NEW OR IMPROVED COMPOSITIONS OR . MATERIALS FOR FORMING BLOCKS FOR USE IN BUILDINGS AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Alexander Wright, of Portsmouth, in the County
of Hants, for an Invention of "NEW OR IMPROVED COMPOSITIONS OR
.
MATERIALS FOR FORMING BLOCKS FOR USE IN BUILDINGS AND OTHER
PURPOSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Alexander Wright
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th June 1881.
GEORGE ALEXANDER WRIGHT, of Portsmouth, in the County of Hants. "NEW
OR IMPROVED COMPOSITIONS OR MATERIALS FOR FORMING BLOCKS FOR USE IN
BUILDINGS AND OTHER PURPOSES."
The chief object of this Invention is the manufacture and production of a firc-
proof material or composition capable of being moulded into any desired shape or
form as circumstances may require and made up into blocks or otherwise, and the
composition is of such a nature that while being of a fireproof nature it is also
such that nails can be driven into the material with almost if not quite as much
facility as into wood, and with the advantage that when so driven the hold is
stronger than in wood; and a further object is that the material may in many
cases be used as a substitute for wood for greater security and safety from fire,
shrinking, and rot. The blocks can be put into brick, stone, concrete, or other
walls, and in other parts of buildings for the purpose of providing a fixing for
carpenters' and joiners' work, bellhanging, gas fitting, picture hanging, or it can bo
used for other purposes where it may be necessary to fix anything to, for example,
walls or floors with screws, nails, and the like. This article can also be used as a
substitute for bond timbers, wood grounds, wood bricks, wood joint pieces, and
other wood built into or otherwise placed into walls of the nature previously
described.
The article can also be used as a substitute for wood plates (for floor, ceiling, or
other wood joists). It can also be used in ceilings of fireproof or similar construc-
tions as a means for fixing plasterers' laths and other wood. It can also be used
as a substitute for wood joists and sleepers in basement floors, or in any damp or
similar position.

page_text: When required the article can be made in any size or shape, or similar to any
ordinary bricks now in use, by which they can be inserted in brick walls without
destroying the bond of the work.
Convenient materials for the manufacture of my improved compositions are
composed of sand (washed), breeze, cement, lime, and loam.
Approximate proportions, when the above materials are used, may be as
follows:-
•
Loain
"
The ingredients should be mixed together, preferably putting in the cinders last,
sufficient liquid being employed to bring it to the desired consistency; with the
liquid may be mixed such materials as india-rubber, gutta-percha, or equivalents
to afford more elasticity, and to reduce the liability of the blocks splitting, the
material thus prepared is placed in moulds of the required shape, where they should
remain, for example, two days; they are then removed and allowed to dry. The
cinder thus finds its way into the blocks in its natural state. Suitable cements
are Parian, Keen's, Roman, Medina, plaster of Paris. For breeze or as a partial
substitute therefor may be used coke, burnt earth, clay, chalk, stone dust, charcoal,
sewage ingredients, or such other equivalent materials.
These bricks may be used as follows :—By placing them in walls in the same
way as ordinary bricks are laid, but where they are used as grounds they must of
course be projected or stand out from the face of the wall the required distance.
It does away with the necessity of having wood plates and joists on basement or
ground floors, as theso blocks can be used in such a manner that they will support
and be a fixing for wood floors.
By using this article there will be a great saving in the cost of carpenters' time
and materials. Another advantago the article has is that it does not shrink, it is
fireproof, and not liable to rot; all of these things occur now in the present system
of putting wood into walls.
Another advantage with regard to cost is that whilst acting as a substitute for
wood, as previously described, the Invention at the samo time takes the place of
ordinary bricks, or to make the matter clearer, if these bricks were not used soine
other substances must be used (such as ordinary bricks) in addition to the wood
now generally provided.
Blocks thus made havo preferably a groove or grooves formed in them to receive
and to form a key for plaster or other material with which tho walls may, for
example, be covered, or they may be made of any other desired section.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said George Alexander Wright in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th December 1881.
GEORGE ALEXANDER WRIGHT, of Portsmouth, in the County of Hants.
"NEW
OR IMPROVED COMPOSITIONS OR MATERIALS FOR FORMING BLOCKS FOR USE IN
BUILDINGS AND OTHER PURPOSES."
The chief object of this Invention is the manufacture and production of a fire-
proof material or composition capable of being moulded into any desired shape or
form as circumstances may require, and made up into blocks or otherwise, and tho
composition is of such a nature that while being fireproof it is also such that nails
can be driven into the material with almost if not quite as much facility as into
wood, and with the advantage that when so driven the hold is stronger than in
wood; and a further object is that the material may in many cases be used with
advantage as a substitute for wood in damp or similar situations, and for greater
security and safety from fire. It possesses other advantages, viz., that it does not
shrink nor decay when placed in walls, as is necessarily the case when wood is
used.
Convenient materials for the manufacture of my improved compositions aro
composed of sand (washed), breeze, cement, lime, and loam.
Approximate proportions, when the above materials are used, may bo ns
follows:-

page_text: suitable quantity of water, and after standing a day should be thoroughly mixed
with the breeze and loam.
Fourthly. The Portland cement should now be added in a dry state, then well
turned over and mixed together in a mill or otherwise with the other ingredients.
Water in sufficient quantity should then be added, and until the mass is brought
to a proper consistency. With the water may be mixed such materials as will
give elasticity or strength to the block. I have used gutta-percha, india-rubber,
gelatine, or long cow hair; such things reduce the liability of the blocks splitting,
which for good results is very essential.
Fifthly. When all the materials have been thoroughly incorporated it should be 1
well pressed into iron or steel moulds of the desired shape, either by hand or
otherwise. If the blocks are removed from the moulds in a careful manner, for
example, upon boards, they will retain their shape, and upon exposure to a dry
atmosphere become sufficiently hard in a day or two to admit of their being placed
in hacks or stacks, where they should remain about a month, when they will be
found ready for use. Care should be taken to mix up the ingredients fresh, and
no more than can be put through the inoulds before setting commences should be
gauged up at one time.
Suitable cements are Parian, Keen's Roman, Medina, plaster of Paris. For
breeze, or as a partial substitute therefor, may be used coke, burnt earth, clay,
chalk, stone dust, charcoal, sewage ingredients, or such other equivalent materials.
These bricks may be used as follows:-By placing them in walls in the same
way as ordinary bricks are laid, and as previously described, but where they are
used as grounds they must of course be projected or stand out from the face of the
wall the required distance. My Invention does away with the necessity of having
wood plates and joists on basement or ground floors, as the composition in com-
bination with concrete bricks or other materials can be used in such manner that
they will support and be a fixing for wood floors.
The block can be put into brick, stone, concrete, or other walls, and in other
parts of buildings for the purpose of providing a fixing for carpenters' and joiners'
work, bell hanging, gas fitting, picture hanging; or it can be used for any other
purposo where it may be necessary to fix anything to (for example, walls or floors)
with screws, nails, and the like. This article can also be used as a substitute for
bond timbers, wood grounds, wood bricks or blocks, wood joint pieces, and other
wood built into or otherwise placed into walls or upon walls for fixing purposes,
and of the nature previously described.
The article can also be used as a substitute for wood plates (for floor, ceiling,
or other wood joists). It can also be used in ceilings of fireproof or similar con-
structions as a means for fixing plasterers' laths below and for fixing the floor
boards above. The article or composition can also be used or utilized in such a
manner as to become a substitute for wood joists and sleepers in basement floors,
or in any damp or similar position. It can also be advantageously used in walls
that now require to be battened and then lathed and plastered. When the com-
position is so used in blocks and projected from the face of the wall it does away
with the necessity of battening the wall with wood, the blocks affording an
excellent fixing for the laths, and from the affinity of the materials used in the
plastering and the compositions in the block it follows that there must be a
superior and better key for the plastering than there is when wood battens are
used. In addition to this my plan entirely saves the wood battens, thus effecting
a great saving in carpenters' time and materials.
Where walls are to be match boarded or covered with similar wood lining these
blocks when built into the wall form an excellent fixing for such matchboarding or
wall lining; when so used it is preferable to let them project, say, or inches
from the rough wall line; they must, of course, in laying be plumbed up and kept
true; mortar cross-joints may be omitted, the ends of the blocks touching each
other.
When required the article can be made in any size or shape, or similar to any

page_text: ordinary bricks now in use, by which they can be inserted in brick walls without
destroying the bond of the work.
In order to describe and illustrate more clearly tho mode of applying bricks or
materials made according to my Invention I will now refer to the Figures on the
accompanying Sheets of Drawings. Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 show arrangements as
illustrating the applicability of bricks or blocks made according to my Invention
to the fixing of the skirting boards in rooms or buildings; a, a, are my bricks or
blocks; b, b, the skirting boards nailed or screwed thereto; c, the wall; and d, the
floor line. Figure 5 shows one of the blocks detached on a larger scale than those
shown in the previous Figures in order to show clearly the sort of groove I prefer
to form in the bricks or blocks for the purposes of my Invention, but it must be
understood that I do not bind myself to the use of this kind of groove, as in very
many cases the groove is dispensed with altogether, and in fact it would be in
many instances inapplicable. This groove or these grooves are intended to receive
and to form a key for plaster or other material with which the walls may, for
example, be covered, or they may be made of any other desired section. Figure 6
shows the bricks walled in a doorway of a building, and in this way they form an
excellent fixing for the wood linings, grounds, and architraves; a, a, are the
blocks. Where these blocks are built into the jambs, reveals, and heads of openings,
it will be observed by reference to the Drawing, Figure 6, that by turning or
building a flat arch into which two or more of my blocks are inserted there is no
necessity for putting wood lintels over such openings. In case of firo these wood
lintels burn out and frequently let down the wall above them; this would not be
so likely to occur if the construction shown at Figure 6 was adopted, my blocks
offering a fixing for the head or "soffit " lining. In addition to using my blocks
for the general fittings of buildings I may remark that they will be found of great
utility when fixed in a chimney breast, for example, for bell-hanging, to which can
be screwed the body of the bell-pull. Now it is customary to insert a wood block,
and where, as is nearly always the case, a flue runs up inside, the back of the wood
block very frequently is flush with the inside of the fluo; the risk of a fire from
this cause can be well imagined either from sparks or the chimney being on fire;
besides if my block is inserted in carrying up the work it saves a lot of cutting
away and making good afterwards. Any practical builder knows the expense of
this sort of thing.
Figure 7 shows a mode of application of the blocks to ceilings and floors of so
called fireproof buildings; a, a, are the bricks or blocks made according to my
Invention; e, e, are the laths nailed thereto, and f is the floor above. Figures 8
and 9 show one mode of applying the blocks as a substitute for wood joists and
sleepers in basement floors or other damp places and a convenient mode of applying
or using the composition for this purpose is as follows:-
I first cast an ordinary cement concrete block, which is furnished on one sido
with a bevilled or dovetailed groove; the proportions of the concrete may be
6 parts of fine shingle and sand to 1 part of cement or other equally good binding
agent. This should remain, say, a month, to get thoroughly hard, and the groove
before referred to may then be filled with my composition, this in its turn being
allowed to get hard, as in the case of the blocks; the whole is then ready for use.
The concrete block and groove may be of any approved section or length, not over,
say, about 3' 6", and the ends may be cast to halve together or lap, the joint being
made in neat Portland cement.
Figure 10 shows a convenient section. Where lateral strength is of no
consequence instead of the concrete block may be used ordinary kiln bricks
moulded to a desired section, the groove in them being filled with my composition
in the same manner as described for filling the concrete block. Figures 8 and 9
also show the method of fixing these blocks, by which it will be seen that ordinary
brick or other sleeper walls d are built about 18" from centre to centre, and which
to save material and for ventilating purposes may be well honeycombed, as shown
in the elevation, Figure 9; then at the desired height the blocks or bricks may be

page_text: bedded level in cement or otherwise. Where division or party walls occur courses
of bricks may be oversailed to carry the blocks or bricks containing the
composition, as shown in two cases at Figure 8; it will thus be seen that my
method does away entirely with putting wood joists, plates, and other wood, under
a wood floor next above the ground, where the damp always more or less affects
the wood. The only special care that need be taken is in keeping the top of the
work perfectly level, as of course requires to be done in putting on or fixing
ordinary wood joists.
Figure 11 shows the method of applying my Invention to wall linings of wood
by fixing to such walls matchboarding or other linings of wood or other material ;-
by reference to this Drawing it will be seen that a, a, a, are the bricks or blocks
made of any composition, as before described; c, c, c, the wall; the height of such
wall lining or matchboarding having been determined, it is only necessary to first
build in a course of my blocks where the bottom of such lining will come, another
course at the top, and as many courses between as may be considered necessary
under each particular case to obtain a proper fixing; the latter of course would be
regulated by the height of such matchboarding or wall lining. It will be readily
seen that in fixing wood to walls in this way two things are saved, vis., firstly,
plugging the wall or building in wood strips for and afterwards nailing thereto on
the face of the wall wood battens usually about 2x; this is another instance in
which a great saving in carpenter's time and materials is effected by using my
blocks.
Figures 12 and 13 illustrate the application of my composition to the formation
of wall plates or bond timbers for the purpose of resting or bedding the wood
rafters or beams of floors or roofs upon. a represents the wall plate made according
to my Invention; c is the brick wall; d, the rafters or beams.
Figure 14 shows the application of the blocks for fastening the down pipes to
the brick walls of houses or buildings. a represents the block of my composition;
b, the down pipe which is bolted, spiked, or screwed by means of the lug o into the
block a, so securing the pipe to the wall in an improved manner.
Figure 15 shews a method of applying my Invention for fastening the hinges of
doors or gates to brick or stone pillars. In reference to Figure 15, a represents the
brick or block of my composition; b, the brick or stone pillar; c, the door or gate;
d, the hinge which can be screwed into the block or brick a.
By using this article there will be a great saving in the cost of carpenters' time
and materials.
Another advantage the article has is that it does not shrink, it is fireproof and
not liable to rot; all of these things occur now in the present system of putting
wood into walls.
Another advantage with regard to cost is that whilst acting as a substitute for
wood, as previously described, the Invention at the same time takes the place of
ordinary bricks, or to make the matter clearer, if these composition blocks were not
used some other substances must be used (such as ordinary bricks) in addition to
the wood now generally provided.
Where the composition is used for plates, joists, and such like, it will be found
preferable to make the main part of such plates, joists, and such like with ordinary
Portland or other cement concrete, the same being provided with a dove-tail groove
or sinking, Figure 10. This must then be filled with my composition, the whole
being fixed and bedded as shown in the Drawings.
The purposes to which I have described my blocks or bricks as applicable are
only intended as illustrations of some of the purposes to which they are more
particularly applicable than to others, but as a rule they may be said to be
applicable to all purposes where nails and screws are required to be inserted into
walls or other places, or structures built or constructed of brick, stone, or
compositions or combinations of same. The size and form too of the bricks or
blocks may be varied to a great extent in section and length according to the
purpose to which they are to be applied.

page_text: Having now described the nature of my said Invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that I am aware it has horetofore been proposed
to produce composition slabs or blocks in which scrows or nails as alleged can bo
driven, such compositions being said to contain some of the ingredients that I uso
in my Invention, but without giving such definite proportions as would enable the
said slabs or blocks to be successfully manufactured therefrom. I do not therefore
claim the application of such materials or ingredients except as hereafter claimed
for the purposes of my Invention, but I claim,—
First. The construction and employment of couposition bricks or blocks composed
of or substantially of the ingredients specified in or about the proportions named,
the whole incorporated and moulded into one solid mass of the shape and size
required, into which said composition bricks or blocks so formed nails or scrows can
bo driven or inserted, substantially as and for the purposes described.
Second. The modes of application and employment of such bricks or blocks into
which nails and screws can be driven or inserted for facilitating the fitting up and
construction or partial construction of parts of buildings and other places,
|substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Alexander Wright, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty-one.