The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 24, 1898, Page 16

16 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 189S8. Being a Continuation of the Ferry Depot Scandal and the Ways of the Harbor Commission. Paid Extra for Poor Work and Bad Material. Experts Declare the Plumbing Should Be Condemned as Violating the Specifications and Unhealthiul. The men who hold the contract for | fails in many important and almost doing the plumbing and gas-fitting | vital respects to comply with the speci- work in the new ferry depot building | fications, and in each and every in- have found employment to be profit- | stance the failure of the contractor to able to such a degree that, considering | live up to the terms of his contract re- relative hardchips, the riches of a|sulted in a gain to Mr. Duffy or to Klondike placer claim sink into insig- | other persons interested of from a few nificance. | hundreds to more than a thousand Granted a « ntract at a price they | dollars. considered to be sufficlently large to re- | Not only has the work been done in a turn a profit, they have added to their | manner not contemplated by the orig- gains through changes, omissions |inal specifications, but it is in its com- and the kindness of Commissioner Col- | pleted form a menace to public health non and Architect Swain, until as the [and a positive detriment to the build- work stands now, the net gain that|ing. These facts were brought to the has accrued to them about equals the | knowledge of the Board of Health, and amount of money actually expended. | in compliance with a request made by They have been permitted to perform | this paper, Secretary Godchaux, ac- work in a manner that would not be | companiea by Chief Plumbing Inspec- llowed in any public or private build- | tor J. J. Sullivan, visited the build- the city; they have violated all | ing yesterday afternoon and thorough- > rules laid down bw the Board of |ly inspected the plumbing work therein. h for the guidance of those whusl:v‘ Mr. Sullivan’s estimate of what he ess it is to fit buildings with sani- | saw there is also given in another col- tary appliances, and for doing this, | umn. He said in brief that the work as performed bv Mr. Duffy and accept- ed by Architect Swain and the Board of Harbor Commissioners, is not only a disgrace to the State and a menace and some score of other minor things, they have received the favor of | the architect and the Board of Harbor Commissioners, and some thousands of dollars money belonging to the | to public health, but is also so defective State which they have no just|in its construction that it will not now | or ever answer the purpose for which it was intended. He also sajd that had he the authority to do so, he would condemn the entire work and have it to claim. Believing that frauds had been per-" petr: ted in s eve connection with this, as | other contract for work v on the ferry depot building, The Call | taken out of the building. secured the services of an expert Mr. Sullivan corroborated all that Mr. plumber and gas-fitter whose ability | Ford had stated regarding the saving as well as personal integrity is well | effected by the various changes that known to almost every business man | have been made in the original plans in the city for the purpose of ascer-|and specifications, and asserted his taining beyond a question of doubt the | belief that the work as it now stands facts as they exist. This gentleman, | could have been performed at a cost t> Thomas J. Ford, was provided with an | the State of something like 30 per cent authorized copy of the original plans | less than the original contract price. and cifications under which the To give the uninitiated an idea of the plumbing contract was let, instructed | immense steal perpetrated in connec- to thorough spect the completed | tion with this plumbing contract it work and render a true and impartial | may be well to enter into the details report of his findings. This report in|of a few of the more prominent imper- its entirety can be found in another | fections. The original specifications column on this page. It shows among |under which Mr. Duffy secured the contract for doin~ the work called for all leader, waste and soil pipes to be other things that the work as perform- ed by E. James Duffy, the contractor, PLUMS FOR THE PLUMBER. SHOWING HOW HE SAVED HIMSELF NEARLY FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS ON HIS FERRY BUILDING CONTRACT. To W. 8. Leake, Manager San Francisco Call—Dear Sir: The following is my report of the plumbing in the new Union Ferry Depot, showing the various dis- crepancies 1n the work as performed when compared with the specifications under which the contract was let: The specifications call for all leader, waste and soil pipes to be of extra heav cast iron, and instead wrought iron pipes have been used. The specifications say that no bent pipe of less than four inches diameter shall pass through the roof. The rules of the Board of Health also say that all soil pipes shall be continued full gize through the roof. This has not been done in a single instance In this building. I find on the first floor that the following changes have been made: "SOUTH PACIFIC COAST RAILROAD WAITING ROOM. ORIGINAL PLAN. | WORK AS PERFORMED. Seven close ! lose Two wash basins. | h basin. One U. S. | SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WAITING ROOM Seven closef [ basins. E | BAN CISCO AND NORTH PACIFIC RAILROAD WAITING ROOM. Four_closets. i Two closets. One wash basin. | One U. S. ! COAST RAILROAD WAITING ROOM. Two closets. NORTH PACIFIC Four closets. 1 One wash basin. One wash basin. One U. S. | One U. 8. Same floor extra plumbing not on original plan, but on revised plan: CHIEF WHAR NGER'S OFFIC One closet, one U. S., one basin. LAVATORY OFF WAITING ROOM: One closet, one basin and one U. 8. Second floor plan: WAITING ROOM ORIGINAL PLAN. | Six closets. One double hasin. One single bastn. WAITING ROOM SOUTHERN Six closets. I SOUTH PACIFIC COAST RAILROAD. WORK AS PERFOPMED. Two closets. One doubfe basin. PACIFIC RAILROAD. Three closets. One double basin. One double basin. One single basin. WAITING ROOM SAN FRANCISCO AND NORTH PACIFIC RAILROAD. Six closets. o Three closets. One double basin. [ One double basin. single basin. i One WAITING ROOM SAN FRANCISCO AND NORTH COAST Three closets. Six closets. | One double basin. i One double basin. One single basin i Original plan shows one kitchen sink, one wash basin in serving rooi double basin in barber shop, two basins In ticket office, one basin In walting Foom, and one basin in board room. All of these have been changed or omitted. 4 MEN'S LAVATORY. ORIGINAL PLAN. Six closets. [ mwaiosete st peorRaED Two double basins. Two U. 8. One U. S. 1 One basin. WOMEN’S LAVATORY. Six closets. Two double -basins. | St s | Two U. 8. In addition to these there have been placed In the building thi mot called for by the original plan: Slx’ basins, two sl e S ollowing will be found conservative estimat v by reason of the enumerated changes and omissine: - SV 06 to the contractors Changed from cast to wrought iron pipe. VYemut pipes through roof. Vent pipes first floor Closetls not putin... Cost of closets . Cost of fitting basins. siabs, safes and slats omitted RAILROAD. Total .......... THOMAS J. FORD. of heavy castiron. The kind put in by the contractor is wrought iron pipe. Wrought iron pipe is manufactured in lengths of thirty feet or less, and is screwed together after the manner in which gas pipes are fitted. Cast iron pipe is manufactured in iive foot lengths, the joints being made with molten lead and oakum in precisely the same manuer as the heavy watar mains are connected. The labor and 1nate- rials required to do this work is a very important factor in the cost, s3> great, in fact, that the saving to the coniractor on this item alon2 is 2sti- | [ | | EXTRAS THROWN IN. For fitting posto Change from cast to wroughtiron system Change in leadey pipes Change in closets. - Change in gas pipe mated at $975. Instead of deducting mount from the original price of ccntract when the chang2 was the Board of Harbor Commis- the advice of Avchitect Swain, voted Mr. Duffy an acditicnal $2060. In other words, the contractor made the change at a sav- | ing to himself of $925, and was given a benus of $2063. This was a stroke of business that netted the contractor | $3000, this amount also being the figure of the State's net loss in cash. { the made, sioners, acting under | in brass fittings that Union Depot and Ferry-house from straight hoppers as specified, to style of closets as erected in the Mills building, and all the work in connection therewith, in each and every respect, for the sum of $715, I beg to say that on investigation I find the extra price to be reasonable, and also that it would be advisable to make the change. 1 would therefore rec- ommend its adoption. Yours respectfully, EDWARD R. SWAIN. There is still another Imvortant item in Mr. Duffy’s long list of changes and omissions which should not be over- looked if a full understanding of the manner in which the work has been done would be had. This is the provis- |ien in the specifications that all the piping must be embedded in the walis. This has not been done,-and the fact is so very conspicuous that it forms, as it now stands, one of the chief archi- | tectural defects in the building. On the inner side of some of the heavy pillars supporting the arches of the main en- trances of the building ar: a dozen or more unsightly, great, black iron pipes running from floor to ceiling, and standing out from the masonry work from two to six inches. Had the pro- vision of the contract been followed these pipes would have been embedded in the pillars and would have been out of sight. The saving to the contractor in this particulz. has not been esti- mated, but it can be readily seen that it involves a very considerable sum. In the matter of the change from | cast iron to wrought iron pipes, there was also brought about a saving to the contractor of a very considerable sum ould have been Had this been the only loss due to this remarkable change - the result! required had the provisions of the orig- inal specifications been complied with. The plumbing that has been put into taken out. If an attempt were made to D n the work wo As it i building will have to be taken out within been done according to the original plans is of an inferior quality. Ita and material used. It is a disgrace to the THE PLUMBING BAD IN ALL RESPECTS AND SUCH AS WOULD BE REJECTED BY AN EXPERT. Statement of J. J. Sullivan, Chief Plumbin, worst that has ever come under my observation. g Inspector for the Board of Health: | the Ferry Depot Building is about the | It should be condemned and ut such work in a private dwelling, b of San Francisco block or any structure belonging to the city and county ! uld be condemned without a moment’s hesitation. it is more than likely that the entire system as inaugurated in this less than two years. The work has not and specifications, and the material used ppears to be a big swindle from beginning to end, both in plan, workmanship State. might not have been wholly bad. Ac-| cording to Expert Ford and Chief Plumbing Inspector Sailivan, this wcought iron pipe will within a year or { two have to be removed from the build- | ing. In the belief of these gentlemen | ard others familiar with the facts, the chemical action of air and moistare upen wrought iron pipes cause it to rapidly ‘scale.”” The scale .in the course of time stops up the pipe and rihie renders the entire system W The specifications under which the contract was awarded explicitly state | that the work shall be done in accord- ance with the rules of the Board r)(= Health. One of these rules reads as | follow: S “All air pipes shall run of undimin- | jshed size, separately or combined, through the roof, and for two feei above, and be left open, or they may be connected with the soil pipe at a point | not less than one foot above the high- | est fixture and not less than three feet and six inches above the floor line.” In addition to this the specifications expressly state that no vent pipe of less than four inches in diameter shali pass through the roof. The work as completed shows how closely the contractor has followed the provisions under which he undertook to perform the work. None _nf the air | pipes run of undiminished size to the | roof and such as pass through the roof | are of no greater diameter than two inches. Same of the air pipes, in fact, do not run to the roof or any other point of exit. They are simply cut off at some convenient place regardless of all laws governing sanitary plumbing work. This is one of the facts which | led Inspector Sullivan to pronounce ( the entire work worthy of condemna- tion. While scarcely an item of construc- tion has been overlooked by the con- tractor in the process of tearing down the costly work and material, it is in the matter of the fittings for the toilet- rooms that he effected his greatest stroke of business. Changes and omis- sions have been made in the original specifications whereby the contractor is absolved from the necessity of putting in something more than thirty closets. This meant to him a lump sum saving_ of $1075. Not only this, but the closets he did provide were of a kind that cost about $5 each less than those specified. By doing this he saved himself approx- imately $135. It might be presumed that an ordin- ary person would believe that this very neat saving on a single item of construction would be satisfactory to | the most greedy contractor. Not so with Mr. Duffy. He and the gentlemen who have in their keeping the funds for the providing for the erection of the ferry building put their heads together and arrived at the conclusion that this change from iiany closets to a few and | from costly closets to less expensive ones called for a bill ° extras. This was forthcoming in the shape of a proposal from the contractor to effect the required changes for the sum of $715 additional -~ his contract price. This prcposal was promptly accepted by the Commissioners. It so happens that Mr. Swain’s atti- tude in rezard to this particular change | is a matter of record. It may not be amiss to present it here and thus pre- vent any misunderstanding as to where at least portion of the responsibility lies. It is in the form of a communica- tion to the State Board of Harbor Com- missioners, under date of January 15, 1897. It follows: Dear Sirs: Referring to the communi- cation of E. James Duffy to your board, dated December 24, 18%, and more par- ticularly to that part offering to c! the whole of the water closets in the This point will be made clear by a perusal of the following paragraph from the specifications. “All joints between cast iron pipes must be theroughly calked with oakum and molten lead, and the plumber will make the joints impermeable to gases by bedding the lead with hammer and | calking iron. For each joint in cast | ifron pipe twelve ounces of lead must | be used for each inch of diameter of the | pipe in which the joint is made, no put- ty or cement joints will be permitted. | | | | | | the specification, and enriched himself | bor Commissioners under date of Feb- thereby to the tune of $1124. The par- | ruary 1, 1897, may not be uninterest- ticular part of the specifications which | ing when considered as evidence of the he ovelooked follows: | unanimity with which the architect and one and a quarter inch Californfa or | changes and prices that resulted in other approved marble, with counter- | profit to Mr. Duffy. It is as follows: sunk tops, with brass strainer. nickel| o o . peferring to a communica- tion of your board from E. J. Dufty, con- | tractor for plumbing and gas fitting, | union depot and ferry house, dated Jan- “Safe under wash stands to be of | the contractor for plumbing agreed on | HOW GOLDEN GAINS WERE REAPED BY PLUMBER DUFFY Mr. Duffy says that he asked the ques- | tion of the former architect when estimat- | ing the plans, and was told that the | pipes were to run in a straight line from | roof to and through foundation. Upon taking this matter up in detail in my own office, T found that it would be impossi- ble to run the pipes down straight; that if done in that way obstructions would be encountered, the pipes would come in front of undesirable places, and could not be brought through the foundation and into_the bay without making offsets and OF VENTPIPE - ON ROOF 9 SPRUFIED- ..._.’FNO INCH BLACK IRON PIPE -. SHEET LEAD DETAlL: = OF VENTIPIPEN | ON ROQF: : i TN four incK pipe should ~ Continve to tRe roof . .. Here hould be & “clean- out =) | uary 29, 1897, stating that the plans for | pends. < rain water pipes and positions of same| i therefore designed and showed them 5 WiRe. | are not in accordance with the plans and | on the plans in practicable places—in fact, =SS | s the former ar- | in the only places they could be placed— = instructions given him by the form | ] ! S| Hooo | * e and It is this change, which certainly SSSse /| chitect of the bullding, claiming that the | #nd It is this change, WAITR FOOR b BRASS | change is more expensive to him than or- | Jyiolaing. . 2 | iginally contemplated, and submitting a | " pelieve his contention is correct, and (JAjKET figure for the work involved in the said | have investigated the add‘l‘(lnfmlxll material nge, amounting to § I beg to say | and labor required, with the following re- - four e ohisnge s Codieta CAgT PIPE 13 D S -reel ?IJ)C to EaL SN L5AD (‘\- Tloor-Space 4 = EPecifications call. TRese wash bowly ore 15% for 17X plated, connected with two-inch safe waste. Each basin or group of basins will have a loose key compression lock stop cock to shut off supply when de- sired.” Neither California marble nor any other kind has been used for the safe under wash stand. There is no safe, and being none there can be no coun- ter-sunk top, brass strainer nickel- o~ plated, or any .of the other fittings Iherezshould specified for this particular furniture. ESlahzZon this The basins as they stand, therefore, appear as they are, of the cheapest possible construction, their cheapness being exactly proportionate to the amount of the contractor’s illegitimate gain. Another saving in connection with =— == and a two 174 inch tRicKK®s Counter Sunik bra9y Jcrews be & m loor Inch “9dvfe vose. wash basins was that brought about by the change in the specifications 1eav- | that I have investigated the matter and ing out a number of those originally | find as follows: provided for. ™-'~ change netted Mr | On the original plans the leader pipes Duffy $325, not an inconsiderable sum | were marked only in the roof plans; no when considered as an abstract propo- | Section was shown indicating how they i should be carried down, and the contrac- 01 imating s: d have - The following communication from | {OF 12 estimating same. woul - The lead used for calking must be pure % 2 ery reason to think that they were car- Architect Swain to the Board of Har- | ried down stralght. In addition to that . soft pig lead. No old joints or other defective material will be used. All the sewerage pipe where required un- der the building to be of above make, taking in all connections from leader pipes to soil pipes. All joints between lead pipes_to be wiped joints. No cup joints will be permitted anywhere. All Joints between cast iron pipe and lead pipe must be by heavy brass ferrules of same size of lead pipe, soldered on the lead pipe and calked into the iron pipe. Brass pipes must be put together with red lead in the best manner and made perfectly tight. “All joints between brass and lead pipes must be by proper brass solder- ing nipples. Iron supply pipe to be screwed together with proper fittings.” All of this work the plumbing con- tractor got rid of by the very simple process of having the Harbor Commis- sioners authorize a very convenient change from cast iron pipe to wrought iron pipe. The labor and time required to fit the joints with hammer and calk- ing irons with the best pure soft pig lead was avoided, and the person or persons who brought about the change reaped a rich reward. 1 In fitting up the : wash basins, of which there are several dozen in the building, the contractor again forgot result: 120 feet 6-inch wrought-iron pipe at 65 cents, $75; 68 feet 6-inch wrought-iron bends at $2 50, $170; cutting and threading | pipe, $122; labor, plumber and helper, $105. I recommend’ that the above extra amount (3475) be allowed Mr. Duffy. Yours respectfully, EDWARD R. SWAIN, It will be noticed that Mr. Swa!l'a estimate agrees to a cent with Mr. Duf- fy's proposals. It does not appear, however, that he consulted - with Mr. Duffy as to prices and profits, and it is only fair to presume that this {s an- other one of the long and ever length- ening list of strange coincidences which have marked the dealings between con- tractors and the Board of State Har- bor Commissioners. To sum the whole matter up briefly, the plumbing contractor, by reason of changes authorized by the Commis- sioners and recommended by Architect Swain, has made an illegitimate profit of about $4000 on the work as orizinally planned, and has besides been presented with the sum of $4510 under the head of “extras.” In return for this the con- tractor has provided the State with a system of plumbing that is something more than worthless, and which, were it in a private business block, would be condemned by the Board of Health as a menace to the public health.