Sanitation in the modern home; a suggestive guide to the architect and house owner in designing and building a residence proving a healthful, comfortable and convenient home

Front matter

SANITATION IN THE

MODERN HOME

Class .j_4J_^

Foreword

The architect is a many-sided man, — but not more versatile than the requirements of his profession demand. To his abiUty to interpret and express artistic sense, he must add practical knowledge and even more, — he must possess technical skill in many lines of constructive work. He must be a master of architectural history and at the same time have a practical knowledge of the composition of a satisfactory plaster ; he must know tone values and also be able to calculate strains ; he must have the gift to understand the meagerly expressed needs of his clients and formulate them into a structure which will meet those needs in an appropriate manner ; and he must also possess a knowledge of practical structural details which will combine, with an artistic exterior, comfort, safety and utility within.

There is little need for additional publications which present the artistic side of architecture. Sumptuous architectural pubHcations in book and periodical form fully supply this demand. But the home builder of today demands far more than an artistic structure; he requires a home in which health shall be assured, convenience studied, and comfort provided.

The American people are accumulating material wealth so rapidly that they now demand many conveniences which a generation ago would have been considered unnecessary, and others which even ten years ago would have been considered luxuries which only the very rich could afford. The modern American home must have a perfect system of cold and hot water supply ; an inoffensive and sanitary system of disposing of household wastes ; an adequate system of automatically controlled heating combined with ventilation, and a convenient and complete scheme of artificial lighting.

The demands made upon the architect by the home builder for all these accessories to a model modern residence have been prodigally met by the enterprising and resourceful American manufacturers. They have studied every need, have foreseen every demand and present the necessary means to insure every home, humble or luxurious, a water supply and sewerage system and a heating and lighting plant which may almost be said to be beyond criticism.

Twenty-five years' journalistic experience in sanitary work has led me to suggest the preparation of this volume, which will prove useful, I trust, to the home builder in the fond study which precedes the services of the architect. It should furnish the non-technical reader many ideas which, when incorporated into the home structure, will add greatly to its usefulness, healthfulness and comfort.

Jno. K. Allen.

Chicago, January, 1907.

Chapter I

Selection of a Building Site. Things to be considered. Present and future value. The lot the only real security for present or future loans. Its value is the basis for rentals. Its selection with reference to light and air. Engineering and sanitary considerations.

Chapter II

Preparation of the Soil. Surface drainage. Subsoil drainage. Laws of flow of sub-soil waters. Catch basins. Care of storm waters. Roof guttering and rain water leaders.

Chapter III

The Ideal Home. The Modern Housekeeper's View. It must be sanitary. Easily kept in condition. Household operations guided b}' scientific laws and not by chance. General considerations as to dryness, light, floors, interior arrangement and furniture.

Chapter IV

What a modern Housekeeper Wants : The porch. The vestibule. The hall. Reception room. The parlor. Living room. The library. The den. Dining room. Butler's pantry. The kitchen. The cellar. Wine closet. The laundry. The nursery. The chambers. Bath room. The garret.

Chapter V

The cellar. The walls. Damp-proofing. Cellar floors. Underneath the floor. Soil drainage. House drains. Self-cleaning drains. Soil pipe, and connections to the sewer. Cellar drainage. Back water gates. Automatic cellar and ash pit drainers. Floor drains. Fuel storage and conveniences. Vegetable rooms. Wine closets. Tool room. Light in the cellar. Cellar ventilation.

Heating by Hot water. Its advantages. Types of house-heating hot water boilers. Draft regulators. Expansion tanks. Heat retainers and heat economizers. Special circulation fittings. Radiators. Wall and windovv^ radiators. Radiator valves. Radiator Air valves. System of piping.

Chapter IX

Heating by Warm Air. Its advantages. Types of warm air furnaces. Combination warm air and steam, and warm air and hot water heaters. Auxihary heating coils and sections. Draft regulation. Location of furnace. Brick work. Fresh air supply. Warm air flues. Furnace pipe and fittings. Wall and floor reg^isters.

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Chapter X

Ventilation. Quality of air. Amount of air required. Preparation of air for breathing. Humidifying air. Drying air. Filtering air. Varied systems of ventilation.

Chapter XL

Temperature Control. Various systems employed. Results to be obtained must provide comfort, safety and fuel economy.

Chapter XII

Cold Water Supply. Connection with city main, yard hydrants and street washers. Setting of meters. Stop and waste cocks. Filtering. Storage of water. Water lifts. Cistern water supply. Domestic water works service for detached homes. Rams. Pmnps. Windmills and towers. Plumbing brass goods ; laundry tray bibbs ; kitchen sink bibbs ; basin cocks ; ball cocks.

Chapter XIII

Hot Water Supply. Heating water and storing it. Range boiler heaters. Automatic water heating systems. Tank heaters. Instantaneous water heaters. Hot water temperature control.

Chapter XIV

The Kitchen. Proper flooring. Windows. The kitchen sink. Grease traps. The cooking range. Ventilation. Refrigerator room. Pantries. Butler's pantry and its equipment.

Chapter XV

The Bathroom. In proportion to its use the most sumptuous room in the house. Light and air. The baths, shower, tub, sitz and foot. The lavatory. The water closet, washout, washdown, syphon jet, or flushing valve; the plumbing woodwork; high tanks and low tanks. Traps. Bath-room accessories. Out of door water closets, anti-freezing and frost proof.

Chapter XVI

Lighting the home. Gas as an illuminant. Individual gas plants. Proper distribution of gas. Clever and useful gas appliances. Acetylene lighting plants. Lighting by electricity. Economical devices in electric lamps. Individual electric plants.

Chapter XVII

The Stable. Stable heating and plumbing.

Water supply. Special stable drainage. Sanitary

care of manure. Carriage washers. Stable fittings.

Chapter XVIIL

Electricity in the IModern Home, and great serviceability.

Its new uses

SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME.

Chapter I. SELECTION OF A BUILDING SITE

Things to be considered. Present and future value. The lot the only real security for present or future loans. Its value is the basis for rentals. Its selection with reference to light and air. Engineering and sanitary conditions.

TT VERY often happens that Destiny has made the choice of the home site before we have had a chance to get in a word on the subject. We are placed in the position of the man who was upbraided for not having chosen more wisely his ancestors. But if the irrevocable has not been done we may have many helps in modern ideas of what a home site should be.

The ideal home site for a family of moderate income would be within half an hour's ride from the husband's place of business, upon a side street half a -block to two blocks from the line of

SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME.

transportation, so as to be away from the noise of traffic. If a spot can be found a few feet higher than the surrounding land it should have unhesitating preference. Such a place is certain to have better drainage and a better circulation of air. Good drainage under the modern conditions of sanitary plumbing insures a speedy removal of all filth from which noisome and injurious gases might arise. The free circulation of air has the effect of diluting such gases as do escape from drains, sewers or decaying organic matter. While foul smells serve as a warning that an enemy is abroad, not all foul smells appear to have a serious effect upon the health of human kind. The most that can be said against disagreeable odors as a whole is that they are not esthetic, and the ideal home must have a situation where they are not too much in evidence. Such a home should be in a strictly residence neighborhood, where the streets are kept tidy, the lawns pretty, and the garbage is collected regularly from fly-proof cans. y^ Quiet is a health essential quite forgotten by many people. Complete relaxation with sound and undisturbed sleep in a quiet neighborhood is the best restorative for the man who spends six days a week up to his armpits in the tide of business affairs. Therefore, choose the home site as far from the all-night noises as conditions will permit.

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STUDY THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

New neighborhoods are to be preferred rather than old ones because all the new houses are likely to have the latest and best in sanitary plumbing and one is less likely to suffer from the laxities of his neighbors. The spirit of a new neighborhood is more likely to be that of today while the old locality is in the straggling and irregular part of the procession of progress. People who own the houses in which they live are more painstaking in the care of their properties, and the ideal homesite would be among such neighbors. Before purchasing a lot in a newly opened part of a city it is best to ascertain if sevv-ers, water, gas and paving are all in and to find out the amount of local assessments standing against the property. It is well also to look out for the cost of possible street extensions which sometimes add considerably to one's taxes. Disregard for these things often leads to paying too much for a lot.

On which side of the street shall I build? Individual preferences appear to make full use of all four possibilities. The prevailing direction of the wind influences many. In the northern part of the United States the east or west side of the street, if the streets are closely built, would provide best for a good circulation of air, the prevailing wind being from the west. In St. Louis and the south generally the prevailing wind is from the

SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME.

south or a little to the southwest, so that the north or south side of the street would give the advantage of a freer circulation of air through the house. If one desired to have a plant-room the south side of the street would be most convenient. Then the conservatory could be made a part of the living or dining room at the back and not disturb the architectural harmony of the facade facing the street. If placed upon the south side of a house facing east or west, unless the lot were unusually wide, the neighboring house would obstruct too much the slanting rays of the winter sun. On account of the considerable litter from such a feature of a home, the conservatory should be at or near the back of the house where the refuse may be handled and disposed of without making the process a public affair. It was the fashion in the old days to have in the front yard of the southern home a whitewashed cabin, the home of the house servant. No matter how small the yard the sign of the slave ownership was where custom placed it. But the aristocratic spirit of today expresses itself in flowers and lawn and unimpeachable tidiness.

The probable increase in the value of a lot is to be considered. A new locality, particularly if one is a pioneer, has distinct advantage in this regard, although the cheapness of the lot may debar one from securing a satisfactory loan. Lenders of

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IMPROVEMENTS IN VALUE.

money are reluctant to take risks in uncertain suburbs. The lot value, it will be seen, is a governing factor in securing a loan. Money is easier to secure, interest rates are more favorable and a larger loan on the investment may be obtained in a residence district where the conditions are established and the future of the locality is not in doubt. In fixing the rentals of dwellings the lot value enters into the calculation. The value of the lot may increase while the house deteriorates from age and use, and will furnish a reason for the maintenance of rentals as high or higher than w^hen the house was new. New and better lines of transportation coming into the district may increase the rental value and therefore the value of the whole property. No such revolution of real estate values ever took place in American cities and sviburbs, in fact, in all progressive countries, as followed upon the installation of electric transit lines in the years 1887 to 1895. The electric car lines have been great levelers of real estate values in and about cities, where a five-cent fare will take a passenger one block or a hundred. A town a mile square has 640 acres or about 6,400 small city lots. Add one mile all around and you have 5,760 acres or 57,600 city lots, nine times as many as in the single square mile. Yet, with good transportation, the outlying portions are in many respects more desirable for a home than

SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME.

the parts close in, assuming that the business district is in the central portion. When buying a lot it pays to go shopping to find the best locality, the best transportation, best drainage, best ne^hbors and best bargain that one's funds will command.

The suburbs around Chicago present a greater variety of land elevations than are to be found immediately within the city. The high ground at Blue Island is occupied by many beautiful homes, and on account of its sightliness, one almost wonders that a vacant lot remains. Chicago has one of the most difficult problems in drainage in America, solved for a time at least by the great canal, which sends its sewage gulfward. In New Orleans, which is below the level of the river in the flood season, the difficulty is one degree worse, drainage being accomplished only by forcing the sewage by machinery into Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Bogue and the lower Mississippi river.

Many of the older cities of the east, such as Albany, N. Y., and the places along the Hudson, are almost entirely on sloping ground, and instead of problems in drainage they have the problem of keeping within bounds the surface water after heavy storms. While the side-hill site has its inconveniences of inaccessibility it is invariably a healthful one with sightliness as an added attraction. All about upper New York it is the aim of housebuild-

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SUNSHINE IN ALL ROOMS.

ers to have one or more windows commanding a view of the Hudson or the Sound. There is lack neither of good drainage or good air, for soft coal is taboo in New York and the air is as clear as that of a mountain village. Individual preference expresses itself in a variety of ways. Karl Bitter, the famous sculptor, mindful no doubt of his boyhood scenes on the Danube, has built him a home at the top of the palisades above Hoboken. He had to restore the top of the crag with a wall of cement and stone to make a wee bit of a back yard. Nobody can see his ash barrel unless he is so prying as to ride by in an airship. Mr. Bitter has no drainage or fresh air problem.

Out on the desert of southern Idaho, when laying out one of the cities that shall grow as the result of irrigation, upon the entire square mile of the town-site the intersecting streets were so planned as to be at diagonals with the geographical parallels and meridians. This arrangement has no other purpose tiian to have the houses present their corners to the four cardinal points of the compass and to insure a liberal am.ount of sunshine for all rooms. There are thus no north rooms in Twin Falls, Idaho, this, too, in a region where the climate is far more mild in winter than in Chicago, zero weather coming but rarely.

SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME.

In the extremely humid region of the Pacific Northwest another problem is presented but often disregarded. One may see the moss growing thriftily upon the northern slopes of shingle roofs. This might have been avoided and much dampness within the houses prevented by the simple expedient of facing the houses or building the roofs so that the slopes were east and west, where the sun could dry them and kill the sprouting mosses. Better yet would be the use of metal roofs.

Californians, who are principally only eastern folk transplanted to the Golden State, are fond of the bungalow, a one-story house in ten thousand shapes. It is generally vine covered and always low and spready. Bungalows are often perched on round barren knolls, on hillsides and even on the dry desert with only a small orchard of orange trees around them, supplied with water by means of individual pumping plants. In the cities and towns they have all the advantages of organized, modern sanitation.

In the rural districts anywhere the greatest need of a careful selection of the home site exists. With appalling frequency we see the stables and pig sties, the hen houses and cattle yards on ground higher than the family dwelling, the surface water running dangerously near the family well and the

BUILD ON HIGH GROUND.

earth becoming saturated by years of use with the liquids from the animal quarters.

The country home should be on high ground, well away from sources of possible pollution, for purposes of drainage and for the pleasurable view such a situation affords. Even the farmer, under the influence of modern thinking and the more general appreciation of the esthetic, is coming to regard a good view of the landscape as something of an asset in his farm possessions. It is a part of the same broadening of mind that induces him to put into his house the modern plumbing. To be on high ground with one's house is like being up a good, healthy tree if a pack of wolves found you alone in the woods. You are out of reach of prowling effluvia that might bring sickness to some susceptible member of the family and you are sure that all waste will be taken quickly to a safe distance from the house. That dangerous pest, the anopheles, or malaria-breeding mosquito, which thrives in stagnant pools of water, is less likely to make a successful attack if the house is so situated that the evening breeze sweeps all around the dwelling. Big trees should not grow too thick near the house, however welcome their summer shade. A dry cellar is quite as desirable as a proper grade in the drainage pipes.

SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME.

Many of the old farm houses are found in sheltered hollows, where in fact it is colder than on the knolls. Cold air drains to the low places and fog and dampness linger in the hollows. Modern methods of building, with cheap devices for giving great warmth to houses, permit the construction of houses in exposed places. The entrances may be so disposed and protected that winter winds shall not interfere with family comfort and storm windows will prevent the too rapid radiation of heat from the window panes. The rural home may have, and thousands of them do have, all the comforts and conveniences of city dwellings and it is in the country that a vast field for future business in home improvements lies in all the lines concerned with domestic engineering.

Chapter 11.

PREPARATION OF THE SOIL.

Surface drainage. Sub-soil drainage. Laws of floiV' of sub-soil ivaters. Catch basins. Care of storm waters. Roof guttering and rain water . leaders.

T NDIVIDUAL preference steps in so frequently with its ideas and fancies that no hard-andfast rules safely may be promulgated by any authority. Most rules are susceptible of variation in their application, while still having as their foundation the established principles on which well informed men in the several branches of domestic engineering agree. The purpose of these chapters is to present so near as may be done the best practice of the times, with full recognition of the fact that there exist many points of controversy.

If the prospective house-builder can be made to feel that the family plumber is quite as much a health necessity as the family doctor the propaganda of correct plumbing and scientific sanitation will be appreciably advanced. The question of drainage, so vital in the house itself, should extend to the grounds surrounding the house, that they

SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME.

may be kept sweet and healthful. Therefore certain laws governing the drainage of soils should be understood.

The water in the soil, whether resulting directly from storms or flowing down from higher elevations, may be considered as of two kinds, the film water and the free water. The film water is that which surrounds each particle of the soil. When the earth is damp, yet crumbles easily and is in perfect condition for easy cultivation, it contains film water only. The free water is the surplus. When there is more than enough to surround each particle of earth with a film then the soil is said to contain free water. The purpose of farm drainage and of drainage as applied to the premises surrounding a dwelling is to get rid of this free water before it can become stagnant and sour the earth or penetrate the cellar walls to the detriment of the family health. Gravitation tends to take the free water down to the non-porous strata or the water sheet, while the capillarity of the soil tends to bring it back to the surface there to dispose of it through evaporation from the surface of the soil itself or through the roots and thence through the leaves of plants and trees. The free water fills the air spaces that would otherwise exist in the soil and has the effect of smothering the useful plants whose roots must have air in greater quantity than that sup-

SOIL DRAINAGE.

plied by the free water. Free water contains a certain amount of oxygen but not enough for the habits of the more useful plants. The habits of water plants need not be considered in this connection. Certain soils require no artificial drainage for the disposition of surface or storm waters. Their porous character makes them readily absorbent of all surplus water, which is soon carried beyond the depth of plant roots. The gravelly and sandy soils present no problems in drainage but rather vex us with the difficulty of retaining enough moisture for a thrifty lawn and healthy shrubs and trees for the yard. The ideal soil for the yard is a loam with plenty of hum'us or decaying vegetable matter well mixed through it. Humus is extremely retentive of moisture in the form of film water, and is the best component of the soil for carrying the growing plants through seasons of drought. A heavy clay soil may be made tillable and productive by mixing with it an abundance of sand, humus, in the form of loose stable compost, or coal ashes. The sand and coal ashes do not add much to the richness of the soil but they so change the mechanical structure as to make more readily available for the plants the plant foods contained in the clay. With the question of soil fertility, however, we are not here concerned. By improving the mechanical structure of the soil we improve its natural drain-

SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME.

age. The close texture of heavy clay tends to hold storm waters long on the surface while the lighter soils, with their open texture, convey the surplus water quickly to the sub-soil and to the yard or sub-soil drains, if provided.

When the cellar has been excavated it may be determined whether or not it is necessary to have drains placed below the wall foundations. If the natural conditions appear to require such drains they should be made of common drain tile laid with open joints placed at least six inches from the wall outside. They should discharge into a water-tight catch basin and thence through a properly trapped vitrified pipe drain to the main sewer connection.

Protection should also be secured against bad ground air. Changes in barometric pressure alternately pump air into and out of the ground, and unless the ground air is kept free from contamination, or is, by air-tight foundations, kept from entering the house, undesirable conditions may be found to exist.

Much future trouble will be saved the householder if the space between the finished walls of the cellar and the surrounding earth be kept free, during the construction of the house, from shavings and other rubbish and, when the walls have seasoned, packed with firm, clean earth. Storm water may

GRADING THE GROUND.

keep the walls of a cellar perpetually wet if this precaution is not taken, especially when no effectual provision is made for the underdrainage of the walls or carrying away storm waters.

After the construction of the walls comes the grading of the grounds. This should be so planned as to throw the storm water and the water from hydrants and waste pipes toward one or more common centers, each provided with catch basins. The catch basins for surface drainage should be at least 12 inches in diameter, water tight, with a 6-inch discharge pipe effectively trapped below the frost line. The trap should be accessible so that it rhay be cleaned. The catch basin should be protected with a screen cover. If placed in a driveway or court where traffic occurs and the cover is liable to injury the frame and screen should be of heavy cast-iron to resist the impact of heavy wheels.

Another form of surface catch basins consists of two large sections of vitrified pipe set on end upon a four-inch stone or cement foundation, which should extend at least three inches beyond the pipes. It should be water tight and the discharge should be effectively trapped as in the case of the basin described in the foregoing paragraph. Inasmuch as the purpose of a catch basin is to arrest the flow of sediment and prevent that which is not soluble from entering the sewer the discharge pipe should

SANITATION IN THE MODERN HOME.

be placed well above the bottom of the basin, the distance depending upon the dimensions of the basin and the area draining into it.

In the subsoil drainage of the yard the common tile drain pipes are laid with open joints two to three feet below the surface, leading to common centers and there discharging into catch basins which in turn are connected with the sewer with proper trap and clean-out. These latter connections should be of vitrified pipe or metal. Seepage water gathering in tile drains rarely carries sediment in appreciable quantity but usually flows clear into the catch basin and sewer. Such drains if carrying much water sometimes become stopped by the fine roots of trees growing into them, but serious damage is not likely to result from such a cause.

The disposal of storm waters from the roof requires consideration. Roof gutters are made of sheet tin, galvanized iron, brass and copper. Tin, unless kept painted, will rust sooner or later. Heavy gauge tin of certain makes has a record of durability that recommends it for ordinary uses. The common bright tin or sheet iron should never be used where durability is required. The real choice, perhaps, lies between galvanized iron which should be of heavy gauge and copper, with the preference in favor of the latter if it is not necessary to consider present expense. It will last a lifetime or

RAIN WATER LEADERS.

several of them if not misused. Especially disappointing is tin when leaves or washings from the shingles clog the gutters or spouts, retaining dampness from one storm to another. The tin soon rusts and breaks down, while even the galvanized iron cannot perpetually resist such an attack of corrosive influences. The copper or brass, however, shows no marks of corrosion.

The vertical leaders or conductors connecting with the eaves troughs should have abundant capacity for the roof water during the heaviest storms. Rain water leaders should be run as straight as possible, horizontal runs being avoided. The heads to rain water leaders should not be tapering or conical. When these pipes are upon the exterior of the house they may be galvanized iron, copper or brass, the galvanized iron serving the purpose most generally and with satisfaction, there being little chance of its rusting. Where the pipes are in exposed places and liable to injury they should be connected with the house drain by means of an extra heavy length of cast iron pipe extending at least 4 feet above the ground. In protected corners and unused places the connection may be made not less than three inches above grade, using oakum and cement in the hub end of the pipe to make the seal. When vitrified pipe is used in place of cast iron for this purpose it is usually broken by acci-

SAXITATIOX IN THE MODERN HOMR dent or by the action of frost soon after its installation, a sufficient reason for its disuse. On account of exposure to frost the exterior conductors or down spouts need to be of larger caliber than when tliey are placed inside the building. If constructed of cast iron sections and placed within the building the size should not be less than 3 inches, and if made of galvanized iron, brass or copper the size should not be less than 2 inches in diameter. A large roof area requires large sizes.

Good practice forbids that the roof drains shall connect with the ventilating stack of the house drain system or that either shall be used for any other purpose than that for which it was particularly constructed.

When the exterior conductors are placed in alleys or adjacent to drive ways where they may be liable to injur}' from passing wagons they should be placed in niches in the wall or protected with effective wheel guards.