Improvements in Roofing.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Sept., 1898-Accepted, 29th Oct., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Roofing.
I, ANDREW ALLEN, of City Chambers, Grave Street, Cape Town, in the Colony
of the Cape of Good Hope, 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 the construction and fittings of roofing of the kinds
known as vulcanite, wood cement or the like.
At present a flashing of lead, zinc or other metal is used at the junction of
the roof with walls, gutters &c. This is a very expensive item and often a source
of trouble and cause of decay. The lower part of the metal flushing has to be
soldered at all joints, which owing to unequal expansion and contraction, are
apt to crack and loosen the pointing thus allowing water to penetrate to the
interior and rot the timbers. Roofings, as at present constructed, are also sub-
ject to serious defects due to knot holes or unevenly edged boarding so that there
is a risk of the pebbles being forced through the covering when persons walk
over the roof.
My invention principally relates to means of joining the vulcanite, wood,
cement or like roofing to the walls, gutters &c. without requiring lead or zinc,
and also to means of considerably increasing the strength of the roofing, as I will
describe referring to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of part of a roof according to my invention Fig. 2
is a section of the kerb and gutter, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the fixing for
the kerb, Fig. 4 is a section and Fig. 5 is a plan of an earthenware kerb.
As shewn in Fig. 1, A are the joists, B is the boarding, C asphalt sheet, El sand,
E gravel, G a cement fillet. I insert a sheet 1) of wire or other woven fabric
between the layers of felt, asphalt or paper sheet and vulcanite, wood, cement
or other similar composition. This fabric may be introduced into the manufacture
of the felt or other sheet.
In constructing the roof the sheet and fabric can be turned up the face of the
wall or built in, as shewn at H. The woven fabric prevents the roof covering
from tearing or cracking and binds it strongly together, also by covering knot
holes, unevenly edged boards, or hollow parts it prevents injury being done by,
pebbles pressed in by persons walking on the roof.
Also according to my invention I do away with the usual gravel kerbs which
are very expensive and liable to become disintegrated, also requiring spocial
flashing of metal which is troublesome and expensive. The composition which
covers the roof as now arranged is only brought so far as the back of the kerb
and is dependent on the metal flashing which has to be carried some distance
below and behind the kerb. so as to conduct water into the gutter, and thus
requires to be some 10 or 12 inches broad. A much sounder and cheaper con-
struction according to my invention is shewn in Fig. 2 K is an iron kerb which
has at its bottom edge a flange to prevent the roofing composition from running
into the gutter S; a packing L of rope or the like may be laid on the flange. A

page_text: narrow strip M of metal may be fixed to the edge of the roof boarding as an
extra precaution against water getting behind the gutter. The kerb K may
be fixed by a bolt and nut N, the bolt projecting as shewn in Fig. 3 from a sole
plate P fixed on the roof.
When the gutter is on the outside of a wall, I protect the outlets for the
passage of water from the roof to the gutter by a kerb made of earthenware or
other material as shewn in Figs. 4 and 5. Water from the roof can pass over
it or through holes in its wall to the outlet Q leading to the gutter.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. A roof constructed substantially as described with reference to Fig. 1, of the
drawings.
2. The kerb for a gutter constructed and fixed substantially as described with
reference to Figs. 2 and 3.
3. The kerb for outlets substantially as described, with reference to Figs. 4
and 5.
Dahi
1000