History Of Roofing Felt

Fire safety regulations added to the popularity of roofing felt at the turn of the century.

History of roofing felt. Roofing felt competed with sheet metal and shingles as a roofing material. Many cultures have legends as to the origins of felt making. This chapter begins with a brief history of roof coverings used in england and then summarises how roofs must work to protect the building. Roofing felt is comprised of a base made from natural materials such as wood cellulose or synthetic ones such as fiberglass or polyester and then coated or saturated with a protective coating such as bitumen asphalt which repels water but still allows the product to breathe.

Sumerian legend claims that the secret of feltmaking was discovered by urnamman of lagash. Roofing 6 sep 2013 indd 2 12 09 2013 10 01. In the system that allows a building to work as a shelter the roof sheds the rain shades from the sun and buffers the weather. Used for decades as waterproof coverings in residential and commercial roofs these bitumen compositional membranes incorporate two layers.

A general guide to their deterioration and assessment is followed by general principles for treatment repair and ongoing care and maintenance. The story of saint clement and saint christopher relates that the men packed their sandals with wool to prevent blisters while fleeing from persecution. During some periods in the history of architecture the roof imparts much of the architectural character. The history of roofing felt the earliest examples of using tar paper to protect roofing dates to the california gold rush of the 1800 s.

A weather tight roof is basic in the preservation of a structure regardless of its age size or design. Roofing felt similar to tar paper is the base material used to make roof shingles and roll roofing. Wood and slate shingles and clay tiles were the predominant roofing choice until the. As people flocked west to try to make their fortunes in gold entire towns sprang up overnight and were often considered to be temporary dwellings as they might be abandoned as quickly when the gold was gone.

Those materials have a long history and their evolution has been largely driven by performance.