HEARTH AND "HOME"

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18625, 25 February 1926, Page 4

HEARTH AND "HOME"

(By Builder.) "Builder" invites contributions from readers on any matter of interest which they migiit like to propose. Correspondence on various subjects pertaining to building will also be accepted. NOTES. Mr F. Stewart, of Hilton street, Kaiapoi, is inviting tenders for the erection of a hall, with conveniences, in brick or concrete, at Kaiapoi. They will close on March 3rd. The Public Works Department will shortly construct a. bridge iu hardwood timber over the Makcrikori river at Station ford, Asliburton County, and will receive tenders at the Christckur.-Ji office until -1 p.m. on March 9th. Messrs Collins and, Human, architects, arc inviting tenders to close at -i p.m. on March sth, for additions to liic Metropolitan Hotel, Manchester street. Tenders for the supply and cielivery of poles, cross-arms, etc., for the Ilawke's Bay Electric Power Board, closo with the chairman at Napier at 5 p.m. on March 2nd. Tenders are invited for tlio erection of glass works, in brick, for the Southern Cross Glass Works. They will close with Mr E. M. Gabitcs, Burnett street, Asliburton, at noon on March 10th. Mr C. W. Wood, architect, 90 Hereford street, is inviting tenders from landscape gardeners for the preliminary garden work at Bishopscourt, Park terrace. ' $ In the near future three companies will start sawmilling on 20,000 acres of riniu bush near Whakatane. A resolution was carried at the builders' conference, against district Arbitration Court awards. The- delegates who attended the annual conference of the Federated Mns- •»! Builders of New Zealand, left Drilled in on return to their homes on Tuesday. A. factory building and offices in connexion with the radio industry will bo commenced at an early date in Gloucester street.

Of 95 building permits issued this month by the Chrislchureh City Council, 48 arc for dwellings. At this rate of construction the housing shortage should soon disappear.

The Executive of the Federated Builders' Association was instructed at the recent confcrenCo to consider Home method of affiliation with the Australian Federation of Master Builders.

The remit of the Canterbury Builders' Association, with its suggestions for the revision of tho Scaffolding Act, wore agreed to in toto at the annual meeting of the Federation. Mr J. .W, Graham stated that tho proposals had the approval of some of the inspectors.

A commission of American lumbermen from the Pacific Coast is oai its way to New Zealand. There was recently some mention in the o"Timberman " of their coming; and they are possibly visiting Now Zealand wiih a view to increasing their already large trade hero in Douglas fir, cedar, hemlock, etc.

The existence of a house shortage is now disputed by those best qualified to express an opinion in Wellington — people with rooms to let. Whereas they had" no difficulty formerly in obtaining tenants, they now find it extremely difficult to do so. In one'suburb tenders have been called for 50 houses, with a further 200 to follow.

The delegates at the annual conference of the" Now Zealand Builders 1 Association in Dunedin, in company with those attending the N.Z. Hardware Association's conference, were entertained by the Government Commissioner, and spent a pleasant evening listening to native songs, rendered by the Fi.jians. The president of the Builders' Association returned thanks for the .entertainment. « Building is Looming in 'Wellington, and contractors state, that carpenters arc hard to obtain. One man offered :is per hour, but received no applications, and- in consequence a iob upon which he was engaged was hung up for a mouth. One of the structures to be commenced shortly is a factory to cost £IOO,OOO. Not' all of the builders and contractors have had difficulty in obtaining carpenters, and one employer scouted the statement that no men wero available at loss than 3s per hour. Ho had received telegrams from men in Auckland. C.'hristchureh, - Dunedin, and several smaller centres all of whom wero seeking work in "Wellington. On a resolution moved by tho Canterbury delegates, the builders' conference decided that each district .should make its,, own ararngoments regarding apprentices, according to its local circumstances, and that the conference should not approve of daytime instruction in technical schools.

Extensive alterations arc- being made to tho interior of the Christchurch Post Office, to enable access to be obtained to all departments, without tho necessity of out of the .building. Among the improvements are a. new doorway at the south-east corner, many new writingdesks in the savings bank and money order department, and an increased number of private mail boxes. Several very large, buildings are to bo commenced shortly in Lamhton quay, Wellington, and other structure's planned include a high school at Kilbirnie, additions 'to the Supreme Court buildings, and premises for a motor company in Courtenay place. A few days ago a Wellington builder submitted a sample of western red cedar showing plain evidence of borer attack to the Forestry Department for examination. Tho Department, in turn, banded the wood to the Government Entomologist (Mr D. Miller), who has now advised the Director that tho timber was evidently attacked before, it was 'milled, and that there was no signs of any of tho insects being alive.

At the conference of the New, Zealand Federated Builders' Association, bold at Dunedin, the secretary read eore.spondenco on the subject of a report on the building stones of New Zealand. This .included a letter from tho Director of Geological Survey, who recommended that tho matter be referred to the Public Works Department. He mentioned that tho Mines Department was giving the matter attention. Mr W. H. Winsor remarked that it was a shame th%t thero was no modern publication on stono and timber, and the Government should be asked to undertake the work, the Federation to assist financially, if necessary. It was decided, by 15 votes to six to ask the Canterbury Branch, which was willing and had tho facilities, to prepare a report. From timber yards in the two ends of the North Island we have just been supplied with specimens of recently imported Western Red Cedar absolutely riddled with borer. This is the much-vaunted timber which is now flooding our markets in such large quantities, and which our civic and Government authorities are accepting for weather-boards where they absolutely'prohibit the use of 0.8. Rimu; and it has hitherto been reputed to be of a very pre at lasting value and proof against borer attack. Yet here it is being imported into New Zealand already riddled with borer arid probably infested with the grubs and eggs of a possibly new species, which will probably play havoc with the buildings already erected with this timber and very possibly also extend its operations _ with disastrous results to our own timbers and forests.— "New Zealand Industrial Bulletin."

UNUSUAL TREES. A LAVA FOREST. During the past year tho volcano of Kilauea, in the Hawaiian Islands, has been unusually active, and this fact ha< drawn attention to one of the •world's greatest curiosities. On the slopes of the mountain there in a perfect forest of Java trees, which is believed to have been formed nearly a century ago. The trees which form this forest arc amazingly lifelike, even the grain of the bark being represented, yet they are nothing but shells of lava. The way in which this strange forest was formed is interesting. Tho original trees were of a kind known locally as ohia, a species abundant in tho Hawaiian Islands. During a terrific outburst on tho part of the volcano, when the lava poured out in a vast cataract 40 or o0 feet deep, the whole of a thicklywooded region was overwhelmed. The fluid point of lava is 2000deg. F., but it instantly solidifies at a point a few degrees below this high figure. When the trees were buried in this stream of liquid fire, the lava which came into touch with the trunks and branches immediately solified, owing to the contact with the cold bark. The main flow of the molten stream swept on, leaving each tree with only a thin coating. This was sufficient to set the wood burning, and iu course of time all . the branches aiid tho trunk of tho tree I \vcre consumed, leaving nothing but tho lava mould. The lava trees have stood the test for nearly I<X) years, and seem likely to exist indefinitely. Now and again some seeds of ohia will germinate, and take root iu the upper branches of a lava tree. Then the upper part, of the lava.trunk is adorned with a tuft of foliage whirl] gives a lifelike appearance to what is sreally only a make-believe trunk. SUBURBAN FLATS. LEGISLATION IN SYDNEY. (mou our own connEsroKiiENT.) SYIXNEY, February 4. The disposition round Sydney to build flats, not a few of them ugly structures, cheek by jowl with costly and beautiful suburban homes, has awakened a-majority of the councils in the metropolitan area to the feeling that it was better for the residential areas, and for the people back in the days when tho homely cottago or villa was regarded as a man's sanctuary and castle. These councils have now made an assault, and not without promise of success, apparently against tho erection of further flats within their boundaries. The councils had marshalled a deputation of most imposing proportions to march on the Minister for Local Government with a request for more power to deal with flats in their areas. The deputation, however, was unnecessary-, for the Minister has announced his intention to bring forward an amendment of tho Act, giving councils the power to prohibit the erection of flats in residential district-. It looks after all as though suburban aldermen have a sense of the beautiful, and are impressed with the fact that many of the flats in and about Sydney hare not an altogether ennobling effect. Legislation, however, to prohibit further flats in residential suburbs will probably be welcome news to the owners of those already erected, for it will piny into their hands.

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NO IMMUNITY. THE BORER MENACE. SUSCEPTIBILITY OF RED CEDAR. .Recently Mr A. Seed, of tho Dominion Federation of Sawmillers, suggested that, western rod cedar was especially liable to attacks bv borer. This, statement has been criticised as neither Mr » or reasonablo by Mr G. B. Heid, an authority on imported timbers. "All timber, certainly all timber m ordinary use, not excepting .jarrah and kauri, is liable to attack by borev of one, kind or another," he stated to a reporter. "Red ecdur has not been on tho marked long, but already my company has handled something like 500,000 feet of it. Not more than about a hundred'feet altogether has been condemned on account of borer trouble. I can say definitely that in our experience no timbor is more free from borer. Heart rimu is- looked upon as a very superior timber, but will anyone say that heart rimu is immune from borer attack?" Filleting Necessary. In that respect Mr Reid showed to tho reporter soma correspondence regarding a consignment of heart rimu received from a North Island mill last month. Three trucks came to hand and approximately one truck load was condemned on account of its having been attacked. Tho company naturally objected, but the millers replied that the fault lay with the company rather than with thorn, for the timber was sawn and stacked, "block stacked," with no air spaces between tho boards, about the middle of December and was not taken over in Wellington till late in January. In that time the borer—which is apparently busiest from November to January—had set to work-.. Had the timber been "fillet stacked," that air currents could have played round tho sawn boards, possibly no such damage would ha.ve been clone.

'•'Not for a minute am I saying that heart rimu is a bad timber; it is not, but it would bo just as reasonable to condemn all rimu—heart, not sap —because of this experience as it is to condemn red cedar generally because some boards are found to have been attacked. Let us ho fair about it; cedar is as good as any timber we have in New Zealand for certain work, such as weather-boarding and joinery." • Specimens of heart rimu and jarrah tunnelled by one borer or another were produced for inspection. Used hy Government. "To a great extent the answer to tho question' of whether red cedar is a good timber or a poor one—or a. dangerous one as regards borer—has been given by the Government, for the Government has approved of its use. To what degree this timber is being used largely rests with the Valuation Department, for the fact is' that the Department does readily alloAV of the use of red cedar, and is that Department going to advise advances of an. extremely large sum of money' upon houses in which an inferior timber is used? Is it likely, or is it more likely that before giving its approval the Department carried out most thorough tests of that timber? "With Mr Seed's suggestion that oak should bear a heavier duty than building timbers I agree, but the 'question of duty upon such a, timber as western red cedar is much more complicated. Let us be frank about it. There is plenty t>f low-grade timber in New Zealand, and any timber that is going to come into New Zealand from a foreign country to take tho place of that low-grade- timber should' bo heavily taxed, but as -the New Zealand millers are unable to supply tho heart timber to fulfil Government specifications then to impose a heavy duty upon timber which supplies a general need is simply playing into the hands of a few sawmillers." WAGES LOST. Everything has o beginning, and tho p< >n who noglects those (slight warning symptoms of indigestion will find, to his dismay, that his general health has become so impaired that ho is unfit for work or bus<neß3. Numbers of sufferers have had to leave off work for months on end to givg themselves a ,-'<n- -> to recover. Jusfc imagine the loss in wages that this enforced idleness entails! To trifle with indigestion »s to trifle with your future health and prosperity. Indigestion quickly goes from bad to worse, and, once let it get chronic, and you not onlv become mentally and physically inefficient, but life itself will be a perfect nightmare of agony and suffering. Why take the riak? A tin of AutiAcido, which costs only 2s 6d, will nip your indigestion »n the bud, banish 'ie pain and discomfort, and enable vou to build up health and strength with good, rich, nourishing food. Get a tin to-day and safeguard your future. Your health is your most valuable possession. —5