Roofing

May 7, 1940.

C. C. SCHUETZ

ROOFING

Filed Sept. 26, 1938

2,199,760

Sheets-Sheet 1

<img file="US2199760A_D0001.tif" />

<img file="US2199760A_D0002.tif" />

<img file="US2199760A_D0003.tif" />

May 7, 1940.

C. C. SCHUETZ

ROOFING '·

Filed Sept. 26, 1938

2,199,760

Sheets-Sheet 2

<img file="US2199760A_D0004.tif" />

Patented May 7,1940

2,199,760

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,199,760

ROOFING

Clyde C. Schuetz, Chicago, Π1., uzignor to United States Gypsum Company, Chicago, HL·, a corporation of Illinois

Application September 26,1938, Serial No. 231,667

Claims.

This invention relates to roofing or covering for buildings and more particularly to prepared material such as composition strip or roll roofing or siding, which upon application will give an ₅ optical appearance simulating a thatched, weathered wood shingle covered structure.

It is- an object to provide a roof or side wall in which the covering element is designed to present the appearance of. weathered shingles and in IQ which the covering elements are preferably of the multiple tab type either in strip or roll form, and in which the tabs may be of various lengths and various edge contours whereby to provide unusual shadow effects.

Another object of the invention is to provide a covering and element therefor of the multiple tab strip or roll shingle type which when applied in the usual overlapping manner to a structure, will provide an appearance of variable thickness, 20 warping, or curling of the individual tabs, and the general appearance of weathered condition and randomness which is architecturally desirable.

A still further object is to provide a covering 23 element which when applied will have the cutout portion or slots emphasized in such a manner that the division between the individual tabs will stand out markedly.

It is also an object to provide a strip or roll 30 roofing of the single tab type wherein the tabs may be of the same or different widths but of variable lengths, and wherein the butt thickness is accentuated by shadow line effects.

The present invention is an improvement over 35 the disclosure in the joint application of Clyde C. Schuetz and Frank B. Burns, Serial No. 202,170, filed April IS, 1938, wherein is disclosed a covering element of the tab shingle type having tabs of various widths whereby when the element is ap40 plied in the manner disclosed, there can be no alignment in adjacent courses of cut-out portions or between cut-out portions and joints on adjacent horizontal strips. The strips may be made with individual tabs'of different lengths and of 45 different widths. Thus a covering element is provided which when applied breaks up horizontal and vertical lines by using strips of differing tab widths and lengths. Enough permutations are provided that repetition of the pattern is min50 imized so that it is not noticeable.

Strip shingles as previously made are ordinarily cut from a sheet of stock in such a manner that the thickness along the butt line is uniform; also the tabs of these strips tend to lie flat and do not 55 twist or warp as do old weathered wood shingles.

(Cl. 169—7)

The present invention therefore contemplates a structure which will attain the rustic effect so highly desirable with certain types of architecture.

The effect of thickness of shingles as applied to ₆a structure is produced very largely by the shadows cast by the upper courses upon the lower courses; thus broad shadow lines give an effect of thickness; narrow shadow lines give an effect of thinness; and tapering or curved shadow lines jq give an effect of varying thickness or of a warped shingle or tab. It has been found that these effects may be produced by providing the strip shingle or covering element with predetermined portions of contrasting color. It is therefore an 15 object of the present invention to provide a covering element of the strip shingle type having portions of contrasting color so related that when applied to a structure the contrasting colors will produce shadow effects simulating the weathered 20 appearance of a thatched covering.

The invention contemplates a simple and economical means for producing a roof or side wall of the character described and having a covering element of the multiple tab type which when ap- 25 plied will give an effect of greater thickness to certain tabs and may also give a twisted or warped appearance to any or all of the tabs, as desired.

The invention is also intended further to ac- 30 centuate the randomness obtainable by the disclosure In the previously Identified co-pending application.

In the preferred embodiment of this Invention the outline of each tab may be emphasized. The 35 strip shingles are made with individual tabs of various lengths. Some of the tabs may have end contours parallel to the top edge of the strip and some of the end contours may be curved or angular, as desired. 40

In the preferred embodiment the upper portion of the strip is colored black or other suitable dark color which will contrast with the lighter color of the tabs or lower portion of the strip. This coloring may be accomplished in any suitable 45 manner, preferably by the application of dark colored granules such as are ordinarily used in the production of strip shingles and roll roofing.

Strip shingles are usually cut in adjacent parallel relation from a single sheet of material. The 55 material is transversely slotted to provide the desired width of the individual shingles, and then sheared on a median line through the slots so that the two opposed strips are complementary with respect to the butt line of the tabs. In the pres- ¢5

2,199,760 ent invention the individual tabs are sheared to provide various complementary contours closely adjacent the median line.

The contrasting relationship of the colored 6 portions is such that when the strips are applied to a structure in normal overlapping relation, the dark colored portion may be completely covered by the longer tabs of the succeeding strip or by portions of the tabs that extend beyond 1® the median line, and the shorter tabs or portions of the tabs of irregular contour will show the dark coloring below the end of the tab. Below the tabs which are cut obliquely from the median line the colored band may show only at one side IB and then taper the width of the tab. A tab with a curved butt contour low at the middle section thereof will show an artificial curved shadow line at each edge, and the tab will appear to be curled or warped. Other effects may be obtained ²⁰ by proper cutting of the butt line.

The dark shadow effect will also appeal· in the slots between the tabs. If desired,, the dark color may be used on a somewhat wider portion of the strip or covering element in such a manner that 25 the artificial shadow line or band appears below all tabs, with band portions of varying widths in accordance with the contour of the respective tabs.

If desired all tabs may be of the same length, 3® in which case the artificial shadow line will give an effect of greater thickness to all the tabs, but will not give the effect of tabs of varying thickness. The dark upper portion of the underlying strips will show through the slots between the 35 tabs of the overlying strips and thus emphasize and accentuate the outline of the individual tabs. This has the effect of emphasizing the thickness of the tab edges and gives the effect of thick butt shingles.

In another embodiment of this invention a narrow band of a suitable color may be applied adjacent the median line of the complementary shingles in such a manner that it will appear only adjacent the lower edge of the longer tabs.

The band may be of such width that the shorter tabs will be uncolored at the butt or will carry only a narrow band and the longer tabs will carry a wider band. Likewise, by applying a narrow band of colored granules to the butt section 50 of the strips along the median line, it is possible to obtain a curved effect by cutting the length of the tab at various distances from the median line. This may be effectively applied to covering elements having tabs of uniform width, but var00 ious lengths.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the inven⁰⁰ tion comprising a pair of complementary shingle strips as cut from a single sheet in the manner shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 2 illustrates another pair of complemen65 tary shingles which may be cut from the same sheet.

Fig. 3 illustrates the method of cutting the shingles disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2 from a single sheet or from a continuous strip of material.

Fig. 4 illustrates shingles such as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as applied in the normal overlapping relation to a building structure.

Fig. 5 illustrates one embodiment of the invention on which a contrasting color line is ap75 plied to the median line of the complementary shingles to produce a shadow effect simulating shingles of various thickness.

Fig. 6 is similar to Fig. 5, but shows the shingle butts cut along somewhat different lines.

Fig. 7 illustrates the application of the shingles 5 shown in Figs. 5 and 6 to a structure whereby the random effect of shingles of different thickness is produced.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view illustrating an embodiment in which the slots between are ir- 10 regularly formed to enhance the curled or warped effect of adjacent tabs.

Fig. 9 illustrates an embodiment comprising individual shingles adapted to provide a random thatched weathered appearance. 15

Referring to the drawings in detail, the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, comprises finished shingle elements I, 2, 3, and 4, the shingles I and 2 being complementary, and shingles 3 and 4 also being complementary so ²⁰that they may be cut from a single sheet of material such as illustrated in Fig. 3. It will, of course, be understood that these complementary shingles may be cut from a single sheet or from a strip or roll as desired, and that the invention is not 25 confined to the particular complementary outlines illustrated. The complementary outlines of the four shingles illustrated are selected merely for purposes of illustration and the shingles are complementary with respect to the butt lines of 30 the various tabs.

The method of cutting the shingles illustrated in Fig. 3 is not essential to the present invention. However, it is an economical method of producing satisfactory shingles. 35

As shown in Fig. 3, the sheet or roll from which the complementary strips are to be cut may be provided with longitudinal bands of contrasting color which may be applied in any suitable manner such as by colored granules. The bands are 40 so related that, when complementary shingle strips are cut from the sheet and overlapped in the usual manner, the black or darker portions will be exposed only sufficiently to produce the desired shadow effects. The dark bands are 45 shown by stipple in the drawings. One or more pairs of complemental shingle strips may be cut from a single width of sheet as shown.

The sheets are provided with transverse slots 5 which are spaced as required to determine the ®® width of the shingle tabs and prevent alignment of the slots in overlapping courses. The sheet is also cut longitudinally through the central dark band to separate the pairs of shingles, and _Kthe tabs are cut adjacent the median lines x ** and y to provide various desired complementary end contours.

The tabs may be cut adjacent the median line in any suitable contour such, for instance, as ii- -g lustrated, and preferably whereby the tabs on the shingle strip I are complementary to the tabs on strip 2, and, in a like manner, the tabs of strip 3 are complementary to those of strip 4. In this manner the tabs may be of varying contours and 55 various lengths to produce the desired result.

Fig. 4 illustrates the actual application of several strips to a building structure. These strips are offset longitudinally in the usual manner, preferably to an extent of one half the strip. 70

As previously stated, the butt lines of the various tabs provide various weathered appearances when applied over the the shadow color. However, regardless of the design produced, if the length of tab is such that it does not extend to ' ,

9,1ΘΟ,7βΟ the median line, then a portion of the shadow color of jthe overlapped strip is exposed below the tab. For instance, in Fig. 4 the tab A in the upper course shows an angular edge. This tab 5 is cut obliquely to the median line which happens to be substantially at the lower edge of tab B. This gives the eSect of a shingle warped upwardly at the right hand side. Tab C has an arcuate end cut and gives the eSect of a 10 warped tab with the central portion raised out of the plane of the strip.

It . should particularly be noted that the top plan view of the butt-line contour of one of the shingle tabs is not a top plan view of the butt 15 line of a warped shingle. For instance, the top plan view of the butt line of any warped shingle is substantially a straight line nearly at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the shingle. In the present invention, the warped and weathered 20 appearance of the shingles is produced by cutting the ends of the tabs with a butt-line contour substantially or approximately conforming to the end view contour of a warped shingle, the appearance of which it is desired to simulate. In 25 other words, the novel result obtained by the invention, which comprises the simulation of a random-thatched warped and weathered roof, is produced, not by cutting the tabs to the plan view configuration of the warped shingles, but in30 stead is obtained by cutting the butt lines in a manner to combine a top plan view and an end view in the configuration, and this type of combined configurations outlined on the strongly contrasting background and in the specified re35 lationship to the lower edge thereof, obtains a new and novel result comprising an optical illusion of perspective in which the covering presents a random thatched warped and weathered appearance when viewed from substantially any 40 angle.

The strip shingles previously described are preferable; however, in some cases it may be desirable to provide individual shingles. This may be accomplished by cutting individual shin45 gles having different butt contours as shown in Fig. 9. Each shingle is provided with contrasting areas corresponding to the strip shingles previously described and suitable selection and ap. plication of adjacent shingles will provide a roof 50 or side wall covering having the desired random thatched.and weathered appearance.

Figs. 5, 6, and 7 illustrate an embodiment wherein the strip from which the elements are to be cut is provided with a narrow band of dark 55 granules, or is otherwise suitably colored along the median line between complemental strips. The dark band is preferably approximately 1 wide, and may be applied in any suitable manner well known in the art. After this band is applied, the material is cut longitudinally adjacent the median line to provide tabs of various lengths as shown, and complementary strips 6 and T (Fig. 5) and complementary strips · and _Μ 9 (Fig. 6) are thereby provided. If desired, the butt line of the tabs may be cut to form various arcuate and angular contours similar to those previously described. __ '

Fig. 7 illustrates strips such as shown in Figs. 70 5 and 6 applied to a building structure in the normal overlapping manner and illustrates the shadow effect produced. The shaded portions represent portions of the dark band which, when the strips are overlapped, may appear substan75 tially as illustrated. It will be apparent that this embodiment provides the effect of shingles of various thickness and length.

Fig. 8 illustrates an embodiment in which the slots 5α between the tabs are irregularly formed in a manner to enhance the curled or warped 5 appearance of the adjacent tabs. This provides a particularly effective rustic weathered and random effect.

The invention has been described as applied to the usual asphalt strip or .roll roofing of the 10 tab type. However, it may also be used with equal effectiveness when applied to asbestos cement shingles or sidings of the tab variety.

Modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and it is de- 15 sired, therefore, that the invention be limited only by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.