Hydrated Lime: History, Manufacture and Uses by E. W. Lazell examines lime as a building material, particularly in plaster, mortar and concrete. The title page calls it a manual for the architect, engineer, contractor and builder. The copyright is dated 1915, and the imprint names Jackson-Remlinger Ptg. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
A building material in a changing form
The introduction explains Lazell’s interest in hydrated lime as an alternative to the older lump form. He discusses the time and care involved in preparing quicklime for mortar and sets out to collect information on the characteristics and uses of the hydrated product.
The volume therefore combines background chemistry with manufacture and application. It is useful for understanding how an early twentieth-century technical writer presented a familiar material in a different commercial form. The discussion also records the advantages that the author claimed for that form.
For readers interested in self-sufficiency and older building crafts, the value lies in distinguishing the materials involved. Lime, quicklime and hydrated lime are connected, but their preparation and behavior cannot be understood simply by treating the names as interchangeable.
History, chemistry and classification
The first chapters cover history, chemistry and classification. A diagram of the lime cycle supports the explanation of the material’s changes. The historical introduction places its use within a long building tradition before the text turns to industrial production.
Classification follows the chemistry, providing a framework for the later discussion of properties and use. This sequence is helpful to a reader trying to connect the description of a material with the circumstances in which it was produced.
These pages can also support the interpretation of older building literature. A historical instruction may assume a particular form or quality of lime, and the manual shows why that assumption matters. It supplies period context rather than a universal specification for every lime product.
Kilns, slaking and hydration
The manufacture chapter includes illustrated kiln types, from pot and field kilns to draw kilns and vertical steel installations. Producer-gas equipment and a modern installation of the period are also pictured. The illustrations make the industrial process easier to follow than a purely verbal account.
Slaking lime has its own chapter, followed by the manufacture of hydrated lime. The Clyde and Kritzer hydrators appear in the illustration list. By separating these subjects, Lazell connects the material’s final form with the operations used to prepare it.
This is a useful part of the book for industrial-history readers. It shows that the availability of a building material depends on machinery, handling and preparation as well as the mineral from which it begins. The processes described are historical industrial operations, not casual household procedures.
Mortar, concrete and examples of use
The properties of hydrated lime lead into chapters on sand mortars and concrete. Buildings, roads, reservoirs and dams appear among the photographic examples. Their range shows the audience the author hoped to reach, from ordinary building work to major engineering construction.
Separate treatment of mortar and concrete allows readers to compare the roles assigned to lime in different mixtures. The author then summarizes advantages over other forms of lime. Those claims should be read alongside the material descriptions and examples, with attention to the date and purpose of the publication.
For a practical reference collection, the book is most useful as an account of how lime was understood and promoted in the period. It can help frame questions about historical materials, but it cannot determine an appropriate repair mixture or modern concrete design by itself.
Data, specifications and reading the scan
Three appendices collect useful data, historical standard specifications for hydrated lime and quantities for a cubic yard of plastic mortar. These sections complement the explanatory chapters with reference material. Their requirements and quantities remain period information rather than current acceptance criteria.
This free ebook suits building historians, preservation researchers and readers interested in the relationship between chemistry and construction craft. Current lime handling and practical building work need suitable modern guidance. The scan contains 96 PDF pages, including preliminary material and illustrations. Searchable text is present, although some small print and tabular information is not recognized reliably. Consult the page image when checking an exact value, name or specification.
Book details
- Author: E. W. Lazell
- Publisher: Jackson-Remlinger Ptg. Co., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Year: 1915
- Edition: Copyright 1915; no numbered edition stated
- Digital length: 96 PDF pages
- Language: English
- File size: 5.87 MB
