The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-01-25
2 angement was rot cutie fair,

rangement was not cutie fair.
 MT. Hurley explained that the pur-
 pose of the fireproof district in the
 center is to eventually get rid of the st acks, now located in the center of
 the : city and which are continually
 patched and repatched. He declared hat the code. committee had thougnt it no more than fair to MT. Wheeler
 who had built fireproof buildings that
 others should be made to do so. He
 declared that people who owned prop erty in the center of the city can well afford to put up fireproof bu1lC- ings. He said that if such district
 is not established that those who pinch
 penny will continue to do so n con
 nections with their building operations.
 Mir. Kelley said that the description
 of a structure in the code would make
 fence a building. He thought It should ho changed.
 MT Kelley said he thought clear between the floor and ceiling. Arohiteef: Frederick H. Beckwith dis agreed ndth Mr. Kelley and thought a ts1 ortsY should be measured rom
 the top Of floor beam to the top or another. MT. Kelley wanted to know if he marked his olans that way. MT.
 Beckwith replied that he did.
 Mr. Kelley objected to the section of the code which permits the com missioners to require certain mater ials. He said that contractors had to take the guarantees of cement man. sfacturers and that there is no man in Bridgeport who can testify as to the quality of an iron beam. or whether it is made of the proper con-
 position He said he did not know how anyone is going to determine the nature of the material in an iron beam without destroying the beam.
 He said that if, the Building Com mission is given the powers allowed 1t
 under the code to pass on materials that no one would be safe He de- clared that it would be particularly bad for contractors. for violations are thrown upon them and the architect invariably protects the owners. Architect Beckwith expressed the opinion that the testing of materials should not be left with the Building Commissioners but with the American
 Society of Testing Materials, which
 organization. he said. is the highest
 authority in the land. MT. Kelley pointed out that the
 drafrers of the building code had fail- ed to specify Portland or "Rosen- dale" cement. MT. Northrop said that that the word Portland" should be written in.
 R. G. Bevier of the National Fire
 Proofing Co.. spoke in behalf of Bowling g. Bottomley. He said that he does not believe that requirements erly specified and that he would sub init a brief later on He spoka on thicknesses of@.walls required for tile, 12 inches being specified in the code. He showed several scores of buildings constructed of terra-cotta tile where the thickness of the walls is inches and 10 inches. He claimed they are fireproof, and that when $250, 900 worth of property is being burned up in the United States every year that it is time that a cheap non-combust- ible material were used for building purposes. MT. Hurley declared that tile build | ing is in an experimental stage, that it. is not being used in the city of New York. He said that the pie all located in small towns and in the country.
 MT. Bevier corrected Mr. Hurley to the extent of saying at-all of the boroughs in Greater New York with the exception of Manhattan are per-
 hitting the use of the terra-cotta tile Architect Beckwith submitted the creation of board of appeals to set tie any disputes that might arise be- tween the Building Commissioners on one side and architects. builders and
 
 Police Commissioner Wallace G. Taylor suggested that the "shall'' be submitted for "may'' in the section
 calling for the erection of temporary
 structures in front of buildings, while
 in the course of construction, for the
 safety of pedestrians.
 MT. Kelly next got. after the, thick
 ness of brick walls required in the
 code for business blocks and resi-
 dences. MT. Northrop said that it is
 true that there are many instances
 where 4 inches might be taken off
 above the first floor.
 R. T. Rock objected to the high
 pressure tests required for heating
 boilers in the code.
 S. IT. Wheeler said that the re-
 quirement of 12 inch curtain walls is
 asking too much and that an eight
 inch wall would be just as service-
 able.