USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Arlington > Town of Arlington annual report 1922 > Part 7
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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 point of support of the timbers unless the consent of the inspector has first been obtained. No cutting in the under side of a floor timber shall be allowed for any reason.
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FLOOR LOADS
Sec. 16. All new or renewed floors and stairs shall be so constructed as to carry safely the weight to which the proposed use of the building may subject them, and every permit granted shall state for what purpose the building is designed to be used; but the least capacity per superficial square foot, exclusive of materials, shall be:
For floors of houses for habitation, sixty pounds.
For office floors and for public rooms of hotels exceeding five hundred square feet, one hundred pounds.
For floors of retail stores and public buildings, except school houses, one hundred pounds.
For floors of schoolhouses, other than floors of assembly rooms, sixty pounds, and for floors of assembly rooms, one hundred and twenty-five pounds.
For floors of drill rooms, dance halls and riding schools, two hundred pounds.
For floors of warehouses and mercantile buildings, at least two hundred pounds.
For flat roofs, fifty pounds.
For stairs, landings, platforms, and fire escapes, seventy pounds.
The loads not included in this classification shall be determined by the inspector.
The full floor load specified in this section shall be included in proportioning all parts of buildings designed for warehouses, or for heavy mercantile and manufacturing purposes. In other buildings, however, reductions may be allowed as follows: for girders carrying more than one hundred square feet of floor, the live load may be reduced ten per cent. For columns, piers, walls and other parts carrying two floors, a reduction of fifteen per cent of the total live load may be made. Where three floors are carried, the total load may be reduced by twenty per cent; four floors, twenty-five per cent; five floors, thirty per cent; six floors, thirty-five per cent.
The inspector may prescribe the maximum loads which may be imposed upon the floors of existing buildings.
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ROOF TIMBERS
Sec. 17. In all buildings which are eighteen feet or more in width, rafters for pitched roofs shall be not less than two by six inches and larger if required to carry the load, and spaced not more than twenty inches on centers; in buildings which are less than eighteen feet in width the size of rafters may be deter- mined by the inspector. Valley rafters shall be of such sizes as the inspector shall prescribe, having due regard to the length and the area of the roof to be supported, but in no case shall be less than two by eight inches.
ยท Flat roofs shall be timbered the same as floors.
ROOF COVERING
Sec. 18. The roof of every building hereafter erected shall have a fireproof or fire-resisting covering, and on every roof which has its existing covering replaced the new covering shall be fireproof or fire-resisting.
Existing roofs covered with non-fireproof or non-fire- resisting material may be repaired or altered from time to time with the same kind of material, but the total area so repaired at any one time shall not exceed twenty per cent of the area of such roof.
If it is necessary to repair more than twenty per cent of the area of any such roof the whole area shall be re-covered with fireproof or fire-resisting material as prescribed for new build- ings. The following shall be considered as fireproof coverings: slate, metal, concrete slate and asbestos slate, or other fireproof roofing as inspector may approve.
The following shall be considered as fire resisting: five-ply tar and gravel roofing, asphalt shingles on pitch roofs or other materials as inspector approves.
Every building erected within eight feet of the line of any street or traveled way, and having a pitched roof sloping toward the same, shall be provided with suitable snow barriers or guards upon such roof to prevent the snow sliding therefrom. Whoever violates the above provision shall be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty dollars.
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CHIMNEYS
Sec. 19. 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 walls of the buildings 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 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 constructed in accordance with his instructions.
All brick chimneys shall be built of hard-burned brick. 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. In cases where chimneys are built with concrete four-inch thick flue lining must be used.
No smoke pipe in any building with wooden or combustible floors or ceilings shall hereafter enter any flue except at a dis- tance 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 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
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to a point at least two inches within the brickwork of the flue, in which it shall be firmly set.
All hearths shall be supported upon trimmer arches of brick, stone, or reinforced concrete, or upon bars of iron sup- porting 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.
Brickwork 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 two-inch air space between. No woodwork shall be secured to the brickwork of any flue. Open fireplaces shall have fireproof foundations.
HEATING APPARATUS AND FIRE-STOPS
Sec. 20. (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 regulations 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 protective covering shall be placed on such ceiling.
(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 inspec- tor the timbers and flooring surrounding the boxes shall be protected by sheet metal.
(d) All elevator wells and light shafts, unless built of brick, must be filled in flush between the wooden studs with fire-resisting materials, or lined with metal, or plastered on metal lathing, and all woodwork inside of such wells or shafts lined with tin plate lock jointed.
(e) Where floor beams rest on partition caps or on girders, wall girts or wooden sills, the space between such beams shall
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be filled, from the caps, girders, girts or sills to four inches above lining floor, solid with brick and mortar or other fireproof material.
(f ) When floor beams in frame buildings rest on ledger boards, there shall be fire-stops at each floor of brick and mortar, resting on bridging pieces cut in between all studs.
(g) 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.
(h) Where basement or other flights of stairs are enclosed by partitions of brick or wood, the spaces between the studs or wall furrings 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 stair stringers.
(2) All flights of stairs between two floors shall have two smoke-stops built between the stringers.
(j) No pipes for conveying hot air or steam shall be placed nearer than one inch to any woodwork unless protected by suitable guards or casing of incombustible material.
(k) No wooden flue or air duct of any description shall be used for heating or ventilating purposes.
(1) A space of at least one inch shall be left between all woodwork and the chimneys, with the exception of floor timbers, which shall be not less than two inches from the chimneys, and around all hot air, steam and hot water pipes; the spaces around chimneys and pipes where they pass through the floors shall be stopped with metal or other fire-resisting material. Steam and hot water pipes shall have metal sleeves and collars.
(m) All channels and pockets for gas, water and soil pipes shall be made smoke-tight at each floor.
(n) The space around all metal or brick ventilating ducts shall be fire-stopped at each floor with metal or other fire- resisting material.
(o) Where a building is occupied above the first floor for tenements 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 shall be enclosed with
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brick walls or with wooden partitions filled solid with brick laid in mortar, or other fire-resisting material, and plastered on both sides on metallic lathing, and all doors in such partitions shall be fireproof metal-covered doors.
(p) In all buildings hereafter erected, the cellar ceilings shall be plastered on wooden or wire laths, or made smoke-tight by some other method in order to prevent a draft in case of fire.
SAFEGUARDS DURING BUILDING OPERATIONS
Sec. 21. 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 ceases; he shall also maintain a proper walk around said fence as long as the sidewalk is obstructed, and he shall maintain proper lights, at both ends of such enclosed space, from sunset to sunrise. In erecting any building, no persons shall place, deposit or suffer to remain in any street or highway, any lumber or other building material, rubbish, or remains of any old build- ing 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 lighted 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, repairing or removing such building, at such time as the Board of Public Works may direct; and in case of neglect or refusal so to do, it shall be removed by the Board of Public Works, at the expense of such person. Any person violating any provision of this section shall be liable to a penalty of five dollars.
PLUMBING
Sec. 22. No plumbing work, except to maintain operation of an existing system, shall be done in any building until a per-
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mit therefor has been issued by the Building Inspector. Any person desiring a permit shall file an application with the Building Inspector, together with such plans and specifications or descriptions as the latter may require. Said plans or descrip- tions shall be forthwith transmitted to the Plumbing Inspector, who, when satisfied that they comply with the requirements of the State Examiner's rules and regulations of the Board of Health, shall so report to the Building Inspector. The Building Inspector shall thereupon issue a permit which shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises and remain so posted until the work is completed. There shall be a fee of $2 for each permit, payable when issued.
All plumbing work in buildings hereafter erected and all alterations in existing buildings shall be done in accordance with the then latest edition of the State Examiner's Rules, and the inspection of such work shall be done by an Inspector of Plumbing appointed by the Inspector of Buildings, pursuant to Section 11 of Chapter 142 of the General Laws.
GAS FITTING
Sec. 23. Gas fitting shall mean the work of putting together any fittings, pipes, fixtures or other appliances which are to contain gas for heat, light or power purposes All gas fitting shall be done in accordance with a permit to be granted by the Building Inspector.
All gas piping and fittings shall be tested twice in the presence of the Inspector of Plumbing or his representative free of charge to the Town; and twenty-four hours notice to the inspector of all appointments for testing may be required. The first test shall be made before the piping is concealed, painted or coated; the second, after the gas fitters have com- pleted their work and all work which could disturb the piping has been finished; but it may be before the fixtures are installed. All pipes must stand an air pressure of two pounds per square inch, as indicated by a column of mercury four inches high, for a period of five minutes without any drop. Said inspector shall issue a certificate to the gas fitter after the second test if it proves satisfactory. No gas pipe or fitting shall be covered or
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concealed from view until both tests have been made and such certificate has been issued; nor shall any public gas company set a meter or supply gas in any building or turn on the gas in any new fit, in any new or old building, until the piping fixtures and appliances and the work performed have been approved by said inspector and a certificate issued. In buildings that have been damaged by fire the gas piping and fixtures shall not be used or the gas turned on until authorized by said inspector.
Outlets for fixtures shall be securely fastened; all outlets not covered by fixtures shall be left capped, and the number of burners for each outlet shall be marked on the builders' plan.
Pipes laid in a cold or damp place shall be properly dripped, painted with two coats of red lead and boiled oil, or covered with felting.
Swing brackets shall have globes or guards to prevent burners from coming in contact with the wall. Bracket outlets shall be at least two inches from window or door casings.
Stop-pins to cocks shall be screwed into place.
The use of gas fitters' cement is prohibited except in putting fixtures together.
There shall be a main cock on the service pipe close to the foundation wall, and one cock at the inlet side of each meter. When service pipes are over two inches brass or composition, seated valves shall be used.
All gas pipes shall be of wrought iron or steel, all fittings of malleable iron, except where meters are to be connected with flanges. Every meter connection shall be of standard-size pipe or brass pipe of iron-pipe size. No lead pipe nor solder shall be used in such a connection.
No riser shall be left more than five feet away from the front foundation wall.
All piping installed in a building of the dwelling-house type, for lights only, shall be in accordance with the following table:
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Diameter of
Pipe in Inches
Length of Pipe Allowed in Feet
Number of 3/8-Inch Outlets Allowed
3/8
20
1
1/2
30
3
3/4
50
10
1
70
15
114
100
30
11/2
150
60
2
200
100
21/2
300
200
3
450
300
4
600
500
All piping shall be securely screwed, and rigidly fastened to woodwork by hooks, straps or pipe hangers. Where it is not close enough to the woodwork to be so fastened, wooden strips securely fastened to the woodwork shall be provided at intervals no greater than that set forth in the following table:
3/8 or 1/2-inch pipe
6 feet
34 or 1-inch pipe
8 feet
114, 11/2 or 2-inch pipe
10 feet
All piping shall be secured to brick or stone walls by fasten- ing it to wooden plugs driven into the wall or to metal expansion plugs imbedded therein. All piping shall be secured to concrete or tile walls or ceilings by straps, hooks, or pipe hangers fastened to the wall or ceiling by expansion bolts or substantial metal inserts.
Every pipe passing through the masonry wall, except an outer foundation wall, shall be encased by tile or standard full- weight iron pipe, in one piece, extending the full thickness of the wall, and left resting on the bottom of the casing with a clearance above of at least one-quarter of an inch. No gas pipe shall be let into the timbers, beams or girders, unless it is placed within three feet of the end of a sawed timber and then not more than two inches in depth. All gas pipes shall be run and laid in such way as to avoid any strain or weight on same, and no pipe shall be buried in plaster in whole or in part.
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When brass piping is used on the outside of plastering or woodwork, it shall be classed as fixture.
Outlets and risers not provided with fixtures shall be properly capped.
Outlets for fixtures shall not be placed under tanks, back of doors, or within three feet of any meter.
Gas burners less than two feet from a plastered ceiling or less than three feet from overhead woodwork shall be protected by a shield satisfactory to Plumbing Inspector. In first-class buildings no shields will be required.
Brass tubing used for arms or fixtures shall be at least No. 18 standard gauge with full thread. All threads shall screw in at least five-sixteenths of an inch. Rope or square tubing shall be brazed or soldered into fittings and distributors, or have a nipple brazed into the tubing.
Cast fittings such as cocks, swing joints, double centers and nozzles shall be standard fittings, except for factory use, where extra heavy mill fittings shall be used. The plugs of all cocks must be ground to a smooth and true surface for their entire length, be free from sandholes, have not less than three- quarters-inch bearing on all cast fittings, and eleven-sixteenths of an inch on all turned fittings, have two flat sides on the end for the washer and have two nuts instead of a tailscrew. Stems of fixtures of two lights or more each shall be not less than one-quarter of an inch iron-pipe size. L-burners cocks shall not be used at the end of chandelier arms, except in stores, churches, theaters, halls and places of assembly or public resorts.
Outlets for gas ranges shall have a diameter of not less than three-quarters of an inch, and all gas ranges and heaters shall have a cock on the service pipe. Ranges and heaters shall be connected with right and left couplings, except in fireplace work where brass unions may be used.
Pipes shall be laid above timbers unless otherwise permitted by the Plumbing Inspector.
No second-hand gas pipe shall be put into use in any building without the written permit of the Plumbing Inspector.
Drops or outlets less than three-quarters of an inch in diameter shall not be left more than three-quarters of an inch below plastering, centerpiece, or woodwork, and other outlets
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shall not project more than three-quarters of an inch beyond plastering or woodwork.
Fastening boards shall not be cut away to accommodate electric wires.
No gas pipe shall be laid within six inches of an electric wire except where the electric wire is an insulated conduit.
Where spark-lighting or self-lighting burners are used the mercury test shall be applied to the cocks.
Gas engines shall not be connected to service from which gas for illuminating purposes is used.
Exhaust pipes of gas engines shall be run to roof when possible, shall not come in contact with woodwork, and shall be properly protected.
Diaphragms and bags for gas engines must be on the same floor with engine and have a valve governing same.
No connection for any gas appliance shall be made to any gas fixture on which any part of the piping thereon shall be less than three-eighths inch.
In all buildings hereafter erected and to be used as stores or dwelling houses for more than two families, where gas is used for light, heat or power, or in any other building where, in the judgment of the Building Inspector, it is required, there shall be installed outside the building at or near the point where the supply pipe enters the premises, an approved shut- off valve for use in case of fire if said supply pipe is one and one- half inch or greater in diameter.
Sec. 24. If these by-laws do not cover any proposed con- struction the inspector shall issue a permit therefor only when satisfied that said contemplated construction is to be done in accordance with usual good practice common to the particular type of building.
Sec. 25. After completion and before final approval of any construction or alteration for which a permit is required, the Building Inspector shall make a special inspection to assure himself that all rules as to fire stops have been fully carried out.
Sec. 26. In these by-laws the following terms shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them:
" Alteration" means any substantial change or addition.
"Cellar" means a basement or lower story, of which one-
1
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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 construed 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 fireplaces.
"Inspector" means Building Inspector 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 for the purpose of converting the building in whole or in part to a new use.
"Thickness" of a wall means the minimum thickness of such wall.
"Persons" shall mean individuals, co-partnerships, cor- porations or associations.
Sec. 27. Whoever violates any of the provisions of these by-laws shall be liable to a penalty of not more than one hundred dollars unless another penalty is specifically provided herein.
Sec. 28. The provisions of these by-laws shall not apply to buildings and structures owned or occupied by the United States or by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, nor to bridges.
Boston, Mass., December 18, 1922.
The foregoing by-laws are hereby approved.
J. WESTON ALLEN, Attorney-General. A true copy, attest:
THOMAS J. ROBINSON, Town Clerk.
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In connection with the report of the Committee on By-Laws Mr. Drouet offered the following amendment to the by-laws governing the conduct of Town Meetings:
"A citizen, who is not a Town Meeting member, desiring to address the Town Meeting, upon matters involved in any of the articles in the warrant authorizing the meeting at which such citizen desires to speak, shall communicate his or her desire to the Moderator, in writing, which signed communica- tion shall be read to the meeting immediately upon being called to order. It shall be ascertained if such citizen's name appears upon the town voting lists, and if so appearing, such request to speak shall be submitted to a "Yea" and "Nay" vote, of which a majority of the members present shall decide. Should a majority so voting favor the granting of such written request to speak the citizen shall be immediately heard. No citizen, other than Town Meeting members, shall be allowed to participate in the discussion, unless individually interrogated by a Town Meeting member and then only to furnish such information as may be called for, after the regular business of the meeting, under the warrant, shall be taken up.
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