Floor tiles are set by being firmly pressed into the mortar bed and then tamped until perfectly level. When the bed is sufficiently set, the joints are grouted with pure cement and cleaned off with sawdust or fine shavings.
Wall tiles are set by two methods called "floating" and "butter ing." In floating the tiles, a portion of the bed is spread on the wall, and the tile placed in position and tamped until firmly united. consists of spreading the mortar on the back of each tile, which is then placed against the prepared wall and tapped gently until it is united with the bed. When the tiles are all set, by either process, the joints are carefully washed out and filled with heene's cement. When fixtcpres are to be secured to the walls, as for plumbing etc., a wood piece should be secured to the wall, flush with the rough bed, and the tiles laid over it, to be bored for the fastenings.
Floor Finish. For halls and corridors, mosaic, tile, or terrazzo floors are to be preferred, but for offices, nothing is better than a wooden floor. Rift hard pine, birch, maple, or oak make good wearing floors, and when laid on sleepers securely bedded in the concrete, with no chance for the air to get beneath the floor, are in little clanger of being consumed by fire. Wooden floors should be matched and tightly laid, and treated with as little oil or inflammable varnish as possible, depending upon constant care, for preservation, rather than a great amount of finishing.
Counters. For banking rooms and corporation offices, counters of greater or less extent and elaboration will be required These are usually made of wood, but may be constructed of other materials, a wooden top being always preferred. The use of enameled bricks or tiles for the base of the counters with a wooden top makes a solid structure, while polished marble may be used of almost any degree of expense.
Grille Work. An important feature of a modern building is the grille work mltde of various metals and used for protection, decoration, or effect to a great extent. For exterior ornament or protection, grilles will be found principally in door or window openings, and in this applica tion, wrought-iron grilles are generally. used. Window
grilles are generally set in the depth of the stone or brick jamb of the window, as in Fig. 180, but are sometimes put over the opening on the outside face of the wall. This is usual if the window is small. (Fig. 187.) The fastenings of grilles should be secure and lasting; and they should in general be set in a rim of iron with hinges and locks, so as to allow easy access for .cleaning the windows. (Fig. 1SS).
Door grilles are sometimes glazed on the back with plate glass, so as to form a weatherproof door having the effect of the grille, and when this is to he done, care must be taken to bed the glass care fully, as the expansion and the jar of closing are likely to crack the glass.
The interior use of grilles will be found chiefly in the protection of elevators or lifts, and the exclusion of the public from the working portions of offices and banks. Elevator grilles are generally made of wrought iron, and they should be at least 7 feet G inches high on the sides and carried from floor to ceiling in front of the doors of the car; and all portions within easy reach of the public, where there is danger that the hand might pass through, to he injured by the moving parts of the elevator or counterweight, should be of a fine pattern or protected by fine netting. The main support of the vator grilles will be found in the corner posts which support the elevators, or the stairs which often enclose them on three sides, and the pattern of the grille work should be stout enough to stand rigid between these supports. Wrought-iron grille work of all kinds should be carefully inspected to see that the scrolls are well turned, that welding or riveting is neatly done, and that the whole section is tightly put to gether. Cast-iron patterns must be inspected for smoothness and clearness of the ornamental parts, and an even thickness of metal should be required for all similar parts.
The counter and office grilles are often made of thin steel, bent into various patterns and riveted together, and this construction is also used for elevator cars where lightness is a valuable feature.