Chap. III. CONCRETE BUILDING.

571
1903ec. Buckw Its Granitic Breccia stone^-As patented about 1858 to compete with brick-
voi-k in price, its strength and dural'ility being greater, and its bulk and weiglit con-
siderably less. It was impermeable to wet and never vegetated, so that for pavements
and linings for tanks it appears to have answered v/ell ; but for some reas^on, not ascer-
tained, the manufacture of it was lately given up. It could have been manufactured in
a single piece, of a weight varying from 1 cwt. to 60 tons or more ; also in slabs from 5
feet to 100 feet superficial ; and to any contour. W/iecble's Reading Abb'
y
paterit concrete
stone, formed with Bridgewater stone lime, when made into a brick, was found to be equal
in strength to a common stock. Some specinif ns never attained the strength of concrete
except iu a case where large gravel or flint was the chief ingredient. Messrs. Bodmcr's
patent compressed stone bricks, compounded chiefly of 1 part of hydraulic lime and 7 of
siliceous sand, well mixed, are subjected to great pressure in moidds. Upon removal,
the bricks are piled up in the open air, when induration commences, and the material is
converted into stone. They appear to be ready for use after six weeks' to two niouihs'
exposure, and experiments show a steady progressive increase iu strength as they advance
in age. When eleven days old they crushed at 377 tons; at twenty-two weeks from
6'4
to 6-95 tons
;
and at sixty-three weeks a pressure of upwards of 8 tons was reached
witliout effect.
1903(W. Coignefs Betoii Agglomere has been employed in France in the construction of
a church in the park of Vesinet, near St. Grermain, from the designs of M. Boileau, and
into the construction of which he has also introduced cast and wrought iron. The beton
is formed with all the mouldings of Gothic architecture both externally and internally.
It was built similar to pise work, though it is also applicable for blocks, like stone, in
which manner he has lately executed some bridges of 1 40 feet span. The very hard frosts
of January, 1865, had not appeared to have had any effect on the betoii at tlie church, whic h
was being executed at the time, and is described in the Builder iov November, 1861;
views are also given in the volume for 1865. It is stated that such structures cost only
about one-half or perhaps one-third of the expense of a stone building, with greater
decoration.
1903ce. The system of building with concrete bloc/cs at Sandown, Ventnor, and other
places in the Isle of Wight, is well adapted for constructing walls to ensure dryness. The
blocks are about 18 inches wide by 12 inches high, and are of two thicknesses, those for
the outer wall being 4 or 5 inches, and for the inner about 3 or 3|- inches thick. These
are tied together by pieces of iron, lea-\nng a space of about 3 inches between them. This
forms what looks, to those accustomed to the 2 feet thick solid walls of Scotch houses, a
flimsy wall, but it appears to be sufficiently strong for carrying another story over the
ground floor; and with a few openings above and below for the admission of air into the
space between the walls, forms a structure which, in a sanitary point of view, may be
considered perfect. Some would prefer to have the inner wall of brickwork.
1903jf.
Table of the Resistance to Thrusting Stress of Nine 2-inch Cubes of
Concrete, bedded between Pine three-eighths of an inch Thick. By
D. Kirkaldy, for W. H. Laseelles, May, 1881.
Cracked slightly. Remarks.
Stress.
Per
sq. mch.
Per
sq. foot.
Builder, xl. p. 619.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
lbs.
19,162
18,628
16,298
12,982
12,248
8,488
8,023
5,838
5,796
lbs.
4,790
4,657
4,074
3,245
3,062
2,122
2.003
1,459
1,449
tons.
308-0
299-4
261 9
208-6
196-9
136-4
1290
938
93-1
Neat cement, made Dec. 15, 1880.
Ditto.
Neat cement, made March 8, 1881.
3 of cement to 10 of ground material, made
Jan. 18, 1881.
Ditto.
1 of cement to 4 of ground material, made
Jan. 1, 1881.
Ditto.
1 of cement to 4 of ground material, made
Jan. 1, 1881.
Ditto.
1903/7/7. The use of concrete has extended from the foundations of buildings, backings
of wharfs, retaining walls, and abutments of arches, to the employment of it tor tlie
backing of vaults to produce a level surface; for the substance of fireproof floors; fur
the base of floor.", pavements, and roads ; for the walls, floors, &c. of houses, bridges,
and moles ; and various other purposes.