BRICK SCHOOLS

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 7, 8 July 1931, Page 16

BRICK SCHOOLS

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—ln his eulogy ,in'favour of' wood arid "ferro-concrete the Hon; H.. Atihorc ignores much that has been in recent news items.. At present'in your-paper appears an advertisement calling for tenders to restore.and.strengthen the Napier Public Trust 'building, a fcrro-eoncrete building apparently damaged in the recent earthquake. Recently, views of the Tokio earthquake damage were shown, and it', was reported that 300,000 wooden buildings were destroyed. Again, a photo of a con--crete bank building at Hastings, in process of demolition owing to the shake, was shown'-. Admitting the- failure o£ ■bricks, it "is also a 'fauj; that all ..other; types , failed as! well, i Concrete shops were.' shifted bodily from their foundations, wooden 'buildings were racked and twisted and- afterwards reduced to ashes. ■ It' was proved that, all types of construction are subject to damage in major earthquakes. May I stress' this fact. The brick buildings .of Hawkes JBuy I were largely buijt of lime .mortar, "and there wasno adhesiou between the courses of bricks; Had they been laid in cement mortar a monolith equal to concrete would have been the result.. Mr. .Atmore is right about horizontal concrete: "bands. They .arc a. weakness unless used in conjunction with vertical concrete reinforcements. The concrete tVanie; briek..v-pai)el building is the result of ciu'tliqimke observations and tlie struetui'ai. engineer's endeavour to lessen risks. Mi:. .Atmore may 'also' be right about the economy of wooden buildings,'but if lie is the rest of the world is wrong, as everywhere else they ate trying to eliminate wood. The brick walls of most buildings- are. just •fire breaks,'and. as such have done useful service. Further, you liuvc no light to expect, a building not designed to witliutand earthquakes to do so! 1 join with Mr.'Atmore in his■ endeavours to obtain safety for the children, but they'll re not always'at school,'imd their'parents do not keep them-from the theatres because they are built of brick. The high rates quoted t'pr earthquake risk arc paftic -rates, and are not equitable or justifiable. The companies do not want the business, arid are doing their best -to discourage such business. For instance, the rate on a onestory, brick, house, is higher than the rate., on a high steel-frame building, yet dozens of brick houses oame through the Hawkes Bay earthquake.,practically undamaged.—l am, etc., BRICKS.