ON THE MEANS OF PREVENTING DRY ROT IN MODERN HOUSES; AND THE CAUSES OF
THEIR DECAY.
Although writers on dry rot have generally deemed it a new disease, there
is foundation to believe that it pervaded the British Navy in the reign
of Charles II. “Dry rot received a little attention” so writes Sir John
Barrow, “about the middle of the last century, at some period of Sir John
Pringle’s presidency of the Royal Society of London.” As timber trees
were, no doubt, subject to the same laws and conditions 500 years ago as
they are at the present day, it is indeed extremely probable that if at
that time unseasoned timber was used, and subjected to heat and moisture,
dry rot made its appearance. We propose in this chapter to direct
attention to the several causes of the decay of wood, which by proper
building might be averted.
The necessity of proper ventilation round the timbers of a building has
been repeatedly advised in this volume; for even timber which has been
naturally seasoned is at all times disposed to resume, from a warm and
stagnant atmosphere, the elements of decay. We cannot therefore agree
with the following passage from Captain E. M. Shaw’s book on ‘Fire
Surveys,’ which is to be found at page 44:--“Circulation of air should
on no account be permitted in any part of a building not exposed to
view, especially under floors, or inside skirting boards, or wainscots.”
In the course of this chapter, the evil results from a want of a proper
circulation of air will be shown.
In warm cellars, or any close confined situations, where the air is
filled with vapour without a current to change it, dry rot proceeds
with astonishing rapidity, and the timber work is destroyed in a very
short time. The bread rooms of ships; behind the skirtings, and under
the wooden floors, or the basement stories of houses, particularly in
kitchens, or other rooms where there are constant fires; and, in general,
in every place where wood is exposed to warmth and damp air, the dry rot
will soon make its appearance.
All kinds of stoves are sure to increase the disease if moisture be
present. The effect of heat is also evident from the rapid decay of ships
in hot climates; and the warm moisture given out by particular cargoes
is also very destructive. Hemp will, without being injuriously heated,
emit a moist warm vapour: so will pepper (which will affect teak) and
cotton. The ship ‘Brothers’ built at Whitby, of green timber, proceeded
to St. Petersburgh for a cargo of hemp. The next year it was found on
examination that her timbers were rotten, and all the planking, except a
thin external skin. It is also an important fact that rats very rarely
make their appearance in dry places: under floors they are sometimes very
destructive.
As rats will sometimes destroy the structural parts of wood framing,
a few words about them may not be out of place. If poisoned wheat,
arsenic, &c., be used, the creatures will simply eat the things and
die under the floor, causing an intolerable stench. The best method
is to make a small hole in a corner of the floor (unless they make it
themselves) large enough to permit them to come up; the following course
is then recommended:--Take oil of amber and ox-gall in equal parts; add
to them oatmeal or flour sufficient to form a paste, which divide into
little balls, and lay them in the middle of the infested apartment _at
night_ time. Surround the balls with a number of saucers filled with
water--the smell of the oil is sure to attract the rats, they will
greedily devour the balls, and becoming intolerably thirsty will drink
till they die on the spot. They can be buried in the morning.
Building timber into new walls is often a cause of decay, as the lime and
damp brickwork are active agents in producing putrefaction, particularly
where the scrapings of roads are used, instead of sand, for mortar. Hence
it is that bond timbers, wall plates, and the ends of girders, joists,
and lintels are so frequently found in a state of decay. The ends of
brestsummers are sometimes cased in sheet lead, zinc, or fire-brick, as
being impervious to moisture. The old builders used to bed the ends of
girders and joists in loam instead of mortar, as directed in the Act of
Parliament, 19 Car. II. c. 3, for rebuilding the City of London.
In Norway, all posts in contact with the earth are carefully wrapped
round with flakes of birch bark for a few inches above and below the
ground.
Timber that is to lie in mortar--as, for instance, the ends of joists,
door sills and frames of doors and windows, and the ends of girders--if
pargeted over with hot pitch, will, it is said, be preserved from the
effects of the lime. In taking down, some years since, in France, some
portion of the ancient Château of the Roque d’Oudres, it was found that
the extremities of the oak girders were perfectly preserved, although
these timbers were supposed to have been in their places for upwards
of 600 years. The whole of these extremities buried in the walls were
completely wrapped round with plates of cork. When demolishing an
ancient Benedictine church at Bayonne, it was found that the whole of
the fir girders were entirely worm eaten and rotten, with the exception,
however, of the bearings, which, as in the case just mentioned, were
also completely wrapped round with plates of cork. These facts deserve
consideration.
If any of our professional readers should wish to try cork for the ends
of girders, they will do well to choose the Spanish cork, which is the
best.
In this place it may not be amiss to point out the dangerous consequences
of building walls so that their principal support depends on timber. The
usual method of putting bond timber into walls is to lay it next the
inside; this bond often decays, and, of course, leaves the walls resting
only upon the external course or courses of brick; and fractures, bulges,
or absolute failures are the natural consequences. This evil is in some
degree avoided by placing the bond in the middle of the wall, so that
there is brickwork on each side, and by not putting continued bond for
nailing the battens to. We object to placing bond in the middle of a
wall: the best way, where it can be managed, is to corbel out the wall,
resting the ends of the joists on the top course of bricks; thus doing
away with the wood-plate. In London, wood bond is prohibited by Act of
Parliament, and hoop-iron bond (well tarred and sanded) is now generally
used. The following is an instance of the bad effects of placing wood
bond in walls: In taking down portions of the audience part and the
whole of the corridors of the original main walls of Covent Garden
Theatre, London, in 1847, which had only been built about thirty-five
years, the wood horizontal bond timbers, although externally appearing
in good condition, were found, on a close examination by Mr. Albano,
much affected by shrinkage, and the majority of them quite rotten in the
centre, consequently the whole of them were ordered to be taken out in
short lengths, and the space to be filled in with brickwork and cement.
Some years since we had a great deal to do with “Fire Surveys;” that is
to say, surveying buildings to estimate the cost of reinstating them
after being destroyed by fire; and we often noticed that the wood bond,
being rotten, was seriously charred by the fire, and had to be cut out
in short lengths, and brickwork in cement “pinned in” in its place.
Brestsummers and story posts are rarely sufficiently burnt to affect the
stability of the front wall of a shop building.
In bad foundations, it used to be common, before concrete came into
vogue, to lie planks to build upon. Unless these planks were absolutely
wet, they were certain to rot in such situations, and the walls settled;
and most likely irregularly, rending the building to pieces. Instances
of such kind of failure frequently occur. It was found necessary, a few
years since, to underpin three of the large houses in Grosvenor Place,
London, at an immense expense. In one of these houses the floors were not
less than three inches out of level, the planking had been seven inches
thick, and most of it was completely rotten: it was of yellow fir. A like
accident happened to Norfolk House, St. James’s Square, London, where oak
planking had been used.
As an example of the danger of trusting to timber in supporting heavy
stone or brickwork, the failure of the curb of the brick dome of the
church of St. Mark, at Venice, may be cited. This dome was built upon
a curb of larch timber, put together in thicknesses, with the joints
crossed, and was intended to resist the tendency which a dome has to
spread outwards at the base. In 1729, a large crack and several smaller
ones were observed in the dome. On examination, the wooden curb was
found to be in a completely rotten state, and it was necessary to raise
a scaffold from the bottom to secure the dome from ruin. After it was
secured from falling, the wooden curb was removed, and a course of stone,
with a strong band of iron, was put in its place.
It is said that another and very important source of destruction is the
applying end to end of two different kinds of wood: oak to fir, oak to
teak or lignum vitæ; the harder of the two will decay at the point of
juncture.
The bad effects resulting from damp walls are still further increased by
hasty finishing. To enclose with plastering and joiners’ work the walls
and timbers of a building while they are in a damp state is the most
certain means of causing the building to fall into a premature state of
decay.
Mr. George Baker, builder of the National Gallery, London, remarked, in
1835, “I have seen the dry rot all over Baltic timber in three years, in
consequence of putting it in contact with moist brickwork; the rot was
caused by the badness of the mortar, it was so long drying.”
Slating the external surface of a wall, to keep out the rain or damp,
is sometimes adopted: a high wall (nearly facing the south-west) of a
house near the north-west corner of Blackfriars Bridge, London, has been
recently slated from top to bottom, to keep out damp.
However well timber may be seasoned, if it be employed in a damp
situation, decay is the certain consequence; therefore it is most
desirable that the neighbourhood of buildings should be well drained,
which would not only prevent rot, but also increase materially the
comfort of those who reside in them. The drains should be made
water-tight wherever they come near to the walls; as walls, particularly
brick walls, draw up moisture to a very considerable height: very strict
supervision should be placed over workmen while the drains of a building
are being laid. Earth should never be suffered to rest against walls,
and the sunk stories of buildings should always be surrounded by an open
area, so that the walls may not absorb moisture from the earth: even open
areas require to be properly built. We will quote a case to explain our
meaning. A house was erected about eighteen months ago, in the south-east
part of London, on sloping ground. Excavations were made for the basement
floor, and a dry area, “brick thick, in cement,” was built at the back
and side of the house, the top of the area wall being covered with a
stone coping; we do not know whether the bottom of the area was drained.
On the top of the coping was placed mould, forming one of the garden beds
for flowers. Where the mould rested against the walls, damp entered. The
area walls should have been built, in the first instance, above the level
of the garden-ground--which has since been done--otherwise, in course of
time, the ends of the next floor joists would have become attacked by dry
rot.
Some people imagine that if damp is in a wall the best way to get rid of
it is to seal it in, by plastering the inside and stuccoing the outside
of the wall; this is a great mistake; damp will rise higher and higher,
until it finds an outlet; rotting in the meanwhile the wood bond and
ends of all the joists. We were asked recently to advise in a curious
case of this kind at a house in Croydon. On wet days the wall (_stucco_,
outside; _plaster_, inside) was perfectly wet: bands of soft red bricks
in wall, at intervals, were the culprits. To prevent moisture rising from
the foundations, some substance that will not allow it to pass should be
used at a course or two above the footings of the walls, but it should
be below the level of the lowest joists. “Taylor’s damp course” bricks
are good, providing the air-passages in them are kept free for air to
pass through: they are allowed sometimes to get choked up with dirt.
Sheets of lead or copper have been used for that purpose, but they are
very expensive. Asphalted felt is quite as good; no damp can pass through
it. Care must, however, be taken in using it if only one wall, say a
party wall, has to be built. To lay two or three courses of slates,
bedded in cement, is a good method, providing the slates “break joint,”
and are well bedded in the cement. Workmen require watching while this
is being done, because if any opening be left for damp to rise, it will
undoubtedly do so. A better method is to build brickwork a few courses in
height with Portland cement instead of common mortar, and upon the upper
course to lay a bed of cement of about one inch in thickness; or a layer
of asphalte (providing the walls are all carried up to the same level
before the asphalte is applied hot). As moisture does not penetrate these
substances, they are excellent materials for keeping out wet; and it can
easily be seen if the mineral asphalte has been properly applied. To keep
out the damp from basement floors, lay down cement concrete 6 inches
thick, and on the top, asphalte 1 inch thick, and then lay the sleepers
and joists above; or bed the floor boards on the asphalte.
The walls and principal timbers of a building should always be left for
some time to dry after it is covered in. This drying is of the greatest
benefit to the work, particularly the drying of the walls; and it also
allows time for the timbers to get settled to their proper bearings,
which prevents after-settlements and cracks in the finished plastering.
It is sometimes said that it is useful because it allows the timber more
time to season; but when the carpenter considers that it is from the
ends of the timber that much of its moisture evaporates, he will see
the impropriety of leaving it to season after it is framed, and also
the cause of framed timbers of unseasoned wood failing at the joints
sooner than in any other place. No parts of timber require the perfect
extraction of the sap so much as those that are to be joined.
When the plastering is finished, a considerable time should be allowed
for the work to get dry again before the skirtings, the floors, and
other joiners’ work be fixed. Drying will be much accelerated by a free
admission of air, particularly in favourable weather. When a building
is thoroughly dried at first, openings for the admission of fresh air
are not necessary _when the precautions against any new accessions of
moisture have been effectual_. Indeed, such openings only afford harbour
for vermin: unfortunately, however, buildings are so rarely dried when
first built, that air-bricks, &c., in the floors are very necessary, and
if the timbers were so dried as to be free from water (which could be
done by an artificial process), the wood would only be fit for joinery
purposes. Few of our readers would imagine that water forms ⅕th part of
wood. Here is a table (compiled from ‘Box on Heat,’ and Péclet’s great
work ‘Traité de la Chaleur’):--
WOOD.
Elements. Ordinary state.
Carbon ·408
Hydrogen ·042
Oxygen ·334
_Water_ _·200_
Ashes ·016
-----
1·000
Many houses at our seaport towns are erected with mortar, having
sea-sand in its composition, and then dry rot makes its appearance. If
no other sand can be obtained, the best way is to have it washed at
least _three times_ (the contractor being under strict supervision, and
subject to heavy penalties for evasion). After each washing it should be
left exposed to the action of the sun, wind, and rain: the sand should
also be frequently turned over, so that the whole of it may in turn
be exposed; even then it tastes saltish, after the third operation. A
friend of ours has a house at Worthing, which was erected a few years
since with sea-sand mortar, and on a wet day there is always a dampness
hanging about the house--every third year the staircase walls have to be
repapered: it “bags” from the walls.
In floors next the ground we cannot easily prevent the access of damp,
but this should be guarded against as far as possible. All mould should
be carefully removed, and, if the situation admits of it, a considerable
thickness of dry materials, such as brickbats, dry ashes, broken glass,
clean pebbles, concrete, or the refuse of vitriol-works; but no lime
(unless unslaked) should be laid under the floor, and over these a
coat of smiths’ ashes, or of pyrites, where they can be procured. The
timber for the joists should be well seasoned; and it is advisable to
cut off all connection between wooden ground floors and the rest of the
woodwork of the building. A flue carried up in the wall next the kitchen
chimney, commencing under the floor, and terminating at the top of the
wall, and covered to prevent the rain entering, would take away the damp
under a kitchen floor. In Hamburg it is a common practice to apply
mineral asphalte to the basement floors of houses to prevent capillary
attraction; and in the towns of the north of France, gas-tar has become
of very general use to protect the basement of the houses from the
effects of the external damp.
Many houses in the suburbs (particularly STUCCONIA) of London are erected
by speculating builders. As soon as the carcase of a house is finished
(perhaps before) the builder is unable to proceed, for want of money,
and the carcase is allowed to stand unfinished for months. Showers of
rain saturate the previously unseasoned timbers, and pools of water
collect on the basement ground, into which they gradually, but surely,
soak. Eventually the houses are finished (probably by half a dozen
different tradesmen, employed by a mortgagee); bits of wood, rotten
sawdust, shavings, &c., being left under the basement floor. The house
when finished, having pretty (!) paper on the walls, plate-glass in the
window-sashes, and a bran new brick and stucco portico to the front door,
is quickly let. Dry rot soon appears, accompanied with its companions,
the many-coloured fungi; and when their presence should be known from
their smell, the anxious wife probably exclaims to her husband, “My dear!
there is a very strange smell which appears to come from the children’s
playroom: had you not better send for Mr. Wideawake, the builder, for
I am sure there is _something the matter with the drains_.” Defective
ventilation, dry rot, _green_ water thrown down sinks, &c., do not cause
smells, it’s _the drains_, of course!
There is another cause which affects all wood most materially, which
is the application of paint, tar, or pitch before the wood has been
thoroughly dried. The nature of these bodies prevents all evaporation;
and the result of this is that the centre of the wood is transformed into
touchwood. On the other hand, the doors, pews, and carved work of many
old churches have never been painted, and yet they are often found to be
perfectly sound, after having existed more than a century. In Chester,
Exeter, and other old cities, where much timber was formerly used, even
for the external parts of buildings, it appears to be sound and perfect,
though black with age, and has never been painted.
Mr. Semple, in his treatise on ‘Building in Water,’ mentions an instance
of some field-gates made of home fir, part of which, being near the
mansion, were painted; while the rest, being in distant parts of the
grounds, were not painted. Those which were painted soon became quite
rotten, but the others, which were not painted, continued sound.
Another cause of dry rot, which is sometimes found in suburban and
country houses, is the presence of large trees near the house. We are
acquainted with the following remarkable instance:--At the northern end
of Kilburn, London, stands Stanmore Cottage, erected a great many years
ago: about fifty feet in front of it is an old elm-tree. The owner, a few
years since, noticed cracks round the portico of the house; these cracks
gradually increased in size, and other cracks appeared in the window
arches, and in different parts of the external and internal walls. The
owner became alarmed, and sent for an experienced builder, who advised
underpinning the walls. Workmen immediately commenced to remove the
ground from the foundations, and it was then found that the foundations,
as well as the joists, were honeycombed by the roots of the elm-tree,
which were growing alongside the joists, the whole being surrounded by
large masses of white and yellow dry-rot fungus.
The insufficient use of tarpaulins is another frequent cause of dry rot.
A London architect had (a few years since) to superintend the erection
of a church in the south-west part of London; an experienced builder was
employed. The materials were of the best description and quality. When
the walls were sufficiently advanced to receive the roof, rain set in; as
the clown in one of Shakespeare’s plays observed, “the rain, it raineth
every day;” it was so, we are told, in this case for some days. The roof
when finished was ceiled below with a plaster ceiling; and above (not
with “dry oakum without pitch” but) with slates. A few months afterwards
some of the slates had to be reinstated, in consequence of a heavy storm,
and it was then discovered that nearly all the timbers of the roof were
affected by dry rot. This was an air-tight roof.
In situations favourable to rot, painting prevents every degree of
exhalation, depriving at the same time the wood of the influence of the
air, and the moisture runs through it, and insidiously destroys the wood.
Most surveyors know that moist oak cills to window frames will soon rot,
and the painting is frequently renewed; a few taps with a two-feet
brass rule joint on the top and front of cill will soon prove their
condition. Wood should be a year or more before it is painted; or, better
still, never painted at all. Artificers can tell by the sound of any
substance whether it be healthy or decayed as accurately as a musician
can distinguish his notes: thus, a bricklayer strikes the wall with his
crow, and a carpenter a piece of timber with his hammer. The Austrians
used formerly to try the goodness of the timber for ship-building by the
following method: One person applies his ear to the centre of one end of
the timber, while another, with a key, hits the other end with a gentle
stroke. If the wood be sound and good, the stroke will be distinctly
heard at the other end, though the timber should be fifty feet or more in
length. Timber affected with rot yields a particular sound when struck,
but if it were painted, and the distemper had made much progress, with
no severe stroke the outside breaks like a shell. The auger is a very
useful instrument for testing wood; the wood or sawdust it brings out can
be judged by its smell; which may be the fresh smell of pure wood: the
vinous smell, or first degree of fermentation, which is alcoholic; or the
second degree, which is putrid. The sawdust may also be tested by rubbing
it between the fingers.
According to Colonel Berrien, the Michigan Central Railroad Bridge, at
Niles, was painted _before seasoning_, with “Ohio fire-proof paint,”
forming a glazed surface. After five years it was so rotten as to require
rebuilding.
Painted floor-cloths are very injurious to wooden floors, and frequently
produce rottenness in the floors that are covered with them, as the
painted cloth prevents the access of air, and retains whatever dampness
the boards may absorb, and therefore soon causes decay. Carpets are not
so injurious, but still assist in retarding free evaporation.
Captain E. M. Shaw, in ‘Fire Surveys,’ thus writes of the floors of a
building, “They might with advantage be caulked like a ship’s deck, only
with dry oakum, without pitch.” Let us see how far oil floor-cloth and
kamptulicon will assist us in obtaining an air-tight floor.
In London houses there is generally _one_ room on the basement floor
which is carefully covered over with an oiled floor-cloth. In such a room
the dry rot often makes its appearance. The wood absorbs the aqueous
vapour which the oil-cloth will not allow to escape; and being assisted
by the heat of the air in such apartments, the decay goes on rapidly.
Sometimes, however, the dry rot is only confined to the top of the floor.
At No. 106, Fenchurch Street, London, a wood floor was washed (a few
years since) for a tenant, and oil-cloth was laid down. Circumstances
necessitated his removal a few months afterwards; and it was then found
that the oil-cloth had grown, so to speak, to the wood flooring, and had
to be taken off with a chisel: the dry rot had been engendered merely on
the surface of the floor boards, as they were sound below as well as the
joists: air bricks were in the front wall.
We have seen many instances of dry rot in _passages_, where oiled
floor-cloth has been nailed down and not been disturbed for two or three
years.
In ordinary houses, where floor-cloth is laid down in the _front_
kitchen, no ventilation under the floors, and a fire burning every day
in the stove, dry rot often appears. In the _back_ kitchen, where there
is no floor-cloth, and only an occasional fire, it rarely appears. The
air is warm and stagnant under one floor, and cold and stagnant under the
other: at the temperature of 32° to 40° the progress of dry rot is very
slow.
And how does _kamptulicon_ behave itself? The following instances of
the rapid progress of dry rot from external circumstances have recently
been communicated to us; they show that, under favourable circumstances
as to choice of timber and seasoning, this fungus growth can be readily
produced by _casing-in_ the timber with substances impervious, or nearly
so, to air.
At No. 29, Mincing Lane, London, in _two_ out of three rooms on the
_first_ floor, upon a fire-proof floor constructed on the Fox and Barrett
principle (of iron joists and concrete with yellow pine sleepers, on
strips of wood bedded in cement, to which were nailed the yellow pine
floor-boards) kamptulicon was nailed down by the tenant’s orders. In less
than nine months the whole of the wood sleepers, and strips of wood, as
well as the boards, were seriously injured by dry rot; whilst the third
room floor, which had been covered with a carpet, was perfectly sound.
At No. 79, Gracechurch Street, London, a room on the second floor was
inhabited, as soon as finished, by a tenant who had kamptulicon laid
down. This floor was formed in the ordinary way, with the usual sound
boarding of strips of wood, and concrete two inches thick filled in on
the same, leaving a space of about two inches under the floor boards. The
floor was seriously decayed by dry rot in a few months down to the level
of the concrete pugging, below which it remained sound, and could be
pulled up with the hand.
We will now leave oil-cloth and kamptulicon, and try what “Keene’s
cement” will do for an “air-tight” partition of a house.
At No. 16, Mark Lane, London, a partition was constructed of sound yellow
deal quarters, covered externally with “Keene’s cement, on lath, both
sides.” It was removed about two years after its construction, when it
was found that the timber was completely _perished from dry rot_; so much
so, that the timbers parted in the middle in places, and were for some
time afterwards moist.
It is still unfortunately the custom to keep up the old absurd fashion of
disguising woods, instead of revealing their natural beauties. Instead
of wasting time in perfect imitations of scarce or dear woods, it would
be much better to employ the same amount of time in fully developing the
natural characteristics of many of our native woods, now destined for
decorative purposes because they are cheap and common; although many
of our very commonest woods are very beautifully grained, but their
excellences for ornamentation are lost because our decorators have not
studied the best mode of developing their beauties. Who would wish that
stained deal should be painted in imitation of oak? or that the other
materials of a less costly and inferior order should have been painted
over instead of their natural faces being exposed to view? There are
beauties in all the materials used. The inferior serve to set off by
comparison the more costly, and increase their effect. The red, yellow,
and white veins of the pine timber are beautiful: the shavings are like
silk ribbons, which only nature could vein after that fashion, and to
imitate which would puzzle all the _tapissiers_ of the Rue Mouffetard, in
Paris.
Why should not light and dark woods be commonly used in combination
with each other in our joinery? Wood may be stained of various shades,
from light to dark. The dirt or dust does not show more on stained wood
than it does on paint, and can be as easily cleaned and refreshed by
periodical coats of varnish. Those parts subjected to constant wear and
tear can be protected by more durable materials, such as finger-plates,
&c. Oak can be stained dark, almost black, by means of bichromate
of potash diluted with water. Wash the wood over with a solution of
gallic acid of any required strength, and allow it to thoroughly dry.
To complete the process, wash with a solution of iron in the form
of “tincture of steel,” or a decoction of vinegar and iron filings,
and a deep and good stain will be the result. If a positive black is
required, wash the wood over with gallic acid and water two or three
times, allowing it to dry between every coat; the staining with the iron
solution may be repeated. Raw linseed oil will stay the darker process at
any stage.
Doors made up of light deal, and varied in the staining, would look as
well as the ordinary graining. Good and well-seasoned materials would
have to be used, and the joiners’ work well fitted and constructed.
Mouldings of a superior character, and in some cases gilt, might be used
in the panels, &c. For doors, plain oak should be used for the stiles
and rails, and pollard oak for the panels. If rose-wood or satin-wood be
used, the straight-grained wood is the best adapted for stiles and rails;
and for mahogany doors, the lights and shades in the panels should be
stronger than in the stiles and rails.
Dark and durable woods might be used in parts most exposed to wear and
tear.
Treads of stairs might be framed with oak nosings, if not at first, at
least when necessary to repair the nosings.
Skirtings could be varied by using dark and hard woods for the lower part
or plinth, lighter wood above, and finished with superior mouldings. It
must, however, be remembered that, contrary to the rule that holds good
with regard to most substances, the colours of the generality of woods
become considerably _darker_ by exposure to the light; allowance would
therefore have to be made for this. All the woodwork _must_, previously
to being fixed, be well seasoned.
The practice here recommended would be more expensive than the common
method of painting, but in many cases it would be better than graining,
and cheaper in the long run. Oak wainscot and Honduras mahogany doors are
twice the price of deal doors; Spanish mahogany three times the price.
When we consider that by using the natural woods, French polished, we
save the cost of four coats of paint and graining (the customary modes),
the difference in price is very small. An extra 50_l._ laid out on a
500_l._ house would give some rooms varnished and rubbed fittings,
without paint. Would it not be worth the outlay? It may be said that
spots of grease and stains would soon disfigure the bare wood; if so,
they could easily be removed by the following process: Take a quarter of
a pound of fuller’s earth, and a quarter of a pound of pearlash, and boil
them in a quart of soft water, and, while hot, lay the composition on the
greased parts, allowing it to remain on them for ten or twelve hours;
after which it may be washed off with fine sand and water. If a floor be
much spotted with grease, it should be completely washed over with this
mixture, and allowed to remain for twenty-four hours before it is removed.
Let us consider how we paint our doors, cupboards, &c., at the present
time. For our best houses, the stiles of our doors are painted French
white; and the panels, pink, or salmon colour! For cheaper houses, the
doors, cupboards, window linings, &c., are generally two shades of what
is called “stone colour” (as if stone was always the same colour), and
badly executed into the bargain: the best rooms having the woodwork
grained in imitation of oak, or satin-wood, &c. And such imitations!
Mahogany and oak are now even imitated on leather and paper-hangings.
Wood, well and cleanly varnished, stained, or, better still, French
polished, must surely look better than these daubs. But French polish is
not extensively used in England: it is confined to cabinet pieces and
furniture, except in the houses of the aristocracy. Clean, colourless
varnish ought to be more generally used to finish off our woodwork,
instead of the painting now so common. The varnish should be clean and
colourless, as the yellow colour of the ordinary varnishes greatly
interferes with the tints of the light woods.
In the Imperial Palace, at Berlin, one or two of the Emperor’s private
rooms are entirely fitted up with deal fittings; doors, windows,
shutters, and everything else of fir-wood. “Common deal,” if well
selected, is beautiful, cheap, and pleasing.
We have seen the offices of Herr Krauss (architect to Prince and Princess
Louis of Hesse), who resides at Mayence, and they are fitted up, or
rather the walls and ceilings are lined, with picked pitch pine-wood,
parts being carved, and the whole French polished, and the effect is much
superior to any paint, be it “stone colour,” “salmon colour,” or even
“French white.”
The reception-room, where the Emperor of Germany usually transacts
business with his ministers, and receives deputations, &c., as well as
the adjoining cabinets, are fitted with deal, not grained and painted,
but well French polished. The wood is, of course, carefully selected,
carefully wrought, and excellently French polished, which is the great
secret of the business. In France, it is a very common practice to polish
and wax floors.
The late Sir Anthony Carlisle had the interior woodwork of his house,
in Langham Place, London, varnished throughout, and the effect of the
varnished deal was very like satin-wood.
About forty years since, Mr. J. G. Crace, when engaged on the decoration
of the Duke of Hamilton’s house, in the Isle of Arran, found the woodwork
of red pine so free from knots, and so well executed, that instead of
painting it, he had it only varnished. It was a great success, and ten
years after looked nearly as well as when first done.
The late Mr. Owen Jones, whose works on colour decoration are well known,
was employed a few years since by Mr. Alfred Morrisson to decorate his
town and country houses. At the country house (Fonthill House), Mr.
Jones built a room for the display of Chinese egg-shell pottery, the
chimneypiece and fittings being entirely of ebony, inlaid with ivory, and
the ceiling of wood, panelled and inlaid, the mouldings being black and
gold. At the town house, in Carlton House Terrace, London, the woodwork
of the panelling, dadoes, doors, architraves, window-shutters, and all
the rooms on the ground and first floors is inlaid, from designs by Mr.
Jones, with various woods of different kinds, the colours of which were
carefully selected by him, with a view to perfect harmony of colouring.
A house has recently been erected (from the designs of Mr. J. W.
McLaughlin, architect) near Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, which is
a perfect model with regard to the amount of woodwork used. The walls
of the _hall_ are finished with walnut wainscoting; the fireplace is
an open one, with a walnut mantelpiece, surmounted by three statues,
Peace, Plenty, and Harmony, supporting the carved wooden cornice. The
Elizabethan _staircase_ has carved panels of maple. The _library_ is
wainscoted to the ceiling in black walnut, inlaid with ebony. The _dining
room_ is also wainscoted in the richest style in oak, with polished
mahogany panels. The _floors_ are of marquetry, of different woods
and patterns. The _chamber story_ is finished in oak and walnut, with
mahogany in the panels. The _entire interior_ finish of the house is of
hard wood, _varnished and rubbed_ in cabinet style. This is as it should
be for a gentleman’s residence.
We believe the largest house now being erected in London is from the
designs of Mr. Knowles, jun., for Baron Albert Grant, at Kensington.
We have not seen it, but we hope it will be finished in the Cincinnati
style, as far as regards the amount of ornamental woods used.
There is a cynical French proverb, which says, “When we cannot have what
we love, we must love what we have.” But surely this cynical proverb
cannot be applied to “stone colour” paint on wood. The Japanese, however,
some years since, determined not to follow this advice, for when the
English Government, at Admiral Sterling’s suggestion, sent to the Tycoon
a very fine steam vessel, the Japanese (who abhor paint about their
ships) immediately commenced to scrub off the paint. According to Sir
Rutherford Alcock, they have been steadily engaged in scrubbing it off
ever since the boat has come into their possession, and by dint of labour
and perseverance have nearly succeeded. All the fine imitation satin-wood
and the gilt work have been reduced to a very forlorn state. The Japanese
not only decline to follow advice, but they are a very difficult race
of people from whom to obtain correct information. When Mr. Veitch was
at Yeddo, on a visit to the Legation, in quest of botanical specimens,
he saw a pine-tree from which he desired a few seeds. “Oh,” said the
inevitable yaconins, “those trees _have no seed_!”--“But there they are,”
replied the unreasonable botanist, pointing to some. “Ah, yes, true; but
they _will not grow_,” was the reply.
If we must take our fashions from royalty and the aristocracy, and if we
must go abroad for them, surely the above examples will suffice; but if
we must have paint, then the preservative solution, now being extensively
used in the restoration and renovation of St. Paul’s Cathedral, under
the superintendence of Mr. F. C. Penrose, the architect to the Dean and
Chapter, appears to possess several good qualities. The preservative
solution, which is manufactured by the Indestructible Paint Company, is
said to be as follows: 1st, that it is colourless and invisible; 2nd,
in no way does it alter the appearance of the surface; 3rd, it prevents
the growth of vegetation; and 4th, that it resists the action of the
atmosphere and changes of weather, not only preventing but also arresting
decay.
It is necessary that the wood selected (if not to be painted) should
be well grown, and from a fully developed tree, where all the fibres
or grain are distinctly marked. The beauty of the wood, when properly
treated, consists in the brilliant manner in which the rich, deep yellow
streaks or layers of the hard wood are developed under the hands of
the skilful polisher. These yellow veins show through the polish like
clear and beautifully marked streaks of amber; and strongly reflecting
the light, they produce a very pleasing effect. The yellow, variegated,
hard part of the wood forms a very excellent contrast to the delicate
whiteness of the softer parts of the board; and, if skilfully selected,
the effect will be much admired, and certainly preferred to the best
imitation of the more rare and expensive woods. In arranging doors,
panels, &c., much will, of course, depend in selecting the wood, in
placing the best parts in the panels, so that when polished the most
pleasing effects will be produced. Much, too, depends on skilful
workmanship and smooth finish, which can only be obtained by care, and
using well-seasoned wood; but this is the case with all species of wood.
Should any young architect, after reading the preceding remarks, be
desirous of employing natural woods in his building works, we advise
him, before he attempts this kind of colour decoration, to study Mr.
Owen Jones’ lecture on “Colour in the Decorative Arts,” delivered before
the Society of Arts, 1852; and likewise M. Chevreul’s ‘Laws of the
Simultaneous Contrast of Colours’; we also recommend him to--
Use _moderate_ things elegantly, and _elegant_ things moderately.
Oak, walnut, maple, elm, and some other woods become of very dark colour,
but can be made to receive a fine polish, and could often be employed for
panels with good effect. In some cases there is great contrast of tint
in the same log after preparation, so that these might be inapplicable
except in smaller pieces, or perhaps by applying the process after
the work has been made; but sycamore, beech, and some other woods are
generally uniform, except as regards the previous grain of the wood.
As to the matter of showing the end of the grain, according to the Gothic
principle the beauty of a wood consists in showing the end of the grain;
but, at the same time, the classic principle is that there is a greater
beauty in the side way of the grain than in the end way.
Although varnish and polish both form a glazing, and give a lustre to the
wood they cover, as well as heighten the colours of the wood, yet from
their want of consistence they are liable to yield to any shrinking or
swelling, rising in scales or cracking, when much knocked about. Waxing,
on the contrary, resists percussion, but it does not possess in the same
degree as varnish the property of giving lustre to the bodies on which it
is applied; any accidents, however, to its polish are easily repaired by
rubbing.
The woodwork of the Swiss Cottage, at the late Colosseum, London, in the
Regent’s Park, was only varnished.
In using stain on any description of wood, the stain should always be
allowed to get quite dry before sizing, as that gives it a fair chance of
striking into the wood. Glue size is the best for stained work, made so
thin that there is no fear of putting it on in patches. After the size is
quite dry also, varnish; and if the first coat does not stand out quite
sufficiently to please the eye, give it a second coat. Some persons use
stain and varnish together, doing away with size; but this is a very
poor method, for should the wood get scratched or damaged in any way,
the varnish and stain come off together, leaving a white place, if it be
white wood that is stained. A painter who has been in the trade forty
years, recently remarked to us, “You must size, or else the varnish won’t
come out; it won’t show that it _is_ varnish; the wood soaks it up; while
there is any suction going on the varnish’ll go in. The sizing stops all
suction.”
A great many experiments and attempts have been made at different times
to colour wood. John of Verona first conceived the idea. The celebrated
B. Pallissy investigated the cause of the veins, &c., in wood, and tried
mordant solutions applied to the surface, wetting the surface with
certain acids, immersing the wood in water to bring out the veinage, &c.
Ebony has often been imitated by penetrating sycamore, plane, and lime
woods to a certain depth with pyrolignite of iron, gall-nuts, &c.
Werner, in 1812, obtained great success at Dijon in colouring the woods
by filtration. Marloye, in 1833, constructed a machine to colour wood
by placing it erect in a cylinder, sucking out the air at one end, and
forcing up the colouring solution through the other. He gave the credit
of this to Bréant. Marloye has manufactured many mathematical instruments
of wood coloured in this way, _which does not warp_.
If we could afford the space, we would willingly give a _résumé_ of the
attempts of well known experimentalists to colour wood. We can only give
the year and name in each case:
1709. Magnol.
1733. La Baisse.
1735. Hales.
1735. Buffon.
1754. Bonnet.
1758. Du Hamel.
1804. Saussure.
During the recent war between France and Germany, the latter country
advanced matters, their supplies of coloured woods from France being gone.
As we have made so many remarks against painting wood, it is only right
that we should give some description of it, which we will now do.
House painting, according to Mr. W. Papworth, in his lecture on “Fir,
Deal, and House Painting,” 1857, did not come into _general_ use until
about the period of William and Mary, and Anne, up to which time either
colouring by distemper or by whitewash had been in vogue for plaster
work, leaving inside woodwork more or less untouched.
We think, without wishing to think _too loud_, that house painting was
invented by _a bad builder_, in the seventeenth century, because
Putty and paint cover a multitude of sins.
The process of graining and marbling may be traced back as far at least
as the time of James III. of Scotland (1567-1603), during whose reign a
room of Hopetown Tower was painted in imitation of marble. Before that
period, imitations were done in “stone” colour, “marble” colour, wainscot
colour, &c. In 1676, marbling was executed as well as imitations of olive
and walnut woods; and in 1688 tortoise-shell was copied on battens and
mouldings. Mahogany was imitated in 1815, and maple wood in 1817. But why
imitate mahogany, when the grain of the wood differs so much in texture,
and in the appearance of the different and beautiful shades, technically
termed _roe_, _broken roe_, _bold roe_, _mottle_, _faint mottle_, and
_dapple_.
The following description will give the reader some idea of ordinary
painting. The woodwork having been prepared for fixing, has first to
undergo the process of “knotting,” in order to prevent the turpentine
in the knots of fir-wood from passing through the several coats of
paint. One method for best work is to cut out the knot whilst the work
is at the bench to a slight depth, and to fill up the hole with a stiff
putty made of white lead, japan, and turpentine. There are many ways
of killing the knots: the best and surest is to cover them with gold
or silver leaf. Sometimes a lump of fresh slaked lime is laid on for
about twenty-four hours, then scraped off, a coating of “size knotting”
applied, and if not sufficiently killed, they are coated with red and
white lead in linseed oil, and rubbed down when dry. The general method
is to cover the parts with size knotting, which is a preparation of
red lead, white lead, and whitening, made into a thin paste with size.
The most common mode is to paint them with red ochre, which is worth
nothing. The next process is that of priming, which consists in giving
a coat of white and red lead, and a little dryers in linseed oil. This
is the first coat, and upon which the look of the paint on completion
depends. This first, or priming coat, is put on before “stopping” the
work, should that process be required. It consists in filling up with
putty any cracks or other imperfections on the surface of the wood.
If the putty used in the process of stopping be introduced before the
first coat of colour is laid on, it becomes loose when dry. After this
first coat, pumicing is resorted to for removing all irregularities from
the surface. It is worth recollecting that _old_ white lead is much
superior to new for all painting operations. A smooth surface being
thus obtained, the second coat is given, consisting of white lead and
oil: about one-fourth part of turpentine is sometimes added for quick
work. If four coats are to be laid on, this second one has sometimes a
proportion of red lead, amounting to a flesh colour; but if only three,
it is generally made to assume the tint of the finishing coat. It should
have a good body, and be laid even. This coat, when thoroughly dry and
hard, is, in best work, rubbed down with fine sand paper, and then the
third coat, or “ground colour,” applied of a somewhat darker tint than
wanted when finished, having sufficient oil for easy working, but not
too fluid: thus two-thirds oil, and one-third turpentine. The “flatting”
coat follows, the object of which is to prevent the gloss or glaze of
the oil, and to obtain a flat, dead appearance. White lead is mixed with
turpentine, to which a little copal is sometimes added, and when the tint
is put in it is always made lighter than the ground colour, or it would,
when finished, appear in a series of shades and stripes. Flatting must be
executed quickly, and the brush is generally, if not always, carried up
the work, and not across it.
To clean paint, raw alkalies should not be used, as they will infallibly
take off the flatting coat. The best mode of cleaning is by means of
good soap, not too strong, laid on with a large brush, so as to make a
lather: this should be washed off clean with a sponge, and wiped dry with
a leather.
We must draw to a conclusion.
One cause of the decay of modern buildings, and frequent cases of
dry rot, is owing to the employment of bad builders. We advise the
non-professional reader to employ an architect or surveyor when he
desires to speculate in bricks and mortar: it is the cheapest course. If
he doubts the truth of what we have written, we can assure him he will be
a mere child in the hands of a bad or scamping builder; that is to say,
he will obtain a badly-erected house,--a cheap contract, and a long bill
of extras.
There are _seven_ classes of bad builders--1st, the _bad builder_ who
does not know his business; 2nd, the _bad builder_ who has no money to
carry it on with; 3rd, the _partial_ scamp; 4th, the _regular_ scamp;
5th, the _thorough_ scamp; 6th, the “_jerry_” builder; and 7th, the
_vagabond_. There is an instance of the latter class given by Mr. Menzies
in his fine work on ‘Windsor Park,’ 1864. We could give examples of all
these classes, and draw the line between each class, impossible as it may
seem: they are always looking out for customers, _without architects_.
We could assist the non-professional reader by quoting the advice
given by several architects (viz. Sir C. Wren, C. Barry, B. Smirke, W.
Chambers, and W. Tite) relative to buildings, but there is a Danish
proverb which, translated into English, runs as follows: “He who builds
according to every man’s advice will have a crooked house.”