Machine Room: Hayfield Print Works, Hayfield, Derbyshire

This building was erected last year for the Calico Printers' Association, Limited, Oxford Street, Manchester, at their Hayfield Print Works, Hayfield, Derbyshire, and is used for the purpose of printing calicoes, etc. The old building, which was reported to be 200 years old, was five stories high, 100 ft. long by 40 ft. wide, the old floors being constructed of hand-hewn oak joists and oak floor boarding. The building gave signs of collapsing and was accordingly condemned in June, 1911.

Plans were prepared for a stone building, but it was found too costly, alternate tenders were obtained for (1) brick, (2) stone, and (3) concrete blocks, and the contract was finally let in August 1911, for the new building to be erected in concrete blocks. The taking down of the old building and the erection of sheeting, etc., gangways, and temporary covered passages to adjoining buildings occupied about two months. The plans were then altered and the new building designed 10 feet wider, the extra width being taken from an adjoining reservoir. This necessitated specially deep and strong foundations and water-tight walls, as the ground floor of the building was about 8 feet below the water level in the reservoir.

The work of making the blocks was sublet to Messrs. Ed. Henthorne & Co., agents for the Fleetwood Granite Works, Fleetwood, Lancashire, who made them on special size " Winget " machines supplied by The (U.K.) Winget Concrete Machine Co., Ltd., Newcastle-on-Tyne. Each block was 18 in. long by 10 in. deep by 9 in. wide, all the external work being built of rock-faced blocks. Messrs. Henthorne also made the heads, sills, and mullions for all the door and window openings. The concrete was composed of five parts fine crushed granite sand 10 one part of Portland cement and was hand tamped into machines. The blocks were allowed to stand three to four weeks before being used for building. The walls of the reservoir were constructed with a 2 in. cavity, which was filled in with Limmer asphalte. The piers carrying the R.S. beams to the floors were constructed 18 in. wide, and the hollows in the blocks were filled in solid with fine concrete, the walls to the windows being built 9 in. thick only and the blocks not filled in. To add greater strength to the piers and corners "Brick-tor" wire reinforcement was built in at every course, the wire being laid on alternate sides. Work proceeded all through the winter, and the building was roofed in early in the following year. At no time was building work stopped by frost, as steam pipes were run round the scaffolds and the walls were carefully covered up each night.

The floors of the building are designed to carry 4 cwt. per sup. ft. dead load, and are constructed of main steel girders fixed at 18 ft. 6 in. centres, with secondary R.S. joists at 10 ft. centres covered with wood joists and two layers of 1 in. T&G. R. D. boards, with a layer of "weftite" felting between to prevent moisture rising up into the upper rooms. The whole of the steel and lead work was covered with one coat of white lead paint and two coats of "Cidu" " acid- resisting paint, to prevent oxidisation from the acid and alkali fumes given off during various processes. The dimensions of the various floors are: Ground floor, 20 ft. 8 in. from floor to floor; first floor, 10 ft. 6 in. from floor to floor. The second floor is 12 ft. to underside of tie beam. The building is roofed with grey "eternit" asbestos slates. At the front of the machine printing room is a glass lean-to roof, covering an additional width of 15 ft., to give direct light on to the machines, glazed on the Heywood patent system with a specially designed section of copper covered glazing bars, and fitted with Heywood's system, of ridge ventilation in copper. The ground floor is occupied by the printing machines and the main engine, with the drying apparatus on the first floor, and the plaiting down and sorting of printed cloth on the second floor. The temperature of the first floor is about 130 deg F, and is ventilated by means of trunks and cowl ventilators.

The total cost of the building was £4,350. The architect for the building was Mr Arthur Clayton, the architect to the Calico Printers' Association, Limited, and the contractor for the whole of the work was Mr. Leonard Fairclough, Adlington, Lancashire. The whole of the mechanical and electrical engineering was carried out by the Calico Printers' Association's engineering and electrical departments.[ Concrete and Constructional Engineering Vol VIII 1913 page 473-476]

Reference           Concrete and Constructional Engineering Vol VIII 1913 page 473-476