Chap. III. ERICKLAYING AND TILING.

573
.-ill}' (par. 1839). The Staffordshire paving tiles, in blue, red, and bu9P, are very durable,
and for general purposes as effective as the more expensive qualities for inlaid purposes.
lOUS^". Floors mid paths are often finished with a face
off
inch, 1 inch, or Ij ineh of
Portliind cement. Tliey are considered to be best laid with the cement and sand thoroughly
mixed and just wetted sufficient so that a handful pressed by the hand will not fall to
pieces when the hand is opened. This laid down, and water brought through it by the
hand float, stands well. Plasterers do not like to use it so stiff. To repair any worn
places the old cement should be thoroughly wetted before the new work is applied.
1905/. Here may be mentioned the use of encaustic or inlaid tiles for paving; of
mosaic tiles and of tesserm for mosaic work, whether for pavements or for wall decoration
;
the Roman mosaic pavement ; the Venetian marble mosaic tiles
;
Italian marble mosaie
and marble mosaic granite. There is also a patent wood mosaic, made of small blocks of
wood, end grain, and prepared in tiles to pattern 6 inches square.
IQOo^'. To clean dirt off tiles, dilute muriatic acid, i.e. spirits of salts, may be used,
but it must all be wiped off, and after washing, the moisture must be wiped off with a
clean dry cloth,
1905A. AspHALTE has now taken the place of most other sorts of manufactured pave-
ments of the tame character. A solid foundation is prepared by a bed of concrete of
hydraulic lime and gravel, with a layer of finer concrete over it, to fill up the vacuities.
When dry, the asphalte is put on, of a thickness for private purposes of about
f
ths of an
inch; for public purposfs, from one to two inches: it shuidd be applied as hot as
possible. A small quantity of pure quick lime is added to the asphalte when in ebullition,
to prevent it melting by t e heat of the sun. This material has been much used for
threshing floors of barns, for malt-houses, armouries, tun rooms (sometimes from 2 to
2^
inches thick), dissecting-rooms, dog-kennels, exercising yards, mills of many kinds,
granaries, verandahs, and numer )us factories and buildings. For carriage traffic, the
asphalte is embedded with small Guernsey granite chippings. This material is not
suitable for any floor where oil, tallow, or other greasy matter is employed. The
Polonceau and Seyssel Asphalte Company indent the surface into small squares,
affording a foothold for horses in a stable ; this is also considered useful for flat roofs
and paving generally. The gra-nite rock and Seyssel asphaltes, for floors, paving, &e., are
considered a certain preventive of damp and vermin. The Yal de Travers compressed
and mastic asphalte, for roadways, &c., roofs, basements, stables, warehouses, breweries,
reservoirs, slaughter-houses, markets, laundries, lavatories, &e. The Limmer Asphalte
I'aving Company, and the Societe Fran^ai.se des Asphalte, are also engaged in paving the
thoroughfares of London and elsewhere. Wright's marble tar pavement for yards, play-
grounds, &c. has been used for the platforms of the Windsor and the Waterloo stations,
and in the middle part of the quadrangle of Somerset House.
Tiling.
1906. The tiler's tools arethe lathing hammer, -with two gauge marks on it, one at
7 inches, the other at
7^
inches. The lathing
staff, of iron, in the form of a cross, to stay
the cross laths and clinch the nails. The tiling trowel, to take up the mortar and lay it
on the tiles ; it differs from the brick trowel, in being longer and narrower The bo^se,
made of wood, with an iron hook, to hang on the laths or on a ladder, for holding the
mortar and tiles. The striker, a piece of lath about 10 inches long, for separating and
taking away the supeifluous mortar at the feet of the tiles. The broom, to sweep the
tiling after it is struck.
1907. Tiling is the operation of laying the tiles on a roof for the covering of the building,
and is effected with either plain or pan tiles
;
the former is the most secure description.
Plain tiles are laid at different gauges (see j)ar. 2301). 210 plain tiles laid flat will cover
a square of tiling, which can be laid in a day by a man and his assistant. As old tiles are
of a much better consistency than those now made, it may bo desirable to re-use the best
of them with new tiles to fill in ; in which ease the old ones are laid with the best effect
in courses, say three or four rows of new and two of old tiles
;
or laid in a diapered
pattern, according to the quantity. Pan tiles are generally pointed in mortar, which if it
be not very strong will not stick; in consequence of this, tiled roofs require fresh pointing
every few years, especially in exposed situations. A practice has obtained of late years,
when plain tiles are set in mortar, not to peg more than about one tile in ten ; this
should not be permitted, as with the decay of the mortar the tiles slip down. An ancient
cu^tonl prevailf-d, to bed the tiles in hay or moss, and when the roof is of the full pitch
this suffic s without mortar; they may even then be laid dry. But with any less
p
tch,
some precaution must be used to keep out drifting snow, and such wet as miy be blown
up between the tiles lifted by the f^rce of the wind. In lieu of oak pegs, extra large
flat headed wrought nails, made of pure zinc or of zinc and copper, have been used, and
it has the advantage of allowing a tile to be replaced from the inside of the roof, by
lifting up the others to place in the tile and drop in the nails in a few seconds. The
utility of the mortar is questioned in the Builder fur ISCo,