The Construction of the Small House / A Simple and Useful Source of Information of the Methods of Building Small American Homes, for Anyone Planning to Build

Theoretical Features of Ground Arrangement

There are five fundamentals which should be considered in finishing the grounds about the small house, for it must not be forgotten that the finest gem of domestic design will be lost unless it is placed in the right setting. These five principles are the production of an intimate relation between house and grounds, the formation of a natural frame about the house, the building of interesting approaches, the planting for seasonal effects, and the growing of interesting and beautiful vistas as viewed from the house.

1.—INTIMATE RELATION BETWEEN
HOUSE AND GROUNDS

In considering this part of the problem, the designer must begin at the very outset to solve it. If the plot is level or capable of easy conversion into terraces, then the character of the house itself may be somewhat formal, symmetrical, and dignified; but it would be wrong to build a house of this kind upon a rolling and rollicking site. This latter kind of ground demands the picturesque type of house, and the roof lines should be planned to carry up some of the curves of the hillocks.

In all cases, however, it is generally recognized that the small house can best be tied into the surroundings by making it low, say a story and a half or one story, for one of two stories or even two and a half offers an ungainly elevation for an architectural composition. In rare instances have houses of this proportion been artistically finished. At any rate, the house should be kept as low as possible in the front, and the ugly, stilted foundations should not protrude above the level of the lawn. Nothing is so effective in producing a feeling of intimacy between house and grounds as to keep the level of the first floor only about six inches above the grade. This, of course, makes it difficult to light and ventilate the cellar, since any windows in the foundation-walls would have to open into areas. A compromise can be made by grading the lawn down at the back of the house, so that enough of the foundation can extend above the ground to permit of well-lighted cellar windows.

Another method by which an intimate connection between ground and house can be produced is in the blending of wall materials and foundation-stones. If the walls of the house are of stucco, and the lower part of them built of rubble-stone, then a gradual transition can be made from the stone to the stucco by carrying the stucco down over certain parts of the stone work, so that it flows into the mortar joints—like the waters of a lake flow into the little indentations of a rocky shore. This will eliminate any sharp horizontal line where the foundation-wall of stone ends and upper wall of stucco begins. As the stone has a natural intimacy with the soil, it easily makes the transition with the ground, and its effectiveness is very marked where the site is hilly and parts of the foundation are built upon little rocky juttings. This same easy transition can be made from stone foundation to brick wall. It is not possible to do it with the wooden wall, however.

But perhaps the most widely used method of producing an intimate connection between ground and walls of the house is with foundation planting. There is much abuse of this method. To surround the base of the house with billowy clumps of shrubbery, so that it appears almost as if it were springing from a bed of clouds, is not at all satisfying. Nor should the owner have to be everlastingly kept at the job of trimming down these plants or removing dead ones which refuse to grow in the poor soil and bad drainage next to the cellar. And the house should not be made to mourn behind a bed of evergreens, protected at intervals with sentinel-like cedars, dark and foreboding, against the wall and sighing and whining in the wind. Rather should a delicate use be made of foundation planting by using vines, and now and then a small shrub or little evergreen. The object should be to make a shading and transition from the green lawn to the walls of the house by carrying upward upon the walls or against them some of the climbing plants, that the green of the ground may fade gradually into the white of the stucco or the red of the brick wall. Public buildings need massive and impressive foundations, but the small house should be nestled in Nature’s lap.

2.—NATURAL FRAMING FOR HOUSE

When viewed by the passer-by in the street the planting around the house should be so arranged that it makes a natural frame for it and creates a composition for a picture. Regarded from this angle there should be background trees, trees and shrubbery flanking the sides along the edge of the plot, a green open lawn stretching forward to the street, some columnar-shaped trees or lacelike trees wisely placed to suggest the middle ground, and then a wall or low hedge with low plantings to make a foreground.

The background trees should be tall and mixed in character, so that their skyline is not stiff and wall-like. The trees which run along the edge of the lot ought also to be varied in type. Low shrubs should fill in the spaces between their trunks, but as they come forward on the property they should be more scattered, lower and thinner, so that the neighboring property can be seen, and finally they should end, allowing a blended connection between the lawns on either side. There are some who advocate that the site should be completely walled in with shrubs or fences and separated entirely from the neighboring plots, but this is not quite in harmony with our traditions, and ought not to be carried to this individual exclusiveness, although the rear of the lot may be so screened in.

The green lawn should not be broken with flower-beds, for, taken at its largest, it is bound to be little, and nothing should be introduced to break it up. The windings of the front path may be such that clumps of low shrubbery and a few columnar trees, like cedars or Lombardy poplars, can be placed along its edge and produce a motif for the middle ground, like a moving silhouette against the elevation of the house as one passes by.

The building up of the foreground should be with some low planting over which one can look. The use of fence or wall is legitimate if it does not cut off the view. Gates are a little out of harmony with our American traditions, for they mean that they should be attended by a gatekeeper, a human tool that is quite extinct in the average home, and especially in the small one.

3.—INTERESTING APPROACHES

Generally speaking, due to the smallness of the average plot upon which the little house is erected, the building of a prominent pathway to the front door directly in a straight line from the street, cutting the lawn and the property in two equal halves, is not pleasing. The lawn will be small enough as it is without chopping it into two pieces. If a straight approach is desirable, it should be made of materials that will not visibly produce this effect of division. Stone slabs of greenish color or neutral tones set with open joints, or even stepping stones, solve the problem. But the straight approach has not the mystery and picturesque quality of one which curves around the outside of the lawn, and is framed in with planting, so that the view of the house is constantly changing as one proceeds.

The roadway to the garage might also be the way to the house. Nothing looks uglier than the straight cut from street to garage. Planning the location of this service building so that it cannot be seen from the street is an excellent step in the right direction.

The material of which these paths and roads should be constructed ought to be in harmony with the house. Brick paths look well with brick houses, stone paths and gravel paths look well with stone houses, concrete paths and roads go well with concrete and stucco houses, for one naturally associates these materials as being left over from the building. It is the most natural thing in the world to use up a few of the bricks for the paths after one gets through building the brick house, or laying some of the stones to walk upon, after finishing the house of stone, or using up a few odd barrels of cement for the walks when the job on the concrete house is over. And being so natural a thing, there is a likable gesture in doing it.

4.—PLANTING FOR THE SEASONS

The composition of the picture which is the aim in all of this work about the house, should not be spoiled by careless selection of plants for the various seasons of the year. It is very unwise to place in the front of the house tender shrubs and flowers which wither and die in the winter months or which have to be wrapped in swaddling-clothes. Is there anything more forlorn than to see a lot of burlap-wrapped or hay-packed mummy trees or shrubs, standing out on the cold wintry lawn in front of the house? A few evergreen trees and a few broad-leaf trees which show delicate limbs when bare, and a few shrubs that hold the snows that settle upon them are the things to plant in the front of the house. Leave the tender plants to the garden in the rear.

And this garden at the back of the house should be treated in a most private way. It should be surrounded with a wall or high hedge. There should be walks, border plantings, a little touch of water, and a seat in the smallest garden. It should be located so that it can be viewed from the house and enjoyed. Here all of the fine, delicate, and colorful flowers and plants can be placed. In the winter months the protected plants with their ugly clothes will not seem so out of place in this secreted patch of ground.

5.—IMPROVING THE VIEW FROM THE HOUSE

Next in importance to planning the setting of the house and its appearance from the street should be the planning of the views from windows of the house itself. The development of the private garden at the back is one help which was previously alluded to, but there are generally ugly things which can be seen from the windows of the house that need screening out. These ugly objects may be on the neighboring property, or they may be the drying-yard for the clothes, or the garage. Whatever they are, a screen of trees can be used to shut them from the view.

But the most important part of this problem is to make the best of any view that may be possible from the house. A far-away river, a hill, or a meadow might be brought to sight by trimming some trees or brush. Distant landscapes are most satisfying to the eyes, for they rest them.

Construction of the Lawn

From what has been said, the importance of the lawn in front of the house can be appreciated. It is the rug spread out before the jewel-box. Over it one can view the beauty of the home, and so it needs the best attention. The very first thing to consider in building the lawn is to arrange for good drainage and a deep top layer of good soil, say 18" to 24". Pockets where water may collect and settle must be drained with tiles placed in the ground. The surface water should be carefully distributed away from the house.

An ordinary site will have stones and weeds scattered over it. In the beginning these stones should be carted away and the weeds cut down with a scythe, and a plough run over the surface to a foot in depth, unless the subsoil is not sandy and holds water, in which case a deeper ploughing is better. Then stones and weeds should be taken out of this earth, not once, but as many times as the earth delivers up stones and weeds. When this is done, the grading may be started, and this should be with long, easy grades. Where trees and shrubs edge the lawn, a slight hollow in the grade will improve it.

This graded soil is not ready for grass until it has been covered with 25 to 50 loads per acre of thoroughly decayed, composted stable manure, or, if not this, bone-dust, wood-ashes, superphosphates of lime, nitrate of ammonia, etc. This dressing should be raked into the top-soil with the harrow and hand rake, and whatever weeds and stones come up with this operation should be removed.

Grass seed should then be selected which will give the most rugged growth for the particular conditions of the site. Often this can best be accomplished by using a mixture of seed. The different kinds of grass have qualities suited to certain types of soil. For example, Kentucky blue-grass, while coarse and not so attractive as some others, grows vigorously and holds its own in sandy soil. Rhode Island bent-grass makes good sod in moist climates, and redtop is apt to die off in a drought.

This seed must be sown liberally to make allowances for loss in germination, and evenly to prevent patchy growth. About six bushels per acre is considered enough. All of this must be raked under with a fine-toothed iron rake and pressed down with a heavy roller. As soon as the blades are tall enough to be caught in the mower, this new grass should be cut, for this helps to make it grow thicker and keep down the weeds. But work on the lawn does not end here. Constant care is the price of a good one.

Construction of Roads and Paths

Attention has already been called to the use of materials for paths and roads which harmonize with the materials of the house. In a previous chapter, details were given on the construction of concrete paths and roads. Therefore other types will be considered here, such as brick, gravel, and stone.

The driveway to the garage ought to be about 10 feet wide and flare out to a 15-foot width at the house, where the car is driven up to the entrance, so that an incoming car can pass by any which is standing in front of the door. This roadway should widen out into a Y shape in front of the garage, as shown in the drawings, to permit of backing out and turning around. A round turning area in front of the garage may be substituted for this Y-shaped arrangement. Any curves made in the driveway should have a radius from centre of the curve to outside edge of the road of 30 feet 6 inches, although a Ford car can run on a road having a radius of only 14 feet.

If the driveway is to be of gravel and the subsoil is wet or clayey, drainage must be arranged for along the edges. Trenches 3 feet to 4 feet deep should be dug on either side and 3-inch diameter agricultural tile laid at the bottom with open joints covered with collars, then a layer of sod, and then 6 inches of field stone or gravel, and finally top-soil. Wherever there are pockets that would collect surface water, outlets should be constructed and covered with iron grating. All the subsoil tile should connect with one main tile and drain off at some low point.

For ordinary light traffic the road itself may be built with a foundation of stones to a depth of 2 feet. This should be covered with a layer of coarse gravel 2½ inches thick, a top layer of finer gravel 4 inches thick, and rolled with a heavy roller after water or some bituminous binder has been sprinkled over it. A crown of ½ inch to the foot should be made, and any grades ought to be kept about 5 feet in 100 feet, and at the most 10 feet in 100 feet.

In the construction of gravel walks the grade should be kept to within 12 feet in 100 feet and be crowned ¼ inch per foot.

The success of the brick walk depends upon the foundation used. A poor one will permit the bricks to settle unevenly, crack, and break away at the edges. The bricks themselves may be laid in any number of different and interesting patterns, such as the basket weave or the herring-bone. A row of bricks on edge along the outside of the walk makes an excellent finish.

The foundations of the brick walk may be built of sand, cinders, or concrete. The first two give a walk somewhat irregular, and grass can be made to grow in the joints. To begin the laying of a brick walk, the earth should be excavated to a depth of 4 inches, and either a bed of sand 2 inches thick, or a concrete of one part cement to eight parts sand 3 inches thick should be spread. When the bricks have been arranged on this bed, sand should be worked into the joints between them by leaving a layer on the walk for a few days and brushing it into the crevices.

Where concrete is used for the base, a more rigid walk will result, and in such types it is customary to use mortar to fill the joints. A thin 1:3 grout can be brushed into these joints and the little that is smeared over the surface can be washed off with scrubbing-brush, water, and 5-per-cent muriatic acid. A better method is to pour grout into the joints, wiping the brick clean before the mortar sets.

There are a number of different types of stone walks that can be used, depending upon the character of the stone in the neighborhood. Flat flagstone walks are usually rather uninteresting, and many prefer the picturesque effect which is produced by stepping stones. These ought to be placed about 22 inches apart to make walking easy on them. A very interesting and much-used walk is made by setting flat stones of different shapes together, like the pieces of a cut-out puzzle, but leaving a small space between each stone in which grass or moss can be grown.