IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO DRAIN-PIPES, AND DEVICES TO BE USED FOR SUPPORTING OR SECURING THE SAME IN AND ADJACENT TO DWELLING- HOUSES AND OTHER BUILDINGS
Year: 1880

page_text: This Specification was, upon the 20th day of April 1889, amended under
Sections 18 to 21 of the Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks Act, 1883.
LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO DRAIN-PIPES, AND DEVICES TO BE
USED FOR SUPPORTING OR SECURING THE SAME IN AND ADJACENT TO DWELLING-
HOUSES AND OTHER BUILDINGS" A communication from abroad by Caleh
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 31st December 1880.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE of the Firm of Haseltine Lake & Co. Patent Agents
Southampton Buildings London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO DRAIN-
PIPES AND DEVICES TO RE USED FOR SUPPORTING OR SECURING THE SAME IN
AND ADJACENT TO DWELLING-HOUSES AND OTHER BUILDINGS." [A communication
from abroad by Caleb Wheeler Durham, of Chicago, Illinois, United States of
America.]
This Invention relates to improvements in drains or drainage apparatus for
buildings, and consists partly in the manner, hereinafter more fully described of
constructing, supporting, and mounting the different drains, pipes, water closets
and other fittings of the entire drainage system of a building, so that the settling or
sinking of the different walls, floors, or parts of the building will not occasion the
loosening of joints, or the breaking, bending, disarranging, or tearing asunder of
any part of the apparatus; and it also partly consists in the particular form,
arrangement and construction of different parts of the apparatus as hereinafter
described.
Heretofore the main drains of buildings which connect with the sewer have
been made of ordinary tile and laid in the earth under the building, and the
vertical soil pipes have usually been made of cast iron or lead, and if of cast iron,
which was perhaps the preferable material, the pipe was made in sections the top
end of each section being provided with an enlargement or bell in which the lower
end of the next section rested, forming a joint which was made more or less tight

page_text: by the use of solder, cement, or other packing. It is necessary to secure and brace
pipes constructed in this manner of cast iron or ordinary lead pipe, to the walls
and floors and other parts of the building in order to give them the necessary
support, and the water closets and like apparatus are each supported inde-
pendently on the different floors or parts of the building, and connected with
the soil pipe by means of an ordinary lead pipe provided with a trap and having
the common soldered or calked joint, both with the soil pipe and with the water
closet.
A very serious objection to this kind of drainage system is that the least rocking
or settling of any wall, floor, or part of the building upon which a water closet is
supported, or to which a section of the soil pipe is secured, is liable to cause a loosening
or tearing asunder of joints or a breaking or disarranging of parts of the apparatus,
thus allowing the noxious gases to escape into the building, and the repair of such
damage is often a matter of great difficulty and expense, as frequently the ruptured
part will be found buried in some almost inaccessible part of the building. And
besides this, owing to faults almost unavoidably incident to such a construction it
frequently happens that even when the work is new, many of the joints are not
perfectly tight, thus allowing the gaseous and -liquid matters in the drains and pipes
to escape or exude and cling to the sides of the pipe, or run into the earth, and become
a source from which deadly vapours arise and impregnate the building.
It is the object of my Invention to overcome these difficulties and objections,
and to provide a perfect drainage system for buildings, and one which will not be
affected by the rocking or settling of the different parts of the building.
This result accomplish by providing supports, independent of the building, for
the drains and soil pipes, making the latter of such material and strength that
they will stand alone and require no bracing or support from the walls or other
parts of the building; secondly, by supporting the water closets located near the
soil pipe from the soil pipe itself, by providing a rigid iron branch pipe to connect
the water closet with the soil pipe, the end of which branch pipe is provided with
a fitting for the water closet, and by providing the branch pipe, in cases where the
water closet is located at a distance from the soil pipe, with a flexible joint instead
of a rigid connection with the soil pipe, in which case the end of the branch pipe
to which the water closet is secured is supported by some part of the building. In
this the whole drainage system is entirely independent of the building excepting
as to water closets located remotely from the soil pipe, and though these depend
for their support upon the building, still they are in no way attached to the
building but to the end of the branch pipe which in this case is made flexible, and
thus the settling of any part of the building can in no way affect any part of the
apparatus.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a main waste pipe which
connects with the sewer in the street. It is placed in an inclined position the
better to secure the carrying off of all the matter and rests upon pillars of masonry
beneath the floor of the basement or cellar of the building. This waste pipe may
be made either of wrought or cast iron pipe, and the different sections should be
joined together with some kind of close or tight joints, in order to prevent any
leakage or escape of gases. If wrought iron pipe is used the different sections are
united with the ordinary screw or steam fitting joint; a running trap is located
in the said main pipe or drain preferably outside of the building for the
purpose of sealing the house drainage from the sewer and preventing the gases
from the sewer entering the same. This trap is made of cast iron and in the
form of little more than a half circle or ring, its extremities or horns being
provided with hand holes so located as to afford easy access not only to the trap
but also to the drain pipe itself on each side of the trap. A plate or cap is secured
by screws or bolts to a flange for the purpose of closing the hand holes. Instead
of this cap the hand holes may be provided with ordinary screw plugs. The ends
of the trap are provided with flanges for the purpose of making a flange joint
with sections of the said main waste or drain pipe. The trap may however be

page_text: provided with ans for forming other suitable kinds of joints. I also provide a
three way section or Y in the drain pipe used to connect a branch drain with the
main drain, and each of its three ends is provided with flanges or other suitable
joint for connection with sections of the drain pipes. This Y is provided with a
hand hole at the angle of the Y, thus giving access to all three branches of the
same. The branch drain is also placed in a somewhat inclined position, and its
end is p.ovided with an elbow which rests upon a firm support of masonry. The
lower end of the soil pipe is screwed into this elbow and said soil pipe is supported
thereby directly upon the masonry. This soil pipe is made of wrought iron, the
sections of the same being secured together by means of screw joints. There is a
short iron branch pipe connected with the soil pipe by means of a T, or three way,
section into which the same is screwed firmly, forming a perfectly rigid connection.
A cast water closet fitting is made in the form of an elbow, screwed firmly to
the end of the said short branch pipe upon which the same rests as its support
without any connection whatever with any part of the building. The top, or
flange of the said fitting is provided with bolt holes for the purpose of securing the
base of the water closet to the same. There is a boss or hole in the fitting for the
insertion of a waste or other pipe from the wash bowl or bath tub. The aforesai:
short branch pipe is also inclined from the horizontal, and may be made of a
straight piece of pipe without a trap of any kind. A water closet fitting similar to
the one already described is located at a considerable distance from the soil pipe,
say ten feet or more, or so far that it is not practicable to support it upon the end
of a rigid branch pipe, in which case I employ a flexible branch pipe made in two
sections united together through an elbow by means of screw joints or connections,
so that the section to the outer surface end of which the watercloset fitting is secured,
is flexible or adjustable vertically by turning upon the other section so that if the
part of the building upon which the fitting or the flexible end of the branch pipe
is supported settles, it will have no other effect than to slightly turn the screw
joint of the elbow. The short section of the branch pipe is connected rigidly with
the soil pipe by means of a T connection. If it is desired to connect another
water closet with the soil pipe by means of the same branch pipe, another flexible
section may be joined thereto by adding another elbow and placing the first water
closet at or near the elbow, and the second at the end of the added section, so that
each will have a flexible connection with each other and with the soil pipe.
The soil pipe rests upon its own separate foundation, and extends up in the
partition of the building and is not supported by, or attached to, it or any part of
it in any way. A T connection is provided for the purpose of connecting a
ventilating pipe from the drain trap of the bath tub with the soil pipe, where one
is used, and there is a ventilating pipe connecting with a hot air flue or running
up the inside of a chimney of the building. It is provided with elbows and con-
nected with the branch drain by means of a T connection.
A water closet fitting
similar to the others may be secured to the end of the main drain.
The branch drain may be dispensed with and the soil pipe connected with the
main drain, or more than one branch drain may be used in large buildings where
it is necessary to employ several soil pipes.
By reason of the ventilating pipe being connected with a hot air flue, a con-
tinuous current of air is caused to circulate downwards through the soil and water
closet pipes, and upward through said ventilating shaft or pipe. The soil pipe is
preferably carried to the roof of the building and its top remains open, while the
ventilating shaft extends somewhat higher to the top of the chimney, and this
feature alone will be sufficient to produce a current in the pipes, even if the flue is
not heated, but if a fire is made once a day so that the ventilating shaft becomes
heated, actual experiment has shown that, being surrounded with the brickwork of
the chimney or flue, it will retain its heat so as to produce a decided current in the
air for forty eight hours.
The peculiarity of the elbow used in the construction of the drain is that it is
provided with a hand hole located upon the interior of the bend, and closed by a

page_text: screw plug or other appropriate device, the utility of which, when it is desired to
clean the drain, will be apparent.
The couplings are provided with female screws at either end for the reception of
the threaded ends of the pipe lengths, and throughout the balance of their interior,
their diameter is reduced so as to correspond with that of the pipes inserted in
them, whereby a substantially even surface, free from depressions in which refuse
can accumulate, is formed. This differs from the old form of screw joint, wherein
there is formed, adjacent to the threaded portion of the coupling, an enlargement or
swell of considerable length to admit the die or tool whereby such screws are
usually cut. In my construction it is impossible to use any tool for cutting the
thread which will project beyond the part to be threaded, because it would strike
the shoulder and therefore obviate the necessity for any such open space by
cutting the thread in a lathe. By so doing I am enabled to make that portion of
the coupling lying between the threaded ends, of the same diameter as the pipes
connected thereby, whereby a surface, flush with that of the pipes, is presented to
the outflowing sewage, and no lodgment given for the more solid portions thereof.
It will be obvious also that the central portions between the ends of elbows, and
other connecting parts of drains, may be made flush with the interior surfaces of
the pipes connected by them in like manner as above described and for the like
purpose, whatever be the form of the end joints.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
18th June 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co. Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. IMPROVEMENTS IN, AND RELATING TO, DRAIN-
PIPES, AND DEVICES TO BE USED FOR SUPPORTING OR SECURING THE SAME IN
A communication
AND ADJACENT TO DWELLING-HOUSES AND OTHER BUILDINGS."
to me from abroad by Caleb Wheeler Durham of Chicago, Illinois, United States
of America.
This Invention relates to improvements in drains or drainage apparatus for
buildings, and consists partly in the manner hereinafter described, of constructing,
supporting, and mounting the different drains, pipes, water closets and other fittings
of the entire drainage system of a building, so, that the settling or sinking of the
different walls, floors, or parts of the building will not occasion the loosening of
joints, or the breaking, bending, disarranging, or tearing asunder of any part of the
apparatus, and it also partly consists in the particular form, arrangement and
construction of different parts of the apparatus as hereinafter described.
Heretofore the main drains of buildings which connect with the sewer have been
made of ordinary tile, and laid in the earth under the building, and the vertical
soil pipes have usually been made of cast iron or lead, and if of cast iron which
was perhaps the preferable material, the pipe was made in sections, the top end
of each section being provided with an enlargement or bell in which the lower end
of the next section rested, forming a joint which was made more or less tight by
the use of solder, cement or other packing. It is necessary to secure and brace
pipes constructed in this manner of cast iron, or ordinary lead pipe, to the walls and
Hoors and other parts of the building in order to give them the necessary support,
and the water closets and like apparatus are each supported independently on the
different floors or parts of the building and connected with the soil pipe by means
of an ordinary lead pipe provided with a trap and having the common soldered or
calked joint both with the soil pipe and with the water closet.
A very serious objection to this kind of drainage system is that the least rocking
or settling of any floor, wall, or part of the building upon which a water closet is
supported, or to which a section of the soil pipe is secured, is liable to cause a
loosening or tearing asunder of joints, or a breaking or disarrangement of parts
of the apparatus, thus allowing the noxious gases to escape into the building and
the repair of such damage is often a matter of great difficulty and expense, as
frequently the ruptured part will be found buried in some almost inaccessible part
of the building. And besides this, owing to faults almost unavoidably incident to
such a construction, it frequently happens that even when the work is new many
of the joints are not perfectly tight, thus allowing the gaseous and liquid matters
in the drains and pipes to escape or exude and cling to the sides of the pipe, or
run into the earth and become a source from which deadly vapors arise and
impregnate the building.
This Invention has for its object to overcome these difficulties and objections,
and to provide a perfect drainage system for buildings, and one which will not be
affected by the rocking or settling of the different parts of the building.
This result accomplish firstly by providing supports independent of the building,
for the drains and soil pipes, the latter being made of such material and strength
that they will stand alone and require no bracing or support from the walls or
other parts of the building, and secondly by supporting the water closets located
near the soil pipe from the soil pipe itself, by providing a rigid iron branch pipe

page_text: ..
to connect the water-closet with the soil-pipe, the end of which branch pipe is
provided with a fitting for the water closet, and by providing the branch pipe, in
cases where the water closet is located at a distance from the soil pipe, with a
flexible joint instead of a rigid connection with the soil pipe, in which case the end
of the branch pipe to which the water closet is secured is supported by some part
of the building. The whole drainage system is therefore entirely independent of
the building excepting as to water closets located at some distance from the soil
pipe, and though these depend for their support upon the building, still they are
in no way attached to the building but to the end of the branch pipe which in
this case is made flexible as above stated and thus the settling of any part of the
building can in no way affect any part of the apparatus.
In the accompanying Drawing
Figure 1 represents a side view of apparatus or devices embodying my Invention
as applied to a building, the parts of the building shewn being in section and drawn
to a somewhat smaller scale than that of the said apparatus.
Figure is a plan or top view of the running trap.
Figure 3 is a plan or top view of a three way section or Y, and of the branch
drain.
Figure 4 is a plan or top view of the flexible water closet branch pipe.
Figure 5 is a plan or top view of the rigid water closet branch pipe.
Figure 6 is a side view of the elbow and lower extremity of the soil pipe.
Figure 7 is a side view of one of the water closet fittings.
Figure 8 is a vertical section, drawn to an enlarged scale, of a portion of the
system showing the construction of some of the parts.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
It
A represents a main waste pipe which connects with the sewer in the street.
is placed in an inclined position in order to facilitate the carrying off of all the
matter, and rests upon pillars A¹ of masonry beneath the floor of the basement
or cellar of the building. This waste pipe may be made either of wrought or cast
iron pipe, and the different sections should be joined together with some kind of
close or tight joints in order to prevent any leakage or escape of gases. If wrought
iron pipe is used the different sections are united with the ordinary screw or steam
fitting joint. B is a running trap located in the drain A, preferably outside of the
building, for the purpose of sealing the house drainage from the sewer and
preventing the gases from the latter entering the same. This trap is made of cast
iron and in the form of little more than a half circle or ring, its extremities or
borns being provided with hand holes so located as to afford easy access not only
to the trap but also to the drain pipe itself on each side of the trap. A plate or
cap is secured by screws or bolts to the flange 2 for the purpose of closing these
hand holes. Instead of this cap, the hand holes may be provided with ordinary
screw plugs. The ends B of the irap are provided with flanges B for the purpose
of making a flange joint with sections of the drain pipe A. The trap may, however,
be provided with means for forming other suitable kinds of joints.
C is a three way section or Y in the drain A used to connect the branch drain D
with the main drain; each of the three ends of this section is provided with
flanges C, or other suitable joints, for connection with sections of the drain pipes.
This is provided at its angle with a hand hole c, thus giving access to all three
branches of the same. The branch drain D is placed in a somewhat inclined
position, and at one end is provided with an elbow d which rests upon a firm
support A of masonry. The lower end of the soil pipe E is screwed into this
elbow, and the said soil pipe is supported thereby directly upon the masonry.
This soil pipe is made of wrought iron, the sections of the same being secured
"together by means of screw joints. F is a short iron branch pipe connected with
the soil pipe by means of the T or three way section H into which the same is
screwed firmly, forming a perfectly rigid connection. I is a cast water closet
fitting made in the form of an elbow screwed firmly to, and supported by, the end
of the branch pipe F without any connection whatever with any part of the

page_text: building. The top or flange i of the said fitting I is provided with bolt holes for
the purpose of securing the base of the water closet to the same.
J is a boss or hole
in the fitting I for the insertion of a waste or other pipe from a wash bowl or
bath tub or the like. The branch pipe F is also inclined from the horizontal, and
may be made of a straight piece of pipe without a trap of any kind. K is a
water closet fitting similar to the one already described but located at a consider-
able distance from the soil pipe E. say ten feet or more, or so far that it is not
practicable to support it upon the end of a rigid branch pipe; in this case I employ
a flexible branch pipe L made in two sections 1. united through the elbow M by
means of screw joints or connections so that the section to the outer end of which
the water closet fitting K is secured. is flexible or adjustable vertically by turning
upon the pipe so that if the part of the building upon which the fitting K or
the flexible end of the branch pipe is supported settles. it will have no other effect
than to slightly turn the screw joint of the elbow M. The short section / of the
branch pipe is connected rigidly with the soil pipe by means of the T-piece or
connection N. If it is desired to connect another water closet with the soil pipe
by means of the same branch pipe L an additional flexible section may be joined
thereto by adding another elbow, and placing the first water closet at, or near, tho
elbow and the second at the end of the added section so that they will have a
flexible connection with each other and with the soil pipe.
The soil pipe rests upon its own separate foundation and extends up in the
partition of the building and is not supported by, or attached to, it or any part of
it in any manner. O is a T-connection provided for the purpose of connecting a
ventilating pipe from the drain tap of the bath tub with the soil pipe, where one is
used. P is a ventilating pipe connecting with a hot air flue or running up
inside of a chimney of the building. It is provide with elbows p and pt and
connected with the branch drain D by means of the T connection P¹.
closet fitting similar to these above described, secured to the end of the main
drain A.
the
R is a water
The branch drain D may be dispensed with, and the soil pipe connected with the
main drain A, or more than one branch drain may be used in large buildings where
it is necessary to employ several soil pipes.
By reason of the ventilating pipe P being connected with a hot air flue, a con-
tinuous current of air is caused to circulate downwards through the soil and water
closet pipes and upward through the said ventilating shaft or pipe. The soil pipe
is preferably carried to the root of the building and its top remains open while the
ventilating shaft extends somewhat higher to the top of the chimney, and this
feature alone will be sufficient to produce a current in the pipes, even if the flue
is not heated, but if a fire is made once a day so that the ventilating shaft becomes
heated, actual experiment has shown that being surrounded with the brickwork of
the chimney or flue, it will retain its heat so as to produce a decided current in the
air for forty eight hours.
In Figure 8 I have shown more in detail the manner in which I prefer to
construct some of the parts. These parts are the elbow S and the T couplings U
and V which are used in the construction of the drain and soil pipes. The
peculiarity of the elbow is that it is provided with a hand hole s located upon the
interior of the bend and closed by a screw plugs or other appropriate device; the
utility of this arrangement when it is desired to clean the drain, will be
apparent.
The couplings are provided with female screws at their ends for the reception of
the threaded ends of the pipe lengths and throughout the remainder of their
interior their diameter is reluced so as to correspond with that of the pipes inserted
in them, whereby a substantially even surface free from depressions in which refuse
can accumulate, is formed. This arrangement differs from the old form of screw
joint, wherein there is formed adjacent to the threaded portion of the coupling an
enlargement or swell of considerable length to admit the die or tool whereby such
screws are usually cut. In my improved construction it is impossible to use any

page_text: too for cutting the thread, which will project beyond the part to be threaded
because it would strike the shoulder r, and I therefore obviate the necessity for any
such open space by cutting the thread in a lathe. By so doing an enabled to
make that portion of the coupling lying between the threaded ends, that is to say
the part y, of the same diameter as the pipes connected thereby, whereby a surface
flush with that of the pipes is presented to the outflowing sewage, and no lodgment
given for the more solid portions thereof. It will be obvious also that the central
portions between the ends of elbows and other connecting parts of drains may be
made flush with the interior surfaces of the pipes connected by them in a similar
manner to that above describe and for the same purpose, whatever may be the
form of the end joints, as illustrated by the elbow S.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim―
First. The drainage apparatus for buildings, consisting of a main drain connected
with a rigid soil pipe, the supports therefor independent of the building, and the
rigid and flexible branch pipes, substantially as above set forth and for the
purposes specified.
Second. The combination with the drain, of the vertical soil pipe and a support
therefor-independent of the building, substantially as above set forth.
Third Second. The combination with the rigid soil pipe and an independent support
therefor, of the rigid branch pipe upon which the water closet fitting is supported
and secured, substantially as above set forth, and for the purpose specified.
Fourth. Third. The combination of the rigid soil pipe with the flexible branch pipe
which consists of two sections and united by the elbow M for the purpose of
providing against injury of the apparatus by the settling of the part of the building
upon which the outer or free end of the said branch pipe rests, substantially as
above set forth.
.
Fifth Fourth. The combination of the cast water closet fitting (provided with a
flange for its attachment to the water closet) with a rigid or a flexible branch pipe,
substantially as above set forth, and for the purpose specified.
Sixth Fifth. The cast running trap or water sea! B provided with hand holes, one
at each of its extremities or horns, so as to provide easy access both to the trap and
drain, substantially as above set forth.
In witness whereof the said William Robert Lake have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Eighteenth day of June in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO DRAIN-PIPES, AND DEVICES TO BE
USED FOR SUPPORTING OR SECURING THE SAME IN AND ADJACENT TO DWELLING-
HOUSES AND OTHER BUILDINGS." A communication from abroad by Caleb
Wheeler Durham, of Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 31st December 1880.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO DRAIN-
PIPES, AND DEVICES TO BE USED FOR SUPPORTING OR SECURING THE SAME IN
AND ADJACENT TO DWELLING-HOUSES AND OTHER BUILDINGS." [A communication
from abroad by Caleb Wheeler Durham, of Chicago, Illinois, United States of
America.]
This Invention relates to improvements in drains or drainage apparatus for
buildings, and consists partly in the manner hereinafter more fully described of
constructing, supporting, and mounting the different drains, pipes, water closets,
and other fittings of the entire drainage system of a building, so that the settling or
sinking of the different walls, floors, or parts of the building will not occasion the
loosening of joints or the breaking, bending, disarranging, or tearing asunder of
any part of the apparatus, and it also partly consists in the particular form,
arrangement, and construction of different parts of the apparatus, as hereinafter
described.
Heretofore the main drains of buildings which connect with the sewer have
been made of ordinary tile and laid in the earth under the building, and the
vertical soil pipes have usually been made of cast iron or lead, and if of cast iron,
which was perhaps the preferable material, the pipe was made in sections, the top
end of each section being provided with an enlargement or bell in which the lower
end of the next section rested, forming a joint which was made more or less tight
Pasing G71

page_text: by the use of solder, cement, or other packing. It is necessary to secure and brace
pipes constructed in this manner of cast iron or ordinary lead pipe to the walls
and floors and other parts of the building, in order to give them the necessary
support, and the water closets and like apparatus are each supported inde-
pendently on the different floors or parts of the building, and connected with
the soil pipe by means of an ordinary lead pipe provided with a trap, and having
the common soldered or calked joint both with the soil pipe and with the water
closet.
A very serious objection to this kind of drainage system is that the least rocking
or settling of any wall, floor, or part of the building upon which a water closet is
supported, or to which a section of the soil pipe is secured, is liable to cause a loosening
or tearing asunder of joints or a breaking or disarranging of parts of the apparatus,
thus allowing the noxious gases to escape into the building; and the repair of such
damage is often a matter of great difficulty and expense, as frequently the ruptured
part will be found buried in some almost inaccessible part of the building. And
besides this, owing to faults almost unavoidably incident to such a construction, it
frequently happens that, even when the work is new, many of the joints are not
perfectly tight, thus allowing the gaseous and liquid matters in the drains and pipes
to escape or exude and cling to the sides of the pipe or run into the earth, and become
a source from which deadly vapours arise and impregnate the building.
It is the object of my Invention to overcome these difficulties and objections,
and to provide a perfect drainage system for buildings, and one which will not be
affected by the rocking or settling of the different parts of the building.
This result I accomplish by providing supports, independent of the building, for
the drains and soil pipes, making the latter of such material and strength that
they will stand alone and require no bracing or support from the walls or other
parts of the building; secondly, by supporting the water closets located near the
soil pipe from the soil pipe itself, by providing a rigid iron branch pipe to connect
the water closet with the soil pipe, the end of which branch pipe is provided with
a fitting for the water closet, and by providing the branch pipe in cases where the
water closet is located at a distance from the soil pipe with a flexible joint instead
of a rigid connection with the soil pipe, in which case the end of the branch pipe
to which the water closet is secured is supported by some part of the building. In
this the whole drainage system is entirely independent of the building, excepting
as to water closets located remotely from the soil pipe; and though these depend
for their support upon the building, still they are in no way attached to the
building, but to the end of the branch pipe, which in this case is made flexible, and
thus the settling of any part of the building can in no way affect any part of the
apparatus.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a main waste pipe which
connects with the sewer in the street. It is placed in an inclined position, the
better to secure the carrying off of all the matter, and rests upon pillars of masonry
beneath the floor of the basement or cellar of the building. This waste pipe may
be made either of wrought or cast iron pipe, and the different sections should be
joined together with some kind of close or tight joints in order to prevent any
leakage or escape of gases. If wrought iron pipe is used the different sections are
united with the ordinary screw or steam fitting joint; a running trap is located
in the said main pipe or drain, preferably outside of the building, for the
purpose of sealing the house drainage from the sewer and preventing the gases
from the sewer entering the same. This trap is made of cast iron, and in the
form of little more than a half circle or ring, its extremities or horns being
provided with hand holes, so located as to afford easy access not only to the trap
but also to the drain pipe itself on each side of the trap. A plate or cap is secured
by screws or bolts to a flange for the purpose of closing the hand. holes. Instead
of this cap the hand holes may be provided with ordinary screw plugs. The ends
of the trap are provided with flanges for the purpose of making a flange joint
with sections of the said main, waste, or drain pipe. The trap may however be

page_text: provided with means for forming other suitable kinds of joints. I also provide a
three way section or Y in the drain pipe used to connect a branch drain with the
main drain, and each of its three ends is provided with flanges or other suitable
joint for connection with sections of the drain pipes. This Y is provided with a
hand hole at the angle of the Y, thus giving access to all three branches of the
same. The branch drain is also placed in a somewhat inclined position, and its
end provided with an elbow which rests upon a firm support of masonry. The
lower end of the soil pipe is screwed into this elbow, and said soil pipe is supported
thereby directly upon the masonry. This soil pipe is made of wrought iron, the
sections of the same being secured together by means of screw joints. There is a
short iron branch pipe connected with the soil pipe by means of a T or three way
section, into which the same is screwed firmly, forming a perfectly rigid connection.
A cast water closet fitting is made in the form of an elbow, screwed firmly to
the end of the said short branch pipe, upon which the same rests as its support,
without any connection whatever with any part of the building. The top or
flange of the said fitting is provided with bolt holes for the purpose of securing the
base of the water closet to the same. There is a boss or hole in the fitting for the
insertion of a waste or other pipe from the wash bowl or bath tub. The aforesaid
short branch pipe is also inclined from the horizontal, and may be made of a
straight piece of pipe without a trap of any kind; a water closet fitting similar to
the one already described is located at a, considerable distance from the soil pipe,
say ten feet or more, or so far that it is not practicable to support it upon the end
of a rigid branch pipe, in which case I employ a flexible branch pipe made in two
sections, united together through an elbow by means of screw joints or connections,
so that the section to the outer surface end of which the watercloset fitting is secured
is flexible or adjustable vertically by turning upon the other section, so that if the
part of the building upon which the fitting or the flexible end of the branch pipe
is supported settles, it will have no other effect than to slightly turn the screw
joint of the elbow. The short section of the branch pipe is connected rigidly with
the soil pipe by means of a T connection. If it is desired to connect another
water closet with the soil pipe by means of the same branch pipe, another flexible
section may be joined thereto by adding another elbow, and placing the first water
closet at or near the elbow, and the second at the end of the added section, so that
each will have a flexible connection with each other and with the soil pipe.
The soil pipe rests upon its own separate foundation, and extends up in the
partition of the building, and is not supported by or attached to it or any part of
it in any way. A T connection is provided for the purpose of connecting a
ventilating pipe from the drain trap of the bath tub with the soil pipe, where one
is used, and there is a ventilating pipe connecting with a hot air flue, or running
up the inside of a chimney of the building. It is provided with elbows, and con-
nected with the branch drain by means of a T connection. A water closet fitting,
similar to the others, may be secured to the end of the main drain.
The branch drain may be dispensed with and the sole pipe connected with the
main drain, or more than one branch drain may be used in large buildings where
it is necessary to employ several soil pipes.
By reason of the ventilating pipe being connected with a hot air flue a con-
tinuous current of air is caused to circulate downwards through the soil and water
closet pipes, and upward through said ventilating shaft or pipe. The soil pipe is
preferably carried to the roof of the building, and its top remains open, while the
ventilating shaft extends somewhat higher to the top of the chimney, and this
feature alone will be sufficient to produce a current in the pipes, even if the flue is
not heated, but if a fire is made once a day so that the ventilating shaft becomes
heated, actual experiment has shown that being surrounded with the brickwork of
the chimney or flue it will retain its heat so as to produce a decided current in the
air for forty eight hours.
The peculiarity of the elbow used in the construction of the drain is that it is
provided with a hand hole located upon the interior of the bend, and closed by a

page_text: screw plug or other appropriate device, the utility of which when it is desired to
clean the drain will be apparent.
The couplings are provided with female screws at either end for the reception of
the threaded ends of the pipe lengths, and throughout the balance of their interior
their diameter is reduced so as to correspond with that of the pipes inserted in
them, whereby a substantially even surface, free from depressions in which refuse
can accumulate, is formed. This differs from the old form of screw joint; wherein
there is formed adjacent to the threaded portion of the coupling an enlargement or
swell of considerable length to admit the die or tool whereby such screws are
usually cut. In my construction it is impossible to use any tool for cutting the
thread which will project beyond the part to be threaded, because it would strike
the shoulder, and I therefore obviate the necessity for any such open space by
cutting the thread in a lathe. By so doing I am enabled to make that portion of
the coupling lying between the threaded ends of the same diameter as the pipes
connected thereby, whereby a surface flush with that of the pipes is presented to
the outflowing sewage, and no lodgment given for the more solid portions thereof.
It will be obvious also that the central portions between the ends of elbows and
other connecting parts of drains may be made flush with the interior surfaces of
the pipes connected by them in like manner as above described, and for the like
purpose, whatever be the form of the end joints.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
18th June 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO DRAIN-
PIPES, AND DEVICES TO BE USED FOR SUPPORTING OR SECURING THE SAME IN
AND ADJACENT TO DWELLING-HOUSES AND OTHER BUILDINGS." A communication
from abroad by Caleb Wheeler Durham, of Chicago, Illinois, United States
of America.
This Invention relates to improvements in drains or drainage apparatus for
buildings, and consists partly in the manner hereinafter described of constructing,
supporting, and mounting the different drains, pipes, water closets, and other fittings
of the entire drainage system of a building, so that the settling or sinking of the
different walls, floors, or parts of the building will not occasion the loosening of
joints or the breaking, bending, disarranging, or tearing asunder of any part of the
apparatus, and it also partly consists in the particular form, arrangement, and
construction of different parts of the apparatus, as hereinafter described.
Heretofore the main drains of buildings which connect with the sewer have been
made of ordinary tile, and laid in the earth under the building, and the vertical
soil pipes have usually been made of cast iron or lead, and if of cast iron, which
was perhaps the preferable material, the pipe was made in sections, the top end
of each section being provided with an enlargement or bell in which the lower end
of the next section rested, forming a joint, which was made more or less tight by
the use of solder, cement, or other packing. It is necessary to secure and brace
pipes constructed in this manner of cast iron or ordinary lead pipe to the walls and
Hoors and other parts of the building, in order to give them the necessary support,
and the water closets and like apparatus are each supported independently on the
different floors or parts of the building, and connected with the soil pipe by means
of an ordinary lead pipe provided with a trap, and having the common soldered or
calked joint both with the soil pipe and with the water closet.
A very serious objection to this kind of drainage system is that the least rocking
or settling of any floor, wall, or part of the building upon which a water closet is
supported, or to which a section of the soil pipe is secured, is liable to cause a
loosening or tearing asunder of joints, or a breaking or disarrangement of parts
of the apparatus, thus allowing the noxious gases to escape into the building, and
the repair of such damage is often a matter of great difficulty and expense, as
frequently the ruptured part will be found buried in some almost inaccessible part
of the building. And besides this, owing to faults almost unavoidably incident to
such a construction, it frequently happens that even when the work is new many
of the joints are not perfectly tight, thus allowing the gaseous and liquid matters
in the drains and pipes to escape or exude and cling to the sides of the pipe, or
run into the earth and become a source from which deadly vapors arise and
impregnate the building.
This Invention has for its object to overcome these difficulties and objections,
and to provide a perfect drainage system for buildings, and one which will not be
affected by the rocking or settling of the different parts of the building.
This result I accomplish, first, by providing supports independent of the building
for the drains and soil pipes, the latter being made of such material and strength
that they will stand alone and require no bracing or support from the walls or
other parts of the building; and, secondly, by supporting the water closets located
near the soil pipe from the soil pipe itself, by providing a rigid iron branch pipe

page_text: to connect the water-closet with the soil-pipe, the end of which branch pipe is
provided with a fitting for the water closet, and by providing the branch pipe, in
cases where the water closet is located at a distance from the soil pipe, with a
flexible joint instead of a rigid connection with the soil pipe, in which case the end
of the branch pipe to which the water closet is secured is supported by some part
of the building. The whole drainage system is therefore entirely independent of
the building, excepting as to water closets located at some distance from the soil
pipe, and though these depend for their support upon the building, still they are
in no way attached to the building, but to the end of the branch pipe, which in
this case is made flexible as above stated, and thus the settling of any part of the
building can in no way affect any part of the apparatus.
In the accompanying Drawing,
Figure 1 represents a side view of apparatus or devices embodying my Invention
as applied to a building, the parts of the building being shewn in section and drawn
to a somewhat smaller scale than that of the said apparatus.
Figure 2 is a plan or top view of the running trap.
Figure 3 is a plan or top view of a three way section or Y, and of the branch
drain.
Figure 4 is a plan or top view of the flexible water closet branch pipe.
Figure 5 is a plan or top view of the rigid water closet branch pipe.
Figure 6 is a side view of the elbow and lower extremity of the soil pipe.
Figure 7 is a side view of one of the water closet fittings.
Figure 8 is a vertical section drawn to an enlarged scale of a portion of the
system, showing the construction of some of the parts.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
A represents a main waste pipe which connects with the sewer in the street. It
is placed in an inclined position in order to facilitate the carrying off of all the
matter, and rests upon pillars A¹ of masonry beneath the floor of the basement
or cellar of the building. This waste pipe may be made either of wrought or cast
iron pipe, and the different sections should be joined together with some kind of
close or tight joints in order to prevent any leakage or escape of gases. If wrought
iron pipe is used the different sections are united with the ordinary screw or steam
fitting joint. B is a running trap located in the drain A, preferably outside of the
building, for the purpose of sealing the house drainage from the sewer and
preventing the gases from the latter entering the same. This trap is made of cast
iron and in the form of little more than a half circle or ring, its extremities or
horns being provided with hand holes so located as to afford easy access not only
to the trap but also to the drain pipe itself on each side of the trap. A plate or
cap is secured by screws or bolts to the flange b³ for the purpose of closing these
hand holes. Instead of this cap the hand holes may be provided with ordinary
screw plugs. The ends B¹ of the trap are provided with flanges B2, for the purpose
of making a flange joint with sections of the drain pipe A. The trap may however
be provided with means for forming other suitable kinds of joints.
Ċ is a three way section or Y in the drain A, used to connect the branch drain D
with the main drain; each of the three ends of this section is provided with
flanges C or other suitable joints for connection with sections of the drain pipes.
This Y is provided at its angle with a hand hole c, thus giving access to all three
branches of the same. The branch drain D is placed in a somewhat inclined
position, and at one end is provided with an elbow d which rests upon a firm
support A of masonry. The lower end of the soil pipe E is screwed into this
elbow, and the said soil pipe is supported thereby directly upon the masonry.
This soil pipe is made of wrought iron, the sections of the same being secured
together by means of screw joints. F is a short iron branch pipe connected with
the soil pipe by means of the T or three way section H, into which the same is
screwed firmly, forming a perfectly rigid connection. I is a cast water closet
fitting made in the form of an elbow, screwed firmly to, and supported by the end
of the branch pipe F without any connection whatever with any part of the

page_text: building. The top or flange i of the said fitting I is provided with bolt holes ¿', for
the purpose of securing the base of the water closet to the same. J is a boss or hole
in the fitting I for the insertion of a waste or other pipe from a wash bowl, or
bath tub, or the like. The branch pipe F is also inclined from the horizontal, and
may be made of a straight piece of pipe without a trap of any kind. K is a
water closet fitting similar to the one already described, but located at a consider-
able distance from the soil pipe E, say ten feet or more, or so far that it is not
practicable to support it upon the end of a rigid branch pipe; in this case I employ
a flexible branch pipe L, made in two sections 1, l', united through the elbow M by
means of screw joints or connections so that the section , to the outer end of which
the water closet fitting K is secured, is flexible, or adjustable vertically by turning
upon the pipe l, so that if the part of the building upon which the fitting K or
the flexible end of the branch pipe is supported settles, it will have no other effect
than to slightly turn the screw joint of the elbow M. The short section of the
branch pipe is connected rigidly with the soil pipe by means of the T-piece or
connection N. If it is desired to connect another water closet with the soil pipe
by means of the same branch pipe L, an additional flexible section may be joined
thereto by adding another elbow and placing the first water closet at or near the
elbow, and the second at the end of the added section, so that they will have a
flexible connection with each other and with the soil pipe.
The soil pipe rests upon its own separate foundation, and extends up in the
partition of the building, and is not supported by or attached to it or any part of
it in any manner. O is a T-connection provided for the purpose of connecting a
ventilating pipe from the drain tap of the bath tub with the soil pipe where one is
used. P is a ventilating pipe connecting with a hot air flue or running up the
inside of a chimney of the building. It is provided with elbows p and p¹ and
connected with the branch drain D by means of the T connection P¹. R is a water
closet fitting similar to those above described, secured to the end of the main
drain A.
The branch drain D may be dispensed with and the soil pipe connected with the
main drain A, or more than one branch drain may be used in large buildings where
it is necessary to employ several soil pipes.
By reason of the ventilating pipe P being connected with a hot air flue, & con-
tinuous current of air is caused to circulate downwards through the soil and water
closet pipes and upward through the said ventilating shaft or pipe. The soil pipe
is preferably carried to the roof of the building and its top remains open, while the
ventilating shaft extends somewhat higher to the top of the chimney, and this
feature alone will be sufficient to produce a current in the pipes, even if the flue
is not heated; but if a fire is made once a day so that the ventilating shaft becomes
heated actual experiment has shown that, being surrounded with the brickwork of
the chimney or flue, it will retain its heat so as to produce a decided current in the
air for forty eight hours.
In Figure 8 I have shown more in detail the manner in which I prefer to
construct some of the parts. These parts are the elbow S and the T couplings U
and V, which are used in the construction of the drain and soil pipes. The
peculiarity of the elbow is that it is provided with a hand hole s located upon the
interior of the bend and closed by a screw plug s² or other appropriate device; the
utility of this arrangement, when it is desired to clean the drain, will be
apparent.
The couplings are provided with female screws at their ends for the reception of
the threaded ends of the pipe lengths, and throughout the remainder of their
interior their diameter is reduced so as to correspond with that of the pipes inserted
in them, whereby a substantially even surface, free from depressions in which refuse
can accumulate, is formed. This arrangement differs from the old form of screw
joint, wherein there is formed adjacent to the threaded portion of the coupling an
enlargement or swell of considerable length to admit the die or tool whereby such
screws are usually cut. In my improved construction it is impossible to use any

page_text: tool for cutting the thread which will project beyond the part to be threaded,
because it would strike the shoulder x, and I therefore obviate the necessity for any
such open space by cutting the thread in a lathe. By so doing I am enabled to
make that portion of the coupling lying between the threaded ends, that it to say
the part y, of the same diameter as the pipes connected thereby, whereby a surface
flush with that of the pipes is presented to the outflowing sewage and no lodgment
given for the more solid portions thereof. It will be obvious also that the central
portions between the ends of elbows and other connecting parts of drains may be
made flush with the interior surfaces of the pipes connected by them in a similar
manner to that above described and for the same purpose, whatever may be the
form of the end joints, as illustrated by the elbow S.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. The drainage apparatus for buildings consisting of a main drain connected
with a rigid soil pipe, the supports therefor independent of the building, and the
rigid and flexible branch pipes, substantially as above set forth and for the
purposes specified.
Second. The combination with the drain of the vertical soil pipe and a support
therefor independent of the building, substantially as above set forth.
Third. The combination with the rigid soil pipe and an independent support
therefor of the rigid branch pipe upon which the water closet fitting is supported
and secured, substantially as above set forth and for the purpose specified.
Fourth. The combination of the rigid soil pipe with the flexible branch pipe,
which consists of two sections and ¹, united by the elbow M, for the purpose of
providing against injury of the apparatus by the settling of the part of the building
upon which the outer or free end of the said branch pipe rests, substantially as
above set forth.
Fifth. The combination of the cast water closet fitting (provided with a flange
for its attachment to the water closet) with a rigid or a flexible branch pipe,
substantially as above set forth and for the purpose specified.
Sixth. The cast running trap or water seal B provided with hand holes, one at
each of its extremities or horns, so as to provide easy access both to the trap and
drain, substantially as above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
W. ROB. LAKE.
(L.S.)