The common-stock sizes of doors are as follows:
2 feet by 6 feet.
2 feet by 6 feet 6 inches.
2 feet by 6 feet 8 inches.
2 feet 4 inches by 6 feet 6 inches.
2 feet 4 inches by 6 feet 8 inches.
2 feet 6 inches by 6 feet 6 inches.
2 feet 6 inches by 6 feet 8 inches.
2 feet 6 inches by 7 feet.
3 feet by 6 feet 8 inches.
2 feet 8 inches by 7 feet.
3 feet by 6 feet 8 inches.
3 feet by 7 feet.
The commonest type of window for the small house is equipped with the
double-hung sash. This sash should be made of 1⅛-inch white pine,
mortised and tenoned at the corners. The meeting rail ought to be
rabbeted so that water is prevented from seeping through, and the
bottom rail ought also to be rabbeted to fit over a similar rabbet in
the sill. The size of the lower rail is usually 3 inches wide, the
sides and top rails 2 inches wide, and the meeting rail 1⅛ inches wide.
It is generally admitted that a window has little architectural charm
without muntins, and these are made ¾ inch wide, as a rule. The glass
of the window is inserted into the sash frame at least ¼ inch, and
its plane is about one-third in from the outside face of the rails.
The over-all dimensions of a window sash are determined by the size
glass used, and as glass is cut in inches, the over-all dimensions of
a sash will be in fraction of inches. For example, a double-hung sash
of twelve lights, each 8 inches by 10 inches, will give a sash opening
of 2 feet 4½ inches by 3 feet. If the lights measure 9 inches by 12
inches, then the sash size will be 2 feet 7½ inches by 4 feet 6 inches.
[Illustration]
The best type of double-hung window-frame is constructed so that the
blind stop is rabbeted to receive the pulley stile, preventing any wind
from blowing through. The pulley stiles are usually made of yellow
pine, but the outside casing and sills should be of white pine. It is
also a good precaution to have the sill rabbeted to receive the ground
strip, so that air cannot come underneath the sill. The use of 1³/₁₆
inch-thick material is common for all parts of the frame except the
sill, which ought to be 1¾ inches thick. A 2¼-inch depth should be
allowed for the weights in the box, and a space of ⅞ inch left between
the stud and the top of the frame. Parting strips are made ⅜ inch wide.
Where the frame is to be built into a masonry wall, the back of the
weight-box is closed in, and a moulding, called the brick mould, should
be provided for covering the outside joint between frame and masonry.
In order to make this joint tight in hollow-tile construction, it is
essential to stuff the back of the brick mould with elastic roofing
cement.
[Illustration: CASEMENT WINDOWS]
There is not much reason to rehearse here the pros and cons of the
casement window. When such windows open in, the screens and blinds are
easier to handle, but the weather is apt to leak in more. When the
sash opens out, screening is difficult, unless some patent operating
hardware is used, but the window is more weatherproof. In either case,
the difficulty of weathering can be overcome to a large extent by not
attempting to keep out the rain, but lead it down and around the
sides, draining it off at the sill. This is accomplished by cutting a
¼-inch half-round groove around the sides and in the sill to act as
a canal for collecting the water which has seeped in. A few ¼-inch
round weep-holes from the groove in this sill outward will drain this
collection of water off. Casement frames are made of heavier material
than those used for double-hung sash, 1¾ inches being common. As the
sash is hung from the sides like a door, its weight must not be so
great that it will cause it to sag, and for this reason it is customary
to limit the width of sash to 2 feet maximum. Some designers believe
that the sash should also be at least 1¾ inches thick.
[Illustration]
Although blinds add to the cost of the small house without apparently
adding practical value, yet they are one of the most useful mediums
of securing variation of color on the elevations. In Colonial days
shutters served to protect the house, and were made solid with only a
small hole in them, generally of some ornate cut-out design, like a
half-moon, flower-pot, etc. To-day we want slats for ventilation. A
good compromise, then, is to make the lower part of slats and the upper
part solid, with a cut-out design. The stiles and rails of the shutter
are made of 1⅛-inch material, the bottom rail being 3½ inches wide, the
stiles and top rails 2 inches wide. Intermediate rails are often made
2½ inches wide. It is best to project the stile 1 inch below the bottom
of the lower rail, so that water collecting on the sill can drain off
underneath the blind.
In addition to the blinds, the window should be equipped with screens.
These should be of copper, for only this material is economical in the
long run. They are usually made of ¾-inch material, and the lower rail,
stiles, and top rail made 1¾ inches wide.
Other mill work of the exterior, such as porch columns, rails, etc.,
ought to be built up from stock mouldings and patterns. There are
numerous concerns selling well-designed wooden columns. The great
danger of using stock columns, however, is in the fitting. Certain
stock lengths are made with well-planned entasis, but if the design
calls for an intermediate length the column is cut short, which
destroys its proportions. On this basis many select square columns, or
thin wooden columns without much entasis. The illustrations show some
common-stock sizes for other outside trim, such as lattice, top rails,
bottom rails, balusters, etc.
[Illustration]
Of the interior mill work the stairs are the most important. For the
small house they should be very simple, not only for economy but for
appearance. Plain round and square balusters, 1³/₁₆ inch, and two to
a tread, simple hand-rail and simple newel post, 3¾ inches, are more
effective than elaborately turned members. The height of the hand-rail
from the top of the tread to the hand-rail on a line with the face of
the riser should be 2 feet 6 inches. The slope of the stairs should
preferably be confined between 30 degrees and 35 degrees, and the
common proportion between tread and riser should be maintained (tread
and riser = 17½ inches).
[Illustration]
The treads should be of 1⅛-inch hardwood, and the risers of 1³/₁₆-inch
softwood, rabbeted into the riser. Outside strings ought to be ⅝ inch
thick where finishing on a ⅝-inch base. Inside strings should be
1³/₁₆ inches thick. Enclosed stairs between walls should have strings
fitted down on treads and risers, but elsewhere inside strings should
be rabbeted for treads and risers. Newels should be housed out over
supports.
[Illustration: This is what the speculative builder spends money on]
A feature of the small house which is neglected too much is the
installation of built-in furniture. There is a substantial quality
about such furniture which no mobile furniture can possess. The
bookcase built into the wall, the window-seat permanently a part of the
room, a charming mantel-piece, good panelling, built-in china-closets,
tables, and benches in the breakfast alcove, a modern kitchen dresser
with the equipment of a portable cabinet, dressing-tables, and closet
shelves and drawers, medicine-cases and radiator enclosures are
features which add so much to the small house that it seems strange
that they are so often omitted. Many a speculative builder has realized
the value of such furniture and sold his house upon the attractiveness
of it. He knows that the young couple who purchases the small house
usually comes from the small apartment, and has little furniture to
spare. Here then is a place to spend money and not to economize.