CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ROOFs
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPII
PAXTON, of Chatsworth, in the County of Derby, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-second
day of July (One thousand eight hundred and fifty), in the fourteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Joseph Paxton, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, Her especial license,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Joseph Paxton, my
exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Paxton, mý
exors, adiñors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey,
Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all Her said Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ROOFs ;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Joseph
Paxton, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, to be inrolled Her said Majesty's High Court of

page_text: 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
Joseph Paxton, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
My Invention relates to improvements in the construction of the descrip-
tion of roofs known as ridge and valley roofs, part of which improvements
are also applicable to other descriptions of roofs.
Shect I. Figure 1 is a plan of a portion of roof constructed according to
my Invention. Figure 2 is a side view of the same, and Figure 3 is a
transverse section. The same letters refer to similar parts in all the Figures.
In this roof the covering which excludes the weather is of glass, and I prefer
to employ such glass in long strips or panes, as shewn in the Drawing, so as
to avoid unnecessary joints. A, A, A, are the panes of glass. B, B, are the sash
bars herein-after more particularly described. C, C, are the ridge pieces.
D, D, are the gutters, also herein-after more particularly described. E, E, are
larger gutters or troughs, which receive the water from the first gutters, I call
.these larger gutters "troughs," to distinguish them from the smaller ones
which have recently become known under the name of the "Paxton gutters."
Figure 4 is an end view of the ridge piece C. The different lengths are
connected by dowel pins inserted in the holes a, a, bored in the end of the
ridge piece.
Figure 5 shews a section of the sash bar drawn to a larger scale. It
will be seen that it is formed with a groove at each side, and that the
projecting edge or fillet 6 on one side is partially removed.
Figure 6 is a section of a wider sash bar, which is constructed in a
similar manner, and which is introduced at intervals, as shewn at B', B',
Figure 1.
.
Figure 7 is a section of the Paxton gutter D, which is formed of one solid
piece of wood, grooved at the top, for receiving the rain which falls upon the
roof, and grooved on the two sides, for receiving the moisture which condenses
upon the under surfaces of the glass. By making the gutter of one solid
piece of wood, I find that it is easier to make it water-tight than if it were
formed of several pieces of wood. Notches are cut in the edges of this gutter
for receiving the ends of the sash bars, as shewn in Figure 1. The ridge

page_text: picces C, C, are also notched for the same purpose. F, F, in Figure 2, are
two small cast-iron struts or brackets, and G is a wrought-iron tie rod passing
under the brackets and through a sinall cast-iron shoe E at each end, where
it is screwed and provided with a nut. By screwing up these nuts the tic-rod
is tightened and the gutter is cambered up in the middle, so that any water
entering the gutter will flow both ways from the centre towards the ends.
At the same time the tie rod and struts add greatly to the strength of the
gutter.
Figure 8 shews on a larger scale a side view of one of the gutters D, and
half of the trough E, the other half of the trough and the gutter which rests
upon it being in section. In Figure 27, Sheet II., I have shewn a method of
trussing and cambering the gutter from above instead of from below. In
Figure 8 the cast-iron shoe H is partly let into the bottom of the gutter, and
is secured by a bolt and nut I, passing through the gutter and through a
small plate of wrought or cast iron J, let into the gutter. K. is another bolt
and nut, passing through the plate J, gutter D, trough E, and a small
iron plate L, by means of which the gutter D is firmly secured to the
trough E.
Figure 9 shews an end view of the gutter and a longitudinal section of the
trough. In Figures 8 and 9, M is a sole plate, on which the two gutters
D, D, rest.
Figure 10 is a plan, and Figure 11 an end view of this sole plate, which
has a circular hole d in the centre surrounded by a beading e on the lower
surface. The edge of the plate is also surrounded by a beading f on its.
upper surface, and this beading is let into a transverse notch in the under
surface of the gutters. A semicircular groove g, Figures 8 and 9, is cut in
the end of the gutter, so that the two gutters, in coming together, form a
circular opening through which the water falls into the trough E. Two-
small grooves h are cut in the end of the gutter in a sloping direction from.
the internal gutters, for the purpose of conducting the water from them into.
the trough. The hole d in the sole plate allows of the passage of the water
into the trough, and the beading e and f prevent the water from escaping over
the edges of the trough.
In erecting the roof, the troughs E are first fixed in their proper positions,
being supported by walls or by columns and girders, or otherwise; and the
sole plates M are then placed upon them, and the Paxton gutters upon
the sole plates. The bolts and nuts K are then introduced into their
holes and screwed up. The ridge piece C is then raised into its proper.
position, and secured and supported by placing the wide sash bars B', B',-in

page_text: their respective notches in the ridge piece and Paxton gutter, where they are
fixed by a nail at each end. The grooves in the wide sash bars and ridge
piece are filled with rather soft putty before fixing them, and a number of the
narrow sash bars are prepared, with their grooves filled with putty. The wide
sash bars and ridge piece having been fixed as already mentioned, the work-
man takes up a pane of glass and presses its edges into the grooves, and he
then takes up a narrow sash bar and presses it on to the exposed edge of the
glass until he is enabled to place its ends into their respective notches in-the
ridge piece and Paxton gutter, where he secures it by two nails. He then
takes up another pane of glass and proceeds in a similar manner until he
àrrives at the next wide sash bar, where he is prevented from introducing the
glass in this manner on account of both sash bars being already fixed. The
Inst pane is therefore inserted by pushing it so far into the groover, in
Figure 6, that the other edge of the glass may pass the fillot 6 in the next sash
bar and rest upon the lower part of the groove, into which it is then pushed,
and thus is secured at both ends. The putty is smoothed with a knife, and
the glass is thus very firmly and permanently fixed. This facility of fixing the
glass is obtained by the removal of a portion of the fillet 6 from one side of the
sash bar, as already described. In the event of a pane of glass being acci-
dentally broken a new pane can be inserted in a similar manner without the
necessity of cutting the sash bar.
The gutters are readily manufactured from pieces of wood of rectangular
section by a machine consisting of three circular cutters i, k, l, arranged as
shown in Figure 12, Sheet II., in which the red lines shew the form of the
rectangular piece of wood which is pushed through between the cutters by
means of grooved rollers or otherwise. Figure 18 is a sido view of the cutter i.
The end of the gutter is cut to the right length by means of a circular saw,
supported on a carriage sliding up and down in a frame. In the centre of the
saw are fixed two cutters, shewn at m, m, in Figure 14, which is a side view,
The saw is put in
and in Figure 15, which is an edge view of the saw,
notion and is made to descend upon the gutter, which it cuts off to the proper
length, and, continuing to descend, the cutters m, m, come into action and cut
out the semicircular notch or water way shewn at 9 in Figures 8 and 9.
I will now proceed to describe an improved method of constructing ridge
and furrow roofs by placing the covering which excludes the weather within
the truss which supports it, instead of placing the covering upon or above the
truss as in the ordinary construction of roofs, by which improved method I am
enabled to construct roofs of great elegance of appearance and of small depth.
In Sheet II. of the Drawings I have shewn various forms of these improved
.

page_text: roots. Figure 16 is a side view of a wrought iron truss constructed on this
principle. Figure 17 is a plan, and Figure 18 a transverse section of the
same. P is an iron bar or collar beam, whose section resembles the letter T.
E is the tie rod of the truss, which is made of plate iron, and in the form of a
trough. Q, Q, are the struts and ties of T-iron rivetted to the collar beam P,
and connected at bottom by a strap R rivetted to them. This strap is con-
nected by a bolt and nut S to the cast-iron shoe U, which is firmly bolted to
the flanges of the trough E. A strong truss is thus formed, and the length and
number of struts employed may be varied according to circumstances. The
shoe U is formed to receive the ends of the Paxton gutters D, which are con-
structed as already described. On each side of the struts Q is placed a half sash
bar B, which is secured by screws passing through it and through holes marle
in the strut into the half sash bar on the opposite side of the strut, as shewn in
section on a larger scale in Figure 19. C is the ridge piece, which is secured
to the truss by a bolt and nut V at each end, passing through a strap W through
the ridge piece and through a small plate X, which is introduced between the
collar beam and strut before they are rivetted together. The remaining sash
bars are fixed and the glass introduced in the manner already described.
The collar beam may commence at the first ridge, as shewn in Figure 16, or
where several trusses follow one another, they may be all connected together,
and the troughs E being also firmly connected together the strength of the
whole will be much increased. When the two ends of the truss are fixed on
the same level the trough E should be slightly cambered upwards in the
centre, so as to insure a free flow for the water. This is easily effected in
putting the truss together. In cases where the open trough E within the
building may be considered objectionable, it may be covered over with metal
plates or otherwise; or, in place of a trough, a tube may be employed, and
the shoe made of a suitable form to connect to the tube.
Figure 20 is a side of another truss, with the covering contained with it,
and Figure 21 is a transverse section of the same. In this case the cover-
ing is of sheet iron or other metal bent into large undulations or corrugations.
P is the collar beam and E the trough tie rod. Q, Q, are the struts or
ties, each made of two pieces of angle iron rivetted together with small
distance pieces introduced between them. The angle irons are rivetted to
the T-iron collar beam at top, and to the trough E at bottom. The curved
plates of sheet iron Y are rivetted to the trough at the bottom and to the
struts Q at the side, and are introduced between the collar beam P and
struts Q before they are rivetted together. Holes are cut through the sheet
iron covering where it rests upon the trough, and the edge of the hole is bent

page_text: down a little, as shewn in section on a larger scale in Figure 22. The
water is thus conducted into the trough.
Figure 23 is a side view of another truss, in which the covering follows the
direction of the struts, but is not attached directly to them. The collar
beam P, struts Q, trough E, and shoes U, as here shewn, are connected
together by bolts and nuts, so that they may be taken apart for convenience
of transport and readily put together when required. The ridge is fixed in
a box or shoe at Z, and the Paxton gutters rest upon the lower shoe, as in
Figures 16, 17, and 18. The struts are bolted to these shoes.
Figure 24 is a side view, and Figure 25 a transverse section of a portion
of a truss adapted for large spans. The struts are here continued above the
ridges and attached to the collar beam P, and upright rods or queen tics n, n,
are added to strengthen the truss. In other respects the truss is similar to
that shewn in Figures 16, 17, and 18.
Figure 26 is a Diagram of a portion of a truss adapted for very large spans.
I have shewn those forms of trusses as being those which I prefer, but
other forms may be employed, provided the covering consists of a succession
of ridges and valleys, and is contained within the truss which supports any
two or more of such ridges and valleys.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise forms and details shown in the Drawings; but I
claim as of my invention,-
Firstly, the constructing the external and internal gutters of roofs of one
piece of wood, as above described, instead of building them up of several pieces
of wood.
Secondly, I claim the cambering of the gutters by means of trusses, so as to
facilitate the flow of the water, as above described.
Thirdly, I claim the making the sash bars with a groove at cach side, and
a portion of the fillet removed from one side, as above described.
Fourthly, I claim the method or methods herein-before described of con-
structing roofs so that the covering which excludes the weather is included
within the truss which supports it, instead of being placed upon it as in the
ordinary construction of roofs.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Paxton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of January, in the year of our
Tad One thousand oight hundred and fifty-one.
JOSEPH (L.s.) PAXTON.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-second day of January,
in the year of our Lord 1851, the aforesaid Joseph Paxton camo before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-second day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.