Abstract: A wooden flooring strip having a wooden flooring strip, comprising a top surface and a base surface opposed to the top surface, the top surface and the base surface defining between them a predetermined thickness wood flooring material. The predetermined thickness wood flooring material includes a top surface zone adjacent the top surface and a base surface zone adjacent the base surface. The base surface zone has longitudinally-extending wood fibers which have been broken to an extent sufficient to relieve tension on the base surface and thereby increase the flexibility of the flooring strip for more closely adhering to a sub-floor. The top surface zone has longitudinally-extending wood fibers which have been broken to an extent sufficient to relieve tension on the top surface of the flooring strip and to equalize tension on the wood fibers adjacent both the top surface and base surface of the flooring strip.

Abstract: An interlocking prefabricated hardwood floor panel system in which multiple hardwood strips are secured together and attached to a substrate. The hardwood strips end at different locations such that a straight seam is not formed between adjacent floor panels. The substrate covers at least a portion of the floor panel and may extend past the edge of the hardwood strips such that hardwood strips from an adjacent floor panel can be secured to the substrate. Alternative embodiments provide hardwood strips that vary in color to allow designs to be inserted into a floor by using different woods or different stains. The substrate is secured to a target surface which may be the surface of the floor, a ceiling, or wall. The substrate can be attached to the target surface via any appropriate method, such as adhesive, nails, screws, etc.. A variety of flooring patterns can be used including hardwood strips, parquet squares, herringbone, etc.

Abstract: In a method for installing tiles on a substrate, tiles, having a first surface and a second, machinable surface, are arranged in installed locations on the substrate with the second, machinable surface facing away from the substrate. The machinable surfaces are then machined to reduce tile-to-tile irregularities and adjust for the variations in the subfloor, and the tiles are turned over so that the first surfaces face away from the substrate. A decorative flooring unit is also provided having a tile with a shim layer on its underside, an edge member surrounding the tile and a substrate extending beneath the edge member and the tile. The tile is installed within the edge member with the shim layer facing away from the substrate. The tile may be reversed after sanding the edge member and shim layer.

Abstract: In a system for jointing together of adjacent pieces of flooring material by means of grooves (3) and tongues (4), at least one of the opposing surfaces on the tongues (4) and the grooves (3) of the pieces display flocked surface portions (10-13). The flocked surface portions (10-13) extend along the tongues (4) and/or the grooves (3) and cover substantially their entire length. The fiber length (9) of the flocked surface portions (10-13) exceeds the difference between the width of the grooves (3) and the thickness of the tongues (4).

Abstract: Wood flooring panel is made of a plurality of parallel longitudinal wood slats situated side by side, with the slats being of the same length but staggered in their longitudinal positions. A tambour backing is adhesively secured to a back side of the slats to hold the slats together as a panel. The tambour backing is made of a material that is inextensible in the longitudinal and lateral directions, but flexible to permit bending at joints defined between said wood slats. There are clips or tabs affixed onto the back surfaces of the respective slats at the front ends. These extend about a half-inch beyond the forward ends of the respective slats. The tambour can be secured with a hot melt adhesive. The clips can be formed of rectangles of fish paper. The clips prevent the flooring adhesive from coming between the front ends of the slats of one panel slats and the rear ends of the next panel slats. The clips also help align the ends of the corresponding slats or fingers of the two panels.

Abstract: A modular floor tile has a two piece construction including a top member and a support member. The top member is made of a relatively hard material that is resistant to scuffing and which accepts paints. The support member is made of a resilient, impact-absorbing material and is secured to the underside of the top member. The material of the support member is selected to give the desired impact-absorbing characteristics. In a preferred embodiment, a plurality of support nodes extend downward from a bottom surface of the support member. The support nodes are spaced from one another so as to define an air circulation space between the bottom surface of the support member and the underlying support surface. The modular floor tiles also include interlocking members for interlocking adjacent tiles with one another.

Abstract: A wooden flooring strip having a top surface having a decorative finish and a base surface opposed to said top surface. The base surface has a multiplicity of closely spaced-apart scores extending into the flooring strip from the base surface transverse to the length of the flooring strip along substantially the entire length of the flooring strip to relieve stress and increase flexibility in the wood strip for more closely adhering to irregularities of a sub-floor. The flooring strip has substantially longitudinally-extending wood fibers in an area of the flooring strip between the scores and the top surface of the flooring strip which have been broken to an extent sufficient to relieve tension on the top surface of the flooring strip and to equalize tension on the wood fibers adjacent both the top surface and base surface of the flooring strip.

Abstract: A flooring product for application to a subfloor which includes a wooden flooring component for installation with like flooring components to form a floor. The flooring component has a top surface for being exposed after installation and a base surface, a pressure-sensitive adhesive carried on a foam tape applied and permanently adhered directly to the base surface of the flooring component for providing an attachment interface surface for adhering the flooring component to the subfloor, and a protective release cover applied and releasably adhered to the attachment interface surface of the adhesive to protect the adhesive until removal of the release cover when the flooring component is applied to the subfloor.

Abstract: A plastics tile (9) is made up of a plurality of discrete plastics pieces (10, 11, 12) which are shaped relative to each other and assembled together to abut edge to edge in lower regions of the pieces and form a recess above each mutually abutting edge of abutting pieces in upper regions of the pieces. The pieces are joined together along said mutually abutting edges below the recesses to form a unitary tile.

Abstract: A relatively permanent and indestructible covering (10) utilizes a plurality of single ply tiles (12) which are bonded to a base floor surface (14) and provided with a protective coating in a single step by applying at least one protective bonding coating, such as an epoxy coating, over the top of plurality of tiles. To facilitate bonding to base floor surface, each of the plurality of tiles (12) are formed with a plurality of holes passing through the surface thereof. A color finish coating can also be provided over the top of the array of tiles by utilizing a protective bonding coating having a paint or paint-like quality. In a preferred embodiment, the tiles (12) are formed from a metal such as aluminum.

Abstract: An apparatus for increasing the flexibility of and straightening wooden flooring strips of the type having a top surface having a decorative finish and a base surface opposed to the top surface. The base surface has a multiplicity of closely spaced-apart scores extending into the flooring strip from the base surface transverse to the length of the flooring strip along substantially the entire length of the flooring strip to relieve stress and increase flexibility in the wood strip for more closely adhering to irregularities of a sub-floor. The apparatus has an infeed zone for feeding flooring strips downstream from an upstream processing station and an outfeed zone for discharging the flooring strips to a downstream processing station. A conveyor conveys the flooring strips downstream from the infeed zone to the outfeed zone.

Abstract: A slip-resistant floor covering system comprising, in accordance with preferred embodiments of apparatus of the present invention, a slip-resistant tile having a plurality of pyramidal-shaped ridges which support an individual's foot at an elevation above liquid and other slip-inducing substances which flow through a network of drainage troughs (each trough being defined between adjacent ridges) and channels in the upper surface of the tile. The ridges of the plurality of ridges are directionally oriented relative to the channels to encourage rapid flow of spilled liquid and other substances away from a spill site. The orientation of the ridges relative to the channels also induces air flow through the troughs and channels in order to reduce foot and leg fatigue which may be experienced by an individual standing on the tile for long periods of time. Protruding members, extending from the lower surface of the tile, contact a floor surface and limit relative movement between the tile and the floor surface.

Abstract: A system of light weight, high strength, thin masonry panels having one or more mateable seam hiding edges. The seam hiding edge may be serpentine or some other shape consistent with the masonry element chosen for the panel surface. The aforementioned thin masonry panels are used to construct patio or walkway surfaces as well as provide a decorative facing for walls, fireplaces, and the like. The thickness of the panels is limited to the range of 1 to 2 inches in order to assure a light weight for ease of construction. Each panel is a reinforced series of masonry elements such as stone or brick pavers bound together by a cement or mortar-like material. The claimed invention also includes an attachment plate for affixing the panels to other surfaces and structures.

Abstract: A wood flooring product for assembly into a wood floor is disclosed. The flooring product includes a top, decorative layer, an intermediate layer bonded to the top layer, and a base layer bonded to the intermediate layer. The top, intermediate and base layers are bonded in registration to define a laminated elongate wood flooring strip. A tongue and a groove are formed on respective side edges of the flooring strip. The tongue and groove extend along the length of the flooring strip, and lock adjacent flooring strips together side-to-side to form an assembled wood floor. The base layer has a multiplicity of closely spaced-apart scores cut transverse to the length of the flooring strip along substantially the entire length of the flooring strip. The scores relieve stress and increase flexibility in the wood strip for more closely adhering to irregularities of a sub-floor.

Abstract: A protective flooring which includes a plurality of floor segments wherein each one of the floor segments has a top surface, a bottom surface, and an interior peripheral edge. At least one anchor connected to and depending from the bottom surface of selected ones of the segments, each one of the anchors comprises an elongate cylindrical tube with a central bore, and apertures that provide communication with the bore. Each floor segment includes at least one notch in the peripheral edge thereof, a base connector affixed to the bottom surface of the floor segment defined by the notch. When the floor segments are assembled, the notches in the peripheral edges of the adjacent floor segments correspond so that the respective base connectors are proximate to each other. A U-shaped connector engages each proximate pair of corresponding base connectors so as to join together the adjacent floor segments.

Abstract: A dance floor of assemblable square sections that are held together magnetically and are aligned by male/female couplers and ramp members attachable to the outer perimeter of the assembled square sections.

Abstract: A device and apparatus for aligning exterior faces of tiles of irregular thickness in which elongated alignment grooves are formed in edges of the tiles spaced apart from the exterior faces by a constant setback distance and a front tongue of a spacer shaped like an extruded cross is inserted into the groove in a first tile and then the corresponding groove in a second tile is mounted over the projecting rear tongue. The upper and lower tabs of the spacer define the separation between adjacent tiles and the front and rear tongues maintain the exterior faces of the tiles in alignment.

Abstract: A decorative and protective structural tile matrix for covering a base surface, such as a wall or countertop, is provided. A set of tiles comprise a subset of fixed tiles and a subset of removable tiles. The fixed tiles are permanently attached to the base surface by an adhesive. The removable tiles each provide a precast flexible grout sleeve of an elastomeric material, such as a plastic or rubber compound. The sleeve conforms to, and extends around, at least a portion of a peripheral edge of the removable tile. Each of the removable tiles takes a position between the fixed tiles such that the sleeve is compressed between the peripheral edges of the fixed tiles and the removable tile. As such, a compressive force is generated for holding each removable tile in place on the base surface. Alternatively, the sleeve is fixed to the base surface and has an outwardly extending frame defining pockets for insertion of a number of removable tiles.

Abstract: A modular flooring system having multiple modular flooring units and elongate spacer strips. The flooring units include a rigid base, tiles adhesively bonded to the base, and a frame affixed to the base and extending around the tiles to surround the tiles. The base of the flooring unit is substantially impermeable to moisture, and the frame may be made of a laterally compressible material such as wood for absorbing stresses. The tiles may be slate, granite, marble, ceramic or the like. Slots may be formed in the edges of the flooring units and the elongate spacer strips for receiving elongate splines to join the units and strips. The elongate strips may have a thickness substantially identical to the overall thickness of the flooring units, so that a plurality of elongate strips and flooring units may be joined to define a substantially co-planar floor surface. The strips and units may be provided in different sizes so that the dimensions of the flooring system may be varied.

Abstract: A concrete tile of integral, one-piece construction has left side and right side portions of different coloring which extends through the entire thickness of the relatively thin, generally planar tile. An upper surface of the tile has a groove therein which separates the differently colored left side and right side portions. The left and right side portions have different lengths, providing the tile with a stepped front edge. A method of making the tile dispenses wet concrete having two different colors into a partitioned pug box for disposition onto opposite sides of a pallet, so that the two different colors reside on opposite sides of the pallet in side-by-side relation. The wet concrete is metered and compressed by a roller and shaped by a slipper to provide the concrete tile with a desired cross-sectional shape, following which the concrete is then chopped by a knife assembly to form the individual tiles with desired edge configurations.

Abstract: A building facade material generally includes a plurality of elongate stone strips and a plurality of backing strips adhered thereto with an elastic adhesive disposed between adjoining backing strips for enabling front sides of the elongate stone strips to abut one another when the backing strips are adhered to a curved surface. A method for preparing a stone facade for a curved surface, in accordance with the present invention, generally includes the steps of adhering a sheet of backing material to a sheet of stone, thereafter cutting the stone sheet with the adhesive backing sheet into elongate stone strips with elongate backing strips adhered thereto. Thereafter, the elongate backing strips are adhered to one another with an elastic adhesive. In addition, the stone strips and the backing strips may be beveled for enabling the backing sheets to be disposed on a curved surface, while distorting the elastic adhesive in order to cause the front sides of the stone elongate strips to abut one another.

Abstract: In the thin set laying of stone or ceramic tile, tiles are set by floating them over a uniformly applied screed of adhesive applied to a level substrate. In this invention combination spacing/levelling devices are used to equally space the corners of adjacent tiles and to maintain them at an equal elevation over the adhesive and substrate. The spacer/leveller device may comprise spacing fins and a guide for maintaining the corner of adjacent tiles flush while mortar is setting. The device works as a guide to facilitate level installation with uniform grout joints and it becomes part of the permanent fabric of the installation. Tiles are temporally supported by spacer/levellers at each corner (while adhesive is drying) and by virtue of the spacer/leveller design they are automatically flush to each other with equal joint spaces separating them. The invention substantially reduces the dependence on the skill of the tile layer to space tiles equally and set them on the same horizontal plane.

Abstract: A rigid tile has a flexible interlocking edge configuration and a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer. To increase the ease of installation, an inert powder is dusted on the periphery of the adhesive layer.

Abstract: A tile for waterproofing the juncture of a tiled surface and a non tiled surface such as a tub and tile juncture by use of a water proof tile. The waterproof tile consists of a glazed tile surface having a curvature which directs the water away from the juncture, a non glazed surface which is cemented to the tiled wall and a bottom side which holds sealant for sealing against the non tiled surface.

Abstract: A wood flooring product for assembly into a wood floor is disclosed. The flooring product includes a top, decorative layer, an intermediate layer bonded to the top layer, and a base layer bonded to the intermediate layer. The top, intermediate and base layers are bonded in registration to define a laminated elongate wood flooring strip. A tongue and a groove are formed on respective side edges of the flooring strip. The tongue and groove extend along the length of the flooring strip, and lock adjacent flooring strips together side-to-side to form an assembled wood floor. The base layer has a multiplicity of closely spaced-apart scores cut transverse to the length of the flooring strip along substantially the entire length of the flooring strip. The scores relieve stress and increase flexibility in the wood strip for more closely adhering to irregularities of a sub-floor.

Abstract: Flooring structure having a rigid horizontal base and a tile or terrazzo top flooring layer. This flooring structure also has a crack isolation layer between the base and the top flooring layer. The crack isolation layer comprises a hard, essentially rigid material which is in load bearing relationship with the base and the top flooring layer and which extends over about 50 percent to about 80 percent of the surface area of the crack isolation layer as measured in the horizontal direction. The crack isolation layer may be in the form of a fracturable sheet or in the form of pilings. The remaining portion of the crack isolation layer may be occupied by a deformable material.

Abstract: A tile structure and method for applying tiles to the floor surface of offices, corridors and various rooms in which the surface of a floor to be tiled is covered with a sheet and peripheral side of tiles to be applied are surrounded with an elastic joint material. The tiles are applied side by side in sequence on the sheet with the elastic joint material forming a joint between adjacent tiles and in a compressed condition so as to prevent such applied tiles from moving each other. The sheet prevents the tiles from sliding along the floor surface.

Abstract: Pan-like aluminum panels are formed for finishing the exterior of a building. Secured to the flanges or outside edges of the panels are extruded male and female channel members; the male members secured at a pair of adjacent flanges and the female members secured at the other pair of adjacent flanges. To install the panels, the female edges are first screwed to the wall of the building. Then the male members of panels are slidably received and interlocked within the female members of adjacent panels. Female members of the adjacent panels are then screwed to the wall of the building, thereby exposing them for male members of yet another panel; and so on. Rows and columns of panels are thus secured to the building. An X-shaped gutter member provides mechanical and fluid continuity for the channels formed between the male and female members of adjacent panels, to eliminate moisture from becoming trapped inside.

Abstract: A flooring construction is provided having a unitary construction with a top layer providing a finished flooring surface and an insulation layer adjacent the top layer. The flooring panel includes an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion has a larger dimension than the lower portion and extends outwardly beyond the lower portion. A recessed portion between the upper portion and the lower portion defines a channel. A plurality of interlock support elements having a vertical web and an upper horizontal flange are arranged so that the horizontal flange extends into the channel. The vertical web extends below the lower portion to raise the flooring.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a thin slab of plastic material adapted to cover the terraces of buildings.Thin slab of plastic material adapted to cover the terraces of buildings, particularly for use in covering arrangements of the type of thin slabs on blocks, characterized in that it has, on the one hand, on its undersurface, a partitioned structure constituted by recesses or depressions (1) and partitions (5), on the other hand, a border (2) at its periphery, and, finally, on its upper surface, a flange (6) defining a space (7) adapted to receive a surface coating, as well as, on its lateral surfaces, means (3, 10) permitting assembly with adjacent thin slabs.

Abstract: An elongated floorboard is formed by finger jointing together in endwise fashion a plurality of relatively short sections of wood. The finger joints are formed at an oblique angle to the elongation direction of the floorboards to provide a repetitive series of visible joining lines. Floorboards having their joining lines in different orientations may be arranged adjacent to one another in various combinations to form floors having a variety of different patterns.

Abstract: A soundproofing woody flooring comprises a top woody board, a sheet of sound insulating, vibration damping or buffering material glued to the top board, a perforated woody board glued to the sheet on the opposite side thereof from the top board, and a bottom buffering material glued to the perforated woody board on the opposite side thereof from the sheet. The buffering sheet preferably has one surface to which a fabric is bonded. More preferably, it has one surface to which a fabric is bonded, while the opposite surface of the sheet from the fabric is provided with small holes having a depth which is smaller than the thickness of the sheet.

Abstract: An insert and set screw for locking together the tongue and groove elements of adjacently situated sections of a portable floor in a manner which prevents upward movement of both the set screw and the insert beyond the top surface of the floor. The insert has a flared bottom end that is located in a floor section, above a groove in the groove element, and the set screw is threadably received within the insert. The set screw is tightened downwardly to contact and then compress upon a tongue element of an adjacently situated floor section that has been inserted within the groove element, thereby locking the tongue and groove elements together. The flared bottom end of the insert prevents it from moving upwardly into the plane of the top surface. Stop means inside the insert limit upward movement of the set screw. Both the insert and the set screw are physically restricted from protruding above the top floor surface.

Abstract: A system of surface tiles for flooring or the like, and the method of their installation. The tiles each include a backing board, a number of spaced parallel stationary slats fixed on the backing board, and a longitudinally movable slat in each space between successive stationary slats and dovetailed between them. The movable slats are movable to stagger their ends relative to the ends of the stationary slats, and to extend from one tile to the next to interlock the tiles. Tiles are installed by: a. placing a number of tiles in a longitudinal row; b. moving the movable slats of a single working tile to desired staggered positions relative to the stationary slats; c. cutting the working tile transversely into tow end pieces; d. placing one of the end pieces on one end of the row with its cut edge outward of the row; e. moving the movable slats of the row to fill empty spaces between stationary slats; and f.

Abstract: The flooring structure herein comprises a rigid base or substrate (typically wood or concrete), an outer course of ceramic tile or other fracturable material, a high impact strength crack isolation sheet interposed between the base and the tiles. The crack isolation sheet is a thin rectangular sheet, typically of plastic material such as high impact polystyrene, having a flat base portion and a plurality of dimples arranged in a regular geometric pattern and projections extending in one direction (i.e., upwardly) from the base portion. Both the base portion and the projections have holes. The base portion of the crack isolation sheet is adhesively bonded to the base or substrate. A substantially incompressible compression bed material, e.g., mortar or concrete, fills the space between the crack isolation sheet and the tiles but not the space beneath the projections of the crack isolation sheet. The latter space is essentially an unfilled air space.

Abstract: An improved modular and cushion forming interlocking floor covering which is light weight, easy to assemble, disassemble and to store is composed of a plurality of panels. Each panel includes interlocking means composed of spaced locking fingers and locking apertures and secondary locking means. The secondary locking means are in the form of tabs in the face of the finger and the base of the aperture, each tab having a face inclined in a direction opposite the inclined face of an adjacent tab. The geometry of the modules, in the case of a square module is such that a module may be removed, turned over, oriented and reinserted where removed. Various forms of cushion structure using a foam are described.

Abstract: A single piece spacer element is disclosed for insertion between spaces between tiles for uniform spacing of the tiles. The spacer element comprising a plurality of legs extending radially from a common juncture, with the legs being formed with beveled edges which facilitate their removal from the adhesive material between the tiles once the adhesive has cured. The invention also comprises integrally formed cylindrical or U-shaped stems which extend from the surface of the spacer element and which aid in placement and removal thereof. The invention also comprises the method of using the spacer element to space and align tiles.

Abstract: A paving stone set includes a square paving-stone, a larger rectangular paving-stone and a smaller rectangular paving-stone. Each of the paving stones has generally planar top and bottom surfaces and generally planar side walls, with a clothoid shaped surface being formed on two corners of each paving-stone. The radius of curvature of each clothoid shaped surface may be different from that of the other clothoid shaped surfaces on each paving-stone. The top surface may have a different color and texture than the bottom surface. The paving-stones may be irregularly broken surfaces.

Abstract: A hardwood flooring system formed over a base combines novel milling techniques and an elastomeric filler and sealer material to provide improved resistance to moisture intrusion and resultant damage. Flooring slats are milled so that when assembled in abutting relationship in at least one orientation, a longitudinal gap is thereby defined between adjacent members. This gap may then be filled with a suitable filler/sealer material to provide increased resistance to moisture intrusion. Novel, improved milling geometries for the slats are also disclosed.

Abstract: A decorative surface arrangement for an article of furniture includes a plurality of tiles, at least some of which carry decorative matter on their exposed surfaces. The edges of each tile have retaining means cooperable with retaining means on the edges of other tiles to maintain the tiles in engagement with one another while permitting relative sliding movement between the tiles in the plane of the decorative surface. The tiles move within a frame fixed to the furniture and engage retaining means carried by the frame. There is space available within the frame for accommodating one tile more than the number of tiles within the frame. The retaining means may include tongue means projecting laterally from part of the circumference of each tile and groove means in the remaining part of the tile circumference.

Abstract: A novel prefabricated tile panel consisting of a rectangular or square substrate board having side-long rectangular convex and concave portions arranged regularly by turns around the sides of the rectangular or square shape and a multiplicity of tiles arranged regularly and bonded onto the substrate board is provided. The concave portion and convex portion are of specified dimensions, respectively. The convex portions are protruded and the concave portions are set back from the tiles arranged and bonded in a rectangular or square shape. Thus, the prefabricated tile panels can be assembled without trouble by inserting the convex portions of one panel in the concave portions of other panel or panels for installation of the tile panels.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for constructing a surface from a plurality of similar polygonal tiles wherein the tile has affixed to 50% of its sides one or more spacer members, each spacer member having a flat base and a rectangular flange bisecting the base, said spacer members being securely affixed to the rear face of the tile or to the flat base of an indentation in said base with the flange of the spacer member resting against the side of the tile. The tile is laid onto a bed of wet cement with a projecting portion of the spacer member lying on the surface of the bed. A second tile is laid onto the bed so that the rear face of the tile will rest on the base of a spacer member affixed to the first tile with one side of the second tile resting against the flange of the said spacer member. Successive tiles are then laid on said bed with their rear faces resting upon the base of a spacer member of an adjacent tile and the side of the tile resting against the flange of the spacer member.

Abstract: An assembly of glazed ceramic tiles for the interior walls and ceilings each tile comprising a glazed body with glazed spacing lugs on all four sides of the tile at least two of the glazed lugs on two sides extending substantially the full length of the sides and two glazed lugs on the other two sides extending substantially the full length of the sides or two shorter glazed lugs symmetrically arranged thereon one of each of the shorter lugs being longer than the other, all the glazed lugs on all the sides when assembled engaging glazed lugs on adjacent sides.

Abstract: A composite structure and an assembly joint for a floor system and the like is disclosed of the type having a plurality of elongated boards arranged generally in a side-by-side and end-to-end abutting configuration wherein an assembly joint is provided for joining the ends of the boards together while the individual boards are joined in a plurality of side-by-side, integral pre-assembled sections. The ends of each board include a groove which defines a unique upper and lower end portion construction which operates with an elongated channel strip to provide a highly improved joint.

Abstract: A substantially planar slab has two opposite edges castellated in such fashion that two such slabs may be interengaged with the slabs in the same plane with the castellations of one edge of one slab interfitting the castellations on the other edge of the other slab. The sides of the castellations are inclined in a direction not normal to the plane of a major face of the slab. Such slabs are useful for lining containers for molten metal, and when forming such a lining all joint faces of the interengaging castellations not lying in vertical planes can be arranged to slope downwardly away from the interior of the molten metal container. The thickness of the slabs, the angle of the castellations, the period of the castellations and the inclination of the slabs can be so chosen relative to the angle of repose of a loose fill of refractory material under the slabs that the loose fill particulate refractory material does not penetrate the joints between adjacent slabs.

Abstract: A parquet floor element is disclosed which comprises a facing layer defined by edges forming a closed contour, a backing panel of indented peripheral shape, and means for fixing the facing layer to the backing panel, the latter being associated with the facing layer in such a manner that the said teeth partly project relative to the edges of the facing layer, the intervals between the teeth in part receding relative to the said edges with a regular sequence, along the whole of the contour of the facing layer, of teeth projecting relative to the said edges and intervals between the teeth receding relative to the said edges.

Abstract: In the production of a wall element being, on its one side, provided with wall-tiles of brick or other suitable wall-facing material, said tiles being rectangular and bedded on the wall element in rows with joint spacing, the method comprising placing the wall element horizontally with the side intended for the tiles facing upwards. This upper side is covered with a layer of mortar for bedding the tiles, after which the tiles are pressed down into the mortar in rows with joint spacing, in such a manner that mortar is forced up laterally of the tiles and fills the joint between the tiles.A wall-tile of brick or other suitable wall-facing material, which is rectangular and intended to be bedded by means of mortar, together with other such tiles, in rows with joint spacing on a prefabricated wall element, and is substantially U-shaped in cross-section. The front face of the tile defines the outer face of the web, while the outer sides of the legs consist of one pair of the opposing sides of the tile.

Abstract: A ventilated interlocking floor tile is disclosed comprising a heavy, substantially solid edge region provided with a plurality of interlocks for attachment with contiguous tiles. The solid edge margins define a cavity on the back side of the tile, and the cavity is provided with a plurality of knob-like projections to support the tile surface while providing open space within the cavity. The solid edge regions are provided with ventilating grooves to accommodate the flow of air to and from the cavity.

Abstract: Laying floor tiles is more convenient because the floor tiles are provided with tongues which can be fitted readily into grooves in adjacent tiles because the depth of each groove is less than the magnitude of the portion of a tile which is overhanging a portion of the adjacent tile. Such overhanging and underfitting relationships supplement tongues along adjacent sides into grooves of two adjacent tiles. Peripheral floor tiles can be anchored, but central area tiles can be free from the conventional adhesion to the subflooring. Venting for moisture equilibration between the atmosphere and a sub-flooring such as a concrete slab is achieved because of the absence of adhesive between vertical walls of adjacent tiles.

Abstract: A beamless load bearing surface or stratum having a first group of polygonal plate members forming a peripheral ring. Each of such plate members forming such ring having a transverse edge supported on a longitudinal edge of the next adjacent plate member and so on around the ring. A second group of these plate members forms a second ring interiorly of the first ring. Each of the plate members in the second ring also having a transverse edge supported on a longitudinal edge of the next adjacent plate member of such second ring. In addition, each of the plate members in the second ring is supported along one of its longitudinal edges on the longitudinal edge of an adjacent one of the plates of the peripheral ring. Additional such rings inwardly of the second ring may be provided as desired as may also a central plate member for closing the opening left by the innermost such ring.