Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-12-22
CONCRETE PAVING At sI.,s.

CONCRETE PAVING At SI.i0.
Sioux City's commission las opened
bids for first class concrete paving to
be laid this spring at s1.1s per square
yard and if Sioux City's commission
has nerve it will get a durable and in
every way admirable street pavement
for that price but just now the COM
mission is facing u threat from r. s.
Blome & Company, n of certain
patents on granitoid. that the city will
be sued for infringement. Several years
ago this was tried at Bozeman. Mon
tana. but the mayor of Rozeman would
not bluff and the suit was never press
ed. Again only a few wears ago the
; am company threatened the city Of
Fond du Lac. Wisconsin, but the suit
was never pressed Only a year ago
when there was talk of the Blotne
Company suing the city of Marshall
can secured copies of the Blone pat
ents from Washington and submitted
them to an attorney for an opinion and
it was held tina the Blome patents cov-
cred a certain formula for mixing con-
crete of cement aud granite chips or
of cement sand and granite chips but
that amy other mixture which did not
follow exactly the Blome formula
would not infringe.
Experience with concrete pavernents
has shown that The patented formulas
can easily be evaded in the laying of
good pavements and it almost invar-
iably follows that plain. unpatented
concrete costs much less. At Fond du
Lac last year it cost as low as 10.
At. Usage. Iowa, it cost 81 SO. At Ell
dora. s13s. At Mason City. s125. All
are good pavements. At Sioux City il
is going 20 cost s1.lS, While patented
pavements have cost S2.13 and have
been bid at s1.sS.
AT Ann Arbor. Michigan. the city laid
its own concrete pavement last year at
a net cost of So cents per yard but Ann
Arbor was particularly fortunate in
having nearby a deposit of sand and
grave in which the stone constituted
tW0-thirds of the volume. BY mixing
this bank run gravel with cement in
proportion of one part 10 eight a base
was obtained approximating 1:3:5.
The top was made two inches thick of
cement and sand IL and then washed
with tar and sand 10 make it rough.
Ann Arbor is so pleased With its s.
cent concrete pavement that it is going
to lay as much more OF it this coming
season as can be put down.
County seat towns in Iowa are all
ripe for street paveinents. Town
els everywhere are considering the
letting OF contracts now. Promoters
are in the field for sranitc!d, hithuli-
ether kinds of patented ~pavements.
Practically all Of them have a plain
concrete base five inches thick with
soma patented wearing surface which
enables the promoters to ask and OBJ
tain a long price,
Wherever city councils are posted as
to the paving game and are honest
plain concrete will be laid at the net
cost of sand. cement. stone, and labor
The price SHOULD range from $1.10 to
$1.35 where crushed stone must be
shipped in and less where the local
gravel can be used. Granite chips in the
top are useless expense and gravel
should not be used unless it screens
fully SO per cent stone with little or
no clay. Cement, sand n crushed
limestone at 1925 and FIVE inches thick
for the base, and cement with clean,
sharp sand at 1:2 and two inches thick
for the top brushed rough with a street
broom make the ideal specifications
with one-fourth inch expansion joints
every twenty-five feet. Property own
ers and town councils thruout Iowa
should investigate concrete for street
paving before they spend money fool
ishly.