Wallace Ashby

“ The workroom, unusually large for a small house, is a good place for laundry or canning and for men to clean up before coming in to meals. Dining space is provided at the rear of the living room. This house should be compared with no. 6527 (p. 36) .
Board and batten construction is very suitable for a low-cost house, but any other type of construction may be used for plan 6522 if preferred. If the house is built in a cold climate, probably it will be desirable to omit the fireplace and heat the living and bedrooms with a circulator heater. ”

“ Little study has been given to what amounts farm people are justified in spending for their houses, but several investigations have been made of expenditures for housing by people with fixed incomes. It is generally agreed that the house ordinarily should not cost more than two and one-half times the average annual net income of the family. In the case of the farm family the value of the living furnished by the farm should be considered as part of the income. ”

“ The most satisfactory way to learn the probable cost of a house is to obtain estimates from one or more local builders. Approximate costs may, of course, be obtained by comparing the proposed house with one built recently in the same community, or rough estimates may be based on the size of the house and typical unit costs for the locality. ”

“ There are many arguments in favor of the growing house for the farm. The first unit can be erected at a moderate cost, yet the finished house may have all the features considered important. As more space is needed the owner often can build the additions himself, taking advantage of slack times to cut lumber from his own land, haul sand and gravel for concrete, and in other ways reduce the cost of the additions. The chief difficulty with the growing house is that it is likely to grow very slowly. ”

“ Safety in the farmhouse depends first on good construction for protection from damage by wind, fire, decay, and termites. Safety is promoted also by planning to avoid hazards from low beams, steep or unguarded stairways, or badly placed doors and windows. The working drawings for the houses illustrated herein embody good practice in these matters. The welfare and convenience of the occupants will be further permanently safeguarded through rat-proof construction, which eliminates "rat harbors", and denies easy entrance of the rodents to the building. ”

“ With the heater room adjoining the kitchen, there is little need for a basement, thus an important item of expense is eliminated. The kitchen and workroom form a compact and very convenient unit along the driveway side of the house, while the large living room commands a good view of the highway. The living room and halls are lighted and ventilated by the small windows above the lower roofs. Closet space is provided in every room. ”

“ On the screened back porch, which is equipped with laundry trays and closet, men coming from the fields may hang their outside work garments and, except in cold weather, wash before entering the house. Here a great deal of the dirty and messy work in preparing fruits and vegetables for canning may be done. Entrance from the screened porch to the bath or bedrooms reduces to a minimum the traffic through the kitchen and living room. In plan 6520 the screened porch might be divided by a lattice into work and living spaces. ”

“ THE PRINCIPAL PURPOSE of this bulletin is to supply plans A for low-cost farm dwellings designed to meet the requirements of the farm operator and his family. Some of the plans may be useful in eases where, in addition to the main dwelling, smaller homes are needed for relatives, tenants, or unmarried farm hands. Still others will be found useful in the construction of low-cost houses for temporary use.
A well-built farmhouse should last for 60 years or more. In the ordinary course of events at least two generations of children will be brought up in it. ”

“ Kitchen doors are located to permit easy communication between the screened porch and the hall without interference with the work area while the screened porch is useful as both work and dining area. This latter feature, together with the ample size of the bedrooms, living room kitchen, makes the dwelling especially suitable for the small family in the South. The addition of a cellar under one-half of the house and of a central heating plant would adapt this plan to other sections of the country, though the rooms are rather larger than is common in the North. ”

“ A cellar for fuel and vegetable storage and a central heating plant are usually needed with this type of house. The laundry may also be located in the cellar if suitable drainage and a grade door to the outside can be obtained, but in a poorly drained location it is best to keep the laundry above-ground. In building a cellar advantage should be taken of the slope of the ground to obtain good lighting and an easy entrance on the low side of the slope.
To avoid uncomfortably warm second-floor bedrooms in summer cross ventilation should be provided in each room. ”

“ During these years the family operating the farm probably will have no other choice of dwelling. The builder should, therefore, think both of present needs and possible future requirements when selecting a plan for a new farmhouse.
FARMHOUSE REQUIREMENTS SIZE
The first requirement of a satisfactory farmhouse is adequate size to provide needed working area, storage space, and living and sleeping quarters. For the average family at least three sleeping rooms are needed, [2] one for the parents, one for the boys, and one for the girls. ”

“ The porch faces the highway, and paths from the front and side porches lead to the farm drive.
The kitchen is complete and compact. The extra space found in many farm kitchens has been omitted and a workroom added to provide for laundry and other rough work. This also provides a place for men to leave their outer wraps and wash before entering the living room. Storage space can be obtained in the attic by the use of a disappearing stair in the workroom ceiling. ”

“ The dining room and kitchen are combined in one room, while the other room is temporarily both bedroom and living room. A porch leading directly into the kitchen affords entrance during the initial stage. In the center of the first unit are an unusually large storage closet and a chimney reminiscent of colonial Virginia. In localities where firewood is not readily available the fireplace may be omitted and a stove used for heating the bedroom. ”

“ The refrigerator should, for convenient use, be as near as possible to the worktable and stove; however, the higher the surrounding temperature the greater the cost of operating the refrigerator. If an ice refrigerator is used, a location near the outside door lessens the tracking of dirt into the house. A ventilated cupboard near the worktable is convenient for storing the less perishable foods and reduces the season during which ice is needed. ”

“ These plans have been carefully prepared by competent architects in consultation with home-management specialists and agricultural engineers familiar with farm conditions in all parts of the United States. It is urged that the plans be studied carefully before making a selection, but that no changes be made in them except for alternate arrangements indicated by the drawings or descriptions. Changing the size of a room or the location of a door or window may spoil some other valuable feature, and is almost certain to harm the appearance of the house. ”

“ 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. ”

“ These plans were developed independently, but the coincidence emphasizes the practicability of having the work and living areas on the side of the building next to the driveway and the bedrooms toward the rear, with the bathroom located as centrally as possible. The design of a small house for farm use is greatly influenced by the rather fixed location of the kitchen. ”

“ Sometimes the living room must serve as one of the sleeping rooms.
All the space may not be needed at the time the house is built, but the chances are that it will be needed before many years. On the other hand, many families find that after the children have« 2 » grown up and left home it is not necessary to use the entire house. ”

“ The sink should be well-lighted, with windows over or at one end of it. Windows over the sink should have the sills higher than the back of the sink. Such windows will need to be shielded from sun glare unless on the north side of the house. The sink should have a drain board at the left end, at the right a flat shelf for stacking dishes if there is no drain board there. Dish storage should be near enough the left end of the sink for the dishes to be put away without unnecessary steps. ”

“ The flat roof should be covered with good roofing and well-insulated for comfort in both summer and winter as described in the working drawings. The cost of the insulated flat roof should not be greater than that of an ordinary pitched roof without insulation. The accumulation of snow will help to keep the building warm. ”

“ At least one bedroom should be provided on the first-floor of the farmhouse, not too far from the kitchen, so that small children or sick persons may be cared for conveniently. The bathroom should be convenient to both downstairs and upstairs bedrooms, but preferably on the first-floor. ”

“ As in some other plans, the kitchen is designed for the use of an oil, gas, or electric cookstove. The house may be heated by a circulator hot-air heater, by a hot-water system with a radiator boiler in the living room, or possibly by radiant gas or electric heaters in the bedrooms.
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The type of design favors keeping the house close to the ground. ”

“ Costs in any locality are influenced by local factors, generally being relatively high near cities and in thickly settled sections and relatively low in places where there are local supplies of lumber or other materials. ”

“ These were designed for temporary homes to be used later as shops, bunk houses, storage buildings, or for other uses, so concrete floors are recommended. Low-cost "frameless" construction is shown in the working drawings. There are no ceilings. The shower baths shown in the plans can be installed cheaply.
The kitchens and work porches are large enough for the needs of a good-sized family. Plenty of windows are provided for ventilation. The kitchen arrangement shows a wood-burning stove, and a large refrigerator placed against an inside wall for protection from the outdoor heat. ”

“ Floor areas: Superstructure, first unit 795 square feet; with bedroom addition 1,080 square feet; with both additions 1,375 square feet. Porches, 105 square feet. Cellar, 795 square feet.
This simple farmhouse develops into a home of dignity and charm. The original unit furnishes all modern conveniences and an ample basement. Future bedrooms may be added as required, while the extended living room might be built as the final touch of growing prosperity. ”

“ Such buildings blend with their surroundings to produce a real homey atmosphere. Originally planned for southern conditions, where a circulator heater placed in the hall should be adequate, these plans are adapted to colder regions if the houses are well constructed and are provided with basements and central heating plants as indicated on the working drawings. ”

“ Prepared by A. L. Matthews and N. G. Napier for the department of agricultural engineering, University of Arkansas,
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PLAN 6503 [35]
Floor areas: Superstructure, original house 520 square feet; with addition, 825 square feet.
Small homes are often cut up into several rooms, with the result that in them a person has a "boxed-in" feeling. In plan 6503 the rooms are few, and each is used for more than one purpose. If the cost must be kept to a minimum, the bedroom and sleeping porch may be omitted in the original construction. ”