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.
XXII
FINANCING THE CONSTRUCTION WORK
The problem of financing the small house is a part of the problem of building, and to some extent is a very personal affair, and every prospective owner has his own difficulties and personal solutions. Those who have saved for a number of years enough money to invest in this adventure of home-building are quite simply fixed, and all that they need consider is how large a house they can have for the money saved.
A method was shown in an early chapter by which the approximate cost of a house could be determined when the plans were in the rough. This consisted of studying the houses built in the neighborhood where the new home was to be erected, calculating their cubical contents and dividing this into their total cost, so that their cost per cubic foot could be known. By comparing this result with the figures which the local builders had offered, a fair idea could be obtained of how much per cubic foot the new house would run. A few figures were given for the different types of construction, but nothing certain can be predicted from them, for, as was pointed out, the cost is definitely related to the locality and the time.
Once, however, having arrived at a reasonably correct cost figure for the cubic foot, the question of how big a house is to be had for the money is quickly determined. Divide this cost per cubic foot into the total sum of money which is to be used for building the house, and the allowable number of cubic feet in the new house will be found. If now the average height of the new house, from the cellar to the average height of the roof, is divided into this allowable cubic contents, the allowable ground area for the plan will be known.
For example, suppose the sum that can be invested in the house itself is $10,000, and it is found that the houses in the locality, of similar construction, cost per cubic foot about 35 cents. Dividing 35 cents into $10,000, it is found that a house having approximately 28,570 cubic feet can be constructed. If 8 feet is allowed from cellar floor to level of first floor, 9 feet from first to second floor, and 13 feet from second floor to the average height of the roof, then a total average height for the house will be found to be 30 feet. Dividing this 30 feet into 28,570 cubic feet, it will be found that a floor area of approximately 950 square feet can be had. Now, as the floor area of the plan of any two-story house is determined by the area required for the second floor and not the first, the desired sizes of the various bedrooms should be approximated, and the results added together to see whether they come within the allowable floor area. Continuing this example, suppose that the master bedroom is to be approximately 14 feet by 15 feet, the other three bedrooms approximately 12 feet by 12 feet, the toilet about 7 feet by 10 feet, the hall about 8 feet by 12 feet, then by adding the area of these rooms together it will be quickly found out whether the allowable area has been exceeded.
| Master bedroom, 14 feet by 15 feet | 210 | square | feet |
| Three other bedrooms, 12 feet by 12 feet | 432 | “ | “ |
| Toilet, 7 feet by 10 feet | 70 | “ | “ |
| Hall, 8 feet by 12 feet | 96 | “ | “ |
| Total | 808 | square | feet |