James Bartlett

“ He is distinguished from the joiner by his operations being directed to the mere carcass of a building, to things which have reference to structure only. Almost everything the carpenter does to a building is absolutely necessary to its stability and efficiency, whereas the joiner does not begin his operations until the carcass is complete, and every article of joiners’ work might at any time be removed from a building without undermining it or affecting its most important qualities. ”

“ It is most important that the brickwork be kept perfectly plumb, and that every course be perfectly horizontal or level, both longitudinally and transversely. Strictest attention should be paid to the levelling of the lowest course of footings of a wall, for any irregularity will necessitate the inequality being made up with mortar in the courses above, thus inducing a liability for the wall to settle unequally, and so perpetuate the infirmity. ”

“ It is a common fault with workmen to rub the bricks thinner behind than before to lessen the labour required to obtain a very fine face joint. This practice tends to make the work bulge outwards; it should rather be inverted if it be done at all, though the best work is that in which the bricks are gauged to exactly the same thickness at the back as at the front. The same fault occurs when a gauged arch is inserted in an old wall, on account of the difficulty of filling up with cement the space behind the bricks. ”

“ In carpentry framing owes its strength mainly to the form and position of its parts, but in joinery the strength of a frame depends to a larger extent upon the strength of the joinings. The importance of fitting the joints together as accurately as possible is therefore obvious. It is very desirable that a joiner shall be a quick workman, but it is still more so that he shall be a good one, and that he should join his materials with firmness and accuracy. ”

“ When work is painted one or both of two distinct ends is achieved, namely the preservation and the coloration of the material painted. The compounds used for painting—taking the word as meaning a thin protective or decorative coat—are very numerous, including oil-paint of many kinds, distemper, whitewash, tar; but the word “paint” is usually confined to a mixture of oil and pigment, together with other materials which possess properties necessary to enable the paint to dry hard and opaque. ”

“ Bond in brickwork is the arrangement by which the bricks of every course cover the joints of those in the course below it, and so tend to make the whole mass or combination of bricks act as much together, or as dependently one upon another, as possible. ”

“ On exposure to the air copper develops a feature of great beauty in the coating of green carbonate which forms upon its surface protecting it from further decomposition. Perhaps the chief disadvantage in the use of copper lies in its first cost, but against this must be set the almost imperishable nature of the metal and the fact that by reason of its light weight less substantial framework is required for its support. ”

“ If the mortar be too thick, extra labour is involved in its use, and much time wasted. If it be so thin as to run easily from the trowel, a longer time is taken in setting, and the wall is liable to settle; also there is danger that the lime or cement will be killed by the excess of water, or at least have its binding power affected. It is not advisable to carry out work when the temperature is below freezing point, but in urgent cases bricklaying may be successfully done by using unslaked lime mortar. ”

“ It may be taken as a general rule that a brick should never be cut if it can be worked in whole, for a new joint is thereby created in a construction, the difficulty of which consists in obviating the debility arising from the constant recurrence of joints. Great insistence must be laid on this point, especially at the junctions of walls, where the admission of closers already constitutes a weakness which would only be increased by the use of other bats or fragments of bricks. ”

“ The next step is the partial purification of the sewage by means of a chemical process. When a town lies some distance up an estuary, as for example London, Glasgow, Rochester and many others, the dilution may be insufficient to prevent a nuisance, or the suspended matters may be deposited upon the foreshore to be uncovered at low water. The first stage of purification is then employed, namely, clarification in tanks. Practice varies with regard to tank capacity, but as a general rule it should be at least equal to, half a day's dry weather flow. ”

“ Great skill and discrimination are required in designing and applying mouldings, but that matter falls to the qualified designer and is perhaps outside the province of the practical workman, whose work is to carry out in an accurate and finished manner the ideas of the draughtsman. The character of a moulding is greatly affected by the nature and appearance of the wood in which it is worked. ”

“ Sewer gas is a term applied to the air, fouled by mixture with gases which are formed by the decomposition of sewage, and by the organic germs which it carries in suspension, that fills the sewer in the variable space above the liquid stream. It is universally recognized that sewer gas is a medium for the conveyance of disease, and in all well-designed sewers systems of sewerage stringent precautions are taken to keep it out of houses. It is equally certain that the dangerous character of sewer gas is reduced, if not entirely removed, by free admixture with the oxygen of fresh air. ”

“ As a roof covering copper is lighter, stronger and more durable than either zinc or lead. It expands and contracts much less than these metals, and although not so strong as Wrought-iron co and steel it is much more durable. From a structural pper point of view these qualities enable it to be classed as the best available metal for roof covering, although its heat-conducting properties require it to be well insulated by layers of felt and other non-conducting material placed beneath the metal. ”

“ The wood of an old tree, on the other hand, Felling Timber. has lost a great part of its toughness, and is of bad colour, brittle and often predisposed to decay. In trees that have arrived at a mature age the heart-wood is in its largest proportion and the sap-wood is firm and elastic; and the timber from such trees is of the strongest, toughest and most durable character. The age at which the northern pine and Norway fir arrive at maturity is between seventy and one hundred years. The larch, elm and ash should be felled when the trees are between the ages of fifty and one hundred years. ”

“ Care must be taken to keep the “perpends,” or vertical joints, one immediately over the other. Having been carried up three or four courses to a level with the guidance of the line which is raised course by course, the work should be proved with the level and plumb-rule, particularly with the latter at the quoins and reveals, as well as over the face. A smart tap with the end of the handle of the trowel will suffice to make a brick yield what little it may be out of truth, while the work is green, and not injure it. The work of an efficient craftsman, however, will need but little adjustment. ”

“ The regular and determined form of bricks makes it to a large extent a matter of practice to enable a man to become a good bricklayer, but beyond these a continual exercise of judgment is required of the workman in stone, who has for the most part to deal with masses of all forms and of all sizes.
Setting Stones.—All beds and joints should be truly worked and perfectly level. If the surface be convex it will give rise to wide unsightly joints; if concave the weight thrown on the stone will rest on the edges and probably cause them to “flush” or break off and disfigure the work. ”

“ While building the wall it is very essential to ensure that the cavity and ties be kept clean and free from rubbish or mortar, and for this purpose a wisp of straw or a narrow board, is laid on the ties where the bricklayer is working, to catch any material that may be inadvertently dropped, this protection being raised as the work proceeds. A hollow wall tends to keep the building dry internally and the temperature equable, but it has the disadvantage of harbouring vermin, unless care be taken to ensure their exclusion. ”

“ The bond of an arch obtains its name from the arrangement of headers and stretchers on its soffit. The under side of an arch built in English bond, therefore, will show the same arrangement as the face of a wall built in English bond. If the arch is in Flemish the soffit presents the same appearance as the elevation of a wall built in that bond.
It is generally held that the building of wood into brickwork should as far as is possible be avoided. ”

“ Many of the early buildings of the middle ages were entirely constructed of masses of concrete, often faced with a species of rough cast. The early masonry seems to have been for the most part worked with the axe and not with the chisel. A very excellent example of the contrast between the earlier and later Norman masonry may be seen in the choir of Canterbury Cathedral. In those times the groining was frequently filled in with a light tufa stone, said by some to have been brought from Italy, but more probably from the Rhine. ”

“ The scarcity of stone in the Netherlands led to the development of a brick architecture, and fine examples of brickwork abound in the Low Countries. The Romans seem to have introduced brickmaking into England, and specimens of the large thin bricks, which they used chiefly as a bond for rubble masonry, may be seen in the many remains of Roman buildings scattered about that country. ”

“ The legs of the structure should be cross braced with each other, either by ties of steel bars with tightening screws, or, as is more usual, with scaffold-pole or squared timber-braces crossing each other at right angles and lashed or bolted to the framework. In the case of a three-towered gantry it is necessary to ballast only the two queen legs. The weighting of the king leg, as is sometimes done, is quite unnecessary, and even injurious, for in soft or moderately hard ground the added weight combined with that of the crane engine and load may cause a serious settlement. ”

“ Small angle fillets or mouldings are often used as skirtings. The skirting should be worked so as to allow it to be fixed with the heart side of the wood outwards; any tendency to warp will then only serve to press the top edge more closely to the wall. In good work a groove should be formed in the floor and the skirting tongued into it so that an open joint is avoided should shrinkage occur. The skirting should be nailed only near the top to wood grounds fixed to wood plugs in the joints of the brickwork. ”

“ A system of flying shores consists of one or more horizontal timbers, sometimes known as dog shores, cut in tightly between the wall plates fixed with hooks to the faces of the walls of the adjoining buildings (fig. 3) . These horizontal members are supported at each end by cleats and needles fixed in the wall-plate as described for raking shoring. The shores are supported in their length by inclined braces springing from needles fixed near the lower ends of the wall-plates and serving to strut the shore at a point about a third of its length from the wall. ”

“ Carving is a trade apart from ordinary joinery, and requires a special ability and some artistic feeling for its successful execution. But even in this work machinery has found a place, and carved ornaments of all descriptions are rapidly wrought with its aid. Small carved mouldings especially are evolved in this manner, and, being incomparably cheaper than those worked by manual labour, are used freely where a rich effect is desired. ”

“ The channels are benched up at the sides with cement, and the manhole is rendered on the inside with a cement lining. A fresh air inlet is taken out near the top of the chamber and is fitted with a mica flap inlet valve. The cover is of cast-iron in a cast-iron frame shaped with grooves to afford a double seal, the grooves being filled with a composition of tallow and fine sand. Where there is a danger of a backflow from the sewer due to its becoming flooded, a hinged flap should be placed at the junction of drain and sewer to prevent sewage from entering the house drain. ”

“ Sulphate of baryta is the chief adulterant used in the manufacture of white lead. White lead has greater covering properties and is more durable than the other bases. It should therefore always be used in external painting. Paints having white lead for a base darken with age, and become discoloured when exposed to the fumes of sulphuretted hydrogen, which exists to a greater or less extent in the air of all large towns. Zinc white, an oxide of zinc, is of a purer white colour than white lead. It is lighter, and does not possess the same durability or covering power. ”

“ Iron pipes are led over the surface of the filters, and spraying nozzles are placed at short intervals, so that the sewage is applied in the form of a heavy shower. But whatever form the filters and appliances may assume, the final result is the same. If the beds are properly aerated, the aerobic organism establishes itself in prodigious numbers, and attacks the organic matter, breaking it down into harmless, soluble and gaseous products. It is, of course, assumed that the filters are adequate in area, and are properly managed. ”

“ Those of copper are most durable, but are soft and expensive. Zinc nails are soft and not very durable; they will last about twenty years. Iron nails even if galvanized are objectionable in permanent work, though they may be used for temporary roofs. When the plain-iron nails are employed they should be heated and plunged in boiled linseed oil. The pitch of a roof intended for slating should not incline less than 25° with the horizontal, while 30° is a safer angle to adopt. Tiles for roofing purposes are made from clay and burned in a manner similar to bricks. ”

“ Portland cement is the best matrix known, since it is the most powerful and the most durable. It is used for mortar wherever great strength, hard-wearing properties, and resistance to damp are required. It should weigh 112 ℔ per striked bushel and be ground fine enough to pass through a sieve having 2500 meshes to the square inch and leave not more than 10% residue. Test briquettes after setting under water for seven days should stand a tensile strain of 350 ℔ on a square inch. It is used in the proportions of one part of cement to from one to five parts of sand. ”

“ Every brick should be well wetted before it is laid, especially in hot dry weather, in order to wash off the dust from its surface, and to obtain more complete adhesion, and prevent it from absorbing water from the mortar in which it is bedded. The bricks are wetted either by the bricklayer dipping them in water as he uses them, or by water being thrown or sprinkled on them as they lie piled on the scaffold. In bricklaying with quick-setting cements an ample use of water is of even more importance. ”

“ A good form of flat roof is that in which concrete is used as a foundation for a waterproof layer of asphalt, laid to slight falls to allow the water to run off easily. This is the usual method adopted when a roof garden is required. Shingles or thatch look extremely well on a roof, but their use is debarred in a great many districts owing to the danger of fire. Galvanized iron tiles, zinc tiles and copper tiles may be employed on small areas with good effect. “ Willesden paper," often used as an insulating layer beneath slates and tiles, is also at times used as a roof covering. ”

“ Lead weights take up less space than iron, and are used for heavy sashes.
In framing and fixing skylights and lantern lights also great care is necessary to ensure the result being capable of resisting rough weather and standing firm in high winds. Glue should not be used in any of the joints, as it would attract moisture from the atmosphere and set up decay. Provision must be made for the escape of the water which condenses on and runs down the under side of the glass, by means of a lead-lined channelled moulding, provided with zinc or copper pipe outlets. ”

“ The bricks are piled on the scaffold between the mortar boards, leaving a clear way against the wall for the bricklayers to move along. The workman, beginning at the extreme left of his section, or at a quoin, advances to the right, carefully keeping to his line and frequently testing his work with the plumb-rule, spirit-level and straight-edge, until he reaches another angle, or the end of his section. The pointing is sometimes finished off as the work proceeds, but in other cases the joints are left open until the completion, when the work is pointed down, perhaps in a different mortar. ”

“ When the gradient is slight, and the dry-weather flow very small, occasional flushing must be resorted to. Flap valves or sliding pen stocks are introduced at manholes; by closing these for a short time sewage (or clean water introduced for the purpose) is dammed up behind the valve either in higher parts of the sewer or in a special flushing chamber, and is then allowed to advance with a rush. Many self-acting arrangements for flushing have been devised which act by allowing a continuous stream of comparatively small volume to accumulate in a tank that discharges itself suddenly when full. ”