Evening Star Newspaper, March 30, 1935, Page 19

REAL ESTATE. MATERILS SHOM * BT SUGHT RSE ltems in Building Group Still Below Level of Year Ago. . Though building materials prices #howed an advance during February plong with the general sise of other commodities, the gain was siight and prices of iteras in the building group were still below the level of a year ago, according to a report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. ‘The general level of wholesale com- modity prices advanced nearly 1 per cent from January to February. The index of the bureau rose to 79.5 per cent of the 1926 average. This level is the highest point reached since December, 1930. The February index registered an advance of 8 per cent over February, 1934. Behind General Advance, However, the price of building ma- terials has not followed the general advance during the last year, includ- ing such commodities as foodstuffs. Building materials advanced a tenth | of 1 per cent from January to Feb- ruary this year, but the February index was 1.6 per cent less than for the same month last year. This de- crease in building costs has led to the increase in construction through- out the country. Lumber Price Higher, The slightly higher prices showed by building materials last month over | Januery, according to the Bureau | of Labor Statistics, was due to the increase in the price of lumber. Other subgroups, such as brick and tile, paint and paint materials, Wwere slightly lower. Plumbing and heating materials prices showed a decline of 9 of 1 per cent in February, while the price of structural steel remained the same as January, which was 92 per cent of the 1926 level. Housefurnishing goods as a whole for February showed a decline in price of 4 of 1 per cent as compared with January. The price of the subgroup furniture declined 1 per cent. Air Conditioning Ice Cooled Devices Effec- tive Only in Limited Space. The use of ice for cooling and air conditioning is a subject which has long been of great interest to those en- deavoring to obtain Summer comfort 1nexpensively. There have been innumerable air eonditioning machines using ice put on the market during the past few years that no doubt would be able to cool and dehumidify the air in a small room occupied by only a few people. If the manufacturers had made it clearer that these machines would be effective in only a limited space, they would possibly have been much more successful, but on the contrary they were offered as a cure for all condi- tions. In order to make them compact and easily salable the ice carrying capacity was cut down to a minimum. In fact, the average machine of that type | would hold only enough ice to ef-! fectively cool a very small room for an | exceedingly short period of time with- out re-icing. The water from the | melted ice had to be removed from | time to time, and the muss and bother | of carrying ice to the machine before it was placed in operation served to | make it too inconvenient for the small | amount of comfort gained. | Many Black Eyes Received. As a result of the numerous black | eyes received by manufacturers at- tempting to sell machines of this sort, the available equipment has been cut | down to a relatively few devices which | will do an efficient job. They are of | necessity rather bulky in order to hold enough ice to condition a fair sized ce. The room air is drawn in to these machines by an electric blower | .or fan and either forced over the ice | as it stands on a rack, or blown| 'through a fine spray of cold water | pumped from the melting ice, thereby being cooled and having excess moisture removed by condensation. | ‘There are many variations of these | principles but they all produce about | the same results. i 1t is possible, however, to use ice ef- | ficiently in certain places and the | home owner can very easily install a | system that will give him perfect sat- isfaction. | I If the house is already equipped ‘with & modern Winter air conditioning -plant of the forced air type it is a very simple matter to add the ice cooling equipment. If the house is equipped || with an old-fashioned, gravity type, hot air heating system it is only | slightly more difficult than with the | more up-to-date plant. Cooling Coil Necessary ‘With the modern plant it is merely necessary to install some means of cooling the air as it is circulated || through the unit by the motor driven | blower. This cooling can be accom- ‘plished by placing a cooling coil in the air stream, through which cold || LIVE IN UXMANOR The Suburb of Contentment HOMES ON 1, ACRE SITES OR MORE Model home open daily and Sunday until 6 P.M. R T A f road line, 20 Luzmanor signs. Just ‘.is"mu-m from the heart of the WOODSIDE PARK Your choice one or all of five large lots, several open econom- ical subdivision; complete city service in or available. Selected several years ago, they are a cholce group. Will be sold quickly at 1926 PRICES Ne more like this—don’t wait Thos £ Jorrll COM REALTOR 721 10th St. N.W. National 0765 Sub. Office, 8955 Ga. Ave. Shepherd 3530. SOLICITOR GETS $37,600 IMPROVEMENT PLEDGES Springfield, Mass., Canvasser Ob- tains Sum in 19 Weeks—Others Report Success. One bettér housing program house- to-house canvasser in 1d, Mass., obtained $37,600 in modern- ization pledges in 19 weeks, the Fed- eral Housing Administration is ad- vised, an average of $1,979 per week. Another canvasser, in the same period, obtained $29,905 in pledges, an average of $1,574 for the same period. Three others reported pledges aver- aging more than $1,000 per week. The associate director for Massa- chusetts credits a great amount of this success to careful training of canvassers and steady application to their task. The record-breaking can- vassers were all relief workers. water is circulated, or an air washer equipped with cold water sprays. If the heating system is a gravity type, hot air plant it will be neces- sary to install a motor driven blower unit to circulate the air throughout the house. This blower, by the way, will also increase the efficiency of the system for Winter heating. Together with the installation of the blower a cooling coil or washer is used as in the case of the modern plant. After these changes have been made in the heating system a tank of some sort must be provided in which the ice is melted, and a pump installed to circulate the ice water through the air conditioner. The tank can be essentially the same as one used for oil storage ex- cept that a large opening is provided in the top for the entrance of the ice. A chute is usually provided so that the ice can be slid in from outside the building. In a tank of this sort ‘the ice is floated in water, the cooled wa- ter being pumped to the air conditioner when called for by the thermostat placed in the house. The outside of the tank must be insulated with sev- eral layers of heat insulation so that the ice may be stored economically when the system is not being used. Tank Possibly More Efficient. A slightly more complicated con- struction can be employed which will possibly prove to be more efficient. A tank made of steel plates placed either in the basement or in a hole excavated outside. The sides of this tank should also be very thoroughly insulated. A wooden platform is provided inside the structure upon which whole cakes of ice are placed and the circulating water is sprayed over them from above through perforated pipes or | heads. This type of ice storage will ice meltage and temperature. With a cooling system of this sort, | it is possible for the home owner to have at his command a plant of al- most unlimited capacity at a relatively low cost. When a hot spell comes along it is merely necessary to call the ice cracked or whole cakes of ice, the switch for the pump and blower is thrown in, and the inside temperature will be maintained wherever desired by the automatic thermostat con- trolling the ice water pump. The results obtained with an ice system are for all practical purposes the same as those produced with me- chanical refrigeration. o In locations where the hours of op- eration are short, and the cooling load subject to great variation, it will be found that the cost of operation is ex- tremely economical. see this home. ond . bath . provide a more accurate control Oli | man, who will fill the tank with either | THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, New Home in Wesley Heights Sold § e Mr. and Mrs, James L. West have purchased this home, at 3019 Foxhall road, Wesley Heights, from W. C, Mr. West was formerly director of .public relations for the Republican National Committee. and A. N. Miller. The house is of the Norman style of architecture, It ha s eight rooms and two baths. ~Star Stafl Photo. {219 APPLICANTS SEEK TO INSURE HOME MORTGAGES (Continued From First Page.) tions, and apraisal fees were actually accepted from 52 of the applicants. Others in the group will be examined more thoroughly later. Gilchrist estimated that 75 per cent of the 52 applications accepted for ap- praisal will be approved for mortgage insurance. The next step after this approval is to obtain a financial in- stitution willing to make the loan. The administration has volunteered to at- tempt to place the mortgage applica- tion with a financial institution if the applicant requests it. The adminis- tration in this way can ascertain which of the banks are willing to co- operate in this effort to revive build- ing construction, and consequently al- leviate unemployment. Request Total of $305,000. The 52 new applichnts from whom appraisal fees were received are re- questing a total of $305,000, Gilchrist said, of which $70,100 was requested for new construction. The director had administration employes start work immediately on $180,000 worth of these mortgages, and said the re- maining $124,000 will be “sent through the mill” next week. The flow of ap- plications showed no sign of letting up when the office was opened today. Gilchrist's office was so busily en- gaged in waiting on the new appli- cants that they had no opportunity to service routine applicaticns for mort- gage insurance recelved from the banks and other financial institutions. Beautiful Wesley Heights 4518 Klingle Street If you wish to own a spacious center hall home in new house condition in the best location in town, If you require a lavatory on first floor and wish 4 bedrooms and 2 baths on the sec- . if you want a maid’s room, complete with . and would like oil heat . and, most of all, if you would appreciate a gorgeous lot (100x150) and would wish to acquire a home far below its true worth—then by all means see this one. Open Saturday, 3 to 6, and Sunday, 10 to dark. Realty Associates, Inc. Realtors 1506 K St. Na. 1438 'LIKE TURNING THE PAGES OF THE “HOUSE BEAUTIFUL?” | ' As You Pass From Room to Room | WANDER with us through these seven beautiful rooms, from the 22-foot-long living room with HEALTH HOME ‘ Mortgages _valued at $375,000 have been apprdved for insurance by the Washington office. The 59 mortgages represented in the figure were all re- ceived through financial institutions. FARM REALTY TAXES LOWEST SINCE 1918 Per Acre Rate Compared on Sur- vey by Bureau of Agricul- tural Economics. Farm real estate taxes in 1933 were the lowest per acre since 1918 and the lowest since 1929 in relation to land values, reports the Bureau of Agricultural Economics on the basis of a survey of 35 States. Texas averaged $1.22 per $100 of estimated full value, or 39 cents per .acre. The bureau says taxes per acre show the amount of real estate taxes farmers have to pay from year to year, but taxes per $100 of real estate value more adequately indicate the burden of these taxes on land. It 1s stated that taxes per $100 of value increased continually from 1918 to 1932 because during that period real estate values continually declined relative to taxes per acre. Between the 1932 and 1933 levies, taxes per $100 declined 19 per cent, but in the latter year still averaged 122 per cent above taxes in 1913. the city. home considered obtained on premises, ideas. Now Investment Bldg. In Beautiful BUSINESS LEASES CLOSED IN DISTRICT Knickerbocker Hat Fashions and Peggy Joy Among Those Acquiring Locations. The closing of five leases was an- nounced today by the office of H. Clifford Bangs, realtor. The leases are as follows: A store at 1228 F street to Knick- erbocker Hat Fashions of New York City, for a millinery shop. The rent- | ing of this store, located in the new Remington Rand Building, completes | the rental of space in that structure. | Store at 937-939 F street, with a | frontage of 44 feet on F street, has been rented to Peggy Joy for the sale | of women's wear. This is the fourth store acquired by this corporation, | which has its headquarters in Ja- maica, N. Y. | | C. H. Everett has leased the store | {at 408 Ninth street, which will be | | used for the sale of men’s wear. A | | store at 410 Ninth street has been leased to George L. Goodacre for a sandwich shop, while Louise Carry | has leased stores at 902 and 904 E| Homes and Restricted Home Sites 16th St. and Kalmia Road N.W. Section IGH elevation overlooking park. Rea- sonably priced homes—1510 and 1520 Locust Road now under construction. Choice building lots available in several sections of You may now buy or build in this delightful section at the lowest prices ever offered—on convenient terms. Your present in trade. sketches of your own ideas of a house drawn without obligation or we will esti- mate on your own plans. We design, finance and build. Complete information may be Saturday and Sunday. Now is the time to investigate. Consult us about your building ALSO SEE 1421 JUNIPER ST. N.W., NEARING COMPLETION. & Breuninger & Sons Architects—Builders New Homes—New Features street to M. Chaparas, who will use | the property for a lunch room. Preliminary 16th and Locust Road, Natl. 2040 Glover Park its convenient coat closet and cozy fireplace out on the spacious concrete side porch. Back we come through an inviting dining room with its own screened-in breakfast porch into a kitchen com- pletely equipped electrically, that is an inspira- tion for culinary achievement. OWN to the basement on a solid oak stairway to a recreation room that breathes comfort and relaxation, a family rendezvous. The automatic oil heat is out of the house, under the side porch, and there is also a dustless laundry and built-in sunshine garage. : ASCENDING to the three sleeping chambers on the second floor, we find three airy rooms, two baths, one of which with Neo-angle tub outrivals the luxuries of the Romans. There is a built-in linen press that is a sheer delight to the housewife. N ATTIC, plastered and papered, really an extra room, easily accessible, tops the house. Don’t fail to ‘at once our exquisitely furnished exhibit home 512 Quackenbos St. N.W. Open Daily, 10 to 9 To inspect: Drive straight out 5th Street N.W. to Quackenbos Street, left 50 feet to houses. WM. H. SAUNDERS CO., Inc. 1519 K St. N.W. DIstrict 1015 1f properly financed we will consider your present house in trade. REASONABLY PRICED EASY TERMS Furnished by the Hecht Co. [ ] Modern Appliances through the co-operation of _the WASHINGTON GAS LIGHT CO. L] Open Daily and Sun- day_Until 9 P.M. and completeness that ved in the construction of homes at popular prices . . .- 20-foot all-brick homes of rooms, 2 baths and recreation room. Insulated with Johns-Manville rock Rooms are large. The two baths can only be described as “beautiful.” The kitchen has the i rooms, ok, spacious recreation room, builtin garage. School within one square. High, healthful elevation. Just 10 min- utes’ drive to Dupont Circle. Drive out Wisconsin Ave- nue to Calvert Sireet; turn left to 39th Street and Homes. B. H. Gruver Owner and Builder Investment Building Telephone National 1737 SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 1935. BUILDINGINDUSTR FACES LONG PULL Still Depressed Despite Gains, Says Alexander Hamilton Institute Report. Despite the relatively sharp per- centage increases in building con- tracts this year over the two previous years, the building industry was still in @ depressed state during the first two months of 1935, according to. the Alexander Hamilton Institute. Building activity was at such a low rate in 1933 and 1934 that the gains made in 1935 represented little prog- ress toward full recovery. In order to attain the peak reached in 1928, building contracts during the first two months of this year would have had to show an increase of 789.6 per cent over the depression’s low in 1933, as against the actual increase of only 455 per cent. Building con- tracts in 1935 represented a recovery of only 5.7 per cent of the ground lost in the 1928-1933 slump. Contracts in the first two months of 1935 amounted to only 16.4 per cent of the volume in the corresponding period of 1928. It is not likely that building activity in 1935, for the year as a whole, will show any marked progress toward full recovery, the report continued. It is favorable that construction costs have recently shown a slight tendency to decline and that the upward trend of rents which started at the beginning of £934 is still in progress. It can- not be expected, however, that any | continuation of these cost and rent | trends will be rapid. Any narrowing of the spread between costs and rents, which is the chief obstacle to a build- ing revival, thus promises to be too moderate to have much of a stim- ulating effect, especially since a gen- eral reduction in the Nation’s pur- chasing power is in prospect this year as an offsetting factor. WANTED HOUSES HAVE PURCHASERS FOR HOMES Priced from $6.000 to $10,000 Lif( your property with us or immediate and satisfactory results, Waggaman-Brawner Realty Corp. 1300 Eye St, 110 Glenbrook Rd. Battery Park, Md. $8,850 A beautiful Cape Cod home. all brick. with six very large rooms and lovely bath. Modern in every roof. copp sarage, and on & 60-ft. N A LARGE NEW HOME AT A BARGAIN PRICE Follow car line out Old Georgetown Rd. to Glenbrook Rd.—turn right. ot. Open Saturday P.M. and All Day Sunday PHILLIPS & CANBY, INC. NAt. 4600 Investment Blds. REAL ESTATE, Table Painting Effective. For the breakfast nook or the Sum- mer home, & recent innovation of the table which looks as if it were cov- ered with ollcloth of an attractive de- sign, but which really has a painted finish. Its top and the narrow board extending down from the top around the side are painted in the same plaid as thht used on the oilcloth cushions for the seats and backs of the chairs. FOR $20,000; PRICE ONLY oil heat, 2-car built-in garage. vacant, OPEN TODAY, 2 10 TO DAEK, BOSS & 3240 Livingston St. Insulated and Furred Venetian Blinds Wood-burning Fireplace Breakfast Room Indirect Lighting Kitchen OxfordKitchenCabinets 2 Colorful Baths Expensively Decorated Finished Attic OPEN DAILY in LIVINGSTON ST. Out Military Rd. to 33rd St., turn 1 block north to Livingston st.—or out Conn. Ave. to Military Rd., east on Mili~ tary Rd. to 337d St., north to Livingston. B3 New Decorative Product. Novel decorative effects can be achieved with the use of a lacquer= like product that is now on the mare ket. It comes in gold, silver, copper, amber, green, white and several other ades and can be applied easily to glass and metal as well as to other surfaces. Drying quickly, the coating crystallizes in strange patterns. It is especlally suitable for frosting window pane: 3612 DAVIS ST. N.W. IN MASSACHUSETTS AVE. HEIGHTS. ONE OF THOSE RARE OFFERINGS THAT THE SHREWD BUYER IS CONSTANTLY SEEKING. BUILT TO ORDER IS NOW IN NEW-HOUSE CONDITION. - $14,750 A beautiful home in exclusive section near Massachusetts Ave. All-brick Colonial; 2 fireplaces (one in master bed room), 4 bed rooms, 2 baths, first-floor lavatory, sun room, screened rear porch, big attic, House has been finely refinished and is Inspect at once for a bargain. DRIVE WEST FROM MASSACHUSETTS AVE. AROUND OBSERVATORY CIRCLE TO DAVIS N ST. AND HOUSE DARK: SUNDAY AILY 2 TO DARK PHELPS REALTOR One of the best values we have ever offered in a new home in this section. 11,750 o . Chevy Chase, D. C. Variegated Slate Roof Detached Garage Large Lot Colonial Brass Fixtures Standard Plumbing Bronze Screens Weather-stripped an d Caulked ¢ 3 Large Bed Rooms ® Many Other Features AND SUNDAY OWNER—BUILDER 1508 K St. N.W. Phone Natl. 4886 Adjoining_house fs A . *13.450 12,750. AS APPLIANCES Through the Co-operation of the Washington Gas Light Co. 4ie."io Ttan A Utah to corner of and Tennyson. [ ] Bodh b Mo Gocin i 6233 UTAH AVENUE N.W. CORNER OF JENNYSON STREET 7 ROOMS—2 BATHS N ALL-BRICK home, size 28 by 30 ft., on a large corner lot, over 70-ft. frontage, beautifully landscaped with 50-ft. front porching, stone vestibule entrance. Large living room, 14x26 ft. Spacious stone wood-burning fireplace; bright, cheerful step-up dining room; modern kitchen with dinette. Second floor has three large bedrooms and two colored tile baths, finished attic. The basement has a spacious recreation room, wood-burning fireplace, gas furnace. The house is equipped with metal weather-stripping, fully screened, Sanitas covered walls. 1st floor, ‘washable wallpaper; 2nd floor, furred walls; built-in garage. High eleva- tion overlooking a large wooded area. > . » - Na. 2030 Horning Realty Co.