Survey of housing performance

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Survey of housing performance

A SURVEY OF HOUSING PERFORMANCE by

A. C. Veale

ANAl

vzro

Internal Report No. 341 of the

Division of Building Research

OTTAWA February 1968

The Division of Building Research has long been interested in questions r elating to house maintenance - - an important,

though often overlooked, part of the cost of housing.

There is little published information on the subject as most Canadian homes are privately owned and their maintenance

is an individual problem. House repairs are generally done by

the owners, by other persons on a casual part-time basis, or by a variety of small firms, few of which are interested in

keeping detailed records. As a result, only serious problems

resulting in severe complaints receive much attention or study. The Federal-Provincial housing projects in Ontario which were the subject of this study provided an opportunity for the Division to obtain information on the performance of

Canadian housing. The aim of this pilot survey was to obtain

a general picture of housing quality and to indicate those aspects of house maintenance that deserve more detailed investigations. The survey was not intended to provide technical answers to specific problems, as this would r equir e detailed information on original quality of materials, installation techniques, and conditions of use and wear that was not always available.

Ottawa

November 1967

Robert F. Legget Director

SUR VEY PROCEDURE OBSERVATIONS

Structure Foundations

Porches and Sidewalks Exterior Surfaces Interior Surfaces Windows and Doors Services

CONC LUSIONS

Houses Surveyed General

EVALUATION AND DISCUSSION REFERENCES Page

5

9

26

The author wishes to record his thanks to the many persons in Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation, to the then Housing Branch* of the Ontario Department of Economics and Development, and to the several Housing Authorities in Ontario, who so willingly gave their time and permitted access to their records for this study.

Particular thanks are due to Mr. J. J. McWhirter,

Supervisor, Property Department, Urban Renewal and Public Housing Division, Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and to Mr. M. G. Giles, Supervisor, Rental Housing Section, Housing Branch* of the Ontario Department of Economics and Development.

* Since the date of this survey. the Housing Branch has been absorbed by the newly formed Ontario Housing Corporation.

by A. C. Veale

What happens to the many materials and parts of a house during their long period of service after the house

is no longer new? What m.aterials m.ust be refinished or

replaced during the lifetime of a house? What parts must

be repaired or replaced? What is the cost of this maintenance?

The survey reported here was carried out in 1963 in an attempt to provide answers to these questions based on experience with Canadian housing.

The houses selected for the survey are in Federal-Provincial housing projects but the fact that they were publicly financed is incidental to the study. The projects were chosen because they offered several large groups of houses of typical wood-frame construction, all about the

same age (10 years), under group management, and con-veniently located in Ontario. In addition, the supervising authorities were closely concerned with the maintenance of these houses and offered their complete co-operation and access to all their records.

Some 2500 houses in 28 projects in 13 Ontario

munici-palities were included in this survey. Of these, approximately

1500 houses in 12 areas were selected as a basic sample (Group A). The other 1000 houses were not directly comparable and infor-mation from them has been excluded from the study except in a few special cases, and then only with due mention of the

different circumstances. For convenient reference, the total 2500 houses have been divided into these three Groups:

Group A: approximately 1500 houses in 20 projects, in 12 areas, with an average age of 10 years. This is the basic sample which is later

described in detail.

Group B: approximately 500 houses in 7 projects,

in 5 areas. These houses are generally

similar to those in Group A, but are newer and include some differences in design. Group C: approximately 500 houses in one project.

These are 20 -year -old "wartime" houses which wer e moved to new sites and

renovated a few years ago.

Each project consists of a group of houses in one location,

built at one time and generally under one contract. Where two

or more projects occur in the same area (city or town) they may be side by side or widely separated, but are administered by the same Housing Authority and manager.

The 1500 Group A houses made an excellent sample for

this survey for several reasons. They are all in southern Ontario,

which means that climate conditions are similar for the whole

sample. The houses are all about 10 years old (varying from

6 to 12 years), which is new enough to be comparable with the great quantity of post -war Canadian housing and old enough for deficiencies to be appar ent, They are all of basically similar

and typical construction and materials. Finally, the methods

among all the houses within the sample. The one apparent and significant difference between the sample houses and typical

Canadian houses is the conditions of occupancy. The sample

houses are rented rather than owned and the tenants have lower-than -average incomes and lar ger -lower-than -average families.

Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation was responsible

for the design and construction of all the houses. Because many

were built during a short period about ten years ago, many house

designs are almost identical. These designs were influenced by

many factors in addition to the basic desire to keep costs down. The fact that the designs may now, with the advantage of ten years' hindsight, appear "imperfect" in some ways should not be a criticism or condemnation of the original designers, for circum-stances, conditions, and knowledge have all changed during the

interval. Comments in this paper regarding failures or problem

areas are included only as useful performance information. These houses, once built, have been managed and maintained by local Housing Authorities, with a paid housing manager, either part- or full-time, who mayor may not be

a member of the Authority. Many details of the performance

of these houses were obtained through discussions with these managers.

The typical housing project in the basic sample, Group A (which are the only houses referred to except when there are specific accompanying statements to the contrary), consists almost entirely of single-family, Ii-storey, wood-frame dwellings, arranged along the normal suburban street pattern. House types, in roughly descending order of frequency, are:

(a) Ii-storeys with no dor m er s

(b) Ii -storeys with two srrial.I dorm.er windows on one side

(c) Ii-storeys with a large dorm.er

(d) bungalows with either 2 or 3 bedroom.s

(e) 2 -storey houses (generally with 4 bedroom.s).

Many houses have m.asonry veneer on the lower part. Other

exterior finish rnat e ria.l s include horizontal wood siding painted white or in pastel colours, large cedar shingles, asbestos -c errient shingles, and vertical wood siding (generally only on gables).

Many house details are repeated in a.Irrio st all units.

Asphalt shingles, usually non-interlocking and without stick-down tabs are standard. Roof pitch on the Ii-storey units is quite steep (10 in 12); on the few bungalows and 2-storey units it is less steep

(6 in I2). Double-hung wood sash windows are standard, and

r em.ovable wood storm. windows ar e c ornrnon, Rain gutter sand down-spouts are c ornrrion, First floors are usually about 3 ft above grade, allowing srna.Il ba s ern ent windows on all sides of the house. Basem.ent window wells, usually of galvanized rn et a.l , are used occasionally.

The general appearance is of s maIl , square and neat but

plain houses with plain surroundings. Front porches and walks

are frequently uneven, and chipped or spaIl ed, Shrubbery is

generally scarce but neat. Standar d outdoor facilities include a gravel driveway, concrete walk to the front door and also around to the rear door, front porch (usually a concrete cap on bearing walls}, and r ear steps of wood on cantilever ed floor joists.

SUR VEY PROCEDURE

The term "housing performance" may be interpreted in

various ways. Some examples, ranging from the general to

the specific, ar e:

(l) How well does the house perform its social, physical and aesthetic functions of providing its occupants with a convenient and satisfying place in which to live?

(2) How well does the house perform its technical functions of excluding the wind and rain, maintaining the desired indoor temperatur e, and admitting sufficient light and air? (3) How well do the individual parts and materials perform

their functions during the lifetime of the house?

What is their durability and behaviour? When must

they be resurfaced, re-covered, repaired, or replaced? Does the process of deterioration result in dissatisfaction and inconvenience?

The scope of their survey is restricted to the mor e specific issues of Item (3).

The basic part of the survey consisted of personal visits

to the housing managers in thirteen municipalities. Each manager

described his maintenance experience in as much detail as his

memory and records would allow. This information was

supple-mented by a review of the records and discussions with the staff of Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation and of the Housing Branch of the Ontario Department of Economics and Development. An inspector from the Ontario Housing Branch visited all the houses to assist the local Housing Authorities with supervision and

maintenance. Particularly serious or unusual p r obl ern s have been studied and reported on by the staff of both the Ontario Housing Branch and Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

The validity of the observations depends rna in.ly on the infor rnat ion obtained fr orn the housing mana g er s in each of the thirteen areas visited. All of th ern were co-operative, answered all questions and s e erne d fully Iarni liar with their proj ects and the rna int enan ce p r ob l ern s thereof. They had all filled their present positions for several years, rno st of th ern for the entire life of the projects. Detailed records of all repairs were usually not kept so most of the infor rnat ion given was fr orn their rn erno rie s , Inevitably, rn erriorie s of ma int enan c e

needs and costs are oriented towards it ern s that were particularly unexpected or expensive, or were a nuisance to repair, and

it is probable that extra ernpha sis was placed on these. In this report, the author has att ernpt ed to recognize and corr ect this natural tendency towards "weighting" of ernph asis,

Studies of ma int enan c e costs rnu st recognize that the standards or quality of ma.int enan c e can vary gr eatly - fr orn a level just sufficient to prevent structural deterioration up to a level intended to keep the house in "Li kevnew " condition. The level of rna int enari c e in the houses surveyed is fairly

unif'or m fr orn project to project and represents a careful effort to obtain rnaxirnum useful life fr orn all parts of a house without pe r rnit.t in g deterioration of the structure or a shabby appearance. There were SOITle examp l e s of rn o de r at e paint peeling, spalled concr ete walks, and worn tile floor s , but no rrior ethan rni ght be expected in any neighbourhood of rriode st horn e s , and not sufficient

evidence of unnecessary replacement or repairs. In a few cases, economy had dictated the s irriuIt an eou s replacement of sinks, taps, and counter tops, even where one component had a short remaining useful life.

OBSER VAT IONS

Observations ar e reported under several major categories: structure, foundation, exterior finishes, interior finishes,

accessories, and services. The indented statements represent

infor rnation given by housing managers, not as their direct quotations, but with the meaning as close as possible to their original statements.

Structur e

All the 1500 houses are of standard wood-frame construction

on concrete foundations. All framing is on 16 -Ln, centres. Floor

joists ar e normally 2 - by 8 -Ln, rn ernber s , supported by a central b e arn Iarninat ed fr orn four 2 - by 10 -iri. member s and supported on 6 - by 8 -In, posts. Sub£looring is usually 3/4-in. shiplap applied

diagonally. Wall sheathing is 3/4-in. shiplap, 5/16-in. plywood,

or ! -In, asphalt -coated fibr eboard. The 6 in 12 sloped roofs typically have 2- by 4-in. rafters supported by dwarf walls resting

on 2- by 6-in. or 2- by 8-in. ceiling joists; l!-storey houses usually have 10 in 12 slope roofs with rafters supported by dwarf walls and collar ties. Roof sheathing is typically of 3/4-in. -thi ck, 6 -In,-wid e , squar e -edge boards. The only comrnent s regarding structur e were:

(i) All of the houses in one s maIl project suffered from

and another wide crack (up to

i

(ii) A bu:mp, perhaps

t

was observed on the floor of one house in another project. This was due to extre:me curling of a £loor joist at one end. The other end was fir:mly fixed and the centre was fixed by the bridging and sub£looring; therefore, the curling end lifted clear of its supporting bea:m and lifted a portion of the £loor with it. Re:moving and replacing a section of the joist would re:medy the situation.

(iii) In one project, per:manent sagging, up to 1

i

observed in the floor s of :many houses. This was

particularly noticeable at the floor -party wall junction

in se:mi-detached houses. Joists were 2 in. by 8 in.

spanning 12 ft and supported on wood be arns , No repairs

were needed and the cause was not deter:mined (though possibly due to differential foundation settle:ments).

With the exception of chi:mneys and foundations, the above incidents were the only traces of structural deficiencies to be found in 1500 dwellings after ten year s , Nothing was noted for the 500 newer dwellings in Group B.

A separate project was visited which included several

hundred warti:me houses (Group C) which had since been renovated

and irnpr oved, These were :made of prefabricated panels, but

the :materials and :methods were generally si:milar to ordinary

wood-fra:me. In these several hundred houses which were nearly

20 year s old and had been :moved fro:m their original te:mporary sites, no structural proble:ms were known.

Foundations

All houses have normal concrete foundations. Almost

all have full-size basements with both block and monolithic

concrete walls in common use. Damp-proofing and drainage

around all basements were intended to conform with normal good practice, i , e., a damp -proof coating of two coats of asphalt on the exterior walls with drain tile around the footings, except in particularly favourable soil conditions.

Basement performance varied greatly from project to project, as shown by the following summaries of managers' experience:

(i) Several basements have leaked, usually due to clogged

or br oken dr ain tile or to lack of crushed stone ar ound

the tile. One leak was caused by a hole drilled right

thr ough the block wall.

(ii) Several concrete block basement walls bowed in and

cost about $200 each for repairs.

(iii) A little basement leakage occurred when the houses

were new but was no cause for complaint. In this case,

the entire town had a problem with surface drainage.

(iv) Many block basements leaked soon after construction,

but the leaks ceased after a few years.

(v) There were some leaky basements - probably because

of poor surface runoff due to the driveway design. One

basement was dug up around the outside at a cost of

over $300 and two or three were partially dug up to

(vi) Drains were dug and drain tile installed around two basements at a cost of $513.

(vii) Block basements all leaked - some of them sufficiently

to flood the floor repeatedly - causing corrosion of the base of the furnace. A "waterproof" coating has been installed on the interior surfaces and the problem has moderated.

(viii) Six basements were dug up, at a cost of $3,700, because

their floor s were flooded after every rainstorm. Par ging

and damp -proofing wer e found to be satisfactory, but there was little or no gravel around the drain tiles, and many of them were full of silt.

(ix) There were three wet basements, one of which was subject

to 1 -j.n, floods after rainstorms. This was dug up on the outside at a cost of about $400. It was discovered that the weeping tile and the damp -proof coating had both been omitted.

The housing managers of the remaining projects (mostly the smaller ones) report no problems with basements.

The above list of complaints seems serious, yet costly deficiencies have occurr ed in only about 3 per cent of the 1500

house basements, and lesser problems in perhaps another 5 per cent.

Porches and Sidewalks

All houses have concrete front steps and small porches

of some kind. These are generally concrete slabs set On vertical

foundation walls (similar to the house foundation walls) or else

set on two posts and a ledge on the hous e foundation walL All

houses have concr ete walks to the front door and usually to the rear door.

Spalling of the exposed horizontal concrete surfaces is

a problem in every project. The general impression is that

it is sufficient to detract from the appearance of almost half the total walks and porches and that perhaps one-quarter of all areas is seriously spalled and quite unsightly. In one group of 40 houses, all the walks and most of the front and rear concrete porch caps were replaced, because they had either spalled or differential settlement had occurred at a cost of $160 per house. In two other projects about one-quarter of the service walks have

been replaced. Spalling has been less severe, and fewer

re-placements necessary, in other projects. Concrete spalling

has been incr eas ed by the fr equent application of salt to melt

ice. In a few cases spalling has resulted from removing ice

with a pick.

One instance was noted in which the degree of spalling differed greatly between two adjacent projects built by different

contractors but otherwise similar. One manager reported that

spalling had been greatly reduced by two or three spray coats of 50:50 mixture of kerosene and linseed oil applied to the concrete before the first winter.

Differential settlement of porches and sidewalk slabs has occurred in many cases in ITlOSt projects (a 6-in. differential

movement of adjacent slabs is not uncommon). Long sections

of walk break if lifted. Short sections of walk and porches can

be lifted but only with difficulty. This difficulty can normally be prevented by thorough soil compaction during construction, by delaying sidewalk installation until natural settlement has occurred, or by installing walks of small precast slabs that can be easily adjusted. In view of cost and the desir e for rapid house completion, the last course of action seems most practicable.

Most houses have s rrral.I rear porches and steps of wood

wrth a wooden handrail. These ar e usually supported on canti-levered floor joists. Not surprisingly, they deteriorate fairly rapidly. Surnrna.rie s of the c ornrn ent s received f'r orn the mana g er s of those projects with the rnor e serious deterioration [nor rnaIly

the oldest projects) are as follows:

(i) All porches and steps ar e wood, and a Irn o st all have had to be replaced.

(ii) Prefabricated, prepainted wooden porches ar e rna de in the office ba s ernent, Several porches per year ar e r eplac e d,

(iii) Wooden rear porches have rotted and all parts, except cantilevered floor joists, have been replaced.

(iv) Much tirne has been spent on wooden r ear porches and six (out of several hundred) have been cornp Iet e.ly rebuilt at an e st.irnat e d cost of :ji40 each.

(v) Rear wood porches are in very poor condition.

Rotted wood is not appar ent, and one tenant fell through. SOITle r ep la c ern ent of rotted parts, and SOITle extra

repainting, has been necessary on the wood porches in all projects.

Exterior Surfaces

A variety of exterior sur fa cing rnat e r ial s have been used

on these houses, each of which is discussed below.

Asbestos -CeITlent Shingles. - Experience with asbestos -c em ent shingles has been variable:

(i) The manager of one large project reported that asbestos-cement shingles are broken very frequently, usually by

chipping of the bottom edge of the shingle. Most of the

breakage occurs where the shingles can ea si.Iy be bumped by accident (I, e., at the height of bicycle handlebars). Breakage can be reduced by a wooden "bumper!' strip ar ound the hous e at the bottom of the shingled ar ea. A large pr op orti on of the houses in this project had

some asbestos -cement shingles damaged or replaced. Colour matching of new and old shingles is very difficult and houses need painting after several broken shingles have been replaced with new Ones of a slightly differ ent

shade.

(ii) A few houses have asbestos -cement shingles. These

are generally of good appearance; only a few are cracked or broken on the lower edge.

(iii) Asbestos -cement shingles cause no complaint although

a few houses have 3 or 4 broken ones.

(iv) A few asbestos -cement shingles have been broken

(mostly adjacent to the coal-receiving basement window) but this is not serious.

(v) Nearly 200 houses have asbestos -cement shingles that

crack frequently. New shingles cannot be colour -rnat ch e d, Two bungalows were stripped for shingles to use as colour-matching replacem.ents on the fronts of other houses.

Shingles ar e normally applied over 1 - by

2

(vi) Asbestos -cement shingles have been used On some other

Masonry- Veneer. - Masonry-veneer is used on some of the houses

in nearly all projects or several hundred houses altogether. The

housing managers had only these few comments:

(i) Occasional cracked concr ete bricks need replacing.

(ii) A few c on c r ete bricks have cracked. (iii) One brick lintel failed.

(iv) Brickwork is poor and mortar is soft. Much repainting

has been done, but mainly where cracks have been caused by settlement.

(v) Some concrete bricks cracked on one house.

Painted Wood. - Wood siding is also a popular finish for these

houses. Some wood is used on all houses either on the gable ends

or for trim around doors and windows. Most of the wood siding

is horiz onta l clapboar d, painted white, but some vertical siding and some board and batten siding is used on portions of the newer

Group B houses. Except for a very few batten strips which were

r enailed, all exterior wood has been satisfactory. Painting of

exterior wood is a separate problem and is discussed below. Standard procedure in these projects is to repaint wood

siding and wood trim at 4-year intervals. In viewing the projects,

there were a number of mild cases of paint peeling, and the trim paint was sometimes a little shabby, but the general irnpr e s sion was one of neat, properly painted houses. comparable to typical

private subdivisions of modest homes. Many managers find the

4-year cycle quite satisfactory. Other comm.ents reported by

(i) Average painting cycle is a little less than 4 year s , Usual procedur e is to scrape, spot -prim.e, and apply a single coat. A second coat costs little extra because,

if one is applied, the first coat can be very thin.

(ii) Houses are painted every 3 or 4 years, which s e ern s quite sufficient. Peeling has been a pr obl.ern on nearly all gable -ends.

(iii) Horizontal wood siding on gable-ends has peeled regularly,

p r e surnab ly due to moi stur e but it is not very severe or unsightly.

(iv) One rnana.ge r stated that SOITle paint peeling had occurr ed on all parts of the houses, but was very slight.

(v) Exterior painting has been on a 3 -year cycle to date, but

it is expected that a 4-year cycle will be satisfactory in the future.

(vi) Painting is on a 3 -year cycle using one coat.

(vii) Painting is on a 4-year cycle. One house with spruce

siding needed repainting after 2 year s at a cost of $167. (viii) In one area, a patch-up of tr irn, window-sills, etc.,

is needed between the 4-year cycles.

Exterior painting costs varied considerably, reflecting the variety of painting procedures. The houses are a little srria.Il e r than average, ar e of plain, s i.rnp l e styling; about half the hous es have SOITle rna s onry even e e r or asbestos -c ern ent shingles on the

exterior. Labour costs vary, as painting may be done by contract,

by city or h ou s m g authority staff, or by tenants. Average repainting costs of $63, $100 to $125, and lj)80 per house per repainting were quoted by three rnana.g e r s,

Roofs. - All the houses surveyed had asphalt shingles, n or rria l l y of 210 lb weight (per 100 sq ft of roof) and usually non-interlocking and without stick-down tabs. Roof slope was typically lOin 12, with 6 in 12 used on the few bungalows and 2-storey houses.

Of the Group C houses, now 20 years old, a srnaIl proportion have had new asphalt shingles laid directly over the old ones.

The other roofs are still performing satisfactorily [i, e., not leaking). Several mana.g er-s said that all roofs in their projects were satisfactory. Other s gave the following information:

(i) No roof p r obl ern s , but the chirnn e y flashing leaked in several cases, due to scanty rnat eria l and poor w or krnan ship ,

(ii) An occasional shingle of the standard plain asphalt type has blown off.

(iii) Many roof shingles had to be replaced during a period of several years then tab cement was applied under shingles on the windward side of the houses. The location is

particularly exposed to wind.

(iv) An occasional shingle has blown off the roofs.

(v) Eighteen houses lost some shingles during a st or rn but there has been no damage since. Shingles on one group of houses lift up in wind much rrior e readily than those on an adjacent group.

(vi) There have been n o roof p r obl ern s - only a little h ail sto r rn damage and some minor r ep air costs due chiefly to poor flashing.

(vii) Roofs are satisfactory except for one leak due to faulty flashing.

(viii) Two groups of houses in this area have had no roof troubles. In a third group, "hundreds" of dollars were spent repairing wind damage and eventually gluing down all fl ap s , Nailing of shingles varied greatly, apparently dependent on the particular wo r krnan , and was quite inadequate on some roof areas.

Interior Surfaces

Some interior surfaces, such as countertops, bathtub surrounds, and some £loor areas, are subjected to much more severe wear than other surfaces inside houses. These "special duty surfaces" are discussed separately in this section, along with "wall and ceiling surfaces" and "£loors. 11

Wall and Ceiling Surfaces. - Plaster and dry wall ar e about

equally popular interior fmishes in these 1500 houses. Except

for damage by water around bathtubs (a special case to be

discussed later) both types have given good service. Plaster 1S

typically 3 coats,

i

Six housing managers, whose houses in three projects have plastered interior surfaces, and dry wall in the other three projects, reported that the surfaces have been completely

satisfactory. Information from other manager s was:

(i) Some cracks appear in both plaster and dry wall, due

rna.in Iy to settlement or wood shrinkage. Cracks are

easier to repair in plaster.

(ii) One manager said that wallboard had been damaged by

(iii) Nail popping in wallboard has been a serious problem in one group of houses.

(iv) In several hundred houses - half with plaster and half with dry wall - all interior surfaces ar e satisfactory. (v) Gypsum wallboard and plaster are both used and both

ar e satisfactory.

(vi) The manager of the Group C houses, now 20 years old, reported that the dry wall was rough and that some surface flaking was occurring. The manager thought that plaster, if in the same condition, could be more easily sanded and smoothed.

Floors. - The floor s in these 1500 houses ar e practically all alike. Asphalt tile or linoleum, cemented to plywood under lay, is used on almost all the kitchen and bathroom floors. All other floors are wood, with second-grade maple and first-grade birch, tongued - and -grooved, side - and end -rnat ch e d , commonly us ed. No. 1 edge grain fir,

t

The treatment that these floors have received during their lifetime of approximately 10 years varies greatly from house to house, depending on the tenant. In many cases, they have been cleaned and polished with considerable care and skill. In many other cases, however, the floors have received only the most casual care. The floors of a few houses in each project have been subjected to considerable misuse and abuse. Conden-sation from the toilet tank d r ip s regularly On the tile floors in many bathrooms, and some water is spilled on the tile floors in many of the kitchens.

The housing managers stated almost unanimously that the wooden floor s had performed satisfactorily but many of the tile floors had deteriorated and needed to be repair ed or replaced. Almost all of the managers were able to give, from memory or from their records, a fairly detailed picture of the behaviour of the floors in these houses. The experiences of most of the managers had been fairly similar, and the following statements represent the consensus of the information received:

(i) Wood floors that have been well cared for still have a good appearance. Wood floors that have received very little or no care look rather shabby although they do not yet require refinishing. Only in a very few cases, perhaps 2 per cent of the total, have the wood floor s

been so abused that they have needed or now need resanding. (ii) On the other hand, almost all the tile floor s now need

to be repaired or have had some repairs, varying from regluing or replacing a few tiles up to the replacement of substantial areas of tile. Partial replacement raises the problem of obtaining floor tiles that match the originals in colour and design. In a small portion of the total number of houses the tile has already been completely replaced. Much, but not all, of the tile deterioration is due to repeated wetting.

Although the performance of the tile may appear very poor, it should be noted that:

(a) Much of the tile deterioration has occurr ed wher e the tiles have been repeatedly wetted.

(b) Tile is used in kitchens and bathrooms only and these are the regions of gr eat est floor wear.

(c) They have now been in place for app r oximat ely ten years. (d) They were originally chosen for their low cost.

In two projects the tile was laid On a subfloor other than plywood, -a chip bo-ar d in one c-ase -and s orn e type of felt in the other. These tile floors have deteriorated rn or e rapidly than others and have now been a lrrio st cornp Iet eIy replaced with plywood underlay and new tile.

Special Duty Surfaces. - Special duty surfaces are those which receive rriuch rnor e than usual wear. Included are countertops, wall areas surrounding bathtubs, and floor surfaces in kitchens and ba.th.r oorn s ,

Liri oleurn was usually used for the kitchen countertops in rrio st of these houses. Deterioration of the Iin ol eum has been hastened in rriany cases by drip fr orn poorly located kitchen taps. A. prograll1 of r ep Iac ernent with plastic Iarninat e countertops is under way in rn o st projects and is app r oxrrnat e ly half c ornp l et e d, The r ernairring linoleum countertops are now in very poor condition. For reasons of e c on orrry of labour, the countertops, water taps, and kitchen sinks in a house ar e often replaced at the s arn e tirn e even though s orrie of the iterns rnay not need to be replaced. The rnana g er s were a.Irno st unarrirnou s in agreeing that plastic Iarninat e instead of l in ol eurn is a good inv e s trn ent for the future.

Many houses have bathtubs with shower fittings and ordinary painted plaster or terrip e r e d fibreboard as the wall surfaces around the tub. These wall surfaces have deteriorated rapidly, and ll1any ar e now in very poor condition. Many of th ern have been patched and repainted with only ternp o r a.ry imp r overn ent ,

SOITle have been covered with c er arni c tile on a bed of new rn orta.r and rriarry rn or e will need this tr eat m ent , Managers were a.Irno st unarrirn ou s in their st at ern ent s that these wall surfaces ar e an expensive nuisance, and that c e r arni c tile is the only satisfactory surface rnat e r i.a.I. Only one rnana g er had had no p r ob l ern s because the bathtubs in his project had no shower fittings.

Windows and Doors

This section contains info r rnat i on on windows and rno i stur e condensation on windows, door5, and hardware. A general COITlITlent

on other types of hardware in addition to door and window fittings is included.

Windows. - Wood -sash double -hun g windows ar e standar d on all Group A houses, but rnany of the newer Group B houses utilize various kinds of horizontal sliding windows. All the housing rnana ge r s favoured wood sash windows; the tenants' window preferences are not known. Irrfor rnati on regarding window behaviour is given below. Repeated ataterrient s that wood-sash double-hung windows are completely satisfactory have been ornitt ed ;

(i) The rna.na g e r of a large project with several types of

windows in use fir rnIy believes that wood -sash double -hung windows ar e the best. St o r rn windows with srnaIl

adjustable vents are used in conjunction with these and also considered to be the best. Newer Group B houses in this area have horizontal sashless sliding

windows that ar e always sticking due to the sash swelling with darripn e s s , house s ett Iern ent , or shrinkage of the wood fr arn e. Sliding windows are hard to clean because of their weight and ar e fr equently broken during cleaning

or by accident. They are expensive to replace ($5.50 v s ,

$1. 30 for double-hung window glass) because of their gr eater thicknes s and polished edges. Casement windows frequently have broken catches and are then broken by the wind. The manager of this project disliked the tall vertical windows used adjacent to the front doors and they are frequently broken and are expensive to replace. (ii) The lack of storm windows has resulted in high heating

costs in Group B houses.

(iii) The tall vertical glass panels adjacent to the front doors are double glass and frequently get broken.

(iv) Aluminum storm windows break at the spot-welded corners. (v) The wooden window sash in this project was found to be

rotted through, mostly from the outside.

(vi) Many of the large picture windows in Group B houses have square edge mullions that have deteriorated badly,

due primarily to rain leakage rather than to condensation. About 15 windows have been replaced at a cost of $100 each. The early failure of these windows was blamed on poor construction practice and on mullions that had been fastened only with metal crimps.

(vii) Some newer Group B houses in this project have horizontal sliding sashless windows, which are unsatisfactory because: {a} They require wadding or careful adjustment to close

tightly.

(b) The catch has no "givell _{and often results in breakage}

(c) The panes are heavy and their removal for cleaning is awkward and dangerous.

(d) The plain wood groove gets very dirty and makes the windows har d to slide.

(e) The window handle is bolted through a little hole in the glas s near one corner, which results in frequent and expensive breakage.

The author visited one house in which 50 per cent of the panes were cracked.

Window Condensation. - The special problem of condensation on windows was purposely omitted from the above discussion because it is affected by several factors. Condensation on the interior surfaces of double windows is a serious problem in some Canadian homes in winter. It is due to a combination of insufficient ventilation and large moisture sources within the house while the contrasting problem, unpleasantly "dry" air within the house, may occur for opposite reasons.

Managers were asked for any information regarding the experience of tenants with condensation or with excessively dry air in their houses. Their comments were as follows:

(i) In this large project, window condensation does not give very much trouble generally but is a serious problem in one house. Unvented dryers sometimes cause a

problem. This manager has found that furnace humidifiers do not work 90 per cent of the time and suggested that they be left out.

(ii) Condensation is definitely no problem in this project but tenants frequently mention "overdryness" in winter.

These comments are most common in houses with gravity furnaces and manual humidifier s ,

(iii) The manager of one project stated definitely that there had been no condensation problems.

(iv) Some tenants in another project have complained of condensation on windows.

(v) Another manager had had no complaints of window condensation but many tenants complained of headaches and nosebleeds in houses where the humidifiers were not working. All the humidifier s in the pr oj ect have been replaced.

(vi) Another manager has received no complaints of conden-sation but has noted definite signs of moisture on the sills, sash and lower walls of house interiors.

(vii) Storm windows are not standard in this city and are not used in this project. The windows suffer from extreme condensation in many cases and much damage results. (viii) Complaints of too high humidity are usually due to

an unvented dryer.

A great variety of experience is represented in these comments. Certainly the statements do not all agr ee, but the several statements below sum up the situation regarding window condensation in over lOOO public hous es with double -hung wood windows and wood st or m vsa sh , (The houses without storm windows ar e a special case. )

(a) ExtreITle condensation occurs only occasionally, usually due to an unvented dryer, and, in other cas es, pr e s urriab l y due to the particular cu storn s of the occupant.

(b) Condensation occurs to a Li.rnit e.d extent in an appreciable nurnb e r of houses.

(c) In the rnaj o r ity of houses, condensation on the windows is no pr obl ern , while SOITle occupants suffer fr orn the opposite situation, "over -dryness" of the air.

Door s , - Ther e were only a few c orrirn ent s about doorSJ rn oatl v

about deterioration of st or rn doors.

(i) One rnana g er stated that SOITle door s had to be replaced because the joints had pulled apart (due to very short tongues on the horizontal wood rails). He also said that SOITle cheap pine and cedar door panels had dry rot in th ern, Door r epIac errient s cost about $40 including labour and repainting.

(ii) All the door frames in these houses were prefabricated. Owing to warping of the light fr arnin g rn ernb er s , and apparent careless installation, these door fr arn e s are now a Irno st falling apart.

(iii) ReplaceITlent of wooden st or m doors costs ip40 for each, and has been necessary on a few houses.

(iv) The st or rn doors in another project are, as usual, of wood with r ernovabl e screen and glass panels. These screen doors are in poor condition after ten years of use; water enters all the joints and causes rot. A few have been replaced with rnu ch heavier cedar doors with good catches, at a cost of between ;p40 and $50 each.

Hardware. - "Hardware" refers to window hinges and catches, door latches, and storm door hinges and latches. Managers frequently complained of the poor quality of these parts, though the failure rate, which may cause extreme annoyance to housing managers, actually may not be very great. Managers were unanimous in stating that they replaced def ective items with parts of much better quality. The managers had n o specific information on the cost of hardware repairs and replacements, but they did agree that the quality of the original hardware was not satisfactory.

Services

This section covers the electrical, plumbing and heating systems plus separate comments on chimneys and hot water tanks. In the following discussion, some distinction will be made between "buried" services (those that are covered up by the structure of the house and can only be repaired or replaced with difficulty) and appliances, fixtures, and equipment that are not buried. Replacement or repair of equipment that is not buried is a

straightforward operation, even if it is expensive.

Electrical Wiring Systems. - The only comments on the electrical wiring, other than indications of general satisfaction, wer e:

(i) Some of the individual electrical circuits within the houses in this project were overloaded. The manager stated that this had also occurr ed in private homes in the ar ea.

(ii) One manager complained that about a dozen electrical switches fail per year. (There are over 1000 switches in his proj ect of over 100 hous es. )

(iii) Several cases of faulty electrical installations have been repaired.

Plumbing Systems. - These houses are equipped in the usual manner with a complete bathroom, a kitchen sink, and laundry tubs in the basement; all are served by sanitary sewers.

The only comment concerning the piping system, either for water supply or waste disposal, was:

(i) Six water service connections wer e replaced for :p65 because of faulty coupling between

Ii -

There was a variety of comments about particular plumbing fixtures such as kitchen sinks and laundry tubs, but there were no comments whatever about bathtubs. Hot water tanks are discussed separately.

(i) Several (out of lOO) concr ete laundry tubs have cracked, and four have been r eplac ed at a cost of $22 each.

(ii) Seven laundry tubs (out of 70) were replaced during the past year.

(iii) Washbasins have fr equently been replaced becaus e of cracks resulting fr om poor quality of basins.

(iv) Five washbasins (out of lOO) needed replacing last year.

Kitchen sinks are generally rather shabby after ten years and several managers have started a program of a few replacements each year, using either stainless steel or good quality porcelain sinks. Sinks, countertops, and taps are usually replaced simul-taneously because they are in poor condition after ten years, and because the new items will not fit with the old ones.

Several manager s stated that the toilet tank flushing parts are non-standard and fail frequently. As new parts cannot be obtained, the whole unit must be replaced. Condensed water drips

from the toilet tank and damages the floor tile. This can be alleviated by insulating the tank (expensive), or by providing a specially fitted pan and pail to catch the drip (inconvenient). Each of these methods has been tried by some of the housing managers.

According to the housmg managers, p lurnb in g taps need fr equent repair s due to their original poor quality; this is both an expense and a nuisance. Many parts are non -standard and cannot be replaced, thus requiring handmade parts or replacement of the whole unit. Managers were strongly in favour of better quality taps and were gradually replacing all original taps with new ones of much better quality.

Hot Water Tanks. - This was one of the most useful parts of the survey. Hot water tanks are large, necessary and expensive items. Their performance can be measured very easily - they either leak or they do not leak. T'h eir lifetime sometimes falls short of

expectations. For these reasons, the managers were usually able to give definite information on the frequency of hot water tank failur e.

Tanks in all these projects are generally of two types, either a galvanized tank or a particular brand of relatively inexpensive glass -lined tank. Some of the tanks are 30 -gallon size and the remainder ar e 40 -gallon. Thermostats ar e normally adjusted by the tenants who frequently prefer a relatively high temperature. The electrical heating apparatus consists of either wrap-around bands or a small insert type of element. Information received verbally from managers of individual projects is given below.

(i) Sixty-thr ee glass -lined tanks out of approximately 500 have needed replacing in the last 10 years. Many of the heating bands have burned out.

(ii) About 6 out of 25 glass -lined tanks have failed after 10 years' service.

(iii) Four out of 100 hot water tanks have been replaced to date. At least two wer e of the glass -lined type. Two failed

within 5 year s ,

(iv) Hot water tanks are starting to fail frequently - 20 have been replaced to date out of 70 in a 10-year-old project. (v) Four glass-lined tanks out of 25 in a 9-year-old project

have been replaced.

(vi) The original galvanized tanks in thes e 100 hous es failed rapidly after 2 or 3 years. They were all replaced with glass-lined tanks, of which 1 failed after 6 years and 20 have faded within 9 years.

(vii) About 100 out of 600 tanks have failed to date. The fr equency of failur e is somewhat gr eater for galvanized than for glass -lined tanks. Most of these tanks are about 10 year sold.

(viii) Four galvanized tanks out of 25 have failed in 9 year s , (ix) One manager who has had considerable technical

experience with hot water tanks reported that many hot water tanks have been replaced. He blarn e d the high failure rate partially On the very high water temperatur e maintained by the tenants.

(x) An 11 -year -old project of 40 houses has had 34 glass -lined tanks fail. In a few cases, the r ep Iac ernent s have had to be replaced. In another project with 40 houses about 8 years old, 17 out of 40 galvanized tanks have failed, with several replaced twice. Rep lac em ent s fr equently failed in 3 years, and in one case in only one year. The rria.na ger b larne d high water temp er atur e s and naturally corrosive water for this high rate of failure. Insert-type electric heating e l ern erit s also fail frequently because of extr erne corrosion.

These stat ern ent s indicate a great variation in the rate of failure in differ ent areas and also show that appr oxi mat ely

25 per cent of the tanks fail within 10 years in rno st areas. Additional indications ar e that:

(a) in a few areas the failure rate is much higher than the average;

(b) the frequency of failure increases rather rapidly after about 10 years (and is probably a continuing trend); and (c) high water ternp er atur e s probably contribute to rapid

failure. (Repeated failures in s orn e houses could be due to this. )

An extensive study of the corrosion of hot water tanks has been carried out by the Division of Building Research and two paper s have been issued (1, 2).

Heating Syst ern s , - These hous es have a gr eat variety of furnace types. For r ea s on s of ec onorny, lllany houses had coal-fueled, hand -fi r e d, gravity wa.r m va.i r furnaces installed originally.

The tenants have voluntarily converted many of these to oil or gas fuel, at their Own expens e. Some have been converted or replaced by the Housing Authority because of unsatisfactory performance. In the newer houses, and in the Group B houses, automatic oil or gas, forced-air furnaces were installed as original equipment.

This factor of furnace type constitutes the greatest and most basic difference between these houses and conventional new private housing. Because coal furnaces are no longer generally installed, and because those installed in these houses have nearly all been converted or replaced, information on their performance is not very useful. Therefore they will not be discussed here, even though housing managers could recall

a variety of information about their behaviour. Some information was also obtained regarding the modern forced warm-air oil and gas furnaces. These units are generally less than 10 years old because they are recent replacements or because they are

original installations in newer houses. A summary of comments is as follows:

(i) Tenants usually remove filters rather than clean them. (ii) Furnaces have required considerable maintenance,

including new motors, and 8 (out of about 50 furnaces ranging from 5 to 8 years old) now need to be replaced. Twenty-six gas furnaces, now 5 years old, are all satisfactory.

(iii) Oil-fired furnaces 5 years old required an average of $24 per year maintenance due mainly to oil burner motors. (iv) Gas furnaces are satisfactory except for noise caused by

faulty installation (rubber feet for blower were not adjusted - trouble has nOw been corrected).

The furnace is a "non -buried" piece of equipment;

"buried" heating services are the hot air ducts and the chimney. The only comment about the ducts was that two bathroom registers were moved up the walls to improve heat circulation. Tenants' comments On heat distribution were not available, except for an appar ent lack of complaints.

Chimneys. - Chimneys in these houses are of standard brick construction with a flue liner and are usually on an exterior wall. With a few exceptions, these have performed quite satisfactorily. The housing managers offered these varied comments:

(i) Natural gas had recently become available in the area and r equir e the installation of an insulated liner in any existing chimney (normally of masonry with a liner) serving a gas furnace. Even oil conversion units fitted to old coal furnaces have caused chimney deterioration, due to the temperature cycling in the chimney. The manager stated that a knowledgeable service man could accurately identify the type of furnace in houses by looking at the chimneys from the exterior. Even chimneys that ar e subj ect to deterioration usually last some 10 or 15 years before the top needs to be rebuilt.

(ii) Exterior chimneys have vertical cracks and ar e tending to pull away from the waIl s in some cases. This housing manager presumed that it was due to faulty construction but added that it was not considered serious and had not yet been corr ect ed,

(iii) Some chimneys have needed repainting.

(iv) A crack about 1/16 in. wide was recently found in one chimney in this pr oj ect,

(v) No chimney problems have been encountered in this project after 7 years! use of gas furnaces with the usual lined

masonry chimneys.

(vi) Exterior chimneys in this project have given much trouble but the interior chimneys serving coal furnaces have not. Soon after construction some bricks in the exterior

chimneys spalled and were replaced by the brick supplier within the fir st year of construction. Many bricks have been replaced by the Housing Authority since the fir st year. The failure details vary, although it sometimes appears that the mortar is poor. The trouble all occurs adjacent to the first and second flue joints below the top of the chimney. A 2 -In, gap between the flue linings was once found. Evidence of deterioration opposite the joints in the flue linings in ext e ri o r chimneys, for both oil-fir e d and coal-fired furnaces, can now be seen from the street. Much money has been spent on repair s , and much mor e needs to be spent. There is evidence of bricks falling out opposite the two top flue joints where the chimney projects above the roof.

(vii) Gas furnace conversions have been in use in this large project for up to 6 years. The only chimney problems to date are in one part of the project and are evidently due to gaps in the chimney liners.

These comments suggest that most chimneys are

satisfactory or need only minor and infrequent repairs, whereas a few chimneys need extensive repairs within a few years,

C ONC LUSIONS

Conclusions drawn fr orri this survey are presented under two separate headings - those regarding the actual technical performance of the houses surveyed, and those regarding typical Canadian housing, based On the experience gained fr orn this survey.

Houses Surveyed

This survey of the p e r fo r rnan c e of some 1500 Canadian houses of or dinary wood -frame construction, now about 10 year s

old, showed that:

(l) The woo d-Er arne structures of these houses are satisfactory. (2) The rriaj or it v of ba s ern ent s are satisfactory, but a srrial.l

and widely scattered rnin ority are unsatisfactory, appar ently due to violations of construction standar ds , These b a s ern erit s are subject to repeated flooding, and repair s ar e very expensive.

(3) Both ma s onry-v ene e r and wood siding exterior finishes have p er for rn e d satisfactorily. Asbestos -ceIT1ent shingles are frequently broken or chipped resulting in unsatisfactory appearance.

(4) Regular repainting practice for wood siding and wood trim is to apply one coat every 4 years, or s orn et irn e s every 3 years. With only a few exceptions, this practice has been satisfactory.

(5) Roofs utilizing asphalt shingles would have been satisfactory if the quality of flashings was IT10r e uniform and if the

shingles had slightly mor e resistance to wind; this resistance could be obtained by either a slight increase in thickness or by sticking down the shingle flaps.

(6) Concrete porches are subject to s ettIern ent and spalling; wooden porches need fr equent repair s ,

(7) Wallboard is s om ewhat m or e difficult to repair than plaster and is occasionally subj ect to nail-popping; otherwis e, both plaster and wallboard ar e satisfactory. (8) The appearance of wood floor s depends on the quality

of their car e and maint enan c e , but they can still have an acceptable appearance after 10 years unless they have been grossly abused.

(9) Asphalt tile or Lin ol.eurn floor s us ed in bathr OOlTIS or kitchens have an average life in these projects of between 5 and 10 year s ,

(l0) Kitchen countertops of Lin ol eurn have a life of bar ely 10 year s ,

(II) Wall surfaces of painted plaster or wallboard around bathtubs fr equently suffer water darna g e particular ly where a shower is used.

(12) Wooden st or m door s last only about 10 year s ,

(l3) Wood-sash double -hung windows with r ernovabl e wood st or rn windows have pr oved satisfactory and ar e

univer sally favour ed by the housing rrran a.g e r s, although the tenants' opinions are unknown. Window condensation in winter is not c orrirnon, and SOlTIe tenants c ornp Iain of excessively dry air. Horizontal sliding windows are occasionally used but are not considered satisfactory, due to frequent breakage and unsatisfactory catches.

(14) Poor quality, non-standard p lurnb irig taps, window catches and hinges, and door latches require rria ny annoying and expensive repairs and r epIac ern ent s , This was one of the rn o st serious c ornp la int s of the rnan a g e r s ,

(15) With a few rn in o r exceptions, the electrical wiring sys tern s have been ade qua te,

(16) Piping systern s for both fresh water and waste

have p e r fo r rn e d very well, but the pIurrib in g fixtures attached to the piping have needed frequent repairs. Porcelain kitchen sinks have been the least satisfactory and are all in poor condition after 10 years.

(17) Experienc e with galvanized tanks and a particular brand of inexpensive glass-lined hot water tank has been poor. H was apparently n o r rna l for about 25% of the tanks to fail within 10 years, but the failure rate was rnu ch higher In SOITle areas. This p e rfo r rnanc e would not have been con-sidered unusual in 1953 at the tirn e rn o st of the tanks in-volved in the study were installed. There has been a

rria r k ad change in the type and quality and therefore the

life of hot water tanks since that tirrie and 10-year warranties are now required fr orn manuf'ac tu r e r s providing tanks to ITleet CMHC requirements.

(18) Forced wa r m vair oil furnaces have required considerable rna irrterranc e, particularly for oil burner m ot o r s ,

(19) Most c.h inrn ey s are adequate but a sub stantial rnin o r ity, chiefly in two projects, have needed extensive repairs due to faulty installation of clay flue liners.

In summary, it is significant that the h ou s e structure plus the interior and exterior surfacing materials have generally

per-fo rrrie d very well, whereas complaints of poor performance have

generally been due to fittings, e. g. window catches and screen doors, services, e. g. furnaces and plumbing taps, surfaces subject to severe conditions, e. g. kitchen counters and bathtub surrounds, foundations, and porches. There are naturally some exceptions to this simplified s tatern errt, but they do not change the over-all picture.

General

These houses are basically very similar to private houses built in Canada in recent years. The wood-frame construction is

typical, the materials used are generally the same, the methods of con-struction are the same, and the concon-struction is carried out by private building contractors. In both cases, the houses are free-standing and are each occupied by one family. There are other factors which lead to dissimilarities and so make it necessary to be very cautious when applying the conclusions from this survey to other postwar Canadian housing. The "public'! houses in this survey have been subject to some rather special influences during their life, particularly a desire to keep the initial costs low. They have also been occupied by tenants with less-than-average incomes and larger-than-average families, and managed by a Housing Authority, rather than being individually owned. Thus, many of the conditions imposed on these houses were not typical of Canadian housing in general.

Some features specific to these houses are associated with the time at which they were built. The kind of fuel, the heating systems, the design of windows, the roof slope and the installation standards for insulation and vapour barriers have changed substantially since 1945. All of these factors are capable of influencing directly or indirectly the

performance of other rrra t.e ria l s or c ornp onents , When such differences can be identified, suitable allowances can be rna d e, but the generalization of experiences with houses constructed at one time to houses built at some other time must always be done with caution. Recognizing thes e limitations, there still appear to be two general conclusions from this survey which may be applied to other Canadian housing.

(1) The survey information suggests that there are many com.ponents of Canadian houses that perform remarkably well. These include the basic wood-frame structure, exterior surfacing materials, all interior

surfacing materials subject to normal wear, and the wiring and piping systems. There are some minor exceptions to this very broad and general statement, of course, including nail-popping in wallboard, breaking of asbestos-cement shingles applied over furring strips, and some wind damage to asphalt shingles.

(2) The survey information also suggests that a number of other components of Canadian houses perform quite poorly. Particular items involved were: basement walls and the waterproofing and drainage thereof, some plurnbing fixtures, window hardware, hot water tanks, chimneys, and surfaces subject to extra wear, for example, kitchen counters, bath-room floors, and walls surrounding bathtubs. There are exceptions to this general statement; many basements are satisfactory and hot water tanks may have a long life if the water temperatures are not too high. It appears, however, that the performance of these categories of house parts is frequently unsatisfactory.

EVALUATION AND DISCUSSION

Published studies of housing performance are rare, although the subject IS most important as the durability and maintenance cost of a

house is a direct rne a s u r e of its quality. This survey was recognized in advance as a pilot study, prompted by a desire for inforrnation and by the opportune existence of a large and convenient sample of houses. The survey was begun with no preconceived idea of the exact sort of answers or information that might be obtained, but rather with the belief that performance data from many hundreds of houses would be much more useful and dependable than the incidental information generally obtained from the inquiries, complaints from dissatisfied owners, and reports of extreme cases received by the Division of Building Research.

The results of the survey indicate that certain components of the houses in this survey are "problem areas, " but other portions of the houses generally perform very well. Due to the similarities between the sample houses and other Canadian housing it is probable that the conclusions also apply to other Canadian housing and are, therefore, useful for guiding the future efforts of research worker s, builder s, architects, and home buyer s, toward improving the quality of housing.

The results obtained also provide some specific inforrnation on particular problems, such as the water-proofing of basements and the durability of hot water tanks. Although this inform.ation is interest-ing and useful in defininterest-ing problems, it still does not constitute a proper experimental study as this would require accurate long-term inf o r m ation on all aspects of the problem. The present survey, which depended mainly on the memories of project managers, could not provide such detailed data and was not intended to do so.

It is suggested that future surveys should be either of two types:

(1) Surveys similar to this which seek to develop a valid picture of the behaviour of all parts of the house and to point out those parts or components which are least

satisfactory or most expensive to maintain. Such studies must be carried out on lar ge number s of houses.

(2) Studies that are controlled experiments carried on in a number of houses, seeking detailed information on the behaviour of one or mor e particular parts of a house. Such studies could be supplemented by laboratory work but this often cannot be a substitute for statistical information obtained from observations on the performance of large numbers of houses.

The information obtained from the present survey is inadequate for a study of this type.

Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation has developed a new accounting method for public housing units which provides precise and useful data on maintenance and repair costs. Housing rriarrag e r s are required to report each item of expense for repair or maintenance on a special form designed to facilitate classifying and checking the information. Costs are classified under headings such as roofs and flashings, chimneys, painting, floors and stairs, heating, plumbing, and appliances, in a manner very similar to that used for the "Observations" in this report. This accounting

system should pr ovide mor e dir ect information on the problem areas in housing than has been available in the past and should provide a most useful guide to aspects that warrant a rn o r e thorough technical investigation.

REFERENCES

(l) Sereda, P, J., W. Thomas and M. Cohen. An investigation

of the Corrosion of Dorr.i.estic Hot Water Tanks. Can. J. of Technology, Vol. 29, p. 435 -446, October 1951. (NRC 2512)

(2) Ser e da , P.

J.

Domestic Hot Water Tank Corrosion. Corrosion,

Vol. 17, No.2, p. 30ＭｾＬＲＬ February 1961.