Improvements in Wall Blocks for Buildings.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Sept., 1883
Complete Specification Left, 11th June, 1889-Accepted, 13th July, 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Wall Blocks for Buildings.
I, WILLIAM JARVIS of Kings Lynn in the County of Norfolk, Builder and
Contractor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Where woodwork has to be fastened to walls or parts of buildings it is customary to
make a bole in the wall and drive in a wooden plug to which the woodwork can then
be fixed, Such plugs however besides being rough and often unsightly are apt to
become loose or displaced. The object of the present invention is to provide blocks
which may be used in place of the above mentioned plugs and can be built into the
wall when it is made or afterwards.
These blocks can be made of any required shape and their construction may be
varied but the following will serve to illustrate how this invention may be carried out.
The blocks can be made of any suitable concrete, preferably Portland cement and
breeze; this in a liquid state is placed in suitable molds and dried and when hard the
blocks are removed from the molds and are ready for use. One form is rectangular
and about twice as long as broad and having one or more dovetailed projections on
each side which serve to keep the block from moving and to bind it into the wall.
longitudinal recess in the front face is undercut on one or both sides and into this is
inserted a piece of wood or blocking piece which may be fixed by means of a strip or
wedge of wood or other material.
A
Wood pads or blocks can be placed in the concrete block and secured by holes
through them into which the concrete enters when in the mold and sets there. Small
holes may also be made in the blocks through which nails or equivalent can be driven
to fix the concrete and wood blocks and wedge together. Iron or other tongues may
be placed in the blocks if desired to strengthen them.
The back or base of the block may be extended beyond the body either in addition
to the dovetail projections or in place of them; these help to prevent the block from
being pulled out of the wall. If the wedge be dispensed with the wood block may be
secured by dovetailing or by running the concrete into it or both.
The concrete block can be fixed so as to come level with the face of the wall or
otherwise and the wood projecting beyond the block can be cut to the exact size and
shape required.
Dated this 10th day of Santambor 198O
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Wall Blocks for Buildings.
I, WILLIAM JARVIS of Kings Lynn, in the County of Norfolk, Builder and
Contractor, 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 :-
Where woodwork has to be fastened to walls or parts of buildings it is customary to
make a hole in the wall and drive in a wooden plug to which the wood work can then
be fixed. Such plugs however besides being rough and often unsightly are apt to
become loose or displaced. The object of the present invention is to provide blocks
which may be used in place of the above mentioned plugs and can be built into the
wall when it is made or afterwards.
These blocks can be made of any required shape and their construction may be
varied but the following will serve to illustrate how this invention may be carried out.

page_text: The blocks can be made of any suitable concrete, preferably Portland cement and
breeze; this in a liquid state is placed in suitable molds and dried and when hard the
blocks are removed from the molds and are ready for use. One form is rectangular
and about twice as long as broad and having one or more dovetailed projections on
cach side which serve to keep the block from moving and to bind it into the wall. A
longitudinal recess in the front face is undercut on one or both sides and into this is
inserted a piece of wood or blocking piece which when the block is fixed comes level
with the face of the wall and may be fixed by means of a strip or wedge of wood or
other material.
Wood pads or blocks can be placed in the concrete block and secured by holes
through them into which the concrete enters when in the mold and sets there. Small
holes may also be made in the blocks through which nails or equivalent can be driven
to fix the concrete and wood blocks and wedge together. Iron or other tongues may
be placed in the blocks if desired to strengthen them.
The back or base of the block may be extended beyond the body either in addition
to the dovetail projections or in place of them; these help to prevent the block from
being pulled out of the wall. If the wedge be dispensed with the wood block may be
secured by dovetailing or by running the concrete into it or both.
In the accompanying drawings fig. 1 is a face view and fig. 2 an end view of one
form of block constructed according to my invention and of which fig. 3 is a side
elevation; fig. 4 is an isometric perspective view of a detached portion of the
same.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
A is the block which is preferably formed of concrete composed of Portland cement
and breeze and A¹ are the dove-tailed projections which serve to keep the block from
moving and to bind it into the wall, these dovetails may however be otherwise arranged
for example they may extend across the block transverse to its length or may be
formed merely as projections or flanges at the back of the said block. A², figure 2, is
the longitudinal preferably slightly-taper recess formed in the face of the block A and
the sides of which are undercut as shown in figure 2. C is the wooden blocking piece
which fits into the groove A2 and which is preferably dovetailed in the manner shown
and projects out from the face of the block A or it may be level with the said face
according to the circumstances under which it is employed. D is a wedge which is
forced in between one side of the blocking piece C and the adjacent longitudinally
inclined side of the recess A³ as shown clearly in figures 1 and 2. E is the wooden
pad or block which can be placed in the concrete to give it strength and to receive the
finishings of joinery such as grounds or architraves and the nails or the like which
may be driven through the blocking piece C. This pad which is most clearly shown
in figure 4 may be provided with bent wrought or cast iron rods F the parallel sides f
of which when in position in the cast or molded block as shown in dotted lines in
figures 1 and 2 extend through the cheeks A3 at the sides of the recoss so as to stiffen
the structure at these parts; means other than the bent rods F may however be
employed for this purpose, for example longitudinal strips of hoop iron may be
used.
.
Gare holes into which the moist concrete flows when the block is being molded or
cast the pad E being then preferably laid in the mold with the parallel parts of the
rods F hanging downwards that is to say in the position in which they would be
represented in fig. 4 were such figure inverted. Holes other than those marked G
may however be bored either perpendicularly or obliquely to the face of the pad E for
securing such pad in the block A. A are holes formed in the block for enabling nails
or the like to be inserted therein and driven through the wedge D and into the blocking
piece for locking them in position in the block A but such holes may be dispensed
with and equivalent locking may be effected by fastening the blocking piece C to the
pad E in any convenient manner.
In some cases I dispense with the wedge D and secure the blocking piece into the
block A. either by dovetailing or by running the concrete into it or by both of these
means.

page_text: When the before described block is built into a wall the blocking piece C, whether
it be flush with or whether it projects beyond the face of the wall or plaster provides
ample and secure means for fastening to it wood or other work requiring such
provision.
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. A wall block consisting essentially of a concrete block such as A formed with a
recess such as A² in which is secured a wooden blocking piece such as C substantially
as and for the purpose herein described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
2. A wall block consisting essentially of a block such as A recessed for receiving a
wooden blocking piece such as C and strengthened in its construction by iron rods or
strips substantially as herein described.
3. The complete wall block substantially as herein described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 6th day of June 1889.
WILLIAM JARVIS.
W. P. Thompson & Boult,
Agents for the Applicant."