A Recessed and Ribbed or Knobbed Ventilating Brick for Building in Brick or other Walls, to Surround Joists or other Wall Timbers, to Ventilate same and Prevent Rot.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Aug., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 25th Apr., 1893-Accepted 2nd, Aug., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Recessed and Ribbed or Knobbed Ventilating Brick for Building
in Brick or other Walls, to Surround Joists or other Wall
Timbers, to Ventilate same and Prevent Rot.
CHARLES HOWARD OPENSHAW, Architect & Surveyor, 6 Fleet Street, Bury,
Lancashire, and ROGER WOOD, Engineer & Mill Architect, 11 Bolton Street,
Bury, Lancashire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The ventilating brick is made of clay or shale burnt & made in the ordinary way
or may be manufactured from cement or any other suitable material. The principle
upon which the same is constructed is as follows, viz. :-One side of the brick is
hollowed out, the inner surface of such hollow having flutes, ribs, knobs or
perforations on or in the same. The brick when laid will form a pad in the hollow
of which a floor joist or other timber may rest, and another brick of the same
description being placed on the top of such joist or timber with the hollow resting
thereon, will form a cap & allow of the efficient circulation of air round the end of
the joist or the timber built therein, & thus prevent any rot or other decomposition
of the joist or timber.
Dated this First day of August 1892.
CHARLES HOWARD OPENSHAW.
ROGER WOOD.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Recessed and Ribbed or Knobbed Ventilating Brick for Building
in Brick or other Walls, to Surround Joists or other Wall
Timbers, to Ventilate same and Prevent Rot.
We, CHARLES HOWARD OPENSHAW, Architect and Surveyor of 6 Fleet Street,
Bury, Lancashire and ROGER WOOD, Engineer and Architect of 11 Bolton Street,
Bury, Lancashire, do hereby declare the nature of our said invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
Our improved ventilating brick is made of shale or plastic clay burnt and made
in the ordinary way or may be manufactured from cement concrete, artificial stone,
or any other suitable material. The principle upon which the same is constructed
is as follows vis-One side of the brick is hollowed out, the inner surface of such
hollow having flutes, ribs, knots, or perforations on or in the same. The brick
when laid will form a pad in the hollow of which a floor joist or other timber may
rest and another brick of the same description being placed on the top of such joist
or timber with the hollow resting thereon, will form a cap and allow of the efficient
circulation of air round the end of joist or the timber built therein and thus prevent
any rot or other decomposition of the joist or timber.
And in order that our invention may be the more readily understood and carried
into practical effect we have hereunto annexed a sheet of drawings illustrative of
the same and will now proceed to describe the same with the assistance of the
figures and letters of reference marked thereon similar letters of reference in all
the views are used to denote similar parts.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of our improved ventilating brick.
Fig. 2 a view of a flooring joist resting in our improved ventilating bricks and
built into a wall

page_text: Fig. 3 is a front view of Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a view of a roof principal or timber resting on one of our improved
ventilating bricks.
Referring to Fig. 1 it will be seen that our improved ventilating brick consists
essentially of a recess or hollow (of a size convenient to receive the usual flooring
joists) formed in a brick the inner surface of such hollow having ribs A. formed on
the same or in contact with which the flooring joists instead of upon a flat surface
as heretofore.
A brick so formed and when laid as at B in Figs. 2 and 3 forms a pad in the
hollow of which the flooring joist C rests, and another brick D being placed on the
top of such joist with the hollow downwards and resting thereon will form a cap
upon which the further courses of brickwork can now be laid. It will be seen
from a study of the drawings that there is facility for a perfect circulation of air
around every part of a joist fixed by these our improved ventilating bricks. The
arrows in Fig. 3 for instance serving to shew how the air can obtain access to the
upper and under sides of the joist, the groove or channel E (seen best in Fig. 1)
being formed in the brick for the purpose of draining away any moisture which may
collect. It will be observed that the courses of brickwork between the lower and
upper ventilating brick are set back from the joist to the extent of the width of the
brick, the brick itself being a guide to the brick layer to ensure this which still
further ensures a free circulation of air about the timber. We prefer also to make
these our improved ventilating bricks of such a length from X to Y that an
ordinary brick between ench as seen in Fig. 3 gives about the right pitch for the
joists.
It will be obvious that these our improved ventilating bricks may be used for
the carrying of roof principals and other main timbers as seen in Fig. 4 the size
of the brick being varied accordingly and where necessary as seen in Fig. 4, the
ventilated rest brick F may be used to carry the weight of the timber and
ventilated side bricks G being employed to give lateral support to the timber.
Instead of the ribs A it will be obvious that we may employ flutes, knobs or
projections of a regular or irregular form with the same effect and we do not
therefore confine ourselves to any particular form of projection.
We have found that a ventilated brick constructed in accordance with our
invention not only has the advantage of preventing dry rot and other destructive
decomposition by encouraging a free circulation of air around the timber, but the
projections have the property of nipping the timber and thus affording a hold upon
the structure not otherwise attainable.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion together with the best method with which we are acquainted for carrying the
same into effect, we declare that what we claim is :-
1st. A ventilating brick for building purposes formed with a recess for receiving
the timber with ribs or projections substantially as and for the purposes herein-
before described and illustrated on the accompanying drawing.
2nd. A ventilating brick with side stiffening bricks substantially as and for the
purposes herein before described and illustrated on the accompanying drawing in
relation to Fig. 4.
Dated this 24th day of April 1893.
JOHN G. WILSON & Co.,
Agents.