Breckenridge American (Breckenridge, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 89, Ed. 1 Sunday, May 5, 1957 Page: 3 of 6
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Breckenridge Daily American and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Breckenridge Public Library.
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breckenridce
1
cording to many color stylists
T« L _ A. .
(ylfst^sa-/' a h'?C!ern- the coIor
jlor ? house must have
root d C°,0r «■* with thl
po?ahry-rsCtwf.nKS° ma"y wntem-
thanUvo years "arn £uUt ™re
foot rnoM P Per horizontal
-built u? ro^wedt°hn,y with
method uwi *,— same
tur« ^ °n tntl us trial struc
Today, because of technical
advances in roofing application,
roofs with as little as two inches
of pitch per foot can be covered
with asphalt shingles in any of
erc'olo Variety of Pastel or dark-
A roof with even a small de-
f!?e °.f s'°Pe is visible from the
ground Color stylists often sug-
ttnrJV ' c£ for a low. one-
story house, because a light roof
height* 2n lllusion of «"*ter
Application methods have
ft? developed for reroofing as
Xfi . "£• ne,w construction. As-
phalt shingles can be laid on top
of an existing built-up roof.
'Do-It-Yourselfer' Can Install
Insulation in Crawl Space
. A house with a crawl space
instead of a basement needs in-,
sulation in the floors. Without
it, the floors are apt to be un-
comfortably cold in winter and
fuel bills may be unnecessarily
high.
One simple and effective way
the home handyman can install
mineral wool batts or blankets
in the crawl space is by using
stapling the wire to the lower
edge of the joists so that it sup-
ports the batt or blanket. Keep
this up until the opposite sill is
reached, then continue the job
in the other direction.
Make sure that the insulation
fits tightly and that there are
no gaps between the sections. A
small gap anywhere will let heat
escape from the house lUw air
JOIST-
T
AIR SPACER
/ || \
T
CHICKEN WIRE'
INSULATION
'STAPLES
Cross section drawing of floor Joists in a crawl space shows
bow chicken wire is used to support mineral wool insulation.
chicken wire, or poultry netting,
to hold the insulation in place
between the floor joists. Here's
the method as recommended by
insulation engineers:
Starting in one corner of the
crawl space, secure the end of
a roll of chicken wire to the
sill. Wedge a section of insula-
tion tightly against the sill and
between the joists with the
vapor barrier up and the lower
side on a level with the bottom
edge of the joists.
Continue along the joists, fit-
ting the insulation in place and
from a punctured tire.
One time-saver is to use 48-
inr^-wide chicken wire since it
wi • cover three 16-inch-wide
joist spaces. Keeping the wire
in a continuous roll also speeds
the job.
The Housing and Home Fi-
nance Agency recommends cov-
ering the ' bare ground in the
crawl space with 55-pound as-
phalt roll roofing, lapped three
inches or more between sections
and at the edges of the founda-
tion. The asphalt keeps moisture
in the ground from rising into
the crawl space.
and home news
Now is Time to Sow
Pansies for Next Spring
While listed as annuals In the
seed catalogues, pansies and their
cousins the violas are really bien-
nials. To get them in bloom early
in the spring, whose cool weather
they like best, sow them in mid-
summer and keep them over the
winter in z cold frame, or some
other even simpler shelter.
The plants will hold their green
leaves all winter and bloom in a
cold frame as soon as the earliest
spring tlowers are out. If grown in
the shade, with faded flowers re-
moved promptly, they will bloom
all summer.
It is easy to start a flat or two
of these lovely flowers each year.
Sow the seed by August 15 in soil
jvepared by mixing a third sharp
sand, a third peat moss, and a
third sifted top soil. Cover the sur-
race with a half-inch layer of
sphagnum moss, and broadcast
the seed in this, with a little moss
to cover them. Keep moist until
the seeds germinate.
The moss will prevent damp-
Ing-otT, a fungus-disease which is
dangerous in hot weather. Let the
plants grow out in the open until
fall. Then if you have a cold
frame put the flat in it and cover
with leaves for the winter.
Lacking a cold frame, set the
flat in a protected corner, and
cover. It is better to transplant
the seedlings, setting them seven
to eight Inches apart In additional
flats; but if you sowed thinly, this
can be skipped and the plants left
to winter in the original flat.
When the garden soil has been
prepared in the spring, move the
plants to a portion of the border
which is on the shady side of a
building. They may not grow as
fast at first as plants in full sun,
but they will soon catch up, and
TUFTED P«M«
VIOLAS.
VIOLA.
VIOLA CO
the rest of the summer they will
surprise you.
In hot weather, the flowers will
not grow to giant size, and the
plants will become "leggy," with
long stems. If cut back severely,
and given a dose of plant food,
new growth and more abundant
flowers will result. Aside from the
novelty cf pansies in the summer,
attractive color effects may be
obtained by planting named va-
rieties of pansies.
Violas may be grown the same
way. Their flowers grow almost
as large as the pansies in the sum-
mer. and are more numerous.
Dark blue, yellow and white. Sow-
ers will make a bed or border
which will cool you otf in the hot-
test weather.
Professional Treatment
'Air Lift' Installs Insulation
Workman uses air pressure to blow insulation into an attic floor.
"BILL DING'S Business
THAT DREAM OF YOURS
SHOULD BE FULFILLED,
VOU WAUTA NOME-♦
WELL, WHY NOT BUILD?
fuiipmSSfu
u,o-303Q| \OOlc HOME OWHEP
• Fume-Resistant!
• Contains VNollaid Oil9
p"- tsburgh
Insulating the attic of a home
with mineral wool can be a do-
it-yourself project or handled
by a professional installer using
modern pneumatic equipment.
In the photograph the work-
man is installing mineral wool
insulation between the joists of
an attic floor. The insulation is
blown by air pressure through a
flexible rubber hose from a truck
parked at the curb.
The air pressure forces the min-
ora! wool into every opening, fill-
ing the joist spaces to a uniform
depth. This method assures an
efficient insulation seal over the
living quarters of the house.
Using the same pneumatic
equipment, the professional ap-
plicator also can insulate the
walls of older homes or non-in-
sulated newer houses.
In this process, trained work-
men skillfully remove sections
of siding from the exterior walls
and blow the wool through holes
drilled in the sheathing where
the siding has been removed..
Application with air pressure
assures that the insulation is
tightly packed around wires,
pipes and cross bracing, filling
the walls with mineral wool.
After the walls are completely
insulated, the sections of siding
are replaced, leaving the exteri-
or of the house in its original
condition.
Technician measures the tem«
peratnre on the inside sash of a
window of ponderosa pine set in
the side of a "cold box." |The de-
vice determines the insulating
value of sash and frames.
LEE'S INTERIORS
GRAHAM, TEXAS
1015 Fourth Street Phone 1669
CUSTOM BUILT FURNITURE, DRAPERIES AND
UPHOLSTERING '
Choose from a wide selection of styles and colors of fabrics by
Schumacher and Gruff.
— DECORATOR SERVICE —
Dealers For: Bodart—Baker—Wtddkomb Quality Furniture
FREE ESTIMATES—Pick Up And Delivery Service
Owned and Operated by Mr. and Mrs. Lee O. Todd
SHORT
ITEMS
★ ★ ★
Early Americans Used
Seaweed as Insulation
Many buyers of old Colonial
farm houses in New England
states have discovered during
remodeling that the walls were
insulated with dried seaweed.
The seaweed did a good job. too,
in keeping the Colonial houses
warmer in winter and cooler in
summer, plus helping to save
fuel. But unlike modern mineral
wool, the seaweed attracted
vermin and was a serious fire
hazard.
HOME OWNERSHIP UP
Home ownership has increased
five per cent during the past
year, according to new surveys.
About 60 per cent of Americans
own their own homes today,
compared to 55 per cent in 1955.
Increase was greatest in the
north central states and lowest
in the northeast.
WEIGHT GUIDES ROOFERS
When roofers speak of "210-
pound asphalt shingles," they
mean three-tab square-butt strip
shingles which customarily
weigh 210 pounds per square
when five inches of each shingle
tab is exposed as the shingles
are laid on the roof deck. A
"square" of roofing is the amount
needed to cover 100 square feet
of roof area. ><—ni ;
rCHALK LINE USEFUL
A chalk line is useful as a
guide when laying tiles or hang-
ing wallpaper. Make one by
stretching string between two
nails near the surface of the
floor or wall and rubbing chalk
over the string. Lifting the string
lightly and allowing it to snap
back leaves a straight chaljf
mark on the surface.
New Idea - Do-lt-Together
i
Man and wife team turns a do-it-yourself job of installini
mineral wool insulation blankets into a "do-it-together" project
Mrs. Handyman helps speed the work by holding the blanket in
place for Mr. Handyman's stapling gun. They're installing the
mineral wool in their attic preparatory to finishing the space off
for extra bedrooms. The insulation will keep heat inside in winter
and outside in summer.
The smart housewife no long-
er simply dreams up jobs for
her handyman husband to do
around the house.. Now she gets
things done faster and has fun
in the bargain by pitching in to
help him.
That's the newest trend in the
do-it-yourself movement Hard-
ware and, building materials
dealers are reporting more and
more women are buying tools
and "handyman" materials and
asking how to use them.
Wives are finding out that
most do-it-yourself home im-
provement projects are fun and
SUNDAY, 3IAY S, 1957—BRECKINRIDGE AMERICAN—8
'Combination'
V
Eases Dread
Of Winter
To some home-owners the ar-
rival of winter brings a chill in
more ways than one. For them,
bracing the house against cold
weather involves the disagree-
able task of taking all the
screens down oft their hinges
and replacing them with heavy
storm doors and windows.
On the other hand, thousands
of more up-to-date families vir-
tually breeze through this part
of the seasonal changeover. They
have modern "combination
doors and windows of ponder-
osa pine, which stay on their
hinges the year round, serv-
ing as a frame for lightweight
screen or glass inserts which
are changed according to the
season. .
When winter comes, the screen
panel is removed easily with a
screwdriver and replaced by
the glass panel. These panels
take little storage space.
The combination costs less
than the two doors or windows
it replaces and helps save heat.
In a house fully equipped with
storm doors and windows, fuel
bills usually are reduced 15 to
30. percent. .
Combination doors and win-
dows are available in all stand-
ard. sizes. The clear ponderosa
pine paints easily ana is chem-
ically treated" to resist mois-
ture, preventing harmful warp*
ing, swelling and shrinking.
can be even more enjoyable,
as "do-it-together" projects. Be-
sides, the jobs are finished more
quickly, and the wife experi-
ences a feeling of accomplish-
ment in having had a hand in
them. •
Women shouldn't try heavy
work or tackle major projects
alone. But they can be valuable
assistants to their husbands in
painting, papering walls, laying
floor tile, building lawn furni-
ture, installing batts and blan-
kets of mineral wool insulation,
and building patios and barbe-
cues.
MORE 'JUICE' IN USE
Wider use of electrical appli-
ances in the home has boosted
'the use of electricity more then
400 per cent in the last ten years.
Annie Elsworth, secretary to
Samuel Morse, was the one who
'.•hose "What hath God Wrought!"
in 1844 as the first message to be
sent over the telegraph.
PINE FINE FOR STAIN
.The uniform grain and smooth
surface of ponderosa pine makes
this wood popular for kitchen
cabinets. The wood is especially
attractive when stained. Pine
doors and windows of ponderosa
pine also are often stained to
take advantage of the natural
beauty of wood in room decora-
tion.
Abbett, Sommer
company
or Street, Fort Wo
817 Taylor Street, Fort Worth
Investment Securities
Municipal Bonds, Investment
Company Shares, Stocks, of In-
dost rial, Oil and Public Utility
Ciir panics.
4% ON SAVINGS
Insured up to 110,000
Mfanumum investment $1,000.00
CHAS. W. SOMMER
West Texas Representative
Box 747—Breckinridge, Texa
•r~
Baby, It's Cold Inside
Windows Get Frigid Test
One of the most important
roles of science in making to-
days homes better is the con-
stant testing of construction ma-
terials to make sure they'll do
the job they're designed to do.
One such testing device is a
"cold box" in which tempera-
tures can be brought down as
low as 32 degrees below zero.
This device is used to determine
the insulating value of window
sash and frames. The window
Is fitted into one wall of the
"box" and as the cola inside
increases, technicians outside
measure the temperature of the
sash and frame.
Window sash and frames of
ponderosa pine remain moisture-
free and comfortable to the
touch even at extreme low
temperatures, while" other ma-
terials used for windows take
on the temperature inside the
"cold box" almost immediately.
The natural insulating ability
of wood is one reason for the
value of ponderosa pine as a
window material. The wood
won't sweat and cause moisture
to damage curtains and draper-
ies or run down painted walls
or wallpaper.
You canihavea
"food store"inyour
,, i,
It'* lost a step to your own store of
tasty foods when you own an Electric
Freezer. And that's just one of
many freezer advantages. See your
appliance dealer soon about an Electric'
Freezer that win save you time, work I
and money. Live Better... Electrically f
Q.
wm,
L
s
TlXAf ILCCTKIC
W. W. ROGERS, Manager
Plume- HI 9-4461
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Breckenridge American (Breckenridge, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 89, Ed. 1 Sunday, May 5, 1957, newspaper, May 5, 1957; Breckenridge, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth135558/m1/3/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Breckenridge Public Library.