STRUCTURAL TIMBER 59 



ik to | thick at the butt. They shall, in the first 10 in. from the 

 'butt, be absolutely free from sap, knots, or other defects. 



270. Piles. Timber piles shall preferably be of Southern 

 (longleaf or shortleaf) yellow pine, white ,oak, Norway pine or 

 cedar, as specified in the contract. 



They shall be cut from sound, live trees, shall be straight 

 and free from wind-shakes, large knots, decay, and other impor- 

 tant defects. The diameter of round piles near the butt shall not 

 be less than 14 in. or more than 16 in., and at the tip, of piles 

 under 40 ft. in length, not less than 8 in., or less than 6 in. in any 

 case. 



They shall taper evenly from butt to tip and shall be so 

 straight that a straight line, drawn from center to center of 

 ends, shall at no point fall outside of the circumference. 



All piles shall be cut square at ends and they shall be stripped 

 of their bark. (Par. 277.) 



271. Flooring. Flooring shall preferably be of rift shortleaf 

 yellow pine or maple and shall be furnished in two grades (prime 

 and common) and usually in lengths between 4 and 16 ft. and 

 not over 2J-in. face. The thickness of flooring shall be under- 

 stood to be the thickness of the finished material after dressing. 



The exact kind of wood, grade, width, and thickness shall be 

 specified in the contract. 



(a) Prime Flooring. Prime flooring shall be edge grained, 



kiln dried, matched, tongued and grooved, well manu- 

 factured so as to be free from planer's marks, edge 

 splinters, grain slivers, etc. It shall show one face 

 all heart and shall be free from knots, shakes, sap, and 

 pitch pockets. 



(b) Common Flooring. Common flooring shall be like prime 



flooring except that the material may show one knot, 

 not over 1 in. in diameter, to every 4 ft. in length, also 

 unimportant pitch streaks and sap stains. 



272. Ceiling and Wainscoting. Ceiling and wainscoting shall 

 be graded as the flooring, but shall in addition be double beaded 

 and very carefully dressed. 



273. Planks and Scantling. Planks and scantling, when 

 used for floors, struts, cross and sway bracing, shall show one 

 face all heart, the other face and two sides shall show not less 

 than 75 per cent heart, measured across the face or sides any- 



