USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Arlington > Town of Arlington annual report 1926 > Part 11
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WALL PAPER
(51) No wall paper shall be placed upon a wall or ceiling of any tenement house unless all wall paper shall be first removed therefrom and the wall and ceiling thor- oughly cleaned.
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RECEPTACLES FOR ASHES, GARBAGE AND RUBBISH
(52) The owner of every tenement house shall pro- vide and maintain therefor suitable covered water-tight receptacles for ashes, rubbish, garbage, refuse and other matter.
PROHIBITED USES
(53) No swine shall be kept in a tenement house, or on the same lot therewith. No horse, cow, calf, sheep, goat or fowl shall be kept in a tenement house, or on the same lot therewith within twenty-five feet of the tene- ment house. No tenement house, and no lot upon which it is located, shall be used for the storage or handling of rags, or as a place of public assemblage.
COMBUSTIBLE MATERIALS
(54) No tenement house, and no part thereof, nor of the lot upon which it is situated, shall be used as a place of storage, keeping or handling of any article dan- gerous or detrimental to life or health, nor for the stor- age, keeping or handling of feed, hay, straw, excelsior, cotton, paper stock, feathers, rags or other easily com. bustible articles.
BAKERIES AND FAT BOILING
(55) No bakery and no place of business in which fat is boiled shall be maintained in any tenement house.
OTHER DANGEROUS BUSINESSES
(56) There shall be no transom, window or door opening into a hall from any part of a tenement house where paint, oil, spirituous liquors or drugs are stored for the purpose of sale or otherwise.
JANITOR OR HOUSEKEEPER
(57) In any tenement house in which the owner thereof does not reside, there shall be a janitor, house-
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keeper or other responsible person who shall reside in said house and have charge of the same, if the Board of Health shall so require.
OVERCROWDING
(58) If a room in a tenement house is overcrowded, the Board of Health may order the number of persons sleeping or living in that room to be so reduced that there shall be not less than four hundred cubic feet of air to each adult, and three hundred cubic feet of air to each child under twelve years of age occupying the room.
FIRE ESCAPES
(59) The owner of every tenement house shall keep all the fire escapes thereon in good order and repair, and whenever they become rusty shall have them properly painted with two coats of paint. No person shall at any time place any incumbrance of any kind before or upon any such fire escape.
SCUTTLES, BULKHEADS, LADDERS AND STAIRS
(60) All scuttles and bulkheads, and all stairs or ladders leading thereto, shall be easily accessible to all tenants of the building, and kept free from incumbrance and ready for use at all times. No scuttle and no bulk- head door shall at any time be locked with a key, but either may be fastened on the inside by movable bolts or hooks.
REQUIREMENTS AND REMEDIES
PERMIT TO COMMENCE BUILDING
(61) Before the construction or alteration of a tenement house, or the alteration or conversion of a building for use as a tenement house, is begun, and before the construction or alteration of any building or struc- ture on the same lot with a tenement house, the owner shall submit to the Board of Health and to the Building Inspector, a detailed statement in writing, verified by the
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affidavit of the person making the same, of the specifica- tions for such tenement house or building, upon blanks or forms to be furnished by such departments, and also full and complete copies of the plans of the work together with plan of the lot. The said statement shall give in full the name and residence, by street and number, of the owner or owners of the tenement house or building. If such construction, alteration, or conversion is proposed to be made by any other person than the owner of the land in fee, the statement shall contain the full name and residence, by street and number, not only of the owner of the land, but of every person interested in the tenement house, either as owner, lessee or in any representative capacity. The affidavit shall allege that said specifica- tions and plans are true and contain a correct description of such tenement house, building, structure, lot and pro- posed work. The statements and affidavit herein pro- vided for may be made by the owner, or by the person who proposes to make the construction, alteration or con- version, or by his agent. The said specifications, plans and statements shall be filed in the Building Inspector's office and shall be public records, and no such specifica- tions, plans or statements shall be removed from the said office. The Board of Health and the Building Inspector shall cause all such plans and specifications to be exam- ined.
(62) Certificate of compliance. a. Issue. No building hereafter constructed as or altered into a tene- ment house shall be occupied in whole or in part for hu- man habitation until the issuance of a certificate by the Inspector of Buildings that the building conforms in all respects to the requirements of this By-Law. Upon no- tice of the completion of the construction, alteration, or conversion of a tenement house, it shall be the duty of the Building Inspector and of the Board of Health to in- spect the building forthwith, and the Building Inspector shall issue a certificate of compliance within five days
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after written application therefor, if the building at the date of such application is found to conform to the re- quirements of this By-Law. Such certificate shall be is- sued within ten days after written application therefor, if such building at the date of such application shall be entitled thereto, and it shall be permanently posted in said building. Such certificate shall be and remain the prop- erty of the Town, and the authority granted by same may, for cause and after hearing, be revoked and the cer- tificate removed from the building by the Building In -. spector or the Board of Health.
b. Rescission. When defects are reported, and the owner or tenant of the estate refuses or neglects to correct the same, the Board of Health may rescind the certificate for the use of a building in which such uncor- rected defect exists, and it shall then, and while such de- fect remains uncorrected, be unlawful for such building to be used as a tenement house.
JURISDICTION OF BOARD OF HEALTH
(63) a. Whenever any tenement house or build- ing, structure, excavation, business pursuit, matter or thing, in or about a tenement house or the lot in which it is situated, or the plumbing, sewerage, drainage, light or ventilation thereof, is in the opinion of the Board of Health in a condition, or in effect, dangerous or detri- mental to life or health, the Board may declare that the same to the extent which it may specify is a public nuis- ance, and may order the same to be removed, abated, suspended, altered or otherwise improved or purified, as the order shall specify. The Board shall also order or cause any tenement house or part thereof, or any excava- tion, building, structure, sewer, plumbing, pipe, passage, premises, ground, matter or thing, in or about a tenement house, or the lot in which it is situated, to be purified, cleansed, disinfected, removed, altered, repaired, or im- proved. If any order of the Board is not complied with,
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within ten days after the service thereof, or within such shorter time as the Board may designate, then such order may be executed by said Board through its officers, agents, employees or contractors.
INFECTED AND UNHABITABLE HOUSES TO BE VACATED
b. Whenever it shall be certified by an Inspector or Officer of the Board of Health that a tenement house, or any part thereof, is infected with con- tagious disease, or that it is unfit for human habitation, or dangerous to life or health by reason of want of re- pair, or of defects in the drainage, plumbing, ventila- tion, or the construction of the same, or by reason of the existence on the premises of a nuisance likely to cause sickness among the occupants of the house, the Board may issue an order requiring all persons therein to vacate such house, or part thereof, within not less than twenty-four hours nor more than ten days, for reasons to be mentioned in said order. In case such order is not complied with within the time specified, the Board may cause the tenement house, or part thereof, to be vacated. The Board, whenever it is satisfied that the danger from said house or part thereof has ceased to exist, or that it is fit for human habitation, may revoke said order, or may extend the time for complying with the same.
On motion of J. William Fellows :
Voted: (Unanimously) That Section 13, as amended, relating to masonry and wall construction, Building By-Laws, Town of Arlington as presented to the meet- ing be adopted as follows :
MASONRY AND WALL CONSTRUCTION SECTION 13
(1) Construction. a. Protection against freez- ing. No masonry shall be built when the temperature
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is below 28º F. on a rising temperature, or 32º F. on a falling temperature, at the point where the work is in progress. No frozen materials shall be built upon. Lime shall not be used in any mortar in freezing weather in excess of ten percent of the cement content.
b. Wetting brick. Bricks shall be thoroughly wet just previous to being laid, except in freezing weather, when they shall be thoroughly dry.
c. Erection of walls and piers. Masonry building walls and piers shall be built to a line and carried up plumb. In each story, the walls shall be carried up full thickness to the top of the beams above. No wall of any building shall be built up more than two stories in advance of any other portion of the walls of the build- ing, provided that where walls are carried indepen- dently by beams or girders at each floor, this provision shall not apply. All walls meeting at an angle shall be securely toothed and bonded together, or shall be thoroughly tied together at vertical intervals of five feet by two by one-half inch or larger painted steel or iron ties at least three feet long.
d. Piers. All piers shall be built of stone, con- crete, or good hard brick laid in cement mortar. Every pier supporting any beam, girder, arch, lintel, or column shall have a cap or a cast iron plate when necessary to properly distribute the load. Isolated piers, when un- supported laterally by earth, shall not exceed in height twelve times their least dimensions. The use of mono- lithic stone posts for the support of columns, girders, or walls, is prohibited unless their lengths are less than twice their minimum thickness.
e. Timber in walls. No timber except lintels provided for elsewhere in this Section and nailing blocks not over eight inches long or nearer together than two feet shall be placed in any masonry wall.
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(2) Brick masonry. All brick work shall be laid with full mortar joints in-
a. English or modified English bond, having at least every eighth course a full bearing course of whole brick.
b. Flemish bond, having at least every fourth
course of whole brick headers alternating with stretchers throughout the course.
Running bond of face brick, having at least c. every eighth course of alternate full headers and stretchers.
(3) Substitute wall. All walls called for in this By-Law to be of brick may be of Portland cement, con- crete, or other equally substantial approved fireproof material, and, on approval of the Building Inspector, such substitute walls, when called for to be twelve inches thick, may for the upper story be eight inches thick.
(4) Stone masonry. a. Workmanship. No stone shall be laid in a wall in any other position than on its natural bed. Stones shall be firmly bedded in mortar with all spaces and joints thoroughly filled. No stone shall be used that does not bond or extend into the wall at least six (6) inches.
b. Bond. All stone walls twenty-four inches or less in thickness shall have at least one header extending through the wall in every three feet in height from the bottom of the wall and in every three feet in length and, if over twenty-four inches thick, shall have one header for every six superficial feet on both sides of the wall, laid on top of each other to bond together and running into the wall at least two feet. All headers shall be at least twelve inches in width and eight inches thick and consist of sound flat stones.
c. Limitations. Walls built of squared stones with dressed level beds shall have a thickness not less
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than that required for brick walls under similar condi- tions. Walls built of rubble stone shall have a thick- ness at least four inches more than required by para- graphs b and c, but no such wall shall be less than eighteen inches thick, and except for foundations, shall not be used in buildings over forty feet high, or in foundations of buildings over sixty feet high.
(5) Hollow block masonry. a. When permitted. Hollow building blocks either of well-burned terra cotta with at least one-half inch shells and webs or of Portland cement concrete may be used for walls except party and fire walls exceeding three stories or forty feet in height, provided that such blocks have met the test requirements of this By-Law and are not stressed beyond the safe limits prescribed herein. The minimum thickness for such walls shall be as required for brick walls. All building blocks shall be laid in Portland cement mortar.
b. Furring. Where hollow blocks of any kind are used as furring for walls, they shall not be included in the measurement of the thickness of such walls.
c. Hollow brick. The inside four inches of walls may be built of hard-burned hollow brick of the dimen- sions of ordinary bricks properly tied and bonded into the walls.
d. Concrete blocks. Concrete blocks shall not be used in construction until they have obtained an age of twenty-eight days, and shall have developed an average of 1000 lbs. ultimate compressive strength per square inch of gross cross sectional area of block as used in wall, and shall not fall below 700 lbs. per square inch in any test, when testing at least six ordinary samples. For the purpose of such test the gross cross sectional area shall be considered as the product of the length times the width of the block. No allowance shall be made for air spaces of block. The allowed working strength for such blocks shall not exceed 100 lbs. per gross square inch.
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e. Horizontal cell blocks. The use of horizontal cell blocks shall require the entire height of the section of wall affected to be designed for a capacity not exceed- ing fifty pounds working strength per gross square inch.
f. Hollow terra cotta blocks. Hollow terra cotta blocks used in exterior walls shall be extra hard-burned and glazed or veneered with brick, architectural terra cotta, or stone, or covered on the exposed surface with at least three-quarters of an inch of Portland cement stucco ; and shall be well scored, grooved, or roughened to retain the coating. The stucco shall not be considered as a part of the required thickness of the wall. When walls of hollow building blocks are veneered with brick, the facing shall be bonded to the backing with headers every eighth course of the brickwork, or with approved metal ties at the rate of one tie for each two square feet of veneered surface. Blocks shall be so laid that the shells and webs shall be superposed upon those of the adjacent blocks below.
g. Top courses of walls. Where walls of hollow building blocks laid with cells vertical are decreased in thickness, the blocks in the top course of the thicker wall shall be filled solidly with concrete, or covered with slabs of hard-burned terra-cotta or concrete at least one inch in thickness. Terra cotta, concrete, or metal slabs, or templates of approved size and thickness shall be placed under all floor beams and girders to properly distribute the loads.
(6) Ashlar. Stone, architectural terra cotta, or other approved material used for the facing of any build- ing and known as ashlar shall be not less than four inches thick and be thoroughly anchored to the backing. Ash- lar shall not be considered in determining the minimum thickness of wall as required in this By-Law unless it is at least four inches in thickness and well bonded to back- ing with alternate stones of eight inches thickness.
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Within the fire limits ashlar shall not be used in walls of a total thickness of less than twelve inches.
(7) Mortar. a. Cement mortar. In the follow- ing masonry construction cement mortar shall be used :
1. Foundation walls and footings of first and sec- ond-class buildings.
2. Bearing walls of first-class buildings.
3. Rubble stone walls.
4. Hollow building block walls.
5. Walls faced with ashlar, but back of ashlar may be parged with lime mortar to prevent discoloration.
6. Isolated piers.
7. Panel or enclosure walls.
8. Parapet walls.
9. Chimneys.
10. Linings of existing walls.
11. Fire walls.
b. Cement and lime mortars. In the following masonry construction, cement or cement and lime mortar shall be used :
1. Bearing walls of second-class buildings.
2. Foundation and basement walls and footings of third-class buildings.
c. Lime mortar. In other masonry construction lime mortar may be used unless otherwise ordered by the Building Inspector.
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(8) Wall thickness above foundation. a. Gen- cral requirements. The thickness of masonry walls in buildings hereafter erected or altered shall in all cases, irrespective of any other requirements of this By-Law, be sufficient to keep the stresses in the masonry within the working stresses prescribed by this By-Law. In all cases, the wall thicknesses herein specified shall be ap- plied to the nearest tier of beams to the height specified. In determining thickness of walls, story heights shall be computed at not exceeding twelve feet. The unsupported height of any wall or part thereof shall not exceed twenty times the thickness of such unsupported part, unless re- inforced by adequate cross-walls, buttresses, or columns.
b. Residence building requirements. For the purpose of this Section the term residence buildings shall include the following type of structures: apartments, asylums, clubhouses, convents, dormitories, dwellings, hospitals, hotels, laboratories, lodging houses, parish buildings, studios, tenements and accessory buildings, and garages of not over four cars capacity. Thickness of walls shall not be less than that called for in the following tables :
FOR DWELLINGS ONLY, WITH WOODEN BEAMS SPANNING NOT OVER TWENTY FEET
Exterior walls
Party walls, fire walls, or walls car- rying floor beams both sides
Base-
Stories
Base- ment 1
2
3
ment
1 2
3
1
-story building
12
8
. .
12
12
. .
. .
2
-story building
12
8
8
12
12
12
. .
21/2-story building
12
8
8
. .
12
12
12
. .
3 -story building
12
12
8
8
12
12
12
12
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FOR ALL OTHER TYPES OF RESIDENCE BUILDINGS
Stories
Base- ment 1
2
3
4
6
7 3
1-story building
12
8
. .
. .
.
. .
. .
2-story building
12 12
12
. .
.
. .
. .
. . . .
3-story building
12
12
12
12
..
. .
. . .
4-story building
16
12
12
12
12 5
c. Public and business building requirements. The term public and business buildings shall include all other buildings not used solely for residential purposes, among which are armories, churches, factories, garages for more than four cars, libraries, light and power houses, markets, municipal buildings, museums, railroad build- ings, schools, stables, stores, and warehouses. Thickness of walls shall not be less than that called for in the fol- lowing table:
Stories
Base- ment 1
3
12 4
12 5
6
7 8
1-story building
12
12
2-story building
12
12
12
. .
. .
.
.
. . . .
4-story building
16 16
. . 12 12 2
. .
. .
. .
. . . . 3-story building 16 12
12
. .
·
.
. .
. .
(9) Special thickness of walls, required or al- lowed. a. When span is over twenty-five feet. When the clear span between bearing walls is over twenty- five feet, such walls shall be increased four inches in thickness for every twelve and one-half feet or part. thereof that said span is over twenty-five feet, or shall have in lieu thereof such piers or buttresses and cur- tain walls as in the judgment of the Building Inspector may be necessary.
b. When over one hundred feet long between cross-walls. Walls over one hundred feet long between cross-walls or proper piers or buttresses shall be in-
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creased in thickness over the minimum requirements at least four inches for every one hundred feet or part thereof over one hundred feet in length.
c. When over thirty per cent of area for open- ings. If the horizontal section through a bearing wall shows more than thirty per cent area of flues and open- ings, such part of the wall where the excessive openings exist shall be increased four inches in thickness over minimum requirements for every fifteen per cent, or fraction thereof, or flue or opening area in excess of thirty per cent, or adequate piers or buttresses shall be provided.
· d. When more than one requirement. In case the thickness of any wall must be increased by reason of some specific requirement of this By-Law, it shall not be necessary to further increase such thickness by reason of any other specific requirement, unless in the judgment of the Building Inspector it is deemed neces- sary for reasons of safety.
e. Non-bearing walls-stair walls. Non-bearing walls and walls supporting stairs and stair landings only may be four inches less in thickness than required in clauses b. and c. of paragraph (8), provided that no such wall shall be less than eight inches thick. Non- bearing walls shall not have a greater height unsup- ported laterally than thirty times their thickness.
f. Panel or enclosure walls. Panel or enclosure walls entirely supported at each story by girders shall be not less than eight inches thick.
g. Existing walls. Existing walls which are not in accordance with the requirements of this By-Law, if in good condition, and if of sufficient strength, may be used without change in building hereafter erected or altered.
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h. Lining wall's. In case it is desired to use and increase the height of any existing wall which is less in thickness than required by this Section, such wall shall be reinforced by a lining of brickwork, so that the com- bined thickness with the old wall shall be not less than four inches more than the requirements for a new wal} corresponding with the total height of the wall as al- tered, provided that such lining shall not be used to a. greater height than forty feet and that such wall shall not be increased to exceed sixty feet. Such lining shall be supported on proper foundations and shall be not less than eight 'inches in thickness, and thoroughly anchored to the old wall with suitable anchors, placed two feet apart and properly fastened or driven into the old wall in rows, alternating vertically and horizontally with each other. The old wall shall be first cleaned of plaster, paint, or other coatings, where any lining is to be built against the same. No wall, however, shall be lined unless in good condition and not until the approval of the Building Inspector has been given in writing.
i. Parapets. All party walls over twenty feet high shall be finished with parapets except in fireproof buildings, detached dwellings, and dwellings in rows with pitched roofs. Parapets shall be the full thickness of the top story wall and shall extend two feet above the flat roof of dwellings and tenement houses in rows and three feet above the roof of other buildings. All para- pets shall be coped with approved non-combustible material.
j. Vaulted walls. In all walls that are built vaulted, the same quantity of stone, brick, or concrete shall be used in their construction as if they were built solid, as in this By-Law provided, and no vaulted wall shall be built unless the parts of same are connected by proper ties, either of brick, stone, or iron, placed not over twenty-four inches apart, both horizontally and vertically.
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k. Bearing walls in running bond. Shall be four inches thicker than the walls required under any para- graph of this section.
(10) Recesses, chases, and flues in walls. a. Stairway and elevator recesses. . Recesses for stairways or elevators may be left in the foundation walls of buildings, but in no case shall the walls be of less thickness than the walls of the fourth story unless reinforced by additional piers with iron or steel girders, or iron or steel columns and girders, securely anchored to walls on each side.
b. Alcoves. Recesses for alcoves and similar purposes shall have not less than eight inches of brick- work at the back of such recesses and such recesses shall be not more than eight feet in width and shall be arched over or spanned with iron, steel, or reinforced concrete lintels and not carried up higher than eighteen inches below the bottom of the beams of the floor next above.
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