Fire-Proof Lathing.

Progress, Volume XIV, Issue 4, 1 December 1918, Page 377

Fire-Proof Lathing.

A novel fire-proof lathing is described in the “Engineering News Record” of New York, which consists of a rectangular mesh of light wires with a terra-cotta covering baked on, and is said to have found extensive application in New York City. The crossshaped terra-cotta tablets which are baked on to the wires at their junction are not continuous, so that the lath can be put up in rolls for shipment, the wires bending at the junctions of the terra-cotta tablets. The terra-cotta, however, does stiffen the wire very much, and makes it easy to form a flat surface for plastering. The porous terra-cotta forms a bond with mortar, obviating the necessity for forcing tire mortar through, to form a key at the back; another advantage is that no furring strips are required. The stiffness of the lath is such that in some office-buildings in New York City it was stretched tight from ceiling to floor and plastering was applied directly to both sides, forming a two-inch solid partition, and the construction was approved by the New York Building Department after fire tests. Another use of this material is to form a plastering surface on which a finishing coat may be applied to concrete walls. By placing the wire lath against the inside of the forms before the concrete is poured, the lath is left embedded in and firmly attached to the concrete, and furnishes a 1 rough terracotta surface of sufficient bond for plastering. This lath, has been used extensively in this way in the

stations of the new subways in New York City. It is also being used in the construction of the new Pennsylvania Hotel, Another use to which this material has been put is the fire-proofing of large electric cables. A layer of the lath is wrapped round the cable, wired in place, and plastered.