(a) Curtain walls and other nonbearing walls in buildings of the first and second classes or elsewhere shall be of the minimum thickness of eight inches for brick or other materials as approved by the Building Inspector, provided the story height does not exceed ten feet in the clear. If exceeding this height, these walls must be increased four inches in thickness.
(b) All stone wall shall be laid with at least one header extending through the wall every three feet in height and every four feet in length.
(c) In brick walls at least every seventh course of brick shall be a header course, except where block walls have fire brick on exposed surfaces, in which case an approved metal wall-tie shall be used as directed by the Building Inspector.
(d) Brick or stone veneer walls must not be less than four inches in thickness tied to the framework with metal ties placed not less than four inches apart or every fourth course. Frame work must not be less than two by four-inch studs on sixteen-inch centers fully and properly sheathed and braced. In any case where the veneer will extend only to the joists of the second floor and the balance of the structure is framework, the second floor joists shall extend beyond the framework and rest upon the veneer wall.
(e) All brick shall be not less in quality than medium brick and shall meet the requirements of the tests for absorption and strength published by the American Society for Testing Materials, provided that no soft brick shall be used until samples of the same have been submitted to the Building Inspector and approved by him or her, and provided, further, that soft brick shall not be used below the top of the first floor joists, nor above the ceiling of the second story, nor in or around flue linings, nor on any extensive exposed surface.
The above applies only to clay and sand-lime brick. Cement-concrete brick shall meet the requirements of the A.S.T.M. Specification Serial designation C-6S-24 T.
(f) All stone, brick, hollow tile or patented block walls in buildings, foundation walls and piers, and outside wall chimneys and other chimneys from the underside of roof rafters to their tops, shall be laid in cement mortar.
(g) Walls may be laid in cement-lime mortar, provided that when, in the judgment of the Building Inspector, the nature of construction may permit of its use, lime-mortar or patented mixtures may be used.
(h) Cement mortar shall be made of one part Portland cement to not more than three parts sand, and may, except in freezing weather, have ten percent by volume of hydrated lime added when thoroughly mixed in. Cement-lime mortar shall be made of one part lime, one part Portland cement, and not more than three parts of sand to each. Sand must be sharp and free from loam or other deleterious material.
(i) Poured cement-concrete used in the construction of any foundation wall or footing shall not be less in consistency than one part of Portland cement to two and one-half parts of fine aggregate to five parts of coarse aggregate. Poured cement-concrete used in the construction of any piers or exterior or bearing walls shall consist of at least one part of Portland cement to two parts of fine aggregate to four parts of coarse aggregate. In all poured cement-concrete, no part of the coarse aggregate shall be other than crushed stone or pebbles.
(j) All site proportioning of materials shall be by volume measured in a suitable manner and not by estimation. No greater quantity of cement-mortar or cement-concrete shall be prepared than will be required for immediate use, and any that has attained "initial set" shall not be retempered nor used in any way for masonry construction. Mortar used in masonry walls must solidly fill all voids.
(k) Where cement-concrete blocks are used and placed in any exposed wall of a building, such block shall be coated on the exterior or exposed face or faces with a cement mortar to be applied as set forth for other work of a like nature enumerated in this Building and Housing Code.
(l) No single walls or any building shall be carried up more than one story in advance of any other wall of said building on the same floor.
(m) No recess, chase or flue shall be made in any wall more than one-third its thickness, and no recess, chase or flue shall be built within twelve inches of any opening, but no wall less than twelve inches thick shall be recessed or chased, provided that this shall not prohibit the building of chases for soil or other pipes in walls of the dwelling portion of buildings, not over three stories in height. Party walls must not be recessed or chased more than one-half of their thickness, and if chases occur on opposite sides of the same walls, they must be kept nine inches or more from each other. The backs of all such chases or recesses must be plastered smooth with mortar.
(n) In all buildings of the third class, all openings in bearing walls or partitions over three feet in width shall be trussed over or supported by not less than two two-by-eight inch wooden beams placed directly over the opening. Such truss or beam shall bear directly upon the doubling stud which shall be required at all door and window openings. All buildings of the third-class shall be sheathed with not less than three-quarter inch wood sheathing or composition board approved by the Building Inspector. Each corner post shall be braced in two directions for the height of each full story. Triple studs shall be used at outside corners.
(o) In all habitable buildings of the third class without cellars or with partial cellars, the unexcavated portion shall be provided with crawl space under the first floor joists, and if this space is surrounded by a continuous wall, such space shall have a screened ventilating opening of not less than three square feet. No first floor of any character or construction of a habitable building shall be placed directly on the earth surface.
(Ord. 288. Passed 5-24-54.)