Improvements in Roofing Materials.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Roofing Materials.
I, JOSEPH N. HOPPER, of Pawnee City, in the County of Pawnee and State of
Nebraska, United States of America, Dentist, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of my invention is to provide a new roofing which shall be impervious
to water, strong, flexible, resisting blows and abrasions, easily repaired, conveniently
put up in rolls, and which will neither crack from the winter's cold nor soften and
run from the summer's heat. It consists in a layer of woven wire or reticulated
material having its interstices or meshes filled and closed with a plastic mass, com-
bined with a backing or second layer of fabric saturated with a similar filling
material and incorporated with, or adhering to, the woven wire layer, as hereinafter
fully described.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this
Specification, in which
Figure 1 is a face view of a section of woven wire cloth.
Figure 2 is a face view of the same, after having had its meshes filled with the
plastic compound.
Figure 3 is a sectional view of the roofing material, as completed by the addition
of a backing of fabric saturated with the plastic compound and adhering to the
wire cloth, and
Figure 4 is a view of a piece of the completed material, with the edge turned
over to shew both sides.
In the drawing, A represents a section of woven wire whose meshes are to be
completely filled with a plastic compound which dries as a tough strong integument
making a perfectly tight impervious or imperforate sheet A¹ which is capable of
holding or turning off water without allowing any of it to pass through.
The composition which I use for the purpose of filling the meshes of the woven
wire is two parts, by weight, of vulcanite rubber, or india rubber prepared for
vulcanization, and one part asphaltum, dissolved in one gallon of gasoline, or other
solvent, such as turpentine, to which may be added any desired coloring matter.
The roll of wire cloth is immersed in this solution, and as it is unwound the thick
adhering mass of the compound perfectly fills the interstices and clings by surface
attraction till it dries, which soon occurs by reason of the volatile nature of the
solvent, leaving the solid matters in a tough pliant consistency closely tied into and
perfectly filling all the meshes so as to make the impervious sheet A¹
The composition for filling the wire cloth as above set forth is a very efficient and
desirable one as it shews no change or deterioration under extremes of temperature
and is characterized by great strength toughness and permanence, but I do not
confine my invention to the specific formula of its composition, as other filling
material may serve a good purpose in this connection.
To the sheet A¹ of filled wire cloth is then applied a backing B of canvas or

page_text: some fibrous fabric. This layer is either saturated with the same compound or has
it applied to one side by a brush and the two layers are then passed through rollers
or otherwise. pressed into intimate union causing the two layers to adhere as one
thickness. To the exposed or weather side, I may, if desired apply a coating of
asbestos.
This material is put up in rolls for the market and is designed to be applied to
the sheathing of the roof in strips, whose edges are overlapped and tacked down,
and the seam then filled and made water tight by being well painted with the same
compound that is used in the manufacture of the material.
In defining my invention with great clearness I would state that I am aware that
wire cloth has been provided with a filling of linseed oil and litharge, and I make
no broad claim to a filled wire cloth simply. I have found, however, that by the
addition of the backing B of fibrous material, very great advantages are secured
and some serious objections obviated. Thus, for instance, it permits accidental holes
to be readily stopped up with the compound, both in the manufacture of the article
and in the application of it to the roof, for the fibrous backing will, if the hole be
made on the roof, close around the hole and hold and retain, till dry, any filling that
may be applied thereto. The backing B also cushions the wire cloth and prevents
abrasion and sticking when put up in rolls.
Instead of using wire cloth, any other reticulated material with open meshes may
be employed.
It is obvious that my roofing material may be applied to various other uses as a
waterproof or weatherproof material.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. A roofing material composed of a layer of reticulated net or webbing having
its interstices or meshes filled with, and retaining, a plastic compound, combined
with an adhering layer or backing of fibrous material, substantially as shewn and
described.
2. A roofing material composed of a layer of woven wire having its interstices
or meshes filled with, and retaining, a plastic compound, combined with a layer or
backing of fibrous material also coated with the same plastic filling compound and
pressed into adhering union with the woven wire layer, substantially as shewn and
described.
Dated February 10th 1891.

page_text: F10.1.