(Published In 1893.)

A notable addition to the hotel accommodations of New York City was made in the construction of the New Netherland on the northeast corner of Fifty-ninth Street and Fifth Avenue, with its main entrance on Fifth Avenue opposite the "Scholars Gate " entrance to Central Park. The structure, which was constructed according to the plans of William H. Hume, of New York City, architect, is of iron, stone, and brick. It has 125 feet frontage on Fifty-ninth Street and 100 feet on Fifth Avenue. It is 17 stories high, four stories being in the mansard roof. The first or main story is 16 feet high, the others varying from 12 feet to 9 feet 6 inches. The seventeenth-story floor is 210 feet above the sidewalk. There is also a basement and cellar below grade, each 11 feet in the clear.

The plumbing, including gas and water piping and house drainage, has been done by Macdonald & Co., of New York City. The sectional elevation, Fig. 1, is a general diagram of the arrangement of four of the 19 lines of risers which serve the different vertical groups of bath and toilet rooms, only the drainage stacks being here shown, soil pipes A being indicated by heavy full black lines, basin wastes B by lighter black lines, and the main stacks of trap vent pipes C by double light lines, their branches to the fixtures being shown by broken lines.

There are 14 stacks of 5-inch soil pipe A extending from the cellar ceiling to the sixteenth floor, where they are enlarged to 6-inch, and then continued up through and above the roof to a point safely isolated from all house openings, the top of each being crowned by a copper wire hood. There are also five stacks of 3-inch basin waste B, with enlarged upper end and of the same height and general character as the soil pipes. Each of those stacks is composed of standard size wrought-iron pipe with cast-iron fittings, all tested and dipped in hot coal tar before delivery on the ground. All joints are screwed and internal burrs removed. Face joints are metallic only. All fittings have recessed threads giving a practically smooth bore to the entire drainage system; in order to prevent the lodgment of insoluble matter on or against shoulder burrs, etc. The connections at each floor are by 45 degree bends, and the pipes are securely fastened to the floor beams, or were anchored in recesses in the walls as they were built up. Each stack of soil or waste pipes has a corresponding air vent pipe C of same quality, diameter, height, and workmanship. From these vent pipes branches are taken off at points sufficiently high to guard against a possible inflow from the fixture wastes, if from any cause these should become stopped, and are designed to afford ample protection from syphonage of traps.

PLUMBING IN THE NEW NETHERLAND HOTEL, NEW YORK CITY.

The soil and waste pipes connect just below the cellar ceiling with the horizontal house drains of the same size and quality, which are hung from the cellar ceiling and shown in Fig. 2. They have a fall of not less than one-quarter of an inch to a foot, and increase in size as the service requires. The closets, sinks, etc. in the cellar are raised sufficiently to give a clear drainage into the house drain before it passes to the outside of the wall. The hangers used were specially made for this job. and are shown in Fig. 4. They are made of malleable cast iron. The saddle piece is tapped for iron pipe threads to suit the size of pipe carried, the clamp piece being held up by tap bolts. On account of the power plant and other apparatus in the cellar, direct lines could not in all cases be located for the house drains from the foot of risers to the point of exit or main drains, but they were run as directly as the condition would permit. The junctions of two lines are invariably effected by a 45-degree connection or a long 90-degree bend, as shown in Fig. 1. The same general practice is followed in laying the horizontal pipe as holds with the uprights; there are no dead ends, and ample arrangements are made for cleanouts by the full-sized screwed brass plugs Y. No short 90-degree bends are used on any of the lines. For convenience of changes or repairs, a specially designed stepped-faced union was used, which dispenses with the use of gaskets or other packing, which might in time become porous or offensive.

When the stacks had been erected to the ninth floor, it became necessary to facilitate the work to inclose some of them in the fireproof partition and to cover up much of the work in the fireproof arches so that floors could be laid An air test was therefore made then, to the end that all joints should be proved perfectly tight before inclosure, as small leaks, which may occur in the most carefully executed ' work, would prove very troublesome and costly to repair after they had become inaccessible. This test was made to the satisfaction of the building inspectors.

At such points as were necessary in the suspended house drainage, 45-degree entrances T, Fig. 2, were allowed for caring for the closet, urinal, basin, and kitchen service on the basement floor. The outflow of sewage was through one 6-inch and one 8-inch line on Fifty-ninth Street, and one 6-inch and one 8-inch line on Fifth Avenue, all marked U, as shown on Fig. 2. Each line had a deep-seal running trap V with cleanout close to the inside wall line, on the house line of which there were 4-inch and 5-inch fresh-air inlets W connecting by wrought-iron pipes X to fresh-air gratings at the curb line of the sidewalks, as shown in Fig. 5. The cast-iron box a being 10"x18"x9", a hole on one side allowed the connecting of the 4 or 5-inch pipe X, which is fastened by the two locknuts b b. These connections are close to the bottoms of the boxes, so that by flushing them occasionally they are kept clear of dirt. The brass grating c is flush on top, and by allowing the entrance of storm or other waters, helps to keep them clear.

From the running traps V, Fig. 2, extra heavy cast-iron pipes of the same size with leaded joints were laid to the city sewers. Those pipes were tested to 20 pounds pressure to the square inch, and were dipped in hot coal tar before being laid. The rainwater leaders enter the house-drainage system in the cellar through the deep-seal cast-iron running traps Z. The surface drainage of the cellar is into a 4x6-foot cement-lined brick cesspool beneath the cellar floor, and from there is automatically pumped ' into the house-drainage system.

When all necessary connections were made, every opening was closed and the entire system of sewer, drain, soil, waste, and air vent pipes was united by a communicating temporary pipe, so that air could be pumped into them, and an equal pressure be gotten at all points from one pumping station. A large size gas force pump was used for the purpose and a mercury column showing 25 inches of mercury recorded the pressure. The test was made in the presence of the representative of the Board of Health and the architects. When an air pressure of 25 inches of mercury was attained the pump was shut off

For three hours there was no perceptible loss of pressure and the test was therefore declared to be satisfactory. Such a severe test as this and its result is a standing testimonial to the workmanship of those actually engaged upon the work.