Houses that will not Burn.

Progress, Volume XIII, Issue 3, 1 November 1917, Page 66

Houses that will not Burn.

Why should we build combustible dwellings and then pay insurance companies to reimburse us in case they should go up in smoke? If they do not burn, we have had no “run for our money,” while if they do, we usually lose many things that money will never replace. _ Why not build an incombustible house to start with? A writer in “Expert American Industries” (New York) assures us that such a thing is now a reality, and he gives a description of it in minute detail, the salient parts of which we quote below. The interesting thing is that a house that will not burn costs only a little over 30 per cent, more than a quick burner, the respective prices, as given in the magazine named above, being 21 and 16 cents per cubic foot. The frame is of steel, and all Avails, partitions, ceilings, floors, and roof are steel and cement. The roof is of concrete and over the concrete is placed a waterproofing Avhich is so elastic and pliable that contraction and expansion have no effect upon it. The Avaterproof film is always perfect and protects the concrete. The partitions arc two inches thick and are of solid concrete reinforced with a special material. In addition to being fireretardant, like the entire structure, and proof against tire, flood, Avind, and earthquake, the partitions arc wonderful space-savers. Conduits, waterpipes, etc., are taken care of as easily as Avith liolloav partitions. We read on:—

“The stairway, an important detail in the construction of any fireproof building, is proof against the action'of flames. There is |uo chance 'for, the stairway to be transformed into a vertical flue to carry fire upward, as there is nothing in it to burn.

“The interior trim is of wood fastened with screws. Metal trim can be used if desired. Details of this character can he adapted to the taste of the builder without much affecting the fireproof qualities of the structure

“The cost of the fireproof house as built is approximately 21 cents per cubic foot.

“ If built with 12-inch solid brick walls with same interior it would cost 28 cents per cubic foot. . . .

If built with stucco on hollow tile with wood interior it would cost 17 cents per cubic foot.

“If built of stucco on metal lath with wood interior it would cost 16 cents per cubic foot.”

The man who wishes to build an incombustible house, however, is by no means limited to one kind. Another is illustrated and described in “The Scientific American” (New York), and doubtless there are, or soon will be, as many varieties as there now are of bouses that will blaze. Says the last-named paper;—

“Boards of concrete, with joists, .rafters, and stair-frames of the same material, are used in the construction of a novel building in Los Angeles, California, the whole being set upon a concrete foundation. Though put together after the manner of a frame-structure, the building is as fireproof and durable as the more common types of cement houses, but it requires less material and is lighter in weight. “The various parts are poured into forms on the ground near the site and in that way the danger of breakage is eliminated. The clapboards are poured in sets of ten, the forms being securely clamped together, and the cement allowed to harden in them for several days. Then they are taken out and allowed to cure before being set up. This should be done while the preliminary work is going on, such as excavating and laying the foundation.

Ihe joists, rafters, and other parts are formed in the same manner, and various types of reinforcing are used for each. The boards are reinforced with mesh like chicken-wire, while the timbers have iron rods of varying thickness to strengthen them. These are allowed to project at one end in order to fit into corresponding holes in other timbers, so that the whole framework dovetails. The method of attaching the boards to the 2 by 4’s is with nails, and nailholes are bored into the cement boards before they have set, by running a wire through them As the cement timber will not take the' nails a strip of wood about an inch and a-half thick is wired to the cement scantling.”