udgment to mock him as he settles
down to life in his country home.

BUILDING VERSUS REMODELING

[Illustration]

_CHAPTER V_

BUILDING VERSUS REMODELING

"Shall I build or remodel?" is a question with so many facets that it
would be foolhardy to try to answer it categorically. Circumstances
alter cases in all phases of life and particularly so when one is
endeavoring to decide whether the country home is to be a new
structure, or an old one remodeled to make the best use of its
desirable features and suit the requirements of its new owner.

One of our acquaintances was hung on the horns of this dilemma for
several months while he and his wife spent most of their waking hours
arguing it pro and con. They had selected the vicinity in which they
wanted to live, had the requisite cash in the bank to finance either
undertaking, and there were two properties that pleased them. The
latter constituted the snag. On the one hand, there was a sightly
piece of land with some nice old shade trees but no existing
structure; about a mile farther along the same road, lay another
holding of about the same size with a house in fair condition. The
price for this was naturally higher than for the undeveloped land, on
the theory that it would not cost half as much to remodel the house as
to build.

"I don't know what to do," this perplexed man remarked. "On one side I
hear and read that new building is much the best investment. That it
costs so much less to maintain a new house and if you want to sell,
you can find a purchaser quicker and at a better price. But no sooner
do I begin to believe that building is the only wise course, than I
run smack into an article on remodeling or meet some one I know whose
experience in remodeling shows by actual figures a big saving compared
with a new house of the same kind and size. In my own case, though,
the more I study what estimates I can get, the more I am convinced
that in the end I'll spend just about as much whether I build or
remodel."

These two people finally built a new house. There were good reasons
for their decision. First, they could buy the land for so much money,
and a general contractor of excellent reputation was ready to build
just the house they wanted for so much more. The two figures, plus the
architect's fee, added up to a definite amount. Having an accounting
mind, the knowledge that there would be no unforeseen contingencies
and that, ready for occupa