Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-01-02

Builders Think They Have solved . Very
Sexioue Problem.

Builders Think They Have solved . VERY
Serioua Problem.
ssThe great fires in New England
furnish evidence of the absurdity of the
term 'fire-proof buildings as generally
applied" said a veteran contractor.
every one of those burned structures,
which the flames licked up so ravenous-
~, were. at the time of their erection,
pronounced thoroughly fire-proof. The
term is really without significance. A
haystAck or a tinder-box might as we'll
be proclaimed fre-proof as many of the
great buildings that tower skyward
along our business streets Iron, be-
cause of its malleable qualities. and
granite. from its liability to crack when
overheated, are just as dangerous and
destructible in the event of a big confla-
grafton as the highest wood. Yet real
dre-proof building is not. on that ac-
count, an impossibility. The invention
OF so-called hollow bricks has produced
means by which houses may, with
proper precaution, be rendered impreg-
nable to the devouring element
''Of course, if a building is to be quite
fire-proof it must be constructed of ma
terials that are not only incombustible,
but also perfect in respect of tenacity
and durability when subjected to excess
i've heat. For this purpose we must sup
pose the outer wall of our model house
to be of brick, and, while iron will, of
course, remain essential for Orders,
columns and beams, these must be in
cased in from two to three inches of
burnt clay material, so that every parti-
Gle of iron-work shall be covered. This
brick-work is thoroughly fre-proof, but
to insure still greater security the
bricks must contain cavities in their
centers. which will not only increase
their ightness, but, by furnishing air
ducts, act as insulators that will stay
the progr ess of heat
''The partitions of this ideal building
must rest on fire-proof floors and be made
of burnt-clay blocks. Furring blocks
of the same material must be substituted
for the usual wooden Turing along the
inside of the exterior walls, and the roof
must be of thick. porous, terra-cotta
bricks. The floors are, of course, a very
important feature of the structure; but
if they are made of rolled iron beams,
properly spaced and thoroughly pro-
tected by hollow burnt-clay arches, Iwar-
rant they will be absolutely invulner-
able. The woodwork, of course, may
chairs, tables and what not that fill the
room. But it will be impossible for the
flame to spread. Floor, ceiling and
walls-an will present surfaces that are
really and truly fire-proof, and your
building will stand complete and secure.
If you don't believe that such a pile
would endure even century of fiery
rain build one yourself nd see.
DIT
valuable virtue in hollow bricks 1t is
the immunity from cold and dampness
which a building thus constructed en-
joys. The air cells in the center of
every brick absolutely prevent rain or
The roof, too, is rain-proof, and in the
good time coming, when every we'll
regulated household will embody this
excellent feature, there will be no such
thing as water-soaked ceilings and rain
stained walls. Just as these bricks can
not carry heat, so they are protector |
against cold. The air that is within
them can not by any means conduct the |
frigidity of the outside world into the
home circle. Boreas will roar in vain |
around the chimney-pots of the family |
housed in a hollow-bricked snuggery. |
One thing more, these bricks are i'm |
perviOus to sound. Your neighbor may |
sing all day about the unfortunate man |
who was dressed in his best suit of |
clothes, and you will never know it. Or |
the baby may squall in sixty different |
sharps and flats from midnight till the |
dawning, and you, sleeping soundly in |
the next room, will suppose the infant,
too, in Sunderland. The tones of the
tintinnabulating pianos and medieval
hand-organs can never penetrate !
through hollow bricks. Can you, in |
view of all this, doubt that the millen-
NAL age is knocking at our hollow
bricked gate?"-Philadelphi Record.