IMPROVEMENTS IN WALLS, ARCHES AND OTHER BRICKWORK AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF BRICKS THEREFOR "
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Smith of 23 York Street, York Road
Lambeth in the County of Surrey for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN WALLS, ARCHES AND OTHER BRICKWORK AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OR
PRODUCTION OF BRICKS THEREFOR
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Smith at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th November 1882.
FREDERICK SMITH of 23 York Street, York Road Lambeth in the County of
Surrey "IMPROVEMENTS IN WALLS, ARCHES AND OTHER BRICKWORK AND IN THE
MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF BRICKS THEREFOR
"
The object of this invention is to construct brickwork having such an outer face
or surface of brick as to prevent very materially the disintegration and washing
out of the mortar from the joints, to improve the strength of the brickwork, and
to improve the sightliness of the work, and in the case of walls faced with glazed
bricks to increase the light reflecting efficiency of same.
According to this invention I construct walls with an outer or inner face or both,
in which the visible part of the joints are materially narrower than heretofore
usual without at all decreasing the inner body of mortar or other binding material
needed or useful for making the joints. While thus the outer brick face is enlarged,
the inner or rest part of the wall may be made in the ordinary manner
For the purposes of my invention I produce bricks in a new form of mould and
of a new form as resulting therefrom; the bottom part and the front side edges
of the mould or die and the bottom of the presser or follower are each formed with
narrow recesses or grooves along the edges of the parts which are to produce the
outer face of the brick, and the latter will as a consequence come out of the mould
with a continuous band or bead or ledge all round these parts. The recess or
groove may be interrupted in places; it is advantageous to make them slightly
shallower at each side than at top and bottom; the recesses which are to form the
beads or bands or ledges at top and bottom and front side edges of the brick
should be about one eighth of an inch deep or wide and in some cases slightly
more or less and may be made with square corners, or tapered off towards the
D

page_text: inside away from the face of the brick, or in any other convenient form. For some
purposes such as for moulds for sewer or arch bricks I form one or more short
recesses at or near the parts which are to form the back or top end of the brick
and on the bedding side of the same. As applied to a 9 inch or 41/2 inch wall the
beads should be at each end or side respectively in order to obtain two close joints,
that is outside and inside joints.
The mould may be filled and their contents pressed by hand or power.
While thus enlarging the extent of the brick surface I do not in any way
alter the standard of the brick, or the bond of the brickwork This kind of face
of wall is intended to be employed alone or along with all other ordinary
brickwork and without altering the thickness of mortar joint at the inner part
of the brick.
An important advantage of this construction of brickwork is the increased
strength afforded because the mortar when a brick is bedded thereon cannot
squeeze out so freely as with ordinary brick work and will therefore become more
compact and less porous.
It is important that the depth of the extra size of face of bricks should be small,
and that when bedded the pressure should be equally distributed.
For this construction of walls I may use white or other glazed bricks now so
extensively employed, or other bricks used for facing purposes, either outside or
inside. For some purposes I make the brick with lateral recesses for the better
entry of the grouting.
The invention is also applicable for sewer work thus reducing the joints, that is,
the exposed joints, to a fraction, or they may be even made to touch leaving nothing
except brick for the water to act upon on the inner face of the sewer or especially
the lower part of same
The bricks can also be made in fireclay for general purposes as also for crowns
of arches exposed to fire, leaving little or no surface of fireclay or binding material
for the heat to act upon; the depth of the beads may in the latter case be increased
to allow for burning away.
By this invention I enlarge the visible surface of the bricks and in consequence
diminish the visible area or surface of joints of same and thereby the disintegration
of mortar or other binding material will be largely prevented thus affording greater
durability to exposed brickwork and preventing the unsightliness of the same
when the mortar in course of time becomes thus decayed and washed out. The
narrow visible parts of the joints, produced by this invention, will also form a
better guide to the bricklayer in producing uniform thickness of joints than is
now possible by the use of the ordinary bricks with broad visible joints between
them.
As already stated additional strength is also obtained by the greater density
given to the mortar.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Frederick Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
29th May 1883.
FREDERICK SMITH of 23 York Street York Road Lambeth in the County of
Surrey "IMPROVEMENTS IN WALLS ARCHES AND OTHER BRICKWORK AND IN THE
MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF BRICKS THEREFOR
,,
The object of this invention is to construct brickwork having such an outer face
or surface of brick as to prevent very materially the disintegration and washing
out of the mortar from the joints, to improve the strength of the brickwork and
to improve the sightliness of the work; and in the case of walls faced with glazed.
bricks, to increase the light reflecting efficiency of same.
.
According to this invention I construct walls with an outer or inner face or
both in which the visible part of the joints are materially narrower than heretofore
usual without at all decreasing the inner body of mortar or other binding material
needed or useful for making the joints. While the outer brick face is thus
enlarged the inner or rest part of the wall may be made in the ordinary manner.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a front or face view of a piece of a
wall of glazed brickwork constructed according to this Invention, and Figure 2
is a vertical transverse section through such a wall of 9 inches thickness. Figure 1*
on sheet 2 is an end view and Figure 1B a plan of a brick used for such a wall
Figure 1° is a perspective view.
A is the 9 by 3 inch side face of the brick and A¹ the 4 by 3 inches end face
of the brick as built in the wall. The face A has a bead a formed all round and
the face A' a similar bead a' formed all round.
The intermediate spaces between the bricks are as will be seen compared
with ordinary glazed brick work much reduced on the face of the wall being in
fact less than an eighth of an inch and of about the ordinary depth in the interior
of the wall. The beads ax and alx along the vertical sides of the brick may
sometimes be shallower in depth leaving less space for the mortar than the beads
a and a¹ along the top and bottom. The beads may be made with the corners
rounded off towards the inside away from the face of the brick as here shown or
with square corners or tapered off. The beadings may be of the same or of unequal
depth top and bottom.
.
Sometimes I interrupt the bead in places I may thus for instance as shown
in the vertical sectional view Figure 3 of a 9 inch wall thus built wholly dispense
with the bead at the bottom of the brick or the top as the case may be.
This form of brick is shewn separate in end view, plan and perspective in
Figures 34, 3B 3° respectively.
In order however to obtain the desired enlargement of the face of the brickwork
I may sometimes make the beads a a¹ of an additional depth.
The use of bricks having such beadings may be omitted in part of the brickwork.
such as in a return wall, or on the inner face of a wall
I have stated that the spaces on the face of the wall may especially for glazed
brickwork be less than one eighth of an inch wide and I would add that the
bricks may even be made to touch if desired where there is only a little weight or
height of wall to carry as for instance in party walls above roofs or party fence or
garden walls. But if the wall is carried to any height say over twenty feet, or if
the brickwork has to carry any great weight other than its own then I should
generally recommend making the spaces on the face of the wall rather inore than
one eighth of an inch wide because if the spaces be much less and especially if the
mortar in those narrow spaces. be not raked out after each day's work or at any

page_text: rate loosened the corresponding interior deeper spaces of which have not yet set,
then there will be a tendency as the said interior deeper spaces set and become
shallower by the compression of the mortar therein for the mortar in the exterior
narrow spaces, which sets much quicker, to be pushed out and flake or splinter off
the outer edges of the bricks. If however as stated the mortar in such narrow
outer spaces be raked out after each day's work then there is no occasion even for
walls that have to carry much weight to make the said spaces deeper than one
eighth of an inch or less.
Figure 4 is a face view of part of an ordinary wall built according to my
invention and in which the bricks are made without beadings on the underside and
Figure 5 is a vertical transverse section through such a wall of 9 inches thickness
Figure 6 is a plan of wall. The spaces at a a¹ and a+.and a¹+ are here shown
wider than at Figure 1. The sailing course bricks are mado according to my
invention and the top course bricks B are made with beadings along the bottom as
shown at 6 and without any spaces on the outer face so that the rain cannot well
penetrate into the interior of the wall and so that it runs off along the top and
edges of the sailing course. Each of the bricks B is along the side formed with a
half round recess which with the corresponding recess in the adjoining brick forms
a hole 6' that is used for grouting and which may be finally plugged up with
cement thus preventing the wet from penetrating down into the wall.
For some purposes, such as for sewer and arch bricks I form one or more short
projections on the back or top end of the brick and on the bedding side of the
same. As applied to a 9 inch or 4 inch wall or course the beads should be at
each end or side respectively. Figure 7 is a perspective view of such a brick formed
with the bead a¹ along one lower edge and with a short projection p at each top
end on the bedding side: these projections p may almost or quite touch the
adjoining brick, and the beading a' may wholly touch the adjoining brick.
As applied to sewer work I reduce the joints, that is, the joints exposed to the
ordinary action of the sewage to a fraction, or they may even be made to touch
leaving nothing except brick for the sewage to act upon on the inner face of the
sewer or especially the lower part of the same.
Figure 8 is a vertical section through a sewer constructed according to this
invention, I have here shown it applied to the inner course only and with close
joints in the lower part only. For the purposes of my invention I produce the
bricks described above in a new form of mould; the bottom part and the front side
edges of the mould or die and the bottom of the presser or follower are each formed
with narrow recesses or grooves along the edges of the parts which are to produce
the outer face of the brick and the latter will as a consequence come out of the
would with a continuous raised band or bead or ledge all round these parts. The
recess or groove may be interrupted in places according to the form of brick desired
to be made; it is advantageous to make the aforesaid recesses or grooves slightly
shallower at each side than at top and bottom. The recesses which are to form the
beads, bands or ledges at top and bottom and front side edges of the brick should
be about one eighth of an inch deep or wide in some cases slightly more or less and
may be made with square corners, or tapered off towards the inside away from the
face of the brick, or in any other convenient form. For some purposes such as for
moulds for sewer or arch bricks I form one or more short recesses at or near the
parts which are to form the back or top end of the brick and on the bedding side
of the same.
The mould may be filled and the contents pressed by hand or power while
thus enlarging the extent of the brick surface I do not in any way alter the standard
of the brick or the bond of the brickwork. This kind of face of wall is intended to be
employed alone, or along with all other ordinary brickwork, and without altering the
thickness of imortar joint at the inner part of the brick. An important advantage
of this construction of brick work is the increased strength afforded because the
mortar when a brick is bedded thereon cannot squeeze out so freely as with
ordinary brickwork and therefore become more compact and less porous.

page_text: It is important that the depth of the extra size of face of bricks should be small
and that when bedded the pressure should be equally distributed.
The bricks can also be made in fire clay for general purposes, as also for crowns
of arches exposed to fire, leaving little or no surface of fireclay or binding material
for the heat to act upon, the depth of the beads may in the latter case be increased
to allow for burning away. By this Invention I enlarge the visible surface of the
bricks and in consequence diminish the visible area or surface of joints of same
and thereby the disintegration of mortar or other binding material will be largely
prevented thus affording greater durability to exposed brickwork, and preventing
the unsightliness of the same when the mortar in course of time becomes decayed
and washed out.
As already stated additional strength is also obtained by the greater density
given to the mortar.
And Having thus described and ascertained the nature of this my invention and
the manner of carrying the same into effect I declare that I claim.
Firstly: The mode of constructing brick walls in which the visible part of the
joint is materially narrower than heretofore usual while a suitable body of mortar
or other binding material is available for the other or inner part of the joints all
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Secondly
-
-The manufacture of bricks having edge beadings, substantially as and
for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof I the said Frederick Smith have hereunto set my hand
and seal this Twentyfifth day of May in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty three.
FREDERICK SMITH. (L.S.)