Immediately after the war the housing shortage made itself very
evident, because the landlords discovered that it existed, and realized
that they had it within their power to exact extortionate rents.
Statisticians got busy and put their heads together and informed the
public that within the next five years there would have to be built
some 3,300,000 new homes to properly house the people. The building
magazines likewise were predicting great things in construction, and
all in the building industry were looking for fat years of prosperity,
for here was the need and there was the pressure of the high rents.
Why should not the thousands of families that had waited build
now, when they saw their money going to waste in high rents? All
kinds of advertisements were sent out to urge the public to build,
and own-your-own-home shows sprang up in every large city, and one
could find plenty of builders who would say that one should build
immediately, before prices went higher.
And seeing the poor, unprotected home-builder, the greed of human
nature seized all in the building industry as it had entangled all
other business lines, and the price of materials leaped into the air,
and the cost of labor became swollen, and all had that bloated and
enlarged look which comes over the face of him who is sure of his meal.
[Illustration: Before the war he planned for this]
At the end of 1918 the average cost of all building materials was up to
175 per cent over that of 1913, but by the first quarter of 1920 they
had gotten up to 300 per cent increase over 1913 prices. Lumber had
gone up 373 per cent. Labor had also risen to 200 per cent.
Mr. Average Citizen found that the home he had been saving his money
to build had flown from his hand, like a bird. The sketches and plans
he had prepared for a nice little $10,000 home now represented an
investment of $20,000 or more. In fact, if he expected to build at all,
he had to be reconciled to a small house of six or seven rooms, which
would cost him not less than $10,000 or more, or as much as the large
house which he had planned originally to build.
Then what happened? Mr. Average Citizen did not build. The confidently
predicted building boom which the building material manufacturers had
looked for did not materialize. Prices were too high, and the public
could not be made to believe that they would not come down, and the
public was right.
[Illustration: Now his plans have shrunk to this]
The light began to break as well as the prices, and we find the cost
of building materials dropping suddenly. By the end of 1920 they had
reached the 200 mark. By March, 1922, they had reached the 155 level,
and are still going down with slight fluctuation.
But during all of this time we heard all kinds of theories as to how
the problem should be met. Some architects went so far as to predict
that people could no longer build individual houses for themselves;
that the day of the small house was over. They claimed that the only
solution was in the construction of group houses. Such groups would
eliminate much of the expensive street paving as ordinarily required,
and cut to a minimum the water supply-lines and sewage systems.
Semi-detached houses in groups were capable of saving the cost on one
outside wall, one chimney, one set of plumbing pipes for each house in
the group. The heating could also be reduced to a community basis, and
the land so distributed that the best air and light could be had with
the minimum waste.
Many architects conscientiously tried to reduce the cost of
construction of the small house by inventing cheaper ways and methods
of building. However, the estimates came in just as high, because
the average small contractor who builds the small house was afraid
of innovations, since there was too great an element of risk, and he
was conservative. To meet this difficulty some architects attached
to their office organization construction departments by means of
which they were able to build according to their economical plans and
secure the advantage of the saving in cost. This was held by many
to be unprofessional. Other architects secured lower bids by having
a written agreement with the various contractors who were competing
that, if they received the contract, the owner would be responsible for
and pay for any increase in labor or material prices which might take
place during the period of erection. Likewise the contractor agreed to
give the owner the benefit of any reduction in prices which might take
place during the time of erection. This simple understanding seemed to
relieve the contractor of nervousness, and his bids were often lower.
Still other architects claimed that the cost of construction could only
be reduced by standardizing all of the parts. Certain mills had secured
high-class talent to design stock doors, cornices, windows, columns,
and the like, and the results were very satisfactory, both artistically
and economically.
This problem of the cost of the small house was very acute, and,
although it has been relieved somewhat by the decreasing prices at this
time, yet it will always be an integral part of the problem of building
the small house.
In fact, to properly design the small house and build it economically
requires the greatest care for detail. Many well-established architects
will not bother with this architectural problem, for the time required
to consider all these small details is greater than they can afford to
give in proportion to the fee they receive. For this reason most of
this work is done by the young architect or by the speculative builder,
who generally shows very bad taste in selecting his design, while the
young architect is apt to be somewhat inexperienced in his knowledge of
construction.
The very first thing that must be considered in the problem of the
building of the small house is the question of money, because this
determines what kind of a lot can be purchased, how large the house
can be, and of what type of construction it can be built. Experts on
financing say that the cost of the house should be such that it can be
paid off in full within fifteen years. This means that the cost of the
proposed home must be arranged to come within definite limits. Methods
of approximately determining the cost of a house in its preliminary
sketch stages will be considered later, but it is sufficient to say
here, that once this first problem is solved carefully, other matters
are much easier to take care of. If one knows the cost, the question
of borrowing money is made easier, and one is not misled into wild
fancies of larger houses than possibly the pocketbook could afford. The
worst mistake that a young architect can make is to lead his client
to believe that he can have a certain design for less money than will
actually be the case. It is always best to overestimate the cost in the
beginning than to underestimate it.
“But,” says the client, “I can buy a house and lot at ‘Heavenly Rest
Real Estate Park’ for that price, and on the instalment plan, too. I
don’t see why the cost of a house built from your plans should be so
much greater than this.”
And that is a big question to answer, one which this volume will
attempt to make clear, one to which only a knowledge of construction
can give a real and satisfactory answer. It is the old story, that a
well-built article is bound to cost more than a poorly built one; but
how to know the well-built article!