Page:The Building News and Engineering Journal, Volume 22, 1872.djvu/520

 498 THE BUILDING NEWS. June 21, 1872. As to the destructive effect of the fire on stone, he entirely confirmed Mr. Edis’s statements. Mr. J. D. Peppre. of Edinburgh, said that the construction described was certainly not fireproof, in the proper sense of the word, although he believed that had such fires been kindled in Edinburgh or London the effect would have been far more disas- trous. He had no doubt, however, that the system of construction employed in Paris could be still further improved by a greater use of plaster in covering iron columns, &c. One objection to the so-called fireproof floors was that very frequently, when they gave way owing to the tension of the iron columns, they carried with them large portions of the walls of the building. This was a point to which particular attention must be paid if it was wished to make our individual buildings secure. Mr. Lewis Horneiowenr, of Liverpool, then de- scribed, with the aid of large diagrams, his new patent system of fireproof flooring and construction, and Mr, Edmeston, Mr. Bromhead (Glasgow), and other gentlemen having asked various questions of the inventor, Professor Kerr seconded the vote of thanks to Mr. Edis, and wished to extend its scope so as to in- clude the name of Captain Shaw, whose presence had added considerable interest to the proceedings. While he thoroughly appreciated the importance of the con- clusions at which Mr. Edis and Captain Shaw had arrived from an inspection of the ruins of Paris, he thought that they threatened great danger in letting it go forth that the use of wood as a fireproof material was allowable. As a general rule, this idea was strongly to be deprecated. For the protection of ordinary dwelling houses against the ordinary risks of fire a good solid wood staircase might answer very well, but coming to such buildings as ware- houses, in which real fireproof construction was de- manded, he thought it would be extremely dangerous to allow the public to suppose that wood was under any circumstances a good material for fireproof con- struction. With reference to building materials, it should always be remembered that Nature never undertook to supply us with building materials. If we took certain natural products, and converted them into building materials, we did so at our own risk, but the real scientific question of fireproof con- struction was largely mixed up with the idea of artificial material. Taking the case of stone, he had been told that Ransome’s artificial stone was a fireproof material. It was known that that stone was superior in another respect to natural stone, but did any one know to what extent it would bear the fire ? Mr. Bromuean, of Glasgow, said that his expe- rience differed with that of Mr. Edis and Captain Shaw. In almost all cases he had found that where a building exceeded, perhaps, 50ft. cube, he had never seen one instance of anything in the shape of wood being left at all. On the other hand, he had known many cases in which wrought-iron girders and cast-iron columns had been pushed over and thrown to the ground, and occasionally destroyed by bending, but in all these cases a material remained after the fire which was worth so much per ton as old iron. In reply to a gentleman present, who said, in reference to Professor Kerr’s remarks, that he believed that the only stone which stood the fire well in Chicago was an artificial stone, Major-General Scott said he believed that Mr. Ransome’s stone was a silicate of lime mixed with a large quantity of water of combination, and until all that water was driven off by the heat the stone would remain uninjured. Mr. WATERHOUSE said that a good deal had been said about the action of fire upon stone, but no distinction between the different kinds of stone had been made. Captain Siaw said that, as far as he had observed, the behaviour of different kinds of stone under fire was very similar. Each and every kind was irre- parably injured by the action of heat. Perhaps the one that gave the best results of all was gneiss. Stone staircases let into the wall at one side only were highly dangerous, for in case of fire the stone not embedded in the wall became heated, while that buried in the wall retained its original temperature. The heated part expanding, the inevitable result was a fracture of the stone. In reply toa question as to whether the firemen were notafraid of theso-called fire- proof construction of the present day, into which iron so largely entered, and whether, in consequence, the men were often unable to render all the aid they might otherwise give in extinguishing the fire or saving property from the flames, Captain Shaw said that when his men were at a fire they displayed little or no fear, but at certain times it wasthe duty of an officer in charge of a body of men to order them out of a building of so-called fireproof construction. When the interior of a building of this description had | to sundry questions which had been printed and attained a certain temperature, it was always neces- sary to order the men out of the building, whereas, where the beams, joists, and columns were of wood, the men could remain in the midst of the fire with safety for a much longer time, and of course would stand a greater chance of mastering the fire. The CHARMAN, in putting the vote of thanks, said that with regard to the resistance offered by stone to fire, he believed there was one stone that really did this—viz., the Reigate fire-stone. He recollected seeing the fire-resisting properties of this stone a few years ago, when the old roof of the London Guildhall was taken off. The whole of the interior of the Guildhall was lined with that stone, and although traces of the fire which destroyed the former roof were found—and from the published accounts it was a very destructive fire—the stone was in reality uninjured. He was sure that in the vote of thanks would be included the name of Mr. Hornblower. Mr. Epis, in reply, said he was quite aware that the employment of timber in the ordinary way in London warehouses would fail, but he had seen in Paris timber coated with plaster that had stood for three days the heat of a great fire, and remained almost Wninjured. Captain Sw said that in view of the great and increasing commerce of this enormous city it was impossible for those who had to deal with fires to expect much to be done in the way of reducing the quantities of goods stored, but it was, of course, expected that the different kinds of goods would be classified. The architect was the fireman’s very best friend, and it was to the architect that the fireman looked for safety. In densely populated districts the utmost precautions should be taken against the spread of fire. He should like to see the day arrive when every architect would be held responsible for the efficiency of his building in this and all other respects for a certain term after its completion. The proceedings then terminated. FIFTH DAY.—FRIDAY, JUNE 14. PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND CHARGES.— THE EMPLOYMENT OF SURVEYORS, The final business meeting of the Conference was an adjourned meeting to complete the consideration of the subjects which were set down for the first meeting, and could only be partly disposed of on that occasion—namely: Professional practice and charges, and the employment of surveyors. The clause relative to valuations was discussed at considerable length, and it was decided that it avould not be easy to frame a rule which more exactly coincided with the present practice as to valuations for sale and purchase than the one which stands part of the original paper of ten years ago. The sur- veying clauses were reaffirmed almost without dis- cussion, and this closed the examination of the paper in detail; but as soon as all the clauses had been in this way agreed to seriatim, the question of the adoption of the memorandum, asa whole, was debated, and that at considerable length; indeed, Mr. Hayward, Mr. Godwin, anda few other gentlemen pressed both at this stage of the meeting as at its very commencement their wish that the old paper should be reaflirmed with no addition whatever, the princi- pal reasons advanced being that these gentlemen felt strongly the undesirableness of any change in a document that has been in use for ten years, and that they did not attach much importance to the new clauses. In reply, it was urged by several speakers that the delegates and members present on Tuesday, some of whom had been compelled to return home, fully understood that their work was in effect done, and that the result of the thorough and patient consideration which they had given to the paper would be embodied in it when issued. It was also pointed out that on the point of the owner- ship of drawings an alteration was imperative, and that as a change had to be made it was well to utilise the opportunity and add such other clauses as expe- rience had shown were needed. Eventually the Chairman ruled that if necessary the point, after its being voted on by those in the room, could be sub- mitted by letter to all the architects present at the previous meeting, but absent that day. This was not, however, done; the adoption of the paper in the shape to which the meeting had brought it was carried by a show of hands, and the title having been settled, this matter was at length disposed of. The other subject before the meeting—the employ- ment of surveyors to prepare bills of quantities—was in a much less practical shape. The Committee which had been appointed at last year’s Conference to consider this subject reported that they had asked for and obtained from various architects replies circulated. They considered that the diversity of practice was as yet too great for them to be able to recommend one uniform mode of procedure. They then proceeded to describe the method adopted fre- quently—namely, that two surveyors are appointed to do the work between them, while, not infre- quently also a single surveyor is nominated, and they expressed a strong opinion in favour of includ- ing the bill of quantities among the bases of the con- tract. This report gave rise to considerable difference of opinion, some architects present speaking wellof the working of the system under which the quantities are the basis, or one of the bases of the contract; others mentioning that they had not found it work well. The principal objections to this course were embodied in a series of resolutions proposed by Mr. Dawson, but ultimately withdrawn. The final result of the discussion was that a motion to “receive” the report was agreed to, which, as it simply accepts, but does not adopt or endorse that document, is held to leave the proposals made as to quantities forming part of the contract quite open for future settlement, should a future Conference see fit to return to the subject. THE CONFERENCE DINNER. The gentlemen attending the Conference, with many of their friends, dined together at Willis’s Rooms, §. James’s, on Friday evening, under the chairmanship of the President of the Institute, Mr. T. H. Wyatt, the three cross-tables being presided over by the three Vice-Presidents of the Institute—viz., Mr. Horace Jones, Mr. Waterhouse, and Mr. J. Gibson. About 110 gentlemen sat down to dinner. The usual Joyal toasts having been duly honoured (the Chairman, in proposing the health of the Queen, remarking that the members of the Insti- tute and the profession generally owed a great debt of gratitude to her Majesty, for she had granted the Institute its charter), the Chairman proposed “ The Army, Navy, and Auxiliary Forces.” He regretted that Professor Donaldson, who had formerly served in the Navy, was not present to respond on behalf of the Navy. With the toast he begged to associate the names of Major-General Scott, of the Royal Engineers, and Colonels Barlow and Manby. Major-General Scort, in responding to the toast on behalf of the Army, observed that architecture was both an art anda science, but the sciences and the arts stood in very different positions as respected their progress and their appreciation by the public. Science could do without popular appreciation. The Royal Society did not care at all what the outside world thought of its doings; it knew that what it was doing would in time produce good fruit. The Chemical Society, also,could work on uninterruptedly without the assistance of the public at large, and the Geological Society would still continue to burrow under the earth whether its work ‘was applauded or not. With the arts, however, the case was different. He was inclined to think that even the Royal Aca- demy itself would be very little unless it held its yearly exhibition, and he believed that Architecture would derive great advantage from an exhibition each year somewhat similar to that held by the Royal Academy. He then proceeded to urge the suitability of the International Exhibition buildings for such a purpose, saying that he knew that her Majesty’s Commissioners desired to encourage every branch of art and science, and if-his proposition was agreeable to architects—(A voice: ‘‘It is not.”)—and was acted upon by them, it would be met by the Com- missioners in the spirit in which it ought to be met, and he believed that great good would accrue to the profession. (‘‘ No, no,” and ‘“ Hear, hear.) These observations were not exactly connected with the toast to which he had to respond, but he felt he should not have done his duty had he not called the attention of the company to the matter, especially as several architects of standing and position had repeatedly called his attention to the point. He thanked them for the kindness with which his re- marks had been received before he broached this un- fortunate subject, but he should have been unworthy of the name of a British officer if he had not per- severed. Although there were at present some dif- ferences of opinion among them, he trusted that the time would arrive when they would all be holding out the right hand of good fellowship to each other, and combining in making such a glorious exhibition of architecture at the International Exhibitions as should put to shame half the countries of the world. (Cheers and laughter.) Colonels BARLow and Manny having briefly re- plied on behalf of ‘“‘The Auxiliary Forces,” The CrarrmMan proposed ‘The Artistic and Scientific Societies of England.” He was glad to see that so many distinguished visitors were present to represent those societies There were present Sir