The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1911-04-13
SHOW TESTIMONY OF EXPERTS
City Council Urged to Adopt Brick In
stead of Concrete as Material to be
Used in Big sewer-Many Statistics
Given.


Now that we are assured of the
trunk sewer, the next important ques-
ton to decide is, will it be built Of
brick or concrete8 Many of the city
officials are in favor of concrete sew
er which we are opposed to, and know
many taxpayers who feel the same. 1t
is q well known fact that brick-work
for sewers is both cheaper and much
superior article to concrete and we are
at loss to understand why change
should be desired at this time. Compar-
ing the cost Of brick with concrete, we
find that frst-class brick could be fur
nished and laid for, approximately,
$4,000 per NJ, or about forty-six (46)
cents a cubic foot. While concrete, as
per specifications, would cost, approx
imately, $14.50 a cubic yard built in
work, or $3.50 1-3 a cubic foot, which is
500 2-3 more a cubic foot than first
class brick work.
The specifications for the brick sew
er call for each course of both the in
vert and the arch, to be laid in streach-
ers, and to break joints in the adjoin-
ing courses. The courses are to be car
ried through from end to end Of the
length in hand, and in no case in the
invert is the length to be laid in sec
tions. This of course is the proper way
because as the work progresses, it is
impossible to detect the joining of the
work done from day to day, thus MAX
ing the sewer one solid wall of brick
One can very readily see that it would
be impossible to build concrete sew
err other than in sections, as each day s
work is a section by itself, owing to
the setting of the cement for ten hours
the concrete put in the following day
would not show work of a monolithic
character but would show breaks caus-
ed by the unequal settlement and
yhrinkage.
We are of the opinion that the city
has spent money enough experimenting
with concrete. If some of the people
who have the concrete bee in their bon
net would go over on Middle street and
examine closely the conditions of con-
crete bridge we think they would have
an entire different view as to the mer-
its of concrete. This bridge was built
SIX years ago at the cost of fourteen
thousand dollars. We are not going in
to details regarding the concrete bridge
as the present condition of the bridge
speaks for itself. About the only thing
the tax payer has to do, is to be pre-
pared to duplicate the cost of the bridge
in about year.
Another thing in favor of brick is
that the specifications for a concrete
sewer call for the paving of the invert
with brick to protect the concrete
which is very poor construction, for
where brick work is backed by concrete
the two will crack apart owing to the
unequal settlement. If brick is better
than concrete for the invert why would
1T not be for the entire sewer?
Comparing the compressive and tensil
strength of both, we find the compress
sive strength of concrete, after setting
80 days to be from 1,700 to 1000 pounds
per square inch. Setting 90 days to be
$500 to 1000 pounds per square inch
while that of good hard burnt brick to
be $500 to 5000 pounds per square
inch. The tensil strength of concrete
is from 500 to $50 pounds per square
inch, while that of brick is 500 to zoo
pounds per square inch.
You can see that both the compres.
sive and tensil strength of hard burnt
brick is IN excess of that of the con.
crete; under all conditions is brick form
of construction more adaptable to sew
er work than is the concrete, especially
so with the trunk sewer as it is to be
used in so short time after compile
ton.
Regarding the comparative STRENGTH
of concrete and brick sewers of eoual
thickness, we are of the opinion that
Ia open cut work there is no wav of
knowing that the concrete has been
properly poured, thus assuring Won
work of a monolithic character. There
fore, brick sewer should be preferable
to concrete for the reason that # will
be much stronger and much more read
lily set in.
In comparing the difference in cost
we have based it on walls of eoual
thickness, of three bricks or more in
thickness, as to concrete walls of the
same thickness. We find that concrete
will cost from 10 to 25 per cent more.
We viii call your attention to some
concrete sewers that have been put in
other cities. A concrete sewer put in
on 18th street of the city of Chicago
cost thousands of dollars more than the
original estimate. The sewer on seth
street of the same city, the invert was
put in in concrete and the arch of
brick: before IL was connpIaAad II was