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58
either of vitrified glazed stoneware bricks, bituminous asphalte
or two courses of slates set in cement.
In many instances it was necessary to take up the floors
and remove several inches in depth of subsoil in order to
obtain a sufficient cavity under the floor joists. The site was
afterwards concreted and a sufficient number of air gratings
provided in the front and back walls of the house.
On two occasions the subsoil was so wet as to render
the provision of subsoil drains necessary.
The cause of dampness in sixty-one instances was due
to the perished and defective condition of the brickwork. The
walls were either properly re-pointed with cement mortar or
the whole surface of the brickwork floated with cement.
In eighty-one instances the floors and joists were
repaired, and adequate ventilation of the floor cavity provided
in 77 instances.
Defective eaves, gutters and spouting contributed to
the cause of dampness in 73 instances.
Defective Paving.
A defective or unpaved yard surface often has an important
effect upon the general sanitary condition of the house
premises. The percolation of a large amount of rain water into
the soil is frequently a cause of dampness in the house walls.
Another serious nuisance is the fact that during wet weather
the surface of such yard allows of the accumulation of stagnant
pools of water about the house and premises.
The paving and drainage of yards in connection with
and exclusively belonging to a dwelling house is enforceable
in the Borough under Section 25 of the Public Health Acts
Amendment Act, 1907. The Local Authority may require the
owner of any yard which is not so formed, flagged, asphalted
or paved as to allow of the effectual drainage of the sub-soil
or surface water, to execute all such works as are necessary
for the purpose, within 21 days. In default of the notice not
being complied with, the Local Authority may do the work and
recover the expenses.