This cottage, like the Tudor cottage, is of English tradition. It is of such a design that it can be built in a thickly settled residential area or, like many of the English originals, it can stand alone in the countryside. In either case,

V    *

this cottage has a knack for fitting in perfectly with its surroundings, and its definite English flavor will not make it appear out of place in a definitely American neighborhood.

Exterior Materials

The traditional design of this type of house calls for an exterior wall of stone, but masonry-blocks, bricks or stucco can also be used, just as is the case with the Tudor Cottage.

The house pictured in the plans in this book has the upper portion of the gable ends covered with sheets of exterior plywood with the joints running on the horizontal. Plywood is not the only material than can be used for this purpose. Bevel siding or shingles of either asbestos or wood will do nicely

and, for that matter, so will stucco. The stonework or masonry-blocks can, if you wish, be brought right up to the roof peak, but this complicates construction considerably. Moreover, many persons find that a house made entirely of masonry or stone is a little too massive in its appearance and often looks more like a fortress than a home. A little woodwork at the gable ends will help to soften the appearance of the house considerably.

The Floor Plan

As you can easily see from the floor plan, this is a very compact house. The first floor contains two good-size bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. As you will note, while the over-all dimensions of the house are not great, the rooms are all rather spacious and there is ample closet and storage space at convenient locations.

One thing that will immediately catch your eye is the fact that the kitchen is located at the front of the house rather than at the rear. The front entrance rims past the kitchen into a hall that leads directly into the living room, which is located at the rear of the house. Off to the left of the hall near the bathroom is a coat closet. Locating the kitchen at the front of the house permits the construction of the large bay window at the back of the living room, which, aside from increas-

ing the size of the living room, allows the entrance of a maximum amount of light and air without disturbing the privacy of the household.

The living room must, of course, also serve as a dining room, and for this purpose there is a door to the kitchen on the opposite side from the hall so that one can get directly from the kitchen to the living-dining room.

In the back of the kitchen is a utilitv

W

room for the heater and hot-water

equipment. This room eliminates the

need for anv basement at all unless

*

one is required for a game room or laundry. If you decide to have a basement, the heating equipment can be moved into the basement and the utility room can be turned into a breakfast bar.

The side door between the kitchen and the living room opens on the breezeway and this will serve as a back entrance to the house for deliveries.

The stairs off the hall on the first floor lead to the attic. The attic can be converted into a bedroom with bath. This attic room will get plenty of light and air by means of the three dormer windows in the roof and the large window in the left-hand gable end.

The area over the garage and breeze-wav can be used for storage purposes. The dormer window over the garage will provide the necessary degree of light and ventilation for this storage space.

The dormer window’s at the rear of

the house are each of a different stvle,

one having a peaked roof while the other has a shed-tvpe roof.

Windows

The Right Side Elevation shows clearly the relation of the garage and breezeway roof to the main house roof as well as the location of the four dormer windows. From this plan and the Left Side Elevation plan, you can also see the distance that the large bay window at the rear of the living room extends out past the outside wall. This window should be constructed at the same time that the outside walls are being erected. The remaining windows can be put in after the house framework or masonry’ walls have been completed. All windows are of the casement type, either metal or wood, and, when possible, windows with small panes of glass should be used, as this is in keeping with the Cotswold tradition.

Garage and Breezeway

To simplify the construction of this

house, when it is to be made out of

either masonry or stone, the breezeway

and garage should be constructed at

the same time as the main house. Many

%⁷

persons have made the mistake of building the house first and then trying to add the garage and breeze way. This is not too practical when masonry is used because it will be necessary to take down some of the finished work so that the new work can be joined to it with interlocking bonds. If the house is made of wood, this is unnecessary.

Cotswold Cottage

Foundation

The type of footing and foundation required for this house will, of course, depend on the type of materials used for construction. They must be wide enough to carry the weight of the walls and, therefore, will be wider if masonry is used than if the house is built of wood and covered with stucco. The footing for the main bearing partition should run directly under the partitions between the bedroom and living room and between the second bedroom and the stairway. With this arrangement, you will have relatively short spans for the joists and, therefore, you will save on both material costs and labor.

If the house is to have a full basement, support for the main bearing partition can be made out of masonry-blocks, which will also divide the basement into the required number of rooms. Due to the location of the stairs, you will need a doorway through this wall to allow for entrance into the portion of the basement directly under the two bedrooms and bath. The top of this opening should be covered with a reinforced concrete lintel to provide the necessary support for the floor joists.

Excavation for the breezeway and

garage should be done at the same time

as that for the main house. The finished floor of the breezeway should be one

step below the finished floor of the house and the garage floor should be one step below the floor of the breezeway.

The fireplace footing should be installed at the same time as the other

footings. If you plan to have a basement game room, it is quite practicable to have a fireplace here as well as in the living room. The basement fireplace should be located directly under the living-room fireplace and a flue for the heating system should be incorporated in the chimney.

Use of Timbers

For those who are interested in keeping strictly to the Cotswold tradition, it is suggested that the top of the masonry walls be capped with old timbers. These run around the four walls of the house and around the garage

and breezewav too. The ends of the

♦

breezewav can also be framed with heavy timbers, as is indicated on the Front and Rear Elevations. It is often possible to pick up timbers of a suitable size and age from second-hand lumber dealers or from house-wreckers. There are many old bams in this country that contain fine hand-hewn beams, and these can often be purchased for a small sum. A little cleaning up and some

staining will be all that is required to

make them readv for use.

Joists and Rafters

The ceiling joists for the second floor can rest directlj⁷ on the cap of heavy timbers. If no timbers are used, a wood sill should be installed at the top of the wall to provide a nailing base and a level surface for the joists to rest upon.

From here on out, the work is done with wood. The ceiling joists should be 2" x 8"s if the attic is to be used

for living purposes. The joists over the breezeway and garage can be reduced to 2" x 6"s if the area is to be used for limited storage. Roof rafters can be 2" x 6"s, providing collar beams are installed. If the rafters are to be without collar beams or some other type of brace, they should be increased to 2" x 8"s.

W

either to have windows made to order, an expensive undertaking at best, or to undo the work and remake the openings to the required size.

or moisture will penetrate to the finished wall surface.

The Roof

The roof of the house can be covered with slate, wood or asbestos shingles. Wood shingles should be stained before they are installed because the light shade of new shingles is hardly in keeping with the Cotswold style of

architecture. Asbestos shingles that meet the requirements for this style can be purchased, and slate, of course,

is the perfect roofing except for its high cost. An interesting little touch can be added by not coating the copper flashing used on the roof and at other points. In time the copper will tarnish to a greenish color that gives the house the appearance of age.

If the house is to be stuccoed, it is well worth the trouble to break up some of the large wall surfaces with heavy timbers. These beams should be spiked through the sheathing into the studding. Timbers are especially desirable along the gable ends, where they can be arranged to form a brace in addition to making the wall look

more interesting.

The Interior

As far as the interior walls go, either plaster, plasterboard, wallboard or some type of wood paneling is suitable. The living room will look very well, of course, if it is paneled with wood— either plywood or planks. The living-room floor can be of wood as well, either hardwood or plank; linoleum of

the right shade and pattern is also

acceptable.

Too much wood in a home is not always desirable, and it will probably be best to use in the other rooms either plaster or some other form of dry-wall construction that can be papered or painted. The kitchen and bathroom walls can be covered with one of the many wall materials that are suitable where color and an ability to withstand soiling and constant cleaning are required.

Floors for the bedrooms can be of wood or linoleum, and the latter can be used for both kitchen and bathroom. The utility room should be covered with asbestos board on walls and ceiling since a fire-resistant material is required in this area.

The fireplace in the living room can be made out of bricks, but many persons may prefer native stone with a

%

heavy oak mantel. Of course, the outside dimensions of the fireplace cannot be increased too much without cutting off the entrance from the hall into the living room.

Hardware for this house should be either wrought iron or solid brass. The front door should be of oak and the side door from kitchen to breezeway should be a panel door.

Window with frame and trim

1

2

2

1

1

Rough Openings

3'9" x 4' 2'3" x 1'6" 3'9" x 2' 3'9" x 3'6" 3'6" x 2'6"

Roofing material, 1,500 sq. ft.

Building paper, 576 sq. ft.

Insulation, 2,405 sq. ft.

Copper flashing, 208 sq. ft.

Wallboard, 3,497, sq. ft.

Base mold, 328'

%" plywood, 1,141 sq. ft.

Linoleum, 1,141 sq. ft.

Exterior doors with frame and trim, 3 Interior doors with trim, jambs and stops, 17

Nails: Sd bevel siding, 10 lbs; 8d, 72 lbs; 8d furring, 10 lbs; finishing, 6 lbs; 10d, 60 lbs; 16d, 20 lbs: 20d, 25 lbs; 4d, 90 lbs; 5d, 15 lbs Louvers, 2 Gutters, 60'

Flight box stairs, 2 Hinges: brass, 9; interior, 34 Mortice locks, 13

Paint: exterior, 6 gal.; water-thinned, 11 gal.; interior enamel, 2% gal.

2-ft. flue-tile: 12" x 12", 7; 12" x 8", 7 Common bricks, 2,000 Mortar, 1 cu. yd.

Chimnev thimble

m/

Firebricks, 90 Fireclay, 30 lbs Clean-out door Hearth assembly Mixed cement, 2 cu. ft.

Damper

Angleiron: 42", 1; 36", 1 Hot-water heating system 4" Y branch, 3 Clean-out Plug

Sanitary T: 4", 1; 4" with 2" tapp., 3;

2", 2

Tees, 1 y₂", 8;    12

reflneer

2" %-bend

Elbows: 1/4", 9;    12

Traps, 3

Increaser

Dccreaser

Closet bend

m

o' sections cast-iron soil pipe: 4", 8; 2", 15

Galvanized pipe: 2", 12'; IV2", 100'; %", 270'

Kitchen sink Stall shower Bathtub

Laundry Tubs, 2 Lavatory, 2 Water closet Medicine closets, 2 Towel racks, 5 Toothbrush holders, 2 Soap dishes, 2

Hot-water heater

Ceiling fixtures, 13

Ceiling fixtures with pull chain, 3

Wall fixtures, 2

Outside fixture

Single switches, 12

Double switches, 2

Convenience outlets, 20

4" outlet boxes with plates, 16

2/4" outlet boxes with plates, 19

Door bell and button

Cable connectors and bushings, 150

Metal hangers, 16 Switch box Service head Sill plate

Grounding bushing Entrance cable, 16' No. 14 2-wire, 300' No. 12 wire, 50'

I¹

r-a _L_3-zA._a._!21£_a,.

Foundation Plan of the Cotswold Cottage

Floor Plan of the Cotswold Cottage: Second Floor

<sg*oe J

pqqtinq

RIOMT SIDE FRAMING ELEVATION

SCALE %'*Y

r«<a- 9ll

<SgAJ3fc- J

LEFT SIDE FORMING ELEVATION

SCALE */©^#-r

I

24-2

2'* £*9-0" JOISTS

t* ‘ ** CfclUIHO JOK,T AND COLLAR

SECTION THROUGH LIVING ROOM and HALL

vale 'k’-V