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New
h o u s in g
AND ITS MATERIALS
1940-56
Bulletin No. 1231
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OP LABOR
James P. Mitchell, Secretary
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Ewan Clague, Commissioner
New H ousing
AND ITS MATERIALS
1940-56
Bulletin No. 1231
A u g u s t 1958
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
James P. Mitchell, Secretary
BUREAU O F LABOR STATISTICS
Ewan Clague, Commissioner
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. - Price 40 cents
The Library of Congress has cataloged the series
in which this publication appears as follows:
U. S. Bureau o f Labor Statistics.
Bulletin, no. 1Washington.
no. in
Nov. 1895-
v. illus. 16-28 cm.
Bimonthly, Nov. 1895-May 1912; irregular, July 1912No. 1-111 issued by the Bureau o f Labor.
1. Labor and laboring classes—U. S.— Period.
HD8051.A62
331.06173
15-23307 rev
Library o f Congress
The Library of Congress has cataloged this
publication as follows:
Murphy, Kathryn (Robertson)
New housing and its materials, 1940-56. [Washington]
U. S. Dept, of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1958.
iv, 58 p. tables. 26 cm. (U. S. Bureau o f Labor Statistics. Bulle
tin no. 1231)
1. Housing—U. S. 2. Building materials. 3. B uilding-E stim ates
fand costs](— U. S.>
i. Title.
(Series)
HD8051.A62 no. 1231
U. S. Dept, o f Labor,
for Library o f Congress
331.833
Library
t
L 58-52
P re fa c e
In a modern industrial society, the importance of housing extends far beyond
its primary function of providing shelter.
The character of its housing m irrors the
level of living and economic achievements, as well as the social values, of a family,
a community, and a nation.
The opportunity to live in sound, attractive housing, in
well maintained neighborhoods, affords a f a r - r e a c h i n g sense of well being and of
worth.
Being well housed is a strong defense against physical and social ills asso
ciated with overcrowded, dilapidated quarters in blighted neighborhoods, and contributes
substantially to the productivity of labor and industry.
In terms of its impact on the national income, residential building occupies a
key position. It is a major source of employment, both directly and as the consumer
of a wide range of materials and services; a user of extensive land areas; a large
contributor to capital formation; and a source of substantial tax revenues.
Because of the ramifications of residential building into all phases of the eco
nomic and social life of the Nation, comprehensive information on the amount and
kind of housing being built serves a variety of needs.
For example, it is essential
to legislators and others responsible for shaping, administering, and evaluating na
tional housing policy; to labor o r g a n i z a t i o n s interested not only in assessing the
adequacy of the housing supply available to workers but also in anticipating the em
ployment prospects for various crafts and projecting the scope of apprenticeship and
other training programs in the building trades; to h o m e b u i l d e r s and investors in
residential property; to large groups in the business community who initiate research
and plan for the production, sales, and distribution of building materials and equip
ment; to utilities mapping extension of services; and to local and regional governments
in formulating zoning and taxation policies and gaging needs for additional schools,
street, water, sewer, and other public facilities.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics pioneered in quantitative studies of the charac
teristics of new housing, its earliest surveys describing housing constructed in the
1929-38 period.
Thereafter, the Bureau conducted a number of field studies of the
characteristics of new housing which varied widely both in geographic coverage and
in the range of information obtained.
The results of its latest series of surveys, conducted by the Bureau's Division
of Construction Statistics in 1954, 1955, ana 1956, form the core of the present bul
letin which contains the most comprehensive and penetrating analysis made by the
Bureau to date in this particular field.
This bulletin was prepared by Kathryn R. Murphy. Edward M. Gordon planned
and directed the field surveys and the processing of the results.
ill
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction .................. ................................................................................................ ..
1
One-family houses .................................................................................................. ............... ..
Trends since 1940 ......... ........................................................................ ..
General plan and size •«•••••••••••••••••••••••......... ..
Structural materials ••••••...........................................................................................
Interior finish .................................................................
Heating facilities and fuel ....................................••••••••••»•••••••.............
Electrical service
Kitchen, laundry, and other equipment •••••••••••••••••••......... ..
Houses built in 1954, 1955, and 1956 ....................... ..
Selling prices .............................................................................. .......................................
Regional differences ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••«•••••••••••••
Metropolitan-nonmetropolitan area comparison ............................................. ..
Multifamily housing
................................................. ........................................................... ..
Appendix A , Design of surveys
...................................... ...................................
2
2
3
3
7
8
9
9
10
10
11
14
15
18
BLiS surveys for 1954, 1955, and 1956 ............................................. ..
The sample ....................................................... ..............................................
Survey method •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Estimating method ...................................
•••••••••••••••••••••
Reliability of the estimates
......... ..
18
18
18
19
19
Surveys based on FHA records .................. ....................................................................
Data for 1950 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••*••••••••••••••••••••
Comparative data for prewar period ........................... ..........................
20
20
20
Appendix B, Glossary
......... .................................................................... ...................................
21
Appendix C, Tables:
1.
New nonfarm 1-fam ily houses: Selected characteristics, 1940,
1950, 1954, 1955, and by selling-price class, 1956 ............................. ..
27
New nonfarm 1-fam ily frame houses: Type of sheathing, by
type of exterior wall material, 1956 ...................................................................
32
3# New nonfarm 1-fam ily houses: Wall and ceiling insulation, by
type of exterior wall material and by type of insulation,
1950 and 1956 ..................................................................................................................
33
2.
4.
New nonfarm 1-family houses: Number of windows in houses
started in first quarter of 1954, 1955, and 1956, and percent
distribution by type of window and, in 1956, by type of
window-frame material ..................................................................... ..........................
33
5.
New nonfarm 1-family houses: Interior decoration and finishfloor material, by type of room, 1950 and 1956 ••••••••••••••••••••
34
6*
New nonfarm 1-family houses: Heating facilities, fuel, water
heaters, and pipe used for plumbing, 1940 and 1950,
and by region, 1956 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
35
7• New nonfarm 1-family houses: Average quantity of selected
items used per house, by selling-price class, 1956 .............
v
37
CO N TEN TS - Continued
Page
8.
New nonfarm dwelling units: Number of units started, by type
of structure and location; and selling price and floor area of
I - family houses, by location, first quarter of 1954, 1955, and 1956 . . .
38
9.
New nonfarm 1-family houses: Regional trends in selected
characteristics, 1954, 1955, and 1956 ................ ................................................
39
10.
New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, by region, 1956
41
11.
New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, by
location and selling-price class, 1956:
I I - A. Region 1— Northeast .................... ••••••••••............................................
11-B . Region II— North Central •»••••••••••••••••••••........................... ..
11-C. Region HI— South ...................
•••••••••••
11-D. Region IV— W e s t ................................................................................................
11-E. Metropolitan A r e a s .............
••••••••••
11 -F . Nonmetropolitan A r e a s ...................................... ................... ........................
43
45
47
49
51
53
New nonfarm 1-fam ily houses: Selected characteristics in
metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas in the South and other
regions, 1956 ............................................................................................................. ..
56
New nonfarm dwelling units in multifamily structures: Selected
characteristics, by type of structure, 1954, 1955, and 1956 • •. ••••• •. •
57
New nonfarm dwelling units in multifamily structures: Number of
windows in units started in first quarter of 1954, 1955, and 1956,
and percentage distribution by type of window and, in 1956, by
type of window-frame m a te ria l................................................................................
58
New nonfarm dwelling units in multifamily structures: Interior
decoration and finish-floor material, by type of room, 1956 •••••••••
58
12.
13.
14.
15.
▼i
New Housing and Its Materials, 1940-56
postwar years, when the housing shortage
was regarded as a national emergency,
stimulated builders to adapt many of these
production and time saving techniques to
private residential developments after the
war.
IN T R O D U C T IO N
Buying a house is a basic goal of
i n c r e a s i n g numbers of families in the
United States* In contrast with other ma
jor items in the family budget which are
nused up" and replaced in comparatively
short p e r i o d s , a house is "consumed11 ,
Because of the importance of resi
over a long span of years. Its fixed lo
dential building in the national economy,
cation, which usually involves resale if
both directly and in its role as a major
the owner has to move, also distinguishes
market for numerous o t h e r industries,
housing from most other consumer pur
statistics describing new housing rank
chases*
In selecting a home, therefore,
high among economic indicators. Largely
the buyer ordinarily seeks lasting value
because of the l o c a l i z e d and "custom*1
in a substantially built house in a w ellcharacter of housing, a composite and
situated neighborhood, and his caution is
representative picture of n a t i o n a l and
reinforced by the requirements of mort
regional trends is difficult to obtain.
In
gage-lending institutions.
U n d e r these
its third nationwide survey of h o u s i n g
circumstances, the advantages of tim echaracteristics, conducted in 1956, the
tested materials and architecture are bal
Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor
anced against the anticipated continuing
Statistics collected information on mate
acceptance of more advanced design and
rials used in residential construction in
the d u r a b i l i t y of new materials and
greater detail than had been possible in
equipment.
surveys made in 1954 and 1955. 1 Some
of the more significant changes in the size
The local character, the complexity,
and appointments of single-family houses
and r e l a t e d conditions of homebuilding
and the type of materials and equipment
also influence the rate at which innova
used,
which distinguish the 1956 h o u s e
tions are a d o p t e d .
Among the related
from its prewar counterpart, stand out
conditions are z o n i n g and building-code
clearly in the comparison of results of
requirements, the large numbers of en
the 1956 survey with studies made by the
trepreneurs who build only a few houses
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and
a year and purchase materials in small
the Housing and Home F i n a n c e Agency
lots from local building supply dealers,
( H H F A ) 2 of the characteristics of new
and the variety and highly skilled charac
houses with mortgages insured by FHA
ter of operations presently u t i l i z e d in
in 1950 and 1940 (the last prewar year
homebuilding.
For a complex commodity
which
was not greatly influenced by war
produced, marketed, and consumed under
conditions).
t h e s e conditions, general acceptance of
new materials and methods is slower than
Unmistakably, the a v e r a g e house
for nationally marketed m a n u f a c t u r e d
built in 1956 afforded greater space for
goods with smaller unit costs.
1 Prior to undertaking these nationwide surveys
(see appendix A, p. 18), die Bureau of Labor Statistics
had collected information on some of the basic charac
teristics of new housing in connection with other surveys,
including the Building Permit Survey, 1929 to 1938 (made
in cooperation with the Work Projects Administration) and
the Area Housing Surveys, which were conducted from
April 1946 through October 1947 and from July 1949
through June 1951.
However, a number of events within
the past 2 decades affected the patterns
and p a c e of homebuilding.
The a c u t e
shortages of housing, building materials,
and l a b o r in the W o r l d W a r II period
forced the abandonment of many custom
ary homebuilding practices and encour
aged the application of large-scale pro
duction methods and experimentation with
new designs, layouts, and materials in
constructing housing for military person
nel and c i v i l i a n war workers.
In this
period, the risk was largely underwritten
by the Federal Government. The empha
sis on economy housing in the immediate
2
For a description of the surveys and die reli
ability of the estimates, see appendix A, pp. 18 and 19.
Throughout this bulletin, references to die Bureau
of Labor Statistics Surveys for 1954, 1955, and 1956 are
to first-quarter data for the respective years. The 1940
and 1950 surveys were based on Federal Housing Ad
ministration records for selected months as indicated
in appendix A.
(i)
2
family living than those built in the early
p o s t w a r period of concentration on the
small, two-bedroom house. Builders em
phasized comfort and easy maintenance in
the 1956 houses, with automatic laborsaving devices, and more bathrooms and
other plumbing and e l e c t r i c a l conven
iences than were customary several years
previously. Construction featured the use
of aluminum, plastics, and various types
of composition materials in many compo
nents of the 1956 house for which lumber
and wood products had been used almost
exclusively in houses built a few years
earlier.
The increasing use of the automobile
f o r transportation encouraged spreading
circles of suburbanism, d o m i n a t e d by
single-family o w n e r - o c c u p i e d house s*
R e n t a l - t y p e housing— in duplexes anu
other multifamily structures— represented
only a minor part of recent residential
building, accounting for no more than an
eighth of the privately owned units started
in the 1950-56 period in c o n t r a s t with
nearly two-fifths in the 1920*s. Usually,
this type of housing provides less living
space than a detached house.
Although
information on trends in construction is
less c o m p l e t e for multifamily than for
s i n g l e - f a m i l y housing, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics surveys showed that some
materials which had become increasingly
popular in single-family houses were also
u s e d e x t e n s i v e l y in ne w rental-type
buildings.
The customary cautions observed in
the detailed analysis of data obtained by
sampling techniques apply to evaluations
of small percent c h a n g e s in the FHA,
H H F A , and B L S data presented in this
bulletin. (See appendix A, p. 18.) Re
grettably, such cautions tend to delay pin
pointing new t r e n d s in residential con
struction until the innovations have been
adopted by builders on a substantial scale.
Also, it should be remembered that the
data relate only to materials which the
builders indicated they planned to install
at the time of construction. Furthermore,
it was not possible to determine the types
or quantities of materials and equipment
purchased and installed by the homeowner
before or shortly after he took possession.
This was particularly significant for items
such as ranges, refrigerators, garbage-
disposal units, automatic clothes washers
and dryers, air-conditioners, s c r e e n s ,
storm sash, and finishing materials for
basements or attics.
O N E - F A M IL Y
H O U SES
Trends Since 1940
About 97 percent of the single-family
houses started in 1956 were completely
detached, surrounded by their own plots
of ground (table 1).
The remaining small
fraction of row and semidetached houses
were concentrated in a few cities in the
northeastern and southern regions.
Al
though no strictly comparable figures are
available for earlier periods,3 the 1950
Census of Housing indicates that the pro
portion of semidetached and row houses
built in the 1940*s was higher than in re
cent years— probably in excess of 10 per
cent.
The wartime controls in effect—
p a r t i c u l a r l y in the f i r s t half of the
1940*8— resulted in more compact, rowhouse neighborhoods to conserve materi
als not only in the houses themselves but
also in the extension of utilities, streets,
and auxiliary community fa cilities.4 The
diminishing importance of attached houses
thereafter is part of the pattern of sub
urbanization of home building5 and, within
cities, a reflection of zoning regulations
aimed at keeping population densities low
in ’ the residential areas being developed
beyond the older, more congested down
town districts.
The lower land values in suburban
areas permitted generally larger building
sites than were feasible within the city
proper, and the pronounced trend toward
one-story rambler-type houses was also
a part of the suburban d e v e l o p m e n t .
3 Semidetached and row houses comprised about 14
percent of the new 1-family houses surveyed by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics in 1936-38, but this survey covered
only houses for which permits were issued in cities with,
populations of 25,000 and over. See Residential Construc
tion and Demolition, 1936 to 1938, Monthly Labor Review
Reprint No. R. 1225 (p. 6 ).
4 See Housing for War Workers (in Monthly Labor
Review, June 1942, pp. 1268-1269).
See Building in Metropolitan Areas
Labor Review, June 1957, pp. 689-696)
(in
Monthly
3
Thus, the proportion of one-story houses
i n c r e a s e d from two-thirds of the new
single-family h o u s e s in 1940 to seveneighths of the 1950 total and continued at
that ratio in 1956, Houses with a storyand-a-half and 2-o r-m o re s t o r i e s ac
counted for the remainder of the houses
built in 1950, but by 1956, the share of
these more conventional multistory types
was cut in half by the vogue at that time
for split-level houses*
General Plan and Size* In many respects,
1950 marked a turning point in homebuilding* The 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom house,
with less than a thousand square feet of
floor area, which typified new houses in
1950, was the culmination of earlier ef
forts of the Federal Government and the
building industry jointly to focus greater
attention on building for the lower priced
market in a period of rising construction
costs and still urgent housing shortage*
Greatly liberalized legislation for Govern
ment-assisted loans (under the National
Housing Act of 1948), with preferential
financing for lower priced homes, com
bined with a very easy mortgage-money
market implemented the mass demand for
housing*
Against this background, the
homebuilding industry started an. alltime
record of 1*4 m i l l i o n new houses and
apartments in 1950* In serving the lower
priced market, many features that were
somewhat more commonplace in prewar
construction were eliminated* Room sizes
were reduced, and some rooms were de
signed for dual p u r p o s e s with d i n i n g
rooms frequently merged with kitchens or
living rooms*
Space for storage and
closets was lessened, and, with the elim
ination of basements from many houses,
space for utilities was taken from groundlevel footage otherwise devoted to living
purposes.
To meet the twofold threat of infla
tion and materials shortages following the
o u t b r e a k of the Korean conflict in the
sxxmmer of 1950, downpayments on homes
were raised substantially and the maxi
mum length of the mortgage term was re
duced with the imposition of Regulation X 6
credit controls late in the year. To sat
isfy buyers who had sufficient savings and
^ Issued under authority provided under the Defense
Production Act of 1950.
incomes to qualify for mortgages under
Regulation X , builders began to construct
larger numbers of more expensive houses
with more floor space in 1951 than in the
immediate postwar years*
After these
controls were relaxed in September 1952,
credit remained tight in a booming econ
omy in which the demands on financing
institutions were much greater than the
funds available.
In additioh, the market
for larger homes continued strong, mainly
as a result of rising family incomes7 and
the increasing numbers of families with
3 or more children*8
The trend t o w a r d l a r g e r , m o r e
fully equipped houses after 1950 is ap
parent from a variety of m e a s u r e s of
housing characteristics a s s e m b l e d in
table 1* 3h terms of average square feet
of floor space, houses begun in 1955 and
1956 w i t h an a v e r a g e of about 1,200
square feet, matched or bettered the pre
war (1940) h o u s e *
The expanded floor
area was accompanied by increased num
bers of bedrooms and bathrooms* Seventy
percent of the new houses in 1956 had 3
b e d r o o m s and another 8 percent had a
minimum of 4 bedrooms, compared with
only 34 percent having 3 or more bed
rooms in 1950 (chart 1)* Almost half of
the 1956 houses contained more than 1
bathroom, and the majority of these had
at least 2 complete bathrooms.
In con
trast, in 1950, fewer than 1 out of 12 new
houses was built with more than 1 bath
room, and in 1940, the comparable pro
portion was 1 out of 5 houses with the
extra facilities generally being a partial
bathroom c o n t a i n i n g only a toilet and
washbasin*
The s h i f t toward b a s e m e n t l e s s
houses, which was part of the wartime
construction pattern, showed few signs of
reversal n a t i o n a l l y as late as 1956.9
Little more than 40 percent of the 1954-56
7 Family Income in the United States, Current Popu
lation Reports, Consumer Income, Series P-60, No. 20,
December 1955, p. 19; and No. 26, September 1957, p. 2;
U. S. Bureau of the Census.
8 General Characteristics of Families, United
States Census of Population: 1950, Special Report P-E,
No. 2A, p. 2A-19. Also, Household, and Family Charac
teristics, Series P.20, No. 53, April 1954, p. 12; No. 67,
May 1956, pp. 12 and 14; and No. 75, June 1957, p. 12;
U. S. Bureau of the Census.
^ See also page 8 .
4
Chart 1.
New Nonfarm Houses With Specified Features
Selected Periods in 1940. 195|p. and 1956
0
10
20
30
1-------------I-------------I------------ 1 -
3 or M o re
B e d ro o m s
40
i
.50.
.60
70.
J»
i-------------1-------------1-------- —r
. Percent
90
100
V //////////////////A V /////////////////^ ^ ^ ^
V /A
M o r e T h an
1 B a th ro o m j
F953 1950
V777\
\7 7 \ 1940
Y //A //////////A ///A //////A
B a se m e n t
m
...- i
m
m
v
m
m
w
,
, , , , , 77*
*Uata not available for 1940
source:
1940 and_l950, Federal Hojising Agmimstration
ana Housing and Home Finance Agency,
1956, United States Department of Labor,
Bureau or Labor s t a t i s u t a .
houses included b a s e m e n t s , compared
with almost 70 percent of those built in
1940.
The majority of the basementless
houses were built on foundations or pillars
allowing crawl space between the ground
and the floor of the house. The practice
of building b a s e m e n t l e s s houses on a
concrete slab without such crawl space,
rare before the war, increased as insu
lation and heating and plumbing installa
tions especially s u i t e d for this type of
construction w e r e developed.
About a
sixth of the new houses in 1955 and 1956
were built in this way.
, , 7 7 7 7 7 *
Although the proportion of basement
less houses with utility rooms increased
substantially after 1950, u t i l i t y rooms
(i. e. , a room with provision for laundry
facilities as well as a furnace and water
heater, and not merely a closet for the
latter two units) were provided in only
a b o u t half of the basementless h o u s e s
built in 1955 and 1956.
Some houses—
generally in the higher price brackets—
included both a ground-floor utility room
and a basement.
5
Two other features found in the ma
jority of h o u s e s built in 1940— garage
facilities and fireplaces— had not regained
their prewar popularity by 1956,
Car
ports supplanted fully enclosed garages
in a rising proportion of the new houses,
but only about t w o - t h i r d s of the 1956
houses had either garages or carports,
w h e r e a s four-fifths of the 1940 houses
had garages*
The proportion of houses
with fireplaces in 1940 was almost double
that in recent years.
Structural Materials* The decreasing use
of wood and the substantial scale on which
aluminum and a wide variety of compo
sition, s y n t h e t i c , and other materials
came into use in home building after 1940
were outstanding trends highlighted by the
surveys of housing c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
(table 1)* For example, the proportion10
of houses having various types of wood
facing materials for their outer wall sur
faces decreased as brick and other ma
terials, as well as a s b e s t o s shingles,
were used more extensively.
Insulation
board took the place of wood planks for
sheathing many frame houses; concreteslab construction eliminated wooden floor
joists and subflooring; and built-up roofs
and the greater use of asbestos and as
phalt shingles cut deeply into the market
for wooden shingles*
A sharp reduction
in the use of wooden lath occurred with
the substitution of wallboard for plaster
for interior walls and, even where walls
were plastered, gypsum lath or plaster
board had virtually supplanted both wooden
and metal laths.
Similarly, the propor
tion of houses with wooden window frames
also diminished as the demand for metal
frames grew.
construction in the 1940-56 period. 11 As
late as 1956, new frame houses outnum
bered those with masonry walls about 5
to 1, d e s p i t e a growing preference for
masonry h o u s e s .
However, increasing
proportions of the new frame houses were
faced with brick (commonly referred to
as brick veneer) or a combination of brick
and wood.
By 1956, builders reported
more b r i e k -v e n e e r than w o o d -f a c e d
houses, which was a marked departure
f r o m previous b u i l d i n g practice.
In
general, the shift to brick v e n e e r was
from v a r i o u s types of wood sidings or
asbestos s h i n g l e s .
Use of a s b e s t o s
shingles, a relatively new wall material, 12
had increased substantially between 1940
and 1950 when there was a combination
of sharply rising prices and scarcity of
lumber.
The proportion of frame houses
faced with stucco fluctuated very little,
and in 1956, stucco ranked after brick
and wood in use as an outer wall material
(table 1).
The t r e n d toward b r i e k -v e n e e r
houses accentuated the shift from wood
planks to insulation board and other ma
terials for s h e a t h i n g f r a m e h o u s e s
between 1940 and 1956 (tables 1 and 2).
Insulation board was used more commonly
to sheath houses with brick veneer than
with other types of walls.
For houses
faced with wood s i d i n g s or a s b e s t o s
shingles, wood plank sheathing continued
to be used most extensively although the
c o m p e t i t i o n from plywood and o t h e r
materials was evident here also.
Most
of the unsheathed houses were faced with
stucco, which can be applied to a lathing
material which is fastened directly to the
wall studs.
Structurally, frame h o u s e s (i. e. ,
houses c o n s t r u c t e d with a supporting
framework of wooden studs and faced with
one or more of a variety of materials)
consistently dominated in 1-fam ily house
Walls of both masonry and frame
houses were insulated with various types
of materials which were applied loose or
in batts (cut to length), rolls, or other
forms between the outer and inner wall
10 These observations refer only to the proportions
and not the absolute numbers of new houses having speci
fied construction methods and materials. Furthermore,
except in a few instances, information was not obtained
on the quantities of materials used. The high volume of
residential building and the trend toward larger houses
both tended to keep die total quantities of materials con
sumed by die homebuilding industry at higher levels than
the shifts in proportions of houses utilizing certain
materials might imply.
1 1 The 1954-56 surveys revealed no significant
shift from the conventional on-site method of framing
houses to building with components, i.e., wall panels
consisting usually of studs and sheathing which, were
prefabricated on die assembly line and trucked to the
building site.
^ Asbestos shingles were not listed among the
exterior wall materials used on new houses in tabulations
based on the Building Permit Survey, 1929 to 1938. (See
footnote 3 , p. 2 .)
6
surface of the house.
Altogether, about
a third of the houses started in 195613
had such insulation, its use being influ
enced by considerations of g e o g r a p h i c
location as well as the method of wall
construction.
Much more customary in
the colder regions of the Northeast and
North Central States than in the regions
with milder winters (table 10), wall in
sulation also was found more frequently
in frame houses with wood, a combination
of brick and wood, or asbestos shingle
exteriors, than in brick veneer, stucco,
or masonry houses (table 3).
Perimeter insulation was a compar
atively recent development to reduce heat
loss at the edges of the floors of basem e n t l e s s houses.
With concrete-slab
construction,, for e x a mp l e , * before the
concrete is poured, a plastic vapor bar
rier may be spread over the entire slab
area, over which are laid blocks or layers
of insulating material extending several
inches inside the edges of the slab.
This
and other types of perimeter insulation
were reported for only 5 percent of all
houses under construction in 1956.
Ceiling insulation was a " q u a l i t y * 1
feature in 1940 which gained wide accept
ance thereafter. Between 1940 and 1956,
new houses with such insulation increased
from 25 to more than 80 percent of the
total.
Whether or not a 1956 house had
ceiling insulation a p p a r e n t l y depended
more on its geographic location (reported
most frequently for houses built in the
c o l d e r northern r e g i o n s ) than on any
specific construction feature.
About the
same proportions of masonry and frame
h o u s e s had ceiling i n s u l a t i o n .
Such
insulation was reported least o f t e n for
stucco and concrete block houses, which
were usually built in the South and West.
Roofs of the great majority of the
new houses continued to be shingled, but
after 1940, t h e r e was a m a r k e d shift
from wood to asphalt which was the dom13 The figures in table 1 for wall insulation may not
be strictly comparable for 1940, 1950, and 1956, since,
according to table 3 , die 1950 figures include insulation
board. (Comparable detail for 1940 was not available.)
In the 1956 survey, insulation board used in die wall
construction was recorded under sheathing rather than
insulation, the latter term referring to those types of
materials listed in table 3 .
in a n t shingle m a t e r i a l in 1956.
The
increased proportions of h o u s e s having
built-up roofs in 1956, c o m p a r e d with
1940 and 1950, r e f l e c t e d the postwar
vogue for flat or low-pitched roofs.
In 1940, about 9 out of 10 houses
had wooden window frames (table 1), and
houses surveyed that year were classified
simply as having either wooden doublehung or casement frames or steel case
ment fram es. By 1950, the use of steel
casement windows had increased substan
tially, and a small percentage of houses
had aluminum double-hung and casement
windows.
Thereafter, the market for
aluminum frames expanded rapidly, until
by 1956, it accounted for nearly 3 out of
10 w i n d o w frames i n s t a l l e d in n e w
h ou ses.14 A n o t h e r development since
1950 was the increased variation in win
dow s t y l e s and arrangements (table 4).
Double-hung windows, still predominantly
with wooden fram es, continued to be the
most popular single type in 1956 houses,
but accounted for little more than half of
the total windows installed.
Casements
maintained second place, despite a decline
in t h e i r share of the t o t a l after 1950.
Ranking in popularity next to these more
conventional window styles in 1956 were
horizontal slide, picture, a w n i n g , and
j a l o u s i e windows.
The postwar trend
toward aluminum, which extended to all
t y p e s of w i n d o w frames in 1956, was
most evident for horizontal slide, awning,
and jalousie windows.
A l u m i n u m also s h o w e d a rapid
postwar growth as a material for screen
ing windows and doors. Used on only an
occasional house built in 1950, aluminum
had become the principal type of screen
ing by 1956, being reported for a larger
share of the new houses than galvanized
steel, copper, bronze, and other screen
ing materials combined.
14 Excluding basement-type windows, for which
steel frames predominated. In the 1940 and 1950 surveys,
the number of houses having a specified type of window
frame was reported. Because of the trend toward using a
variety of window-frame styles in a single house, in die
1954-56 surveys, information was obtained on the number
of windows of each type in a house, as shown in table 4.
For 1954-55 data on type of windows by type of windowframe material comparable to 1956 figures in tables 4 and
14, see New Housing Characteristics in 1955 and Earlier
Years, Monthly Labor Review Reprint No. R. 2196 (p. 18).
7
Aluminum had also entered the post
war market for gutters and downspouts.
Galvanized steel gutters continued to be
used on the majority of new 1956 houses,
but aluminum had risen to second place,
outranking copper and wood.
Interior Finish. The outstanding postwar
development in interior wall construction
was the extent of the shift from plaster
to various types of wallboard materials.
In 1940, the walls of 90 percent of the
new houses were plastered, but by 1956,
this p r o p o r t i o n had b e e n cut in h a l f
(table 1).
Gypsum dominated wallboard
installations, but the share of houses with
o t h e r wallboard materials i n c r e a s e d
between 1950 and 1956.
Whether walls were surfaced with
p l a s t e r or w a l l b o a r d , some type of
decorative finish was customary in houses
being marketed in 1956. Builders of about
9 out of 10 houses reported definite dec
orating plans at the time of the 1956 sur
vey (table 5). For some of the remaining
houses, the builder planned to paint or
paper the walls to suit the purchaser after
the house was sold, but some houses were
to be sold undecorated, possibly to be
come a "do-it-yourself*1 p r o j e c t of the
purchaser.
The walls of the living-dining and
bedroom areas of almost three-fourths of
the 1956 houses were to be painted. The
percentage having papered walls had been
cut by half between 1950 and 1956.
In
formation obtained on the f i n i s h i n g of
walls indicated that several new types of
paints had gained wide acceptance since
1950. For example, although paints with
a linseed oil base continued to be used
more extensively than any other type of
interior paint in 1956 houses* they had
only a narrow lead over the newer latex
and alky debase paints.
The alky d-type
paints had come into general use after
1950.
In kitchens, h o w e v e r , walls were
papered more often in houses built in 1956
than in 1950, but even in 1956, about 3
o^t of every 4 new kitchens had painted
walls.
Both p a i n t and wall p a p e r in
kitchens were sometimes combined with
wainscoting, and such combinations of
wall materials were much more common
in 1956 than in 1950 (table *1). A similar
trend t o w a r d wainscoting in bathrooms
was also evident.
Although ceramic tile
maintained a substantial lead over other
wainscoting m a t e r i a l s in 1956, plastic
tile, which was little used in 1950, was
reported for 7 percent of the kitchens and
22 percent of the bathrooms (above the
basement level) of the 1956 houses.
For floors in the living and bedroom
areas, hardwood was used in almost 85
percent of the 1956 houses. In contrast,
only 5 or 6 percent were f l o o r e d with
various t i l i n g materials— predominantly
asphalt. For kitchens, linoleum continued
to be the preferred floor covering, but
by 1956, vinyl tile, which had come into
g e n e r a l use after 1950, ranked next to
linoleum (table 5). For bathrooms (above
the basement level) ceramic tile was the
most popular floor surface, but it was
used in a smaller proportion of the new
houses in 1956 than in 1940, as was li
noleum. In this interval, the installation
of asphalt and rubber tile and m iscella
neous f l o o r coverings for b a t h r o o m s
increased (table 1).
Important changes in interior door
styles also occurred in the postwar years.
The 1950 survey was concerned only with
the type of material used for doors ard
door fram es, which were predominantly
wood. Wood continued to be the standard
door material in 1956. By then, however,
the trend toward the installation of flush
instead of panel15 doors was clear cut,
with the proportion of houses with panel
interior doors dropping from 18 percent
in 1954 to no more than half of that pro
portion in the following 2 years. For the
outside entrance door of houses, the panel
type continued to be used in almost as
large n u m b e r s as flush doors in 1956.
Because of the increasing tendency to use
several types of doors in a single house,
in the 1956 s u r v e y , 16 the n u m b e r of
^ A flush door has uniform thickness, with no re
cesses on either side. A panel door has outer members of
full thickness which frame one or more panels of thinner
material. 3 oth panel and flush doors may be made of
wood or metal and may be installed to swing on hinges or
slide on tracks.
In the 1954-55 surveys, die door count was less
detailed and showed only the number of houses having
panel, flush, or other types of doors.
8
interior and exterior doors of each type
installed in s i n g l e - f a m i l y houses was
o b t a i n e d , and percentage distributions
summarizing this information are shown
below:
T yp e o f door
Total................................
Panel (wood) ....................
Flush (wood) ....................
Sliding...............................
Folding.............................
Other.................................
Interior
doors
E xterior
doors
100
100
8
^8
22
2
( 2)
147
l 52
( 2)
( 2)
( 1)
1 Includes less than 0.5 percent steel doors.
2 None reported or less than 0.5 percent.
Sliding doors were used extensively for
closets*
The folding doors (which fold
back rather than swing or slide) consisted
of narrow slats of wood or metal or were
the accordion type which was usually faced
with plastic*
Heating Facilities and Fuel*
Not only
did the proportions of new houses having
permanently installed17 heating facilities
increase between 1940 and 1956, but def
inite changes in c o n s u m e r preferences
for various types of heating units and fuels
also occurred in this period (tables 1 and
6)* One of the most significant changes
was the marked increase in gas-burning
equipment and the decline in units using
oil or solid fuels*
Almost three-fourths
of the 1956 h o u s e s were to be h e a t e d
with gas, and furnaces burning coal and
other solid fuels (which were installed in
almost two-fifths of the houses built in
1940) were rarely reported by homebuild
ers in 1956.
The growing popularity of
oil burners between 1940 and 1950 tapered
off, and by 1956, only about a fifth of the
houses under construction— mainly in the
New England and Middle Atlantic States—
had oil-fired furnaces*
Another c 1e a r -c u t development in
heating was the shift to furnaces equipped
w i t h fans or blowers to force the warm
air through ducts to various parts of the
17 Refers only to houses with furnaces or space
heaters built into the house. In the 1940 and 1950 sur
veys, houses heated by stoves and other types of movable
space heaters were counted as having installed heating
facilities, but houses depending on such heating arrange
ments were tabulated as having no heating facility in
stalled in the 1956 survey. (See table 6 , footnote 3.)
house (table 6), The proportion of houses
with this type of furnace almost quadru
pled between 1940 and 1956, whereas the
percentage of h o u s e s with gravity-type
w arm -air furnaces, steam and hot-water
systems, and v a r i o u s t y p e s of space
heaters declined*
The trend toward w arm -air furnaces
with duct systems was greatly accelerated
after 1950, with ductwork in almost 3 out
of 4 houses under construction in 1956*
The choice of heating systems— particu
larly in the South and West— may have
been influenced by the growing popularity
of central air-conditioning s y s t e m s for
1-fam ily houses. Although comparatively
few houses (6 percent) built in 1956 were
marketed with full home air conditioners
installed, in the great majority of a irconditioned houses the heating and cooling
systems were combined, with the same
ductwork serving both (table 1)*
The shift from gravity-type furnaces
to those with fans for circulating the warm
air, together with the d e v e l o p m e n t of
more compact units, permitted greater
flexibility in the location of the furnaces*
Even in the North, where furnaces were
installed in the basements of the majority
of the 1956 houses, substantial numbers
of w arm -air furnaces were put in utility
rooms or closets (table 6)* In the South
and West, warm -air furnaces were placed
in a u t i l i t y room or closet more often
t h a n in a b a s e m e n t , but in a sizable
number of houses in these regions, the
furnaces were installed in the crawl space
under the house and— to a lesser extent—
in the attic*
The d e v e l o p m e n t of the
horizontal-type furnace to fit spaces with
out enough height for u p r i g h t furnaces
f a c i l i t a t e d the attic and crawl-space
installations*
Such c h a n g e s in furnace
d e s i g n and the increasing popularity of
units requiring little or no fuel storage
space undoubtedly were r e l a t e d to the
continuing high proportions of p o s t w a r
houses built without basements.
Hot-water or steam-heating systems
were comparatively rare in 1956 houses
except in the Northeast region*
In houses
with this type of heating in 1956, the heat
usually was distributed through pipes lo
cated in the b a s e b o a r d s rather than
through radiators, convectors, or radiant
9
panels which were more customary in the
new houses with boiler systems surveyed
in 1940 and 1950.
The introduction of
pumps for the mechanical c i r c u l a t i o n
of the hot water permitted installation of
the boilers in the kitchen, utility room,
a t t i c , or g a r a g e , as well as in the
basement.
The N o r t h e a s t was also the only
region in which significant n u m b e r s of
h o u s e s under construction in 1956 had
tankless-type domestic hot-water supply
units, a characteristic associated with the
prevalence of house-heating systems with
boilers (table 6).
In practically all new
houses elsewhere, a separate water heater
with a storage tank was installed.
Gas
water h e a t e r s were used in the great
majority of these houses, a l t h o u g h the
proportion with e l e c t r i c water heaters
increased sharply after 1940.
The most
significant trend in water heaters, how
ever, was toward larger storage tanks.
Fully half of the 1956 houses had heaters
with a minimum capacity of 40 gallons,
whereas tanks with less storage capacity
were generally installed in 1950. Provi
sion for more ample supplies of hot water
reflected uptrends in the size of houses
and the families o c c u p y i n g them, the
number of b a t h r o o m s , and the use of
automatic washers and dishwashers.
Electrical Service. The wide acceptance
of new types of electrical equipment and
appliances for home use required more
electrical wiring than was customary in
prewar houses.
In the 1940*s, a 30- or
60-ampere service entrance was consid
ered a d e q u a t e for the average home's
electrical needs.
In 1956, the minimum
standard of the Adequate Wiring Bureau
for the service e n t r a n c e box was 100
amperes18— a standard which was met or
exceeded by builders of more than 5 out
of every 8 houses under construction in
1956. Measured in voltage, about threefourths of the 1956 houses had 220- to
240-volt wiring (table 1).
See report of an industry round table on wiring
costs jointly sponsored by House & Home and die Re
search Institute of the National Association of Home
Builders (in House & Home, September 1956, pp. 150 ff.)*
See also, New Wiring Sells Appliances (in Iron Age,
December 8 , 1955, p. 99).
Nonmetallic sheathed cable was used
for the rough-in wiring of two-thirds of
the houses under construction in 1956—
about the same as in 1950.
Knob-andtube wiring, which was common in 1940,
was rarely u s e d by 1956 homebuilders,
and the percentage of new houses wired
with a r m o r e d cable also declined over
this period, reflecting modifications in
l o c a l electrical codes which set safety
requirements for electrical wiring.
Virtually all houses under construc
tion in 1956 were wired with convenience
outlets in duplex receptacles; the average
house had 22 such outlets for connecting
l a m p s and various appliances (table 7).
More than a f o u r t h of the houses also
had special-purpose receptacles including
outlets designed to serve electric ranges,
clothes dryers, power tools, etc.
In an
o c c a s i o n a l house (less than 1 in 12),
builders reported installing receptacles
with 3 outlets or multiple outlet assem
blies, i.e ., surface raceways with outlets
at frequent intervals.
A b o u t 9 out of 10 h o u s e s w e r e
equipped with the c o n v e n t i o n a l linevoltage, toggle-style snap switch, and for
the remainder, mercury silent switches
were reported.
Most of the houses with
mercury switches were in the $1 5, 00 0and-over price bracket and had an aver
age of 15 switches per house, compared
with 11 per house with snap switches.
Kitchen, Laundry, and Other Equipment.
Although it was much more common for
builders to include kitchen and other ap
pliances and e q u i p m e n t as part of the
selling price of houses marketed in 1956
than in 1940 or 1950, even in 1956, homebuyers usually purchased these separately
from the house (table 1).
For about a
t h i r d of all h o u s e s built in 1956, the
selling price included a range and garbage
disposal unit, and for more than half, an
exhaust fan.
It was less customary to
include dishwashers, and a refrigerator
was included in the selling price of only
5 percent of the new houses. These pro
portions undoubtedly reflect the compara
tive m o b i l i t y of most refrigerators in
contrast with the increasing v o g u e for
c o u n t e r t o p range burners and built-in
ovens. Most other appliances and equip
ment, such as air conditioners and clothes
10
washers and dryers, were rarely included
in the purchase price, even for houses
selling at $20, 000 or more.
B u i l t - i n storage c a b i n e t s were
practically standard equipment in 1956
kitchens (tables 1 and 7)«
The average
kitchen with such s t o r a g e space had 1
cabinet under the sink, 5 attached to the
walls, and 4 base cabinets, i.e ., resting
on the floor. A shift from wood to steel
cabinets between 1940 and 1950 was re
versed, and by 1956, wood was used for
about 90 percent of the kitchen cabinets.
Laminated plastic, a postwar innovation
as kitchen countertop material, had gained
wide acceptance by 1956, virtually sup
planting l i n o l e u m which was the most
popular material for this purpose in 1950.
C e r a m i c tile ranked next to laminated
plastic in use for c o u n t e r surfaces in
1956 kitchens.
H ouses B u ilt in 1954, 1955, and 1956
Prices of new houses climbed in the
postwar period of generally appreciating
real estate values.
The median selling
price of new houses in 1956 was $14,500—
up 18 percent over that of houses started
just 2 years earlier19 (table 8).
Rising
construction costs and the trend, already
noted, toward building larger, more fully
equipped houses accounted for part of this
increase.
Higher land prices and land
development costs also pushed up prices,
both directly, and indirectly, b e c a u s e
19 Comparable selling-price data ate not available
for new houses prior to 1954. However, data on property
values of single-family houses with mortgages insured by
FHA showed substantial increases in the values of both
new and existing houses in the 1946-56 period. See
Housing and Home Finance Agency, Tenth Annual Report,
1956 , pp. 98-99.
Although selling prices, floor area, and construction
costs moved in the same upward direction between 1954
and 1956 , their interrelation is difficult to measure pre
cisely from the available statistics. For example, it was
possible to compute the average (arithmetic mean) square
feet from measurements reported for individual houses.
However, builders were asked to indicate die proposed
selling price only in terms of broad price classes (e.g.,
$12,000 to $14,999, $15,000 to $19,999, etc.), from which
median selling prices were computed. Since the median is
less affected by extreme deviations from the central
tendency than the arithmetic mean and since there was a
sharp increase in 1956 in the proportion of houses at die
upper extreme ($ 20,000 and over), the median selling
price rose less than an arithmetic mean computed from
prices for individual homes would have risen.
b u i l d e r s found it uneconomical to put
low-cost housing on high-cost land.
As the market for mortgage money
tightened during 1955, b u i l d e r s tended
increasingly to shift from the low- and
moderate-price market to houses selling
for $15,000 or more. This shift reflected
two o p p o s i n g tendencies.
In the first
place, the short s u p p l y of money cut
deepest into the volume of the federally
underwritten (VA and FHA) loans w i t h
liberal mortgage term s, which had been
used most extensively to finance houses
priced below $15,000, and had little effect
on the number of conventionally financed
mortgages.
On the other hand, rising
consumer incomes and growing families
encouraged some people to upgrade their
housing in 1956.
According to the 1957
Survey of Consumer Finances, 20 a third
of the house p u r c h a s e r s in 1956 sold
another house at the time of the purchase.
This group bought higher priced houses
than other purchasers, partly b e c a u s e
the equity accumulated in their previous
homes enabled them to make the larger
d o w n p a y m e n t s required on the more
e x p e n s i v e houses and to q u a l i f y for
mortgages on the terms prevailing in 1956.
M oderate-size houses continued to
predominate in 1956, but builders started
relatively fewer s m a l l dwellings and a
greater percentage of more s p a c i o u s
h o u s e s in 1956 than in the previous 2
years.
In this interval, the average floor
area increased 8 p e r c e n t — from 1, 140
s q u a r e feet in 1954 to 1,230
in 1956.
Three- and 4-bedroom houses increased
in popularity, whereas the proportion of
new houses with 2 b e d r o o m s or less
declined.
With extra bedrooms came
added bathrooms, and approximately half
of the 1956 h o u s e s had more than one
bathroom.
Selling P rices.
The close relationship
between the selling price of the house and
its s i z e and o t h e r characteristics is
illustrated in table 1.
In general, the
floor area and the number of bedrooms
and bathrooms i n c r e a s e d with selling
price. Although the practice of including
kitchen appliances and other equipment in
the selling price of the house was compar^ Federal Reserve Bulletin, June 1957, p. 628.
11
atively limited in 1956, broadly speaking,
the more expensive the house, the. more
equipment it included.
C h a n g e s in the characteristics of
new houses associated with rises in the
price scale may be summarized by de
scribing houses in broad p r i c e groups.
Most of the houses priced below $10,000,
which included fewer than 15 percent of
all those b u i l t in 1956, were s m a l l ,
basementless, frame houses with asbestos
shingle or wood exteriors and wallboard
interiors.
However, this price range
also included virtually all of the small
number of row houses started in 1956.
The "typical11 house selling for less than
$10, 000 reflected m a n y characteristics
of housing in the South because relatively
few houses in this price range were built
in other parts of the country in 1956. 21
For example, there was a heavy concen
tration of these low-priced houses with
space heaters or with no heating facilities
i n s t a l l e d and with little insulation or
rain-carrying equipment.
On the other
hand, builders furnished window and door
screens for larger percentages of these
houses than for more expensive homes.
M a n y houses offered at less than
$10, 000 had only 2 bedrooms or l e s s .
They rarely had more than one bathroom
and some had no bathroom.
Usually the
kitchen had a sink and some built-in cab
inets, but except for an occasional range
or exhaust fan, builders rarely furnished
kitchen appliances in this price bracket.
With less plumbing and electrical equip
ment and appliances, th e capacities of
the water heaters and electrical wiring
s y s t e m s in these houses were smaller
than was generally provided in the room
ier, higher priced houses.
The price range of $12,000 to $15,000
included more than a fourth of the houses
under construction in 1956, with good rep
resentation in all geographic r e g i o n s .
These were generally 3-bedroom houses,
with an average of 1,120- square feet of
^ In tables 11-A through 11-F, data are shown
separately for houses selling for less than $7,000 and
for $7,000 to $9,999 only for the South; for other regions,
the ,data were combined into a single class, less than
$10 ,000 , because of the small number of houses in each
subclass.
floor area.
About t w o - f i f t h s of them
were brick houses22 with b a s e m e n t s ,
more than one bathroom, and plastered
walls.
The majority were insulated and
had warm -air furnaces, garages or car
ports, water heaters with storage capacity
of 40 or more gallons, and met the 100a m p e r e standard for electrical wiring.
Substantial numbers had s o m e features
usually associated with the more expen
sive houses, such as ceramic tile wain
scoting in the bathrooms and k i t c h e n s .
Seven percent were air-conditioned. How
ever, builders i n c l u d e d few items of
k i t c h e n equipment except exhaust fans,
and, to a lesser extent, garbage disposal
units, in this price class.
Almost all of the houses having 4
b e d r o o m s and more than 2 bathrooms
and most of the split-levels were built
for the $ 1 5 ,000-and-over market, which
included about 45 percent of all houses
b e g u n in 1956.
However, the 1-story,
3-bedroom house with l j to 2 bathrooms
(usually with ceramic tile walls and floors)
was most typical of the new h o m e s in
this price range.
More than two-fifths
of the houses in this upper bracket were
priced at $20,000 or more.
Houses in
this group were larger (1,680 square feet
of floor area, on the average) than those
s e l l i n g for $15, 000 to $19, 999 (1, 330
square feet), but houses in both segments
of the $15,000-and-over price range were
s i m i l a r otherwise.
Brick houses with
plastered interior w a l l s predominated.
Practically all of the houses had furnaces,
and the majority had fireplaces, base
ments, and garages or carports.
In contrast with the less expensive
houses, those selling for $15,000 and up
customarily included major kitchen appli
ances— ranges, garbage disposal u n i t s ,
exhaust fans, said, in addition, many of
them had dishwashers.
Fifteen percent
of the $ 2 0 ,000-plus houses had full home
air-conditioners, usually combined w i t h
the heating system.
Regional Differences.
Regional patterns
in housing result from a variety of factors,
22
Houses referred to here and on page 14 as having
brick walls include those with masonry walls, either of
solid brick or of some other masonry material faced with
brick, and frame houses faced with brick (brick veneer)
or a combination of brick and wood.
12
including climate, prevailing architectural
s t y l e , the availability and comparative
cost of competing materials, and the eco
nomic characteristics of the population.
Regional information23 a v a i l a b l e for 3
successive years brought into better focus
some of the d i f f e r e n c e s observed in
housing practices in various sections of
the United States, despite the broad ex
panse of the four geographic regions for
which the data were obtained.
(See map.)
The 1954-56 surveys also revealed devel
opments so gene rad in adl regions as to
represent nationwide trends.
Among the
latter was the shift toward building larger,
more expensive houses, already n o t e d .
are customary in the colder parts of the
country, frequently provided similar fa
cilities, but b a s e m e n t space was not
counted in the measurement of floor areas
as defined in these surveys.25
Differences in climate were reflect
ed in other housing c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
b e s i d e s the prevalence of basements.
For example, central heating and ceiling
insulation were less common in the South
than in other regions.
On the other hand,
h o u s e s were equipped with window and
door screens, attic fans, and air condi
tioners more frequently in the South than
elsewhere.
Even in the South, however,
only about 1 out of 10 houses was sold
with air-conditioning equipment installed
in 1956.
M e d i a n prices were higher in the
West than in the South for houses with
a b o u t the same a v e r a g e floor space.
However, a larger proportion of western
houses included "e x t r a s ,n which add to
the cost.
For example, relatively more
houses with fireplaces, garages or car
ports, and two bathrooms were built in
the West than in other parts of the coun
try in 1956.
Although b a s e m e n t l e s s
houses predominated, the proportion with
basements was increasing, and about 4
out of 5 w e s t e r n houses had c e n t r a l
heating systems.
In the South, where about a third of
all new n o n f a r m houses were b u i l t ,
median selling prices were consistently
lower than for the c o u n t r y as a whole
(chart 2), adthough the average floor space
was greater.24 Differences in structural
arrangements may exaggerate r e g i o n a l
differences in floor areas, as measured
in these surveys, however. For example,
in the basementless houses which predom
inated in the South and West, the kitchen
(with possibly an adjoining 1•family” room)
might include space for recreationad fa
cilities and laundry equipment; o r, storage
space and laundry or heating equipment
might be located in a ground floor utility
room or c l o s e t .
By definition, all of
these areas were included in the measure
ment of floor space.
Basements, which
2^ Regional scad sties referred to in this secdon
appear in tables 6 , 8 , 9 , 10 , and 1 1 .
24 See footnote 19, on p. 10.
The West showed a c o n s i s t e n t l y
greater uniformity in exterior wall con
struction than any other r e g i o n , with
stucco houses predominating.
This uni
formity results, to a large extent, from
the dominant position of California in
homebuilding, not only in the West but
nationally, 2* and the limitations on per
missible t y p e s of construction in t h a t
State. The popularity of stucco over the
years initially stemmed from the fact that
it was a relatively inexpensive surfacing
material that simulated in appearance the
25 See appendix B, p. 22. The definition of floor
area in die Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys is essen
tially the same as that used by the FHA in calculating
die floor area of 1-family houses with FHA-insured
mortgages.
2^ In the 1954-56 period, California was the leading
State in homebuilding, accounting for 1 of every 6 houses
started in the entire nonfarm area of the United States.
See Housing Starts in Selected States, 1954-56 (in
Construction Review, May 1957, p. 5).
13
Chart 2.
Nonfarm Houses Started
Median Selling Prices, bv Locauuu
First Quarter 1954, 1955, and 1956
Thousands of D ollars
0
r* 1
2
—
—
4
i
6
i
8
■
■
10 i
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
■
.
■
■
i
n
12
I
, ,.m
14
■
—
■
16
m
i
18
i
.
.
—
ALL NONFARM AREAS]
3 1956
3.1955
3 1954
N o rth east
North Centra)
South
W est
M etro p o litan
A rea s
N onm etro po litan
A re a s
Source:
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
e a r l y Spanish adobe construction which
greatly influenced California architecture.
H o w e v e r , the predominant stucco-on-
frame construction is also among the
m o r e earthquake-resistant t y p e s , and
after the earthquakes of 1933, the Cali-
14
fornia State Legislature enacted the "Field
B ill" which required, among other things,
that all construction should be designed
to resist seismic disturbances. 27 Under
this bill, brick and other veneer construc
tion was permitted only if it conformed
to somewhat rigid standards.
There was a wider v a r i a t i o n of
roofings in the West than in other regions
where the great majority of the houses
were roofed with asphalt shingles.
For
e x a m p l e , wood shingles were used on
about a third of the houses in the West,
where they are produced. Anpther siza
ble group of houses in the West— and also
in the South— had builtup roofs, a sur
facing especially suited to flat or lowpitched roofs.
New houses in the North tended to
have less space on the floors above the
ground level, but had b a s e m e n t s and
central heating systems more generally
than houses being built in the South and
West, and they cost more.
Part of the
added cost could be attributed to other
strictly utilitarian features such as more
thorough i n s u l a t i o n and wider use of
gutters and downspouts in the North than
elsewhere.
A lso, even for i d e n t i c a l
houses, construction costs are higher in
cities in the Northeast and North Central
r e g i o n s than in those in the West and
South, according to Federal Housing Ad
ministration studies of comparative costs
of a standard house in different localities.
Brick houses w e r e almost equally
popular in the North Central region and
the South, which together accounted for
about t w o - t h i r d s of the Nation1s brick
output. 28 On the other hand, wood was
the most commonly used exterior ’ w a l 1
material in the Northeast, where it was
used most extensively on houses in the
top price bracket. The Northeast ranked
next to the West in the p r o p o r t i o n of
1956 houses with such quality features as
garages, fireplaces, and extra bathrooms.
Furthermore, it was more customary to
27 C. W. Short and R. Stanley - Brown, Public
Buildings—A Survey of Architecture of Projects Construc
ted by Federal and Other Governmental Bodies between
the Years 1933 and 1939, U. S. Government Printing
Office, Washington, 1939, p. XIII.
28 Based on value of shipments of brick and hollow
tile as reported in the Census of Manufactures for 1954.
include such equipment as ranges, dish
washers, and refrigerators in the selling
price in the Northeast than in any other
region. 29
Although local custom, which fre
quently stems from climatic conditions,
appeared to be the dominant considera
tion in many a s p e c t s of homebuilding,
cost was a related influence.
The re
gional v a r i a t i o n in the prevalence of
b a s e m e n t s , for i n s t a n c e , was well
defined, but within regions, the propor
tion of houses with basements tended to
rise with the selling price.
Other fea
tures, such as central heating, fireplaces,
and garages, were more customary among
the more e x p e n s i v e than the cheaper
h o u s e s , irrespective of g e o g r a p h i c
location.
Metropolitan-Nonmetropolitan Area Com
parison.
M o r e than two-thirds of the
new housing in recent years was built in
the metropolitan areas30 of the U n i t e d
States where population growth was much
more rapid than in nonmetropolitan areas.
Although located preponderantly in the
suburban developments spreading to the
metropolitan outskirts, the new housing
in metropolitan areas was economically
o r i e n t e d . t o the central cities.
These
aspects of housing location are significant
in analyzing national t r e n d s because of
the differences in the price, size, and
other characteristics of housing built in
metropolitan and nonmetropolitan commu
nities which were revealed by the 1954-56
housing surveys. 31
Selling prices were prime indicators
of the d i f f e r e n c e s , being consistently
higher in m etropolitan than in nonmetro29 Earlier studies showed that this practice varied
widely within as well as among geographic regions. Among
new 1 -family houses purchased in 15 metropolitan areas in
1949 (the latest year for which area data are available),
the proportion with cooking stoves included in die pur
chase price in the Northeast ranged from 2 percent in
Pittsburgh to 93 percent in Philadelphia, and in the
South, from 2 percent in Atlanta to 98 percent in Washing
ton, D. C. See New Housing in Metropolitan Areas,
1949-51 _(BLS Bull. 1115, September 1952), p. 53.
30 Data on housing started in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas were not available prior to 1950 .
3* For 1954-55 data comparable to 1956 figures in
tables 11-E and 11-F, see New Housing Characteristics
in 1955 and Earlier Years, Monthly Labor Review Reprint
No. 2196 (pp. 12-17).
15
politan areas.
In 1956, for example, the
medians for the two types of communities
were $15,30 0 and $ 1 2 ,7 0 0 , respectively
(table 8). The latter figure reflected the
comparatively limited market for higher
priced ( $15, 000 and over) houses in the
s m a l l e r cities and towns where family
incomes were lower, on the a v e r a g e ,
than they were in areas with their eco
nomic cores in larger c itie s .32
Part of the difference appeared to
be related to the heavy concentration (53
percent in 1956) of all new nonmetropoli
tan housing in the South, where housing
prices and family incomes in general
were lower than in other regions.
To
isolate this regional factor, the metro
politan-nonmetropolitan data on selected
characteristics of 1956 h o u s i n g were
tabulated separately for the South and the
rest of the country (table 12).
On this
basis, it is clear that location in.relation
to large or small cities— independent of
geographical l o c a t i o n — influenced many
features of homebuilding.
The contrasts
b e t w e e n the two types of communities
were especially sharp in the regions out
side the South.
In these regions (North
east, N o r t h C e n t r a l , and West), the
proportions of 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom,
frame houses faced with asbestos shingles
or wood siding were substantially greater
in the nonmetropolitan than in the metro
politan areas, and, in general, the room
ier, more expensive houses were in the
large cities and their suburbs.
Housing
was more homogeneous in the metropoli
tan and nonmetropolitan a r e a s of the
S o u t h than elsewhere, although in this
section, also, the larger and more cost
ly homes t e n d e d to be in or near the
large cities.
By confining the c o m p a r i s o n to
houses in the price ranges of $12,000 to
$14, 999 * and $15, 000 to $19, 999 (the
median selling-price classes for the non
m e t r o p o l i t a n and metropolitan areas,
respectively), some differences were ap
parent in housing costing approximately
the same in metropolitan and nonmetro
politan areas in the country as a whole
3 Family Income in the United States: 1955,
Current Population Reports, Consumer Income, Series
P-60, No. 24, April 1957, p. 3, U. S. Bureau of the Census.
(table 11, sections E and F ).33 In general,
builders concentrated more on houses with
3 or 4 bedrooms and extra bathrooms in
communities with a large-city orientation
than in the nonmetropolitan places. There
were similar contrasts in the amount of
kitchen equipment provided, with builders
furnishing dishwashers and garbage dis
posal units much more f r e q u e n t l y in
houses in metropolitan than in nonmetro
politan areas.
B r i c k - v e n e e r (frame)
houses were numerous in both types of
communities, but practically all s t u c c o
h o u s e s , 34 as well as those with brick
masonry w a l l s , were in the large-city
areas.
MULTIFAMILY HOUSING
C o n s t r u c t i o n of duplex houses,
apartment buildings, and other multifam
ily structures accounted for little more
than a tenth of the privately owned non
farm dwelling units started in the 1954-56
period.
Since 1949 and 1950, when the
record volume of FHA-underwritten rental
and cooperatively owned housing swelled
the count of units started in private mul
tifamily buildings to approximately 200,000
a year, the trend in this type of resi
dential construction was generally down
ward to a low of 113,000 units in 1956.
This volume was in sharp contrast with
annual building programs of 350, 000 or
m o r e rental-type units common in the
1920's.
More than 90 percent of the multi
family units begun in the 1954-56 period
were located in metropolitan areas, with
buildings containing 5 or more units con
centrated in about 10 of the major areas.
These larger buildings (which included 60
percent of all rental-type units s t a r t e d
in 1956) were predominant in cities in the
Without data to compare construction and land
costs in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, it is im
possible to determine the price spread which may be at
tributable to higher costs and that representing differences
in housing characteristics. Also, in evaluating apparent
differences in characteristies it must be borne in mind
that the errors due to sampling may be large for some
items because of the comparatively small number of houses
built in the nonmetropolitan areas.
34 The concentration of stucco houses in metro
politan areas was accounted for by the large volume of
homebuilding in metropolitan areas in California. (See
footnote 26, p. 12.)
16
Northeast region and the West (table 8).
In the North Central region, multifamily
construction was about equally balanced
between units in this type of building and
in 2 - to 4-fam ily structures, w h e r e a s
units in the smaller buildings were most
numerous in the South.
Buildings with five or more apart
ments u n d e r construction in 1956 were
mainly of the walkup type (including apart
ments in garden-type d e v e l o p m e n t s ) ,
generally with no more than 25 units in
a project.
Very few larger apartment
developments and structures with eleva
tors were being built o u t s i d e the New
York and Washington areas.
Although
the new elevator buildings contained more
units per project than the walkups, the
largest elevator projects surveyed early
in 1956 contained fewer than 300 apart
ments.
C o m p a r a b l e figures are not
available for earlier years, but the data
at hand indicate that not only was total
v o l u m e of m u l t i f a m i l y construction
unusually low in 1956, but the individual
projects w e r e on a g e n e r a l l y small
scale. 35
Because of the comparatively small
numbers of new multifamily units, coupled
with the fact that a h u n d r e d or more
units in a single apartment project would
have many identical features, the infor
mation on multifamily housing character
istics was less diversified, t h o u g h no
less representative of the units actually
constructed, than the data obtained for
1- f a m i l y houses. Also, only l i m i t e d
conclusions can be drawn from y ea r-toyear variations in the statistics describing
multifamily housing, since changes in the
national figures may reflect merely shift
ing proportions of r e n t a 1- t ype housing
started in various localities which follow
w e l l defined architectural and buildingmaterial practices.
The above observations are perti
nent in e v a l u a t i n g the information on
^ In 1949, when Che financing of a substantial
volume of all new multifamily housing was underwritten
by die FHA, almost 32 percent of the FHA-insured units
in elevator buildings and 19 percent of those in walkup
buildings were in projects containing 300 or more units.
See Characteristics of FHA Multifamily Housing, 1949
and 1953-54 (in Construction Review, April 1956, pp. 4
and 6 ).
exterior wall materials shown in table 13.
Although the 1954-56 data showed a con
sistently greater use of masonry materials
in the walls of multifamily buildings than
single-family houses, they also indicated
some decline in the proportion of the units
in 5 - o r - m o r e- f a m i l y structures with
masonry walls. New apartment buildings
in e a s t e r n , southern, and midwestern
cities, a l m o s t without exception, were
constructed with masonry walls or brick
in combination with a reinforced concrete
framework.
In contrast, in the W e s t ,
where the California influence was domi
nant, large numbers of apartments were
in stucco-faced frame buildings, and that
s e c t i o n of the country accounted for a
larger share of the apartment construc
tion in 1956 than in the preceding 2 years.
This is a regional d i f f e r e n c e of long
standing:
a Bureau of Labor Statistics
survey3® of new housing in 1936-38 re
vealed similar regional contrasts in wall
m a t e r i a l s of buildings for 5 or more
families, but in that period, less than 5
percent of the apartments under construc
tion were located in the West, compared
with 50 percent in 1956.
The shift in recent years from wood
and steel to aluminum window frames was
even greater in multifamily than in single
family home construction.
The propor
tions of windows with aluminum frames
in apartments almost doubled between 1954
and 1956, as jalousie windows increased
in popularity (tables 13 and 14).
In most apartments built in 1956,
paint was used almost exclusively for the
interior wall decoration (table 15).
Al
though the living rooms and bedrooms of
the majority of the rental-type units had
hardwood floors, asphalt tile was u s e d
more extensively on the floors in these
rooms in apartments than in houses.
The various types of interior doors
were used in roughly the same propor
tions in apartments as in 1-family houses
in 1956. Seventy-two percent of the doors
in apartments were the p l y w o o d , flush
type, hung with hinges, and 18 percent
were sliding doors. Most of the remain
der were the wood-panel type with only
a few folding doors reported.
^ Residential Construction and Demolition, 1936
to 1938, Monthly Labor Review Reprint No. R 1225 (pp.
17-18).
17
Dwelling units in multifamily build
ings generally offered less living space
than single-family houses.
In 1956, for
example, the average unit under construc
tion in 2 - to 4 - family buildings was a 2 bedroom, 1-bath apartment with only about
two-thirds the floor area of single-family
houses in metropolitan areas.
Through
out the 1954-56 period, about 3 out of 5
units constructed in these small rentaltype b u i l d i n g s had 2 bedrooms, and
available information, though not strictly
comparable, indicated that the proportion
was virtually the same in 1936-38.
The
more recently constructed buildings, how37 The distributions of dwelling units by number of
rooms and type of structure in die 1936-38 and 1954-56
surveys are not strictly comparable, since the relatively
small number of buildings with 3 or 4 dwelling units are
combined with 5-or-more-family structures in 1936-38 and
with 2-family buildings in 1954-56. Also, the 1936-38
survey was in terms of number of rooms, which were
transposed into number of bedrooms for purposes of this
comparison, by means of the definitions of rooms used
in that survey.
ever, tended to have relatively fewer 3 bedroom units and more 1-bedroom units
than did those built in the 1930*s.
The smallest apartments w e r e in
buildings for 5 or more fam ilies, with
apartments in elevator buildings tending
to have fewer rooms than those in walkup
b u i l d i n g s . 38 Apartments in the 5 -o r more-family structures had little m o r e
than half as much f l o o r area, on the
average, as the 1-fam ily houses built in
the 1954-56 period. During these 3 years,
the distribution of apartments according
to number of bedrooms fluctuated more
in the larger buildings than in the 2 - to
4 - f a m i l y structures.
Nevertheless, in
this period, as in 1936-38, apartments
with 1 bedroom and bath predominated,
but 2-bedroom units greatly outnumbered
"efficiency*1 (no bedroom) apartments in
the 5-or-m ore-fam ily apartment houses.
Based on FHA study cited in footnote 35, p. 16.
18
A p p e n d ix A . D e sig n of Surveys
BLS Surveys for 1954, 1955, and 1956
The Bureau of Labor Statistics regu
larly conducts nationwide f i e l d surveys
among homebuilders in order to supple
ment building-permit reports in developing
its estimates of dwelling units started in
all nonfarm areas of the United States.
At the same time, in 1954, 1955, and
1956, the Bureau studied the basic fea
tures of new housing.
These s u r v e y s
were further expanded during this period
to obtain additional detailed information
on structural methods and materials used,
through the financial support of trade as
sociations interested in particular building
materials. The geographic coverage and
survey methods w e r e the same for all
three surveys, but the participation of a
larger number of trade associations in the
1956 survey made it possible to collect
information on more types of materials
and equipment u s e d in homebuilding in
1956 than in 1954 or 1955.
The Sample.
The s a m p l e , which was
developed in the Bureau of Labor Statis
tics and used in all three surveys of the
characteristics of new h o u s i n g , was a
stratified three-stage design in which the
p r i m a r y sampling units were standard
metropolitan areas and, for the nonmet
ropolitan areas, clusters of one or more
counties.
In the first stage, the areas were
stratified by the f o u r broad geographic
regions, as defined by the Census. (See
map, p. 12.) The selection of the sample
at this stage was based on the 53 areas
(29 metropolitan and 24 nonmetropolitan)
originally chosen by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics in 1954 as its sample for esti
mating the volume of p r i v a t e l y owned
housing started in those segments of met
ropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas where
b u i l d i n g permits were not required.39
Because a broader r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of
permit-issuing places was desirable for
th e surveys of housing characteristics,
this 53-area sample was expanded by the
addition of 10 metropolitan areas which
were completely c o v e r e d by buildingpermit systems.
^ For a description o ;
procedures followed in
selecting this sample, see Te-_nniques of Preparing Major
BLS Statistical Series (BLS Bull. 1168), ch. 2.
The second s t a g e of the sampling
process was applied only to metropolitan
and nonmetropolitan areas having a large
v o l u m e of residential construction, for
which a subsample of permit-issuing and
non-permit-issuing places was selected.
In the less active areas, all places in the
area were surveyed.
Further s u b s a m p l i n g— the third
stage— was confined to the perm it-is suing
segment of the sub sample of places having
the heaviest volume of permit activity,
for which samples of individual projects
were selected from the permit records.
To get maximum r e t u r n s (in terms of
number of units surveyed per field visit),
projects containing 5 or more dwelling
units generally were given universal cov
erage and the sampling was limited to the
projects with fewer units.
W i t h i n this sampling framework,
samples of privately owned dwelling units
were s e l e c t e d from single-family (de
tached, semidetached, and row h o u s e s )
and multifamily (2 - to 4-fam ily and 5 -o r more-family) projects for which building
permits were issued or on which work was
started during the first 3 months of 1954,
1955, and 1956 in the 63 areas.
The ap
proximate size of the s a m p l e in each
survey was as follows:
P ercen t
Number
o f private
Number
o f dw elling dw elling
o f p r o je c ts
units
u n its *
First quarter:
1954.... 5,000
1955.. .. 6,000
1956.. .. 5,600
30,000
37,000
28,500
13
13
12
* Computed from number of new private dw elling u n its
shown in table 8.
Survey Method.
The surveys were con
ducted in the spring and summer of each
survey year by field agents of the Bureau
of Labor Statistics who i n t e r v i e w e d
owners or builders or their representa
tives, u s u a l l y at the site of the new
housing.
The field agents were trained
and supervised by construction analysts
in the Bureau*s regional offices, who, in
turn, had attended a training session in
Washington, D. C ., conducted by the staff
of the Bureau*s Division of Construction
Statistics.
19
The questionnaires used in the inter
views were developed in the Bureau of
Labor Statistics. In the course of devel
opment, these schedules were reviewed
by technical experts in the construction
and building materials and e q u i p m e n t
industry and were tested in preliminary
field trials.
The completed schedules submitted
by the field agents were reviewed in the
regional offices under the immediate di
rection of the regional c o n s t r u c t i o n
analysts.
Regional operations at this
stage permitted prompt c o r r e c t i o n of
schedules in the field by referral back
to builders, whenever inconsistencies or
omissions were detected. The schedules
were then transmitted to W a s h i n g t o n
where they were thoroughly edited before
the data were coded and tabulated. This
e d i t i n g occasionally resulted in further
field checks when inconsistencies between
regions were detected.
Estimating Method. Characteristics data
for each project were weighted by means
of a series of ratios which were related
to the sampling rate utilized in each stage
of the design.
The weighted sample es
timates of characteristics for each of the
primary strata (metropolitan and nonmet
ropolitan areas in each of the four re
gions) were adjusted to the more complete
estimate of p r i v a t e l y owned nonfarm
dwelling units started in that stratum
during the first 3 months of the respec
tive survey years before they were com
bined into larger aggregates.
Reliability of the Estimates. Because the
estimates are based on sample data, they
are subject to sampling variability. The
approximate sampling variability of spec
ified estimated percentages for the entire
United States and for each of the f o u r
regions is as follows:
Sampling variability fo r ~
E stim a ted
p ercen ta ge
United
States,
all
region s
North ea st
North
Central
South
W est
lo r 9 9 .......
2 or 98 .......
0 .7
1.0
1.3
1.8
1.2
1.7
1.2
1.8
1.8
2.5
5 or 95 .......
10 or 90 .....
30 or 70 .....
50 ..............
1.6
2. 1
3.3
3.6
2.8
3.8
5.9
6.4
2.6
3.6
5.5
6.0
2.7
3.7
5.7
6.2
3.9
5.4
8.2
8.9
These estimates of variability are based
on results of the 1954 survey. However,
the sampling variability for the 1955 and
1956 studies would differ little from that
of the 1954 survey, since the sample areas
and the survey methods were the same in
all years.
The reliability figures should be in
terpreted as follows:
The chances arc
approximately 19 out of 20 that the results
of a complete count would not differ from
the sample results by more than the per
centage shown (twice the standard error).
For example, if the proportion of dwelling
units in the United States having a given
characteristic (e. g., basements) has been
estimated at 50 percent, the chances are
19 out of 20 that the true figure is between
4 6 .4 and 53. 6 percent.
Since data are
presented for a number of .different char
acteristics, the variability of which is not
identical, the figures above must be in
terpreted as an approximation only, for
any single estimate.
In general, the r e l i a b i l i t y of an
estimated percentage depends not only on
the size of the percentage but also the
size of the total on which it is based.
The reliability figures in the above table
apply to e s t i m a t e s based on the total
number of dwelling units started in the
specified regions. Estimated percentages,
based on smaller components, such as the
dwelling units within a single selling price
class, will be subject to a s o m e w h a t
greater error.
If the component makes
up one-half, one-fourth, or one-tenth of
the total, the factor by which the appro
priate variability f i g u r e should be in
creased is r o u g h l y 1. 4, 2 . 0 , and 3. 2 ,
respectively.
In addition to sampling variability,
the data are subject to biases owing to
errors of r e s p o n s e and nonreporting.
Factors affecting accuracy of reporting
are the respondent1s k n o w l e d g e of the
facts and the interviewer*s a b i l i t y to
obtain and classify the information cor
rectly. The possible effect of such biases
is not included in the measures of reli
ability shown above, but the influence of
such errors is minimized insofar as pos
sible by the design of the questionnaires
and the training and supervision of the
field agents.
20
Surveys Based on FHA Records
The data representing 1940 and 1950
in this bulletin are from studies which
were undertaken in periods of impending
wartime shortages of materials to obtain
information on the national consumption
of various materials in new home con
struction.
The data, p u b l i s h e d in a
Housing and Home Finance Agency mono
graph,
were compiled from records in
Federal Housing Administration field of
fices for new s i n g l e - f a m i l y detached
houses processed for mortgage insurance
by the FHA under Title II, Section 203,
of the National Housing Act.
Data for 1950.
For the 1950 survey of
materials used in new houses, a stratified
s a m p l e was developed to represent all
geographic regions of the country. From
records in 50 FHA field offices selected
in accordance with the sampling plan, data
were obtained on 5, 530 of the approxi
mately 201, 000 single-family d e t a c h e d
houses for which FHA commitments to
insure the mortgage were issued in the
first half of 1950.
The sample for each r e g i o n was
weighted so that the weighted number of
cases in each region bore the same ratio
to the total as the number of private non
farm dwelling units for that region were
to the United States nonfarm total in the
first half of 1950, as estimated by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics. To take into
account certain d i f f e r e n c e s between
houses with FHA-insured loans and other
houses, the weighted FHA figures were
adjusted on the basis of a BLS study of
the characteristics of new homes in 15
metropolitan areas in 1949.41 The ad
justments were primarily in the number
The Materials Use Survey—A Study of the Nation
al and Regional Characteristics of One-Family Dwellings
Built in the United States in the First-Half of 1950,
Housing and Home Finance Agency, Office of the Admin
istrator, Division of Housing Research, March 1953.
41 New Housing in Metropolitan Areas, 1949-51
(BLS Bull. 1115).
of stories and the square feet of livable
floor space, with related adjustments in
the number of rooms, b e d r o o m s , and
bathrooms.
It was recognized that FHA
standards, or the practices of builders
who customarily built under the FHA pro
gram, possibly resulted in a greater or
lesser use of certain materials than was
true in respect to houses which were con
ventionally financed. However, there was
no ready way* either of ascertaining the
possible biases that may have remained,
after adjustment, or of eliminating them.
Comparative Data for Prewar Period. In
order to afford some basis of comparison
b e t w e e n pre- and p o s t - Wo r l d War II
houses, the Housing and Home Finance
Agency monograph included data based on
a report m a d e by the Federal Housing
Administration in 1941. 42 This study was
based on Cost Engineers' Case Analysis
Summaries providing a sample of 12, 144
new houses from 43 FHA insuring offices,
which were used as a basis for obtaining
a representative sample for the country
as a whole.
Of the 43 summaries used,
11 were prepared in 1941, 6 in 1940, 10
in 1939, 15 in 1938, and 1 in 1937,
With
reference to this study, the Federal Hous
ing Administration stated, "While no claim
is made that the report was based upon
s c i e n t i f i c a l l y planned sampling, the
samples used were sufficiently accurate
to afford a reliable indication of the type
of housing built in the United States im
mediately before the war. "
Unlike the 1950 data, the f i g u r e s
representing 1940 w e r e not adjusted to
reflect differences in the characteristics
of h o u s e s with FHA-insured loans and
other houses.
However, these data are
believed to provide a basis for observing
the general changes in structural design
which occurred between 1940 and 1950.
42 Analysis of Material Quantities Used in the Pro
duction of 1,000 Single-Family Detached Houses Based
upon FHA Case Analysis Summaries—Pt. 1: Metals,
Federal Housing Administration, Technical Division,
June 1941.
A p p e n d ix B . G lo s s a ry
The following definitions were ob
served in conducting the Bureau of Labor
Statistics surveys of housing characteris
tics in 1954, 1955, and 1956 and apply
specifically to the terminology used in
compiling the tabulations of 1954-56 data
in appendix C.
Where this terminology
appears to differ significantly from that
used in the surveys of the Housing and
Home Finance Agency for 1940 and 1950,
the lack of comparability is noted in the
tabulations.
Metropolitan A r e a *
The 168 Standard
Metropolitan Areas as defined in the 1950
Census. Except in New England, a stand
ard metropolitan area is defined in this
census as a county or group of contiguous
counties which contains at least one city
of 50,000 inhabitants or more. Contigu
ous counties to the one containing such a
city are included in a standard metropoli
tan area if according to certain criteria
they are essentially metropolitan in char
acter and socially and economically inte
grated with the central city.
In New England, where the city and
town are administratively more important
than the county, they were the units used
in defining standard metropolitan areas.
Dwelling Unit.
A room, or group of
rooms, intended as separate living quar
ters for a housekeeping unit and contain
ing permanent cooking facilities, i. e . , the
minimum built-in facilities essential to
housekeeping.
One-Family House.
A dwelling unit for
one family which has a separate entrance
from the outside; an individual heating
plant; separating walls which reach from
the ground to the roof; and which can be
sold independently of nearby or adjoining
units. It may be detached, semidetached
or one of a row.
D e t a c h e d House.
None of the four
outer walls attached to any other struc
ture.
Semidetached House. Standing side by
side with another house to which it is
joined by a common wall which rises
from the ground to the roof.
Row House.
Standing in a row with
two or more other houses and having
a common wall or walls which rise
from the ground to the roof.
Two-to-Four Family S t r u c t u r e .
One
building containing any combination of 2,
3, or 4 dwelling units (i.e ., arranged side
by side, one above the other, or in any
other manner), with some common facil
ities such as entrance, heating plant, or
basement.
In addition, one unit cannot be
sold separately from the others.
F ive-or-M ore-F am ily S t r u c t u r e .
One
building (with or without commercial space
for stores or offices) containing five or
more dwelling units, with some common
facilities such as entrance, heating plant,
or garage.
Selling Price, One-Family Houses.
For
houses built for sale, the price at which
the houses would be advertised for sale
or the actual selling price of houses al
ready sold. For houses not to be offered
for sale (i. e. , retained by the owner for
his own occupancy or for investment as
rental housing), the price which the owner
would set for the house if it were to be
advertised for sale.
Story.
A room, or group of rooms, on
one level (above the basement), which pro
vides livable floor space; has finished
floors, ceilings, and walls; suitable ven
tilation and light via windows; and ceiling
at full height above floor.
A finished attic
suitable for living purposes is counted as
a half story; an unfinished attic that could
be finished for living purposes is not
counted as livable space, nor is an attic
suitable only for storage.
One-Story.
Living space all on one
floor.
Split- Level.
Living space on 2 or
more levels with each level separated
from its adjacent levels by less than
a full story but by more than 1 or 2
steps ( e . g . , a sunken living room).
Other.
Predominantly houses with l j
or 2 stories.
In a lj-s to r y house,
the living space is primarily on the
first floor with considerably less space
on the second floor or in a finished
attic; o u t s i d e walls are not of full
height for 2 complete stories.
In a
2 - story house, the living space is di
vided almost equally b e t w e e n the 2
floors and the outside walls are con
tinuous for full height of 2 complete
stories.
All multistory houses have
permanent, finished stairways to the
upper floors.
22
Basement* The portion of a house below
the first or ground floor.
Excavations
which provide less than 5 feet of head
room, or garage space only, are not
counted as basements.
No distinction
was made between houses with full or
partial basements in the 1955 and 1956
surveys.
Houses without basements may be
built on a concrete slab, i. e . , without
space between the ground and the slab on
which the house is built; or with crawl
space, i . e . , space between the ground
and the underside of the first floor.
A
house with crawl space may have a con
tinuous foundation extending the entire
perimeter of the house or it may be built
on a ,,pillar,? foundation.
Utility Room.
A room, usually on the
ground floor, containing such items as
furnace or other heating equipment, water
heater, laundry tubs or trays, washing
machine,
clothes dryer,
etc.
Small
areas designed to have only heating or
hot water equipment are not counted as
utility rooms.
F loor Area.
In 1-family houses, the
floor ate a (in square feet) is measured
to the outside surfaces of the walls and
consists of all finished space (including
halls, closets, laundry, and utility rooms)
with a height of 5 or more feet on all
floors above the basement level. Garages
or carports; unfinished attic space; open
or screened porches; and recreation (fin
ished or unfinished), s t o r a g e , laundry,
and utility rooms in the basement are ex
cluded in the measurement of floor area.
For units in multifamily structures, the
floor area includes all space listed above
except vestibules, halls, corridors, stair
wells, and elevator wells which are com
mon to two or more dwelling units.
Bedroom.
Only rooms specifically de
signed for sleeping purposes. Libraries,
dens, dressing rooms, or alcoves are ex
cluded even though at times they might
be used for sleeping purposes.
Bathroom. A complete bathroom contains
at least three fixtures: toilet, lavatory
(washbasin), and bathtub or shower stall.
A partial bathroom contains only two of
the preceding fixtures, e. g . , toilet and
lavatory.
F i r e p i ac e.
The determining factor in
counting fireplace s was the number of
chimneys: 2 fireplaces served by 1 chim
ney were counted as 1 fireplace; a house
saving more than 1 fireplace served by
separate chimneys was counted as having
2 or more fireplaces.
Garage or Carport.
A shelter for auto
mobiles which may be either attached to
the house or a separate building. A ga
rage is a completely enclosed structure;
a carport may consist only of a roof sup
ported by posts or pillars or may be par
tially walled.
Roofing.
A variety of materials may be
applied over the roof sheathing and roof
ing felt to form the roof surface, for ex
ample: shingles, which are thin pieces
of wood, slate, asbestos, or asphalt com
position fastened to the roof so that the
courses overlap; tar, topped with fine
gravel, stone chips, or coarse sand, ap
plied to flat or low-pitched roofs and re
ferred to as built-up roofs; and other ma
terials such as tile, composition roll, or
metal (i. e. , galvanized steel and sheet
aluminum) r oofing.
R a in -C arry in g Equipment.
Consists of
gutters, downspouts, and necessary at
tachments, made of metal, wood, or plas
tic.
The gutter is a trough attached to
the edge of the roof to catch and carry
rain water to the downspout.
The latter
is a pipe attached to the side of the house
to c a r r y water from the gutter to the
ground or drain.
Jbcterior Wall Construction.
Exterior
walls are classified first, by type of basic
construction, and, then, a c c o r d i n g to
facing material.
Basic Construction:
Masonry. A wall supporting the floors
and roof and consisting of units such
as brick, stone, concrete block, cin
der block, structural tile, e t c . , laid
with mortar.
Fram e.
A wall of vertical wooden
members (studs) supporting the floors
and roof, the studs usually connected
by an outer sheathing of wooden boards^
plywood, or other material, which
serves as bracing to the structure and
23
provides a solid surface to which the
outer facing material can be attached.
Other. Walls constructed of materials
other than masonry or wooden studs as
described above. These may be steel
frame panels, poured concrete, a
combination of metal and lumber,
sheathing panels with supplementary
frame members, or concrete rein
forced with steel (referred to as "cur
tain walls1* when used with facing of
non-load-bearing panels).
Facing Material:
Brick. A brick wall may consist en
tirely of bricks; an outer facing of
bricks backed up by some other ma
sonry material such as concrete block,
cinder block, or structural tile; or
*'brick veneer, ** a single brick layer
over a framework of studs and sheath
ing.
Concrete Block Usually concrete block
walls with no other backup materials;
the blocks may be treated with paint, a
waterproof material, or glazed with a
facing of thermosetting plastic.
Stucco. A cement plaster applied di
rectly to a masonry wall, or over lath
or some other backing material (such
as wire mesh) to a frame wall.
The
surface may be smooth or textured.
Wood.
Wooden clapboards, abutted
boards, shingles, etc.
Brick and Wood.
Some walls faced
with brick and others with wood, or
the lower part of house faced with
brick and upper part with wood, with
the two types of materials about equal
ly divided.
Asbestos Shingle. Of asbestos or as
bestos cement— hard and brittle, as
distinguished from composition *mate
rials (see **other** below).
Other.
Cut stone, field stone, arti
ficial stone, structural tile, etc.; com
position (soft pliable materials such as
tar paper, asphalt siding and shingles,
imitation brick and shingle, etc.); met
al (galvanized steel, aluminum, or any
other metal); plastic (reinforced poly
ester); or any combination of two or
more materials except brick and wood.
Also includes sandwich panels which
may be used with some backup mate
rial or as an integral unit. Such panels
consist of a lamination of a central
core material (wood, plastic, rubber,
xesin impregnated paper, glass fiber,
or corrugated metal) between two fac
ings, usually of strong rigid materials
such as metal, wood, or plastic.
Sheathing.
Wooden boards or other m aterial (see also gypsum, fiberboard, and
insulation) fastened to the studs or rsifters
to serve as bracing and as a foundation
to which an outer surface of the walls or
roof may be attached.
Insulation. Materials applied to the walls,
ceiling or roof, or, in buildings without
basements, under the first floor, to pro
tect against the passage of heat and to
control moisture condensation.
Wall in
sulation is applied between the interior
and exterior wall facings; ceiling or roof
insulation is applied over the ceiling of
finished portions of the house or to the
underside of the roof/ and perimeter in
sulation is used in basementless houses.
Insulation is made of fibrous materials,
such as mineral wool, glass fiber, an€
vegetable or animal fiber; reflective met
als, such as aluminum foil; vermiculite
ore; or plastic foam.
The materials,
singly or in combination, are marketed
in a variety of form s— loose; in blankets,
batts, rolls, or blocks; or in fiberboard
which has some structural strength (see
fiberboard).
Interior Wall Construction;
Plaster.
Basically a composition of
calcine gypsum, quicklime, or hydrated
lim e, and sand, mixed with water into
a kind of paste, which is applied to
laths or masonry as a coating for walls
and ceilings and which hardens on dry
ing.
Hair or fiber may be added to
act as a binder, and light-weight ag
gregates may be substituted for sand
in the mixture.
Lath.
A base fastened to studs, fur
ring strips, or joists to support plas
ter, tiles, etc.
Lath may be thin
strips of wood, extruded or expanded
metal sheets, or gypsum board (see
gypsum).
Dry Wall.
Sheets or panels of rigid
materials ordinarily fastened directly
to the studs or furring strips.
Gypsum. Gypsum rock, obtained by m ining and quarrying, is the base for a va
riety of wall materials, including plaster.
24
Gypsum board (wallboard for dry-wall in
teriors, plasterboard or lath, and sheath
ing) is composed of the same materials
as plaster except that a larger percent
age of fill material (such as sawdust, fi
brous materials, or cork) is added to give
structural properties.
The gypsum core
for the wallboard is encased in a tough,
protective layer of paper that either serves
as a finished surface after installation, or
can be painted, e n a m e l e d , or covered
with wallpaper or vinyl plastic.
Lath or
plasterboard, which is used as a base for
plaster in i n t e r i o r finish, differs from
w a l l b o a r d in the type of paper used to
encase the f i n i s h e d product.
Gypsum
sheathing is encased in a fibrous cover
ing, the outer surface and ends of which
are made moisture proof.
Plywood.
Panels or other assemblies
that are u s u a l l y made up of layers of
wood veneer bound together by an adhe
sive.
P l y w o o d is used in construction
principally for s h e a t h i n g , subflooring,
wall paneling and partitions, doors, and
cabinets, in the construction of concrete
form s, and for siding.
Fiber board. Sheets of rigid m a t e r i a l ,
which may be as large as 4 by 12 feet,
manufactured under a variety of proces
ses, from numerous fibers ranging from
sugar cane to any kind of waste softwood,
and marketed under many trade names.
The three main types are insulating, med
ium hard, and hardboard. They are pre
pared from similar formulations, and the
degree of hardness depends upon heat and
pressure.
Hardboards are sufficiently
dense to be waterproof and are usually
1 /8 or 3 /1 6 of an inch thick; insulating
boards are thicker.
Ceramic tile and other nonwood wall and
floor surfacing units.
Surfacing u n i t s ,
usually relatively thin in relation to fa
cial area, made from a variety of mate
rials, and attached to the walls, floors,
or countertops with cement or some other
m astic, sometimes in a design or pattern.
Ceramic tile, having either a glazed or
unglazed face, is made from clay or a
mixture of clay and other ceramic mate
rials, which is fired to produce specific
characteristics.
Among other materials
used for wall surfacing units are plastic,
metal, and p o r c e l a i n enamel; and for
floor surfacing units, asphalt, cork, rub
ber, and vinyl plastic.
Paint.
Paints and varnishes commonly
used for interiors may have a base of
linseed oil; latex with water as a thinner;
alkyd resins (a combination of soy bean
oil, glycerin, and other chemicals); or
some other m a t e r i a l , such as casein,
Bhellac, or calcimine.
Floors.
In most houses which are built
over a b a s e m e n t or c r a w l space, the
floors consist of a finish floor material
laid over a subfloor.
The subfloor, or
unde r lay me nt, which is usually softwood
boards or plywood, is ordinarily nailed
to the floor joists to form the base for a
v a r i e t y of finish materials.
In houses
which are built on a c o n c r e t e slab, no
subflooring is used, and the finish floor
may be attached directly to the concrete
slab with mastic or may be n a i l e d to
"scre ed s11 or n a i l i n g strips attached to
the c o n c r e t e slab with mastic.
Hard
wood, various kinds of tile, and linoleum
are c o m m o n l y used as the finish-floor
surfaces, with different materials some
times being used in individual rooms of a
house.
In some houses for which no fin
ish floor was reported, wall-to-w all car
peting was to be installed in some rooms.
Heating. Heating facilities permanently
installed as an integral part of the house
may be classified according to the heat
ing medium and method of heat distribu
tion as follows:
Boiler Systems (Hot Water or Steam).
Water is heated or steam generated
in a c e n t r a l l y located boiler from
which it is piped to various parts of
the house and is released via radia
tors, convectors, baseboard heating
units, or radiant panels (closely laid
p i p e s running t h r o u g h sections of
floors, walls, or ceilings).
W arm -Air Furnace. Air is heated at
a c e n t r a l location and is circulated
(usually by the action of a blower or
fan) through the house via a system
of ducts.
W arm -air furnaces are also
differentiated according to the direc
tion the warm air is forced as deter
mined by whether the fan or blower
is below (up-flow), above (down-flow),
or beside (horizontal-flow) the burner
unit.
25
Space Heater (Wall Heater or Floor
Furnace^
Air is warmed by a heater
recessed in or attached to a wall or
installed under the f l o o r (usually in
the crawl space). The unit may have
a fan for air circulation, but t h e r e
are no ducts for distributing the air
t h r o u g h the house.
(NOTE: In the
BLS surveys, stoves and other types
of h e a t e r s which were not perma
nently installed and i n c l u d e d in the
selling p r i c e of the house were not
reported.)
Water Heater.
Tank (or storage-type)
heaters for the domestic w a t e r supply
may include in one unit an insulated stor
age tank, a combustion chamber, flues,
burner equipment and controls, or may
consist of a separate storage tank and an
external direct-fired water heater (sidearm heater).
In a tankless system, the
hot water may be supplied in connection
with a boiler heating system or by a di
rect-fired (instantaneous) heater.
Air Conditioning.
Treatment of air so
as to control simultaneously its temper
ature, humidity, cleanliness, and distri
bution to meet the requirements of the
conditioned space.
Full-Home Air Conditioner.
A uni t
with the capacity to serve the entire
house, with air or cooled water cir
culated to various parts of the house
through ducts or pipes.
The cooling
system may be combined in a single
heating-cooling unit with the same cas
ing, blower or circulator, and duct
work or pipes used for both heating
and cooling, or it may be s e p a r a t e
from the heating system.
Room Air Conditioner.
A unit with
capacity to meet the requirements of
a limited area in which it is installed,
with no connections to a duct or pipe
system.
Electrical Service and Wiring:
Service Entrance. The conductors and
equipment for delivering energy from
the electrical s u p p l y system to the
wiring system of the building served.
This includes the wires which extend
from the street main or transformer
to the service equipment and its ac
cessories, i. e . , protective d e v i c e s
— usually consisting of fuses or a cir
cuit breaker or switch intended to con
stitute the main control and means of
cutoff for the supply to the building.
Rough-in Wiring.
Electrical current
is carried from the service entrance
to other parts of the building by in
sulated wires or conductors which may
be differentiated according to the type
of materials in which they are encased,
for example: armored cable (encased
in steel armor); thermoplastic sheathed
cable; other nonmetallic sheathed cable
(covered with heavy paper and a strong
braid).
The insulated wires may also
pass through a metal tubing or other
raceway, referred to as wire in con
duit, or be mounted without an outer
covering by means of insulators, e. g . ,
knob and tube •
Switch.
Any device by which an elec
tric circuit may be opened or closed.
A snap switch is the conventional linevoltage type which makes or breaks a
circuit by the action of a spring.
A
mercury s w i t c h , also a line-voltage
type, is made by placing a large glob
ule of mercury in a metal or glass
tube having e l e c t r o d e s arranged in
such a way that tilting the tube will
cause the mercury to move and make
or break the circuit.
Convenience Outlet or Receptacle.
A
c o n t a c t device installed at an outlet
(the point on an electrical wiring sys
tem at which current is taken) for the
connection of a portable lamp or ap
pliance by means of a plug and flexi
ble cord. A duplex receptacle contains
2 convenience outlets and a triplex re
ceptacle, 3 outlets. .. A multiple outlet
assembly may be either a s u r f a c e
raceway with built-in outlets at regu
lar intervals or an ’'electrostrip, ” a
surface raceway which permits con
nection of an appliance at any point.
S p e c i a l purpose receptacles include
weatherproof o u t l e t s with protective
caps; locking-type outlets to prevent
plugs from becoming accidentally de
tached; and heavy-duty outlets designed
to serve ranges, c l o t h e s d r y e r s ,
power tools, etc.
Volt.
The practical unit of electro
motive force.
Two wires extending
from the street to the service entrance
usually deliver a maximum of 110 to
120 volts to the wiring system; 3 wires,
220 to 240 volts.
26
Ampere* A unit used to describe the
current-carrying capacity of the serv
ice; the amount of c u r r e n t flowing
under an electromotive force (poten
tial difference) of 1 volt and a resist
ance of 1 ohm*
Kitchen Cabinet*
A built-in storage unit
which may consist of a cabinet or section
of a cabinet having (1) a single door, (2)
a single set of double doors, (3) a set of
drawers v e r t i c a l l y arranged, or (4) a
vertical combination of doors (single or
double) and drawers*
Cabinets may be
c l a s s i f i e d according to location in the
kitchen as base cabinets, which rest on
the floor and may extend from the floor
to the c e i l i n g but o r d i n a r i l y are of
ncountern height; wall cabinets, which are
fastened to the wall; and under sink cabi
nets*
Appliances such as c o u n t e r - t o p
r a n g e s , eye-level ovens, dishwashers,
and refrigerators m a y be b u i l t in the
kitchen as part of the counter and cabinet
arrangement*
Garbage Disposer,
An electrically oper
ated unit installed under a sink, consisting
of a grinding device through which garbage
passes before being washed down a drain
connected with the sewer line*
Incinerator* A waste burner which re
duces all combustibles (rubbish as well
as garbage) to a fine ash*
Window*
Various types of windows are
distinguished by the arrangement of the
sash, i. e. , the l i g h t wooden or metal
frames into which one or more panes of
glass are f a s t e n e d to fit in a window.
Types most commonly used in residential
building include:
Double Hung*
Two sashes, one over
the other, both movable*
Sash may be
secured by sash cords and weights or
by spring devices; or may slide up and
down on tracks (vertical slide windows)
which hold sash in place.
Casement*
Sash hinged on side to
swing like a door.
Horizontal Slide. Sash slides horizon
tally on t r a c k s which hold sash in
place.
Picture*
Large fixed windows; may
be c o m b i n e d with various types of
movable sash (flankers)*
Awning*
Two or more t o p - h i n g e d
sashes arranged in a vertical series
and operated by one or more control
devices which swing the bottom edge
of the sash outward.
Projected.
Combination of fixed and
movable sashes; the movable sash may
be h i n g e d at the top or bottom and
swing inward or o u t w a r d in various
arrangements.
Jalousie* Vertical series of overlap
ping h e a v y glass louvers which are
fastened to frame at ends and operate
similar to Venetian blinds.
Basement Type*
Usually consists of
a single sash, hinged or pivoted, with
m a x i m u m size of 23 by 33 inches.
May be used elsewhere in house (e.g.,
in utility, storage, or bathrooms) as
well as in basement.
S t o r m Window.
Supplemental, glazed
sash installed in windows for insulation
and to control condensation of moisture
on windows.
Window Screen* A frame of wood or met
al in which is stretched a meshed fabric
made of wire or p l a s t i c , placed in the
window frame to keep out insects when
the window is opened* Doorways may be
similarly screened*
Appendix C. Tables
27
N O TE: Data in a ll ta b les are fo r se le cte d p e rio d s
o f ea ch y ea r as in d icated in appendix A*
Table 1.--New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, 1940, 1950, 1954, 1955, and by selling-price class, 1956
C haracteristics
1956, toy Pro]Dosed se llin g -p rice class
Less *7,000 $10,000 *12,000 $15*000 $20,000
to
to
and
to
than
to
*7,000 *9,999 $11,999 *U*,9 9 9 $19,999
over
i,'65o
1^0
1.230 " 7 5 5
9l*0 1 .Q30 1,120
1,330
d istn Lbution o f houses according to spedLfled ch a racteristics
m FERAL FI[AN AND SIZE
*
*
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
*
*
100
98
97
89
99
99
99
*
*
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
1
1
1
*
*
10
1
1
1
(2)
(2)
(2)
*
*
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
1
(2)
191*0 1950 1951* 1955
£
H
HI
Average flo o r area (sq . f t . ) •• 1.177
Percent
A ll
p rices
TTPE OF HOUSE...............................
Detached .................
Sem idetached............ •••••••••••
Row .................................... .
Unknown •••••••••••••••••••••••
(i)
(i)
<i)
(i)
(3)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(3)
NUMBER OF STORIES.......................
1 story
S p lit le v e l •••••••••••••••••••
Other ........................... .
Unknown •••••••••••••••••••••••
100
67
*
33
(3)
100
86
*
11*
(3)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
87
6
6
1
100
96
(2)
1*
(2)
100
86
(2)
11*
(2)
100
95
2
3
(2)
100
93
2
1*
1
100
69
8
3
(2)
100
71*
17
9
(2)
FLOOR AREA (SQ. FT.) ••••••••••
Less than 800 •••••••••••••••••
800 to 999 .......................................
1,000 to 1,199 .............................
1,200 to 1,U99 .............................
1,500 to 1,799 .............................
1,800 and over ••••••••••••••••
Unknown •••••••••••••••••••••••
*
*
*
*
«
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
18
20
2l*
19
10
7
2
100
7
22
30
26
7
5
3
100
5
17
31
26
10
9
2
100
51*
31
7
7
(2)
(2)
1
100
15
37
ia
5
2
(2)
(2)
100
6
1*0
1*2
10
1
(2)
1
100
2
21
1*5
28
3
1
(2)
100
(2)
5
28
1*6
16
1*
1
100
(2)
(2)
9
23
28
39
1
NUMBER OF BEDROOMS.....................
2 bedrooms or less ••••••••••••
3 bedrooms ••••••••••••••••••••
l* bedrooms or more ............«••••
Unknown ............. . . . . . . . ............
*
*
*
*
*
100
66
33
1
(3)
100
31*
58
5
3
100
23
68
6
3
100
21
70
8
1
100
71*
21*
2
100
1*3
55
(2)
2
100
33
67
(2)
(2)
100
19
77
1*
(2)
100
10
80
9
1
100
8
71
20
1
NUMBER OF BATHROOMS.............
1 bathroom ................... . ..........
1 complete, 1 p a rtia l bathroom.
2 complete bathrooms ...............
More than 2 complete bathrooms.
No bathroom •••••••••••••••••••
Unknown
100
80
12
7
1
*
(3)
100
92
1*
3
1
*
(3)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
1*9
20
21
7
1
2
100
72
(2)
(2)
(2)
25
2
100
96
2
2
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
82
9
9
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
63
23
11*
(2)
(2)
<2)
100
29
32
35
1*
(2)
(2)
100
9
21*
37
30
(2)
(2)
BASEMENT........................................
F ull or p a rtia l basement ••••••
No basement •••••••••••••••••••
On slab •••••••••••••••••••••
With crawl space ................... .
Unknown................................. .
100
100
39
61
l*
57
(3)
100
100
1*2
55
16
39
3
100
1*3
55
16
39
2
100
6
93
9
81*
1
100
15
85
32
53
(2)
100
21*
75
28
1*7
1
100
1*2
57
17
1*0
1
100
51*
1*6
10
36
(2)
100
61*
36
7
29
(2)
UTILITT ROOM.................................
With u t ilit y room .......................
No basem ent.................. .. ................ ...
With basement • . • • • • • • • • • • • • .
No u tility room ...............................
Unknown • • • • • .................................. • • • • •
#
*
100
20
20
*
*
100
33
27
6
61*
3
100
37
30
7
58
5
100
9
9
(2)
90
1
100
39
38
1
57
1*
100
50
1*8
2
1*9
1
100
37
32
5
59
1*
100
35
27
8
62
3
100
100
5o
17
31
2
100
8
11*
77
1
100
21*
25
51
(2)
100
35
26
38
1
100
1*2
23
31*
1
100
62
10
28
(2)
100
81
8
11
(2)
100
32
3
63
2
100
1*
(2)
96
(2)
100
3
(2)
97
(2)
100
13
(2)
83
1*
100
20
100
1*1*
2
53
1
100
68
10
19
3
GARAQE.FACILITIES .......................
Oarage • • • • • • • • • ...............
Carport only • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
No garage or carport • • • • • • • • • •
Unknown • • • • • • » • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
69
31
(2)
31
(3)
*
*
*
*
100
80
(2)
20
(3)
FIREPLACE........ .. .................... ..
100
1 fire p la ce • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
}
62
2 firep la ces or more . . • • • • • • • •
No fire p la ce ................ ..
J 38
Unknown............................. • • • • • •
(3)
See fo o tn o te s on page 32.
ia
58
*
*
i
*
*
*
80
(3)
«
«
100
*
ia
*
*
6
53
(3)
100
o
cco.
78
(3)
*
*
r
J
1
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
27
3
66
1*
( 2)
( 2)
80
( 2)
ia
21*
17
53
6
28
Table 1. New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, 1940, 1950, 1954, 1955,
and by selling-price class, 1956-Continued
C haracteristics
EXTERIOR WALL CONSTRUCTION . . .
Masonry ........................................
Brick 5 ..............................••••
Other m asonry........................
Frame...........................................
Brick facing ••••........ ••••••
Brick and wood facing ••••••
Wood facing ••••••................
Asbestos shingle facing ••••
Stucco •••••••••.................
Other facing ••••••••••«.•••
A ll other construction •••••••
Unknown..............••••••••••••••
1956, by projx>sed se llin g -p rice class
Less #7,000 #10,000 #12,000 #15,000 $20,000
191*0 1950 1951* 1955 A ll
to
to
than
to
to
and
prices $7*000
over
#9,999 #11,999 #11*, 999 #19,999
Percent distribu tion o f houses according to sped.fle d ch aracteristics
WALLS, FLOORS, ROOFING, INSULARHON, AIID RAIN-CARRYING EQUIR1ENT
100
100
100
100
100
100
100 /
100
100
100
100
11
11
20
16
11
20
19
13
11*
11*
23
10
6
12
2
16
10
11
22
9
15
7
1
1
9
7
5
1*
5
1*
1*
3
1*
80
81
82
86
86
89
89
77
83
89
77
18
26
8
r 20
1
19
29
31*
31
1 20
8
2
2
6
8
11
7
7
1 5
J 20
21*.
52
38
26
18
1*3
1*3 L 31
29
29
15
8 r
21
30
8
21*
1
U
U*
13
3
9
11 T 12
1
8
21*
15
3
15
u*
iu
ill f
2 J
6
1
2
2
7
3
5
1
3
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
*
*
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
3
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(3)
2
2
1
1
(3)
SHEATHING (FRAME HOUSES ONLY)6.
Sheathed ..........••••••................
Wood p la n k ............................
Plywood ••••••••••••••••••••
Insulation board7...............
Qypsum board ................•••••«
Other ••••••••••••••••••••••
Unsheathed8 ............•••••••••••
100
69
1*9
1
U*
5
(2)
31
100
80
1*0
1*
23
12
1
20
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
83
31
7
32
9
1*
17
300
98
76
(2)
30
5
7
2
100
95
61
1
u*
13
6
5
100
91
1*0
11
25
11
1*
9
100
81*
28
12
33
8
3
16
100
75
18
1*
1*2
9
2
25
100
81*
21*
9
39
10
2
16
INTERIOR WALL CONSTRUCTION . . .
P laster ••••••••............•••••••
On gypsum l a t h ........ ••••••••
On metal or wood lath ••••••
Dry w all •••••••••••••••••••••
Qypsum board ••••••••••••••.
Other ....................... •••••••••
Unknown •••••........ •••••••••••«
100
90
56
31*
10
*
*
(3)
100
5o
1*9
1
50
1*8
2
(3)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
«
*
*
*
*
100
1*1*
1*0
55
1*8
7
1
100
5
1*
l
91*
72
22
1
100
11*
13
1
86
76
10
(2)
100
27
26
1
73
60
13
(2)
100
1*0
36
1*
60
51*
6
(2)
100
59
51*
5
1*0
35
5
1
100
62
56
6
38
35
3
(2)
KITCHEN WALL FINISH* ................
With p a rtia l tilin g ••••••••••
Ceramic t i le •••••••••••••••
P la stic t ile ••••••••••••••«
Other t ile •••••••••••••••••
No tilin g
Unknown •••••••............••••••••
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
300
3
3
*
(2)
97
(3)
«
*
*
*
*
*
«
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
23
13
7
3
71*
3
100
16
3
11
2
81*
(2)
100
30
5
13
12
68
2
100
12
2
7
3
87
1
100
22
15
7
(2)
76
2
100
23
15
6
1
71*
3
100
23
17
5
1
71*
3
BATHROOM WALL FINISH5 10. ........
With p a rtia l tilin g s••••• •••••
Ceramic t ile ................. •••••
P la stic t i l e ..................•••••
Other t i l e ................... . •••••
Linoleum •.••••••••••••••••••«
Painted ••••••••••........ •••••••
Other ••••••••••••••••••••••••
Unknown •••••••••......................
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
*
39
*
35
*
*
*
1*
*
1*
1 <7 r *
;5 7 l *
(3) L *
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
77
55
22
*
1
16
5
1
100
33
7
26
*
16
26
15
10
100
67
21*
1*3
*
(2)
16
15
2
100
71
1*1
30
*
1
20
8
(2)
100
77
53
21*
*
(2)
18
1*
1
100
80
63
17
*
(2)
16
3
1
100
93
81*
9
«
(2)
5
1
l
BATHROOM FLOOR COHERING10 . . .
With tilin g .................................
Ceramic t i l e ............••••••«.
Asphalt t ile . ..........••••••••
Rubber t ile
Linoleum •••••••••••••.......... .
Other •••••..............•••••••••••
Unknown ........................ ••••••••
100
58
58
(2)
*
1*2
(2)
(3)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
57
38
u*
5
28
13
2
100
20
3
12
5
1*1*
29
7
100
1*1*
23
18
100
1*9
18
27
1*
35
11*
2
100
57
36
18
100
61
1*5
10
6
27
11
1
100
71*
63
See fo o tn o te s on page 32
100
57
29
28
*
l*o
3
(3)
h
3
33
23
(2)
3
31
n
1
3
8
13
12
1
29
Table 1. New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, 1940, 1950, 1954, 1955,
and by selling-price class, 1956—Continued
Characteristics
ROOFING ..................
Shingles11 ........ «••«••••••
Asbestos ............... .
Asphalt ..............
Wood...................
Builtup ••••••••••••••••••••••«
Other ............... .
Unknown ......... •••••••••••
1956, by prof)osed selling-price class
Less $7,000 $10,000 $12,000 $15,000 $20,000
All
19liO 1950 195U 1955
and
to
to
than
to
to
prices $7,000
over
$9,999 $11,999 $1U,999 $19,999
Percent distribution of houses according to specified characteristics
WALLS, FLOORS, ROOFING, INSULA1]CION, MID RAIN-CARRYING EQUIJMIENT— Coniiinued
100
83
100
92
*
*
■*
*
*
*
*
*
*
#
1*7
36
12
82
10
6
2
(3)
(3)
Celling ..................
Walls ....................
Perimeter... .............
25
10
83
31*
GUTTERS AND DOWNSPOUTS ... .
With gutters and downspouts •••
Aluminum ............... .
Copper ..................
Galvanized steel13 ...... .
Woodw .................
Other ............. .....
No gutters or downspouts ••••••
Unknown ............... .
100
73
100
68
*
*
*
6
61
6
5
51
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
5
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
81*
7
66
11
11
3
2
100
65
11
52
2
3
29
3
100
87
12
73
2
11
2
(2)
100
82
10
68
81
33
5
U*
8
1
100
67
7
1
53
6
(2)
30
3
100
17
1*
(2)
12
1
(2)
76
7
100
81*
5
60
19
3
1
100
86
1*
78
1*
11
2
1
2
(2)
100
91
8
61
22
6
3
(2)
69
21
2
80
31
7
91
31*
7
81*
31
1*
90
52
1*
100
1*5
11
(2)
30
100
50
3
(2)
1*0
7
(2)
1*8
2
100
77
9
(2)
61
7
(2)
22
1
100
71*
8
1
61
5
(2)
21*
1
100
81
5
2
66
8
(2)
17
2
100
60
9
30
1
h
1h
11*
INSULATION t12 PERCENT OF ALL
houses
vara insulation in *
*
(2)
1
n
l
27
32
(3)
(3)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
k
. (2)
55
(2)
WINDOWS, SCREENS, AND STORM WINDOWS
WINDOWS ABOVE BASEMENT, PRE
DOMINANT FRAME MATERIAL.....
Wood .................................•••••••;•
Steel ....................
Aluminum ..............
Unknown ......... .
WINDOW SCREENS............
With screens16 •••••«•»»«....
Bronze ....... ............
Copper...... ..........
Galvanized steel13 ••••••••••
Other ••••••••••.... «»•**••
Unknown material..... .
No screens •••••«••••••••••••••
DOOR SCREENS .......
With screens16 ••••••••••«•«•••
Aluminum ............... .
Bronze .............. •
Copper .................
Galvanized steel15 ......«•
Other ........... ...... .
Unknown material ••••••••»•••
No screens ••••••••••••»•••••••
STORM WINDOWS......... ..................... .
With storm windows16 •...... •
No storm windows17 ••••••••«•••
See footn otes on page 32
100 ^100
91
69
22
9
*
5
(3)
(3)
100
89
1
27
10
5o
l
(3)
100
57
11
29
3
100
88
3
9
(2)
100
57
12
31
(2)
100
53
11*
33
(2)
100
59
27
(2)
100
53
12
33
2
100
77
56
3
6
10
(2)
2
100
87
50
2
*
*
*
*
*
*
#
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
83
52
2
8
19
2
(2)
17
100
81
58
1
6
16
(2)
(2)
19
100
76
55
5
5
10
(2)
1
21*
100
71*
60
2
7
1*
(2)
1
26
100
72
57
2
1*
7
1
1
28
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
70
U6
3
100
87
1*5
100
81
2
100
65
51
2
h
8
28
3
2
2
13
1
1*
33
1
3
2
30
13
19
1*
1
21
100
71
1*7
5
1*
13
1
1
29
100
60
1*7
2
100
79
1*6
1
5
55
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
1
1*0
1
31*
100
1*
96
*
■#
*
*
*
*
100
100
100
3
3
97
100
9
91
100
11*
86
100
8
97
100
1*
96
100
62
8
12
5
36
1
(3)
11
38
100
89
1
100
1*5
27
9
10
5o
l
(3)
11
100
6
9h
2
2
31
1
(3)
100
63
18
17
2
100
57
16
*
*
*
2k
3
23
8
92
k
28
2
1
13
ko
(2)
22
u*
1*
6
( 2)
8
2
92
30
Table 1. New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, 1940, 1950, 1954, 1955,
and by selling-price class, 1956—Continued
HEATING FACILITIES18 ...........
With h eating f a c i l i t y .........
Hot w ater1? •••••••••••••
Warm-air furnace (du cts) ••••
Warm-air space heater (no
d u cts) ••••••••••.................
No heating f a c ili t y in s ta lle d ,
Unknown.........•............•..................
HEATING FUEL (HOUSES WITH
HEATING FACILITY INSTALLED) •.
G a s ..............................••••••••••
O i l ...................................................
E l e c t r ic it y ...........••••............. .
S o l i d ..................... ..........................
Unknown ••••••••••••.••••.........
1950 195U 1955
HEATING FACILITIES AND FUEL
100
100
100
100
92
96
9b
55
8
(2)
5
3
10
66
73
55
100
98
6
78
300
99
8
87
100
100
17
80
27
3
1
lb
2
(2)
b
1
(2)
3
(2)
(2)
100
85
13
1
(2)
1
100
76
18
1
1
b
100
75
23
1
(2)
1
100
76
21
1
(2)
2
100
67
30
2
(2)
1
100
100
100
300
100
100
92
b9
bl
2
99
26
57
13
3
(2)
1
98
3
60
30
5
1
1
95
1
37
b6
11
b
1
95
1
33
b5
16
3
2
87
(2)
18
b5
2b
11
2
100
100
100
81
81
77
16
16
16
lb
(2)
2
1
1
6
2
2
9
ELECTRICAL SERVICE
100
77
17
3
3
100
79
35
2
b
100
72
15
b
9
10 0
100
21
10 0
11
79
89
(2)
100
98
22
U2
100
91*
13
U3
*
*
*
«
*
*
*
*
3b
2
38
6
*
*
(3)
(3)
*
*
*
*
13
b
2
b5
b3
2
32
8
(2)
100
b7
13
38
100
6U
33
1
2
*
*
*
*
*
(3)
(3)
*
*
*
*
*
*
«
100
72
21
1
(2)
6
100
81
9
3
5
2
*
100
*
*
100
*
*
92
33
51
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
92
5
37
38
12
b
b
10 0
*
*
72
*
*
(2)
WATER HEATER ••••...........•............,
Tank type (stora ge ca p a city in
g a llo n s) •••••••••••••••••••'
Less than 30 gallon s •..........,
30 to 39 g allon s •••«•••••••
bo to k9 g a llon s ••••••......... .
50 gallon s and over ••••••••
Tankless type ••••••••••••••••<
Unknown20 ••••••••••••••...........
A ll
prices
1
19liO
*
£
posed se'Lling-prjLee cla ss
Less 17,000 110,000 ♦12,000 ♦15,ooo $20,000
to
to
than
to
to
and
$7,000 ♦9,999 ♦11,999 ♦1U.999 ♦19,999
over
K
H
C haracteristics
*
*
*
*
*
WATER-HEATER FUEL . . ...........••••
Gas •......................... ............... . . . .
E le c t r ic it y ••••••••••••••••••
Other*1 ................................. ..
Unknown20 •••••••••••••.............
100
90
3
7
*
f
J
*
8 l*
*
8
(3)
*
*
*
(2)
(2)
8
100
76
(3)
16
12
(3)
*
VOLTAGE ...........................................
110 to 120 v o lts (2 w ire) ••••
220 to 2b0 v o lts (3 w ire) ••••
Unknown...............................••••••
*
*
*
#
*
*
*
*
#
*
*
*
*
100
100
100
*
*
*
2b
7b
b9
b7
b
35
65
AMPERAGE.........................................
Less than 60 amperes •••••••••
60 to 7b amperes .........................
75 to 99 am peres.....................
100 to 129 amperes •••••••••••
130 amperes and over •••••••••
Unknown •••••••••••.............••••
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
10 0
PROTECTIVE DEVICES .....................
C ircu it breakers •••••••••••••
Fuses •••••••................................
Unknown .............•••••....................
*
*
*
*
10 0
*
ROUGH-IN WIRING...........................
Armored ca b le •••••••••...........
Therm oplastic sheathed cable •
Other nonm etalU c sheathed
ca b le ••••••••••••••...........
Wire in con du it ••••••.............
O ther2 2 ...........................................
Unknown .......................
See footnotes on page 32*
10 0
30
r
10 0
22
20
33
9
59
b
5
12
17
1
1
35
3
3
15
15
57
3
7
10 0
10 0
10 0
67
28
59
29
7b
2b
2
2b
10 0
1
21
10 0
1
9
6
10 0
10 0
10 0
10 0
56
b2
69
2
72
2b
3
29
2
67
30
3
10 0
10 0
100
10 0
10 0
19
17
9
9
15
15
10
10
20
7
56
7
51
50
1
20
1
b
(2)
11
1
1
20
2
68
12
1
1
62
8
3
1
5
10 0
*
*
*
10 0
10 0
20
l *
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
56
15
l
3
10
10 0
2
(2 )
11
*
*
f *
15
29
71
( 2)
(2)
70
b
b
12
10
6
(3)
1
10 0
*
18
77
7
bl
lb
3b
(3)
19
(2)
10 0
22
10 0
*
*
*
*
65 i
(3)
3
*
*
a
28
2
77
23
1
J
*
*
5
61
6
60
2
70
6
3
2
31
Table 1. New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, 1940, 1950, 1954, 1955,
and by selling-price class, 1956—Continued
C haracteristics
19ilO 1950
Percent
KITCHEN SINK .................................
Single basin •••••••••••*••••••
Double basin ........................... .
Combination sink and laundry
tub ........................................
Unknown ..................................
* T 50
1956, 6JMWO*>osed se llin g -p rice cla ss
Less •7,000 $10,000 $12,000 $15,000 $20,000
t-h^n
to
to
to
and
to
over
#7.000 ♦9,999 $11,999 H1*,999 $19,999
d istribu tion o f houses according to sp ecified ch a ra cteristics
KITCHEN, LAUmSX, AND OTHER BQUIRfENT
*
#
100
100
100
100
loo
loo
*
*
30
21
32
39
33
31
51*
*
*
61
78
67
67
69
67
35
195U 1955 A ll
prices
*
#
63
23
*
11*
(3)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
KITCHEN-SINK MATERIAL................
Enameled cast iron ••••••••••••
Enameled pressed s t e e l .......... .
Stainless ste e l •*•••••••••••••
Other ............................................
Unknown •••••••••••••••••••••••
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
67
(3)
*
*
«
*
*
*
LAUNDRY TUB ...................................
With tubs ......................................
Basement ••••••••••••••••••••
U tility room ......................... .
K itch en ..................... ................
Garage .........................
No tubs •••••••••••••#•••••••••
Unknown •••••••••••••••••••••••
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
55
#
*
*
*
*
*
KITCHEN CABINETS*23 PERCENT OF
HOUSES WITH SPECIFIED TYPE OF
CABINETS*
Base •••••»••••••••••••••••••••
Wall ..........................................
Undersink
KITCHEN CABINET COUNTER-TOP
MATERIAL » ....................................
Ceramic t i le .................
Laminated p la stic •••••••••••••
Linoleum ••••••••••••••••••••••
A ll other . . ............... ..............
Unknown •••••••••••••••••••••••
APPLIANCES* PERCENT CF HOUSES
WITH SPECIFIED ITEMS INCLUDED
IN SELLING PRICE* **
Cooking stove •••••••••••••••••
Gas ........................................
E lectric ....................
Dishwasher ••••••••••••••••••••Exhaust fan (kitchen)
Garbage disposal unit . . . » .......
In sink •••••••............ .
Incinerator •••••••••••••••••
R efrigerator •••••••••••••••••«
Full-home a ir conditioner . . . . .
Combined heating and cooling*
Separate coolin g •*••••••••••
Room a ir co n d itio n e r.......... .
A ttic fan . . . . .......................... . .
Food fr e e z e r .............. ••••......... .
Clothes dryer •••••••••••••••••
Gas ......................... .
E lectric •••••••••••................
Washing machine •••••••••••••.«
R a d io.............................................
T elevision
See footnotes on page 32.
32
*
1
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
11
*
(2)
*
(2)
*
(2)
*
3
1
1
100
62
30
5
(2)
3
100
60
28
1
(2)
11
100
58
37
2
3
100
63
31*
2
(2)
1
100
61
31*
1*
(2)
100
65
32
2
(2)
1
100
68
15
15
1
1
100
6
1*
1
1
100
27
13
11
1
2
72
1
100
ia
27
10
2
2
59
(2)
100
61
37
16
1
7
38
1
100
65
37
21
92
2
100
21
10
8
2
1
78
1
*
(2)
1
li5
(3)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
1*5
27
13
1
1*
53
2
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
90
93
88
65
67
62
91
95
91*
91*
97
92
92
96
89
91
95
93
92
95
88
*
*
*
*
*
«
100
«
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
11*
61*
11
7
100
100
33
1*3
15
5
100
7
66
21
3
3
100
16
61
15
7
l
100
21
68
5
1*
2
100
17
73
3
5
2
13
11
2
21
11
10
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
#
«
*
♦
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
31*
15
19
11
3
2
1
11
3
u*
16
12
1*
2
15
ia
19
10
9
2
51
27
27
1*6
21
25
11
71
1*7
1*6
1
67
18
1*9
37
80
58
1*8
10
15
15
12
3
3
7
2
6
2
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
15
57
28
C3)
«
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
«
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
17
15
«
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
5
5
*
*
10
*
*
*
*
3
k
55
31*
32
2
5
6
5
1
l
5
1
3
1
2
3
2
1
(2)
k
(2)
1
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(*)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
C2>
(2)
k
69
19
6
2
5
5
18
18
(2)
1
(2)
5
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
5
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
(2)
C2)
l
l
(2)
(2)
7
1
1*
1
3
1*
(2)
(2)
(2)
2
7
1*
3
(2)
5
(2)
3
1
2
3
(2)
(2)
5
6
5
1
f2)
5
l
2
1
1
2
k
2
(2)
7
31*
1
k
7
1*
1
32
Footnotes to table 1.
1 Only sin gle-fam ily detached houses surveyed*
2 No cases reported or less than 0*5 percent*
5 Information available fo r a ll houses in sample, which was selected from units fo r which FHA had
issued commitments fo r mortgage insurance* (See p* 20*)
* In 1956, includes a few houses (about 1 percent o f the national to ta l) with both a garage and
carport*
* Includes so lid brick and brick backed with other masonry*
6 For type o f sheathing used with various types o f outside w all m aterials, see table 2 .
J Includes high density fiberboard; see also table 2•
8
In 1956, includes frame houses without sheathing as w ell as some (about 3 percent o f the national
to ta l) fo r which the sp e cific type o f sheathing was not reported*
* Use o f t ile fo r kitchen and bathroom w alls generally refers to wainscoting on lower part o f w alls or
t i le on one entire w all, with rest o f w alls and ce ilin g painted or papered; fo r other materials used fo r
kitchen-w all fin ish , see table 5.
10 In 1956, refers only to bathrooms above basement level*
11 In 1956, includes less than 0*5 percent o f houses with sla te roofs* Houses roofed with sla te or
asbestos shingles were included in "other11 in e a rlie r surveys* "Other" also includes t i l e , r o ll , and metal
roofin g materials*
12 For type o f in sulation m aterial used, see table 3 .
13 In 1956, may include some ungalvanized steel*
** In 1956, includes houses with combination o f wood and metal rain-carrying equipment*
15 Includes houses with other types o f window-frame material*
16 Houses fo r which th is equipment was included in se llin g price*
17 In 1956, includes houses fo r which no inform ation on storm windows was obtained*
18 For additional d e ta il, see table 6*
19 Includes houses with steam heating systems,.which accounted fo r less than 0*5 percent o f the national
to ta l in 1956 but larger percentages in the e a rlier years*
20 Includes some houses (about 1 percent o f national to ta l in 1956) with no water heater in stalled *
21 Includes houses with water heated from house heating unit*
22 In 191*0 and 1950, p ra ctica lly a ll knob and tube wiring*
23 Data did not permit showing houses with no kitchen cabinets o f any type in stalled * Information on
counter-top m aterial applies to houses with either undersink or base cabinets* See also table 7*
2* Based on the number o f houses fo r which data fo r a particular item were reported* The number o f
units fo r which data were not obtained varied fo r the d ifferen t item s, but in no case exceeded 2*5 percent
o f the tota l* Data in th is table represent the proportion o f units fo r which bu ilders, as a general prac
t ic e , include the sp ecified equipment or appliance in the se llin g p rice o f a new house*
* Data not available*
NOTEs Because o f rounding, sums o f individual items do not necessarily equal tota ls*
SOURCE: Data fo r 191*0 and 1950 from Housing and Home Finance Agency; fo r 1951*, 1955, and 1956 from
U* S* Department o f Labor. (See appendix A, pp* 18-20.)
Table 2. New nonfarm 1-family frame houses: Type of sheathing, by type of exterior wall material, 1956
(Percent distribution)
Type of sheathing
All
materials1
Type of exterior wall material
Asbestos
Brick and
Brick
Wood
wood
shingle
facing
facing
facing
facing
Stucco
100
100
100
100
100
ALL FRAME HOUSES..............
100
Sheathed •••••••.... •••••••••••••
99
95
95
83
18
60
Wood plank ....... •••••..... .
39
1*3
31
12
2
Plywood.......... ••••••....
7
17
1k
8
52
Insulation board •••••.... •••••
29
29
25
2
High density fiberboard •••••••••
3
5
3
3
10
18
10
Gypsum board ••••••••••••••••••••
5
9
2
Other ........... .
7
5
1*
ft)
1
U)
Unsheathed3 •••••......•••••••••
17
5
5
1 Includes frame houses faced with other exterior wall materials not shown separately*
2 No cases reported or less than 0*5 percent*
5 Includes frame houses without sheathing as well as some (about 3 percent of the national total)
which the specific type of sheathing was not reported*
NOTE: Because of rounding, sums of individual items do not necessarily equal totals*
100
18
8
1
k
3
2
(?)
82
for
33
Table 3. Newnonfarm 1-family houses: Wall and ceiling insulation, by type of exterior wall material
and by type of insulation, 1950 and 1956
Type of wall construction
and type of insulation
Walls
Ceiling
1950
1
1956
1
1956
Percent of all houses with insulation
in specified location* by type of exterior wall
81
31*
83
33
*
*
22
80
*
*
1*0
90
*
*
21
97
*
*
37
15
*
♦
36
82
*
*
31
93
*
*
91
55
*
*
81*
1*1*
*
*
70
57
*
*
6
66
*
*
53
79
*
*
92
ia
*
*
(1)
(i)
Perceitit distribution of insulated houf?es,
by type of insulation
100
100
100
_
100
1950
ALL TYPES OF EXTERIOR MALL CONSTRUCTION *..
Masonry *........ ....... ........................
Solid b rick ........ ................ ............. .
Brick facing ............................... .
Other masonry ........................................ .
Frame ................................................... .
Brick facing .........................................
Brick and wood facing .......................... .
Wood facing............................................
Asbestos shingle facing ..................•••••
Stucco...................................................
Other facing ••••••«•............. .
All other construction ••••••••••••••«•••••
Unknown .................................
ALL TYPES OF INSULATION.............................
Loose ................ *............ ........................
f
1*8
1
r
^
1
Batts (cut to length) *................
1
58
i
31
r
U
3
r
9
5
Rolls ..........................................................
J
L
13
J
L
12
Reflective (no other type of insulation) *•
2
2
7
1
25
Reflective and fiber combination ••••••••••
1
2
7
J
25
*
*
Plastic foam ..................... .
(i)
(1)
All other .................. ........... ....................
22
1
*32
5
Unknown .................................
6
3
(3)
(3)
1 Mo cases reported or less than 0*5 percent*
* Insulation board*
5 Information available for all houses in sample, which was selected from units for which FHA had
issued commitments for mortgage insurance* (See p* 20*)
* Data not available*
NOTE; Because of rounding, sums of individual items do not necessarily equal totals*
SOURCIj Data for 1950 from Housing and Home Finance Agency; for 1956, from U*S. Department of Labor*
(See appendix A, pp. 18-20*)
Table 4. New nonfarm 1-family houses: Number of windows in houses started in first quarter of 1954, 1955, and 1956,
and percentage distribution by type of window and, in 1956, by type of window-frame material
1956* by window.-frame material
Ali
Aluminum
Steel
materials1 Wood
Number of windows (in thousands)
807.0
3,369.6
51*9.1
TOTAL, ALL TYPES.............................
1,788.3
3,U*l*.l*
2,693.2
7U.0
257.0
370.8
2l*.7
355.7
Basement type ..................... .
289.7
2,998.8
1,711*.3
292.1
782.3
Total, excluding basement............. . 2,1*03.5
2,788.7
Percent distribution of windows, excluding basement
100
100
100
100
100
100
TOTAL, EXCLUDING BASEMENT........ .
22
78
11
Double hung.............
58
55
51*
62
18
Casement •••••••••••••••••••••*•••••
19
h
19
H*
6
8
Horizontal slide *............••••••••••
5
25
9
3
8
10
8
8
Picture........ ••••••.........................
7
9
6
With flankers* ............................
7
5
5
5
5
2
Without flankers •••••••••••••••••
3
3
3
3
3
6
2
11
Awning ............. *....... .
7
1*
5
6
1
2
1
1
1
Projected........................ ••••••••••
10
1
(3)
Jalousie............. .
2
3
1*
2
1
2
1
2
All other ••••••........ .
3
1 Includes windows for which type of material was unknown*
1 Flankers are movable sashes at sides of picture windows*
* Mo cases reported or less than 0*5 percent*
NOTEt Because of rounding, sums of individual items .do not necessarily equal totals*
Type of window
195U
1955
34
Table 5. New nonfarm 1-family houses: Interior decoration and finish-floor material, by type of room,1 1950 and 1956
(P e r c e n t
d is tr ib u tio n )
KITCHEN
Characteristics
NALL DECORATION..........................................
Decorated .................. .
Wall paper ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Wood paneling *••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Painted, all types of paint •••••••........
Alkyd base ••••••..................... .......... .
Latex base ....................... ................ .
Linseed o il base •••••....................... .
Other............•••••••••••••••••••••••••
Undecorated8 •••••••.......••••...........••••••
1950
*100
100
(*)
(*)
(A)
(*)
(*)
86
*1 h
(6)
1956*
1950
100
92
17
3
72
19
16
30
7
8
100
87
30
(6)
57
(6)
7 22
27
8
13
OTHER ROCKS
1956 2
living
Dining
room
room
100
100
90
91
16
13
2
U
73
73
21
23
20
20
26
25
6
5
10
9
Bedroom
100
92
15
1
76
23
23
25
5
8
INTERIOR-TRIM9 DECORATION...........................
Decorated, all types of paint ........... •••••
Alkyd base........................... . ••••••••..
Latex base............................. . ••••••••••
Linseed oil base ..................... ..............
Other................................................•••••
*
*
*
*
#
*
*
100
89
18
8
U3
20
11
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
89
21
12
39
17
11
100
87
22
13
bl
11
13
100
90
21
1U
39
16
10
FINISH-FLOOR MATERIAL .................. .••••••••
Hardwood................ ••••••••••••••••••••••«
Softwood ..................... .........••••••••••.•••
Plywood •••••••••........ ••••••••••••••••••••
Linoleum ••••••••••.......•••••••••••••••••••
Tiling material .............
Asphalt tile ........................................
Cork tile ................................ .
Vinyl tile ...............................................
Concrete ••••.......•••••....... •••••••••»•••••
Other ••••••••••••••••..................... •••••••
Unknown................ .
100
(6)
(*>
(6)
100
3
2
1
57
31
15
(6)
16
(6)
100
100
8U
3
2
(6)
5
100
81
1
2
1
8
6
1
1
1
3
3
100
85
3
1
1
6
6h
32
32
(6)
(6)
10
{€)
h
(It)
h
2
76
(6)
(6)
(6)
(6)
(6)
3
11 21
(It)
k
(6)
1
1
3
2
k
1
1
1
2
1
* For vail decoration and flooring of bathrooms and for use of tile on kitchen vails, see table 1*
2 Percent distributions based on number of houses having specified type of decoration or finish floors
in specified rooms*
5Includes bathrooms.
* Decorating material classified only as o il paint or other material.
* Includes plywood and other types of wood paneling.
* No cases reported or less than 0.5 percent.
JWater paint.
8Includes a ll houses for which type of interior decoration could not be determined. Some of these
houses were to be decorated by the builder after the house was sold, with the type of decoration optional
with the purchaser; others were sold undecorated with the purchaser assuming responsibility for the cost as
well as the choice of decoration.
9 Door and window casings, moldings, baseboards, etc.
10 Includes 2 percent of houses without floor covering.
11 Includes houses floored with materials other than wood and houses in which part of floors (in rooms
other than kitchen and bathrooms) were finished with wood and part with other materials.
12 Information available for all houses in sample, which was selected from, units for which FHA had
issued commitments for mortgage insurance. (See p. 20.)
* Data not available.
NOTES Because of rounding, sums of individual items do not necessarily equal totals.
SOURCES Data for 1950 from Housing and Home Finance Agency; for 1956, from U. S. Department of Labor.
(See appendix A, pp. 18-20.)
35
Table 6. New nonfarm 1-family houses: Heating facilities, fuel, water heaters, and pipe used for plumbing,
1940 and 1950, and by region, 1956
(P e r c e n t
d is tr ib u tio n )
Characteristics
191(0
1950
HEATING FACILITIES..................... •*....•
With heating facility installed........ ••
Boiler systems
Steam •••••••••........ ....... ......... ••••
Hot water ••.•••••••••••••••••••••••
Unknown •••.......•••••......... •••••••*•
Warm-air furnace (ducts) ••••••••••••*
Forced air (fan) •••.......•••••••..••
Gravity •••••••••••••••••••........
Warm-air space heater (no ducts) ••••*
Wall heater *•........ . . . . ............... ••
Floor furnace •.•••••*•••••••••••••••
Electric panel ••.............................
Other...............................................
No heating facility installed..........
Unknown ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
100
98
22
9
13
(2)
U2
19
23
3U
(l)
21
100
9U
13
1
12
(2)
1*3
28
35
38
11
22
T y p e
o f
.........................................
Cast iron •••••••••••••••••••••.............
o f d is tr ib u tio n
100
98
CD
Cl)
CD
CD
81
79
2
17
10
7
CD
CD
CD
2
*
*
13
2
CD
5
6
(2)
*
*
*
*
3
5
11*
27
1
2
CD
1
CD
CD
*
*
10
3
7
1
UO
1
2
1
CD
1
CD
CD
p ip e :
Copper tubing ••••••••••••••••...............
Other........................ ........ ••••••.........
M eth o d o f h e a t
tr a n s fer :
Radiator ••••••••••••••••.......••••••••••
Radiant panel • • • • ............. .. .............. ..
Convector • • • • • • • • • • • • • ...............• • • • • • • • • • •
Baseboard * • • * • ....................
Unknown • • • • • • ..................• • • • • • • • • • • • ...................
D e sig n
West
b o ile r m a te r ia l:
3 t a e l.......... i
T y p e
19& , by region
North
North
east
Central South
regions
HEATING FACILITIES AND FUEL
100
100
300
100
98
87
91*
97
8
1
U1
3
CD
CD
CD
(i )
8
1
39
3
2
CD
CD
(l)
60
56
9U
73
58
72
55
93
2
1
1
1
26
1
CD
13
CD
19
9
CD
1
CD
5
1*
2
(l)
CD
CD
(l)
CD
CD
CD
1
9
1*
CD
2
2
2
U
I )etail for houses with boiler system
All
35
(1)
7
CD
(2)
1
1
CD
CD
3
6
CD
CD
CD
CD
1
7
5
CD
CD
1
6
28
2
1
CD
CD
3
CD
CD
Detail for houses with warm-air fumacie (ducts)
CD
CD
CD
Cl)
Cl)
o f fu rn a ce :
Up-flow ......................................................................................
Down-flow • • • • • • • • • • • • ............... .. ................ • ••••
Horizontal-flow • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Unknown • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
L o c a tio n
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
1*8
7
17
1
UO
7
9
CD
70
U
20
CD
3U
10
16
CD
51
8
21
CD
33
U5
31*
65
10
28
30
31
1
3
CD
CD
12
1
1
7
1
1
CD
CD
Houses with heating facility installed
100
100
100
100
72
U2
72
75
21
52
26
18
1
CD
CD
3
CD
CD
CD
CD
6
6
2
u
HATE HEATER A1CDFUEL
100
100
100
300
66
98
92
95
2
31
'2
5
26
U2
55
r
37
32
2U
31
(l
38
11
9
1U
12
26
CD
CD
U
8
2
U
5
27
U5
1
7
1
o f fu r n a c e :
Basement • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • .• • • • •
Utility room or clo s e t .......................... • •• • •• •
A ttic .................................................................................... ..
Crawl space * • • • • ............ • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Unknown • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • «• • • • • • • • •
HEATING FUEL.................... * ............................
Gas • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
O il ..................................................................................................
Electric!ty • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • .• • • • •
S olid ............................................................................................
Unknown • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • «• • *
WATER HEATER...................................• • • • • ............. • •
Tank type (storage capacity in gallons)*
Less than 30 gallons •••••.......•••••••
30 to 39 gallons ................................
UO to U9 gallons •••••••••••••••••••••
50 gallons and over ••••.......••••........
Tankless type ................ *....... •••••••••
Unknown* .................. .
SeU footnotes at end of table*
*
«
100
U7
13
CD
38
(2)
«
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
61*
33
1
2
(2)
100
92
33
n 51
1
J 8
8
C2)
100
92
6
1
CD
1
100
99
CD
18
63
18
CD
1
36
Table 6. New nonfarm 1-family houses: Heating facilities, fuel, water heaters, and pipe used for plumbing,
1940 and 1950, and by region, 1956-Continued
(P e rc en t
d is tr ib u tio n )
1956, by region
North
North
All
regions
east
Central South
WATER HEATER AND FUEL—Continued
100
100
100
100
76
88
58
67
16
17
9
27
2
17
(i)
(l)
6
8
6
3
PIPE 1USED FOR PIUMBING
Characteristics
19U0
1950
WATER-HEATER FUEL .......................*.........
Gas ........................................................
E lectricity.................. ••••....... •••••••
Other 5 ..................................................
Unknown* •••••••••••••........... *............
100
90
3
7
(2)
100
72
16
12
(2)
WATER SERVICE: UNDERGROUND SERVICE TO
HOUSE .....................................................
Copper 6 *............*......................*....... .
Galvanized iro n .......... .......... *............ .
Black iro n ...............••••........••••.........
Cast iron .................................... .
Other ••••••••••••••....... .
Unknown •••••.................. •••............ ••••
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
38
28
8
19
3
1*
100
79
3
1
7
8
2
100
38
20
10
22
7
3
100
36
37
1*
18
1
1*
100
17
39
16
25
2
1
DISTRIBUTION INSIDE HOUSE.....................
Copper* ....................•••••*••••••....... .
Galvanized iron •••••••••••••••••••••••*
Other *.................. *..............•••••••••••
Unknown ••••••••••••.......•••••••••••••••
100
29
70
1
(2)
100
1*6
53
1
(2)
100
57
37
3
3
100
96
2
(l)
2
100
52
ia
1*
100
67
27
2
1*
100
26
68
5
1
SANITARY DRAINAGE: UNDERGROUND, FROM
HOUSE TO SEWER CR SEPTIC TANK............. .
Galvanized iron ••••••••••........ *......... .
Black iro n ...............•••••••••......... ••••
Cast iro n ................................. •«••••••
Clay ............•••••............ ••••••••••••••
Concrete •••••••••••••••••••.............
Asbestos cement •••••••........ •••••••••••
Other .......•••••••••........•••*•••••••••••
Unknown •••••••••••••••••••••••••..........
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
«*
*
100
1*
7
39
35
5
2
5
3
100
1
3
66
13
(1 )
6
8
3
100
3
100
5
6
38
27
9
2
8
5
100
3
3
35
52
5
(1 )
1
1
3
13
29
1*2
3
2
6
2
West
100
91
7
(i)
2
*
*
100
100
100
100
ABOVE GROUND, INSIDE HOUSE ....................
100
*
*
8
Copper* •••••.................. *...........*.......
2
7
29
(1)
*
*
10
Galvanized iron •••••............•••••••••••
19
7
1*3
11*
*
*
8
6
Black iron ••••••••.......................••••••
9
19
3
*
*
56
60
61*
1*8
Cast iro n ........ •••••......... ••••••••••«••
U1
*
*
1
2
Clay.......................................................
(1 )
(1 )
3
*
*
1
2
2
1
1
Other •••••••••••••••••................ ••••••
*
*
18
2
2
Unknown ••••••••••••••••••••••••••........
7
5
1 No cases reported or less than 0.5 percent*
2 Information available for a ll houses in sample, which was selected from units for which FHA had
issued commitments for mortgage insurance* (See p* 20*)
5 Includes stoves and other types of space heaters*
* Includes some houses (about 1 percent of national total in 1956) with no water heater installed*
5 Includes houses with water heated by house heating unit*
* Includes a small percentage of houses with brass pipe*
* Data not available*
NOTE: Because of rounding, sums of individual items do not necessarily equal totals*
SOURCE: Data for 191*0 and 1950 from Housing and Home Finance Agency5 for 1956, from U. S* Department
of Labor. (See appendix A, pp. 18-20*)
37
Table 7. New nonfarm 1-family houses: Average quantity of selected items used per house,1by selling-price class, 1956
Proposed selling-price class
♦7,000
♦10,000
♦12,000
to
to
to
♦9,999
♦11,999
♦lb,999
20,U00
27,600
58,100
*218,600
Less
than
♦7,000
7,800
Duplext
Number of houses reporting ••••
Number per house .....................
210,500
22
7,200
12
20,100
18
26,900
18
57,700
20
61,200
22
36,300
30
Triplex:
Number of houses reporting ••••
Number per house................
1U,700
3
200
6
700
3
Uoo
6
2,900
3
7,500
3
3,000
Multiple:
Number of houses reporting ••••
Number per house ...............••••
2,200
7
(3)
-
(3)
-
600
b
600
5
1,000
12
U,900
2
9,100
2
lit,900
2
18,800
2
11,900
U
19,800
9
26,900
10
56,300
10
58,Uoo
11
29,000
Characteristics
Number of houses started ........
All
prices
♦15,000
to
♦19,999
61,900
$20,000
and
over
38,100
ELECTRICAL CONVENIENCE OUTLETS,
BY TYPE OF RECEPTACLE,
(3)
-
Special purpose:
Number•of
•••houses
60,U00
reporting 700
1
Number per house •••••........ .
3
9
ELECTRICAL SWITCHES<*
Snap switches:
Number of houses reporting ••••
Number per house .....................
198,300
11
6,900
6
Mercury switches:
Number of houses reporting ••••
Number per house ................... .
10,300
15
(3)
-
100
8
200
8
1,000
9
2,300
12
6,700
17
Other switches:
Number of houses reporting ••••
Number per house .....................
7,000
9
200
5
700
2
900
2
1,200
5
1,200
9
2,800
15
Base cabinets:
Number of houses reporting ••••
Number per house ••••••••••••••
195,800
U
5,100
18,500
u
26,000
3
53,500
U
56,600
U
3U,900
5
Wall cabinets:
Number of houses reporting •••«
Number per house .....................
203,100
5
5,200
3
19,300
U
26,700
U
55,700
5
58,900
5
36,100
6
Undersink cabinets:
Number of houses reporting ••••
Number per house ••••••...........
193,000
U,800
1
19,200
1
25,500
1
5l,6oo
2
57,U00
1
33,U00
2
15
KITCHEN CABINETS«5
.1
3
CERAMIC TILE:
Number of houses reporting •••• 132, Uoo
500
6,500
11,800
33,200
36,100
U3,600
Square feet per house*.......... .
170
70
80
120
lbo
230
170
1 All averages are based on number of specified items installed in houses reporting such equipment or
material.
2 Includes houses for which the selling price was unknown.
5 Less than 100 houses.
^ Data obtained on low voltage switches are not shown because of small number of houses reporting such
switches.
5 See also table 1. The proportions of each type of cabinet made of wood were as follows« base, 69
percent; wall, 68 percent; and undersink, 86 percent. The remainder of the cabinets were made of steel.
* Ceramic tile used throughout house for such purposes as walls and counter tops in kitchen; and for
floors, walls, and counter tops of cabinet-type lavatories in bathrooms. See also tables 1 and 10.
38
Table 8: New nonfarmdwelling units: Number of units started, by type of structure and location; and selling price
and floor area of 1-family houses, by location, (first quarter of 1954, 1955, and 1956
Tjrpe of structure
and year
All
nonfarm
areas
Region
Metro Nonmetropolitan
politan
North
South
Northeast Central
areas 1
areas
Number of units
ALL TYPES OF STRUCTURES*
195b.......................................
1955 .......................................
1956 .......................................
233,700
267,800
2bb,300
186,500
225,000
191,900
195b« all topes ....................
1-family.................. .
2-to-l* family ••••••••••••••••
5-or-aore family •••••••........
100
87
b
9
100
8b
5
n
b7,200
62,800
52,bOO
Percent
100
97
2
1
1955t ALL TOPES ....................
1-family •••••••••••••••••••••
2-to-l* family .......... •••••••••
5-or-more family •••••••••••••
100
89
100
87
5
8
100
96
2
2
1956: ALL TOPES ....................
1-fam ily.................................
2-to-i* family •.••••••••••••••
5-or-more fam ily....... ••••••••
In valkup buildings.......... .
In elevator buildings ••••••
100
90
100
88
5
7
100
95
2
3
h
b6,000
52,300
b2,700
of units
100
80
U
16
100
85
5
10
West
52,000
62,900
56,000
77,300
95,200
81,200
58,bOO
77,boo
6b,bOO
100
95
3
2
100
89
3
8
100
80
7
13
100
91*
100
91
100
86
1*
1*
10
100
92
6
2
2
100
81*
1*
12
12
b5,700
b9,b00
36,900
69,000
60,600
bb,300
58,900
87,000
b9,800
36,800
52,700
7b,800
Median proposed selling price
$10,100
♦12,900
♦13,800
♦13,100
♦12,300
♦10,800
195U.......................................
13,700
13,800
12,000
lb,bOO
11,800
lb, 700
1955 .......................................
15,300
12,700
lb ,900
16,200
12,800
lb,500
1956 .......................................
Average floor area (square feet)
1,120
1,U*0
1,020
1,220
1,160
l,lbo
195b......................................
1,120
1,170
1,160
1,170
1,100
1,200
1955 ....... ...............................
1,21*0
1,170
1,290
1,230
1,150
1,250
1956 .......................................
1 The 168 standard metropolitan areas as defined in the 1950 Census.
1 No cases reported or less than 0.5 percent.
Data not available.
NOTE* Because of rounding, sums of individual items do not necessarily equal totals.
1*6,900
66,700
5b,300
L-FAMILY HOUSES<
195b.......................................
1955 .......................................
1956 .......................................
h
6
k
2
202,200
256,900
218,600
*
*
156,500
196,300
168,800
100
86
1*
10
*
2
*
8
Number of units
2
h
5
7
100
91*
3
3
2
1
(2)
(2)
♦12,600
lb, 100
15,000
1,180
1,210
1,280
39
Table 9: New nonfarm 1-family houses: Regional trends in selected characteristics, 1954, 1955, and 1956
( P e r c e n t d is tr ib u tio n )
Characteristics
PROPOSED SELLING PRICE
Less than $7*000 •••••.
$7,000 to $ 9 ,9 9 9 ........
$10,000 to $11,999 . . .
$12,000 to $11*,999 ....
$15,000 to $19,999 ....
$20,000 and oyer •••••<
Unknown
West
South
North Central
All regions
Northeast
195U 1955 1956 1951* 1955 1956 1951* 1955 1956 195U 1955 1956 195U 1955 1956
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
2
1
11 7 1* 8 1 CD 12 3 2 15 17 9
it
8
8
6 2lt 21 19
11
k
1* 11
3
3
15 11 10
20 16 13 16 17 12 15 18 13 20 13 11* 27 17 13
21* 29 27 26 36 31* 27 23 21 17 22 25 30 39 33
16 23 26 25 30 23 19 27 30 10 11* 18 13 27 33
6
6
10 10 18 13 8 25 11 19 26 8 9 12
15
6
6
2
2
2
2
u
k
1* 2
1* 3
9
5
k
FLOOR AREA (SQ. FT.) ..........
Less than 700 •••••••••.••••
700 to 799 ..........................
600 to 999 ..........................
1,000 to 1,199 •••••••.........
1,200 to 1,1*99....................
1,500 to 1,799 ....................
1,800 and oyer ..•••••••••••
Unknown •••••••••••••••••••«
100
10
6
20
21*
19
10
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
1 13
2 13
2
1 11
3
3
3
h
6
6
9
3
5 11* 6
u
5
1* 2
22 17 H* 30 26 27 29 25 19 21 11*
30 31 33 25 21 26 32 35 19 26 32
26 26 15 19 16 11 19 21 19 27 21*
8 12
6 10
7 10 13
9 12
2* 6
6
6
9
9
9
7
5
5 16
1* 6
5
2 3 2 1 5 3 2 1 CD 2 1* 3
100
3
3
20
21
33
13
6
1
100
2
1
10
39
37
5
5
1
100
CD
CD
9
31
1*2
11
6
1
NUMBER OF BEDROCMS
1 bedroom
2 bedrooms.......... .
3 bedrooms.......... .
1* bedrooms or more
Unknown ••••••••••<
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
2 1 1 (1) Cl) CD
1 CD
1
1
3
3
100
2
26
62
8
2
100
1
11*
73
11
1
100
1
15
69
lit
1
BASEMENT .............................
Full or partial basement . . .
No basement
On slab «••••«•••»••••••••
With crawl space •••••••••
Unknown ...........................
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
100
20
79
*
*
1
100
21*
71
22
1*9
5
100
27
72
9
63
1
UTILITY ROOM .....
With utility room
No basement ....
With basement •<
No utility room •<
Unknown •••••••••<
FIREPLACE ••••••••••
1 fireplace ••••••••<
2 fireplaces or more
No fireplace •••••••<
Unknown ••••••••••••<
EXTERIOR WALL CONSTRUCTION •
Masonry .......... .
Solid b rick .......... . .........
Brick facing •••••••••••••
Other masonry ••••••••.•••
Frame
Brick facing •••••••••••••
Brick and wood facing ••••
Wood facing
Asbestos shingle facing ••
Stucco •••••••••••••*•••••
Other facing ••«••••••••••
All other construction •••••
Unknown ••••••••••••••••••••
32
58
5
3
la
58
«
*
1
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
«
«
1*2
55
16
39
3
20
70
8
1
1*3
55
16
39
2
30
65
2
3
78
21
*
*
1
20 22
70 66
6 11
1* 1
88
9
3
6
3
32
58
k
3
27 22 38 27
68 71* 51 61*
3
1* 1* 1*
1 CD
1* 1*
81 55 59
18 1*1* 39
11
1* *
28
li* *
1
1
2
69
30
9
21
1
25
73
*
«
2
19
79
22
57
2
21
71
It
3
18
79
31
1*8
3
100 100
33 37
27 30
6
7
61* 58
3
5
*
*
*
*
*
«
100 100
19 31
7 11*
12 17
78 60
9
3
«
*
«
#
*
* -
100 100
31* 27
32 23
2
U
61* 67
2
6
*
*
*
*
*
*
100 100
1*8 1*5
1*3 1*0
5
5
50 1*9
2
6
*
*
*
*
*
*
100
21*
16
8
71
5
100
100 100
27 32
3
3
66 63
1* 2
*
*
*
*
«
100 100
21* 1*5
2
2
68 1*8
6
5
*
«
*
*
*
100 100
21 22
2
It
75 71
2
3
*
*
*
*
*
100 100
18 17
1
2
71* 78
7
3
*
*
*
*
*
100
1*6
6
1*6
2
100
53
2
100
12
It
8
CD
83
3
3
21*
3
50
3
2
100
13
3
6
1*
85
3
6
30
CD
1*6
1
1
100
18
1
13
1*
82
2
1*
17
2
56
1
CD
CD
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
8
9
13 20 16
9 12 11* 15 19 36 19
2 3 2 CD 2 3 3 3 3 1 3 3
7 12
5
h
82 77
10
6
1* 2
83 89
20 lfi 26 11*
8
6
7
5
31 29 21* 31*
11* 8 9 31*
1
1k
2
1 (1)
2 2 1 1
See footnotes at end of table.
22
68
6
3
1* 1* 6
2
3
3
87 90 82
18 15 22
6
15 12
35 39 1*1*
16 18
9
1
1
3
5
1 CD
k
2
1
3
9 11
9
2
1
9
81 81* 76
28 37 31
9
1* U
36 30 26
9 11*
5
1
3 CD
It
2
3 CD
2
1
3
8
23
10
8
62 78
23 1*0
6
9
20 18
11
9
C
D
*
2
1 CD
1
3
hi
35
6
58
1
hh
1
40
Table 9: New nonfarm 1-family houses: Regional trends in selected characteristics, first quarter of 1954, 1955, and 1956—Continued r
(P e rc en t
Characteristics
WINDOWS ABOVE BASEMENT,
100 100 100 100
PREDOMINANT FRAME MATERIAL *
Wood *••••«••••••••••••••••«
63 57 57 67
18 16 11 17
Steel ..................................
Aluminum ••••••••••••••••••*
17 2k 29 15
2
1
Unknown ••••••••••••••••••••
3
3
* No cases reported or less than 0*5 percent.
* Data not available*
NOTES Because of rounding, sums of individual
d is tr ib u tio n )
North Central
South
All regions
Northeast
Vest
195U 1955 1956 1951* 1955 1956 195U 1955 1956 195k 1955 1956 195k 1955 1956
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
73 72 68 72 67 68 57 Sk
8 20
9
13
7
7 10 10
10 19 10 16 25 20 28 36
2
2
1
U 1
3
5
3
items dp not necessarily equal totals*
100
hi
29
21
3
100
31*
30
33
3
100
kk
23
29
k
41
Table 10: New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics,1by region, 1956
(P e r c e n t
d is tr ib u tio n )
North
east
100
96
to
19
29
1
5
l
2
North
Central
100
98
23
11
53
3
2
k
6
6
2
k
58
100
38
31
7
61
100
57
55
2
la
39
2
2
100
28
22
6
69
63
6
3
100
5k
53
1
1<5
38
7
1
100
17
7
9
1
80
3
100
23
8
10
100
3k
28
5
1
63
3
100
91
63
11
2
100
97
73
21
3
2
1
100
73
55
12
6
23
ROOFING . . .........................................................
Shingles • ............................................. •••••••
Asbestos .................. •••••••••••..............••••
Asphalt •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••*•
Wood...............................................................
Builtup ............................ .
Other •••••••...............••••••.............. •••••••••
Unknown •••••.......... ....................••••••.........
100
8k
7
66
11
11
2
2
100
97
6
89
2
1
1
1
100
92
3
88
1
INSULATIONi 7 PERCENT OF ALL HOUSES WITH
INSULATION INs
Ceiling .............................................................
W alls........................ .......................................
Perimeter ............................................. .......... .
81
33
96
77
9
to
GUTTERS AND DOWNSPOUTS . . .......... .......................
With gutters and downspouts •••••••••••••••••••
Aluminum •••••••••«•*••••••••••••••••••••••••
Copper.......... .......... ••••••••••••......... ••••••
Galvanized steel* ••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Wood10............................................................
Other .............................................................
No gutters or downspouts
Unknown •••••••.............................. .
100
67
7
1
la
6
12
30
3
100
92
10
2
20
100
86
3
1
WINDOWS ABOVE BASEMENT, PREDOMINANT FRAME
MATERIAL............................................................
Wood..................................................................
Steel ....................••••••••••••••••••......... .
Aluminum •••••••••••••.......••••••••••••••••••••
Unknown ............. .
100
57
11
29
3
Characteristics
SHEATHING (FRAME HOUSES ONLY)* .......................
Sheathed . ............•............ •....... ............•••••.
Wood plank •••••••................................. •••••
Plywood
Insulation board......................... •••••••••••
High density fiber board ••••••••••••••••••••
Qypsum board ........................ .
Other............•......... ••••••••••....... ............•
Unsheathed 3 •••••••••••...............••••••....... ••
All
regions
100
83
31
7
29
3
INTERIOR WALL CONSTRUCTION............................. .
Plaster
.......•••••
On gypsum lath ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
On metal or wood lath .......... ............•••••••.
Dry wall ...................................... •••••••••••••
Qypsum board .......... ••••••••••••••••............ .
Other •••••••••••••...............••••••••••••••..
Unknown ••••••••••••••••••••••••••............•••••
100
to
KITCHEN HALL FINISH * .......................................
With partial tiling «••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Ceramic t i l e ........ •••••••••••••••........••••••
Plastic tile ........................................
Other tile ..........................••••••....... ••••••
No tiling ..........................................................
Unknown............. ...................... •••••«•••••••••
100
23
13
7
3
7k
3
100
7
SUBFLOOR 5 ........................................................
With subfloor ...............••••....... ••••••••••••••
Softwood boards.......•••••••••••...........••••••
Plywood •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••..........
Other............•••••••••••••••••.....................
No subfloor ••••••.......... ........ ••••••••••••••••
Unknown ............••••••••••••••••......... •••••••••
100
87
6k
See footnotes at end of table.
9
k
17
ko
k
55
to
7
1
19
k
5
k7
Ik
1
k
2
1
92
1
k
k
26
2
7
2
k
1
3
93
9
South
100
91a
to
3
21
2
20
k
72
5
k
69
19
2
77
16
2
100
100
75
9
(8)
ko
5
3
100
72
8
19
1
100
67
7
25
1
100
5k
7
36
3
26
100
96
72
20
k
3
1
100
82
9
ko
33
15
2
1
(8)
8
12
2
7k
IS
100
71a
9
59
6
16
3
3
8
1
23
(8)
8
57
3
3k
West
100
k2
12
3
to
k
Ik
2k
1
100
to
23
29
k
42
Table 10: New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics,1by region, 1956-Continued
(P e r c e n t
Characteristics
WINDOWSCREENS..................................................
With screens11 *••••.......... ••••••••............ .
Aluminum •••••••••••................................ .
Bronze ............................................................
Copper •••........ ••••••••••....... ••••••••••••••
Galvanized steel9 ••«••••«••••••••••••••••••
Other.............................................................
Unknown material •••••••............. ••••••......... .
No screens •••••.......... •••••••......... ••••••••••*
d is tr ib u tio n )
All
regions
100
77
56
3
6
10
(8)
2
23
North
east
100
23
17
1
2
(8)
(8)
3
77
North
Central
100
69
lilt
1
3
18
1
2
31
South
100
9lt
73
2
7
8
1
3
6
West
100
90
63
7
6
11
(8)
1
10
DOOR SCREENS ****............... ...............................
100
100
100
100
100
70
22
With screens11 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
70
65
93
16
Aluminum ••••••••••••••••••••....... •••••••••••
1*6
1|6
39
63
1
1
1
Bronze •••••••••••••••••••••............•••••••••
3
7
1
1
6
6
Copper ••••••••••••••••••••••••*•••••••••••••
k
Galvanized steel9 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••
20
10
(8)
17
13
1
1
1
Other .............................................................
(8)
3
Unknown material ••••••••••....... *••••••••••••
1
3
3
3
3
78
30
No screens *.........*••••••••••••....... •••••••••••
30
35
7
1 This table includes information for individual regions vhich was not cross-tabulated by selling price
as presented in table 11 (Parts A through D)*
2 For percent of houses with frame construction, see table 9* For type of sheathing used with various
outside wall materials see table 2*
3 Includes frame houses without sheathing as well as some (about 3 percent of the national total) for
which the specific type of sheathing was not reported*
* Use of tile for kitchen walls generally refers to wainscoting on lower part of walls or tile on one
entire wall, with rest of walls and ceilings painted or papered) for other materials used for kitchen-wall
finish, see table 5*
* For materials used for finish floors, see table *>•
6 Includes less than 0*5 percent of houses with slate roofs*
7 For type of insulation material used, see table 3.
®No cases reported or less than 0*5 percent*
9 May include some ungalvanized steel*
10 Includes houses with combination of wood and metal rain-carrying equipment*
11 Based on number of houses for which builders reported that, as a general practice, screens were
included in the selling price*
NOTES Because of rounding, sums of individual items do not necessarily equal totals*
43
Table U-A: New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, by location and selling-price class, 1956
R E G IO N
Characteristics
NUMBER OP HOUSES.....................................
Percent distribution
TYPE OF HOUSE..........................................
Detached
Semidetached and row ••••••••••••......... .
Unknown ••••••••••••••.••••••••........ .
1 - NO RTHEAST
Proposed selling-price class
Less
$20,000
#10,000
#12,000
#iS,ooo
All
to
to
to
and
prices
over
Ho, ooo
#11,999
♦Hi, 999
•19,999
1,700
U,300
12,1(00
8,500
9,200
136,800
100
12
3k
23
25
k
Percent distribution of houses
according to specified characteristics
100
100
100
100
100
100
96
96
97
97
95'
99
1
3
1*
3
k
k
1
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
NUMBER OF STORIES....................................
1 story
Split le v e l.............................................
Other .....................................
Unknown ••••*••••••••••••............. •••••••
100
59
25
11*
2
100
100
(2)
(2)
<2)
100
87
5
7
1
100
73
11
16
(2)
100
51
39
10
(2)
100
28
1*8
22
2
FLOCB m i (SQ. FT.) ...............................
Less than 800 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••
800 to 999...............................................
1,000 to 1,199 ........................................
1,200 to 1,1(99.........................................
1,500 to 1,799 .........................................
1,800 and over ••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Unknown ..................... .••••••••••••••••••
100
6
100
20
7i*
h
1
(2)
(2)
1
100
5
73
13
5
1
3
(2)
100
13
36
32
13
3
2
1
100
(2)
8
33
31
23
1*
1
100
(2)
(2)
3
13
23
56
5
NTJMBHR OF BEDROOMS ..................................
2 bedrooms or less ...............................••
3 bedrooms ............. .......................... .
it bedrooms or more
Unknown .................. .
100
22
66
11
1
100
23
77
(2)
(2)
100
1*8
52
(2)
(2)
100
32
(2)
100
11
83
6
(2)
100
1*
61
35
(2)
NUMBER OF BATHROOMS................................
1 bathroom ....................................... .
1 complete, 1 partial bathroom ••••••••••
2 complete bathrooms ••••••••••••••••••••
More than 2 complete bathrooms ••••••••••
No bathroom •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Unknown ••••••••••............•••••••••••••••
100
51
21
10
17
(2)
1
100
91
8
(2)
1
(2)
(2)
100
100
75
11*
9
2
12)
(2)
100
ia
1*6
7
6
(2)
(2)
100
5
17
21
57
(2)
C2)
BASEMENT................................ .................
Pull or partial basement ••••••••••••••••
No basement •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Qn slab •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
With crawl space ••••••••••••••••••••••
Unknown .......................... ••••••••••••••••
100
81
18
100
20
80
(2)
80
(2)
100
52
9
1*3
(2)
100
87
12
6
6
1
100
90
10
1
9
(2)
100
96
1*
1
3
(2)
UTILITY ROOM............................................
With utility room .................................. .
No basement .......... .............
With basement ••••••••.........................
No utility room ............................. .
Unknown
100
31
17
60
9
100
78
72
6
21
1
100
50
1*5
5
1*9
1
100
18
7
11
77
5
100
28
10
IB
63
9
100
37
3
31*
58
5
GARAQE FACILITIES....................................
Oarage 5 ............................. .
Carport only •••••••••••••••••••••••••••«
No garage or carport '••••••••••••••••••••
Unknown ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••««•
100
60
9
29
2
100
7
(2)
91
2
100
27
1*0
32
1
100
39
10
50
1
100
79
3
17
1
100
97
1
2
(2)
FIREPLACE.................. .............................
1 fireplace ........................................
2 fireplaces or more •••••••«••••••••••••
No fireplace •«••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Unknown .......... ...................... •••••••••••
See footnotes on page 55*
100
1»5
2
ue
5
100
100
51
(2)
1*9
(2)
100
31*
(2)
66
(2)
100
38
2
59
1
100
76
7
13
1*
26
21
16
12
16
3
k
Ik
1
lk
k
(2)
*96
(2)
9k
5
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
k8
6k
k
•44
Table 11-A: New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, by location and selling-price class, 1956»Continued
R E G IO N
Characteristics
EXTERIOR WALL CONSTRUCTION.....................
Masonry.......•••••••••••••••••••..............
Solid brick . ........................................
Brick facing ............................. . . . . . . .
Other masonry ••••••••••••••...........
Frame ••••••.......... ••••••••••............ .
Brick facing ••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Brick and wood facing •••••••••........ . .
Wood facing •••••••••.......
Asbestos shingle facing •••••••••»•••••
Stucco ..................... ••••••••••••••••••
Other facing ••••••••••«••••••••••••••*
All other construction ••••••.......... ••••.
Unknown
................. .
I - N O R T H E A S T — C O N T IN U E D
Proposed selling;-price class
Less
Ho,ooo
812,000
$20,000
fi5,ooo
All
to
to
and
than
to
prices
$10,000
over
111,999
|1U,999
819,999
Percent distribution of houses
according to specified characteristics—Continued
100
100
100
100
100
100
8
11
11
9
9
5
1
3
3
ll
3
3
u
l
k
k
5
5
(2)
2
l
k
3
3
90
88
92
91
89
95
1
10
28
(2)
9
IS
16
12
1
10
22
7
2
58
39
1|9
29
27
18
21
2
17
87
19
(2)
12)
(2)
1
1
1
1
32
1
1
ll
s
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
(2)
(2)
INTERIOR WALL CONSTRUCTION.....................
Plaster ••••••••••••................ .......... .
Dry vail ••••..........
Unknown •••••••.......•......... ................
100
38
61
1
100
1
99
(2)
100
Hi
86
(2)
100
38
62
(2)
100
55
U5
(2)
100
1|2
58
(2)
HEATING FACILITIES ........................ .
Hot water %••••••••••••........................ .
Warm-air furnace (ducts) ••••••••••••••••
Warm-air space heater (no ducts) ••••••••
No heating facility installed................
Unknown ................................ .
100
111
56
(2)
1
2
100
58
37
1
li
(2)
100
18
82
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
29
67
(2)
(2)
100
ia
59
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
65
33
(2)
(2)
2
OTHER EQUIPMENT AND APPLIANCES: PERCENT
OF HOUSES WITH SPECIFIED ITEMS INCLUDED
IN SELLING PRICE:5
Window screens ................ ................ ••••
Door screens ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Storm windows ........................
Cooking stove ••••••••••••••.......... ••«•••
Gas ...............••••«......... ••••••••••••••
Electric ........ ....................................
Dishwasher ..................... ................
Exhaust fan (kitchen) •••••••••••••••••••
Garbage disposal unit •••••••••••••••••••
In sink
Incinerator ..................... .
Refrigerator ...................... ••••••......... .
Full-home air conditioner •••••••••••••••
Combined heating and cooling ...............
Separate cooling ..................... ••••••••
Room air conditioner ••••••••••••••••••••
Attic fan ........ .
Food freezer ..................... ••••••••••••••
Clothes dryer ........................................
Gas ............................ ..................... .
Electric .............. .
Washing machine ••••••••••••«••••••••••••
Radio .......................................................
Television ...............................................
23
22
2
67
29
38
16
77
5
li
1
9
(2)
(2)
(2)
2
(2)
2
2
1
5
5
l
(2)
11
8
(2)
33
19
Hi
(2)
67
(2)
(2)
(2)
5
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
5
5
(2)
(2)
28
32
2
80
62
18
5
7k
(2)
(2)
(2)
7
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
12
10
(2)
(2)
15
Hi
1
60
3U
26
2
70
2
1
1
6
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
6
6
1
(2)
23
19
ll
62
30
32
7
75
li
3
1
li
(2)
C2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
1
1
1
1
(2)
31
28
3
81i
9
75
51i
91
12
11
1
a
See footnotes on page 55*
h
i
i
(2)
6
1
6
8
3
li
7
2
(2)
45
Table 11-B: New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, by location and selling-price class, 1956-Continued
R E G IO N
Characteristics
II - N O R T H C E N T R A L
All
prices
NUMBER OF HOUSES.....................................
Percent distribution ••••••••••••••••••••
*52,700
100
TYPE OF HOUSE..........................................
Detached ............................. .
Semidetached and row ................
Unknown ........................ ........................ .
100
99
(2)
1
NUMBER OF STORIES.................................. .
1 story .............................. .......... ........
Split level •«••••••••••••••••••••••••••«
Other.......................................................
Unknown ...................................................
100
91
Proposed sellinij-price class
Less
110,000
#12,000
#15,000
to
than
to
to
110,000
#11,999
#11*,999
#19,999
1*,000
11,100
16,500
6,700
8
30
21
13
Percent distribution of houses
according to specified characteristics
100
100
100
100
100
99
99
99
1
(2)
(2)
(*)
(2)
(2)
1
(2)
$20,000
and
over
13,500
26
100
100
(2)
(2)
100
97
(2)
1
2
100
92
2
6
(2)
100
82
10
8
(2)
100
1
8
1
2
(2)
100
(2)
11
59
28
1
1
(2)
100
(2)
1
20
ko
20
19
(2)
100
Uo
60
(2)
(2)
100
16
78
6
(2)
100
18
79
3
(2)
100
8
85
7
(2)
100
85
1
b
1
8
1
100
97
1
1
1
(2)
(2)
100
85
10
5
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
51
bS
3
1
(2)
(2)
100
21
U8
18
13
(2)
(2)
100
69
30
9
21
1
100
18
82
12
70
(2)
100
3U
66
29
37
(2)
100
63
37
11
26
(2)
100
89
11
7
(2)
100
83
17
3
lb
(2)
UTILITY ROCK.................... .....................
With utility room .................. .
No basement .................. .
With basement .................. .
No utility room •••••••••••••••••••••••••
Unknown ........ ............... ..................... .
100
27
23
b
67
6
100
1
53
3
100
57
55
2
U3
(2)
100
32
30
2
8
100
12
10
2
86
2
100
2b
lb
10
69
7
OARAGE FACILITIES....................................
Garage3 •••••••••••*••••••••••••••••«•••
Carport only .................................. .
No garage or carport ••••••••••••••••••••
Unknown ................................................. .
100
6
b9
1
100
29
6
65
(2)
100
35
3
62
(2)
IDO
29
15
55
1
100
35
2
62
1
100
72
5
23
(2)
FIREPLACE................................................
1 fireplace •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
2 fireplaces or more ...............••••••••••
No fireplace ...........................................
Unknown ..................................... .............
See footnotes on page 55*
100
22
b
71
3
100
(2)
(2)
100
(2)
100
(2)
(2)
87
13
100
100
20
100
56
10
32
2
100
1*
1
h
100
9b
(2)
6
(2)
FLOOR AREA (SQ. FT.) ...............................
Less than 800 •••••••••••••••••«•••••••••
800 to 999 ...............................................
1,000 to 1,199............... . .......................
1,200 to 1,1*99.........................................
1,500 to 1,799 ........................................
1,800 and over............. ..................... .
Unknown..........
100
7
25
35
21
6
6
(2)
100
53
36
11
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
17
65
(2)
(2)
(2)
NUMBER OF BEDROOMS ..................................
2 bedrooms or less ................... .
3 bedrooms....................................
Ubedrooms or more ................
Unknown .................................................. .
100
22
7b
b
(2)
100
83
17
(2)
(2)
NUMBER OF BATHROOMS................................
1 bathroom ..............................................
1 complete, 1 partial bathroom ••••••••••
2 complete bathrooms ••••••••••••••••••••
More than 2 complete bathrooms ••••••••••
No bathroom ................ .
Unknown ............. .......................... .
100
58
29
7
b
1
1
BASEMENT ..................................................
Full or partial basement ••••••••••••••••
No basement ........................................
On sla b ................................................
With crawl space ................ .
Unknown •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
kk
hk
U3
9k
k
1
1
lk
k
k9
39
60
k
(2)
96
(2)
k
k
75
1
46
Table 11-B: New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, by location and selling-price class, 1956--Continued
R E G IO N
Characteristics
EXTERIOR WILL CONSTRUCTION.....................
Masonry ................................... •••»•••••»
Solid b rick ..........................................
Brick facing ..................... «............ .
Other nasonxy ................................ •••»
Frame .......... .................. ............. .
Brick facing .......... ................
Brick and wood facing .................. .
Wood facing .............................. •.........
Asbestos shingle facing ..................... .
Stucco ••••••••••••••••••••••••»•••••••
Other facing........ ••••»••....... .......... .
All other construction ••••••••••••••••••
Unknown .......... .
II - N O R T H C E N T R A L - C O N T IN U E D
All
prices
100
35
3
11
1
8U
37
k
30
9
(2)
h
(2)
1
INTERIOR WALL CONSTRUCTION.....................
Plaster............. .
Dry w a ll..................................................
Unknown .................................. .
100
57
hi
HEATING FACILITIES..................................
Hot water\.««»........ ..........
Warm-air furnace (ducts) ........................
Warm-air space heater (no ducts) ............
No heating facility installed ............. .
Unknown ....................................
100
OTHER EQUIPMENT AND APPLIANCESt PERCENT
OF HOUSES WITH SPECIFIED ITEMS INCLUDED
IN SELLING PRICES 5
Window screens •••••••••••«••••••••••••••
Door screens ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Storm windows •••••••••••••••«•••••••••••
Cooking stove ..........................................
Gas ............. ..................................... .
Electric ................................ .
Dishwasher........................ .
Exhaust fan (kitchen) ............................
Garbage disposal unit .............................
In sink ••••••••••••••............. .
Incinerator ................ ..................... .
Refrigerator ............. ............
Full-home air conditioner •••••••••••••••
Combined heating and cooling ••••••••••
Separate cooling ........ .
Room air conditioner ............................. .
Attic fan ................ .................. .
Food freezer ............. .......................... .
Clothes dryer ..........................................
Gas ................................ .
Electric .................. ........................
Washing machine ........................
Radio.......................................................
Television ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
See footnotes on page 55*
2
3
9h
1
(2)
2
69
«
21
26
5
21
8
58
ho
37
3
h
5
3
2
(2)
2
1
5
2
3
5
3
2
Proposed selling-price class
$10,000
$12,000
$15,000
Lm i
than
to
to
to
110,000
fu , 999
$li»,999
$19,999
Percent distribution of houses
according: to specified characteristics
100
100
100
100
8
2
20
2
(2)
(2)
(2)
3
(2)
2
16
(2)
8
2
1
(2)
98
92
98
79
(2)
13
35
50
1
1
(2)
5
60
18
53
hi
12
29
23
3
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
8
3
3
b
(2)
(2)
1
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
15
83
2
100
29
$20,000
and
over
100
30
7
23
(2)
70
b7
8
12
(2)
(2)
3
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
37
63
(2)
100
77
23
(2)
100
78
21
1
100
2
76
16
3
3
100
(2)
97
(2)
(2)
3
100
2
97
1
(2)
(2)
100
2
98
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
8
92
(2)
(2)
2
78
78
ii6
12
6
6
1
2
lb
1U
(2)
2
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
2
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
2
(2)
(2)
82
86
lb
8
b
b
(2)
3b
22
22
(2)
b
2
2
(2)
(2)
2
b
7
2
68
67
20
5
1
b
2
37
31
31
(2)
1
b
1
3
1
1
(2)
b
(2)
b
61
b6
31
30
b
26
b
77
b8
b6
2
3
2
1
1
(2)
1
(2)
2
1
1
3
6
69
70
17
51
10
bl
23
81
53
bb
9
9
13
7
6
(2)
n
5
6
1
(2)
5
(2)
(2)
5
5
2
7
3
b
7
b
1
47
Table 11-C: Hew nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, by location and selling-price class, 1956-Continued
R E G IO N
Characteristics
I I I-S O U T H
All
prices
*7b»800
HUMBER OP BOUSES..................................
Percent distribution ••••••••••••••••••••.••
100
Proposed selling-price class
$7,000 $10,000 ♦12,000 $15,000 $20,000
Less
than
to
to
and
to
to
♦7,000 ♦9,999 $11,999 ♦lb,999 $19,999
over
6,600 lb ,200 10,500 18,800 13,800
8,900
18
12
9
19
lb
25
Percent distribution of houseis
according to specified characteristics
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
96
98
98
100
8U
(2)
2
(2)
(2)
is
3
(2)
(2)
1
2
(2)
1
TYPE OP HOUSE................ *............................
Detached •••••••••••••••••••••••«•••••••••••
Semidetached and row .............
Unknown ............................•••••............
100
95
3
2
HUMBER OF STORIES.........................................
1 story ..........................................•••••••••
Split le v e l..................................................
Other ............................................... .
Unknown ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
100
89
3
6
2
100
99
(2)
1
(2)
100
81
(2)
19
(2)
100
96
(2)
FLOOR AREA (SQ. FT.) ....................................
Less than 800 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
800 to 999 ....................................................
1,000 to 1,199.............................................
1,200 to l,b99 .............................................
1,500 to 1,799 .............................................
1,800 and over •••••••••••••••........
Unknown .....................................................
100
6
lit
32
2U
12
9
3
100
56
27
8
8
(2)
(2)
1
HUMBER OF BEDROOMS.......................................
2 bedrooms or less .......... .................. .........
3 bedrooms ............•••••••••••••••••••••••••
k bedrooms or more ........................... •••••••
Unknown
100
22
71
(2)
100
98
1
(2)
1
100
91
7
2
(2)
100
86
9
5
(2)
100
7
29
55
6
3
(2)
(2)
100
3
25
50
20
1
1
(2)
100
(2)
8
li3
1|2
6
1
(2)
100
(2)
*1
IS
38
36
10
(2)
100
(2)
(2)
6
13
23
58
(2)
100
33
65
1
1
100
30
69
1
(2)
100
11
87
2
(2)
100
10
86
3
100
72
26
2
(2)
100
7
76
17
(2)
HUMBEROF BATHROOMS ....................................
1 bathroom
1 complete, 1 partial bathroom....... .
2 complete bathrooms •••••••••••••••••••••••
More than 2 complete bathrooms •••••••••••••
Ho bathroom ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Unknown . . . . . . . ................. ••••••....... .
100
100
Ik
100
96
1
2
(2)
(2)
1
100
76
IS
9
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
5k
100
18
2k
2k
k9
9
BASEMENT .......................................................
Full or partial basement ............•••••••••••
Ho basement..........
On slab •••••••••••••••••••.................. .
With crawl space ............................•••••••
Unknown
100
18
79
31
1*8
3
100
3
96
9
87
1
100
Hi
86
bl
(2)
100
7
92
51
ia
1
UTILITY ROOM....................... .................. .
With utility room
Ho basement ........................................... .
With basement
Ho utility roan
Unknown ................ .......................................
100
Ii5
6
100
6
6
(2)
93
1
100
32
32
(2)
63
5
OARAGE FACILITIES................................
Oarage 3 ........... ........................ ...............*
Carport only .......................................•#••••
Ho garage or carport •••••••••••••••••••••••
Unknown ••••••••••••*•••••••••••••••••••••••
100
32
33
32
3
100
6
15
78
1
100
23
33
FIREPLACE..................................... ............. .
1 fireplace ........................................ .........
2 fireplaces or more •••••••••••••••••••••••
Ho fireplace .............................................
Unknown •••••••«•••••«••••••••••••••••••••••
See footnotes on page 55•
100
17
2
78
3
100
k
13
21
6
2
k
kO
5
k9
(2)
1
(2)
2k
1
k
(2)
96
(2)
k
60
16
(2)
(2)
(2)
k
(2)
100
2
7
57
3k
(2)
C2)
(2)
(2)
100
13
86
35
51
1
100
33
66
21
100
37
16
1
23
39
1
100
52
51
1
Ii5
3
100
57
53
ia
2
100
Si
ia
10
li3
6
100
57
1*3
u*
38
5
(2)
100
32
33
35
(2)
100
30
1*8
21
1
100
ia
31
28
(2)
100
65
22
12
1
100
3
(2)
97
(2)
100
8
(2)
91
1
100
13
(2)
87
(2)
100
25
1
72
2
100
63
12
25
(2)
16
kk
k
62
48
Table 11-0 New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, by location and selling-price class, 1956—Continued
R E G IO N
Characteristics
III - S O U T H -
All
prices
c o n t in u e d
Proposed selling-price class
Less
♦7,000 ♦10,000 $12,000 ♦iS,ooo $20,000
than
to
to
to
to
and
$7,000 ♦9,999 ♦11,999 ♦1U.999 ♦19,999
over
Percent distribution of houses
according to specified characteristics
100
100
100
100
100
100
6
21
18
30
27
15
1
1
l
6
12
(2)
1
21
12
k
k
5
6
16
8
6
k
9
82
70
9h
73
79
85
60
1
11
58
37
53
1
8
12
2
12
15
8
56
21
6
2
37
32
11
1
(2)
19
3
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
2
1
k
k
3
3
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
EXTERIOR HALL CONSTRUCTION..................
Masonry ........................
Solid b rick ...............................................
Brick facing •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Other masonry .......... .....................
Frame .................. .................. ................
Brick facing •••••••••••••«••••••••••••••«
Brick and wood facing ••••••••••••••••••••
Wood facing ...........
Asbestos shingle facing ••••••••••••••••••
Stucco
Other facing •••••««•••••«••••••••••••••••
All other construction ........................
Unknown ............................................... .
100
19
3
8
8
78
INTERIOR WALL CONSTRUCTION..........................
Plaster ........................................................
Dry vail ............................. ....... .
Unknown ••••••••••«••••••••••••••••»••........
100
28
69
3
100
1
99
(2)
100
1k
86
(2)
100
28
72
(2)
100
38
62
(2)
100
HEATING FACILITIES.......................................
Hot water* .................................... .
Wam-air furnace (ducts) .....................
Warm-air space heater (no ducts) •••••••••••
No heating facility installed ••••••••••••••
Unknown ........................................
100
1
60
26
9
100
(2)
2
51
1|6
1
100
(2)
53
35
11
1
100
(2)
ia
50
9
(2)
100
1
60
1U
100
5
79
12
1
(2)
93
95
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
12)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
<2)
(2)
(2)
90
90
96
95
(2)
8
6
2
2
26
96
96
5
10
3
7
5
38
6
6
(2)
1
12
8
U
1
12
1
2
1
1
2
1
(2)
92
91
6
ia
11
30
16
1*8
26
21*
2
13
10
7
3
1
13
2
(2)
(2)
(2)
2
3
1
OTHER EQUIPMENT AMDAPPLIANCES! PERCENT CF
HOUSES WITH SPECIFIED ITEMS INCLUDED IN
SELLING PRICEt5
Window screens ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••«
Door screens ••••••••••••••••••«••••••••••••
Storm windows .......... ............. ............. .
Cooking stove .............................
Gas .......... ........................ .............
Electric ................ ................................ .
Dishwasher ••••••••••••«•••.............
Exhaust fan (kitchen) ••••••••••••••••••••••
Garbage disposal unit ..................... .
In sink ............................. .
Incinerator ........................ .
Refrigerator ................ ........ .....................
Full-home air conditioner •••••••••*••••••••
Combined heating and cooling •••••••••••••
Separate cooling .......««••••••••••••••••••
Room air conditioner .......................... .........
Attic fan .................................................. .
Food freezer ...............................................
Clothes dryer ............. ................ .
Gas .................. ............................. .
Electric ................................................. .
Washing machine .........................................
Radio............................................................
Television ................ ••••••••••••••«...........
See footnotes on page 55*
ko
9
IB
9
(2)
2
(2)
3
k
9k
93
3
2h
8
16
12
3h
15
Ik
1
7
9
7
2
1
11
1
2
1
1
2
2
(2)
k
lk
12
2
(2)
12
2
2
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
7
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
(2)
(2)
k
k
(2)
1
1
1
(2)
(2)
16
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
(2)
(2)
h
3k
66
(2)
k
100
U6
51*
(2)
100
2
81
12
2
3
95
93
5
72
11
61
58
71
58
56
2
29
39
33
6
k
15
2
8
3
5
8
7
2
49
Table 11-D: New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, by location and selling-price class, 1956-Continued
R E G IO N
IV - W E S T
s
All
prices
%
5-price class
110,000
112,000
H5,ooo
Less
to
to
to
than
Ho,ooo
H9,999
H1,999
HU, 999
1,900
17,900
6,900
18,1(00
u
13
33
33
Perceiit distribultion of houses
according to specificid characteristics
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
(2)
(2)
(2)
(t)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
!
Characteristics
$20,000
and
over
8,000
15
NUMBER OF HOUSES .....................................
Percent distribution ••••••••••••••••••••
b5U,300
TYPE OF HOUSE..........................................
Detached .......................•••••••................
Semidetached and row ...............................
Unknown .................. ..................•••........
100
NUMBER OF STORIES ....................................
1 story .......... ................
Split level ........................ •••••••••*•••
Other.......•••••••••••........... •••............
Unknown .................. ................
100
97
1
1
1
100
100
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
100
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
98
1
1
(2)
100
98
1
1
(2)
100
92
7
1
(2)
FLOCK AREA (SQ. FT.) ...............................
Less than 800 ..................................... .
800 to 999..............................................
1,000 to 1 , 1 9 9 .................................... .
1,200 to 1,1(99........................................
1,500 to 1,799 .........................................
1,800 and over ..................................... .
Unknown •••••••••••••........ .........••«•••«•
100
(2)
9
31
U2
11
6
1
100
10
89
1
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
(2)
22
73
5
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
(2)
9
57
33
1
(2)
(2)
100
(2)
2
9
76
10
3
(2)
100
(2)
(2)
(2)
Ut
52
3U
(2)
2 bedrooms or less ••••»••••••••••••*••••
3 bedrooms ............. ............. ................
k bedrooms or more .................................
Unknown •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••«•
100
16
69
lit
1
100
87
13
(2)
(2)
100
22
78
(2)
(2)
100
21
7lt
5
(2)
100
3
76
21
(2)
100
lit
51
35
(2)
NUMBER OF BATHROOMS •. .............................
1 bathroom ...............*........................... .
1 complete, 1 partial bathroom ••••••••••
2 complete bathrooms ••••••••••••••••••••
More than 2 complete bathrooms ............. .
No bathroom ................... .................. .
Unknown •••••••••••••••••••«••«••••••••••
100
31
21
lil
5
1
1
100
93
2
(2)
(2)
5
(2)
100
69
9
22
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
1|6
35
19
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
12
21
6U
3
(2)
(2)
100
2
8
61
29
(2)
(2)
BASEMENT..................................................
Full or partial basement ••••••••••••••••
No basement ................ .
On slab .......................... .
With crawl space ............. ....................
Unknown .............................. ....................
100
27
72
9
63
1
100
19
81
16
65
(2)
100
28
72
It
68
(2)
100
35
65
8
57
(2)
100
21
79
12
67
(2)
100
29
71
3
68
(2)
UTILITY ROOM............................................
With utility room ........ ........................
No basement ••••••*••••••••••••••••••••
With basement •••••••••••••••••••••••••
No utility room .....................................
Unknown ................................................. .
100
10.
35
6
58
1
100
ia
38
3
59
(2)
100
38
38
(2)
62
(2)
100
32
26
6
67
1
100
1|6
itO
6
5it
(2)
100
52
39
13
It7
1
OARAGE FACILITIES
............. .............
Garage J ............................................. .
Carport only ........................ ............. .
No garage or carport ••••••••••••••••••••
Unknown .......... ..................... .
100
75
10
13
2
100
29
19
52
(2)
100
lt6
28
21
5
100
65
10
2it
1
100
93
5
2
(2)
100
96
It
(2)
(2)
FIREPLACE............................. ..................
1 fireplace .....................................
2 fireplaces or more •••».................. .
No fireplace ..................................... .
Unknown .................. .......................... .
100
53
2
100
It
(2)
96
(2)
100
12
(2)
88
(2)
100
29
1
70
(2)
100
81
1
17
1
100
88
11
1
(2)
See footnotes on page 55*
100
99
(2)
1
hh
1
100
100
(2)
(2)
50
Table 11-D: New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, by location and selling-price class, 1956-Continued
R E G IO N
Characteristics
IV - W E S T — c o n t i n u e d
All
prices
Proposed sellinjg-price class
Less
$10,000
$12,000
$iS,ooo
than
to '
to
to
$10,000
$11,999
$19,999
$ll»,999
Percent distribution of houses
according to specified characteristics
100
100
100
100
21
36
6
25
0
(2)
(2)
1
11
16
22
5
20
3
5
(2)
79
6b
75
9b
1
(2)
5
3
b
3
3
b
21
22
19
IS
20
(2)
(2)
b
72
3b
b7
3b
(2)
1
(2)
(2)
(2)
C2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
820,000
and
over
EXTERIOR WALL CONSTRUCTION.....................
Masonry ................................. .
Solid brick ........................ .
Brick facing ••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Other masonry ••••••••••••••••••••••*••
Frame ••••••••••*••••••••••••••••••••••••
Brick facing ••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Brick and wood facing ••••••••••••«••••
Wood facing .................................. .
Asbestos shingle facing .....................
Stucco .................. .................. .
Other facing ...................................... .
All other construction .................. .
Unknown ....................................... .
100
18
1
13
b
82
2
u
17
2
56
1
(2)
(2)
INTERIOR WALL CONSTRUCTION.....................
Plaster ........................ ..........................
Dry w a ll.......... .
Unknown .................................. .............
100
5k
b5
1
100
35
65
(2)
100
33
66
1
100
b5
55
(2)
100
63
37
(2)
100
7b
26
(2)
HEATING FACILITIES ..................................
Hot water* .......... .
Warm-air furnace (ducts) ............. .
Warm-air space heater (no ducts) ••••••••
No heating facility installed.................
Unknown ........................ .
100
(2)
81
17
(2)
2
100
(2)
b3
b7
10
(2)
100
(2)
66
33
1
(2)
100
(2)
70
30
(2)
(2)
100
1
95
b
(2)
(2) |
i
100
(2)
100
(2)
<2)
(2)
90
70
7
36
25
11
9
68
971
67
b
3
7
6
1
(2)
2
1
2
(2)
2
2
2
(2)
72
55
(2)
11
8
3
(2)
15
13
13
(2)
5
(2)
(2)
C2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
8b
70
(2)
5
5
(2)
2
5b
b6
b6
(2)
3
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
2
1
1
2
(2)
(2)
9b
79
13
12
8
b
1
63
61
61
(2)
3
7
5
2
1
2
(2)
(2)
<2)
(2)
1
(2)
(2)'
91
6U
9
58
bl
17
IS
80
78
78
(2)
3
10
10
(2)
(2)
3
2
3
(2)
3
2
3
(2)
91
67
(2)
70
b7
23
2b
76
(9)
80
27
5
5
5
(2)
1
1
2
5
2
3
b
5
(2)
OTHER EQUIPMENT AND APPLIANCESt PERCENT
OF HOUSES WITH SPECIFIED ITEMS INCLUDED
IN SELLING PRICE*5
Window screens ••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Door screens •••••••••••••••••••»•••••••«
Storm windows .............................
Cooking stove •••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Gas .......................................................
Electric .................................. .......... .
Dishwasher .......................................... .
Exhaust fan (kitchen) .....................
Garbage disposal unit •••••••••••••••••••
In sink ...................... .
Incinerator ................
Refrigerator .................. .
Full-home air conditioner ................ .
Combined heating and cooling ••••••••••
Separate cooling ••••••••••••••••••••••
Room air conditioner ................ .
Attic fan .................. ............................
Food freezer ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Clothes dryer •••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Gas .................. .......................... .
Electric •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••«
Washing machine •»•••••••••••••••••••••••
Television ............................................. .
See footnotes on page 55*
100
18
5
13
(2)
81
(2)
6
8
(2)
66
1
1
(2)
51
Table 11-E: New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, by location and selling-price class, 1956-Continued
M E T R O P O L IT A N
A R E A S 10
A ll
p rice s
e
C h a ra cteristics
i
e
0
1
Proposed se llin g
*10,000
Less
*12,000
to
than
to
$10,000
$U*, 999
*11,999
1*3,700
17,000
18,800
* i5 ,o o o
to
*19,999
1*9,700
11
10
26
29
Percent d is trib a lsion o f houses
according to s p e cific k1 ch a ra cte ris tics
NUMBER OF HOUSES . . ............... . ..........................
Percent d is tr ib u tio n ••••••••••••••••••••
11168,800
100
TYPE OF HOUSE................. . . . . . . ........................
Detached ••••••••••••••••••••................. . . .
Semidetached and row ••••••••••••••••••••
Unknown •••••••••••••••...........
100
100
100
100
100
97
12
1
98
98
2
1
87
99
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
NUMBER OF STORIES.............................................
1 sto ry . . . .........
S p lit l e v e l ..........................................................
O th e r ......................................................................
Unknown............... ••.......................................
100
100
100
100
85
7
7
83
93
92
3
5
(2)
100
88
8
1*
FLOOR AREA (SQ. F T .) .......................................
Less than 800 •...........••••••••••••••............
800 to 999 ............................................................
1,000 to 1 ,1 9 9 ...................................................
1,200 to 1,1*99....................................................
1,500 to 1,799 ....................................................
1,800 and over .............................................. . .
Unknown .............................. . . .............................
100
1*
11
8
2
(2)
(2)
NUMBER OF BEDROOMS...........................................
2 bedrooms o r le s s ••••••••••••••••••••••
3 bedrooms .............................•••••••••••••••
1* bedrooms o r more •••.••••••••••••••••••
Unknown ......................
100
100
2
1
1
76
(2)
(2)
NUMBER OF BATHROOMS..................................... ..
1 bathroom ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
1 com plete, 1 p a r tia l bathroom ••••••••••
2 com plete bathrooms ••••••••••••••••••••
More than 2 com plete bathrooms ••••••••••
No bathroom ............................................. .
Unknown .............................••••••••••••••••••
100
100
91*
1
15
33
27
15
7k
9
1*3
23
21*
8
(2)
2
1
16
(2)
100
22
31*
1*0
2
2
1*1*
51*
1
1
(2)
2
2
2
1*
1
100
6
36
1*8
9
(2)
(2)
1
2
100
2
21
1*9
21*
3
1
(2)
100
(2)
5
30
5o
13
2
3 5 ,o o o
21
100
100
(2)
(2)
100
71
IB
10
1
100
(2)
(2)
10
21*
13
35
(2)
(2)
1
100
16
80
1*
100
10
100
79
(2)
(2)
72
23
<2)
100
100
76
55
100
26
100
21*
10
26
13
18
1
1
11
30
1*0
1*
5
100
9
25
37
29
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
100
100
100
29
70
21*
1*7
52
16
36
1*9
51
61*
36
12
6
1
39
(2)
30
(2)
(2)
BASEMENT ...............................................................
F u ll o r p a r tia l basement ••••••••••••••••
No basement ..........................................
On sla b •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
With craw l space •••••••.............................
Unknown ..................................................... ............
100
1*8
UTILITY ROOM .......................................................
With u t ili t y ro o m .............................................
No basement .....................••••••••••••••••
WLth basement ••••••.........••••••••••••••
No u t ilit y room ••.........•••••••••••••..........
Unknown ......................................
100
100
100
100
100
31
21*
7
27
37
36
33
27
6
100
1*0
22
18
70
61*
5
3
3
52
7
1
61
2
27
23
OARAGE FACILITIES........................................... ..
Oarage 5 .....................................•••••••••••••
Carport on ly ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
No garage o r carp ort •••••••••••••.............
Unknown ................................• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
100
100
100
100
100
100
57
25
51
62
82
32
6
12
(2)
FIREPLACE..............................................................
1 fir e p la c e .................................. ..
2 fir e p la ce s o r more • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
No fir e p la c e • • • • ........... ..................... ..
Unknown
100
See fo o tn o te s on page 55*
50
15
35
2
62
100
11*
86
1*0
2
$20,000
and
over
1*6
(2)
26
1
68
12
22
29
53
(2)
2
33
3
61
3
100
1
(2)
99
(2)
1*6
1
1*3
21
1*
16
8
2
1
7
31
(2)
100
100
100
100
5
(2)
91*
17
(2)
83
(2)
1*5
69
31*
1
2
10
52
18
1
3
52
Table 11-E: New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, by location and selling-price class, 1956—Continued
M E T R O P O L IT A N
C h a ra cteristics
A R E A S 10-
Proposed s e llin jg -p rice cla s s
Less
#10,000
#12,000
#1 5 ,0 0 0
to
to
than
to
$10,000
#11,999
#1U,999
#19,999
Percent d is trib u tio n o f houses
according to s p e cifie d c h a ra cte ris tics
A ll
p rice s
EXTERIOR WALL CONSTRUCTION...........................
Masonry .........................••••••••••....................
S o lid b rick .....................................................
B rick fa cin g ............................••••••••••.
Other masonry ••••••••••••.................
Frame ........................................... ..........................
B rick fa cin g ...............................................
B rick and wood fa cin g ...............................•
Wood fa cin g .............................•••••••.••••
Asbestos sh in gle fa cin g .............••••••••
Stucco ...............................................................
Other fa cin g ..................................................
A ll oth er con stru ction ...................................
Unknown.................................................................
100
20
INTERIOR WALL CONSTRUCTION...........................
P la ster .............................••••••................
Dry w a l l ............... ................................................
Unknown ......................................... ........................
HEATING..................................................................
Hot w ater* ....................................................... ..
Warm-air furnace (d u cts) ...............................
Warm-air space h eater (no d u cts) ••••••••
No h eating f a c ili t y in s ta lle d ...................
Unknown ......... ........................................................
OTHER EQUIPMENT AND APPLIANCES: PERCENT
OF HOUSES WITH SPECIFIED ITEMS INCLUDED
IN SELLING PRICE: 5
Window screens ••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Door screens .................••••••••......................
Storm windows
Cooking stove .................••••••••..................
Gas .....................................................................
E le ctric ...........................................................
Dishwasher ..................................... ..................
Exhaust fan (k itch en ) ...............................
Garbage d isp o sa l u n it •••••••••••••••••••
In sink ...........................................................
In cin e ra to r ...................•...............................
R efrig era tor .............................
Full-hom e a ir c o n d itio n e r ........................... ..
Combined heating and c o o lin g ...................
Separate co o lin g .............................•••••••
Room a ir con d ition er .............................•••••
A ttic fan ...................................................•••••
Food fre e ze r .......... ............................................
C lothes dryer .....................................................
Gas ......................................................... ...........
E le ctric ...........................................................
Washing machine .......................................
R a d io ...................................................................
T e le v is io n ..........................................................
See fo otn otes on page 55*
c o n t in u ed
100
2k
100
26
1
8
3
1
18
5
79
25
7
5
76
17
k
22
18
8
51
5
18
30
5
3
12
2
(2)
2
12
k
7k
11
2
100
19
1
13
5
81
25
5
2U
7
19
1
$20,000
and
over
100
16
k
9
3
8U
3k
8
12
2
27
1
100
23
7
1U
2
77
28
11
19
1
16
2
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
100
100
100
100
U7
51
13
86
1
U3
57
(2)
63
37
(2)
100
62
2
33
67
(2)
100
100
1
100
100
100
3
70
7
75
3
92
1
9
76
11
2
2
75
66
9
37
16
21
59
29
10
1
85
83
3
lk
12
2
21
5
1
80
76
3
11
8
73
72
55
1U
66
8
19
k9
2k
25
10
3
<2)
37
23
23
(2)
9
3
51
37
37
(2)
2
2
5
3
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
k
1
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
3
(2)
(2)
1
(2)
•(2)
3
3
(2)
(2)
k3
ho
6
2
1
3
1
3
1
2
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
k
1
(2)
2
10
6
6
k
(2)
(2)
13
59
3
16
2
3
(2)
2
(2)
3
1
2
12
7U
53
52
1
6
5
k
1
(2)
2
1
2
(2)
3
2
2
(2)
(2)
1
k
38
(2)
100
16
80
3
(2)
1
70
6k
8
70
19
51
ko
85
62
52
10
16
1U
10
k
3
6
2
6
2
k
6
5
1
53
Table 11-F: New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, by location and selling-price class, 1956—Continued
N O N M E T R O P O L IT A N
C h a ra cteristics
AREAS
Proposed s e llin g -p r ic e cla s s
♦10,000 ♦12,000 ♦1 5 ,0 0 0
♦7,000
to
to
to
to
♦9,999
♦11,999 ♦ll*,999 ♦19,999
5,o o o
6,1*00
9,600 16,500
7,1*00
10
19
13
33
15
Peircent dis1tribu tion o f houses
accordjmg to sp<re ifie d chlaracteris
Less
than
♦7,000
A ll
p rices
121*9,800
100
TYPE OF HOUSE...........................................................
Detached ....................................... ....................
Semidetached and row ................................
Unknown ............... ........................................................
100
(2)
(2)
(2)
HUMBER OF STORIES............... ...................................
1 sto ry * ........................... .......................................... ..
S p lit l e v e l .................................................... ..........
Other ...........................................................................
Unknown ........................................... ..................
100
100
97
95
(2)
5
(2)
FLOCK AREA (SQ. FT.) .............................................
Less than 800 .......................................................
800 to 999 .................................................................
1,000 to 1 ,1 9 9 .........................................................
1,200 to 1,1*99.........................................................
1,500 to 1,799 .........................................................
1,800 and over .................................................
Unknown ......................................................... ..............
100
10
26
1*,600
9
ft
O
m
HUMBER OF HOUSES.....................................................
Percent d is trib u tio n ...........................................
$20,000
and
over
99
1
2
1
(2)
25
21*
6
9
(2)
100
100
100
1*8
33
8
10
(2)
(2)
1
100
100
38
59
3
(2)
67
30
3
<2)
HUMBER OF BATHROOMS...............................................
1 bathroom .................................................................
1 com plete, 1 p a rtia l bathroom .................••••
2 com plete bathrooms ....................
More than 2 com plete bathrooms .................••••
No bathroom ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Unknown ........................................................ ..............
100
100
68
BASEMENT........................................................... ..
F u ll or p a r tia l basement .....................................
No basement ...............................................
On sla b ....................................... ..........................
With craw l space .....................
Unknown ...............................................................
100
2 bedrooms o r le s s .....................................
3 bedrooms ........................................
U bedrooms o r more ............ ....................................
Unknown ............................................... .
70
13
100
100
99
(2)
98
1
1
1
100
100
100
100
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
100
100
100
100
17
la
29
5
U9
30
5
(2)
5
(2)
(2)
lk
1
1
11
1
100
100
100
100
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
96
1*
(2)
100
100
100
98
92
91*
1*
2
20
ia
1
22
16
1
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
60
1*0
100
100
100
11*
(2)
(2)
1*9
51
(2)
(2) !
100
100
95
27
69
1*
(2)
100
82
2
3
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
92
100
12
88
100
11*
86
55
(2)
37
1*9
(2)
50
(2)
5
83
(2)
UTILITY ROOM..............................................................
With u t ili t y roan ....................................... .
Ho basement ....................................... ....................
With basement .......................................................
No u t ilit y room ................................
Unknown ..................................................................... ..
100
100
100
57
51
7
7
(2)
93
(2)
59
59
(2)
38
3
GARAGE FACILITIES...................................................
Garage 3 ....................................................... ..............
Carport on ly ..................................... ..
Ho garage o r c a r p o r t ..................... ........................
Unknown ..................................................................... ..
100
26
100
3
32
ia
12
FIREPLACE....................................................................
1 fir e p la c e ...................................
2 fir e p la ce s o r more .................................
Ho fir e p la c e .............................................................
Unknown ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
See footn otes on page 55*
3
(2)
27
73
(2)
1
(2)
31
(2)
100
8
16
35
36
3
93
5
10
1*
6
2
2
u*
1*
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
29
70
85
1
100
2
1
5
15
H*
65
(2)
100
33
59
8
(2)
(2)
100
100
8
39
33
26
2
(2)
(2)
100
1*1*
17
1*0
35
(2)
(2)
100
58
1*2
1
56
9
1*7
(2)
17
25
(2)
100
100
100
100
71*
71
3
53
1*5
1*3
35
(2)
67
58
9
29
1*
100
18
100
20
100
20
100
100
69
31*
1
85
(2)
31
51
(2)
la
38
1*7
33
(2)
100
100
100
100
29
5
(2)
95
(2)
7
(2)
93
(2)
27
(2)
63
18
6
ui
2
2
67
2
6
86
26
1*6
10
20
1
100
26
(2)
71*
(2)
8
1*6 ;
1 1
20
(2)
100
1*6
1
51
2
8
56
1
20
10
1
100
60
15
25
(2)
54
Table 11-F: New nonfarm 1-family houses: Selected characteristics, by location and selling-price class, 1956—Continued
N O N M E T R O P O L IT A N
C h a ra cteristics
A R E A S -c o n t in u e d
Proposed s e llin g -p r ic e cla s s
♦7,000
$10,000 $12,000 ♦15,000
to
to
to
to
♦9 ,9 9 9
$11,999 $11*, 999 ♦19,999
Percent d is tr ib u tio n o f houses
according to s p e cifie d ch a ra cte ris tics
Less
than
$7,000
A ll
p rices
EXTERIOR WALL CONSTRUCTION ........................ . . . .
Masonry .......................••••••••........................••••
S o lid b rick .............................. . . ....................••
B rick fa cin g ...............................
Other masonry •••••••••••••••••••••••••••.
Frame ............................................. ........................... ..
B rick fa cin g .............••••••••••••••••••••••
B rick and wood fa cin g ••••..................... •••••
Wood fa cin g ................................................. .
Asbestos sh in gle fa cin g •••••••••••••••••.
Stucco .....................................................
Other fa cin g . . . ...........••••••••••••••••••••
A ll oth er c o n s tr u c tio n .........••••••••••••••••
Unknown •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.
100
100
100
u
15
i
l
13
85
5
(2)
2
37
(2)
1*
(2)
(2)
INTERIOR NALL CONSTRUCTION .................................
P la ster .•••••......................... ................................
Dry w a ll •••••.............................•••••.•••••••••
Unknown ........................................... ••••••••••••••
100
28
100
1*
72
(2)
96
(2)
HEATING FACILITIES.................................................
Hot w ater* ..................................
Warm-air furnace (d u cts) •••••••••••••••••••
Warm-air space h eater (no d u cts) .................. .
No heating f a c ili t y in s ta lle d ...............••••••
Unknown ••••••••••••»•••.•••••••..«...........
100
100
5
63
(2)
9
38
52
OTHER EQUIPMENT AND APPLIANCES* PERCENT OF
HOUSES WITH SPECIFIED ITEMS INCLUDED IN
SELLING PRICE* 5
Window screens ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.
Door screens
Storm windows •••••......................... ••••••••••••
Cooking stove ..............................
Gas ...........................••••••••................... . . . . . .
E le ctric ......................................................... ••••
Dishwasher ...............•••••••••••••••••••••••..
Exhaust fan (k itch en ) •••••••••••••••.............
Garbage d isp o sa l u n it •••••............
In sink ...................................................•••«••••
In cin era tor ........................................... ..
R efrig e ra to r ............................................................
Full-home a ir con d ition er ••••••••••••••••••
Combined heating and co o lin g ...........•••••••
Separate co o lin g ••••••••••••••••••••••.••
Room a ir con d ition er
A ttic fan ......................................................... . . . . .
Food f r e e z e r ............................................................
C lothes dryer •••••••••........................... •••••••
Gas •••••••........................................••••••••••
E le ctric ............................................... •••••••••
Washing machine •••••••••...........•••••••••••••
Radio ............................................................................
T e le v isio n ..........................................................
See footn otes on page 55*
1
1
2
91*
28
8
31
21
1
5
(2)
22
8
2
81*
81*
9
18
9
11
3
1*1
1*
1*
(2)
U
10
9
1
(2)
13
1
3
1
2
3
(2)
(2)
1
2
1*1
100
1*
1
1
2
100
2
1
(2)
1
2
2
98
36
13
35
96
1*3
5
35
3
5
(2)
(2)
96
19
3
29
29
3
13
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
5
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
100
100
13
87
(2)
16
81*
(2)
33
67
(2)
100
2*2
100
66
58
(2)
31*
(2)
100
12
21*
100
2
100
2
86
10
2
100
100
11*
2
3
95
15
1
18
55
1
52
12
1
(2)
81*
85
5
3
3
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
79
78
2
11
1*
7
(2)
23
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
1
(2)
(2)
1
15
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
(2)
(2)
58
38
1
1
82
83
5
26
10
1
100
1*
$20,000
and
over
(2)
8
5
81*
9
(2)
100
23
2
21
(2)
76
1*0
16
12
(2)
1
7
1
73
7
1
(2)
2
5
83
83
89
89
17
86
12
85
3
38
9
29
19
19
26
9
(2)
53
21
2
1*7
(2)
1*
(2)
3
16
8
21*
13
3
(2)
13
(2)
15
23
(2)
(2)
H*
1
(2)
19
7
2
5o
7
7
(2)
1*
2
2
3
1*
3
5
1
(2)
10
1
1
16
2
5
2
2
1
(2)
19
(2)
1
1
2
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
3
1
1
1*2
22
19
3
1
1
12
1
6
1*
2
8
(2)
(2)
55
Footnotes to ta b les 11A-11F.
1
2
5
*
5
In cludes 700 houses (2 percent o f the t o t a l) fo r which the s e llin g p rice was unknown,
No cases reported o r le s s than 0 ,5 p ercen t,
In cludes a sm all percentage o f houses w ith both a garage and
a ca rp o rt,
In cludes a sm all percentage o f houses w ith steam heating system s,
Based on the number o f houses fo r which data fo r a p a rticu la r item were rep orted . The number o f
u n its fo r which data were not obtained varied fo r the d iffe r e n t item s, but in no case exceeded 2 ,5 percent
o f the t o t a l. Data in th is ta b le represent the p roportion o f u n its fo r which b u ild e rs , as a general prac
t i c e , in clu d e the s p e cifie d equipment o r appliance in the s e llin g p rice o f a new house,
$ In cludes 900 houses (2 percent o f the t o t a l) fo r which the s e llin g p rice was unknown,
7 In cludes 2,000 houses (3 percent o f the to t a l) fo r w h i c h the
s e llin g p rice wasunknown,
8 In cludes 1,200 houses (2 percen t o f the to t a l) fo r which the
s e llin g p rice wasunknown,
9 In cludes some houses equipped w ith both a garbage d isp osa l u n it in the sink and an in cin e ra to r,
10 The 166 standard m etropolitan areas as d efin ed in the 19$0 Census,
11 In cludes U,600 houses (3 percen t o f the t o t a l) fo r which the s e llin g p rice was unknown,
1* In cludes 300 houses (1 percent o f the to t a l) fo r which the s e llin g p rice was unknown,
NOTES Because o f rounding, sums o f in d iv id u a l item s do n ot n e ce ssa rily equal t o t a ls .
56
Table 12. New nonfarm 1-family Houses: Selected characteristics in metropolitan1and nonmetropolitan areas
in the South and other regions, 1956
C h a ra cteristics
NUMBER OF HOUSES.................................
Median proposed s e llin g p r ic e ••••
Average flo o r area (sq* f t * ) •••••
A ll region s
South
A ll oth er region s
M etroNonmetroMetro
Nonmetro
Metro i Nonmetro
p o ll tan
p o lita n
p o lita n
p o lita n
p o lita n
p olita n
areas
areas
areas
areas
areas
areas
b9,800
168,800
li8,5oo
26,300
120,300
23,500
♦12,700
♦15,300
♦13,220
♦12,230
♦16,150
♦13,080
1,250
1,250
1,220
1,250
1,170
1,110
Percent d is trib u tio n o f houses according to s p e cifie d c h a ra cte ris tics
PROPOSED SELLING PRICE.....................
Less than $7,000 •••••••••...............
♦7,000 to |9 ,9 9 9 .................................
♦10,000 to H i , 999 .............................
♦12,000 to ♦Hi, 999 .............................
♦15,000 to $19,999 ....................... ..
$20,000 and over ...................•••••••
Unknown ••••••••••••••••••••••••••
100
2
8
11
26
3
1
FL0CR AREA (SQ. F T .) .........................
Less than 800 ............. *..........•••••••
800 to 999 .............................................
1,000 to 1 ,1 99 .....................................
1,200 to 1,U99 .....................................
1,500 to 1,799 .....................................
1,800 and over .................••••••••••
Unknown ••••••••••••••••••••••••••
100
100
100
u
15
33
27
30
5
11
8
2
9
(2)
NUMBER OF BEDROOMS.............................
2 bedrooms o r le s s .............••••••••
3 bedrooms ....................................... •••
1* bedrooms o r more •••••••••••••••
Unknown ••••••••••••••••••••••••••
100
100
35
71*
2
38
59
3
(2)
NUMBER OF BATHROOMS...........................
1 bathroom •••••••................... ••••••
More than 1 bathroom •••••••••••*•
No bath room ..............................
Unknown *.................
100
1*3
55
(2)
29
21
100
10
100
5
13
21
19
33
15
9
13
23
20
11*
h
26
12
25
21*
37
6
100
16
16
16
100
100
(2)
1*
10
29
15
27
31*
23
8
2
(2)
100
11
20
17
21*
31
13
9
1*
9
(2)
100
16
10
100
1*
16
31
29
8
11
8
100
31*
61*
!
!
100
«
73
n
l
100
1*1*
100
1*0
100
100
100
1*9
2
1*6
1
1*
61*
31
5
(2)
59
(2)
l
EXTERIOR NALL CONSTRUCTION.............
Masonry *••«...........
B rick5 ...............................................
Other masonry ...................................
Fram e............... .......................................
B rick fa cin g 4 •••••••••••••••••
Mood fa cin g ••••*•••••••••••••*•
Asbestos sh in gle fa cin g ••••••••
Stucco ....................................
Other fa cin g *....................... •••••*
A ll oth er con stru ction •••••••••••
Unknown ............................................... ..
100
20
300
1*
300
27
100
100
5
3
17
35
91*
36
31
70
83
(2)
5
(2)
1
2
(2)
3
95
55
17
19
(2)
1*
(2)
(2)
HEATING FACILITIES.............................
Hot water5 *...........
Wamwair furnace (d u cts) •••••••••
Warm-air space h eater (no du cts) *
No heating f a c ili t y in s ta lle d ••••
Unknown ...................................................
100
100
300
100
9
76
5
63
22
5
18
2
11
2
2
21
1
22
8
2
1*6
19
3
(2)
2
2
2
2
69
(2)
1*5
7
13
18
1*
1*0
2
2
26
23
1
6
2
26
53
3
(2)
79
20
1
(2)
100
2
1
1
9k
11*
1*8
21*
2
6
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
12
100
11
78
83
3
8
(2)
2
Percent o f houses having s p e c ifie d ch a ra cte ris tics
1*8
F u ll o r p a rtia l basam ent.................
22
10
58
27
U t ilit y ro a m ..........
62
30 !
57
31
35
36
18
21
1 fir e p la c e o r m o r e .............•••••••
31
1*3
66
Garage o r carp ort ••••••••••••••••
58
70
69
63
1 The 1& standard m etropolitan areas as defin ed in the 1£>0 CensusT
2No cases reported o r le s s than 0*5 percent*
3 In clu des s o lid b rick and b rick backed w ith oth er Masonry*
* In cludes houses w ith com bination o f b rick and wood facin g*
5 In clu des houses (le s s than 0*5 percen t o f the n a tion a l t o t a l) w ith steam heating systems*
NOTES Because o f rounding, sums o f in d iv id u a l item s do n ot n e ce ssa rily equal to ta ls *
9
36
25
17
3
9
1
70
27
3
(2)
16
11
100
1
100
2
2
11
1
!
(2)
35
5
79
32
23
38
11*
i
1
1
76
5
3
9
3
1*
2
1
1*7
50
1*1
53
57
Table 13. New nonfarm dwelling units in multifamily structures:1 Selected characteristics,
by type of structure, 1954, 1955, and 1956
Type o f stru ctu re
5-or-m ore fam ily
2-to-U fam ily
C h a ra cteristics
9,600
660
11,800
1£>6
10,300
850
FLOOR AREA (SQ. F T .) ...........................
Less than 2*00.................
i*00 to 1,99 ...............................................
500 to 599 ...............................................
600 to 699 ...............................................
700 to 799 •.............................................
800 to 999 ...............................................
1,000 to 1,199 .......................................
1,200 to 1,1*99.......................................
1,500 and over *.............
Unknown *...........•••••••••«••••••••••
100
100
100
100
100
100
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
31*
(2)
(2)
(2)
25
7
5
7
13
19
NUMBER OP BEDROCKS ...............................
No bedrooms ...................•••••••••••••
1 bedroom ••••••••••«••••••••••••••
2 bedrooms *...........................................
3 bedrooms •••••••••...........*............
U bedrooms or more ••••••••••••*•«•
Unknown •••••••............................. •••••
100
2
NUMBER OP BATHROOMS.............................
1 bath room ...............................
1 com plete, 1 p a r tia l bathroom *•••
2 com plete bath room s...............
More than 2 com plete bathrooms ••••
Unknown ...........................
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
EXTERIOR WALL CONSTRUCTION...............
Masonry ••••«••••••••.............•••••••
S o lid b rick . . . . ................... .
B rick facin g* ••••••••••••••••••
Other masonry •••••••••••••••••••
Frame .............. •••••••••••••••••••••
B rick f a c in g ...............*.••••••••••
B rick and wood fa cin g «••••••••••
Wood fa cin g .........................................
Asbestos sh in gle fa cin g •••••••••
Other •••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Unknown ................................
100
100
38
3
38
12
11*
U*
15
1951*
NUMBER OP DWELLING UNITS...................
Average flo o r area (sq* f t * ) ••••••
WINDOWS ABOVE BASEMENT, PREDOMINANT
FRAME MATERIAL.......................................
W ood...........................................................
S te e l .........................................................
Aluminum *....................... .
Unknown *......................................... •••«•
1955
195U
21,900
630
15,1*00
660
720
620
Percent d is trib u tio n o f u n its according to s p e cifie d ch a ra cte ris tics
26
17
19
11*
8
16
25
10
k
2
9
5
27
60
6
1*
1
9
58
15
1*
28
11
12
k
9
8
100
100
(3)
(*>
2l*
57
22
62
8
1
7
Ik
10
23
100
11
1*8
27
13
(*>
12
60
23
1
100
100
100
56
15
39
51*
50
li
29
1*3
1*2
11
1
1
21
1*8
2
11
3
19
2
100
100
29
1*5
18
36
U*
111*
3
9
28
!
I
50
13
3
19
7
22
k
5
100
100
7
2
8
6
2
6
1
28
1
100
1*6
53
33
1
1
100
15
(*)
3
30
1*
100
6
17
5
*
*
*
*
*
*
1
18
2
6
20
11
1*
1
16
*
*
*
*
*
*
6
55
7
18
11*
15
11*
(**>
77
12
9
11
10
11
6
8
<*)
1*
(*>
5
100
*
26
12
12
6
k
89
3
k
(*)
1*
18
31
5
(*>
29
10
hi
10
<**)
1
1
k
35
3
100
100
100
1*3
29
25
31
u*
50
5
28
(*0
28
39
8
1In cludes u n its in 2-to4| fam ily and 5-or-m ore fam ily stru ctu res*
2Included w ith flo o r area c la s s ific a t io n , 600 to 699 square fe e t*
3 Units w ithout bedrooms are in cluded w ith th ose having 1 bedroom*
* No cases reported o r le s s than 0*5 percent*
5 Includes u n its in b rick -fa ce d bu ild in gs w ith framework o f con crete re in fo rce d w ith ste e l*
* Data n ot ava ila b le*
NOTE* Because o f rounding, sums o f in d iv id u a l item s do not n e ce ssa rily equal to ta ls*
1956
1955
19,100
58
Table 14. New nonfarm dwelling units in multifamily structures:1 Number of windows in units started in first quarter of 1954, 1955,
and 1956, and percentage distribution by type of window and, in 1956, by type of window-frame material
Type o f window
195U
TOTAL, EXCLUDIHQ BASSMHiT 3 ...............
2 U1.8
ALL TYPES ................................................. *
Double hung ••••••••••••••••••••••••
Casement •••••••••••••••••••••••••••
H orizontal s lid e •••••••••••••••••••
P ictu re ••••••••••••••••••••••••••*•
With fla n k ers5 ...................................
Without flan k ers •••••••••••••••••
Awning ••••••••••••••••••••••••*••••
P rojected ••••••••••*•••••••••••••••
J a lou sie •••••••••••••••••••••••••••
A ll oth er ............................................. ..
100
U5
3U
5
9
1
2
5
*
5
In cludes
In cludes
Complete
No cases
Flankers
19 5 6 , by window-frame m aterial
A ll
Wood
Aluminum
S te e l
m a terials 2
Number o f windows (in thousands)
88*6
293.6
22.U
175.3
6 U.3
Percent d is trib u tio n o f windows
100
100 j!
100
100
100
37
37
85 1
7
9
28
81
27
k
31
12
16
9
k
<*)
8
6
6
k
7
6
6
3
5
5
2
1
1
1
1
2
<*>
3
(*)
li
1
(4)
1
<*>
5
2
17
9
(*)
33
2
1
1
1
ft)
1955
7
2
1
1
k
1
1
u n its In 2-to-U fam ily and 5-or-m ore fam ily stru ctu res*
windows fo r which type o f frame m aterial was unknown*
count o f basement windows in 2-or-m ore fam ily stru ctu res was not obtained*
reported o r le s s than 0*5 percent*
are movable sashes a t sid e s o f p ictu re windows*
Table 15. New nonfarm dwelling units in multifamily structures:1 Interior decoration and finish-floor material, by type of room, 1956
(P er cen t distribution)
C h a ra cteristics
L ivin g
room
K itchen
Dining
room
Bedroom
WALL DECORATION................................... *.......................................
D ecorated ...............................................................................................
W all paper .........................................................................................
Wood paneling 2 ......................................................................••••
Painted, a l l types o f p a in t .......................................................
Alkyd base ................................................. ...............................
Latex b a s e .....................................................................................
Linseed o i l base •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
• Other ......................................................................... ......................
100
83
2
1
80
22
1h
37
7
17
100
87
2
1
8U
28 i
17 i
31
8
13
100
83
8
2
73
22
12
31
8
17
100
88
3
1
8U
27
17
31
9
12
INTERIOR-TRIM* DECORATION ................................................................
D ecorated, a l l types o f p ain t ..................................................... ..
Alkyd base .............. ....................
Latex base .........................................................................................
Linseed o i l base .................... ................................................
Other ..................................................................... ...........................
U ndecorated3 ......................................... ........................................
100
81
18
100
85
23
11
U3
8
15
100
80
22
10
ia
7
20
100
8U
23
10
U3
FINISH-FLOOR MATERIAL........................................................................
100
U
1
3
100
60
100
59
100
59
k
k
9
h
Plywood .............................................................. ............•..................••
9
U5
9
19
h6
T ilin g naterlAlC ..................................................................................
Asphalt t i l e ............................. ........................................................
V inyl t i l ..............................................................................................
Other M M .......................................................................
Unknown ••••••••............................•••••••••••••••»••••............
25
17
8
2
8
11
7
(5)
12 i
10 !
2 !
2
9
6
(5)
8
8
(5)
1
9
10
6
16
7
(5)
13
10
3
2
9
6
1 In clu des u n its in 2-to-U fam ily and 5-or-m ore fam ily stru ctu res* Percent d is trib u tio n s based on num
ber o f u n its having s p e c ifie d type o f decoration o r fin is h flo o r s in s p e c ifie d rooms*
* In cludes plywood and oth er types o f wood paneling*
J In clu des a l l u n its fo r which th e type o f in te r io r d ecora tion cou ld n ot be determined*
* Door and window ca sin g s, m oldings, baseboards, etc*
5 No cases reported o r le s s than 0*5 percent*
* In cludes le s s than 0*5 percen t o f u n its w ith cork t ile *
NOTES Because o f rounding, sums o f in d iv id u a l item s do n ot n e ce ssa rily equal to ta ls *
☆ U. S. G O V E R N M EN T PRINTING O F F IC E : 1958 O -4 7 8 6 3 0
@FedFRASER