Improvements in the Manufacture or Production of Blocks or Slabs for Use for Flooring, Paving, or in Step, or Staircase, or Wall. Construction, and for analogous purposes.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Jan., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 20th Oct., 1896-Accepted, 28th Nov., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture or Production of Blocks or Slabs
for Use for Flooring, Paving, or in Step, or Staircase, or Wall.
Construction, and for analogous purposes.
I, GURNEY LINDE FALCONAR, of Kintyre, Birkenhead Avenue, Kingston-on-
Thames in the County of Surrey Architect and Surveyor, do hereby declare the
nature of my invention to be as follows :-
The object of my invention is to provide blocks or slabs for use for flooring,
paving, or in step or staircase, or wall, construction or for analogous purposes, the
said blocks or slabs being of such a nature that they present on the upper or
outward side a surface of wood, compressed wood fibre, linoleum or other material
which possesses the requisite qualities for the said upper or outward side (I will
for brevity refer to it as wood) and on the lower or inward side a surface of
concrete cement or like material (I will for brevity refer to this as concrete) which
will give a firm hold of the blocks or slabs in the bed on which they are laid. The
said materials which form the blocks or slabs are firmly connected together which
may be effected by means of strips of metal of any desired section let in to and
projecting from saw cuts or grooves formed in the lower or inward side of the
facing material preferably at an angle other than a right angle the projecting
portions of the said metal strips being embedded in the concrete or like backing
material or by means of nails, screws, or the like which enter the wood and the
concrete and there may be embedded in the concrete, plates, or discs of metal or
equivalent material through which the nails or other securing devices pass.
There may be a layer of bituminous material or paper or other material
saturated with creosote or other preservative matter between the wood and the
concrete.
I do not limit myself to any one precise way of making the blocks or slabs
according to my invention but a convenient way is as follows. I take a mould of-
an internal capacity and shape corresponding to the size and shape of the block or
slab to be produced and I place the wood or surface material with the strips of
metal or the like projecting therefrom in the said mould I then introduce the
concrete. When the concrete is set the block or slab is removed from the mould.
If a preservative layer is to be introduced between the wood and the concrete it is
placed on the wood before the concrete is introduced. I may make the wood and
the concrete portions of the same size and shape or I may make them of different
sizes or shapes for instance the wood may be slightly larger than the concrete
portion so that when the blocks or slabs are put in place the wood portions meet
but between the concrete portions there are spaces into which the material of the
bed or cement laid thereon may enter or as a further instance the wood portion
being slightly larger than the concrete portion admits also of the expansion and
contraction of the wood some light packing material being usually placed in the
small spaces between the wood portions of adjacent blocks or slabs. The wood.
portions of adjacent blocks or slabs may be joined together if desired by double'
pointed nails or by dovetail or groove and tongue or dowells or in other con
venient way.
--
Dated this 20th day of January 1896.
B
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47 Lincoln's Inn Fields,. London,. W.C., Agents.

page_text: Improvements in the Manufacture or Production of Blocks or Slabs
for Use for Flooring, Paving, or in Step, or Staircase, or Wall
Construction, and for analogous purposes.
I GURNEY LINDE FALCONAR of Kintyre Birkenhead Avenue Kingston-on-
Thames in the County of Surrey Architect and Surveyor do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of my invention is to provide blocks or slabs for flooring paving or
in step or staircase or wall construction or for analogous purposes the said blocks
or slabs being of such a nature that they present on the upper or outward side a
surface of wood, compressed wood fibre or other material which possesses the
requisite qualities for the said upper or outward side (I will for brevity refer to it
as wood) and on the lower or inward side a surface of concrete, cement or like
inaterial (I will for brevity refer to this as concrete) which will give a firm hold
by means of cement (such as is usually used in the building trades) to the concrete
or masonry bed or substructure on which they are laid or applied.
materials which form the blocks or slabs are firmly connected together
which may be effected by means of strips of metal of any desired section let in to
and projecting from saw cuts or grooves formed in the lower or underside of the
facing material preferably at an angle other than a right angle, the projecting
portions of the said metal strips being embedded in the concrete or like backing
material or by means of nails screws or the like which enter the wood and the
concrete and there may be embedded in the concrete strips plates or discs of metal
or equivalent material through which the nails or other securing devices pass, so as
to secure a firmer grip or hold to the said concrete.
Although various purposes have been enumerated for which these combined wood
and concrete blocks or slabs appear specially suitable I do not in any way debar
myself from applying them to any useful purpose whatever.
The accompanying drawings represent longitudinal sections of blocks suitable
for flooring on a concrete or similar substructure and are intended to serve as a
general illustration of the methods by which I connect the wood surface with
the concrete backing so as to provide a complete block or slab ready for laying or
fixing in situ.
For the purpose of this illustration the blocks may be considered as being in size.
about 12 inches long by 3 inches wide although they might be made of any
convenient size or shape.
Figure 1. shews the connexion as being made by means of a metal strip or
tongue (d) let in to a saw cut or groove in the wood (a) and then embedded in the
concrete (b).
In this case (although direction is not arbitrary) the tongues would traverse the
blocks in direction of their width at intervals of about 6 inches apart. This
method of connexion is the simplest and most suitable for hard woods such as oak
teak etc.
Figure 2 shews the connexion as being formed by means of nails or screws (e).
driven through the concrete while plastic into the wood (a). The nails or screws
are in this case also passed through discs or strips of metal or such like material (d)
although in some cases a nail with a large flat head would suffice in place of the
said strips or discs.
This method would generally apply only to inferior work in soft woods such as
deal, pine etc. and where economy was the chief desideratum.
It would generally be found desirable to protect the underside of the wood with

page_text: a layer or coat of bitumenous material, paint, or other substance so as to prevent
absorbtion of moisture from the contiguous concrete.
I do not limit myself to any one precise way of making the blocks or slabs
according to my invention, but a convenient way is as follows.-I take a mould (of
a character suitable for cement or concrete castings) of an internal capacity and
shape corresponding to the size and shape of the block or slab (which may as
regards the wood surface consist either of a single piece or several pieces joined
together to form any desired shape or pattern) to be produced and I place the
wood or surface material with the strips of metal or the like, projecting therefrom
in the said mould, I then introduce the concrete which should only contain sufficient
moisture to ensure the proper setting of the same. The concrete I have found most
suitable for the purpose consists of Portland cement and washed sand or finely
screened or crushed breeze or ashes mixed in proportion of about one part of
cement to one or two parts of the aggregate; other proportions might be adopted
if desired or Portland or other hydraulic cement or plaster might be employed
neat or admixed with other materials as above, according to the purpose for which
the combined blocks or slabs were intended to be used. I may make the wood and
the concrete portions of the same size & shape or I may make them of different
sizes or shapes, for instance the wood may be slightly larger than the concrete
portion so that when the blocks or slabs are put in place the wood portions meet or
abut, but between the concrete portions there are spaces into which the material of
the bed or cement in which they are laid may enter and as a further instance the
wood portion being slightly larger than the concrete portion admits also of the
expansion or contraction of the wood.
When the concrete has partially set the blocks are removed from the mould.
The wood portions of adjacent blocks may be joined together if desired by double
pointed nails or by groove and tongue, or dowells in any convenient way.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. The making and constructing of combined blocks or slabs of wood and
concrete for various useful purposes.
2. The methods of connecting the said wood and concrete in the ways and by
the means herein substantially figured and described.
Dated this 19th day of October 1896.
GURNEY L. FALCONAR,
Applicant.