Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1907-02-25
BOUNDARY lines CEMENT BUILDINGS
ARE COMING TO Be The STAND.
Ard AS fire PROOF.
Aberdeen Makes Step In the Right
Direction. Was Among the eirst
OF the Cities to Use the prOdnCt.
More Durable than Brick. Less
Expensive.


Now that Aberdeen is yet in the be.
ginning OF its building period, it would
be the wise thing for architects and
their patrons to adopt only such MATER
ial in the structures to be erected as will
stand the test of both time and fire.
From recent investigations it is seen that
the concrete buildings come nearer to
meeting the requirements than those of
any other material in use at present. not
excepting iron.
Some OF the advantages claimed for
concrete walls are as follows:
A dry, hollow wall, which is certainly
the most desirable for all kinds of habit.
able buildings.
The outer face Of the concrete blocks
can be made in desirable architectural
designs OF greater variety and at less ex.
pense than with any other building mat.
erial.
1t requires no paint, never decays or
becomes nnsanitary.
1t resists the fire better than any other
known building material.
1t is cheaper than any other material
OF it's class.
1t has been argued that perfectly
waterproof wall would not make as de.
sirabe dwelling as one that is more
porous and will permit the diffusion of
air through the wall. The hollow spaces
in properly constructed concrete wall
are connected both horizontally and
vertically and in dwellings this inne r
space is ventilated by few openings in
the basement and attic. In this manner
while the outer face OF the wall protects
it from moisture from without, the in
ner face being more or less porus, per-
mits diffusion into the interior. This
gives the advantage Of porus wall as
far as the inside is concerned.
In the manufacture of concrete, water
plays an important part. The amount
varies from about to Is per cent. In
the setting of concrete, the water enters
into chemical combination with the 9th.
er elements forming according to LIE
Chatelier crystalline calcium hydrate
and hydrated mono-siicate.
1t is convenient and we believe con-
sistent with we'll founded theory, to con-
slider the combined water as the water
OF capitalization. Following this theory
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we may think OF the setting as the form
ing OF crystals and think OF the particles
of cement as throwing out accular arms
hold fast to each other. According to
this theory, then. the setting and hard
ening Of cement is not drying process
but crystallization. When all of the
water required for the complete crystal
lization and no more is present it will be
all taken up and the concrete will be
dry. If the water required to complete
the crystallization is not all present the
formation of crystals will be arrested be.
fore they are fully developed. Then if
water be again supplied the final setting
WILL uOV O0 LILO Sdll0 do LuC octtIuX
had not been interrupted.
Visitors to Mexico City are usually
shown the characteristic structures of
the country, many Of which have been
standing since the Spanish occupation
centuries ago. Probably four-fifths of
all the buildings in the city are made of
concrete, even the churches and cathed-
rails. For more than fve centuries Mex.
leo has been acquainted with the possi-
bilities of concrete architecture, and
even in the ruins OF the oldest cities
there are still to be seen structures of
concrete that stand practically as they
were left by the molds of their builders
OF the earliest date. There is food for
thought not only in the beauty Of these
buildings, erected by au older civiliza.
ton, but in their solidity, which appears
to be as enduring as that Of the living
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