Part 8 (1/2)

”I am, etc.,

”JAUCOUR.”

_The Virtues of Pise._--”Such is the method of building which has been practised in the Lyonnese for many centuries. Houses so built are strong, healthy, and very cheap, they will last a great length of time, for the French author says he had pulled down some of them which, from the t.i.tle-deeds in the possession of the proprietors, appeared to be 165 years old, though they had been ill kept in repair. The rich traders of Lyons have no other way of building their country-houses. An outside covering of painting in fresco, which is attended with very little expense, conceals from the eye of the spectator the nature of the building, and is a handsome ornament to the house. That method of painting has more freshness and brilliancy than any other, because water does not impair the colours. No size, oil, or expense is required, manual labour is almost all it costs, either to the rich or poor. Any person may make his house look as splendid as he pleases, for a few pence laid out in red or yellow ochre, or in other mineral colours.

”Strangers who have sailed upon the Rhone probably never suspected that those beautiful houses, which they saw rising on the hills around them, were built of nothing but earth, nay, many persons have dwelt for a considerable time in such houses without ever being aware of their singular construction. Farmers in that country generally have them simply white-washed, but others, who have a greater taste for ornament, add pilasters, window-cases, panels, and decorations of various kinds.

”There is every reason for introducing this method of building into all parts of the kingdom; whether we consider the honour of the nation as concerned in the neatness of its villages, the great saving of wood which it will occasion, and the consequent security from fire, or the health of the inhabitants, to which it will greatly contribute, as such houses are never liable to the extremes of heat or cold. It is attended with many other circ.u.mstances that are advantageous to the State as well as to individuals. It saves both time and labour in building, and the houses may be inhabited almost immediately after they are finished; for which latter purpose, the holes made for the joists should not be closed up directly, as the air, if suffered to circulate through them, will dry the walls more speedily.”

[Headnote: Indian and Colonial Practice]

-- IV. INDIAN AND COLONIAL PRACTICE

_A Manual on Earthwork_, edited by Colonel Maclagan, R.E., gives much interesting information as to Pise-building and a number of valuable hints:

_Shutter-ties._--”Cross pieces, as the work proceeds, become so firmly embedded in the wall, that there is great difficulty in extracting them, to remedy which iron bars have been subst.i.tuted. Even these thin iron bars become so tightly jammed when surrounded by the compact pise earth, that much labour and risk of injury to the work is incurred in extricating them, and the expedient of setting them in a bed of sand has been successfully resorted to. They are then drawn out with care, the sand also is removed, and the holes which they leave are subsequently filled with the same earth of which the wall is made, and rammed hard.

”The heads of the opposite uprights are held together by ropes, but in practice in this country[6] it has been found that, under the immense pressure exerted upon the plank sides by the earth firmly rammed in the interior, the ropes are so liable to stretch, and to break, that it is advisable to use iron rods or bars in this position also. When ropes are used, the distance between the side planks is measured by gauge rods, and the ropes tightened when requisite to preserve the proper breadth of wall. The use of iron connecting rods renders this unnecessary.”

[Footnote 6: India.]

_Soil._--”Soil of a medium quality, that is neither very stiff nor very sandy, is considered best adapted for pise. It may be said that that which would make good bricks will answer well for this description of work.

”When the earth is very dry, a sprinkling of water will be necessary.”

_Foundations._--”It is usual to begin the work upon a foundation of brick or masonry; but there seems to be no reason why the pise might not be used from the commencement, even for foundations under ground; being carefully guarded from all chance of injury by running water.”

_The Building._--”The casing being prepared and erected, and the upper surface of the old work, when above the first stage, being sprinkled with water, the earth, well mixed and slightly moistened, is thrown in, and spread in thin layers of 4 or 5 in. These should, when rammed, be reduced to one-half their original thickness. The rammers should be of hard wood and very smooth. The successive layers are similarly treated, and thus the work proceeds until the top of the casing is reached. The ends of each portion should be finished with a slope, to which will be joined the portion next to be added longitudinally. These joinings should not, in the successive courses, be above those of the lower stage, but as in masonry and brickwork, should 'break joint.' The seams are all distinctly perceptible when the work is complete.”

[Headnote: Plastering]

_Plastering._--”The wall may have a coating of plaster, or the surface may be simply smoothed and dressed with a shovel, or similar implement.

When it is to be plastered, it is necessary that the wall should first be thoroughly dry. If dry only externally whilst damp within, it has been found that the moisture is apt subsequently to attack the plaster and cause it to fall off in flakes. Without plaster, good Pise work is found successfully to withstand exposure to the weather, and after the lapse of many years to be so compact and hard as to be picked down with difficulty.”

_Protection._--”Where the wall is not that of a roofed building, it should be provided with a coping, having a good projection to protect it from rain.”

_Rods versus Bars._--”The subst.i.tution of iron connecting bars for the wooden ones has been mentioned above. The evils of the wooden arrangement were found to be: the starting of the wedges, the fracture of the tenons, the tight jamming of the bars in the wall, and the injury to the walls and to the bars themselves from the force requisite to be applied for extracting them. The lower iron connecting bars are made 3 in. by in.; the upper, 1 in. by ? or in. each, having holes in.

by in., with corresponding pins.

”The mode of setting the bars and arranging the work on each successive elevation of the casing is to cut on the surface of the completed part of the wall a groove 1 in. wider than the bar, filling it in, after placing the bar, with sand, to the level of the wall's surface. The side boarding being set up, the vacant s.p.a.ce left along the bevelled edge of the previous course is filled up with moist clay to retain the first layer of the new course. The end pieces are secured by iron bars or rods, with screws and nuts.”[7]

[Footnote 7: ”A convenient arrangement might be: to make the lower and upper connecting bars alike, to raise the side boarding a few inches above the upper bars, which, when embedded, might be allowed to remain and become the lower ones of the next course; the external apparatus being s.h.i.+fted by taking out the pins and slipping off the stanchions and planks to be reapplied to the upper bars already in position to receive them.”]

_Ramming._--”Gentle and quick ramming has been found most effectual.”

_Report on the Pise-work executed at the Etah Jail during 1867-8.