US178141A - Improvement in tessellated floors - Google Patents

Description

S. P. GROOCOCK. TESSELLATED FLOOR,

, 173,141. Patented ma 30,1876.

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ATTUBNEYS.

N. PETERS, FHOTO-UTHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON a c UNITED STATES ,PATENT OFFIcE.

SAMUEL P. cnoooocK, on new YORK, N. ;Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN TESSELLATED FLOORS. j

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 178,141, dated May 30, 1876 application filed April 21, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL P. GRoocooK, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Marquetry and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

The species of Ornamental flooring produced by the a t of 'marquetry, and long in vogue in Europe, has begun to be adopted in the construction and repair of the better class of dwellings in the larger cities of this country.

In order to give the tessellated flooring the desired firmness, solidity, and permanency, and at the same avoid the use of thick blocks or pieces, which would greatly increase its cost, it has been the practice to connect the blocks' 'or pieces by tongue and'groove, and to lay them upon a foundation composed of numerous wooden strips or timbers, or, more commonly, ot' a plastic cementitious material.

The various imperfections or objectionable features of these and similar modes of laying marquetry-floors have led to the development of my prcsentinvention, which consists in forming composite flooring pieces or sections of a number of wooden blocks, of the desired and requisite sizes, shapes, and colors, and 'a backin gof asphalt, the two parts being firmly united by a dovetail or equivalent connection, as hereinafter described.

A flooring-piece so made up is handled, transported, and laid in much the same manner as tiles are, so that the labor, time, and expense ordinarily incident to laying marquetry-floors are considerably lessened.

In the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan view of the'flooring-piece; Fig. 2, a cross-section. Fig. 3 shows a modification of the means of connecting the face and backing.

A indicates the flooring piece or section, composed of blocks of various sizes, forms, and colors. In constructing the same I first cut out the several blocks, 12, in the ordinary manner, but in place of providing them With the ordinary tongue and groove, which considerably increases the cost of the flooring, I

I simply glue the sides of the pieces A together,

and then, by aid of suitable machinery, I cut one or more dovetail grooves across the entire composite piece or section A at one operation. The requisite quantity of asphalt, heated sufficiently to impart a good degree of plasticity, is then poured over the back of piece A, and allowed to cool, when it will closely adhere and assume the hardness and rigidity necessary to form a firm backing or support for the blocks 1), and bind them together in one solid piece. In such cas'e'the asphalt enters the dovetail grooves cut in the flooring-piece A, thus forming tongues a.

In some instances I cut a plain or squareangled groove in place of a dovetail. As a modification of this mode of connection I may insert double dovetail wooden strips 0 in the several grooves of the section A, in which case that portion of the strip projecting from the back will be firmly embedded in the asphalt.

Another mode of connection is to dispense with grooving the back of the piece A, and attach a Wooden dovetail strip, (1, to the same by means of screws, the strip being embedded in the asphalt, as in the other case.

To form the tessellated or marquetry flooring the pieces or sections A, composed of the wooden blocks and asphalt backing, are laid upon a plastic bed of cementitious material.

This operation may be efi'ected with accuracy, ease, and dispatch, and has all the qualities held desirable in this class of ornamental floors, among which are great solidity, firmness, and durability, capacity to resist attacks of wood-borers and rodents, to prevent I unhealthy exhalations from the earth permeating the apartment from below; also, very slight capacity of the flooring to absorb moisture and absence of swellin g, Warping, or shrin king of the same.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is- SAML. P. GROOOOGK. Witnesses:

SoLoN O. KEMON, GHAs. A. PETTIT.

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