Convenient Houses, With Fifty Plans for the Housekeeper

by Louis H. Gibson

All wood to be oil-finished should first be filled. The antique and acid stained effects are derived by the use of different kinds of fillers, which close the pores of the wood and stain it the color desired. Proprietary fillers and oil finish may be most successfully used, for the reason that they are generally prepared by men who have put their capital into the business for the purpose of getting a return. Such people cannot put a bad article permanently on the market without feeling the result themselves. Therefore, those who are permanently successful in the manufacture of proprietary goods can generally be relied upon.

In the finishing of wood-work all under coats should be rubbed with dry hair-cloth, burlap, or fine sand-paper. On top of the filler two coats of prepared oil finish should be applied; the first one rubbed as above, and, if desired, the last left bright. A dead finish may be secured by rubbing down the last coat with fine pumice stone and water or oil.

External exposed wood-work and bath-rooms may be finished with a water-proof varnish by treating as above, excepting that the last coat should be a water-proof oil finish made by some well-known manufacturer.

FLOOR FINISH.

All manufacturers of first-class interior finishes prepare a special floor finish. It is usually applied in two coats over a filler as described. In such cases the filler is not stained. Each coat is thoroughly rubbed. A satisfactory floor finish may be made by washing the clean wood floor with a solution of salt and water, and afterwards saturating with paraffine wax, and then rubbing.

GLAZING.

All glass should be embedded in putty and secured with glazier’s tacks and putty. American sheet glass is made in two thicknesses—single and double strength—and in four qualities. A or AA only should be used in a good house.

Plate glass costs about five or six times as much as double-strength A American sheet. A thumb rule for calculating the cost of plate glass, which is not strictly accurate but which gives a general idea, is to calculate on from fifty to seventy-five cents per square foot.

CATHEDRAL GLASS.

Of cathedral glass proper there is only one quality. In ornamental and colored glass work the different kinds of glass used will not be here enumerated. Bevelled plate is becoming quite common. Generally speaking, cathedral glass may be arranged in geometrical forms in sash with wood separations or muntins. Cathedral glass proper for such purposes costs from twenty-five to thirty-five cents a square foot. Cathedral glass leaded may cost almost any amount in excess of a dollar per square foot. In selecting cathedral glass for sash with wood separations, the best and most satisfactory results may be reached by choosing the lighter tints, and not having more than one or two colors to the window.