INSECT SCREEN CLOTH

77 ,156 Homes Financed by Insured Mortgages in Northern California

San Francisco, March 19-Although speed is essential to modern transportation and communication, it is dangerous and often expensive when applied to the purchase of a home, according to D. C. McGinness, Northern California district director of the Federal Housing Administration.

"Home buyers who insist upon too hasty conclusion of financing arrangements frequently find this kind of fast service costly through the sacrifice of safety and protection such as the FHA plan provides," he said.

"Some lending agencies even encourage this practice by specializing in overnight financing for home buyers. Reasonable study and investigation, however, usually proves that it is safer and wiser to wait the extra day or two required to make a complete analysis and examination of the entire home buying transaction."

Under the FHA insured mortgage system, it was explained, homes may be built with a down payment as small as 10 per cent of the total appraised value, the outstanding balance financed under an insured mortgage bearing maximum interest of 4l per cent, and written for periods as long as 25 years.

"In order to ascertain that the loan is not threatened by excessive risk," Mr. McGinness explained, "the FHA makes thorough examinations to determine that: (1) the home to be built or bought is well designed and planned; (2) the construction is of a type which will be long-lived and will require a minimum of upkeep and repairs; (3) that it is located in a neighborhood of lasting usefulness for residential purposes; (4) that adjoining properties are of similar value, and (5) that the purchase price and monthly payments are within the means of the buyer.

"Lack of any one of these factors would endanger the security of the lending institution and would, in the final analysis, make the purchase a poor investment for the home buyer."

Since insured mortgages were made available through local lending institutions in 1935 to the first of the current month, it w;s reported that mortgages had been accepted for insurance on 66280 small homes for a total of $2,846,46,739. Of that number, 77,156 homes financed by insured mortgages aggregating $329,355,850 are within the 46 counties oI the Northern California district.

Revision of Port Orford Cedar Strength Values

Engineers and architects depend upon data from the U. S. Forest Products Laboratory for strength values to be used in lumber and timber design. The Port Orford Cedar Lumber Association, lA32 Mills Building, San Francisco, considers it necessary, therefore, that attention be called to a correction just issued by the Laboratory. The Association says:

"Modulus of elasticity is the measure of a material's ability to resist deflection, or sag, when carrying load. fn language of the layman, it is the 'stiffness'. This property is of utmost importance in some structural members.

"The basic value for modulus of elasticity of Port Orford Cedar has been changed, by the Forest Products Laboratory, from 1,200,000 lbs. per square inch to 1,500,000 lbs. per square inch. Those possessing copies of Wood Handbook should make this correction in Table 20, page 105.

"This reclassifiication of Port Orford Cedar places it superior to all other naturally-durable woods in stiffness, and but five per cent below the value of fir."

Acquires Gimco Roclc \(/ool

The National Gypsum Company, manufacturers of Gold Bond wall and ceiling building materials, has announced the purchase of the assets of the General Insulating and Manufacturing Company, makers of Gimco rock wool products.

The move increases National's production facilities to twenty-one plants by the addition of rock rvool plants in Alexandria, Ind., Dover, N. J., and Dubuque, Iowa.

The brand named Gimco will be retained by a separate sales organization, and merchandising and promotional plans for this brand will continue as heretofore.

Visited Pine Mills

D. E. McDuffee and C. C. "Sti" Stibich of Tartar, Webster & Johnson, San Francisco, returned March 17 fuom a trip to the Pine mills in Northern California and Southern Oregon. Their tour included calls on the company's own mills at White Pine, Dorris and Nubieber, Calif.