Plumbing, Drains, Sewers
This is another group to be provided for satisfactorily before any money is allotted to frills. The architect ought to be expert in all three specialties; but a householder wants to know just what the architect is going to do in building his house. The librarian is in this instance the housekeeper, at least, and has not only a right, but a duty, of inquisitiveness; for carelessness or mistakes on the part of draftsmen, ignorance or worse on the part of workman, might seriously affect the health of a large number of people.
Underdraining. Is your lot dry down below the foundations of the building? See to this before you start to build, for a damp basement for a library leads to book-tuberculosis, if nothing worse.
Drains. Gutters send a lot of water down from the roof, and unless this is led away by tight conductors, leading into drains that are sure to carry it off, the resulting moisture will gather along the foundations and show on the inside walls. I have had experience and expense with this trouble on my own premises.
Sewers. In cities, drains and sewers usually combine in joint drainage. Here you have to watch your own grounds, your neighbors’, and the town’s connections; avoiding interference, and watching for loose joints, careless workmanship, and downright dishonesty. Watch your architect, watch the contractors.
Plumbing. Be very careful that the water pipes do not run too near, or behind or directly under or over the shelves. Bursting pipes threaten damage and disaster to books.
In indicating where you want your water-fixtures, remember that unnecessary scattering entails unnecessary expense. Economy demands, and efficiency rarely forbids, putting pipes in stacks up and down stairs, one fixture under another, and all near chimneys or somewhere else safe from freezing.
File plans. As suggested under another head, keep your plumbing and drainage plans separately, file them in a pamphlet plainly labelled and catalogued. You may want in a hurry sometime to know just where every pipe and drain can be got at easily.