Boston Building Department
Building Inspector's Report


This document1 was dated July 11, 1889 and was the final report on the wooden building erected under Wood Permit No. 431 issued in 1889. The application date for the permit was April 1, 1889 and it was granted on April 5, 1889.

The name of the owner was Henry Westing2 and the building was located on Thornton Street3 near Ellis Street in Ward 21. The purpose of the structure was that of a 1 family, 2 story dwelling. The architect/builder was John Schneider.4

The building lot was 30' wide (front and rear) by 80' deep. The building was 21' wide at the front, 24' wide at the rear, 40' deep, and 40' high.5

The roof's style was pitched with no access to the roof and the roofing material was of a composite substance.

The cellar bottom was concreted. The foundation was stone, 20" thick, and laid with mortar. The underpinnings of the foundation were also of stone, 20" thick. The foundation was laid on earth.

There were 3 piers, 12 x 12, spaced 10' apart, and those piers were capped by girders. The first floor was supported by walls and piers.

With regard to the framing which was spaced on 15" centers:
size of sills:
size of girders:
number of posts:
size of posts:
size of girts:
size of plates:
size of rafters:
size of braces:
size of wall studs:
size of partition heads:
partion, head & foot:
truss over door openings: 		6 x 8
7 x 8
7
6 x 8
4 x 8
4 x 4
2 x 8
2 x 4
2 x 4
3 x 4
Yes
No 		 
 
(Spruce)
spaced 15' apart
floor:
size of floor timbers:
size of headers and trimmers: 		  1st  
4 x 9
2 x 9
   2nd  
4 x 9
2 x 9 		  3rd  
4 x 8
2 x 8

There was 1 furnace in the cellar which was set on concrete. It was portable, as opposed to brick, and had air spaces above and below. The smoke-pipe was of zinc, 12" from the ceiling, and carried into the chimney. There were 2 chimneys, both plastered inside and outside, and which were made of hard brick. The thickness of the shell of the chimneys was 8". Thimbles were properly set.

There was 1 wooden winding staircase, 3' wide, and which was not enclosed in brick. The external means of egress were doors. There were no facilities for fire extinguishment on the premises.

There was 1 bay window on the first floor and 1 on the second. The walls over the openings were supported by girts.

The estimated cost of building construction was $3,400.00.

The building was completed on July 11, 1889 and its general condition was No. 2.7

 

NOTES:
There had been attached to the file a drawing of the first floor plan which was dated May 23, 1889.

1. 1889 Volume 30, Number 35

2. The surname had been misspelled as, obviously, it should have been Wessling.

3. The street address was 71 Thornton Street until about 1892 when it became 135 Thornton Street.

4. Schneider, a Holy Trinity parishioner, completed the building of the house of Bernard Wessling; a 3 family, 3 story structure; on October 24, 1889. He completed the building of Franz Kamp, a 1 family dwelling with 2 stories, in November of 1889. Coincidentally, the advertisement refers to the house built for Franz Kamp.

5. According to the deed,6 the size of the lot was 32.58' x 75.00' x 32.50' x 77.34' containing an area of 2,475.50 sq. ft.

6. See Suffolk County Registry of Deeds file 1858.171, which was recorded on January 17, 1889 and in the name of Victoria Wessling. Incidentally, the purchase price for the lot was $745.00.

7. The designation of the house's general condition as being "No. 2" was in reference to its ability to resist fire rather than as an indicator of the quality of the workmanship of the builder.

 

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