The Post-War Housing Boom}
Sunday, October 18th, 2009The 1940’s Housing Shortage}
Sometimes described in the post WWII years as `the housing shortage’, the national effort to address a very serious problem has over the years come to be called `the housing boom’. Undoubtedly it was a boom in demand and building. There was also a notable increase in house ownership, achieved in many cases through dogged individual effort and years of sacrifice.
Changing social conditions offered new opportunities, but also reduced the options. Emphasis in government housing social engineering was at first on rental accommodation; later there was a swing toward the ownership of low-cost houses. At a time when various influencers had cut the amount of rental houses, governments, banks, finance companies, building societies and housing co-operatives were offering more opportunities for home ownership. Ironically this was paralleled by a rise in building costs.
High on the list of factors linked to rising construction costs were the passing of legislation for the 40-hour working week, and steep increases in the cost of construction materials. By 1948 an employer had to pay an unskilled building labourer a higher salary than a tradie had received in early 1946.
To keep both labourer and tradie economically employed the builder needed a continuous flow of materials which was a rare event in those times. A shortage of skilled workers also meant poor quality construction and a blow out in construction time.
Contract prices were loaded with an increasing profit margin as an insurance against unseen circumstances. Under commonwealth price control, builders were entitled to a 10 per cent `profit’ on the contract price. Above award payments were not recognised in price control and yet builders often found a need to pay above award wages to ensure building completion.
Unexpected costs could happen when, for example, timber flooring was suddenly unprocurable, and a higher price would then have to be paid for imported timber for flooring.
With locally made cement taking forever to turn up, a delivery from interstate was sometimes bought at nearly three times the price. When compared to 1939 prices hardwood flooring had, by 1948, increased 100 per cent in price. Cement had risen by almost 20 per cent and clay roofing tiles by more than 25 per cent. A gallon of quality paint costing around 30s ($3) in 1939 had risen some 40 per cent by 1948.
When added to rising costs and shortages of materials the government restrictions, limiting the area of a new home to 1200 square feet (111.48 square metres) for a timber house and 1250 square feet (116.12 square metres) for one in brick, completed the recipe for an imposed economy.
The economical plan was essential; cost-saving and limitations on area made large single-purpose rooms a luxury. Verandahs and wide open porches were deleted, reducing the shade at the front of the house to the absolute minimum. Ceiling heights had been slowly reduced from the turn of the century and were now typically nine feet (2745 mm). Until the government construction restrictions were lifted in 1952 the acceptance of no-nonsense functionalism was as much an imposed state as it was a fashionable philosophy. This was the era of the great Australian Dream.
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