The building trades

Foreword

This report on "The Building Trades" is one of the 25 sections of the report of the Education Survey of Cleveland conducted by the Survey Committee of the Cleveland Foundation in 1915. Twenty-three of these sections will be published as separate monographs. In addition there will be a larger volume giving a summary of the findings and recommendations relating to the regular work of the public schools, and a second similar volume giving the summary of those sections relating to industrial education. Copies of all these publications may be obtained from the Cleveland Foundation. They may also be obtained from the Division of Education of the Russell Sage Foundation, New York City. A complete list will be found in the back of this volume, together with prices.

Table Of Contents

PAGE

Foreword 5

List of Tables 9

Chapter I Nature Of Building Work

There has been rapid progress in the art of building since the days when our pioneer forefathers built crude log-cabins to shelter themselves against the severity of American winters. The homes of the colonists were naturally constructed of timber because of the abundance of native woods; and so the frame house speedily developed in this country. The brick form of building, most common in the England of those days, was not extensively copied here because of the scarcity of skilled labor. The European house usually had brick walls supporting its floors and roof, but the frame house that came into vogue in America was supported by its frame of heavy timbers. The walls were fastened on afterwards. In course of time, with the invention of modern methods of sawing, these frames were built less heavy, until at length the modern frame construction as we know it was introduced. These newer buildings were less wasteful of lumber than the earlier ones, and this was an item that had to be considered, for even in the early days heavy timber rapidly became less abundant as the population increased and spread.

Vakiety and Value of Building The steel skyscraper is characteristically American. Cities grew up with amazing rapidity, involving a consequent rise in the price of land. The invention of modern machinery and the coincidental rise of the factory system had not a little to do with this urban movement. And so a form of construction had to be discovered or devised which would house more people on a smaller land area. That meant taller buildings. This demand came earliest and most insistently in New York City, where the narrow confines of the island of Manhattan enclosed a larger population in a smaller area than was the case anywhere else in America. As a result buildings of ever increasing height were constructed until the city had what were then regarded as skyscrapers as much as eight stories high. But experience showed that in order to have sufficient strength brick and masonry buildings of this height required such immensely thick walls that but little light entered through the windows of the lowest stories. As a result America developed modern steel-frame buildings in which the walls of stone or brick are supported by the metal beams instead of themselves being the support of the rest of the building. Today the erection of wooden buildings within certain limits is strictly forbidden in all large cities, so urgent is the public insistence on fireproof construction. In part, this popular demand has been met by the use of concrete reinforced with steel rods, not only for the frame work, but often for the walls, floors, and partitions as well.

Although it is true that in Cleveland more wooden frame buildings than any other kind are erected today, the amount of money spent for buildings made of brick, tile, steel, or cement is greater. Also there is an increasing tendency, year by year, to use these fireproof materials. The report of the Division of Buildings clearly shows this steady tendency during the last 25 years. Diagram 1, on page 14, is based on the annual reports of the Department of Public Safety of the City of Cleveland for 1890, 1900, 1910, and 1914, and shows the relative amounts spent for new buildings of wood and of fireproof materials. It is interesting to note that during this period total building operations increased in cost from $4,327,405 to $23,595,960. In 1890 about four per cent of the new permits issued were for brick buildings; in 1900 this proportion had increased to nearly nine per cent, and in 1914 to 20 per cent. Take another standard of comparison. In 1890 brick construction represented 32 per cent of the total value of the new buildings erected that year; in 1900 this had increased to 50 per cent and in 1914 to 62 per cent.

In other words, a quarter of a century ago brick construction comprised less than one-third of all building work; today it comprises almost two-thirds. It should be noted that the term " brick,"

as used in these city reports, refers to all construction that is not of wood. It should be added that wood is being displaced not only as the principal material used in frames and other heavier parts of building, but also in the making of interior fittings such as moldings and sash.

1890 1900 1910 191^

Diagram 1. — Relative cost of buildings erected in Cleveland in 1890, 1900, 1910, and 1914. Black sections show percentage spent for brick construction and outline sections percentage spent for wood

To bring out more clearly the variety and value of buildings being erected in Cleveland, Table 1 is presented. This is a statistical abstract of building operations for 1914, as reported by the Division of

Buildings, and is typical of the distribution in recent years.

TABLE 1.— ABSTRACT OF BUILDING OPERATIONS IN CLEVE- LAND, 1914

Kind of building

Number

Value

Frame dwelling

2,630

$8,262,910

Brick apartment

4,306,000

Manufacturing

3,008,150

Public

2,128,000

Alteration of brick dwelling

1,299,400

Store

1,237,100

Alteration of frame dwelling

2,051

959,785

Minor alterations

6,020

836,975

Office

824,900

Storage

785,300

Assembly-

676,000

School

560,000

Frame apartment

511,900

Brick dwelling

453,700

Detention

375,000

Foundations

313,750

Miscellaneous

298,930

Moving picture

222,000

Hotel

125,000

Theatre

120,000

Billboard

4,210

Total

12,790

$27,309,010

It will be observed that nearly one-third of the money spent in 1914 for all building purposes was spent for common frame dwellings. The large proportion of this type of building still being erected, in spite of the very considerable increase in the number of brick and masonry structures built during the past quarter century, will not escape notice. Attention should be directed to the place brick apartment houses occupy in the building operations of the city, and to the large amount of money that is spent for alterations and additions to buildings.

The erection of any modern building is a very complex operation, involving the employment of anywhere from 10 to 20 different groups of workers. Some of these men will be common laborers, whose only asset is their strength; others will need to be not only naturally intelligent, but also trained in the technical knowledge of their specialty.

Contractors Most people are more or less familiar with the way a common frame dwelling is built. First, an architect is consulted who makes sketches, draws plans, and writes out the specifications. These are submitted to contractors for competitive bids. The lowest bidder usually gets the contract, which he may, and often does, sublet to several others.

The contractor's estimates are based on careful computations of costs and availability. Failure to complete a job within a stipulated period frequently means that he must forfeit a good share of his profit. A man may know all there is to know about the theory of building, he may be an expert manager of men, but if he cannot figure probable costs he cannot hope to succeed. The open doors of the bankruptcy courts await the incompetent estimator. It is next to impossible for the journeyman, in the course of his daily work, to learn much about reckoning building costs. He ought to be able to get this valuable training somewhere if he is looking forward to establishing an independent business.

Laborers After the exact location of the building has been determined, common laborers begin to excavate for cellar and foundation. These men are not masters of any trade. They must be able to understand simple English and to do what they are told. Throughout the construction of the building they will carry lumber and other materials needed by the skilled men.

Bricklayers After the excavation is completed, the bricklayers begin to build the foundation walls. They are the first skilled men to work on the house. The stability of the whole structure is determined by its foundation, which, in the case of a frame house, will be carried to about two feet above grade. If the house is to be of wood, the bricklayers will have little more to do than build the chimneys. If it is to be of brick, they must continue putting up the walls. In brick dwelling houses the inside walls are usually built with ordinary brick, while the outside walls are made of face brick of various shades; sometimes the substantial support is an iron or wooden frame veneered by a thin brick wall.

Besides making the walls strong, bricklayers have to make them attractive. They accomplish both these objects by bonding, which is laying brick in such a way that they will hold together the outside and inside layers of the wall. This is done by laying occasional bricks, called " headers," with ends 2 17 towards the outside, so that they reach back and tie the inside wall to the front. A regular design is followed and bricks of a different hue are often used as "headers" to render more conspicuous the regularity of the bond and thus enhance its beauty.

The work of these bricklayers is not uninterrupted. When they have built the wall to the bottom of a door or window they must either stop until the carpenter sets the frames in place, or else work on another part of the wall. After the frames are set they will then brick around them. As they proceed with their work they must also provide places for floor joists, and other supporting timbers, which they will build around as soon as the carpenters put them in place. These joists, as well as the plates which support the rafters, are often anchored to the masonry construction by wrought-iron rods.

Carpentees In a frame house carpenters take up the work as soon as the bricklayers have finished the foundation. They place the sills and erect the studs or posts to which the walls and partitions will be fastened. They place the joists, stringers, ledges, and rafters, and erect the frame. They construct the roof and put on the interior and exterior finish, build entrances and porches and set doors and window frames. Everything must be accurately measured, squarely cut, properly set, and firmly fastened. Few carpenters are versatile enough to do all these 18 things. A man usually specializes in some particular branch of carpentry. This is particularly true of interior trimming, floor laying, and stair-building. In addition, there are ship carpenters, railroad carpenters, bridge carpenters, car builders, etc. Indeed, so wide is the range of building operations which the trade covers that the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners has found it necessary to publish a book of explicit definitions called "The Book of Jurisdictional Claims." Many of the other trades publish similar manuals.

The skill of the carpenter may be said to increase as he adds to the number of tools in his kit, or as he assumes supervision of the work of others. If his job is to build forms for concrete construction, he will need only a hammer, saw, and rule; if he is engaged in putting on interior trim, he may need a whole chest of tools. The more tools he can use the more likely is he to become an independent worker, not relying on a foreman for instruction. This means that he must increase his technical knowledge, for if he is to lay out work he has to be able to read plans and to understand simple geometrical forms and operations.

Painters By the time the carpenters have placed the inside trim, the painters probably have finished the exterior of the house, and are ready to begin on the interior. This requires greater skill and in all probability will not be done by the same men. Interior painting offers a wide range of work. The surfaces to be painted have to be more carefully prepared than for exterior painting and the work itself offers greater opportunities for the exercise of artistic sense. Sometimes the trim is not painted but is finished by staining, varnishing, waxing, frescoing, or graining. Besides painting or finishing the interior trim, painters are often called on to decorate the plaster walls and ceilings. Formerly, paperhanging was done by the painters, but it is now coming to be recognized as a separate trade. Wood finishing is a special branch of the painter's trade.

Plumbers The present emphasis on public health and the rapid rise of the science of sanitation have added importance to the plumbing trade. A first-class plumber today requires as much technical training as any skilled worker in industry. He must understand the principles that govern the circulation and pressure of water, and the construction and operation of siphons, tanks, filters, etc. In gas-fitting he needs to know the nature of gases and the methods of distributing them. He has to be able to read blueprints, and must be handy in the use of the tools of his trade. He is the only man engaged in building work who is obliged to have a city license in Cleveland. Examinations have to be passed by the journeyman and the master plumber. The latter must also give bond.

Plumbers begin their part of the work on the house by laying the supply pipes connecting with the city water, and the waste and sewer pipes connecting with the street sewer. Later on they set in place the wash-bowls, bath-tubs, and toilets. The precise details of their work are not defined for them in the specifications, as they are for practically all other workers. They have more latitude for the exercise of experience and judgment. They have to be prepared to meet unexpected emergencies with tested knowledge. This is even more important in repair work than in original work.

Steam-fitters Large buildings are ordinarily heated by steam. Formerly plumbers installed the plant and system; today steam-fitting is a separate trade. In order to dry the building and get it ready for occupation, radiators are placed as soon as possible. The mechanical work of the steam-fitter is similar to that of a plumber. Plumbing and steam-fitting are so much alike that to avoid jurisdictional disputes the unions by agreement have closely defined the kinds of work each trade may undertake.

Inside Wiremen Today most dwelling houses and practically all office buildings are wired for electricity. The system is installed by an electrician or inside wireman whose job is to extend metal tubes throughout the house for the wires to which the lighting, heating, vacuum cleaning, and other electrical fixtures are later attached. A wireman must be able to read blueprints in order to determine the exact location for tubes. He must also have some technical knowledge of the simple elements of electricity and magnetism so that he will understand conductors, insulators, circuits, currents, connections, and systems of distribution.

Lathers and Plasterers Stucco houses are very popular today. As soon as the carpenters are done with the rough outside boarding of an ordinary frame house, lathers may begin to put on wood or metal laths. Then comes the plasterer with his trowel and float to apply the cement. It is much the same with interior lathing and plastering, which can be started as soon as the plumber and electrician have finished. Two or three coats are usually applied. Decorative or ornamental plastering requires some technical knowledge and much skill. An allied trade is that of the cement finisher, whose work consists of laying and smoothing cement floors, sidewalks, etc.

Sheet Metal Workers The modern tinsmith, now called a sheet metal worker, puts on the tin or iron roof; or else the strips of tin, zinc, or copper around the chimneys and in the valleys, if the roof is shingled. He makes and puts in place the gutters and spouts. He builds and sets the skylights, the metal sash, fire doors, and molding. A good deal of this work is done in the shop and then later set in place. Intricate joints can not be made by rule of thumb methods. Ability to read and work with blueprint drawings is essential.

Structural Iron Workers The earthquake of San Francisco shocked not only the city by the sea, but the civilized world. When the convulsions subsided and the fires died out, our attention was called to the striking fact that the huge fireproof, steel-frame buildings remained erect and defiant. Many weeks are often spent far below the street level, laying the foundations for these great buildings, used for hotels, department stores, offices, and apartments. Meanwhile the steel rolling mills have been making the frame for the lower stories, each beam and brace carefully marked for its exact place. Then the structural iron worker begins to erect the steel frame to which the walls and finish are fastened. The outer walls are usually of stone or terra cotta, although they may be built of brick or concrete. The interior partitions are usually constructed of fire brick. Wood is being displaced by metal for everything — even furniture. The occupation of the structural iron worker is never lacking in thrills. It calls for daring and steady nerves and the sort of skill that enables one to walk around, assembling and bolting parts, on the narrow beams of the tenth story of a rising skyscraper. The ornamental iron worker also is primarily an assembler.

His work consists of the erection of stairways, balustrades, elevator enclosures, balconies, iron window guards, fancy gates, and so on.

Hoisting Engineers The erection of such buildings as we have just described would be next to impossible without the help of the heavy boom derrick and the hoisting engineer. By means of these derricks, operated with steam engines, brick, mortar, and the iron parts may be carried to any quarter of the various floors. The stationary engineer must exercise great care in responding immediately to signals. In Cleveland he is exempted from the usual examination required of other steam engineers, but in many of the other large cities of the country hoisting engineers are obliged to hold licenses.

Other Trades Besides the building trades that have been mentioned, there are several others that are important although not engaging the services of such large numbers of workers. Among these are stone masons, marble setters, and tile layers. The work in these trades is closely allied to bricklaying. Stone cutting, formerly important, is fast becoming a machine operating trade. Cabinet-making, machine woodworking, constructing elevators, laying slate, tile and composition roofs, and placing asbestos also engage other groups of special workers.

Repair Work A considerable proportion of building work is connected with the alteration and repair of old buildings. This was brought out in Table 1 on page 15. Repairing is so important a part of the work of the men in some trades that the outsider is apt to think of them only as repairmen and to fail to connect them with new construction. This is particularly true of the plumbing trade. Besides this kind of repair work, which is distributed generally throughout the trades, large manufacturing concerns also employ regularly during the year a considerable number of carpenters, bricklayers, steam-fitters, and painters to keep their plants in repair.

Changing Character of the Work Much of the skilled labor of today is mere assembling. We have left behind us the age of individual craftsmanship, when all artisans exercised the creative faculty throughout every phase of production. And now we are rapidly moving away from a time when all factories really manufacture. Many automobile factories, for example, buy the parts of their cars from outside concerns. Their own work is Umited to assembling the various parts. The same trend is increasingly evident in the building industry. Much of the shaping of materials, formerly done by carpenters on the job, is now done on machines in the mill. This change is particularly noticeable with respect to interior work, where the trim is all shaped and cut to size, so that when it reaches the job the carpenter has only to fasten it in place. Lathing, hardwood floor laying, structural iron work, and to a considerable degree, plumbing, steam-fitting, and electrical wiring are assembling trades. The same tendency in the division of labor is noticeable in the other building trades.

Several factors influence and determine the various changes in the character of the work in the building trades, as in all others — among them the introduction of new materials, new processes, and new machines. This has been called an age of concrete. Cement is now used in place of wood for many purposes. Instead of causing a reduction in the demand for carpenters, as might be expected, this has, quite on the contrary, accelerated construction and increased the demand. It has, however, lowered the general standard of the carpenter's trade. Twenty years ago all carpenters needed a complete knowledge of framing, and also ability to do interior work; today a considerable proportion are employed on form work in concrete construction, where strength and moderate skill in the use of hammer, saw, and rule are all that is required.

Specialization, through the increased use of machinery, is responsible for changed conditions in the cabinet-maker's trade. Formerly all cabinet-making was done by hand ; now most of the parts are made by machine woodworkers, while the cabinet-makers, or bench hands, as they are called today, simply assemble and fasten them together. Much the same thing is true of the sheet metal worker, the plumber, and the steam-fitter. Due to these changes a good deal of the work that was rich in interest and called for considerable skill two decades ago has now become monotonous and mechanical.

Summary 1. In colonial times and in the days of the pioneers, practically all structures were built of wood.

2. The rapid increase in population, and the tendency to settle in cities, called for tall buildings in order to house more people on less area. This necessitated the substitution of steel and concrete for wood in their construction to make them fireproof.

3. In 25 years, from 1890 to 1914, new building operations in Cleveland increased in cost from $4,327,405 to $23,595,960. Two-thirds of the former amount, but only one-third of the latter, was for buildings of wood construction.

4. One-third of the total amount spent for all building operations in 1914 was for frame dwellings and one-ninth for alterations and repairs.

5. The erection of most modern buildings is a very complex operation, involving the employment of from 10 to 20 different groups of workers.

6. In an earlier age, the artisan made an article from start to finish. Such craftsmanship is now practically extinct. Today a great deal of the work in connection with building is not done on the job, but is performed in factories. As a result of this, much of the skilled labor in building has become mere assembling. This trend is increasingly evident. 7. New materials, new processes, and new machines are among the factors that influence and determine the various changes in the character of the work. Due to these changes, many trades that formerly were rich in interest and called for considerable skill have now become monotonous and mechanical.

Chapter II Number In The Trades And Sources Of Supply

Wherever civilized people live, they build dwellings to house themselves, and wherever they engage in manufacture and commerce, they must have factories, office buildings, and stores. As a result, the proportion of men engaged in building in different cities is about the same. This means that if a boy learns any of the building trades he can find work anywhere in the country; that is, his field of employment is not limited to a restricted territory, as is the case in highly localized occupations. There are local trades, just as there are local customs. One of the printing trades is a case in point. Lithographic poster artists are found in few cities of the country outside of Cleveland, where one-third of all the men employed in this trade are located.

Number in the Trades A careful estimate places the number of men engaged in building in Cleveland at the present time at about 30,000, comprising more than one-fifth of the total in manufacturing and mechanical occupations. Building ranks next to the metal industries in number employed. Table 2 shows an estimate of the number in the various trades in 1915. This table is based on the United States Census figures for 1900 and 1910 and the estimated population figures for 1915. The difference between the estimate of 30,000 men engaged in building in Cleveland and the figures of Table 2 is largely to be accounted for by the fact that the table includes no estimate of the unskilled laborers engaged in this work.

TABLE 2.

-ESTIMATED NUMBER OF MEN ENGAGED IN BUILD- ING TRADES IN CLEVELAND, 1915

Number employed

7,105

Painters, glaziers, varnishers

2,746

Plumbers, gas- and steam-fitters

2,014

1,800

Machine woodworkers

1,198

Sheet metal workers or tinsmiths

1,069

Cabinet-makers

Inside wiremen and fixture hangers

Paperhangers

Structural iron workers

Roofers and slaters

Stone-cutters

Lathers

Stone masons and marble setters

Ornamental iron workers

Cement finishers

Hoisting engineers

Elevator constructors

Parquet floor layers

Tile-layers

Asbestos workers

Wood carvers

Helpers

Apprentices

Total

22,302

There are three times as many men in the carpenters' trade as in any other building trade. Next in point of numbers come painters, bricklayers, and plumbers. The number employed is increasing in practically all the building trades. In some the rate of increase is greater than that of the general population; in others it lags behind. Two trades — stone-cutting and paperhanging — showed decreases from 1900 to

(Plasterers |80£ increase

| Plumbers, gas and steam fitters |60jt increase

| Carpenters J 52$ increase

j Population of Cleveland JU756 increase

(Brick and stone masons [k^fi increase |

| Painters, glaziers, varnishers |3(# • j

| Cabinetmakers \2J)L " J

|Paperhangere J9^ decrease

| Stonecutters 1 19$ decrease

Diagram 2. — Percentage of increase or decrease from 1900 to 1910 in workers in building trades and in the population of Cleveland

1910. The introduction of new machinery undoubtedly explains this in the case of the stone-cutter; the substitution of paint for wallpaper accounts for the decline of the paperhangers' trade.

The relative increase from 1900 to 1910 in each of the several trades compared with that of the total population is shown in Diagram 2.

Many Workers Come from Abroad The building trades get their workers from four principal sources: immigration, native journeymen from outside the city, helpers, and apprentices. Immigration contributes the largest proportion in both skilled and unskilled work, practically monopolizing the latter. Unskilled workers are mostly of the "new immigration" from southern and southeastern Europe; while skilled workers are of the "old immigration" from northern Europe. Diagram 3 shows the proportion of men employed in each trade in 1910 that were foreign born, native born of foreign parents, and native born of native parents. Over four-fifths of all cabinet-makers, more than two-thirds of all brick and stone masons, and nearly two-thirds of all carpenters are foreign born. Plumbers and steam-fitters show the smallest proportion of foreign born — less than one-third. A very considerable proportion of the native born are of foreign stock.

TABLE 3.— PERCENTAGE OF WORKERS IN FOUR BUILDING TRADES IN 1900 AND 1910 THAT WERE FOREIGN BORN

Cabinet makers

Brick and stone masons

Plumbers and gas- and steam-fitters

75 56

68 28

85 61 67 32

The trend in four trades is indicated in Table 3, which gives the proportion of foreign born workers in 1900 and 1910. Reference to the table reveals the fact that cabinet-making showed the greatest relative increase in the number of foreign born.

Cabinetmakers

Builders and building contractors Painters and glaziers Sheet metal workers and tinsmiths Plumbers, gas and steam fitters

Foreign] born

Native born of i foreign parents!

Native bom of native parents

Diagram 3. — Percentage of workers in building trades that are foreign born, native born of foreign parents, and native born of native parents

Wokkers Drawn from Neighboring Towns The smaller surrounding cities and towns furnish many workers for the building industry in Cleveland. They are attracted here by the comparatively high wages. Some of these men are not highly skilled workmen, but the requirements as to skill exacted for admission to most of the unions are not so high but that men with country training who come to the city usually manage to meet them. The building trades are strongly organized and membership in the union is considered sufficient evidence that a man knows his trade. Some unions provide special training for those of their members who are unable at once to measure up to Cleveland standards.

Helpers In some trades — among them those of the structural iron workers and steam-fitters — the unions recognize helpers as apprentices. Carpenters, painters, and a few others increase their supply of journeymen by advancing helpers and even laborers after a longer or shorter period of undirected training. A man gets a job as a laborer or helper and, after working in this capacity until fairly familiar with the trade, quits and looks for a new job, claiming that he is a skilled worker. He may not be able to satisfy the requirements of his new employer, but he will undoubtedly stay with him long enough to learn a little more about the work. By repeating this process several times he will finally learn enough so that he can hold a journeyman's job. Learning a trade in this fashion is not so common now as it was before the trades became so highly unionized. Helpers and laborers are, by union rules, forbidden the use of journeyman's tools. This, of course, prevents the easy acquisition of the trade. Opportunities for helpers to " pick-up" a trade are found most readily in the smaller non-union concerns of the city, which are engaged almost entirely in repair work. They have contributed a large share of the men to the different trades, and their contribution will probably continue to be large.