PAVEMENT AND SIDEWALK AND FACING BLOCKS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, HENRY GUSTAVUS FISKE, of 827 Market Street, in the city and county of
San Francisco, and State of California, one of the United States of America,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for PAVEMENT AND
SIDEWALK AND FACING BLOCKS: and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
My invention relates to certain improvements in the construction of pavement,
sidewalk, or facing-blocks, which will be more fully explained by reference to the
accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 is a plan view of the exterior mold with the wooden frame of the
block in place ready for filling.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the exterior mold and lining-plates.
Figure 3 is a view of a block, one end being completed.
Figure 4 shows the method of forming an exterior facing of artificial stone.
Figure 5 shows a facing-block.
Figure 6 shows the manner of making it.
Figures 7 and 8 are views showing a modification of the paving and sidewalk
blocks.
The first part of my invention contemplates the construction of large blocks,
which are afterwards united to form a solid road-bed after they are laid..
In order to make these blocks, I employ two sets of boards A A, lying one above
the other, having cross-pieces B B extending from one set to the other between the
longitudinal strips, and nailed so as to form a rectangular open frame-work, a little
smaller than the proposed block.
This frame-work is then filled with coarse gravel or broken rock and the whole
bound together with a filling of liquid asphaltum. To prepare these blocks,
I employ a level bed or surface. Where sand is used, a tray is filled with sand,
the surface is struck off so as to be just level with the upper edges of the tray.
Upon the top of this tray is placed a vertical sided frame H having a depth
equal to that of the proposed block.
Inside of this frame work are strips of wood, iron, or other suitable material I,
having an equal depth with the sides and ends of the frame H.
These strips are fitted together at their ends and form an interior lining for the
frame-work H.

page_text: The inner faces of these lining-plates are covered with a coating which will
prevent the asphaltum or other compound from adhering to them.
The frame-work H then forms a sort of box or mold, larger than the frame-
work A A, which is the basis of the proposed block. The surface within the mold
is then covered with a coating of concrete or asphalt, say about one inch deep, and
the wooden frame-work of the block having previously been dipped into melted
asphaltum so as to be entirely coated, is placed on this bed of concrete.
The space within the frame-work is then filled with broken rock, gravel, or
any suitable substance, and melted asphaltum mixed to the proper proportion with
coal-tar is poured over the whole, running through the interstices of the rock and
around the wood-work so as to fill the whole, and bind all parts together, the whole
having a depth of about an inch above the internal frame-work.
When this has become sufficiently set or hardened, the interior frame H may be
lifted off, and the plates I which form its interior lining may then be removed from
the sides, thus leaving the block complete and ready for use. These blocks are
made of any suitable size and thickness, and square, diamond, or any other form.
For street-paving, the paving-blocks will be laid with their edges close together,
and the crown of the street will cause them to be slightly separated at the top.
These cracks or openings may then be filled with melted asphaltum, and a
coating of the same material with sand may be spread over the whole surface to
complete the work.
In making sidewalks, or other blocks, in which, the base is of asphalt or rock-
concrete, while the upper surface is of stone and cement-concrete, first lay the
stone-concrete (which is to form the top of the finished block) in the bottom of the
mold, and turn it up on the four sides with a trowel, to about the height of
the sides of the mold as shown in Figure 4.
After this has hardened, melted asphalt is poured in to a suitable depth, and the
wooden frame is placed in it, and filled up as before described.
When laid for use, this surface will be the bottom of the block, and the stone-
concrete which was first poured in the bottom of the mold, will be the top or
exposed surface. By this construction it will be seen that the paving-blocks can
be rapidly and easily laid, and are very rigid and at the same time light enough to
be easily handled.
Figures 7 and 8 show a modification of my blocks, in which the boards A and B
are laid closely together transversely within a surrounding frame composed of
side-strips with an intermediate and surrounding filling of asphaltum, which binds
them thoroughly and solidly together.
The blocks may be formed within an outer mold a little higher than their edges,
so that when filled with asphaltum above the upper layer of boards, it will flow
outward and cover the edges of the side-strips.
Sidewalk blocks are made by nailing two series of boards transversely across
each other, the edges being beveled as shown in Figure 8. A coating of gravel or
broken rock is scattered over the bluck, and is imbedded in and adheres to the
asphaltum upon the surface, after which the filling of cement or concrete is put in
around the block as before described.
The second part of my invention relates to the construction of facing-blocks in
which A A are longitudinal strips of board or plank of suitable width and thickness,
and B B are transverse strips which are nailed across the parallel longitudinal
strips near their ends, so as to leave an open space between, while the ends of the
strips project slightly, as shown in Figure 5.
C is a filling of concrete or artificial stone, which is applied to one or more sides
of this frame, the side upon which the stone or other material is to be applied
being uppermost while it is being put on.
The sides of the transverse strips are covered with boards; so as to make a tight
bottom, as shown at d, a frame-work e is then fitted around the sides extending
from the bottom of the boards d to a point level with or just above the upwardly
projecting ends of the longitudinal strips A as the frame-work now stands.

page_text: Within this exterior frame-work or casing, the material of which the filling is to
be composed is poured, either artificial stone or concrete made into a plastic
condition so that it will fill all the interstices between and around the ends of the
longitudinal and cross-strips A and B, also extending beyond the sides so as to
make a smooth and finished stone surface extending down to the bottom of the
boards d, before referred to. The wood work is protected by a coat of asphaltum.
If either of the other sides of the frame are to be filled, they may be treated in
the same manner, and when the material is sufficiently set, the facing-blocks will
be complete.
The surface which was uppermost and horizontal while being formed, will be
vertical, and form the front when laid for use.
The wood-work or strips A A may be of considerable length, so that when the
blocks are to be used to form facings where buildings are to be erected or walls
built, the outer stone faces will be set next to each other in line, until sufficient
length has been formed.
The inner portion of the frame-work A and B projects inwardly to a considerable
distance, and the bottom and the back are boarded over.
The space within the wood-work is then filled up with sand or earth, thus
forming a bond to hold the whole firmly in place.
These inwardly projecting timbers serve to hold the stone facings or fronts
in place and prevent their being moved by any pressure of sand or from other
causes,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim, is
1. A paving or sidewalk block, composed of alternate transverse strips of wood
laid close together with a binding and filling of asphaltum, either with or without
an exterior coating of cement, or concrete, substantially as herein described.
2. A paving-block, composed of gravel, broken rock, or other material, and
asphaltum and coal-tar, mastic, cement, or other plastic material, capable of being
set and hardened when cool and dry, together with a wooden frame-work, within
which the material of the block is contained, substantially as herein described.
3. A mold for constructing paving-blocks, consisting of an exterior bottomless
frame, having lining-plates at the sides, and a level surface or bed upon which it is
supported, said mold being adapted to receive the wooden frame of the block, which
is afterwards filled with broken rock, or gravel, and asphaltum or coal-tar, or other
plastic material, substantially as herein described.
4. A sidewalk or paving-block, composed of an exterior surface or coating of
stone-concrete, an interior wooden frame-work, and a filling of broken rock, or
gravel, and asphaltum and coal-tar, or other plastic binding material, substantially
as herein described.
5. A facing-block, composed of a series of parallel longitudinal and transverse
strips fastened together, and a filling of concrete, or artificial stone, in which one
or more sides of the frame-work are embedded, substantially as herein described.
Dated this 27th day of January 1885.