The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1901-10-27

6uRh tests have been made and the
conclusion IL that the older the cement
rock e tbs harder Il becomes. The
roof OF the rev StKExs1~aI6 bzii5ize
is Of cement. as are also The floors.
and for some tine this has been a
popular process IN TIE construction Of
roofs and fcors
That the business men Of the main
Land cities have faith IN poured
buildings Is evidenced b. many hand
some structures already completed or
nov being built One Of the most
beautiful Few churches IN Brooklyn i
Of stately decorative design and is
done entirely in cemen; stone, and 3
new court house and jail in one Of the
New YORK COUNTIES are tzst nov in
process Of being poured
What Edison Says.
In the last few months the Poured"
method o. buiidIng has had a cham
plon fn the person Of no one else than
Thomas A. Edison. For once that vet
eran inventor has assumed q new role.
that Of prophet. Cement and steel. he
declares. are 10 be the building ma
terials Of the future" SkyscraDers
Eill b. built Of frameworks Of steel,
with walls 81 cement. the Eteelwork
incased ia cement a. weiL All the
small dwelling houses that are 10 come
viii be OF poured cement They
viii pour a house then" says Ar.
Edison
In view OF what has already been
accomplished in building with concrete
this IS exceedingly interesting. Pour
ing a house" IS. Of course. one OF Mr.
Edison's catchy. clever phrases. not
quite accurate. but suggestive. Unless
he himself somewhat improves the
present process. houses will not quite
be poured. although very nearly SO.
Now they are dumped. the barrows
Of cement shot into the forms through
a funnel like arrangement. the mass
then tamped or pounded down. Even
Ia the moiding OF stone" (imitation)
ornaments the concrete IS never quite
liquid
MY impression" said Mr.. Edison.
ais that the time will come when
every contractor VIII have standard
forms OF houses. twenty or thirt wa
rieties The forms will be made OF
wood. and a contractor using ore Of
the standard shapes will simply go
out and pour a house There will
probably be hundreds q designs. The
contractors win put mp their concrete
mixer and have their beams and forms
ready They viii nOur the form for
the first story. and so on. To do that
all they viii require will be common
labor. a few men and one boss. That
Is what ] think viii be done eventu
ally And such a house can be made
very cheaply. II seems TO me that
there will not be much use for car
penters then. There win be cabinet
makers. to be sure Why. even the
floors and stairs viii be made OF con-
crete"
Beautiful Columns Possible.
Pillars and columns and foundations
are nodded IN like manner as the wall.
the concrete poure din each case into
a wooden box that is precisely the
size and shape desired. The inner sur
face fthe boards is smeared with
soft soap and after the concrete has
hammer knock them away clearly.
leaving the pier intact
Making floors in this new direction
OF building is. a curious operation. !
There are a number OF processes APP
piled. all with the design OF strength
ening Concrete as a building ma
terial Is strong in compression but
weak in tension. Thus in construct |
ing these floors that are to carry |
heavy weights. and In wall building as
well. one plan is 10 embed in the ce-
ment tension rods or binders, lengths !,
OF twisted iron or steel. that will take !
the tension from the artificial stone.
These rods. 10 the number Of many |
dozen, are laid in the concrete as il i
is being heaped up. They are not !
Joined together. but simply spread out |
loosely. The concrete. biting into |
them. makes them part of it's mass.
a solid structure that takes up a good |
portion OF the strain.
With all the materials necessary
for use In the pouring" process. the
chances are very promising for the
adoption generally OF the new idea in
Honolulu. Brick builders will have to
look well 10 their laurels. for the new
competitor viii have the advantage OF
rapidity. Responsiveness and novelty. l.
The new process has been shown TO /
be thoroughly reliable, and with so
many advantages over the old II is
very sure 10 become popular in Ha-
wall f--l