Glass brick developed by Hemingray Division of Owens Illinois

New Industry Is Likely to

Bring World Market Here

Glass Bricks, Manufactured by Owens-Illinois, Shipped to

Entire Country; May Mean Much to Community.

By a Muncie Press Staff Writer.

Would you like to own a dwelling, an office building, a garage or a factory structure that —

Would stand as long as the pyra­mids of Egypt?

Would never have to be repainted or repaired?

Would be so resistant to heat or cold that it would lighten mate­rially your heating and air-condi­tioning bills?

Would supply so much diffused sunlight to the interior of the build­ing that your electric lighting costs would be greatly reduced?

Would be forever beautiful?

Well, then, all that has become possible through the use of a build­ing material perfected in Muncie and now being manufactured here.

The material is glass bricks that are being turned out by the Hemingray Division of the Owens-Illinois Glass Company and that are being shipped to various parts of the country.

Soon, it is predicted by those ac­quainted with this new material, a nation-wide, perhaps world-wide market will be opened to it that is likely to mean much to Muncie as well as to the building trades.

Now nobody connected with Owens-Illinois Company has said a building constructed of glass bricks will last as long as the Egyptian pyramids. The company's statements are modest and inclined to under­estimate rather than to overesti­mate the value of its product, but that opinion of glass bricks' endur­ance qualities was gained by the writer after viewing reports upon the scientific tests that have been made of it. So if you build a house of it and 2,000 years hence find the bricks are beginning to show a bit of wear, don’t blame it upon the company.

Eight Tests, No "Bugs."

The bricks have just gone through eight major tests in the engineering department of Purdue University, these following many and varied laboratory tests made elsewhere, and not a "bug" has been found anywhere. These tests were for wearing qualities, tensile strength, load strength, wind resistance and a lot of things like that which engineers and architects talk about but which laymen don’t know much about.

But take the wind-resistance test. There are a lot of detailed figures about that, just as about the numerous other tests, but the meaning of it is that a structure made of glass bricks is virtually tor­nado-proof. So if a tornado were to come along and you lived in a glass house you would merely sit in it and look out at the frame houses, automobiles and trees blowing by, if you were that interested, but if not interested you would continue with your knitting, for you would or should feel utterly safe. Now the test which was made by subjecting the bricks to a wind machine, showed the material was able to resist successfully an unbelievable pressure, but the company man­ager of the Hemingray Division modestly claims that a building of this material would stand up under a wind blowing 100 miles an hour, knowing very well it could do much better than that.

For demonstration purposes, sev­eral walls made of glass bricks and one building have been erected at the Hemingray factory. One who is within the building during daylight is impressed by the diffusion of soft light within and the total absence of shadows in the room. Stand in front of a wall and your figure does not cast the slightest shadow upon the floor, in contrast with the effect produced by the sun’s shining through ordinary window glass.

Nothing; to Rot or Rust.

The reason a building of this ma­terial should last practically forever it because it not only is hard with the hardness of stone, but also be­cause in its make-up there is noth­ing that can rust or rot — no wood, no steel, no iron, nothing upon which the elements can have an effect.

The bricks can be made in any color the customer wishes. If he de­sires plain "white" glass, he can have it or if he prefers green, red, black, blue, purple or any other color, or the pastel shades, he may have any one or all of them.

There are samples in the Hemingray factory that have the appear­ance of cathedral glass. A church building composed of such materials might have the effect of being made entirely of stained glass. And it you wish artistic designs on your glass bricks, that also can be ar­ranged. The coloring is put into the glass as it is manufactured and will remain as long as the building stands.

To the economical this material has a particular appeal because once installed there is no upkeep unless for washing the material should its outer surface become soiled. One could then take a damp cloth and clean the surface easily. But no painting and repainting. That is over forever when the bricks are made.

The economical also will be pleased with the thought that a building constructed of glass bricks can be heated and cooled at a minimum of expense because of the perfect insu­lation of the walls. A compara­tively small heating or air-condi­tioning plant will answer most needs. And the soft, mellow light should make it possible to minimize the use of electricity for lighting any structure during the day.

"But supposing the customer, for some reason or other, should not want this natural light in the build­ing?" W. Paul Zimmerman, the lo­cal plant manager, was asked.

"That, too, could be arranged," he replied. "It is just a matter of coloring."

Process Perfected Here.

The processes of manufacturing glass bricks which were perfected in the Muncie plant after the Owens-Illinois company had been experi­menting with it in some of its other factories five years, are interesting to the layman. These processes are covered by patents held by the com­pany. A brick consists of hollow halves separately molded. These halves come out upon a line from the tank at a temperature of 1,000 de­grees and are welded together at that temperature by molten metal. This high temperature creates a partial vacuum within the brick. Of course what air remains within the brick could not contain the slightest degree of moisture; hence there never is any possibility of the brick’s clouding or "sweating." Likewise the exterior of the glass also s moisture proof.

As there are no joints in the wall, due to the absence of such materials as metal or iron, no air can seep into a building of this construction through the walls, which feature en­ables the occupant of the building to regulate perfectly, by other means, the air flow and the tem­perature. It appears to be perfection in insulation.

The new bricks can be worked with other building materials if that is desired. Thus, if the customer wishes his building trimmed with fancy bricks of the regulation kind, the glass ones will work perfectly into his plan. And no specialist is required to lay glass bricks. Any competent bricklayer can do the job. If the building owner wishes to have windows of the usual kind, he can have those.

The Hemingray Division has add­ed a department of architecture to its other departments, and a com­petent architect is prepared to ad­vise with those contemplating build­ing and to make explanations to architects, contractors and others interested.

Orders Are Beginning.

Orders are coming to the Hemin­gray plant for this new building ma­terial largely as a result of word-of-mouth advertising and from exhibits placed in the exposition at San Die­go, Calif., and in Denver, but the Owens-Illinois company within a few days will have several pages of ad­vertising in trade and technical magazines explaining the product in detail.

Much new machinery and equipment have been set up in the local plant and a new tank may be in­stalled soon, but there will be no building expansion there immedi­ately. That, however, likely will be a development of the future if orders warrant it. A number of buildings constructed of glass bricks now are up or in process of erection in vari­ous parts of the country and the lo­cal office receives many inquiries by mail daily.

The Hemingray factory continues its business of supplying the tele­graph and telephone companies of the United States and foreign coun­tries with glass insulators for poles. It recently has developed a new kind of insulator that is said to be superi­or to the old and orders of late have been plentiful.

The Hemingray factory was bought about two years ago of the Hemingray Glass Company by the Owens-Illinois Glass Company. Its manager, Mr. Zimmerman, for many years was assistant manager of the Hemingray company.