CHAPTER VII. 

 COST OF MILL CONSTRUCTION BUILDINGS. 



One of the important advantages of mill construction is the 

 relatively lower cost when compared with other types of build- 

 ings. This feature has been recognized from the early days 

 of this type of construction. With the advance in the cost of 

 building materials as a whole, the relative difference between 

 timber, steel and concrete has changed slightly in favor of 

 concrete, but the advantage as a whole is still on the side of 

 mill construction. The old custom of using girders 45 feet 

 in length and spanning three bays of a building has passed, 

 but the same strength is now obtained by using shorter lengths 

 of larger material of a high bending strength. Large timbers 

 of great strength in proportion to weight are obtainable in 

 all markets, and there is an ample supply of all sizes and 

 grades in several different species. 



Mill construction buildings vary in cost with the locality 

 in which they are built. The cost per cubic foot will vary from 

 5c to 12c, with an average of about 8c. These costs are with- 

 out the consideration of plumbing, heating, elevators or other 

 equipment. Such extras will increase the cost per cubic foot 

 by Ic to 2c. The corresponding cost per square foot of floor 

 area of building is from 50c to $1.50, with an average cost of 

 about 90c. In order to obtain these reasonable costs, standard 

 lengths and sizes of timber should be used, or else an extra 

 amount will have to be charged for specials. The cost of such 

 buildings may be kept to a minimum by careful decision in 

 choosing length of spans and areas of floors. Each girder 

 and floor plank should be used to its full capacity, as deter- 

 mined by the load rating of that floor. Areas of floors should 

 be such that fire walls will not be needed between the different 

 parts of a floor, thus keeping down the cost for protection of 

 openings between rooms. A careful choosing of the sizes of 

 bays will aid in the design of the sprinkler piping by making 

 one or two lines of sprinklers do the work where more piping 

 might be needed in case the spans were chosen without atten- 

 tion to this detail. 



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