Evening Star Newspaper, October 3, 1936, Page 27

REAL CAPITAL BUILDING ABOVE §16,000,000 71 Per Cent Increase for 1936 Still Leaves Housing Shortage, Is Report. @reclal Dispatch to The Star MINNEAPOLIS, October 3.—In spite of the 71 per cent increase in home-building volume so far in 1936, the accumulated housing shortage has been little affected in 57 out of 74 cities reporting in a rental survey just completed by Northwestern Na- tional Life Insurance Co. Numerous | increases in house and apartment | rental rates were made on September 1 in 58 of the cities, the report shows, the increases ranging from 1% per} cent up to 30 per cent. In 55 cities | further rent boosts are expected be- tween now and May 1, 1937 Twelve widely scattered cities esti- mate that 75 per cent or more of their new and renewal rentals were raised on September 1. The 12 cities are: Minneapolis, St. Paul, Salt Lake City, Poftland, Oreg.; Tacoma, Wash.; At- lanta, Ga.: Birmingham, Ala,; Tampa, Fla.; East Orange, N. J.: Madison, | Wis., and the Chicago suburbs, Oak | Park and Wilmette. Dallas, Tex., had no rental rise September 1, but has already had four increases on various groups of residential property dur- | ing the past 12 months. Another 14 scattered cities report that half or | more of their new and renewal rentals ‘were raised September 1. Many rental agents have made blanket increases of 5 to 10 per cent on all apartment and house rentals in their hands, the report shows. Pacific Coast cities from | Los Angeles to Seattle report that in | spite of residential bullding increases ranging from 29 per cent to 300 per | cent construction gains have not kept ESTATE. HEATING BOILER CHECK-UP URGED Plumbing Bureau Advice for Dependable and Efficient Winter Service. Don't let Autumn slip into Winter without sssuring yourself that your heating plant is ready to give depend- able and efficient service in the sea- son when it is most needed. This is the advice offered to home owners by the Plumbing and Heating Industries Bureau. An inspection of the entire heating system by a reliable and reputable heating contractor will not only pro- vide the home owner with every as- surance that the boiler can be de- pended upon to provide the necessary warmth, but that it is performing with an efficiency as close to 100 per cent s it is possible to make it. Pirst of all, the heating plant must A Lovely New Home Just Completed 3004 15th St. N.E. (2 blocks morth of 15th and Rhode Island Ave. N.E.) Solid brick construction 6 htful rooms Large living room with fireplace! Bright dining room Modern kitchen with cabinets ond gas refrigerator 3 splendid bedrooms Tile bath with shower Full size cellor Furred walls Insulated ceilings Completely weather-stripped Oil heat REAL ESTATE. be clean if it is to do its job well. Second, the escape of heat must be guarded against. This is done by thorough insulation of the boiler and zlpu and by providing tight-fitting loors. Inspection of the boiler by a good heating contractor will disclose whether proper combustion of the fuel is assured by the grates and by the condition of the fire box, the draft mechanism and the smoke pipe and chimney. Broken or warped grates will per- mit unburned coal to drop into the ash pit; leaks in the smoke pipe or chimney will retard the draft and pre- vent proper control of the pipes. An inspection of the pipes, valves and radiators is necessary to disclose if all the heat generated by the boiler is transmitted to the rooms. Sometimes a sagging of the wall or floor causes a change in the pitch of & pipe which will, in turn, effect the ability of & radiator to heat a room. Radiator shut-off valves sometimes become stuck, so the entry of the full amount of hot water or steam is pre- vented. Similarly, the air valves of a steam- heating plant need lubrication at the beginning of every heating season, if they are to perform smoothly. If the air valves are of the old car- bon-post type, their replacement with modern floating type is desirable, The circulation of the water in a radiator-heating system which has proved sluggish may be speeded up by the use of a motor-driven impeller or by converting the system into what is known as a closed system. Experi- enced heating contractors are glad to offer expert advice on the need for auxiliary equipment. A SUBSTANTIALLY BUILT HOME % ecle Ave., Behesda, Md. Under $10,000 Reasonable Cash pace with the growth in demand; nu- :-;'flt, beoutifully landscaped merous rental increases are being | made of from 5 per cent to 25 per cent. ‘Washington reports that its extensive residential building program of 1935, with the further increase of 61 per Balance One Trust THE PRICE IS ONLY This charming new Oolonial brick home is one of the best ever handied. 'Extra stre Best materials throughont. It » has large living roo ;3 bed rooms. s beautiful bath. Resssnchis Doun Poymont |l foored ‘attic, 3 very wide Dorches, one & sleeping porch. and brick garage. i To Reach—Drive out wWis- OPEN DAILY THE MOST o Rea D consin Avemue past Bank o Open for your imspection Sunday RIGID INSPECTION Bethesde "n ‘R’:)uda!a Ave, AND SUNDAY and daily 1 to 5. TILL & PM, INVITED and right to proverty. Stroup Realty Co. |, Stroup Realty Co. |||} soonse.nw. E. M. AIKEN no. 3556 = > N 1t h e have A view of the living room and den of the Silver Star Home at 6634 Barnaby street, Chevy Chase, D. C., is shown in the top als throughout. photo, which was taken from the entrance hall. The home enters the third week of exhibition tomorrow. S aeitito) s iitisae (of Gver £18,0001000) | manner as the cast iron section, and | nected to the present boiler by means | ¢ 1036 | bsorb as much in the first seven months of 1936, | lx&}‘:;’;{ ::Illl‘thu:hthe much or & lof ordinary pipes which run out| | - ‘lhrnugh the fire door and ash pit to H Modernizati has approximately kept pace with the Ome 0 crnl tlon | some of the retarding effect of the Tepld incresse in ipopulation tnfithe | 1atter will be lost due to'the relatively | the spots where they are tapped into Fa () & SO T R = . | small amount of surface exposed to | the boiler. They require a minimum | i anticie e, Heat-Saving Devices for Homes Solve Knotty | the fire. of installation work and can be put | The situation in Minneapolis and Most of these heat savers are con-!in in a very short time. St. Paul is cited in some detail, as typical of that in a great many cities covered by the report. Apartment vacancies are near the vanishing point. Apartment buildings were foreclosed during the depression ~have been largely rehabilitated and the rents raised to levels consistent with the improvements made. In a number of cases apartment rentals again approximate 20 per cent an- nually on the building valuation— considered a sound operating basis during the late 20s. Further rental raises contemplated in the next six months will bring other buildings to that ratio. With very few houses for rent, there is, nevertheless, a con- -siderable supply of houses for sale in both cities. Sales are proceeding at a more rapid rate than last year, however; many would-be renters are being forced to buy in order to have | Some rental houses | a place to live. which were for sale.earlier this year have recently been withdrawn from the market, as owners see better rents,, “Chiseling” of rents and demands by prospective tenants for other con- cessions, 5O NUMErous even a year ago, are now almost eliminated. Increases in residential construction over the corresponding months of 1935 are shown in 66 of the 74 cities re- porting, the margins of increase rang- ing from slight gains to expansions of several hundred per cent. In the majority of cases, in spite of the encouraging improvement recorded, the construction rate is still much below that of pre-depression years. The surfey was made by the in- surance company through real estate board officials, realty firms and rental agents. NEW INSPECTION FORM A new inspection report form de- veloped by the Institute of Real Es- tate Management of the National Association of Real Estate Boards is being mailed this week to every mem- | ber of the institute. The form was developed last Summer for use in the case-study of properties carried on in connection with the course in real | estate management given by the in- | stitute at the University of Chicago. | ‘The report is being sent out as a service to members. Capitol Hill 114 3d St. N.E. 10 Rooms and Bath 2-Car Garage Desirably situated one sauare from er Library angthe New pususlly Sirac: ik home. oi-water heat. electricity brick garage. Premises 1y fine” condition, Open Sunday 2 to 5:30 L. T. Gravatte 720 15th 5t. Realtor Natl 0753 34 East Williams La wehge, shady yard with four which | Problem of Saving Unnecessary ! Waste of Money. BY LAWRENCE CROLIUS. | Before many more days slip by the home owner will azain be faced with the knotty problem of heating the house so that it will be warm and comfortable, but still avoid spending a young fortune doing so. Last Win- ter a number of heat-saving devices for the home heating plant were de scribed in this column, and such large number of readers expressed in- | terest in them that we thought it | would be a good idea to tell about them again for the benefit of those who came in late. As most of you have found out from experience the average hcfie heating plant is a pretty inefficient piece of equipment. The older boilers in par- | ticular are very apt to do little else but burn the fuel and let the heat pass on up the chimney unmolested. | This is obviously a silly procedure as | the fuel could just as well be burned | out on the cellar floor, and the re- sulting heat utilized directly rather | | than let it escape entirely out to the | open air. The most important thing | the boiler has to do is to convert the heat from the burning fuel into heat ‘which can be felt upstairs. Hence, | if the boiler is letting heat escape mo’ | freely something should be done to | trap it. | There are numerous devices on the market today which serve just such & | | purpose. They first of all slow down the passage of gases so that the boiler | has time to absorb the heat, then they in turn absorb a considerable quantity | of heat which adds to the capacity of | the heating plant. | One heat saver which does an excal- lent job consists of a large cast iron insert which is placed inside the fire box at the level of the fire. This cast- | ing is covered with small fingers which reach out into the fire and bring in heat which is transmitted to the boiler 5424 32nd ST. o ONE OF THE BEST BUYS QOF DAY IN CHEVY CHASE, D. C. $9.450 A charming detached brick and frame Colonial of 6 rooms and bath, open fire- place, built on lot 140 feet deep, attractively land- scaped, garage on alley in rear. Vacont ond in good condition. Priced way down From Connecticut Ave. drive on Nebraska Ave. to Mili- tory Rd, east to 32nd 3t, north to house. OPEN TODAY 2 TO 6 SUNDAY 10 TO 6 BOSS & PHELPS 1417 K Bt. Realtors NA. 9300. ne—A4-Bedroom Brick cherry trees._ Copper gut- ters and downspouts. Fully insulated. Slate roof. Garage. $10, Open Daily and Sunday Until Dark Nt 0451 McLachlen & Gavin Wisconsin 3184 950 To reach: Drive out ‘Conn. Ave. 6 blocks beyond Bradley Lane and turn right. | water being circulated inside. A pipe at the top of the insert is connected to the top part of the boiler, while another pipe tapped into the bottom of the heat saver runs into the lower part of the heater. It is easy to see that water which is passed through | this device will be heated more quick- | y than that in the boiler, therefore rapid circulation is set up which re- sults in quicker and more economical heating of the house. ! The manner in which this cast iron ! section is located in the fire box also | | tends to slow down the flow of the hot | gasses, so that they pass out in a | more leisurely fashion permitting the | boiler to absorb valuable heat when | | the top part is reached. | | Another heat saver which does ex- | | actly the same job consists of a large | number of looped copper coils con- | nected into a header. These colls are | located in the fire box in the same 0//[”7W00¢[ w American Homes, adjoin- ing Rock Creek Park at Beach } Drive and Leland Street, on beau- tifully wooded lots, with 3 and 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, paneled library and basement lounge, mcid's room and bath, 2-car garage, ' G.E. air conditioning and electric health kitchen. @ Model home open daily to §:30. 2 WAVERLY TAYLOR. Ze. 1522 X Street NAtional 1040 Two Delightful Homes 330 Ocala St. Branwill Park: Silver Spring 7,950 Terms, $55 Per Month Home has five comfortable rooxlm, bn'ih and kitchen ‘x:::ldi; ernly equipped, furred 3 metal strip. Built-in garage. 380 Becker Ave. $7,450 Terms Arranged Here is a most appealing C;pélcod tmung;lol:. com- y equ an every v :'?o ghe Branwill Park Bldg. - MEtre. 1776 Evenings, SHepherd 3742 2936 McKinley St. N.W. Stone and Brick $11,750 A beautifully planned home 3421 Patterson St. N.W. New Detached Brick $14,750 A dignified center-hall Colon- with 6 large rooms and 2 full ial home with 6 large rooms, baths. Furred walls, full attic | 2 full baths, finished attic with insulation: elec. kitchen | furred walls, rock-wool insu- < o lation, screened back porch and refrigeration. Breakfast overlooking a deep, wooded room, sleeping porch, garage lot. 2-car brick garage, oil and Quiet May Oil Burner. burner. PHILLIPS & CANBY, Inc. 1012 15th St. N.W. Nat. 4600 ONLY ONE LEFT The fact that only one of these fourteen beauti- ful all-brick homes remains unsold should demand your immediate attention. Furnished sample house open daily and Sunday, 2300 North Nottingham Street, Arlington County, Virginia. Price, $6,950. Small cash payment—balance like rent. Over 30,000 square feet of lawn. All modern city conveniences. Built-in garage, furred walls and copper downspouts and gutterings. Drive out Lee Highway to 5900 block, just past the Robert K. Lee School to our sign. A. S. GARDINER 1510 K St. N.W, Na. 0334 500 Cash Very Easy Terms NEW HOMES In Huntington Terrace BETHESDA, MD. g Exhibit Home—1104 Grant St. 16 Sold—3 Left New 5-room detached brick bungalows, basement, large attic, Electrolux, latest gos cooking renge, hot-water heat; living room with wood-burning fireplace; fot 60 feet wide; detached ssrcee with srivate drivewsy. OPEN DAILY AND SUNDAY HENRY J. CONNOR, Ine. 726 Jackson PL N.W. : Met. 2401 Out Massachusetts Avenue to West- 1")'\’"1“‘ Circle, at e Office and entrance Westmoreland Hilis is an Established Fine-Home Community Centuries ago bountiful Mother Nature began beoutifying Westmore- land Hills with wooded knolls end walleys for the home that you'll want to build there mow. Today this park-like gardem spot is outstamding emong Washingtow fine home communities with its winding paved streets, its tre sheltered home sites, and the semsible protection which has been established against the invasion of moders commerce, dangerous trafic and other volue-destroying influences, Whether yow're @ lifetime resident of Washington or a mewcomer, you to yourself ond loved omes to drive out this Sunday end see just what beautiful Westmoreland Hills has to offer. Our Home Planwing Departmont will gladly disouss sites, designing and building without ebligation of any kind. District Line. are on the Circle. On Display Loughborough DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION £ & % — 5801 Wilson A custom-built, non-stereotyped home, individually styled with many unusual features emphasizing good design and faithful reproduction of a true Colonial residence. 2 Eight rooms—four bed rooms, plus an additional room suit- able for dressing room, sewing room or nursery; two complete baths, basement lavatory, basement game room, laundry and double-car garage. The paneled living room has beamed ceiling, large fireplace with fire crane, outside service woodbox and built-in book- cases. The large dining room with its beamed ceiling, wood- paneled dado, shell-backed corner cupboards and attractive glass display window, opens on a screened porch. Tavern plank floors pegged with walnut, a modern cocktail room as new as tomorrow, a ship’s cabin bed room with map walls, built-in bath room dressing table, square bathtub, a cir- cular bar and Colonial iron hardware make this home the kind uld like to imagine and build for yourself. g fie 105-foot-front lot, which is completely inclosed with rural-type fence, is edged in front with stately cedars and dogwoods. Reach: Drive out Wisconsia Avense o the Bank of Bethesda. Bear left on pA Boaa 1o Wilson Laws and proceed seven blocks o No. s30Ls ms um School, 925 15th St. NW. NAtional 6370