The whole inside was gutted, and a new building was built within the original walls. As much of the original construction components as possible were recovered, including 95,000 bricks and many tons of stone donated to Mount Vernon. The new house was opened to visitors by President Thomas Jefferson.
In 1842, an extensive remodeling program was begun by James Hoban, the same Irish architect who had designed the Capitol. He replaced much of the second-hand furniture with pieces that were made especially for the White House or obtained from former first families. He also redesigned parts of the interior, adding rooms for offices and storage. The most famous of these redesigns is the Yellow Room where President William Howard Taft could escape the political pressures of the job by playing tennis or golf. A new roof was also put on the house during this time period.
In 2001, Congress passed legislation authorizing $140 million in repairs to the White House. The work has been done by the General Services Administration (GSA) since 2003 under the direction of Chief Executive Officer Bruce Babbitt. It has included replacing all the windows, heating and air-conditioning systems, water lines, sewage treatment plants, and lighting fixtures.
The GSA has entered into agreements with private companies to perform certain renovation and maintenance tasks at a cost of about $1.5 billion over 10 years.
The complete construction is made up of 31,000,000 bricks and 2,000,000 rivets. The bridge was erected by 432 men and women between 1886 and 1894. The entire construction is made of 11,000 tons of steel, the majority of which is buried beneath Cornish granite and Portland stone. The lowest point on the grounds is 4 feet 9 inches above sea level.
The tower has withstood the attacks of artists, revolutionaries, and terrorists and remains a significant symbol of power and authority. It is estimated that there are still about 15,000 bricks from the original building site scattered across the tower grounds today.
The first recorded evidence of the existence of the tower comes from 1066 when it appears in the Domesday Book. The book records that there were then only three gates available to visitors: Whitefriars, Blackfriars, and Newgate. In 1215, work began on the new west gate called Boleyn's Gate in honor of Anne of Bohemia, wife of Thomas Bohun, 3rd Earl of Essex. The next year, her brother Henry III issued the first of several edicts requiring that all citizens provide a brick for the foundation of the new castle. By 1669, after years of use as a prison, the tower had become too small and an order was given to build another one closer to the old one.
Sixty thousand bricks make up a 10-marla house. If the bricks were laid end to end, they would be nearly half a mile long.
The traditional brick used in India is called "Banga". One bangi is defined as "a quantity sufficient for a floor or wall" and is equal to 60000/100000 bricks (60 kibbles). So, one house made of modern bricks would have 180 kibbles (36 bangis x 5 kilos per bangi).
The weight of a full grown man is about 50 kg. So, the average weight of a brick is 500 g. This makes each brick worth about 1.5 dolals ($0.20) at current prices. That's why buildings in India are made of so many bricks!
A marla is an ancient unit of volume in India. It is equal to 30 piculs or 2.5 pecks. A picul is a large vessel used for carrying water from the tankers to homes. A peck is a small bucket used for watering gardens or for collecting rainwater.
The White House is being built. The edifice was constructed entirely of stone, rather than the typical red brick used in most structures, at the request of President George Washington. The building was built using Aquia Creek Sandstone. The sandstone is a hard, heavy rock that is abundant in the area where it is found.
There are two main stories on the White House structure. The first story consists of the East Room, which is over 100 feet long and 25 feet wide; the State Dining Room, which is about 70 feet long and 20 feet wide; and the Blue Room, which is about 30 feet by 50 feet. All three rooms have high ceilings made of wood beams supported by columns. The second story contains the remaining public rooms of the White House: the Oval Office, which is about 55 feet by 80 feet; the Yellow Oval Room, which is about 35 feet by 45 feet; and the Red Room, which is about 15 feet by 20 feet.
The walls inside the East and State Dining Rooms are covered with thick layers of paint that have worn away over time to reveal the original color of the stone beneath. This gives those rooms a unique look that is different from all other parts of the White House. The floors of both stories are made of black and white marble from New York City.
A brick cube is made up of 500 bricks and weighs around 2,000 pounds (907 kg). The Great Wall of China is one of the most recognizable brick structures ever built. This massive construction project took hundreds of years to complete. To this day, much repair work on the wall is ongoing. As it is being constantly maintained by people who believe that it should be preserved for future generations, there will always be new bricks needed for repairs and improvements.
The original plan for the Great Wall was proposed by Li Chengdong during the Northern Song dynasty and consisted of 10,000 miles (16,100 km) of walls and ditches. Today's wall is only about 5,000 miles (8,0500 km) long but it remains a popular destination for Chinese tourists. There are actually several different types of walls within the larger structure. Some sections are made of stone, while others are made of bamboo or wood. The best known section is certainly the more than 20-foot (6 m)-high terra-cotta army in Xi'an.
When the builders reached 500 bricks they stopped building the wall and started counting their bricks. This way they could estimate how many more bricks were needed and bring some from outside the wall. The number of bricks in the wall is actually less than 500 because some bricks were used twice or even three times.
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