The following is a specimen of the Dimension Book : The lineal measures are as in the preceding description, and are supposed to be taken in order, as they succeed each other, beginning with the basement part of the building, whether of the same kind or not, in order to prevent frequent returning to the same place.
Where the same dimension is often repeated in different parts of the building, it would be unnecessary to insert the number of times they occur in every part ; it is sufficient to make a memorandum of the number to be found in each place, on the waste, and then the number of times it is repeated in the whole may be inserted in the Dimension Book at last.
In each of the diffiirent stories, the same order, if possible, is repeated, that mistakes of overlooking any of the articles may be prevented.
Every other part will be sufficiently evident by inspection, and by attending to the general description in the example, except the semicircular head of doorway, the dimensions of which are set down in the same manner as the others, and the squaring is found by the rules for measuring a circle. Now the multiplier for the area of a circle reduced to duodecimals The dimensions are most frequently wrought upon the waste, or upon the right-hand side of the leaf of the Dimen sion Book, which is very convenient, as the work may be inspected should any mistake be apprehended.
The arranging of thc several kinds of work into columns, so as that each Column may contain the same kind through out, is called an abstract. This arrangement saves much trouble in the calculation, reduces the whole into a very small compass in homogeneous kinds, and prevents the confusion which would otherwise arise from the multitude of parts in a complex building.
The following is an abstract of the whole : The contents are placed in vertical columns, whioh are in number equal to the number of kinds of work, every number of the same kind being arranged in the same column. The order of each kind or species of work is the same as they occur in the Dimension Book ; for example, 221 footing of walls, with place-bricks, first occurs ; this is entered in the first column of the abstract : 1716, basement wall of gray-stock brick-work next occurs ; these bricks and work being of a different quality, are entered in the second column of the abstract : 48, the exte rior part of the apertures next occurs ; this is the same kind of work as the last, but as the former is a measure of both solids and voids, and this is only a part of the measure of the voids, the 4S is placed in an adjoining column. The next
number is 291 .. 8 ; this is a deduction of the same kind, and is therefore inserted in the abstract below the 48 : the next that occurs is 78 feet of quoins lineal measure ; this, being different from the preceding, is entered in a fourth column. The next that occur in the Dimension Book, are 68 and 163 .. 4, external and internal parts of the aperture of door way ; being voids of the same kind as the preceding, they arc successively entered in the third column, below the 291 .. 8. The next that occurs is 51 .. 6, quoins of doorway, and is entered in the fourth column. The next that occurs is 1430 .. 0, the part of the wall opposite parlour, or entrance story ; now, though this is gray-stock work, faced with marks, it is taken only as a gray-stock wall, and is therefore entered in the second column ; the difference of price for the superior quality of bricks and work being afterwards made up by affixing an extra price to the superficial contents of this part of the wall, and thus fur all that follows. The whole being inserted, each column is added together, and in the quality of the brick-work the sum of the voids is taken from the whole ; the remainder is divided by 3, which gives the superficial contents in feet of the surface of a wall reduced to brick in thickness; the deductions being negative quan tities, no further notice is taken of them ; the sums of the other columns being positive, the price is affixed to each common measure, whether a foot or a rod, &c., and the value of each quantity is found by this eonnnon measure ; then the quantities, with the prices of their common measures and values, are inserted in a bill ; the whole being reduced into a sum, gives the amount of the whole money for the wall.