The Honeywood Files (18 page)

Please do not buy grates or sanitary goods. The former have to suit the fireplaces which I am designing; and the latter have each to fit special conditions, so that it is absolutely necessary that all should be ordered by the builder after you have settled the pattern and price.

It will be of no advantage to you to buy at trade prices. The builder can buy at least as cheaply as you can, and he has already credited trade discounts in making up his tender. If you buy, the builder will be entitled to add a fair trade discount to his contract price and you will certainly pay more in the end. This matter of trade discounts is carefully safeguarded in the contract. The sums set aside for the various goods are the actual sums paid to the merchant and not, as I think you suppose, the catalogue retail prices. The builder has already included in his contract for packing, carriage, etc., and it will be impossible for me to prevent extras creeping in if those arrangements are upset. I hope I have succeeded in making the matter clear.

Yours sincerely,

He has, at any rate, had a good try! It would have been better if Spinlove had kept his explanations for Brash’s ear, for his letter is likely to raise more questions than it answers. Spinlove, however, appears to enjoy writing letters, although he cannot always enjoy reading those he receives: the next on file, for instance!

GRIGBLAY TO SPINLOVE

Dear Sir, 18.7.25.

We are sorry to have to report that the District Surveyor refuses to pass the main drain to sewage tank on the ground that it leaks. As you are aware, there is a very sharp fall on this drain, and we used particular care in making the joints with waterproofed cement so that they should stand the pressure of water test which, between the second and third manholes, has a head of 32 ft. Only four joints showed a drop or two of water after standing several hours, and these have been remade to the Inspector’s satisfaction; but water sweats out through the pipes themselves. It only shows in beads after standing for hours, and does not run, but Mr. Potch, the Surveyor, came down yesterday, and has condemned the whole drain. We shall be glad of your instructions.

The pipes are “tested” as specified and there is no flaw in one of them. Bloggs would have put on labourer to keep the pipes wiped dry against the Inspector’s visit, he says, but he never thought objection would be made.

Yours faithfully,

We have already seen that, at a pinch, Bloggs can be depended on for “a bit of tack.”

SPINLOVE TO GRIGBLAY

Dear Sir, 20.7.25.

I have written to the District Surveyor on the subject of the drain. Please take no further action of any kind, but keep the drain charged, and ask your foreman to mark standing level of water in manholes and keep the covers on. I will visit the site on Tuesday next.

I note the contents of your letter on subject of roofing. If Mr. Grigblay can meet me on Tuesday on this matter I shall be glad.

Yours faithfully,

Spinlove has come quietly to heel in this matter of the roof. It will be noted that the head of water gives a pressure, in the lower pipes, of some 15 lb. a square inch. The “tested” pipes are subjected by the makers to a hydraulic pressure of about 20 lb. a square inch, but this test is applied for a few seconds only, to detect flaws.

SPINLOVE TO POTCH
,
SURVEYOR
,
MARLFORD DISTRICT COUNCIL

Sir, 20.7.25.

It is reported to me that you have refused to pass the main soil drain at Honeywood. I shall be obliged if you will tell me: (a) the grounds for your objection; (b) the by-law infringed; and (c) the work you require to be done.

Yours faithfully,

Spinlove has evidently not forgotten previous interchanges with Mr. Potch. He does well to remind Potch that his powers are limited by the by-laws. Many small builders and others may forget this and Potch, in his ambition to flourish as a public terror, may not trouble to remember it.

POTCH TO SPINLOVE

Sir, 24.7.25.

Honeywood drain loses water and must be relaid.
See By-laws
.

Vent of settling tank to be replaced with 4 in. heavy cast-iron soil vent.
See By-laws
.

I am surprised to be informed by my assistant that copy of our by-laws was sent you last year. As it is unfortunately lost I shall be very glad to present you a second copy to go on with for a time, on receipt of 1s. 2d., post free, as my Council disapproves of putting a.r.i.b.a.’s and others to the trouble to ask unnecessary questions.

I am, Sir,

Yours faithfully,

The insolent intention of this letter, although veiled by its illiteracy, is undoubted, and is just what Spinlove must expect from Mr. Potch, who, as has already appeared, practises privately as an architect in the district in which he operates in his official capacity, and so finds it to his interest to pile up official difficulties in the way of his private rivals. To irritate them into precipitate action, to their public discredit with the Council, is all part of his system.

SPINLOVE TO POTCH

Sir, 27.7.25.

You must permit me to inform you that the Honeywood drain does not “lose water,” as stated in your letter. After standing for three days fully charged, the drop in level of water in manholes is scarcely perceptible— ¼ in. or 15/16 in., not more, in fact, than would be accounted for by absorption and evaporation. The joints are perfectly tight and a slight sweating of water through the substance of the pipes is due to the excessive head of water imposed by the sharp fall in the ground. This condition of head would not arise in practice and the sweating would be of no consequence if it did. The pipes are Dallop’s deep-socketed “Tested” laid on concrete and are the best procurable. I have to ask you either to pass the drain or to say in what way the work can be improved, either as regards workmanship or materials.

There is no “Settling Tank.” The thing you refer to is an anaerobic tank; its successful action depends upon absence of air, and the ventilation pipe you call for would tend to spoil its efficiency by admitting air. The 1 in. galvanized pipe you object to is to prevent gases accumulating at pressure in the tank and breaking the seal of the trap, and was put in by my orders.

Yours faithfully,

Spinlove does well to ignore the offensiveness of Potch.

POTCH TO SPINLOVE

Sir, 31.7.25.

I note you now admit water leaks through substance of pipes at Honeywood and which is the reason I stated drain leaks and must be relaid. Unfortunately my inspector cannot wait three days at manholes to check figures as he has other business as well. I have been told drains sometimes gets stopped. The water test is against that happening and not against it does not happen.

My Council does not expect of me to tell Institute architects where to get drain pipes, but most people know such trouble would be cured by treating with one or two coats of pitch, boiling hot.

I happen to be aware what a settling tank is and also all soil vents to be 4 in. heavy cast iron,
see By-laws
. If everyone who did not agree with by-laws could do what he liked my Council would not have adopted same.

I am, Sir,

Yours faithfully,

Potch seems to know that Spinlove is young and lacking practical experience, for his pitch proposal, not a joke, is a mischievous attempt to get Spinlove into worse difficulties or, at least, make a fool of him. The “boiling hot” pitch would crack all the pipes and it could not hold back water which is forcing itself, under a pressure of some 15 lb. to the square inch, through glazed earthenware. We may judge from the letter which follows that Spinlove fortified his opinion by discussing the matter with Bloggs.

SPINLOVE TO POTCH

Sir, 4.8.25.

Your letters on the subject of Honeywood are clearly intended to avoid the questions I have put to you. In the circumstances I must ask you to note that the drain you object to demonstrably conforms with your by-laws and is of the best possible workmanship and materials, and that I claim on behalf of Sir Leslie Brash a formal certificate of acceptance from your Council.

I also have to ask you to note that your by-laws do not require that septic tanks should be ventilated, and that, as it is insanitary and against established practice to do so, I have no intention of ventilating the tank at Honeywood.

Yours faithfully,

Spinlove is winning this tussle in fine style. Potch, of course, is only bluffing, and prevaricating, and obstructing; but Spinlove could scarcely arrive at the point of confidence in which, alone, he could write such a letter, without anxiety and stress. As I was led to remark on an earlier occasion, Spinlove seems to have “been there before,” for in nothing does he show such firmness as in thwarting the machinations of Potch.

SPINLOVE TO POTCH

Sir, 14.8.25.

It is now ten days since I wrote to you stating the position I take on the subject of Honeywood drains and calling upon you for certificate of acceptance. As I have received no acknowledgment or reply, I have to ask you to note that unless I receive immediately a satisfactory answer, I must refer the whole correspondence to the Chairman of your Council, in which case I shall protest against the way I have been treated by their official and the offensive tone of the letters I have received.

I am, Sir,

Yours faithfully,

Spinlove seems, in a previous existence, to have been a prize fighter.

POTCH TO SPINLOVE

Sir, 16.8.25.

Re drains at Honeywood. I have been busy and the matter is a difficulty, but have now decided to give you the benefit and enclose certificate, which no doubt meets your satisfaction.

The vent to settling tank must be at your own risk.

I resent your remarks and regret you should feel cause to make same as no intention on my part.

I remain, Sir,

Yours faithfully,

What Potch means by “vent must be at your own risk” he probably could not himself exactly say. He no doubt considers his last paragraph to be an ample explanation and apology. Much of the offensiveness of his letters is, perhaps, due to native ungainliness of mind. He is like a fox which cannot help smelling and is unaware that he smells.

GRIGBLAY TO SPINLOVE

Dear Sir, 5.8.25.

As you know, we are at work on the staircases, and we venture to call your attention to the headroom at No. 3 step of back stairs. We think you overlooked that the binder carrying partition runs across door-opening to bathroom, so that unless the bathroom floor is raised one step the binder must be dropped 5 in., and owing to the revised arrangement of the stairs shown in detail No. 27, we do not think headroom will be satisfactory.

Awaiting your immediate instructions,

Yours faithfully,

P.S.—We shall be glad of a further certificate for £3,000.

Apparently Spinlove has done what it is perilously easy to do: he has improved on the contract in his detail drawings without investigating fully all the consequences of the change.

SPINLOVE TO GRIGBLAY

Dear Sir, 6.8.25.

I confirm telephone message directing all work on back stairs to be stopped. I note that the strings have already been got out and sunk, and treads of winders, etc., prepared, so that it is too late to go back to the arrangement shown in the contract drawings. I do not understand why my attention was not called to this matter when the work was set out.

I widened the landing at top to give more room for the swing of the door; this pushed the bottom step out and brought No. 3 step into the position of No. 2, so that it was obvious I had mistaken the position of binder. If you had called my attention to this at the time, the difficulty would not have arisen, as I might have managed with one step less.

I do not like the idea of raising the bathroom door one step. Will you please return drawing No. 27. I do not at present see what can be done. A 9-in. steel joist in place of binder will not settle the trouble. You will notice that I splayed off the angle of the binder to ease the headroom, which I knew was tight.

Yours faithfully,

A ridiculous letter! It is clear Spinlove does not know what the devil to do and wants the builder to tell him. He allows us to suppose that in the contract drawings there was an 11-in. binder which carried 5 ½ in. floor joists. This binder came below the ceiling and was probably cradled and installed as a beam. In making his detail he pushed the binder up flush with ceiling to give to the starved headroom the extra height required by the alteration in the steps; and overlooked the opening to the bathroom door across which the binder runs.

GRIGBLAY TO SPINLOVE

Dear Sir, 8.8.25.

We regret to say that we have to-day learnt that the binder, floor and partition, are now all in place as shown on the contract drawings. Your drawing No. 27 gives exact particulars of the stairs, but the position of the binder is only slightly indicated. The section of it is not coloured on our drawing, and we had no means of knowing what your intentions as regards other parts of the work were. The binder had been prepared and sent on to the work, and probably fixed, before we received your detail.

It will be necessary either to scrap the strings and winders or take down the binder, etc., which will be the simplest way. We suggest that the difficulty could be got over by putting in a 5½ -in. sill in place of binder and trussing the partition, which might also be hung up by tie strapped to purlin. The easiest thing, however, would be to raise the binder and floor. If you do not care to go up one step to bathroom floor, the bathroom might be entered from the corridor instead of the landing of back stairs, in which case the floor need not be raised with the binder. Drawing No. 27 herewith. We shall be glad of immediate instructions.

Yours faithfully,