four-buckle kind. They afford real protection against cold and snow
and a pair lasts for several years, particularly in the sections of
the country where snow and abnormally cold weather are intermittent.
Sweaters and woolen mufflers should also be part of the added
equipment, for nothing makes for such misery as getting thoroughly
chilled for lack of adequate outside clothing. A walk or a drive
becomes then just an endurance test.
We have one last warning. The mitten and overshoe theory may seem to
you but a sad sign of approaching age and debility--and so none of
them for you. Granted they are not needed except for abnormal weather,
some bitter cold evening you may arrive home with fingers, or ears, or
toes frostbitten. Don't under such circumstances go into a warm room
before you have thawed them with snow and vigorous massage. When you
do go into the warm atmosphere continue to treat the bite with cloths
wrung out in ice water. Otherwise, this simple winter casualty may be
as serious and painful as a bad burn.
KEEPING HOME FIRES IN THEIR PLACE
[Illustration]
_CHAPTER XV_
KEEPING HOME FIRES IN THEIR PLACE
In the good old days before the United States had a record of one fire
every minute of the twenty-four hours, grandfather and his father
before him considered that a good citizen paid his poll tax, served on
juries, and patrolled his home for fire. Going to bed without banking
fires in stoves and fireplaces was unthinkable. The rest of the
household also had a proper respect for lighted candles and other
possible fire breeders. Of course, under this simpler mode of living,
light and heat were generated within view and what is seen cannot be
readily ignored.
Then came the development of modern household conveniences. Furnaces
and steam plants took heating below stairs; electricity replaced
candles, lamps, and gas fixtures; and the old cook stove gave way to
modern ranges of various sorts. The safer and easier the devices, the
more human vigilance relaxed. Today, of our half billion dollar fire
loss annually, one-fifth of it occurs in the country, and over sixty
per cent of residential fires start in the cellar.
Of course, every home has certain fire hazards but they can be reduced
to the minimum by a few elemental improvements and precautions. Some
call for slight additions to the house equipment; others are simply
the old-fashioned art of self-fire policing. This program of little
things starts in the cellar and ends in the attic. Here is the list.
Don't let piles of rubbish and papers accumulate in cellar, attic,
closets, and like places.
Provide a metal container with hinged cover for storing inflammable
polishes, cleaning fluids, chemically treated dust cloths, mops, oily
cloths, and the like. Make sure they are put there when not in use,
instead of being tossed into some convenient "glory hole." Use metal
containers also for hot ashes and the daily accumulation of papers and
trash.
Be certain that electric wiring fuses are in good order. Pennies
behind burned-out fuses are a misuse of good money in more ways than
one.
Inspect the cords of all electrical appliances and portable lamps. If
they are frayed or broken, replace them. Speaking of appliances, the
simple flat-iron in the hands of a careless or absent-minded person
probably causes more fires than all the other more complicated
work-savers combined. For stage-struck Seventeen, then, moodily
pressing her pink organdy while mentally sweeping a triumphant course
through a crowded ballroom in a sophisticated black model from Paris;
or for dark-hued Martha who thumps out on a luckless shirt the damage
she plans to inflict on a certain Pullman porter when he shows up at
her back door again, provide an iron that cannot over-heat. With a
thermostat that turns current on and off, it and the ironing board can
remain forgotten for hours. The electric light company may benefit but
no fire will result.
Equip fireplaces with screens that fit. If the hearth has begun to
disintegrate from many fires, it is time to renew it as well as loose
mortar.
Mount stoves or Franklin fireplaces on metal-covered, asbestos-lined
bases.
Don't put a rug over the register of the pipeless furnace. It will
cause dangerous over-heating and the effect will be disastrous rather
than decorative.
Be sure no draperies are near open flames such as candles and portable
heaters.
If you have gas or keep any quantity of kerosene or gasoline, don't
examine containers by match or candlelight. Use an electric flashlight
and turn it on _before_ going near such explosives. These dangers may
seem obvious but it is astonishing how many times that faulty
mechanism known as the genus homo has been guilty of just such
follies.
If rubbish is burned on the grounds, use an incinerator. It keeps
loose papers from blowing around and starting an incipient blaze in
some cherished shrubbery or in the grass itself. I once lost a fine
row of small pine trees in such a manner. They would have provided an
ample screen from the main highway, had I exercised a little care with
my miniature bonfire.
Install portable fire extinguishers. They are inexpensive. One to each
floor with an extra one for kitchen and cellar is good fire insurance.
Be sure every member of the family knows how to use them. Nearly all
fires start in a small way and a shot or two of liquid from one of
these machines usually extinguishes any but the most stubborn blaze.
Sometimes, however, outside help is needed. So post the number of the
nearest fire department prominently near the telephone. Make sure
every one knows where to call, what to say, and how to give clear and
distinct road directions.
These are little things. Yet houses have gone up in smoke for want of
their application. I know of one instance where a competent but
city-bred house man was sent to open a country house for the summer.
In the course of the day an oil stove in the kitchen was lighted. The
man went to get some drinking water. He returned less than five
minutes later to find a corner of the room was in flames. There was no
extinguisher at hand and his bucket of water was as nothing. There was
a telephone in the house and a fire department equipped with a
high-powered chemical machine was less than six miles away. Unhappily
the man neither knew of its existence nor how to direct it to the
place. By the time he had found help and the department had finally
been summoned, it was too late. Neighbors and firemen alike could only
look on at a magnificent bonfire, piously lamenting the loss, of
course, but getting a vicarious pleasure out of the spectacle.
As an example of foolhardiness on the part of the owner it is perhaps
beyond comment. Against it I know of another family that goes to the
other extreme. In addition to taking the fire precautions suggested
here, they have tacked a small typewritten notice on the back of the
front door. It reads:
"STOP
Is the furnace checked
Is the water heater out
Is the range turned off
Is the oil heater upstairs out"
This little evidence of fire-policing has amused many of their guests,
but their house is still standing and the fire insurance inspector
performs his annual duties in a perfunctory manner after reading it.
Unless there are glaring defects in chimney construction, electric
wiring, or furnace flues, these simple details and a reasonable amount
of old-fashioned caution will practically keep home fires in their
place. For those who wish to cut the fire hazard still further there
are more elaborate precautions that involve some rebuilding and
renovation. Whether any or all of them are advisable is a matter for
the owner and his architect to decide.
[Illustration: AN IMPOSING COUNTRY HOME OF CLASSIC DIGNITY
_Robertson Ward, architect_. _Photo by Samuel H. Gottscho_]
If a fireproof cellar is wanted, cover the ceiling with metal lath and
a good cement plaster. This should extend up the stairway, and the
cellar door should be of fire resisting construction.
Firestopping all exterior walls and interior partitions not only cuts
down fire risk but adds greatly to insulation from both heat and cold.
Fires that originate in the cellar frequently travel upward in the
dead-air spaces behind lath plaster. For houses already built, the
best means is to pack the walls with pulverized asbestos. There are
contractors who specialize in this work and have equipment for doing
the job quickly with minimum cutting and inconvenience.
An electric fire detector in the cellar acts much like a burglar
alarm. There are several now on the market. The principle on which
they work is thermostatic. Sensitive to increased heat, an alarm bell
sounds the moment fire develops. The White House has one of the most
elaborate systems of this sort, which was installed shortly after the
executive office fire of a few years ago.
Checking chimneys comes next after leaving the cellar. All chimneys
should rest on a solid foundation in the ground. Those carried on
wooden beams are never safe. The normal settling will produce
dangerous cracks in the joints of the brickwork. Likewise, unused
stove-pipe holes should be closed with bricks and mortar cement.
Chimneys connected with open fireplaces ought to be equipped with
spark arresters. These are simply bronze or brass wire of sufficiently
fine mesh to catch any sparks. Placed at the top, they also serve to
discourage chimney swallows from nesting in the throat of an
old-fashioned chimney, to the doubtful pleasure of the occupants of
the house.
For the roof there are slate and non-burnable shingles as well as a
system by which weather boarding under wooden shingles can be replaced
with panels of fireproof plaster sheathing.
If there is any doubt regarding the condition of electric wiring it
will be real economy to have a licensed electrician inspect it and
replace any which is obsolete or not in accord with insurance
regulations. Also, if steam or hot water pipes go through flooring or
are close to the wooden trim, there should be at least three-quarters
of an inch clearance. Otherwise, the heat dries and carbonizes the
wood. Then slight additional heat may produce spontaneous combustion.
Then there are more elaborate rebuilding projects such as installing a
fire sprinkler system in the cellar.
A built-in incinerator located in the cellar with chute opening in the
kitchen is excellent for the immediate disposal of trash and rubbish.
Two stairways connecting living and bedroom floors are always better
than one. Either stairway should be accessible to any bedroom. An
emergency doorway will make this possible.
If the garage is attached to the house it should be lined with a fire
resisting material. Metal lath and plaster or a good grade of plaster
wall board is preferred. The door between house and garage should, of
course, be fire resisting and self closing.
There is one other refinement which the country house owner may take
into consideration, especially if he happens to own an historic old
house. That is the installation of a system of perforated pipes in the
dead air spaces behind all walls connected with storage tanks of
carbon dioxide under pressure. If a fire breaks out, turning on this
system will flood the house with a gas that will smother all flame.
Mount Vernon is a notable example of a house so equipped.
So much for the more or less man-produced fire hazards. There is,
however, the occasional fire that comes down from heaven. The National
Board of Fire Underwriters has proved by careful investigation that a
properly installed and maintained system of lightning rods will give a
house ninety-eight per cent protection. It does not prevent the
building from being struck, but it does provide an easy and direct
path to earth for the lightning discharge, thus preventing damage and
destruction. This has nothing to do with the old school of lightning
rod salesmen trained in medicine show methods. Proper equipment and
competent men working under inspection by the Underwriters
Laboratories are now available. Incidentally, radio antennae should be
properly grounded and have an approved lightning arrester.
There is one more possibility of disaster from lightning. Ordinary
wire fencing mounted on wooden posts can become so highly charged with
electricity during a thunder storm that no living thing is safe within
thirty feet of it. Proper grounding is again the remedy and is
relatively simple. At every fifth post an iron stake should be driven
deep enough to reach permanent moisture. Connect this to the fencing
by a wire tightly wrapped around the stake and each strand of the
fencing. This causes the electricity generated during a storm to
escape harmlessly into the ground, just as it does through the cables
of a properly installed set of lightning rods.
WHEN THINGS GO WRONG
[Illustration]
_CHAPTER XVI_
WHEN THINGS GO WRONG
With life in the country, there are times when the innate perverseness
of the inanimate asserts itself. For one accustomed to city conditions
this is almost a paralyzing experience. There is no apartment house
superintendent to call on, no repairman just around the corner. In
itself it may be very simple; but what to do, how to do it and with
what tools, unless you have gone through the mill, is soul-searing.
So, almost as soon as you have established your sources of food and
fuel, address yourself to the problem of discovering the neighborhood
handy man.
Not all men of the usual mechanical trades can qualify. Such a jewel
must have native ingenuity, really enjoy coping with sudden
emergencies and, like the old-fashioned country doctor, be possessed
of a temperament that accepts sudden calls for help as part of the
day's work. He may have planned to take his family to the village
moving picture show; but if your plumbing has sprung a leak, your pump
has suddenly ceased to function, or any one of a dozen other
contingencies has arisen, nothing is so comforting as his assurance
that "he'll be right over." You know that within a reasonable time
this physician to things mechanical will arrive in his somewhat
battered automobile with an assortment of tools and supplies adequate
for the majority of minor domestic crises.
Sometimes he can repair the damage permanently then and there.
Sometimes his service is of a temporary nature to tide your household
over until the proper correction can be accomplished either by him or
some other artisan whose specialty it is. At the moment this makes
little difference. Several summers ago, our water supply failed most
inconsiderately just at dinner time. There was plenty of water in the
well and the electric pump was functioning but the storage tank was
bone dry. What was wrong was beyond our understanding. Worst of all,
our village plumber could not be reached even by a fairly resourceful
country telephone central. We called our handy man and were greeted by
a cheery if long suffering, "What's the matter _now_?" We told him and
most assuringly he replied, "Sounds like foot valve trouble. I'll be
right over soon as I finish supper."
And he was as good as his word. Half an hour later he was listening to
a pump that could not lure water from well to tank. Then he went down
the well and, without aid, came up with the supply pipe. "Here's your
trouble. Leather of the foot valve's gone. I'll just cut another." He
dived into the rear seat of his car and returned with a square of sole
leather. Using the old leather as a pattern he cut a new one with a
sharp jack knife and before dark the supply pipe was back in place and
the artificial drought was broken. Thanks to the skill and willingness
of this all-essential neighborhood personage, there was once more
water for dishwashing and family needs.
This is but one instance of how he has come to our rescue and through
the years taught us many things that we can now do for ourselves.
Although not over-skillful with tools and things mechanical, we have
learned that doing them is sometimes the quickest and easiest way out
of our difficulties. Some, of course, were beyond the limits of our
simple abilities but we hereby enumerate some twenty of the more
common difficulties that may arise inopportunely with country living,
and what to do about them.
A sudden break in electric service leaves your house dark. The answer
to this is a supply of candles and one or two kerosene lamps filled
and ready for use, as well as at least one electric flashlight, in
working order and hung in its appointed place. Often before the
various lamps are assembled and lighted, electricity will again be
available; but if service is interrupted for several hours, as
occasionally happens with a serious break in the line or real trouble
at the power house, you will have cause to bless the auxiliary
lighting. Having it to depend on just once will well repay the trouble
of making it available. Be sure, also, that you have at least one
complete set of extra fuses to repair the damage of a short circuit
caused by defective appliances or lamp cords. Never, never put a penny
into a fuse socket.
Next to light, the most important creature comfort is water and plenty
of it. The most common causes of failure lie with the pump itself. If
one of the deep well type gets out of adjustment, repairing it is a
professional job and unless you are unusually expert, don't attempt
it. Telephone for a plumber or handy man. But with the shallow well
pump, you can, in a pinch, replace the leathers that make the valves
exert the proper suction. In any case, it is good sense to have an
extra set of the leathers always on hand. Near our own pump there is a
glass preserving jar half full of neat's-foot oil and, pickling in it,
a spare set of pump leathers just waiting for something to happen. We
also have a box of assorted faucet washers. It is over a year since we
have had to replace one; but when a faucet suddenly refuses to close,
we know where the proper valve is located so that we can shut off the
water long enough to replace the troublesome washer, usually the work
of a few minutes.
Then there is the heating system. Here the most common demonstration
of temperament is sulkiness on a heavy damp day. In any event,
provided the fire is free from clinkers, we have a standard remedy. An
average-sized electric fan is placed before the open ash pit door. Set
in motion, its breeze provides a forced draft and, in from fifteen
minutes to half an hour, our furnace fire is once more glowing and
throwing out heat.
Also, the country house owner, who discovers that furnace or fireplace
flues which have heretofore functioned properly are smoking, should
investigate the circumstances without delay. The troublesome flue may
only need cleaning, or a dislodged brick or other obstacle may have
blocked it. Whatever the cause, the chimney should have immediate
attention, for excess soot is the common cause of chimney fires. If an
excess odor of coal gas indicates that the fumes are filling the
cellar instead of going up the chimney, open the hatchway and as many
windows as possible. Then check the furnace completely. Investigate
the cause of the trouble and you will find that the smoke pipe
connecting the furnace and chimney is out of place. Don't try to
replace the dislocated pipe until the cellar is thoroughly aired, for
furnace fumes can be almost as deadly as those exhausted by an
automobile, for the same reason, the presence of carbon monoxide gas.
So when working on the pipe be careful to retreat out of doors on the
slightest feeling of faintness or other disturbing symptom. The safest
way is not to attempt to replace the smoke pipe until the furnace fire
is out.
There are one or two other things down cellar that can go awry when
least expected. One of the most common is flooding caused by
abnormally heavy rains and leaks in foundation walls. Look first for
these where the pipes from the eaves, known as down-spouts, reach the
ground. Provide dry wells, troughs, or other means to carry this rain
water away from the foundation. After your cellar flood has either
evaporated or been pumped out and the foundation walls are dry inside
and out, repair the cracks through which this water trickled, as well
as others that might have contributed to the trouble. Use a rich
cement to which has been added the proper amount of water-proofing
chemical.
One cannot be over-zealous in this, for a flooded or even damp cellar
is always a hazard. Under no circumstances attempt to turn on electric
lights if you are standing where it is wet or damp. Ninety-nine times
out of a hundred all that can happen is a mild electric shock but
there is always the one chance in thousands that by so doing you may
be your own electrocutioner. It is safest to have all cellar lights
controlled by one or more switches at the head of the cellar stairs;
but if there is a light that must be turned on in the cellar itself,
leave it alone under conditions of standing water and be sure the
fault is rectified before the next heavy rain can cause a repetition.
Just as storms can make trouble below stairs, roof and eaves may
develop faults. Where the roof is of wooden shingles, one of the usual
causes of leaks is a cracked shingle. When this chances to be directly
above a slight space left in laying the roof for expansion between the
shingles of the next course, rain, instead of flowing off the roof,
runs through this crack and wet plaster results. This does not mean
that the roof must be re-laid if otherwise tight and sound. Get a
sheet of roofing tin or copper, locate the troublesome crack, and
gently insert a piece of the sheet metal, trimmed to the right size,
beneath the cracked shingle. Properly done, you should not find it
necessary to nail the piece of sheet metal because the shingles
themselves will hold it in place. While making this repair, be careful
not to walk on the roof more than is absolutely necessary. Your weight
and the pressure of your feet may crack other shingles. It is better
to work from a ladder. This should have a large iron hook that will
catch on the ridgeboard and keep it from slipping. It also distributes
the weight of the man making the repair.
Sometimes eaves, instead of providing drainage and conducting rain
from the roof to ground, work in the reverse. The dampened plaster of
the interior side walls soon betrays this. When these spots appear it
is probable that the opening where the down-spout joins the
eaves-trough is clogged with leaves and small twigs. Remove this plug
that has gradually accumulated round the strainer and once more rain
water will flow merrily and noisily down the spout. Also, in winters
of unusually heavy snowfalls and cold weather, if the eaves-troughs
are hung too close to the edge of the roof or have not sufficient
slope for rapid drainage, the snow on the roof melts, drips to the
eaves-trough, and freezes before it can flow away. Eventually some of
this moisture creeps beneath the shingles and makes ugly damp patches
on the plaster beneath. Immediate relief can be had by mounting a
ladder, clearing the trough of the ice, and thawing the frozen
down-spout with salt and kettles of hot water. Later, the permanent
remedy is to have a practical roofer rehang and adjust the
eaves-troughs.
Because of the very nature of winter weather, there are other
distressing things that may happen to make life in the country just a
little bit less enjoyable. The first of these is the possibility of an
old-fashioned blizzard that may block roads and cut off the country
dweller from the usual source of supplies. Before the days of the
automobile, one could travel roads several feet deep in snow with
horse and sleigh. An automobile has its limits and is more or less
impotent in more than two feet of snow on a road unbroken by a
powerful plow. So, if the oldest inhabitants can remember the winter
of 18-- "when we had snow to the top of the fence posts," it is a wise
precaution to have an emergency supply of canned foods on hand. In
February, 1934, we were snowbound for three days but lived in comfort,
thanks to a minimum reserve supply and, by a happy coincidence,
liberal marketing done the morning the storm began. Several neighbors
took to snowshoes and skis and so made their way to the nearest store
to replenish essentials like milk, meat, eggs and the like. Winter
sports are a great institution, but trudging two miles for a quart of
milk across a countryside waist deep in newly fallen snow is too great
a mixture of business and pleasure.