1909 Basement Wall Construction

[autokoz]

Looking for information for the design and construction of the following basement wall built around 1909 in Philadelphia PA - this was seen on one project and observed on existing drawings for another building in the city. This construction is the basement wall located away from the face of the building - can be at the curb line or some point between the curb and the building face.

Description of Steel Frame/ Brick Arch WALL seen from basement

Steel Frame
1. Vertical steel beams at 4 to 6 feet on center, span from 2 feet below basement slab to sidewalk elevation about 22 feet.
2. Continuous steel channels connecting the vertical steel beams at their top and bottom end
3. At the main building columns there are framing members that span from the vertical steel beam back to the main building column

Brick Arch
Typical brick arch withtie rods placed between the steel members - arches are built vertically span between vertical members with the spring line of the arch is at the inside flange of the steel member and the crown is to the earth side of the wall.

 

[bridgebuster]

You should try books.google.com

Search by author for Baker, Hool, Jacoby, Kidder, Ketchum

They wrote numerous books in the early 20th C on concrete construction, masonry, building etc.

In NYC - specifically lower Manhattan - it's not uncommon to have the basement extend beyond the face of the building to the curb. Here, we refer to them as vaults. The ones I've seen are generally CIP concrete walls with a steel beam and concrete slab roof.

I've also seen buildings with the brick jack arches, and some with square terra cotta tiles set horizontally. The space above the arch is usually backfilled with ashes or cinders; on top of that would be the floor - usually wood or thin concrete.

The masonry was an early form of fireproofing.