| This article is rated Stub-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Untitled
[edit]This spelling does not appear in dicionaries or google —Dogears 04:11, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
- My dictionary says Centring, centering, centreing, sen'ter-ing n. (archit.) the framework upon which an arch or vault of stone, brick or iron is supported during construction. Chambers's twentieth century dictionary, Revised edition with supplement.
- Move if you like, but all three are valid. --Mcginnly | Natter 10:43, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
I wrote a separate article on the subject:
- Scope & depth: The U.S. practice has substantial, sourced technical content (types of wooden/trussed centers; load paths; striking methods; dry-laid vs. mortared rings; early mortar-strength guidance) that would overbalance this general article if kept in full (see WP:SPINOUT).
- Independent coverage & sources: Multiple reliable, non-trivial sources cover American practice specifically (textbooks, standards, and HAER documentation). See “Initial sources” below.
- Terminology/ENGVAR: The parent article uses British “centring.” A U.S. practice page naturally uses American “centering,” and can treat spelling and practice differences without crowding the global article (see WP:ENGVAR and WP:AT).
Proposed title
- Centering (masonry) — American practice
(Parenthetical in lowercase per WP:NATURALDIS/WP:PRECISION. Open to alternatives such as “Centering (United States masonry)” if editors prefer clearer geography.)
What remains in this article (Centring)
- Concise definition, global/chronological overview, and a brief note on spelling variants.
- A hatnote {{For}} at top.
- What is in the new article
- Description of rib/lagging frames, common vs. trussed centers, span ranges, supports/wedges.
- Load considerations (haunch reactions; friction uncertainty).
- Striking practices and timing, distinguishing dry-laid vs. mortared rings; historical curing/strength understanding and later standardization (7- and 28-day tests).
- Documented American examples (e.g., Union Arch/Cabin John; Old Croton Aqueduct Sing Sing Kill; early highway/rail culverts and arches).
Initial sources (selection)
- Ira O. Baker, A Treatise on Masonry Construction (7th ed., 1889), esp. pp. 515–527 and p. 89 (Google Books: https://books.google.com/books?id=B69IAAAAMAAJ).
- HAER documentation (Library of Congress), e.g., Sing Sing Kill Bridge item record: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ny1178/ ; Philadelphia & Reading Susquehanna River Bridge data pages (2001): https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/pa/pa3700/pa3729/data/pa3729data.pdf
- Brick Industry Association, Technical Notes 31: Brick Masonry Arches (1995): https://www.gobrick.com/media/file/31-brick-masonry-arches.pdf
- Frank E. Kidder, The Architect’s and Builder’s Pocket-Book (1905), arch-centering/striking guidance (IA: https://archive.org/details/architectsbuilde00kiddrich)
- U.S. Bureau of Standards, Government Specification for Portland Cement, Circular No. 33, 3rd ed. (1917), 7- and 28-day strengths: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-C13-0ffe684f4850a1e388c54c0751c5c429/pdf/GOVPUB-C13-0ffe684f4850a1e388c54c0751c5c429.pdf
- Context studies: Minnesota Masonry-Arch Highway Bridges MPDF (2012): https://mn.gov/admin/assets/Minnesota%20Masonry-Arch%20Highway%20Bridges%20MPDF_tcm36-445042.pdf
Implementation
- Add a top hatnote here:
- Create a new Centering (masonry) with a neutral, source-based outline (Description; Types; Load/analysis; Striking; Applications; Legacy).
- Cross-link from related pages (e.g., Falsework, Formwork, Old Croton Aqueduct, Union Arch Bridge).
Cheers Risk Engineer (talk) 16:53, 31 October 2025 (UTC)
- This comment appears to be generated by an AI. Викидим (talk) 21:36, 31 October 2025 (UTC)
- I added a hatnote to this article cross-referencing the other article (Centering (Masonry). No part of this article’s prose was developed with limited assistance from GPT-5 (OpenAI, October 2025). However, I did use the LLM to create a talk page summary of the new article and did not disclose the action. This was not in compliance with Wikipedia's policy to disclose. At the time that I drafted the Talk page article, I was unaware of Wikipedia's LLM disclosure policy. I am correcting that with this statement. Cheers Risk Engineer (talk) 16:53, 31 October 2025 (UTC)
Merge proposal
[edit]I propose to merge the content of Centering (Masonry) here. It appears to be a straight case of WP:CFORK where another article was created for a variation of the spelling of the term. The Centering (Masonry) article also appears to be AI-generated (as is the comment in the previous section). Викидим (talk) 21:39, 31 October 2025 (UTC)
- Oppose because Centering (Masonry) is another AI slop article, so it needs cleanup (or just delete it) before it goes anywhere. Andy Dingley (talk) 21:46, 31 October 2025 (UTC)
- For the avoidance of doubt, I am the one who placed {{AI-generated}} hatnote onto Centering (Masonry). I also agree with your cleanup suggestion (I think that merging can involve cleanup) and would support an WP:AfD if WP:User Somebody "Notme" Else initiates it. Викидим (talk) 21:52, 31 October 2025 (UTC)
- Oppose — As a civil engineer, I believed there were valid grounds for emphasizing the engineering aspects of the subject. The earlier version leaned strongly toward an architectural perspective; none of my edits were intended as a slight to architects or to that tradition. In the spirit of collaboration, I’m fully open to whichever balance the consensus supports.
- Regarding disclosure: when I drafted the Centering (Masonry) article, I was not yet aware of the community’s policy on limited use of large language models (LLMs). I have since reviewed WP:LLMPOLICY and added a policy-compliant disclosure describing the scope of assistance used in preparing that article. Cheers Risk Engineer (talk) 14:04, 1 November 2025 (UTC)