by the jig and nailed to the frame members, the nails being spaced close enough to furnish the pressure required for the glue line. The panel is lifted and placed on another table, plywood face down, and the other face of the panel is applied in the same manner. If any insulation, vapor barriers, electric conduit or fittings, plumbing pipes or other inserts are to be used in a panel, they should be placed before the final plywood sheet is applied. A jig or template is required for each panel type. The jigs must be carefully and accurately built to assure the production of precise finished panels since there can be practically no "play" between units at time of erection. The lumber used in the frames must be at the proper moisture content and the finished panels stored to protect them from moisture change until delivered to the site ready for erection. An indicative comparison for Chile is given in Table 36. It assumes two houses, identical in size and equipment except that one is of conventional construction and the other prefabricated. It also assumes that the cost of the doors, windows, bathroom fixtures, etc., would be the same for both types. To convert these figures into square meters of building, "Houses type 60" was selected from the designs of the Caja de Habitacion. Prices for conventional construction were obtained from a local construction engineer and applied to the Santiago area, and prices for prefabricated construction were estimated by the manager of a plant making plywood and lumber. Floors were not included, since the types of plywood available are not of proper thickness and construction, hence conventional flooring is assumed for both types of construction. Foundations are also assumed to be the same for either type. These rough comparisons show that a unit of one square meter of conventional surface is less expensive in some items and more expensive in others when erected in place. The total cost for the assembled house, however, is less for prefabricated construction. The difference of 3,234 pesos represents the total expected difference in costs in the completed houses. The estimates for prefabrication were based on labor rates at a factory in southern Chile and do not include freight and handling costs. between factory and site. This item would be low if the factory were located in the same town where the houses would be erected but would add materially to the expense if a long freight haul were involved. To manufacture the panels in the South and ship to Santiago would probably add 1,500 pesos per house for freight and handling charges, reducing the difference between the types to about 1,734 pesos. If manufactured and erected in Santiago, the additional cost for freight on raw products plus higher labor rates would probably exceed the freight and handling charges from southern Chile. It would require the full time in the factory of about 10 to 12 men to turn out one house per week of the size used in the example given above. COST OF PRODUCING SULPHATE PULP A comparison of the estimated cost of producing sulphate pulp in Chile with the average cost of slush and lapped pulp in the United States in 1934 is given in the following table. Costs in the United States are based on a comprehensive report of the United States Tariff Commission. No chemical pulp has been prepared in Chile on a commercial scale, and cost estimates for Chile, therefore, are on a speculative basis, using United States experience as a guide. Cost of Producing One Metric Ton of Sulphate Pulp, Slush and Lapped The major cost items were derived as follows: Wood: 4.55 cubic meters, solid, believed best estimate of quantity required. It is based on tests made in Chile with Insignis Pine. Value checks closely with United States experience with southern pine. Price estimates range from 85 to 107 pesos per cubic meter. Chilean engineers suggest 85 pesos per cubic meter as the best future estimate of price. It may be possible to reduce this price materially. Labor: In the United States about 5.5 hours of operating labor are required per metric ton to prepare sulphate pulp in slush form. Labor in Chile may be less skilled; the plant smaller and less efficient. Accordingly, 10 hours per metric ton is suggested as the best estimate. 1Anonymous. 1938. 1938. Report to the United States Senate on Wood Pulp and Pulpwood. United States Tariff Commission. Report 126, 2nd series. Washington, D. C. Power: Both electric and steam power are involved. In the United States 275 KWH are considered average per metric ton. This figure is considered satisfactory under Chilean conditions. The cost per kilowatt hour in Chile is estimated at 0.25 pesos. This is somewhat lower than similar costs in the United States but represents the best available estimate. In the United States about 3,500 to 4,000 pounds of steam per short ton of air-dry sulfate pulp in slush form are required for cooking and an additional 4,500 pounds of steam are required for evaporation of the spent liquor, making a total of approximately 8,500 pounds. Modern recovery plants, however, generate about 10,000 pounds of steam per ton of pulp by burning the spent liquor, making the pulp mill essentially self-sufficient in steam production. Stand-by boiler plants are provided to start the mill, to supply steam for peak loads, and for other steam requirements. The installed capacity of a stand-by boiler plant for a 60-to 80-ton kraft mill should probably be between 25,000 and 50,000 pounds of steam per hour. The cost of steam in the United States runs about 1.0 to 1.3 pesos per hundred pounds. In Chile the price of steam is estimated at about 3.8 pesos per hundred pounds. This value is used as the best estimate. It may be possible, however, to reduce this cost substantially. It represents almost two-thirds of the power cost. Chemicals: In the United States normal consumption of chemicals ranges from about 360 to 550 pounds of lime and 220 to 330 pounds of salt cake per metric ton of sulphate pulp. This is the equivalent of 263 to 400 kgs. of total chemical or an average consumption of about 330 kgs. of combined chemicals per metric ton. This value is accepted as the best available guide to future use in Chile. The price of chemicals as given for Chile is 1.2 pesos per kg. This is very high in terms of United States standards where combined chemicals in the United States cost only 0.3 to 0.5 pesos per kg. The Chilean estimate is used as the best available guide. However, a substantial reduction in the cost of chemicals might be possible. Other Expense: This item includes fixed charges, as for depreciation, taxes, insurance, interest on investment, supplies, repairs and other miscellaneous mill and administrative expense. It is believed that these items would run somewhat higher in Chile, especially in view of the relatively small size of plant. Accordingly, they are estimated as 25 percent higher per metric ton than average similar costs in the United States. Lapping, i.e., partial drying in sheets for storage or short distance shipments, costs about 50 pesos per metric ton in sulphate mills in the United States. The main expenditure is for operating labor. The United States average (1934) is used as the best available estimate applicable to Chile and should be reasonably close. Labor... New Lime. Salt Cake. Steam...... Electricity.. Materials Needed to Prepare and Bleach a Metric Ton Average Amount ...5.5 man hours .1.9 to 2.6 cords 360-550 pounds ..220-330 pounds .3500-4000 pounds .275 kilowatt hours Unbleached.....38,000 gals. (12,000 to 63,000) Cost of Construction of Sulphate Willl in the United States Per Ton of Air-Dry Pulp (2,000 pounds) Estimated Yields per Cubic Meter of Available Hardwoods Suitable for Distillation Suitable species abundant in Puerto Montt and South region. 2Suitable species abundant in Valdivia and Lakes region. Estimated Costs of Processing One Cubic Meter of Distillation Wood This might be 40 |