IMPROVEMENTS IN BUILDINGS, BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONS, AND BUILDING MATERIALS, WITH REFERENCE TO FIREPROOFING, AND IN MEANS, MODES, AND PROCESSES CONNECTED THEREWITH."
Year: 1880

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thaddeus Hyatt at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 15th March 1880.
THADDEUS HYATT, of 21, Addison Gardens, Kensington, in the County of
Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN BUILDINGS, BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONS, AND
BUILDING MATERIALS, WITH REFERENCE TO FIREPROOFING, AND IN MEANS, MODES,
AND PROCESSES CONNECTED THEREWITH."
Fireproof Floors.-Corrugated sheet iron arches overlaid with concrete is a
common mode of making fireproof floors, but the metal being always exposed on the
underside, and yielding readily to flame, such floors are not fireproof. My improve-
ment consists in making such metal arches with a fire-resisting under face composed
of plaster of Paris or other suitable material as a protection to the metal. According
to one method I make fireproof floors by means of perforated metal or a wattling
of wood, wire, or hoop iron in arch form coated with suitable fireresisting material
and overlaid with concrete, the perforated metal being either corrugated or flat.
When corrugated the metal has sufficient stiffness in itself, but when flat I
strengthen it by suitable supports fixed to the underside of the arch. Where the
arches are made of cast metal studs with heads or ribs with flanges may be cast
upon the under face of the arch for the fire-resisting material to key to. My
improvement in the corrugated sheet metal arches consists in giving a wedge-shapo
to the corrugations on the underside of the arches, and coating or filling the same
with fireproofing material to protect it against fire. According to another mode I
employ arched metal blades threaded upon wires, which I encase with fire-resisting
material, and employ as permanent arches between the beams to support the flooring
or filling-of-concrete. The fireproofing-cement encasement may be put on the
metal either before or after the arch is placed in position. What I consider as
novel and my Invention in the foregoing construction of permanent arch-centerings
is, first, making the same of corrugated sheet metal formed or crimped with retaining
channels upon the under face thereof for the uses and purposes aforesaid; second,
combining the same with a filling and stiffening of plastering to stiffen and fireproof
the same as a supporter and fireproof protector to the concrete filling and flooring
above it; third, making the same either of open-work or of perforated material in
combination with a filling and stiffening of plastering to strengthen and fireproof
the same as a supporter and fireproof protector to the concrete filling and flooring

page_text: above it; fourth, making permanent metal arch centreings with a retaining under
face, and combining with the same plastering to strengthen and fireproof the arch
as a support and fireproof protector to the concrete filling and flooring above it.
In connection with the foregoing I claim as my Invention and as a new manufacture
arch-centerings which I call vulcanized Portland cement arches, constructed of sheet
metal either perforated or crimped, or perforated and crimped as aforesaid, encased
or enclosed within sulphurized cement, that is to say, Portland cement made
fireproof by admixture with flowers of sulphur in manner well known. I also
claim as my Invention, combining in any proportions with the aforesaid sulphurized
cement lumps of alum or other salt containing water of crystallization, such lumps
having been first coated over and made water-proof by means of shellac or other
varnish or water-proofing material. I also claim perforated or crimped sheet metal
as aforesaid combined, as aforesaid, in flat shape as a lathing or fireproof covering
for making partitions and ceilings in buildings. I also claim as a new building
material and manufacture, lump alum and other salts containing water of
crystallization when the same is rendered fit for being combined with cements,
concretes, mortars, and plastering materials in plastic and wet condition by being
first coated or covered with shellac or other varnish or waterproofing material, and
I claim combining the same with buildings and parts of buildings to render the
same fireproof as a new mode of making fireproof building constructions. I also
claim water-proofed salts as aforesaid in combination with cements, mortars, and
concretes as a new manufacture when made in moulded and dried form for
application to fireproofing buildings. A further part of my Invention, having
reference to the employment of salts containing water of crystallization, consists in
the employment of the same (whether water-proofed or not) as a filling inside the
hollow iron columns of buildings for the purpose of generating steam within the
same to cool the metal when attacked by heat and flame, a part of my Invention
consisting in forming the columns with openings or perforations for the steam to
escape to the outside of the column. The outside of the column may also be
jacketed with the salts combined with cement as aforesaid.
Another part of my Invention consists in making fireproof floor constructions by
means of moulded ceiling slabs or plates, made preferably from sulphurized Portland
cement, the same of preference being also combined with water-proofed salts as
aforesaid, and by preference also moulded upon metal cores, such as the crimped or
perforated metal sheets hereinabove described as employed for arches. These plates
I make of convenient size and shape and thickness from one foot square and upwards
when in squares, and from two to ten feet long by from six to sixteen inches wide
when in lengths, and from one to four inches thick. The slabs are provided with
holdfasts in the form of strong wires or slips of sheet metal attached to the metal
core, which slips or clips project from the upper face of the slab from three to six
inches or more for the purpose of attaching them to the beams underneath which
they are suspended. They may either cross the space from beam to beam and be
held to them, or be suspended from cross-bars resting upon the bottom flanges of
the beams in gridiron or other form, the cross-bars being afterwards covered up by
fireproofing material. The slabs in this combination and construction may either
serve as a fireproof sheathing to a layer of concrete or other flooring and filling
above it, or they may be made strong enough to be the actual floor and ceiling, no
filling above them of concrete being required. When so made I employ stronger
metal for the cores and combine them with strong supporting cross bars, arranging
the same of preference to also serve as braces or struts between the beams. The
novelty of this mode of making floor constructions, and which I claim as my
Invention, consists in the employment of fireproof slabs made substantially as
hereinabove described, and hanging and connecting them to the beams or to
supports laid cross-wise between the beams in the manner of bridge-building,
substantially as herein-above described, and thus forming a suspended fireproof 5
ceiling or flooring and ceiling underneath the beams to protect them from heat and
flame. I also claim the use and application of suspended fireproof slabs to protect

page_text: the beams of buildings in constructions the same, substantially as hereinabove
described, when the filling between the beams is otherwise made than as hereinabove
described.
Another part of my Invention relates to fireproof floors made of solid wood. The
object of solid wood flooring is to confine the flames to the broad surface of the
wood; but timber being always more or less green shrinks under heat, and the
flames enter between the seams and so attack the wood at the sides. For this
reason a plastered surface put upon the face of the wood fails to protect it, the
plastering cracking at the seams when the timber shrinks; but when the protection
is made in the form of plates, like the ceiling slabs hereinabove described, and
suspended beneath the timbers, they give perfect protection. In making con-
structions of this sort where the main or wall beams are iron I form the suspended
ceiling as hereinabove described, and place the timbers above it, resting them upon
the bottom flanges of the beams, the pieces of preference being laid without
touching one another; the whole is then overlaid with dry sand or equivalent
material, which also fills the seams between the timbers. Where the solid wood
rests upon the main walls, I suspend the ceiling against the under face thereof, as
in the former case, but by means of bolts that run up between the timbers, and are
attached to flat cross-bars of iron, of preference let into the face of the wood, the
layer of dry sand or other fireproofing put over the tops of the timbers also serving
to protect the iron. What I claim in solid wood floor construction is the com-
bination with it of a fireproof protecting ceiling arranged to be independent of the
effects of its shrinkage, substantially as hereinabove described; also, combining
sand or equivalent dry material with the same, substantially as hereinabove set
forth.
Another part of my Invention consists in making fireproof floors and roofs by
means of metallic gratings combined with the beams, the bars of the gratings being
in themselves sufficiently strong and near to each other to support the intended
loads were the spaces between them left open, the filling between and around the
bars being designed mainly as a fireproof protection to the grating. The gratings
may be constructed in any well known manner, as open-work gratings for being
walked upon are constructed, and of either cast or wrought metal. When made of
bars the bars may be joined together in grating form before being placed in
position, or employed singly, the ends being temporarily held until the filling of
concrete or material is put between and over them, a suspended ceiling, as herein-
above described, being sometimes combined with the gratings, the spaces between
the bars being then of preference blocked with wood in combination with an
overlayer of dry sand, in manner as hereinabove set forth. In some cases I prefer
to encase each bar separately with cement or concrete as a joist, the encasement
being so proportioned as that when such joists are laid in contact side by side the
metal bars within them will be sufficiently near together to practically form a
grating. In other cases I prefer to combine two or more bars with the encasing
material, and so form them into slabs, which I then apply as aforesaid. What I
claim as my Invention in the foregoing constructions is, making them of load-
supporting metallic gratings when the same are combined with the beams of a
building and covered or encased with fireproofing materials, substantially as
described.
-Flat-faced Solid Brick Filling or Flat Arches.-Another part of my Invention,
based upon the bonding power of pure hydraulic cements and pure plaster of Paris
in grouting form, consisting in bonding by such means any number of bricks into
a solid mass or slab possessing the strength of a single brick of equal size, were it
possible to mould and bake a brick of such dimensions, in combination with the
beams of a building to form fireproof floors and roofs, this method of bonding
bricks producing flat arches that protect the metal cross-ties usually employed
between the beams to take the thrust of the arches. My method of construction
is as follows:-The bricks having been well soaked in water are placed upon a
temporary platform with their greatest surfaces standing perpendicularly in order

page_text: that the bonding joints may be vertical and the strains crosswise thereto; the
bricks are then bonded by means of a grouting made of pure plaster of Paris or of
hydraulic cement run into the seams between the bricks, and well tamped home,
a part of my Invention consisting in previously soaking the bricks in warm water,
preferably about one hundred degrees of heat; also, making the grouting with
water of the same temperature. In making floors on this system I cover the under
side of the bottom flanges of the iron beams with fireproof ceiling slabs made as
hereinabove described, the flat ceiling-filling of bricks being started like arches
from the bottom flanges, the ceiling face of the bricks being in line either with the
flanges or with the protecting slabs under the flanges of the beams. What I claim
in the foregoing constructions as my Invention is, floors and roofs made of bricks
prepared, placed, and bonded together in combination with the beams of the building,
substantially as hereinabove described.
Another part of my Invention relates to a method or process for bending into
arch-form the wedge-shaped, crimped, or corrugated sheets of metal herein before
described. My method consists, first, in making the wedge-shape crimps sufficiently
wide and deep to permit the employment of suitable bending rollers for arching the
sheets; and, second, in the employment of rollers, the faces of which are made to
fit into the crimps sufficiently well to give the required support to the flat faces of
the metal in its passage through the rollers; and, third, employing the rollers in
pairs, so that the sheet is "bit" or nipped between the rollers, which by their
revolution draw the sheet forward over the curved line upon which the rollers are
placed.
According to another part of my Invention my improvement with reference to
constructing fireproof roofs and floors of sheet metal corrugated with wedge-shaped
crimps, consists in its employment in flat sheets as tie-metals, that is to say, the
layer of material upon the loaded side of the sheet, whether the material be concrete
or otherwise, is sufficiently thick to produce beam strength when the two act as one,
the metal taking the tensile, and the material the crushing strains, a part of my
Invention, in some cases, consisting in combining wires or stops with the metal,
which may be wires passed through the sides of the crimps at from three to nine
inches apart.
Another part of my Invention consists in the employment of sheet metal
corrugated with wedge-shaped crimps, and bent into the form of a very slight
arch, the object being to put in the ceiling material so as to present a flat or
level under surface, the material in such case being thickest at the centre of the
arch.