DRAINAGE & SEWERAGE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12801, 23 October 1903, Page 2

DRAINAGE & SEWERAGE.

SOME OPINIONS ON THE BOARD'S REGULATIONS.

Recently (he deputy-chairman of the Drainago Bonrd, in tho course of an interview with a member of our staff, defended the Drainage Board from criticisms levelled against it of causing property-owners needless oxnenso in tho matter of sewer connections. Wo have followed the matter up to tho extent of obtaining opinions from gentlemen connected with the building trade, and whoso standing entitles then? to speak with some authority on tho question.

Mr E. Walden, of tlio firm of Messrs Ilislop and Walden, architects, said:—So far as tlio fittings and connections insisted on by tlio board's by-laws are coneoruod, tliero is no question that they make a far-and-away hotter job than we havo been accustomed to in the majority of instances in tho past. Then there is this (o be said: I do net know of any drains which havo been put in during the past 10 years in Dunetlin that will stand the hydraulic pros3urc that is now required by tho board. At anyrate none havo come under my notice. As to the pipes themsolvcs, I do not see why pipes with a bigger flauge should bo any more expensive. No doubt tho fact that, this particular kind of pipa lias boen approved of by tho board has lmil something to do with their costing more, but there should not be any increased cost. Tho work .that is now required by tho board compares very favourably with that which is required in Wellington, where thoy havo an up-to-date drainago syotem. The conditions in regard to connections are very similar to those obtaining in Wellington, only the pipes hero aro heavier. When tho trado really knows what. the Drainage Board wants I do not think there will bo very much dilfercnce in the cos; of tlio plumbing in a n;j\v house; the expenso comes in where repairs and alterations lravo to bo made to old premises and the new condition* have to bo applied to tho old buildings. Tho board's by-laws require lead pipes for closet connections which will gc 71b to the square foot. M'Guiro, in his ''Domestic Sanitary, Drainage, and Plumbing Lectures," says: "Tho weight of soil pipes should bo 71b to tho square foot, although 81b, Sib, and 1011) pipes would prove better in the long run; but such good work is seldom ordered or sanctioned." I do not think it necessary in all cases to have i vent-pipe for an ordinary washbasin in a house, although under some circumstances it may bo necessary. Theao basins usually discharge into a gully-trap, which should prevent tho return of sewer gas.

Mr J. L. Salmond (architect) stated: Tlioro is no question that tlio expenditure in making connections to sewers is very considerably increased. The great bulk of tlvo expense is in the thickness of the piping, 'which, undoubtedly, is too heavy. The class of pipes tlioy are insisting on would stand a heavy steam pressure, and yet they arc called upon to bear no greater strain than taking away tho smell from a drain. Dr Coughtrey. says "the Drainago Board ia not responsible for what is being dono, and thai tho board was brought into existenoe by the property-ownera themselves." It is not from tlmt point of view that we are complaining at all. What we object to aro tho by-Jaws the Drainage Board has adopted, and the hard-and-fast rnstiron methods by which it is attempting to carry them out. "Wo also have reason to complain of tho unreasonable attitude tho board's officers take up; whereas if thoy were a littlo more reasonable and would use a littlo common sense an amicable settlement could generally be arrived at. The eost of drain pipes has increased very considerably, not hccausc they aro any better than tho old pipes were, but because a particular typo has been approved of by tho board, and "no" others can be used. They. may have" a bigger flange, but that does not cost. any anore to make. As illustrative of the increased cost of work I might "mention a case. The other day I prepared plans for a niece of work which could bo perfectly well dono for about £12, but it will cost something like £20 to put it p. the way tho Drainage Board wants it, »\'d tho efficicncy will not be increased. Then we have had a tremendous lot of delay in eomicction with the drains. Tho board's. inspectors come to tho contractor for a copy of the plans, and alter them to suit themselves. The architects claim very strongly tliat they havo had moro experience in this olaes of work, as'it is part of their profession. Yet these men eome along and dictate to us whero we aro to put the drains. These inspectors are just ordinary plumbers, and without coming to us and discussing the thing they come in a dictatorial sort of way, and say, ''You must do it in this way." Then they insist on a groat deal that is not even provided for in thoii- by-laws. Tho work has to be done "to thpir satisfaction," and if an architect specifies work according to the board's by-laws it does not always prove "to their satisfaction," aud they want a lot of other tilings done. Then, again, the board insists that an ordinary washbasin must havo a ventilating pipe taken right up to the roof. A ventilator pipe for a. hand-basin is, in most cases, qnit-o superfluous, but flic board insists cn it. The tendoncy of it all will bo that if plumbing is to bo so expensive people will content themselves with leas of it, and will not put in the conveniences that lliey otherwise would—in fact, there is not much difforouca in the plumbing required for a cottage costing £500 and a lnrpo hmifo costing £2000; and in some eases it would appear that tho plumbing was designed to last longer than the building itself. In view of the dis-atw-faction existing, the Architects' Institute has decided to call a meeting of tho architects, tho builders, and tho plumbers to discuss the question, and to se;> what steps it is advisable to take in tho matter.

Mr 0. R (icorgo (president of llie Master Builders' Association) on bang waited on by our reporter said: I must say t-hct I concur in tho main with wlwt Dr Coughtrey says. OF course there is bound lo to :i greatM' expenditure in many oa.-e? liecauso the work boing done is of a "bettor cltvss; and rightly so, for it is in tlic.clionfs' interests, in tho long run. Tho fitting and connections n'ill remain in good order much longer, and there will praotically lio nn expanse for repairs as compared with t.ho work wo havo been in tho Jiabit of putt ii'pr iij) with. There is no doubt that a lot of very bad work has been done in tho past by people who, unfortunately, havo sot been responsible (o anybody for tho style in which.they have boon doing il. Tky have not liatl (lio most elementary knowledge of levels or drainage, and in the course of cuv business wo havo come across many cases* where tho pipes have oven been laid the wrong way. They havo simply remained that way for a number of years until tlioy filled up with soil, and then the nuisance became of such a character that, of course, steps had to be taken to remedy it. I think, looking; at tho matter from a community point of view, the action of the Drainage Board in regard to the sewering of hou-es and dwellings is to be commended. A good system of drainage is bound to add to the popularity of our, eily. Asked a.) to delays in getting attention from the Drainage Hoard staff, 3fr ficorge said:' I think I rnn rcmemb?r only one ease where (hero 'was a littlo delay. As a rule I find I hem very prompt in attending to mattera which are properly brought before them. Sometimes tho" fault lies with Ilia people llicmenlvoj in not sending in proper requisitions. In any work wo have had lo (lo wo havo not met with any difficulties in the shape of delays. In fact, they are always after us, seeing that wo are making the proper connections. Of courso this is bound to bo a very trying period all round, bccause the board is endeavouring to inaugurate a new system. It is suro to interfere with exifting conditions and methods, and people don't like to depart from the old ways, especially if tliey have a large stock of tho old stylo of material on hand.

Do yon think a ventilator pipo accessary for everything, including wash basins? askcll our reporter. "Y&s," replied Mr George. " it i> a very right and proper thing, and v.'O will get the benefit; of it in the shape i'f the increased hcalthfiilness of houses by-nnd-byc. If Dmiedin gets the reputation of being a thoroughly sanitary aind welldrained city, then it will attract people to if, and everyone will benefit. Drainage is one of thf> things people oannoi affnnl to play irilh." Mr Ouorge Olark, lmildor, of Primes strert South, on being waited 011, said: With regard to Hy-law No. 1, relating to drainage and there is not much fault to bo found; it simply embodies the ossentiflis of nil good drainage and plumbing such as obtained in most good buildings previous to tli© l)ii>inago Board's existence. The interpretation, however, of th? by-laws by the board's officials is another matter, and hero' is where most of the friction lietivrsn'builder's and the board arises. Take fittings, for instance. These arc to h<\ of a design approved of by the board, and you will remember that it was, very rarly in the board's oxi«;<?ncc, given out that, otir local production* wore useless. Whether the onginrov has changed hi; opinion or not I caniiot sny, but the board is nov: using the local pipes. The fact, however, remains that at 'first nothing but Commonwealth

roinforced concrete pipes, Commons oa salt glazed pines, and 1 cement weio go enough for our drainage. This, togothe with tho fact that the engineer strongly advocated the purchasing of all material and tho doing of all the work by- tlio board on his own estimate* as against outside tendorers leavjs a very curious impression on one's mind. Now, although tho engineer thus early foresaw that cortain fittings;would bo require-:!, them lias been great difficulty in knowing what to do in the matter, and I am given to understand that vexations delays havo occurrcd on that account.

With regard to the latest fitting (a cover for tho fresh air in'.et to the drain), I havo no hesitation in saying that it is absurdly heavy. I understand -nil order has been given for sorao hundreds s oi these, and I will ho very much surprised if, when pro-perty-holders know oxaetly what these covers arc for, they will pay 30s each for them. Dr Couglitrey's referenco to the drainago of high and low sections reminds me of a caso I had with the board lately. A drain which had ran through a collar for a quarter of a century became choked, and upon notico in the usual way tho board's inspector examined tho drain and ordered it to bo entirely rowved from the cellar and relaid in east-irci_ pipes along and underneath the joists of tho ground floor, thus depriving tho cellar of any drainago by gravitation. There could thus bo no closet or urinal or sink, cte., on the collar floor, which was a very valuable one. When asked how the soakago from a certain part was to he got rid of, I was told to put in a self-acting syphon to empty, into a special trap in tho footpath—one of tho front areas being alsc monopolised for this purpose. It was hero proposed to put tho proprietor to some £70 o£ expense, together with tho loss of his cellar drainage, which, as I said before, lias been in use for 25 years and not given trouble to anyone, notwithstanding our old-fashioned system. This is a serious matter for owners nf property with valuable cellarage, and if this proposed up-to-dato system will not do the work of the present system tho sooner it is stopped the hotter. I would liko to say (whatever weight may bo attached to it) '.lint Jn the building trado tho whole sohemo is looked upon with tho greatest distrust. It was pointed out when the Frederick street sewer was designed that tho cover of the sewer gave no lateral support to tho sides. Shortly afterwards tho covors wero cast with a shoulder, intended to clip tlio side walls, hut when tho mortar bed was put in it was found this small rebate was doing no good. On this being pointed out, the shoulder has been further increased in size. When that sort of thing happens it does not tend to promoto confidence in the work. We have the assuranoo of Dr Coughtroy that the board is doing its utmost in tho interests of pro-perty-holders, and if the board is subject to adverso criticism I do not think it is, at tho same time, forgotten that .the members of the board aro gratuitously giving a great deal of their valuable time to the best ot their ability in the interests of all. Mr E, Crawford (of Crawford and Watsoul, in reply to a few questions, said: There is no' doubt that drainage of homos and dwellings is now more expensive in many rcspects, a-nd, of course, the plumbers will feel it most. Foi instance, there is nothing in the chape of jlassification in respect to the different kinds of buildings, and you have to pay pretty nearly as much for the fittings to a cottage as to one of tho biggest mansions in the city. As to the by-laws themselves, thoy are necessarily strict, because you always have eome people ready to evade their provisions where their pockots aro concerned; but if the board's by-laws were given o more reasonable interpretation muoh of the friction being caused at present would ho avoided. There noed be no undue straining of tho by-laws to meet- people, but if the inspector was freely allowed to use his discretion in administering them much trouble and worry would bo saved. Of course, in my opinion, plumbing can soarcely be too good, but it is difficult tr: see why the board allows galvanised iron pipes, and will not allow bends of tho same matorial, but insists on their being put in in brass, I think the tendency will be to check building if drainage is going to be so expensive. People will not build properties for speculation if it means-a heavy rate for drainage.

A member of a well-known firm of plumbers expressed his viows in tho matter in theso terms: There is no doubt that there is an unnecessary increaso in the oast of drain pipes, the difference being somewhere about 50 per cont. in exccss of tho old price. The pipe sockets have been altered and enlarged, necessitating about three times the cement to joint them, end 'making it very much more difficult to get them t-ruo at tho joints. I understand tho Drainage Board is using tho choap pipes for it 3 own work in a number of cases. Tho by-laws aro exceeded in various ' ways, notably in tho washer of baths, basins, sinks, tubs, etc. Galvanised iron screwed pipes havo been introduced, but the fittings, such as bends, junctions, elbows, and sometimes traps, muat be of costing three times the price of iron. The reason of this would be worth knowing—possibly, it is a sample of Melbourne methods, with variations anq improvement!. Dr Coughtroy makes a great point about pan closets. Why, these aro almost forgotten by Dunedin plumbers, and wo might cay tho samo of valvo closets; but whero ho refers to the use of serviceable wash-out closets ho must havo blundered, for sanitarians elass them with the rest. The plumbers of Diuiedin stock cioseta ( made by the leading potters of Groat- Britain—viz., such firms a.? Twyford, Doulton, Johnstou Bros., and others, whose closets aro approved of by tho London County Council, and in New Zealand by Wellington, Christohureh, and Napier, where they navo drainago fchcmes. But they aro not good onongh for Dunedin, and they arc being condemned. - Now, this moan* that present stocks will be useless, and in addition to this almost all closets in present uso will be condemned. When the present drainage scheme was adopted it was distinctly understood that It was to effect groat economy to householders on the ground that it would not necessitate alterations to their drains. Now, I think, it can lu\ safc-iy said, judging by the way thiugs arc going, that not 5 per cent.. of tho praon t drains will be permitted to remain. The plumbing trade in Dunedin is in a state of chcos, chiefly because we do not know what will be required by tho plumbing inspector, for lie excccds llio by-law requirements, introducing, possibly, pome Melbourne ideas, and perhaps some of his own. The inspector seems to havo gained his experience in practically a tropical climate, and would appear to adapt tho methods in vogue in Melbourne to a tempera to climate like our own. Further, we resent tho assumption that wo are entirely ignorant of every matter in connection with plumbing and sanitation, and claim to know just as much about it os the Drainage Board inspector. It is impossible to carry out any work at present without having to make various alterations to sui? the whims of the inspector. Another gentleman connected with the plumbing trade who has had n good deal of experience in the matter agreed thai there was not a great deal of fault to be found with tho regulations framed by the board as far as sewer connections were concerned. There might, be some question as to tho suitability of the design for the drain pipes, but there was not much else to which exception could be reasonably taken, Tho matier of connections was of littlo consequence beside tho largor question of tho drainago scheme, and he had the feeling that the present discussion over tho cost of plumbing and house connections was merely a side issuo to divert attention from tho inoro important matter of tho permanent scheme."