Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1904-02-24

referred to said. I'VE are satisfied that
tnere is no question as to the strength
OF this revised design" With this
change IL becamS necessary to give
greater pitch to the roof than origi-
nally intended, and to make numerous
notifications and changes I'm the spec
ihcations and detail drawings for the
work. For instance, the change IN
pitch of the roof obviated the necessity
for the ventilators shown I'm the orig
mai plans, which would have been un-
slightly thereon. The modified and re-
Nised drawings for this portion of the
work are still on file In my office and
could have been seen by the inyesti-
Satlng committee and their expert"
had they so desired az
IL is charged that the winGow frames
of the dome do not fit. This appear
ance is no doubt caused by the fact
that some of them were blown I'm dur
ing severe storm last summer.
Again, that there are kinks and
crimps I'm the galvanized iron OF the
inner DOME, But these are no doubt
due TO natural expansion and contrac-
tion.
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 n close joint of stones; there
must be space enough to calk and ce-
ment, and IL is necessary at that point.
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 the work on the dome Is that
1t is not according to plans ana
specifications, and that the plans
actually used are not what they
should be- 1t is true that much of 1t
Is not according to the drawings and
specifications seen by the committee
and their expert, but are n 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, l insist that neither
this contractor nor this committee are
competent judges. Surely the members
of the committee are no better able to
judge of the work, at this time, than
were the members of the capitol COM
mission, who saw the work as it pro-
Sressed and when it was completed and
accepted.
Ninth. That the wood truss under
the portico roof, called for by the draw
ings. is absent.
After the commission decided to
omit the two columns before referred
to, the wood truss was no longer prop
er, the drawings were changed and
steel trussed perlins substituted, SPAN
ming the portico the shortest way
And here again the committee under
takes to critcise the use of built up
sections as called for by the drawings,
instead of expensive solid stones. In
deed, they criticisc everything except
the contract price. which every body
knows was very low
Tenth. That Il sheet of galvanized
iron 1-32 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,
hn nr ,,, ,,,l,t ola to,
the best gutter lining that can be used.
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 side,
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 when
the work was accepted, but has bro
ken since then. I do not believe It is
likely 10 give away" Apparently per-
feet stones will sometimes crack in n
building and cannot be guarded
against. The committee could have
easily found evidence of this fact had
they desired it, in several large stones,
on the east side of the building, which
are cracked and broken, as is also II
very I3iSp stone on inc SDuln SIDE
near the west corner.
Next: That the contractors did not
protect the interior Of the building dur
ing the work
II is almost inn ossible to fully pro-
tect II building du"ing repairs and
insidc--it is not like an unoccupicd
building. | could not, and did not,
undertake TO prescribe just how the
contractors should protect the old
work, and they claimed to the commits
sion that they had done all they could
do to that end.
In this connection II must be Tcmem-
bcrcd that many of the stains from
leaks in different parts of the building
were there before the work under in
vcStigaton begun.
Next: AS to the cement floors and
water leaking from above.
Only one day last month ] was sur
priscd to see so much water in the
passageway under the front portico,
as ii had not rained for several days,
and ! called the attention of Mr.. Will
liam Banks of The state to the condi-
tons. Careful examination showed
that the walls of the building were
sweating all around, but where the dirt
was against the building it absorbed
the water, while it was not so absorbed
whore 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 for air
space in the centre. This is one of the
most serious defects i'm any part OF the
State house. l had nothing to do with
it.
Next: AS to the defective water clos
cts and plumbing.
This work was all done before the
city had plumbing rules. or an inspec-
tor of sewers and plumbing, or even n
sewerage system. These rules vary in
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 old clos
cts in the basement, which were in
stalled when Col. Marshall was on the
commission in charge of the state
house improvements ] trust that the
state is able to get even more Vcnti-
la ton, by electric fans, as suggested, or
otherwise, as the present location was