The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1908-09-10
TELEPHONE BUILDING
The New Structure Is Of Peculiar
Construction.

ed by the Oskil'losa Home Te.crhonc
Co., was continued Friday after a
| brief delay, and the process is indeed
interesting. The building is to be
| fireproof throughout and the rein
forced cement construction will be
the first sample of this new method
| of construction in the city aud will be
an example which will in all proba.
| bility be followed in other buildings
to be erected in the future. The re-
inforced concrete system of building
fireproof structures is more durable
than any other composition known,
and has three distinct advantages
over the old system of hollow blocks
and structural steel. In the first place
| it is much more economical, and 1t is
lighter and adapts itself to changes "
temperature. Another advantage
which is not of special Importance in
this locality, but which is of vital i'm
portance in the new buildings now
being constructed at San Francisco
is that it is more elastic than other
structures and IS practically immune
from damage by earthquakes.
The method employed in reinforcing
the cement and arranging for plumb
ing and telephone connections is
somewhat complicated and we are in.
debted to the architect of the build
ing, Alfred W. Burdick, for an expla-
nation of the process.
L a
the purpose of numerous things which
are conspicuous in the present stage
of the work. The long square wooden
boxes, which for several weeks were
lying idle near the building, have now
| found place in the structure cores
ponding to the wooden beams in a
| frame building. They are placed
crosswise on the foundation at equal
| distances, nine of them running par
| allel north and south, and two shorter
ones at the rear of the building These
are only temporary forms or moulds
into which concrete is being poured
to form the reinforced concrete CIR
ders which will support the floor OF
the building. In each of these wood
en- boxes or troughs, which are open
at the top, has been placed a pair OF
steel pin connected girder frames.
| Concrete Wi. be poured around these
and will form solid beam eight in
ches thick and thirteen inches high.
One and ahalf inches above the bot
tom of the floor, or the ceiling line of
/ 40 MT ,,lo ~
twisted lug bars, which are long me
tai bars laid crosswise twelve inches
apart in each direction, The bars viii
be joined with lap joint where they
pass through the Orders. Above TIE
lug bars and surrounding them will be
and then there will be placed diamond
mesh netting known as Expanded
metal" A layer of concrete one and
a half inches thick on top will complete
the composition of the floor, MAKING
it when completed five inches thick.
The wooden floor which was laid som
time ago was but Temporal y and now
| forms the bottom of the mould or
form which VIII hold the concrete
while hardening. The metal struc.
ture, used 10 reinforce the concrete,
is all completed tefoTe any cement or
concrete is poured into the forms.
Later the wooden structures will lie
removed and the cement will form
one solid mass of rock st onsthcnei
| by the encased steel frames. A dress
inging of hard maple will afterwards
be put on the cement floor, except in
the two rear rooms where the bare
cement floor will remain.
The method of constructing the sec.
ond floor will be identical with that
| of the first floor with the exception
that there will be more space be-
tween the bookings and girder frames.
Only eight beams will be constructed
| instead of nine.
The several long black pipes which
have been extended through the moor
and erected upright at numerous
points in the floor are conduits for
| telephone connections, the wires pass
| ing through them from below A
large number of shorter tin tubes have
| also been placed upright on the floor
| to make holes in the cement floor
through which the plumbing pipes
may be passed. The work is progress
ing rapidly today and it is thought
that the concrete portion of the first
floor will be completed by tomorrow
A number of changes have been ne
cessarily made in the plans for the
building. 1t has now been decided to
make the roof fiat, slanting down from
the front to the rear of the building.
A parapet wall will be constructed
along the front and north side of the
building to give the structure a high
er appearance. The main entrance
will be on the corner, the door open
ing into public lobby, which will &C
cupy nearly quarter of the floor
space. The floor in the entrance and
public lobby will be of terraza com
position, similar to- the grey floor IL
the post Office building. The pubic
TELEPHONE booths will be located in
the rear of the lobby and the mana
gers and bookkeeper and cashiers
offices on the south side of the first
floor. A hallway will divide each at