US 



FLOORCLOTH. 



i LOOM. 



116 



untied with brush to the surface of a pad nr cnihion formed of 

 flannel covered with floor-cloth ; the block, held by a handle at the 

 hack, u placed face downward* on thin ciwhion. and the layer of paint 

 thiiB obtained it tranaferred to the mirface of the canvas by pressing 

 the block smartly down no the latter. A Moond Impression is made in 

 a similar way by the aide of. and close to, the first ; and *o on 

 throughout the length and breadth of the canvas ; each impression 

 being about 16 inches square. The proper junction, or regiater, of the 

 Kuoceasive impressions is aided by pins at the corners of the blocks. 

 When the whole surface ia thus printed with one colour, all the other 

 three an similarly applied in succession. Such would likewise be the 

 cate if the number of colours was more than four ; but the greater the 

 number the greater would be the care necessary in adjusting the 

 numerous partial impression* so aa to ensure a proper arrangement of 

 the whole. 



In printing floor-cloth for passages and stairs, where the width 

 seldom exceeds a yard, the canvas is prepared in the frames as in other 

 cases ; but it u cut up into strips before being printed, and has 

 usually a border given to it pattern by means of blocks much 

 narrower than those employed in other cases. Where there are larg 

 patches of one colour in the pattern of floor-cloth, they are not given 

 by smooth surfaces on the block, but by means of little projecting 

 squares technically called teeth ; the reason for this is, that if a surface 

 two or more inches square were laid on wet paint, it would not take up 

 the paint equally, but would exhibit it in an unequal splat ; whereas, 

 if the surface were broken up into a number of smaller surfaces by 

 means of lines cut in various directions, these lines would act as air- 

 vents, and the paint would be taken up pretty equally by the little 

 squares or teeth. 



One among the features which distinguish cheap oil-cloth (so-called) 

 from good, is the hastiness with which the processes are conducted ; 

 the paint has often insufficient time for drying, and ia sold for use 

 before it is fitted to bear the friction of the feet It has been suggested, 

 with some probability, that floor-cloth, especially when thus insuffi- 

 ciently dried, may tend to rot the boards of a flooring in a damp room, 

 by preventing the free escape of vapour. 



Mr. Loudon (' Encyclop. of Cottage and Villa Architecture,' p. 345) 

 notices a suggestion for the use of paper instead of floor-cloth or carpet. 

 The carpet, according to this suggestion, is formed in the first instance 

 of any fragmentary pieces of linen, cotton, canvas, or other material, 

 sewn up to the required sine. This cloth is stretched on the floor of 

 a large room, and kept down in its place by being pasted round the 

 edge*. On this foundation stout paper is pasted ; two thicknesses 

 being applied in every part, with the joints so arranged ae to be but 

 little perceptible. On this a surface of wall paper is pasted ; and here 

 an opportunity for the exercise of taste is afforded, since a variety of 

 pleasing patterns may be obtained by the judicious combination of 

 fragments which are in themselves of very little account. When the 

 pattern ia thus far produced, it is coated twice with warm melted size, 

 applied so as to soak into every part of the paper, and to prepare it for 

 the reception of the varniah. One or more coatings of boiled linseed oil 

 are applied after the size, and to the oil succeeds copal varnish. Of the 

 floor-covering so produced it U said, " these carpetn are portable, and 

 will roll up with about the same ease as oil-cloth ; they are very 

 durable, are easily cleaned, and if made of well-chosen patterns have a 

 very handsome appearance. Where labour is cheap the cost will be 

 very trifling ; the materials being of little value, and the expense con- 

 sisting chiefly in the time requisite to put them together. Where 

 cloth cannot be easily procured, the carpet may be made by posting 

 paper to painted boards ; when by repeated coats of paper it has 

 become strong and firm, it will separate from the paint and will be aa 

 durable as if mounted on any kind of cloth. For earth, brick, or atone 

 floors, in order to render them impervious to damp, these carpets may 

 be made with two faces, by pasting paper on both sides of the cloth 

 which forms their basis, aud well oiling or varnishing them on the 

 under as well as the upper surface; they may also be bound with 

 leather or any strong substance, to prevent moisture from penetrating 

 to the paste." 



It has also been more than once suggested, that 'Geographical 

 carpets' might advantageously be constructed for school-rooms and 

 nimilar apartments. By this term is meant the employment of a 

 i-irpet or covering in which the lines of a map are substituted for a 

 regular pattern. There would, as Mr. Loudon has stated, be a good 

 deal of difficulty in working out the idea, since it would have to be 

 decided whether the map should be printed before being laid down aa 

 a carpet, or filled in by hand afterwards. The choice of material too, 

 whether linen, holland, or paper, would 1* attended with some diffi- 

 culty ; but such a map, especially if the northern portion of it were 

 directed to the northern side of the room, woul.l not be without its 

 value in rendering the position of a country or district familiar to the 

 inmate* of the room. 



Messrs. Ooodyear nave recently patented a new kind of floor-covering, 

 intended to combine at once the qualities of durability, softness, 

 elasticity, and cheapness. Carpets are expensive, and not adn| 

 halls or public rooms ; floor-cloth i> wanting in softness and elasticity. 

 It was to meet this want that the substance called A'-i;n/.'' 

 invented some Teen ago. Many persons consider, however, that the 

 kamptiilicon, often used the floors of churched and other large 



buildings, has a tendency to become brittle after some time of usage. 

 Be this as it may, Messrs, Ooodyear have devised a mode of combining 

 cork, cotton, wool, and other fibrous materials, with india-rubber, and 

 spreading the mixture upon a back or ground of canvas or woollen. In 

 this state, the carpet or floor-covering undergoes a kind of embossing 

 process, plain or in colours. When thoroughly dried, it is said to have 

 the elasticity and noiselessness of a velvet pile carpet, in addition to 

 much durability. 



FLOORS, the platforms which form the separate stories of a 

 building are habitually known by the name of Floors, and thi-y are 

 generally composed of the ffUiny, the joittt, and the Jloarboardi , great 

 varieties of construction are, however, admitted in each of these details. 

 The various modes of executing ceilings will be discussed under PLAS- 

 TKBER'S WORK, sad attention will in this article only be called to the 

 parts of floors which come exclusively within the attributions of the 

 carpenter and joiner. 



Floors are either fimjilr, or rinyle-jnitttd Jloort ; or framed foart. 

 In the former, the ceiling and floor-boards are attached directly to tin- 

 joists, which are made strong enough to carry the weight likely to be 

 brought upon them, without any intermediate support. In the framed 

 floors, a more complicated system of construction is adopt. 

 girders are introduced to divide the bearing, and to them are attached, 

 as the case may be, binding-joists, bridging-joista, and ceiling-joisU ; 

 the two latter of which respectively carry the floorboards and tilt- 

 ceiling. It is usually considered that a single-joisted floor is, in pro- 

 portion to the cubical quantity of wood it contains, stronger than a 

 framed floor; but, as Tredgold very properly remarks, when the 

 bearing of the joists becomes considerable, the ceilings of single-joisted 

 floors are liable to be affected by the natural movements of the timber ; 

 and at all times it is easier to execute the works required to prevent 

 the transmission of sound in a framed, than it is in a single-joisted, 

 floor. [SOUND BOARDS.] 



The weight a floor may have to carry must of course depend upon 

 the purposes it is intended to fulfil. In house floors it is very rarely 

 indeed that a greater weight than 45 Ibs. per foot, superficial, can be 

 applied, whilst in common shop and assembly-room floors, it is advisa- 

 ble to count upon a load equal to 80 Ibs, per foot, superficial, ami in 

 bridges, upon a weight of 200 Ibs. per foot ; if corn or grain should In- 

 stacked upon a floor, it is even desirable to calculate upon a load of 

 250 Ibs. on the superficial foot. Upon these data the strength of the 



b tt : 

 timbers of a floor may be calculated by the formula v> = r ; in 



which w = twice the breaking weight in Ibs., distributed over the 

 whole length, or the breaking weight applied at the centre ; 6 = the 

 breadth in inches ; d - the depth also in inches ; / = the clear length 

 of the bearing in feet; andc =the coefficient of strength of tin- various 

 descriptions of wood. Tredgold gives, in his ' Elementary I'm 

 of Carpentry,' some more general empirical formulae for calculating tin- 

 dimensions of the various details of house floors; and as they are 

 perfectly safe, nay, rather in excess of the absolute requirement* of the 

 cases they are designed to meet, they may be unhesitatingly adopted 

 by practical builders. The scantlings of girders he calculates from the 



formula (No. 1.) 4 = .- ; in which 6 = the breadth, and ./. tin- 

 depth in inches, and I = the length, in feet, between the bearings. 



40 P 

 The scantlings of binders he calculates by formula (No. 2.), 6 = -57 ; 



in which the same numeration is preserved. The scantlings of single 

 joists he calculates by formula (No. 8.), d = 2'2 f y j J ; and those of 



ceiling- joists by the formula (No. 4.), d 



642 

 i - . Tables calculated upon 



these formula; are given in the body of the work above-quoted, pages 

 261 to 264. 



Practically the limit for the bearings of single-joisted floors seems to 

 be fixed at from 20 to 24 feet ; for although it is possible to obtain 

 timbers deep enough to carry the loads of floors of larger spans, yet 

 the depth becomes so considerable as to render the use of double floors 

 preferable, even without reference to the danger and inconvenience 

 arising from the shrinking, or warping, of the joists. The latter in- 

 convenience may be obviated, by the introduction of a s\>t.-!ii vlu.-li 

 is now very general in London, known by the name of ktrrmg-txmt 

 ttmttiiuj, in which the joists are kept in their places by 

 means of cross-struts nailed at the sides of the joists, 

 whose rigidity and steadiness are thus greatly increased. 

 Another practical observation is to be made with respect 

 to single joists, namely, that they must be wide enough 

 to afford a good hold to the floor brnda; perhaps a 

 minimum width equal to one and a half times the thickness of the 

 floor Ixiards used upon tin-in may be adim 



A span of more than 24 feet in a doubli- floor can ran-lv be accom- 

 plished with ordinary timber girders ; and it therefore becomes neces- 

 sary to resort to the use of Trussed, or of Cart Iron, or of Wrought 

 Iron, Girder*. Of late years the latter are almost exclusively used, on 

 account of their greater elasticity, anil of their giving considerable 



