St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1911-05-27
Architect Stevens Says this
of Our School Building.
That Its Completion Would
Simply Entail Loss.
Better to Tear Down and
Build New Structure.
Plans Faulty and Unfit for
a School Building.
New Orleans, May 2, 1911
Mr.. H. B. Messick,
Covington, La.

New Orleans, May 2, 1911.
Mr.. H. B. Messick,
Covington, La.
Dear Sir-In accordance with your
request, / beg to submit herewith a
brief report regarding the condition
OF your high school building, the
construction of which was begun
some few years ago.
A careful inspection of the ma
sonry work shows the walls to be
badly cracked in many places, and
at some points the pressed brick face
work has fallen off. | did not deem
IT, necessary to examine carefully in
to the cause of these badly cracked
walls, as whether the fractures are
due to faulty construction, insuftl-
cicnt foundations, or partly from dis
integration caused by the exposed
condition of the unfinished work,
they are absolutely unfit for use If
not altogether unsafe. A superficial
inspection of the walls reveals the
fact that the brick work has been
laid up very loosely, and at no point
that could be investigated, properly
bedded in motar. In addition to
this fact, the motar appears to have
been poorly made, having an insult
'ficient quantity of lime, and evident
/" no cement in it's composition.
There are several points on the build
ing where the foundation has evil
IDENTIFY cracked, and has spread In
it's bed, although, as stated above,
no investigation of the foundation
was made because of the evident un-
fitness Of the use of the walls, what
ever might be the cause of the fish
ure. Not having the specifications
or plans as a guide for my inspec-
tion. | could not determine what
supDort was really intended for the
reaches above the windows, however,
ONLY a fiat segment has been built
over these openings with wooden
Intel to partly support same, ana
the faultiness of this construction IS
very apparent from the manner IN
which these arches are falling IN. II
is customary to support such open
Jig tons with cast iron lintels, espe-
cialIy where the foor joists rest, SO
near the openings, and investlgatlon
of this construction shows that the
ends Of your floor joists spanning
some Is to 80 feet are carried by TWO
row-locks of brick supported py
wooden Intel. and when you take
into consideration the further fact
that these bricks are laid in rotten
mntar. the weakness Of this constfue-
tion might be well imagined. AS q
matter of fact, proper school mouse
construction requires that floors be
circulated to carry 1875 pounds per
sorare foot. If your floors had any
thing like their dead loads and hVe
loads. the arches would not support
them:
Regarding the masoHary Wo"E
generally, the proposition appeals to
mo as follows;
Four walls are half built, ana
loaded only with the floor Joists OF
first and second floors SO that they
are CARRYING now not more than one
quarter the dead load that would
ha placed on them if all the floors
and interior finish as well as the
remainder of the wall itself and the
roof construction was completed. IN
addition to the dead load they are
supposed to have carrying capacity
81 six times this weight to allo"
for the vibration of the live loads
they will be required to stand wheI
the building is occupied as school
Now if the walls and foundations III
their incomplete condition, and car
rying practically no weights except
their own. are cracking and falling
to nieces. it does not require an ex
merit to calculate that they are total
iv unfit to carry the full loads tina
such a building is properly designed
to support.
TO repair the cracks in the wall
would not at all remove the caus'
that has produced them and Woui'
of course make these walls no sIrohs
er than they are at present, ana IN:
opinion is that to carry this ouiio
ing to completion on the present I'M
properly built foundations ana Weal
masonary woud be total waste
money and would give you a Dulld
ing that would almost immedlatel.
have to be demolished because 0
its dangerous condition.
AS requested by you, have care
fully looked over the plans of you
building with a view of recommend
ing changes or notifications Whicl
would produce results more in con
formity with established laws gov
erning school house construction, bu
have come to the conclusion tina
the plans contain so many error
that it would be far wiser to abandon
them altogether, adopting entirel
new and model plans. This can b
done without loss to you It you
present structure is demolished, an
/ do notthink l would figure on an
other course.
The subject Of school house de