Abstract: A method for fire retarding and preserving wood products, paper, cardboard, boxboard, cloth and other porous materials, having a plurality of internal voids, in which a water soluble silicate composition is applied to those porous materials, penetrating into the voids, and the material dried. Thereafter, a water soluble metallic salt composition is applied, also penetrating into the voids and reacting in situ to form a water insoluble metallic silicate with a high degree of water of hydration disposed throughout the voids.

Abstract: 1,1,2,4-Tetrabromobutene-2 is an effective flame-retardant for wood.

Abstract: The invention pertains to a method of making a wood floor covering which is flexible and can be laid on concrete with a mastic using momentary pressure. Instead of the nominal 3/4-inch thickness of conventional strip hardwood floors, the floor covering is only about 1/10-inch thick. The finish on the floor covering is sufficiently wear-resistant so that for the life of the flooring the wood is never subject to wear. The finish is applied in the factory as a thermoplastic resin film which extends over the wood and spans the joints between the wood blocks of which the flooring is composed. In bonding the film a cushion is placed on the film, and heat is applied to the assembly sufficiently high to soften or melt the film. The blocks are kept from spreading apart by a constraining means partly embedded in the back of the wood by pressure, and the resin is chilled under pressure until it reaches room temperature and is solidified.