The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1910-07-14

"ooeii uiHc plOST6SS OF the new
Sanitarfunn building as it gradu-
ally extends its height upward.
The work is novel and interest
ing. The system is unlike anv
other building in this city and
very Jew are built like it in the
larger cities. The process of
constructing a large four-story
building without any wood or
pfanks or boards and, without the
use of nails is new indeed; vet
this is the plan of construction of
the Plymouth Sanitarium and
Hospital. 1t is going up like
Solomon's temple without the
sound of the hammer or dhisel."
And yet it goes up more solid
and secure than any wood, stone
or cement building can possi-
bly, be. 1t has no parts to- crack
with setting, no joints to come
apart, no floors that will bulge
or sag, no place to fail in its
systemmetrical accuracy. 1t
goes up, tier ON tier, and each
floor is an independent structure
in itself. Cement. crushed
stone and gravel are the ingredi-
ents that enter into the compost
tion walls, cross beams and
floors of this monolitfic struc-
ture. The worklnen have lust
removed the woodwork castings.
,n which the beams were cast that
extends across the width of the
building, upon which the floors
and other foundation work rest.
They comprise a solid cement
beam" ,.as they would be called
in a building made of wood.
They are seventeen inches in
thickness, and they will become
more solid year by year as the
concrete ilardens. But this is
not the main strength of these
concrete beams. Within the
forms IN which they were made
there was laid system OF
fabricated iron, reinforcing roads
OF convex shape, on the princi-
pie OF the Pennsylvania via
duct and river bridges in the
city, wherein the iron rods, with
their arch shape make the piers
stronger and more resismble as
added weight is put upon them.
The concrete is poured in the
wood forms in whdcll the iron
reinforcing has been laid, and
they thus become imbeded in the
beam and harden with 1t, adding
strengths to its supporting power.
The monolith columns. as tfiev
are built up on each additional
floor, while they are monolithic
in design, and support independ-
ertly their weight, are in reality
joined from floor to floor, their
entire height. by this same sys-
tenn of iron reinforcing and of
course in the columns they are
placed perpendicularly, like the
lateral columns, they are imbed-
ded i'm the concrete. The rods
are attached to each other fnom
each floor into tl,le column. and
the whole becomes an impact
solid monolith. resting upon a
five-feet square basic footing.
Quality of the Floors.
1lhe floors are of the same
composition as the balance OF the
except the finished
coat, wlrioh will give it a smooth
Finished surface. They are five
inches in tllilclaness. The weight
OF each floor is immense. The
area OF floor space on each floor
IS 5000 square feet. equal to $500
cubic feet of concrete and stone.
Weight of Material.
In this structure there are
about GO tons OF steel, 700 tons
af crushed stone. 500 tons of
gravel and sand, 200 tons of |
800 tons OF roofing and
800 toms of stone and brick. in
all more than $500 tons, which |
would make 90 car leads.
The brick comes from Dan
Vile ILL.,. the crushed stone from
Logansport. all the iron is from |
Youngstown Ollio. and the cut |
)r finishing stone comes from |
Ahe IWm Geike Stone company |
NJ Fort Wayne.
THE entire partitioning of the
various rooms OF the btilding
Will consist of steel studding
With expanding metal lath, upon
vllicNl the cement plaster will be
placed.
Each floor and also the roof is
'elf supporting. The walls are
,arrled ON the Individual floors.
md each has no connection be
ween one floor and another.
The building will be ire-proof
md sound-proof. Doors and
window sash will be the only |,
wood used. There will be no
,aSings nor base-boards.