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Pine
is undoubtedly a better material than hemlock, yet the latter is
much cheaper, and, if of fair quality, is nearly as good for
constructive purposes as pine. It is, therefore, quite
sufficient in all ordinary buildings to construct the frame,
joists, partitions, and roofs of hemlock, using clear pine for
the external and internal fittings and finish. Oak is the best,
and, in the end, the most economical material to use for heavy
timber across wide openings. Chestnut, in short lengths and well
supported, is well suited for rough joists or sleepers required
for boarded floors close to the earth; and locust-wood, though
costly, is invaluable in moist situations for any posts, furring
strips, or other wood-work that comes in direct connection with
damp basement walls.
Calvert
Vaux, Villas & Cottages, 1867
A difference of
opinion has, and probably always will exist about the materials
of which a house should be constructed. We use in this country
three leading varieties, wood, brick, and stone, and, to a
limited extent, grout and iron. Wood is the cheapest, and if
very nice points are considered, is probably the healthiest,
certainly the driest. Frame houses have also superior qualities
for ventilation, a subject very little understood by those who
advocate impenetrable walls and double windows. So little
progress has been made in understanding the subject of
ventilation, that the commissioners, in advertising for plans
for the new Capitol building for the State of New York, mention
the necessity of open fire-places for this purpose. Our stone
and brick houses, with slate and metal roofs, furnace-heated and
air-tight, lack essential qualities for health; while a
frame-house, which admits the air more freely, even if it takes
an extra cord or two of wood, or an extra supply of coal, has a
more healthy atmosphere.
George E.
Woodward, Cottages and Farm Houses, 1867
The
ordinary mode of horizontal siding seems preferable in most
situations. It offers a simple, fair surface, that can be
broadly treated both in form and color, for the slight
projection of one board over the other does not give sufficient
variety of light and shade to interfere with the general effect
as a whole. Another method is to groove and tongue the boards
together, and bring all to one smooth surface. This plan has
nothing to recommend it; it is more costly, more likely to get
out of order by expansion and contraction, and is scarcely more
agreeable in appearance. It is possible, instead of using
siding, to cover a building with shingles, and to cut them into
ornamental patterns. And this was often done by the Dutch
settlers; but the projection is so slight, that not much
additional effect is gained, except, perhaps, in quite small
buildings, for the impression that a residence of tolerable size
makes on the eye depends very little on such merely superficial
detail.
Another plan is
to use vertical boarding, with battens to cover the joints, for
an external covering. This mode has some advantages, and its
appearance is often preferred. It is well suited for barns or
small buildings, where the battens are relatively large enough
to form part of the design; but when used on a larger scale, it
is apt to give a striped, liny appearance to a house that
injures its broad, general effect, and to draw particular
attention to the fact that it is built of wood.
Calvert Vaux, Villas
& Cottages, 1867
Build
of such good materials as are near at hand. An interesting index
is afforded to the resources and materials of that particular
region, with the addition of great economy over the use of such
as are "far brought and dear bought".
Discard
all gingerbread work, and adopt a plain, neat, and tasteful
appearance in every part. Far more true taste is evinced by
proper forms and just proportions than by any amount of tinsel
and peacock decorations. A marble statue bedizened with feathers
and ribbons, would not be a very pleasing object.
The
Register of Rural Affairs, 1855 & 1857
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