Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1854-08-03
Miseellanp.
Iron Houses.

We attended, yesterday evening, an Informal
meeting of business men, at the auction rooms
of M. N. Crofis, Court Street, Brooklyn, at
which Mr.. Sexton, the inventor Of new plan
of iron buildings, explained his system. He
constructs the frame work Of his buildings en-
tirely Of cas-, iron, in sections which are made
TO interlock by very close fitting and ingenious
joints, secured by keys. This method Of build
ing avoids the labor of drilling and boiling,
which has been great inconvenience of iron
buildings. 1t also allows the house to be taken
down in sections, and removed at very little
expense. He covers the frame work on the
Of nterlocking, without any bolts or other
fastenings, the joints being packed with gutta
percha, so as to exclude water under hydraulic
pressure. To finish the dovetailing of the
joints, he has invented machine that can per-
form the work of forty men. The walls are
made hollow and the enclosed space is filled in
with non-conductlng composition of beach
sand and other substances, So that, as Mr.. S.
observed, his house becomes, when finished, a
perfect ire-proof safe.
The roofs and floors are made of cast iron
frames, resembling heavy wiudow-sashes, the
interstices being occupied, as in the case Of
windows, with plates Of glass, of any required
thickness and transparency. The glass used
is not our common glass, but is in itself new
and valuable invention, being called malleabie
glass, from its wonderful property Of tough
ness, allowing it to bend freely without break
ing. 1t can be drawn out into threads of any
fineness, and so strong and flexible that they
are said 10 be commencing the manufacture of
piano and violin strings from this material
Mr.. S. handed round piece of this glass string
for inspection. 1t was as small as the string
of violin, and could be bent around the finger,
or tied in knot apparently like catgnt.
Plates of this glass being let into the frame
work Of the. floors, the whole is then covered
over with peculiar transparent cement of Mr.
s. invention, which makes the whole floor
look like one solid plate of glass. The cost
of roofing with this material, is rs cents per
square foot The walls inside can be covered
with plaster, or finished with iron or glass, at
the option of the builder. All the interior
ornamentation, such as mantel-pieces, pannels,
&C., may be of maleable glass.
The advantages claimed for this style of
building, are, first, its great cheapness, and the
rapidity which it allows in construction. Ii
effects a saving of one-third in cost and three
four:hs in labor, over every other method. Mr..
S. stated that he could complete an ordinary
dweIling-house in forty days. Second, the va
riety Of style and finish that can be obtained at
small cost, by different combinations Of the
same pattern. The inventor remarked that in
the construction Of the whole Crystal Palace,
but six different patterns were required. Third,
the facility with which such building can be
taken down and removed Fourth, its security
from damage by fire or lightning-thus saving
all the expenses Of insurance. Other incident
al advantages are its durability, freedom from
vermin, &c.
Il is proposed to form a company for the
manufacture of these houses, with capital Of
$3.50, ,O00.-N Y Leader.