The Architect, Engineer, and Operative Builder's Constructive Manual
Or, A Practical and Scientific Treatise on the Construction of Artificial Foundations for Buildings, Railways, etc.

This 1839 work discusses matters of geology, pile driving, laying foundations, and the use of concrete and limestone.

Christopher Davy (Author)

9781108070690, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 July 2014

272 pages, 11 b/w illus. 1 colour illus.
21.6 x 14 x 1.6 cm, 0.35 kg

Little is known about Christopher Davy (c.1803–49), despite his regular contributions to architectural and engineering magazines in Britain and America. Describing himself as an 'architect and teacher of architecture', he also took an interest in steam engines and railway construction. In this work, published in 1839, and using information gathered from experiments by the Board of Ordnance, Davy begins by describing the characteristics of the geology of England and Wales, with regard to its suitability for obtaining building materials and laying strong foundations. He describes the means by which soil and rock samples may be taken, and gives details relating to the construction of the foundations of St Paul's Cathedral on the troublesome London clay. Later chapters discuss the practicalities of pile driving, the use of concrete, and the properties of limestone. Reflecting the progress of technical knowledge in the early nineteenth century, the work features several illustrations of contemporary apparatus.

A register of the principal geological formations in each of the counties of England and Wales
1. Preliminary observations
2. On pile driving and piling
3. On the nature and application of beton
4. On the analysis of limestone
5. On the calcination of limestone
6. On the proportion and admixture of ingredients employed in the composition of ordinary mortar
Plates.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX]