IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO WALLS FOR FENCES, BUILDINGS, AND THE LIKE "
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Thompson of Wexford in the county of Wexford,
Ireland for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO WALLS FOR
FENCES, BUILDINGS, AND THE LIKE
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Thompson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th August 1883.
WILLIAM THOMPSON of Wexford in the county of Wexford, Ireland. " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN OR RELATING TO WALLS FOR FENCES, BUILDINGS AND THE LIKE "
This invention has for its object the making of a cheap strong fence or wall that
will not take up much room, and also one that will be difficult to climb over and
an excellent wall for fruit.
The invention consists in forming the fence or wall, whether in situ or carried
in pieces to its position, of corrugated concrete. By being corrugated (with the
corrugations running vertically), it will be greatly strengthened to resist side
pressure, and thus can be made much thinner than ordinary walls without danger
of being overthrown. Trees nailed up to it will have the air on both sides of
them, as the air will circulate up the corrugations, while the wall being white or
light gray or brown will reflect the light and heat against the fruit.
By colouring the concrete with various metallic oxides, any desired shade can be
had, and thus great variety obtained. I prefer to make the concrete of the best
cement, gravel and sand, intimately mixed, and moulded between two corresponding
corrugated surfaces. If made in situ, the concrete must be well rammed between
frames built up in place and taken down and brought further on as the first made
portion of the walls set.
This corrugated concrete can be used for almost any kind of walls, even houses,
especially farm buildings, but chiefly for cisterns, or tanks for water ensilage
etcetera, and for fences. In the latter cases I prefer to mould a plain or ornamental
cornice or coping at top to finish it off and strengthen it, at least wide enough
to cover the corrugations; on sloping ground this coping can be stepped at
intervals.

page_text: Sometimes, especially when a wall has been built piecemeal, I place a channel in
the coping, and cement into this an iron bar, rope, band, or other tie, so as to hold
the whole firm, care being taken to entirely embed the same in the concrete or
cement; or I make the coping in sets or lengths with a channel or groove into
which the top of slabs or sections are inserted. The sections may be made with
dowels and holes to match so that (in some cases) the sections of wall may be set
up and fastened in position by the dowels, the coping on top with its groove and
weight keeping all steady. The object being in this case, to admit of the wall
being taken down and removed. Similarly the various vertical seginents of the
wall have their joints filled with cement, and for this purpose are preferably made
hollow, so that their edges will abut evenly against each other and yet leavo
between the two concrete plates a double groove forming a vacant space, which I
fill with cement and thus key the two plates together with a cement key.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Thompson in the Patent Office on the 22nd February
1884.
WILLIAM THOMPSON, of Wexford, in the county of Wexford, Ireland "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN OR RELATING TO WALLS FOR FENCES, BUILDINGS AND THE LIKE
"
This invention has for its object the making of a cheap strong fence or wall that
will not take up much room, and also one that will be difficult to climb over and
an excellent wall for fruit.
The invention consists in forming the fence or wall whether in situ or carried
in pieces to its position of corrugated concrete. By being corrugated (with the
corrugations running vertically) it will be greatly strengthened to resist side
pressure and thus can be made much thinner than ordinary walls without danger
of being overthrown. Trees nailed up to it will have the air on both sides of them
as the air will circulate up the corrugations, while the wall being white or light
gray or brown will reflect the light and heat against the fruit.
By colouring the concrete with various metallic oxides, any desired shade can be
had and thus great variety obtained. I prefer to make the concrete of the best
cement, gravel and sand intimately mixed and moulded between two corresponding
corrugated surfaces. If made in situ which in nearly all cases is the plan I prefer,
the concrete must be well rammed between frames formed preferably of timber
and corrugated iron built up in place and taken down and brought further on as
the first made portion of the walls set.
This corrugated concrete can be used for almost any kind of walls even houses,
especially farm buildings, but chiefly for cisterns or tanks for water, ensilage,
etcetera, and for fences. In the latter cases I prefer to mould a plain or
ornamental cornice or coping at top to finish it off and strengthen it at least wide
enough to cover the corrugations; on sloping ground this coping can be stepped at
intervals. The drawings show a fence made on this plan, of which Fig. 1 is an
elevation, Fig. 2 sectional plan, and Fig. 3 sectional elevation. In making this fence
the preferable plan is to lay a foundation of concrete or cement somewhat wider
than the outsides of corrugations, on which foundation the wall is built in situ
between two shutters or guide frames of corrugated iron or zinc stiffened at back
with rails of timber or iron. When these shutters or guide frames are filled and
the concrete set hard, the shutters may be raised on the wall and another layer of
concrete filled in and so on till the wall is up to the required height after which
a coping of solid concrete is laid on top either in ready made lengths set in cement
or better still moulded in situ and so greatly strengthening the wall.
The
corrugations may be varied to suit various exigencies or tastes, but I prefer corru-
gations which make the gross length of the wall about one fourth more than the net
length, if for example the distance from A to B in a straight line is ten feet, then
the distance along the centre of the corrugated wall measuring all round the curves
would be 12 feet.
Sometimes especially when a wall has been built piecemeal, I place a channel in
the coping and cement into this an iron bar, rope, band or other tie so as to hold
the whole firm, care being taken to entirely embed the same in the concrete or
cement, or I make the coping in sets or lengths with a channel or groove into
which the top of slabs or sections are inserted. The sections may be made with
dowels and holes to match so that (in some cases) the sections of wall may be set
up and fastened in position by the dowels, the coping on top with its groove and
weight keeping all steady. The object being in this case to admit of the wall

page_text: being taken down and removed. Similarly the various vertical segments of the
wall have their joints filled with cement, and for this purpose are preferably made
hollowed so that their edges will abut evenly against each other and yet have
between the two concrete plates a double groove forming a vacant space which I
fill with cement and thus key the two plates together with a cement key. It is
however as already stated far better to build the wall in situ in most cases.
Having now described my invention and the best mode known to me of carrying
it into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the exact
form of corrugations herein set forth, as provided the width of the wall for sido
pressure purposes is counterforted by sinuosities or counter forts in the wall
incapable of being broken off, the same effect could be produced. But these
variations would only form colorable imitations of my invention, as experience
goes to shew that the form best adapted to give most lateral strength with the
least material and lenst danger of chipping or fracture is the ordinary curved
corrugated form, and I therefore claim is my invention the manufacture of walls
for fences, buildings and the like in whole or in part of concrete having a
corrugated or equivalent contour, substantially as and for the purposes described.
In witness whereof I the said William Thompson have hereunto set my hand
and seal this 20th day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and eighty four."
WILLIAM THOMPSON (L.S.)