Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-05
CONSTRUCTION METHOD
BALANCES THE INCREASE IN
WAGES AND MATERIAL.

In the year 1903 the results OF an extend
ed investigation of the cost of labor and
materials were given at length In the Rec
ord and Guide and showed an apparent IN
crease in the cost of construction In Greater
New York in five years of 30 per cent. This
final result was not arrived at entirely by
arithmetical processes, for the reason that
elements which cannot be reckoned in fig
ures must be taken into account. The meth
DDS of construction, for example, have
changed in ten years; working forces are
better organized; the work Is more scien-
tihcally planned and arranged for In adj
vance both by the contractor and the arch
itect. and new materials have come for
ward, as. for instance. Portland cement.
which has made a great difference. Less
wood is used and wasted. and various SUBJ
stitutes have taken the place Of the moro
expensive materials to q large degree. If
q building were erected in precisely the
same way in 1908 as in 1895, with the same
materials and the same methods and all the
materials in the same quantity and bearing
the same proportion to the whole, then II
might be possible to figure out from labor
schedules and price lists OF building mate-
rails how much more 1t cost to build in 1905
than did ten or twenty years ago.
The Cost No Higher.
certain with accuracy the difference in
building cost Is to have access to the ac-
counts of owners and builders showing the
total sums actually paid out for construc-
ton; and. strange It may seem to the
layman, after he has investigated and fig
ured on the higher cost of labor and mate
rails it will be found that the cost of con-
structing building of the first class such
as q. Broadway office building, is not very
much greater in 1905 than IN 1895.
In other words, taking two Broadway Of
fee buildings of the same cubical contents,
one finished ten years ago and one finished
this winter, 1t may be found that the total
footings of their cost sheets do not differ 10
per cent. This Is what the cost books show
as to Office and hotel construction.
Influence Of Architects.
The architect has been an important fac
tor in keeping down the total cost OF con-
struction. He is man OF better training
than ten years ago. and architectural de-
sign as q result is nearer the ideal. Or. put
ting It In another way, the architect does
not try to do so many stunts. So, while 1t is
fact that both labor and materials have
advanced in cost. the improvements in de-
sign and in engineering practice, with the
aid of new materials and more sldllful me-
chanical service and organization. have
tended to keep down the actual total cost
of construction in Manhattan.
Had wages and material prices remained
the same the improvements in engineering
and mechanics and the incoming of new
materials would have actually lessened the
cost per cubic foot for construction. Outside
OF Manhattan. however, a different set OF
circumstances prevail. and two things have
combined to materially increase the cost OF
dwellings of moderate quality, one being the
better sanitation required and the other the
higher cost of lumber. of which they are
principally composed. SO that while In Man
haitian the cost Of construction may not
have increased more than 10 per cent, in
Brooklyn. the Bronx and beyond there. has
been an advance. after making due allow
ance for progress of the times, as affecting
public taste and municipal requirements. as
well as progress In mechanics-an advance
in the cost OF construction conservatively
estimated as heretofore OF about 30 per cent.