Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 82, no. 2108: August 8, 1908

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August 8, 1908 RECORD AND GUIDE 291 COLLAPSE OF A PORTE COCHERE. The broken arches in the porte-cochere of the new building for the police headquarters in Centre st stand with props as they have been since they collapsed on July 2, eight days after the centering was removed. Tbe portals in tbe side walls are about twelve feet wide, with flat cut-stone arches supporting the ornamental cornice. The front wall of the porte cocbere, which received the full thrust of these arches, is 32 feet long (From the Euglueerlng Record,) WEST SIDE WALL OF PORTE COCHERE. and averages about ?>% feet in thickness. It has a narrow por¬ tal witb a lull centered arch, from which the centering bas not been removed. The front wall is now pushed forward sev¬ eral inches, and wide cracks have opened in the side walls. On July 2, about six months after the completion of the ver¬ tical walls, the enth-e timbrel arch fell, tearing loose from the skewbacks and side walls, and breaking in pieces, Tbe engi¬ neers discovered no settlement of the soil. The builders believed the failure was due to the displacement of the upper part of the wall allowing tbe arch to drop down from its skewbacks. CENTRAL STATION STEAM-HEATING. IN a recent number of the "Central Station." Mr. James A. White gives some results of the operation of tbe plant of the Citizens' Light, Heat and Power Company, of Johnstown. Pa., which operates a combined plant in which the heating load is at times greater than can be carried by tbe exhaust steam from the engines operating the electric plant. Steam is supplied by l.TStVbp. in Heine water tube boilers, under which are installed Murphy stokers. The boilers are also equipped with Green fuel economizers and a Pittsburg feed water heater, Worthington feed pumps take water for the boilers from both fclie city mains and a well on tbe premises. In tbe engine room are five engines. The paper of Mr, White shows following state of facts; Tbe system of underground steam distributing mains is connected to the exhaust piping in the Vine st power house by one 14-incb and one lO-incb main. These underground mains now have a total length of about 13..?4t) ft,, exclusive o£ service pipes. Steam hca* is supplied to '204 business blocks, residences and public buildings, containing about 15,4.58.028 cubic feet of space, an average of 1,150 cubic feet per lineal foot of underground main being served. The size of Ibe mains is such that all customers are amply supplied wjth steam with a back pressure on the engines of only two lo five pounds, depending upon the demand. The station piping is so arranged that the supplemental supply of live steam is automatically delivered to the heating system through reducing valves during those portions of the year when the heating load is greater than can be cared for by the exhaust steam frora tbe engines. The total cost ot all fuel,_water and boiler house labor during the 20 months amounted to ■'fi-i2,l.''..S,77, the cost during the IS heat¬ ing months amounting to 1^40,!)T1,17. The income from exhaust and live steam sold during the 20 months amounted to S(i2,l>ll2,(.14, aud during the 18 heating months, $(10,721,92. The receipts from steam furnished for heating purposes during the 18 months oC the beating season paid for all fuel, water and boiler bouse labor and left a surplus of $11),750.40, While this surplus was being earned tbere was also produced 5.2.52,1:547 K.W. hours from the same fuel, water and boiler house labor. A!! steam is sold by weight on tbe meter basis of charging, which prevents loss to the station operator through waste by the consumer. These results are all the more interesting in view of the fact that the rates charged for steam beat at Johnstown average the lowest on record. MANCHESTER. ENGLAND, HAS PASSED a new building by-law, the main object of which is to prevent the spread of slums and to promote the health and comfort of the people of that city. It will secure to the houses of the future more air space, wider streets and an absence of long, monotofious rows. Hereafter no new street will be less than fourteen yards wide, an increase of two yards on the minimum width. Main roads must be 50 ft. wide instead of 36 ft., the present minimum. No block of houses must contain more than, ten structures of one pattern, nor cover a frontage of more than 100 yards. At the back of each cottage tbere must be an area of not less, than 250 ft,, an advance of 100 ft. No blind alleys will be allowed in future, and all passages must lead to main streets. The new measure is not retroactive and tberefore does not affect buildings erected before the by-law was enacted. ----------------«---------------- COST OF CONSTRUCTING CONCRETE SEWER. AT Indianapolis. Ind., the municipal improvements have amounted to millions of dollars within a few years, owing largely to the extension of the city limits, which included sev¬ eral suburbs where matters of large and necessary improve¬ ments were immediately required. The sewer system of West Indianapolis is ono of the largest enterprises now being carried through, tbat of tbe Morris st branch alone bas a lengtb of 31,501) ft. This branch varies in size, but 1,130 ft, of it is 7 ft. in diameter and is built of con¬ crete. Charles M, Ripley, engineer, of 108 Fulton st. New York, when on a visit to Indianapolis had the advantage of inspecting the method of construction, and was also accorded access to the cost records of tbe job. He found that tbe plant consists of one Moore trench-digging machine (largest size); ten buckets of tbe bottom dumping type; one No. 3 Emerson vacuum pump, with 5-in. suction and 4-in. discharge; one No. 2 Foote concrete mixer; one 20-horsepoi,ver Lidgerwood engine and boiler for trencli machine; one 30-horsepower boiler for pump; one 10- horsepower boiler for mixer; sixteen wheelbarrow.s, picks, shov¬ els, etc. The excavating was done by the regular method of the. Moore Trench machine in which the concreting goes on be¬ tween the point of excavating and the back fill. The cost of excavation work can be figured by comparing tbe average amount of 3011 cubic yards per day with the following summary of the pay roll, which is from an account given by Mr, Ripley in the Municipal Engineer: Rate per day. Time keeping and superintendence..............................$(5,(10 Half of blacksmith's time at................................ 1.25 One engineer for trench machine at............................ 3.50 One engineer for boiler and pump at......................... 3.50 Pour teams scraping and hauling at......................... 4,00 Forty men excavating and driving sheet piling with mauls at, 1.75 The total payroll was $100,25 a day, or 33.4 cents per cubic yard. The average amount of concrete made per day in this 7-foot sewer was 58 cubic yards, or one cubic yard per running foot. Each cubic yard required 1V4 barrels of Lehigh Portland ce¬ ment, at .$1.-10 per barrel. The pay roll is summarized as follows: Rate per day. Time keeping and superintendence.........,..................$0 OU Half of blacksmith at......................................... 1,25 Four carpenters on forms at................................... 3.00 One engineer for concrete mixer at......................... 3,50 Ten men with wheelbarrows at.............:................... 1.7.5 Six men feeding mixer at..................................... I.75 Four men placing concrete at.................................. I.75 The sum of this pay roll is $57,75. or practically .$t per cubic yard. The cost of the cement. $1.7.5, added to this, makes $2,75, tbe other materials costing nothing but tbe handling, which is included in tbe cost of excavation above. ------------•------------ CONVENTIONS NEXT WEEK. Two conventions of interest to readers of the Record and ' Guide will be held in Chicago next week—tbe eleventh annual gathering of tlie International Acetylene Association and the first national meeting of Building Managers. The second prom¬ ises to be the beginning of an annual movement. New York will be represented by speakers at hoth conventions. Mr. R,' P. Bolton, the well-known engineer, will deliver an address op the '"Operation of Elevator Service" before the building man¬ agers. At tbe other meeting tbe New York speakers and their subjects will be as follows: "Burner Troubles, tbe Cause and Remedy," J. M, Brock, of the Wm. M. Crane Co.; "Ethics of Selling Goods," M. Kirchberger, of M. Kirchberger & Co.; "Tbe History and Present Status of the Oxy-Acetylene Blowpipe in America," Augustine Davis, of the Davis Acetylene Co., and "Tbe Present and Future of Dissolved Acetylene." Oscar F, Ostby, of the Commercial Acetylene Co. The other subjects and speakers at the Building Managers' Convention are as follows: "Systematic Management." R. A. Lemcke, of Indianapolis, Ind.; "Economy in Electric Lamps," Geo, Loring, of Cleveland, Ohio; "Management in the West," F, W, Picard of Los Angeles; ""Ventilation," Edward D, Sidman. of Buffalo, N. Y,; "Paints and Varnishes." Edward J. Seward, of Detroit. Mich.; "Cleaning Problems." J. S, Thurman, of St. Louis, Mo. O. C. Saum. of Cleveland, Ohio, was scheduled to speak on "Apartment House Management." but he will be un¬ able to be present.