H.—44 a

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Paints and Coatings Sectional Committee.—With the establishment of New Zealand Standard Specifications for the complete range of paint ingredients and also for the more commonly used ready-mixed paints, the work of this committee has.become largely a matter of revising and extending the existing Standard Specifications from time to time, and reviewing similar specifications received from Standards organizations overseas. During the year under review the committee has examined two British Standards, two British A.R.P. Standards, thirteen British amendment slips two Australian draft Standards, fifteen Australian Standards, one Australian A.R.P. Standard, two American Standards, and one South African Standard. Preliminary consideration has also been given to the formulation of original New Zealand Standard Specifications for priming paints for use on matai and totara timbers, roof paints, pigments for colouring tiles, spray painting, and surface finishes The existing Standard Specifications for white traffic paint and paint for use on Service vehicles have also been revised in the light of the experience gained during their initial use. District Committee for Paint Investigation.—The appointment of a representative of the Standards Institute to the Wellington District Committee for Paint Investigation has provided a valuable liaison whereby the results of the investigations carried out by the committee are conveyed to the Standards organization and related to the work of the Paints and Coatings Sectional Committee. BUILDING STANDARDS Building Code Sectional Committee. —During the year progress has been made with the formulation of three further Parts of the Standard Code of Building By-laws, in addition to which a Standard by-law in respect of boardinghouses has been completed, and a draft Standard Fire Prevention By-law approved for circulation for comment. Masonry Buildings of Bearing Wall Construction.—The revision of Section IV of the original Standard Model Building By-law has been completed in draft form, and will be issued as a Part of the new Standard Code of Building By-laws. A comprehensive report on the damage suffered in the Wellington District during the earthquakes of 1942 has assisted the committee to formulate provisions which will eliminate methods of design and construction which are inadequate to resist seismic stresses. Attention has also been given to different forms of masonry construction for which approval has been sought m terms of the Standard Code of Building By-laws. It is important to encourage rather than hinder the development of these types of construction, since in some cases they provide in some degree alternatives to timber construction, and offer a means of overcoming the limitation on buildin"and housing in particular, which might otherwise be occasioned by diminishing timber resources. The use of hollow-concrete-block construction has already been approved for single-story dwellings, while its extension to other types of buildings and the use of other similar constructions arc now being investigated. . Monolithic Concrete Construction.—-Proposals for an additional Part of the Standard Code of Building By-laws dealing with monolithic concrete construction have been completed. This is a type of construction which has not been fully exploited either in New Zealand or overseas, but which seems to offer considerable advantages both in simplification of design and conservation of materials. In particular, this type of construction makes full use of the walls and floors of a building to carry the loads and stresses, instead of relying upon independent columns and beams. This means that all the materials and cost entering into the construction of a building are utilized for strength and stability whereas m framed construction a considerable proportion of the materials and cost servesonly to provide non-structural elements such as walls and partitions. Moreover, by taking full advantage of the compressive strength of the concrete, substantial economies are effected in reinforcing-steel thereby reducing the demand for imported material. Finally, the work of the designer is facilitated' because he is able to determine the amount and arrangement of the reinforcement according to arbitrary rules instead of computing the stresses in each case. Steelwork.—Owing to the demands made upon the Standards organization and the committee members by other more pressing projects, it has not been possible to proceed further with the steelwork Part of the Standard Code of Building By-laws, or the related Code of Practice for the Work- ' manship of Metal Arc-welding, referred to in the last report. The importance attached to the issue of these two Standards at an early date has, however, in no way diminished, and the earliest opportunity will be taken to proceed with them with the object of bringing them to completion. Licensing and Control of Boardinghouses .—As a corollary to Part Vlll—Residential Buildings— of the Standard Code of Building By-laws, a separate Standard By-law for the Licensing and Control of Boardinghouses and Similar Premises has been issued. This by-law establishes minimum requirements in respect of accommodation, services, and facilities, in addition to which it provides for the licensing of all boardinghouses in which there are more than five boarders. This Standard By-law completes a series of Standards designed to give local authorities adequate control over all residential buildings, with the object of ensuring satisfactory living conditions. The joint effect of the by-laws is to place residential buildings in their various categories—i.e., boardinghouses, lodging-houses, and private hotels, on the one hand, and private dwellings, semi-detached dwellings, and self-contained flats on the other. In this way residential buildings are required to be either adequate, self-contained dwelling units, or boardinghouses licensed by the local authority. Thus, the so called " roominghouses " and other undesirable types of residential buildings which have caused so much concern to the authorities have been eliminated. Fire Prevention By-law.—A draft Standard Fire Prevention By-law has been completed for circulation for comment. This by-law, which will be published separately from the Standard Code of Building By-laws, lays down requirements which will minimize fire hazards arising from the storage of inflammable materials in unsuitable places, the lighting of fires near buildings, and so on. The