The Jersey City news., 1892-06-02
that all the matters and things that seem
censurable can be explained.
Very truly.
PETER +. WANsER.
Mayor.
Board of Street and Water Commits

MdgOI-
Board of Street and Water Commits
SIRs:-Your Committee on Pubic
Buildings Docks and Parks for the year
IS9l-1S92, to whom was referred the mess
age of His Honor, the Mayor, relative to
the mason work on Public School No. %,
now in course of erection on the corner or
Zabriskie street and Columbia avenue, re-
spectfully report as follows:
We have made an investigation of the
various complaints in the message, and
examined the architect, Louis ii. GleIe,
the contractor. and all other persons con-
nected with said building from whom we
had reason to believe information could
be obtained. The Mayor has correctly
quoted the reference in the specifications
TO the work OF excavation,
l. The excavation must be performed
in accordance with the plans; the plans
show a grade line Contractors usually
bid to excavate all earth below the grade
line, as shown on the plans. The pro-
vision that "all earth must be removed
from the premises" Is q common one In
all specifications and is construed among
builders and architects to mean the earth
taken from a cellar must net be dumped
ON the balance of the premises, bat en-
tirely taken away from the same.
When this plot was purchased by the
city it lay some ten or twelve feet above
the grade of Zabrskie street, while Col
umbia avenue has not been graded at all
to make it available for q school house
site. however, not only the plot but Col
umbia avenue in front of 1t had to be
graded down to the established grade.
The committee, long before the main con-
tract had been awarded, directed Mr.. Con-
don, from time to time, to remove this
earth, at a compensation of forty-hVe
cents per cubic yard; Condor did the
work, renderingsweekly bills; he graded
the site to the grade shown on the plans
of the architect, as we'll as Columbia ave-
nue. for one-half of its width in front of
the school house site. He was paid in ac-
cordance with measurements furnlsheo
by the Chief Engineer; the work was done
in midwinter and the price paid was rea-
sonable. Your committee directed Con-
don to put large portion of this dirt on
Nelson avenue at the request of the Com
mittee on Streets, which was much below
grade, and needed raising, the dirt was
spread and leveled there without extra
charge.
We find, upon enquiry, that the other
bidders for this work did not calculate
upon any excavation above the grade
line shown on the plans; letters from a
number of these contractors are annexed.
2. AS to the change from brick to stone
walls.
The specifications call for brick walls
for the foundation, but by our, consent,
Ou JIG duNiCo VI UnO ulCHlbCSU Al Shnl SSs
was permitted for the following reasons:
When the plans were made. 1t was not
anticipated that rock would be encOun-
tered. Enquiry was made of Mr.. Clark
son, the contractor who had recently
built the sewer in Zabriskie and paved
the street. He reported this block free
from rock. Consequently no provision
was made for rock excavation in the
specifications. When, however, the earth
excavation was in progress. rock was dis
covered cropping up along enc side OF the
lot. The contractor objected to the re-
moval of this rock, but wished to build
the front brick walls directly on this rock
without blasting the same out. To this
the architect objected. Whereupon the
architect and the contractor appeared
before the Committee of the Whole
and the Chief Engineer, where, after
much discussion. 1t was agreed that Con-
don should take out the rock to the
required depth and be permitted to build
the lower walls of trap rock ruoble, pro-
vided he increased the thickness without
extra charge, as follows: The twelve
ipcn walls to eighteen inches, the sixteen
inch walls to twenty inches, and the
twenty inch walls to twenty-four inches,
all to be laid in first-class manner, from
the stone to be taken from the cellar, for
the use of which the contractor was to
pay the city six cents per cubic foot.
The architect gave the directions to the
contractor in Il note, of which copy IS
attached, marked "a" while Condor
agreed to pay for the stone, in writing, of
which copy is attached marked "B."
The change was made only upon the
assurance of the architect that it was to
the benefit of the city.
8. AS to the different sets Of specitica
tions. This we considered serious
matter until we had fully Investigated its
history.
1t appears that after Mr.. Giele had sub
m1tted his plans and specifications to our
Board, we directed him, as usual court
eSy, to submit them for revision to the
Board of Education and Superintendent
of Schools; this was done one Thursday
evening; on the following Monday no re-
sponse having been received, your COM
mittee obtained leave to and did adver-
tise for bids.
On Wednesday morning Superintend-
ent Poland called on the architect and
said that the Board of Education had de-
cided to leave out the toilet rooms on each
floor and place them in the basement,
where they could be separated from the
play rooms by stone or brick walls. To
this the architect demurred in; in the first
place, because it was suggested too late;
and secondly, because it would involve
additional expense. Finally, the matter
was compromised by striking out the
toilet rooms on the first and second stories
aud using the space for libraries and plac-
ing the toilets in the basement, which
necessltated the building OF 112 feet of ad-
ditional wall. A letter from Superintend-
ent Poland on this subject Is attached.
Mr.. Giele reported the change to the
Chairman of the Committee, who ac-
uuiesced therein. The chanGe was made
III the original plans and specifications as
filed.
This Board only recognizes the original
plans and specifications on file in its
office; on these, builders are expected to
estimate in the office where every facility
is afforded them; on these plans all bids
are based, We learn, however, that it
has been the custom of the architects to
make additional copies and loan them
around for the convenience of bidders.
Some of these copies had been made by
the architect before the changes requested
by the Board of Education had been
adopted and although the architect sup
posed that he had cal!e(; them all in. one
seems to have escaped and fallen into the
hands of his Honor. The variations in
the specifications to which the Mayor al
ludes, all h3ye reference to the changes
thus suggested by the Board of Educa-
tion. The architect assures us that there
is very little difference in the cost of the
two arrangements that in the basement
being somewhat the more expensive.
4. Ceilings. We ind to our surprise
that in the specification attached to the
original contract in the Conptroller's
office, no reference to the metal ceilings
-, oda Dbic xrouII ha Sariouo at-