Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 91, no. 2346]: March 1, 1913

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494 RECORD AND GUIDE March 1. 1913 Materials in the Hotel McAlpin. The exterior of the New Hotel McAlpin on Greeley Square is an interesting example of the application in feeling of detail of the sprit ot the Italian Renaissance to the modern type of tall building construction, and Is character¬ ized throughout by a well-regulated use of col¬ ors and texture in the materials employed. The base of the building is constructed of Bedford stone, which supports the shaft of the design, constructed of golden brown tapestry brick, the mass of which is relieved by balconies of terra cotta or ot iron, imparting to tbe struc¬ ture the semi-residential character which dif¬ ferentiates the hotel from a purely commer¬ cial building. The crowning member of the design consists ot a series of arched openings running through several stories in height, sup¬ porting a cornice and attic story, the whole be¬ ing enriched with polychrome terra cotta. It is interesting to note one feature which largely influencee the plan and arrangement of the first and second stories, an arrangement which marks a distinct departure from tbe established New York type of hostelry. This feature con¬ sists in the utilization of the valuable retail store renting space facing three streets and the location of the dining room and restaurant service of the house one story above street level, all of which has been accomplished while still retaining sufficient space on the ground floor to provide the hotel with the largest lobby in the city. This arrangement gives a very attractive outlook and street perspective from all cafe windows, while at the same time plac¬ ing them above the dust and confusion ot the sidewalk. The furnishing of the lobby is of marble, ex¬ ecuted in Italy, with seat cushions of red tooled leather, while distributed about the vari¬ ous points of interest are marble pedestals, vases and other decorative features. The entire western aisle of the lobby, for a distance of 90 feet, is faced by a bronze and marble railing, enclosing the cashier, room clerk, key clerk, information desk and other departments. At the corner of S.Sd street and Broadway on the second floor is located the ladies' cafe. This room being irregular in shape presented a particularly difficult problem in interior arch¬ itecture and decoration, and is, therefore, of particular interest. The ceiling is very or¬ nately decorated in a combination of relief ornament and fresco and is probably the most interesting example to be found in this country ot this manner of decoration. The blending of the ceiling with the woodwork, side walls hung in Ardoise blue, with specially designed capi¬ tals of columns, mooels of which were made by Philip Martini, is most pleasing to the eye. motion to the car. have low cost of mainte¬ nance and high efficiency. It is logical to use a gear reduction. - "Our long experience In the manufacture 01 spur and worm gear machines eliminates these types of gearing from any consideration. A careful study of all known types of gearing brought us, by a process of elimination, to the herringbone helical type, which is the one used in the Gurney Type Traction Elevator. We de¬ termined that this type satisfied economically and efficiently every condition ot the problem. "An investigation will disclose the fact that all principles and features involved in the con¬ struction and operation of this machine are sound, logical developments, based upon theory, which has been justified by a safe period of practical application. This machine has a higher efficiency than any other. It is beyond the scope of this bulletin to treat of all the principles or features ot this remarkable ma¬ chine, but a discussion or deduction of one or two, with a proof of what can be accomplished in quick acceleration, may prove interesting and perhaps instructive." ■Weathering of Marble. The assertion has frequently been made in these columns that nothing will stand the weathering, the test of time and the various other elements which go to work destruction like properly burned clay. We'have evidence of this tact now and then from various sources and lately it is a special bulletin from the United States G'eological Survey which tells how poorly marble gravestones stand the weather in our climate. "The effect on white marble of such a cli¬ mate as that of New England, outside of the cities, can be observed in many country church¬ yards and cemeteries. -As the epitaphs on tombstones and monuments give the aproxi¬ mate dates of their erection, the amount of dis¬ solution by weathering in a century can be cal¬ culated. On a marble stone in horizontal po¬ sition in the cemetery on Burial Hill, Ply¬ mouth, Mass., dated 1825, the lettering is almost effaced, and one of the same year in vertical position is badly weathered." Also it is said that tbe weathering of marble in the smoke-laden atmospheres of great cities and the industrial centers is hastened not only by the action of atmospheric acids but also by the sulphuric acids arising from the smoke of railroads, factories, foundries and steam plants where soft coal is used.—"The Clay-Worker." Decorating Modern Bathrooms. In doing away with the cabinet work about the tub and other fixtures, the wainscot has naturally suffered the same fate. The custom has grown up to finish the walls of bath¬ rooms with tiles, or at least to make a dado of tiles, and to paint the wall above, using as little woodwork as possible. But tiles are ex¬ pensive and people of moderate means are often compelled to forego the luxury of having them. Still they want the effect of tiles upon the wall. To meet this, many wall paper manu¬ facturers have put upon the market papers spe¬ cially designed for bathrooms having tile flg¬ ures and being finished with a varnished sur¬ face that makes them perfectly waterproof. They answer the purpose fairly well, but are not "so permanent as a painted wall. They are more difficult to hang than ordinary wall paper, and to do a first-class piece ot work requires that the wall shall be first covered with white lining paper, in order to make a perfectly smooth job and to keep the joints of the var¬ nished paper from separating after drying. Probably the most satisfactory painted treat¬ ment of bathroom walls is in stenciled tile ef¬ fects. The entire wall may be given this tile effect or the tile design may be carried up as a dado to a height of some five feet where It should be capped with the border, and the wall painted in a plain tint above. For these tile designs light colors should be used in Imi¬ tation of the tiles most generally used in bath¬ rooms. Delft colorings are very popular, either dull blue or dull green on white or ivory white. Blue green on a background of pale cream is very pleasing, or a more pronounced green on a pale pink ground. Very light lemon yellow might be used as a ground color with the design stenciled in a light ochre tint. The color should be mixed so as to dry with a gloss. A good result could be obtained by mixing the color very thick for the last coat and adding a cer¬ tain proportion of varnish, then stippling it on the wall in such a manner as to give a roughened effect. A coat of outside or flowing coach varnish over this would give tbe work the mellow tone that many ot the art tiles have. It is remarkable how conspicuously the tiniest bit of dust that may get worked into the var¬ nish will show up when the work is finished, and great care must therefore be taken that dust is not present.—Practical Decorator. The Gurney Traction Elevator. The Gurney Elevator Company, of 62 West 45th street, is sending out to the trade Bulle¬ tin No. 5 as an engineering supplement to Bul¬ letin No. 4 under date of July, 1912, describing the Gurney type traction elevator. The con¬ tents treat of "Demonstration of Rope Trac¬ tion," "Comparison of Efficiency of Low Speed and Normal Speed Electric Elevators," "A Treatise on the Theory and Advantages of Herringbone Gears" and "Deduction of Torque Requirements for Gurney Type Traction Ele¬ vator System." These articles are technical In character and describe fully and clearly cer¬ tain mechanical factors in elevator efficiency. H. F. Gurnev. M. E., president ot the com¬ pany, writes the following foreword which is of didactic value to everybody concerned with elevator operation; "In planning an elevator machine for ele¬ vators which are to travel to great heights and at high speed, we recognized that it was our duty, as engineers, to use the labor and material available, economically and efficiently, and to produce a machine that was absolutely safe. ^. ^ , "The gearless. or one-to-one type, ■which Is the only type heretofore used for this service, had no patented features which would have pre¬ vented our adopting it. After an exhaustive study of the problem we determined that a gear reduction was tbe proper solution. While there is at flrst sight an objection to the use of gears where they can be avoided. It is necessary here, as in other branches of engineering de¬ sign, to balance various forms of construction one ' against the other, and by a process of elimination to select the design which best sat¬ isfies the demanils that the particular machine will be called upon to meet. The use ot gears eliminates many undesirable features. There¬ fore, if gears can be made that will be safe, durable, operate silently, give absolutely smooth An Experience in School Building Com¬ petitions. A number of years ago the Board of Edu¬ cation of a thriving city in one of tbe Middle States was confronted with tbe problem of a new school building. Upon deciding to have a competition for the selection of an architect the members of the board retained Walter Cook, now president of the American Institute of Architects, as professional adviser. Mr. Cook relates his experience in the Archi¬ tect and Engineer: Tbeir first statement was that "public opin¬ ion demanded that all should have a chance." When the dangers of this course were pointed out to them and competition between a limited number of architects of proved ability was rec¬ ommended, they finally, with perhaps some re¬ luctance, agreed to a compromise. The compe¬ tition was advertised, and the announcement was made that any architect desiring to com¬ pete should submit his name and qualifications to the board. From these names a number, not to exceed fifteen, who seemed to promise tbe best showing, should be allowed to compete, and no other. The competition proceeded in due course, one of the competitors was appointed and the schoolhouse was built. Some years afterwards tbe same board had another schoolhouse to build and again con¬ sulted the writer. "We have concluded." they said to him. "that you were right in your ad¬ vice. For this competition we are only going to invite five or six architects, all of whom we know are good men. and whom we shall pay for tbeir services." The competition was held, and it happened that the winner was the same arch¬ itect who had built the former school. Again, some years later, a third school was to be erected. The Board of Education then decided that, even though the results ot the former competitions had been successful, a com¬ petition in this case was neither necessary nor desirable; and the same architect was again appointed. It seems as though this little story in three episodes is instructive and valuable, as showing that an enlightened and intelligent public body only needs to know the real conditions to arrive at the same conclusions as those of the great majority of architects. In this particular In¬ stance knowledge was gained by experience— an experience which might easily have been a disastrous one. It is sincerely hoped that other Boards of Education, in other cities, may profit by this experience, without Incurring the dan¬ gers sa. happily escaped in this case. Oil Mixed Concrete. A bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Offlce of Public Roads, has recently been issued which describes investigations of the effect of mixing oil with concrete. While experimenting in the Office of Public Roads in an attempt to develop a non-absorbent, resilient and dustless road material, one ca¬ pable of withstanding the severe shearing and raveling action of automobile traffic, tbe writer s Investigations led him into a very promising discovery. He found that when a heavy resi¬ dual oil was mixed with Portland cement paste, it entirely disappeared in tbe mixture, and, furthermore, did not separate from the other in-'retiients after the cement had become bard. The possibilities of oil-cement mixtures for waterproofing purposes were recognized and ex¬ tensive laboratory tests were immediately be¬ gun to determine the physical properties of con¬ crete and mortar containing various quantities of oil admixtures. ... . j « „ Manv valuable data have been obtained from tbese investigations. The damp-proofing prop¬ erties ot concrete mixtures containing oil have been demonstrated very definitely by laboratory and by service tests which establish this ma¬ terial as one of great merit for certain types of concrete construction. It has also been shown that the admixture of oil Is not detrimental to the tensile strength of mortar composed of 1 part of cement and 3 parts of sand when the oil added does not exceed 10 per cent of the weight of the cement used. The compressive strength of mortar and of concrete suffers slightly with the addition of oil. although when 10 per cent, of oil is added the decrease in strength is not ^''concrete mixed with oil requires a period of time about 50 per cent, longer to set hard than does plain concrete, but tbe increase in strength is nearly as rapid in the oil-mixed material as in the p'lain concrete. Concrete and mortar con¬ taining oil admixtures are almost perfectly non-absorbent of water, and so they are excel¬ lent materials to use in damp-proof construc¬ tion Under pressure, oil-mixed mortar Is very efficient in resisting the permeation of water. Laboratory tests show that olLmlxed concrete is lust as tough and stiff as plain concrete, and furthermore its elastic behavior within working Umits of stress is identical to steel remforce- ment is much decreased when plain bars are used. Deformed bars, however, and wire mesh or expanded metal will reinforce this material with practically the same efficiency as In or¬ dinary concrete. Approximate Times for Removing Forms from Concrete. As a guide to practice in concrete work, the following rules are suggested by Building Age: Walls in Mass Work.—One to three days or until the concrete will bear pressure ot the thumb without indentation. Thin Walls.—In summer, two days ; in cold weather, five days. Column Forms.—In summer, two days; cold weather, four days, provided girders are shored to prevent appreciable weight reaching columns. Slabs up to 7-ft. Span.—In summer, six days ; in cold weather, two weeks. Beams and Girder Sides.—In summer, six days; in cold weather, two weeks. Beam and Girder Bottoms and Long Span Slabs.—Tn summer, ten days or two weeks ; in cold weather, three weeks to one month. Time to vary with the conditions. Archee.—If not small size, one week; large arches with heavy dead load, one month. All these times are, of course, simply ap¬ proximate, the exact time varying with the temperature and moisture of the air and the character ot the construction. In removing forms, one large builder—C. A. P. Turner—requires that a 20-penny spike driven into the concrete must double up before it has penetrated one inch. Time Should Be Utilized. "It is bad policy to start in on a transaction that will probably require several Interviews to close, on Saturday or before a holiday," ad¬ vised W. W. Hannan. of Cleveland, In an ad¬ dress. "It is dangerous to leave open days when no aggressive progress is being made. It gives some other man a chance to knock your proposition if he is so inclined. Almost any¬ thing may happen to the best kind of a prop¬ osition between Saturday and Monday. "One great essential to success in real es¬ tate operations is the ability to concentrate your mind and energies on the matter in hand. As you take up your work Monday morning have a well thought out, carefully defined plan in mind of certain things which you intend to accomplish. Say to yourself, 'Today I will try to close this matter, then I will take up th'is and try and close it, then this, and so on. But all the time you must be alert to the businese of the moment. Don't make tho blunder of letting a new matter get by you because vou had decided to specialize for the time being on something else. The old Scrip¬ tural admonition : 'This ought ye have done ana not to have left the other undone,' Is as timely and applicable in business as in morals. "Business in common with the social side or life has its fads and fancies. There is some good to be found in most of them As stated a moment ago. tbe man of tbe hour m the business world today is the efflciency expert. To admit that the particular ln<^ustrial con¬ cern in which you are a stockholder has not felt the probing touch of tbe efflciency expert s to admit in effect not only that you are old fashioned but that while your business may be~ In a bad way. still you don't believe any¬ one can tell you what Is "ne matter, and If they could you don't want to know.—National Real Estate Journal."