216 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[June, 



clause 56 and 58, " place bricks may be used internally above the third 

 floor of the first and second rate — and the second floor of the third, 

 fourth, fifth and sixth rates of building." Neither can there be inserted 

 into either party or external walls any timber for bond, lintels, plates, 

 wood bricks, nor the ends of joists, or in fact any timber what- 

 soever, excepting as hereafter mentioned, the consequence is that the 

 ends of joists, &c, mnst be notched on or framed into plates, and the 

 plates must be carried by iron shoes or brackets, which will cause the 

 plates to project into the rooms below the ceiling line; and it is a 

 well known law that timbers whinh are fixed at their ends, as when 

 let into walls, will bear double the weight, as when the ends are laid 

 loosely on the bearings, as the case would be if the joists were laid on 

 the plates, clear of the walls ; nor are the plates so strong on brackets 

 as when they are bedded into the walls, or the walls so securely tied 

 in; we must therefore have an exception for the insertion of all ne- 

 cessary timber, for bond, plates, lintels, ends of joists, and wood 

 bricks requisite to fix the joiner's work ; but no such timber shall be 

 inserted in the walls within four inches of the face of the wall, cr 

 within 12 inches of any flue, or inserted in any party wall more than 

 five inches beyond the face; and by clause 47 above enumerated, 

 for the purpose of supporting the ends of girders there must be a pro- 

 jection into the rooms under for the story posts or piers, which in 

 dwelling houses will be a great eyesore. 



65 and 66. Chimneys.— No part of the chimney breast or stack will be 

 allowed to overhang or oversail any lower part of the brickwork, either on 

 the front or sides thereof, excepting a single chimney above the ceiling of 

 the fifth floor of a first and eighth rate; or above the ceiling of the third floor 

 of the second, third, and fourth rates, and it is also provided that no jambs, 

 breast, and back of any chimney, and the front, hack, or with of every flue 

 shall be built at least 8^ in. thick, and all the insides rendered or pargetted. 

 The effects of these two clauses will cause nearly the whole length 

 and height of party walls to be at least three bricks thick, as the 

 party wall on the upper story is generally filled with chimneys and 

 flues; these clauses must be altered and a proviso inserted that chim- 

 neys shall not overhang more than 12 in. on the side iu each story, 

 and that the thickness of the flues be reduced to 4£ in., and also that 

 they shall be rendered or pargetted both internally and externally 

 where they are below the roof, the rendering them externally we con- 

 sider a far safer mode against fire than the increased thickness. 



43, 44, 45, and 46. We have four clauses regulating the strength of tim- 

 bers. They enact that no joists, rafters, or quarters, shall he more than 

 twelve (thirteen) inches apart, and no joists have a longer bearing than 15ft. 

 nor any rafter or purlin more than lift., and that no girders shall be so laid 

 that the joists bearing thereon shall be more than 12ft. bearing. It is then 

 enacted that the joists shall be not less than the following scantling. 

 Joists Trimmers 



bearing depth thick. depth thick. 



6 ft. to 8ft GJ 2 6 3 



8 .. 10 8 8 3J 



10 .. 12 9 2| 9 3J 



12 .. 15 10 2J 10 4 



Heams and Girders with a hearing 

 9ft. to 12 ft 



15 



21 .. 24 13 10 



It is perfectly absurd to attempt to regulate the scantlings of timber, 

 for there are such a variety of ways of framing timbers, and of com- 

 bining them with iron, that it is impossible to meet all cases; besides, 

 as the above clauses now stand, iron could not be introduced, except- 

 ing the girder be the same scantling as provided above, for the clause 

 says, no joist, beam, or girder, shall be of less scantling than the above. 

 The same remarks apply to the regulations of the scantlings of the 

 roof and partitions. We therefore consider that these clauses must 

 be withdrawn. 



36 to 42. Regulations respecting the drainage of houses. The walls 

 of any building must not be built higher than 10 feet before drains 

 are properly built, and made good into the common sewer, if any 

 within 100 ft. distance, into which it is lawful and practicable to drain 

 or otherwise, into proper cesspools, so as to render such drains avail- 

 able for the drainage of the lowest floor ; and the Commissioners of 

 Sewers can also, upon giving one month's notice, compel every house 

 already built and not drained, to construct proper drains. 



These clauses respecting the drainage, had better be omitted until 

 the proposed inquiry into the metropolitan sewers be concluded, and 

 a Bill brought in for the regulation of the drainage and sewage of 

 the metropolis, for as the clauses now st.ind, builders will be put to 

 enormous charges, for constructing sewers as now compelled by some 

 of the commissions, and the expense of draining a house into a sewer 



100 ft. off may involve an expense of £100, for we conceive the sewer 

 commissioners would not allow a small drain to be carried along under 

 the streets, but compel the formation of a sewer which, in the West- 

 minster division, will cost 1/. per foot for the second size (the smallest) 

 sewer. 



23. This clause enacts that, in any house already built, or which shall be 

 hereafter built, it shall not he lawful to let separately except as a warehouse 

 or storehouse, nor to occupy nor suffer to be occupied for hire as a dwelling 

 place any room containing less than one square, nor any underground cellar 

 or room of any dimensions, unless every such room shall have a window in 

 the same to an open area and fire-place with flue, and an open area adjoining 

 to such underground cellar or room, under a penalty of twenty shillings per 

 day, the said cellar or room shall be so occupied. 



25. No room less than eight feet high shall be used as a dwelling. 



We consider these clauses require some explanation, and the word 

 (hulling defined, whether a kitchen below ground used for domestic 

 purposes during the day is considered as a room used for a dwelling, 

 or whether it means a room in which a person sleeps; if the latter, 

 we then conceive it will be better to introduce the word sleeping place 

 or room instead of dwelling. We also consider it a great hardship to 

 prevent the use of any room for a dwelling less than one square, or say 

 10 ft. square, or 12 ft. by 8 ft. 4 in. or 8 ft. high, of which there are 

 many hundreds in the metropolis. This is carrying the provision for 

 health rather too far, and will very considerably increase the expences 

 of the poor for rent. If the word dwelling is construed so as to in- 

 clude a kitchen, then nearly every shop in London will have the base- 

 ment rendered useless. 



20. Hereafter no street shall be of a less width than 30ft., nor alley less 

 than 20 ft. wide when such alley shall have two (one) open entrance thereto, 

 at opposite .sides or ends at least 20 ft. wide, nor of a less width than SO ft. 

 when only one entrance, anil which entrance shall be at least 30ft. wide ; and 

 the width of every street or alley shall be ascertained by measuring such 

 width only as shall he given up to or used by the public. 



This clause will increase the ground rents of small houses; we re- 

 commend that all those words in italics be omitted, and that the mea- 

 surement be taken between the fronts of the houses, otherwise it will 

 materially prevent the formation of areas and fore courts ; the latter 

 we consider better in alleys than having the whole space paved, 

 which will render the repairs more expensive to the parish. 



27. It shall not be lawful to carry on in any building, or in the open air, 

 at a less distance than 50 ft. from any other building or grouud not in the 

 same possession, any trade or business such as that of a soap-boiler, tallow- 

 melter, slaughterer of cattle or horses, blood-boiler, bone-boiler, fellmonger, 

 oil-cloth painter, manufacturer of gunpowder, detonating powder, lucifcr 

 matches, or varnish, gas works, chemical works, tire works, or any other 

 trade or business which is or shall be considered by two justices to be dan- 

 aeroua as regards fire, or dangerous or offensive or obnoxious as regards all 

 persons, more especially those persons living or passing in the vicinity thereof; 

 nevertheless it shall be lawful for all such trades as now established to be 

 carried on in their present situation, for a term of 30 years — every person 

 who shall he convicted before two justices of carrying on such dangerous or 

 offensive trade, shall forfeit any sum not exceeding fifty pounds, as the said 

 justices may determine. 



We pronounce this clause to be the most unconstitutional one 

 which was ever submitted to the English parliament. Here we have 

 the power of magistrates to determine what is an offensive business. 

 Every baker, butcher, fishmonger, oil shop, and mauy other trades 

 that perchance may be in the vicinity of any litigious person may, 

 without notice, without summons, without a hearing, or without the 

 power of appeal to a jury or to a quarter sessions, be ruined, their busi- 

 ness stopped, and a fine inflicted of 50/. by two justices, — who may meet 

 in their own private parlour, or in the house of some influential per- 

 son who may demand their services, and expel any business which 

 they think proper. That part of the clause given in italics must be 

 omitted, and the other part altered. 



We must now offer some observations regarding the magisterial 

 clauses ; the interpretation clause says :— " Two justices of the peace 

 shall mean two justices of the peace for the county within which the 

 building or other subject matter is situate;" it does not provide in 

 any part of the Bill that they shall be in petty sessions assembled, 

 wliich we consider most essential, otherwise cases may be heard at 

 their own private dwellings, at any time and at any hour, — which we 

 consider most objectionable : we would rather, that if the house be 

 within the district of the metropolitan police offices, that the case 

 should come before one of the stipendiary magistrates in the public 

 police court; for here we have some responsibility, and a person 

 by education brought up for judicial decisions; they will be called 

 upon to adjudge upon severe fines and penalties, many of them are 

 most enormous, but which no doubt will be altered. Nor is there pro- 

 vision that the parties committing an offence shall be first summoned 



