HOUSE IN REINFORCED BRICK

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 27 March 1936, Page 7

HOUSE IN REINFORCED BRICK

PUBLIC INSPECTION INVITED A dwelling in Gorric street (off Hampden street west, neat- Victory Square) lias just been erected in reinforced brick by the Safety Brick and Block Construction Company. Holes are left in tho bricks and iron rods, tie through these and reinforce the walls, and in addition tie the roof to the foundations in one complete and solid unit. All the outside walls are cavity walls, tho iron rods being placed in the inner wall and the outer wall tied to this strongly reinforced wall by tic wires. This ensures that the iron rods are away from all moisture and rust. The house has been erected at a cost which is very gratifying to the owner, especially when low insurance and upkeep costs are considered. All genuinely interested are invited to inspect the dwelling to-morrow, Saturday morning. Demonstration walls and brick work have been made to show the method of construction in detail. The company is about to build another house of this nature for a client on Britannia Heights. Any interested persons will be welcomed on tire job to observe the methods of construction. STRENGTH AND APPEARANCE BRICKWORK AND CONCRETE “The Future of Brickwork in New Zealand” is the heading of an important article in the “Journal of New Zealand Institute of Architects.” “The great adaptability of brickwork to the construction of all types needs no emphasis,” the writer remarks. “It- is a hometruth apparent to all who have to do with structural matters. Its advantages as compared to concrete in certain portions of buildings are well known. But the problem of how to make it thoroughly safe and stable—or, shall we say, as stable as concrete under the like conditions of use—is one that needs solution if it is to be used extensively. “T7ne of the difficulties in concrete work is the tendency of thinner sections to develop expansion cracks and another is to provide it with a face which will increase its weather-resistance and also provide a good architectural character suitable to the location and purpose of the building. The problems of heat insulation, condensation of moisture, and the provision of a good key for plaster are also inseparable from the use of concrete, though not insuperable. Most of these problems become less if brickwork can be substituted in sucli parts of the structures as are adversely affected by them. “These difficulties are, in the larger buildings, most apparent in the case of panel walls between the framing. The new Wellington Railway Station which is being constructed of steel frame and reinforced concrete frame, is to have, its panel walls constructed and its piers faced with 9in brickwork reinforced at 28J,in. centres vertically and horizontal. . ly, the bricks being specially made with a recess so that they may he without difficulty laid round the vertical reinforcing'rods. The outer face will be 9in. brickwork, and where the panel walls occur there will ’fee a cavity and an inner wall of 4£in. brickwork. This was decided on.after tests made four years asro on two 9in. walls, 12ft. wide and 10ft. high, one being in plain brickwork, with ‘bricktor’ bonding every sixth course, and the other of similar brickwork rein, forced with sin. rods vertically ut 36in. centres. The plain brickwork showed an astonishing resistance to impact blows, but the reinforced brickwork was 28 per cent, stronger. I lie tests were considered to be conclusive as .to the'stability of well-built 9in. brickwork for panel walls in framed buildings.*