The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-03-06
New RooFs FROM OLD RAGS.

lmpatlence at mouse cleaning time,
drags forth from the clothes closet
fathers long disused or, perhaps, ore
Gently discarded fishing toys or gives
1.-THE contents of the barret to the rag
man, she little realizes perhaps how
much she is contributing in the effort
to overcome the housing shortage. Old
rags may be poor shelter for the hu-
man body, but American ingenuity has
made of them an exceedingly artistic,
fire resistant, and serviceable shelter
for the human habitation.
From rags to roof is far cry But
nevertheless old rags are now covering
more American houses in the form OF
roll roofings and prepared shingles
than all other type of roofing com
bined. Two-thirds of all roofing re-
quirements in the United States are
row supplied from asphalt materials
known az prepared roofing" the
product of a novel and typicaliy
American industry that has been de-
veloped within the past few yeras.
| The thousands OF tons of rags con-
sumed daily by this industry are OBJ
tanned through dealers in all parts Of
the country, and upon their arrival at
the factory are sorted and refined to
pulp similar to that used In the manu-
facture of paper. This pulp is then
| transformed into a fabric or felt, Of
long fibre and great durability. Hot
/ asphalt is forced through every pore
and fibre OF the fabric, and the combi
nation is then coated above and below
with asphalt so as to make it proof
against decay and leakage. Because
asphalt Is a substance that does not
\ dry out. the roll roofings or the shin
giles which are cut from this fabric
do not crack or split. They are resili-
ent and pljable and do not break from
their moorings. AS they contain no
materials that freeze or rust, they are
also proof against frost. The roll roof
ings or shingles are covered with a
crushed slate or rock surface in at
tractive colors, which shields them
from wear and further preserves the
fabric against the ravages Of the
weather. During manufacture, the
crushed slate or rock surface is i'm
bedded in the asphalt as firmly as
pieces of marble are imbedded in a
mosaic floor. The shingles are made
In different sizes and in three colors-
red, green and blue black. BY using
appropriate colors or different combi
nations of co1ors it is possible for the
home builder to get not only fire
safe and serviceable roof, but one
that can be made very artistic and
that will blend nicely with the sur
rounding landscape.
While asphalt may be new as a roof
towering ii is known to have been used
| for man centuries as a building ma
terial, preservative against decay and
water proofing substance. In fact, it
| is the oldest waterproof adhesive
known to man. When the children of
Israel We're suffering under the bond
age OF gypt about 1900 B. c., Phar-
aoh's daughter found the infant Moses
concealed among the bulrushes in
basket made of pepyrus grass and
daubed with asphalt. Noah's Ark,
boat that was 500 feet long and was
made of gopher wood, was caulked.
with asphalt before Noah filled it with
his animals and rode out the flood. The
ancient Egyptians mummified their
dead by wrapping the bodies in cloth
and then coating the cloth with as
phaltic pitch. The sacred chambers,
or tombs of the dead Egyptian kings,
as wen as all the crevices in the pyra-
mids were sealed against the centuries
by means of asphalt. The bones of the
mastodon, sabre-tooth tiger and other
prehistoric mammals recently have
been found perfectly preserved in the
asphalt beds of southern California.
When the prehistoric hunter made
tent of goat skins, sewed with
thongs, or built a goatskin boat, he
waterproofed the seams by coating
them with asphaltic bitumen. History
recalls that the Babylonians crossed
the Euphrates river on RATS made OF
inflated goatskins waterproofed with
bitumen, just as the Kurds are doing
today. The ancient Sumarians who
inhabited the Euphrates valley about
5000 b. c., used asphalt as a cement
or binder for attaching small orna-
ments to sculptures carvings or pot
terry. AS a mortar for brick, asphalt
was used in the construction OF the
Tower of Babel. 1t was Nabopolassar,
king of Babylon, who first used as
phalt as a mortar or filler in the con-
struction of paved streets. His son,
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, continued the prac-
tice and caused to be inscribed in the
pavement the words Traverse These
Streets With JOY" Asphaltic materi
ais were used in the construction of
the walls and foundations for the an
cient city of Media
Thus, it can readily be seen that the
use of asphalt in the manufacture of
roofing. in boat building and in pay
ing has been handed down to American
industry by the ancients. This most
modern application of asphalt to hu-
man needs as a roofing material,
therefore has come in form made
the more necessary by modern hous-
ing conditions.