IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTING HOUSES AND SUCH LIKE BUILDINGS
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
LAYCOCK, of Liverpool, Iron Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Sixteenth day of March, in the sixth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Laycock, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said William Laycock, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Laycock, my exors, adiñors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during
the term of years therein expressed, should. and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTING HOUSES AND
SUCH LIKE BUILDINGS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a pro-
viso that I, the said William Laycock, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that, in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Laycock, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof (that is to say):—
1

page_text: My Invention relates to the employment of wrought iron plates, sheets,
bars, &c., &c. (of the various forms and sizes, or scantlings, which are now or
may be hereafter brought into the market) to the general purposes of either
public or private buildings, with a view to their security against fire from
within or without, and offering many other advantages, as will herein-after
appear. It therefore refers, first, to the application of plate and sheet iron,
with the necessary bars and bolts, to the covering only of the entire outer and
inner surfaces of buildings, of whatever material the same may be formed, and
whether those surfaces consist of exterior or interior walls, floors, ceilings,
roofs, or other plain superficies belonging thereto; and, secondly, to the employ-
ment of wrought iron bars, of the several sections, sizes, or guage already well
known in the trade as square, round, half round, flat angle T's, double T's,
× T's, or x angles, or any others which are now or may be hereafter manu-
factured and offered to the trade under the same or any other name; the
whole or any of them to be used, wrought, and worked up, fitted and put
together, and disposed, as posts, standards, frames, trusses, girders, tyes, bonds,
templates, or other parts or pieces (by whatsoever name called), after the same
or a similar manner to that which is already known and followed in the
construction of 'timber-framed edifices; and the covering of the entire framing
so put together and erected, externally and internally, with plate or sheet iron,
in every part, or only such parts as may be chosen. And in order that this my
Invention may be perfectly understood, I proceed at once fully to explain the
In doing this I will suppose that I have a temporary or permanent
timber framed building to cover. Such erections are usually covered outside
with weather boarding, rough casting, or cement, and the inside with lath and
plaster, and in some cases, as an endeavour to secure comfort, the interstices
between the uprights are filled with brickwork; yet, notwithstanding, all such
buildings are cold, comfortless, and infested with vermin, and almost certain of
destruction in the event of either earthquake or fire; all which, as will be
perceived by my explanation, are obviated. I employ the plates or sheets of
iron of such thickness or guage either as the proprietor may choose or the
stability of the building may render desirable, and having cut them to a proper
length or breadth, as it may be, to cover the openings between the posts or
uprights of the framing, I punch holes through their edges in such numbers
and of such size as my judgment directs, so that such holes shall fall, when the
plate or sheet is adjusted to its proper place, upon the solid part of the post or
upright. I then bore holes through the uprights corresponding with those
already punched in the plate or sheet. But as the plates or sheets covering
the openings on either side of a standard or upright will of course bring their
same.
"

page_text: edges to meet upon the same standard or upright, leaving more or less of a
space between such edges, I procure a bar of iron, somewhat thicker than
the plates or sheets used in covering the openings, and of a breadth more or
less than the uprights as my jugdment points out (which bar I call a facia
bar), and I punch holes in it to correspond with those already made in the
uprights. I also provide a sufficient number of screw bolts and nuts of the
requisite size and length to pass through the same when the whole is ready to
be fixed. I then prepare the plates or sheets, bars and bolts, all over, to
prevent their corrosion, and apply a paste or saturated felt to the standards in
any openings left between the lappings of the plates, after which the front
facia bar, reaching from top to bottom, is placed over the edges of the plates,
the bolts are driven through the respective holes, and by their nuts on the
inner side are firmly compressed to the upright standard, so as effectually to
exclude the air under any state of the atmosphere. Around all the openings
of the windows and doors, around the base, and under all the eaves, the edges
of the plates or sheets are also covered, and compressed in a similar manner by
the facia bars; and no edges of the plates or sheets are suffered to be exposed;
but care is taken in covering them to arrange the facia bars so as to preserve
uniformity and character in the appearance of the building when finished.
Having thus explained minutely my method of using and fixing the iron
plates, sheets, and facia bars, I apprehend there can be no difficulty arise in
pursuing the same method or applying the same directions with respect to the
covering of the roof, floor, ceiling, and internal walls, which are all done
precisely in a similar manner, with a reservation of an option to myself of
using, where I may deem it necessary, the common wood screw or screw tap
instead of the bolt and nut. I reserve also to myself the liberty of using any
other description of plate, sheet, or facia bar, either plain, moulded, or enriched
with ornament of any kind, and the bolt or screw heads or nuts either as rosettes,
patteras, &c., or any other method or manner whereby the surfaces covered as
before explained are capable of being formed into ornamented pannels, especially
with respect to the internal finishings. As to my second proposition, I frame the
entire of the building of wrought iron, employing and working up bars of every
form and size, as now furnished from the several iron works, hot confining myself
to any particular pattern. I need not describe the manner in which these are
framed; it will vary with circumstances, and be only the modified application
of well known principals already followed out by every builder; but in
putting this iron framework together I prepare every piece, to prevent its
corrosion; I apply a paste, and where necessary a saturated felt, to the joints or

page_text: lappings; and I secure all the parts together by means of screws and nuts
drawn home, thus uniting the whole as one mass incapable of severance from
external violence or partial settling. The whole of this iron framing, when
erected, I cover with plates or sheets of iron, in the same manner as before
particularly explained for the wood building, punching holes through the iron
standards or uprights, and through the plates or sheets and facia bars to
correspond, and arranging and securing them precisely in the same manner; to
do all which I conceive that what has been already said upon the subject will
enable any one to do likewise, observing that in the construction of buildings
to suit a variety of purposes and conveniences now two exactly similar methods
will scarcely ever occur in practice, and that therefore much must always
depend upon the experience and judgment of the builder. And also that
with regard to the internal covering or lining of the external walls I apply
it either to the inner edge or side of the upright standard, which leaves a
vacuity or space equal to the breadth of the standard between the outer and
inner covering; or by a purposely arranged method of framing I (as it were)
increase the thickness of the wall, and thus enlarge the space between the
outer and inner surfaces of the external walls, according as my judgment tells
me may be suitable for the climate or purpose for which the building is
intended. By this means I have, in the walls a comparatively air-tight
chamber, productive of an equalization of temperature within the apartments,
'which in certain situations and circumstances cannot be otherwise obtained.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I would have it under-
stood that the preparation of the iron to prevent its oxidation, or the paste or
saturated felt mentioned therein, are no part of this present Patent; and that I
do not claim any of the parts separately which have been mentioned, nor
do I confine myself to the present details in carrying out the constructions
contemplated. But what I do claim is,―
First, the construction of buildings of wrought-iron framework, and covered
with wrought-iron plates or sheets and facia bars, bolted together with screws
and nuts. And,―
Secondly, the covering of wood or other framed buildings with plates and
sheets of wrought-iron, and securing the same by facia bars and screws and
nuts.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Laycock, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.
WILLIAM (L.s.) LAYCOCK.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Ninth day of September, in
the year of our Lord 1843, the aforesaid William Laycock came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.