The houses shown in this bulletin may, with slight changes, be built of
wood, stone, concrete, brick, tile, earth, steel, or other materials.
The choice depends largely on owner's preference, local availability and
price, and the skill of local builders in using one or another. Many new
materials for various purposes such as roofing, flooring, and insulation
are on the market and deserve consideration.
The practice common among farmers of hauling their own stone or concrete
materials, cutting their own logs where possible, having their lumber
sawed at local mills, and doing part of the actual construction work, aid
in reducing the cash outlay and in making possible a better house for the
same money expenditure. This is especially true where lumber is sawed
long enough before building starts to allow thorough seasoning. This
seasoning of lumber is important and is too often disregarded.