It Can Be Done

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Title: It Can Be Done

Author(s): Rex C. Donahey and W. Agata Pyc

Publication: Concrete International

Volume: 42

Issue: 6

Appears on pages(s): 39-44

Keywords: concrete, house, construction, air

DOI: 10.14359/51725917

Date: 6/1/2020

Abstract:
Between 1910 and 1920, Van Guilder hollow-wall machines were used to construct concrete houses, cold storage buildings, silos, and other structures across the United States. Some of the houses remain in use and serve as reminders that concrete structures are indeed feasible, viable, and resilient. The article discusses the history and details of the machines and provides examples of concrete structures built using this technology.

Related References:

1. Hurd, M.K, “Concrete Houses Alive and Well after More than 80 Years,” Concrete International, V. 30, No. 5, May 2008, pp. 34-38.

2. Gleason, K., “Small Concrete Houses at Rochester, N.Y.,” ACI Journal Proceedings, V. 18, No. 2, Feb. 1922, pp. 124-128. (Reprinted as part of the Landmark Paper Series in Concrete International, V. 25, No. 12, Dec. 2003, pp. 30-38.)

3. Gilbert, C.D., “The Concrete Industrial House: A Record of Achievement,” Proceedings of the 14th Annual Convention, Atlantic City, NJ, June 27-29, 1918, V. 14, pp. 398-407.

4. “Hollow Wall Concrete House of Low Cost,” Cement and Engineering News, V. 24, Jan.-Dec. 1912, pp. 37-39.

5. “Silo and Wall Forms,” The Cement Era, V. 10, No. 7, July 1912, pp. 49-50.

6. “Concrete Hollow Walls for School Building,” Municipal Engineering, V. 54, Mar. 1914, pp. 284-285.

7. “The Van Guilder Three-Wall Concrete Machine,” Building Age, V. 34, Oct. 1912, pp. 551-552.

8. “How Concrete Houses Are Built for Less than Frame and Are Worth More,” Concrete, V. 11, No. 8, Aug. 1911, pp. 32-36.

9. “Concerning Costs,” The Van Guilder Hollow Wall Co., Rochester, NY, 1914, 14 pp.

10. “Helping the Home Makers of America,” The Craftsman, The Craftsman Publishing Company, New York, NY, V. 27, 1914, p. 229.

11. “Modern Concrete House and Bungalow Construction,” The Concrete Age, The Concrete Age Publishing Company, Atlanta, GA, June 1912, pp. 36-37.

12. “An Example of Fireproof Residence Construction at Kansas City, Mo.,” Concrete Houses: How They Were Built, H. Whipple, ed., Concrete-Cement Age Publishing Co., Detroit, MI, 1920, pp. 97-99.

13. Baumgardner, C.W., “A Double Wall Concrete House Economically Built in Cold Weather,” Concrete, V. 8, No. 3, Mar. 1916, pp. 111-112.

14. Fleming, J.A., “Construction of Non-Magnetic Experiments Building of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism,” Land Magnetic Observations 1914-1920, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC, Publication No. 175 (V. 4), 1921, pp. 351-358.

15. Gray, E.T., “Cambria Steel Company Completes 89 Hollow Wall Houses,” Concrete, V. 20, No. 1, Jan. 1922, pp. 19-22.

16. Donnelly, L., “Architecture around Us,” Western Pennsylvania History, Fall 2009, pp. 8-11.

17. Concrete, V. 11, No. 11, Nov. 1911, p. 39.

18. “Hollow Wall Silo Represents 18 Days’ Work of Three Men,” Concrete, V. 11, No. 11, Nov. 1911, p. 48.

19. “Using Steam to Heat and Cure Double Walls in Cold Weather,” Concrete-Cement Age, V. 4, Feb. 1914, pp. 95-96.

20. “Van Guilder of Hollow Wall Construction,” Building Age, V. 34, Sept. 1912, p. 498.

21. Potter, C.B., “Double Wall Concrete Cottage at Delmar, N.Y.,” Concrete, V. 10, No. 1, Jan. 1917, pp. 30-31.

22. Gilbert, C.D., “My Own House—How It Was Built: Plans, Construction Details, Cost of a Dwelling with Concrete Walls, Floors, Roof, Stairs,” Concrete, V. 12, No. 1, Jan. 1918, pp. 10-15.

23. “50 Double Wall Houses for Carnegie Employees,” Concrete, V. 14, No. 1, Jan. 1919, pp. 24-27.

24. Wright, C.E., “Widening Demand for Blast Furnace Slag,” The Iron Age, V. 103, No. 4, Jan. 23, 1919, pp. 241-243.

25. ACI Committee S-5, “Recommended Practice for Concrete House Construction,” American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI, June 1922, pp. 57-58

26. Whipple, H., “How Will the Individual Builder Get a Concrete House,” Concrete, V. 16, No. 1, Jan. 1920, pp. 1-2.

27. Wilde, R.E., ACI: A Century of Progress, 123 pp. Accessed May 5, 2020. www.concrete.org/Portals/0/Files/PDF/ACI_History_Book.pdf.




  

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