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Show . CONCRETE HOUSES. A year or two ago Thomas A. Edison announced that the greatest change in the methods of building would be consummated by the use of concrete forms. This announcement of his belief met with serious objection among architects, who said that houses built in this way would be liable to crack. In fact the announced belief of the "wizard of Menlo Park" was denounced as chimerical. After two years of patient work, however, Mr. Edison announces the completion of a set of forms for a one-piece two-story two-story concrete house. The use of concrete is becoming more general every day. It is used largely in the place of stone and brick, and in steel construction occupies an important im-portant place. The principal advantage claimed for this method of building by Mr. Edison is its cheapness. cheap-ness. He says that a house of seven rooms can be built for $1,200. He modifies this statement by saying say-ing that this cost can be reached only when the work is done on a big scale. He says that it would be necessary to invest $200,000 to carry on the work economically. The mthods proposed by Mr. Edison consist of a framework to be set up at the site rf the building, which, after being placed in position, is filled with concrete, furnishing a building complete from foundation to capstone. It cannot be said that the inventor is given to chasing rainbows. All of the inventions which he has given to the public, from the incandescent electric light to the phonograph, have a practical value. The reputation which he has achieved by his inventive genius gives to any announcement which he may make a certain author-itativeness author-itativeness which the general public readily accepts I as final. By his work he has shown it to be possible to construct concrete houses according to his theory the-ory and he insists that they will stand an equal or greater length of time than houses of brick or stone. The first cost of the molds is the biggest item of expense. If these molds can be made cheaper success suc-cess is assured. |