IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ROOFS AND OTHER PARTS OF BUILDINGS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Broughton, of Albert Villas, Albert.
Road, Dalston, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ROOFS AND OTHER
PARTS OF BUILDINGS."
Scaled the 11th February 1873, and dated the 15th August 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Broughton at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 15th August 1872.
I, THOMAS BROUGHTON, of Albert Villas, Albert Road, Dalston, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ROOFS AND.
OTHER PARTS OF BUILDINGS," to be as follows:—
The object of my Invention is to construct roofs and other parts of
buildings in such a manner that lightness may be combined with great
strength and rigidity, and roominess inside the building, so that addi-
tional accomodation can be obtained, and little or no room will be lost-

page_text: in the roof. To this end I form hollow rafters of sheet iron stamped up
concave with projecting flanges, whereby the two halves of the rafters
may be bolted or rivetted together to form the hollow rafter, which,
when bent to the right curve to form a domed roof, and placed ad situ,
may be filled with liquid cement or concrete, so as to form a solid
rafter.
As regard the roof I fill in the spaces between the rafters with
galvanized sheet iron, zinc, or other suitable material, the edges of which
will be nipped between the flanges of the two halves of the rafters, and
the whole may then be bolted together to form the water-tight roof. A
roof of this description may be adapted to walls constructed of concrete
or brickwork, and it will of course be understood that the lower ends of
the rafters will be properly imbedded in the top of the walls, and the
upper ends may be rivetted either to oppositely placed rafters or to a
suitable ridge plate. I prefer however to construct the outer walls of
the building on the same system as the roof, that is to say, the uprights
will be formed of concave plates rivetted tog eth erat their edges, and
filled with cement or fine concrete, so as to form rigid bars or
columns, and the spaces between the columns will be filled up by
sheet-iron panels, which may be painted externally of any suitable 2
color.
Inside the columns and rafter are rivetted narrow strips of sheet iron,
and on to the projecting edges of these strips are slipped lengths of
match boarding, which, when stained and varnished, will form a neat
lining to the building. The shallow space between the match boarding 2
and outer metal skin of the building may be filled in with sawdust or
other substance which is a bad conductor of heat. The spaces between
the uprights or columns must be wide enough to receive the frames of
the doors and windows.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 30
filed by the said Thomas Broughton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 15th February 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
BROUGHTON, of Albert Villas, Albert Road, Dalston, in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
35

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
3 give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Broughton, Her special
licence that I, the said Thomas Broughton, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Broughton, my execu-
tors, 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 “IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ROOPS AND OTHER PARTS OF BUILDINGS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Broughton, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly 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 Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immc-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Broughton, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say):-
The object of my Invention is to construct roofs and other parts of
buildings in such a manner that lightness may be combined with great
strength and rigidity, and roominess inside the building, so that addi-
tional accommodation can be obtained, and little or no room will be lost
in the roof. To this end I form hollow rafters of sheet iron stamped up
concave with projecting flanges, whereby the two halves of the rafter
may be bolted or rivetted together to form the hollow rafter, which,
when bent to the right curve to form a domed roof, and placed in situ,
may be filled with liquid cement or concrete, so as to form a solid
rafter.
As regards the roof I fill in the spaces between the rafters with
galvanized sheet iron, zinc, or other suitable material, the edges of which

page_text: will be nipped between the flanges of the two halves of the rafter, and
the whole may then be bolted together to form the water-tight roof. A
roof of this description may be adapted to walls constructed of concrete
or brickwork, and it will of course be understood that the lower ends of
the rafters will be properly embedded in the top of the walls, and the 5
upper ends may be rivetted either to oppositely placed rafters or to a
suitable ridge plate. I prefer however to construct the outer walls of
the building on the same system as the roof (that is to say) the uprights
will be formed of concave plates rivetted together at their edges, and
filled with cement or fine concrete, so as to form rigid bars or 1
columns, and the spaces between the columns will be filled up by
shcct-iron panels, which may be painted externally of any suitable
colour.
"
Inside the columns and rafters are rivetted narrow strips of sheet iron,
and on to the projecting edges of these strips are slipped lengths of 1
match boarding, which, when stained and varnished, will form a neat -
lining to the building. The shallow space between the match boarding
and outer metal skin of the building may be filled in with sawdust or
other substance which is a bad conductor of licat. Or these spaces may
be filled in with fine concrete made of fine gravel, or hoggin mixed 2
with Portland cement, or with a concrete composed of selenitic lime and
cement ground in a mortar mill or other suitable apparatus with from
five to six parts by measure of calcined or burnt clay. The spaces
between the uprights or columns must be wide enough to receive the
frames of the doors and windows.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a transverse vertical section
of the roof of a house constructed on the improved plan; Fig. 2 is an
elevation drawn upon an enlarged scale of part of the roof; and Fig. 3
is a horizontal. section or sectional plan view of the same. a, a,
Figures 2 and 3, are the hollow rafters made of two pieces of concave
sheet iron provided with flanges, as shewn in the Drawing, and between
which are secured by rivetting or by screw bolts the metal sheets b, b.
The hollow spaces of the girders are filled in, as already mentioned, with
concrete, so that they will form rigid girders when secured in their
places on the walls. Instead of the metal plates b, b, of zinc or iron the
girders may be connected together by means of a strong wire netting,
which may be embedded in concrete, and finished on both sides to a
smooth face.
2

page_text: Fig. 4 is an inside elevation; and Fig. 5, a sectional plan view of a
wall constructed on the improved plan; c, c, are the uprights, which arc
formed of concave strips of sheet metal stamped up and rivetted together
in the same way as the roof girders. The outside of the wall is formed
of plain or corrugated sheet iron b, b, secured by the edges in the same
way as the roof. On the inner side of the uprights c, c, is rivetted or
otherwise secured the vertical strips of metal d, d, the edges of which
form flanges to receive the grooved ends of the short lengths of match
boarding e, e. The space between the match boarding e, e, and the
external metal plates b, b, is to be filled in with fine concrete, as indi-
cated in Fig. 5, or tempered clay may be rammed in, and the surface of
the match boarding may be stained and varnished, or it may be covered
with paper hangings. The walls of a house constructed in this manner
will bo very strong, and as they will be bad conductors of heat such a
house will be very cool in summer, and warm in winter.
Having now described my Invention of improvements in the con-
struction of roofs and other parts of buildings, and having explained
the manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention
secured to me by Letters Patent, as aforesaid,—
First. Constructing roofs of girders formed in the manner set forth in
combination with metal plates or other equivalent device for filling up
the spaces between the girders, as herein set forth,
Second. I claim constructing the walls of houses or other buildings of
metal uprights formed in the manner above described in combination
with plain or corrugated metal sheets either with or without the
addition of a lining of match boarding, as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Broughton, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, the Fifteenth day of February, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.