IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CONCRETE FLOORS AND ROOFS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Payne, of Storey's Gate, St. James'
Park, in the City of Westminster, Architect, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CONCRETE FLOORS AND ROOFS.”
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CONCRETE FLOORS AND ROOFs."
Sealed the 9th February 1875, and dated the 12th August 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Payne at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 12th August 1874.
I, ALEXANDER PAYNE, of Storey's Gate, St. James' Park, in the
City of Westminster, Architect, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CONCRETE FLOORS AND
Roors," to be as follows:-
Hitherto in the construction of concrete floors and flat concrete roofs
it has been the practice to divide up the space to be covered in by
girders of cast or wrought iron, placing them at such distances apart as
will be convenient for forming continuous supports for arches which are
to be turned between the girders. I now propose to divide the floor

page_text: space into angular (generally rectangular) compartments, providing
supports at the corners of the compartments, and to dispose the plastic
concrete in vaults, groins, or fan vaulting, so as to throw the whole as
much as possible into a state of compression somewhat after the manner
of flat vaulting in stone or brick, except that the concrete affords the
opportunity of bringing the whole to a flat surface on the top in one
monolithic mass and to dispose of the under surface in straight instead
of curved lines if desired. I thus rely upon disposing the material in
such a manner that the weight on the floor is concentrated on given
points of support in contrast with the continuous lines of support
required hitherto by walls and girders.
I connect the supports or pillars together by W, 1, or other ties either
longitudinally, transversely, or diagonally, or strengthen the outermost
oncs by buttresses to resist any possible thrust that may arise from flaws
in the concrete.
Where iron columns are used they may be carried up beyond the cap
support and connected by ties in the mass of the concrete. The concrete
may be more completely bonded together by using W, I, ties in different
directions through its mass, and also by rings running round the different
compartments, as herein-after described.
When constructing a floor with simple Roman groining I connect the
pillars or supports together by tie rods, as before described, and over
these I form arches in concrete. so as to connect the pillars together
longitudinally and transversely, and the rectangular spaces thus divided
out I subdivide by light diagonal arched, braced, or other girders, and I
fill in with concrete so as to close the space with concrete groining
that will follow the lines of the diagonal girders and bury them
within it.
When making a concrete vaulting on the Gothic method I dispense
with the use of the diagonal girders and close the rectangular space with
a dome-shaped covering of concrete, the squared sides of which will
bear against arches of concrete resting on the tied corner pillars. In
this arrangement W, I, or other ties may be well introduced in a series of
concentric rings in the thickness of the dome, and the domical shape
may be modified to suit the taste of the designer or the circumstances of
the case, and the under side may take the shape of a cone pyramid,
spheroid, or spherical pyramid, or the concrete may be disposed as

page_text: conical extensions of the capitals of the pillars or supports after the
manner of fan vaulting, such extensions being continued until they
meet. If at this meeting a lattice or other rib taking the form of the
open space is placed upon the circumscribing arches it will form a bond,
and serve also as a support for the concrete filling used to close the
space between the extended capitals and complete this portion of the
flooring.
The arrangement last described offers great facilities for covering
spaces between supporting columns, the tie rods between which form
triangular figures, and the fans may be severally braced or strengthened
with concentric rings of W, I, as above described for domes.
When it is proposed to cover great spans brackets or struts may be
used as supports in place of pillars, the same disposition of the concrete
being preserved to ensure the requisite thickness of material at the
various points of support.
If desired each separate compartment or division of roof or floor space
may be cast in one block and placed in situ in a solid state.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Payne in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 12th February 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
PAYNE, of Storey's Gate, St. James' Park, in the City of Westminster,
Architect, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Alexander Payne, Her special licence
that I, the said Alexander Payne, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander Payne, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and

page_text: vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF CONCRETE FLOORS AND ROOFS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Payne, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alexander Payne, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to 1
say) :—
Hitherto in the construction of concrete floors and flat concrete roofs
it has been the practise to divide up the space to be covered in by girders
of cast or wrought iron, placing them at such distances apart as will be
convenient for forming continuous supports for arches, which are to be
turned between the girders. I now propose to divide the floor space into
angular (generally rectangular) compartments, providing supports at the
corners or angles of the compartments, and so dispose the plastic concrete
in vaults, groins, or fan vaulting so as to throw it as much as possible into a
state of compression (somewhat after the manner of flat vaulting in stone 2
or brick) except that the concrete affords the opportunity of bringing the
whole to a flat surface on the top in one monolithic mass, and at the
same time to imbed iron or other ties or open lattice diagonal girders
in suitable places in the mass. I thus rely on disposing the material in
such a manner that the weight on the floor is concentrated on different à
points of support in contrast with the continuous lines of support
hitherto supplied by walls and girders, and I thereby effect a material
economy in the construction of fire-proof floors and roofs.
The supports or pillars I connect together by wrought iron or other
ties longitudinally, transversely, or diagonally, or I use buttresses to
resist the lateral thrust on the outermost supports.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4
represent in section and plan a rectangular compartment of floor, in

page_text: pillars.
When the under side takes the shape of simple Roman groining I
connect the pillars or supports together by open light diagonal girders,
as shewn at Fig. 2, which girders may be made as at 6 or latticed as at c.
These girders I secure together at their crossings by bolts or otherwise,
and I may also, if desired, connect them at their extremities to tubular
or other extensions of the pillars, as shewn at Fig. 2. I then fill in the
spaces between the girders with concrete, providing a temporary support
for the plastic material, so formed as to mould the concrete to the form
of Roman groining, the lines of the groining following the lines of the
girders which are to be buried in the concrete.
To resist any thrust in the vaulting the supports may be connected
together either longitudinally and transversely or diagonally by tie rods,
as shewn at a, a, Fig. 4. These ties may be concealed, if desired, when
iron columns are used for supports by carrying the columns above the
capitals to receive the ends of the tie rods, and bedding the ties in the
mass of the concrete, as shewn in Fig. 5.
In constructing a concrete floor without girders in order to obtain
greater strength in the form of the concreto I shape the under side of
each compartment, by means of centering as before, into the form of a
domical vault (that is, the thickness of the concrete is made to increase
in every direction from the crown), as illustrated in Sheet II., where
Figures 2 and 4 shew an arrangement for a square compartment, the
soffit taking the form of part of a true sphere. In this case I strengthen
the concrete with concentric rings r, r, of wrought iron or other suitable
material by imbedding the same into the concrete. These rings
will serve as binding rings to the masses of concrete that they
severally encircle, and they will be subjected to a bursting strain. The
concrete floor thus strengthened may however assume other shapes than
that shewn at Fig. 2. Thus in the squares forming parallelograms it
would be convenient to adopt the form of a flat groined vault after the
Gothic method, as shewn in Figures 1 and 3; or the soffits may be
formed with straight lines, as shewn in Fig. 5, or in fact, may take
almost any shape of the conical pyramidal or spheroidal order provided
the general principle of arranging the material is maintained so as to
obtain for it the greatest strength of resistance, the ring ties in all cases

page_text: being buried within the thickness of the concrete. In this construction
of floor each compartment will be like an inverted saucer, bound round
with iron or other rings, and can only give way or spread by bursting the
ties and overcoming their tensile strength.
It will be readily seen that in this construction of vaulting a circular
hole can be readily left in the crown of the arch or dome if desired
without diminishing the strength.
Another part of my Invention has reference to the disposal of the
concrete in the form of fan vaulting, which can be best described as
conical extensions of the capitals, pillars, or supports. This arrange-
ment is shewn in Sheet III. The fan-like extensions of the capitals I
propose to tie in by a series of rings, as above described with reference
to Sheet II., the open or key space between the fans being closed with
a filling of concrete, or an iron frame can be here introduced with an
inscribing circle as shewn and filled in with concrete. This central
filling may be further strengthened by being suspended from the masses
of the floor overlying the capitals, as herein-after explained.
The arrangement last described offers great facilities for covering
spaces between columns placed at the angles of triangular or polygonal
figures.
When it is proposed to cover great spaces, brackets or struts, or iron
plates carried by suspension may be used for supports in place of pillars,
the same disposition of the concrete being observed to insure the requisite
thickness of material at the various points of support, and the same
system of ties being used.
This principle is illustrated under several forms in Sheet IV., a study
of which will shew that the principle is capable of great extension and
variety, especially in covering over and flooring circular rooms.
Fig. 2 shews in section a floor supported by means of struts carried
by the side walls. At the left-hand side of this Figure the strut A takes
the form of an ornamental cast-iron rod, to the upper end of which is
secured a short pillar of cast iron. To this pillar are attached transverse
and diagonal tie rods B, which connect with other and similar pillars,
and terminate in the walls C. These tie rods and pillars are embedded
in the concrete. On the right hand side of the same Figure an orna-
mental cast-iron bracket D takes the place of the strut A, but performs

page_text: substantially the same office, and in Fig. 3 similar points are carried by
suspension, as shewn. I would remark that the part of the floor from a
to a, Fig. 2, will serve to illustrate a convenient mode of forming
balconies in concrete. This principle of construction may also be used
to carry bay windows or like structural projections.
Figures 4 and 5 show in side elevation and plan a bracket formed with
ring ties r, r, which are carried by the back of the supporting wall.
This construction of bracket may be used in lieu of the struts and
bracket illustrated at Fig. 2.
It will be understood that the concrete floors as described above are
formed by throwing in the concrete upon a centering suitably prepared
to meet the requirements of the several cases, but if desired each com-
partment or division of floor may be cast in one block and placed "in
situ." This principle can also be advantageously adapted to each com-
partment of a floor where great strength is required. An illustration of
this is given in Sheet III. of the Drawings.
Let the cap, Fig. 2, be carried up to the level of the floor and a
wrought-iron disc placed at the under side of the centre of the compart-
ment where it is weakest, as at a, Fig. 3. This disc can then be
suspended from the columns by a series of ties 8, as shewn, or the ties
may be carried in any direction over the concrete arches enclosing the
compartment, and rest on hard templates.
On the same principle (see Fig. 1, Sheet IV.) a very large room may
be covered with a floor or roof with a flat ceiling below, any number of
discs, rods, plates, or points of support a, a, a, being used in connection
with and carried by transverse or other ties suspended from and connected
with the walls. Fig. 1 shews the ties completely imbedded in concrete,
the floor being of uniform thickness except at the parts adjoining the
walls, where it rests on slightly projecting cornices.
By adapting my improvements as above described to roofs, the size of
the compartments could be greatly increased, as a considerable increase
of height could be readily obtained for the arches. The compartments
of the roof would then take the form of a dome or any of the shapes
beforo described as suitable for bedding in the thickness of the covering
a series of horizontal circular rings.
One illustration of the adaptation of this domical structure to roofs is
riven in Shoot V Fio 1 being a sectional elevation and Fir. 2 a plan

page_text: of the same.
The domical structure with its imbedded annular ties r
rests on a flat ring of metal R. as a base, and to bring the circular to a
square form below the dome any form of pendentive may be used, such
as one supported by ring ties, as above described for brackets, Sheet IV.,
Fig. 4, or three supports of iron or other material springing from a
common stem and tied together at the top, and carrying the weight of
the dome down to the angle of the square (as shewn at U, U, U, Fig. 2),
the thrust being resisted by suspension ties S, as shewn, or buttresses.
The concrete may be made in any way that is strong enough to do the
work, or any artificial stone or material that is capable of being manipu-
lated in the same way as concrete may be used.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of " Improvements
in the Construction of Concrete Floors and Roofs," and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that
under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim constructing
floors and roofs in concrete in the manner and for the purpose above
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Payne, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, the Twelfth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy- 2
five.