IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO ROOFING SHINGLES to be as follows
Year: 1884

page_text: I WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co Patent Agents
Southampton Buildings in the County of Middle-ex do hereby declare the nature
of said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO ROOFING SHINGLES
to be as follows:-
"
This invention relates to metallic shingles for roofing and has for its object to
provide diamond shaped sheet metal shingles for roofing purposes, which can be
formed of square pieces of metal of such construction that the shingles of one
course will overlap and cover the nail holes in the course next below and the points
of each shingle will be held down firmly and so on throughout the extent of the
roof.
Heretofore it has been. found difficult to use square metal shingles for roofing
purposes of a construction adapted to be laid to form a diamond shaped roofing
with no exposed nail-holes and without perpendicular joints, for the reason that
the points of the shingles would be apt to spring out of place thereby leaving an
opening for water to enter between the courses.
b
In some cases hooks have been formed at the point of the shingle alapted to
engage with slots in, or with the adjoining edges of, the underlying shingles.
But it has been found in practice that these hooks were inore or less liable to
break or become fractured, thus permitting the point to spring up.
By the present invention I seek to prevent this by providing a sure and reliable
fastening for the points. To this end I employ a clasp having a lip projecting
upwardly from its body and adapted to be inserted through a slit in the point of
the upper shingle and bent over on the upper side of the point, the body of said
clasp being adapted to fit under either one or both of the two shingles in the
course next below.
According to the said invention each shingle is provided with a central
longitudinal hollow rib in the lower end of which, and just above the point is
formed a longitudinal alit. Hollow ribs parallel with each other, and to the
longitudinal rib extend across the shingle near the corners. The lower end of each
of the hollow ribs is cut away so that when the shingles are laid a longitudinal slot
17

page_text: will be formed between every two shingles. Between each hollow and longitudinal
rib, the metal at the lower inclined edges of the shingle is stamped up to form a
second hollow rib hereinafter termed the lower rib. A slightly smaller rib is
stamped in the body of the shingle, on each side of the longitudinal rib, and
extends across the shingle in a line parallel with the upper inclined edges. On
each side of the hollow ribs, near their upper ends, are nail-holes, and on each
side of the longitudinal rib, near the upper end of the shingle, are other nail-holes.
To secure the adjoining corners of two shingles in the same course and the point
of the overlapping shingle in the course next above in place, I employ an attaching
clasp the construction and operation of which I will now proceed to describe.
body of the improved clasp bas an upwardly projecting lip adapted to pass through
the said longitudinal slit from the under side and to be turned over on to the
shingle, thus closing the slit and firmly attaching the body of the clasp to the under
side.
The
This clasp may consist of a flat piece of metal having its body slightly arched
centrally to conform to the shape of the longitudinal rib and having the metal on
one side slit laterally and a portion of it, of a width sufficient to enter the
longitudinal slit, turned up to form the lip.
The clasp is sometimes formed by bending the ends of a strip of metal down-
wardly to form the lip and then in opposite directions to form the body.
The method of laying these shingles is as follows, viz Commencing at the caves
course I employ "shorts" or half shingles, which consist of shingles with the lower
ends cut off; these half shingles are laid at the eaves in a single course, the hollow
ribs of two-adjoining shingles overlapping one upon the other, so as to form a slot
between them. The attaching clasp is then inserted under-the-overlapping
adjoining edges of the shingles and its lip projects upwardly through the said slot;
these half shingles are then nailed to the roof. The first course of full sized
shingles are then laid, the points being placed so that the longitudinal rib will
overlap the hollow ribs of two adjoining shingles in the course next below and the
longitudinal slit is brought in line with the slot of the shingles in the lower course,
the hollow ribs of each course, as the shingles are laid, overlapping so as to form a
slot between every two adjoining shingles as stated. The lip of the clasp is then
drawn up through the longitudinal slit, and bent over onto the shingle, thus closing
the slit, binding three shingles together, and holding the point of the overlapping
shingle firmly in place. The attaching clasps are inserted in place as each course
is laid, in the same manner as described in reference to the first course, excepting
that in the second and succeeding courses the body of the clasp rests upon the
underlying shingle. The lower rihs of each course receive the ribs in the two
underlying shingles which the point rests upon. These ribs stiffen the shingle,
improve its appearance, and prevent water from being driven upward between the
courses.
Each succeeding course of shingles is laid in the same manner as just described
in reference to the first course of full eized shingles, the nail-holes of the shingles
in the upper course fitting over the nail-holes in the shingles of the lower course,
and the points of the overlapping shingles covering both sets of nail-holes.
The ribs, in addition to the object stated, also serve to provide for contraction
and expansion of the metal. If it is desired to make the shingles present an
architectural appearance when laid, any suitable raised design may be stamped in
the body of the shingle.
By my invention Iain enabled to form diamond shaped shingles out of square pieces
of sheet metal adapted to be laid with a uniform lap without perpendicular joints,
and with the nail-holes in the shingles of one course covered by the shingles in
the course next above; and the points rigidly held down and preclu led from
springing out of place, whereby 1 economize in the quantity of material used both
in manufacturing the shingles and in covering a given area of surface, for the
reason that a square shingle can be cut to better advantage and can be laid to form
an effective roofing with less lap than a shingle of oblong or other form.

page_text: It is obvious that the form of the clasp may be varied, for instance it may have
a body adapted to fit under the slot and a lip adapted to pass up through the said
slot and also through the slit and the projecting end of this lip when bent over
onto the upper shingle, closing the slit against the ingress of water and holding the
point in place firmly and percluding it from springing out of place. The object is
the same in every case, that is to say, to provide an independent clasp by means of
which the point can be held down without requiring nailing which must necessarily
pass through the under as well as the upper shingles, and without requiring the
formation of catches or hooks out of the body of the metal at the point of the
shingle itself, which, from its peculiar construction, must necessarily be always
liable to become broken or fractured and permit the point to spring out of place
thus rendering leakage possible during heavy driving rain or snow storms.
This is especially important when the fact is taken into consideration, that metal
shingles, in order to compete with other forms of roofing in the market, must bo
made of a lower grade of iron, which is more brittle than tin or terne-plate and
hence it follows that they must be so formed that the liability of breakage will be
reduced to a minimum.
I propose to make my attaching clasps out of tough, pliable, galvanized or
calamined steel which will neither rust nor break by ordinary use.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
For the Applicant.

page_text: "
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO ROOFING SHINGLES
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to metallic shingles for roofing, and has for its object to
provide diamond-shaped sheet metal shingles for roofing purposes which can be
formed of square pieces of metal, and of such construction that the shingles of one
course will overlap and cover the nail-holes in the course next below, and the
points of each shingle will be held down firmly.
Heretofore it has been found difficult to use square metal shingles for roofing
purposes, of a construction adapted to be laid to form a diamond-shaped roofing
with no exposed nail-holes and without perpendicular joints, for the reason that
the points of the shingles are apt to spring out of place, thereby leaving an opening
_for_water to enter between the courses.
In some cases hooks have been-formed_at_the point of the shingle adapted to
engage with slots in, or with the adjoining edges of, the underlying-shingles. But
it has been found in practice that these hooks are more or less liable to break or
become fractured, thus permitting the point to spring up.
By this invention I seek to prevent this by providing a sure and reliable
fastening for the points. To this end I employ a clasp having a lip projecting
upwardly from its body and adapted to be inserted through a slit in the point of
the upper shingle and bent over on the upper side of the point, the body of said
clasp being adapted to fit under either one or both of the two shingles in the
course next below.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is a plan view of four shingles in position as applied to a roof.
Figure 2 is a cross-section on the line xx, Figure 1, and
Figures 3 and 4 are views of details of the improved attaching clasp for securing
the points of the shingles in place. Each shingle is provided with a central
longitudinal hollow rib A, in the lower end of which, and just above the point B
of the shingle, is formed a longitudinal slit a.
C, C, designate hollow ribs parallel with each other, and with the rib A. The
said parallel ribs extend across the shingle near the corners, and the lower end of
each of these ribs is cut away, so that when the shingles are laid a longitudinal
slot b will be formed between every two shingles.
Between each rib C and the rib A, the metal at the lower inclined edges of the
shingle is stamped up to form a hollow rib D.
A slightly smaller rib E is stamped in the body of the shingle, on each side of
the rib A, and extends across the shingle in a line parallel with the upper inclined
edges. On each side of the ribs C, near their upper ends, are nail holes c, and on
each side of the rib A, near the upper end of the shingle, are nail-holes d.
To secure the adjoining corners of two shingles in the same course and the point
of the overlapping shingle in the course next above in place, I employ an attaching
clasp the construction and operation of which I will now proceed to describa.
F designates the body of the improved clasp having an upwardly projecting lip F¹,
adapted to pass through the slit a from the under side, and to be turned over on
to the shingle, thus closing the slit and firmly attaching the body F of the clasp to

page_text: the under side. As shown in Figure 3, this clasp consists of a flat piece of metal
having its body slightly arched centrally to conform to the shape of the rib A, and
having the metal on one side slit laterally and a portion of it, of a width sufficient
to enter the slit a, turned up to form the lip F¹.
The clasp shown in Figure 4, is formed by bending the ends of a strip of metal
downwardly to form the lip F and then in opposite directions to form the body F.
The method of laying these shingles is as follows, that is to say-commencing
at the eaves course I employ "shorts" or half shingles, which consist of shingles
with the lower ends cut off; these half-shingles are laid at the eaves in a single
course, the ribs C, of two adjoining shingles overlapping so as to form a slot b
between them. The attaching clasp F is then inserted under the overlapping
adjoining edges of the shingles, its lip F¹ projecting upwardly through the slot b;
these half-shingles are then nailed to the roof at d, d. The first course of full
sized shingles is then laid, the points B being placed so that the rib A will
overlap the ribs C of two adjoining shingles in the course next below, and the
slit a is brought in line with the slot b of the shingles in the lower course, the
ribs C of each course, as the shingles are laid, overlapping so as to form a slot b
between every two adjoining shingles as stated. The lip F¹ of the clasp is then
drawn up through the slit a and bent over onto the shingle, thus closing the slit,
binding three shingles together, and holding the point B of the overlapping
shingle firmly in place. The attaching clasps are inserted in place as each course
is laid, in the same manner as described with reference to the first course, excepting
that in the second and succeeding courses the body of the clasp rests upon the
underlying shingle, as shown by the section Figure 2.
The ribs D of each course receive the ribs E in the two underlying shingles
which the point B rests upon. These ribs D, E stiffen the shingle, improve its
appearance, and prevent water from being driven upward between the courses.
Each succeeding course of shingles is laid in the same manner as just described
in reference to the first course of full sized shingles, the nail-holes c of the shingles
in the upper course fitting over the nail-holes & in the shingles of the lower course,
and the points of the overlapping shingles covering both sets of nail-holes.
The ribs A, C, D, E, in addition to the object stated, also serve to provide for
contraction and expansion of the metal.
If it is desired to make the shingles present an architectural appearance when
laid, any suitable raised design may be stamped in the body of the shingle.
By this invention I am enabled to form out of square pieces of sheet metal
diamond-shaped shingles adapted to be laid with an uniform lap without per-
pendicular joints, the nail-holes in the shingles of one course being covered by the
shingles in the course next above; and the points being rigidly held down and
precluded from springing out of place, whereby I economize in the quantity of
material used both in manufacturing the shingles and in covering a given area of
surface, for the reason that a square shingle can be cut to better advantage and can
be laid to form an effective roofing with less lap than a shingle of oblong or other
form.
In the drawing I have only shown two forms of clasp, but it is obvious that the
form of the clasp is not the essential part of the invention, for instance the clasp
may be of such shape or form as to have a body adapted to fit under the slot b and
a lip adapted to pass through the said slot and also through the slit a, the projecting
end of this lip being then bent over onto the upper shingle, closing the slit against
the ingress of water and holding the point in place firmly, and precluding it from
springing out of place. The object is the same in every case, that is to say to
provide an independent clasp by means of which the point can be held down
without requiring nails which must necessarily pass through the under as well
as the upper shingles, and without requiring catches or hooks formed out of the
body of the metal at the point of the shingle itself, which catches or hooks from
their peculiar construction must necessarily be always liable to become broken or

page_text: fractured and permit the point to spring out of place, thus rendering leakage
possible during heavy driving rain or snow-storms.
This is especially important when the fact is taken into consideration, that
metal shingles, in order to compete with other forms of roofing in the market,
must be made of a low grade of iron, which is more brittle than tin or terne plate,
hence it follows that they must be so formed that the liability of breakage will be
reduced to a minimum.
I propose to make my attaching clasps out of tough pliable galvanized or
kalameined steel which will neither rust nor break by ordinary use.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
First. The improved mode of fastening metallic shingles by means of the clasp F,
having an upwardly projecting lip F, as set forth.
Second. A metallic shingle of substantially the construction described having a
longitudinal slit in its point adapted to pass over the upwardly projecting lip of an
attaching clasp, as set forth.
Third. A metallic shingle of substantially the construction described, having a
longitudinal slit in the point and the metal at the opposite corners cut away to
form a slot b between every two shingles when laid, in combination with an
attaching clasp having a body adapted to fit under the underlying shingles in the
course next below, an upwardly-projecting lip adapted to pass through said slot
-and-the-slit in the point, and be bent over onto the overlapping shingle, as, and for
the purpose, set forth.
Fourth. Metallic shingles each having a rib A provided with a longitudinal
slit aribs CC parallel with each other and with the rib A, and ribs D, E, the
said shingles which are diamond shaped being formed out of square pieces of sheet
inetal and adapted when combined with attaching clasps to form a roofing as set
forth.
Dated 100L 1
C AT