Improvements in Parquet.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 7th July, 1890
Complete Specification Left, 6th Apr., 1891-Accepted, 9th May, 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Parquet.
I, GEORGE ROSS MCKENZIE, of 57 Willes Road, Kentish Town, in the County
of Middlesex, Cabinet Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:
Parquet when fixed on damp or shifting foundations is very liable to warp, and
this is not avoided by using a canvas or wood backing because the backing itself
warps and the cement by which it is fixed is liable to give way.
According to this invention I use a backing which is waterproof and unstretchable
and I fix it in a special manner to the foundation.
Preferably I use the material known as "Patent Roofing" which consists of a wire
network embedded in waterproof paper or else perforated metal with the holes
filled up with waterproof cement. I attach the wood to the backing by nails or.
screws inserted through the backing aided by cement. I make such work in lengths
with the backing projecting beyond the wood on one or more sides; so that the
backing can be fixed to the floor by nails or screws through the projecting edge.
When two or more widths have to be fixed side by side I attach them to cach other
by tacks passed with their points upwards through the projecting margin of the
backing of the first length before it is nailed down so that the points of the tacks
are ready to enter the underside of the edge of the wood of the next strip. The
edge of the backing of the next strip in place of projecting beyond the wood stops
short of the edge, so that when the two pieces are in place the edges of the
backings as well as the edges of the wood come together.
Parquet so fixed has the advantage of being easily removable which is not the
case with ordinary parquet.
Dated this 7th don of July 1800
GEORGE ROSS M°KENZIE.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Parquet.
I, GEORGE ROSS MCKENZIE, of 57 Willes Road, Kentish Town, in the County
of Middlesex, Cabinet Maker, 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:-
Parquet when fixed on damp or shifting foundations is very liable to warp, and
this is not avoided by using a canvas or wood backing because the backing itself
warps and the cement by which it is fixed is liable to give way.
According to this invention I use a backing which is waterproof and unstretch-
able and I fix it in a special manner to the foundation such as a floor or wall.
Preferably I use perforated metal with the holes filled up with waterproof cement
or else the material known as "Patent Roofing" which consists of a wire network
embedded in waterproof paper. I attach the wood to the backing by nails or screws
inserted through the backing aided by cement. I make such work in lengths with
the backing projecting beyond the wood on one or more sides, so that the backing
can be fixed to the foundation by nails or screws through the projecting edge.
The edges of the pieces or lengths of parquet are secured together by metal
tongues.
Figure 1 is a plan of two pieces of parquet.
Figure 2 is a section on the lines - Figures 1 and 3, and

page_text: a a are the usual pieces of board or veneer of which the surface of the parquet is
composed. bb is a backing of perforated metal. In Figure 3 the perforations are
only shown in one corner. The wood is secured to the backing b by screws or nails c c
and glue or cement with which the perforated metal is coated in such a manner as
to fill up the holes and firmly hold the wood. The backing projects beyond the
wood on two sides (the bottom and right of Figure 1) but stops short of its edge on
the other two sides. The left hand piece of parquet is shewn secured to the
foundation by screws d d but the right hand piece is unfastened and is not quite in
position for fixing when in place the left hand edges its wood and metal respectively
will abut against the right hand edges of the wood and metal of the other piece.
e is a metal key which enters into slots fin the edges of the wood and holds the
two pieces together. When fixing this parquet to a floor or other surface the
projecting metal of the outer pieces or lengths are covered by fillets of wood.
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. Parquet consisting of pieces of wood fixed upon an unstretchable waterproof
backing.
2. Parquet made in pieces or lengths in which the backing projects beyond
the edge of the wood on one or more sides and stops short of it on another or
others.
3. Parquet work having the parquet made in pieces or lengths in which the
backing projects beyond the edge of the wood on one or more sides and stops short
of it on another or others the projecting edges of the backing being secured to a
foundation by means of nails or screws.
Dated this 20th day of December 1890.
GEORGE ROSS MCKENZIE.