It's Fun to Build a House

So you want a new house! Then, why not get one? You could buy it, but it's

more fun to build it. One of woman's oldest problems has been how to keep a

roof over her family.

Let Us Take a Quick Look at How the Problem Has Been Solved in Other Times

and Places

We have no intimation that Adam and Eve had any kind of structure in the

Garden of Eden that they used for a home, and in a perfect climate a house

might not be necessary. But in this tempestuous world with its great variety of

inclement weather, a family would be pretty much out in the cold without some

kind of shelter.

Although caves are said to have been the earliest dwellings, they certainly were not

very comfortable at best aside from the fact that they were also rather scarce.

The earliest constructed dwellings doubtless consisted of branches or pieces of bark

placed at the base of a large tree, thus enclosing a living area partially protected

against wind and rain. This was later elaborated into a fairly satisfactory place in

which to live. The word "rooftree" still persists in our language, indicating an early

relation between trees and houses.

Bamboo huts with palm leaf roofs are widely used in many parts of the world, and

people are very happy with them, but they are not yet the accepted dwelling in this

country. If the cost of construction and the tax rate go much higher, we may have

to find cheaper ways of building, even here.

Photo owned by PRA

The hogans, made of crooked logs and clay by the Navahos in Arizona and Utah,

are really very comfortable on windy and cold wintry nights, but for everyday

living some people might complain of the inadequacy of the storage space, and the

lack of a picture window. (You know there is just one room, and the only light and

air come through a hole in the center of the roof.)

One early type of construction, which is still used in many places, is called "daub and

wattle" and consists of setting sticks and poles in the ground, tying twigs and

branches to them, and plastering both sides with a mixture of clay, sand, and

straw. The roof was made of grass or leaf thatch, or cedar bark. This made a

surprisingly good, permanent building. A little patching was sometimes necessary

after a heavy, driving rain, but if kept in repair these buildings last a long time.

Sometimes they were built on a foundation of stones, which kept moisture from

soaking up from the earth into the walls, and made a much better building.

The sod shanties of the early days of the prairie settlements served their purpose

well, until better houses could be built. The modern adobe house is a very

satisfactory development from this type of construction.

The Western part of America could hardly have been settled without something like

the log cabin, which was quickly and easily built, with materials readily available. A

sharp axe was the only tool really needed to put up a good building.

Where people are constantly on the move seeking pasture for their flocks or fresh

hunting grounds, portable dwellings have been developed. The teepees of the

Indians and the mohair tents of the Arabs are perhaps the best known of this type

of dwelling. The American trailer house is the latest development in this long line

of portable living units.

A small tribe in the Malay Peninsula lives without building houses of any kind. They

just wander through the tropical forest like a herd of deer, sleeping on the leaves

under a friendly tree and finding their breakfast where they can, from the fruit,

flowers, roots, birds, animals, and insects of the jungle. They do not make furniture

or artifacts of any kind except a simple blow gun for poison darts to aid in

capturing the daily food, and maybe a simple apron of bark or grass.

They do not have history or literature, music or art, science or handicraft. Their life

is completely barren of even the simplest elements of culture as we know it.

Someone might add that they probably do not have ulcers, either. Let's not have a

stampede to join them.

Permanent Homes Necessary for Gracious Living

There is no use in trying to show that we need homes. When you come to think of

it, most of the important activities of our modern civilization, except picnicking,

take place in buildings. They are essential to our way of life. Among these buildings

the home is the most important to the family. In fact, a home is absolutely

necessary for a happy family life.

But there are several types of homes, some better suited to a particular family than

others. Some people are much better off in an apartment, while others need a large

house and two or three acres of land to be comfortable. It all depends on the

people and their manner of living, what they like to do, and what they consider

important.

A casual observer might conclude that the most carefree approach to living would

be to stay in a hotel. You could get up any time you wanted to and never be late

for breakfast; or if you slept until noon, lunch would be ready, but not waiting

impatiently. Somebody else would wash the dishes, make the beds, and tidy up

the room. You would not have to worry about groceries, menus, or cooking. You

could come and go as you please, and no one would care. There would not be a

thing to worry about—except one small item that requires attention—paying the

bill.

If a hotel isn't just to your liking as a steady diet, there are several other possibilities

that should be considered.

Renting an Apartment

Photo owned by Piotrus

Small, two-room apartments can be found that make housekeeping very simple,

and inexpensive; while some luxury apartments provide for lavish living without the

responsibilities that go with having a house of your own to look after. Many good

apartments between these extremes are available that will provide reasonable living

space without too much expense, that will still be easier to keep up than a house.

In an apartment you wouldn't have to mow the lawn, or trim the shrubs, or spray

the roses, and someone else waters the flowers, if any.

Garbage collection, water, heat, and sometimes electricity are all included in the

monthly rent. Only one bill to pay and nothing that requires a thought on your

part, and no responsibility for the looks or upkeep of the place. If you want to be

out of town for a month, you do not have to arrange with someone to water the

lawn.

Just don't have any children or pets, and keep your parties quiet, and send your

guests home by nine o'clock in the evening; go to bed early, and don't get up

singing in the early morning. Don't play the saxophone or your hi-fi, and keep the

television tuned to a low level. In fact, the less you do, the better you will get

along in an apartment.

When the sink gets stopped up, the manager will call the plumber, who always

seems to be away on his vacation; meanwhile, you wash the dishes in the bathtub.

If the people in the next flat do not follow the rules, complain to the manager,

who will try to keep them quiet; but after listening to their story, he will ask you

to move.

There is no vantage point like the apartment next door for keeping track of the

neighbors; when they come and go; who comes and goes with them, and at what

awful hours, and what disgraceful things they do. Of course, it is well to remember

that when you look in a goldfish bowl, the fish also look at you.

All kidding aside, for families where both the husband and wife have steady, full-

time jobs in business or industry, where they both work so hard that they don't

have time or energy enough left to keep up a house, they are surely better off in

an apartment, as it does save work and responsibility.

If a house is just a place to sleep, a place in which to eat a hurried breakfast, and a

starting point from which to rush off to work, a place to return to after a late

show, to tumble into bed, and to get a little sleep before another hurried

breakfast, then off to the rat race again for another day, and a repetition of the

same routine, then do not buy or build a house. By all means rent an apartment; it

will save you work and worry and will fit your needs much better.

One way to get luxury living without having to own and service all the features

yourself is to buy an apartment in a group where the apartments are individually

owned, but the swimming pool, tenni3 courts, barbecue, and other recreational

facilities are owned cooperatively by the group of people living in the apartments.

An individual family might find it too expensive to maintain a swimming pool, for

one or two uses a week, but it wouldn't cost too much, in either money or effort for

a group of fifty people to keep up a pool.

Renting a House

But an apartment house is obviously not the place for a family with children. It is

a poor emotional climate for them, when they must always be quiet so as not to

disturb the neighbors, and when they have little opportunity to get outdoors and

run and exercise, and shout as they ought to be able to do. If they must always be

afraid of getting in someone's hair, how can they grow up normally and naturally?

Life can be so much more interesting for them if they can be in a place where

there are trees to climb, pets to love and care for, and where they can feel that

these things belong to them. A public park helps, but it is not nearly as good as a

place of their own.

If you think an apartment is not the best place for you to live, perhaps you can

find a house to rent. This also has its advantages and disadvantages. You are not

tied quite so securely to one place. If you are not too sure how long you will be in a

place, or are subject to sudden transfers by the policy or caprice of your company,

or if you are the type that takes sudden notions to quit and try your luck

somewhere else, then you should rent, and not try to buy or build a house.

Renting also has the advantage of relieving you of some of the responsibilities

that go with owning a home. When the roof leaks, just call up the landlord and

ask him to take care of it. If you need paint or repairs, let him look after it, and

pay the bill. When the tax collector comes around, it is not your problem. You do

not need to worry about depreciation. If your family outgrows a house, you can

move into a larger one without too much trouble and expense.

It is well to remember that money paid out in rent is gone completely. If you had

bought the house ten years ago, and had made rent-like payments for ten years,

you would have accumulated a considerable equity in the house, and you would also

have benefited from the large increase in property values during that same period.

Buying a house gives you something to sell when the time comes to move.

There is not much point in having a house and land, if you do not find pleasure

and enjoyment in taking care of it. If the yard is so large as to be a burden to

either the husband or the wife, then they would be better off without quite so

much. As long as maintaining a house and garden can be fun, all is well, but

what future is there in having to work yourself to death in order to live in fine

surroundings which you do not have time to appreciate? Enough is enough. There

are two extremes to avoid—a spacious house and wide-spreading lawns, or a tiny

house and no lawn or garden. Let's not overdo it either way.

Renting should be thought of as the short-term solution to the housing problem.

Let us not rush out and buy a house, and get stuck too permanently in one place.

Don't be in too big a hurry to buy. Renting will provide a place to live, without too

much capital investment, and will permit you to move without too much trouble, if

necessary.

If you have moved to an entirely different part of the country, you should be

careful not to buy until you have decided for sure that you intend to stay. It may

also be better to rent for a year or two, until you discover what town or what part

of town is best for you.

Sometimes a good house can be rented for a year, with an option to buy included in

the contract. This gives you more time in which to make up your mind.

Buying a house is a large undertaking, which should be given plenty of thought

and consideration. In the meantime, renting is obviously the thing to do. If you

rent in the part of town where you think you might like to live, you can study the

neighborhood to find out whether it is just the district you want or not. When

you have decided exactly where you want to live, it is time to begin thinking of

buying or building.

Buying a House

Photo owned by Lewenstein

It is too bad to get a house bought and then decide to move. But it is equally

unfortunate to postpone buying too long. Rent money is lost and cannot be

recovered. If you are reasonably sure that you are permanently located, that is

for five years or more, then it is time to begin to think about buying or building

a good permanent home.

Perhaps the ideal way to get a suit of clothes would be to find a good tailor, have

him take your measurements, and help select a suitable fabric; then let him make

the suit. But most of us go to the places where they sell ready-made suits and buy

them directly. This saves time and is usually less expensive, though admittedly the

fit is often not perfect, and the tailoring somewhat less than might be desired.

It is a good deal the same way in getting a house. You can hire a good architect to

design you a house and find a reputable contractor to build it, or you can buy a

house ready-made. The ready-made house may not fit your family as well as the

custom-built house, but it may be a pretty fair fit, and you can live very happily

in it.

A tailor-made house will probably cost more than a ready-made one, but whether

it will be worth more will depend upon the wisdom of the designer, the skill of the

builder, and the cooperation of the owner.

In this present chapter we shall consider only the proposition of buying a house

already built. In a later chapter we can go into the problem of actually building

your own house.

It costs something to keep a roof over your head, any way you do it. It is one of the

expenses of living just as food and clothing are. The question to decide is how to

get the most satisfactory roof with the least expenditure of time and energy.

The ownership of a home is now within the reach of any person who has the

determination to go out and get one. It may take time and it will certainly take

effort, but it is greatly worthwhile. The satisfaction of having a place of your very

own, a fortress from which you can defy the cruel world, a headquarters for your

living, a place where the landlord does not tell you what to do, and particularly

what not to do; these are some of the rewards of owning your own home.

Why do you want a new house? Are you tired of renting, or has your family

outgrown the present house? Or are you in the wrong neighborhood? Or is the

house getting obsolete? How much do you want a new house? Enough to spend

the best years of your life paying for it?

Why should a person own his house? Because he does not like to have a landlord

come and collect a big price every month for the privilege of living in his run-down

old house; because the payments he makes on his own house gradually give him an

equity in the place; because it saves the necessity of moving so often. In a rented

house a person can't make any changes without permission and then he doesn't

want to make them anyway, as he may have to move soon, or the rent may be

raised if he fixes up the place too much.

Buying a House in a Subdivision

The first thing many people think of when they consider buying a house is to rush

down to the latest subdivision and sign on the dotted line. That may be a good

idea, and again there may be other possibilities that should be investigated.

The needs of all families are not the same. Some people are better off in an

apartment; others get along better in a house, but find it more to their liking to

rent. Many people find ready-built houses in a tract or subdivision the exact

choice to meet their needs. Some people are content to buy older houses that

require extensive repairing and major remodeling to be livable, if they can get them

cheaply enough, whereas other people find it more satisfactory to buy old houses

that are in pretty fair condition needing only minor repairs and painting. In either

case watch your step.

If all houses look about the same to you, if individuality is not a prime consideration

in your thinking about houses, if you can be satisfied with a house in a new

subdivision where the contractor is building them by the dozens or hundreds, you

will probably get a better value there than anywhere else. You should get more for

the money with less trouble over financing and other bothersome details. The house

is complete. All you need to do is to pay $100 a month for the rest of your life. You

would pay the same for rent anyway, meanwhile accumulating a large bundle of

worthless rent receipts. If you buy, you are gradually building up an equity in the

house by your payments. Part of the payment goes for interest, taxes, and

insurance, the rest for payment on the cost of the house.

The houses offered for sale in the various subdivisions vary greatly in quality. But

still, the best values in houses are often found in subdivision or tract houses

where companies build houses to sell on a mass production basis. These builders

have worked out the most economical ways of building, and, we hope, pass on

part of these savings to the buyers. Since they have the financing already worked

out, all you need is a small down payment. You have the advantage of living in a

community where the houses are all of the same age and general quality of design

and construction, even if that level is not of the highest.

If a tract house that suits you is near your work, or near where you want to live, it

may be the best solution for you. As you shop around trying to find the best house

offered for the money, don't be taken in too readily by flashy advertising, high-

pressure salesmanship, and low down payments.

Good buys can sometimes be found with small operators who build to sell, but

only a few houses a year. There is more variation in quality among small

builders, and it is well to check thoroughly, as some small builders are away above

average, and some far below. You might get a very good buy from a small builder.

Buying an Older House

When a house owner is transferred to another place, he will often sell his house

at a reasonable figure. But remember that you are getting a house that is not

exactly new. If all it needs is painting and the price is low enough so you can

afford to spend four or five hundred dollars on minor repairs and redecoration, it

might be a good buy.

If a house is two or three years old, the defects such as settling of the foundation,

shrinkage of the lumber, cracks in the plaster, and other evidences of poor

workmanship or faulty construction will have had time to make themselves obvious

to the most casual observer. You can thus rely with more confidence.

Maybe you can find an older house in the vicinity where you want to live that is well

arranged, that is in good condition, needing only a few minor repairs plus a good

paint job to make it as good as new. If you can get it cheap, it might be a good

buy for you.

But the deepest pit you can fall into is to buy an old house expecting to remodel

it completely: put on a new roof, change the doors and windows, move the

partitions, level up the floors, put a new foundation under the house; and of

course put in new plumbing, new wiring and light fixtures, a new heating plant,

new floors, new kitchen cabinets, new screens, and new steps on the porch or,

worse yet, tear off the porch and build a new entrance.

When you look the situation over calmly, you will see that if you must renew

practically everything, it would be easier and cheaper to do it in a clean new

place, unhampered by the existing structure, which you are practically tearing down

anyway.

If the old place is structurally sound and does not require very much re-planning

to meet your needs, and you can get it really cheap, then maybe you can afford to

remodel it. A few new cupboards, new plumbing fixtures, some new wiring, new

heating plant, and plenty of paint will nearly always be required, and their cost

should be considered. Avoid the snare, however, of the complete face lifting and

remodeling. It costs more than a new house.

Remodeling Your Own House

Photo owned by Titus Tscharntke

If you already own a house in a good location on a large lot, but the house is old,

or obsolete, or too small or not well arranged, there are several things you could

do to make it more livable. You could add a room or two, or do a limited amount of

remodeling, or change the plumbing fixtures and tile the bathroom, or put new

cabinets in the kitchen, and of course, paint and paper where necessary to give the

house a general "spruced up" appearance.

Since all this costs money, it is always wise to consider whether you might get more

for the money by selling the old house and starting over in a new place. Much

depends on the lot. If you have no special attachment to the place, it is often

cheaper to sell and build new in a more desirable location. But be sure to find the

new lot before you sell the old, as it is not as easy to find extra good locations

as one might think.

If your lot is large, well located, has excellent shade trees, and you like to live

there, think carefully before you part with it. While remodeling costs almost as

much as building new, sometimes parts of the old structure may be usable, and the

cost might not be quite so high as building an entirely new house.

Examine the old building carefully and minutely to see what features of it are in

good condition. Perhaps the foundation is solid and is holding the house in shape

perfectly. Maybe the frame is solid and substantial. Perhaps the roof is not sagged

out of shape, and only the shingles need replacing. This is not too expensive an

item but it is most important. Do not do any interior painting or rebuilding until

you are sure that the roof is entirely weatherproof.

If the roof, frame, and foundation are in good condition, the house is probably

worth remodeling. Try not to move more partitions than you have to as this

becomes very expensive. Perhaps new windows are called for; the windows are not

very expensive, but patching the plaster on the inside and the siding or stucco on

the outside, where you remove the old windows will cost money, unless you are

plastering the whole job anyway and placing new material on the outside.

Often new oak floors can be laid directly over the old floor, and a very handsome

result obtained. New linoleum should not be too expensive for the kitchen and

bathroom. Very probably you will want new plumbing fixtures, but the drainage

pipes may be as good as new. Some of the water piping, particularly the hot water

piping, may have to be replaced. Perhaps you will need a new water heater, and

maybe a new heating plant. Of course you will want new cupboards in the kitchen,

and probably a new sink.

Although these things do not all have to be done at once, usually it is less

bother to get them all over with at one time, as it becomes discouraging if the

house is torn up too long or too often.

Judging a House

When you have found a house in a desirable location that looks interesting, look it

over carefully for evidence of quality construction or the lack of quality. Does the

house have the general appearance of being in good shape? Do the doors swing

freely, and do they fit the openings? A poor fit of the doors often indicates the

foundation is settling. Do the windows operate freely? If not, look out. Of course,

sometimes paint may stick the windows and they can be pried loose and made to

operate freely. Are the floors level and in good condition? If the floor is high in

the center of the room, it is not because the floor has risen, but because the walls

are settling. Do not buy a house if the floors are not level. This situation is very

difficult to correct and usually indicates a serious defect in the structure.

Look for evidence that water has been a problem. Are there spots on the ceiling or

walls that show that water has been leaking around the roof area? What about

under and around the windows? Look around the bottoms of the walls near the

baseboards for water marks. What about areas near the shower bath, or around

the laundry trays? What about water stains on the bathtub indicating a leaky

faucet? Watch slab floors for signs of moisture; this might be indicated by

buckled or uneven linoleum, or floor tile curled up at the corners. If you find

many of these features, do not stop there, but keep on looking until you find

another house.

If the floor is of frame construction, is the area under the house well ventilated?

Crawl under the house and examine the framing under the floor. Take your

pocket knife and test the joists and sills to see if they have started to decay. Get

up into the attic and look over the situation; it is surprising what you may discover.

The two most important parts of a house are the foundation and the roof. If

these two are in good condition, it is a pretty good sign that the house is

structurally sound. But structural soundness is not the only, or even the most

important criterion to use in judging a house.

Study the Plan

The structure exists solely to enclose the space that you will live in. Study the room

arrangement carefully. Does the passage from one room to another seem natural

and easy, or do you have to walk too far to get anywhere? Do you enter the

house gracefully? Will the rain water drip down the back of your neck while you

search through your purse for the key? Is there a closet near the front door for

wraps? Do you come directly into the living room, or is there at least a hint of

an entrance hall? Will the living room be the principal passageway through the

house, with traffic lanes across the carpet in a year or two? Where will you put

the piano or the davenport? What about the television? Is there a good place for

it and the spectators around it, where they can be out of the way of other activi-

ties?

Is the kitchen complete with adequate work areas where they will be convenient? Is

there a good place to eat? Is there a place in the house for a dining table? What

about the storage of food supplies?

Is the house light and cheerful, or dismal, dingy, and dark? A gloomy house can

have a very depressing effect on a family.

Are there enough bedrooms, and are they large enough? Are wardrobes large

enough, and fitted with rods, shelves and organized storage space? What general

storage space is there for suit cases, fishing tackle, cameras, projectors, golf clubs,

etc.?

Is there a special closet for cleaning equipment? Check the location and size of the

bathrooms, and the arrangement of the fixtures.

In selecting a house, be sure to get the things in it that you have always wanted.

That is the reason you are buying instead of renting. If you want oak floors on a

wood frame, don't settle for asphalt tile on concrete, which is much cheaper to

build. Some people have trouble with their feet when they stand and work on hard

cold floors, as concrete floors tend to be, even when covered with asphalt or vinyl

tile.

If you buy a house to be paid for in twenty-five years, how old will you be when it

is all paid for? How much repair will it need by that time? Will it still be a good

house, or will it need to be replaced?

How long should a house last? If well built on a good concrete foundation and if

the roof is kept in repair, a house should last several centuries. Many wood frame

houses are still in use that were built in the colonial period of America. They are

still strong and in sound structural condition, but aside from their historic value,

how well adapted are they to modern living? Houses do not ordinarily fall down;

they just get out of date and show signs of the wear and tear of everyday living.

Minor repairs, patching and a good painting are all they need to be like new; that is,

like they were when they were new. But fashions in houses change rapidly the same

way they do in hats, except the fashion in hats may change a little faster than it

does in houses.

A careful look around any American city will show a critical observer that houses

built before 1900 are not now considered top flight housing. Most districts built in

the twenties and thirties are beginning to show signs of losing their first lustre. In

fact, things are moving so fast that anything built before World War II is now

considered almost ancient. Obsolescence is the enemy of houses. Where the

designers do not keep their eyes open, some houses are obsolete by the time they

are finished. Many houses have elements of built-in obsolescence. If you are going

to buy or build a new house, be sure the plan is up to date. Although this does

not mean that the latest fads are to be followed, careful thought should be given

to each part to see that it will be the best for a particular house in a given location

for a specific family.

When you are satisfied that the house pleases you and will make a satisfactory

home for your family, compare the price with comparable houses to see that you are

not being overcharged. Is the financing so arranged that your budget can take

care of it? When you move into a new place, there are always many unexpected

expenses, and a reserve of several hundred dollars should be allowed for these

things.

In addition to design, location and expenses, you must also think about the safety of

your family. Visit our website to learn about ensuring security in your new house.