Tinting. It will generally be found necessary that the ceilings and walls which are not covered with paper or hangings, shall be tinted or frescoed. This is a matter which needs to be done by care. fill workmen who understand the preparation and application of the colors. Much depends upon the first or sizing coat and this should always be applied before tinting or fresco of any kind is done.
Glazing. It is usually the custom to send the sashes to the building all glazed, so that the superintendent needs only to see that the glass is of the specified quality and whole. Common window glass is called sheet or cylinder glass, and is rated as double or single thick, and as first, second or third quality. Formerly all glass was imported from France or Germany, but American glass has come to be used in general in the greater part of the United States.
In the Eastern States window glass is still imported and it is customary in the East to specify German glass for the best work. For lights up to twenty-four inches in width, single-thick glass may be used, this is about one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness, while double-thick glass is about one-eighth inch.
The best quality of common American glass is known as AA, the second as A, and the third as B. Sheet glass is made by blowing the molten glass in a cylinder about fifteen inches in diameter. This is trimmed and cut longitudinally and heated until it can be opened out flat. Sheet glass always retains a vestige of its curvature.
Between first and second quality glass it will be difficult to dis tinguish except by practice, but defeas or unevenness may be seen at once, and plate glass is always readily distinguished, by reason of its polish and its absolute freedom from imperfections of any kind.
Plate Glass. For lights more than five feet square plate glass must be used. This may be obtained in three grades, French plate and two grads of American plate. French plate, and the first or silvering quality of American plate, are used almost entirely for mir rors, while the second duality of American plate is used for glazing.
American glazing plate is made in one quality only, and is usually one-quarter inch thick for ordinary sizes, but is necessarily thicker for large lights, and may be obtained in sheets as large as twelve by seventeen feet. Plate glass is absolutely straight, being cast on a perfectly flat cast iron table and rolled to the required thickness. The rough plate thus formed is carefully examined for flaws which are cut out, leaving as large a sheet as possible which is polished. French plate may be distinguished from American plate by the color, when looked at endways. The .french glass shows perfectly clear and white, while the American glass has a bluish color.
Crystal Plate. A kind of plate glass called crystal plate is made, about three-sixteenths of an inch in thickness. This is used for railway cars and in places where thin sashes must be used or a saving in weight is desirable.
Final Inspection. With the departure of the painter the house is usually complete, and ready for the architect's final inspection and acceptance. This inspection should be careful and thorough from top to bottom, and no certificate of acceptance should be issued, until the architect is satisfied that everything has been done which is actu ally called for or reasonably implied by the plans and specifications.