Alberti, Leone Battista, Architecture, 1755

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1Perhaps a Coloſſus or ſome ſmall Church is
ſunk
to one Side in its whole Foundation.
In
this
Caſe, you muſt either raiſe that Part which
is
ſunk, or take away that Part which is too
high
; both very bold Attempts.
The firſt
Thing
you are to do, is to bind and faſten to­
gether
, as ſtrongly as poſſible, the Foundation
and
thoſe Parts which will be in Danger of
being
ſeparated by Motion, with good Timbers
and
the ſtrongeſt Braces.
There are no bet­
ter
Sort of Braces than ſtrong Hoops of Iron
with
Wedges drove in between them to keep
them
tight.
Then we raiſe up the Side of the
Wall
which is ſunk with ſtrong Timbers put
under
it aſter the Manner of Levers, as above.
If you would rather rectify the Fault by taking
away
from the Side which is too high, you
may
do it in the following Manner: Dig away
the
Ground about the Middle of that Side
quite
below the Foundation, in the Bottom of
which
you muſt there open a Break, not very
wide
, but high enough for you to make it good
with
ſtrong ſquare Stone.
In making good
this
Break you muſt not work it up quite to
the
reſt of the Building, but leave ſome Inches
ſpace
between the new Work and the Old;
and
this Space you muſt fill up with Wedges
of
the tougheſt Oak drove in at very ſmall Diſ­
tances
from each other.
In this Manner you
muſt
go on to ſhore up all that Side which you
want
to let down lower.
When the whole
Weight
is thus ſupported, knock out the
Wedges
by degrees, as gently and cautiouſly as
poſſible
, till the Wall is ſunk to its juſt Perpen­
dicular
.
Then fill up the Spaces between the
Wedges
which are left, with other Wedges of
the
ſtrongeſt Stone that can be got.
In the
great
Baſilique of St. Peter at Rome, ſome Parts
of
the Wall which were over the Columns
being
ſwerved from their Uprights, ſo as to
threaten
even the Fall of the whole Roof; I
contrived
how the Defect might be remedied
as
follows.
Every one of thoſe Parts of the
Wall
which had given Way, let it reſt upon
what
Column it would, I determined ſhould
be
taken clear out, and made good again with
ſquare
Stone which ſhould be worked true to
its
Perpendicular, only leaving in the old Wall
ſtrong
Catches of Stone to unite the additional
Work
to the former.
Laſtly, I would have
ſupported
the Beam under which thoſe uneven
Parts
of the Wall were to be taken out, by
means
of Engines, called Capra's, erected
upon
the Roof, ſetting the Feet of thoſe En­
gines
upon the ſtrongeſt Parts of the Roof and
of
the Wall.
This I would have done at dif­
ferent
Times over the ſeveral Columns where
theſe
Defects appear.
The Capra is a naval
Engine
conſiſting of three Timbers, the Heads
of
which meet and are ſtrongly braced or
bound
together, and the Feet ſtretch out to a
Triangle
.
This Engine, with the Addition of
Pullies
and a Capſtern is very uſeful for raiſing
great
Weights.
If you are to lay a new Coat
over
an old Wall or an old plaiſtered Floor, firft
waſh
it well with clean Water, and then with
a
Bruſh whiten it over with Whiting diſſolved
and
mixed with marble Duſt; and this will
prepare
it for holding the new Coat of Plaiſter
or
Stuc.
If a Pavement which is expoſed to
the
open Air has any Cracks in it, you may
ſtop
them up with Aſhes ſifted fine, and tem­
pered
Oil, eſpecially of Linſeed.
But the beſt
Material
for this Sort of Reparation is Chalk
mixed
with quick Lime well beat together and
thoroughly
burnt in the Kiln, and then ſlaked
immediately
with Oil; taking Care before you
fill
up the Cracks with it to clean them from
all
manner of Duſt, which you may do with
Feathers
, or by blowing it out with Bellows.
Nor let us under this Article of Amendments,
quite
forget all Ornament.
If any Wall looks
unhandſome
from being too high, embelliſh it
either
by faſtening on a Cornice of Stuc-work,
or
by Painting it like Pannels, in order to divide
its
Height into more decent Proportions.
If
a
Wall be too long, adorn it with Columns
reaching
from the Top to the Bottom, not ſet
too
cloſe to each other, which will be a kind of
Reſting-places
to the Eye, and make the ex­
ceſſive
Length appear leſs offenſive.
There is
another
Thing not foreign to our preſent Pur­
poſe
.
Many Parts of a Building, from being
either
placed too low or encompaſſed with
Walls
not high enough, ſeem leſs, and more
contracted
than they really are; whereas when
they
are either raiſed upon a higher Platfom,
or
have ſome Addition made to the Height of
their
Walls, they ſeem at a Diſtance much
larger
than they did before.
It is alſo certain,
that
a handſome Diſpoſition of the Apertures,
and
placing the Door and Windows gracefully,
gives
all the Aparments a greater Share both
of
Dignity and Elegance than is to be imagined.

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