Truscon Laboratories was a research and development chemical laboratory of the Trussed Concrete Steel Company ("Truscon") of Detroit, Michigan. [1] It made waterproofing liquid chemical products that went into or on cement and plaster. The products goals were to provide damp-proofing and waterproofing finishing for concrete and Truscon steel to guard against disintegrating action of water and air. [2]
From Truscon laboratories viewpoint waterproofing was considered methods and means of protecting underground construction like foundations and footings. It also pertains to structures intended for retaining water like water tanks and containing water under hydrostatic conditions like in water pipes, tunnels, reservoirs, and cisterns. Damp-proofing was considered the methods of keeping dampness out of the main part of concrete buildings. It involves the methods of treating exposed walls above ground level to avoid the entrance of moisture into the building. These definitions then qualified their various products as servicing particular needs. [3]
From the initial idea of protecting against water damage developed the science of integral waterproofing—the introduction of some element into the wet cement during the process of making causing a high degree of impermeability and imperviousness. Water in masonry does harm structurally because of its solvent properties and because it expands when frozen breaking concrete. Water is observed into concrete walls like a sponge absorbs water through capillary action. A wet wall produces damp and clammy conditions that promote and spread disease. While structural damp-proofing and waterproofing to prevent decay was a motive of the Truscon laboratories chemicals, the side benefit was that it provided better hygienic conditions. [3]
Some of the products developed for damp-proofing was Por-Seal, Stone-Tex, Stone-Backing, and Plaster Bond. [4] Water Proofing Paste, an ingredient used in the making of stucco cement and plaster, [5] was developed for waterproofing. [4] Another waterproofing product was named Water Proofed Cement Stucco. [6]
Truscon laboratories waterproofing protection products were for residential housing, apartment buildings, office buildings, hotels, hospitals, and manufacturing plants. [7] They involved enamels and interior finishes. [8] The products were coatings to provide a dustless waterproof washable surface for cement floors and walls. [9] The Truscon laboratories slogan was Waterproof is Weatherproof. [10] Some of the brand names of these specialized products were Asepticote, Sno-Wite, Industrial Enamel, Hospital Enamel, Dairy Enamel, Floor Finish, Edelweiss and Alkali-Proof Wall Size. [11] Its Asepticote waterproofing product was used in houses, hospitals, and hotels for its eye-soothing finish. [12] Truscon's "Waterproofing Paste" was an integral part of cement and used in floors, plaster, and stucco to waterproof walls and floors. [13] "Industrial White" was used in the interiors of mills and factories because of its white brightness qualities. [8] Truscon's "Granatex Floor Varnish", a stain-resistant product, was a transparent waterproofing agent that was used on concrete and wood floors. [8]
Truscon's Agatex was a chemical that hardened cement floors that was popular. It was a wet liquid that was applied on the surface of concrete like a paint or varnish. The product interacted with concrete and its dust chemically to resemble that of agate resulting in a hardened dustless surface when dry. The company claimed that the resultant treated surface was so hard that it would ring under a hammer like an anvil. [14]
Truscon's "Stone-Tex" product was used on all kinds of masonry building exterior walls as a water-resistant protective coating. It was used on concrete blocks, cement walls, stucco and brick. [15] It was also used for making the building more attractive looking. [16]
Some of the thousands of Truscon laboratories product users were The Cincinnati Enquirer, American Tobacco Company, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Atlantic Petroleum, Haynes Automobile Company, Pennsylvania Railroad, E. W. Bliss Company, United States Military Academy, United States Marine Barracks, United States Shipping Board, Ferry-Morse Seed Company, Lowell Mills, Arlington Mills, H. J. Heinz Company, Dow Chemical laboratories, Winterhaven Citrus Growers' Association, Savage Arms, Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, Liggett-Myers Tobacco Company and Sinclair Oil Corporation. [17] St Johns County School District on Fullerwood Grade School building.
Buildings that used Truscon's products were the Packard automobile factory plant building number 10, Highland Park Ford Plant, Fisher Building, Fisher Body, Frederick Stearns Building, Youth's Companion Building, Midland Packing Building, Majestic Theater (Detroit, Michigan), Beech-Nut, Waco High School, Kalamazoo Paper, Detroit Crosstown Garage, Pennsylvania Rubber Company building, Minneapolis High School, Detroit Athletic Club, Detroit News building, and Milton Bradley building. [18]
Truscon laboratories iron and steel protection products were for priming structural steel like in structures iron industrial building frames, factories, bridges, viaducts, stacks, and boilers. [19] They were also used with brewing coils, ice making coils, fireproofing, and acid-proofing. [20] These paint on products were waterproofing and rust preventing agents. [21] [22] Many of these products went under the brand name of Bar-Ox and were given numbers that related to specific applications. [23] Examples were Bar-Ox No. 7 for coating on exposed structural steel, Bar-Ox No. I4 for brine and condenser pipes, Bar-Ox 21 for stack enamel and boiler front enamel, Bar-Ox No. 28 for acid-proofing, Bar-Ox No. 35 for guarding against alkaline conditions, Bar-Ox No. 42 for conduit coating, and Bar-Ox No. 49 for gas holder tanks. [24]
The Detroit operation's employees were organized by District 50 of the United Mine Workers. [25]
Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ductility. The reinforcement is usually, though not necessarily, steel bars (rebar) and is usually embedded passively in the concrete before the concrete sets. However, post-tensioning is also employed as a technique to reinforce the concrete. In terms of volume used annually, it is one of the most common engineering materials. In corrosion engineering terms, when designed correctly, the alkalinity of the concrete protects the steel rebar from corrosion.
An earth shelter, also called an earth house, earth bermed house, or underground house, is a structure with earth (soil) against the walls, on the roof, or that is entirely buried underground.
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a scientific research institute in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California. The independent, non-profit institute was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine; among the founding consultants were Jacob Bronowski and Francis Crick. Construction of the research facilities began in spring of 1962. The Salk Institute consistently ranks among the top institutions in the US in terms of research output and quality in the life sciences.
Enamel paint is paint that air-dries to a hard, usually glossy, finish, used for coating surfaces that are outdoors or otherwise subject to hard wear or variations in temperature; it should not be confused with decorated objects in "painted enamel", where vitreous enamel is applied with brushes and fired in a kiln. The name is something of a misnomer, as in reality most commercially available enamel paints are significantly softer than either vitreous enamel or stoved synthetic resins, and are totally different in composition; vitreous enamel is applied as a powder or paste and then fired at high temperature. There is no generally accepted definition or standard for use of the term "enamel paint", and not all enamel-type paints may use it.
Albert Kahn was an American industrial architect who designed industrial plant complexes such as the Ford River Rouge automobile complex. He designed the construction of Detroit skyscrapers and office buildings as well as mansions in the city suburbs. He led an organization of hundreds of architect associates and in 1937 designed 19% of all architect-designed industrial factories in the United States. Under a unique contract in 1929, Kahn established a design and training office in Moscow, sending twenty-five staff there to train Soviet architects and engineers, and to design hundreds of industrial buildings under their first five-year plan. They trained more than 4,000 architects and engineers using Kahn's concepts. In 1943, the Franklin Institute posthumously awarded Kahn the Frank P. Brown Medal.
A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. Especially in residential buildings, it often is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system are located; so also are amenities such as the electrical system and cable television distribution point. In cities with high property prices, such as London, basements are often fitted out to a high standard and used as living space.
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture. Stucco can be applied on construction materials such as metal, expanded metal lath, concrete, cinder block, or clay brick and adobe for decorative and structural purposes.
This page is a list of construction topics.
Waterproofing is the process of making an object, person or structure waterproof or water-resistant so that it remains relatively unaffected by water or resisting the ingress of water under specified conditions. Such items may be used in wet environments or underwater to specified depths.
A vapor barrier is any material used for damp proofing, typically a plastic or foil sheet, that resists diffusion of moisture through the wall, floor, ceiling, or roof assemblies of buildings and of packaging to prevent interstitial condensation. Technically, many of these materials are only vapor retarders as they have varying degrees of permeability.
Flashing refers to thin pieces of impervious material installed to prevent the passage of water into a structure from a joint or as part of a weather resistant barrier system. In modern buildings, flashing is intended to decrease water penetration at objects such as chimneys, vent pipes, walls, windows and door openings to make buildings more durable and to reduce indoor mold problems. Metal flashing materials include lead, aluminium, copper, stainless steel, zinc alloy, and other materials.
Fireproofing is rendering something resistant to fire, or incombustible; or material for use in making anything fire-proof. It is a passive fire protection measure. "Fireproof" or "fireproofing" can be used as a noun, verb or adjective; it may be hyphenated ("fire-proof").
Structural dampness is the presence of unwanted moisture in the structure of a building, either the result of intrusion from outside or condensation from within the structure. A high proportion of damp problems in buildings are caused by ambient climate dependent factors of condensation and rain penetration. Capillary penetration of fluid from the ground up through concrete or masonry is known as "rising damp" and is governed by the shape and porosity of the construction materials through which this evaporation-limited capillary penetration takes place. Structural damp, regardless of the mechanisms through which it takes place, is exacerbated by higher levels of humidity.
Damp proofing in construction is a type of moisture control applied to building walls and floors to prevent moisture from passing into the interior spaces. Dampness problems are among the most frequent problems encountered in residences.
Basement waterproofing involves techniques and materials used to prevent water from penetrating the basement of a house or a building. Waterproofing a basement that is below ground level can require the application of sealant materials, the installation of drains and sump pumps, and more.
The Palms is an apartment building located at 1001 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was one of the first buildings in the United States to use reinforced concrete as one of its major construction materials. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
Cement render or cement plaster is the application of a mortar mix of sand and cement, and water to brick, concrete, stone, or mud brick. It is often textured, colored, or painted after application. It is generally used on exterior walls but can be used to feature an interior wall. Depending on the 'look' required, rendering can be fine or coarse, textured or smooth, natural or colored, pigmented or painted.
Magnesium oxide, more commonly called magnesia, is a mineral that when used as part of a cement mixture and cast into thin cement panels under proper curing procedures and practices can be used in residential and commercial building construction. Some versions are suitable for general building uses and for applications that require fire resistance, mold and mildew control, as well as sound control applications. Magnesia board has strength and resistance due to very strong bonds between magnesium and oxygen atoms that form magnesium oxide crystals.
The Packard Automotive Plant was an automobile-manufacturing factory in Detroit, Michigan, where luxury cars were made by the Packard Motor Car Company and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. Demolition began on building 21 on October 27, 2022, and a second round of demolition began on building 28 on January 24, 2023, which was wrapped up by April 1, however all demolition efforts by the City of Detroit halted, which stopped finishing demolition work of building 21. The Packard Plant currently sits empty and partially demolished, with many parcels still remaining.
Julius Kahn was an American engineer, industrialist, and manufacturer. He was the inventor of the Kahn system, a reinforced concrete engineering technique for building construction. The Kahn system, which he patented in 1903, was used worldwide for housing, factories, offices and industrial buildings. He formed his own company, Trussed Concrete Steel Company, as a manufacturing source for his inventions. He also founded United Steel Company and was chairman of Truscon Laboratories.
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