drip kerfs
operation. I use an in-cannel gouge (a curved (grooves on the underside of the exterior edge of Norm Vandal builds and restores traditional
gouge with its bevel cut on the inside) and a rat­ the stool) allow water to drip free from the build- houses. He also makes period furniture.
tail file to shape the curved shoulders of the
joint. You may want to use a coping saw to cut
the cope into the mullions, but only a gouge can
be used on the hub and bow-to-rail joints. Final
shaping will consum e the extra Ys in. or so added
to finished length when the parts were first cut.
Once the bow/rail joints are secure, join the
hub to the rail (temporarily) and lay out the mul­
l ions on the bow/rail/hub assembly to mark
where mortises have to be cut. Fashioning the
mortises and tenons for mullion-to-rail and mul­
l ion-to-hub j oints can be made easier i f you re­
member that the tenon extends the full width of
the mullion and is made by cutting away the
bead or contoured part of the mullion and the
bottom fillet. To make the mortise, drill and
chisel out the square central portion of the bow
or curb between the bead and the rabbet.
Once the mortises and tenons have been cut
and fit smoothly, you have to cope the curve i n
the mullion bead which completes the joint.
First seat the mullion tenon i n its bow (or curb)
mortise, then mark the shoulder cut on the
mullion bead, as shown in the photo on the fac­
ing page. This has to be done by eye. You can ex­
pect some trim work with gouge or file (after you
make the cut with a coping saw) to achieve a
flush joint, but it's surprising how tight a cope
you can cut with a l ittle practice.
When all the m u l lions have been cut and
fitted, a trial assembly is in order. Slip the tenons

OCTOBER/ NOVEMBER 1981 27

 Bow-Cot
and the
Honeymoon
Cottage
Two experimental stone houses
by New York architect
Ernest Flagg

by Daniel A. Levy

I n 1 888 Ernest Flagg graduated from the Ecole

des Beaux Arts in Paris. He practiced architec­
estate at Dongan Hills, Staten Island, a borough
of New York City. Flagg later constructed a
ture in New York City until his death i n 1 94 7 . series of small stone houses on the property.
Flagg was the architect of many large public These houses were the testing ground for his
buildings, including the Corcoran Art Gallery in building ideas. Flagg owned all of these experi­
Washington, D.C., the Scribner Building i n New mental houses, which were used by family mem­
York and several buildings at the U .S. Naval bers and rented to selected friends and clients.
Academy at Annapolis. In 1 908 his Singer Bui ld­ They were not sold until after he died. One of
ing became the highest skyscraper in New York them, known as Bow-Cot, exempl ifies many of
a n d the tallest commercial structure in t h e Flagg's construction practices. Another stone
United States. But Flagg was also involved i n t h e house, known locally as the Honeymoon Cot­
work of an entirely different direction -the de­ tage, is one of two stone houses Flagg ever built
sign of charming, economically built houses. for a client other than h imself.
One of the important cost-saving features of Bow-Cot, now owned by Dr. and Mrs. Bernard
Flagg's houses was his method of building stone McGivern, was built in 1 9 1 8 directly on top of an
a n d concrete walls- later called Flagg-form old stone retaining wall that curves along Flagg Ernest Flagg's snug stone houses resemble Euro­
walls. Poured i n re-usable wooden forms, these Place. The house borders the road, and it curves pean village cottages. Bow·Cot (top and above)
walls were only one of the many inventive fea­ w ith i t - hence the name Bow-Cot , for bowed means bowed cottage; the name refers to the
gentle curve of the front wall, which follows the
tures found in Flagg's houses. As an architect, he cottage. The curve is slight, but noticeable.
curve of the road. Siting the house at the edge of
concerned h i mself with every aspect of the de­ Building along the road allows for a large, pri­ the road on top of an existing stone wall allowed
sign, siting, construction and maintenance of a vate garden. Flagg considered the garden an im­ for a large garden in the back. Bow·Cot follows
house. His ideas, not all of which stood the test of portant pleasure not to be denied the owners of its sloping terrain, as evident in the photo above,
looking east toward New York's Lower Bay.
time, were described in numerous popular mag­ small houses on small building lots. Flanked by chimneys with curved caps, a ridge­
azines and architectural journals of the 1 920s Flagg l ikened the appearance of Bow-Cot to dormer at the peak of the roof provides light and
and 1 930s, and i n greatest depth in his book old buildings seen i n Europe. Like European vil­ air to one of the bedrooms. The exterior of the
Honeymoon Cottage (right) features masonry
Small Houses: Their Economic Design and Con­ lage cottages, i t was planned on the spot and
side walls only about 5 ft. above the ground. De·
struction, published by Charles Scribner's Sons fitted to existing elements on the site and seems spite the low height, the interior is surprisingly
in 1 922. The book is now a collector's item and at home in its surroundings. open. The alcove was added to accommodate the
difficult to find. Honeymoon Cottage, now owned by Mr. and position of the front door, and the original ridge·
dormers were removed because they leaked.
In 1 898 Flagg designed and built a 32-room Mrs. Charles VanName, was built i n 1 92 6 for For floor plans of Bow·Cot and the Honeymoon
country home, Stone Court, on his 300-acre Florence Frank, an artist, who used it as a sum- Cottage, see pp. 30 and 3 1 .

28 FINE HOM EBU I LDING

 Ridge d ormers- Most of Flagg's small houses
- anyway. Flagg's workmen later replaced the roll
have no attic. The space directly under the roof roofing with slate, and finally, ironically, with
became part of the room. This allowed the use of asphalt shingles.
very low stone exterior walls, which could sup­
port the outward thrust of the roof without rafter Foundation- The foundations of these houses
ties or collar beams. Because of the high cost of were not carried below the frost line, but only to
material and labor in stone construction, low solid earth -about 18 in. for Staten Island. " Frost
wall height is an important cost-saving measure. is prevented from getting under the wall," Flagg
Floor plan: Honeymoon Cottage
Equally important, low walls solved what Flagg wrote, "by a frostproof sidewalk along its outer
considered the chief difficulty in designing small edge. If, for any reason, the walk is omitted, in
houses, a n excessive appearance of height, whole or in part, then the foundations are car­
mer home. From the outside, it is difficult to which destroys their charm. The exterior walls ried down below the frost-line as usual, but are
imagine that one can walk inside without stoop­ of the kitchen at Bow-Cot were designed to be laid to within 1 ft. of grade without mortar."
ing. The gutters are at shoulder height, and the only 4 � ft. high.
w i n dows were set i n dormers although the Ridge-dormers were installed i n pairs at the Mosaic rubble- Although other masonry ma­
house has only one story. Inside, however, one apex of the roof for light and air. The McGiverns terials could have been used, Flagg preferred
finds unexpected spaciousness. All of the rooms follow Flagg's recommendation to open the stone, which he called the king of building mate­
are open to the peak of the roof. dormers i n the spring and close them in the fal l . rials. The stone for these houses is soapstone,
T h e ridge-dormers are operated by a person o n quarried at the Dongan H ills Stone and Lumber
The module system -In The A rchitectural For­ a tall ladder. Since the hottest air rises and Company on Flagg's property. Soapstone is well
u m , March 1 926, Flagg wrote that although escapes through the ridge-dormers, the rooms suited for Flagg's masonry system because it nat­
many had written about his way of building, are well ventilated and cool in warm weather. urally breaks with one flat side. Since these walls
they concerned themselves with relatively mi­ Flagg warned that the ridge-dormers were to were erected without skilled masons, and only
nor details and overlooked the core of his work, be carefully made to prevent heat from escaping faced with stone, they were considerably less
the use of the module, or standard building unit. in the winter. At Bow-Cot the ridge-dormers expensive than a laid-up stone wall.
Flagg found that the module provided several were built with double sas h , one of w h i c h Forms for concrete work cost a lot. Flagg's sys­
economies in building: faster drawn plans, no di­ opened outward a n d t h e other i n . A f l y screen tem was intended to minimize the wood re­
mensions required, and yet the size and location was fitted between them. quired, and allowed for its re-use. As construc­
o f all elements were clearly shown. The method The second-story rooms of Bow-Cot are not tion began, wood sleepers- greased, slightly
facilitated laying out the foundation and putting open to the ridge because of the greater width of tapered crosspieces-were set across the foun­
the parts in their proper places. Standardization this section of the house. The flat ceilings in­ dation wall at 22 �-in. intervals, as shown in the
of parts was also a result. cluded latticed open ings for air flow to the attic drawing on p. 32. An iron pin was placed into a
Flagg's module system is based on his study of ridge-dormers. John Cumming, a carpenter who hole at each end of the sleeper to support 4x4
ancient Greek design. While a student at the began working for Flagg in 1 930, removed the upright posts. These posts were drilled at the
Ecole des Beaux Arts, he had begun reworking ridge-dormers from this section of Bow-Cot be­ e nds to accept the iron pi ns, and every 6 in.
the plan for a project by drawing all the axial cause their flat roofs leaked. All the r idge­ along their length for iron pins that supported
l ines first. He saw a series of rectangles appear dormers were removed from the Honeymoon planking. The sleepers were driven out of the
that were close to squares. He then redrew the Cottage for the same reason. wall after the concrete had cured, and the holes
plans on a square grid, and believed that the de­ Flagg found he could achieve the same venti­ were filled. Three planks, each about 8 in. wide,
sign was improved. Since a grid made it easier to lating effect at far less cost with the use of sky­ were placed inside the uprights. To facilitate
draw plans, he began to apply the system when l ights. The skylights he designed were simply raising the planks each day, they were separated
he opened his architecture practice. garden hot-bed sash, held in place on their curbs from the uprights by release sticks. These were
Flagg used 4S-in. modules, with the wall forms with sheet copper. The copper served as both 1 x I battens, which were driven out to free the
supported every 22 � i n . , at each half-module. flashing and h inge. planks. The following day, the planking was
With the module syst e m , the walls for the l ifted 2 ft. and held in the new position again by
rooms, the beams, and any other openings or Roll roofing Ernest Flagg considered tradi­
- iron pins.
other features were laid out on the same grid tional asphalt roof shingles (called composition Flagg's forms were stabilized by alignment
(drawing, facing page). Errors in the location of in his day) to be "simply funny, for vertical slits trusses, 2x4 frames that were also held in place
parts were minimized, and standardized details are cut, apparently for the pleasure of wasting by iron pins toward the top of the wall form.
were easily applied w ithout restricti n g t h e money to repair the damage so done, as they Wire ties prevented the uprights from bowing
design. A s Flagg wrote i n Country Life, October make three layers necessary where one would under the weight of the concrete and stone.
1 92 1 , "With one alphabet any variety of words do." Instead, he cut 36-in. wide roll roofing, a These wire ties, which remained embedded i n
may be made; so with one set of parts any varie­ fibrous material combined with asphalt, into the wall , were attached a t 2-ft. intervals.
ty of house may be built." 9-in. wide strips, which he laid horizontally After the planks were attached to the uprights,
One advantage of the module system was that across the roof with a 2-in . overlap (detail draw­ laborers placed the stones, with their smooth
floor plans could be drawn at a smaller scale ing, p. 33). This roofing was applied on top of sides out, against the inside face of the outer
than was otherwise possible, "there being so building paper. When the ceiling extended to planks. Other laborers shoveled concrete be­
l ittle to put on the plan." He drew plans at an the peak, Flagg recommended using a building hind the stones. On the interior side of the wall
Ys-in. scale, but " if it were not for Building De­ quilt for insulation. He also designed a roof truss, they sometimes placed plaster boards against
partments which require drawings of the kind not used at Bow-Cot, which provided a furred the inner face of the planks. The boards adhered
they are accustomed to," a )-; 6-in . scale would space to lessen heat loss. to the concrete. But generally, Flagg preferred
have served as well. At the Ys-in. scale, the work­ In 1 9 1 8 , Flagg was issued a patent for sheet­ to plaster directly on the masonry, because the
i ng drawings for a small house, excluding de­ metal clips for his roll roofs. A nail was placed forms were true enough. To save money he
tails, were drawn on a single sheet of paper, through the clip to hold the upper edge of the
1 8 in. by 24 in. The drawings included floor roofing strip, while the clip secured the lower
plans and elevations, each placed opposite the edge of the succeeding strip. The width of the Artist's rendering of Flagg's preliminary study
proper side of the floor plan. Since construction strips was restricted to 9 in. to prevent buckling, for Bow-Cot, drawn on a grid. The side of each
details were standardized, they were printed on which would have certainly occurred i f the full square represents 45 in. Since all major features
were fitted to the grid, no dimensions were nec­
separate sheets, and the applicable details were 36-in. width of the roofing strip had been used. essary. The four elevations are drawn in their re­
i ncluded with each set of plans. But the roof of Bow-Cot buckled and leaked spective positions.

30 FINE HOMEBUILDING
+--+---!--+-+---I--+--+-+-+--I-�--+---I--..j...-+--+--t--+--I- - ..j
Forms for mosaic rubble
omitted the brown plaster base coats. After the
A lignment truss and wire forms were raised or removed (photo center
ties preven t uprights left), a mason pointed the stone with mortar, and
from bowing.
"'-I-1ii'+*f---,--,--:---""--
Toggle pi ns
often embedded small stones in the mortar as a
decorative feature.
In building mosaic-rubble walls, the greatest
difficulty was at corners (detail photos, bottom).
Since stones had to be cut to provide two faces,
S p readers ---!�----j each corner cost as much as 10 ft. of plain wal!.
To simplify corner construction, Flagg cast con­
crete corner-blocks, or quoins. The blocks were
cast with a large vertical hole in each, so that
when stacked, reinforcing rods could be placed
P la n ks
from top to bottom. The hole was then filled with
concrete. Flagg found this method "so successful
as to suggest an extension of its use to all parts of
the wal!." This invention predates the common
use of concrete blocks by about 20 years.

Wire ties
remain
p
Interior artitions - Flagg's interior partitions
were constructed without lath or wooden studs.
embedded
in wall. 1 ' 1 '. rl,•. Instead, jute scrim or plasterer's burlap was cut
in lengths the height of the partition and stapled
between the ceiling and baseboard and to door
openings and adjoining walls. The seams were
Sleepers are tapered and
greased for easy removal and re-use.
loosely sewn together. Then two plasterers, fac­
ing each other from opposite sides of the screen,
In the photo below left, taken in 1 9 1 7, a gable end wall at Bow-Cot nears completion_ The interior forms
(see drawing above) are still in place_ Below right, two plasterers work separated by a jute scrim. Cor­ applied the first coat of plaster (photo center
ners on the 1929 addition to Bow-Cot were constructed with quoins (corner blocks) of cast concrete, as right). The jute served only to support the first
at bottom left. In 193 1 Flagg described his use of 15-in. wide blocks, the full thickness of the wall,
bottom right. These blocks, cast with a vertical hole, were stacked with only enough mortar to fill any
as at coat until it set, after which plastering continued

irregularities. Reinforcing bars were placed in the holes, and they were filled with concrete. from each side in the usual manner. The com­
pleted wall was about J 3� in. thick.

-' >�
The weight of the plaster guaranteed that the
wall would be plumb, but the baseboard had to
be properly placed. Flagg claimed: "Such parti­
tions are fireproof, for they contain practically
nothing that can burn; vermin proof, being solid;
less subject to damage than partitions of the or­
dinary kind, the plaster being thicker and quite
as sound-prooL" Furthermore, traditional stud
walls occupy at least three times more space.
Earlier, Flagg had experimented with wire
lath supported by wire, followed by wire lath
supported by cord. Eventually, he found that
even the wire lath could be omitted, its place
taken less expensively by jute. Flagg later re­
turned to wire lath, as it held the plaster better
during construction.
This method, which Flagg first patented in
1908 as a "fireproof-partition construction," was
approved by the Building Department of New
York. In their test, an 8-ft. by 12-ft. room was
constructed of these partitions. The room was
filled with cordwood stacked 2 ft. high, soaked
with kerosene and ignited. According to Flagg,
after the interior had burned for one hour, "a
stream of water was immediately applied to the
hot partitions delivered through a standard city
fire hose at 40 lb. pressure, the nozzle being held
4 ft. from the partitions; except for a slight bulge
and one small crack, they successfully withstood
this test. " In the March 1 923 Scientific A merican,
Harold Cary described these partitions as fol­
lows: "The writer, being skeptical about the
strength of such partition construction, pounded
on one of these walls with his fist as hard as he
could and was unable even to vibrate it."
The interior walls throughout both houses are
Flagg's fireproof partitions. The walls show no
sign of deterioration.
Small touches in the Honeymoon Cottage: Door locks, left, were imported from France. The small rabbet along the edge of door meshes a wide rabbet
cut in the solid jamb, eliminating the need for casing. Casement windows, center, have leaded glass sash and are locked with cremome bolts . The weather·
stripping is old, but not part of the original construction. At right, a Bow·Cot floor of common red tile laid in a cement border with a wide joint. Even the door
hinges were chosen to save money; two variations are drawn below right.

- side---l\)'---\--lL1fE2}
�'<"'---
Slotted-hinge detail
Door jamb
Slot is

Center
am""-·"···-,,·····--,,··.·-·-···---- drain
slightly
···,,·- - Side d rain

�:; j:: ��.���

,:::
dr
narrower
� than
hinge
--� � leaf.

Sheet-metal
hood
Casement-window and shade details

_"u�-w
Hook-and-eye h i nge with cap

W i ndow-frame head
Rafter

Shade
roller

Weight --- G lass

Fly net
A�. 1 UJ A weighted rod,
guided b y wires,
lowers the shade.
A cord wrapped around
a pulley raises it.

Wire
gu ide
Aspha l t gutter l i n i ng

Wood g u tter
--,c...:.
------"--
..'-';i- ..:. .-'. .. Sheet-metal clip

Sill d''"'._ ra i n
""'''
Weep
hole

Casement windows- Double hung windows -

did not meet Flagg's criteria: They were expen­
The casement w indows at the Honeymoon
Cottage are more ornate than at Bow-Cot, with
by wires at its side, was rolled up and down by
cords passed through the window frame. He pro­
sive to make; required weights and pulleys and leaded glass panes and French cremorne bolts vided enough details for others to duplicate them,
space to enclose the mechanism; and only half (photo above center). This locking mechanism since they were not available commercially.
could be opened at a time. He preferred case­ may be the reason that the Van Names have not
m e n t w i n dows, w h i c h he k n e w i n variably had leakage problems. Trim, doors and hardware-These houses are
leaked. H e believed, however, that he could Flagg described the advantages of his case­ characterized by the absence of trim. In a tradi­
construct weathertight casements. ment windows: since they swing i n , they are tional studded wal l , the gap between door jambs
Flagg's plan was to let water enter part way easy to wash and convenient to screen; they can and the rough openi ng is covered with casing.
and to drain it outside before it got past the sash be opened fully; and they can be set flush with I nstead, Flagg used a better grade of lumber for
(drawing, above). These drains were grooves cut the outside wal l , avoiding the cost of stone sills the frame, which forms the finished opening.
in the edges of the jambs and i n the sill. The win­ and reveals. He realized that casement w indows The jute screen for the partition wall was fast­
dows at Bow-Cot leak only occasionally i n hard, would i nterfere with shades, but only because ened directly to this frame.
wind-driven rain. With modern weatherstrip­ people don't realize the shades belong outside In the Honeymoon Cottage there is a rabbet
ping and flashing, this problem is easily solved if the windows. Flagg designed a shade of awning on each door, rather than a stop on the jamb
the casements swing outward. material fastened on a roller. The shade, guided (photo top left). This saved a piece of wood and

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1981 33
resulted in a cleaner design. The doors and
frames were constructed i n Flagg's shop, and
the hardware was installed. The frame was
carefully plumbed before the plaster was ap­
plied; the doors were then installed by slipping
the hinge halves together.
Even the hinges were streamlined by Flagg to
save money. The h inges used at Bow-Cot, which
he called driven h inges, were of a style Flagg
knew were used in Europe (see the detail draw­
i ng on the previous page). They were i nstalled
by cutt i ng slots in the door and frame with a thin,
blunt, chisel-like tool. This formed a slot just nar­
rower than the leaf of the hinge, which was
driven in after its holes were marked on the sur­
face of the wood. Pins cut from wire nails were
then driven in to lock the h inges in place. One
leaf of the hinge was longer to allow for the rab­
bet in the door. Since only the h inge knuckle was
exposed, painted steel hinges were used, rather
than brass.
By the time Flagg built the Honeymoon Cot­
tage, the price of driven hinges had i ncreased
1 65 % , so he developed two less expensive
h inges. One was a screw eye that slipped over a
right-angle screw hook with a decorative tip,
and the other was of two screw eyes joined with
a pin. The interior doors, except for a cupboard
door, were too heavy for these h inges and they
were replaced with butt h inges.

Corridors, stairs and storage space- Space

in a small house can be put to best use by mini­
m izing the area allocated for corridors and stair­
cases, and by making maximum use of leftover
spaces for storage. Flagg believed it was unnec­
essary to make stairs 36 in. wide, since even
then two people could not walk abreast. Instead,
he designed his staircases 30 in. wide, and often
used winders. Bow-Cot has two narrow stair­
cases, and the McGiverns find it is difficult to
carry packages on either.
At Bow-Cot, several odd-shaped areas were
used for storage closets, much as i n boatbuild­
i ng. Also, a bathroom was wedged into a space
most people would still consider unusable.

Ceilings and floors- All horizontal ceil ings in

Flagg's houses were beam ceilings. The addi­
tional cost of a good grade of lumber for the
beams was offset by the savings on plaster. The
beams, generally 4x6s or 6x6s, were placed on
the half-module. Thinner, deeper beams could
have been used, but Flagg did not consider them
as attractive. The beams generally spanned the

Bow-Col's present kitchen, above left, was added

in the late 1920s. Tall people can stand comfort·
ably at the sink; the ridge is just over 9 ft. high.
Double·sash ridge-dormers can be seen open and
closed. The kitchen was remodeled in 1 979; orig­
i nally, tall cupboards reached the sloped ceiling.
The low dormer window, at right in the photo,
forms sculptural shapes and shadows. At left,
Bow-Cot's dining room. The southern pine beam
ceilings saved the cost and weight of plaster, and
the space between the beams adds to the height
of the room. A good grade of lumber was used for
the subfloor, which served as the finished ceil­
ing_ A building quilt was laid on the subfloor for
s o u n d deaden i n g , followed by I - i n . t h i c k
sleepers t o which the finish floor was attached.
Electrical conduit was run in the I-in. space.
Flagg believed that every home should have a fireplace. At the Honeymoon Cottage, the copper hood with brass trim was intended to improve heat output, and
also lower the cost since it was not necessary to widen the wall to enclose the flue. Unfortunately, expansion and contraction of the copper tends to crack adja·
cent plaster. This fireplace was built with a 180 0 opening, but a later owner enclosed the sides. The interior of this room is 14 ft. high at the ridge.

entire room, but at Bow-Cot the unusually large Honeymoon Cottage (photo above) is a distinc­ in the law itself the means which shall be used to
living room required wood girders to support tive detail . Flagg knew that fireplaces are highly obtain that result rather than simply the result
the beams. The beams fan out slightly because inefficient, but since he liked them, he tried to required. To legislate in that way is to assume
of the curve of the walls. Since the area between develop a more efficient unit. He built a sheet­ that it is possible to say what is the best and most
the beams became part of the space of the room, copper hood, with brass corner strips supported economical way of obtaining certain ends in
the beams were set a few inches lower than if the by an angle-iron frame anchored in the masonry building, which is a manifest absurdity." Recent­
ceilings had been plastered. wall. The hood extended up to just below the Iy a few codes have come i nto line with Flagg's
Flagg questioned the logic of plastering a gable peak. The hearth was designed with a idea of specifying the desired result rather than
horizontal ceiling and then applying i mitation 1 80 0 opening, with only a tile curb at each side, the method. These are called performance codes.
beams, which was the usual practice of the day. but a later owner, fearful of fire, enclosed the
The underside of the subfloor served as the sides. The hood, however, joins with the plaster Art, beauty and popular taste Flagg be­
-
finished ceiling, so again a good grade of lumber walls, cracking the plaster as it warms up; smoke l ieved that though good taste can affect every­
was used. A bui lding quilt laid on the subfloor can then curl into the room. The house has two thing of human manufacture, it is not empha­
served as a sound deadener. On top of the quilt, more chimneys-one ventilates the kitchen sized in our culture. In our buildings we go to
sleepers were laid, to which the finished floor stove, and the other, surprisingly, serves only to considerable lengths to make things appear to
was fastened. The woodwork was waxed. balance the design of the facade. be what they are not; but, he emphasized, an ex­
In areas likely to get wet, Flagg i nstalled 6x6 cellent way to save money in building is to " let
red clay tiles. In some kitchens, Flagg used a Plumbing and drainage - The suggestions things show for what they are, and save the cost
wide border of tile, for durability and ease of about plumbing and drainage that Flagg pro­ of making them appear to be what they are not."
cleaning, but a center area of wood covered vided in Small Houses are indicative of the scope The petite scale was important to Flagg. H is
with oilcloth or linoleum, for greater comfort of his building concerns. He suggested that it goal was to show the average builder that the de­
when standing. Tile borders in many other rooms was not economical or necessary for the trap of sign and construction of a small house can be i m­
are a decorative element. The red clay tiles are every plumbing fixture to be vented to open air, proved, and the cost reduced. At both Bow-Cot
also used for the fireplace faces at Bow-Cot. as building codes require, to prevent drawing and the Honeymoon Cottage, despite some
water out of the traps, which would allow sewer moisture problems, he has succeeded. The
F ireplac es Perhaps Flagg's attention to fire­
- gas to enter the house. The same result could be owners find that both homes have warmth and
places was out of character with his concern for obtained, Flagg claimed, if the outlet pipe was so charm not found in many houses built today. 0
low cost, but he was sentimental about them, large that it could not be filled through the inlet,
mentioning that " home without a fire on the since the trap could not be siphoned. "The mis­ Dan Levy teaches industrial technology a nd has
hearth is hardly home." The fireplace in the take is made," Flagg complained, "of specifying done extensive research into Flagg's work.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1981 35
 Restoring Brownstone Facades
Techniques for
repairing and replacing
1 9th-century architectural elements

by Sarah Latham

B rownstone was first commonly used as a

building material in New York City during the
decays" on the facing page). Brownstone is actu­
ally a brown sandstone that consists of multi­
either a mortar of cement mixed with crushed
brownstone or a mortar dyed to match the exist­
1 820s and 1 830s. Numerous quarries in the East layer accumulations of water or wind-borne rock. i ng facade. In practice decayed stone is cut back
supplied the stone, which was a trim substitute Over long periods of time these sediments be­ to a sound substrate and the area is built up with
for the more costly marble or l imestone. By the came naturally Iithified or cemented. When first a series of applications of the mortar. This pro­
1 850s and 1 860s, entire rows of townhouses quarried, brownstone is often pinkish in tone but cess-known as composite patching or plastic
contained brownstone facing or veneer applied turns brown as its ferruginous ore oxidizes. It is repair-is one of several methods presented
to rubble or brick walls. What began as an eco­ the iron content which accounts for its color. h ere which may be considered for restoring
nomic measure had become fashionable. Because the brownstone was formed by accre­ brownstone facades.
By the end of the 1 9th century, however, the ting layers of sediment , it is prone to delamina­
use of brownstone as a building material had de­ t ion. On buildings, the layers of stone scale or Concrete aggregate resurfacing- The most
clined. According to Professor Norman Weiss of peel off because the bedding planes were stacked common solution to delaminating brownstone is
the Historic Preservation Program of Columbia on end (see drawing, facing page). When laid to remove the damaged stone and resurface the
University, its wan ing popularity during the perpendicular to the facade, the surface is less affected area with scratch coats of cement and a
1 880s was due to three causes: a change in pub­ susceptible to delamination or exfoliation. Prop­ finish coat of t i nted cement .
lic taste, the rise in the use of terra-cotta, and the er maintenance and cleaning will lengthen the Under the direction of Frank Matero of the Na­
change i n materials selection wrought by the l i fetime of brownstone facades (see " Cleaning t ional Park Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior,
structural needs of multi-story buildings. stone buildings" on p. 39). restoration work on the exterior facade of the
Attention shifted to the deterioration of ex­ If money were no object the most suitable Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace in New York City
isting brownstone facades, which had become a method of restoring brownstone facades would i ncluded application of a pigmented cement­
common and recurring phenomenon. Then, as be replacing the damaged material with natural base composite. The photo below left shows a
now, water was the culprit, either as a vehicle stone from the same or a similar stone quarry. detailed view of a delaminated brownstone area
for chemicals and salts or i n a freeze/thaw cy­ But most of the original brownstone quarries i n on the Roosevelt House. The damage was par­
cle. As early as the 1 850s articles appeared i n t h is country are closed. Currently, sources o f t ially caused by the m igration of water, which
building periodicals with remedies for delamina­ supply for replacement brownstone are l imited had entered the brownstone surface at the joint
ting facades that included the use of l inseed oil to one dealer of used stone i n New Jersey and a line. In the photo below right, mason Dean Kor­
as a waterproof coating and stabilizer. sandstone quarry in Ohio. For more information pan of Structural Antiquities Unlimited in Ar­
Preservation specialists attribute brownstone and suppliers, see the list on p. 39. monk, N .Y., carefully chiseled the deteriorated
decay to the nature of the material and the way ft i s usually more practical to restore the fa­ brownstone. (The use of power-driven tools to
it was face-bedded on buildings (see "Why stone cade by reconstructing the stone surface with remove stone should always be discouraged.
They are difficult to control and may i nadver­
tently destroy salvageable stone.)
Once the surface was taken back to a sound
substrate, the mason applied the scratch coat
surface. At the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace,
small holes were drilled i nto the surface of the
stone to provide a keying bond (photo facing
page, top). The scratch coat was forced into the
perforations, form i n g a " toothed" adhesion ,
then scored in the traditional manner to receive
the tinted finish coat. Bonding occurred in this
process as the composite m ixture (described
below) settled into the scored recesses of each
preceding coating.
A scratch coat is composed of portland cement
and generally will not be tinted. It is usually not
l ess than % i n . or more than 3 in. deep. Once the
scratch coat has cured, the final or finish coat is
then applied.
During the application of the finish coat, the
_ ..II,
A delaminated brownstone facade stone, left, on the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace in New York City.
contractor con tinually moistened the l i ne of
contact between the natural stone and the com­
Delamination has been caused by the migration of water and salts through the face-bedded stone due to
posite patch. As shown in the photo on the bot­
improperly maintained mortar joints and the consequent freeze/thaw cycle. At right, mason Dean Kor­
pan removes the deteriorated brownstone. Decayed stone is cut back to a sound substrate in prepara· tom of the facing page, this step lessened the
tion for the application of a scratch coat of cement (see photos, facing page). chance of rapid shri nkage and helped achieve a

36 F I NE HOM EBU I LD I NG
 y stone decays
Wh
Stone building facades bake in the summer and freeze in the winter.
Their cornices glitter with icicles in one season and run with torrential
rains in the other three. Stone buildings in cities are cloaked with
polluting gases and splashed by salty slush from streets and sidewalks.
To survive these ravages, stone buildings demand vigilant care.
Stone deterioration originates with the exertion of some type of
unusual pressure from either physical or chemical forces. Water is
almost always the source of the problem. Moderate exposure to
rainwater is inevitable and, to some extent, beneficial. Damage occurs
with cycles of heavy saturation and drying. These cycles may be caused
by leaking gutters, ineffective cornices, blocked drains or clinging
vegetation. The following are common causes of stone decay.
The freeze/thaw cycle. Water drawn deep into the stone by capillary
action causes mechanical stress on the pore walls when it freezes.
Salt crystallization. Soluble salts are carried with water into the pore
network, where they form crystals. Because the salts have a larger
volume when crystallized than when dissolved, their expansion damages
the internal structure of the stone. Frequently salts originate in mortars
containing portland cement or from the brick or backing material to
which a stone facing is attached. Salts from bird droppings deposited on
cornices and sills and sodium chloride scattered to melt ice on steps
aggravate stone decay. A telltale sign of a problem in the stone is the
formation of efflorescence (salt deposits) on the surface. It frequently
appears on new stone facing placed against a damp backing material.
Acidic action. Acids deposited on limestone, marble and some
sandstones gradually dissolve the stone. The result is roughening of the
surface, separation of bedding planes where soft seams were washed
away, erosion around fossil fragments and loss of detail in carvings.
Vegetation. Moss, lichens, vines and even thick shrubbery around a
stone foundation trap moisture in stone and prevent evaporation. But
probably the greatest damage is caused by roots, which gradually open
joints and dislodge particles of mortar through mechanical action.
Structural settlement. In cases of severe settling, sound stones will
crack at weak points, such as lintels and sills of doors and windows.
Face bedding. The durability of sedimentary stones such as limestone
and sandstone can be drastically affected by the incorrect placement of
the blocks. Stone blocks should be laid in the same position as the stone
originally lay in the quarry (see the drawing below). On its natural bed,
the stone's bedding planes are horizontal. If face·bedded, or laid with
bedding planes vertical and parallel to the face of the wall, the surface of
the stone will scale in sheets or layers. Face bedding was common in
19th·century construction; stone for columns or door jambs was often
placed on end to take advantage of its greater length.
Edge bedding. Edge·bedded stones are laid with bedding planes vertical
but perpendicular to the face of the wall. In time, the seams on the
exposed surface of the stone may wash out between the lamination. Edge
bedding is acceptable on cornices and string courses, which would erode
rapidly if the stone were laid on its natural bed.
Open joints. Spaces between stones that are inadequately sealed with
mortar allow water to perietrate deep into the masonry. Open joints are
caused by settling and by the failure of the mortar to withstand the
physical contraction and expansion of stone. This problem frequently
arises because too little mortar was used or because the mortar mix did
not contain lime, was too hard and eroded.
Rust expansion. Rusting of embedded ironwork is often a problem with
railings set into stone steps as well as with concealed metal dowels and
clamps inserted during construction. As the iron corrodes, its volume
increases and exerts too much pressure on the hole in which it was
fitted, causing the stone to split. - Cornelia Brooke Gilder, a building
materials consultant for the Preservation League of New York State.

Stone is correctlv placed on its natural bed

as it originallv lav in the quarrv.

A face-bedded stone scales in lavers

because it was placed on end
with its bedding planes
_ parallel to the face
of the wall.

A drilled surface, top, gives the scratch coat a strong, keyed grip on the
sound stone substrate. Successive coatings are scored before the finish An edge-bedded stone has its
coat, above, is applied. Korpan continually moistens the contact edges of bedding planes perpendicular to the face
the natural stone and the brownstone replacement aggregate. This lessens of the wall. Seams on the exposed
the shrinkage in curing. h
Illustration: Barbara Smolover
surface WIJi
wash out in time.

OCTOBER/ NOVEM BER 1981 37

 similarity i n texture between the natural stone
and the composite patch.
The finish coat is made to resemble brown­
stone in color and texture through the use of pre­
m ixed products or a mixture of pre-washed sand
and h igh-calcium l ime cement tinted with syn­
thetic pigments or pulverized brownstone. De­
p e n d i n g on t h e n a t u r e of t h e ston e to be
matched, m ica may be added to the recipe as
well. The finish coat was steel-troweled and
allowed to cure for about six weeks.
Once the finish coat was sufficiently cured, the
area was washed down with a weakened solu­
t ion of muriatic acid. This was followed by a
thorough rinsing with water. The acid wash
evens out the surface by slightly weathering the
finish coat.
T h r o u g h o u t t h e r e s t o r a t i o n job on t h e
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, Korpan worked
in his shirtsleeves. It is important that such work
take place only at a constant temperature above
4 0 ° F. The use of anti freeze in the mixture
should be discouraged, as should the use of arti fi­
cial heating devices.
In an added attempt to fool the eye, Korpan
used wooden screeds to create an arti ficial joint
line between the composite patch and natural
stones. Once the composite patching and cast
stone elements were keyed in and cured, the
wooden screeds were removed. The artificial
joint lines were then pointed. This maintains the
original appearance of laid stone.

Polymerchemical con olida t s ns

Several at­
-
tempts have been made to perfect a polymer­
chemical consolidant to treat damaged stone in
situ with a preservative. But methods and mate­
rials used to consolidate irreplaceable masonry
elements remain i n the experimental stages.
One obstacle to the use of this process is that the
original stone may not accept the chemical con­
solidant-what Professor Weiss refers to as
"transplant rejection . "
A few European firms have developed tech­
n iques or products for applying polymerchemi­
cal consolidants on stone. These methods are
primarily used on statuary and in areas that
To reconstruct the three stoops on W. 1 19th Street (above) Bill Londino used a shop . mad e plaster model don't have the freeze/thaw conditons we see in
of each newel post (two pieces), railing (three pieces) and baluster. The cost of making the models and the U.S. Consequently, these products have seen
molds was $4,600, and the cost of casting the individual stoop elements was 1 $ ,200. All expenses for l ittle use in this country. In my experience, it is
the new stoops were paid under the provisions of the Facade Improvement Program of the city's Land·
marks Preservation Commission, which retained the molds for future use on similar building facades. too early to determine the ultimate success of
At the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace (below), a fractured original coping stone is being drilled to reo such processes.
ceive Teflon reinforcement rods for its reunion. The small drilled holes provide additional bonding be­
tween the surfaces when an epoxide resin adhesive is applied between the surfaces.
Painted portland su
rface A n inexpensive
-
treatment for delaminating brownstone is to re­
move the damaged stone and to replace and re­
surface the facade with untinted portland ce­
ment. The cement surface is then painted with a
"brownstone" paint, generally a latex paint with
sand suspended in the emulsion. Decayed archi­
tectural elements can be reconstructed using
wood pieces covered with brownstone paint.
This process is not usually recommended since
once the paint coating wears away, the unti nted
concrete or wood surface will be exposed. The

Saroh L(lth(lm is (I furmer /(llldllwrks preserv(I­

tioll specialist of the Facade Improvement Pro­
grom for the Landmarks Preserv(ltioll Comm is­
sion of the City of New York.

38 F I N E H ( ) M E 13 U I L D I N G
 owner will be faced, with a continuing mainte­ plaster model, Londino was able to pour a con­
nance problem-the repainting of the facade. crete casting. Reinforced with steel bars, the
Cleaning stone buildings
m ixture contained synthetic iron oxide pig­ Various cleaning techniques are available
Painting- The least successful repair is to paint ments that are l ime-fast and sun-fast for durabil­ today; the choice must be made on a case-by­
over the delaminating brownstone surface. Thi s ity. Sixteen balusters, six rail pieces and four case basis. In each instance the proposed
method should be tested on different parts of
"solution" is merely a cosmetic deferral of the newel post parts were set on steel pins and
the building in order to determine the most
problem. The latex paint coating will soon peel joined i n place with mortar to create an entire effective technique. It may be necessary to use
away, exposing the damaged brownstone. If it is stoop. The color and texture of the completed several cleaning methods on buildings
ever necessary to remove the paint, the job will stoops (photo facing page, top) are uniform. This constructed of different kinds of stone, a
combination of materials or in areas where
be very costly, and i n most cases unsuccessful. allows for a natural appearance as the stone
delicate carvings sit amidst massive stone
weathers and wears in use. Also, there are few surfaces. Cleaning is particularly important
Cast stone elements- Damaged or missing in­ joint lines, allowing few avenues for water to for urban buildings where streaky, uneven
dividual stone elements such as foliated door enter and cause damage in the future. accumulations of salt and dirt are not only
consoles can be replicated i n cast stone. When Molds for creating cast stone replacement damaging but may hide other problems such
as settlement cracks, open joints and
existing elements are in usable condition, a cast­ elements can also be built from wooden forms. deteriorated stonework.
ing is made with a latex mold. This mold is then Mason Dean Korpan constructed a wooden form Water cleaning. In general, this is the most
used to make a plaster negative from which a ce­ to cast a replacement copi ng stone during the versatile, simplest and cheapest method.
ment positive is cast. When existing elements restoration of the exterior facade of the Theo­ Water cleaning involves a low-pressure wash
to soften the dirt deposits, followed by
are not available, a plaster negative can be dore Roosevelt Birthplace.
scrubbing with bristle brushes or a high­
created from prefabricated shapes and hand­ Faults can occur if the cast stone is improperly pressure jet for stubborn, heavily soiled
sculpted parts. keyed or joined to the natural stone. So Korpan patches. The disadvantages of water cleaning
An interchangeable detail that is common to a used Teflon rods (photo facing page, bottom). are that the work must be completed in frost­
row of buildings can be economically cast. The which are not subject to corrosion or damage free months and that prolonged spraying
(which saturates both the facing stone and its
i nitial cost of the mold can be spl it among due to the expansion of the joint and any fissures
backing) may precipitate other problems such
several owners, and castings made as needed for that develop in the surrounding masonry mate­ as dry rot, rust expansion and damage to
each facade. The final product is basically tinted rial. The natural stone was drilled to receive the interior plaster, woodwork and paint.
concrete and much less expensive than replace­ Teflon rods, and smaller holes were drilled However, careful planning can usually
overcome these problems.
ment stone or cast iron architectural elements. around them. Drilling provides "teeth" for a suc­
Steam cleaning. In recent years the
Cast stone elements were used to replace miss­ cessful bonding of the surfaces. popularity of steam cleaning has decreased
ing stoop newels, balusters and handrails for due to possible danger to the operator,
three properties on New York's West I I 9th St. , Fiberglass- Fiberglass can also be used to re­ expensive equipment and limited
under the Facade Improvement Program o f the effectiveness. It is still used for cleaning
place ornamental elements. The technique for
intricately carved areas that would be
Landmarks Preservation Commission of the City i ts use is similar to cast stone in that it uses latex damaged by brushing and for removing
o f New York. Bill Londino of Londino Stone Co. , for both negative and positive impressions. But chewing gum from pavements and floors.
Bronx, N . Y., prepared t h e plaster model and all fiberglass replacements are best used only on Chemical cleaning. Two general categories
castings for the project, located i n the Mount the higher elevations of a building because there of chemical agents, acidic and alkaline, are
used for cleaning stone. Their use demands a
Morris Historic District. The design was based is a marked difference in texture and tint which
thorough understanding of the materials to be
on sketches and measurements from a nearby is evident at street level. Another disadvantage cleaned. Acidic cleaners are used on granite
stoop, plus some prefabricated parts and hand­ i s the potential contusion: One well-aimed rock and some sandstones, but they will erode a
sculpted details. After he made a mold of this can craze a fi berglass element. limestone lintel or a glazed terra-cotta
ornament. Alkaline cleaners can be used on
The advantage of fiberglass as a substitute for
such acid-sensitive stones as marble,
sandstone is its lightness of weight. This makes it limestone and calcareous sandstone. To
For more information and supplies •.. easy to key in or apply as a cap to existing stone. prevent harmful salt residues, chemical
The New York Landmarks Conservancy recently However, fiberglass as an exterior material is cleaners must be thoroughly washed off with
published t h e results of an extensive study o f sand­ water at the end of the cleaning process. The
untested for its long-term durability and flame­
stone restoration techniques in a leaflet for owners of advantage of chemical cleaning over water is
landmark properties. The report is available from the
retardant properties.
that faster results can be achieved using
New York Landmarks Conservancy, 330 W. 42nd St. , smaller quantities of water with less risk of
New York. N.Y. 10036; (2 1 2 ) 736-7575. Permits and grants p r ogr ams The brown­
- staining. On the other hand, rinsing off
Preservatiun and Conservation: Principles and chemicals with water jets can force the
stone restoration work discussed in this article
Practices ( $ 1 7.95). National Trust for Historic Preser­ cleaning agents into open cracks and joints.
vation. 1 976. and Introduction to Early American Ma­
was performed on structures in two of the city's
Mechanical cleaning. Sandblasting or
sonry ($6.95), by Harley McKee, National Trust and 4I designated historic districts. The Theodore abrasive cleaning with grinders and sanding
Columbia Uni versity. 1 97 3 . Both available from Pres­ Roosevelt Birthplace is also listed on the Nation­ discs is not recommended for cleaning stone
ervation Press, 1 785 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Wash­ al Register of Historic Places. When a building is without careful field testing. Relatively soft
ington. D.C. 20036; (202) 673-4084. stones (like limestone and marble) can be
located in a historic district. one must apply for a
The Cleaning and Waterproof Coating of Masonry damaged under the impact of inappropriately
Buildings by Robert Mack. AlA. Preservation Brief work permit to perform the needed restoration. selected aggregates applied at high pressures.
No. I. Free from the National Park Service, 440 G St. The preservation agency or housing authority Polished stones will become dull and scarred.
NW. Washington. D.C. 20243; (202) 343- 1 10 0 . charged with issuing permits may also have ref­ Mineral grains of even hard granites can be
Facade Improvement Program o f the Landmarks shattered or pulverized by sandblasting,
erences to masonry contractors who have suc­
Preservation Commission of the City of New York. 20 leaving the building without its original
Vesey S t ., New York. N . Y. 1 0007; ( 2 1 2 ) 566-7577.
cessfully worked on listed buildings.
sparkle and luster. Mechanical cleaning can be
Preservation League of New Yor k State. 307 Hamil­ Some local authorities have access to federal a useful and safe method when understood
ton St . . Albany, N . Y. 1 2 2 1 0; ( 5 1 8) 462-5658. monies, matching grant programs or state his­ and conducted with a battery of carefully
Re-used C o n n e c t i c u t b r o w n s t o n e (a deep r ed toric preservation funds to pay for restoration monitored field tests using a range of
brown). rescued from demolished buildings and i nac­ aggregates at various pressures.
work. For instance, the Facade Improvement
tive tjuarries, is available from David Anderson, Pas­ Maintenance of cleaned surfaces. Properly
cack Valley Stone Co .. 4 0 1 Demarest Ave .. Closter. Program of New York City's Landmarks Preser­ cleaned, a building should be given regular,
N .J . 07624; (20 I) 768-2 1 :\:1. v a t i o n C o m m i ss i o n provides grants up t o light washings (at five-year intervals in urban
Quarried sandstone (ranging from chocolate brown $ 10,000 t o cover restoration expenses o n build­ areas) to prevent dirt build-up. Waterproof
to almost black; ask for samples first). used for brown­ coatings and silicone water repellents have
ing exteriors. These grants are available to
stone repairs and replacements. is available from Ken not proved effective in dirt inhibition or in
Taylor. Briar Hill Stone Co .. PO Box :198, Glenmont.
owner-occupants whose ann ual gross income is
stabilization of stone decay. Instead, they may
Ohio 44628; (2 1 6) 276-40 1 1 . $ 13.6S0 or under and whose buildings are l o­ seriously damage masonry by trapping water
cated in a designated historic district. r behind the coating. - C.R. C.
O C T O B I:: R / N O V I·: M B U{ 1 9 8 1 39
 Wood Foundations
Pressure-treated studs and plywood make an
economical system for owner-builders

by Irwin L. and Diane L. Post

We first heard about All Weather Wood

Foundations (AWWF) in 1 978. We later learned
dows and doors. We simply nailed and screwed
them i n , as in ordinary frame construction. An
wood on the outside. The walls stand on-footing
plates, which lie on a pad of gravel. A concrete
more about this pressure preservative-treated error i n pouring a concrete foundation can be slab poured inside the walls prevents the backfill
system, and when we began to build our own disastrous when it comes to installing doors and from pushing i n the bottoms of the walls. The
house we chose i t over the more common w indows; just a little reframing corrects an error tops of the foundation walls are securely fast­
poured concrete and concrete-block founda­ with the AWWF. We decided to relocate a door ened to the first-floor structure before the back­
tions. There were several reasons for our choice. slightly-it took us only two hours. filling begins.
First, the rugged winters here i n the moun­ We wanted to use spruce clapboards for our The size of the footings and studs and the
tains of Vermont made the i nsulation of the exterior siding, and we would be able to nail the thickness of the plywood depend on the size of
house one of our primary concerns. Since we clapboards directly to the exposed portion of the the building, the grade of lumber, the depth of
planned our basement to be l iving space, we wood foundation. We're not sure what we would the backfill and the spacing of the studs. An i n­
wanted it to be as well insulated as the rest of the have done with the above-grade portions of a dustry booklet, "The All-Weather Wood Founda­
house (fiberglass to R-26
in the walls and R-:lH
in concrete foundation. tion: Why, What and How" ($ 1 from the Ameri­
the top floor ceiling). AWWF walls are built of The clincher for us was the money we saved. can Plywood Association, Box 1 1 700, Tacoma,
studs, and they can be i nsulated with fiberglass We were the labor force for everything but the Wash. 984 1 1 ) , supplied enough information for
as easily as can any stud wal l . With concrete excavation, standing-seam steel roof and dry­ us to design our AWWF with confidence. We
foundations, a thick layer of insulation signifi­ wal l . Like most people who build their own used 2 x 1 0 footing plates, except at the back
cantly reduces the usable space inside the base­ homes, we did not include our labor as part of wall , where we used 2x8s because of the smaller
ment, and i t's difficult to attach insulation and the cost. While we didn't do a detailed analysis l oad on the back wall . Our design called for �-in.
the interior finished wall to the concrete. The for all the options, we estimated a savings of plywood and 2x8 bottom plates, studs and top
stud walls of the A WWF allowed us to hide the more than $ 1 ,000 over the cost of poured con­ plates. The top plates and the plywood that was
wiring and plumbing, too. crete. Materials for our 24-ft. by 32-ft. founda­ I
more than ft . above grade were not preserva­
The AWWF also suited our construction sched­ tion cost us about $ 1 ,850 in August 1 980. tive treated. We choose to use 2x8 studs on
ule. We were able to start on it as soon as the ex­ Many people ask us if we're worried about the 1 6-in. centers so we could fit two layers of R- 1 3
cavator finished the cellar hole. For a poured foundation rotting out. We aren 't. The required i nsulation inside the exterior walls. Our house
foundation, we would have had to hire a con­ preservative salt retention in the pressure­ design required very low-grade studs (Fb 01 975
tractor and wait for him to work our job into his treated wood is 0.60 pounds per cubic foot, psi minimum) for adequate strength with our
schedule. We would then have had to wait for which is 50% higher than building codes require depth of backfill (up to 5 ft.). The fasteners were
the forms to be erected. and the concrete to be for general ground-contact applications. The 1 0d stainless steel nails to connect the bottom
poured and to cure. For a concrete-block foun­ USDA Forest Service's Wood Handbook: Wood plates to the studs and footing plates, 8d stainless
dation, we would have had to pour a concrete as an Engineering Material indicates that test steel n a i ls to connect t h e t reated p lywood
footing and then begi n the time-consuming task stakes in Mississippi have lasted more than 20 sheath ing to the studs below grade, 8d hot­
of laying the blocks. years at lower preservative salt retentions. d i pped galvanized n a i l s to connect the un­
The AWWF facilitated the installation of wind- The A WWF i s a stud wall sheathed with ply- treated plywood to the studs above grade, and

Once the gravel pad is compacted and carefully leveled, left, the footing plates are set in place around its perimeter. The layout of the excavation and the drain­
age pipes is shown in the drawing on the facing page. Right, pressure-treated foundation framing is built 8 ft. at a time and tilted up. The interior bearing wall is
framed with less costly untreated lumber because it won't be in contact with water or wet earth. Photos: Irwin and Diane Post.

40 F I N Ie: HOM Ie: B U I L 0 I N G

 Drainage
Clean-out access
2x 1 a treated footing plate
Sump basin

Treated screed board

24 ft.
G ravel pad

Front of house

Solid 4- i n . PVC
drainage pipe

4-in . .perforated PVC drainage

pipe surrounds foundation below
footing level, holes down.

1 6d hot-dipped galvanized nails to connect the to provide good drainage around the foun­ coarse sand or crushed rock could have been
top plate to the studs. dation. Good drainage is an absolute necessity used instead. The excavator drove his bulldozer
We found two lumberyards that were willing for any foundation. After having suffered with back and forth over the gravel to compact it. We
to bid on our A WWF materials. The better bid wet basements, we were not about to take any made sure the pad was large enough to lay out
was for far higher-quality studs than we needed shortcuts with our new house. The design we our footings at 24 ft. by 32 ft. , and we marked the
and for the %-in . plywood the supplier had in settled on is diagrammed above. locations for the footing plates.
stock rather t h a n t h e �-i n . pl ywood w e ' d In the front and sides of the cellar hole, where After the gravel was compacted, we leveled
specified. We could have saved i f w e h a d been the footings were going to be less than 4 ft. be­ the pad by driving 2x2 stakes of treated wood
willing to wait for material closer to our speci­ low finished grade, we wanted a frost wall built i nto the gravel at 6-ft. intervals along the critical .
fications. The price for the stainless steel nails to prevent frost heaving under the footings. We l ines where the footing plates were to lie. Using
seemed unbelievable at $ 6 per pound. This had a ditch 2 ft. wide dug to about 5 ft. below a surveyor's level for accuracy, we drove the top
works out to about l O Y: / for each lOd nail! fin ished grade, and set drainage p ipes sur­ of each stake to exactly the same elevation,
In ordering our A WWF materials, we specified rounded by crushed stone in the bottom. The which was close to the average elevation of the
that the wood had to be stamped w ith the ditch was then backfilled with gravel. gravel. Then, using shovels and garden rakes,
American Wood Preservers B ureau (A WPB) Along with the frost wall , we had a sump basin we leveled the entire pad to match the tops of
foundation grademark, which ensures that the excavated inside the foundation walls. This the stakes. To level the footing lanes exactly, we
wood is properly treated for use in foundations. basin is simply a hole i n the basement floor con­ scraped a straight 2x4 stud over the gravel be­
We were pleased to find many plugged holes in nected by pipe to the drains around the house. tween the stakes. Leveling took half a day and
our material where samples of wood had been Groundwater normally flows to the drain-pipe some patience and care.
removed after treatment to check for retention outlet. I f the outlet becomes plugged, the water Next we i nstalled the ABS wastewater pipes
o f the preservative. backs up into the sump basin so we can pump it that were to run under the basement floor. We
outside, keeping our basement dry. We used a laid out their positions precisely on the gravel
Excavation and drainage-We had two exca­ 3-ft. section of corrugated aluminum culvert surface, then we dug the ditches, put the pipes in
vators bid on our job. Neither one had ever 1 � ft. in diameter to form the sump basin. A place (gluing the joints well), covered them, and
worked on a cellar hole for an AWWF. After re­ treated wood cover over its top is flush with the releveled the disturbed areas. We were then
viewing our engineering drawings and i nstruc­ concrete slab. ready to set the footings.
tions, one excavator seemed reluctant. The Next, we worked on the gravel pad. It varied
other showed interest, so we chose him. in depth from 6 in. (the required minimum) to Framing- The footing plates were simply laid
The main objectives of the excavation were to more than a foot. We used crusher-run gravel , flat on the ground (photo, previous page, left).
lay the gravel pad on which the footings sit and which does not contai n large cobbles. Pea-stone, We made careful diagonal measurements with a

O C T O B I:: R / N O V I:: M B I:: R 1 9 8 1 41

 \
where the fill is deep, we added blocks between

\,,'O iO;"
Back and interior wall design
.\
Y,-in. plywood 2x6 untreated the two outer joists at 4-ft. intervals. For addi­
subfloor studs tional strength we glued (as well as nailed) the
floor decks onto the joists.
It took us six days to erect the foundation
walls, sheath their lower halves, attach the first
floor joists and deck the first floor. We have read
that experienced crews working with a small
crane and prefabricated wall sections can com­
pletely erect AWWF walls i n a few hours.

Finishing up -The concrete slab was poured

Treated board after the first floor deck was completed. We pre­
to protect top pared the floor by re-leveling the gravel in the
of polyethylene
foundation. This did not require as much accu­
sheet
.I racy as leveling for the footi ngs-half an inch
tolerance was acceptable. We shoveled excess
gravel outside and laid a 6-mil polyethylene
sheet on the gravel and a few inches up the walls
as a moisture barrier. We also nailed screed
boards of l x3 treated wood around the sump
basin and along the long sides of the two floor
sections (one covering the front two-thirds of the
foundation, and the other over the back third).
Besides providing guidance in spreading the wet
concrete, the screed boards helped hold the
plastic i n position.
The concrete truck pulled up to the front of
our house, and the chute was put through the
large window openings. We used a homemade
chute extension, built from plywood and 2 x l Os,
to reach the back third of the house. Aside from
the person who delivered the concrete, we had
one other to help us with the pour. The resulting
slab was roughly 4 in. thick, with its surface
about I i n . above the bottom of the exterior
studs. The openings between the studs provided
plenty of air circulation so we used a gasoline­
powered trowel for surface finishing.
After the slab was in, we finished the founda­
tion sheathing. The excavator completed the
drainage-pipe l oop around the back of the
house. The pipe was set lower than the footing
plates all the way around. As i n the bottom of the
frost wall, it was surrounded with crushed stone.
We had a cleanout installed in the highest sec­
tion of the loop in case we ever need to flush the
drainage system.
Next, we draped 6-mil polyethylene sheeting
around the foundation from finished grade to
just below the bottom of the footing plate, and
fiberglass tape to ensure that the footings were we raised the bottom of the studs above the level protected its top with a I x4 strip of treated wood
positioned squarely. Sections were cut out of the of the concrete slab. Using untreated studs in caulked along its top edge. Gravel was used as
plates to accommodate the wastewater pipes lo­ this wall saved us a lot of money. backfill close to the foundation, and the finished
cated in the bearing walls. When the foundation walls were all i n posi­ grading included sloping all the surfaces away
There were just the two of us, so we were not t i o n , we nailed sheat h i n g onto t h e i r lower from the house to direct surface runoff away
able to handle long, heavy wall sections. We halves and fully sheathed some of the corners to from the foundation.
framed one 8-ft. section at a time, stood i t in stiffen the structure. Then we brushed the cut The basement i n the house we built has turned
place, nailed it to the footing plates, and nailed ends of the foundation wood with a generous out to be very warm and dry-a very comfor­
on the top plates so as to connect adjacent wall coat of preservative, and applied a bead of table l iving space. The ease and speed of build­
sections. As the wall took shape, we frequently s i l i c o n e c a u l k i n g b e t w e e n e v e r y sheet o f ing the A WWF was outstanding, and the cost
checked for plumb with a 4-ft. carpenter's level plywood o n the foundation. savings over the other types of foundations was
and a plumb bob . We attached the first floor joists to the top of significant. Our experience makes us wonder
The drawing above contrasts the design differ­ the foundation so the floor structure would resist how long i t will be until All Weather Wood Foun­
ences between the back wall and the interior the force of the backfill against the walls of the dations displace concrete foundations, just as
bearing wall i n our foundation. We did not use foundation. To make an especially strong con­ concrete foundations have displaced those of
preservative-treated wood for the interior foun­ nection at the back of our house, where the fill is fieldstone. 0
dation bearing wall of 2x6 studs. By adding an deepest, we nailed an extra top plate and a 2x3
extra bottom plate of treated wood and trim­ thrust plate onto the back foundation wall , and Irwin and Diane Post (Jre forest engineers. They
m ing off the appropriate length from each stud, notched the joists to fit. To stiffen the end walls, live in Barnard, Vt.

42 FIN I:: H () M E I:l U I L D I N G

 Understanding Building Regulations
Owner-builders should investigate local zoning
and building codes before they buy land
or construct their homes

by Edmund Vitale, Jr.

B Uilding regulations are part of the harsh re­

alities an owner-builder must face today. There
lation growth. But don't make the assumption
that there is no zoning ordinance in effect in
must bear some relationship to the uses that al­
ready exist in the district. In other words, if an
are currently some 2 , 000 d i f ferent building your area. Go to the town hall and make certain. area is predom inantly single-family residential,
codes in effect throughout the U.S. They vary I f you are thi nking about buying land, locate it may be unreasonable (and therefore unconsti­
from state to state, county to county, even town that piece of property on the town zoning map. tutional) for that area to be designated a heavy
to town. The Illap should tell you the use classification for manufacturing zone.
These rules are not bad in and of themselves. that area in which your property is located. If the In addition to regulating land use, zoning ordi­
They were enacted to meet real problems and permitted use is anything other than single­ nances also contain other regulations that deter­
are entirely appropriate to certain situations and family residential. you should forget about buy­ mine the size, location, style and materials of a
locales. But di fficulties arise when these codes ing the land. A single-family dwelling can't be house. For instance, such ordinances can dictate
are applied to new and di fferent circumstances built in a business or manufacturing zone with­ the minimum size of the building lot for each dif­
where they shouldn't be appl ied, when they are out going through an expensive, time-consum­ ferent use classification, how far a building must
used to accomplish a goal they weren't designed ing and often unsuccessful procedure to obtain a be located from the front, rear and side property
for or when the original rules are not amended zoning variance. l ines, and the height of the structure. Some ordi­
to meet changed circumstances. Many communities have divided the residen­ nances will determine the permissible amount
Unfortunately, very few building regulations tial classification into three or four di fferent of floor area in relation to total land area. Still
are geared to the needs of an energy-saving, zones of single-family use. What di fferentiates others even try to legislate aesthetics by calling
resource-recycling, low-income owner-builder. one zone from another is the size of the lot upon for or excluding certain house styles and build­
But anyone who has the vigor, temperament, which you can build your house. I f you are in a ing materials used on the exterior.
creativity and willingness to build his or her residential zone but your lot is too small , then
home can also apply those traits to deal favor­ you have to get a zoning variance to build a Subdivision or dinances Before purchasing
-
ably with building codes. Why? Because a per­ house upon it. But I wouldn't recommend that any land you should consider whether or not
son with a sound understanding of building procedure for an owner-builder. You might have you will be buying all the land the seller has. If
codes can frequently obtain exemptions to, and enough difficulties attempting to get your house the seller is conveying only a portion of one
variances from, the same codes. built without having to fight the zoning board larger piece of property to you , you'l! have to
So i nstead of just saying that building regula­ for a variance too. find out whether there is a subdivision ordi­
tions are confusing, complicated and unavoid­ If you already own a lot that is subject to a zon­ nance in effect in the town .
able, I'd like to share my knowledge of the com­ ing ordinance and plan to build your home Such ordinances require that before a portion
plications an owner-builder will face and an in­ thereon , I would strongly advise you to study of property can be legally sold, a subdivision ap­
sight into the reading of the codes you're likely very carefully the regulations contained in the proval must be obtained. If you intend to buy a
to confront. Understanding all the various regu­ zoning code. You can purchase your own copy part of someone's land, your land purchase con­
lations and the differences between them can from the municipal clerk at your town hall. Fa­ tract should include a statement that convey­
put you one step closer to successful ly complet­ miliarizing yourself with the local zoning or­ ance depends on official subdivision approval
ing your own home. dinance is a good start on learning to read and and a specific designation of exactly who will
understand the building code that is probably make application for the approval ; generally it's
Zoning ordinances-The first consideration also in effect. the seller's responsibility.
that an owner-builder must contemplate when Zoning ordinances grew out of the legitimate Here's the procedure for subdivision ap­
he or she purchases a piece of l and is whether desire of many towns to have an orderly growth proval: Make application to the local planning
there is a local zoning ordinance in effect, and if pattern . The regulations attempt to create stabil­ board or subdivision committee on a form the
that ordinance allows the property to be used for ity of land use and property value in specified board will provide. The application should be ac­
the construction and occupancy of a single­ areas. This method of governmental regulation companied by an accurate, scaled sketch that
family dwelling. o f private property was constitutionally sanc­ shows the entire property in question, the por­
A zoning code is a local ordinance that divides tioned by the U . S, Supreme Court back in the tions being subdivided, existing improvements
all the property in a city, town or county i nto m id- 1 920s. and contemplated improvements on the entire
several land-use classifications. A certain sec­ Zoning laws come into effect when a state land. The planning board then reviews t h e
tion of town may have a business classification, authorizes (but does not compel) a municipality sketch t o determine that it contains a l l t h e infor­
another section may be designated single-family or county to enact a zoning ordinance, The local mation called for, that all parts ot the property
residential, while still another portion might be or county government that wants to pass such
zoned only for manufacturing firms. By law, an ordinance then studies all the land withi n its Edm und Vitale, Jr. , formerly a real estate lawyer
only those structures for uses that meet the defi­ boundaries and classifies it into various pro­ in New Jersey, is the author of Building Regula­
nitions of each zoning classification are allowed posed land uses. Once the study has been com­ tions-A Self-Help Guide for the Owner-Builder
to be built in that section of town. pleted, the town or county can officially adopt its ($ 12, 95 from Charles Scribner 's Sons, 597 Fifth
Such land-use laws are generally found in zoning ordinance as long as the use classifica­ A venue, New York, N. Y. 1 00 1 7; © 19 79), This ar­
metropolitan and suburban areas and seldom in tions assigned to each portion of town are rea­ ticle has been adapted from Vitale's book with
places where there has been no significant popu- sonable, Usually this means the classified use the permission of Charles Scribner's Sons.

O C T O B E R / N O VE M B E R 1 9 8 1 43
 have proper access and that the property divi­ Building codes - These regulations specify code regulations, i t also contains those provi­
sion and development won't cause problems how and of what materials a building must be sions of the plumbing and mechanical codes that
such as flooding, erosion, etc. If all these require­ constructed. They assign specific legal responsi­ apply to single-family residential construction.
ments are satisfied, the planning board will ap­ bilities to builders. They require that you obtain The chapters of the One- and Two-Fam ily
prove the subdivision. Once the subdivision has a building permit before you start construction, Dwelling Code follow a logical construction se­
been approved and recorded, the specified por­ submit plans and specifications for review, sub­ quence and this manual is therefore much easier
tion or portions of property can be sold. ject the structure you're building to three or four to follow than the bigger building codes (the
I f there is no subdivision ordinance i n effect in i nspections and subject yourself to criminal pen­ Basic, National, Standard and Uniform). In addi­
your town or county, any division of land withi n alties if you do not comply. tion, this code is compatible with the other four
t h e jurisdiction i n question can take place with­ I f you have definite plans for your shelter, and is an excellent reference and instruction
out government approval. Even if there is a sub­ make sure that the building code (if any) i n the book i f you are thinking of building your own
division ordinance in effect, when you purchase m unicipality or county where you contemplate shelter i n a code-dominated municipality.
all the property in a tract the subdivision ordi­ buying land permits the construction of your Bear in mind that all of these model codes are
nance is of no consequence because there is no house. Otherwise you may have to change your nothing more than proposals, without force and
division of land. building plans to conform to the code that gov­ effect, unless and until they've been adopted by
Sometimes there is a tricky problem over erns the property you've bought. either a state, county or municipal government,
what constitutes one complete parcel of land. Our cities began adopting building codes even which are the only entities that have the legal
Land parcels can be separated by other owners' before the American Revolution. The regula­ power to regulate building construction. Fur­
properties and state or county roads. But what t ions grew out of a real need to protect city thermore, the municipality may adopt an entire
constitutes a subdivision in each case is usually a dwellers from fire, wind, snow, floods, earth­ model code as written, pass part of a model code
matter of the definitions in the ordinance in ef­ quakes, overcrowding and sheer unsafe con­ and substitute its own requirements for specific
fect. So before you sign a contract to buy land, struction. Such codes outlawed thatched roofs sections, draft its own construction (or plumbing
go to the town hall and get an opinion i n writing and even prohibited wooden construction i n or mechanical) code or not adopt any code at all.
from the municipal or planning board clerk that areas where fire w a s especially feared. This explains how and why construction codes
a subdivision is not needed. If you can't get such Building codes started to proliferate to the differ from town to town , county to county and
an opinion, you should require the seller to get a then-rural areas of the country about the turn of state to state.
subdivision approval. the century, when a group of insurance com­
Caution: Don't think you've avoided the sub­ panies promulgated a model building code i n an Fire prevention codes - Fire prevention codes
division problem by signing an agreement with attempt to stop its losses from fires. Thus the Na­ have closely paralleled building codes in their
a rural landowner that allows you to erect your tional Building Code (issued today by the Ameri­ origin and development. These codes are pri­
dwelling on a portion of his land (on which there can Insurance Association) came into being. marily concerned with potential fire hazards i n
are three or four other owner-builders doing the At about the same time, building officials buildings o r the f i r e hazards created b y certain
same thing) without actually purchasing the banded together i n different parts of the country kinds of occupancies and how to prevent, elimi­
property. There are usually prohibitions tucked to draft their own model codes. All of these (in nate or contai n those hazards.
away in the fine print of either a subdivision or­ amended form) are still with us today. The Inter­ But the line of demarcation between a build­
dinance or a zoning ordinance against more national Conference of Building Officials issued ing code and a fire code is fuzzy at best. This is
than one primary use of a piece of property the Uniform Building Code, which predominates because building regulations incorporate fire
under a single ownership. in the West. The Building Officials and Code Ad­ prevention standards and requi rements. To
There are good reasons for the existence of m inistrators International wrote the Basic Build­ make matters worse, fire prevention codes are
subdivision regulations. The uncontrolled divi­ ing Code, prevalent i n the Midwest and East. not enforced by the building inspector's office
sion of land can easily result in its unnecessarily And the Southern Building Code Congress Inter­ but by the fire department.
i ntensified use. Increased traffic, water runoff national drafted still another mode l , the Stan­ There are even isolated i nstances (Alaska)
and sanitation problems are other results of in­ dard Building Code. Although use of the Na­ where there are no state building regulations
creased land use. It is these bad effects that sub­ tional Building Code has declined i n recent but there is a state fire protection code that in­
division ordinances attempt to keep to a mini­ years, all these model codes, employed i n one corporates a building code. In such a situation ,
mum by requiring proof that a proposed division form or another, are used in 1 0 , 000 jurisdictions the state or local fire marshall will enforce the
of land will be a constructive (rather than de­ affecti ng 85% of the nation's population. building provisions that are part of the fire pre­
structive) process. As with zoning, each munici­ Over the years these groups have broken vention code.
pality or county within a state that authorizes down the construction process into individual My advice is this: If you're governed by a
subdivision ordinances has the option of adopt­ components (plumbing, mechanical, etc . ) and building code , don't worry about a fire preven­
ing such a code-and not all of them do. have codified each part in a separate set of tion ordinance; most of the fire regulations will
regulations. Thus the existence of a plumbing probably be incorporated into the building code.
code, mechanical code, fire code. The main If, however, you're not governed by a building
building code itself in each case, however, is still code, check at the town hall or county seat to see

Anyone who has the the basic construction document that guides the
e rection of everyt h i n g from a sin gle-fa m i l y
if there's a fire prevention code in effect and i f
t h e governmental authorities use that code to
vigor, temperament, dwelling t o high-rise buildings, farm structures, enforce building regulations. This is rare, but it
factories and shopping centers. sometimes happens.
creativity and In an attempt to cover so many different ki nds
willingness to build of construction in a single document, most build­ Housing codes- These ordinances are basical­
ly maintenance codes; they're designed to regu­
ing codes are hundreds of pages long and tightly
his or her home crammed with charts, graphs, formulas, equa­ late the living conditions of multifamily residen­
tions and appendices that only an engineer can tial units. They set the requirements for the
can also apply decipher. This puts t h e owner-builder who water, heating and sanitary facilities that a land­
those traits to wants to construct his own simple dwelling at a lord must supply. These codes were first enacted
decided disadvantage. i n this country during the l 800s in response to
deal favorably with To solve this dilemma for the builder of a resi­ the deplorable living conditions endured by the
dential structure, all four model-code organiza­ flood of European immigrants to our cities.
building codes. tions have collaborated to produce the One- and Even though you may not think that a housing
Two-Family Dwelling Code. Besides building code should concern an owner-builder, unfortu-

44 FINl H () M 10 B U 1 L I ) 1 N G
 buildi ng code. Also, these health ordinances and passive solar techniques (such as the ordinance
sanitary codes will more l i kely require that you adopted by the city of Davis, California).
If you have definite i n st a l l a s e p t i c t a n k / l e a c h f i e l d d is p o s a l The difficulty here for owner-builders is that
system -an expensive proposition that may not these energy regulations might be incorporated
plans for your even be possible if the soil on your land doesn't into a local or state building code or might be
shelter, make sure pass certain specified tests. adopted as a separate code-usually a state­
The same concerns for safety, health and wide, mandatory energy-conservation regula­
before you buy disease prevention that gave rise to building and tion. Since energy codes are here to stay, you
housing codes also produced our sanitation should be concerned with them if they are appli­
land that the laws. However, sanitation regulations are sub­ cable i n your j urisdiction.
building code (if any) j ect to the same unfortunate process that in­
jected housing-code requirements into building Summ ary -Generally speaking, i t is the local
in the town or codes. Most of the model building codes require jurisdiction that adopts the building regulations

county permits the flush toilets and private sanitary disposal sys­
tems for residential dwellings as part of the re­
you will be governed by. However, in my re­
search, I was surprised to find out how many
construction of quirements for a building permit. So even if a states have mandatory building regulations­
given sanitary ordinance doesn't require septics, construction codes that the legislature mandates
your house. its brother building code might. must be followed throughout the state.
Remember that a review of the requirements In i nvestigating your local and state code re­
of your local health code is as important before quirements, you'll want to answer the following
purchasing property as it i s when you actually questions: Which model code is the state code
nately it can. That's because the original target start construction. Maybe more so, because based upon? Is it mandatory or voluntary? Does
of these codes (rental property and multi family once you buy that land and later find out you it allow alternate materials and methods of con­
l i v i ng quarters) has been expanded in some aren't allowed to build on it, you'll have a diffi­ struction? What is the code amendment pro­
cases to embrace all residential uses including cult time selling it. cess? And how can one contact the appropriate
single-family dwellings. The change came about state official or office for more information?
when many cities i ncluded housing regulations Electrical codes- The provisions of these reg­ You should also determine whether the state
within their building codes. When people began ulations govern the installation of electrical fix­ has a mandatory mechanical, plumbing, fire­
l eaving the cities and moving to the suburbs en tures and equipment and require that your work prevention and electrical code. Finally, check
masse, these very same building codes moved conform to the safety precautions prescribed by whether the l icensing laws for electricians per­
with them. Thus the regulation of residential the code. Even if you're not required by a local mit owner-builders without licenses to perform
environment and living conditions was imposed ordinance to install your electricity in a code­ their own electrical work on their homes.
as part of the overall building code itself; it is not approved manner, I would strongly urge you Listed below are the Dine major building and
just a separate chapter that deals specifically (for safety's sake) to follow the provisions of the mechanical bodies that produce most home con­
with multifamily housing. National Electrical Code. struction model codes i n the U.S. Each will send
To make matters worse, there sti ll can be a Although this is the only electrical code used a copy of its code and the latest amendments at a
separate housing code. And furthermore, these extensively throughout the country, t here can cost ranging from $6 to $26. 0
separate housing codes might also sti ll regulate be slight variations in the actual code a town or
single-family dwellings. You can end up con­ county adopts. Municipal authorities have the
tending with a maddening multiplicity of code power to amend the National Electrical Code to
requirements from several different sources. serve the needs, tastes and whims of their local Model codes
Therefore, before you buy land or build, it's jurisdiction, and they quite frequently exercise National Building Code: American Insur­
i mportant (esp e c i a l l y for suburban owner­ that power. ance Association, 85 John St. , New York, N . Y.
1 0038; (2 1 2 ) 433-4400.
builders) to find out from the county and/or Some mun icipalities allow owner-builders and
Uniform Building Code: I nt e r n a t i o n a l
municipal clerk i f there is a housing code i n the homeowners to perform their own electrical Conference of Building Officials, 5360 South
jurisdiction where you intend to build and, if work, while others permit do-it-yourselfers to Workman Mill Rd . , Whittier, Calif. 9060 1 ; (2 1 3 )
t h ere is, whether that code governs single­ perform such work only after the payment of a 699-054 1 .
family dwellings. If it does, then you'll have to considerable fee for the privilege. Still other Basic Building Code: Building Officials and
Code Adm i n i strators International, 1 7926 S.
read it and determine which of its provisions are towns prohibit anyone but a licensed electrician H a l s t e d S t . , H o m e w o o d , I I I . 60403 ; ( 3 1 2 )
applicable and make sure that your proposed from doing the job. Like other code provisions, 799-2300.
dwelling complies with them. you should thoroughly investigate this subject Standard Building Code: Southern Build­
and how it's handled in the municipality where ing Code Congress International , 900 Mont­
c l a i r Rd . , B i r m i n g h a m , A l a . 3 5 2 1 3 ; ( 2 0 5 )
Sanitary (or health) codes- These are the reg­ you intend to build before you purchase the
5 9 1 - 1 853.
ulations that govern t h e disposal of human property on which you plan to build. One- and Two-Family Dwelling Code:
waste and grey water (water in which clothes, Council o f American Building Officials, 520 1
dishes and people hwe been washed). Owner­ Energy regulations - A new field of building Leesburg Pike, Suite 507, Falls Church, Va.
builders frequently make the mistake of consid­ regulations has grown out of the fuel shortages 2204 1 ; (703) 93 1 -4533.
National Fire Prevention Code: National
ering the impl ications of these health regula­ of the 1 970s. People have finally realized that
Fire Protection Association : Battery March
tions after they've bought a piece of property on buildi ngs can be designed in ways that use less Park, Qui ncy, Mass. 02269; (6 1 7) 328-9290.
which they plan to construct their houses. Don 't fuel for heating and cool i n g . Thus energy­ National Plumbing Code: I nt e r n a t i o n a l
make the same mistake, especially if you are i n conserving building regulations were born. Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Of­
ficials, 5032 A l hambra A ve . , Los Angeles,
an area where there are no municipal sewers These energy codes can generally be divided
Calif. 90032; (2 1 3 ) 223- 1 4 7 1 .
(generally a rural area) to tie into. Look into the into two classes: those that affect the sizing of National Electrical Code: International
requirements of the local health code before you mechanical equipment (such as Energy Conser­ Assn. of Electrical Inspectors, 802 Busse High­
buy land, particularly if it is unsewered. vation in New Building Design adopted by the way, Park Ridge, III. 60668; (3 1 2 ) 696- 1 455.
Here's why: Owner-builders (who tend to con­ American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Energy Conservation in New Building
Design (ASHRAE 90A- 1 980): American Socie­
struct homes in rural areas) are more likely to be Air-Conditioning Engineers, a regulation known t y of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Condition­
subject to a health ordinance than they are to a as ASHRAE 90A- 1 980) and those that also take ing Engi neers, 345 East 47th St .. New York,
building code, since more jurisdictions have into account insulation, window placement in N . Y. 1 00 1 7; (2 1 2 ) 644-7500.
adopted a health regulation than have enacted a south-facing wal ls, the use of shutters and other

OCTOBER/ NOVEMBER 1981 45

 Ageless Adobe
A 'passive solar' house of molded mud
that has weathered nearly 300 New Mexico winters

by Myrtle Stedman

I n 1 705, a Spanish settler named Don Ignacio

de Roybal traded "a good traveling horse" for
vice versa. Early adobe builders didn't calculate
i nsulating values-they knew how to predict
and the adobe bricks were then laid up with mud
mortar to level and secure them. At corners,
some land in the Pojoaque Valley, just north of climatic effects and design their houses accord­ bricks were carefully interlocked to create a
Sante Fe. When construction on h i s house i ngly. The south-facing portal shades the house strong bond between the two walls.
began, the phrase "passive solar" wasn't on the i n summer, but allows the low-angled winter sun For wall support over windows and doors, logs
lips of the workers swi n g i n g t h e picks and to warm the southern wall . The cottonwoods are were adzed flat and laid side by side over the
shovels. And yet the house stands today, still ab­ also important in this passive solar arrange­ opening to the thickness of the wall , extending
sorbing the sun's warmth and reflecting years of ment. In leaf, they provide shade; in winter, I ft . beyond on either side. When this house was
common sense. The builders used the old-world their bare branches let the sunlight through. built, it was customary to use either a round wall
technique of making sun-cured adobe bricks This house has the simple, single-story layout plate or one that had been adzed flat on two
l aced with straw i n re-usable molds. The local In­ typical of 1 8th-century adobe architecture: a sides only. Spanning the width of the building
dians had been building with adobe for centuries long succession of rooms intercepts another leg and resting on the plate, vigas (log beams) were
but had never used pre-dried units. of rooms to form a protected placita, or court­ laid down to support the roof.
The Roybal house is notched into the southern yard, on the south side of the house. The roofline The lack of a reinforced concrete bond beam
slope of a gentl e hill, creating a berm on the extends to cover the portal, its round posts un­ between various w a l l m e m bers eventually
north wall that extends 2 ft. above the floor adorned and mortised directly into the linte l . A caused a lot of serious cracking. To correct and
l evel. Soil from this cut went into the bricks and beehive-shaped adobe oven, called the homo, support a cracking wall , buttresses appeared on
the roof. Northside berming, a common tech­ sits i n the courtyard; baking bread outside helps the outside of old churches and homes and even
nique in the 1 700s, minimized exposure to the to keep the house cool in summer. became an expected part of the older adobe
winter winds. The earth roof and massive walls architecture. On this house, they can be found at
2 0 in. to 30 in. thick helped to stabilize tempera­ Foundations and walls- Rocks placed on the the end of the bath/ laundry room.
tures all year. The insulation value of adobe i s ground or i n a trench form a solid base for the
low-about R-4 or 5 for a 1 2-in. wall -but the adobe walls. For this house, large river rocks Roof- The vigas in the oldest room i n this
thick adobe walls have a flywheel effect, taking form a foundation about 2 ft. wide and deep. The house, with their l O-in. to 1 2-in. butts placed
the sun's warmth into the cool of the night and voids between the rocks were filled with mud, 22 in. on center, are indicative of 12 in. to 18 in.

46 FINE HOMEBUIL0ING
of earth on the original roo f . Cedar ceiling
-..:,"- ' - .
��
"'�.fi� "�
boards were laid over the vigm (detail photo, Excepl for Ihe addl1!on of
Floor plan
- J;��').
,
"'�
;'"�
'rl'/X. :.:.'k,l'��
modem plumbmg, Ihe Inlenor

���'"
this page) and these in turn were covered at
f �'>�:�r1f
"
right angles with a I -in. thick layer of willow , v'. layoul of Ihe house has changed
lillie smce liS conslrUC1l0nIII Ihe
branches. Then about 4 in. of mud was plastered
� ,::. "1. early 181h cenlUry The Iradl1!onal

� " _ :!." '" L

,.t. shape has liS norlhem Side backed

.'. . "='=-
�;"�:'=�.��-=:=
over the willow lath. After the mud base hard­ IIlIO a hili, workers used Ihe excavaled
ened, it was covered with a foot or more of soi l 3:!f
=��
�l
� _ _ �- � earlh 10 make adobe bncks when Ihe

-:= :.�_��==i
ggia ���--.::=::tt:
.�(!"-=-;
a n d tapered toward the c(Jfwles
(scuppers) for house was bUill.

�. � ;-..:..-'"'' 1'1- l?,,- •.,.�

,I � �:,\�' ,,. ����������
drainage. The walls were built up above the
roofi ine, terminating i n the fire wall (parapet),
which protects the earth roof from eroding fi(i£JF�
� <t�
winds. On the cold side of the house, the vigas
extend about 1 0 in. beyond the wal l , supporting
narrow eaves that protect the side of the house
c .0' , �,oJ-',�"-'lS':J,!3/,'1-�\ Bath
t�?i /� �.
. �.
,. 1I... .... ,
. .J �" .' �1"'b<"'i.:
��=Q�HIiiI!!:�!i.l
from m oisture and frost, which is very hard on
adobe. Rainfall is slight in this region (about 8 in.
a year), and storms are usually over i n a few
Ij
::J
HOmO

hours, but every once in a while a three or four­

day rain would come along and find a way
Placila C!) Wall section

through the soi l on the roof. The development of Adobe;pldobeaster

asphalt roofi ng in the I !:Jth century was a real ���::JI���lt::�A
blessing for this old house.
MudEarWitbase
h fil bricks
branchesl ow �E::t�t:���C: �
Canale
Plaster- The Roybal house is still being plas­
tered the traditional way, with adobe made from == l�ga
native earth that has been sifted through a fine
screen and mi xed with water and a l ittle straw.
During the year the rains wash the mud plaster
down from the higher reaches of the walls and
n
Splitboarcedard . - TopTrimplate
Lintels ' . . -.. Storm
deposit it on the lower parts and on the ground
around the house. This action causes a slope
The wings of
Ihe house frame Ihe
soulh-facing courlyard
Trim ,' --4 sash
J
away from the foundations, which are otherwise whose pOrlal,
( placita), Jamb Window
���±����:.!:
weI!, and oUlslde oven
vulnerable to erosion . Replastering is usually ( horno)were Ihe focal
done ceremoniously each year before the obser­ poinls of daily life. A
vance of the feast of the village saint's day.
Gardens are planted well away from the founda­
Iypical wal! seclion
is shown al righl. OriginWood
al eartslhefeperloor
tions of the house to discourage roots, water and
the potentially disastrous gopher. The south·facing portal of the Roybal house (fac­
ing page) overlooks the horno (adobe oven) and
the well. The cracked adobe walls are ready for
Trim- When first built, this house must have their yearly application of mud plaster. The
had unadorned, ungl azed windows no larger heart of the roof is split cedar ceiling boards
(detail, right) resting on vigas, which span the
than a man's head; they would have been barred
width of the building. Above the cedar, willow·
with upright wooden sticks (10I I/ s)
i a and shut­ branch lath holds a layer of hardened mud, fol·
tered with animal hide. No windows or doors lowed by dirt. Inside (below), a pine plank floor,
were built i nto the cold side of the house. The several coats of plaster and paint and larger win·
dows have enhanced the original construction.
floor was made of trampled earth, dampened oc­
casionally to keep down the dust, and hardened
with animal blood.
The h an d - p l a n e d p e d i m e n t e d l i n t e l t r i m
around t h e doors a n d windows was added later
and marks the style of this house as Spanish Co­
lonial. Many Spanish settlers and their descend­
ants were experienced woodworkers but had to
wait until materials and tools were available i n
the 1 850s before they could fully use their ski lls.
Around this time the bands of marauding In­
dians began to disappear and fortress-like con­
struction was no longer necessary. Tiny barred
windows were enlarged, wood moldings and
decorative trim were added, and flower pots
were placed inside on the larger window sills.
Handmade lace curtains often covered these
deep reveals. Plants now filter the light coming
into the house, and a new pine floor has been
added, w i t h p l a n ks being pegged to wood
sleepers set directly on the original dirt floor. 0
Myrlle Sledman, an adobe conlraclor and de­
signer, has wrillen several books 011 adobe archi­
leelure. She lives near Sallia Fe, N. Mex.
OCTOBER/ NOVEM BER 1981 47
 Building a Contemporary Adobe Home
Insulation , a greenhouse and solar panels
bring a Southwest tradition up to date

by Doug McDowell

S eeing a wall of earthen bricks rise out of the

dry Southwestern landscape is bound to give the
ture of mud, sand and straw. We had ours deliv­
ered to the building site by a local manufacturer.
The walls-A 1 4-in. thick adobe wall , 24 ft.
h i gh , (such a s t h e north wall i n t h i s house)
builder a sense of timelessness. After all, adobe We specified unstabilized adobe because it is weighs about 1 ,800 lb. per running foot. Such
homes built by cliff-dwelling Indians over 2,000 cheaper and easier to work with than block sta­ loads require substantial foundations to prevent
years ago sti ll stand in many historical sites i n bilized with asphalt. The latter is heavier, harder settling and cracking. Exterior footings must be
this part of t h e U .S. I n building our own home, to cut and also requires a cement-based mortar, at least 16 i n . below grade and at least 20 in.
we were able to use traditional adobe construc­ which makes construction more costly and t ime­ wide by l O i n . deep for single-story structures.
t ion techniques i n a modern design, incorporat­ consuming. Stabilized block is waterproof, but Two stories require footings at least 2 ft. wide
ing solar heating, extra insulation and enough since we planned to cover the exterior walls I
and ft . deep (it's a good idea to check the local
glass to bring the spectacular view indoors. with insulation board and stucco, waterproof building code for standards in your area). We
Adobe blocks are cast in the sun from a m ix- brick wasn't necessary. built concrete stem walls on our footings, con-

48 F I N E HOMEBUILD I NG
 t inued them to a point 1 8 i n . above grade, then
waterproofed them with asphalt on the outside.
In areas where heavy water accumulations can
occur, it is advisable to run perforated pipe at the
bottom of a gravel bed next to the foundation to
prevent moisture build-up. The stem wall is nec­
essary for all adobe construction because i t
keeps t h e moisture-sensitive bricks high and dry.
The drawing below shows how we built the walls.
As is traditionally the practice, we used local
soil to make the mortar that holds the bricks to­
gether. Sifting the soi l through a Ys-in. screen and
then adding water yielded a smooth and moder­
ately stiff m i x that could be passed easily on a
shovel from ground level to the staging we set
up to work on the upper courses, as in the photo
at right.
It doesn't take long to learn adobe brick­
laying. It's possible to achieve rigidly smooth
l ines and perfectly flat surfaces, but not neces­
saril y desirable. The size of the bricks varies
slightly, and the finished wall should reflect the
plasticity o f the materi a l . The versati lity of
adobe is endless. Whenever we needed part of a
brick to fill in a space, a larger one could be cut
and shaped to rough size with a hatchet. If you
decide all of a sudden that you want a window i n
a wall with no opening, you c a n drive a thinwall
conduit through the wall to create a starter hole
for a two-man barbed wire adobe saw.
For window and door openings, we laid wood­
en gringo blocks into the walls as they went up.
These blocks, built from 2x4s, have the same
outside dimensions as an adobe brick. Every
fourth course, we laid a gringo block into the
space normally occupied by a brick (see the draw­
ing at right) and filled its hollow core with mud.
The 2x4 that faces the opening serves as a nail­ Adobe bricks are molded from a mud of clay soil mixed with sand, straw and water, allowed to set, then
ing strip for the window or door frame. Open­ removed from the mold (top left) and left to bake in the sun (top right). Adobe walls under construction
i ngs for the windows and the doors are spanned (above) blend with the distant hill. This way of getting the adobe mortar to the upper courses is stan·
dard in the Southwest, and effective. Note the wooden gringo block at the edge of the wall.
by heavy wooden l intels, which rest directly on
the adobe bricks. Wall construction
The final course of bricks is capped w ith a rein­
forced ring of concrete called a bond beam. This
i s a modern development i n adobe construction,
and serves to stabilize the walls and provide a
firm base for the roof framing. We erected wood­ G ringo block w i l l be
en forms above the last course of bricks and fil led with adobe mortar
poured the concrete in. To give the bond beam a
better bite on the adobe wall , mud mortar is left
out of the joints between bricks in the last
course. These voids are filled with concrete
N a i l i n g surface for
window sash
-II-P'«��';';::; 2- i n . Apache 'Bo'a rd'
i nsulation

1 5- l b . felt
.
. <.".
when the bond beam i s poured.
Stucco netting
We added Apache Board insulation (rigid ure­
thane, coated on both sides with asphalt) to all
.' .
8- i n . barnpole nail . . : :.
exterior walls (3-in . board for the north side and washer '. :.'
wall, 2 in. everywhere else.), using 8-in. barn­
pole nails and a large washer to fasten the 4x8
sheets to the brick (see drawing). The washers
are about the size of a silver dollar and are made
by our local recycling center from beer cans.
S tucco finish
Then we wrapped the insulation with I S-lb. felt
on i n terior wa l l
Loose sa n d
and applied stucco wire-mesh with barn pole
nails and washers. To prevent cracking where
wood w indow or door frames would meet the
B;
,'>9S.. 'P..J..4L..,--J
.
� floor
m o rl tar
<Y.Y.�
.
,'>/-"-.:;tY'Sand
j �
Facing page: Seen from the southwest, the house Cement-block /<, W
stem wa l l ��j � rth
tf
is very much a part of its surroundings. Solar col­

;
lectors are in place on the second-story roof. The
main roof supports three circular vents and sky­ ! Poured concrete
lights. An overhang shades the greenhouse. / !(f)'u))')footing

O C T O B E R / N O VEM B E R 1 9 8 1 49
Wood beams, herringbone brick floors and soft·edged, white stucco walls characteristic of adobe construction enclose the living space.

stucco finish, we nailed expanded metal lath to on the exterior, but without the insulation. For Putting on the roof Peeled pine or spruce
-
the wood and wove it into the stucco netting. the scratch coat, we mixed three parts sand to logs called uigas rest on the bond beam and pro­
Two coats of ·cement were then troweled onto one part gypsum plaster; the second coat was vide the structural support for the roof. Vigas
the house; our mix was three parts sand to one the same ratio, but we sand-finished i t l ike the vary i n size but are typically between 8 in. and
part cement to one·half part lime. We scratched exterior. The finish coat is premixed Structo-Lite l O i n . in diameter. To begin framing the roof, we
the first coat deep to hold the second applica· gypsum plaster. It is troweled on, allowed to set positioned the two largest uigas at opposite ends
tion, which was floated with a rubber trowel to a a bit, then worked down with a hard trowel to a of the room and stretched a string taut between
fine sand·type finish. After a two-week drying smooth consistency; sometimes we had to dash their corners. Then the smaller uigas were set
period the house was color-coated with a layer on a little water during the troweling to get a i nto position crown up, as we shimmed them up
of pre-mixed stucco applied and finished the smooth finish. This was one of the most satisfy­ to the height of the two endmost beams. We
same way as the second coat of cement. ing moments in the project, since the house be­ filled the spaces between uigas with adobe and
For i nterior walls, gypsum plaster was trow­ gan to have the visual fluidity we'd been waiting mud to hold them in place.
eled over the same lath and stucco netting used for and the end seemed to be i n sight. With uigas firmly i n place, the next step was to
nail roughsawn I x8 pine decking across the log
beams (we used 1 6d nails). Then the adobe
bricks were carried up a few more feet to form
the parapets, or fire walls. There are two schools
of thought as to the origin of the term fire wal l .
First floor
O n e h a s i t that walls were originally extended
above the roofline to prevent the spread of fire
Master bedroom from one room to the next . The other holds that
the short walls afforded protection and vantage
points for those who engaged i n gunfights dur­
ing frontier times. At any rate, the flowing, or­
Living room
Bath c:(] ganic shapes of these walls are a trademark of
adobe architecture.
We used 4-in . Apache Board over the roof
decking, yielding an R·value of 32; it is simply
Second floor laid i n place over a layer of I S-lb. felt . Then we
spread a layer of pumice over the roof to grade it
for drainage. The pumice is quarried locally
G reenhouse from volcanic deposits and i s very l ight i n
weight, making i t perfect for use o n roofs. Using
Floor plan a large trowel (with a level on top) called a dar-

50 F I N E HOM EBUILDING
by, a worker tapered the pumice from a maxi­ blocks at the bottom edges. These units are
(i
mum thickness of about in. to zero at the ca­ made from tempered glass, an important fea­
nales (scuppers). Then we rolled the roof on i n ture, considering the occasional hailstorms that
the form of five alternate layers of I S-lb. and come to this area. We were also able to get a
30-lb. roofing felt. Each length of the roll over­ good price on the glazing, and used identical
lapped the previous one by hall, and we coated panels for our skylights.
all joints with hot asphalt, which was pumped up We installed operable awning windows below
to the roof from a hot-pot on the ground. Follow­ the fixed glass to allow a draft from the lower
ing the last layer of felt, we flooded the roof with part of the room to the turbine wind vents on the
hot tar and spread pea gravel as the finish sur­ roof. These vents begi n to open automatically at
face. From previous building experience we had ROo F and are fully open at 100° F. They operate
learned to i nstall breather vents i n the roof to the same way an automatic choke works in a
relieve any moisture bui ld-up that may occur in carburetor: A heat-sensitive spring simply opens
the pumice and apache board. A bubble the size a damper i n the base of the vent. For additional
of an air mattress in a tar-and-gravel roof isn ·t a protection against heat build-up i n the green­
very pretty sight . house, we built an aspen pole awning to shade
the greenhouse windows in summer. This over­
Floors- We used brick on sand floors down­ hang was set on the day of the summer solstice,
stairs for their beauty, durability, ease of installa­ with the sun at its h ighest point. If there is time
tion and thermal mass. After tamping down the for an on-site decision like this, it can save a lot of
loose dirt fill between the walls, we laid a 6-mil adjustment later. So far, the sunshade has
vapor barrier and placed two straight 2x4 guide worked well enough that the roof vents haven't
boards parallel to one another at opposite ends had to open, and we enjoy the evening breeze
of the room. We leveled the boards with their top that comes in through the awning windows.
edges 2 1. in. below the finished floor level (the To heat water for domestic use, we ordered
brick thickness). Then we filled the area be­ two 4 x 10 Grumman flat plate collectors for the
tween the guide boards with sand, tamping it roof. Linked to a heat exchanger-based Solar­
down and leveling the surface with a 2x4 screed stream tank located in the utility closet of the
pulled across the boards in 2-ft. i ncrements. downstairs bat hroom , the system provides
When the field bricks were i n place, we re­ about 65')\, of our needs on a year-round basis.
moved the guide boards and filled in the pattern. Although the skylights were not designed spe­
We chose a herringbone pattern for the bricks, c ifically for solar gain , they are an important fea­
reasoning that it doesn't draw your eye to any ture, bringing both starlight and daytime sky
straight lines and breaks up the room a little. To i nto the hou�e. They were not expensive; we
fill the spaces between the bricks, we filtered just built boxes from 2 x 1 2s, anchored them to
sand through a fly screen and swept it into the the vigas, and tied the roof to the box with flash­
cracks, leaving the excess on for a few days to ing. The box allowed a glazing overhang of 2 in.
work itself i n thoroughly. Once the sand had to 4 in., and we used a thick bead of silicone
been swept clean, we sealed the bricks with four caulk to seal the glass to its wood curb.
flood coats of Standard Floor Hardener.
Finishing touches - Landscaping gave us a
The solar component-We used a very basic chance to use purely native materials for the
approach to solar heating: direct gain, with a quick and i nexpensive log and gravel path that
built-in greenhouse as the collection area. An leads to the front door. First, we dug channels
adobe Trombe wall is in direct sunlight for most about 8 in. deep along the edges of the path and
of the day during the winter, storing up heat that buried short sections of aspen logs vertically to
is radiated i nto the house during the night. We act as a border for a layer of washed river gravel.
designed the floor plan so that the two main­ Then we cut a pine log i nto discs with a chainsaw
floor bedrooms, directly behind the wall, are and laid these stepping stones on top of the
warmed by the Trombe wall at n i g h t . The gravel. More gravel was packed between the
greenhouse sits several feet below the living rounds to keep them from moving, and the
space, which enhances the thermosiphon effect aspen border was cut square with a chainsaw.
created by the upper and lower vents in the This house could probably be constructed by
Trombe wal l . an owner-builder for between $50 and $ 60 a
The greenhouse glazing was originally de­ square foot, maybe less if the owner is willing to
signed to be vertical but when we got to it we de­ do a lot of work over a long period of time. We
cided to tilt the glass for two reasons: First, at the were able to keep the design details uncompli­
latitude here i n Santa Fe the best angle for solar cated without making sacrifices i n terms of ap­
gain is approximately 72°. Second, we felt it pearance or function. The house performs well ;
would be a much more dramatic piece of work. t h e back-up electric heaters cost about $ 7 0 a
The house incorporates local materials, both in­
The entire superstructure was built of kiln-dried month to run during our first winter, and we side and out. Treads for the spiral stairway (top)
4x6 Western fir. We chose fir because native burned three cords of wood. A great deal of the are pegged into slots in a native pine pole and
l umber can check to such a degree that opposing building's success, of course, can be attributed to mortared into the adobe wall. The floor is of
forces can shatter a glass pane l . The angled up­ adobe. For all the adaptations we i ncorporated bricks laid on a sand bed and sealed with Stan­
dard Floor Hardener. A stick-and-2x4 vent remi­
rights were mortised and tenoned together, in our adobe home, it sti l l remains l i n ked to the niscent of old-style adobe house windows (cen­
creating a strong joint that could support the i deas, techni ques and beauty created by the ter) allows warm air from the greenhouse to pass
weight of the glazing. earliest builders of the Southwest. D into the living area. The path (above) is bordered
by aspen poles trimmed flush with a chainsaw.
For greenhouse glazing, we used standard Random·sized wood pavers cut from pine logs
46-in. by 76-in. Thermopane sliding glass-door Doug McDowell is a partner in Schepps Con­ rest on a layer of pea gravel; more loose gravel
units, set in a bed of silicone caulk with setting struction Co. , Sante Fe, N. Mex. holds them in place.

O C T O B E R / N O VE M B E R 1 9 8 1 51
 Solar Site Evaluation
A shading mask and some other approaches
that can help you analyze your site

by Daniel K. Reif

W hether you are building a new house or

retrofi tting, the solar pot ential of your site
n ightfall. Frequent morning fogs or afternoon
clouds also influence optimal orientation.
seasons. Also, the amount of shading varies as
you move around your site. Nearby obstructions
should have a major effect on your design. Two Shading is another consideration in determin­ l ike bushes, a chimney, a roof overhang or a jut­
factors determine this potential: the orientation ing a collector's optimum orientation. When the ting wing of your house may block the sun from
of the site in relation to solar south (the east-to­ morning sun is screened, a collector facing only a small part of the building, and you can site
west position of the sun at midday, or what is slightly west of south is preferable, and shade in collectors accordingly. Moving the prospective
often termed "true" south), and the amount of the afternooon makes a slightly eastern expo­ site several feet sideways or vertically can signif­
shade cast by buildings, trees, etc . , on the site sure ideal. icantly change the amount of shading on your
during the heating season. solar collector.
Shading- The blocking of the winter sun can Deciduous trees screen less of the winter sun
Orientation-At midday, you can find solar be a monumental problem for both solar retro­ than do evergreens or solid obstructions like the
south by looking at the shadow of a stick driven fits and new construction . Before getting to house next door, but don't underestimate the
vertically i nto the ground. When the shadow is work, you have to determine to what extent shade a cluster of them can provide. I designed
shortest, the sun is at true south. your future collector area will be screened from two similar solar porches in the same town. On a
You can also, of course, find solar south with a the sun . To do this, stand where the collector will very cold, bright winter day, the porch that was
compass, but you'll have to compensate for the be and imagine the path of the winter sun as i t shaded by the branches of a dozen leafless hard­
difference between true south and magnetic rises in t h e southeast, reaches i t s highest point at woods was 65 °F, while the un shaded porch was
south. Use the magnetic variation map on the midday and sets in the southwest. Better yet , use 80°F and was supplying heat to the house.
facing page to find the variation in your area. If a solar shading mask. If you're building a new house, you can con­
you live near the line of zero variation, running A shading mask is the best tool for analyzing struct i t at the north of your property to avoid
from Lake Michigan to South Carolina, magnetic how nearby obstructions-trees, hedges, build­ shading from a neighbor's trees or buildings.
south and solar south are the same. If you live i ngs and the like-will cast shadows on the pro­ This happened to me. Mature pine and hard­
east of this line, magnetic south is to the left posed site of a solar collector at various times wood stands to the south and southwest of my
(east) of solar south; if you live to the west, throughout the year. The mask consists of trac­ site led me to construct my passive solar home in
magnetic south is to the right. i ngs of the sun's path at a particular latitude, the northeastern portion of my land. If you can't
Once you have found solar south, stand with taken from standard charts like the ones on the shift your building northward, raising your col­
your back to your proposed collector location. facing page and transferred to a flexible trans­ l ector a few feet is often as good as moving the
Point one arm straight ahead and the other, at parent material, which is attached to a semicir­ house north by twice the distance.
the same height, toward solar south. The size of cular base with a handle. It is especially helpful If you're retrofitting, you usually have a lot
the angle between your arms is the number of i n evaluating questionable sites. Commercial l ess flexibility. Pruning and cutting trees is one
degrees that your collector would be oriented solar shading masks can cost as much as $ 1 00, s o l u t i o n . But p l e ase d o not c h o p down a
away from true south. but you can easily make your own in a few hours 1 OO-year-old tree to decrease your shading by a
Maximum solar efficiency demands that any with simple tools and about $5 worth of mate­ few percentage points.
heat-col lecti ng surface- including south-facing rials, as explained on the facing page. Shading of the morning or late afternoon sun
windows as well as solar collectors with black To use the solar shading mask, stand with your is not as serious as shading of the strong midday
absorber plates-be oriented within 30° of solar back to the potential collector installation. Use a sun. Assuming that your collector can be ori­
south . This isn't usually a problem in new con­ compass to find magnetic south. Hold the shad­ ented with i n 30° of solar south, a good solar site
struction. If you're retrofitting an existing house ing mask so that your eye is at the center of the is one on which no more than 20% of the early
that is poorly oriented, building on a 4 5 ° angle semicircle and on a level with the horizon line morning or late afternoon sun, or 1 0% of the sun
to an existing wall is often an excellent solution. on the mask. Be sure you're holding the base of between 10 A.M. and 2 P.M. , is shaded. You can
Collectors oriented beyond the 30° limit are less the mask leve l , and aim the magnetic south line estimate this percentage with the solar shading
efficient in the winter, and are apt to provide too on the mask toward magnetic south. (Caution: mask (see facing page, top right).
much heat in the spring or fall. Even small amounts of metal near a compass If your site doesn't measure up, you should put
Slightly easterly or westerly collector orienta­ will disturb its reading. To be sure you are get­ more emphasis on insulation than on insolation
tion can be an advantage or a disadvantage. An ting a true reading, locate south from several dif­ (the exposure of your house and collectors to the
easterly orientation will supply heat to the house ferent positions.) sun's rays). And with smaller amounts of sun­
earlier in the morning, while a westerly expo­ Check the sun's path for each month of your light, i nsulating shades or shutters over win­
sure gives you a little extra warmth just before h eati ng season and see when the site will be dows are essential (for one way to make them,
shaded . For further study, sketch the view see FHB #2 , p . 52).
Dan Reif, a solar designer, builder and author, through the mask on your sun path chart and As home buyers and builders become more
lives in Amherst, Mass. Portions of this article think about it later. aware of their environment, sites with good
have been adapted from his book, Solar Retrofit: If you are evaluating the site in summer, solar pot e n t i a l w i l l be recognized for t h e i r
Adding Solar to Your Home ($8. 95 from Brick spring or fall and you don't have a mask, remem­ greater value. Since there are f e w perfect solar
Ho use Publishing Co. , 34 Essex St. , Andover, ber that shadows cast by the low winter sun will sites, the designer must work to integrate the
Mass. 01 801). be much longer than those cast during the other building with the best qualities of the site. 0
52 FINE HOM EBUIL 0ING
A solar shading mask is easily made. You'll need a
1x8 pine board, 14'1. in. long; a 'I.-in. wooden
Making and using a solar shading k
draw the Solar Altitude! Solar Azimuth Graph on
your graph paper, using the dimensions given be­
mas
Plexiglas 'I.in. above the highest sun path.
You are now ready to evaluate the site. With the
dowel, 12 in. long; clear acetate at least .005
in. low. Solal altitude is the height of the sun above magnetic south line on the mask toward magnetic
thick, or 'la-in. Plexiglas, 20 in. by 24 in. ; twelve the horizon. Solar azimuth is its east-west position. south, and your eye at the center of the semicircle
'I.-in. pan-head wood screws with 'I.-in. washers; a Note that on the graph the solar-altitude spacing and level with the mask's horizon line, you can see
cardboard strip, 2 in. by 24 in. ; and four sheets of changes with each 10° interval. Select the appro­ what part of your site will be shaded in a given
8'hx 1 1 graph paper with 'la-in. squares. priate Sun Path Chart for your latitude and transfer month. Two examples are diagrammed below. # 1 is
The base and handle are diagrammed below. Lay it onto your graph. Sun Path Charts for three repre­ a poor site. In midwinter, less than half of the sun's
out a semicircle of 7'1.-in. radius on the board, sentative latitudes are drawn below; solar hand­ rays will reach the collector at any time of day. #2 is
using a string and pencil compass. Mark a point books like The Passive Solar Energy Book by Ed­ a good site. Dn Dec. 2 1, less than 10% of the mid­
3'1. in. in from the point at which you held the ward Mazria (Rodale Press, Emmaus, Pa. ) include day sun will be blocked, and all of the morning and
'I.
string, then drill a 'I.-in. hole in. deep at this point charts in 4° increments of latitude. Make a dot on afternoon rays will reach the collector.
and glue in the dowel, to form a handle. Now saw the graph paper where the curve of the sun paths
Magnetic south l i ne
along the arc and drill '/,.-in. screw holes about cross each azimuth line, as shown. Then connect
(easterly variation)
,. in. deep every 2 in. along the curved edge. the dots to form the curves.
The sun paths will be drawn on three 8'hx 1 1 Using the magnetic variation map, fin d the varia­
sheets of graph paper, joined to make one 1 1x24 tion in your location between solar south and mag­
sheet. For latitudes south of 36° north, center the netic south. Draw a dotted vertical line through the
fourth sheet along the top so that you will be able proper point on the horizon lin e to represent mag­
to extend the solar altitude above 50°. With a ruler, netic south. This will allow you to use a reading di­
rectly from a compass when you use the mask.
Trace the sun paths and the solar and magnetic
south lines from the graph paper to the acetate or
Plexiglas, and label them. Draw the horizon line
2'1. in. above the bottom of the clear sheet.
With screws and washers, attach the finished
acetate or Plexiglas sheet to the base so that the
horizon line is 1% in. above the top of the base.
Cardboard under the washers makes the sheet
more rigid. Finally, cut away excess acetate or

60
4
0
Fl. in . between each
1 5 ° azimuth angle
40' N latitude

I
,0� ./
V -....--....
�
i
y,- i n . dowel
0o // V /V �� ""
° r7 /B ::: �
..:::� '\
/ / V �� 1'- �
Ywi n . screw holes,
% in. deep,
2 in. o . c .
V 60°
,II 75' � 45 ° 30° 1 5° � "- \
0 ° 15° 30 ° 45° 60 ° 75 ° 90°
Solar south/ Solar aZimuth West

Sun paths for three northem latitudes Magnetic variation map

3P M

u2Q) 30°
roa;
.-
Ul0 20'

0°
Source: /
U.S. e D par nt of
Isogonic Chart of the U nited States,
t me Commerce,
Coast and GeodetiC Survey, 1 965 .

3 P.M.
50 0 50 °

'0Q)
·E 30 °
-0Q)
ro
'0Ula; 20°
S'"
ro
'0Vl 20 '

0 ° LL���JU��-LLL� 0��
1 5�
30�,-L� 1�
���5 LL30�,-L�������J
o �
Solar southl Solar aZimuth

O C T O B E R / N O VE M B E R 1 9 8 1 53
 Truss Frame Construction
A simple building m ethod especially
suited to the owner-builder

by Mark White

S tandard frame construction is complex and

can be baffling to the first-time owner-builder.
Madison, Wis . , erected an experimental building
that combined floor, walls and roof in single
drop to 20°F, and average between 30°F and
40°F most of the time. Sti l l , the winters are long
When the purposes and natures of foundations, truss sections. I was immediately taken with the and our primary heating fuel is oil, which is de­
sills, sill plates, floor joists, partition walls, studs, simplicity of the concept. It looked like a system l ivered by tanker from the lower forty-eight.
cripples, headers, ceiling joists, top plates, raf­ that would enable the owner-builder to come up The price of oil hasn't gone down in years, which
ters and sheathing are taken one at a time they w ith a sound, useful structure on the first at­ leads us to think hard about proper insulation.
can be understood. But novices have a hard time tempt, given some basic training and guidelines.
handling the complexity once they are staring at To test this building concept, I sketched up a Foundations- Concrete costs a lot up here
all the pieces on their sites. set of plans and ordered the appropriate lumber (about $ 1 65 a cubic yard), so many foundations
I have been teaching building on the college from one of our local sawmills. The lumber was are either creosote posts or treated wood. I
level for the past six years, trying to find a method ready in January. In February, I began work on opted for posts, because this is the fastest meth­
that would reduce house construction to simple the foundation, and I set the sill timbers in early od and disturbs the soi l the least.
elements. Having tried balloon framing, plat­ March. The building, which I planned to build The frost line here is 6 i n . , and bedrock is usu­
form framing, tilt-up walls, post and beam , and alone to see how well the system would work, ally between 18 in. and 36 in. below the surface
variations of them all, I now think I've found an was to be used as a rental unit. It would have of the soil . I dug into glacial till-a mixture of
answer: truss frame construction. 1 2-in. floors, l O -in. walls and a 1 2-in. roof, all hard clay and shale gravel a few i nches above
The truss frame is not new. Contractors, and stuffed with a nominal 1 2 in. of insulation, for an the actual bedrock.
i ndividuals all over the world, have fiddled with i nsulation value of R-45. The posts are Douglas fir, pressure-treated
the idea for years. It began to attract more atten­ Our climate is quite mild, as Kodiak, an Alas­ with creosote and about 12 in. i n diameter. The
tion in the United States when the Department kan island in the north Pacific, is warmed by the ends that go into the holes are cut off squarely,
of Agriculture's Forest Products Laboratory in Japanese current. Winter temperatures rarely then covered with another coat or two of creo-

The author built his first truss frame house alone to test the simplicity of the technique. At left, he winches the completed trusses onto sills set atop a post foun­
dation. Center, a framed and sheathed partial truss is tilted into place as an end wall. It will be toenailed and temporarily braced. Right, most of the trusses are

54 F I N Ie H ( ) M UlU I L J ) I N C ;
 sote to protect the center where the pressure l ittle racking resistance to the system. Once the rial for all chords and webs and results in many
treatment has failed to reach. I then nail a few bracing is in, the holes can be filled and tamped more pieces i n each truss. I stayed with I �-in. by
pieces of heavy asphalt shingles (smooth side in) around each post. Sand makes the best fill, but 1 0-in. and I �-in. by 1 2-in. material i n the inter­
over that end to keep water from w icking up we usually wind up using the dirt that came out est o f simplicity. My trial structure was to be
through the center of the post. When the post is of the hole. 2 0 ft. wide by 2 4 ft. long, with outward-sloping
i n the hole, an eventual burden of 6,000 lb. to We usually space posts 6 ft. O.c., forming walls and generous porches all around. The
1 0,000 lb. of house forces the asphalt into the "strings" of them to support two 8x 12 sill timbers outw ard-slo p i n g walls were a n e x p e r i m e n t
wood fibers of the end grain and pretty much along the length of the building. Near each end, aimed at providing more visual interior room for
seals the pores. It takes 20 or 30 years to rot out we reduce the spacing to 3 ft. or 4 ft. o.C. to sup­ a given area of floor space. They did provide the
the untreated center of a Douglas fir post, but port the greater weight of the end walls and the room, but for a few dollars more the side walls
I've seen it happen. The houses we build should extra load transmitted to them by the roof over­ near the floor could have been kicked out a bit
last at least 200 years- for this reason I'm inter­ hangs. We space the parallel strings of posts be­ under the same roof and I would have had even
ested i n having the posts last that long as wel l . tween 1 4 ft. and 20 ft. apart, depending on the more room. In a word, the experiment was suc­
We carefully d i g holes b y hand into t h e 6-in. carrying capacity of the floor joists the sills are cessful, but I wouldn't repeat it. A frame spacing
layer of glacial till and pour about a gallon of supporting. Post foundations on sand and bed­ of 24 in. called for II full trusses, two partials for
clean dry sand i nto the bottom of the hole i n­ rock work well as long as the quality and spacing the end walls, and a total of four roof trusses to
stead of using a concrete pad. The sand is easier of the individual members is kept withi n reason, support the porch overhang at the ends.
to work with if the posts need to be shifted to l ine and the cross-bracing is adequate. We tend to be A partial truss is a truss that has gussets on one
up properly, and we have had little evidence of conservative, planning shorter spacing than the side and studs on the other side. Trusses are used
sett l ing. We wrap the part of each post that is go­ maximum indicated by c harts and tables. A on the end walls only to define the shape and
ing to be in the ground with a few layers of 6-mil foundation is not worth skimping on. Besides, outline of those walls and to hold the studs in
polyethylene to reduce the leaching of poison­ our cost only runs between $200 and $300 per that configuration before the walls are tilted up
ous creosote i nto the groundwater. The plastic structure-dirt cheap compared to the cost and i nto position.
wrapping would deteriorate rapidly i n sunlight, labor associated with concrete. Roof trusses are made up of rafters and collar
but it lasts a long time underground. ties, without vertical members. I f the overhang
After the plastic goes on, the post.is dumped The first house-Teaching duties and a build­ at the gable end is less than 3 ft., i t i s possible
into its hole, rotated a half turn i n the sand and ing project in a remote village kept me from fur­ to use roof trusses supported only by a sturdy
then propped into correct alignment with a few ther work on the truss house until May. Then I 2 x 12 fascia board nailed to the other rafters
wedges jammed i nto the hole on one side or cut out and assembled a single truss on the sill along the eaves. I f the overhang is greater than
another. Once all the posts are in position, they t imbers. I used i t to pull master patterns, from 3 ft., some arrangement of conventional headers
are aligned with a transit, and everything is tied which I then traced the necessary shapes on and cripples is necessary. This often makes even
together with rough-cut 2x6s fastened with hot­ to-in. and 1 2-in. rough-cut spruce planks. I used the cross tie unnecessary.
dipped, galvanized, 20d nails. Extensive cross­ a portable circular saw and a small chainsaw to Construction of the trusses went according to
bracing is installed before any weight is placed cut out the pieces for the rest of the trusses. a
plan, but including a floor joist as part of each
on the piles. The bracing is extremely impor­ The Forest Products Lab's original truss frame unit turned out to cause more trouble than it was
tant, because the soil is so shallow that it lends design called for the use of standard 2x4 mate- worth . It meant that there was no floor to work

erected, toenailed to the sills, and stabilized by the plywood nailed along their sides. In this first house. "oor joists were a part of each truss. This resulted in
great strength and stability, but made construction a bit awkward, since there could be no platform to work on until all the trusses were in place.

( )CT() BER/N()VEM BI�R 1981 55

 The deck system Insulation covered with sheets of 6-m i l
and post foundation polyethylene as vapor barrier
Two layers of 6-i n . fiberglass batts,
'I.-i n . tongue-and-groove
laid i n place with joints staggered
pl ywood as deck

2 x 1 2 joists toenailed
through pl ywood to sills with
20d galvanized nails. The walls
will later be supported on the 2-f1. 8x 1 2 sills, toenailed through
2x 1 2s with 20d nails or 30d spikes,
then fastened to post with
'la- i n . plywood, fastened lengthwise along - 2-f1. length of 'la-in rebar
sills with 6d nails before joists are set in place .
Remaining plywood is later nailed to joist
- bottoms from u n der platform
i n diameter

on, so moving materials, assembling them and An improved design - The following fal l , I de­ wood to the joists from underneath and dropped
erecting them was awkward work. signed a 20-ft. by 26-ft. house with straight walls in two layers of 6-in. fiberglass insulation , mak­
The building did go together with less effort 6� ft . high. This time the floor would be built and i ng sure to stagger their joints. On top of this
than one built with either the standing stick or insulated as a separate unit (drawing, above), went a 6-mil vapor barrier, then either a plank or
the tilt-up wall method. And the truss assembly with the trusses and end walls erected on top of a plywood floor. Dropping insulation in from
with its plywood gussets made an extremely it. This is much easier, and almost as strong. above is an easy 1 O-minute task. If we had had to
strong and rigid structure. If anything is wind It took an inexperienced, seven-person crew i nstall it from below, it would have become a
and earthquake-proof, it is this building. I was (my class) six hours to build and insulate the frustrating, eye-irritating chore.
heartened by the progress and by the rigidity of floor. First, we laid our joists (in this case 20-ft. Each truss designed for this building consists
the building, but felt the system could be simpli­ long 2x 1 2s) over two sill timbers, spacing them of five main pieces: two wall studs, two rafters
fied even further. 2 4 in. on center. Then we nailed %-in. COX ply- and one col lar tie. The class cut and assembled
the required twelve full trusses, two end walls
and three roof trusses in exactly 1 4 hours of hard
The completed first house. Sloping side walls increase the volume with limited floor space.
labor. To eliminate inaccuracies, each truss was
assembled on top of the master truss. All of the
%-in . plywood gussets were nailed with great
quantities of #6 galvanized nails.
I have used gussets of �-in . plywood, but they
sometimes break when they're fastened to only
one side and the truss is being flipped over to
have the rest nailed onto the other. Using %-in.
plywood has eliminated the problem. I \Nould
recommend %-in . plywood for gussets on larger
trusses and in two-story houses. Once gussets
are nailed onto both sides of a truss, breakage is
extremely unlikely, even with �-in. plywood.
Truss members are very thick to provide room
for lots of insulation. The trusses are thus mas­
sively overbuilt, so a builder need not worry
much about a structural failure. A neophyte de­
signing a truss pattern need only incl ude a sub­
stantial enough collar tie to keep the rafters from
spreading out near their bottoms. The collar ties
should equal about half the span of the rafters.
We usually use 2x 1 2 ties, which can safely span
16 to 18 ft. On longer spans, it's safer and cheaper
to use smaller di mensioned lumber, with a cen­
ter tie fastened between the center of the collar
tie and the peak of the roof. The center tie adds
strength and keeps the ceiling from sagging and
the long collar ties from warping.
We scheduled raising the frame for a Saturday
so the students could work all day. Moving the
sections and clearing ice from the floor's plat-

56 F I N Ie: H O M Ie: B U I L D I N G
form took about two hours. Putting up the end
walls and the trusses themselves took 1 7 min­
utes. Passers-by were amazed at the speed with
which the building took shape.
Initially, the bottoms of the studs were toe­
nailed to the floor, with each stud positioned
over a floor joist. The first course of plywood
sheathing was nailed to the floor perimeter and
to the studs as the trusses were raised. This
course secures the studs to the deck and keeps
the trusses erect. More plywood sheathing on
the walls and I x6 decking on the roof locks
everything together.
Alignment of the walls and roof was perfect.
This turned out to be the straightest and squarest
building I've ever seen assembled -thanks to a
carefully leveled floor and to the uniformity of
the trusses.

Insulation- The class met for four hours one

final Saturday to get the building weathered in.
To insulate the roof, we strung nylon twine
under the rafters and stapled it in place to hold
the fiberglass. In about 1 5 minutes, two layers of
6-in. insulating batts were laid in from above. We Trusses for the second house did not include floor joists. A deck was built first so that work could pro­
then decked over the roof with I x6 spruce, gress easily, then -in just 1 7 minutes-trusses were tilted up, toenailed and temporarily braced, be­
trimmed and covered it with a layer of 55-lb. fore being firmly connected to the deck by the first course of horizontal plywood sheathing. These
workers are stringing twine beneath the rafters to hold 1 2-in. balts of fiberglass insulation.
roofer's base felt. This layer will eventually be
covered with asphalt shingles, but it will protect
the building until good weather returns. tic system. It is merely angled properly and en­ Potential uses- The frame truss system lends
We have built a number of buildings with floor, ters the ground quickly. None of the many that itself to simple buildings with repetitive sections,
wall and roof sections insulated to R-45. They have been installed this way in our location has and I've used it to build structures with conven­
are effective, allowing us to heat the average ever frozen. I usually wrap the I -in. PVC water tional shapes. But different applications and
home with 15 to 20 gallons of fuel a month dur­ supply line with a short length of thermosta­ shapes are possible, because the basic truss is
ing the winter. A conventionally insulated house tically controlled heat tape extending just below h ighly adaptable. I once built a strong and very
of equivalent size may gobble up to 350 gallons the frost l ine, and then insulate it. A neon indi­ I
l ightweight building out of �-in. by I �-in. stock
of fuel a month during a similar heating season. cator light on the upper end of the tape tells you and plywood glued and nai led in place . If you
In most of these buildings, I used Owens Corn­ whether it's working or not. l ive in an area where labor is considerably
ing 6-in. fiberglass in the roof. It seems to come In Alaska, we install this I -in. pipe inside a cheaper than material you might try a truss com­
5 � in. thick, so two layers gave me I I in. of insu­ 2-in. pipe, which in turn should be insulated to posed of 2x2s or 2x3s and light plywood gussets
lation and a I -in. ventilation space. I used only beneath the frost line with heavy, black neo­ glued and stapled in place to form an intricate
friction-fit batts or rolls, no foil face. In the floors prene foam made for the purpose. webwork. This would elimi nate the problem of
and walls, I used Johns-Manville 6-in . fiberglass, Electrical power enters the house by way of a direct heat transfer through solid joists. studs
two layers of which usually measure out to 13 in. single piece of I �-in . conduit passing from a and rafters. It would. however, introduce the
(Owens Corning and Johns-Manville claim the meter base on an outside wall to a single service new problems of insulating between the web­
same R-value, and they cost the same.) Recently panel on the wall inside the vapor barrier. All work and of seal ing off passages to fire and ro­
I have switched to 1 2-in. wall cavities to make circuits emanate from this service panel , passing dents. In our area rough-cut lumber is available
better use of the Johns-Manville insulation. throughout the building in a single channel cut at a reasonable price in lengths of up to 24 ft. so
into the interior face of the outer wall studs. trusses of solid lumber are more cost effective
Plumbing, electrical and heating- The struc­ (There are two such channels cut into the faces than lighter, more intricate designs.
tures my classes and I have built appear decep­ of the studs in a two-story dwelling.) We use The use of a well-ventilated, heavy truss sys­
tively simple in shape, form and function. They either Romex cable or conduit, � i n . or f.t in. in tem instead of concrete in an underground
are not. Their cross-sectional designs have been diameter. All cables and conduits are inside the structure merits consideration. The strength of a
carefully worked out to provide maximum floor vapor barrier, so there are no leaks through the properly designed truss makes it a good choice
space and vol ume with minimum exposed sur­ membrane. Switches and electrical outlets don't in the high load conditions found beneath the
face area. There are a number of deviations let cold air get into the room. earth . Another area of application would be in
from typical construction practice that could be The heavy insulation and complete vapor bar­ passive solar designs where the shape would be
imposed upon any building method, but seldom rier eliminate drafts, convective air currents, in one of the many asymmetric configurations,
are . The very nature of the truss frame structure, and excessive heat losses, so there is little need with the tall open side facing south.
along with our floor-building technique, simpli­ in our houses for complex heat distribution sys­ The beauty of the truss system is that only one
fies and encourages their use. tems. For heat sources we have tried wood­ of the many frames that go into the building
First, the floor is an almost totally sealed unit. stoves but they typically put out too much heat. needs to be laid out with great care. Once that
Its vapor barrier is penetrated only by a care­ We have settled on either a standard oil-fired, first unit is formed it's an easy and repetitive task
fully installed waste pipe and a water supply hot-air furnace, or an oil hot-water heater with a to construct the rest of the units, using the first as
line. We use 6-i n . or 8-i n . interior plumbing short loop of pipe run from the water tank to a pattern to get the rest right. Raising the frame
walls, and try to back the kitchen up to the bath­ heat the air. In fact, we have a real problem find­ is then a simple matter involving a minimum of
room, utility room and wash room to get all the ing an appropriately sized heat source. Right fiddling and measurement. 0
plumbing into one area. now the smal lest furnace available is in the
Under the house, I make no attempt to in­ neighborhood of 85,000 Btu. What we really Mark White teaches at the University of A laska
sulate the 3-in. waste drain that flows to the sep- need is one that kicks out 1 2 ,000 Btu or less. at Kodiak.

OCT08ER/ NOVlM 8U{ 1981 57

 WOODWO R K I N G TOOLS . S U PPLIES . HAR DWARE
fo r D i scri m i nat i n g C rafts m e n
STANLEY, NORTON, NICHOLSON,
W e carry o n l y the finest from
JORGENSEN, COLUMBIAN, YANKEE, GREENLEE, DISSTON . . .
and many others.

VINTAGE BRASS and BRONZE SUPPLIES The most comprehensive selection of screws
and abrasives available from a single source.
Hardware from the Past
ORIGINALS
H i n ges,
- NOT Reproductions
locksets, catches, escutcheons,
WOOD SCREWS
brass, silicon bronze, stainless
. . all types; Abrasives,
S i l icon
Garnet, Al u m i n u m Oxide,
Carbide, Self- L u b r i c a t i n g ,
drawer knobs, fasteners of all types and steel a n d z i n c plated steel. Non-Filling (stearated); Emery Cloth
much more. Slotted and Phillips flat, round a n d Mesh Cloth 9 x 1 1 sheets i n a l l
and o v a l heads. weights and grits. Belts, too.

BRASS WOOD SCREWS

Slotted Flat or R o u n d h ead
SAN DPAPER
G a rnet o r Aluminum Oxide

All sizes from #0 'I.'

( i n d i cate type)
t o # 1 4 4"
( i n d icate type)
9"xl l " Sheets - Open Coat

3''I/,I,,
# Lth per 1 00 # Lth per 1 00
10 25 50 1 00

3'/I,,
0 $1 .90 4 1 $3.30
280A $ 1 .90 $3.95 $7.35 $14.25
0 1 .95 5 2.55
240A 1 . 90 3.95 7.35 14.25
1
1 3/,'I, 1 .90
1 . 95
5
5 1
''//42
3.15
3.80
220A
180A
1 .90
1 .90
3.95
3.95
7.35
7.35
1 4.25
14.25

3/'I'I,,,
1 2.20 5 1 4.40 1 50A 1 .90 3.95 7.35 1 4. 2 5

3/'I,,
2 1 . 80 5 1 5.80 1 20A 7.35
1 . 90 3.95 14.25
2 1 .95 6 2.80
1 00A 1 . 90 3.95 7.35 14.25

3/''II,,,
2 2.20 6 3.30 80A 2.15 4.45 8.25 1 5.85
2 2.25 6 1
'/4 4.15 1 50C 2.65 5.95 1 1 .35 2 1 .80

P/'/4,
2 2.55 6 1 5.00 1 20C 5.95 1 1 . 35 2 1 .80
2.65
3
3/, 2.25 6 1 6.00 1 00C 2.65 5.95 1 1 .35 2 1 .80

'3/'II,,,
3 2.20 6 7.95 800 3.05 6.65 1 2 .75 24.30

3'/I,,
3 2.40 6 2 8.50
600 3.70 7.60 14.50 28. 1 5
3 2.55 8 3.45

8"
3
'I, 2.80 8 4.40 A l u m i n u m Oxide - Non-fi l l i n g

''/'//,,4
3 3.30 8 1 5.30 320A 2.30 5.40 1 0.20 1 9.35
3 "x

Cast bronze sliding door lock set (circa

3
4
1
''II,, 3.55
1 . 90
8
8
1
1
6.45
7.40
280A
220A
2.30
2.30
5.40
5.40
1 0 .20
1 0.20
1 9.35
1 9.35

Connecting shaft, designed for 1 '1,"

W W I I ) made by Russwin for the U S Navy.

doors, can be modified for thicker doors.

thick 4
4
3/, 2.25
2.75
8
8
1
2
8.70
9.70
180A
1 50A
2.30
2.30
5.40
5.40
1 0 .20
1 0. 2 0
1 9 .35
1 9.35

To order screws a n d/or s a n d paper Orders u p to $20 - add $2.50

Price, complete with bronze keys and fas­
teners - $ 1 2 5 Ishipping included)
cate right or left h a n d door.
- indi­
( m i n i m u m $10 i n merchandise). add the
following shipping costs, applicable only
$20.01 to $50
$50.01 to $ 1 00
- add $3.00
- add $3.75
to the 48 a continental states. Over $ 1 00 - add $4.75

We also accept Master Charge and Visa on orders of $20 o r more.

Telephone orders, too, ( 2 1 2 ) 242-58 1 5. Send $2.00 for complete tool catalog.
The Tool Works
1 1 1 8th Ave. NY, NY 10011

$200.00

ANNU
AL HEATING BILL IN
ENG LAND
NEW CLIMATE?
Yes, and often lessl Proven perfor­
mance in passive solar homes
which are also attractive looking
and enjoyable to live in. Designed
by leading experts in passive
energy design, construction, and
living . Complete construction
t"\!
IMII.. G a h o m e with 25 -foot
j INE ceili ngs, spira l i n g stair­
cases and huge skylights. An extraordi­
nary home that covers t h e exact square
design point of vi ew. From an aesthetic
point of view. And it's within your reach.
For the complete story from the world's
largest man ufacturer of wood geodesic
drawings for traditional and con­
temporary styles of all sizes,
buildable at ordinary construction
footage of a conventional home, but structu res, send $5 with t h e coupon
with one-third fewer materials.
I magine costs.
a home so advanced in design it cuts
below. We' l l rush o u r 4 2 - page, ful l-color
catalog, along with our 1 2- page floor ---------
monthly e n e rgy costs by 50 percent. plan book. Cathedra lite, 820 Bay Ave.,
I ntroducing the Cathedralite geodesic Suite 302, Capitola, CA 95 0 1 0. Send for free brochure or in·
home. It challe nges convention. From a clude $4.00 for detailed in­
formation package and port·
-----------------------------
o YES! Enclosed is $5.00.
Please send me my 42-
folio of designs:
1355 GREEN END AVE.
page, f u l l- c o l o r catalog
Name
_________________________________________________________________________ MIDDLETOWN, RI 02840
and my free 1 2-page floor Add ress'
Name ________________________________________________________________________
City _______ _________________
plan book.
State Address
FB10l Zip _________________ Phone City/Town

t! �T=...:tl! �· ... .. 820 Bay Avenue, Suite 302, Capitola, California 9501 0 State Zip

58 F I N E HOM EBU I LD I NG
CAST I R N
me
All
products Save $10,000 or more
on your new home.
ad

Two
to circulate
between floors. Warm those
hard-to-reach areas of your home or office. Make
Beyourown builder.
those wood and coal stoves even more efficient.
REPLACEMENT FLOOR GRILLES
Replace
those ugly,
No experiIneprofnceesneeded.
sional BuiLearnldinatg Constructi
home as NRIonshows
courseyou how
tin, forced
hot air
registers
with our
beautiful
cast iron
10% 50%
You can save from
of the cost of your new home by
building it yourself. And NRI can
to

replacement
show you how. NRl's newprofes­
grilles. Standard sional course in Building Construc­
duct sizes available. tion teaches you what you need to
LARGE FLOOR �n.ILlc�� know to be a building contractor.
And you learn at home in your spare
time. Whether you want to build
your own home, get a better job,
or start !tour own contracting busi­
ness, NRI can get you started right.
From Site Sel ecti
on
to landscaping
By being your own contractor,
you save at least 10%of the cost
of the typical home right up front.
Then, depending on how much of
the job you do yourself, you can
50%.
save up to NRI takes you
through the job from start to finish in
70 lessons full of photos and dia­
grams to make learning easy. You
begin by learning how to pick the sections. Lessons and projects are
best site, learn to read blueprints, esti­ coordinated with a contemporary
mate costs, follow the job through right energy-efficient home designed espe­
to the planting of shrubbery and trees. cially for NRI. You keep these plans to
Learn How to Hire build your own home or select from
and Supervise Sub-Contractors
Nothing's left out. You learn the
trade practices and secrets of the pros.
more than 50
low-cost optional plans.
You even get samples of building mate­
rials and hardware so you know how
Masonry, carpentry, roofing, painting, to select and use them correctly.
even J)lumbing, heating and electrical Free Catalog.
work. You learn what good work looks No Salesman Will Call
like, tip-offs to bad or sloppy work. How There's much, much more to the
to supervise jobs . . . when to bring in NRI BUilding Construction Course.
specialists . . . trade and financial prac­ Send the coupon today for your free
tices . . . how to keep your job moving catalog deSCribing all lessons, projects,
on schedule. and opportunities in the building busi­
Hands-On '&alnlng Built ness. See how you can save big money
Aro und Energy-Efficient Home
You learn better because NRI train­
ing is practical training. You get over
by bUilding your own home or earn big
money by building for others. If coupon
has been removed, write to NRI schools,
100 action projects from scale-model
construction to building actual framing
3939
20016. Wisconsin Ave. , Washington, DC

r--------------------· --- ---.,

- -caree
�I
All r courses
o
II�I'
J• ��� o Air
&
OntinUing
Building Construction Course
Conditioning, Refrigeration
Heating Courses
approved under

o
GI Bill.
Check for

I t" •
Education Center Including Solar Technology details

20016 ooo
Washington. D.C. &
3939 Wisconsin Avenue Automotive Mechanics
Small Engtne Service Repair Course
Electrical Appliance Servidng

o lVl Servi
Please rush me the one free o CB/Communications
catalog I have checked. I under- Color Audio/l.\deo dng

NO SAI£SMAN WILL CALL o

stand there is no obligation. Computer Electronics Including Microcomputers

Name (Please print) Age

Address

Clty/State!Zip
1333·101
Accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the National Home Study Council

L.---------------..�--...--..--... -----.�____��______________� ____��______....__._J.J.

�
OCTOBER/NOVEM BER 1981 59
 REVI EWS

This Old House, produced by Russ Morash, photograph dangles unattached from of sub-headings to guide us through long
presented by WGBH , Boston. Carried by many explanation, and in certain instances line chapters. The discussion seems a bit out of
Public Television stations nationwide. drawings add clarity. Architectural and balance, too, as five chapters of preliminaries
This Old House by Bob Vila and Jane
technical terms get the italic print treatment precede four of actual work description. Then
Davidson. Published by Little, Brown and Co. , along with good definitions or explanations in a landscape chapter is followed by the
3 4 Beacon St. , Boston, Mass. 021 06, 1980. the text. Sti l l , a glossary would have been concluding " Five New Houses," and nowhere
$ 1 4. 95, paperback; 2 70 pp. n ice, for quick alphabetized reference. is there an overall photograph of the whole
Eight basic house work chapters, flanked by house completed.
Bob Vila 's This Old House by Bob Vila. three chapters at the beginning on planning Among the perplexities are two photographs
Published by E.P. Dutton and Co. , 2 Park Ave. , and designi ng, and three at the end on showing silvery valley flashing embedded i n
New York, N. Y. 1 00 1 6, 1981. $2 1 . 00,
finishing, costs and landscaping, balance the text containing t h e following statement: " We
hardcover; $ 13.50, paperback; 284 pp.
book. By the time the reader reaches the final used strips of lead-coated copper painted with
Perhaps the chief appeal of the first, or spread of the new old house, having toured clear acrylic so that i t will remain coppery in
Dorchester, segment of the television series, photographically all the finished rooms, the color." In the few and all too brief paragraphs
This Old House, was that i t gave all those who sense of vicarious participation in a job well on paint, one of the chemicals in the white
have ever labored over old houses a chance to done gives real satisfaction. pigment in modern paints (since 1 9 1 7 or so) is
sit back comfortably and watch someone else The television production rushed where the given as TiO when i n fact i t i s titanium
work and worry. Or perhaps it was sheer book l ingers . Perhaps the best feature of the dioxide, Ti02. More amusing are some of the
fantasy fulfillment- especially the t ime­ show was its convincing and realistic small photographs that run along the page
compression effect that made it seem as if any demonstration that an intelligent owner really bottoms and show various other rehab jobs all
of us could, in 1 3 weeks, turn a dilapidated old can coordinate the work of many craftsmen over the country. One photo is of a house no
hulk into quite a decent house. Certainly the and can get even a rather ordinary and more than 20 years old with a caption
show made rehab work entertaining, with Bob depressing old house back on its feet and referring to the use of solar collectors now
Vila and Norm the Carpenter assuming almost looking good. The book, i n addition, gives being added to old New England houses, and
heroic roles in the face of such tragedies as such an owner at least 90% of what he or she another shows an old stable given new
roof rot and furnace fai l ure, while the m ight need to know to handle the job. Most w indow openings, new siding, and some new
footsteps of time and of the supporting cast o f i mportant, the information about renovation, trim elements with a caption referring to very
other workmen hurried on. (One digression, rehabilitation and restoration in this book is l ittle alteration.
please: Where were at least a couple of skilled sound, detailed and practical. I plan to keep it Many of the large photographs have no
women workers?) on hand for a reference to use on non-museum accompanying arrows to relate them to the
The pace, however, was the problem with residential consulting jobs. explanatory text; none have those useful floor
the first This Old House series, as viewers The second Sleeping Beauty of an old house plans which in the first 'book let the reader
seldom got to hear the carefully considered to be awakened by the WGBH team and their know where and from what angle the shots
logic behind some of the more drastic workmen, a shingled "red elephant" in were taken.
decisions (partition demolition and relocation, Newton , Massachusetts, included a connected The television coverage is better at showing
for example) or product and procedure choices barn, stable, icehouse and woodshed. Not only the headaches and delight o f large scale rehab
(exterior paint stripping and color selection, to much larger (some 1 0,000 square feet all told) work. One of the first crucial lessons viewers
name two). More important, the show's but also more architecturally significant (it was learned and saw most vividly was that there is
educational value was undermined by the half­ designed by H . H . Richardson), the Bigelow always more deterioration hiding under siding
hour format. Viewers did not have the House was deeded over to WGBH by the than estimates allow for. More camera
opportunity to observe a workman at a task Newton Historical Preservation Association, concentration on actual house materials and
for more than a few minutes at a time, and i n with preservation restrictions that prohibited less focus on workmen's faces, too, increased
most cases a l l o f the preparation and setting alteration of the historic appearance of the the instructional value of this segment of This
up had been done off-camera. Nor does building's facade, roof and chimneys. Yet i n Old House. Aside from indulgence i n a few
television provide the random retrieval or spite of these legal restrictions o n t h e second frivolities, such as a segment on the location of
repetition of some particularly fascinating bit old house, the first simple vernacular structure telephones (virtually everywhere, i t seemed),
o f information, except in the form o f reruns. fared at least as well if not better i n terms of the show's production staff and "stars," that is,
Television's immediacy, often exciting and preservation and restoration. In the case of the Vila with his regular workmen and his visiting
visually versatile, did indeed enable This Old Bigelow House, adaptive re-use was the expert craftsmen, gave us a serious look at the
House to stimulate wide interest i n old house purpose of the restoration work, and the i mmense undertaking large scale re-use ·is.
rehab and preservation, but as a source of condominium u n i ts simply do not look l i ke One moment on the television show,
useful i n formation, nothing beats a good book. sheds or stables. however, deserves correction. The mason who
Written i n a lively style, the book This Old Behind similarities of format and personnel, attacked the problem of repointing the
House combines narrative development and the TV work and book on the Newton chimneys asserts that l ime i n mortar prevents
superb photography to provide explanations, mansion differ significantly from those on the a good bond. Vila should have not let that one
facts and descriptions. The book makes a far smaller house i n Dorchester. Nowhere is the slide by without qualification, as far too many
better case for the work that was done on the difference more obvious than on the front o f us know better.
c. 1 860 house i n Dorchester than the covers of the two books; the first shows the Certain details of interior finish, such as a
television show managed to do, limited as it house fully finished w i th its original exterior balustrade and some fireplace t iles, were
was by time and camera constraints. The colors and front porch restored; the second m et iculously restored at the Bigelow House.
paragraphs on paint h istory, for example, are depicts Vila h i mself amid new carpentry and The exterior of the main house and the
worth 1 0 or 1 2 photographs. Watching the debris that look l i ke any new wood in any shingle siding and trim of the attached service
demolition o f partitions and removal of wood building. No hint of antiquity, much less of buildings were restored at considerable cost,
trim such as roof brackets alarmed and Richardsonian design, t inges this setting in and the television show covered the process of
offended some preservationists, but they which Vila occupies front center. (It seems figuring out how to handle the necessary
would, 1 think, approve the work if they read only fair to note that the photographs by Bill agonizing reappraisals. Yet, the second old
Bob V i la's careful explanations in the book. Schwob, who also did the first old house book, house, preserved but so much more drastically
The book i s i n some ways superior to the are superb here, too.) altered than the first, educates us less i n the
television show in its production as well. For More critical, of course, i s content. The ways of conserving fine h istoric architecture.
every photograph that m ight confuse, an earlier pUblication's engaging warmth of tone
accompanying floor plan of the house is has been replaced by a textbookish style that Sara Chase, a preservation consultant at the
printed nearby, and arrows i n the text l i n k does not conceal frequent generalities, Society for the Preservation of New England
verbal description w i t h the visuals. No occasional puzzling inaccuracies and the lack A ntiquities, in Boston.

60 FINE HOMEBUILDING
 NEW 3/S " A CUT ABOVE
Cordless Drilis II.---!� --=':::::m � IN PRECISION.
Screwdrivers n-=- �r

• !;:Ia�J�£�� Steel ball

Spring
Shift knob

A slip clutch mechanism was added t o the already quite popular Type
OTC-IO Cordless
It
Super Drill previously put on s a l e . in o rder to
facilitate the work o f installing screws.
drive torque o f the unit t o either one o f five different levels and
is possible to adjust the

There's n o better value than the AEG Powercut Artisan. You

furthermore the operating speed can be switched to either of two
different levels, t o facilitate drilling of holes, or whatever work always get a precise cut with parallel depth adjustment, which
the unit is being utilized for. as a cordless super drill.
lets you select any blade depth while keeping the handle
The charger and storage batteries are identical to those already sold
with the Type OTe-iO Cordless Super Drill and the cassette type o f parallel to the work. The vertical depth adjustment is cali­
storage b a t t e r i e s which require only one h o u r to be charged, have been brated in 1/8" increments for precise setting accuracy. And the
angle quadrant adjustment allows you to set the exact angle
adopted.

2.00 &
WRITE FOR HITACHI POWER TOOL CATALOG
90"
& HAND 4.50
ENCLOSE FOR POSTAGE HANDLING needed for miter cuts between and 45°. You get all this
value plus a free carbide blade and one year of free main­
OR OOR COMPLETE CATALOG AT IN..;
CLUDING POSTAGE LING.
Storqe batteryholder

VISA MASTER CHARGE

FREE ,OR CHECK tenance. 7-1/4" PC 70 is $146.00, 8-1/4" PC 80 is $165.00. Call

F.O.B.CATALOG
NIlES.MI.WITH PURCHASE. 1-800-243-8182 toll free and order today. In Conn., call
Storage battery (6 pcs,) U95 W.MICHICAJI 4912RO0AD
BERTRAND
collect 1-886-5426.

D E R D A I N C QUALITY TOOL SHOP

Wood_rking Machln." .Distrlbuto,.·
ROCKWELL TRA ANL
- POI S -
. ST EY - PROGRES S -
lIlES,
6 1 6-683-6666
KRAEME R - BOSCH - MAKITA
Quality tools for quality workmanship
Box 565, Escoheag, RI 02821
MasterCard & Visa Accepted
VISIT US AT OUR BOOTH AT EXC ELLENCE IN WODIIORKING CHICAGO

cAnyotte for
Tettons? .
MAKITA Finish Wood
More Power Tool for Your Money
Model LIst Sale Like An Expertl
��---===-� 3600B

360 1 8
3700B
23/4 H . P . Plunge Router

11/4 H . P . Heavy Duty Router

Laminate Trimmer
$268 $205
178

114
140
87
WATCO®
DAN I S H O I L
4300BV Variable Speed Jig Saw 168 132
5402A 16" Circular Saw. Electric Brake 360 290

6010DW 3/8" Cordless Dr;ll w;th 112 85

6510LVR
Charger

3/8" Reversible. Variable 99 79

"Five-In-One"
If your racket is tenons, doubles or singles, and 9045N
Speed Dr;n

4"x9"Dustless Finish Sander 138 110

WOOD FINISH
you want a perfect match every t ime, you can 9401 4"x24 ,. Dustless Belt Sander 248 188
O n e easy a p p l i cat i o n p r i m e s ,
sea l s , harden s , protects , beautifies!
learn from t he profes sionals. They know a 9501B Kit 4" Sander-Grinder Kit 108 87
With Watco you j u st WET-WAIT­
c lassic way to join two pieces of wood together 9820-2 Blade Sharpener 200 175
W I P E , and you have an elegant,
i s w i t h a tenon that fits i n to a mortise. 9924D8 3"x24" Dustless Bell Sander 190 145
extremely d u rable f i n i s h that would
Fine Woodworking magazine speaks this B045 1 0 12.000 R P M F;n;sh Sander 68 48 please the most critical profess ional.
language to more than 200,000
readers-people
seriously interested in making beautiful t h ings
out of wood. Whether you are an aspiring
B04520 12.000 RPM F;n;sh Sander K;!.
includes square and round
pads. 1 pkg. sandpaper
78 58 Watco p e n e t rates d e e p ly -
creates a tough f i n ish INSIDE t h e
wood - makes wood u p to 25
JR3000 2 Speed Reciprocating Saw Kit 144 113 percent harder. Can't c h i p , peel or
novice or an accom p l i s hed expert, you ' l l find i t
y
a n especi a l l informa tive magazine, w i t h finely
detailed articles about techniques and tools,
materials and design. I t ' s writ ten by master
Freight Prepaldl

The above tools are freight prepaid to continental U . S . A .

Send $ 1 .00 for Makita catalog and pricelist.

wear away l i ke a surface coat i n g .
Stai n s , scratches or m i nor burns
usual l y are spot repairable.
For com plete i n formation f i l l i n
c raftsmen who share their many years of wood­ and m a i l t h e coupo n .
working experience. And i t ' s prin ted on heavy
paper to withs tand years of reference. A l l back
Maktta Stationary T0015. Call or write for our
.• Dept.90404FH-l0l
W ATCO· D E NNIS CORPORATION

I
pr;ces on Models 2030. 2040. 2 1 16. and 1 756 Twenty-Second St
issues are in print and indexed periodica l l y .
A subscription (6 issues) is just $ 1 4 ( V I S A and
LM300 1 . We offer what we believe 10 be the best
I
Santa Monica. California

MasterCard accepted). And i f you're not pleased,

available prices. plus fast. friendly service. o Send name of nearest Watco Dealer

we' l l refund your money. To subscribe, use the I o Send free booklet "How to Finish

order form in this issue, o r send your name, Our Guarantee. We guarantee to give the best available
I Beautiful Wood".

I
service. Most orders will be shipped within two days of our
address and payment to the address below.
receipt of your order. If an item is out of stock and there will be Name

Il
The Taunton a delay of over one week , we will keep you informed.
S
355HIliPress -- --- I
tr eet

PO52 Church
Box
The Xylophlle'. Company Cltv
Newtown 06470
Connecticut
Rd.
138C Loudon Ave .. Lex;ngton. Ky. 40505
606·254·9823
------
State ZIP

_______________ J
O CT O B E R / N O VE M B E R 1 9 8 1 61
 C A L E N D A R B U I L D E R' S M A RT
0
Our BUILDERS · MART is morketp/oce fur shoppers of home

Home Energy Shows Oct. 2 - 4 : Currigan Hal l , Owner-Builder School Oct . 1 7 - I H: house devoted 10
/Juilding equipment and supplies. It is un oduerlisinu section
unusual and interestinu items.
Denver; Oct. 1 6- 1 8: Mecca Convention Center, Mil­ winterization techniques; Nov. 1-7: energy auditor
waukee; Nov. 1 3- 1 5: Expo Building, Tulsa. Energy Ex­
position, 204 West Linwood, Kansas City, MO 64 1 1 1 ;
(8 1 6) 56 1 - 1069,
t r ai n i n g . C o r n e r st o n e s , 54 C u m b e r l a n d St . ,
Brunswick, M E 040 1 1 ; (207) 729-0540.

Energy-Efficient Home Building O c t . 1 5- 1 7 :

A1U l'JI..IlJF. N lrna::
� «DJLONllAL
A(t<CJE.NlrS
1
-c
1 1=�=====l :
Earth-Sheltered Housing Conferences Oct. 5-6:
Jackson, Miss. and Oct. 8-9: Atlanta, Georgia. Site se­
lection, construction techniques, structural factors,
workshop at MatSu Community College i n Palmer,
A l a s k a , c o v e rs r e t r o f i tt i n g e x i s t i n g h o u s e s a n d
building n e w homes with superi·nsulation, e n ergy­
T, ==1
1 =* !
..l.T
waterproofi n g an d financing earth-sheltered and pas­ efficient appliances and mechanical systems. Mark
sive solar homes i n the Southeast. University of Ala­ White. Box 946, Kodiak, AK 996 1 5 ; (907) 4H6-5502.
bama, Box 6282, University, AL 35486;(205) 348-4523.
log Builders' Get Together Oct. 10: Regional con­
Passive Cooling Conference Nov. 9- 1 3 : Covers ference of Ottawa Valley (Canada) log home bui lders
passive and hybrid techniques and materials in tech­ i ncludes demonstrations of round log construction
n ical sessions, product exhibits and design workshops. and dovetail corners, training exhibits and product
Deauville Hotel , Miami Beach. Passive Cooling ' 8 1 , displays. Pat Wolfe, RR # 1 , McDonalds Corners, On­
B o x 2 4 8 1 03, Coral Gables, F L 33 1 24 ; (305) 284-4766. tario KOG I MO; ( 6 1 3) 278-2009.

Restoration Conference Oct. 5- 1 1 : Seminars on Transformed Houses Photographic exhibit of ver­

e n ergy c o n servat i o n a n d l a n dscape preservat i o n nacular architecture in American urban areas, owner
techniques, trade show of preservation products and renovations and the products and practices of the
services and a technical program o n preserving his­ home i mprovement i n dustry. Oct . 1 - 2 5 : Parso n s
toric buildings. Rehab/Tech · 8 1 , Foundation for Pres­ School o f Design, N e w York; Nov. 1 4-Dec. 1 3 : Peale
ervation Technology , Suite 30 1 , 1 555 Connecticut
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036; (202) 387-8040.
Museum, Baltimore.
---"'zC ·WANTED:· ��----
Solar Retrofit Classes Oct. 1 5- 1 7 : How to assess
Historic House Preservation Nov. 1-6: How-to
program covers architectural styles, preservation
Innovative Ideas and Writers to Express Them.
Publish your home building, home improvement, and
the solar potential of your home. Covers site-specific techniques, sources of materials and house tours i n equipment reports in America's leading consumer maga­
effects of orientation and shading and how the struc­ Wash ington, D . C . Sponsored by Smithsonian Institu­ zine for those who want to "do more with less". Help others
master energy-efficient building techniques with your
tural characteristics of a house affect its suitability for tion, Wash ington, DC 20560; (202) 357-2475.
concise how-to articles. Write: Submissions Editor, P.O.
retrofit. Energy Education Center, Division of Contin­
uing Education, Uni versity Library, Univ. of Massa­
Reborn Buildings Exhibit o f photographs and arti­
facts prepared by architect Barbaralee Diamonstein
� �.N.C.
____ __________ ....___________________
Box 70, Hendersonville ,
�c 2879 1 .

chusetts, Amherst, MA 0 1003; (4 1 3) 545-2 1 32 .

House Design and Building Programs O c t . 5-23

examines adaptive, new use o f older structures i n
American cities. O c t . 6-Nov. 1 2 : Museum of Contem­ DILEEN ILIVEIL TILAD IND CD,'M
and Nov. 9-20: Two and three-week classes cover
house planning and any of 30 workshops i n the morn­
ing and house-site work in the afternoon. Shelter In­
porary Art, Chicago.

Restoration Workshops Training program covers

MANUFACTURERS LOG HOMESOF QUALITY
stitute, 38 Center St. , Bath, M E 04530; (207) 442-7938.
techniques and materials used i n masonry mainte­
nance and restoration i n classroom lectures and
Send 2Sr for our Brochure
BOSTON CORNERSRJ(ROAD
Colorado Energy Conservation Workshops Oct.
3 - 4 : g r e e n h o u s e c o n s t r u c t i o n - Den v e r ; Oct . 2 4 :
mobile home e n ergy conservat i o n - Greeley; Oct. 3 1 :
hands-on field sessions. Beginning Oct. 20: seven­
month (80 hours) program; Nov. 1 2 - 1 4 : intensive
workshop. RESTORE, The Urban Center, 457 Madi­
MILLERT� �f: m 12546
� 3
air collector construction-Loveland; Nov. 7-8: photo­ son Ave., New York, N Y 1 0022; ( 2 1 2) 935-3960.
voltaic workshop - Fort Collins; Nov. 1 4 : passive win­ Solar Home Building Programs House design,
dow collector workshop-Greeley; Nov. 22: earth­ construction workshops and house tours. Oct. 1 7 and
sheltered homes - Fort Collins; Dec. 6: solar home Nov. 2 1 : solar seminars and home tours; Oct. 20-
open house-Sterling. Energy Extension Service o f Dec. 8: house building class; Nov. 1 4 : home design
Northeastern Colorado, 4 2 5 N . 1 5t h Ave . , Greeley CO workshop. Going Solar South, PO Box 1 230, Laguna
8063 1 ; (303) 356-4000, ext. 478. Beach C A 9265 1 ; ( 7 1 4) 494-934 1 .
Passive Solar Workshops I n Washington, D.C. on Wednesday Evening Building Class Sept. 30:
Oct. 1 0: house design and Oct. 1 7- 1 8: greenhouse Ten-week program at Roseburg High School for Ore­
workshop. In Evergreen, Colorado o n Nov. 7-8: green­ gon owner-builders. Covers house design and con­
house workshop, Nov. 2 1 and Dec. 5 : house design. struction tasks, Community Education Dept . , Ump­
Domestic Technology Institute, Box 2043, Evergreen, qua Community College, Box 967, Roseburg, OR
C O 80439; (303) 674- 1 597. 97470; (503) 440-460 1 .

Alternate Energy Workshops Oct. 10: i nstalling Building Passive Solar Homes N o v . 20-2 1 :
solar domestic hot water systems; Nov. 7 : envelope Ramada Inn, Syracuse , New York. Covers techniques
house performance and tour; Nov. 1 4 : hands-on retro­ and materials used i n passive solar homes, both new
fitting houses for energy efficiency; Dec. 5 : heating and retrofit applications. Kershaw/Zal ewsk i , 839

P.WESTPO�T. &
O.BOX 6-F. SAUGATUCK.. PostPaid
CT. 06880. STA.
houses with passive and active solar systems. Energy ELl TOWNSEND SON
Broad St . , Utica, NY 1 350 1 ; ( 3 1 5) 724-3 6 1 9.
Education Services, 85 Greenhill Rd. , Madison, CT
06433; (203) 245-0726.
Solar Technology Meeting Oct. 1 5- 1 7 : Technical
presentations, architectural planning and product ex­
Energy Programs Oct. 24: building solar-energy hibit on new home design, solar retrofitti ng , domestic
systems; Dec. 5: earth-sheltered housing and passive hot-water systems and wind generators. College of C L A SS I F I E D
solar systems. Jordan College Energy Programs, 360 the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, M E 04609; (207) 288-50 1 5. The CLASSIFIED rate is $ 1 . 50 per word, minimom ad 1 5
W. Pine St., Cedar Springs, MI 493 1 9; ( 6 1 6) 696- 1 1 80. Renewable Energy Workshops Oct. 3: Solar
wards. Payment must accompany order. Send to: Fine Home­
building, Advertising Dept., Box 355, Newtown, CT 06470.
Oklahoma Energy Programs Oct. 1 6- 1 7 : Techni­ greenhouse construction; Oct. 3 1 : retrofitting your Deadline for the December/January issoe is September 25;
cal conference o n earth-sheltered structures, Tul sa, house for solar heat; Nov. 1 4: installing solar domestic or the February/March '82 issue, November 25th.
Oklahoma; Nov. 1 4: seminar on remodeling for solar hot water systems; Nov. 2 1 : e nergy-efficient design NEED AFFORDABLE HOUSING? Build your own. Ken Kern's
e n er g y p r o v i de s t e c h n i q u e s for r e d u c i n g h o m e techniques for new homes; Nov. 2 1 : wind energy for drafting/design correspondence course. Write Box 817,
energy use , Tulsa; Nov. 2 1 : earth-sheltered housing, e l ectrical power. Center for Ecological Technology, Northfork, CA 93643.
Stillwater. Architectural Extension, Oklahoma State 74 North St. , Pittsfield, M A 0 1 2 0 1 ; ( 4 1 3) 445-4556. LOG-BUILDING COURSES. Short or long term throughout the
University, 1 20 Architecture Building, Stillwater, OK year. Chinkless and dovetail methods. Six years teaching ex­
Renewable Resource Programs Oct . 1 6: solar perience (500 students). Also Pat Wolfe log scribers, $28. Pat
74078; (405) 624-6266.
greenhouse design; Oct. 29: passive solar for home Wolfe Log Homes, RR #1 McDonalds Corners, Ontario, KOG
lMO. (613) 278-2009.
Architectural Exhibits Drawings, watercolors and bui lders and remodelers; Oct. 3 and Nov. 7 : remodel­
artifacts b y Chicago architects. Sept. 25-0ct. 2 1 : Peter FREE GUIDE to beautiful wipe-on wood finishing. General
ing your home for passive solar heat; Nov. 20: low-cost
Finishes, Box 14363B, Milwaukee, WI 532 1 4.
Pran and Ken Schroeder; Oct. 23-Nov. 18: A.J. Nereim solar heating construction techniques. Renewable
and Larry Booth. Frumkin &
Struve Gallery, 620 N. Energy Resource Center, Connecticut Audubon Soci­
JAPANESE POW ER TOOLS. Hitachi, The State of the Art.
Prompt, friendly service. Catalog, $1. George Hairston, Metric
Michigan Ave . , Chicago, IL 606 1 1 ; ( 3 1 2) 787-0563. ety, 2325 Burr SI., Fairfield, CT 06430; (203) 259-6305. Machinery Co., Rt. 2, Advance, NC 27006.

62 FINE HOMEBUILDING
 ThiS W&H
Molder I Planer
BETTER WAYS
WUI Add TO
versatility
And EconOmy
BETTER HOMES
TO Your workshop
THE HOUSEBUILDING EXPERIENCE
Jack McLaughlin
Versatile - Because it does
so many jobs so easily: base­ NEW! How to minimize �
boards, picture frames, ra ised
panel l i n g , models, m i n iature
the difficulties of build-
ing a home so that the
�
doll furn iture, and much more. satisfactions are height­

C o n v e r ts f r o m m o l d e r to ened to the utmost Mc­

Laughlin addresses the
planer i n two m i nutes.
real problems of do-it­
Economical - Because it yourself builders - and offers creative, prac­
does the j o b o f several tools. tical solutions to them. A perfect companion
El i m i nates machi ne shop set­ to standard building manuals because of its
ting. Helps cut the cost of re­ exploration of human, decision-making as­
stor i n g old h o m es , b u i l d i n g
new ones. Cast i ron and steel
c o n s t r u cti o n assures l o n g ,
Finisweek'
hed, ssomepay twoulo ownd giitve a pects of building. 224 pp., 50 black-and-white
illus., 13 line drawings, $14.95
trouble-free l ife. F i n d out how to d u p l icate virtually
EARTH SHELTERED HOMES
For molding, select from 40 anyt h i n g i n wood w i t h a
Plans and Designs

Send $1.00 for br�

sets of standard knives, or have Underground Space Center,
spec i al kn ives made from a University of Minnesota
sketch or sa m pl e of f i n ished
mold i n g up to 7"
wide.
ochure today.
D u p l i-Carve rTM
Dept. 301
NEW! A storehouse of
detailed construction in­
4004 W. 1 0th Street formation, plans, and
I nd ianapo l i s, IN46222 energy data on 23 suc­
cessful earth sheltered
homes in the U.S. and
Europe. Gross area, materials for construc­
tion, type of earth cover, method of insula­
tion, and waterproofing techniques are all in­
cluded. 160 pp., 10 Y. x 80 oblong, 150 illus.
(16 in color), $14.95
RESTO RIN
G OLD HOUSES
Nigel Hutchins
For planing, converts waste An award-winning reno­
a n d r o u g h - s a w n w o o d to vator shows you how to
dressed l u m ber, vi rtually free restore old houses the
of wave a n d c h a tter m a rks. right way. Provided is
Planes boards u p to
planes down to 1/16".14" wide; . detailed advice - as well
as dozens of photos and
line drawings - that tells
you how to date a building, how to assess its
structural condition, and how to adapt it for
modern use. 160 pp., 80 x
11, 50 color &
black-and-white photos, $29.95

VAN NOSTRAND REINHOLD, Mail Order Service

7625 KY 41042
Empire Drive. Florence.

15 IIS-DAY
Please send me the book(s) checked below for a
FREE EXAMINATION. At the end of days. will pay
the purchase price plus local sales tax and a small delivery

NOTHING. must OWE

and handling charge - or return the book(s) and

H a n dfeed a n d powerfeed SQUARE

PLANINENDG
(Payment
box addresses.)
accompany orders with P.O.

m od els ava i la bl e , sta rti n g

25398-2 . $14.95
from
and VI$410.SA 00.
Master C h a rge
ca rds a c cepted.
Free brochure on request.
Write L ion M iter Trimmer
RR2, -Oept_ FH10, Windsor VT 05089
_____ . . . . .
28675-9
29625-8
Housebuilding Experience .
Earth Sheltered Homes.
. . . . . $14.95
Plans/Designs
$29.95
Restoring Old Houses
.

..- (603) 675-2105

_________________. ___
Name'
Address
________ _____
_____________
Name
_______________________ City
____ State Zip,
WILLIAMS & HUSSEY MACHINE CORP.
DEPT. 23, Milford, N. H. 03055
Call toll-free 1-800-258-1380
Add ress

________ �
zi p
Offer good in U.S. A . on(q and subject
approml. Prices subject to change. to credit department
1'7033

OCTO B E R / N O V E M B E R 1 9 8 1 63
 P RO D U CT NEWS

furnace must be fired up even i n summer just compressor, an evaporator, an expansion

Beat p Water Beaters
Pum
to heat water. valve, a refrigerant and a control system to
Newyourapplwatiaer-ncesheattihnatg costlowers Until this year improving the efficiency of
your present appliance meant adding
i nsulation around the hot-water storage tank
extract heat from the air. This heat is then
transferred to the water through a condenser.
Heat-pump water heaters are available as
Next to a furnace and a central air conditioner, and lowering the thermostat setting from J 40 0F i ntegral or add-on units (both are drawn
the water heater i s the biggest user of energy to 1 1 0°F. Both steps are relatively cheap and below). An i ntegral unit can be installed in a
in the home. Ubiquitous yet easy to ignore, worthwhile for most households. But even new home as the single source of domestic hot
this rotund necessity can eat up 1 5% to 20% of when incorporated in new or replacement water or to replace an existing water heater.
a homeowner's energy budget. equipment , these measures reduce energy An integral unit has the condenser inside the
The cost of operating a water heater consumption by only about 1 5% . holding tank of a standard electric water
depends on hot water consumption, local Newly developed heat pump water heaters, heater. The condenser, two coiled tubes that
utility rates, the type of unit installed and its the subject of federal laboratory and field tests separate the refrigerant from the potable
efficiency. A family of four, which typically in 1 00 locations over the past four years, water, is fitted through a 4-in. hole in the top
consumes 64 gallons of hot water every day, consume one-half the energy required by of the tank. Because the condenser is in the
may spend between $250 and $ 700 per year electric water heaters. In the face of rapidly water tank, no pump is needed.
(for electricity at $ .05 to $ . 1 4 per kwh) to run rising utility prices, heat pump water heaters The tank also contains two 2,500-watt
its water heater. are an energy-efficient and cost-effective resistance heating elements. The upper
Currently, gas is relatively cheap and substitute for conventional water heaters in element operates i n conjunction with the
abundant, the cost of electricity varies greatly many areas of the country. compressor to provide quick recovery when
from place to place and oil prices, already necessary (during start-up or following
high , continue to rise. Many people find it pays Low cost to run-
The new appliance saves withdrawal of a large quantity of hot water).
to switch to the cheapest available utility and energy because it moves existing heat, l i ke an If the heat pump system malfunctions, the
convert their present water heater. air conditioner. It does not create and use up second resistance heating element serves
In the U.S. today there are approximately heat l i ke a conventional water heater (in as a back-up.
3 1 million gas, 24 million electric and which a flame is fed by natural gas or fuel oil The i ntegral unit will automatically switch to
1 1 million oil-fired water heaters. Every year or a metal conductor is heated by electric straight resistance heating in a number of
more than 6 million of these appliances are current). Instead, the heat pump water heater situations: in the event of a blockage or loss or
replaced. A new gas unit costs about $200 to draws heat out of the air in a utility room or pressure in the refrigerant system and when
$ 350 plus installation ($75 to $ 1 50), while an basement and transfers or pumps it into the the indoor air temperature rises about 100°F
electric unit ranges between $325 to $ 500 hot water storage tank for household use. (which limits compressor operation) or falls
(52-gallon tank) and $500 to $ 700 (30-gallon A heat pump water-heating appliance below 4 5 °F (which freezes the refrigerant).
tank) plus installation. Oil-fired, emergent-coil resembles a room air conditioner i n size and An add-on unit, used to retrofit an existing hot
water heaters are fast being retired; they are components. Even the noise is about the same. water system, has a water circulation pump and
especially costly to operate because the entire As explained below, the unit employs a no storage tank . The add-on unit is a

rbleofrwnigerbyantaflfuaind acr(seloeHeat
How they work
fofirninedtswatlotwuebesrboiheatlofingetrhspoiefuncti
ctss etdhepump on likbes aheatrefrfigroermatrooromin raieverr, whise.cAh is
nevapor
t) absor
ator,, wheras shown ow. Thiures iheat
belmperat
Integral
heat pump
water heater
Compressor
vapor i z es the r e f
vapor tishepumped
asandthethrough r i g er a nt .
t oThe
a hi vapor
g her ent
pr e e
ssur r s ea . compr
The e
hotssor
, pr e ssur i e
z i
ed t s t e
vapor t h en ncreasesinto
passes
condenser consi s condenser
t s of a t u be coi(cl ,ontwherainiengit thegivesheatup-laitsdenheatvapor)to th,ewhiwatcherisinjathecketteadnk.byThe Fan Evaporator
another
andvalvebecomes tube (acontai l i q ui niagaing tnhe. Then
d water!it. retAsutherns troeftherigerevapor ant losesatoritsthrheat,oughitthloesesexpansi pressurone
through( whithechevapor regulaatetosrfl, othewl ,uniandt coolthesprandocessdehumi begindsifiagaies thne. Assurrtheoundiroomng araier a.passes
valExpansi
ve on
Hot water to tank • Refrigerant andTemper
pr eassurturee
relief valve
o Water Resisintagnce
heat
element
Add-on

Compressor heat pump

water heater -+'fr--+- stHotor-awgeatetarnk
__
Evaporator Watinto ether is condenser
wher
drawn IHI�----���- Anode
tanhenexierseitttiu'nsrgnheatedhotteod, Insulation
water storage tank. ...o----Ht-t-- Condenser
watfrColomder
tank
Pump valExpansi
ve on Fan
Existing tank iColnledt -water
64 FINE HOMEBUILDING
 PRODUCT NEWS

self-contained appliance that is installed next expect to spend about $ 1 , 1 00 for an integral quantity from a manufacturer and sells them
to the existing water heater and connected to heat pump water heater. to customers with low-interest financing and
i t with flexible tubing or standard plumbing. While heat pump water heaters are more warranty labor for do-it-yourself or contractor­
Water withdrawn from the bottom of the expensive than conventional equipment , they installed units.
existing tank is pulled i nto the condenser of are cheaper than solar water heaters and save South Dakota's Northwestern Public Service
the heat pump system, heated and returned to about the same amount of energy. "When also buys heat pump water heaters from
the top of the tank. The original heating studying water-heating alternatives," says manufacturers and sells them at a reduced
elements or fuel supply are not used except in Virgil Haynes, who directed the U.S. price to its utility customers. If offers no-down­
an emergency (heat pump system malfunction Department of Energy's studies at the Oak payment, low-interest loans payable in utility
or extremes of temperature, which are Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, " we bills over a 48-month term .
monitored by thermostats). found solar water heaters cost about $2 ,000 to New York's Long Island Lighting Company is
Oak Ridge National Laboratory research $ 3,000 i nstalled. Heat pump water heaters cost setting up a program to buy appliances from a
engineers have found that for every unit of in the neighborhood of $800 when added to manufacturer and sell them at a reduced cost
electrical energy it takes to run the your existing water-heating tank. Since they to their utility customers.
compressor, about two units of heat energy offer equal energy savings, anybody can tell Pacific Power and Light's rebates (amounts
are released to water i n the tank. Thus, a heat which is the better buy." are tied to kwh savings) will reduce heat pump
pump water heater is said to have a At least six manufacturers are now making water heater costs for its utility customers in
Coefficient Of Performance (COP) of 2 . This either an integral or an add-on heat pump Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana,
means it's twice as efficient as an electric water heater. These appliances haven't been in Wyoming and California. Portland General
resistance water heater (COP o f 1) because it use for many years. However, research Electric already has a home energy
uses only half as much electricity to get the engineers and manufacturers expect an conservation program that includes a cash
same amount of hot water. average l i fetime of 1 2 to 1 5 years for add-on rebate of $300 to purchasers of heat pump
The actual amount of heat released to the units (comparable to refrigerators) and water heaters. Also, Puget Power offers no­
hot water tank depends on the ambient air 1 0 years for integral units (comparable to interest l O-year loans for appliance purchase.
temperature and temperature of the water conventional water heaters). Tan k life is the Tennessee Val ley Authority installed four
coming i nto each cycle. Under i deal conditions l imiting factor. integral and six add-on units in typical homes.
(68°F air temperature and 7 0 °F i nlet water Already both types of heat pump water These units achieved an average 46% and
temperature) a heat pump water heater can heater compete favorably with electric and oil­ 57% (respectively) energy savings compared
achieve a COP of nearly 3 . fired appliances. Because of lower operating to electric water heaters. It is now considering
costs, payback periods for most i nstallations putting heat pump water heaters i n its Home
m
Where t o install the - In the North a heat range from two to four years. Sizable increases Insulation Program. This program allows
pump water heater should be located in a in gas prices-expected by 1 985-may make 2.4 million utility customers in its seven-state
crawl space or unheated basement. Air them competitive with gas-fired units as well . region to borrow money at a low rate and pay
temperatures i n such spaces are relatively it back over ten years.
stable (above 4 5 °F ) throughout the year. Financing aids- Various states, regional Rural electric cooperatives now offer no­
Waste heat from a furnace, woodslove, groups and local utilities offer programs that down-payment, 5(){, interest loans payable
heating ducts or a clothes dryer can add to the reduce appliance price and long-term over seven years to member-consumers who
unit's efficiency during the heating season. A financing of heat pump water heaters. These purchase heat pump water heaters. The
closed garage is also suitable as long as programs include state energy tax credits, cooperatives serve 9 million farm and small­
ambient air temperature remains above 4 5 °F. cash rebates, reduced cost on appliance sales town families throughout the U.S. -KL.
In mild climates, the heat pump water and low-cost or no-cost loans. A federal
heater should be installed within the energy-saving tax credit (which already
conditioned space of the house to get the reduces the cost of solar applications) is now
minor benefit of the cooling and under consideration by the I RS. As long as What's on the market
dehumidification features of the unit. Thus, a you're checking manufacturers and suppliers, Manufacturers of heat pump water heaters see
utility room would be a good location, while it's a good idea to call your local utility, state large markets for replacement appliances,
retrofit applications and new installations. The
an attic would be a poor choice because energy office or rural cooperative for following integral unit and add-on appliances
summer air temperatures can cause frequent i n formation and assistance. We've located the are currently being produced. Installed costs
cycling or damage to the system's compressor. following sources that offer such financing are approximate. Check with these companies
Because heat pump water heaters operate i ncentives for heat pump water heaters. directly concerning availability, price,
most efficiently at 70 °F, a warm area l i ke the Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, installation instructions, local suppliers
South is an ideal place for their use. But and warranties.
Georgia, Idaho, Nevada, New York, South
household consumption of hot water and the Carolina and Tennessee have added heat Duo- Therm Water Heating Heat Pump ­
price of electricity are also important factors to pump water heaters to their Residential add-on appliance, $875 installed. Duo-Therm,
consider. Thus large families living where the Conservation Service lists. Upon completion of 509 S. Poplar St., laGrange, Ind. 4676 1 ;
cost of electricity is high may still find heat ( 2 1 9) 463-2 1 9 1 .
a home energy audit, these states recommend
pump water heaters economically attractive and assist the installation of appliances that TEMCOR Heat Pump Water Heater- integral
despite climate limitations. Geographically, improve residential thermal performance. appliance, $ 1 , 100 installed. Energy Utilization
Systems, 365 Plum Industrial Court,
this means the Northeast, the Northwest and California's state income tax credit o f 40% Pittsburgh, Pa. 1 5 239; (4 1 2) 325-2820.
the West. Not so accidentally, these are the for home conservation practices includes the
Efficiency II Water Heating Heat Pump­
areas (plus Hawaii and the Southeast) where installation o f a heat pump water heater. add-on appliance, $800 installed. E-Tech,
utilities offer financing incentives and where Arkansas requires local utilities to provide 3570 American Dr.,Atlanta, Ga.
3034 1 ;
manufacturers distribute their products. low-interest or zero-interest financing of (404) 458-6643.
residential energy-conserving equipment, Fedders, A irtemp and Climatrol brands of add­
Appliance costs- Heat pump water heaters including heat pump water heaters. on heat pump water heaters, $800 installed.
are expensive to buy, compared to Florida has qualified the heat pump water Fedders, Edison, N.J. 088 1 7; (20 1 ) 549-7200.
conventional appliances. Prices range from heater for its renewable energy tax credits. SolaFLAIR III Domestic Hot Water Heat Pump­
$ 700 to $900 for do-it-yourself installation of Beginning in 1 982, Florida Power and Light add-on appliance, $900 installed. Northrup,
302 Nichols Dr., Hutchins, Tex. 75 1 4 1 ;
most add-on or retrofit units. One add-on unit, will offer a cash rebate to its utility customers
( 2 1 4) 225·735 1 .
which must be hard-wired and plumbed by a who purchase heat pump water heaters.
Oregon Water Heater Heat Pump - Add-on
licensed contractor, costs $ 1 ,500 installed. To Mississippi Power and Light has a program appliance, $ 1 ,500 installed. Oregon Water
replace an existing water-heating appliance or of direct merchandising to homeowners. The Heater Co., 8 1 90 SW Nimbus Ave., Bldg. 5,
install a system in a new home, you can utility buys heat pump water heaters i n Progress, Ore. 97005; (503) 646-3278.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1981 65
 GREAT MOM ENTS IN BUILDING HISTORY

righting force on the wall. By working up and out, the huge castings of the winch pulling
All's Well that Ends Well down the row of piers, we could pull the down, the worn gears giving way, and
In western Oregon, i t rains only once a year: building back to vertical, or so we reasoned. everything was in motion at once. The stump
from September until May. The winter of 1 970 So while Billy rigged the rope to the wall and puller hit the ground at my feet and I thought
t urned cold, however, and roofs were York chained off to a pier, I fitted the log the excitement was over. But the building was
struggling under heavy loads of wet snow. The handle to the winch and began cranking i n the not at rest, and as the weight of the roof bore
old sawmill building near downtown Sheridan slack line. The stump puller worked well and down, our temporary wall braces gave out.
had been unused and unmaintained for several the rigging held, but the anchor chain was a The roof started talking a language I had
years. Its roof trusses were still strong, but the trifle too long. Soon we had several hundred never heard before, but which needed no
side walls were no longer adequately braced, pounds of ancient winch suspended at eye translation. My eyes sought the Old World
and the weight of the snow had caused the level, its rope stretched tightly enough to play craftsman for advice, but York was in full
40-ft. by 75-ft. building to lean. music on. The wall, however, had actually retreat. I looked for Billy, but h e too was gone.
The owner of the building (no fool , he) moved an encouraging amount toward plumb, A final glance at the stump puller, and i t was
escaped the deluge instead by wintering i n and we realized our system m ight work. But time to go. I passed Billy before he got to the
Hawaii , but when he learned o f his sawmill's the winch kept wanting to roll over, so i n door, and we both got outside barely i n time
new slant he hired my employer, York order t o shorten the anchor chain, we slapped to turn around and watch the walls fold flat,
Rentsch, to return the building to an upright temporary braces on the wall to preserve our and the entire roof come crashing down. It
position. York was a German builder, a real gains and went to release the winch. was 1 0 A. M . , and our day's work was done.
Old World craftsman. At 23, I was the young Now winches are generally designed to do at Things could have turned out much worse.
Turk of the crew-green , but eager-and I had least three things-pull i n slowly; release York put his craftsmanship to work on the
what looked l ike the right tool for the job: an slowly; and release free-wheel to let out rope. telephone and contracted with the owner to
ancient winch called a stump puller-a But stump-pulling is a one-way operation - you clear the site of rubble. While some of the wall
several-hundred-pound assemblage of cast i ron either get the stump out or you don't, but i n sections had been seriously re-arranged when
cogs and wheels with a 4-in . diameter, 6-ft. neither case d o y o u have t o release the load the roof collapsed, most o f the rest o f the
long log for a handle. slowly. So the cog that allowed it to feed line structural lumber was in mint condition. So
On a dank December day, York, Billy out one tooth at a time was especially not only did we get paid for our folly, but we
Drabkin (a few years my senior; tall, strong reluctant to go i nto place while under load. also hit the jackpot i n re-usable materials.
and fast), the stump puller and I set out to This time was no exception, and when the - Geoff Alexander, Berkeley, Calif
straighten up the 1 2-ft. high walls of the cog failed to slip i nto release mode graciously,
sawmill. There was a row of posts on large I applied the "bigger hammer" theory to
We buy readers ' accounts of their building
concrete piers down the building's center, and persuade it. Coax, wiggle, pry, squirm, then experiences-humorous, inspirational,
by chaining the winch to a pier and extending pound, mash and mangle, and finally i t gave embarrassing or otherwise noteworthy. Send to
the winch's �-in . wire rope to the top plate of way. But it gave all the way, and released line Great Moments, Fine Homebuilding, Box 355,
the leaning wall, we could exert a great deal of freely-at a furious pace. The walls pulling Newto wn, Conn. 064 70.

This book
ODO [)JEJ[) COJA\.JCU1CU�1�[JC[NN§U1IN�[
JEXTRUJ§OUTJH[
grants a PhD. in 1/
carpentry.
A tremendous 992-page course in cabinet-
making. An encyclopedia of information, with
1,800
i l l ustrations. Tells
you exactly how to make
any cabinet, bui lt-in or
piece of furniture you
5"
6"
8"
Diameter R A R E W O OS PD ESC I A L
can imagine, i n any style 10"
or period. Covers a l l 12"
15"
materials, hardware,
18"
adhesives, hand and Old Heart Pine
power too ls. Amazingly
com plete and thorough.
random width &. wide plank flooring
Unconditional g uarantee. Wormy Chestnut &.
9'
8' Long

rfu�k;;;C�;�����ti2A--------' 10' South American Wormy Mahogany paneling

i V ose Farm Rd., Peterborough, N.H. 03458 12'

16'
ABLE - Scamozzi, Corinthian
and Split Cap and Base. Rough sawn&. hand-hewn beams
o Send me copies of "Cabinetmaking and 18'
Custom- made cabinets, doors &. trim
o @ $24.95
__
Millwork" each, postpaid.
Send me Brookstone's catalog "Hard-To-Find
Tools and Other Fine Things."
20'
24'
30'
PERMANENT . . . TROUBLE
FREE - Will not rot, warp or split.

LOAD BEARING 000

- 1 5, to

o o Check enclosed
American Express
00
(603) 924-951 _
Credit card phone:
Visa
MasterCard
31 ,000 Ibs. capacity.

LIGHT WEIGHT, EASY-TO­

INSTALL Cuts down labor costs,
-
material costs and handling time.
All Wood Ki l n Dr i e d
Finest Quality Mil work Available
Card No.
__________ BAKED ON FINISH - An oven baked
column completely finished for home
Expires
____________ _ remodeling when quick installation
Name
____________ _ is required. MOUNTAIN LUMBER COMPANY
Address, HOMES - Perfect for porches,
P . O . BOX 2 8 S
___________ _
�ch;f�� .
entrances, colonnades.
City
____________ __31 1 3 2 7 CARLTON AVENUE
State ____ Zip, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA 22902
1-3506-
1EI �tl>11�
TELEPHONE 1 804) 2%- 1 92 2
..____ � ____ � Phone 912/985-1312 Moultrie, GA 31768
-
66 F I N E HOM EBUILDING
o Have a Homasote Representative call immediately.
Name __________________________________________________________________________________________________
Compony
Address_________________ ______________________ ____________________ __________
City State· Zip,
Telephone·
________
Moil to, � "'7
-::-__ __ __ ' Ilox 7240, West Trenton, NJ 08628.
__ __ _ __ __ __ _ _____ _
 Concrete
Log Cabin
The Ellerman·Kreun house in position. The house was painted
Yankton, South Dakota, was built dark brown, and the present
in 191 1 by Arthur Ellerman and his owners, the Kreuns, intend to
brother as part of a family restore the original color. Even
compound. Ellerman, an avid the ends of the logs were painted
hunter and outdoorsman as well to resemble wood. The red tile
as a trained engineer, wanted to roof was inspired by institutional
make a rustic structure out of buildings in Yankton. The interior
modern materials. The house is is Craftsman style and has
composed of individual concrete remained essentially unaltered.
logs cast on site in Ellerman's Stone flower pots on the front
specially constructed molds. porch date from 1912, and were
Two·by·fours were embedded in made of round river stones and
the concrete at the bottom of the concrete left over from the
molds; they became nailers to hold foundation. The love of concrete
the lath and plaster. A foundation extends to an outbuilding, a
of native stone was covered by a concrete tepee, cast in 1932.
rough subfloor. The logs were cast -Jim Wilson, historic preservation
on the subfloor and put in consultant, Vermillion, S. Dak.