Improvement in the Construction of Ceilings.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Oct., 1894-Accepted, 1st Dec., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in the Construction of Ceilings.
We, JOSEF SCHMITZ, Architect, of 38, Duffesbach, Cologne, and CHRISTIAN
BURKER, Architect, of 56, Moltkestrasse, Cologne, in the Province of Rhineland
and Kingdom of Prussia, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :—
The invention hereafter described and represented in the annexed drawing in
Fig. 1 in a view from above, in Fig. 2 in section and in Fig. 3 on an enlarged scale
for wood-flooring, concerns a construction of ceilings which distinguished by
great lightness, bearing-strength, and durability, and is suited for every kind of
flooring.
The ceiling is made in the following manner:
As will be seen from Figs. 1 and 2, rails 66 of any kind of figured iron, preferably
flat-iron placed edge-ways, are laid between the joints of the bricks a a forming
the wall, the part of the iron resting on the wall being equal to the length of
a brick.
Vertically to the longitudinal direction of these flat-iron rails iron ties cc, are
then laid in such a manner between the different rails that the first tie, as will be
seen from Figs. 2 and 3, first runs under the first rail, then over the second and so.
on, alternately once above and the next time below the rail.
It now
The opposite course is taken by the next tie lying near the first one.
first passes above the first rail and then under the next one and thus alternately to
the end. The ends of the ties have a bed at both ends, corresponding to the
length of the brick, and, as will be seen from Fig. 1, these beds will, corresponding
to the different course of the tie be alternately higher and lower.
The ties may be constructed of strips of hoop-iron, or woven hoop-iron or strips.
of sheet iron either perforated or not, or having slits, but preferably of woven
wire.
The rails as well as the ties are closely and rigidly joined by cement to the
bricks of the external wall.
The frame of the ceiling thus formed of flat iron and wire-ties, is evenly filled
up on the lower side with plaster of Paris or concrete, and the ceiling, which is
thus made, is covered with a layer of sand or some other material, that deadens
sound, and on this finally the flooring is laid.
In the drawing in Fig. 3 two different kinds of flooring are shown, one near the
other, viz. to the left a plaster of Paris or concrete flooring, to the right one
of wood.
In case of a flooring of wood, the planks may be simply laid on the filling-
layer, but they may also be attached by nailing or some other manner, to a number
of rafters embedded crosswise at certain distances in the filling layer.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what wo
claim is :
Fire-proof ceilings of concrete of any kind, distinguished by the iron-work
therein contained and firmly embedded at the ends in the external walls and
consisting of any kind of figured-iron rails bb, which are connected by strips or

page_text: ties co₁ c, etc. alternately passing crosswise above and below them, thus forming a
wicker-work like whole.
Dated this Twenty-fifth day of October 1804
For JOSEF SCHMITZ and CHRISTIAN BÜRKER,
B. Brockhues.