HC Deb 15 July 1924 vol 176 cc208-9
69. Lieut. - Commander FLETCHER

asked the Minister of Health what is the cost, life and time taken to erect, of the Government housing-scheme house erected in wood, and the same house erected in brick?

The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the MINISTRY of HEALTH (Mr. Arthur Greenwood)

The cost of houses of any form of construction varies considerably, but under normal conditions, with the same standard of fittings and completion, very little saving is found to be effected by the adoption of wooden forms of construction. In a recent case a local authority considering the use of wooden buildings found that the cost of the wooden houses came out at £460, as compared with £385 for houses similar in accommodation being built in brick. The time taken to erect either brick or timber houses varies considerably; in building the timber house three weeks to a month may, on the average, be saved in the erection of the shell, but ordinarily there would be no saving in time on the remainder of the work which would be much the same. The life of a brick house is commonly held to warrant a loan period of 60 years. As to the timber houses, although certain timber houses have had a long life, the general experience is that the effective life cannot on average be put higher than 40 years, and it is frequently much shorter.

Mr. E. BROWN

Were the experimental houses to which the hon. Gentleman refers built in an urban or a rural area?

Mr. GREENWOOD

I could not say without notice, but I imagine in a rural area.

Lieut.-Colonel LAMBERT WARD

Where did the hon. Gentleman get these figures? Are they the result of actual experience or merely estimates?

Mr. GREENWOOD

No, I think they are derived from actual cases of houses built.

Mr. D. G. SOMERVILLE

Can we have the source of the information?

Mr. BECKER

If the hon. Gentleman went to Canada or the United States, acquired houses already made, and erected them in England, would it not be cheaper than these prices?

Mr. HARMSWORTH

Is there any place where hon. Members can inspect houses such as those with which the experiment has been made?

Mr. SOMERVILLE

Will the hon. Gentleman circulate particulars as to the source of the information?

Mr. GREENWOOD

If the hon. Member desires to put down a question, I will give him the names of the local authorities.

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