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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2020 with funding from 
 Columbia University Libraries 
 
 Copyright 1911 
 
 BY 
 
 Keystone Fireproofing Company 
 
 https://arChiVe.Org/detailS/StrengthlightneS00keyS 
 
Strength 
 
 Lightness 
 
 and Rapidity 
 
 IN FIREPROOF FLOOR 
 CONSTRUCTION 
 
 WITH THE 
 
 METROPOLITAN FIREPROOFING 
 COMPANY’S SYSTEM 
 
 K eystone Fireproofing 
 Company 
 
 BOSTON NEW YORK PHILADELPHIA 
 
 MONTREAL 
 
 TORONTO 
 
Sixty Wall Street Building 
 60-62 Wall St. and 63-65 Pine St. 
 New York 
 
 Clinton & Russell, 
 
 Architects 
 
HE Metropolitan Fireproofing Company’s System of 
 M fireproofing has been employed in many of the largest 
 
 and most prominent buildings throughout the country 
 for the past twenty years. In taking over this system from the 
 Metropolitan Fireproofing Company, the Keystone Fireproof¬ 
 ing Company has secured the services of the hulk of the organiza¬ 
 tion of the former Company, thus insuring against any deviation 
 from the successful methods that have always been a strong char¬ 
 acteristic of the Metropolitan System in the past. 
 
 In New York City alone there are more than thirty buildings 
 ranging from 100 feet to 340 feet in height, constructed under this 
 system, in addition to the scores of smaller buildings in which it 
 has been installed. 
 
 Actual fires and conflagrations have demonstrated repeatedly 
 that a material may be sufficiently fire-resisting to withstand any 
 temperature to which it might be subjected in a burning building, 
 and yet be entirely unsuitable as a fireproofing material. Para¬ 
 doxically speaking, a system of fireproofing that is merely “fire¬ 
 proof" will not answer. To be efifective it must not only be in 
 itself fire-resisting, but must be sufficiently non-conducting to pre¬ 
 vent the beams and girders that it is designed to protect from 
 becoming heated to an injurious degree. 
 
 It has been proven that a temperature of 800 degrees F. 
 weakens steel 10 per cent., and that a temperature of 1700 degrees 
 F. causes it to lose 50 per cent, of its efficiency. This being so, 
 it is obvious that there is no factor of greater importance in the 
 selection of a fireproofing system than this feature of non-conduc¬ 
 tivity as distinguished from mere fire-resistance. 
 
 It is the purpose of this booklet to present briefly the reasons 
 why the Metropolitan Fireproofing Company's System is supe¬ 
 rior to any other system of fireproofing, not merely in respect to 
 non-conductivity, but in all of the other features essential in modern 
 building construction. 
 
 hi doing this comparisons are made with other systems of 
 fireproofing; but let it be understood that these comparisons are 
 confined strictly to questions of fact, in no way intended to dis¬ 
 parage other admittedly good forms of construction, but to accom¬ 
 plish the legitimate purpose of proving wherein the Metropolitan 
 Fireproofing Company’s System is superior to others. 
 
The Metropolitan Fireproofing Company's System 
 
 HE principle of the Metropolitan Fireproofing Company’s 
 V7 System is the reinforcement of a floor or roof plate by 
 wire cables from 1 inch to 3 inches apart, brought to a deflection 
 and into tension between each pair of beams or purlins. 
 
 The plate itself consists of Metropolitan composition, com¬ 
 posed principally of pure calcined gypsum. This composition 
 solidifies in from 20 to 30 minutes after being poured in place, and 
 the wood centering can then be safely removed. The resulting 
 floor is then sufficiently strong to be used at once, and within an 
 hour after it is poured provides a working floor that can be safely 
 used under the loads for which it has been calculated. 
 
 The upper surface, being uniform and level above the tops 
 of the beams, is then ready for the laying of the wood sleepers or 
 concrete, and as soon as the blocks are set in place along the webs 
 and flanges of the girders, the furring and metal lathing is put in 
 place underneath and the ceilings are ready for plastering. 
 
 6 
 
W r \ 
 < 
 
 O C 
 
 oo p 
 oo 
 
 ClH 
 
Strefigth 
 
 F can be stated without qualification that the Metropolitan 
 
 Fireproofing Company’s System is the strongest and 
 
 safest system of floor construction upon the market. 
 
 In any form of reinforced concrete floor construction, the 
 ultimate strength of the arch is determined by calculating the 
 strength of the concrete in compression, and of the reinforcement 
 in tension. An intentional or accidental deterioration in the quality 
 of the concrete, or a failure of any part of the mass to establish 
 a bond with the reinforcement, destroys absolutely the value of such 
 calculations. 
 
 A floor constructed of hollow tile depends for its strength 
 solely upon the arch principle. The failure of a mason to prop¬ 
 erly key it, or the presence in an arch of a broken or imperfect 
 tile, as is bound to happen in the handling of large quantities of 
 any hard, brittle material, destroys completely the principle of the 
 construction, causing it to become in effect nothing more than a 
 permanent centering for the concrete filling on top, upon which 
 the actual strength of the floor is then dependent. 
 
 In the Metropolitan Fireproofing Company’s System none 
 of these elements of uncertainty are present. Notwithstanding the 
 fact that the composition out of which the floor plate is cast has a 
 crushing strength of more than rq,ooo pounds per square foot, this 
 is entirely disregarded in calculating the strength of the arch. 
 
 Being supported by continuous wire cables, securely fastened 
 at each end and brought into deflection and tension, the stresses 
 are calculated by ordinary engineering formulae, and it is these 
 cables that are relied upon exclusively to carry the load, and not 
 the combination of the metal and the floor filling as in other sys¬ 
 tems. In other words, being strictly a metal system, its strength 
 can be calculated with the same accuracy as that of a suspension 
 bridge, and for this reason it is the only system of fireproof floor 
 construction that has ever been permitted by the New York Bureau 
 of Buildings to be designed with a factor of safety of four, as in 
 metal work, instead of a factor of safety of ten, as required in all 
 forms of concrete and masonry construction. 
 
 8 
 
Hecker-Jones-Jewell Flour Mills 
 Coenties Slip and East River 
 New York 
 
In the twenty years during which this system has been in use. 
 not a single arch has ever fallen from any cause whatsoever. 
 
 The remarkable strength of this construction cai\ be appre¬ 
 ciated by the results of the innumerable load tests that have been 
 made from time to time, records of which are contained in Part II 
 of this book. 
 
 io 
 
Mutual Building 
 9th and Main Streets 
 Richmond, Va. 
 
 Clinton & Russell, 
 
 Architects 
 
Fire Resistance ana Non-conductivity 
 
 C HE composition used in the Metropolitan Fireproofing 
 Company’s System consists principally of pure calcined 
 gypsum, together with a percentage of wood chips. While gypsum 
 is to-day generally recognized as the most effective material for 
 fire-protection that is known commercially, the rock from which 
 this composition is made is mined from our own deposits, and cal¬ 
 cined by a special process that develops in it the highest degree of 
 fire-resistance that can be obtained in any material used for this 
 purpose. 
 
 The presence of the wood chips in this composition gives to 
 it a degree of toughness and elasticity that is not to be found in 
 any other fireproofing material, and being present in but a small 
 proportion, they are completely insulated by the greater mass of 
 gypsum in which they are imbedded, in no way detracting from the 
 fire-resistance of the composition. 
 
 While clay tile and stone concrete are both fireproof in the sense 
 of being incombustible, neither of these materials develop a high effi¬ 
 ciency as non-conductors, and in offering resistance to the trans¬ 
 mission of heat to the beams and girders that they are intended to 
 protect; moreover, when they have become heated to a high degree 
 of temperature, the sudden application of a stream of water will 
 cause them to crack and fly. Both of these materials also possess 
 a comparatively high coefficient of expansion. In nearly all severe 
 fires it has been observed that expansion has fractured the webs of 
 hollow tile, causing the lower shells to fall. 
 
 Cinder concrete, while not possessing the strength of stone 
 concrete, is superior to it as well as hollow tile both in non-con¬ 
 ductivity and in having a lower coefficient of expansion, but it is 
 still greatly inferior in both respects to gypsum. 
 
 Metropolitan composition, on the other hand, has a coeffi¬ 
 cient of expansion of practically zero , and is so remarkable a non¬ 
 conductor of heat that a moderate thickness prevents the passage 
 of nearly all warmth. In the most severe fire tests, the beams have 
 remained cold, and, consequently, unaffected, while in some cases 
 beams protected by hollow tile and other materials have been so 
 affected by heat as to deflect and allow the floor arches to fall 
 before the flames had injured them. 
 
 When exposed to fire for four or five hours, the Metropolitan 
 
Forty-two Broadway" Building 
 36-42 Broadway 
 New York 
 
 Henry Ives Cobb, 
 
 Architect 
 
composition is attacked to a depth of from 3-16 inch to 1 inch, 
 the remainder being unaffected, and neither cracking, flying nor 
 showing any trace of disintegration when a stream of water is 
 applied. 
 
 During prolonged tests floor plates of this material have 
 remained perfectly cool on the surface not exposed to the flame. 
 Witnesses of tests have stood on floors made of this material with 
 fires under them equal in effect to a conflagration; and, in the 
 case of one test, which is a matter of record in the New York 
 Bureau of Buildings, snow remained unmelted on the upper sur¬ 
 face while the underside was exposed to a continuous fire for four 
 and one-half hours. 
 
 In the official test for the New York Bureau of Buildings on 
 May 20, 1897, sufficient heat did not reach the beams to affect the 
 paint. 
 
 With no other system has such complete protection been 
 afforded. We openly challenge any other system of fireproofing 
 upon the market to a comparative fire and water test, to be con¬ 
 ducted according to the test specifications of the New York Bureau 
 of buildings under the direction of the Engineering Department 
 of Columbia University, New York, Massachusetts Institute of 
 Technology, Boston, or the Underwriters’ Laboratories, Chicago. 
 
 All of the foregoing facts are substantiated by the various fire 
 and water tests to which the Metropolitan Fireproofing Com¬ 
 pany's System has been subjected, the detailed official records of 
 which are contained in Part II of this book. 
 
 14 
 
Republican Club 
 54-56 West 40th Street 
 New York 
 
 York & Sawyer, 
 
 Architects 
 
Lightness and Economy 
 
 C HE Metropolitan Fireproofing Company’s System is 
 by far the lightest floor construction upon the market, the 
 arch itself for ordinary hotel, apartment house or office building 
 loads weighing hut 14 pounds per square foot. 
 
 In most localities the cost of Metropolitan floors in place, 
 left level above the tops of the beams, and with metal lathing and 
 furring in place ready for plastering underneath, compares favorably 
 with any first-class flat-ceiling cinder-concrete construction, and is 
 substantially cheaper than stone concrete or hollow tile arches. 
 But when the extreme lightness in weight of the Metropolitan 
 Fireproofing Company’s System is considered in designing the 
 steel work and the foundations, and the consequent saving in metal 
 computed, it is found that the use of this construction will prove 
 more economical than any other system that can be employed. 
 
 Our Engineering Department will promptly prepare for an 
 architect or owner a complete steel layout and column schedule for 
 any type of building, charging only actual cost for this service. 
 which will be refunded in full if we are awarded the contract for 
 fireproofing. 
 
 Table of Dead Load 
 
 Metropolitan Fireproofing Company''s System 
 
 W eight of floor plate. 14 lbs. per sq. ft. 
 
 “ beam filling, averaged. 3 “ 
 
 “ plastering applied directly to under 
 
 side of arch. 4 “ 
 
 “ 2" x 3" sleepers and cinder fill. 10 “ 
 
 “ VC wood floor. 4 
 
 Total dead load. 35 “ “ “ 
 
 Note: If Form A, with furring and metal lathing for flat ceilings 
 underneath, add 4 lbs. per sq. ft. to above. If cement floor is to be used 
 instead of wood, add 6 lbs. per sq. ft. to above. 
 
 The foregoing weights will apply to practically all types of 
 buildings, except for the very heaviest types of factories or ware¬ 
 houses. 
 
H. W. Witcover, 
 
 Architect 
 
 City Hall 
 Savannah, Ga. 
 
Sound-deadening 
 
 HERE is no type of building where the prevention of the 
 
 communication of sound from floor to floor is not desir¬ 
 
 able, and this feature assumes the highest importance in hotels, 
 apartment houses, residences, educational institutions and buildings 
 devoted to musical purposes. 
 
 Keystone Gypsum Block Partitions have been proven in 
 practice and by actual comparative tests to be the most nearly 
 perfect non-conductors of sound of any material on the market. 
 Hence, Metropolitan Fireproofing Company’s Floors, made 
 from the same material, possess exactly the same degree of effi¬ 
 ciency in this respect, emphasized still more by the greater thickness 
 of the floor plate as compared with the partition blocks. 
 
 In any manufacturing building where this system of floor 
 construction has been installed, one can enter, and the noise of 
 heavy-running machinery upon the floor above will be entirely in¬ 
 audible if the stair and elevator openings leading above are prop¬ 
 erly closed. 
 
Langham Apartments 
 73d, 74th Streets and Central Park West 
 New York 
 
 Clinton & Russell, 
 
 Architects 
 
Rapidity of Construction 
 
 HERE is no more important factor in determining the prob¬ 
 
 able time required to complete a modern building operation 
 
 than the speed with which the floor arches can be installed. After 
 the erection of the steel has begun for a skeleton frame structure, 
 the progress of the balance of the work depends absolutely upon 
 the fireproofing. Every day that can be saved in completing the 
 floor and roof arches represents a gain of a day in the time required 
 to turn over the completed building. 
 
 When it is considered that the carrying charges on a building 
 operation often amount to hundreds of dollars daily, the total of 
 which must be added to the cost, it will be apparent that the selec¬ 
 tion of the system of fireproofing may often prove to have been a 
 strong influence in the investment value of the completed building. 
 
 There is not. nor never has been, a system of fireproofing that 
 could be installed as rapidly as the Metropolitan Fireproofing 
 Company’s System. Reaching, as it does, its initial set within 
 not over thirty minutes from the time it is poured, the centers can 
 be dropped in an hour’s time and moved up to the floor above, 
 leaving the lower floor absolutely clear, ready for the ceilings,, par¬ 
 titions and plastering. 
 
 Compare this result with other systems such as concrete, where 
 the centers must be left in place at least two weeks, resulting in six 
 or eight floors sometimes remaining centered at once, during which 
 time no other work can be done upon them. 
 
 Furthermore, with the Metropolitan Firefroofing Com¬ 
 pany’s System, the season of the year does not enter into an 
 estimate of the time required to complete a building. With hollow 
 tile or concrete floors a temperature below 32 degrees means a day 
 lost, but as the composition used in the Metropolitan Firefroof¬ 
 ing Company’s System sets before it has had time to freeze, this 
 construction can be installed in anv weather when men can work, 
 irrespective of temperature. 
 
 The job diaries of the contractors who erected the buildings 
 illustrated herein are proof of the unequaled speed with which fire¬ 
 proof floors may be installed if the Metropolitan Fireproofing 
 Company’s System is used. 
 
 20 
 
Garvin Machine Co. Building 
 Varick and Spring Streets 
 New York 
 
 C. C. Haight, 
 
 Architect 
 
Preservation of Metal Work 
 
 ONTRARY to an old popular belief, there is no material 
 
 that can he used for fireproofing purposes that excels gyp¬ 
 
 sum as a preventive of corrosion. In the process of calcination 
 to which the raw gypsum is subjected by us for the manufacture 
 of Metropolitan composition and Keystone Gypsum Blocks, all 
 of the free acids and gases escape. When it is poured into place 
 around the beams and the wire cables, crystallization immediately 
 begins, and in from fifteen to thirty minutes the metal is her¬ 
 metically sealed within. 
 
 Innumerable small sections of Metropolitan arches have been 
 removed from time to time, from buildings eight or ten years old, 
 and in every case the cable wires embedded therein have been as 
 bright as when installed , after removing with the fingers the thin 
 film of initial rust that invariably forms when any wet substance 
 touches metal. 
 
Henry W. Poor Residence 
 Tuxedo Park, N. Y. 
 
Roof Construction 
 
 For 
 
 Manufacturing Plants 
 
 C HE Metropolitan Fireproofing Company's System of 
 roof construction for main roofs, monitors, lean-to's, etc., 
 of one-story manufacturing buildings has proven superior to any 
 other form of construction for many reasons: 
 
 1st-—It is the lightest type of fireproof roof, weighing not over 
 12 pounds per square foot in place ready for the finished roofing- 
 material. This permits of a substantial saving in the weights of 
 trusses and purlins, an economy that more than offsets any slight 
 difference in the first cost of the Metropolitan Fireproofing 
 Company’s System as compared with others. We have frequently 
 installed this construction upon steel designed to carry only wood 
 roofs, with thoroughly satisfactory results and without overloading. 
 
 2d—It leaves a level, even surface on top, to which slag or 
 other forms of roofing may he directly applied. 
 
 3d—It will hold nails almost as well as wood. 
 
 4th—It leaves a smooth, even surface underneath, requiring 
 only a coat of cold water paint, and the whiteness of which adds 
 greatly to the light in the building both day and night. 
 
 5th—It can be installed more rapidly than any other form of 
 construction, and in any weather when men can work, irrespective 
 of freezing temperatures. 
 
 6th—Its elasticity insures against cracks developing from the 
 vibration caused by cranes and other heavy machinery. 
 
 7th—Its non-conductivity of heat and cold results in a cooler 
 building in summer, and in winter reduces operating expenses by 
 effecting a substantial economy in the cost of heating. We can refer 
 you direct to manufacturing concerns, whose buildings are con¬ 
 structed with the Metropolitan roof construction, and who will 
 give you the accurate cost figures of heating these buildings as 
 compared with other buildings of equal size in their own plant 
 having other forms of roofs. In some cases the saving in heating- 
 alone of a single building has run as high as $1200 or $1500 per 
 annum. 
 
 24 
 
Atlantic Building 
 
 William and Wall Sts., and Exchange Place 
 New York 
 
 Clinton & Russell 
 
 Architects 
 
Quality Insurance 
 
 O XE of the many reasons for the strong preference felt for 
 the Metropolitan Fireproofing Company’s System by 
 architects who specify and use it in their most important work, is 
 the sense of security which its use affords them. 
 
 In a hollow tile floor arch the value of the construction depends 
 entirely upon the use of perfect tile, and careful workmanship in 
 setting and keying. 
 
 With concrete, the best of cement, sand, stone or cinders means 
 nothing unless they are used in the proper proportions. As it is 
 obviously impracticable for the architect's superintendent to per¬ 
 sonally watch every mixing, his only security is his faith in the 
 contractor; but if, as often happens, the contractor’s foreman is 
 influenced bv a false idea of economy in saving cement, what then? 
 Neither the architect nor the contractor can detect it until the 
 damage has been done. 
 
 Every cement manufacturer and every concrete contractor will 
 tell you that concrete, made of good cement and the proper aggre¬ 
 gate, and with reinforcement correctly designed for the conditions 
 to be met, cannot fail. Although we are competitors of concrete, 
 we frankly admit this, and yet every week, every dav almost, we 
 read of concrete arches failing that are constructed with proper 
 reinforcement, and specified to be of the proper aggregate. There 
 is but one answer—the human element. 
 
 Practically speaking, the Metropolitan Fireproofing Com¬ 
 pany’s System is ‘‘fool-proof” and “thief-proof," for the man who 
 signs a contract to furnish concrete of a certain aggregate, and 
 deliberatelv weakens it to increase his profit, is entitled to no 
 milder name. When we sign our contract for the fireproofing of 
 a building, we furnish the architect with a blue-print, showing a 
 section of the arch, the spacing of the cables, their deflection, etc. 
 A glance at the building once a day is all that is necessary to enable 
 him to see that he is getting what his client is paying for in this 
 respect. 
 
 This leaves only the composition to he examined. Manu¬ 
 factured at our mills, by the thousands of tons, each ingredient 
 automatically measured, mechanically mixed, bagged and shipped to 
 the four points of the compass, its uniformitv is necessarilv obvious. 
 Arriving at the building, the bag is opened and nothing is added but 
 
 26 
 
New York Public Library 
 190-192 Amsterdam Ave. 
 New York 
 
 Carrere & Hastings, 
 
 Architects 
 
water. A sample from any bag and a small sieve enables the archi¬ 
 tect, in his office, to prove in five minutes that he is getting the 
 proper proportions, as the formula will be furnished him by us 
 in confidence upon request. A dish of any sort and a glass of water 
 permits him to complete the test and prove its set. 
 
 It is beyond the power of any one to adulterate Metropolitan 
 composition and “get away with it." Any; attempt to inject foreign 
 materials, or change the proportions of the contents of a single bag, 
 would so affect the set as to be obvious to the most casual observer 
 within twenty minutes. 
 
 The award of a contract for fireproofing to this Company, 
 therefore, is in effect the delivery to the architect of a policy insur¬ 
 ing the quality of the work. 
 
Bancroft Building 
 5 West 29th Street 
 New York 
 
 
 R. H. Robertson 
 Architect 
 
 
In General 
 
 E permit no one to install the Metropolitan Fireproofing 
 Company's System of floor and roof construction but our¬ 
 selves; and whenever practicable, prefer to bid upon Keystone Gyp¬ 
 sum Blocks for the partitions, column protection, wall furring, etc., 
 erected in place ready for plastering. No Keystone Block or 
 Metropolitan floor has ever failed, either in a test or an actual 
 fire, and the relation of the floors, partitions and column protection 
 to one another under fire is so close that the use of all in any build¬ 
 ing is of importance to the architect and owner as well as ourselves. 
 
 Booklets descriptive of Keystone Blocks and the tests and 
 fires through which they have passed, will be gladly mailed gratis 
 upon request. 
 
 Plans sent to any of our sales offices, at our expense, will be 
 promptly returned with a bona fide bid, together with such sug¬ 
 gestions as to the specifications as our wide experience in the fire¬ 
 proofing field may enable us to offer with a view to increasing 
 efficiency or decreasing cost. 
 
 Fifteen years’ experience in the construction as well as the 
 manufacture of fireproofing, has enabled us to build up a field 
 organization that has no equal in this country, and the employment 
 of which not only insures to the architect the highest standard of 
 workmanship and a maximum speed, but a hearty co-operation in 
 meeting promptly and successfully the many small problems and 
 details that arise on every building, and which cannot be foreseen. 
 
 The capacity of our various factories is the largest of their 
 kind in the world, insuring promptness in making shipments. 
 
 In addition to the careful supervision given to the selection 
 of the gypsum rock before it leaves our mines, the material itself 
 is carefully inspected at each process of manufacture. It is this 
 rigid inspection that preserves the well-known uniformity of quality 
 that has always been characteristic of Keystone products. 
 
 30 
 
Babies’ Hospital 
 55th St. and Lexington Ave. 
 New York 
 
 York & Sawver, 
 
 Architects 
 
SPECIFICATION FOR 
 
 Metropolitan Fireproofing Company's System 
 Fireproof Floor Construction 
 
 FORM “A” 
 
 ETAL cli] )s shall be fastened to the bottom flanges of the 
 Ul floor beams, which shall support 1 ” x 3-16" flat iron bars 
 spaced 16" on centers running transversely with the floor beams, tops 
 of such flats to be on a level about 1 62 below the bottom flanges. 
 
 To take the plaster there shall be fastened to the 1" flats ap¬ 
 proved metal lathing coated with asphaltum. 
 
 By means of forms or centers placed about the bottom flanges 
 of the floor beams and girders a 1covering of Metropolitan 
 composition shall be cast in place protecting the bottom flanges of 
 the floor beams and girders. 
 
 Cables, each composed of two No. 12 galvanized wires, twisted, 
 shall be carried over the tops of the floor beams and shall be secured 
 to walls by anchors and bars; or where they end on a beam, shall 
 be secured to it by strong hooks. These cables shall be laid parallel 
 and pass under round iron bars, midway between the beams, so as 
 to cause the cables to deflect uniformly. The cables shall be laid 
 at distances apart from each other, varying from 1" to 3" according 
 to the spans. 
 
 Forms or centers shall be put in place between the floor beams 
 1” below the round iron bars mentioned above. The composition 
 mentioned above shall be poured in place and brought to a level 
 E?" above the tops of the flanges of the floor beams, and form a 
 floor plate about 4" thick, ready for the laying of wood sleepers or 
 concrete on top. 
 
 32 
 
SPECIFICATION FOR 
 
 Metropolitan Fireproofing Company’s System 
 Fireproof Floor Construction 
 
 FORM “B” 
 
 © 
 
 V means of forms or centers placed about the bottom flanges 
 of the floor beams and girders, a 1 y 2 " covering of Metro¬ 
 politan composition shall be cast in place, protecting the bottom 
 flanges of the floor beams and girders. 
 
 Cables, each composed of two No. 12 galvanized wires, twisted, 
 shall be carried over the tops of the floor beams and shall be secured 
 to walls by anchors and bars; or where they end on a beam, shall 
 be secured to it by strong hooks. These cables shall be laid parallel 
 and pass under round iron bars, midway between the beams, so as 
 to cause the cables to deflect uniformly. The cables shall be laid 
 at distances apart from each other, varying from 1" to 3" according 
 to spans. 
 
 borms or centers shall be put in place between the floor beams 
 1 " below the round iron bars mentioned above. The composition 
 mentioned above shall be poured in place and brought to a level 
 ]/i above the tops of the flanges of the floor beams and form a 
 floor plate about 4' thick, ready for the laying of wood sleepers 
 or concrete on top, and the plastering or painting underneath. 
 
 34 
 
Buildings in New York City 
 over 100 Feet High 
 
 coiivStructed under 
 
 METROPOLITAN FIREPROOFING 
 COMPANY’S SYSTEM 
 
 Bl'II,DING 
 
 STORIES 
 
 FEET 
 
 HIGH 
 
 Sixty Wall Street. Building, 
 
 28 
 
 340 
 
 Forty-two Broadway, Building, 
 
 21 
 
 240 
 
 Hudson Building, 32-34 Broadway, 
 
 16 
 
 221 
 
 Atlantic Mutual Building, 49 Wall Street. 
 
 18 
 
 260 
 
 Beaver Building, Beaver and Pearl Streets, 
 
 16 
 
 200 
 
 Singer Building, Broadway and Prince Street. 
 
 12 
 
 170 
 
 Woodbridge Building, William and John Streets, 
 
 13 
 
 170 
 
 Samson Building, 63-65 Wall Street, 
 
 12 
 
 161 
 
 Bancroft Building, 5-7 West 29th Street, 
 
 10 
 
 143 
 
 Standish Arms Hotel. Brooklyn. 
 
 12 
 
 140 
 
 51 East 18th Street, 
 
 10 
 
 130 
 
 13th Street and Broadway. 
 
 13 
 
 124 
 
 Fahy’s Building, 54 Maiden Lane, 
 
 12 
 
 120 
 
 Hartford Building, 17th Street and Union Square, 
 
 11 
 
 120 
 
 Loft Building, 37-39 East 21st Street, 
 
 10 
 
 120 
 
 Daniell’s Department Store, Broadway and 8th Street, 8 
 
 108 
 
 Republican Club, 54-56 West 40th Street. 
 
 12 
 
 100 
 
 Garvin Machine Company Building, Varick and 
 
 Spring 
 
 
 Streets, 
 
 8 
 
 100 
 
 Graham Building, Church and Duane Streets, 
 
 12 
 
 100 
 
 Bishop Building, William and Liberty Streets, 
 
 12 
 
 100 
 
 Broadway Tabernacle, 56th Street and Broadway, 
 
 7 
 
 100 
 
 Hotel Stratford. 11-13 East 32d Street. 
 
 13 
 
 100 
 
 Astor Apartments, 75th Street and Broadway, 
 
 8 
 
 100 
 
 180 Broadway, Building, 
 
 12 
 
 100 
 
 55 West 21st Street. 
 
 9 
 
 100 
 
 Loft Building, 27 East 21st Street, 
 
 10 
 
 100 
 
 
Naval Y. M. C. A. Building 
 Sands and Charles Streets 
 Brooklyn-New York 
 
 Parish & Schroeder 
 Architects 
 
Partial List ol Buildings Constructed Under 
 METROPOLITAN FIREPROOFING COMPANY’S SYSTEM 
 
 3 s 
 
 
Pennsylvania Railroad Company 
 Architects 
 
Bl-IU)ING AKCHITKCT . '^WORK ° F 
 
 Sixty Wall Street, Building, Clinton & Russell, 204,000 sq. ft. 
 
 00-62 Wall Street, 63-65 Pine Street, New York. New York. 
 
 40 
 
Beaver Building 
 Beaver, Pearl, and Wall Streets 
 New York 
 
 Clinton & Russell 
 Architects 
 
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PART II. 
 
 Official Records 
 Fire, Water and Strength 
 
 Tests 
 
Title of Floor 
 
 Metropolitan, . 
 
 McCabe’s, . . 
 
 Hard burnt 
 
 hollow tile, 
 
 Rapp’s, . . . 
 
 Thomson’s, . . 
 
 Manhattan 
 Concrete Co , 
 
 Expanded 
 
 Metal Co., 
 
 Guastavino, . . 
 
 Roebling’s, . . 
 
 Central Fire- 
 Proofing Co., 
 
 Columbian, . . 
 
 Fawcett, . . . 
 
 Clinton, . . 
 
 Bailey’s, . . . 
 
 TABLE SHOWING COMPARATIVE RESULTS OF Tl; 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF BUILDING, 
 
 Description. 
 
 Weight 
 
 , I,ns. 
 
 Per 
 
 Per 
 
 Square 
 
 Cubic 
 
 Foot 
 
 Foot 
 
 48.51 
 
 57 - 
 
 (Plaster concrete, with) 
 \ twisted wires embedded, j 
 
 (Cinder concrete and spe-) 
 
 \ cial T. C. blocks, . . . i 93 ’ 22 103 ' 
 
 Composition of Concrete! 
 
 77. Plaster Paris, 
 2i. Wood Chips, 
 2. Cocoa Fibre, 
 
 r. Cement, 
 2. Sand, . 
 4. Cinder, 
 
 f “Side construction.” Hol- 
 J low tiles, laid with ce¬ 
 ment and covered with f 
 concrete,. 1 
 
 J Cinder concrete on brick ) 
 ( and steel bars, . . . . ) 
 
 f Cinder concrete mixed) 
 ! with special chemicals, . f 
 
 Cinder concrete, with ex¬ 
 panded metal hung to 
 the beams,. 
 
 80.7 112 . 
 
 1 
 
 ( 1. Atlas Portland, 
 ' 1. Sand, 
 
 8. Cinder Ash, . . 
 
 1. Stettin Portland, . . 
 
 Q ( 1. Stc 
 
 9 °' 10 83 - | 7. Cinder, 
 
 76.65 106.25 Special secret combinatior 
 
 ! i. Germania Portland, 
 
 2. Gravel,. 
 
 5. Cinder,. 
 
 f Cinder concrete, with ex- | ( 1 Atlas Portland, . . . 
 
 paiuled metal laid on ■ 49.57 113.75 <2. Fine Sand. 
 
 top of the beams, . . . ) (4. Cinder, . . 
 
 1 
 
 Dome construction ” 
 small, thin, hard-burnt 
 tiles laid in cement, 
 
 o . ( Cement Mortar, 
 
 4 - 3 2 122.4 \ No Floor Beams, 
 
 Cinder concrete on wire-) 
 
 1. Cement, 
 
 
 cloth arch. Suspended - 53.72 83.25 - 2. Sand,. 
 
 ceiling,. J (5. Cinder, . 
 
 End construction.” Por¬ 
 ous terra-cotta hollow 
 tile, with cinder concrete ? 
 on top,. 
 
 66.28 97. 
 
 ( Cinder Concrete, 
 \ Not specified, 
 
 ( Cement concrete and spe- 1 
 ( cial steel bars.j 7 1 ■ 35 12 4 - 
 
 1. Dyckerhoff Portland, 
 2 X / Z Sea-sand, . . . 
 
 5 Broken bluestone, . 
 
 Tubular tiles, embedded in \ ^ 1 Cinder Concrete, 
 
 cinder concrete.j 7?>-95 9 2 5 ^ Not specified, . 
 
 (Special concrete arch, j 
 j Wire and plaster under • 73.4 488.5 
 
 I beams, .) 
 
 ( Cinder concrete on dove- I 
 f tailed sheet metal, . . . ) " 3- 2 5 110.5 
 
 (. King’s Windsor, 
 2. Plaster Paris, . 
 4. Cinder, . . . 
 
 1. Rosen dale, 
 
 1. Cinder Ash, 
 
 2. Gravel, 
 
f ^sts upon fireproof floors, conducted by 
 
 din w YORK CITY. IN 1896-1897. 
 
 Deflection 
 
 Hot 
 
 r th Load of 
 
 1 lbs. per sq. 
 ft. 
 
 J ing Firing. 
 
 Cold 
 
 With Load of 
 600 lbs. per sq. 
 ft. 
 
 After Firing. 
 
 Permanent 
 Deflection of 
 Beams. 
 
 . 36 " 
 
 .26" 
 
 O." 
 
 . 3 °S" 
 
 .295" 
 
 O." 
 
 I.84" 
 
 22" 
 
 A" 
 
 ' 2. 37 // 
 
 ■ 31 " 
 
 'A" 
 
 A- 77 " 
 
 . 38 " 
 
 A" 
 
 ; 2 . 54 ' / 
 
 . 41 " 
 
 1." 
 
 J 3 -" 
 
 • 34 " 
 
 1 ‘ 4 " 
 
 1 . 7 i // 
 
 .22" 
 
 . 167" 
 
 448 " 
 
 .52" 
 
 2 A" 
 
 2.16 // 
 
 .22" 
 
 2 A" 
 
 4.07" 
 
 • 54 " 
 
 4 %" 
 
 AA" 
 
 .87" 
 
 5^" 
 
 2.56" 
 
 .26" 
 
 Not taken. 
 
 3-o6" 
 
 .625" 
 
 Not taken. 
 
 Remarks 
 
 ( 5 hours. Maximum temperature, 2100°. Paint 
 J on beams uninjured by fire. Chips and fibre 
 burned in lower part, charred in central, and 
 l nearly intact near the beams 
 I 5 hours. Maximum temperature, 2325 0 . Small 
 J breaks in the blocks exposed the X bars and 
 beam flanges. White coat adhered to ceiling 
 1 blocks. 
 
 5 hours Maximum temperature, 2100°. Tiles 
 were broken in places under the flanges of 
 the beams, exposing them partly. Between 
 
 ^ the beams, six of the tiles had their lower 
 portions broken by the force of the water. 
 The arches were otherwise in good condition 
 after the test. 
 
 ( 17 /r of the bricks were injured and some of the 
 J X bars had sagged considerably. 5 hours. 
 [ Maximum temperature, 2300°. 
 t Underside of concrete washed away up to the 
 tie-rods. Beam protection crumbled away. 
 
 ( 5 hours. Maximum temperature, 2250 0 . 
 
 ( 5 hours Maximum temperature, 2150°. C011- 
 
 J Crete at center washed out one inch above 
 j expanded metal and exposed the beam 
 [ flanges. 
 
 | 5 hours. Maximum temperature 2200°. Con- 
 J crete and plaster washed off and expanded 
 j metal cloth removed in places by fire and 
 { water. 
 
 | 6 hours. Maximum temperature, 2525 0 . Under 
 the influence of the heat, the center of the 
 floor rose 71'''. After firing, the arch was 
 J in excellent condition. None of the tiles 
 ) fallen, and there were no signs of cracks. 
 The water caused cracking and falling of 
 the lower course of tiles The bricks in 
 many places were vitrified by the heat. 
 
 | 5 hours. Maximum temperature, 1975 0 . Beams 
 J and concrete were red hot. Wire netting 
 burned off in the arch Arches in good 
 l condition. 
 
 6 hours Maximum temperature not recorded. 
 35% of the blocks cracked and the lower 
 section of some broke off to a depth of about 
 
 i zA" ■ One block dropped out of its arch. 
 All soffit tiles fell except those nearest the 
 walls. Grates melted. After cooling, the 
 arch was tested with a load of 1,960 lbs per 
 sq. ft., with a deflection of 3 41". 
 
 ( 5 hours Maximum temperature, 22 o°. Wood- 
 J en sleepers charred. Concrete floor washed 
 1 off up to bars. Beam protection washed 
 { away cleanly. 
 
 | 3 hours. Maximum temperature, 2200°. Grates 
 melted A majority of the tiles cracked and 
 { from many of these the lower part had 
 broken off. When the water struck the hot 
 1 tiles, large pieces cracked and fell off. 
 f 5 hours. Maximum temperature, 2200°. Plaster 
 ] and part of beam flange protection dropped 
 ) off during the firing. Concrete arch washed 
 [ off, exposing the rods. 
 
 I 5 hours. Maximum temperature, 2325 0 . Floor 
 J intact. Ceiling in good shape after firing, 
 but washed off by hose stream and sheet 
 ( metal exposed uninjured. 
 
No. 
 
 Summary of Within Test Records 
 
 IMPACT TESTS 
 
 No. Weight 
 
 Distance 
 
 Dropped 
 
 No. of Times 
 Dropped 
 
 Effect 
 
 I 205 
 
 2 ' O" to 4' IO" 
 
 3 
 
 No visible effect. 
 
 2 205 
 
 5 / 0" 
 
 Repeatedly 
 
 Cut into composition. No 
 wires broken,. 
 
 3 205 
 
 5' 0" 
 
 5 
 
 Shattered board at second blow 
 and cut wires at fifth, . . . 
 
 4 205 
 
 4' 0" to 5' 6 " 
 
 9 
 
 Two wires broken and weight 
 went through floor, .... 
 
 5 155 
 
 6 ' 0" 
 
 10 
 
 Three wires broken,. 
 
 6 155 
 
 g / 0" 
 
 5 
 
 Three wires broken. 
 
 FIRE TESTS OF SECTIONS OF FLOOR 
 
 Size of Furnace 
 
 Time 
 
 Load 
 
 per sq. ft. 
 
 Effect 
 
 1 
 
 5 / 6 // x 
 
 5 'X" 
 
 2 h. 50 min. 
 
 200 
 
 lbs., . 
 
 Affected to a depth 
 
 1/// 
 
 of 
 
 about 
 
 2 
 
 S'6H" 
 
 x 3 'iX" 
 
 5 hrs. 
 
 150 
 
 lbs., . 
 
 72 ) ;. 
 
 Deflection, 1 3-22 // , . 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 5 '2 %" 
 
 x 12 '6%" 
 
 IYa hrs. 
 
 
 
 Affected to a depth 
 
 . 
 
 No visible effect, . . 
 
 of 
 
 about 
 
 4 
 
 5 / o // x 
 
 4'7 " 
 
 1 hr. 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 I 4 ' 4 * > 
 
 I4 / 2 // 
 
 5 ffrs. 
 
 150 
 
 lbs., . 
 
 Affected to a depth 
 
 1", . 
 
 No appreciable effect, 
 
 of 
 
 about 
 
 6 
 
 5'6"x 2'6'4" 
 
 3% hrs. 
 
 rv 
 
 O 
 
 O 
 
 lbs , . 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 18 square feet 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 7'o" x 
 
 12 / o // 
 
 6‘/ 2 hrs. 
 
 3 °° 
 
 lbs., . . 
 
 Affected to a depth 
 
 varying 
 
 i hr. 
 
 12 'o" x i6 / o // 
 
 5 hrs. 
 
 150 and after 
 
 
 
 fire test 600 
 
 i2'o" X I6T/' 
 
 5 hrs. 
 
 150 and after 
 
 
 
 fire test 600 
 
 from ‘4 V/ to 
 On permanent floor, showed 
 good results, . 
 
 (Metropolitan Floor. ) De¬ 
 flection, .36 in. Paint on 
 beams still fresh and bright, 
 
 flection, 1.84 in. Paint on 
 beams blistered and de¬ 
 stroyed. 
 
 54 
 
SUMMARY OF WITHIN TESTS 
 
 FIRE TESTS ON SMALL BLOCKS TO DETERMINE THE COMPARATIVE FIRE 
 RESISTING QUALITIES OF METROPOLITAN MATERIAL AND HOLLOW 
 TILE OF HARD BURNT CLAY, ETC. 
 
 7 Tests made at Harrison, N. J., in a Crucible and in a Heating Furnace, 
 showed that the Metropolitan material is more infusible than Hard Burnt or 
 Porous Terra Cotta Tile. 
 
 4 Tests made at Trenton and i Test made in New York show'ed similar 
 results. 
 
 TESTS TO DETERMINE STRENGTH 
 
 No. 
 
 lengths of 
 
 Spans 
 
 l,oad in pounds 
 per sq. ft. 
 
 Effect 
 
 32 were 
 
 Varying from 
 
 Ranging from 
 
 Not all tested to 
 
 made 
 
 3'9 r/ to 8 / o // 
 
 420 to 2302 
 
 destruction 
 
 Of the above, 4 were made in sections in place in buildings in New York 
 City, and on the result of these tests the system was passed for these buildings 
 by the Board of Examiners. 
 
 TESTS TO SHOW PROTECTION AFFORDED TO IRON RODS IMBEDDED IN 
 
 METROPOLITAN COMPOSITION 
 
 No. 
 
 Size of Block 
 
 Diam. of 
 Rod in 
 inches 
 
 Time in 
 
 Effect 
 
 in inches 
 
 Furnace 
 
 1 
 
 3 x 6 ) 4 x 12 ) 4 ' 
 
 A 
 
 10)4 Mill. 
 
 Rod cool enough to hold in 
 the hand,. 
 
 2 
 
 3 x 6 ) 4 x 12)4 
 
 A 
 
 ii Min. 
 
 Rod cool enough to hold in 
 the hand,. 
 
 3 
 
 4)4x12x8 
 
 24 
 
 Fong enough 
 to melt cast 
 
 Rod cool when taken out, . 
 
 4 
 
 3x12x12 
 
 % 
 
 iron 
 
 10 Min. 
 
 As cool as when put in, . . 
 
 5 
 
 4 ) 4 x 12 X 12 
 
 H 
 
 8 Min. 
 
 Rod cool enough to hold in 
 the hand,. 
 
 6 
 
 4x8x12 
 
 H 
 
 10 Min. 
 
 Rod cool enough to hold in 
 the hand,. 
 
 7 
 
 4)4x8xi2 
 
 
 11 5-6 Min. 
 
 Rod was cooler than tern- 
 
 perature of the atmos¬ 
 phere when taken from 
 furnace,. 
 
 4)4x8x12 )4 19 Min. Rod cool enough to hold in 
 
 the hand,.. 
 
 8 
 
COMPARATIVE FIRE TESTS OF METROPOLITAN MATERIAL AND HOLLOW TILE OF HARD BURNT CLAY, ETC. 
 
 SUMMARY OF WITHIN TESTS 
 
 
 
 
 
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 12 Common hard brick, Annealing furnace, . . 34 min. i.Easily broken with small hammer, 
 
SUMMARY OF WITHIN TESTS 
 
 EVIDENCE THAT METROPOLITAN COMPOSITION WILL NOT CORRODE 
 WIRE AND THAT WATER WILL NOT AFFECT THE MATERIAL 
 
 No. 1—-Soaked section of floor loaded with 330 lbs. without breaking... 
 
 No. 2—Block soaked in water over 70 hours; was then placed on wires 
 and loaded 800 lbs. to the square foot without wires cutting 
 into it . 
 
 No. 3—Block made three years, soaked and dried repeatedly—wires 
 showed no signs of corrosion . 
 
 No. 4—Opinion of Mr. John Rogers, maker of “Rogers’ Groups” of 
 statuary . 
 
 No. 5—Opinion of an expert chemist . 
 
Official Comparative Tests 
 
 of the 
 
 Metropolitan and Hollow Tile Floors 
 
 for 
 
 Building Department, New York City 
 
 The following are copies of the reports of the Superintendent 
 of Buildings of New York City, on the Comparative Tests of the 
 Metropolitan and Hollow Tile Floors: 
 
 Department of Buildings, 
 
 [copy.] Xo. 220 Fourth Avenue, 
 
 New York, July 22d, 1897. 
 Metropolitan Fireproofing Company, 
 
 No. 8/j Broadway, New York. 
 
 Gentlemen : The following is a report in detail of the Met¬ 
 ropolitan Floor Construction, tested by hre and water. May 
 20th, 1897, which incorporates the reports of the several repre¬ 
 sentatives of the Building Department present during the progress 
 of the construction of test structure, conducting of the fire and 
 water test, and of the subsequent 600-pound test, accompanied by 
 detail drawings and photographs of tests. 
 
 Location of Test Structure. 
 
 The above test structure was located on the vacant lot at the 
 northeast corner of Sixty-eighth street and Avenue A, New York 
 City, 24' 8 /Y’ from curb on Avenue A and 63' 5y>" from curb on 
 Sixty-eighth street. 
 
 Drawings Showing Construction of Test Structure. 
 
 Drawing No. 112 shows a plan of brick walls and grates, a plan 
 of the framing for test floor, a plan of the finished floor as tested, 
 a general section parallel with the 1 beams and a section perpen¬ 
 dicular to them, and an elevation of the test structure. 
 
 Drawing No. 113 gives a complete planning of the iron fram¬ 
 ing at a scale of 1" to V, with sizes and weights indicated, accom¬ 
 panied by 1 1 -size details of the beam connections. 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 Drawing Xo. 107 gives a J/ 4 -size detail of the central arch of 
 the test structure, which shows the general construction of this 
 floor system. 
 
 Foundation of Test Structure. 
 
 The hrick walls of the test structure were started on a concrete 
 foundation, which had a depth of 10 " and a projection beyond 
 each side wall of about 9". 
 
 Walls. 
 
 The walls, enclosing a space of 11' by 14' and 10' high, in 
 the clear, the size adopted for this series of tests, were uniformly 
 12 " thick. They were re-enforced at the corners and at inter¬ 
 mediate points on the sides by 12 " buttresses and a system of huck- 
 stavs consisting of I beams and rods supporting upright braces 
 between buttresses, the horizontal stays being firmly secured 
 around the structure at about the level of the bottom of the floor 
 system. (See Drawing No. 112.) Two walls on interior, 2' 11" 
 high, supported the grate bars and formed flues for furnishing air 
 to the fire, were 16" thick up to the level of the lower grates, and 
 8 " thick from that point to level of upper grates, a distance of 
 18". The side walls supporting grates were correspondingly 8 " 
 and 4" thick. 
 
 The spaces between these walls below the grates formed the 
 ash-pits of the furnace. Air to support combustion was admitted 
 to these pits through openings in walls at each end of same. 
 These openings were 2' 6 " high and 3' wide, the flow of air through 
 same being controlled by sheet-iron dampers. 
 
 Mortar. 
 
 The mortar used in laying walls was a common Portland 
 cement and lime mortar. 
 
 Grates. 
 
 There were two tiers of grate-bars, one 18" above the other. 
 These bars were flat bars, )A" by 3", set in the walls 6 " between 
 centers. (See Drawing Xo. 112.) 
 
 59 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 Flues. 
 
 Flues 15" square were built in each of the four corners of the 
 test structure. These were carried up to a height of about 6 ' above 
 the top of the floor level. Pieces of sheet iron were used to cover 
 the top of flues to regulate draught. 
 
 Floor Beams. 
 
 The floor beams. 10", 25 lb., Carnegie roll, moment of inertia 
 122 . 1 , lawful bending moment 30,525' lbs., and as used in above 
 structure, will lawfully carry a uniformly distributed load of 311 
 lbs. per square foot. 
 
 There were four in number and set 4' between centers, with a 
 clear span of 14', secured with two Y\" tie-rods in each bay. The 
 ends of beams were securely fastened to angle-irons which were 
 placed across their ends, which in turn were fastened to channels 
 which ran alongside of the outside beams. (See Drawing Xo. 
 113.) 
 
 Metal Work in Arch. 
 
 The material of the arch is a composition of plaster and other 
 material, moulded out of a network of wire cables. The lower 
 flanges of the I beams were covered with wire cloth, while wire 
 cloth enveloped entirely the angle-irons supporting the smoke flues. 
 Below the floor beams and running at right angles to them were 
 suspended from the flanges of the beams, by means of special 
 supports, 1" by iron bars. These bars were placed 16" between 
 centers and supported the wire mesh to which the plastering is 
 applied. 
 
 Galvanized iron cables, composed of two wires 3/32" diam¬ 
 eter, were stretched across the whole floor, 2" apart, and the ends 
 secured to the two outside beams by means of hooks over the 
 upper flanges of same. 
 
 In the middle of each span between the floor beams and run¬ 
 ning parallel to them were laid 44 round bars on top of the 
 cables. These bars were then forced down until nearly touching 
 the centering for arch, which had been previously placed, and then 
 tied to the 1 " by bars below the flanges by means of wires. 
 
 I bis operation stretched the cables until very taut. 
 
 6 o 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 Material of Arch. 
 
 Centering for arch was placed about 4" below the top of beams, 
 and centering also placed around lower flange of beams so that 
 they should be covered to a depth of about 2" with the material of 
 arch. Slabs of the material were placed against the web of the 
 beams and plastered in. 
 
 The material arch composed by weight of 
 
 Plaster of paris . 7 5 per cent. 
 
 Wood chip . 20 
 
 Cocoanut fibre. 2p2 “ 
 
 Asbestos . 2p2 “ 
 
 This material came to the job already mixed, in bags of 100 
 lbs. each. When ready to use it was mixed with water to con¬ 
 sistency of ordinary building mortar, and immediately dumped 
 into place and rammed with shovel, setting in about 15 minutes. 
 This mixture extended above top of beams about *4", so that the 
 wire cables were entirely covered. 
 
 Sleepers. 
 
 Sleepers 2" by 4”, with beveled sides, were laid on May 14th, 
 at right angles to I beams 18" between centers. 
 
 The concrete fill between sleepers composed of: 
 
 8 parts of boiler ash. 
 
 1 part of Cow Bay sand. 
 
 1 part of Atlas cement. 
 
 These materials were well shoveled and mixed with a sufficient 
 quantity of water to give same a proper consistency, and was then 
 well rammed between sleepers. (See Iffiotograph No. 1,278.) 
 
 Ceiling. 
 
 Ceiling was plastered on May 3d and 4th. Two coats were put 
 on, first a brown coat, about thick, composed of one part 
 plaster of paris and two parts of machine-made mortar, furnished 
 by the United States Mortar Supply Company; second, a white 
 coat about J /&" thick, composed of plaster of paris. 
 
 Time for Setting of Arch. 
 
 The plaster arch was put in place on April 13th, 1897. The 
 concrete fill was put in place on April 14th, 1897. The fire test 
 was made on May 20th, 1897, thus allowing 37 days for setting 
 of plaster and 36 days for setting of concrete fill. 
 
 61 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 Protection During Setting. 
 
 A shed roof of boards covered with tarred paper served to 
 protect floor from the weather during the period of setting, and a 
 coal fire was burned on the inside of house for several days to 
 assist in drying out the work. 
 
 Loading for Fire Test. 
 
 The central bay of the floor was loaded with pig-iron, to 150 
 lbs. per square foot, placed in seven piles along whole length of the 
 bay. and so distributed that all the load came on that part of the 
 floor between the beams. From observations taken before and 
 after loading, the floor was found to deflect under same .04 of an 
 inch. 
 
 Fuel and Manner of Firing. 
 
 The fuel used was cord-wood, which was piled on the upper 
 grates to a thickness of about 2'. Shavings were placed in the 
 grates under the wood to start fire. Kerosene was used on wood 
 before fire was lighted. Fuel was added to fire through openings 
 in west and north walls at intervals, when needed. 
 
 Means of Observing Temperatures and Deflections. 
 
 The temperatures during test were noted bv means of the 
 Pneumatic Pyrometer, made by Messrs. Uehling, Steinbart & Co., 
 of Newark, N. J. Temperature plates containing plugs of lead, 
 aluminum, glass, copper and cast-iron were also used. 
 
 Deflections were noted by means of the transit leveled at scales, 
 mounted upon iron rods set up at the east and west ends and 
 center of floor. 
 
 Program of Fire and Water Test. 
 
 Fire to be applied continuously for 5 hours. A temperature of 
 2,000 to 2,100 deg. Fahr. to he maintained for the last 4 hours, 
 endeavoring to secure at one interval, if possible, a temperature 
 of 2,200 deg. Fahr. 
 
 At the expiration of 5 hours, water to be applied through an 
 \ l /$" nozzle with 60 lbs. pressure to the interior for 15 minutes; 
 during the first 5 minutes of which water to be directed against 
 the ceiling, and during the remaining 10 minutes, against the 
 walls and ceiling, principally the latter. Then the water was to 
 he shut off on the inside and applied to the to]) of the floor for 5 
 minutes under a low pressure, flooding same, and again returning 
 to the inside of the structure and applied to grates to entirely 
 extinguish the fire. 
 
 62 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 Atmospheric Tem peratures. 
 
 The average atmospheric temperature on the day of test, dur¬ 
 ing hours of tire, was 64 F., wind from southeast. 
 
 Log of the Fire and Water Test. 
 
 Log of tire and water test, with a load of 150 lbs. per sq. ft., 
 uniformly distributed over centre arch. 
 
 10.22 
 10.26 
 10.28 
 IO. 30 
 
 10.31 
 
 10.32 
 IO.36 
 IO.38 
 IO.43 
 IO.45 
 
 10.47 
 10.50 
 
 10.54 
 
 10-55 
 
 10.58 
 
 10.59 
 
 II.OO 
 
 II.04 
 
 11.14 
 
 11.15 
 II. l 6 
 11.20 
 11.25 
 11.27 
 11.30 
 
 ”•33 
 11.42 
 11.44 
 
 ”•45 
 
 11.47 
 11.50 
 11.56 
 
 12.00 
 
 12.09 
 
 Time 
 
 A.M. 
 
 4 ( 
 
 < 4 
 
 4 4 
 4 4 
 4 4 
 4 4 
 
 4 4 
 
 4 4 
 
 4 4 
 4 4 
 
 M 
 
 P.M 
 
 Remarks 
 
 1100 
 
 1150 
 
 1050 
 
 1275 
 
 1075 
 
 1275 
 
 1525 
 
 1450 
 
 1575 
 
 1650 
 
 1800 
 
 1850 
 
 1850 
 
 1900 
 
 1900 
 
 1925 
 
 1900 
 
 1900 
 
 1950 
 
 1800 
 
 2000 
 
 I9'5 
 
 1850 
 
 1850 
 
 2000 
 
 1875 
 
 1875 
 
 1825 
 
 Fire started. 
 Lead melted. 
 
 . 10 
 
 Piece of plaster fell off. 
 
 Aluminum plug bent down. 
 Glass softening. 
 
 .10 
 
 Glass bent with aluminum resting on top of 
 it. 
 
 Glass plug laying down. 
 
 Bright fire inside, and portion of plaster 
 falling off east wall. 
 
 Bright flame. 
 
 Ceiling in good shape. 
 
 . . Oil added to grate fires to assist combus¬ 
 tion. 
 
 .11 Copper plug still standing, but reduced in 
 size. 
 
 . . Copper plug gone. In the two end pits of 
 the south wall the fire did not burn well. 
 
 .16 
 
 Cast-iron plug at bright red heat. 
 
 Firing through west door. 
 
 Firing through west door discontinued. 
 
 ”9 
 
 Firing through west opening. 
 
 .20 
 
 Firing discontinued. 
 
 . . Ceiling warped but not cracked. C. I. plug 
 still standing. 
 
 .235 Second bar put in with copper and cast-iron. 
 
 . . . Copper plug melted. Here it is shown that 
 temperature indicated by pyrometer is less 
 than the melting point of copper, and yet 
 copper melted readily, doubtless indicating 
 a varied temperature at different corners. 
 
 63 
 
jj Oj Oj Oj 
 
 NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 Time 
 
 Temper¬ 
 ature 
 Deg. F. 
 
 Deflec¬ 
 
 tions 
 
 Inches 
 
 Remarks 
 
 12.15 P.M . . 
 
 O 
 
 »o 
 
 CO 
 
 •19 
 
 Plaster still intact. Firing through west 
 
 12.18 “ .... 
 
 
 
 opening. 
 
 Firing discontinued. 
 
 12.27 “ .... 
 
 1850 
 
 . 
 
 Cast-iron softening. 
 
 r 2.30 “ .... 
 
 1875 
 
 .2 1 
 
 Re-firing west opening. 
 
 12.44 “ .... 
 
 12.45 “ • • • 
 
 1875 
 
 .21 
 
 12.55 “ ... 
 
 1825 
 
 
 Second bar taken out. cast-iron plug stand- 
 
 12 56 “ .... 
 
 1775 
 
 
 mg. 
 
 Ceiling warped, but not cracked or broken. 
 
 12 58 “ ... 
 
 1825 
 
 
 Bricked up opening at north of structure 
 
 1.00 “ .... 
 
 1675 
 
 .22 
 
 from which second bar was taken. 
 
 1.06 “ .... 
 
 
 
 Pyrometer tube taken from south end of 
 
 1.08 “ .... 
 
 
 
 structure. 
 
 Pyrometer tube inserted in newly bricked- 
 
 1.12 “ .... 
 
 1 15 “ .... 
 
 1700 
 
 .22 
 
 up hole at north end of structure. 
 
 Firing west opening. 
 
 1.18 “ .... 
 
 
 
 Firing discontinued. 
 
 1.29 “ .... 
 
 1825 
 
 
 
 1.30 “ .... 
 
 1800 
 
 •23 
 
 
 1.31 “ .... 
 
 1-35 “ .... 
 
 1780 
 
 1650 
 
 
 
 1 36 “ .... 
 
 
 
 Firing through north opening. 
 
 1.38 “ .... 
 
 1.43 “ .... 
 
 1950 
 
 
 Firing discontinued. 
 
 1.45 “ .... 
 
 2050 
 
 •23 
 
 Firing through west opening. 
 
 1.59 “ .... 
 
 
 
 2.00 “ .... 
 
 1700 
 
 .22 
 
 
 2.05 “ . . 
 
 
 Firing discontinued. 
 
 2.12 “ .... 
 
 2100 
 
 
 
 2.15 “ .... 
 
 1950 
 
 .26 
 
 
 2.18 " .... 
 
 
 
 Firing through west opening. 
 
 2 24 “ .... 
 
 1875 
 
 
 Firing through west opening discontinued. 
 
 2 30 “ ... 
 
 .27 
 
 
 2-35 “ .... 
 
 
 
 Firing through west door. 
 
 238 “ . . . . 
 
 
 
 Firing through west door discontinued. 
 
 2.45 “ .... 
 
 I 75 t> 
 
 • 3 1 
 
 
 2.48 “ . . 
 
 
 
 Firing through west opening. 
 
 2-55 “ .... 
 
 
 
 Firing discontinued. Third flat bar to which 
 
 3.00 “ .... 
 
 1825 
 
 •34 
 
 was attached temperature plate, put in 
 south opening, from which pyrometer 
 tube had been removed, but bar soon 
 heated and bent down, rendering same 
 unserviceable. 
 
 3.10 “ . . . . 
 
 1800 
 
 
 Third plug bar removed, cast-iron plug 
 
 3.20 “ .... 
 
 
 •36 
 
 alone was standing. 
 
 3.22 y> “ . . . 
 
 
 
 Water on ceiling. 
 
 3 27^ “ .... 
 
 
 
 Water off ceiling and applied to side walls 
 
 3 - 37.54 “ • • • ■ 
 
 
 
 and ceiling. 
 
 Water off side walls and ceiling. 
 
 3 - 4 oI/ 2 “ . . . . 
 
 
 
 Water on roof. 
 
 3-45 54 “ . . . . 
 
 
 
 Water off roof. 
 
 3 - 47/4 “ • ■ • • 
 
 
 
 Water on grates. 
 
 3 49,54 “ . . . . 
 
 ■ • 
 
 
 Water shut off. 
 
 6 4 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 Witnesses of the Fire and Water Test. 
 
 The test was witnessed by Messrs. Edward Cooper, Charles E. 
 Hewitt, Edmund Ketchnm, H. A. Greene, J. P. Anderson, George 
 
 B. Post, F. C. Thomas, Tysilio Thomas, John H. Banks, Ph.D., 
 and Amory Coffin, representing the Metropolitan Fireproofing 
 Company ; Howard Constable, E. H. Peck, Surveyor of the Con¬ 
 tinental Fire Insurance Company, representing Mr. Moore, of same 
 company; J. \V. and E. W. Rapp, of the Rapp Floor Construction; 
 A. L. A. Himmelwright, of John A. Roebling’s Sons Company; 
 
 C. S. Hill, of the Engineering News; Walter S. Faddis, represent¬ 
 ing Robinson & Wallace; Messrs. Merrill Watson and Mr. Merritt, 
 of the Central Expanded Metal Company; Mr. R. W. Allison, of 
 the Central Fireproofing Company; Messrs. Hewitt and Moffitt, 
 agents for the J. W. Rapp Floor; Messrs. Ross F. Tucker and 
 W. N. Wight, of the Manhattan Concrete Company; Messrs. E. A. 
 
 eMing and Mr. Steinbart, of Newark, N. J., manufacturers of 
 Pneumatic Pyrometer used; members of the Police and Fire De¬ 
 partments ; representing the Department of Buildings, were Acting 
 Second Deputy Superintendent F. M. Rutherford, Messrs. J. B. 
 Nau, Isaac Harby, R. B. Post, David H. Baldwin, S. O. Miller, 
 John W. Cuthbertson, A. E. Moore and William W. Ewing, engi¬ 
 neer in charge, and on the dav after fire floor was inspected by 
 O. H. Kingsland, Surveyor of the New York Board of Fire 
 Underwriters. 
 
 Effects of Fire and Water Test. 
 
 An examination of the ceiling after fire showed that the ceiling 
 was down in most parts of the test structure, except near the 
 north wall and in the northeast and northwest corners. Here it 
 was in a warped and hanging condition, being in several places two 
 or three inches below its original position. The wire mesh on the 
 center and south bays was partially gone. The beam protection 
 on the two center beams was gone except for a short distance at 
 each end of beam. It was noticed that the paint was still to be 
 seen on these beams in the places where the beam protection had 
 come off. Material of arch between beams was washed away in 
 some places so as to expose wire cables. A piece of material was 
 
 6 5 
 
NEW YORK EIRE TEST 
 
 removed from around lower flange of beam, and it was here 
 observed that in these pieces all combustible material, such as 
 wood, chips and cocoanut fiber, were burned in the lower region, 
 charred to the central part and nearly intact in the region imme¬ 
 diately in contact until the beam. The material in center bay where 
 stream of water did not reach was soft to a certain depth pene¬ 
 trated by a shaft stick to a depth varying between 1" and 
 
 600- Pound Load Test. 
 
 On May 22d the center bay of the floor was loaded with pig- 
 iron, evenly distributed over whole area between beams, to 600 
 lbs. per square foot. The load was so placed that none of it came 
 directly on the beams. From readings taken before and 48 hours 
 after the application of load it was found that the center of bay 
 had deflected .26 of an inch. 
 
 Witnesses of 600 -Pound Load Test. 
 
 600-pound load test was witnessed by I. Hardy, of the Depart¬ 
 ment of Buildings, and Mr. H. A. Greene, of the New Jersey 
 Steel and Iron Company. 
 
 Permanent Set of Beams. 
 
 After fire and water and load test the upper flange of the two 
 center beams was stripped of all material and the permanent 
 deflection of same measured and found to be: for the north beam, 
 none; for the south beam, none. 
 
 List of Photographs. 
 
 No. 1,273, Metropolitan lest. Moor in process of construc¬ 
 tion. 11:45 A. M., April 13th, 1897. (Looking north.) 
 
 No. 1,276, Metropolitan Test. Arches partly in. 2:15 P. M., 
 April 13th, 1897. (Looking north.) 
 
 66 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 No. 1,278, Metropolitan Test. Concrete fill being placed. 
 11:25 A. M., April 14th, 1897. (Looking north.) 
 
 No. 1,329. Metropolitan Test. General view during fire, 
 11 :45 A. M., May 20th, 1897. (Looking west.) 
 
 No. 1,332, Metropolitan Test. Firemen applying water on 
 interior. 3:25 P. M., May 20th, 1897. (Looking southwest.) 
 
 No. 1,342, Metropolitan Test. Northeast corner of ceiling 
 after fire. 10:50 A. M., May 21st, 1897. (Looking up. ) 
 
 Rough sketch of appearance of ceiling on the day after fire 
 and water test. 
 
 A ery respectfully, 
 
 ( Signed ) Stevenson Constable, 
 
 Superintendent of Buildings. 
 
 Department of Buildings. 
 
 [copy.] No. 220 Fourth Avenue, 
 
 New York, July 22d, 1897. 
 Metropolitan Fireproofing Company, 
 
 No. S/g Broadway, New York. 
 
 Gentlemen : I desire to extend to you a copy of the report 
 in detail of the 10" Hard Burned Hollow Tile Floor Construction, 
 tested with fire and water May 20th, 1897, which incorporates the 
 reports of the several representatives of the Building Department 
 present during the progress of construction of test structure, con¬ 
 ducting of the fire and water test and of the subsequent 600-pound 
 load test, accompanied by detail drawings and photographs of test. 
 
 Location of Test Structure. 
 
 The structure in which this test was made was located on a 
 vacant lot at the northeast corner of Sixty-eighth street and Avenue 
 A, New York City, 24' 2jd" from the curb line of Avenue A, and 
 41' 4 /" from the curb line of East Sixty-eighth street. 
 
 Drawings Showing Construction of 'Test Structure. 
 
 Drawing No. Ill shows a plan of the brick walls and grates, a 
 plan of the framing for test floor, a plan of the finished floor as 
 
 67 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 tested, a general section parallel with the I beams and a section 
 perpendicular to them, and an elevation of the test structure. 
 
 Drawing Xo. 110 gives a complete planning of the iron fram¬ 
 ing at a scale of 1 " to 1 ', with sizes and weights indicated, accom¬ 
 panied by ze details of the beam connections. 
 
 Drawing Xo. 103 gives a 1 4 -size detail of the center arch of 
 the test structure, which shows the general construction of this 
 door system. 
 
 Foundation of Test Structure. 
 
 All four walls of the test structure rested on a bed of concrete, 
 of average width, of 2 ' 4" by 8 " deep. 
 
 Walls. 
 
 The walls enclosing a space of 11' by 14', and 10' high in the 
 clear,.the size adopted for this series of tests, were uniformly 
 12" thick. They were re-enforced by a system of buck-stays 
 placed just below the level of ceiling, with upright braces on 
 each side. 
 
 Two walls on interior. 2 ' 11 " high, supporting the grate-bars 
 and form-flues for furnishing air to the fire, were 16” thick up to 
 the level of the top of the lower grates, and 8 " thick from that point 
 to top of upper grates, a distance of 18”. The side walls supporting 
 grates were correspondingly 8 ” and 4" thick. 
 
 The spaces between these walls below the grates formed the 
 ash-pits of the furnace. Air to support combustion was admitted 
 to these pits through openings in walls at each end of same. These 
 openings were 2' 6" high, and 3' wide, the dow of air through same 
 being controlled by sheet-iron dampers. 
 
 Mortar. 
 
 The mortar used in laying walls was Portland cement mortar. 
 
 Grates. 
 
 There were two tiers of grate-bars, one 18" above the other. 
 These bars were dat bars, 3" by V 2 ", set in the walls 6 " between 
 centers. (See drawing No. 111.) 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 Flues. 
 
 Flues 15" square were built in each of the four corners of the 
 test structure. These were carried up to a height of 6' above the 
 top of the floor level. Pieces of sheet-iron were used to cover top 
 of flues to regulate draught. 
 
 Floor Beams. 
 
 The floor beams were 10", 25 lb., Carnegie roll, moment of 
 inertia, 122.1, lawful bending moment, 30,525 ft. lbs., and as 
 used in above structure will lawfully carry a uniformly distributed 
 load of 311 lbs. per square foot. There were four in number and 
 set 4' between centers with a clear span of 14', secured with two 
 ft tie-rods in each bay. The ends of beams were securely fastened 
 to angle-irons, which were placed across their ends, which in turn 
 were fastened to channels which ran alongside of the outside 
 beams. 
 
 Material of Arch. 
 
 The floor arch consists of a hollow tile arch 10" deep. (See 
 Photograph No. 1,274 and Drawing No. 103.) 
 
 Board centering was suspended lp) below bottom of beams 
 to receive the arch. (See Photograph No. 1,269.) Each separate 
 arch contained two skew-backs, four voussoirs and one key. The 
 transverse joints were broken as much as possible. Wherever 
 a tie-rod of the floor beams did not fall into a joint a corner 
 was knocked off the tile in order to make room for it. If the tie- 
 rod came too far away from the joint, a tile was split in two, and 
 the lower part was stuck under the tie-rod, and another piece was 
 put on top of it. These hollow spaces were filled with cement 
 and broken pieces. The cement mortar used contained about 
 one-half sand. The joints were about l /\” thick. Scarcely any 
 cement was put in the transverse joints, in some cases where 
 there was much space between the joints and the tie-rods a few 
 bricks were put in to fill it up. 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 The arches were all completed at 11:30 A. M., April 13th, 
 1897. (See Photograph Xo. 1,274.) 
 
 Sleepers. 
 
 On May 14th the sleepers and concrete filling- were laid. 
 Sleepers 2" by 4" with beveled sides were laid at right angles to 1 
 beams, 18” between centers. 
 
 The concrete fill between sleepers composed of : 
 
 8 parts of boiler ash. 
 
 1 part of Cow Bay sand. 
 
 1 part of Atlas cement. 
 
 These materials were well shoveled and mixed with a sufficient 
 quantity of water to give same a proper consistency and then well 
 rammed between sleepers. 
 
 Ceiling. 
 
 Ceiling was plastered on May 3d and 4th. Two coats were 
 put on. first a brown coat about thick, composed of one part 
 plaster of paris and two parts of machine-made mortar, furnished 
 by the United States Mortar Supply Company; second, a white 
 coat about l /s" thick, composed of plaster of paris. 
 
 Time for Setting of Arch. 
 
 The hollow tile arch was put in place on April 13th, 1897. The 
 concrete fill was put in place on April 14th, 1897. The fire test 
 was made on May 20th, thus allowing 37 days for setting of 
 arch and 36 days for setting of concrete fill. 
 
 Protection During Setting. 
 
 A shed-roof of boards covered with tarred paper served to 
 protect floor from the weather during the period of setting, and 
 a coal fire was burned on the inside of house for several days to 
 assist in drying out the work. 
 
 7° 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 Loading for Fire Test. 
 
 The central bay of the floor was loaded 150 lbs. per square 
 foot, with pig-iron placed in seven piles along the whole length of 
 the bay, and so distributed that all the load came on that part of 
 the floor between the beams. (See Photograph No. 1,321.) From 
 observations taken before and after loading, the floor showed no 
 deflection. 
 
 Fuel and Manner of Firing. 
 
 The fuel used was cord-wood, which was fired on two grates, 
 one above the other; the vertical distance between them was 18". 
 The cord-wood was piled on the upper grate to an even thickness 
 of 24". Shavings and kerosene oil were used to start the fire. 
 Fuel was added at intervals, as required, through west and south 
 openings. These firings were sometimes on the lower and some¬ 
 times on the upper grates. S J / 2 cords of wood were used. 
 
 Means of Observing Temperatures and Deflections. 
 
 The temperatures during test were noted by means of the 
 Pneumatic Pyrometer, made by Messrs. Uehling, Steinbart & Co., 
 of Newark, N. J. Temperature plates containing plugs of lead, 
 aluminum, glass, copper and cast-iron, and a Platin-Rhodium 
 Pyrometer were also used. Deflections were noted by means of 
 the transit leveled at scales mounted on iron rods set up at the 
 east and west ends and center of floor. 
 
 Program of Fire and Water Test. 
 
 Fire to be applied continuously for five hours. A temperature 
 of 2,000 to 2,100 deg. Fahr. to be maintained for the last 4 hours, 
 endeavoring to secure at one interval, if possible, a temperature 
 of 2.300 deg. Fahr. At the expiration of 5 hours water to lie 
 applied through a 1 yi" nozzle, with 60 lbs. pressure, to the interior 
 for 15 minutes; during the first 5 minutes of which water to be 
 directed against the ceiling, and during the remaining ten minutes 
 against the walls and ceiling, principally the latter. Then the water 
 was to be shut off on the inside and applied to the top of the floor 
 
 7i 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 for five minutes under a low pressure, flooding same, and again 
 returned to the inside of the structure and applied to grates to 
 entirely extinguish the fire. 
 
 Log of Fire and Water Test. 
 
 Log of fire and water test with a load of 150 lbs. per sq. ft. 
 evenly distributed over the central arch : 
 
 Time 
 
 Temper¬ 
 atures 
 Deg. F. 
 
 Deflec¬ 
 
 tions 
 
 Inches 
 
 10.22 A.M. 
 
 
 
 10.25 “ .... 
 
 II25 
 
 
 10.30 “ .... 
 
 1250 
 
 
 10.32 “ .... 
 
 1250 
 
 
 10.35 “ .... 
 
 
 .08 
 
 10.40 ... 
 
 1525 
 
 
 10.44 >4 “ .... 
 
 1650 
 
 
 10.45 “ .... 
 
 1625 
 
 •31 
 
 10.47 “ .... 
 
 1675 
 
 
 10.50 “ .... 
 
 1825 
 
 
 10.52 “ .... 
 
 1900 
 
 
 10.54 “ .... 
 
 1900 
 
 
 IO.55 “ ■ • 
 
 1900 
 
 
 10.58 “ .... 
 
 2000 
 
 
 II.00 “ .... 
 
 2oro 
 
 • 3 « 
 
 11.15 “ • 
 
 1950 
 
 •37 
 
 II.16 “ . . 
 
 1950 
 
 
 11-30 “ .... 
 
 1975 
 
 .41 
 
 11.32 “ . 
 
 
 
 11.40 “ .... 
 
 2050 
 
 
 II -45 “ .... 
 
 2000 
 
 •44 
 
 11.48 “ ... 
 
 
 
 1150 “ . 
 
 
 
 11.59 “ ... 
 
 
 
 12.00 31 . ... 
 
 1850 
 
 ■52 
 
 12 oi) 4 P.M. . . 
 
 1850 
 
 
 12.02 “ .... 
 
 1850 
 
 
 12.03 “ 
 
 1850 
 
 
 12.15 “ .... 
 
 1775 
 
 • 65 
 
 12.20 “ .... 
 
 
 
 12.22 “ .... 
 
 
 
 12.27 “ .... 
 
 1900 
 
 
 12.50 “ .... 
 
 1850 
 
 •77 
 
 12.45 “ .... 
 
 1750 
 
 • 9 i 
 
 12.47 “ .... 
 
 
 
 12 52 “ ... 
 
 
 
 Remarks 
 
 Fire started. 
 
 Lead is melting. 
 
 Piece of plaster fell off. 
 Aluminum is melting. 
 
 Glass is melting. 
 
 Glass completely melted. 
 
 Bright fire inside. 
 
 Ceiling is peeling a little all over. 
 
 Copper and C. I. plugs still intact. 
 
 Re-firing west opening. 
 
 Firing west opening discontinued. 
 Copper and C. I. plugs both intact. 
 
 Re-firing west opening. 
 
 Re-firing west opening discontinued. 
 
 First rod removed with C. I. and copper 
 plugs intact. The copper plugs fell out 
 of rod after being removed, and seemed 
 intact 
 
 Second rod put in. 
 
 Lead plug melted. 
 
 Aluminum and glass plugs melted. 
 
 Re-firing west opening. 
 
 Re-firing west opening discontinued. 
 Copper plugs begin to melt, C. I. intact. 
 Copper plug melted. 
 
 Re-firing west opening. 
 
 Re-firing west opening discontinued. 
 
 / ^ 
 
Oj Oj O-i Oj OJ Oj 0-> 
 
 NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 
 m 
 
 fc ^ 
 
 IT . 
 
 S3 m 
 
 A .9 ^ 
 
 Time 
 
 e v 
 £ Q 
 
 Defiei 
 
 ti 
 
 Inch 
 
 1.00 P.M. 
 
 1850 
 
 I.03 
 
 1.05 i /z “ .... 
 
 1825 
 
 
 1.13 “ .... 
 
 1600 
 
 
 1.15 “ .... 
 
 1600 
 
 I -15 
 
 1.21 “ .... 
 
 1500 
 
 
 1.27 “ 
 
 
 
 1.30 “ .... 
 
 1600 
 
 1.22 
 
 i -34 “ .... 
 
 1.45 “ .... 
 
 1.48 “ .... 
 
 1-50 “ .... 
 
 1.51 “ .... 
 
 1.52 “ .... 
 
 1.53 “ .... 
 
 i -59 “ .... 
 
 1675 
 
 i- 3 ° 
 
 2.00 “ .... 
 
 i6 75 
 
 i -39 
 
 2.05 
 
 2.15 
 
 < ( 
 
 .... 1900 
 
 1.49 
 
 2.24 
 
 
 
 
 2.30 
 
 4 4 
 
 .... 1900 
 
 1.60 
 
 2-39 
 
 
 
 
 2-45 
 
 ( l 
 
 .... 1900 
 
 1.66 
 
 2-49 
 
 i ( 
 
 .... 2080 
 
 
 2.50 
 
 
 . . . 2100 
 
 
 2 55 
 
 < k 
 
 ■ • 1975 
 
 
 3.00 
 
 t < 
 
 . . 2000 
 
 1.74 
 
 3-09 
 
 k k 
 
 ■ • 1950 
 
 
 3.10 
 
 
 . . 1900 
 
 
 3.20 
 
 < < 
 
 
 1.84 
 
 . 22)4 
 
 27/4 “ 
 ■ 2 > 7'/2 “ 
 
 .41^ “ 
 
 •46)4 “ 
 .48 
 
 Remarks 
 
 It was noticed that ceiling plaster had fallen 
 down in many places. 
 
 Second plug bar removed, with C. I. plug 
 still standing intact. 
 
 Rod taken out of south opening. 
 
 Rod put in north opening, re-firing west 
 opening. Preparations were now made to 
 use the Platin-Rhodium pyrometer. 
 
 Re-firing west opening discontinued. 
 
 Firing southwest small opening. 
 
 Ceased firing. 
 
 Re-firing southeast small opening. 
 
 Ceased firing. 
 
 Firing lower grates from the south. 
 
 Re-firing west opening. 
 
 At this time a comparison of readings be¬ 
 tween the two pyrometers (Platin-Rho- 
 dium and Uehling), and the agreement 
 was as close as possible to make readings. 
 
 Re-firing west opening discontinued. 
 
 Re-firing west opening. 
 
 Re-firing west opening discontinued. 
 
 Re-firing west opening. 
 
 Re-firing west opening discontinued. 
 
 A third fla + bar, with plug bar fastened at 
 its end in the direction of the bar, was in¬ 
 serted. This bar bent down after it had 
 been observed at 2.50. 
 
 Read, aluminum, and glass plugs had melted. 
 
 Bar had bent too far for any further obser¬ 
 vations. 
 
 Pyrometer tube taken out. Plug-bar pulled 
 out, with C. I. plug still standing and 
 copper gone 
 
 Water put on at an average pressure of 60 
 lbs. The water stream was kept playing 
 over the ceiling for five minutes. 
 
 The water was directed on ceiling and side 
 walls, but mostly ceiling. 
 
 The water was stopped inside the structure. 
 
 Water under hydrant pressure was poured 
 on top of roof. It was noticed that the 
 roof up to this moment showed no sign 
 of a crack. 
 
 Water off roof. 
 
 Water on grate-bars to extinguish fire. 
 
 Water shut off. 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 
 Atmospheric Tem peratures. 
 
 The average temperature observed during the test was 64 deg. 
 Fahr. The wind was blowing from the southeast. 
 
 Witnesses of the Fire and Water Test. 
 
 The test was witnessed by Messrs. Edward Cooper, Charles E. 
 Hewitt, Edmund Ketchum, H. A. Greene, J. P. Anderson, George 
 B. Post, F. C. Thomas, Tysilio Thomas, John H. Banks, Ph.D., 
 and Amorv Coffin, representing the Metropolitan Fireproofing 
 Company; Howard Constable, E. H. Peck, Surveyor of the Con¬ 
 tinental Fire Insurance Company, representing Mr. Moore, of same 
 company; Messrs. J. W. and F. W. Rapp, of the Rapp Floor Con¬ 
 struction ; A. L. A. Himmelwright, of John A. Roebling’s Sons 
 Company; C. S. Hill, of the Engineering News; Walter S. Faddi>, 
 representing Robinson & Wallace; Messrs. Merrill Watson and Mr. 
 Merritt, of the Central Expanded Metal Company; Mr. R. W. Alli¬ 
 son. of the Central Fireproofing Company; Messrs. Hewitt and 
 Moffitt, agents for the J. W. Rap]) Floor; Messrs. Ross F. Tucker 
 and W. N. Wight, of the Manhattan Concrete Company; Messrs. 
 E. A. Uehling and Mr. Steinbart, of Newark, N. J., manufacturers 
 of Pneumatic Pyrometer used; members of the Police and Fire De¬ 
 partments; representing the Department of Buildings were Acting 
 Second Deputy Superintendent F. M. Rutherford, Messrs. J. B. 
 Nau, Isaac Harbv, R. B. Post, David II. Baldvm, S. O. Miller. 
 John W. Cuthbertson, A. E. Moore and William W. Ewing, engi¬ 
 neer in charge, and on the day after tire floor was inspected by 
 O. H. Kingsland, Surveyor of the New York Board of f ire 
 Underwriters. 
 
 Effects of Fire and Water Test. 
 
 The sketch shows the appearance of the floor after fire and 
 water test. In this sketch only the places where some of the tiles 
 had been broken off under the stream of water are shown. At A 
 the lower part of the tiles had been broken away by the water, 
 the inside portions of the tiles were exposed. In other places 
 directly under the flanges of the beams the tiles were broken and 
 exposed the flanges partly. The ceiling plaster was almost all 
 down, even where not struck by the water. Photograph No. 1.337 
 shows the celiing after the fire. 
 
 74 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 600 -Pound Load Test. 
 
 On May 22d the central hay of the floor was loaded with pig- 
 iron, evenly distributed over whole area between beams, to 600 
 lbs. per square foot. The load was so placed that none of it came 
 directly on the beams. From readings taken before and 48 hours 
 after the application of load it was found that the center of bay 
 had deflected .22 of an inch. 
 
 Witnesses of 600 -Pound Load Test. 
 
 Isaac Harby, of the Department of Buildings, and H. A. 
 Greene, of the New Jersey Steel and Iron Company. 
 
 Permanent Set of Beams, 
 
 The permanent set of beams used in test floor to the fire, water 
 and load test was as follows: 
 
 On north central beam light in the center. 
 
 On south central beam 3/16" full in the center. 
 
 List of Photographs. 
 
 No. 1,269, Hard Burned Hollow Tile Test. Iron beams and 
 centering in place. 3:17 P. M., April 12th, 1897. (Looking 
 southwest.) 
 
 No. 1,274, Hard Burned Hollow Tile Test. Arches in place. 
 12 2.1., April 13th, 1897. (Looking west. ) 
 
 No. 1,321, Hard Burned LIollow Tile Test. Floor loaded laO 
 lbs. per square foot just before firing. 9:45 A. M., May 20th, 
 1897. (Looking southwest.) 
 
 No. 1,337, Hard Burned Hollow Tile Test. Southeast corner 
 of ceiling after fire. 11 :45 A. M., May 21st, 1897. (Looking up.) 
 
 No. 1,345, Hard Burned Hollow Tile Test. Floor loaded 600 
 lbs. per square foot after fire. 10:55 A. M., May 22d, 1897. 
 (Looking southwest.) 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 (Signed) Stevenson Constable, 
 
 Superintendent of Buildings. 
 
Report of 
 Ricketts Sc Banks 
 on 
 
 New York Fire Test 
 
 | COPY. ] 
 
 Ricketts & Banks, Pierre de P. Ricketts, E.M., Ph.D. 
 
 Chemists, Assayers and Mining John H. Banks, E.M., Ph.D. 
 
 Engineers, - 
 
 104 John Street. E. Rensham Bush, E.M., 
 
 -—— Associate Mining Engineer. 
 
 Cable Address, “Ricketts,” New York. 
 
 New York, June 1st, 1897. 
 
 Metropolitan Fireproofing Company, 
 
 Broadway, New York. 
 
 Gentlemen : In accordance with your request, our Dr. Banks 
 was present at and carefully followed the tests made May 20th, 
 to determine the comparative fire-resisting qualities of hard-burnt 
 hollow clay tile and the fireproofing material prepared by your 
 company. 
 
 You are familiar with the dimensions and construction of the 
 two houses, or ovens, in which the tests were made, and we omit 
 these details from the present report. The two buildings appeared 
 to differ only in the construction of the ceilings and overlying 
 flooring, these being constructed in one house according to your 
 own system and in the other of the tile already described. The 
 temperatures in the two houses were measured by pneumatic pyro¬ 
 meters of the same make (Uehling, Steinbart & Co.), and which 
 were said to have been standardized and found to agree in regis¬ 
 tration. As a check on the pyrometers, small cylinders of lead, 
 aluminum, glass, copper and cast-iron were placed in the houses 
 in positions corresponding to those occupied by the pyrometer 
 tubes. The fires were lighted at 10:22 ACM. Pyrometric readings 
 began at 10:30 and were continued as per the following table: 
 
 7 6 
 
NEW YORK EIRE TES1 
 
 Metropolitan 
 
 Time 
 
 House. 
 
 Tile House. 
 
 10:30. 
 
 . 1,050 F. 
 
 . 1,250 F. 
 
 10:40. 
 
 . 1,375 . 
 
 . 1,375 
 
 10:43. 
 
 . 1,525 . 
 
 . 1,575 
 
 10:45. 
 
 .. 1,575 . 
 
 . 1,625 
 
 10:50. 
 
 . 1,800 . 
 
 . 1,800 
 
 10:58. 
 
 . 1,875 . 
 
 . 2 000 
 
 11 :00. 
 
 .. . 1,875 . 
 
 . 2,025 
 
 11:01. 
 
 . 1,900 . 
 
 . 2,050 
 
 11:05. 
 
 . 1,900 
 
 2 050 
 
 11 :15. 
 
 .. 1,900 . 
 
 . 1,950 
 
 11:22. 
 
 . 1,800 . 
 
 . 1,950 
 
 11:27. 
 
 . 1,950 . 
 
 . 1,950 
 
 11 :28. 
 
 . 2,000 . 
 
 . 1,950 
 
 11:30. 
 
 .. . 2,000 . 
 
 . 1,975 
 
 11 :36. 
 
 . 1,825 
 
 .... 2 000 
 
 11 :45. 
 
 . 1,950 . 
 
 . 1,950 
 
 12:00. 
 
 . 1,875 . 
 
 . 1,850 
 
 12:10. 
 
 .. 1,825 . 
 
 . 1,825 
 
 12:16. 
 
 . 1,850 . 
 
 . 1,825 
 
 12:30. 
 
 . 1,850 . 
 
 . 1,850 
 
 12:45. 
 
 . 1,850 . 
 
 . 1,725 
 
 1:00. 
 
 . 1,750 . 
 
 . 1.850 
 
 1 :12. 
 
 . 1,475 . 
 
 . 1,625 
 
 1 :17. 
 
 . 1,750 . 
 
 . 1,550 
 
 1:20. 
 
 . 1,850 . 
 
 
 1:25. 
 
 . 1,875 . 
 
 
 1:31. 
 
 . 1,775 . 
 
 . 1,600 
 
 1:34. 
 
 . 1,725 . 
 
 . 1.725 
 
 1:38. 
 
 . 1,850 . 
 
 . 1,725 
 
 1 :39. 
 
 . 1,900 . 
 
 . 1,750 
 
 1:41. 
 
 . 2,000 . 
 
 . 1.750 
 
 1:42. 
 
 . 2,025 . 
 
 . 1,725 
 
 1:45. 
 
 . 2,025 . 
 
 . 1,675 
 
 1 :47. 
 
 . 1,975 . 
 
 . 1.675 
 
 1-50. 
 
 . 1,925 . 
 
 . 1.800 
 
 1:51. 
 
 . 1,900 . 
 
 . 1,775 
 
 1:53. 
 
 . 1,800 . 
 
 . 1,800 
 
 2:00. 
 
 . 1,650 . 
 
 . 1,650 
 
 2:02. 
 
 . 1,900 . 
 
 . 1.825 
 
 2:04. 
 
 . 1,950 . 
 
 . 1.850 
 
 2:05. 
 
 . 1,900 . 
 
 . 1,800 
 
 2:07. 
 
 . 1,950 . 
 
 . 1,875 
 
 2:09. 
 
 . 2,050 . 
 
 . 1.900 
 
 
 77 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 Metropolitan 
 
 Time 
 
 Hou 
 
 2 
 
 10 . 
 
 . 2.075 
 
 2 
 
 n. 
 
 . 2,100 
 
 2 
 
 15. 
 
 . 2,050 
 
 2 
 
 la. 
 
 . 1,950 
 
 2 
 
 18. 
 
 . 1,825 
 
 2 
 
 21. 
 
 . 1,825 
 
 2 
 
 23. 
 
 . 2,000 
 
 2 
 
 24. 
 
 . 2,050 
 
 2 
 
 26. 
 
 . 1,975 
 
 2 
 
 30. 
 
 . 1,825 
 
 ? 
 
 34. . 
 
 . 1,625 
 
 2 
 
 36. 
 
 . 1,825 
 
 2 
 
 37. 
 
 . 1,925 
 
 2 
 
 40. 
 
 . 1,950 
 
 2 
 
 49. 
 
 . 1,775 
 
 2 
 
 50. 
 
 . 1,850 
 
 3 
 
 02. 
 
 . 1,850 
 
 3 
 
 07. 
 
 _ 1.850 
 
 3 
 
 09___ 1.825 
 
 3 
 
 10. 
 
 . 1,800 
 
 Tile House 
 . 1.950 
 . 1.925 
 . 1.925 
 . 1,875 
 . 1,875 
 . 1,850 
 . 1.800 
 . 1,825 
 . 1,650 
 . 1.875 
 . 1,950 
 . 1.900 
 . 1.825 
 . 1.725 
 . 2,000 
 . 2.100 
 . 2.000 
 . 2,000 
 . 1.925 
 . 1,900 
 
 At 11:05 the copper cylinder in the Metropolitan house had 
 fused, while that in the tile house remained intact. 
 
 At 11:50 new sets of cylinders were placed in both houses. 
 When the first set was removed from the tile house the copper 
 rod was still in position. 
 
 At 12:10 the second copper cylinder had fused in the Metro¬ 
 politan house; that in the tile house had fused at 12:25. 
 
 At 1 :06 the pyrometer tube in the Metropolitan house was 
 transferred to the hole previously occupied by the set of test 
 cylinders. A similar transfer was made in the tile house at 1 : 20 . 
 They were again reconnected with the registering scales at 1 :08 
 and 1 :28, respectively. 
 
 A thermometer was so placed on the roof of each test house 
 that its base rested on what would be a portion of the floor 
 immediately under the wood flooring. The readings of these 
 
 thermometers were as follows: 
 
 Metropolitan Tile 
 
 House House 
 
 60 F. 60 F. 
 
 66 . 66 
 
 78 
 
 Time 
 
 10:46 
 
 10:59, 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 Metropolitan 
 
 Time House 
 
 12:05. 88 
 
 1:14. 98 
 
 2:28. 98 
 
 3 :20.117 (max.) 
 
 lhe roof deflections obtained were as follows: 
 
 11:35. 18-100 in 
 
 12:02. 23-100 
 
 12:53. 20-100 
 
 1:17. 20-100 
 
 2:07. 22-100 
 
 3:00. 36-100 
 
 After quenching . 19-100 
 
 Immediately after loading to 
 
 600 lbs. 44-100 
 
 After 600 lbs. load had been 
 on 48 hours . 45-100 
 
 Tile 
 
 House 
 
 10334 
 
 128 
 
 128 
 
 134 (max.) 
 
 40-100 in 
 43-100 
 90-100 
 103-100 
 143-100 
 184-100 
 28-100 
 
 41-100 
 
 43-100 
 
 Each fire was quenched by a stream of water turned on from 
 a fire engine at 3:22. The stream was kept on at full head for 15 
 minutes, during which time it was directed almost entirely against 
 the ceilings of the houses. At the end of 15 minutes the hose was 
 transferred to the tops of the houses and the water was played on 
 the flooring at reduced pressure for 5 minutes. 
 
 The protective qualities of the two systems of fireproofing 
 are best measured in this test by the effect of the heat on the iron 
 beams which the fireproofing materials were intended to protect. 
 The readings of the thermometers on the roofs show that the 
 Metropolitan system is superior to the tile system in non-con¬ 
 ductivity of heat. The deflection records furnish corroborative 
 evidence of this. The most conclusive evidence of the superior 
 non-conducting quality of the Metropolitan material is, however, 
 found in the appearance of the surfaces of the lower flanges of the 
 beams. In the tile house the paint on such surfaces was com¬ 
 pletely burnt off and a scale of red and magnetic oxides of iron 
 had formed. In the Metropolitan house the paint on the lower 
 flanges of the beams had not been perceptibly affected; it could 
 be scraped off in pieces which exhibited the properties, such as 
 elasticity and toughness, possessed by the paint before the test. In 
 our opinion this unaltered condition of the paint on the beams in 
 the Metropolitan house is the strongest possible evidence that the 
 
 79 
 
NEW YORK FIRE TEST 
 
 beams in this house could not have been much heated during the 
 test. Further evidence of the high non-conductivity of the Met¬ 
 ropolitan material is found in the fact that the wood used in the 
 composition remained unaltered in that portion in contact with 
 the metal beams. This proves conclusively that the temperature 
 at which wood chars was not reached in the back portion of the 
 beam-covering in the Metropolitan house. The unaltered condi¬ 
 tion of the paint on the beams in this house shows that the tem¬ 
 perature reached must have been considerably under the wood¬ 
 charring temperature; otherwise, the paint would at least have 
 blistered. 
 
 Reference to photographs taken of the ceilings after the tests 
 will show that the ceiling in the Metropolitan house was washed 
 down where the full force of the fire engine stream struck. At 
 other points it remained in position. 
 
 While the tile ceiling resisted the force of the water much 
 better than the Metropolitan, it was inferior to the latter in its 
 protection of the metal beams against the fire. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 Ricketts & Banks. 
 
 So 
 
Fire Test of 
 
 Metropolitan Fireproofing Company’s Floor 
 for the Building Department of the 
 City of Boston, Mass, 
 
 A rectangular structure was made 6’ high, the sides being- 
 12' long and the ends 7' long. The walls were 12" thick, and of 
 brick, reinforced at the corners of the structure and in the middle 
 of each side by piers 16" square. Transversely with the 12' walls, 
 and resting on them, were placed three 6" steel beams, 5' 2" apart, 
 center to center. On these beams were constructed a floor, there 
 being two bays. The distance between the cables was 2", and 
 the thickness of floor-plate was 4^". The area of the floor was 
 72 square feet. As constructed, the floor formed the top of a 
 furnace, and would thus be exposed to the maximum effect of a 
 Are burning within. In order to determine the effect of a Are on 
 both a loaded floor and one that was not loaded, cast-iron plates 
 were distributed over the top surface of one bay until the load 
 amounted to 300 pounds per square foot, while the other bay 
 remained without load, its top surface, therefore, being at all 
 t ines in open view. At 9:00 A. M. a Are of hard wood was 
 built, and was kept burning intensely until 3 :30 P. M. The heat 
 was so great that large cracks were developed in the sides and 
 ends of the brick walls by expansion. Throughout the entire time 
 the iron beams, protected by the composition, remained cold, and 
 the non-conduction qualities of the composition were further em¬ 
 phasized by the fact that those witnessing the test walked around 
 from time to time on the unloaded bay, examining the loading and 
 the condition of the upper surface of the composition. At all 
 times during the test the top surface of the composition remained 
 so cool that the hand could lie placed on it without inconvenience. 
 Some days later, the Are having entirely died out, the composition 
 was carefully examined, when it was found that the under surface, 
 which was exposed to the flames, was affected to. a depth varying 
 from T 4" to l A" ■ A light scratching, with a skim coat of plaster, 
 
 81 
 
BOSTON FIRE TEST 
 
 would have been sufficient to make a finished ceiling. The strength 
 of the floor was unimpaired, and after two and a half months' 
 exposure to the weather the surface remained unchanged. 
 
 Under the direction of the superintendent of Boston Board of 
 Underwriters, in the presence of the Commission of Buildings 
 and his chief inspector. The tests were instituted by Mr. W. T. 
 Sears, architect. Several systems were tested at one time, among 
 them the Metropolitan, test houses being erected for the purpose. 
 
 At the end of the test the onlv perceptible damage was that 
 done to the brick party wall. A question in regard to the com¬ 
 parative weights of the materials used in the construction of the 
 different roofs having been raised, it was decided to weigh a 
 section of each. The data thus gathered are here tabulated: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Zj 
 
 
 A* 1 
 
 JL 
 
 ZJ T 3 
 
 '[■ 0 
 
 £ 
 
 Construction 
 
 1 ) Zj 
 
 X - 
 
 0 
 
 £ 
 
 
 
 & ~ 
 
 
 s. 
 
 
 <? X 
 
 ZJ 
 
 ■w *** 
 
 u o 
 m Z2 
 
 C" 
 
 
 «U 
 
 r- 1 
 
 
 i 
 
 Roebling system . 
 
 iS 
 
 1,295 
 
 427 
 
 72 
 
 2 
 
 Metropolitan Fireproofing Co.’s system.. 
 
 18 
 
 23-7 
 
 3 
 
 Expanded Metal Company’s system. 
 
 22-5 
 
 1,687 
 
 75-4 
 
 3 a 
 
 Same as No. 3 , with additional flat ceiling. 
 
 22 5 
 
 1,814 
 
 8). 6 
 
 4 
 
 Eureka system . 
 
 20.25 
 
 1,648 
 
 8l.^ 
 
 5 
 
 Porous, hollow tile arch blocks, covered 
 
 
 
 with concrete 2" thick . 
 
 20 25 
 
 1,781 
 
 87-95 
 
 In considering this table it should be noted that all of the floors 
 were plastered on the under side, and were concreted on top, read) 
 to receive the wood floors. The plastering on Xo. 5 fell during 
 the fire-test, and was removed with the debris, and, consequently, 
 not weighed with the other material; the weight of the 1 2 " stud 
 floor-beams is not included in the weight given above. 
 
 Completeness is not claimed for any of the above tests. It was 
 thought, however, that the tests offered valuable suggestions, and 
 threw many new lights on the subject of fireproof construction. 
 
Miscellaneous Fire Tests 
 
 Ricketts & Banks, 
 Chemists, Assayers and Mining- 
 Engineers, 
 
 Pierre de P. Ricketts, E.M., Ph.D. 
 John H. Banks, E.M., Ph.D. 
 
 104 John Street. 
 
 E. Rensham Bush, E.M., 
 
 Associate Mining Engineer. 
 
 Cable Address, ‘‘Ricketts,” New York. 
 
 [copy.] 
 
 New York, June 8th, 1896. 
 
 Metropolitan Fireproofing Company, 
 
 No. 8/4 Broadway, New York, N. Y. 
 
 Gentlemen : We have to report that on the 6th inst. a number 
 of tests were made under the supervision of our Dr. Banks, to 
 determine the behavior at very high temperatures of samples of 
 your fireproofing materials as compared with hard-burnt clay, 
 hollow floor tile and porous terra-cotta hollow partition tile. The 
 samples were delivered to Dr. Banks by Mr. E. D. Lindsey. The 
 hard-burnt hollow floor tiles were stamped, “Henry Maurer & 
 Son. N. Y." The porous partition tiles are said to have been made 
 by the Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Company. The tests were made 
 at the steel works of the Benjamin, Atha & lllingsworth Company, 
 Harrison, N. J., some in the furnace used for melting crucible 
 steel, and others in the steel heating furnaces. The furnace tem¬ 
 peratures were measured by the Optical Pyrometer of Noul and 
 Mesure. 
 
 TEST NO. 1 
 
 In this the samples tested were a block of the Metropolitan 
 Fireproofing Company's material, measuring 2" by 4 1/16" by 
 7j4", and a portion of a porous terra-cotta hollow partition tile, 
 measuring 4" by by 6j4" long on top side, and 6j4” long on 
 
 bottom side. These samples were placed in the hottest part of the 
 heating furnace at \\:l5 r / 2 A. M. At ll:25j4, when the furnace 
 door was raised to permit of an inspection of the samples, it was 
 seen that the porous terra-cotta tile had fallen apart at the dividing 
 wall. The Metropolitan Block appeared to be intact at this 
 time. At 11 :37j4 both samples were withdrawn from the fur- 
 
MISCELLANEOUS FIRE TESTS 
 
 nace, the full time of exposure to the heat of the furnace having 
 been 22 minutes. The porous terra-cotta tile had separated into 
 three pieces. The clay had softened and was pasty. When cold 
 it was found to be very friable. The Metropolitan Flock came 
 out unbroken, although the corners and edges were more or less 
 rounded where the highly heated exterior material had become 
 friable. 
 
 TEST NO. 2 
 
 The samples used in this test were a block of the Metro¬ 
 politan Fireproofing Company's material, and a 4” porous 
 terra-cotta hollow partition tile. Both samples were surrounded 
 with fire brick, except the top surface, which was subjected to the 
 full intensity of the heat. These samples were put in the heating 
 furnace at 1:16 P. M., and taken out at 3:20, giving an exposure 
 of 2 hours 4 minutes. During this test one of the protecting bricks 
 fell away from each sample, so that in addition to the full time 
 exposure of the top surfaces, one side of the Metropolitan sample 
 and one end of the porous terra-cotta samples were exposed during 
 a portion of the time. The temperature in the furnace averaged 
 about 2,417 deg. Fahr. during the test. When the samples were 
 removed from the furnace, it was found that the porous terra¬ 
 cotta tile was in a viterous state. It had undergone considerable 
 fusion, and at the moment of withdrawal from the furnace it was 
 quite pasty. The Metropolitan Block was found to have shrunk 
 in size, but there was no indication of fusion. It retained its 
 original form. 
 
 TEST NO. 3 
 
 In this test the following five samples were used: A hard- 
 burnt clay hollow floor tile 5" by 8" by 12", with walls 13/16" 
 thick. A porous terra-cotta hollow partition tile 4J4” by 6 l / 2 " 
 by with -)4" central wall, 1" top and bottom walls, and 
 
 114 side walls. A block of the Metropolitan Fireproofing 
 Company s material, 4" by 6 r 4" by 8*4". A second block of same 
 material 2'4" by 6" by 1 2y.\'. And fifth, a third block of the 
 Metropolitan material, 2" by 3yT bv 7j4 w . These samples were 
 put in the heating furnace at 1 :35 P. M. and taken out at the end 
 
MISCELLANEOUS FIRE TESTS 
 
 of 2 hours. When the door of the furnace was opened at 1 :50 it 
 was seen that one compartment of the hard-burnt floor tile had 
 dropped in and a portion of one side had fallen away. Also, that 
 the top of the porous terra-cotta tile was quite badly cracked. 
 The blocks of Metropolitan material showed no material change. 
 At this time the pyrometer indicated 2,302 deg. Fahr. At 2:03 
 the hard-burnt tile floor had collapsed, so that the web and top 
 rested upon the bottom. The top of the porous terra-cotta tile 
 was also at this time badly broken and sagged. The Metropoli¬ 
 tan Blocks had grown smaller, but appeared to lie intact. The 
 pyrometer at time indicated 2,417 deg. Fahr. A lump of cast-iron 
 was placed in the furnace at 2:14, and when the furnace door 
 was again opened, 7 minutes later, this was in a liquid state on the 
 bottom of the furnace. At 2:25 the two clay tiles were in pasty 
 masses. The smallest of the three Metropolitan Blocks had 
 disappeared, apparently having fluxed with the bottom of the fur¬ 
 nace. The 2/t," by 6" by 1 2 l /y block of Metropolitan material 
 had grown quite small at this time. The 4" by 6j4" by 8^8 ” block 
 of the same material had begun to flux at the bottom and had 
 diminished in size, but otherwise was standing the exposure very 
 well. The pyrometer at 2:50 indicated 2,552 deg. Fahr. At the end 
 of the two hours the two tile samples were pasty masses. Two of 
 the Metropolitan Blocks had disappeared and but a small por¬ 
 tion of the largest block remained. 
 
 TEST NO 4 
 
 In this test a block of the Metropolitan Fireproofing Com¬ 
 pany’s material, 3'' by 6 ]/%" by 12 r 4", was used. A V 2 " hole was 
 bored longitudinally into this block from one end to within 3" 
 of the other end. Into this hole was first placed a tightly-fitting 
 iron rod 6" long; a short roll of thin paper was next put in and 
 the end of the hole was then tamped full of the crushed fireproof¬ 
 ing material. This sample was placed in the furnace at 2.08 and 
 taken out at 2:18 ]/>. As soon as out of the furnace the block was 
 broken and the rod and paper picked out with the fingers. The 
 rod was warm, hut was held in the fingers without any discomfort. 
 The paper showed no trace of charring nor injury of any kind. 
 Idle fireproofing material had charred to a depth of 9-16", leaving 
 1 V<2' of interior practically unaltered. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS EIRE TESTS 
 
 TEST NO. 5 
 
 For this a block was prepared in the same manner as for Test 
 Xo. 4, except that the paper was left out. This and an 8" hard- 
 burnt clay hollow floor tile were put into the furnace at 2:59. 
 At 3:03 the tile had cracked at the top, and at 3:10 it had col¬ 
 lapsed. I loth samples were withdrawn as soon as the tile broke 
 down, having been in the furnace 11 minutes. The block of 
 Metropolitan material was broken open as soon as out of the 
 furnace, and the enclosed iron rod taken in the hand as before. 
 It was warm, but could be held in the unprotected hand. In this 
 test the charring had reached a depth of yg", leaving lyT of 
 interior practically unaltered. 
 
 TEST NO. 6 
 
 In this test the following three samples were treated. Three 
 3 " by 6 " by 12" Metropolitan Fireproofing Company’s blocks 
 piled on the sides, making a pile 9" by 6" by 12". An 8" hard-burnt 
 hollow floor tile, lying on two porous clay tiles, which in turn 
 rested on a square slab of Metropolitan material. And, third, a 
 4" porous terra-cotta tile, lying on two porous clay tiles, which 
 rested on a square slab of Metropolitan material. These were 
 put into the heating furnace at 4 P. M. and withdrawn at 4:30. 
 The hard-burnt floor tile was broken at the top at 4:16, and at 
 4:30 had collapsed completely. The porous terra-cotta tile had 
 lost a lower corner at 4:12, and at 4:30 it was badly slagged and 
 pasty, with a bad crack about one-third from one end. The 
 Metropolitan Flocks were lifted out one at a time, by taking 
 hold of one corner with a pair of tongs. The lowest one, which 
 rested on the bottom of the furnace, was fluxe 1 on the bottom side 
 and was damaged somewhat by the tool as the pile was moved 
 about the furnace. The two upper blocks came out in good con¬ 
 dition, although somewhat shrunken and weakened at the exterior. 
 W hen broken, the fracture of these blocks showed at the exterior 
 a white, friable shell; next to this was a stratum of charred 
 material, the combined depth of the two being about -)4", and then 
 a core of unaltered material, in which the chips retained their 
 original color, and which appeared to retain its original strength. 
 
 X6 
 
MISCELLANEOUS FIRE TESTS 
 
 TEST NO. 7 
 
 In this test the samples were put into uncovered plumbago 
 crucibles, in the crucible steel melting furnace, the temperature of 
 which was shown by the*pyrometer to lie 2,552 deg. Fahr. The 
 samples tested were: Two blocks of the Metropolitan Fire¬ 
 proofing Company's material measuring 2]/%' by 4yg" by 74s", 
 and 3 l /i” by 6" by 8 $4" respectively. A portion of a porous terra¬ 
 cotta hollow tile 4" by 6]/%' by 1124", with Tinner and 1" outer 
 walls. And, fourth, a portion of an 8" hard-burnt hollow floor tile, 
 with Y\" walls. The two blocks of Metropolitan material were 
 put into one crucible and other samples into separate crucibles. 
 The samples were put into hot crucibles at 5 :55, and the crucibles 
 were withdrawn at 6:55. At the end of the test the smaller of 
 the blocks of -Metropolitan material had melted down, but of the 
 larger a portion remained. The upper corners of this larger block 
 not touching the crucible were found to be in practically the same 
 condition as before the test. The melting of the balance of these 
 two blocks was undoubtedly hastened by the fluxing action of the 
 clay of the crucible. The porous terra-cotta tile was found in the 
 bottom of the crucible as a viscous mass. The hard-burnt hollow 
 floor tile had lost its form and had become a stiff, pasty mass. 
 
 Our observations during the above-described tests, and the 
 results obtained, have led us to the following conclusions: 
 
 The Metropolitan material is more infusible than the clay of 
 either of the tiles tested. When not in contact with firebrick or 
 other fluxing matter it was infusible at the highest temperaure 
 reached in the tests, while under the same conditions the clay tiles 
 lost their form and became pasty. 
 
 The high temperature produces onlv surface cracks in the 
 Metropolitan material, while in the clay tiles it causes fractures 
 which destroy the tiles. While in clay tiles collapse is likely to 
 occur from cracks formed by the sudden heating long before the 
 softening point is reached; in the case of the Metropolitan 
 material there is a gradual disintegration, and collapse does not 
 occur until this disintegration has penetrated so far that the unal¬ 
 tered interior becomes so reduced in mass as to lack the strength 
 requisite to resist crushing by the weight upon it. This disinte¬ 
 gration proceeds slowly, and where a considerable thickness of 
 
 ‘ s 7 
 
MISCELLANEOUS FIRL TESTS 
 
 material is used, as in arches between floor beams, we doubt if in 
 an ordinary building fire the depth reached would be sufficient to 
 permit of collapse. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 (Signed) * Ricketts & Banks. 
 
 Section built September 15, 1894; tested October 12, 1894. 
 
 Span, 5' 6", center to center of beams. Length of section, 
 
 5' JT. 
 
 The above section was so arranged as to form the top of a 
 furnace, and a load of 200 pounds per square foot was imposed 
 on it and remained during the entire test. A hard wood fire was 
 started at 12:40 P. M. and kept up until about 3:30 P. M., when 
 it was extinguished by throwing water on it from a fire hose. 
 
 At the same time water was also thrown on the floor, and the 
 composition did not crack, splinter off, nor did there seem to be 
 any tendency to disintegration. 
 
 The surface of the section not exposed to the flames and the 
 beams protected by the composition remained so cool during the 
 test that the hand could be held on them without discomfort. 
 
 After the fire was extinguished the load was removed and a 
 hole cut through the section, admitting of a thorough examina¬ 
 tion of the condition of the composition. The surface that was 
 exposed to the flame was affected to a depth of about one-half 
 inch, the remainder being uninjured, and the efficiency of the 
 section to carry weight was apparently undiminished. 
 
STRENGTH TESTS 
 
 TEST OF MANHATTAN FIREPROOFING COMPANY’S (NOW METROPOL¬ 
 ITAN FIREPROOFING COMPANY) FLOORING, MADE AT THEIR YARD 
 OCTOBER 2 d, 1893 . 
 
 The piece of floor tested was 9/>" wide, 4" thick, and 5' 0" 
 clear span between the wooden beams, to which the wires were 
 Annie secured by staples, which prevented any slipping of the 
 wires over the beams. Between the beams were timbers which 
 prevented the beams from canting or being drawn together. The 
 floor contained eight pairs of No. 12 wire, spaced about 1" apart, 
 and with a sag of about 2VY' at the center. The concrete filling 
 below the wires consisted of plaster of paris and pine chips; the 
 filling above the wires consisted of a concrete composed of two 
 parts, by measure, of broken brick to one part of plaster of paris. 
 The action of the floor under the different loads was as follows: 
 
 Load, Lbs. Deflection, Inches. Remarks. 
 
 7,600 
 
 Load, Lb., Per Sq. Ft. 
 1,900 
 
 The load was a uniformly distributed load, consisting of pig- 
 iron, on top of which were placed bags of plaster of paris. The 
 flooring gave way by the breaking of two wires on one side, close 
 to one of the beams. 
 
 [copy.] 
 
 Constable Brothers, 
 
 22 East Sixteenth Street, 
 
 New York, May 26th, 1896. 
 
 Superintendent of Buildinc/s, 
 
 220 Fourth Avenue, Nezv York City. 
 
 Dear Sir: Having received a request from Mr. Hewitt to 
 attend a test before the Board to-day, and a copy of a letter sent 
 to them, I desire to make the following comments: 
 
 1st.—The Varick street tests were not made under the super¬ 
 vision of the Building Department, but arranged by Mr. Lindsey, 
 who had four sample panels put in the building, and who requested 
 
 89 
 
STRENGTH TESTS 
 
 me to take charge on the appointed day, and the Department was 
 asked to be present. 
 
 2d.—T he drop tests showed the panels to be unusually tough 
 and elastic. 
 
 3d.-—The weight test was sufficient to show ample strength for 
 such a building, but was not completely satisfactory, as the pig- 
 iron was so uneven in shape that the pile toppled over before the 
 ultimate strength of the floor was reached. 
 
 4th^—-This accident interfered somewhat with getting complete 
 data on the question of adjoining panels raising or buckling up¬ 
 wards if unloaded. 
 
 5th.—The first test consisted of burning, for an hour, what old 
 wood and barrels could be collected around the buildings, and 
 showed good results as regards fire and water, but was open to 
 the objection that the plaster was still damp, and that the ther¬ 
 mometer placed upon the beam did not reach more than 87 degrees, 
 which was partly an indication that there was not enough volume 
 of heat in proportion to the amount of material about it to either 
 dry it out or make the test really a severe one. Recent experi¬ 
 ments have demonstrated to me that most of the ordinary fire tests 
 have been most uncertain as to real severitv of the test, the very 
 high temperature being up the flue. 
 
 'The tests at Trenton showed about the same results, excepting 
 the fire test was longer and the section of the floor loaded with 
 brick, and the spans settled about 6". but again not quite as com¬ 
 plete as could be wished, as the chip and plaster filling was damp 
 and the iron tilted so that it could not be determined whether all 
 the settlements of the arch was due to this or not. 
 
 1 have recently shown you, by an accurate comparative test 
 of the same material taken from the \ arick street building, that 
 there is an appreciable difference between testing damp and dry 
 chip plaster. Under these circumstances, and as 1 have been 
 recently quoted in the matter of this floor, / desire to go on record 
 that my opinion is that the floor is very strong and tough, but as 
 regards its qualifications in the matter of flexibility and fire resist¬ 
 ance, etc., I do not wish to be quoted as giving unqualified approval. 
 
 Respectfully submitted, 
 
 (Signed) Howard Constable. 
 
 90 
 
STRENGTH TESTS 
 
 RESULTS OF TESTS FOR STRENGTH OF METROPOLITAN FIREPROOFING 
 
 COMPANY’S FLOORS 
 
 > 
 
 H 
 
 M 
 
 Distance between beams, 
 center to center 
 
 gengtli of section tested. 
 
 Area tested ill square 
 feet 
 
 Total load applied, in 
 pounds 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 Ft. I 11 . 
 
 May 1, ’95 70 
 
 2 6^4 16 48 18,151 
 
 May 1, ’95 6 0 
 
 2 614 18,891 
 
 May 2, ’95 5 6 
 
 2 6 12.68 14,076 
 
 May 2, ’95 56 
 
 2 6 12.68 14,076 
 
 May 2, ’95 5 6 
 
 2 6 y $ 12.71 16,526 
 
 Aug. 12, ’95 7 0 
 
 2 6)4 16.64 17,660 
 
 Aug. 
 
 21, 
 
 ’95 
 
 8 
 
 O 
 
 2 6 
 
 18 88 
 
 16,265 
 
 Aug. 
 
 21, 
 
 ’95 
 
 6 
 
 O 
 
 2 6 j 4 
 
 14.08 
 
 18,710 
 
 Aug. 
 
 22, 
 
 ’95 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 2 6)4 
 
 12.87 
 
 ' 7,845 
 
 2 o 10.667 5,923 
 
 5 io }4 20 ix 8,782 
 
 Dec. 12, ’95 5 6 o 323^ 13.74 ii,ii<> 
 
 April 24, ’96 56 26 12.63 9.510 
 
 o ft 
 
 I, IOI 
 
 1,350 
 
 1,110 
 
 r, 110 
 
 1,300 
 
 1,061 
 
 Remarks 
 
 861 
 
 1,328 
 
 1,386 
 
 555 
 
 798 
 
 809 
 
 753 
 
 Failed by deflection and ad¬ 
 joining arches lifting. No 
 wires broken. 
 
 Failed by deflection and 
 adjoining arches lifting. 
 No wires broken, but out¬ 
 side beams bent about r 
 inch. 
 
 F'ailed by deflection and ad¬ 
 joining arches lifting. No 
 wires broken. 
 
 Failed by deflection and ad¬ 
 joining arches lifting. No 
 wires broken. 
 
 12 wires, 2)4 inches apart. 
 Failed by all the wires 
 breaking close to beam on 
 east side. 
 
 Heavy rain storm Sunday 
 night. Arch not protected. 
 Tested following Monday. 
 F'ailed by deflection and 
 adjoining arches lifting. 
 No wires broken. 
 
 Failed by deflection and ad¬ 
 joining arches lifting. 
 
 Failed by deflection and ad¬ 
 joining arches lifting. 
 
 F'ailed by deflection and 
 adjoining arches lifting. 
 These arches were built 
 between 15-inch beams, 
 without skewbacks. 
 
 This test was made in 
 Baker Building, Philadel¬ 
 phia, Pa., and was part 
 of permanent fl ior. Not 
 tested to destruction. 
 
 This test was made in 
 Baker Building, Philadel¬ 
 phia. Pa., ami was part 
 of permanent floor Not 
 tested to destruction 
 
 Not tested to destruction. 
 
 Not tested to destruction. 
 
 91 
 
IMPACT TESTS 
 
 Section built September 15, 1894; tested October 12, 1894. 
 Span, 3' 9", center to center of beams. 
 
 Length of section. 5' 
 
 The weight was cylindrical, 954 inches diameter, and weighed 
 
 205 lbs. 
 
 A board thick was placed on the center of a section parallel 
 with the beams and the weight dropped on this board. 
 
 Height of Fall. 
 
 Effect . 
 
 Xo visible effect on the section 
 Xo visible effect on the section 
 Xo visible effect on the section 
 
 2 ' 0 " . 
 4' 0" 
 
 4' 10" 
 
 The board was then removed and the weight allowed to fall 5' 
 O'' on the unprotected composition, striking each time on a differ¬ 
 ent place. The weight did not fall squarely, but on edge, and cut 
 each time into the composition. In those cases where the edge of 
 the weight reached the wires it spread them apart, and in no case 
 zvere any of them broken under this test. 
 
 A board 1 inch thick and 1 foot square was placed in the center 
 of the section adjoining the one on which the test described above 
 was made, and the same weight allowed to fall 5' 0”, each time 
 striking in the same place. 
 
 The first blow broke the board. The second blow so shattered 
 the board that it could not be used again. The third blow was on 
 the unprotected composition, and the edge of the weight cut into it. 
 
 On dropping the fourth time the weight cut into the composi¬ 
 tion to the wires, leaving them bare. The fifth blow broke or cut 
 the wires (the weight falling each time on edge), and the weight 
 dropped through the floor. 
 
 The wires were continuous from section to section, and the 
 breaking of the wires in this section did not affect the portions of 
 the same wires in the adjoining section, which had been laid bare 
 in the first impact test. 
 
 The hole in the floor was rather clean-cut and very little larger 
 than the weight. 
 
 Section built April 15, 1896. 
 
 Tested April 24. 1896. 
 
 Span, 5' center to center of beams. 
 
 Length of section, 2' 6". 
 
 Cylindrical weight of 205 pounds. 
 
 Height of Fall. Effect . 
 
 4' 0", 1 blow . 
 
 5' 0", 2 blows 
 4' 6", 6 blows 
 
 92 
 
Indestructibility By Water 
 
 Composition Not Affected by Water 
 
 That the composition, as used in construction, is not injured 
 by water is demonstrated bv the fact that no injury to it is caused 
 by storms occurring while it is being put into floors of buildings 
 not covered in, as well as by special tests. In one case on one 
 section was placed a load of 330 pounds per square foot, the 
 adjoining section being left without load in order to determine 
 whether or not the cables would pull through the material when 
 saturated with water. Water was allowed to flow on the material 
 for 24 hours, and no apparent weakening of the composition was 
 produced. In another instance a plate of the composition, about 
 I' square, was entirely submerged in water more than 70 hours 
 without showing any tendency to disintegrate. Immediately after 
 the plate was taken from the water it was placed on top of the 
 cables and a load of 800 pounds per square foot placed upon it. 
 Under this load the plate gave no indication that its breaking point 
 had been reached, nor did the cables cut into it. 
 
 Rff'ect of Soaking in Water on Wires and Block 
 
 Block, 4" by 12" by 14", with wires, made June 27th, '94. 
 
 Put to soak in water September 11, '94. 
 
 Taken out of water October 3d. ’94—22 days in water. 
 
 Put to soak in water 10 A. M., January 14th, ’95. 
 
 Taken out of water 10 A. M., January 15th, ’95—24 hours in 
 water. 
 
 Put to soak in water 2:30 P. M., April 12th, ’95. 
 
 Taken out of water 5 P. M., April 15th, ’95—74jA hours in 
 water. 
 
 Put to soak in water 9:30 A. M., May 18th, '97. 
 
 Taken out of water 9:30 A. M., May 19th, '97—24 hours in 
 water. 
 
 Block was not injured by soaking in water. 
 
 Wires imbedded in the plaster bright and clean. 
 
 93 
 
Non-Corrosive 
 
 Effect of Plaster on IVire 
 
 The following letter, regarding the effect of plaster on wire 
 imbedded in it, is from Mr. John Rogers, the well-known designer 
 and manufacturer of the "Rogers Groups” of statuary: 
 
 New Canaan, Conn., March 13th, 1895. 
 
 Dear Mr. Ketchum : Your letter of inquiry about the effect 
 of plaster on wrought iron imbedded in it is just received. 1 
 have broken up plaster casts that have had iron imbedded in them 
 for years, and found no bad effects at all after the first rusting 
 from the damp plaster. While the plaster is still wet it will, of 
 course, rust the iron, but as soon as it is dry it will have no effect 
 on the iron whatever as far as my experience goes. 1 strengthen 
 my moulds, which last for years, with irons, and on breaking them 
 up to make new ones I invariably use the same irons over again. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 (Signed) John Rogers. 
 
 Extract from the report of Peter T. Asutin, F J h. D., F. C. S., Expert 
 Chemist: 
 
 "The action of the composition on iron is as follows: The 
 plaster, in setting, chemically absorbs most of the water, the rest 
 being evaporated in a short time. During the setting of the plaster 
 a film of oxide of iron is formed on the surface of the iron, 
 which assists the contact between the iron and the plaster by 
 roughening the surface of the former. The mass, acting as an 
 insulator, protects the iron from oxidation, making it permanent. 
 No gases are generated. Its action in contact with steel is prac¬ 
 tically the same.” 
 
 94 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 PART I. 
 
 PACKS 
 
 Economy. 16 
 
 Fire Resistance. 12-14 
 
 In General. 30 
 
 List of Buildings. 36-50 
 
 Lightness. 16 
 
 Non-conductivity . 12-14 
 
 Preservation ot Metal. 22 
 
 Principle of the System. 5-6 
 
 (duality Insurance. 26-28 
 
 4*^ J 
 
 Rapidity ol Construction. 20 
 
 Strength. 8-10 
 
 Sound-deadening. 18 
 
 Table of Dead Loads. 16 
 
 Root Construction tor Manufacturing Buildings . . 24 
 
 Specification and Illustration, Form A. 32.-33 
 
 Specification and Illustration, Form B. 34-35 
 
 PART II. 
 
 New York Fire Test—Official Report. 58-75 
 
 New York Fire 'Test—Report ot Ricketts & Banks 76-80 
 
 Boston Fire Test. 81-82 
 
 Miscellaneous Fire Tests. 83-88 
 
 Tabulated Results ot Comparative Tests. 52-53 
 
 Tabulated Summaries ot Results of Tests. 54-57 
 
 Strength Tests. 92 
 
 Data Showing Indestructibility Bv Water. 93 
 
 Data Showing Non-corrosive Properties. 94 
 
AVWV 
 
 l tftR ARY