USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Arlington > Town of Arlington annual report 1902-1903 > Part 2
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41
SEC. 3. No building except sheds, outhouses and farm buildings, other than dwellings, shall hereafter be erected in the Town of Arlington, and no addition to or alteration chang-
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ing the character of any such building shall be made, unless the person intending to erect or make such alterations in such buildings shall, seven days at least before he proceeds to build or erect the same, or lay the foundation thereof, or to make the said alterations, or to do any act for carrying into execution his intention to do such things, file with the Inspector of Build- ings notice in writing of his intention, with such plans and specifications or a full written description of the structure to be erected, in such form as may be approved by the Inspector.
SEC. 4. The Inspector shall give a permit for the erec- tion of, addition to, or alteration above described, of any build- ing after he has carefully inspected the plans, specifications, or descriptions thereof, and ascertained that it has sufficient strength, and that means of ingress and egress and of preventing spread of fire are sufficient, and that it otherwise conforms to the by-laws of the Town.
SEC. 5. The foundations of all buildings for dwelling, business or manufacturing purposes, shall be walls of masonry and piers of masonry or iron, and above a distance of twelve inches below the surface of the adjoining ground the walls shall be laid in mortar. All such wooden buildings not more than one story in height may, with the approval of the Inspector, be built wholly on piers or posts ; and such wooden buildings not exceeding three stories in height may be so built, with the approval in writing of the Selectmen. The foundations of all such permanent buildings must rest on solid ground or levelled surfaces of solid rock, or on piles, concrete, or other solid substructure. Such foundation other than solid rock must be not less than four feet below the adjacent surface of the ground exposed to frost. All such wooden buildings shall be framed and constructed in a manner satisfactory to the Inspector, posts and girts in the exterior walls to be not less than 4x6 inches in size, and studding shall be not more than sixteen inches apart.
EXTERNAL WALLS.
SEC. 6. External walls of brick dwelling-houses here- after to be erected in this Town, if not more than twelve feet in height above the foundation walls, shall be not less than
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eight inches thick for their entire height; if two stories, and not more than twenty-five feet in height, they shall be not 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.
SEC. 7. The external walls of all brick buildings, other than dwelling houses, to be hereafter erected in this Town, if not more than forty feet in height above the foundation walls, shall be not less than sixteen inches thick to the top of the upper floor, and not less than twelve inches thick for the remaining height ; and if more than forty feet in height and not exceeding sixty feet in height, they shall be not less than twenty inches thick to the top of the second floor, and not less than sixteen inches thick to the top of the third floor, and not less than twelve inches thick for the remaining height. PROVIDED, How- ever, that 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 me- chanical purposes, may be twelve inches thick.
SEC. 8. No buildings, except a manufactury, railway station, stable, church, school-house, hotel, or hall for public assemblies, shall hereafter be erected, and no existing building shall hereafter be altered or added to, so that they have a front- age of more than fifty feet, without one or more partition walls of brick or some other fire resisting material, 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 be not more than thirty feet apart throughout the length of the building. If said wall is build of brick, it shall be not less than eight inches thick for its entire height. No existing building having a frontage of more than fifty feet, shall be converted to a use not excepted by this section, without at least one partition wall, constructed as described in this section : PROVIDED, However, that any single dwelling house, intended for one family, may be extended more than fifty feet in one direction without such partition wall.
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SEC. 9. All buildings hereafter erected which are to be used in whole or in part for business or manufacturing pur- poses, or as places for public meetings, shall be constructed of brick or stone, and have slate, metal or composition roof-cover- ing and metal gutters, unless permission is otherwise given by the board of Selectmen.
SEC. 10. All buildings hereafter erected to be used as tenement houses, in excess of thirty feet in width, shall have brick partition walls on which floor-beams shall rest, not less than twelve inches thick for their entire height, and extending to the under side of the roof-boarding, which shall be laid and be imbedded in mortar upon said wall. Said walls shall be not more than twenty-five feet apart. All dwelling houses shall have a fire-proof partition wall between each set of up and down tenements.
SEC. 11. No wooden building to be used for a dwelling house shall exceed forty-five feet in height, and no portion of the external side-walls of any wooden building shall be placed at a less distance than five feet from the line of the lot upon which the building is to be located, or within ten feet of another wooden building, except where a brick external wall is substi- tuted for a wooden wall, and of a thickness prescribed for external walls of brick buildings. The brick walls above required shall be built twelve inches above roof-boarding and covered with stone or iron.
SEC. 12. Party walls and all partition walls of brick, in all buildings other than dwelling houses hereafter to be erected in this Town with external walls not exceeding forty feet in height, shall be not less than sixteen inches thick 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, not less than sixteen inches thick to the top of the third floor, and not less than twelve inches thick for the remaining height.
SEC. 13. No opening or doorway shall be cut through or formed in a party or 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
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shall be closed by two doors, or sets of doors of wood, covered with metal, with an air space between them of at least four inches, and said doors shall be hung in wooden frames entirely covered with metal, or to iron hinges in brick or stone rabbets.
PIERS AND COLUMNS.
SEC. 14. All 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 cap iron at least two inches thick, 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
SEC. 15. Every pier, column, pillar or post resting on the earth shall have a base course of stone or concrete and if supporting walls of masonry, shall have for a footing course a broad leveller of granite or ledge stone, not less than twelve inches wider on all sides than the bottom area of said piers, columns, pillars or posts, and not less than twelve inches thick.
SEC. 16. Every metal column in a brick building shall rest on an iron plate of not less thickness than two inches. Wooden columns supporting girders and floors in such buildings shall rest on inch and a half iron plates with sockets to receive the foot of the columns. Metal columns placed one on the top of another shall have a plate at the top of each column, with projections on both sides to fit into cap and base of columns, to prevent slipping ; and all columns shall have holes bored when and where directed by the Inspector, into and through the shell at right angles to the shaft, so as to show the thickness of shell. All bearing parts of columns and plates shall be turned or planed to true surfaces.
SEC. 17. No roof water from any building shall be allowed to flow over the sidewalk fronting it.
SEC. 18. All brick walls shall be built with proper bond, satisfactory to the Inspector, and all intersections of walls shall
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be tied together with wrought iron straps every ten 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.
SEC. 19. All floors shall be constructed to carry safely the following weights per square foot :
Dwellings 40 lbs.
Mercantile and Public Buildings, 100 “
Storehouses-Machine Shops, . 200 66
Drill sheds, etc.,
200 ‹‹
CHIMNEYS AND HEATING APPARATUS.
SEC. 20. All chimneys hereafter erected shall be built from the ground, of brick, stone, or other fire-proof 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 brick work 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 safeguards as he may require, and provided, also that the matter of construction of chimneys in small wooden buildings, other than dwelling houses, not more than one story and a half in height, shall be left to the decision of the Inspector of Buildings, but must be con- structed in accordance with his instructions and to his satisfaction.
SEC. 21. All brick chimney-flues shall be built of hard burned brick and be smoothly plastered inside with mortar from top to bottom, during the course of construction, and also out- side 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
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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.
SEC. 22. No smoke-pipe in any building with wooden or combustible floors or ceilings shall hereafter enter any flue ex- cept 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 wood work of any kind in such near proximity to the brick work of the flue that the space between said wood work and flue is inaccessible, said pipe shall be guarded by a soapstone ring or thimble, or its equivalent, hav- ing a thickness of at least two inches, and extending from the outer face of said wood work to a point at least two inches. within the brick work of the flue, in which it shall be firmly set.
SEC. 23. All hearths shall be supported upon trimmer arches of brick or stone, or upon bars of iron supporting a bed. of brick work and shall be at least twelve inches longer than. the width of the fire-place openings and at least eighteen inches wide in front of the chimney breast. Wooden centering supporting a trimmer arch shall be removed before plastering ..
SEC. 24. Brick work back of all grates, fireplaces and ranges shall be not less than eight inches thick, and when it adjoins a wooden or stud partition shall have at least two four- inch walls, with at least a two-inch air space between. No. wood work shall be secured to the brick work of any flue. Open fire-places shall have fire-proof foundations.
SEC. 25. a, No furnace or range set in masonry shall hereafter be placed, or its location changed in any building, without a permit from the Inspector of Buildings, who shall prescribe such regulation for the setting or placing thereof as in his judgment the public safety may require.
b, The top of every heating furnace or steam boiler shall be kept at least one foot below the lowest part of the ceiling or floor next above it and such protective covering shall be placed on such ceiling as the Inspector may require.
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c; All register boxes shall be set in soapstone or similar borders, not less than two inches in width and said boxes back of such border shall be surrounded by an open space of not less than one inch in all directions, and when required by the Inspector the timbers and flooring surrounding the boxes shall be protected by sheet metal as he may direct.
d, All elevator wells and light shafts, unless built of brick, must be filled in flush between the wooden studs with fire- proof materials, or lined with metal or plastered on metallic lathing, as may be directed by the Inspector, and all wood work inside of such wells or shafts, be lined with tin plate lock-jointed.
e, Where floor beams rest on partition caps or on girders, wall girts or wooden sills, fill in between such beams, from the caps, girders, girts or sills to the lining floor above, solid with brick and mortar or other fire-proof material.
f, When floor beams in frame buildings rest on ledger boards, fire-stop thoroughly at each floor, with brick and mortar rest- ing on bridging pieces cut in between the studs, or, where practicable, on the ends of lining floor.
g, In brick buildings the space between the furrings on the outside walls or brick partitions should be filled flush with mortar for a space of five inches in width above and below the floor beams of each story.
h, Where basement or other flights of stairs are enclosed by partitions of brick or wood, the spaces between the studs or wall furrings must 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 stair stringers.
All flights of stairs between two floors must have two smoke stops built between the stringers and properly con- structed.
i, No pipes for conveying hot air or steam must be placed nearer than one inch to any wood work unless protected to the satisfaction of the Inspector by suitable guards or cas- ings of incombustible material.
k, No wooden flue or air duct of any description can be used · for heating or ventilating purposes, except cold air inlets to heating apparatus.
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1, A space of at least one inch to be left between all wood work and the chimneys, also around all hot-air, steam and hot-water pipes ; these spaces around chimneys and pipes, where they pass through floors, to be stopped with metal or other fire-proof material, smoke-tight. Steam and hot-water pipes to have metal sleeves and collars.
m, All channels and pockets for gas, water and soil-pipes to be made smoke-tight at each floor.
n, The space around all metal or brick ventilating ducts must be fire-stopped at each floor with metal or other fire-proof material, as approved by the Inspector.
0, Where a building is occupied above the first floor for tene- ments or a lodging house, and the lower story is occupied for stores, or other purposes not connected with the upper floors, the stairways leading to such upper floors must be enclosed with brick walls or with wooden partitions filled solid with brick laid in mortar, or other fire-proof material, and plastered on both sides on metallic lathing, and all doors in such partition covered with tin plate, lock-jointed.
The provisions of paragraphs d, e, f, h, i, k, m, n, shall not apply to any wooden dwelling house when occupied by only one family and which is situated more than twenty-five feet from any other building.
SEC. 26. No bay window, balcony or other prejection, except cornices, shall be built upon the front wall of any building so as to project over the line of the street, except upon written permit of the Selectmen.
SAFEGUARDS DURING BUILDING OPERATIONS
SEC. 27. Whenever any person is about to erect or alter the exterior walls of a building, within five feet of the line of a street, he shall cause the portion of the site of the building bordering upon the street to be enclosed by a proper fence not less than four feet high, and at least five feet from the line of such building ; and the fence shall be made as much higher as the Inspector of Buildings shall direct, and the same shall be maintained until all liability to accident from falling material
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ceases ; he shall also maintain a proper walk satisfactory to the Inspector, around said fence, as long as the sidewalk is ob- structed, and he shall maintain proper lights, if so required by the Inspector, at both ends of such enclosed space from sunset to sunrise. In erecting any building, no person shall place, deposit or suffer to remain in any street or highway any lumber or other building material, rubbish, or remains of any old building, for a longer period than may be necessary for the work which may be going on; and in case such material, rubbish, or remains of an old building, shall necessarily remain after dark, a sufficient light shall be placed over or near the same, and kept from sunset to sunrise. All rubbish from the erecting or repairing of any building, or the removal of an old building shall be carried away by the person so erecting or re- pairing or removing such building, at such time as the Super- intendent of Streets may direct; and in case of neglect or refusal so to do, it shall be removed by the Superintendent of Streets, at the expense of such person. Any person violating any provision of this section shall be liable to a penalty of five dollars.
SEC. 28. Proper plans shall be prepared under direction of the Selectmen showing a proper numbering of buildings on all streets of the Town and the Inspector shall send to the owner or person having control of every new building a written notice stating the number assigned by the Selectmen to such building, and directing that the said number be affixed or inscribed in a proper place on said building, and all other num- bers, if any, removed within one week from the receipt of notice. Whenever a building fronting on a street is found not having a number, or having a wrong number affixed or inscribed on it, then Ispector shall send a similar notice to the owner or person having control of it. Any owner or person in control of such building refusing or neglecting to comply with the direc- tions contained in any such notice shall be liable to a fine of not more than twenty dollars.
SEC. 29. All questions as to the intent and meaning of the by-laws relating to the construction of buildings shall be decided by the Inspector, provided that any person dissatisfied with or aggrieved by any requirement or decision of the.
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Inspector may appeal to the Selectmen and their decision, after a hearing at which the Inspector shall be given an opportunity to be heard, shall be final.
SEC. 30. In these by-laws the following terms shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them : -
" Alteration " means any change or addition.
" Cellar " means a basement or lower story of which one-half or more of the height from the floor to the ceiling is below the level of the land adjoining.
' Foundation " means that portion of a wall below the level of the street curb, and where the wall is not on a street, that portion of the wall below the level of the highest ground next to the wall; but if under party or partition walls, may be constructed by the Inspector to mean that portion below the cellar floor.
" Chimney " shall apply to any permanent or fixed flues or passages built into any building for conveying away the products of combustion from furnaces, stoves, boilers, ranges or fire-places.
"Inspector" means the Inspector of Buildings of the Town of Arlington.
" Party wall " means every wall used, or built in order to be used, as a separation of two or more buildings.
" Partition wall " means any interior wall of masonry in a building.
" External wall" means every outer wall or vertical enclosure of a building other than a party wall.
" Repairs " means 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 in the opinion of the Inspector for the purpose of converting the building in whole or in part to a new use.
" Tenement house " means a building whichi, or any portion of which, is ·occupied, or intended to be occupied, as a dwelling by more than three fami- lies living independently of one another and doing their cooking upon the premises ; or by more than two families above the second floor, so living and cooking
" Thickness" of a wall means the minimum of thickness of suchi wall.
SEC. 31. Whoever violates any of the provisions of these by-laws shall be liable to a penalty of not more than one hun- dred dollars unless another penalty is specifically provided herein.
SEC. 32. The provisions of these by-laws shall not apply to buildings and structures owned or occupied by the United States or by the State of Massachusetts, nor to bridges.
FIRE LIMITS.
All buildings hereinafter built or enlarged, fronting on the following street described lines, shall be built of brick, stone
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or other incombustible material. Beginning at the north- easterly corner of Swan and Pleasant streets, thence running north-easterly to the south-easterly corner of Pleasant street and Massachusetts avenue ; thence south-easterly on the south- erly line of Massachusetts avenue, to a point opposite the Sol- diers' Monument. Beginning again at a point in the northerly line of Broadway opposite the Soldiers' Monument and running north-westerly along the north-easterly lines of Broadway and Massachusetts avenue to Central street.
REPORT OF THE SELECTMEN.
The Selectmen submit the following report for the year ending December 31, 1902 : -
Mr. Timothy J. Donahue was appointed Assistant Engineer of the Fire Department.
Mr. Lucian C. Tyler was appointed Inspector of Buildings.
Mr. Charles F. Lusk was appointed Constable under Chap. 25, Sec. 87, Revised Laws.
All other appointments were the same as last year.
For the detail work accomplished by these officials, we refer you to their reports to the Selectmen.
A trench was dug in the sidewalk on the westerly side of Massachusetts avenue from Appleton street to Park avenue, and a small drain pipe was laid. The trench was then filled with large stones, then with finer and crushed stones, and then covered with earth. The purpose of this trench is to take off the water in winter which comes from the ground for nearly the whole distance and makes a sheet of ice on the street in places to the rails of the car-track. The ice remained as long as cold weather lasted and made it dangerous to travel. The trench answered its purpose very well. There is a similar- place at the junction of Paul Revere Road and Massachusetts. Avenue which should be taken care of.
The bond of the Treasurer and Collector for $20,000 was given by the United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company and was approved March 22nd.
The largest amount outstanding at any one time, of money borrowed in anticipation of taxes of the year 1902, was $85,000. This has all been paid. The only outstanding note on this.
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account at the close of the year is a note of $20,000 dated Dec. 16 and given for six months.
The Treasurer has been handicapped in his work during the year by a lack of clerical assistance and still more by the use of his books by the experts employed by the Committee of Five. This of course could not very well be helped.
The street numbering has been revised to some extent and . about 475 notices were sent out to this effect.
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