The Benton weekly record., 1882-08-10
CONCRETE BUILDINGS.

LEle concrete UltitnluS IlUW III toutsc ~
erection by the BENTON Building Assocsa~
ton recalls TO mind a series Of articles pub
I:4lled in the RECORD about i've years ago,
and which at the time induced Messrs.
KIeinecimidt & Bro. 10 erect the buildlag
now occupied by the firm Oh upper Main
street. It is claimed that concrete is ha-
lures building material, anu that for vest
ertl homes il possesses qualities superior 10
brick, stone or wool. 4 writer on the
subject says: "All thr western pTalIleS
abound i'll just the required material,
either i'll occasional banks thus formed or
two or three feet below The surface. All
the wells ever saw dug threw ap
inst the right kind OF gravel nor 10 re-
member seeing a bank dug through which
did not develop them, All that is wanted
is stone and lime. 4 wall made
simply Of lime and sand will answer, yet
stones add considerably to its solidity."
In further recommendation OF these mate
rials for building purposes it IS claimed
that it is incombustible, cheaper than either
wood or brick and that no skilled nechan-
les are necessary for the erection even
OF houses built upon complicated
plans. II Ill this is true it is certainly the
only material that should be used in the
erection of houses at Benton, for the rea-
son that lumber is unusually high, bricks
are dear and hard to get at any price, and
the high wages and security Of mechanics
are sufficient to scare any one 1rom at-
tempting to build even q modest residence.
But the question is will this concrete ma
terial stand our climate. It may answer
well for one story houses, but will It bear
the pressure OF two, three or even four
stories az it will soon be desirable to build
houses in Benton? We believe not. In
1865 the writer was ssent to examine mum
Der of houses built in Jersey City OF this
same material. The builder had first OBJ
tainell the architectural plans and skilled
Iaborers to mix and place the materials.
| Twenty houses were buil7, five OF which
were three stories high, ten OF two stories,
and the remainder were one and hall
stories. 1t may have been t1e weather
poor materials, or bad management
which resulted III failure In this instance,
but the larger buildings fell to The ground
before they were completed and only The
one and Il half story houses were ever oc-
cupied. Is il proper TO state, however
/ that the smaller houses never did tal
down, but are to-day as substantial as ever
and will probably last Is long g eitllei
stone or wood,
The concrete building of Messrs,
Kieinschmil5 & Bro, has stood foI
six years aud is apparently a
solid as ever, which is seyidenee enough
that one story buildings of this nlateria
ID practicable and it remains tor tbs
building association Or some private party
to show that larger houses can also b
erectedto advantage and made 60 snpporl
something more than Il roof. There lsnt
question that The concrete houses are s1lpe-
rlor to wood or stone i'll many FespecFt
i o.her than tIla> e elnentioned. . ifeY are fIrt
] pr0of, impelyons I'D frost or moisture
and much cheaper than brick, sTote or
wood. and wfaera sl1Aehanics eannuI De bat
/ ii simple recipe for the mixture Of tftt
4 materials is Ill that is necessary t0 ellablS
I anv man t0 build his uWn houses.