Method of treating asphalt shingles and composition therefor

May 7, 1935. i_. a. fry 2,000,226

METHOD OF TREATING ASPHALT SHINGLES AND COMPOSITION THEREFOR

Filed Feb. 29, 1932

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Patented May 7, 1935

2,000,226

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,000,226

METHOD OF TREATING ASPHALT SHINGLES AND COMPOSITION THEREFOR

Lloyd A. Fry, Chicago, Hl., assignor of one-half to The Lehon Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois

Application February 29, 1932, Serial No. 595,719

Claim.

This invention relates to an improved method of treating composition shingles, commonly known as asphalt shingles, or other like articles, which are commonly formed by saturating a δ sheet of rag or asbestos felt base with an asphalt of light consistency and coating or sealing the same with an asphalt of substantially heavier consistency, and further applying a coating of crushed mineral material to one surface thereto) of, and then cutting the sheet up into shingles or other objects adapted to be placed upon roofs or the like. The inner or body portion of these shingles is ordinarily saturated with a lighter grade of asphalt or the like than the surface la portion and the cutting of the sheet into individual shingles or other units leaves exposed edges which are subject to the action of the weather so that the lighter saturating compounds are dissolved and dissipated and the shingle begins to £0 deteriorate rapidly from the edge inwardly. Efforts have heretofore been made to solve this problem by dipping the completed shingles into compounds adapted to form protective coatings on the edges of the shingles but this dipping 25 process covers the coated and generally ornamental upper surface of the shingle so that it has to be resurfaced after the dipping process is completed and, in addition, no satisfactory compound has heretofore been discovered for 30 coating and protecting the edges of the shingles only.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of treating asphalt shingles or the like according to which 35 the edges of the shingles are sprayed with a protective coating without injuring or defacing those surfaces of the shingles to which a layer of crushed minerals or other material has been applied. A further important object of the inven40 tion is to provide an improved composition of matter which is peculiarly adapted for use in coating the edges of asphalt shingles or the like. A further object of the invention is to provide an improved composition of matter adapted to 45 unite with the materials by which the base of the asphalt shingle is saturated and thus form a homogeneous bond therewith. Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved composition of matter comprising ingredients ⁵⁰ which are adapted to cooperate with each other to facilitate the application of the compound to the shingles and to provide a strong and durable coating along the edges of the shingles. Another object of the invention is to provide ⁶⁵ an improved method of treating shingles or the (CL 91—68) like according to which the cut edges of the shingles are sprayed with a protective coating in an improved and efficient manner. Other objects of the invention relate to various features of the improved composition of matter and various steps 5 of the improved method of application to the shingles or the like, which will appear more fully hereinafter.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the following specification, taken with the 10 accompanying drawing in which one form of practicing the improved method has been somewhat diagrammatically illustrated.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an asphalt 15 shingle of the type adapted to be treated by the method and composition of the present invention, looking toward the upper side of the shingle;

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a plurality of shingles of the form illustrated in Fig. 1 stacked 20 in inverted position and having applied thereto the improved composition of matter of the present invention; and

Fig. 3 shows a transverse vertical section, on an enlarged scale, through a pile of shingles stacked 25 as shown in Fig. 2, illustrating the application thereto of the coating compound.

Asphalt shingles or the like of the type herein referred to are commonly made by saturating a base of rag felt, or similar material, with asphalt 30 of relatively light consistency and this felt, so saturated, is then coated on one or both sides, with an asphalt of substantially heavier consistency. While this heavy asphalt coating is still hot on one side of the saturated sheet, a crushed 35 mineral aggregate, such as crushed stone or the like, is applied to the sheet to form a distinctive protective surfacing, which may be in any one of various selected colors in order to give the resulting shingles a harmonious or ornamental 40 appearance. When the heavy asphalt coating has hardened, the finished roofing sheet is passed through a cutting machine, where it is cut up into various desired shapes and sizes of roofing members, commonly known to the trade as asphalt 45 or composition shingles. The blades of the cutting machine are adapted to impart beveled edges to the resulting shingles and it is the purpose of the present invention to protect these cut edges by the improved composition of matter and meth- ⁵⁰od of application herein described. In Fig. 1 of the drawing there is illustrated an asphalt shingle 10 of the type herein described which is provided on its top surface with a crushed layer 10» of materials having great wear-resisting qualities ⁵⁶

3,000,226 as well as an ornamental appearance. This shingle is provided, with cut edges 10^b which are ordinarily inclined or beveled downwardly and away from the coated surface IO^a so that the uncoated 5 surface of the shingle is of slightly smaller area than the surface IO^a.

Although the method of application hereinafter described may be employed with various compounds, there is preferably employed as a pro10 tection for the cut edges 10^b of the shingle, an asphaltic compound made up of certain ingredients combined in certain proportions by volume as follows:

Percent

Resin----------- 3½

Gilsonite33

Heavy painter’s and varnisher’s naptha — 12½

Light painter’s and varnisher’s naptha51

Gilsonite is a hard bituminous material having ²⁰ a high melting point, usually about 400° F. and, for the purpose of retaining it in its liquid condition after being melted, and to facilitate its application to the shingles, the heavy and light naphthas are employed. Although haying the ²® property of maintaining the gilsonite in liquid solution, the napthas tend to reduce its adhesive properties and to increase its fracturability and, in order to offset those disadvantages accruing to the gilsonite by the introduction of the napthas, 3θ the resin is introduced, preferably in the proportion stated, in order to increase the adhesive property of the compound and to reduce its fracturability. These ingredients are thoroughly stirred and intermixed with each other and they ³³ form a liquid of such consistency that it may be applied under pressure by an atomizing gun or spraying apparatus so that large areas may be quickly and uniformly coated. This method of application expedites the drying of the vehicles ⁴⁰ which remain in the compound on the coated edges of the shingles and the compound itself has quick drying properties which render it particularly suitable for the purpose.

A further reason for employing this coating 45 composition is that the ingredients thereof have the property of dissolving the asphalt which is in the immediate vicinity of the exposed edge of the shingle so that the compound forms a solution with the asphalt and, upon drying, forms a ⁵⁰ homogeneous bond therewith, so that the coating compound becomes an integral part of the shingle at the edge thereof. In treating the shingles by the method of the present invention, a considerable number of shingles, such as those having the ⁵⁵ form shown in Fig. 1, are piled in inverted positions with their bottom sides 10° directed upwardly, as shown in Fig. 2. They are preferably placed upon a support I f having a back plate 12 and an end plate 13 so that two right angularly ⁶⁰ disposed edges of each shingle engage the back plate and the end plate and thus cause the pile of shingles to be superimposed upon each other with their cut edges 10^b in substantially vertical alignment, except for the irregularity which is 8® produced by the beveled edges, as shown more particularly in Fig. 3. This pile 14 of shingles 10 may be from two to six feet high, for example, and the edges IO^b of all of these shingles in the pile are adapted to be treated quickly and effi ciently by spraying the compound heretofore described from an atomizing gun or nozzle 15 which is connected by a flexible hose i 6 with the drum or container in which the compound is subjected to compressed air or the like so that it is forced 5 under pressure from the mouth of the gun 15 and passes as an atomizing spray against the edges 18» of the shingles. This gun or nozzle is preferably inclined downwardly so that the spray 17 passes substantially at right angles to the beveled ¹⁰surfaces of the edges of the shingles, as shown in Fig. 3, thus applying a coating 18 to these beveled edges without causing the material of the coating to engage and disfigure the top surfaces IO^a of the shingles to which the protective coating of mineral or the like has previously been applied. Due to the character of the composition and the method of application thereof, it dries quickly without running off of the beveled cut edges of 2θ the shingles onto other surfaces where the coating is not desired. By moving the gun or nozzle 15 progressively over the group of cut edges of the pile 14 of shingles, and controlling the atomizing discharge by a trigger i 5^a, the edges of the entire 2s pile of shingles may be quickly supplied with the protective coating. As the spray is discharged from the gun or nozzle, the light naptha is immediately volatilized while the heavy naptha, which does not volatilize so readily, is projected 3θ onto the edges of the shingles and dissolves that portion of the asphalt adjacent the edges of the shingles to effect a perfect bond between this asphaltic compound and the resulting coating compound consisting of gilsonite and resin. The 35 resin acts as an added binding factor and gives the coating at the edge of each shingle a toughness and resistance which is not obtained by the use of gilsonite alone. By applying the coating with the ornamental surfaces of the shingles substantially concealed, the protection of the edges may be accomplished without injuring those sur-„ faces and, at the same time, the application of the coating tends to improve the shadow-line appearance of the shingles as a whole when a 45 considerable number of them are assembled and laid in place on a roof.

Although one example of the improved method of the present invention and the preferred embodiment of the improved composition of matter 50 have been set forth herein, it will be understood that the method may be practiced in various ways, and that the composition may vary, within the scope of the appended claim.