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Show Home Building Resumed, but Will Be Year or More Before Most People Can Expect Their 'Dream House i :...,-- -s - - - - - : ,-"v-,. il I r i . -Lai? w -1 i , L 1 i , . . rlw - - 7 5 i f ; ' x --,it-i-J !','-.,.''';. - tI i - 1-.' 3? . ' - ' , i "i sN. i ' :l ' " -. " J i - f', lj Stone and wood combine to make this attractive house. The built-in garage Is one of its most appealing features. Contractors estimate It could be constructed for about $9,000, which Is within the range about one-third one-third of home builders are willing to pay. Material Shortages i Delay Construction On Any Large Scale j ' j By W. WADSWORTH WOOD I Government restrictions on building build-ing of private houses ends October 15. This comes as heartening news to the 12 million families who are said to be ready and anxious to build new homes. Now these people are wondering: Should we sell our present home or give up onr lease in the hope of building right away? What plans can we safely and confidently con-fidently make right now? This question raises several other ones, which may be summarized thus: 1. What will building COSTS be, in comparison with those of prewar years? 2. Will conventional materials such as lumber, brick, etc., be of poorer quality than prewar? 3. What are the new and different dif-ferent features and materials so widely discussed for coming homes? Are those miracles in terms of revolutionary heating, streamlined kitchens, and pushbutton push-button laundries yet available? Here is the result of serious thinking, think-ing, first on the subject of costs. While the government unofficially estimates that home building costs have increased one-third (requiring one thus to pay $8,000 for a house that could be built for $6,000 before the war) these costs are really apt to run somewhat higher. It may take $9,000 to build that former $6,000 home. This is partly because labor costs are steadily rising, and 73 per cent of the total building costs are directly ot Indirectly labor costs! Residents In some sections of the country, such as in the South, may confidently expect lower prices due to the fact that the less severe climates cli-mates permit the elimination of basements, sub-floors, etc. Less expensive ex-pensive insulation, also less expensive expen-sive central heating plants, prove ; adequate. Recent wide and authoritative studies, such as the two-year survey conducted by Small Homes Guide, reveal very pointedly why this fact is so important. They show that 47.4 per cent of families now planning plan-ning to build, expect to spend from $4,000 to $6,000. Another large percentage, per-centage, 30.7 per cent, plan to build in the $6,000 to $10,000 class, while only about 6 per cent are planning to build in the $10,000 and better class. If these families are to get full value for their money, the home low the trend towards saving expensive ex-pensive site labor costs. While the home building restrictions restric-tions are being lifted, as of October 15, the announcement carries with it a six-point program that involves several directives aimed at correcting correct-ing the present situation. These will seek to hasten production of scarce building materials; will strengthen inventory controls to prevent hoarding; hoard-ing; will expand OPA price control of building materials to prevent inflationary in-flationary pressure; control mortgage mort-gage practices; facilitate actibn by industry groups and widely advise on home values. In the directive, great stress is put upon the rapid expansion of the home building industry, in-dustry, as the greatest single added add-ed source of jobs in our entire economy, econ-omy, and the statement is made that: "we also know that the present housing shortage is bound to continue con-tinue for some time and that there may be pressure to increase the price of new homes in response to an active demand." In the light of these facts, thousands thou-sands will be asking such questions as this: "Should I renew my present pres-ent lease which expires in six months, or try to build a new home right away?" Wise advice would appear ap-pear to be this: Renew for one year. A year and a half is not too much time for thoughtful planning and careful working out of your family's requirements from site selection to the details of built-in storage facilities. facil-ities. There are countless houses that could have been good houses if a few extra months had been used for planning. a flurry of questions always centers around: "What's new?" For example: exam-ple: "Will air conditioning be cheaper cheap-er than before the war?" Well, assuming as-suming that you refer to summer cooling combined with air filtration, de-humidifying and circulation, the answer is Yes. Several mass production pro-duction manufacturers are bringing out new, efficient units that can be added later to any forced warm air heating system. Others ask: "Will the new kitchen devices cost less or more than befgre the war?" Of course this refers to dishwasher, garbage-disposal unit, range, refrigerator. refrig-erator. The latter two will cost a little more but will be more efficient. Alert makers are planning to bring costs down by combining units, such as one which will wash both clothes and dishes, by changing bowls and i substituting a rubber-covered wire : dish rack for the agitator. 1 A modern bathroom is a "must" in nearly everyone's planning. The important new development in bathroom bath-room ideas involves separating the different fixtures to eliminate early morning congestion. Most favored arrangement t includes separate shower stall, an extra lavatory and medicine cabinet. The new fixture designs are more beautiful and have lots of added conveniences. Kitchens Kitch-ens have been brought into focus with the modern "dreams" too. Many manufacturers are offering beautiful and complete package kitchens that include an amazing number of new items of convenience and advanced, automatic labor-saving equipment. The gripes or "pet hates" concerning con-cerning houses are going to be largely large-ly eliminated through better planning. plan-ning. There will be plenty of closet space, for instance. The trend is to larger rooms spread out on one floor; with larger windows and provision pro-vision for more outdoor living. Colors Col-ors will be bright and cheerful, and details of decoration will strike a smart, peacetime motif. "How about all the promised postwar post-war home gadgets?" you may be asking. Well, you can look for new refrigerators with deep-freeze compartments; com-partments; new developments in automatic dishwashers and washing machines; ultra-efficient vacuum cleaners vastly improved appliances appli-ances ready early next year. "Will postwar developments completely com-pletely eliminate housekeeping drudgery?" The answer is, "Almost." "Al-most." For example, the precipitin precipi-tin takes dust out of the air electrically. elec-trically. Most kitchen chores, such as dishwashing, will be reduced to a minimum by automatic controls. Heating and cooling will be fully automatic. New developments in plastic wall and floor finishes, new rugs and draperies should help in adding at least three hours more daily freedom to the clock of most housewives. It is indeed a great, new streamlined peacetime era which we are about to enter! Electric ranges, refrigerators with deep-freeze compartments, sinks with built-in dishwashers, cabinets of all sizes . . . everything will be ready for the new kitchen early next year. building industry must hasten to eliminate the traditional "hammer-and-saw"- practices of "cut-flt-and-try." Certain union practices and antiquated building codes, too long held intact by local pressure groups, must also be changed. We are frequently asked: "When can we be sure of being able to get good quality building materials?" To this, our best authorities quickly tel us that most of the hard materials materi-als such as cement, sand, lime, stone, etc., are plentiful. Brick and cement block vary with the regional manpower picture. Good, dry lumber lum-ber is scarce, and the precise local situation here should be carefully checked with a reputable lumber dealer in your community. Someone else asks: "What are the newest developments in construction material that I can expect to get within the next six months?" Our reply indicates that waterproof ply-wood, ply-wood, plastic-finished wallboards, fireproof asphalt sbingles, light metal met-al framing, complete package units: windows, doors, built-in closets, cabinets, cab-inets, fireplaces, will all be available. avail-able. These new developments fol- Still other thousands will be asking: ask-ing: "Should I sell the home I own now, rent for several years and then plan to build?1' To such, wise counsel would be: Hold your home, as rents will be high and there will be no sudden drop in real estate values. First, because of rebuilding costs due to higher wage levels, and second, the very sizable backlog of demand that will require several years to satisfy. Start planning your new home now. It will likely take you a whole year to get through all the steps carefully. Selection of your new lot, title insurance, getting your ideas into blueprints, working drawings draw-ings and specifications; getting bids, negotiating the financing all this takes time. Being very specific, others will ask: "All I can afford to spend is $6,000. I need three bedrooms. What can I expect?" Our frank advice is this: Not too much, if your total includes the cost of a lot. You had better choose a compact story-and-a-half design, and then plan to fin- ish the two upper-story bedrooms and bath at a later date. In the matter of home equipment. Dodge Corp. Survey Shows A Billion Dollar Backlog Ready for Home Building A huge volume of funds is ready for investment in construction, according ac-cording to the F. W. Dodge corporation, corpora-tion, specialists in building statistics. In a recent announcement, Thomas Holden. president, stated that $7,-753,138,000 $7,-753,138,000 has definitely been allocated allo-cated to construction projects in the 37 states east of the Rocky mountains. moun-tains. Of this huge sum, $1,107,448,-000 $1,107,448,-000 has been set aside for residential residen-tial building. Mr. Holden commented that "events since V-J Day have shown that postwar construction revival is Likely to move considerably faster than was anticipated some months ago. The removal of controls has eliminated one of our anticipated revival bottlenecks." These handsome hand-some houses come within the price class that at least a third of prospective home builders expect to pay. Building at the left is of common com-mon brick and would cost about $8,000. One at right is priced at SG.000. , v -V - $ . r I , j , |
