USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Andover > Town annual report of Andover 1915-1920 > Part 25
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Front and Rear of Lots. That boundary line which borders on the street is the front of the lot. In case of a corner lot the owner may elect by statement on his plans either street boundary line as the front.
The rear of the lot is the side opposite the front. In case of a triangular or gore lot the rear shall be the side not bordering on a street.
The depth of a lot is the dimension measured from the front to the extreme rear line of the lot. In case of irregular shaped lots the mean depth shall be taken.
Height of a Building. The vertical distance of the highest point of the roof above the mean grade of the curbs of all the streets or the mean grade of the natural ground adjoining the building if the said grade of the ground is not below the grade of the curb.
Height of a Wall. The vertical distance from the mean grade of the ground adjoining the wall to the highest point of the wall.
Interior Lot. Any other lot than a corner lot.
Lodging-house. A house or building or part thereof in which six or more persons are harbored, received, or lodged for hire, or any building or part thereof which is used as a sleeping-place or lodging for six or more persons not members of the family residing therein,
Length and Width of Building. The greatest linear dimension of any building is its length and the next greatest linear dimension its width.
Mansard Roof. A roof formed with an upper and under set of raf- ters, the upper more inclined to the horizon than the lower.
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Occupied Space. Outside stairways, fire escapes, porches, plat- forms, and other projections shall be considered as part of the build- ing and not as part of the yards or courts or unoccupied spaces.
Owner. Includes any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common or joint tenant of the whole or part of any building or land.
Partition Wall. Any interior wall of a building.
Party Wall. A wall that separates two or more buildings and is used or adapted for use of more than one building.
Repairs. The reconstruction or renewal of any existing part of a building or of its fixtures or appurtenances by which the strength or fire risk is not affected or modified and not made for the purpose of converting the building in whole or in part to a new use.
Shaft. Includes exterior and interior shafts whether for air, light, elevator, dumbwaiter, or any other purpose.
Skylight. Any structure on or opening on a roof for the admission of light.
Span or Beam. The distance from center to center of its supports.
Stair Hall. Includes the stair, stair landings and those portions of the public halls through which it is necessary to pass in going between the entrance floor and the roof.
Story of a Building. That part of a building between the top of any floor beams and the top or roof beams next above.
Story, First. The story, the floor of which is first above the base- ment or cellar.
Story, Second. The story next above the first story.
Story, Half. Is a story in a sloping roof.
Story, Topmost. The uppermost story, whether constructed wholly or partly in the roof or not.
Tenement House. A house or building or part thereof which is rented, leased, let, or hired out to be occupied or is occupied or is intended, arranged, or designed to be occupied as the home or resi- dence of two or more families, which families may consist of one or more persons living independently of each other and having a common right in the halls, stairways, yard, courts, cellar, sinks, water-closets, or privies or any of them. Where the occupants of dwelling-houses contiguous, and vertically, divided, each occupied and intended, arranged or designed to be occupied as the home or residence of one family or more have a common right in or use in common the halls stairways, yards, cellars, sinks, water-closets, or privies or any of them, such dwellings are tenement houses.
Street. Any public way not less than sixteen feet in width.
Yard. An open unoccupied space on the same lot with a building between the extreme rear line of the house and the extreme rear line of the lot.
A front yard is an open unoccupied space between the front line of the building and the front line of the lot.
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A side yard is an open unoccupied space between the side line of the building and the side line of the lot and shall be deemed an outer court on the lot line.
Words used in the present tense shall include the future; in the masculine, the feminine and neuter; in the singular, the plural, and in the plural, the singular; "shall" is always mandatory and not direc- tory; occupied or used shall be construed as if followed by the words or intended, arranged, designed, built, altered, converted to, rented, leased, let, hired, out, "to be used or occupied". When any word designating any building premises or lot is used, it shall be construed as if followed by the words "or any part thereof".
The provision of these by-laws shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the protection of the health, welfare, and safety of the community.
PERCENTAGE OF LOT OCCUPIED
SECTION 11. No dwelling-house hereafter erected shall occupy either alone or with other buildings more than sixty-five per cent of a corner lot nor more than fifty per cent of any other lot; the measure- ments to be taken at the ground level. No measurements of lot area shall include any part of any street or alley.
HEIGHT OF BUILDING
SECTION 12. No dwelling-house hereafter erected shall exceed in height the width of the widest street upon which it stands, unless such house be set back from the street a distance at least equal to the excess of such height over the width of such street but in no event shall a wooden building hereafter erected to be used for a tenement house exceed forty-five feet in height nor have more than two stories below the attic floor, and every building hereafter enlarged or altered for use as dwelling-house shall be made to conform to the requirements of this section. In no wooden tenement house hereafter erected shall any story or any part thereof above the second story be occupied or arranged for housekeeping independently of the lower stories nor shall any provision be made for cooking nor shall any cooking be done above the second story.
LOTS
SECTION 13. No portion of a building hereafter erected or altered for use as a dwelling-house shall be placed nearer the rear lot line than a distance equal to one-half its height; but in no event shall such distance be less than ten feet.
PROXIMITY TO OTHER BUILDINGS
SECTION 14. No portion of any wooden dwelling-house hereafter erected shall be placed at less distance than ten feet from the side line of the lot upon which it is to be located or within ten feet of another wooden building except where a brick external wall of a thickness and built in the manner prescribed for external walls of brick buildings is substituted for a wooden wall.
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BASEMENT AND CELLAR ROOMS
SECTION 15. In tenement houses hereafter erected no room in the basement or cellar shall be constructed, altered, converted or occupied for living purposes.
CELLARS, DAMP-PROOFING AND LIGHTING OF
SECTION 16. Every tenement house hereafter erected shall have the walls below the ground level, and the cellar floor damp-proof. All cellars and basements in such tenement houses shall be properly lighted and ventilated and kept free from dampness in all their parts to the satisfaction of the Board of Health.
SPACES UNDER FLOORS
SECTION 17. In any dwelling-house hereafter erected, under any part of which there is no cellar, the first or ground floor shall be at least two feet above the ground beneath and that adjacent thereto, and the space beneath such floor shall be kept free and clear, and shall be inclosed to prevent the accumulation of rubbish, but provided with ample ventilation and adequate drainage.
FOUNDATIONS
SECTION 18. Excavations for stone foundations shall be made at least six inches beyond the outside of foundation walls and shall not be back-filled until inspected. The foundations of all buildings for dwellings, except as provided in Section 19, shall be walls of masonry at least sixteen inches thick and piers of masonry or iron, laid in cement mortar; but cellar walls may be laid dry to within six inches of the finished grade, provided they are properly pointed inside with cement and lime mortar. All wooden buildings not more than two stories in height, may be built wholly or in part upon piers or posts. The foundations of all buildings must rest on solid ground or leveled surafces of solid rock, or on piles, concrete, or other solid substance. Such foundation, other than solid rock, must not be exposed less than three feet below the adjacent surface of the ground exposed to frost. Piazzas and porches shall have a suitable foundation of stone, brick, iron or concrete, built on solid bottom, not less than three feet below, and extending not less than three inches above the finished grade. All foundations under masonry walls and piers shall be at least four inches wider than the finished wall or pier.
CONCRETE SPECIFICATIONS
SECTION 19. Cellar and house walls of concrete shall be poured with forms upon both sides and shall be well rammed to place. For houses two stories or more in height the thickness of the cellar walls shall be at least twelve inches, and for one-story houses the thickness shall be at least eight inches. The proportions of the mixture shall be in volume as follows :-
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One part of Atlas Portland Cement or a brand of equal grade; two parts of clean, sharp sand; five parts of broken stone or well- screened gravel.
No concrete or other mason work shall be erected when the tem- perature is below freezing.
FIRE WALLS
SECTION 20. No building, to be used as a dwelling, shall here- after be erected, and no existing building shall be altered or added to for such purpose, thereby giving it a frontage of more than fifty feet, without one or more partition walls of brick or some fire-resisting material, approved by the Inspector, extending from the bottom of the cellar or from a foundation wall to the under side of the roof- boarding, which shall be laid and be imbedded in mortar upon said wall. Such walls shall not be more than fifty feet apart throughout the length of the building. No existing building having a frontage of more than fifty feet shall be converted for use as a dwelling-house, without at least one partition wall, constructed as described in this section. Provided, however, that any single dwelling-house used for one family may be extended more than fifty feet in one direction without such partition wall.
APARTMENT HOUSE FIRE WALLS
SECTION 21. All houses arranged for the occupancy side by side of more than two families shall have a fireproof partition wall be- tween each apartment, consisting either of a brick wall, not less than eight inches thick, extending from the cellar bottom to the under side of the roof-boarding, or of a brick or concrete wall not less than eight inches thick, extending from the cellar bottom to the top side of the first floor timbers, and above that to the under side of the roof- boarding, of two by four-inch studding, with the spaces between filled solid with bricks and mortar, or other fireproof material, not less than four inches thick, to make a smoke-tight barrier between the apartments.
WOODEN FRAME BUILDINGS
SECTION 22. All wooden frame buildings shall be built with sills, posts, girts and plates, girts to be tenoned into the posts. All build- ings shall be braced in each story and in cross-partitions if deemed necessary by the Inspector. No wall or ceiling of any building shall be lathed or otherwise covered until the Inspector has been notified in writing that the building is ready for such work, and until he has given written consent therefor. The Inspector shall act on such notice within forty-eight hours of its receipt.
In all wooden buildings not exceeding three stories in height the posts of which exceed twenty-two feet in length, the sills shall be not less than six by six inches, and the posts and girts not less than four by six inches; in all such buildings the posts of which are twenty- two feet or less in length, the sills shall be not less than four by six inches, laid flatwise, and the posts and girts not less than four by six inches; in all wooden buildings the studding of the outside walls
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shall not be less than two by four inches, set not more than sixteen inches on centres; in all wooden buildings the studding in all parti- tions carrying floor timbers shall not be less than two by four inches, set not more than sixteen inches on centres, and resting on girders not less than six by eight inches. All window studding to be not less than three by four inches. Ledger boards may be used in place of girts in one and one-half story houses or in dwellings where the attic floor is below the plates, if the spaces back of the ledger boards between studding shall be filled with joists of same size as wall-studs, cut in tight so as to prevent a draft in case of fire. All self-supporting walls or partitions above the first floor in any building shall be trussed in a manner approved by the Inspector.
FLOOR TIMBERS
SECTION 23. Floor timbers in dwelling-houses, when of good, sound spruce set sixteen inches on centres, shall be of the following sizes :- for a span not exceeding ten feet the timbers shall be not less than two by seven inches; for a span not exceeding thirteen feet the timbers shall be not less than two by eight inches; for a span not exceeding fifteen feet the timbers shall be not less than two by nine inches; for a span not exceeding seventeen feet the timbers shall be not less than two by ten inches; for a span not exceeding eighteen feet the timbers shall be not less than two by twelve inches; for a span not exceeding twenty feet the timbers shall be not less than two by fourteen inches; for a span not exceeding twenty-two feet the timbers shall be not less than three by twelve inches; for a span not exceeding twenty-four feet the timbers shall be not less than three by fourteen inches in size. In case other sizes, materials, and spacings are used for floor supports, the arrangements must be such as to secure a strength equivalent to that given above in the specifications for spruce. All floor timbers of eight feet or more span shall be bridged at intervals not greater than six feet apart with bridging at least one by two inches in size.
Girders when of good, sound spruce shall be not less than six by eight inches under main partitions. Summers or floor timbers doubled, or their equivalent shall be used under all cross partitions ยท in the first floor of all dwellings. Headers and trimmers of all open- ings more than four feet square in the floors of dwellings shall be floor joints doubled or their equivalent. Beams under carrying partitions in the first floors shall be supported on piers or cement filled iron posts, the latter not less than three and one-half inches in diameter, or their equivalent, the same to be spaced not more than eight feet apart on centres. In case structural steel or hard pine beams are used the spacing of the posts shall be such as to give a supporting strength equivalent to the above specifications for spruce. Floor timbers for any attic whether finished or unfinished, to which there is access by stairs shall not be less than two by seven inches.
All cutting of floor timbers for the passage of pipes shall be on their upper edges, and no cut shall exceed two inches in depth, or be made more than three feet from the bearing point of the timber unless the
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consent of the Inspector has first been obtained. No cutting in the under side of a floor timber will be allowed for any reason.
ROOF TIMBERS
SECTION 24. In buildings which are eighteen feet or more in width, rafters for pitched roofs shall measure not less than two by six inches, and be spaced not more than twenty inches on centres; in buildings which are less than eighteen feet in width, the size of rafters may be determined by the Inspector. Valley rafters twelve feet or more in length shall not be less than two by eight inches. All timbers herein mentioned are to be solid sticks excepting the plates, which may be in two pieces, each two by four inches, thoroughly spiked together. Flat roofs shall be timbered the same as floors.
BRICK BUILDINGS, BOND
SECTION 25. All brick walls shall be built with proper bond and all intersections of walls shall be thoroughly bonded together with brick or tied together with wrought iron straps as often as every eight feet in height. Floor beams shall be anchored to brick walls on which they rest and to each other so as to form continuous ties across the building at least every ten feet.
BRICK DWELLING-HOUSES, THICKNESS OF WALLS
SECTION 26. External walls of brick dwelling-houses, if not more than twelve feet in height, above the foundation walls, shall be not less than eight inches thick for their entire height; if two stories and not more than twenty-five feet in height, they shall not be less than twelve inches thick to the top of the second floor, and not less than eight inches thick for the remaining height; and if three stories and more than twenty-five feet in height, they shall be not less than twelve inches thick to the top of the third floor, and not less than eight inches thick for the remaining height.
EXTERNAL WALLS, BRICK BUILDINGS OTHER THAN DWELLING-HOUSES
SECTION 27. The external walls of all brick buildings, other than dwelling-houses, if not more than forty feet in height, above the foundation walls, shall be of the following thickness. Walls for the two topmost stories shall be at least twelve inches in thickness; for the next two stories, reckoning downward, at least sixteen inches in thickness, and for all subsequent stories an increase of four inches in thickness shall be secured for each twenty-five feet in height. Provided, however, that the method known as "Mill Construction" may be used, whereby the external walls are constructed of a series of piers, of such width as the Inspector may approve, and of the thickness above prescribed for the external wall. Said piers to be connected by curtain walls. Said curtain walls shall be well bonded to the piers, and not less than eight inches thick, in which all windows
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or other openings must be made. All floors must be supported on the piers and no portion of a floor shall for any reason be supported on curtain walls.
The external walls of brick buildings, not exceeding twenty-five feet in height and covering an area not exceeding two thousand square feet, to be used for stables or light mechanical purposes, may be twelve inches thick.
PARTY WALLS OF BRICK BUILDINGS OTHER THAN DWELLING-HOUSES
SECTION 28. Party walls and all partition walls of brick, in all buildings other than dwelling-houses with external walls not exceeding forty feet in height, shall be not less than sixteen inches to the top of the second floor, and not less than twelve inches thick for the remaining height, and, in buildings having external walls exceeding forty feet in height, said walls shall be not less than twenty inches thick to the top of the second floor, nor less than sixteen inches thick to the top of the third floor, and not less than twelve inches thick for the remaining height.
DOORWAYS
SECTION 29. No opening or doorway shall be cut through or formed in a party partition wall of any building without a permit from the Inspector of Buildings, and every such doorway shall have its top, bottom and sides of stone, brick or iron, and shall be closed by two doors of wood, covered with metal, with an air-space between them of at least four inches, and said doors shall be hung to slide or swing in wooden frames entirely covered with metal, or to iron hinges or track in brick or stone rabbets.
PIERS AND COLUMNS
SECTION 30. All brick piers shall be built of the best quality of good, well-burnt, hard brick, laid in cement and sand mortar and well wet when laid in warm weather. Brick piers under lintels, girders or columns of brick buildings shall have a properly pro- portioned cap of castiron or steel the full size of the pier. Brick piers and buttresses shall be bonded with through courses, leveled and bedded each course, and where their foundations rest upon piles a sufficient number shall be driven to insure a proper support.
CHIMNEYS
SECTION 31. All chimneys hereafter erected shall be built from the ground of brick, stone or other fireproof, non-heat-conducting materials, and shall be built plumb, or nearly so, so as to be self- sustaining; provided, however, that brick flues may be securely built into the brickwork of the walls of the building to which they are hung, when the walls are not less than twelve inches thick; and provided also, that upon special permission, first obtained from the Inspector, other forms of support may be used with such special safeguard as he may require, and provided also that, the matter of
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chimneys in small wooden buildings, other than dwelling-houses, not more than one story and one-half in height, shall be left to the decision of the Inspector of Buildings, but must be constructed in accordance with his instructions and to his satisfaction.
CHIMNEY LININGS
SECTION 32. All brick chimneys shall be built of hard burned brick, plastered outside below the roofing after having been examined and approved by the Inspector of Buildings, except that exposed portions of said chimneys may be left unplastered upon the outside. Said chimneys shall be topped out with brick or stone, laid in cement, and the topping out shall not have more than two inches projection unless the bricks are covered by a cap of stone or other non- combustible material, in one piece, properly secured and approved by the Inspector; and in no case shall a nail be driven into the masonry of any flue. All chimneys with exterior walls less than eight inches thick shall be lined with vitrified clay flue-lining.
CHIMNEYS. SMOKE-PIPES
SECTION 33. No smoke-pipe in any building with wooden or combustible floors or ceilings shall hereafter enter any flue except at a distance not less than twelve inches from said floor or ceiling; and in all cases where smoke-pipes pass through stud or wooden partitions of any kind, whether the same be plastered or not, they shall be guarded by a soapstone ring having a thickness radial to said pipe of not less than two inches and extending through said partition, and in cases where smoke-pipes pass through woodwork of any kind in such near proximity to the brickwork of the flue that the space between said woodwork and flue is inaccessible, said pipe shall be guarded by a soapstone ring or thimble, or its equivalent, having a thickness of at least two inches, and extending from the outer face of said woodwork to a point at least two inches within the brickwork of the flue, in which it shall be firmly set. The Inspector of Buildings may, however, allow the use of an approved substitute for such soapstone ring.
CHIMNEYS, HEARTHS
SECTION 34. All hearths shall be supported upon the trimmer arches of brick or stone, or upon bars of iron supporting a bed of brickwork and shall be at least twelve inches longer than the width of the fireplace openings and at least eighteen inches wide in front of the chimney breast. Wooden centering supporting a trimmer arch shall be removed before plastering.
FIREPLACES
SECTION 35. Brickwork of all grates, fireplaces and ranges shall not be less than eight inches thick. No woodwork shall be secured to brickwork of any flue. Open fireplaces shall have fireproof foun- dations. Where there is woodwork directly back of a fireplace, the
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backs shall have either a two-inch air-space with four inches of brick or concrete blocks, or shall be at least eight inches thick with a fireplace' lining of castiron or four inches of brick. Between fire- places or where back of fireplace is exposed there shall be not less than eight inches of masonry.
FIREPROOFING DETAILS
SECTION 36. a. All elevator wells, clothes chutes, and light shafts, unless built of brick, shall be filled in flush between the wooden studs with fireproof materials, or lined with metal or plastered on metal lathing, as may be directed by the Inspector, and all woodwork inside of such wells or shafts shall be lined with tin plate lock-jointed.
b. Where floor beams rest on partition caps or on girders, wall girts or wooden sills shall be filled in between such beams, from the caps, girders, girts or sills to four inches above lining floor above, solid, with brick and mortar or other fireproof material.
c. In brick buildings the space between the furring on the outside walls, or brick partitions, shall be filled flush with mortar for a space of five inches in width above and below the floor beams of each story.
d. Where basement or other flights of stairs are enclosed by partitions of brick or wood, the space between the studs or wall furring shall be so fire-stopped with brick or mortar as to effectually prevent any fire from passing up between such studs or furring back of the stairs stringers.
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