The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1904-02-24

/ Ol lIllS ItNlSSu ucSlSI- w I'LL lIlIs
| change it became necessary to give
! greater pitch to the roof than origi-
nally intended, and to make numerous
notifications and changes in the spec
/ ificationS and detail drawings for the
! work. For instance, the change III
! pitch of the roof obviated the necessity
! for the ventilatorS shown in the orig
! inal plans. which would have been un-
slightly thereon. The modified and re-
vised drawings for this portion of the
work are still on file in my office and
! could have been seen by the inresti-
eating committee and their expert
hatS they so desired.
/ 1t is charged that the window frames
of the dome do not fiji. This appear
| ance is no doubt caused by the fact
! that some Of them were blown in dur
| ing u severe storm last summer.
Again, that there are kinks anu
/ crimps in the galvanized iron of the
| inner dome. But these are no doubt
! due to natural expansion and contrac-
! ton.
! Again that some stones on the out
| side of the dome are too short, and the
| contractors filled up the spaces. Now,
the fact is, you cannot keep the water
out OF q close joint of stones: there
must be space enough to calk and ce-
lllell, anu IL ID lltSCSSol ll llioh pSiiiN'
1t must be understood that the little
water oozing past the cement swells
the oakum and this makes the joint
water proof.
But the great bulk of criticism
| of tha work on the dome is that
II is not according to plans ana
specifications. and that the nlallS
actually used are not what they
should be. 1t is true that much OF IL
is not according to the drawings ana
specifications seen by the committee
and their expert, but are substantial
compliance with the modified drawings
and detailed working plans. AS to the
criticism by Mr.. Hunt and the commit
tee of the plans as changed and actu-
ally carried out. I insist that neither
This contractor nor this committee are
coInuetent Judges. Surely the members
of the committee are no better aDle 10
Judge of the work, at this time. than
were the members Of the capitol COM
mission, who saw the work as it pro
gressed and when it w;s completed and
accepted.
Ninth. That the wood truss under
the portico roof, called for by the draw
! ingS. is absent.
After the commission decided 10
omit the two columns before referred
to. the wood truss was no longer prop
or. the drawings were changed ana
steel truSSed perlinS substituted, span
ming the portico the shortest way.
And here again the committee under
takes to criticisc the use OF built up
sections. as Called fer by the draw. SS,
instead Of expensive solid stones. IN
deed they criticise everything except
the contract price, which every BODY
knows was very low.
Tenth. That Il sheet of galvanized
iron -l-32 Of an inch thick is all there
is between the. interior of the building
and the wide, wide world
These cutters are not galvanized iron,
but the best quality of IN tin, which is
the best gutter lining that can be usec.
Copper lasts longer, but the expansion
is too great. These cutters. which are
of the usual thickness for this class OF
work. are painted on the under siue,
caulked with lead in the stone and the
gutter bed lays fiat on the stone cor
nice.
Eleventh That one of the large lin
tel stones in the rear portico is cracked,
this being the last of the SPECIFIC
charges which is numbered.
This stone showed no defect Wheh
the work was accepted. but has bro
ken since then / do not believe it is
likely to give away" Apparently per-
feet stones will sometimes crack IN
building and cannot be guarded
against. The committee could have
easily found evidence of this fact, had
they desired it, in several large stone.
on the east side of the building, which
are cracked and broken. us is also a
very large stone on the south side
near the west corner
Next: That the contractors did not
., s,,ta ,f h. hIIil1inpr IlIr-
ing the work
II is almost impossible to fully pro
tect a building during repairs and
changes and let the occupants remain
irsidc--it is not like an unoccupied
building. could not. and did not
undertake to prescribe just how the
contractors sholld protect the old
work, and they claimed to the commits
sion that they had done all they could
10 TO that end.
In this connection it must be remem-
herad that many of the stains from
leaks in different parts Of the building
were there before the work under i'll
vestigaton begun.
Next: AS TO the cement loOrS ana
water leaking from above.
Only one day last month ! was sur
prised To see so much water in the
Dassageway under the front portiCo.
as il had not rained for several days,
and ] called the attention "l MT. Will
liam Banks of The State To the condl-
tons. Careful examination showed
that the walls of the building were
sweating all around. hut where the art
was against the building ii ABSORBED
the water, while it was not so absorbed
where the cement floors joined the
walls. The walls sweat regularly.
This would not have been the case had
they been built hollow in the outset
they had enough thickness Tor ar
space in the centre. This is one OF the
most serious defects in any part of the
state house. ! had nothing to do with
IL.
Next: As to the defective water clos
cts and plumbing.
This work was all done before the
city had plumbing rules, or an lnSpec-
tor of sewers and plumbing, or even a
sewerage system. ThcS" rules vary III
different cities and in the absence OF
any prescribed rules each architect
uses such plans and methods as seem
best, considering location and sur
roundings, general appearance and
sanitary rules. In all these matters
there is constant Improvement. Just as
we have greatly improved on ol! clos
cts in the basement. which Wer" IN
stalled when Col. Maj shall WaS on the
commission in char%" of the state
house improvements. trust that the
State is able to get even more Nclll-
Inrion by electric fans. as suggested. az