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Rivington's Building Construction

Major Percy Guillemard Lewellin Smith

 

Hardback £99.50  $199.00

Publication date 2004

1376 pages (3 volumes)

ISBN 978 1 873394 66 3

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When this series first appeared in 1875 it was considered the best textbook on the subject, as it provided comprehensive coverage of all aspects of building construction work. This new reprint of the revised 1904 edition, in 3 volumes, contains over 1,350 pages of text and useful line drawings. Volume 1 covers brickwork, carpentry and roofing, giving detailed practical guidance on all aspects of the work and offering definitions of the terms used. Volume 2 includes sections on joinery, stairs and floors with Volume 3 providing detailed information on materials, including stone, brickwork, lime and paint.

 

Introduction to the 2004 edition

Click here to read the new introduction by Lawrance Hurst

Contents:
Volume 1

Walling and arches – Walls, Arches, Parts of walls, Apertures in walls, Wood built into walls

Brickwork – Different bonds, Junction of walls at right angles, Gauged work, Brick arches, Arches over openings in external walls, Arches over openings in internal walls, Jambs of window and door openings, Parts of brick walls

Masonry – Walling, Stone arches, Joints and connections, Dressings

Brickwork and masonry – Compound walls, Prevention of damp in walls, Joints, Various bonds, Brick drains and sewers, Chimneys

Carpentry – Joints, Fastenings

Carpentry – Floors

Carpentry – Timber beams, Curved ribs, Trussed timber girders

Carpentry – Partitions

Carpentry – Centres

Carpentry – Timber roofs, Different forms, Scantlings, Parts of a King-post roof, Roofs of wood and iron combined, Parts of a Queen–post roof, Roofs of various shapes and their parts, Tredgold’s rules for scantling of roof timbers, Best forms of roof for different spans

Roof coverings

Slating

Plumber’s work

Steel and iron girders – Cast-iron girders, bressummers and cantilevers, Steel or iron girders, Steel skeleton construction

Riveting

Steel or iron roofs – Roofs with straight rafters, Parts of iron trusses

Index

Volume 2

Foundations

Excavations – Shoring, Scaffolding

Plumbing and sanitation

Sanitary fittings

Joinery – Joints, Framing, Doors, Windows, Window frames, Mouldings, Joints, Linings, Shutters, Skylights and lanterns

Stairs – Different forms of stairs, Stone stairs, Wooden stairs

Fireproof floors

Plasterer’s work

Painting – Paperhanging, Glazing

Heating and ventilating buildings

Electric and gas lighting

Materials

Stresses in structures

Index.

Volume 3

Stone – Characteristics of building stone, Examination of stone, Classification of stone, Granite, Igneous rocks other than granite, Slates, Serpentine, Sandstones, Limestones, Marbles, Compact limestones, Varieties of limestone in common use, Artificial stone, Preservation of stone, Tables illustrating the properties of different stones

Bricks, tiles, terra cotta – Bricks, Brickmaking, Burning, Classification of bricks, Varieties of brick, Characteristics of good bricks, Size and weight of bricks, Tests for bricks, Strength of bricks, Different forms of bricks, colouring bricks, Fireclay, Firebricks, Terra cotta, Stoneware, Pipes and miscellaneous clay wares

Limes, cements, mortar, concrete, plasters, and asphaltes – Terms in use, Cements, Scott’s processes, Testing tensile strength, Lime and cement burning, Sand, Mortar, Concrete, Mortar-mixing and concrete-mixing machinery, Action of foreign constituents in limestones and cements, Efflorescence on walls, Plasters, Asphaltes, Whitening and colouring

Metals – Ores, Iron, Pig-iron Cast iron, Wrought iron, Tests for wrought iron, Descriptions and market forms of mild steel and wrought iron, Relative value of different forms of mild steel and wrought iron, Steel, Hardening Steel, Strength of cast iron, Wrought iron and steel, Safe or working stresses for cast iron, wrought iron and steel, Limit of elasticity, Elastic limit of cast iron, wrought iron and steel, Live and moving loads, Corrosion and preservation of iron and steel Copper, Lead, Zinc, Tin, Alloys, Solder, Tables

Timber – Market forms of Timber, Different kinds of timber, selection of timber, Seasoning timber, Decay of timber, Preservation of timber, Conversion of timber, Destruction of timber by worms and insects, Varieties of timber for different purposes, Strength of timber

Paints and varnishes – Bases, Vehicles, Linseed oil, Poppy oil, Oil of Turpentine, Driers, Colouring pigments, Blues, Lakes, Uses of pigments, Proportions of ingredients in mixed paints, Zinc paint, Coloured paints, Special paints, General paints, Varnish, Ingredients of varnish, Different kinds of varnish, Recipes for varnishes

Glass – Crown glass, Sheet glass, British plate glass, British polished glass, British polished plate glass, perforated glass, Cathedral glass, Other glass

Paperhanging

Miscellaneous – Glue, Size , Knotting, Paste, Gold leaf, Putty, Rust cement, Laths, Vulcanised Indiarubber, Tar, Creosote, Felt, Asbestos, Willesden fabrics, Nails, Screws

Index.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read the new introduction by Lawrance Hurst

The author:
Major Percy Guillemard Lewellin Smithwas an Instructor in Estimating and Construction at the School of Military Engineering at Chatham, but for some reason, perhaps because the books were a commercial venture, the volumes were originally published anonymously.
From the reviews:

The book is fascinating and highly relevant to anyone interested in Victorian buildings and not just those actively carrying out conservation. It is packed with forgotten history and an invaluable aid to dating.

   The answer is to look it up in Rivington. It is a mine of information, lavishly illustrated with beautifully clear drawings, a pleasure to handle.

The Victorian To read the full review from The Victorian please click here

 

His desire for attention to detail and best practice shines through in every section'

'These three volumes represent everything that a contractor, student or interested party would ever need to know about the intricacies of Victorian building, … the layout is clear and readily understandable.

Much of the contents could still be used as a best practice guide for today’s buildings

This new publication represents a fascination insight into a bygone are and as such in highly recommended.

Views, The National Trust

 

Donhead have sensibly left the fourth volume on the shelf, for it is all about the calculations needed for building structures. A facsimile would therefore be of much less use than the other  Parts, which are a permanent and invaluable record of the material s and details that will be bound in late Victorian and Edwardian construction. 

Church Building

 

This reprint of the revised 0904 edition of Rivington’s Building Construction (first published in 1875) makes compulsive reading for anyone interested in the study of developments in building construction during the late 19th centuries. It is also a valuable reference source for construction professionals involved in building rehabilitation.

Concrete

 

A set of books such as this will be of immediate value to anybody directly involved in understanding and conserving buildings of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras.

These books are of immense interest for practitioners involved with buildings form a wide range of periods. They are likely to be of lasting value as long as normal discretion is applied. For students of architecture or building in general, whether of not they intend to specialise in conservation, they could also offer a level of understanding of the materials, methods and culture of building which is difficult to gain form other sources.

Context

 

All the materials of the day are here - fully described as to their sources, preparation and on-site uses and beautifully illustrated in hundreds and hundreds of clear, no-nonsense, uncluttered drawings.

Construction National

 

Much of the content is still relevant today backed up by the large number of clear and characteristic engraved illustrations. While understanding technical analysis of some material will have advanced, the comprehensiveness of Rivington’s, and the efforts over a long period to keep it current makes it an invaluable aide memoir to the detail of late Victorian and Edwardian construction.

… it is invaluable where specific information and understanding of the period is required.

The handsome set of three are beautifully produced by Donhead to their usual impeccable standard and the sewn construction and cloth bindings maintain a tradition of durability inherited from the original Victorian editions which will ensure their endured use.

Journal of Architectural Conservation

 

Rivington's is a useful book for particular information ... as the first comprehensive construction text book it has to be admired.

SPAB Cornerstone

 
 

Donhead Publishing 2008