Ear on Chicago; So You Want to Build a House?: Ben Sears Builders

This is the story of building a house. The construction industry, according to leading economists, is one of the foundations for the nation's power. And in the Chicago area, houses are going up by the hundreds, families moving in daily. To tell the story of how to build a house, we take our tape recorder to a new development in Skokie, the construction being done by a firm known as electronic homes. We will talk to the president, Ben Sears, who opens the show as we enter one of his model homes. Ben is talking about the foyer and the living room. As you open the door first, you step into a large foyer here, and on the floor, you see an imported Swedish quarry tile that is laid in mortar cement. And this room here is decorated in a gold color and won a couple of the corners of the room. Have this gold marbleized wallpaper. Let's walk into the dining room, then Ben is just off of the foyer again. This is a beautiful dining room indeed. Well it's correlated in the same color correlation as the living room, and therefore it's also in

gold, and the walls are gold, and the carpeting tool is in the gold color scheme. Actually, what we do, we have an interior decorating service that we've contracted, for the purpose of sitting down with the people to correlate their colors. It's quite a big project when a woman who hasn't played with this sort of thing, and suddenly she's approached with this problem of getting colors and walls and tile and plumbing fixtures, and all those exciting things that women love, but they're not too sure. So we have this HRH interiors who sit in with the people and advise them and counsel them on their complete color correlation throughout the house, sometimes they spend as much as eight hours. Well, I think you've said, Ben, that it buying a home or building a home is an exciting project, and color is so important, and that's one of the most important early steps is choosing that color. I know, because we had to do the same thing, and it's a very difficult

thing without aid. That's right, and as you see, of course, finishing off the dining room color here, the drapes two are in white silk, the same as in the living room. Now let's walk into the kitchen here, Ben. Yes, in the kitchen here, we have these cabinets that are finished in a driftwood finish. It's been a popular style of cabinet. It's equipped with built -in electric oven and range, and also the refrigerator that is standard equipment with all of our homes. Now a little bit about the outside, Ben, how big of a lot is it? Well, this loud is 55 feet wide, and we require that every house that is built has a side drive adjacent to the house for the purpose of taking the cars off the street. How deep is the lot? And the lot is 125 feet deep, and the house is brick. The house is of brick veneer, actually, because it's very well insulated. Well, now, Ben,

we have a beautiful home here, and we've just taken a tour through the inside and talked a little bit about the outside. But our story is how we're going to build this house. Now, that's the big thing. Where do we start? Well, let's go out to the field and start from the beginning, right, from the clearing of the land and getting into the foundation and on up. I think you will find it quite interesting. All right. Let's go. All right. Ben, we've come out here to the open area now, where the very first step in the construction of homes begins. Now, this is going to be the knocking down of trees, and we see several men working over here. And while they're getting ready to knock down a couple of trees, I want to ask you some questions about this area out here. Now, we're standing in Skokie property, are we not? That's right. That's right. But this is the Timber Ridge area of Skokie. It was always a 55 -acre

tract of very heavily timbered woods. And as a matter of fact, I've had men tell me that they remember when they used to go coon hunting in this area. Many of them used to trap fasins here because they were so numerous and they couldn't shoot them being in the Skokie limits. Well, out here where we're looking now, Ben, you could sure see that it was a virgin woods for a long time because it looks like a jungle in there. Well, this group of men that you see working here, probably about five men with a cat, they've been at this now for a year and a half daily, pushing trees out of the way to make room for a house or make room for roads. But it's amazing the work they do because after you see this and then go over and look at one of your plots of land that's been cleared, it's a beautiful piece of property. That's right because it's had the human touch added to it. It's had a lot of engineering and a lot of work performed on it. You only leave the nice tree standing. We leave only the nice tree standing and

as many as is humanly possible to leave around the house without interfering in the actual building of the house. Ben, he's about to knock down a tree over here. They're bringing in the saw. Let's walk over a little closer. It's about ready to knock down a big tree right now and I'm standing over in a clump of smaller trees for protection, standing away about 15 or 20 feet away from the tree that he's going to knock down. There it goes, it's starting to move now. That tree is a good 75 feet tall and it's a good two and a half feet thick. There goes the tractor moving it in, there it goes. You could hear that I'm sure and now the boys are moving in. The tree is down and really that is a large tree. It's taken out a huge scoop of ground right at the base of the tree and it's about 75 feet long

and there go the saws, the chain saw and the boys with the axes going in to take off the limbs now. Well now Ben, once you have the trees down here and the property cleared, what's the next thing you do? The next thing we do is start excavating the hole to place the foundation. Is this part of the next door, so this slot is the process going on of excavating. All right, why don't we walk over there Ben and take a look at that. Ben, I don't think we can get any closer than this to that big crane but we can certainly see the operation from here. We're standing only 15 or 20 feet away from where the crane is digging into the earth and bringing up a huge bite and throwing the ground to the earth over there in a big pile.

This is going to be the hole, we'll call it a hole for a while but that's what it is. That's where the foundation is going to be placed and you're witnessing a back hole type of a crane on a tractor on a caterpillar chain doing the excavation and the man that you see walking around in the hole is not killing time. He's the fella that indicates whether to the operator of the back hole, whether he's down low enough with his hole or not. I've always wondered, Ben, how they know exactly where to dig. Well as you see this fella is standing right now at the transit level, that's an engineering instrument that's set in the hole, that sets up the grade for how far to dig and he gives the signals to the operator when he's down to the right level because you can't go too deep with a foundation and you can't go too high whether it has to be accurate and they'll get the floor of this year entire big

hole almost perfectly level to a variation not more than two inches. Is that right? Well now what about the walls? They have to know just exactly how far to go for them. Well this excavation of course is a three feet wider than the actual foundation would require. That's in order to leave some space to walk around and do their work and setting up the forms. If you will go from here with us now to where they're putting in the footing for the foundation, you'll see how the hole is being utilized. That's about a block away on the other side over there, you know that's the third lot over. All right let's walk over there. I was just going to say Ben that the fellow on that crane that on that tractor there has to be a very good operator. He is one of the very best. He's been on our project now for two years and we insist that he stay here all the time. Well now we're going to see pouring the footing so why don't we walk over there.

Ben we've come over here to the foundation which is just a well this is the footing. Well the footing first we're going to talk about. Now you're going to have to tell me what all these words mean because I'm not a construction man and I don't know too much about it so I wouldn't say that by the way you've been crawling around these mounds of dirt you and by the way you've crawled into the holes and out of them and you haven't tripped yet. I'd say that you have a construction background maybe I can hook up with you before this thing is over. I may need a job. Let's give that a little more thought. What do you say? All right. Now let's talk about footing. That's you told me a little earlier before we were recording that that is probably the most important part of the house. That is the most important thing of the house. This footing is real wide and it's real thick the concrete of this footing and the reason for that is so that it carries the foundation wall and in turn that foundation wall carries the entire building. And so it has to be done just perfect and it

has to be placed on a solid clay bedding so to speak. You couldn't properly place footing on just plain black dirt or something that has a chance to move. You get down to real solid ground before you go. Now this is something that the homeowner never sees unless it comes out and sees it in the construction. Now when he sees it he sees as you do now men nailing up common dirty boards and you see moving around and shaping the thing into the shape that it has to have and you probably don't give any thought. But there's the most of the engineering actually is taken place at this point because what they do with the footing is will determine whether this building will hold up well or whether it won't settle too fast improperly. Ben there's a truck pulling up to the next lot and we want to talk about foundation. What do you say we walk over there? Now we'll walk over here they've just completed setting the forms here

and as you notice these forms are made of smooth plywood to give the finish of the concrete foundation and the basement smooth finish. What are these forms made out of Ben? They're made of plywood. Is that what keeps the sides smooth? Let's step back here Ben they're coming in with a truck the truck has moved within about a foot and a half of it. One more four more inches and he's down in the hole that's the way it seems every time but these heavy trucks that carry the ready makes concrete just seem to make it all the time we haven't had one falling yet. I was going to ask you about that plywood is that you use plywood to keep the walls smooth? That's right. Now if the plywood for instance was scratched or if it was deformed the concrete would shape itself that way and because it's smooth the inside will be perfect. Here comes the concrete let's listen to it. Well as far as we're concerned now we have a

house built to the point where we have the foundation just about completed. Now is that the time when we get the boys with the hammer and nails to come in? That's right. Well where do we go then? I think you're right I'm the ball and you're a construction. I'm learning this business. Good. Don't learn it too fast. Alright now let's go to see that operation. Alright. Ben we've come over here now to where they're going to do some framing and I wonder if we could talk to some of the carpenters over here about this operation. Well first I'd like you to talk to our carpenter boss. He supervises all the carpentry going on here, the framing and engineering and so on relative to the carpentry work. Why don't you interview him? Alright this is Dick Kalarn and Mr. U Hill. Dick there's a lot of action going on up here and over here on the other a lot just to a lot of way there was a big platform look like a dance platform. What do you call that? Well that would be the first floor deck in other words

the procedure is after the foundation to put the plates on then install a joist and put your rough sheeting on for what we call that a deck. That's actually the first floor that's actually the first floor. Now actually after the first floor is in then comes the framing. Then would come your wall framing. Alright now don't you tell us about that. Well here right here is what you see right now is a man that are laying another deck. The walls have been framed they're putting down a cellar text which is an insulating board. I don't know what else you'd like to say. How involved is that framing? I mean this would have to take a real skilled carpenter to know what to do and so on. It takes a very skilled man in order to get your walls plumb in your floors level. And then after that these boys up here go to work nailing in another deck is that right? They will take a no these same men will take another deck and also wall framing with this screw. Is this what they're working on right now a deck? That's a deck right at present. What floor would that be? That would be your second deck. Second level.

So this is a by -level house. That's right. Now the cellar text is on that end but what is cellar text? You better explain that. The text is an insulating bar to tell you it's a wall sheeting another word. It's an insulator. Well that's going next over on this end. That will go next on this end. Then you have your frame completed. That's correct. What happens next then? An expert sage around this building would be the ceiling joist. Very in partition and a ceiling joist. And then one. And then from there would be a roof rafters. Well now we can see in the next slide over here to our right that the roof is being put on that house over there. Now do you have a different type of carpenter put the roof on and puts the frame up? Oh yes, absolutely yes. It takes the skilled man in order to lay out the rafters and frame them and erect them. They must be perfectly lined up. And according to what picture roof that you're putting out used, whether it's a flat roof or not, it still takes that type of man. Well now that particular one is a slanted roof. Is that more difficult than a flat roof to put up? Very

much so. That there roof is a cathedral type roof. There with beams. And that's got to be fit perfect. Your rafters must line up right. Okay, Dick, thanks a minute for talking to us. Let's get back over here to Ben Sears. Ben, we've reached the point now where we've got a, it looks like a house here. The first time I've seen a real house, now we've got the walls up and the cellotex that he set up, the sheathing and the roof is on. Now what happens? What about the shingles? They come next? Well, next would come the gutters on the roof and when the gutters are installed, then the shingles come on. Well we have an example of that right next to us, don't we? That's right. You see the gutters on and the shingles on. Is it more difficult to have a slanted roof? He was talking to us about that, but I didn't ask him why. Well, to shape a roof properly, I get, is the biggest technique in the carpentry trade. A man with experience and intelligence knows how to frame a roof without too much difficulty. We have

teams that do nothing but frame roofs. Now, for example, this house that you see across the street where the roof is partially on, you see big openings in the walls. Those are specially framed to leave openings for windows, big windows. And all of that is done by various teams. Well, now we're moving very rapidly through the process. We went through the foundation and the footing and the pouring of the concrete, the framing, roof. Now we've got the shingles on and the guttering. What happens next? Now the work first begins. That's when it really starts. Many people think that because the roof is on the building is on the way, but then the mechanical trades get to work inside of the buildings. The plumber gets busy, roughing is plumbing in, and the heating man, electrician, and so on, before the plastering comes on. Well, now could we go to a house where that operation is going on, where some of that activity is going on? Yes. Let's just go down to the house after this one,

and there, they're in the process of putting in the mechanical trades, and you'll see various different trades working. All of them must be experienced, they must study and know their jobs. Ben, I noticed as we move along, and from one house to the next, we see another operation. That's right. Almost completed. What do you do that, a lot by lot by lot, so on. That's right. That's the way it's scheduled, so that although you've started, let's say, eight houses in a row when you've reached the eighth building where the roof is on, the first one that you started should be in the process of being decorated. All right, Ben, fine. Let's go on to that next operation. All right. Now Ben, we've come into a building, and this is the first time that we've stepped inside of somebody's home, we're standing on the first floor, and down here below us, the plumbers are going to work. Why don't you tell us about this operation? You are now inside of the house in the rough. This is the beginning of the installation of the mechanical trades. You'll see plumbers working right here handy to

our site. They're laying in at the present time, the cast iron stores that go into all the electronic homes under the house. And they're doing all the fitting and so on. What about the electrician? Well, we'll talk to the electrician a little later. It the book calls for installing the plumbing first and the electrician and heating man come in and do their share of their work. These are all specialized trades. Now we are lucky to have here Paul Chris, the plumber boss who's working with the man alongside here. He's a wonderful tradesman that you're witnessing. It takes, of course, as I said, a lot of study and, of course, a lot of aptitude to make a good plumber like all the rest of the trades. Paul, could you come over here just a second? Paul has just carried in a large pipe.

Listen, you look like you ought to have a lot of muscles carrying around things. Yeah, I do. You do. Sure. How old of a man are you? 63 years old. How long have you been a plumber? Since 1924. 1924, that's over 30 years. Yeah, better than that, 32, I think. Well, you know your job pretty well, then. I should. How many men do you have here working with? Six men. Are you the foreman? Right. I understand you have your son here with you. I got two of them. Is that right? What are the apprentices? No, they're both plumbers. Oh, they're both plumbers. They're both apprentices. They're plumbers. They apprentice on their hands. Well, they serve their time under me. What's this fellow doing over here, Chris? He's cutting soil pipe. How can he cut it so easily? That looks like a pretty different kind of... You gotta learn how to do that. Yeah, I guess that's right. Yeah, you learn all that. Well, a lot of luck to you, Paul. Thanks. Thank you. Paul, Chris, one of the old -time plumbers working here, working in this thing for 32 years. That's a long time, Ben. That's right, and it takes a lot of know -how to do a job right on this straight. Ben, I was looking out the window over here. And just next door to us is some

brick laying. Let's walk out here and take a look at that operation. I've just stepped outside, Ben is following me. We're going to walk over here to the next house. It's only the next slot over, and the boys are laying brick. That's a very interesting, and of course, very important operation. Now, you could probably hear it, where all good 15 or 20 feet away, but the chisel and the hammer is going to work chipping off some of the stone and some of the brick. Go right ahead and work, that's all right. We just want to watch. Ben, tell us about this. Well, this is the mason's working, the brick layers, known as brick layers. That's a real old trade. Dates back many, many years back to the Egyptian pyramids, you know, and we're fortunate to have a good bunch of mason's here. The fella that you see cutting the stone over there, there's still not been invented a way of laying up stone on a building without having to trim it by

hand, just to the shape and the appearance you want on it. It's a hand job, yet, at this time. What about this down here? This is cement? Of course, that's the mortar, which has lime in it and cement and sand. And when this is mixed up into a putty effect, and it lays up with the stone, when it's set up, you can tell whether the mortar has been right. In other words, when the building is a week or two weeks old, and it's the mortar is set up right on it, you can determine whether it was good mason's mixing the mortar and laying it up right by just putting your hand across the joint where the mortar is. And you can see that if it's properly mixed, there's no sand coming off on your fingers, and it's real tough. What about inside this building? This is nearing completion, is a non -nearing completion. But I think that before you get to this, we discuss this stage. Let's see the electricians and sheet metal men installing the heating and so on. The heating is one of the very major important items in a house you might understand.

Yes, I certainly do, having lived in one. All right, Ben. Let's go to that next operation then. Well, Ben, we stepped into this building right next door now to look at the sheet metal work. It's supposed to tell us about it. Right here on the inside, part of the mechanical trades going in, of course, is your heating ducts. And you have to have ample heating ducts and ample collare returns to get a good balance system for heating. And that is a very important technique. And it's engineered first before it's installed. As you see, all these openings here with pieces of sheet metal sticking out, those are the ducts that carry the heat and take back the cold air from the house to make it circulate right. And over in this corner, you have the electricians working. And I think that it would be wise to perhaps call over the electrical foreman and talk with him. Bill Schauer, why don't you meet Hugh Hill from WBBM. Bill, nice

to know you. Tell us a little bit about this wiring. I see that you have some being pulled in here through this tubing. What is that tubing? By tubing is called thin wall. We use it throughout the house for pulling our electrical wires through, which is a grounding system. Bill, what's this business about certified wiring? I've been hearing so much about it. Well, you can say that'd be the wiring of the future. It's an ample amount of electricity to take care of all your needs for later on and even at the present. And you have that in every home out here. Every home out here has that, that's right. Okay, Bill, thank you very much for talking to us. Now, Ben, there's one thing that I've been worrying about and that's the walls of a house, plaster and so on. What happens is... And now here, where these fellas are finishing off the wiring at this end of the house, the front end of the house, the back end of the house here, the plasterers are getting ready to come in. Before they do, you have to land the house. And over here, you see two lathers, one of them sort of an elderly man, but if you'll notice them working, it's a very

fast operation of putting on the lathing. They take the nails out of their purses that they carry and throw them into their mouth. And then from the mouth, they have a nail ready all the time to go as one drives in. They'll never hit a nail more than twice. Sometimes it was. I was amazed at that. That was nails faster, you can count them practically. Then on top of the rock glass goes the plaster. It goes the plaster. In the corners, you see one of the men, while these two are putting on the lath, one of the men is putting on the corner rights, which is the metal lath, in the corners of each room. That's to ensure more strength at the joints where potential cracks may come in. That older gentleman over there is the fastest nail I've ever seen in my life. That's right. And that's the way the lathers work all the time. It's a speed operation. And they get high pay for this. It's about three and a half an hour. But they turn out a lot of work per hour. You see them going now. All right. Now Ben, we have the plaster on the wall, so we're just about finished

with the inside. Just about finished and ready for the decorating and getting the family alerted to line up the movers so they can move into the house. Except I think we should call in the men that is behind constantly on the job here to see that materials are scheduled in. It's a full -time job. It's a very big job of planning that men on the right place and the material on the right place. That's one of the interesting things, because as we walked through, I mentioned earlier that each house has a different set of completions done. And finally, I reached your house, it's already done, and it's an amazing thing to see it. It's easy. Well, behind this is our superintendent, and then Mr. Byrne Fad. Byrne? Mr. Fad, meet Mr. Yulia. Oh, Byrne, how are you? We were talking to Ben here just a minute ago about the amazing thing, the way you felt it's constructed a house. In one lot, you have the excavation. The next lot the foundation is going in. Five lots down the house is finished. How do you coordinate all

the efforts here so that you can get a thing like that? It isn't easy. No, I can imagine. Ben says it looks easy, but it couldn't be easy. But I have to be blessed with an awful good group of efficient men. And I have some very, very good former. And though I have to coordinate the whole thing, start to finish with the help of these men. It doesn't happen. It doesn't work out to be such a bad job at all. Well, let me not be the first, and I'm sure not to last to congratulate you on fine work that you do out here. Well, thank you. We think we're doing a nice job too. Thanks for talking to us. Yes. This has been the story of how to build a house. Today's story took place in a new development in Skokie just north of Chicago. And this is Hugh Hill speaking.