Note 101 — Chapter XI · FOOTPATHS.
Reading edition
Concrete is especially necessary as a foundation for asphalte, as it has little or no power of resistance to vertical pressure in itself, and indentations in its surface would be very unsightly as well as hold water. The concrete should be perfectly dry and thoroughly set before the asphalte is laid on it.
[102] Vide ‘Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers,’ vol. i. p. 6.
[103] Trinidad bitumen is best, but it has to be refined before it can be used. This is done by cooking it with shale oil, then straining it and decanting it, which is a troublesome and tedious process, and there is great danger of fraud being practised. Good bitumen can be detected by its elasticity and softness when rolled between the finger and thumb, and also by its smell.
[104] Vide ‘Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers,’ vol. xliii. p. 293.
[105] Ibid, vol. xliii. p. 293.
[106] A rule is sometimes made that York flags should be ¹⁄₂-inch thick for every square foot of surface, but they should never be less than 2 inches thick.
[107] Vide ‘Roads, Streets, and Pavements,’ by Q. A. Gillmore, p. 208.
[108] Sawdust 2 feet in thickness has sometimes been used, well rammed and rolled.
[109] The town of Brighton is an instance of this. Ordinary red bricks used to be laid as a footpath, no doubt to give a rural appearance for the eye of the jaded Londoner, but these are giving place to more modern materials.