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Show p sw-. WMA.RADFORD, stead, a good appearance is secured by studying out good elevations and proportions that go well together. Cottage roofs like this were popular popu-lar in Colonial days. They are easily made, and look especially well on a house as nearly square as this. Cheap help may be employed on such a roof, because it is all straight work. Anyone Any-one can cut the roof-boards and pul on the shingles, after the boss car penter lays out the rafters and puts them in place. This little house contains every convenience necessary for comfort I Mr. William A. Radford will answer juestlons and give advice FREE OF 1 OST on all subjects pertaining to the subject of building, for the readers of this paper. On account of his wide experience is Editor. Author and Manufacturer, he s, without doubt, the highest authority n all these subjects. Address all Inquiries :o William A. Radford, No. 178 West Jackson boulevard, Chicago, 111., and only snclose two-cent stamp for reply. A nearly square house design 24 Eeet wide by 30 feet long, with a cottage cot-tage roof pitched rather low, is shown In the accompanying perspective and floor plans. This style of house is growing in popularity. In walking along the newer streets of Chicago, as well as in other cities, I notice a great many similar houses. It is a plan that offers a large amount of room in proportion to the material used in building. The nearer square you get a house, the more space you can enclose within the four walls. Every Ev-ery foot of wall costs money, especially especial-ly during these times when the prices of almost all building materials must be picked from the top shelf. The general design of this house is simple and quite plain, yet its severity sever-ity is relieved by ornamental effects secured through the wide, projecting eaves, the belt-course at the second-floor second-floor line, the location of openings, and the general sense of proper proportions pro-portions and neatness. As a popular house, it is designed for economy in building; but, at the same time, comfort com-fort has not been sacrificed to save a few dollars. There is great economy, for instance, in-stance, in making one chimney do for the kitchen range and heating apparatus. appara-tus. There is still further economy in putting the chimney in the middle of the house, and running it out through the roof at the highest point. !pSD I BED RM I S'-O'X 4--CT 3ED fowl p W 1 J , . v 1 Second Floor Plan. It is just the kind of house that la needed by the great majority living in towns and cities the great majority whom we might call the "common people" peo-ple" people who want comfort, wha want to live right and enjoy life a they go along. Lincoln once said, - - tt costs less to shingle around a chimney chim-ney at the ridge than any other place; the chimney is better supported; and It costs less to prevent water from rains or melting snow coming in around the chimney, when the latter goes through the roof at the peak, because be-cause there is no accumulation of water wa-ter there such as you have to contend with down near the eaves. You seldom see eight rooms laid out conveniently In a house that is only 24 by 30 feet. You must utilize every foot of space to the best advantage to secure so many rooms and still have them convenient. This Is accomplish- "The Lord must love the common people, peo-ple, because he makes so many of them." Probably Lincoln considered that 90 per cent, of the population would naturally come under the definition defini-tion "common people." In my opinion the proportion is not very much different dif-ferent today. The common people are the kind to build up a community the backbone and strength of the nation. na-tion. We may require an uncommon genius occasionally as a leader; but for every-day dependence, the common com-mon people are Just as Important now as they were in Washington's or Lincoln's time. That is why I am so anxious to see more of these low-cost houses. When I see a man start In to build a low-cost house for himself, I know right off that that man intends to build a home and have it paid' for in a short time, and that he will succeed. suc-ceed. More of such houses means more comfort and more contented citizens. citi-zens. T But while it is right and proper to be contented with the house you have, that does not mean that a person should not progress. A person may go from one step to another in house building, the same as In business; but it 1b difficult to feel happy and contented con-tented in a habitation which does not provide conveniences for doing one's work, and which is not comfortable In cold as well as In warm weather. It Is quite an undertaking to build a bouse. It means, for most persons, years of hard work; but they are the happiest years to look back over. Success depends upon the start made If a person uses the right kind of plan one the most of which will be well within his means, and one that will be reasonably satisfactory when the house Is finished the chances of paying pay-ing for the property and of soon having hav-ing a home free of encumbrance, are very much better than when a more elaborate design is selected. The little details that go to make up a satisfactory house must not b overlooked. A house without a bathroom bath-room is a back number. No one wants a bedroom without a clothes closet, and it does not pay to try to do without with-out hot and cold water both upstairs and down. When the plumber Is at work It costs but a trifle more to have a pipe for hot water laid at the same time the cold water pipe Is put In. There are other incidentals, but these t.r the most Important. First Floor Plan. Bd by enclosing the stairway in the center of the house, where it takes op very little room downstairs; while .he upper landing Is within easy reach of the doors of all four bedrooms and :he bathroom. You cannot take up a ;reat deal of space for halls in a small house, and still leave room for :he requisites. A hallway is not absolutely ab-solutely necessary; and we dispense with it entirely In this plan downstairs, down-stairs, and reduce the dimensions of ;he upper hall to the smallest posst-ole posst-ole space. Still, when you study this olan, you cannot find any fault with t. It is not an expensive house, as t can be built for about $2,000; but vhen it Is finished and nicely painted, I is by no means cheap looking. The ild-fashioned idea of putting consld-rable consld-rable expense on a house to make it ook well. Is no longer necessary; in- |