C O N T E X T 9 3 : M A R C H 2 0 0 6 39 rising damp) must be one of the defects most mis-diagnosed by surveyors, but it is hardly touched on except in reference to timber-framed buildings. Some of the black-and-white photographs are not very clear and it is sometimes hard to see which defect is being illustrated. Finally, there is a comprehensive bibliography and recommendations for further reading. This useful book should be on the shelves of anyone involved in carrying out structural appraisals. Charles Blackett-Ord is an accredited conservation engineer in private practice and a member of the SPAB’s technical panel. Advice for artisans Building Construction Drawing Richard B Eaton, Donhead Publishing, 2004, 320 pp, 158 plates of line drawings, hardback, ISBN 1 873394 71 3, £45 (first published in six parts by E&FN Spon between 1914 and 1921) Richard B Eaton was a joiner and later a clerk of works working for Poole Borough Council. He was also a parttime teacher on a building construction course at Poole School of Art and Technology. Course members were trade apprentices, described as ‘the elementary student and artisan’, who would go on to become craftsmen. Building Construction Drawing was originally produced in six parts, relating to the course structure and increasing in detail from elementary to advanced. The content generally covers building components and assemblies, sufficient to equip the craftsmen to understand whole building projects. The book’s special qualities are stated as being its practical approach and the combination of construction details, specifications and measurement tables. There is almost no additional text. This is what distinguishes the book from contemporary text books such as Charles F Mitchell’s Building Construction (Batsford, 1889 and later) or Jaggard and Drury’s Architectural Building Construction (Cambridge, 1916 and later). These textbooks were written for the architectural and building student rather than the artisan. The scope of Building Construction Drawing is limited to house building, typically the medium to large detached villa. The introduction to the reprinted volume explains that ‘the details are relevant to the maintenance of most domestic and much commercial property built between 1900 and 1939, though not perhaps to the period after 1945’. The reprint is aimed at ‘architects and other conservation specialists working on traditional buildings’. While providing useful information on pre-war domestic construction in the south of England, this book is quite limited in its scope and usefulness. Its purpose was to develop an understanding of construction assemblies in students and apprentices, with a significant emphasis on carpentry and joinery. Trades such as slating and tiling are not really addressed. The absence of text means that there is little information on purpose, process or potential problems. The drawings are simplistic. The monotonous use of single-line thickness and the arrangement of details on plates makes some drawn information difficult to read. The specifications are revealing in terms of contemporary practice, but inadequate in terms of current requirements. They are too much a recital of sizes, with only general reference to quality and workmanship. In choosing books on early 20th century building construction, I would prefer the much broader scope and depth of information in Mitchell, Jaggard and Drury or WB McKay’s Building Construction (also available in a Donhead reprint, see review below), while for specification and measurement John T Rea’s How to Estimate, (BT Batsford, 1902 and later editions) is very useful. Ken Moth, architect and director of the Building Design Partnership’s Manchester office. The model manual McKay’s Building Construction W B McKay, first published 1938, reprint by Donhead Publishing, 2005, three volumes, hardback, 480pp, ISBN 1 873394 72 1, £65 As an architecture student in the late 1960s, McKay’s was my construction bible. Now tattered and coffee-stained, it still takes pride of place on my technical bookshelves. For McKay’s is the model construction manual, logically set out, with succinct and practical text, and beautifully clear detailed drawings. Its distinctive character was enhanced by the sans-serif lettering of the title page and illustrations, a touch of modernity in what is in effect a book of commonsense traditional detailing. Volume 1 was first published in 1938, when McKay was head of the building department at Manchester College of Technology (volumes 2 and 3 followed shortly after). It was regularly reprinted over the next 30 years. During this period it was never surpassed, for although it originates in the arts and crafts tradition, it came just at the time when the building process was being industrialised, and the notion of craftsmanship was being discarded. Its value today is in informing us of construction methods that may no longer be in use, but which underpin a vast number of standing buildings. In this handsome reprint, the three volumes are combined in one. Volume 1 covers basic masonry and brickwork, carpentry and joinery, slating, plumbing and roof drainage. Volume 2 contains greater detail on masonry and brickwork, drainage and steel roof trusses. Volume 3 includes roof coverings, and more detailed treatment of carpentry and joinery. Since they were intended as textbooks, each volume concludes with a homework programme, which might include for example drawing quarter
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