Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 95, no. 2457: Articles]: April 17, 1915

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REAL ESTATE AND NEW YORK, APRIL 17, 1915 ■■■■lill^ NEW BUILDING CODE BRINGING OUT PLANS Plan-Filing Heavy, Partly in Anticipation of Law Changes—Tight Money Market HeM Responsible for Slowness in Starting Construction Hi' ^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii THE quarterly reports of plans lilod, in last week's Record and Guide, were very encouraging to business in¬ terests generally, as they showed sub¬ stantial gains in all the boroughs except Queens, and only a slight falling ofif there. But reports from the trades are to the general eflfect that notwith¬ standing- the large number of plans filed construction contracts are not being signed at the same rate, and work is not going ahead proportionately. Such work as oflfers is just starting up for the season and is noticeable in the demonition of old buildings that is ^oing on and in excavating operations. Reports to Secretary Tompkins of the Buildine: Trades Council disclose that only about twelve hundred more men are under employment at this date than were eneaeed on the first of February, when 35.000 were idle. The tieht money market was" blamed for awhile as the cause of holdine back the work, but lately an improvement has been noticed in regard to the avail¬ ability of building loans, and at the present time the prevailing opinion is that the unusually large number of plans filed in the three principal boroughs is in no small part in anticipation of the new buildine laws which are being passed by the Board of Aldermen from time to time, and also in part in antici¬ pation of new regulations from the In¬ dustrial Board for the construction of factory and store buildings. Business Agents Report. At this week's meeting of the busi¬ ness aeents in the building trades who visit all parts of the metropolitan dis¬ trict, this was the interpretation put upon the present situation in the building trades. Tn numerous cases works have been halted after being started. An ex¬ ample of this is the project of Vincent Astor for an apartment house on the block front between 89th and 90th street. The site has been excavated but is now fenced up and deserted. Several years ago, in the year 1909. it will be recalled, in anticipation of the enactment of a new building code, the plan filings were very heavy for a time, which made the buildine record of that vear very large. Something of the kind is going on now, in the opinion of the men who make it their business to know, owing to a desire to avoid the conse¬ quences of possibly stricter laws than are now in the building code. The plans filed indicate an intention to build eventually, and the holding back may be due to tight money or to some un¬ readiness. New Ordinance Introduced. An ordinance governing excavations and foundations' was introduced in the Board of Aldermen this week. It will be found printed in full in the City Record of April 15, and an explana¬ tion in the Record and Guide of April 3. The ordinance when approved will form part of tlie building code. The Committee on Buildings to which was referred on March 23, an ordinance in relation to working stresses and loads reported in favor of adopting the ordin- RUDOLPH P. MILLER, C. E., Who is drafting the new Building Code. ance. The measure was laid over for one week. Building Ordinances Endorsed. The Advisory Council of Real Estate Interests, through its Building Code Committee, which consists of Messrs. Henry W.' Hodge, chairman, Otto M. Eidlitz, and Julius Franke, and which has been sitting weekly to consider the ordinances of the Board of Aldermen that are being incorporated into the new Buildine Code, has endorsed Ordinances Nos. 1572, 1573 and 1590. Ordinance 1572 relates to iron and steel construction in city buildings. This ordinance covers such subjects as girders, trusses, lintels, fioor and roof beams, party wall posts, and steel wrought iron and cast iron columns, etc. Ordinance 1573 pertains to wood con¬ struction and prescribes rules for the in¬ stallation of beams, wooden trusses, bolting, stud partitions, fire stops, wooden columns, posts and girders, etc. Ordinance 1590 relates to strength of materials, and is particularly applicable to working stresses and loads'. This ordinance provides for proper safe loads for masonry work, for live and floor loads in stores, factories and ware¬ houses, and for all temporary supports, as well as supports for wind pressure. The council, through its Building Com¬ mittee, has suggested minor corrections as well as many verbal changes purely technical. Report on New Elevator Regulations. The Advisory Council of Real Estate Interests, through its Industrial Code Cnmmittee. which consists of Messrs. Julius Franke, chairman, Louis J. Horo¬ witz. Frank A. Pattison and Evarts Tracy, and which has been considering all the rules and reeulations promulgated by the Industrial Board, has made cer¬ tain recommendations with regard to the proposed atnendments to rules relating to construction! Swarding, equipment, maintenance and operation of elevators and hoistways in factories. Public hear¬ ings were held upon these proposed amendments, before the Industrial Board, on April 7, when the Advisory Council was granted the privilege of submitting a brief upon these proposed amendments, which brief contains the following recommendations: "With regard to hoistway enclosures, as there is nothing in the proposed rules which provides for vertical sliding doors or rolling shutters, and as these doors are very much in use in factories, we would suggest that they be included and, therefore, we suggest the amendment to Rule No. 406, to read as follows, the new words being underscored: _ 406. Horizontal or vertical hoist¬ way sliding gates or doors and roll¬ ing shutters for existing and future in¬ stallations used for passenger and em¬ ployees' elevators may be full auto¬ matic, manually operated or self-clos¬ ing, and, unless full automatic, shall l)e fitted with a substantial lock or latch and all doors shall be arranged so they cannot be opened from the outside, except with a key. "In Rule 407, which prescribes that vertical or horizontal sliding gates or doors that were installed previous to the adoption of these rules may remain in place, as installed, provided the gates are sufficiently high and strong, for the par¬ ticular requirements where they are used, the word 'tell-tale* has been sug¬ gested as a change for the word *tell- table' chains, when gates are less than 5 ft. 6 in. high and are set closer than 12 inches froin the hoistway line. These 'tell-tale' chains' may not be less than 4 ft. long and 6 in. centers must be sus¬ pended from the landing edges of the car platform. Trap Doors. "Where there are automatically oper¬ ated trap doors, so constructed as to form a substantial floor surface when closed, and so arranged as to open and close by the action of the car in its pas¬ sage both ascending and descending, it has been suggested that in addition to such trap doors, the hatchway shall be adequately protected on all sides and all floors, including the basement by railing or enclosure at least 5 ft. 6 in. in height rather than 3 ft. 6 in. in height, as pre¬ scribed in Rule 412. "Under Rule 424. where elevators must be equipped with a speed governor when the downward or upward speed of the elevator exceerh 200 ft. per minute, or 150 ft. per minute, respectively, and it shall, under these conditions, release the safety equipment of the elevator, it is stated that car safety will not be re¬ quired for direct plunger elevators. The Councjl feels that this might he a source of danger, as some phmge elevators are liable to accident in case the car should separate from the plunger. The counter¬ weight wnnld throw the car up through the roof. This sliould be considered. "Under Rule 434. where there is the danger of physical injury to persons, by contact with counterweights at the bot¬ tom of the counterweight runaway, it is prescribed that the weights shall, be