Los Angeles herald., 1892-04-15
LETTER BAG.
A Criticism OF yitriAed Brick.

EDITORS hEhALD. 1u0 dTClClo pun
lished in the Express OF the 18th inst,
headed "Vitrifed Brick Pavement" is
80 apt to be misleading to property
owners in this city expecting to have to
pave their streets, that it is but fair to
put them on their guard when 80 much
is claimed. The article says that it is
claimed that vitrifed brick makes the
least costly and most enduring roadway
known. Not the least costly in this
city if the present prices are to rule, viz
271a and 28 cents per foot; not the most
enduring if there is any traffic on 1t, ior
if, as 1t is claimed in the article. It's lie
is from 60 to 70 years. it was because
there was nothing to destroy it. The
writer has carefully searched for infor-
nation as to the enduring qualities of
yitrified brick pavements. and can find
nothing that would warrant the suppo-
sition that the brick has ever stood the
wear and tear of the traffic of large
city. Most of the large cities OF the
United States have tried brick without
success, and are now using stone, as
phalt and wood, and it is only in small
towns and out-of-way places that brick
is being used to any great extent. If
the brick payements are 80 enduring,
why is it that London. Paris, Berlin and
other great cities OF Europe do not adopt
brick? 1t cannot be said that it is be-
cause they do not know what a paving
brick is, because the clinker brick of
England is well known and frequently
used for private driveways, being put
down on a six-inch concrete base and
grouted with cement between the bricks;
from what the writer knows of clinker
brick, it ought to be a superior brick for
paving, being vitrified entirely through,
not salt-glazed, as the bricks used at
San Bernardino and Nigger alley in this
city appear to be. And yet brick is not
used in those old cities, whose engineers
have for hundred years or more been
searching for durable, smooth and
healthy pavement. What is the mat
ter? There must be some mistake about
this go or 70 year life. Probably some
advocate of brick pavement, in his en-
thusiasm, added a naught by mistake to
the 6 or years. The absurdity of
talking about pavement wearing go
or 20 years, under any sort of traffic,
is apparent. Now this same article claims
that the wearing power OF asphalt is
only from ten to twelve years. Where
does this claim come from? The his
tory of asphalt pavements does not
show any such result. Some of the
Paris streets paved with asphalt have
been used for over thirty years without
renewal. An asphalt pavement laid in
Putney and Cheapside, London, stood
that immense traffic for more than
seventeen years, and the asphalt pave
ments of Washington, made from Trini-
dad asphalt over seventeen years ago ARE
today apparently as goon as ever. Berlin,
the Chicago of Europe, has adopted the
asphalt pavement, using the bitumnous
lime rock of the Val de Fravers. Does
the reader believe that the municipal
corporation of Berlin, advised by some
of the best engineers in the world,
would adopt asphalt if it were not, all
things considered, the best pavement?
Strange as it may seem, they don't
seem to have considered brick for paw
ing purposes.
Turn to our Chicago, what became of
the brick pavement laid there? After
its destruction in short time, did they
pnt brick back? 1t does not appear so,
but you can see plenty of asphalt being
laid there.
Now as to smooth, noiseless pave
ment. The new-laid paving brick is
quite the equal of asphalt, but there
the comparison ends. 1t is not as dura-
BILE, not as clean and not go healthy,
owing to the dirt and moisture collected
and held in the cracks; and, lastly, if
properly laid on cement concrete base
and grouted, cannot come anywhere
near competing in price with asphalt.
The property owners of our city must
rely on the engineer and the board of
public works to see that they get suit
able pavement for their money, and
these gentlemen should move cautiously
and inquire into the merits of all paye-
ments, and get the results of experience
from the older and larger cities, and not
allow themselves to be carried away by
appearances and talk, but take results
for their guide. B.