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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1948-04-02 39 BOARD OF APPEALS HEARING April 2, 1948 A meeting of the Board of Appeals was called to order in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, on Friday, April 2, 1948. Chairman Locke, Messrs. Rich, Brown, Redman, and Houdlette were present. The ales* was also present. At 8:00 p.m. hearing was declared open upon the petition of George and Ouilla Tait for permission to erect, on No. 7 Carley Roadi Lexington, a single dwelling and a one-car garage which would not have the required side yard. Notice of the hearing was read by Mr. Brown. There were two persons present. Notices ofthe hearing had been mailed to the owners of all property deemed by the Board to be affected thereby as they a ppear on the most recent tax list. Mr. Theodore Custance stated that he was representing the Tails for this hearing. He explained that plans for the house and garage which he would like to build for the Tams at No. 7 Carley Road, located the building so that the rear corner farthest from the, street would be 13.33 feet from the nearest lot corner, as shown on the plot plan he submitted, instead of the required 15 feet. As the- prospective builder, he considered this layout a desirable one and was requesting permission to locate the proposed house and garage in accordance with the plot plan he submitted. Mr. Locke asked those present if there were arty questions in connection with this application and, as there were none, the hear- ing was declared closed at 8:08 p.m. At 8:16 p.m., hearing was declared open upon the petitions of thirteen applicants for permission to erect dwellings the construc- tion of which would not meet the requirements of the Lexington Building By-law. In each case, the dwelling would be a copy of one of two types of houses designed by Mr. Charles M. Willis, Architect,, i.e., either the "Cape Cod House" or the "Saltbox House." The thirteen applicants and the respective locations on which the petitioners wished permission to erect these houses are as fol- lows: Joseph E. Belcher Veteran's Lot #6 Hill Street Leonard H. Brauer Barrymeade Farm Development, Lot #3 Lincoln Street Joseph Connolly Veteran's Lot #11 Cedar Street Mary H. Cornell Lot #142 Outlook Drive Philip S. Gilman Veteran's Lot #7 Hill Street David G. Govan Veteran's Lot #20 Cedar Street Charles D. Hufton Lot #3 on Burlington St. of land formerly owned by Jack andd Helen Johnson 4o 4/2/48 -2- Stanley U. Locke Premises shown on plan of 1922 Lexington Building Trust as Lots G and H, Boulder Road Richard H. Martin Veteran's Lot #18 Cedar Street John F. McCullough, Jr. Veteran's Lot #19 Cedar Street Ruth W. Mitchell Premises shown on Plan of Land "Lexington Building Trustor as #26, 27, 28, in Block 5, on Williams Road, corner of Gleason Road Wilbur E. Neal Veteran's Lot #16 Cedar Street Harry C. Wyman Veteran's Lot #4 Hill Street Notices of the hearings were read by Mr. Locke. There were 101 persons present. Notices of the hearings had been mailed to the owners of all property deemed by the Board to be affected thereby as they appear on the most recent tax list. Mr. Locke directed that the meeting be adjourned to Estabrook Hall, Cary Memorial Building, where the seating capacity would be adequate for the persons present. A notice advising of the adjourn- ment to Estabrook Hall was posted at the entrance to the Selectmen's Room. The meeting reassembled in Estabrook Hall, and the meeting was recalled to order by Mr. Locke who reread the notices of the hearings for those persons who had not been present at the first reading. Mr. Locke called upon Mr. Willis to point out to the assembled group the points in which the house he designed varied from the Lex- ington Building By-law. Mr. Willis stated that the construction he had designed was a skeleton frame house. He said he had built four houses like it in Lexington. He said that there was nothing unusual about this type of construction except that it was not ordinarily applied to a small house. He said it is a cellarless house. All the features which were found in houses he had built in Lexington were combined in this con- struction. Mr. Locke asked Mr. Willis to give the assembled group the de- tails of the construction, for instance, footings, pinnings, founda- tion, walls. Mr. Locke said this house was set on piers, and there were 15 separate footings. Mr. Willis said that all loads come down on columns and the columns come down below frost to solid bearing. The lolly columns go down and are buried four feet in the concrete. The concrete is a monolithic base to the house and across the ground is reinforced. The point he said he was trying to make was all the loads in this type of construction come down on column points and the columns go down four feet below frost grade. They go down in 3 x 2 x 4 foot holes filled with concrete so that the foundation of the house is really a series of 15 concrete piers with the lolly columns down in each one. Mr. Locke asked Mr. Willis to explain the wall construction. 41 G-2-48 -3- Mr. Willis said the skeleton frame is the same as that of any office building. The walls are curtain walls and are applied to the skeleton frame. The construction is a drywall construction and the curtain walls are made up of 1/2" insulation board slabs that can be obtained in sizes 8 x 12 and 8 x 14 feet. On the back of the board slabs there is Reynolds insulation. This is a single-face reflective insulation with a vapor barrier. This type of insulation had been brought out by Professor Wilkes of M.I.T. By the use of stucco on Steeltex there results, in effect, a thin reinforced slab. The win- dows have steel frames. The curtain wall is spiked every 16" to the b x 6 girt at the top and the ceiling screed at the bottom every 16a. The columns are lally columns and at the ceiling line, the columns are buried into the concrete. They are anchored that way. Various questions were raised by individuals in the assembled group. A question was brought up regarding the building of these houses on sloping lots and whether or not Mr. Willis would carry the footings down to solid ground, below any fill, in such cases. Mr. Willis said there are beams that run from column to column. The ialiy columns go down four feet and they will go down to proper soil. The question was raised as to Mr. Willis' reasons for building this particular way. Mr. Willis said that this was nothing unusual for this type of construction. The only thing different is that he uses steel instead of wood. Mr. Belcher drew a comparison between this construction and that of the John Hancock Building in Boston. The Hancock Building b*e concrete sides. Mr. Willis uses wooden sides. This house can be built by unskilled as well as skilled labor. This house can be built for $7,000 instead of $10,000. On the basis of today's market price and what this house has to offer, it should sell for $13,000. The average dimensions are 36' x 26' . The structures are hung on Lally columns instead of beams. They are similar in construction to a couple of homes built in 1942 on Richards Road and Follen Hill. They, are the same in essential details. Mr. Willis stated that his houses of this construction have more features than all the other like houses he had previously builtp The construction varies from the Lexington Building Code because thei frame is a skeleton frame. He believes the State Board of Standards is working up a construction code for new types of construction. A request was made for a description of the second floor. Mr. Willis said that there are no bearing partitions. The tally columns, support the beams and the beams support the floor frame. Above the second floor there is the typical structure. The question of firestopping was raised. Mr. Willis said the! space in the wall is stopped off against the second floor 4 x 6 girt: by a horizontal piece, 311 x 1-1/414, made of wood. These are tied solidly together at the top of the first floor by a wooden beam con- I 42 4-2-48 -4- struction, 4 x 6. There are no through flues. The flue is stopped between the cleats of the second floor by horizontal members, 30 x 1-1/40, that run along and spike to the 4 x 6 girt. The walls are reinforced when the sections are being built. Concrete is applied to the steel after the sections are up The wall is slow-burning. 1 The question as to how the construction would be braced was put to Mr. Willis. Mr. Willis said that the 15 lally columns are buried in four feet of concrete; that the bracing is not really needed; that they are strong enough to take a windbreaker; that there is no question about the strength of the house. At the suggestion of the Building Inspector, Mr. Willis had had engineering computations checked by W. C. Wilder, Reg. Prof. Eng'r, Cert. #2856, 896 Essex Street, Law- rence, Massachusetts. Mr. Willis submitted these computations to the Board, together with a photostatic copy of the statement signed by W. C. Wilder, giving evidence that he had checked Mr. Willis designs and found that they conformed to requirements of the current Boston Build- ing Code as to strength, stresses, s rains, loads and stability. The observation was voiced by one of the assembly that the question was not one only of strength, but also one of meeting the Lexington Building Law. Mr. Locke read aloud the above-mentioned photostatic copy of W. C. Wilder's statement. Mr. Locke also read aloud a letter from Professor True which expressed favorable opinion of the construction designed by Mr. Willis. There was inforsal discussion among the assembled group indi- cating both favorable and unfavorable opinions of Mr. Willis' design. The question was raised again as to some of the specific points in which Mr. Willis' construction varied from the Lexington Building Code. It was explained that there is no foundation wall around the building. There are 1l piers instead of the foundation wall. The 2 x 4 framing of walls, usual for a building of third-class construction, is not used in this house. The roof construction varies somewhat. Instead of the usual rafters running parallel along the side and through the length of the house, Mr. Willis proposes to make up panels the length of the rafters. Instead of being made up of a series of rafters 16" on center, there are two rafters 81 apart. Between them are run parallel and at right angles 2 x 40 pieces, 160 on center. These are covered with plywood and the shingles of the roofing material. Every 8' two studs are spiked together nearest the 2 x 40 pieces running at right angles to the rafters. The question was raised as to whether or not these variations are improvements on or equal to the Lexington Building Code require- ments. Mr. Willis said that when he was seeking an opinion of his house, the architects of the Moon Hill Developments had recommended that of Professor True, whose opinion, Mr. Willis pointed out, the assembly had heard in the reading of Professor True's letter. Mr. Willis repeated that he had built houses like this before. j$ 4 e 4-2-48 -5- It was observed by one of the assembly that perhaps Mr. Willis meant that he had built similar houses to the one under dis- cussion rather than houses like this one. Mr. Willis said that that this particular house fi dnn't been built just as it is shown now. The proposed plans combine all the features of houses that have been built in the last 25 years. To this the reply was made that the proposed combination, then, is experimental. Mr. Belcher made reference to other houses for which building permits may be obtained in Lexington, whose construction, as well a8 appearance, he considered inferior to Mr. Willis' design. Mr. Belcher circulated a descriptive pamphlet among the assembly of the*e houses and explained in general terms, the construction and appear- ance. At the conclusion of further informal discussion among the assembly, Mr. Locke asked those present if there were any additional questions to be presented, and as no questions ensued, Mr. Locke re+ quested that those wishing to do so, indicate their approval of or opposition to the granting of each petition under consideration at this hearing .with the following results: Petition of Leonard H. Brauer, 55 appeared in favor, 6 opposed Mary H. Cornell, 55 6 Charles D. Hutton 56' 16 Stanley U. Locke 58 15 Ruth W. Mitchell 57 15 Harry C. Wyman 59 3 Joseph E. Belcher 59 5 Philip S. Gilman 61 6 Joseph Connolly 48 15 Wilbur E. Neal 60 9 Richard M. Martin 62 8 John P. McCullough 59 5 David G. Govan 63 7 The hearing was declared closed at 9:50 p.m. The Board retired to the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building. The Board considered the application of George and Ocilla Tait. Upon motion of Mr. Brown, seconded by Mr. Houdlette, it was unanimocsly voted that the application be granted in the following form. (Quote) The applications for the erection of the dwellings designed l)y Mr. Willis were discussed. Without taking any action, the Board adjourned with the agreement that a subsequent meeting of the Board would be called for further consideration of these applications. ' The meeting was adjourned at 11:140 p.m. Catherine Parello, Clerk Note: On April 12,15148 in executive session all of the fore-going petitions were granted.