Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 16, no. 389: August 28, 1875

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AND BUILD ERS' GUIDE. Vol. XVI. NEW YOEK, SATUKDAY, AUGUST 28, 1875. No. 389. Published Weekly by THE REAL ESTATE RECORD ASSOCIATION. C. W. SWEET...........___Pkesident aud Treasurer PRESTON I. SWEET...........Secketabt. L. ISRAELS.........................Business Manager TERMS. ONE YEAR, ill advance....!^I0 00. Communications should be addressed to Nos, 345 and 347 Bkoadwat, HAND-WEITING ON THE WALL. In view of the attention directed to the streugtli of tmsupported brick walls by two or three deplorable accidents whiclj have lately occurred,. it may not be amiss to particularly mark certain radical defects in brick-laying which are too little known by the public at On the one hand, we do not mean to state that we are aware of anyihing defective in the constiuction of any parlicular wall, yet we do mean to snythat far too many walls now stand¬ ing are liable to meet a disastrous fate, even without the unexpected pressure of a severe The whole strength of a well-built brick wall— which is, in truth, much less' than is supposed by men not practically experienced, yet, at tbe same time, much greater than that of most of our flimsy structures—consists in its homo¬ geneity, that is, its binding into a solid mass. For this reason the "bond" is introduced, or, in other words, at certain intervals the usual fore- and-aft position of the bricks is reversed, and a brick, or certain bricks, called headers, are set across the wall, forming a bond between the two sides. Our practice in this respect is exceed¬ ingly defective. Architects usually specify that every fifth course shall be wholly of headers, but this is of ten allowed to be construed as every sixth or seventh, and in cases of cheap , contract buildings is sometimes neglected altogether. -ETOryi fifth row is too little. Four courses together, m'ak- .ing roughly a height of ten inches,/^^ too great a leverage under pressure. ^' t system of making a certain .percentage or..kScks in each course headers, is iar preferable, but if our workmen are so lazy or careless as not. to be trusted unless they lay all the bricks-in each course alike, then everythird should be sub- suiuted ;^- Sryfiftlu^ Anoth>-.. b'jeat source cip weakness is the mor¬ tar, and on the subject of lime the builders and the architects are totally at variance. The former say it does mortar good to "sweeten" for a week or so; the last are of opinion that it loses in strength if over a day' old, both reasoning from the effect of air on lime. Direct experiment shows that lime, judiciously lat ^ nd kept rmist, covered from rain, is in no way deteriorated by ten days or two weeks' ex¬ posure, but the addition of sand immediately alters the case. In fact, you perform in the tub what you wish to effect in the wall, and tha mass sets immediately. The addition of water to keep it moist, then, merely suspends the action, but the very least drop too much "drowns" the mass. The contrary effect is observed when brick or sandstone are laid without wetting, when the porous material sucks up aU moisture immediately, and the mortar is "burned." In the first case you have merely a gritty white¬ wash; in the second, a sandy powder. The truth is, masons don't like a first-class mortar— it takes too much time to lay the brick. MANSARDS. Duiing its seven years of use among us the French form of the mansard roof has been either so little understood or so often changed that some small definition of its real purpose and use must be acceptable to our readers, professional or otherwise. Our New England carpenters, long before Mansard or Reraissance were ever heard of here, had arrived at the same result, working from conditions nearly similar. Anywhere east of Trenton may be seen gambril roofs one hun¬ dred to two hundred years old, and Ohver "Wen¬ dell Holmes' rhyming definition of the term is weU known. The gambril is the horse's knee- joint. The better spelling is gambrel. The gambrel or mansard has two technical advantages—it gains the effect of a roof with the room of a full story, and it exerts no thrust upon the walls. It is, when rightly constructed, a dome with an angle in the sides, and the con¬ ditions of stability are substantially the same, while the timbers or framework are lighter and easier placed than those of any trussed roof. It will be immediately observed that a man¬ sard placed above a heavy cornice (and a too great projection of cornice is an especial ikult) loses almost a third of its height, unless the ^ec- tator can take a distance from the building*^* at least five times its height. It follows, tK |, that all mouldings, windows, etc., at the base" nf a mansard will be invisible from the otheiu*j;l;e of a street one" mmdred. feet wide, and the ijqf itself appear an extinguisher, not a coverir^ One method of remedying this delect is to place above the cornice a high blocking-course, or an attic or half-story, so that the mansard really begins at the angle of vision over the cornice. An example may be seen on Sixth avenue, near Twenty-third street, and another on Fourth avenue, near Twenty-seventh street, both apparently by the same architect. A beautiful example of its needless introduction is the new Tribune Building, where the roof is just this extra story too deep. Walk towards the building until two stories only are seen above the cornice, and the effect is doubled. Another way is to diminish the projection of the cornice, and that we cannot help thinking is the real solution. If the neo-grec is really des¬ tined to supersede all other styles for general purposes, there can be no doubt of this fact, for the essence of the style is its comparatively slight projections. We uniformly pay too little attention to the top of our mansards. The deck cornice should be from one-eighth to one-twelfth of the whole roof in height, and the "coruble," or garret formed by the rise of deck roof, should be plainly seen behind it. The charm of the mansard consists in a high, plain sweep of dark slate, against which all or¬ naments and contours are strongly outlined. The chimneys become invaluable for. effect. A fine instance of such effect may be seen corner of Fifty-seventh street and Fifth avenue, in the lower end of a white marble block, but the poverty of the deck cornice spoils the whole when you look more closely. As to those sloping extinguishers ornamented (?) by stiff checker-boards in colored slate and capped by two or three skinny mouldings, they should be left for those devotees of German sameness who imagine that a colored arch and a yard of oil-cloth will redeem half an acre of monotony, and that absence of mass is compen¬ sated by a presence of fihgree. If the owner is penurious, or the architect barren, there is one immediate way to make it known. Let them concoct a mansard. GOKYEYANaES. Wherever the letters Q. C. and C. a. G. occur, preced¬ ed by the name of the grantee, they mean as follows: 1st—Q. c. is ah abbreviation for Quit Claim deed, i. e., a deed in which all the right, title, and interest of the grantor is conveyed, omitting all covenants or warranty. 2d—C. a. G. mean a deed containing Covenant against Grantor only, in which he covenants that he hath not done any act whereby the estate conveyed may be im¬ peached, charged, or incumbered. NEW YORK. August 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25. Chbrey St. (No. 183), s. s., 176.6 e. Market Slip, 25x60. Charles F. Wood (Trustee of Joseph F. Wood) to Frederick Darr. Aug. 20.......$6,600 Eldridge St., e. s., 225 s. Grand St.. 25x87.1] Anuie Schnitzer to Jacob Foss..............! .SAME property. Bella Schnitzer et al. (infant's | l)oy)................:•.......;;;::...;:.....J John Gr. Cameron (Guard.) to Jacob Foss. Aug. 25...................Other cons, and 15.000 Essex St., s. s., 50 s. Hester st., 25x50. TutliUl C. Ackerman, Brooklyn (heir of Harvey B. Acker¬ man), to Frances Solomon. Aug. 2........6,350 Same property. Sarah A..Ackerman.(widow) to Frances Solomon......—.................nom Houston st., n. s., 100 e. 2d av., 25x82. Fi-ancisca Knapf to Catherina Knmim. (Correction). Aug. 19......... • • -...................^.... .nom Hudson st., (No. 469), w. s., 39.11 n. Barrow St., 20x83. (Leasehold.) Carrie F. wife of George E. Androvette to Charles E. Williams, Brook¬ lyn. Aug. 7...............,.,,.. .exch, and nom