Bram.—On the Building Materials of Otago. 161 
the relative cost of building in Dunedin, with the various materials at com- 
mand is as follows :— 
Draen sR obereeds ea ieee EO 
Concrete... as as tia bee Drip! ot 
Betou agglomeré ... ae ot an ws 5 1588 
Rough rubble sei Fi a. att ine ODE 
Coursed rubble Mis ies eet ae Pag Ft 
Freestone ashlars .., ie ne eZ 
_ Hard stone ashlar, rock faced rs Zi ic A 
Hard stone ashlar, fine dressed ... oe so BOO 
Ordinary timber work in walls _... 0.44 
This proportion is not, however, applicable to the wise building, for the 
value of the masonry is generally less than half the total cost; furthermore, 
the high priced materials are seldom used in large quantities; the front of 
a business place in a street, or the facings in an isolated dwelling-house are 
all that is required to be of this class. Mr. Lawson estimates the difference 
in the cost of brick over timber in an ordinary dwelling-house, at from 83 to 
50 per cent. Taking it at a mean of those rates, a wooden house worth 
£1,000 would cost £1,400 in brick ; the cost of the walls being respectively 
£300 and £700. The interest of the amount saved is sufficient to rebuild 
the walls every ten years, which is oftener than required, but it is not 
sufficient to renew the whole house when the walls decay—a very probable 
contingency, for the renewal of the walls entails, practically, the entire 
reconstruction of the building. Beside, the interior of a wooden house is 
more subject to deterioration and injury than that of a brick or stone one, 
and the permanent charges, such as repairs, painting, and insurance are 
always much higher. Independent of the increased comfort and security 
obtained, I believe that even now it is true economy to build our houses 
with the more durable materials; and when the railways are in full working 
order, north and south, the matter will be placed beyond doubt. 
At present Oamaru stone costs 5d. per cubic foot in blocks at the quarries, 
and 3s. 6d. in the same state here. When the railway is opened, it should 
be bought in Dunedin at 1s. 6d., the price when laid being 2s. 6d., which 
is a saving of 44 per cent. on current rates. The brown and grey free- 
stones of Waihola are already within reach of railway carriage, and will 
be conveyed to town for about 4d. per cubic foot, so that they can be sold 
for 1s. 6d. As already stated, the former is too hard for fine work, but the 
latter is an admirable substitute for the Oamaru stone; it is a compact 
limestone of the proper consistency, soft enough to be easily worked, but 
sufficiently hard to stand the weather. 
I trust, therefore, that one of the first benefits our city will derive from 
Vv 
