A NEW METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING THE ROOPS OF HOUSES, BUILDINGS, SHEDS, AND ALL OTHER ERECTIONS
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Louis
SERBAT, of Saint Saulue, in the Department of the Nord, in France, Chemist,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-fifth day of March, in the ninth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Louis
Serbat, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Louis Serbat, my exors, admors, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Louis Serbat, my exors, adiñors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with and no others, from time to time and at all.
times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "A NEW METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING THE ROOPS OF
HOUSES, BUILDINGS, SHEDS, AND ALL OTHER ERECTIONS;" in which said Letters
Patentis contained a proviso, that I, the said Louis Serbat, shall cause a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said in part recited Letters -Patent, as in and-by-the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Louis Serbat, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
This new method of construction consists in making with pieces of wood a
timber work, forming a series of frames with plane surfaces, upon which plates
of iron are nailed or screwed. The pieces of wood forming the frames should be
placed in such a manner that the plates of iron placed upon them may be
nailed or screwed on the wood on each of the four sides of the plates. The
iron plates should be thin for ordinary roofs, but if the roof is to be used as a
terrace, and to be walked upon, the iron plate should be sufficiently thick for
that purpose. The plates of iron should be placed on the woodwork so that
the upper plates may lie over the lower plates by about one inch and a half,
and in the same manner for the lateral plates; the nails and screws used to
secure the plates to the woodwork should be an inch and a half long, and a
line and a half in diameter, and placed about an inch from each other; the
iron plates thus secured, and their sides covered by the lateral plates, their
dilitation is imperceptible. This new method of construction, of which all the
parts are bound together, and strengthen each other,,has great strength, although
very light. The size of the wood for the woodwork must be according to the.
length. For a length of fifteen feet, I use a size of six inches upon three,
placed lengthways and edgeways. The cross and longitudinal pieces of wood
may be of the same size. The wood work and iron plates should: be done over
with a cement or paint to preserve them from oxidation and decay: Any kind
of preservative paint or coating may be used. When this method is adopted:
for roofs of houses, the iron plates should be lined either with very thin planks,.
or with felt or pasteboard, to prevent the condensation of steam which exists
in the atmosphere in all cases. of metallic roofs, when the temperature falls;
this precaution is not necessary for sheds, nor for any roofs under which the.
air circulates freely.
EXPLANATION OF THE PLAN OF THE NEW METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING ROOFS.
The lines shew the pieces of wood forming the frames, on which the iron.
plates are screwed or nailed. The upper plates should lie over the lower
plates by about one inch and a half, and so should the lateral plates of iron.
Before fixing the iron plates, such parts of them as will be covered should be.
done over with any kind of preservative paint, to preserve them from oxida
tion. The iron plates after being placed should receive several coats of.
preservative paint. The pieces of wood should be at a distance from each.
other of about one foot width or more according to the use that will be made
of the roof. In a length of fifteen feet, the timbers should be four inches upon.

page_text: three. The best inclination for the roof is one foot for a length of fifteen feet;
with this slight inclination the roofs can be easily walked upon.
In witness whereof, I, the said Louis Serbat, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eighteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.
LOUIS (L.S.) SERBAT..
Taken and acknowledged by Louis Serbat
(party hereto) at Paris, in the Kingdom
of France, this 18th day of September
1846, before me,
THOMAS PICKFORD, (L.S.)
Her Britannic Majesty's Consul at Paris.
Enrolled the Twenty-fifth day of September, in the year of our Lord.
One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.