Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

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1124 RECORD AND GUIDE December 20, 1913 laid out by an architect's engineer with¬ out the assistance of a building owner or manager, where it was found, after the building had been opened and was being operated that it was impossible to produce a kilowatt of electricity for less than six cents; while in another building, which had a power plant which had been laid out by the engineer with the assist¬ ance of a building specialist, current for power and lighting was produced and is figured as low as one cent per kilowatt hour. You will readily see what a great saving this must be to the latter office building. The reason for these conditions is that in the latter building the office building specialist knew exactly what was needed for the building and he eliminated things unnecessary and useless, at the same time brought the equipment that was in¬ stalled up to its very highest point of eflficiency for the work to be done. Planning the Heating Plant. The question of the heating plant is one which should have the careful study of the engineer in association with the building manager. From the time the building is decided upon and the first re¬ ports are made public, the owner will be harassed by salesmen who have heat¬ ing systems for sale. The use of the word "system" in some cases is an ex¬ aggeration, for the reason that such com¬ panies have only an accessory to be used in the heating equipment. As many ac¬ cessories to the heating system can be eliminated, the advice of the office build¬ ing specialist is especially desirable in connection with this part of the work, for he knows from experience what the results of the different equipmeui. acces¬ sories have been. He knows the expe¬ rience that other building managers have had in buildings all over the country, and especially so what has been the common experience with equipments equivalent to that which the new build¬ ing is to contain. The Electrical Engineer's Part. In the smaller building and in the smaller architectural offices the electrical engineer's work is combined with that of the mechanical engineer, but in the larger building it is absolutely necessary to have a high-class, practical electrical engineer to lay out the lighting and elec¬ tric power equipment for the building. The eflficiency with which this portion of the work is executed is an important factor in the economic operation of the building after it is completed. The electric elevators, if there be such, are part of this engineer's work, and as the elevators are the very heart and soul of the office building it should receive the greater proportion of his study; and every effort should be used by the elec¬ trical engineer and the building mana¬ ger to secure for the building the most adequate practical service through its elevator installation. There is evidence all over the United States in buildings of unquestioned merit of the mistakes that have been made by architects and engineers in the lack of consideration and the proper equipment of the elevator service, all of which goes to show that a first-class, practical, electrical engineer is almost as necessary as the architect. Thousands of dollars are lost in al¬ most every building through a lack of knowledge of the exact requirement of the plumbing equipment for a modern office building. Experiments have been tried and mistakes been made time and time again from this condition. There¬ fore in large oflfice buildings the ques¬ tion of the plumbing equipment should be turned over to a practical plumbing engineer who, with the assistance of the building manager, should be able to lay out an equipment that is exactly suited to the building's need. The building manager should work in harmony with each department and check each set of plans carefully. The Slavery of Precedent. In an architect's office established pre¬ cedent is a big factor, particularly in the specifications, and this tendency must be battled with. The usual practice, in such an office, is to select a set of specifica¬ tions used for some previous building or a set borrowed from another office and revise them to meet the new conditions. Right here is where the value of a spe¬ cialist is unquestioned, for it is this prac¬ tice alone which installs in our modern office buildings so much antiquated and "ante-bellum" equipment. Hence it is up to some one to get in touch with the more modern equipment and investigate its practicability, and who should be bet¬ ter fitted to do this than the building specialist? Not the owner, surely, for lie is rarely practical in this line of work. The Renting Campaign. The last but not the least person to be employed in the erection of an office building is the man who is to do the ac¬ tual renting of space. In the smaller buildings, say of 100,000 rentable square feet or less, a special man for this work is unnecessary, as the building manager can usually take care of this amount; and where a building specialist is em¬ ployed it is unnecessary to have a special man, because the building manager will have time to handle the renting and he is properly the one to take care of it. In the first instance this man should be se¬ lected particularly with a view to his ability as a salesman. His tact, diplo¬ macy, conversation and method of hand¬ ling convincing arguments should be fac¬ tors entering into this consideration. He should report directly to the building manager and be under his direction. The first step requires a complete rent¬ ing campaign laid out systematically with all the accessories, such as files, card indexes, etc., of the very latest type, so that every facility to the hand¬ ling of the renting campaign, together with the solicitation of tenants, can be availed of quickly and accurately. The building manager should take particular pains to train this man to the best of his ability so that the man can, when the building is completed and being opera¬ ted, become his assistant manager, and thereby be of profitable assistance to the manager. Managerial Experience Necessary. The oflfice building manager should be selected because of his previous experi¬ ence in the management and maintenance of office buildings. It is preferable of course, that he has had experience in the construction of a building also. It is often the case that a practical build¬ ing manager who has had experience in the construction and planning of an office building can not be had in the locality in which the building is to be erected. In this event it would be well to employ an oflfice building specialist, one whose entire business is the plan¬ ning, erection, construction, operation and maintenance of oflfice buildings and one who is up to the minute in the latest devices for the efficient operation, main¬ tenance and renting. Such a man in con¬ junction with the building manager will produce an excellent building. It does not necessarily follow that because a man has rented an office building that he is a successful oflfice building mana¬ ger. There is a great deal more to ef¬ ficient oflice buildin.g management than tlie renting alone, and while a man may be an expert in the renting end of the game he would be an entire failure in producing the required net revenue from an office building. Consequently, the owner should be careful in selecting his manager and building specialist and try to secure one who has had practical and successful experience in management and operation, as well as in renting. It is true that the professions of of¬ fice building manager and oflfice build¬ ing specialist has come into existence only in the last ten or twelve years and then only due to necessity. These men have usually passed through the school of experience and are the products of a demand for such a profession in this economic age. It is not necessary to hold the pioneers in such a work respon¬ sible for the many mistakes that have lieen made, but in the face of these er¬ rors it is right and correct to criticise the man or corporation who today plans and erects a skyscraper without first gathering around him the best special¬ ists that can be employed. WHAT KIND OF COAL TO USE. Let the Engineer Keep a Daily Tally Sheet of Boiler-Room Conditions. GEORGE H. BAYNE, who is known to many building managers in this city as an eflficiency expert on coal con¬ sumption, recently conducted a compara¬ tive coal test in a well-known building to help the manager determine just what results he was getting from the coal he was using. The test was extended to include two other kinds of coal, and this is how the data upon which to base findings were obtained: He provided the engineer with a ruled chart, upon which was typed the follow¬ ing items: Number of the boiler used................. Name of fireman ......................... Kind ot coal (anthracite or bituminous).... Supplied by ............................. Number of test .......................... Duration of test..........Hours .......... Date of test............................. State of weather......................... Condition of Coal. Size aud condition (slack, run-of-mine or screened, well prepared or dirty)...... Total weight of coal fired during test...... Percentage of moisture in coal by weight.,. Total ash and refuse.... From fire box...... From ash pit..... Natur.e ot clinker......................... Hard or soft.......Large or small....... Thickness of fire required................. Bar work necessary....................... Method of firing (spreading, alternate or coking ............................... Character ot Water. Total weight of water fed boiler during test ................................. (If a meter is used this will be the difference between the initial and the final readings of the meter, corrected for the temperature of the feed water and should be calculated in pounds.) Pressures. Barometer (if a barometer is not available, 14.7 pounds per square inch is correct for all practical purposes............. Steam pressure by gage per square inch.... Draught at stack......................... Draught in furnace.......Over fire....... Draught in ash pit (this is only necessary when forced draught is used)......... Temperatures. Temperature ot feed-water entering boiler., Temperature of escaping gases (pyrometer), .A complete set of charts was kept for each kind of coal tested, with the result that an accurate basis was obtained for determining the actual evaporation, un¬ der the particular operating conditions, each different coal produced, which, after all, is more important than deter¬ mining the heat contents of the same quantity of fuel. —Real estate interests in Brooklyn are anxious to know where the new court Iiouse is to be. In all probability it will lie on the present site with some adjoin¬ ing land in addition. .A decision to this effect is expected before the year ends. —Depression in the steel trade is less acute, and idle woolen looms are be- gining to restart now that they can bet¬ ter estimate the effect of the new tariff. Bankers say the outlook for money is for relatively easier rates, although such can hardly be anticipated before the middle of January, and some stringency may occur in connection with the clos¬ ing of the year.