IMPROVED APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WALLS, HOUSES, OR OTHER BUILDINGS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Tall, of Falstaff Yard, Kent Street, in
the Borough of Southwark, Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVED APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WALLS,
HOUSES, OR OTHER BUILDINGS."
Sealed the 17th October 1868, and dated the 21st August 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Tall at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st August 1868. .
I, JOSEPH TALL, of Falstaff Yard, Kent Street, in the Borough of
Southwark, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVED APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WALLS,
HOUSES, OR OTHER BUILDINGS," to be as follows:-
My Invention of improved apparatus to be employed in the con-
struction of walls, houses, or other buildings relates to certain improve-
ments upon an Invention for which I obtained Letters Patent, bearing
date 23rd March 1865, No. 822.
The present Invention has for its object to dispense with angle or
corner pieces, and also to a certain extent with the upright parting

page_text: pieces to which the long panels of the apparatus are attached, and als
to simplify the fastenings whereby the several parts of the apparatu
are connected together.
In carrying out the Invention the ends of the panels which are to
form the corners of the building are to be temporarily connected
together at a right or other required angle by means of projecting
fastenings attached to the ends of the panels. These fastenings consist
of pairs of wrought-iron plates, one set of which is furnished with a
projecting stud, and the other set of fastenings is provided with a hole
or socket to receive the corresponding stud from the other panel. When
the panels are in place they are suspended from these studs as well
as from similar studs on the ends of horizontal saddle pieces which
are supported from above. The panels are held securely by means
of bolts passed through the horizontal saddle pieces, which are secured
to long vertical tubular uprights fixed in sockets resting on the foun-
dations of the building, and remain there until the wall is built up
nearly to the full height of the tubular uprights. The other ends of
the panels are provided with studs, and two panels are connected
together lengthwise by means of connecting irons provided at each end
with sockets or holes to fit over the projecting studs on the panels.
These connecting irons are secured in their place by means of buttons
attached to the panels, so that the parting pieces described in my former
Specification may be dispensed with. When the space between the
panels has been filled with concrete, as described in my former
Specification, and the concrete has set hard, the tie bolts and connecting
pieces may be removed and the panels lifted off the ends of the saddle
pieces, which may then be lifted up and secured at a higher position
on the tubular uprights. There are other saddle pieces and bolts for
securing the other parts of the panels at top and bottom. These saddle
pieces through which the transverse bolts pass are simple wrought or
malleable cast-iron boxes, which when the bolts have been withdrawn
may be knocked out of the concrete wall in the same way as the cores
in the apparatus described in the Specification of my former Patent
already referred to. The angle fastenings at the end of the panels are
only temporarily attached to the panels by means of buttons, so that
they may be removed when the panels are required to be used for
constructing a continuous length of wall. The fastenings for the inner
angle or corner of the wall are constructed upon precisely the same

page_text: principle, but are arranged in a reverse manner to that adopted for
the outer angles or corners. In the bolt holes of the panels are screwed
short lengths of tube through which the bolts pass, so that these outer
ends serve as washers for the nuts of the bolts to bear against. The
bolts which hold together the central parts of the panels pass through
short lengths of iron tube which will keep the panels the proper distance
apart. If therefore it should be desired to use the apparatus for walls.
of different thickness, say to decrease from 12 to 9 inches, the work
will have to be commenced with tubes of 9 inches long with extra short
lengths of three inches, which when it is desired to reduce the thickness
of the wall must be removed so that the panels may be brought nearer
together. Instead of the bolts being made to pass through the iron
tubes from end to end the tubes may be bushed and tapped internally
so that a bolt may be screwed in at each end. One of these bolts
may be made of extra length, so that by unscrewing a portion of it
and placing over it a short length of tube the tube may be lengthened
and the space between the panels widened. It will frequently be found
convenient to be able to elongate or shorten a panel, as when increasing
or diminishing the thickness of a wall. To this end I make the panels
telescopic so that they may be drawn out. The framings of the panels
may be made either of wood or iron, but I prefer to construct them
of lengths of corrugated iron of suitable width. Slots are cut or holes
drilled at intervals in the corrugated iron, and the ends of the iron
may be made to overlap and may be temporarily secured by means
of jam nuts or tightening screws passed through the slots or holes in
the panels. If it be desired to make the face of the panel flat or even
so as to produce a flat surface on the wall a piece of sheet zinc of
suitable width may be soldered on to the corrugated surface of the
iron. Corrugated iron panels may be made of a curved or other form,
as this material is of sufficient rigidity to retain any form that may
be given to it and is not liable to warp. By this means rounded or
curved ends, or circular bays, and other curved forms sometimes
required in the construction of houses may be made with nearly the
same facility as straight or angular constructions.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Tall in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 20th February 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
TALL, of Falstaff Yard, Kent Street, in the Borough of Southwark,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
:successors, give and grant unto me, the said Joseph Tall, Her special
licence that I, the said Joseph Tall, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Tall, 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 vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for *** IMPROVED
APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WALLS, HOUSES, OR
OTHER BUILDINGS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Joseph Tall, my exccutors 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 Joseph Tall, 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 Drawings here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say):-
My Invention of "Improved Apparatus to be Employed in the Con-
struction of Walls, Houses, or other Buildings" relates to certain im-
provements upon an Invention for which I obtained Letters Patent,
bearing date the Twenty-third March One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-five, No. 822.

page_text: The present Invention has for its object to dispense with angle or
corner pieces, and also with the upright parting pieces to which the
long panels of the apparatus are attached, and also to simplify the
fastenings whereby the several parts of the apparatus are connected
together, and further to construct the panels in such a manner. that
they may be lengthened or shortened as may be required to suit. cir
cumstances.
The present Invention has for its object to dispense with angle or
corner pieces, and also with the upright parting pieces to which the
long panels of the apparatus are attached, and also to simplify the.
fastenings whereby the several parts of the apparatus are connected
together, and further to construct the panels in such a manner. that
they may be lengthened or shortened as may be required to suit, cir...
cumstances.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn various views of my
improved apparatus..
.
Fig. 1, Sheet I., is a side elevation, Fig. 2 an end view, and Fig. 3
a plan view representing a set of expanding or extending panels pro--
vided with the improved fastenings..
It will be seen that the ends a¹; a²; of the panels a, a, which are-
to form the corners of the building are temporarily connected together
at a right angle by means of projecting fastenings b, b', attached to
the ends of the panels. These fastenings are shewn detached on an
enlarged scale at Figs. 5, 5, and 6,.and consist of pairs of iron plates b, b¹.
The plate consists of an iron casting having a return at right angles,.
as shewn in plan at Fig. 5: The return piece is furnished with a
projecting stud 1, and is shewn as temporarily attached to the end
of one panel. a!, in the manner hereafter explained. The other set of
fastenings (shewn at Fig. 6) consists of a plate 6' provided with a hole
or socket 2: to: receive the corresponding stud 1 on the casting b. This
fastening is attached permanently to the panel a* by means of screws,..
as sliewn in the Drawing.. If both these fastenings. are to be always.
used for corner pieces, as shewn at Figures. 1,, 2, and 3, the angle-
plates 6 may be permanently secured by rivetting or otherwise to the
panel, but in the enlarged. view; Fig: 5, this fastening is shewn as.
only temporarily attached to the panel a¹. This. temporary attach--
ment of the angle plate 6 is effected by providing it with a socket.
to receive the pin or pins 3, which are fixed in the panel.. When:
in place the angle plates 6 are secured by the buttons f. If this.
panel is to be used for straight work, the angle plate 6 may be.
detached by merely unfastening the buttons f. The projecting studs 3.
will then remain ready to receive the holes 2 of the plate b
Fig. 6, of the other panel. The angle plates 6. in Fig. 5 when

page_text: the panels are used for the corner pieces, are provided with a set of pro-
jecting studs 1, 1, to receives the holes 2 of the plates b¹, Fig. 6, of
the other panel, which is placed at a right angle to form the corner,
as shewn at Fig. 3. When the panels a, a*, are in place they are
suspended from these studs 1 as well as from similar studs on the
ends of horizontal saddle pieces c, which are supported from above.
The saddle pieces are shewn detached in section and drawn on an
enlarged scale at Figures 4 and 4°. The panels a, a*, are held securely
by means of bolts d passed through the horizontal saddle pieces c,
which are secured to long vertical tubular uprights e, fixed in sockets
resting on the foundations of the building, and remain there until the
wall is built up nearly to the full height of the tubular uprights e.
The other ends of the panels are provided with studs, and two panels
are connected together lengthwise by means of similar connecting plates
or irons 6, Figures 1 and 3, provided at each end with sockets or holes
to fit over the projecting studs 3 on the panels as shewn in the Draw-
ings. These connecting irons are secured in their place by means of
buttons attached to the panels. When the panels have been properly
secured in their place, and the space between them has been filled with
concrete, and the concrete has set hard, the tie bolts d, Figures 4 and 4*,
may be removed, and the panels a, a*, lifted off the ends or studs 3, 3,
of the adjoining panels. The top saddle pieces c may then be lifted
up and secured at a higher position on the tubular uprights e.
are other saddle pieces or rather plugs and bolts for securing the other
parts of the panels at top and bottom. In Fig. 4 the saddle piece c is
suspended by means of two diagonal rods from the point e¹ on the
upright e, where it is secured by a cross pin and nut as shewn. In
Fig. 4 the saddle piece is divided into two parts, the inner ends of which
are made to embrace the upright, and are secured in place by the
cross pin or bolt e¹. These plugs through which transverse bolts pass
are simple wrought or malleable cast-iron boxes or tubes which when
the bolts have been withdrawn may be knocked out of the concrete
wall in the same way as the cores in the apparatus described in my
former Patent.
There
The fastenings for the inner angle or corner of the wall are shewn

page_text: manner to that adopted for the outer angles or corners. In the bolt
holes of the panels are screwed short lengths of tube through which
the bolts pass, so that these outer ends serve as washers for the nuts
of the bolts to bear against. The bolts which hold together the central
parts of the panels, as at d*, Fig. 3, pass through short lengths of iron
tube which will keep the panels the proper distance apart. If therefore
it should be desired to use the apparatus for walls of different thick-
nesses, say to decrease from twelve to nine inches, the work will have
to be commenced with plugs of nine inches long with the addition of
extra short lengths of three inches, which when it is desired to reduce
the thickness of the wall must be removed so that the panels may be
brought nearer together.
This construction of bolt and core is shewn at Fig. 8, Sheet II.
Instead of the bolts being made to pass through the iron tubes from end
to end as before mentioned, the tubes h may be bushed and tapped
internally, so that plugs i, i, may be screwed in at each end. One of
these plugs may be made of extra length, so that by unscrewing a
portion of it and placing over it a short length of tube, or screwing on
a piece of tube as at 1, Fig. 8, the plug h may be lengthened and the
space between the panels widened; or the additional lengths of tube
may be tapped at one end and made to screw into the ends of the tubes
or saddle pieces for the purpose of lengthening the same. It will of
course be evident that if the work be commenced with plugs provided
with the additional piece, the thickness of the wall may be diminished
by simply unscrewing and detaching this additional piece from the plug.
It will frequently be found convenient to be able to elongate or shorten
a panel, as when increasing or diminishing the thickness of a wall. To
this end I make the panels telescopic so that they may be drawn out
and elongated, as shewn at Figures 1 and 2. The framing of the panels
may be made either of wood or iron, and I sometimes construct them of
lengths of corrugated iron 1, 1, of suitable width, as shewn at Figs. 1
and 3, Sheet I., and Fig. 9, Sheet II. Slots are cut or holes drilled at
intervals in the corrugated iron, and the ends of the iron may be made
to overlap, as shewn at * in Fig. 3, Sheet I., and may be temporarily
secured in this position by means of wing nuts or tightening screws g, g,
Figures 1 and 3, passed through the slots or holes in the panels. If it
be desired to make the face of the panel flat or even so as to produce

page_text: a flat surface on the wall, a piece of sheet zinc of suitable width may be
soldered on to the corrugated surface of the iron, but in practice this
will not be found necessary. The corrugations of the iron may be either
horizontal, as shewn at 1, l, in the Figures, or they may be vertical.
The corrugated iron panels may be made of a curved or other form, as
this material is of sufficient rigidity to retain any form that may be given
to it and is. not liable to warp. By this means rounded or curved ends
or circular bays and other curved forms sometimes required in the
construction of houses may be made with nearly the same facility as
straight or angular constructions.
In Sheet II. I have shewn a different mode of constructing the
uprights for holding up the panels. Fig. 9 is a plan view, and
Fig. 10 a vertical section in which instead of the vertical tubular
supports ein Sheet I., I employ the pairs of supports n,.n, to hold the
panels a, a, in a vertical position. It will be seen that the sheet metal
lining mat the end of the panels is corrugated vertically while the
other part is corrugated horizontally. The vertical supports n, n, are
connected together by tubular plugs h, h, into the ends of which are
screwed the bolts 1, 2, as before mentioned, which project through holes
made in the panels, which are secured thereon by fly or thumb nuts j, j.
It will be seen that the vertical supports n, n, fit one or other of the
vertical corrugations of the metal lining of the panels, and as holes may
be made through this lining at various places the vertical supports
may be placed at any convenient part of the panel. These supports may
be made of any convenient height and are perforated at certain fixed
points to receive the screwed pins on which the panels are suspended.
The end fastenings for the angles are precisely the same in construction
as those already described in reference to Sheet I..
From the above description it will be seen that by this construction
and arrangements of parts I am enabled to dispense with parting or
separating pieces between the ends of contiguous panels, and also the
licavy external angle pieces of my former apparatus, and moreover by
being enabled to elongate or extend the panels I am enabled to reduce
or alter the thickness of the walls of a house with the greatest facility..
Figures 11, 12, and 13 represent a modification of the above. In this
instance the metal lining of the panels is made quite flat of galvanized

page_text: or painted sheet iron or zinc. Fig. 11 is a front elevation, Fig. 12 a
plan view, and Fig. 13 an end elevation of this arrangement or con-
struction. The flat plates p, p, of sheet iron or zinc are fixed by screwing
or otherwise on the wooden top and bottom rails q, q, which are held
together by the vertical metal bars r, r, so as to form a kind of framework.
The framework q', r, of the adjoining panel is made narrower than the
other, so that it may be slidden in between the top and bottom rails of the.
other as shewn at Fig. 11, when it is required to shorten the length. It
will be seen that the sheet iron of the panel q' is of the same width as the
sheet iron of the other panel, and therefore extends above and below the
top and bottom rails of the frame q', and in order to allow the sheet iron
of the one panel to pass by the sheet iron of the other the sheet of the
panel q is only permanently fastened to the framing at or near one end.
The sheet iron of the panel q' is perforated with holes at short distances
apart, as at 1, 1, 1, and when any of these holes are brought into coin-
cidence with any of the holes 2, 2, of the panel q the two panels may
be secured together by screw bolts and short lengths of sheet iron, as
shewn at 8, 8, Fig. 12. The rails q and q¹are also provided with holes,
as at 3, 3, and 4, 4, so that the frames may be held rigidly in place by
means of the long vertical bolts t, t.
Having now described my Invention of "Improved Apparatus to be
Employed in the Construction of Walls, Houses, or other Buildings,"
and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I
claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid,―
First. Constructing the panels and uprights and other parts of the
apparatus substantially in the manner shewn and described, whereby I
am enabled to dispense with the use of separate corner pieces and
parting or separating pieces.
Second. Constructing the end fittings of the panels as herein set
forth, so that the panels may be used either for straight work or angular
or corner work, as above described.
Third. I claim the use of the tubular uprights e and the internal
uprights n, n, and saddle pieces and plugs c and h, and bolts d in the
manner and for the purpose set forth.
Fourth. I claim constructing telescopic or extending panels as herein

page_text: set forth so that they may be lengthened or shortened as may be desired.
I also claim the adjustable cores or plugs shewn at Fig. 8.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Tall, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twentieth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
JOSEPH TALL. (L.S.)