Improvements in Roofing and Wall Tiles.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Apr., 1887
Complete Left, 30th Jan., 18881
Complete Accepted, 2nd Mar., 1888
LIVOY IDIONAL
Improvements in Roofing and Wall Tiles.
I ALFRED TOM MORSE of Fairlop Road Leytonstone in the County of Essex,
Paint and Color Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in Tiles for roofing buildings and facing
walls, and it has for its object to lighten the tile by dispensing with portions which
perform no useful function, and to cause the tiles in a row to interlock with each
other in such a way that one cannot be raised by the wind without the entire row
rising; and as the different rows overlap in the usual way it follows that one tile
cannot be raised without all the tiles in the superincumbent rows rising also, which
would be impossible under ordinary conditions of weather.
In carrying out my invention I make the upper part of the tile, where it hangs on
the supporting laths, of pointed form such as would be produced by cutting off the two
upper corners of a square tile, these portions of the tile which are completely over-
lapped by the superincumbent row being practically useless and merely adding
unnecessary weight to the tile.
My improved tile in its most elementary form is that of a square tile (laid cornerwise
or diagonally) deprived of its side corners to form lateral abutting shoulders, the said
shoulders being either plain and merely abutting against each other or perferably
formed with doubly interlocking portions, whereby independent shifting of the tiles is
effectually prevented.
The preferred form of this joint is to halve together the abutting shoulders of
adjacent tiles, the halving together being reversed on different portions of the same
shoulders. For instance a projecting lug is formed along half the length of the
shoulder of one tile which is received in a corresponding recess in the shoulder of the
adjacent tile which has a similar lug along the other half of its same shoulder that
is received in a similar cavity in the shoulder of the first tile so that a double

page_text: interlocked joint is obtained. Instead of lugs the same effects may be obtained by an
oppositely bevelled form of joint, one part of each shoulder being bevelled one way
and the other part the other way from the line of the joint, which is apparently straight
or vertical in either case.
The tile is not necessarily square or even angular, but its lower or uncovered
portion may be rounded, scolloped or otherwise ornamented, the upper portion being
correspondingly formed to ensure the requisite amount of bond for the row of tiles next
above.

page_text: Improvements in Roofing and Wall Tiles.
I, ALFRED TOM MORSE of Fairlop Road, Leytonstone, in the County of Essex,
Paint and Color Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My Invention relates to improvements in tiles for roofing buildings and facing
walls; and it has for its object to lighten the tile, by dispensing with portions which
perform no useful function, and to cause the tiles placed side by side in a row to
interlock with each other in such a way that one cannot be raised by the wind with-
out the entire row rising. As the different rows cover or overlap one another in the
usual way, it follows from this mode of interlocking the tiles of the same row, that one
tile cannot be raised without all the tiles in the superincumbent rows rising also,
which would be impossible under ordinary conditions of weather.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this
specification; wherein figure 1 is a cross-section of part of a roof covered with tiles
constructed according to my invention. Figure 2 is a plan view of the portion of
roof, the tiles being represented as of different colors merely in order to more readily
distinguish them. Figure 3 is an underside view of the same. Figure 4 is an
elevation of part of the ridge cap. Figure 5 shews an underside and edge views of
one of the tiles separately. Figure 6 shews an underside, edge, and sectional views
of tiles with a modified form of interlocking dowel.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
A are the tiles and B the supporting laths fixed on the rafters of the roof on which
the tiles are hung by projecting lugs a formed on their underside, engaging with said
laths. In carrying out my invention, I make the upper part of the tile which is
overlapped by the tile above and which hangs on the supporting laths, of pointed form
such as would be produced by cutting off the two upper corners of a square tile, as
represented by the dotted lines in figure 5, these portions of the tile which when laid
are completely overlapped by the superincumbent tile of the row above being
practically useless and inerely adding unnecessary weight to the tile.
My improved tile in its most elementary form is that of a square (laid cornerwise or
diagonally) deprived of its side corners to form lateral abutting shoulders b, the said
shoulders being either plain and merely abutting against each other, or preferably
formed with interlocking dowels cc whereby independent shifting of the tiles is
effectually prevented. In figures 1 to 5, the shoulder b at one side of the tile has two
such lugs or dowels c, the two dowels being in different planes, i.e. respectively flush
with opposite faces of the tile and each equal to about half the thickness of the tile, and
the shoulder at the other side is formed with recesses in its opposite faces corres-
ponding to said lugs or dowels, so that the abutting shoulders of adjacent tiles when
Jaid become "halved or bonded together, the halving together being reversed on
different portions of the same shoulders. Instead of two lugs on the same shoulder,
the positions of the one lug and the corresponding cavity may be reversed, so that on
each shoulder at each side of the tile there is one lug and one cavity. In figure 6,

page_text: there is a single dowel only at one side and a corresponding recess at the other side,
the dowel being bevelled slightly on the upper and lower faces and rounded on the
edge so as to fit easily into the recess in the shoulder of the adjacent tile.
«
cover
The tile is not necessarily of square form, and need not be angular at its lower part
or margin d d¹ d² which may be of rounded, scalloped, ogee, or other form; but
whatever may be the form of the margin d d' d' the upper part e ele would generally
be of correspondingly shaped outline so as to preserve a uniform amount of
between the several rows of tiles. In the example shewn, the
"
cover is indicated
by the distance between the dotted and full lines representing the upper edge of one
tile and the over lapping margin of the tile next above, and it will be observed that
care is in all cases taken that the joint between the abutting shoulders of any two
tiles is entirely covered by the tile above, the tiles being laid so as to break joint in
the usual manner.
In order to prevent rain driving up between the tiles, it is preferred to weather
them, and for this purpose each tilo has weather strips g of half round section moulded
on its underface, said strips extending from the shoulders & obliquely to the lower
part of the tile in directions approximately parallel to the edges d d¹². These
weather strips are of tapering form and project more from the under face of the tile the
nearer they are to the shoulders b, so as to be more effectual for the purpose where
most needed in consequence of the tendency of the wind to drive the rain into the
reentering angle between two adjacent tiles. In the upper face of the tile, two
correspondingly formed grooves h are moulded to receive one of the weather strips of
each of the two superimposed tiles. The uppermost row of tiles A-vizt. those next
to the ridge of the roof-are preferably made slightly different to the rest, being
bevelled, so as to fit snugly against the ridge bar. The end tiles of alternate rows,
are made in the form of half of one of the other tiles A, so as to form a straight finish
at the end of the roof.
Although I have described the tiles as hung by lugs a on the laths B, this forms no
part of my invention, and I do not limit myself to this mode of hanging the tiles, as
they may be simply nailed to the laths B.
r, in figure 5, represents in dotted lines, an extra lug which may be provided on
the underside of each tile, for preventing the tile falling off in case the main lug a
and the lath on which it is hung, gives way. In this event, the extra lug a will
catch in the angle formed by the upper edges of the tiles immediately below.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is ;-
1st. The herein described improvement in roofing and wall tiles, which consists in
making the tile of corresponding angular or approximately angular form at top and
bottom, the opposite top and bottom edges being practically parallel to each other, so
that a uniform amount of " cover is obtained, and unnecessary weight avoided,
substantially as specified.
21
2nd. Forming tiles with laterally abutting shoulders provided with dowels or lugs
and corresponding cavities adapted to interlock with those of the adjacent tiles in the
same row, substantially as specified.
3rd. The herein described improved tiles, so formed as to lap or cover and to
interlock, substantially as specified.
Dated this 30th day of January 1888.