The sash window, while objectionable in the form frequently used, may yet be made suitable for cottages; but it should be divided, and the proportions very carefully studied, say 9-in. by 11-in. panes, and the bars not less than 1 in. in thickness. It should be brought forward, showing the full width of the boxing. The sash window, however, necessitates an additional height to rooms.
Bricks.—As regards bricks, it is well as far as possible to avoid those which are mechanically made (the pressed stock-brick) and to use the hand-made bricks from local yards. The brindled Staffordshire bricks are largely used at Bournville; they are very suitable for cottage building where the position is not too exposed. A pleasing variety of colour is introduced at a low cost, the tint being a bright cherry red blended with blue and purple, the blue being quite different from the dead blue-black of the vitreous brick. For inside work the common red wire-cuts are suitable.
It is a mistake to suppose that a good effect cannot be obtained by the use of the cheaper makes of bricks, a remark which also applies in the case of the London stock-bricks, so long as they are not uniformly selected; a good effect may be gained, for instance, by using a few of the darker ones indiscriminately with the cream-coloured ones. The splash of dark colour caused by the black ones coming together is by no means undesirable. A good example of an effective use of these bricks is to be seen at Brewer’s Estate, London.
Roof Covering.—The materials to be employed in roofing depend upon the style of cottage, and also upon the locality. The Bangor slates are cheap, and may be an excellent covering as regards durability; but unfortunately, in the class of cottages here dealt with, it is rarely possible to get so good an effect with them as with other kinds. They may be used, however, in the whitewashed cottage, so long as the smaller sizes are selected. Hand-made roofing tiles, and thick Welsh green and rustic Precelly slates may be recommended, as also the Peake’s & Hartshill hand-made tiles.
Pantiles are cheap, but should only be employed on unbroken roofs having few valleys, where it is less difficult to keep out the wet. The roof should be steep, the angle in no case being less than 45 degrees. Before covering, care should be taken to ascertain whether they are of good manufacture, and whether they are porous or not. There are sometimes pantiles of an indifferent quality on the market; and, if this precaution is not taken, a roof may have to be stripped and re-tiled. Where they have been used and have afterwards been found to be bad they may be tarred, as are wood coverings in Norway and Sweden. It is always essential that the services of a practised layer of pantiles should be secured.
Gables should have damp courses under the coping to shield them from frost and wet.
Roof ridging should have careful attention, and it is wiser to suppress rather than to sharpen, the better to obtain that rustic appearance suitable to a cottage. Many fantastic ridges, with vulgar finials, are employed in the building of small suburban villas, of a more or less sharp-pointed character, and of a depth out of proportion to the roof, which gives an unpleasant harshness to the general appearance. With the principle in view that the sky-line should be softened as much as possible, the brindled hand-made half-rounds should be used. With green slates, ridges of blue are the most suitable, as the colours harmonise. Experience will probably show that the red and buff ridges will not stand the weather so well as other kinds.
Wall Spaces: Rough-cast—Whitewash—Half-timber.—However strong may be the temptation to introduce a variety of colour upon exteriors, it is advisable with cottages of the class dealt with to refrain from so doing. It is best to get the colour in masses, treated broadly—say, each house, as far as wall surfaces and roof are concerned, of one colour; for where the cottages stand close together, or even where they are semi-detached, sufficient contrast or relief is afforded by contiguous cottages treated differently, and in the case of a village a much better general effect is thus gained. On the other hand a good effect may be gained by giving a block of houses one tone throughout, matching the colour of the roof. The result is quiet and unobtrusive, and one which is very desirable in the cottage, where the features are necessarily brought close together. The tarred plinth, however, should always be used with rough-cast.
Half-timber should be used sparingly. While the bye-laws insist on a 9-in. wall being at the back, an unwarranted present and future expense is incurred by its use; and an effect equally as good, moreover, may be obtained with rough-cast, weather boarding, or whitewash. Half-timber one lives to regret, for the weather tells sadly upon it, and it demands constant repair.
A small cottage with an equal distribution of equal-sized windows is far from desirable. In a pair of cottages where there are four equal rooms facing the road, four equal windows would at first sight seem unavoidable, although such an arrangement would be fatal to the elevation. It is better to put a secondary light to the rooms at the extremities, getting additional light from the side, and thus by contrast giving greater importance to the larger windows in the centre, or even to omit the smaller windows, if adequate light can be obtained without them. The blank space might then be used for the training up of climbing plants. A certain number of windows is indispensable in a cottage, but, without stinting light, the aim should rather be to repress any superfluity. By the means suggested the view from the interior is sometimes agreeably varied.