A NEW METHOD OF BUILDING A FIRE PROOF HOUSE
Year: 1884

page_text: I JOHN NEPOMUC MOERATH of 152 Kilburn park road in the City of London W
Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for A NEW METHOD
OF BUILDING A FIRE PROOF HOUSE to be as follows:-
The fundament of the building is executed by screwpiles, over which are slided
rings with double flanges for each wall; on these flanches are fixed corrugated
galvanised sheet, iron plates with screws or rivets, and the space between these
corrugated sheet iron plates is filled up with elastic and incombustible material
especially containing cork shawings mixed with saw dust or similar materials and
silicate of soda:
The joists are formed by pipes of iron or other suitable material fixed on
sockets
or rings with flanges as above mentioned. The floors are also formed with double
corrugated sheet iron plates and the space between them is filled up with the above
named elastic mortar and then covered with cement or marble stones.
The roof of the house is flat and covered with cement and is usable as a garden
for flowers.
For sake of preventing fire by lightening many points of galvanized wire are
placed on the top of the house, which points are guided to an underground burried
coper plate.

page_text: I JOHN NEPOMUC MOERATH, of 152 Kilburn Park Road London N.W., Civil
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for A NEW METHOD OF
BUILDING A FIRE PROOF HOUSE and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
In order that this my said invention appliable for what ever a kind of buildings
may be fully understood I have attached hereto a sheet of drawing, in which
Fig. (1) shews the foundation screw piles A with hollow shaft-pieces B of a
suitable hight Fig. (1 & 2) and the method to fasten them together. These shaft-
pieces may consist of steel, wrought iron, cast iron or other suitable material;
their dimensions of diameter and thikness depend of the strenght required. The
larger or smaler surface of the screw-piles depends of the quality of the ground,
where the building has to be erected. These screw piles, forming the basis of the
skeleton of the building, are screwed in the ground more or less deep according to
the quality of the ground material; for the principal walls proportioned large ones
and for the thinner or partition-walls smaller ones are used. For doors and
windows are used joined pipes. For the ground floor these pipes may be screwed
or driven in the earth by means of percussion.
The wrought iron and steel shafts are simply screwed together as shows Fig. (1),
but the peculiar manner to fasten the cast iron shaft-pieces together is represented
in Fig. (2); the under part of them has three or more slits C, in which are laid in
three or more bolts D; the upper part possess three or more corresponding holos
in which the screw bolts D pass in, when it is lowered vertically down. By means
of a corresponding long key the screw-nuts are screwed on; for easily working
with the key the maximal lenght of the shaft piece is taken about four feet, in
which case the shaft pieces can be very strongly fastened together. The top of the
shafts is covered with cowls for sake of using these shafts as chimneys and for
good ventilation. When once all the screw piles are driven in the ground and the
. level between them is executed, there are fixed_forward-leaping rings; for steel
and wrought iron shafts are used screw-nibbles E Fig. (1) and for cast iron ones
the lowest piece is fitted with a round flange F Fig. (2). On these forward
leaping-rings are placed the over rings with side flanges, more or less strong,
according to the purpose; some kind of them is represented in Fig. (3, 4, 5, 6,
7 & 8), and in Fig. (9 & 10) several combinations of appliances are shown for a
small house. There are over-rings of low and high dimensions; the low ones for
the floors are represented in Fig. (4, 5 & 6) which are holding together the pipe
joists wraped with flat iron G Fig. 10, 11 & 12). These joists are screwed
together and form the horizontal part of the whole skeleton of the building. The
high over-rings are shown in Fig. (7) as elevation and in Fig. (8) as section.
The vertical surface of the walls are formed by corrugated sheet iron or similar
material H Fig. (9, 10, 11 & 12) holded in exact distances by little bolts J. Before
these corrugated sheet iron plates are placed, the bottom of the future walls is
fitted with a strong layer of cement, and then the space between the fixed

page_text: corrugated sheet iron plates is filled up with an elastic and uninflammable
mortar K Fig. (9, 10, 11 & 12) consisting of cork shavings, saw dust and other
suitable localy existing material mixed with silicate of soda. The hollow frames
and over-rings for doors and windows are filled up with cement mortar.
When these spaces are full with mortar and plained with cement, the cover L
Fig. (11 & 12) with angle iron is placed; the angle iron is used for fixing the
cornices of the building, that is to say, inside for the ceiling and outside for
architectural purposes.
For forming the floors, there are added to the joists G double T joists M,
Fig. (10, 11 & 12) and between them are placed arches of corrugated sheet iron N.
Fig. (11) and the space over them is filled up with the said mortar K. Fig. (11),
Across the joists are fixed horizontaly corrugated sheet iron plates O Fig. (10)
which are covered also with the said mortar K, and then plained with cement-
mortar. After as this is dry, cement pavement stones P Fig. (10) are laid. The
surface of the walls and ceillings of the lodgings are covered with asbestos painted
hanging tapestry. The last floor forming the roof is covered with asphalt. The
prolongated screw pile shafts are holding the parapet of the flat roof, and as
already before mentioned, aro covered with cowls and used as chimneys for
guiding out the smoky gases from the kitcheners R and warming and ventilating
toves S. Fig. (9).
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. "The method of fastening the scrow pile shafts by means of slit-rips C, where
are placed the screw bolts D, as herein described in Fig. (2).
2. The application of differently combined over-rings with flanges, as herein
described in Fig. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8).-
3. The application of an elastic and uninflammable mortar K as berein described
in Fig. (9, 10, 11 & 12).
4. The method to form the horizontal part of the skeleton of the building by
means of pipe joists G, as herein described in Fig. (10, 11 & 12).*
Dated this 6th day of August 1885.

page_text: FIG. II.