A NEW OR IMPROVED ASPHALTIC FABRIC FOR ROOFING AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Gedge, of No. 11, Wellington
Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the
Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED ASPHALTIC FABRIC FOR ROOFING AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES."-A communication from abroad by Charles
Gaudefroy, fils, of Beaucamps-le-Vieux (Somme), France, Merchant.
Sealed the 3rd August 1875, and dated the 5th February 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Gedgo
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 5th February 1875.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD GEDGE, of No. 11, Wellington Street, Strand,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED ASPHALTIC FABRIC FOR
ROOFING AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," a communication to me from abroad by
Charles Gaudefroy, fils, of Beaucamps-le-Vieux (Somme), France,
Merchant, to be as follows: —
This asphaltic fabric is composed of a textile fabric manufactured
" thibaude," and used for
from animal hair or flock, such as is known as
Jaying under carpets. This fabric is steeped in a bath of gas tar, at.

page_text: say 30° or 40°, pressed between two cylinders to expel the excess of tar,
then spread upon the ground and sprinkled with peat ashes, care being
taken to make them enter the fabric which is allowed to dry a little;
again steeped in a bath similar to the first; then again pressed, spread out
to thoroughly dry in the air, and finally before rolling it up it is sprinkled
with fine river sand. The manner in which it is used for roofs is very
important. The boards usually placed upon the rafters are dispensed
with, the rafters are placed about a foot apart and the fabric is at once
nailed thereon. The edges of the fabric are brought close togther and
the joint is covered by laths which are afterwards coated with tar.
Vegetable tar, asphalt, and analogous matters may be substituted in
lieu of the gas tar, and the peat ashes be replaced by vegetable and other
ashes, earth, or an equivalent.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Gedge in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 4th August 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD GEDGE, of No. 11, Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in
the thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Edward Gedge,
Her special licence that I, the said William Edward Gedge, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Edward Gedge, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle
of Man, an Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED ASPHALTIC FABRIC FOR
ROOFING AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," a communication to me from abroad by
Charles Gaudefroy, fils, of- Beaucamps-le-Vieux (Somme), France,

page_text: par-
Merchant, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Edward Gedge, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Gedge, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
The tarred paper used for roofing lasts but a very short time and needs
frequent renovation; bitumenized felt lasts longer, but its price is
relatively high, and both require that the roof be first completely
covered in with thin boards, thereby increasing the cost.
This Invention relates to a novel fabric, termed by the Inventor
"tapis asphaltique" or asphaltic carpet, and intended to replace
advantageously the prepared paper, pasteboard, and felt in ordinary use.
Its composition permits its being laid immediately upon the rafters
without battens or thin boards, whereby a great saving is effected; its
durability is at least equal, if not superior, to that of the best felt.
According to the degree of strength it is desired to give to the product.
a single or a double warp textile fabric is used. This asphaltic carpet is
obtained by steeping the woven fabric, say of animal hair, in a bath of gas
tar raised to a temperature of from 30 to 40 degrees "centigrade," or
86 to 104° Fah.; when it is sufficiently soaked it is passed between
two cylinders in order to press out the excess of tar, it is then spread out
and sprinkled with peat ashes which are carefully made to penetrate
into the open spaces of the woven fabric, so as to render it compact; it
is then allowed to partly dry in order to obtain a certain consistency, and
again immersed in a bath similar to the first; it is then again passed
between the cylinders, spread out, sprinkled with fine river sand, and
allowed to thoroughly dry. A very strong and durable article is thus
obtained, one which may be stretched when required without fear of
tearing it, and which is most suitable for the purpose for which it
is principally intended.
The application of this fabric to a roof is as follows: _As above stated

page_text: it is not necessary to lay battens or thin boards upon the rafters; these
latter being laid about a foot apart one of the edges of the asphaltic
fabric is nailed upon the first rafter, only one half of its thickness being
covered thereby; the middle of the fabric rests upon the second and
third rafter, and the other edge is nailed upon half of the thickness of 5
the fourth rafter and so on. The joints formed by the juxtaposition of
the edges of the asphaltic fabric are then covered by laths, nailed on and
coated with tar.
This improved asphaltic fabric may not only be used for roofing, but
also for the numerous uses to which are now applied the products it is 1
intended to replace. It may be laid upon any kind of ground to preserve
articles or materials from damp; it may form a flooring or be laid
beneath the flooring boards as a preservative from damp.
According to the intended use of the fabric the gas tar may be
replaced by vegetable tar, bitumen, asphalt, and analogous matters, to 1
give it more or less consistency and remove the whole or part of the
smell.
The peat ashes, which are preferably used, may also be replaced by
other vegetable ashes, plaster, clay, or an equivalent.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of the Invention 2
communicated to me as aforesaid, I wish it to be understood that I do
not limit myself to the use of this improved asphaltic fabric for roofing,
but propose to employ it for every purpose to which it may be found
applicable, that I reserve the right of substituting other equivalent
matters in lieu of those enumerated, and that I claim as secured to me a
by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, the manufacture of
the asphaltic fabric, substantially as herein-before described, and also its
application to roofs in the manner above specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Gedge, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of August, in a
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy..