Chap. Iir. FOUNDATIONS AND DRAIN'S.

551
Fig. r,i3/.
are also useful for carrying stone paving: Jigs, fil.jf?, 61.W., and Ql'te. describe theni-
s-lves. Fig. ()15/'. shows tlie section of a sleeper-wall ^n brickwork, c;irryiri<i; sroiie
paving on one side and timber joibt on the other. There are four courses of brickwork,
on which is laid the timber sleeper, 4 inches by 3 inches,
to carry the joist.
1886e. Fig. Qlbb. is also useful for admitting air into the
space under a floor, and then dispenses with the conmioa
cast-iron airbrick usually fixed for sui-h a purpose. Air qrat-
viqs are of a larger size. The following arrangement, shown in
Figs, eid^f. and 61 5A., has been carried out where it was thought
advisable to provide for the admission of a large
quantity of
fresh air at times into the bo('y of tlie budding,
i^unnels or
pipes were in-erted in the side walls under the flo)r, say 1 It.
9 in. diameter. An area protects the front, to which a small
weeping drain is put to carry oif any rain water,
and is pro-
tected at the top by a grating to prevent
animals getting in. On the inside is a
plate or slide, which can be let down through the floor, paving, or boards into a groove,
to regulate the quantity of air or to shut it
off. The fresh air ascends through gratings,
or by other means, in the floor, into the hall.
1886/*. A preventive against the rise of
damp in the inside of the building is to cover
the whole area within the walls with a layer of
concrete, about 4 to 6 inches thick. By a bye-
law of the Metropolitan Board of Works, the
site of evei'y house or building shall be covered
with a layer of good concrete at least 6 inches
thick, and smoothed on the upper surface,
unless the site thereof be gravel, sand, or
natural virgin soil. But as concrete, fspecially
if of a coarse character, is of a honey-comb
character, even when fixed or set, being full of
little cavities, there is some danger in placing
it in wet soils, for it will often weep, and if cut,
water will be seen to ooze through it. Also,
when placed under a basement floor to keep
out damp, water will invariably find its way
through if there be any pressure, as from
.'<pripg. To prevent vapours rising from de-
composed matter in the soil, a good practice,
even in dry localities, is to cover the soil, before
the floor boards are laid, with a layer of two
Sectiox. Fig. 6;5A.
inches of unslaked lime, which on slaking with damp, or damp air, will destroy any
vegetation that maj' have been left on the surface.
SEWERAGE AND DRAINAGE.
1887. Before a brick or stone of any budding be laid, the architect neglects his duty
if he has not provided for perfect drainage in the lowest paits of tlie structure. This
should not be by the aid of a stagnant tank, called a cesspool,, if it can possibly be
avoided, although there are some localities wdiere such a tank must be formed, and then
the solid conten's can possibly be made useful for manuring purposes, the surplus water
being drained ofl^, possibly into some running stream at a distance from the building, whose
exhalations shall not be blown by any prevalent winds of the spot back upon the place
where they were generated in a diflPerent form. The durability of the structure is quite
as much involved in good drainage as is the health of the family whose dwelling-placo
the house is to become. London, with its suburbs, is now probably the best drained
capital in Europe. The lines of sewers forming the INIain Drainage scheme have relieved
the noble ri^'Pr of nearly all the sewage matter which had been carried into it. Every
street and alley has its public sewer, and nearly every li. iise has its separate drf.in into
the sewer. No new sewer cm now be made in London without the previous approval of
the Metropolitan Board of Works
;
and no ilrain can be laid into a sewer without the
previous approval of 'he vestry or district board, which has to apply to the Meti'opolilan
Board of Works for their sanction in both cases. Many towns in England have now their
Board of Health supervising the drainage of the streets and houses, pursuant to "The
Public Health Act, 1848," and
"
The Local Government Act, 1858."
1887a. Snu-ers a.re provided for carrying away foul water brought into them by the
drains. Ordinary street sewers are built of hard bricks set in cement, and are now
generally egg-shaped in section, being about 3 feet 3 inches wide at the top, and "J feet