1.0 "
1.5 '*
2.0 ♦'
"Mortar made with five or six parts sand to one of Buckeye Portland
cement is good enough as far as strength is concerned, but is then too 'poor/
*short' or 'brash,' and does not adhere sufficiently to the stone and brick.
"The addition of slacked lime in small proportions makes the mortar 'fat,'
'rich' and pleasant to work.
"It greatly increases its adhesiveness and density, and, contrary to general
belief, also adds to the strength of all such mixtures.
"Any greater or any less proportion of lime to the mixture given will
lessen the density, the tensile strength, the crushing strength and the adhe-
siveness. This lime paste or slacked lime is more than half water.
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STATE GEOLOGIST.
47
TABLE 13.
Table of Proper Proportions for Ordinary Purposes.
Portland Oement.
Sand.
Lime Paste.
1 part
5 parts
0.5 part
1 "
6 "
1.0 ^'
1 "
8 *'
1.5 "
1 "
10 *♦
2.0 "
TABLE 14.
Amount of Sand, Portland Cement and Lime Putty-
Needed to Lay 1,000 Bricks.
Joint.
Proportion of
Mortar to the Brick.
Bushels
of
Sand.
Bushels
of
Cement.
Bushels
of
Lime.
>^m.
1-9
3.8
.64
.64
X '•
1-4
9.6
1.6
1.6
% ".
3-10
12.5
2.1
2.1
H "
1-3
15.2
2.5
2 5
"Three and one-third bushels of Buckeye Portland cement in each barrel
"One barrel of above described Buckeye Portland cement mortar will lay
2,000 bricks with % inch joints."
The following is taken from the ''Directory of American Cement
Industries."
TABLE 15.
Volume of Mortar in a cubic yard of Masonry.
Cu. Yds.
"For brick work, % inch joints 0.15
For brick work, % inch joints 0.25
For brick work, ^ inch joints 0.40
For ashlar, 20-inch courses 0.06
For squared stone masonry 0.20
For rubble masonry 0.25
For concrete, broken stone 0.55"
Mr. F. P. Van Hook, in an article in Municipal Engineering Maga-
zine telling how to prepare a Portland cement wall plaster, says :
"Portland cement mortar should be made as follows: Take good double
strength lime, and slake in plenty of water. Do not stir the lime only enough
to keep the large lumps from burning. It should stand a week or ten days
before using. Put in 2i/^ bushels of good clean hair to two barrels of lime;
when ready to commence plastering, take one barrel of a good standard
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ANNUAL REPORT
brand of American Portland cement to three barrels of lime. First, mix the
Portland cement with four parts of sand, mixing the sand and cement
thoroughly. Second, the lime mortar should be sanded to the right con-
sistency to make a good, rich mortar. Third, mix the sanded cement with the
lime mortar as it is used. It will take a very Utile mixing to make a fine
torugh mortar."
CEMENT STUCCO FOR WALLS-
Mr. Van Hook also gives the following instructions for cement
stucco :
"First coat, one-half inch thick. For best results, the wall should be
furred off with spruce lath put on vertically, 12 inches apart -and well nailed.
On these fasten firmly, expanded metal lath. Add fibre to the mortar for
lath work. Wet thoroughly the surface to be plastered. Mix one part of
non-staining Portland cement with two parts medium sand, one part fine
sand and one-half part lime flour. When this coat has set hard, wet the
surface thoroughly and apply the second coat with a wooden float.
"Second coat, one-quarter inch thick. Mix one part cement as above,
one part fine sand and two parts medium sand or crushed granite. Before the
s«econd coat has set hard, it may be jointed to present the appearance of stone
work. A small addition of lime flour increases the adhesion of the mortar.
"The finished surface should be protected for at least two weeks with
canvass curtains or bagging saturated with water.
"Defects are liable to appear on cement plastered walls when (1) too
much cement is used; (2) not applied with sufficient moisture; (3) not
troweled sufficiently; (4) not protected from variations in temperature and
drafts of air."
Cement manufacturers publish the follov^ing table of areas covered
with Portland cement mortars of various proportions per barrel of Port-
land cement used :
TABLE 16.
Showing Area Covered by Mortar Produced from One
Barrel Portland Cement.
Composition of
Mortar.
1 Cement 1 Sand
1 Cement 3 Sand
1 Cement 8 Sand
Thickness of
Coat.
1 inch
I
1
3/
((
f.
1
3/
-
s
((
8q. Ft. of Area
Covered.
67
90
134
104
189
308
140
187
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STATE GEOLOGIST.
49
The Buckeye Portland Cement Company print a useful table show-
ing various data in reference to plastering cisterns, which table is here in-
serted :
TABLE 17.
Showing Capacity, Quantities of Excavation, Stone and Brick Lining and
Plastering in Cisterns of various diameters, for each foot of depth.
Also nnmber of bricks and amount of plastering in bottom.
' For Each Foot Depth.
Bottom.
J '
aota
If
For these Columns Use Diameter
•2 g
1
i
5 ;
in Clear of Lining.
•^5
■§5
}4 .
Hi it
X Q
II
li
S
St
5
146
.73
.75
230 1.74
148
2.18
6
211
1.04
.88
275 2.09
215
3.14
7
288
1.42
1.00 320 2.44
292
4.27
8
377
1.86
1.13 1 366 ' 2.79
382
5.58
9
476
2.36
1.26 ! 410 1 3.14
483
7.06
10
587
2 91
1.38
460 1 3.49
596
8.72
11
710
3.52
1.51
500 3.84
722
10.56
12
846
4.19
1.63
550 , 4.19
859
12.56
13
992
4.92
1.76 1 590 1 4.54
1008
14.74
14
1162
5.70
1.88 640 1 4.89
J 170
17.10
15
1325
6.64
2.01 680 5.24
1343
19.63
For the number of hundred pounds of cement needed for a half inch plaster coat,
divide the j^quare yards by 15 if half cement and half sand or : 5 if a third cement and
two-thirds sand.
CONCRETE MOLDINGS AND BASE-BOARDS.
In the Alexian Brothers' Hospital, Chicago, * marble concrete, called
"art marble,'' is used for the floors, base moldings and stairway treads
and risers. No wood or plaster was used within 6 inches of the floors.
All base moldings were made continuous around corners and at door
openings. All exposed angles were rounded and the marble surfaces
polished.
The tread and riser for each step was made in one piece. The foot of
each riser was recessed into the top of the next lower tread so as to make
but one tightly fitting joint for each step. Figure 5 shows the method of
construction. Such sanitary construction should be a part of all public
buildings, but especially those used for hospital purposes.
*Eng. Record, Feb. 3, 1900.
4— S. G.
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50
ANNUAL REPORT
Door Opentna
Fig. S.—lliustrated Use of Stairway and Baseboard, Atexian Bros.' Hospital, Chicago, 111.
FILLERS*
Cement mortar or grout, a very thin liquid mixture of cement, sand
and water, is frequently used to fill the joints in street paving. "Murphy's
Grout Filler" was among the first so used. This is a patented mixture
of Portland cement, ground slag and sand; the claim is made that the
slag gives both strength and impermeability to the mortar.
Portland cement two parts, with fine sand one part mixed with suffi-
cient water to make a fluid grout, makes a good filler for both brick and
wood paved streets. Such a filler is impervious, durable, and gives good
support to the blocks. The strongest objection to its use with brick pave-
ments is its unyielding character which does not allow for expansion.
Frequently in hot weather, when expansion takes place, in brick paved
streets having grout filling, the pavement will arch away from the
foundation, causing the streets to rumble under traffic. Because the
bricks are unsupported except by arch action, they are apt to yield under
heavy traffic and long cracks or ruts appear in the street allowing water
to reach the foundations, thus quickly destroying the pavement. This
danger can be prevented, however, by putting in longitudinal and trans-
verse expansion joints of asphaltic or coal tar cements.
GROUTING.
Mr. Wm. J. McAlpine* says in substance, long experience proves
that tight work can only be made in grouting masonry when neat cement
•Eng. News, April 17, 1902.
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Fig. 6. — Ornamental Block of Lithollte.
Fig. 7. — Ornamental Pieces Designed for a Library Building. Stevens' Cast Stone or
Lithollte.
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52
ANNUAL REPORT
is used. If sand is used with cement, it separates and settles, filling and
blocking the channels, and preventing the cement from reaching the lower
cavities in the masonry. The result is that the lower portion of the
masonry has many unfilled voids, then comes a layer having the interstices
filled with sand and the top layer is filled with neat or nearly neat cement
grout.
Nearly forty, years ago a commission of Government Engineers of
whom Major R. E. Lee was one, built a wall and carefully grouted it with
sand and cement grout. When the wall was torn down the results claimed
by Mr. McAlpine were substantiated.
ORNAMENTAL WORK.
For many years in Europe, and for the last few years in this country,
the use of cement mortar for ornamental work such as ceiling and wall
panels, capitals, gargoyles, bases, stucco work, mosaic and tile work has
been rapidly increasing. Such work is as lasting as cut stone, and far
cheaper, because cast iron or wooden molds can be used over and over
again in producing panel work or duplicate parts. Molding sand is also
used for the forms.
Portland cement castings are much more durable than many of the
building stones, and are much easier repaired in case of damage. Fire
practically makes no impression upon them, while most natural stones
would be completely destroyed by the combined effects of fire and water.
The mortar for this class of work should be composed of one part
Portland cement and two parts of sand graded in size of grains, so that
the voids in the sand would be proportionately small, and an even grain re-
sult in the artificial stone thus manufactured.
The Stevens Cast-Stone Company, of Chicago, manufacture an arti-
ficial stone called Litholite, illustrations of which will furnish an idea of
what can be done in cement casting. One form of this stone is made by
crushing any natural stone to granular form, mixing it with Portland
cement and as explained by Mr. Stevens himself,
"by mixing materials so thin that we are abl« to run it through a rubber hose
into the molds, we have produced a stone that meets the approval of architects
and builders. Now, if we had no way of getting rid of this surplus water,
we could not produce a first-class article, but we cast it in a porous mold,
allowing the surplus water to be absorbed into the mold before initial set
t^kes place. To produce a perfect crystallization, the stone should have
more water as soon as the initial set has taken place. This is supplied
through the porous mold, but at no time does the cement receive more water
than is required for a perfect crystallization. Induration by absorption through
a porous mold was so novel and new that we were cited to no patents with
which we interfered."
"One of the worst problems has been to overcome the hair checking
from appearing in cem«nt work. To the best of our knowledge there are
several causes for this hair checking. One cause is fresh cement, especially
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STATE GEOLOGIST.
53
if there is any free lime in it, other causes being the workmanship. Cement
mixed not stronger than one to three or four of sand is not liable to hair
check, and if the stone is well seasoned before exposing to the weather, it
will not hair check.*'
In reference to the cost of the stone, Mr. Stevens, writes,
"We can get from one barrel of cement twenty-four pieces of stone
10 by 12 by 30 inches, or 60 lineal feet. With Portland cement selling at $2.40
per barrel, the cement in each block woulci cost ten cents; the other material
being sand, gravel and crushed stone, the cost of these would depend entirely
upon the locality."
! He says that one man will make from 30 to 40 blocks per day of the
size mentioned, and that with crushed stone at 85 cents per yard and sand
and gravel at $1.25 per yard, they are making hollow trimmings, porch
columns, etc., at 26 to 35 per cent, of the cost of natural stone work.
His process for stone is shown by the sketch and patent explained below :
%
Fig. 8.— Illustrating the Miethod of Casting Litlioiite.
Extract From Patent Specifications.
Process of Makirtfe Artificial Stone. Charles W. Stevens, North Harvey, 111.
American Patent No. 699,588. *
The process of making artificial stone, which consists in forming a mold
containing a plurality of dry-sand cores, said cores being laterally supported by
removable parting-boards and separated by parting boards so disposed as to prCK
vide a space between the opposing faces of said parting-boards, in then pouring
wet artificial-stone compound into said mold around and between said parting-
boards, in withdrawing said parting-boards while the stone compound is still
sufficiently plastic to flow into the space previously occupied by the parting-
boards, and in then allowing the compound to set.
The illustration, Figure 9, shows a beautiful monument which Mr.
Warren S. Cushman, the sculptor, designed and which was erected at
Woodstock, Ohio, in memory of the soldiers and sailors of the Civil War.
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Fig. 9. — Soldiers' Monument at Woodstock, Ohio; Weight 100 Tons, a Monolithic Cement
Casting.
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STATE GEOLOGIST. 65
This monument is a monolith, cast where it stands from Buckeye
Portland cement. It is 26 feet high and 14 feet square and weighs about
100 tons.
Mr. Cushman has made a careful study of Portland cement in con-
nection with outdoor monumental work with a view of finding something
more durable than marble and granite, and he believes that Portland
cement fills his desires in that direction.
ROPE MOLDING.
Among other ornamental features, the Aberthaw Construction Co..
of Boston, now make a cast stone rope molding in two styles, smooth and
rough finish. Like other ornamental designs this can be made in any
color.
MOSAIC WORK.
For mosaic work, small colored pieces of encaustic tile, glass, marble,
onyx, ornamental stones, or previously hardened pieces of colored cement
are arranged in various patterns and cloth netting is glued or cemented
over the face with some soluble cement. These flexible sheets of mosaic
design called "Corded Ceramic Mosaic" are then ready for the bed stone
of cement mortar. This bed plate is made of i part of Portland cement
and 2 parts of sand, mixed quite wet. The sheet is then laid upon the
fresh mortar and pressed down into it until the mortar has risen between
the pieces up to the level of the sheet ; the sheet is then soaked loose, the
position of the pieces adjusted so as to secure uniform mortar joints and
the plate is then allowed to set. The trimming of rough surfaces or
polishing, if any is required, is done when the cement has hardened. Tlie
mosaic plate is then ready for use. When complete, it is about two
inches thick.
Terrazo work is that form of mosaic which is made by setting in a
ground of colored mortar, small irregular pieces of colored marble, glass,
tile or granite. Or, the pieces may be mixed with the mortar and the
surface ground and polished after the mortar has set. A central design
may also be bordered in this irregular work.
TILES AND FIGURED WORK.
Floor tiles, rivaling in appearance and durability those made of
burned clay are made from cement. Generally this is done under the
protection of patents covering the press or dies or some feature of the
process. A single tile may be of one solid color, or may be made of
several different colored cements accurately disposed in geometrical or
other forms. These different colors are prepared by grinding the cement,
coloring material and fine sand intimately together, dry. They are
then filled into a cellular or honey-comb die, each compartment of the die
receiving its charge of the proper color by means of perforated cards or
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STATE GEOLOGIST. 57
stencils which keep out all colors except the one being filled at the time.
Each color requires its own stencil. When all the cells are charged, the
comb is withdrawn gently, leaving the cement powder in little piles whose
edges overlap one on the other. Without disturbing their positions, a mix-
ture of coarse sand and cement, properly dampened, is now filled in on top
of them until the die is full and stroked off level, when it is brought
under a powerful press which compacts the loose material into a solid
dense tile. The moisture from the damp backing penetrates and hydrates
the dry cement composing the face so that in a day or so it has fully set.
The tiles are placed on slabs of cement mixed with sawdust instead of
sand ; these are very porous and are kept damp so that they may furnish
water as needed for the chemical process of setting the tile without soft-
ening its surface or causing the different colors to mix. In order to keep
these colors clear and bright, and avoid the scum or whitewash, commonly
found on cement surfaces, some chemical is generally used in the surface
colors, or in the whole mass. This is generally kept secret, or patented,
and is sold with the right to use the process. Magnesium fluoride is one
of the best and commonest anti-scum chemicals in use for cements.
The tiles, when made and hardened, are used in laying floors exactly
as clay tiles, being laid in a cement matrix or bed.
Imitation marble may be obtained by kneading and rolling together
different colored mortars and pressing them into slabs which, after setting,
can be ground and given a high degree of polish.
Figures lo and ii show what can be done with cement in ornamental
lines.
FACINGS.
Cement mortar is used in facing concrete work. It is not put on as
a plaster but the forms in which the concrete body is molded are so made
that the outer surface, one to three inches in thickness, can be put in place
and rammed at the same time as the body of concrete. This gives a
smooth, finished appearance to the exterior and at the same time provides
an impervious, durable surface. The mortar is usually made of one part
cement to two or three parts of clean sand.
At first, the work was made of uniform texture throughout and the
surface was coated with a plaster of neat cement, or of one part cement
and one part fine sand. It was found, however, to be almost impossible
to make a plaster coat permanently adhere to the body of the concrete
mass which had become set before the plaster could be applied. The
method of facing with mortar was then adopted. The latest practice,
however, is to use a wet concrete in which all the voids are filled and
which contains a slight excess of mortar. When the concrete is rammed,
if a close tined fork with flat blades or a flat square backed shovel be
forced down between the concrete mass and the form, it will force back
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STATE GEOLOGIST. 59
the stone and coarse gravel and the excess of wet mortar will run next
the form. Thus when the mass is set and the form removed the exterior
will be smooth and waterproof. This method is cheaper than the two
inch facing and equal in durability and appearance.
PROTECTION TO BRIDGE METAL.
Mr. J. M. Newhouse, carpenter foreman for the Columbus Terminal
of the Pennsylvania railroad, has used Portland cement with oil and red
lead to coat the metal work of the High Street Viaduct. A test section
was coated early in 1900 and now after four years wear seems to be in
excellent condition. Where it "has been cut out for examination the metal
is perfectly bright. The entire eastern section of the viaduct owned by
the Big Four Railway Company was covered with this cement coating
in 1900 and 1901 and is still in excellent condition. The outside of the
eastern-most girder with the supporting posts show expansion cracks
in the coating wherever the sun can strike the paint, but at no point does
the coating seem to be loosened by this cracking. Upon cutting into
the metal it does not appear to have sustained any corrosion. This coat- .
ing was applied with trowels and is about % of an inch thick. It required
much care and time in spreading it, especially around the rivet heads.
Small friction or troweling cracks would occur whenever hasty work
was done. These cracks would have admitted water and allowed the rust-
ing to proceed, therefore great care was used to put on a perfect coat.
The steel work had been cleaned by the sand blast, and painted the year
before, so that only hand cleaning was done before the mortar paint was
applied. The cost of this coat, including the hand cleaning of the metal
work and the cost of materials and applying them was eight cents per
square foot.
The place is a particularly trying one on metal work, as the lower
flanges of the girders are only about two feet above the smoke stacks of
the passing engines. Practically all the traffic, passenger and freight,
entering and leaving the Union station pass under this viaduct. Ordinary
paints are cut out in a very short time and unprotected metal work soon
corrodes through J4 to ^ inch members. If this cement coat lasts as it
promises to do, it will be well worth the additional cost. The officials
said that it cost from one quarter to two-thirds more than the paints
usually used. The life of ordinary paints is not much over three years,
and under the trying conditions of this particular place would not prob-
ably exceed eighteen months to two years at the longest.
Mr. Newhouse gives the following directions for the cement coat:
12 pounds of red lead.
32 pounds of Portland cement.
2 pounds of Japan.
Add sufficient linseed oil to make, when thoroughly mixed, a soft
putty like mixture. Apply with a trowel, upon thoroughly cleaned metal.
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60 ANNUAL REPORT
Mr. Newhouse is experimenting with other mixtures which he
thinks will be even better than the one given above. One of the railway
officials said that he believed this would be cheaper than paint because of
the greater length of life.
LININGS IN WARSHIPS.*
Cement mortar is used in certain places both upon the inner and
outer steel skins of warships, particularly where it would be difficult or im-
practicable to prevent corrosion by paint alone. Cement mortar is also
used in comers to prevent water standing in them ; when a small space is
inaccessible for cleaning or painting, it is filled solidly with cement
mortar.
The use of cement is restricted to the minimum possible, and if
satisfactory paint could be found for all locations, this mortar would
not be used at all for protection of metal. The usual proportions are, i
cement, 2 sand. For all metal protection it is applied as thin as possible,
never over 3 inches thick.
CEMENT HARDENED QUICK SAND.
Mr. Robert L. Harris, M. Am. Soc. C. E., patented in 1891, a device
for hardening quicksand by means of cement grout injected into the sand.
Those who have ever attempted to carry on excavation or construc-
tion of any kind in quicksand know how discouragingly expensive such
work is. Mr. Harris' method is to drive pipes into the quicksand to the
required depth and from four to eight feet apart, and then by attaching
pumps to alternate pipes and pumping in water under pressure circula-
tion is begun between these pipes and the ones left open. After circulation
has been established and sufficient sand removed, cement grout is pumped
in to take the; place of the displaced sand. As soon as the grout appears in
the open pipes they are capped and the pumps are run until a strong
pressure is obtained to force the grout into the surrounding sand and
then left to stand until the cement has time to set. The pipes are then
raised a foot or more and the operation repeated. Some tests were made
at Providence, R. I., which seemed to indicate that it would prove quite
successful under favorable conditions. It was especially recommended