AND     BUILD ERS'     GUIDE.





Vol. XVI.





NEW YOEK, SATUKDAY, AUGUST 28, 1875.





No. 389.





Published Weekly by

THE REAL ESTATE RECORD ASSOCIATION.

C. W. SWEET...........___Pkesident aud Treasurer

PRESTON  I. SWEET...........Secketabt.

L. ISRAELS.........................Business Manager

TERMS.
ONE YEAR, ill advance....!^I0 00.

Communications should be addressed to

Nos, 345 and 347 Bkoadwat,





HAND-WEITING ON THE WALL.





In view of the attention directed to the
streugtli of tmsupported brick walls by two or
three deplorable accidents whiclj have lately
occurred,. it may not be amiss to particularly
mark certain radical defects in brick-laying
which are too little known by the public at





On the one hand, we do not mean to state
that we are aware of anyihing defective in the
constiuction of any parlicular wall, yet we do
mean to snythat far too many walls now stand¬
ing are liable to meet a disastrous fate, even
without the unexpected pressure of a severe

The whole strength of a well-built brick wall—
which is, in truth, much less' than is supposed
by men not practically experienced, yet, at tbe
same time, much greater than that of most of
our flimsy structures—consists in its homo¬
geneity, that is, its binding into a solid mass.
For this reason the "bond" is introduced, or, in
other words, at certain intervals the usual fore-
and-aft position of the bricks is reversed, and
a brick, or certain bricks, called headers, are set
across the wall, forming a bond between the two
sides. Our practice in this respect is exceed¬
ingly defective.

Architects usually specify that every fifth
course shall be wholly of headers, but this is of ten
allowed to be construed as every sixth or seventh,
and in cases of cheap , contract buildings is
sometimes neglected altogether. -ETOryi fifth
row is too little. Four courses together, m'ak-
.ing roughly a height of ten inches,/^^ too
great a leverage under pressure. ^' t system
of making a certain .percentage or..kScks in
each course headers, is iar preferable, but if our
workmen are so lazy or careless as not. to be
trusted unless they lay all the bricks-in each
course alike, then everythird should be sub-
suiuted ;^-       Sryfiftlu^

Anoth>-.. b'jeat source cip weakness is the mor¬
tar, and on the subject of lime the builders and
the architects are totally at variance. The former
say it does mortar good to "sweeten" for a week
or so; the last are of opinion that it loses in
strength if over a day' old, both reasoning from
the effect of air on lime.

Direct experiment shows that lime, judiciously
lat ^ nd kept rmist, covered from rain, is in no





way deteriorated by ten days or two weeks' ex¬
posure, but the addition of sand immediately
alters the case. In fact, you perform in the tub
what you wish to effect in the wall, and tha mass
sets immediately. The addition of water to
keep it moist, then, merely suspends the action,
but the very least drop too much "drowns" the
mass. The contrary effect is observed when
brick or sandstone are laid without wetting,
when the porous material sucks up aU moisture
immediately, and the mortar is "burned." In
the first case you have merely a gritty white¬
wash; in the second, a sandy powder. The
truth is, masons don't like a first-class mortar—
it takes too much time to lay the brick.





MANSARDS.





Duiing its seven years of use among us the
French form of the mansard roof has been either
so little understood or so often changed that
some small definition of its real purpose and use
must be acceptable to our readers, professional
or otherwise.

Our New England carpenters, long before
Mansard or Reraissance were ever heard of
here, had arrived at the same result, working
from conditions nearly similar. Anywhere east
of Trenton may be seen gambril roofs one hun¬
dred to two hundred years old, and Ohver "Wen¬
dell Holmes' rhyming definition of the term is
weU known. The gambril is the horse's knee-
joint.    The better spelling is gambrel.

The gambrel or mansard has two technical
advantages—it gains the effect of a roof with
the room of a full story, and it exerts no thrust
upon the walls. It is, when rightly constructed,
a dome with an angle in the sides, and the con¬
ditions of stability are substantially the same,
while the timbers or framework are lighter and
easier placed than those of any trussed roof.

It will be immediately observed that a man¬
sard placed above a heavy cornice (and a too
great projection of cornice is an especial ikult)
loses almost a third of its height, unless the ^ec-
tator can take a distance from the building*^* at
least five times its height. It follows, tK |,
that all mouldings, windows, etc., at the base" nf
a mansard will be invisible from the otheiu*j;l;e
of a street one" mmdred. feet wide, and the ijqf
itself appear an extinguisher, not a coverir^

One method of remedying this delect is to
place above the cornice a high blocking-course,
or an attic or half-story, so that the mansard
really begins at the angle of vision over the
cornice. An example may be seen on Sixth
avenue, near Twenty-third street, and another
on Fourth avenue, near Twenty-seventh street,
both apparently by the same architect. A
beautiful example of its needless introduction
is the new Tribune Building, where the roof is
just this extra story too deep.   Walk towards





the building until two stories only are seen
above the cornice, and the effect is doubled.

Another way is to diminish the projection of
the cornice, and that we cannot help thinking
is the real solution. If the neo-grec is really des¬
tined to supersede all other styles for general
purposes, there can be no doubt of this fact, for
the essence of the style is its comparatively
slight projections.

We uniformly pay too little attention to the
top of our mansards. The deck cornice should
be from one-eighth to one-twelfth of the whole
roof in height, and the "coruble," or garret formed
by the rise of deck roof, should be plainly seen
behind it.

The charm of the mansard consists in a high,
plain sweep of dark slate, against which all or¬
naments and contours are strongly outlined.
The chimneys become invaluable for. effect.

A fine instance of such effect may be seen
corner of Fifty-seventh street and Fifth avenue,
in the lower end of a white marble block, but
the poverty of the deck cornice spoils the whole
when you look more closely.

As to those sloping extinguishers ornamented
(?) by stiff checker-boards in colored slate and
capped by two or three skinny mouldings, they
should be left for those devotees of German
sameness who imagine that a colored arch and
a yard of oil-cloth will redeem half an acre of
monotony, and that absence of mass is compen¬
sated by a presence of fihgree.

If the owner is penurious, or the architect
barren, there is one immediate way to make it
known.   Let them concoct a mansard.





GOKYEYANaES.

Wherever the letters Q. C. and C. a. G. occur, preced¬
ed by the name of the grantee, they mean as follows:

1st—Q. c. is ah abbreviation for Quit Claim deed, i. e.,
a deed in which all the right, title, and interest of the
grantor is conveyed, omitting all covenants or warranty.

2d—C. a. G. mean a deed containing Covenant against
Grantor only, in which he covenants that he hath not
done any act whereby the estate conveyed may be im¬
peached, charged, or incumbered.

NEW  YORK.





August 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25.

Chbrey St. (No. 183), s. s., 176.6 e. Market Slip,
25x60. Charles F. Wood (Trustee of Joseph F.
Wood) to Frederick Darr.   Aug. 20.......$6,600

Eldridge St., e. s., 225 s. Grand St.. 25x87.1]
Anuie Schnitzer to Jacob Foss..............!

.SAME property.   Bella Schnitzer et al. (infant's |

l)oy)................:•.......;;;::...;:.....J

John Gr. Cameron   (Guard.)   to   Jacob Foss.
Aug. 25...................Other cons, and 15.000

Essex St., s. s., 50 s. Hester st., 25x50. TutliUl C.
Ackerman, Brooklyn (heir of Harvey B. Acker¬
man), to Frances Solomon.   Aug. 2........6,350

Same property. Sarah A..Ackerman.(widow) to
Frances Solomon......—.................nom

Houston st., n. s., 100 e. 2d av., 25x82. Fi-ancisca
Knapf to Catherina Knmim. (Correction).
Aug. 19......... • • -...................^.... .nom

Hudson st., (No. 469), w. s., 39.11 n. Barrow St.,
20x83. (Leasehold.) Carrie F. wife of George
E. Androvette to Charles E. Williams, Brook¬
lyn.  Aug. 7...............,.,,.. .exch, and nom