The Moving picture world (November 1921)

992 MOVING PICTURE WORLD December 24, 1921 How to Secure Quietness, Resiliency and Durability in Floor Coverings IT is essential that floors in moving picture theatres should have, above all other features, the qualities of noiselessness and durability. If, in addition, they are sanitary, easy to keep clean, attractive to look at, and reasonably low in cost, so much the better. Linoleum and cork carpet floors have all these qualities to a remarkable extent, and a brief description of the manufacture of such materials will show why. In the first place, the chief raw materials used are linseed oil, finely ground cork, rosin, gums and the proper coloring pigments. These materials, of course, have to be carefully selected and prepared before they are mixed together. In manufacturing cork carpet, more cork is used than in linoleum, with the obvious result that the finished product is more springy and resilient. Thus, it is peculiarly adapted for noiseless floors, although linoleum is not far behind in this respect. Method of Manufacture After the raw materials have had their preliminary treatment, they are carefully ground and mixed together by heavy mixing machinery. The resultant composition is firmly pressed on a heavy burlap base, either by hydraulic pressure or by running the "mix" between two heavy steel rollers, which revolve in opposite directions. Thus, long sheets of linoleum or cork carpet are turned out, and these are hung, festoon-like in high, narrow dry-rooms. Here the goods remain at temperatures ranging up to 160 degrees Fahenheit for periods of time which vary according to the type and thickness of the linoleums. After drying out sufficiently in such rooms, the linoleum is pulled out, inspected, trimmed, made into rolls, crated and shipped. It is quite obvious that any material containing a large proportion of cork is bound to have resilient qualities. In linoleum and cork carpet, these characteristics are accentuated by the linseed oil used. This, before being mixed with the other infredients, is made into a very elastic form of oxidation; and although it acts as a binder, along with the gums and rosin, tor the cork and coloring materials, it is also very strong in producing springy, rubber-like characteristics in the finished linoleum. The thorough, intimate mixing which the materials undergo insures not only a smooth, *.ven surface, easy to clean and to keep sanitary, but also a toughness and durability proven by linoleum floors that have been in use for over twenty years, and still show no signs of wearing out. Types and Colors Suitable for Theatres There are many kinds of linoleum and oimiiar floor-coverings, but for moving picture theatres battleship linoleum and cork carpet adapt themselves peculiarly well. These floorcoverings may be secured in several colors, such as brown, green, gray or terra cotta. However, due to the fact that the brown colorings show footprints less than the others, and are consequently easier to keep clean and less expensive to maintain, they are by far the most popular shades of linoleum. In cork carpets, however, the green colors are most often used. Battleship linoleum, which is really thick plain-colored linoleum, is usually manufactured in three thicknesses, standards for which have long been established by the United States Navy on account of the fact that linoleum is frequently used as a deck covering on men-of-war. Resilient Qualities. These thicknesses are one quarter inch, three-sixteenths of an inch and one-eighth of an inch, and linoleum supplied to the navy not are decorated and draperies of grey and old standard thicknesses is specified, but must also undergo successfully several severe tests for weight, smoothness of texture, evenness of seasoning, and resilient qualities. Some makes of linoleum always conform to the rigid navy requirements, others do only occasionally, so that the purchaser, in order to make sure that the highest quality is obtained, will do well to investigate and secure linoleum that is al How Franklin Regards Ideas on Construction Harold B. Franklin, managing director of Shea's Hippodrome, Buffalo, thinks so highly of the building sections of the Moving Picture World that, for several years, he has clipped the photos and stories on all the new theatres from the various issues, and has pasted them in a large scrap book. He has a full description of every important house built in the country during the past several years. The book of clippings has been of inestimable value and the Shea Amusement Company will find it a rich storehouse of ideas when the time comes for the erection of its new Metropolitan, which, it is rumored, will be veiy soon. Mr. Franklin thinks so much of the book that he keeps it in the Hippodrome safe. ways manufactured and guaranteed to meet the Navy Department specifications. Plain linoleum of good quality may also be secured in grades thinner than the recognized standard battleship grades. Such goods are suitable for floors where traffic is light, but cannot be classed as permanent floors for such places as theatre lobbies or aisles. Cork Carpet and Its Uses Cork carpet is usually made approximately one-quarter of an inch thick. There are no Government specifications or standards on cork carpet, and no great differences in the quality of such floor-coverings as made by the several manufacturers. Cork carpet, however, is primarily intended for floors of extreme softness and resiliency, and therefore, the brand of this material that proves to be the most yielding and comfortable underfoot, other qualities being equal, is the logical purchase. Cork carpet will not give quite the length of service that battleship linoleum of equal thickness gives, but its cost is considerably less and its resilient qualities are so pronounced as to make it the ideal floor covering in certain places. There are several places in the average moving picture theatre where linoleums or cork carpet make the most efficient floors, after everything is taken into consideration. In the lobby, it is not necessary to have an absolutely noiseless floor, yet durability and appearance are primary considerations. Therefore, one quarter inch or three-sixteenths inch battleship linoleum, in cither brown or green, will make a wonderfully suitable floor, and will give satisfactory service indefinitely, in spite of heavy traffic and severe wear. The Cost Problem. Linoleum floors can be installed at an appreciably lower cost than hardwood, marble, or really satisfactory composition floor. They will never chip or crack, and in case of fire will only smoulder. There is absolutely no danger of fires starting on such floors from carelessness with lighted matches or cigarettes. Such floors, in addition, are easily kept clean and attractive in appearance, which constitutes a great advantage. Cork Carpet for Quiet and Resiliency For the interior of the moving picture theatre, cork carpet is the logical floor material, chiefly on account of its noiseless qualities. The patrons of a theatre floored with this material will never be disturbed by the footsteps of people entering and leaving the place, while the work of ushers and attendants will be made more pleasant and efficient because of the resilient floors on which they walk. In new theatres, or where it is possible to remove the seats temporarily, the best plan would b« to install cork carpet over the entire interior floor surface. Not so satisfactory, but far better than nothing, is to cover the aisles and rear areas only. This prevents most of the noise, but, of course, not absolutely all of it. Proper Laying is Important. When having linoleum and cork carpet installed, see to it that the materials are cemented (irmly to the floor-base. It is not enough to tack the goods down or to cement them only at the edges. Such installations are by no means permanent. It makes no difference whether the theatre floor is concrete or wood, in either case cementing the linoleum or cork carpet "solid" is the proper procedure, and the only way to secure a permanent floor of this kind. Another thing to be sure of is that the floorcovering is laid by a responsible and experienced firm and the latest methods of laying employed. Poor laying will ruin the best material, so one should make sure of having the work done by a concern that can guaran tee a satisfactory result. Picture Theatres Scheduled to Open Date Name Location Capacity Manager in Charge Dec. 17 Lindlay Philadelphia, Pa 1,200 J. A. Ridgeway, 5th & Rockland Sts., Phila., Pa. Dec. 19 Regent Harrisburg, Pa 1,800 Peter Magcro, Regent Theatre, Harrisburg, Pa. Dec. 25 Grand Marion, 111 1,500 Thomas Reed, care Reed & Venn, Du Quoin, III. Dec. 31 Glenside Glenside, Pa 800 Nixon-Nirdlinger, 16th & Walnut Sts., Phila., Pa. Jan. 1 Unnamed McMinnville, Ore 750 T. O. Neill, McMinnville, Ore. Jan. 1 Unnamed Casper, Wyo 1,020 Mr. Brennan, Casper, Wyo. Jan. 1 Hall Theatre Centralia, 111 1,000 W. J. Hall, Centralia, 111. Jan. 15 Lafayette Square Buffalo, N. Y 4,000 M. Slotkin, Monument Theatre Corp., Buffalo, N. Y. Jan. 15 New Orpheum Hannibal, Mo 1,600 C. E. Lilly, Fifth St., Hannibal, Mo.