IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTION OF CEILINGS AND PARTITION AND OTHER WALLS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Gedge, of the firm of John Gedge
and Son, of No. 11, Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CONSTRUCTION OF CEILINGS AND PARTITION AND OTHER WALLS."-A commu-
nication from abroad by Jules Mathieu Dubrot, of Metz, Moselle, France,
Plaster Manufacturer.
Sealed the 12th September 1861, and dated the 8th April 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Gedge
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th April 1861.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD GEDGE, of the firm of John Gedge and Son, No. 11,
Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF CEILINGS AND OF PARTITION AND OTHER WALLS," (communicated
to me from abroad by Jules Mathieu Dubrot, of Metz, Moselle, France,
Plaster Manufacturer), to be as follows:-
Hitherto ceilings have mostly been constructed of pine or other wooden
laths, sometimes with oaken laths superposed, but the warping of this wood
and that of the rafters causes cracks or crevices to appear sooner or later in
the ceiling. It is proposed to substitute for these laths iron wire (or rod' iron)
stretched and crossed, fixed to hooks or screw rings in the surrounding walls
and in the joists. These iron wires will cross like latticework, and will be
placed as near each other as may be found requisite. The iron wirework
being perfectly levelled the plaster will be applied upon it, and when dry it
may be fine-stuffed and whitewashed in the ordinary manner. The rust

page_text: caused by the humidity of the freshly-laid plaster will of itself perfectly bind
the two substances together. It will be evident that these improvements are
equally applicable to partition walls and other work for which laths are gene-
rally used.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Gedge in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 1st October 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD GEDGE, of the firm of John Gedge and Son, No. 11, Wellington
Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Horself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Edward Gedge, Her special licence that I, the said William
Edward Gedge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Gedge, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CEILINGS AND PARTITION
AND OTHER WALLS," a communication to me from abroad by Jules Mathieu
Dubrot, of Metz, Moselle, France, Plaster Manufacturer, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Gedge, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said. William Edward Gedge, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, that is to
say:-
Ceilings have hitherto been mostly constructed of laths of fir or other wood
nailed on to the flooring joists, but the shrinking or warping of this wood, and
of the joists, causes a crack or cracks to appear, sooner or later, in the ceiling.

page_text: The method forming the subject of this Invention is simple, and consists in
substituting for the laths iron wires, stretched and crossed, fixed to ring screws
or other supports let into the surrounding walls and the joists, which level the
framing. The wires are usually fixed about four inches apart. Tho rust
caused by the humidity of the freshly-applied plaster of itself perfectly unites
the two substances.
The application is as follows:-After having established a perfect level
beneath the iron wire, the liquid plaster is poured thereupon, and when this grey
plaster is dry it is coated and polished with gypsum. Where iron T girders,
or others with iron T bands placed edgeways, are used, small rafters are
placed, to which are fixed the iron wires; but when, for economy, the iron
girders are without T, the wires may still be applied, either by turning them
around the bars or passing them through holes previously made therein. In
order thoroughly to protect ceilings from infiltration, and preserve them from
the stains and cracks which are thereby produced, the exclusive right is
reserved of coating the upper layer of plaster with a sheet of bitumen,
more or less thick, and also of applying the same, when desirable, to roofing
ceilings, which are constructed as follows:-Beneath the zinc tiles, slates, or
bitumen the woodwork, besides occupying considerable space, soon deterio-
rates, and therefore by this Invention the rafters, boards, and lathes are
replaced by a ceiling constructed in the following manner:-Place edgeways
(after having pierced them with holes about eight inches apart, and curved or
arched them as may be desirable or requisite), bars of about one-and-a-half to
two inches wide by about half an inch thick. A first length of iron wire will
pass through these holes, and a second, stretched at the same distance apart,
will cross and tie on to the first. The plaster will be run so as to lightly
touch or coat the bars, the covering of zinc, tiles, or slates, or other, is then
put on, and the plaster having received a fresh coat a ceiling is obtained
which, besides its lasting properties and facility of construction, is also a
barrier to conflagration.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Gedge, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
W. E. GEDGE. (L.S.)