BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
TILED ROOFS; THE KIND OF BUILDINGS TO 
 WHICH THEY ARE SUITED AND A METHOD 
 OF CONSTRUCTION THAT MAKES THEM 
 PRACTICAL AS WELL AS PICTURESQUE: BY 
 ARTHUR JEROME EDDY 
 
 pHE art of building began with the roof. The first 
 rude shelter was all roof and no walls; the modern 
 "skyscraper" is all walls with a minimum of roof. 
 With the development of higher and higher struc 
 tures, the aesthetic importance of the roof becomes 
 of less and less importance, until on the twenty- 
 story building it is often practically flat and entirely 
 hidden from observation below, therefore it is treated in the most 
 practical and prosaic manner. 
 
 Where, however, the buildings are low, the roof expanse is of 
 the very first importance; the most conspicuous feature, which, if 
 visible from afar long before the walls are distinguishable, either 
 adds to or detracts from the landscape and may be harmonious with 
 its surroundings and beautiful, or utterly incongruous and ugly, 
 quite irrespective of the manner in which the walls are treated. 
 On approaching, the walls loom up as the roof disappears from the 
 line of vision. Theoretically, a perfect building ought to appear 
 at its best from a point where the eye can take in both roof and 
 walls in something like equal proportions; if to enjoy the roof in 
 its construction, lines and color, it is necessary to remain so far 
 away that the walls are indistinguishable, the building, as an entirety, 
 is aesthetically imperfect. 
 
 In happy combination of roof and wall, of sky and earth line, 
 the genius of man has never wrought anything more perfect than 
 the Gothic cathedral; notwithstanding its great height, the roof is 
 visible both far and near; to the distant wayfarer it is the most 
 impressive feature of the landscape, to the close observer it is a 
 source of endless delight. For in its day and generation and to meet 
 the needs and aspirations of its builders, nothing finer or more per 
 fect could be devised or imagined, but its reproduction at the 
 present time is an anachronism and a confession of weakness. A 
 temple or a cathedral which is beautiful in its surroundings and 
 for its own purpose, may be very incongruous and ugly in ours. 
 
 To secure this fine proportion between roof and wall, it is obvious 
 that with every increase in the height of the building there must be 
 an even greater increase in the pitch of the roof. To make the 
 
 1 80 
 
METHOD OF LAYING A ROOF 
 WITH SMALL MISSION TILES. 
 
 AN ADOBE BUILDING RE 
 QUIRES A MASSIVE ROOF. 
 
fc 
 
 O 
 
 SnS 
 
 - - _ 
 
 ^ 
 
 W H 
 
 w as < 
 
 g BS 
 
 H ? H 
 
AN OLD MISSION TILED ROOF I 
 TO THE DESTRUCTION OF TIM 
 
 THE OLD TILES ARE ILL AT EA: 
 NEAR A SMOOTH MODERN ROC 
 
 SHOWING THE IRREGULARITY ' 
 THE OLD HAND-MADE TILES. 
 
TILED ROOFS FOR MODERN BUILDINGS 
 
 roof of the modern steel office building visible from the narrow 
 surroimding streets is practically an impossibility, the aesthetic 
 problem presented is fundamentally different from anything here 
 tofore attempted and therefore all the more worthy of solution, for 
 there are great possibilities of perfection and beauty inherent in 
 steel construction. These possibilities do not, however, lie along 
 the lines of superficial imitation, but in a frank recognition of and 
 submission to twentieth century needs and conditions. However, 
 these considerations are aside from the present discussion, which 
 has to do with the roofs of low buildings, with roofs which are and 
 must be visible, and which should be the most beautiful wherever 
 they are the most conspicuous features of the structures. 
 
 The lower the building, the more important the covering, a 
 proposition so true and trite that it is habitually ignored in practice. 
 Architects exhaust their ingenuity and their libraries in designing 
 buildings more or less attractive in every detail except the roof, 
 that is treated as immaterial; it is left to the client to say whether 
 he will cover with shingles, slate, tile, or tin, the decision nine times 
 out of ten turning on the sole consideration of economy. No one is 
 expected to look at the roof, if people do, it is an impertinence; 
 yet the roof is to a low building what a very large hat is to a very 
 short woman, it makes all the difference in the world whether 
 or no it is becoming. 
 
 EVERY variety of architecture has its appropriate roof; in 
 fact, architectural varieties may, very likely should, be 
 differentiated by their roofs; arch and lintel, those two 
 fundamental variations in structure, are but roof or covering varia 
 tions. The first problem in building is how to cover space 
 shelter ; the second is how to enclose space protection ; the latter tends 
 to assume more massive and permanent proportions wherever the 
 assaults of man are more destructive than the ravages of the weather. 
 
 In Oriental countries and in all portions of Europe where native 
 architecture prevails, the roofs, whether of thatch, shingles or tile, 
 first attract the attention of the traveler. One has but to pause a 
 little way off, to realize how much of the charm of the distant hamlet, 
 with church or temple in its midst, is due to the roofs, and how 
 little, comparatively speaking, is due to the walls which are scarce 
 risible. 
 
 The modern city may be judged, and judged very correctly, 
 by its conglomeration of heterogeneous roofs. In the selection of a 
 
TILED ROOFS FOR MODERN BUILDINGS 
 
 roof for his house a man should display some of the taste he exhibits 
 in the choice of a hat; he would not make the mistake of wearing a 
 "tile" with a white duck suit, or a straw hat with a fur coat, so 
 no one with any sense of the eternal fitness of things would mount 
 a heavy Mission tile on walls of shingles or clap-boards; per contra, 
 while it is only too commonly done for sake of economy, no one 
 who is striving to do a good thing would think of covering with 
 light, machine-cut shingles a low house of massive proportions, the 
 walls of which are of adobe, concrete or plaster. 
 
 Shingles on top of brick are so common that they pass unnoticed, 
 but they make a rather airy covering for heavy walls; gray slate is 
 much more appropriate, and tile goes well with certain shades of 
 brick, providing the walls give the impression of solidity and strength. 
 
 In Southern California all sorts and kinds of architecture are 
 to be seen. This is due partly to the climate, which not merely 
 permits, but invites, experiments in every direction, and poor build 
 ing is not punished by severe cold and snow. It is also due to the 
 in-rush of people from every quarter of the globe who have their 
 own notions regarding the houses they want. 
 
 Each style of building brings along its own roof, with a stranger 
 or two for the sake of company. No sooner located never really 
 acclimated -these various styles of architecture, instead of keeping 
 each its own appropriate covering, begin to exchange roofs, with 
 results which are startling. 
 
 OF THE roofings in use those most commonly seen are : Fibre 
 Water-proofed paper, and tarred or asphalted felt of many 
 makes and varying thicknesses. These materials, when well 
 made and well laid, make cheap, serviceable roofs for sheds, ware 
 houses, factories, etc., buildings which conform frankly to their 
 uses and wherein no attempt is made to secure aesthetic results. 
 Curious effects are secured by shaping the heavy asphalted felt in 
 large rolls over wood along the ridges, ends and eaves, and on first 
 impression when the paper is new and gray in tone, the eye is made 
 tojbelieve the covering is of lead or other metal, but these more or 
 less fantastic experiments serve in the long run to direct the attention 
 to the fact that the roofing is, after all, only paper. As the sun 
 brings the tar or asphalt to the surface, the true character is evident. 
 Metal Tin and galvanized iron pressed into various and more 
 orlless fantastic shapes. These roofs are also serviceable for the 
 same class of buildings, and they possess the advantage of resisting 
 
 186 
 
TILED ROOFS FOR MODERN BUILDINGS 
 
 fire. But when the metal is pressed into the shape of tile and painted 
 a dull, dirty red, the roof is ugly; it is neither good tile nor honest 
 metal, but a hybrid of no parentage. A tile roof speaks for itself, 
 but for the metal imitation of tile no good word can be said. 
 
 Wood Shingles, the ordinary machine-made, excellent in their 
 place on houses of which the construction is such as to permit of 
 nothing heavier. As dwellings of this class are in the great majority, 
 shingles are in common use. "Shakes," the long, split, red-wood 
 "shakes" which warp and curl more or less to the weather are ex 
 ceedingly effective; incomparably more effective than shingles where- 
 ever the balance of the construction is in keeping. They are thirty- 
 six inches long by six inches wide, about a quarter of an inch thick, 
 and are commonly laid sixteen inches to the weather. "Shakes" 
 may even be used in place of tiles where shingles would look too 
 light and cheap. The great length of the "shake" together with 
 its warp and curl to the weather, produce delightful lines and 
 shadows. The sawed "shake" is inferior in every way. 
 
 Mineral Slates are used, but not to any great extent on dwellings. 
 A gray-blue slate is not cheerful, but in a gray northern climate it 
 goes well with the common red brick; it has no place on the adobe 
 or plaster walls of California buildings which demand color. The 
 red slate is low in color value, flat and stiff in effect; in short, it is 
 neutral where tile is positive. There is little that is attractive in a 
 broad expanse of slate roof under California sunshine, while if laid 
 in patterns of red and gray it is positively ugly. 
 
 TILE, when properly formed, baked and laid on any structure 
 rightly designed to carry it, is the most beautiful roof cover 
 ing yet devised, but when not properly formed, baked and 
 laid, or laid on buildings for which it is not rightly intended, tile may 
 be not only the ugliest, but the least serviceable of coverings. 
 
 Four hundred and thirty years ago it was provided by law in 
 England that for the making of tiles "clay should be dug before 
 November, and be stirred and turned before March," and to-day 
 the very old tile is considered much better than the new. The 
 same care is not taken in turning out the commercial tile in use at 
 the present time. A good, hard-burnt tile lasts indefinitely; a thing 
 of beauty, it comes very near being a joy forever; it is delightful in 
 color, charming in form, and useful in service. A poor tile has little 
 to recommend it. The hard-burned tile is, comparatively speaking, 
 impervious to moisture, while those half baked, out of poor clay, not 
 
 187 
 
TILED ROOFS FOR MODERN BUILDINGS 
 
 only absorb moisture, but in a damp climate grow a luxuriant crop of 
 vegetation, which may be very picturesque on out-buildings where dry- 
 ness is not a prime essential, but not altogether desirable on a dwelling. 
 
 The Mission fathers no doubt followed the ancient custom of 
 kneading or working the clay in pits under the hoofs of animals, then 
 giving it time to ferment properly. The tiles were probably made 
 by spreading the right quantity of clay on a board or flat surface, 
 patting it to a cake of the right thickness and size, then deftly flopping 
 it over a half-round piece of wood which was first well sanded so 
 the clay would not adhere. The clay was pressed and shaped to 
 the form by hand, trimmed about the edges, dried in the sun, and 
 fired more or less perfectly in small kilns. The pressure of the 
 hand gave the tile a consistency and a surface which machine-made 
 tiles lacked. The latter are more or less porous. 
 
 The quality of the tile differed with the clay of different localities, 
 and with the care and skill of the makers. Some are soft and very 
 irregular, others are comparatively hard and true. Throughout the 
 Southwest a great variety of clay is found, from the sticky adobe, 
 which is little more than a tenacious mud in places, to fine potter's 
 clay. The Mission builders took their clay as they found it and 
 made the best of it. Transportation was too difficult in those days for 
 them to seek and develop the finer deposits. 
 
 &M*The thickness, size and irregularities of these old tiles and the 
 marks of the hand which shaped them are fairly well indicated in 
 the different illustrations. The dimensions of those shown are: 
 length, twenty- three inches; width of broad end, twelve inches; 
 width of narrow end, eight inches; depth, four and one-half at 
 end, diminishing to three and one-half at narrow; thickness varied 
 from three-eighths to three-fourths of an inch. There are no holes 
 for nails or other fastenings. Neither are the corners clipped to 
 economize in laying. It is a delight to caress these old tiles just 
 as it is a delight to pass one's hand over a piece of fine pottery, for, 
 after all, the fingers appreciate good modeling better than the eyes. 
 No one cares to handle machine-made tiles; they are lacking in 
 interest because devoid of character; they have never associated 
 with human beings on terms of intimate and friendly companionship. 
 
 The manner of laying these old tiles is well shown in several 
 of the illustrations. The bed of mud or adobe over the thick matting 
 of brush on the irregular round rafters made a soft and yielding 
 foundation for the tile. The unequal sag relieved the roof of all 
 flat and hard lines. No attempt was made to secure perfect regu- 
 
 188 
 
TILED ROOFS FOR MODERN BUILDINGS 
 
 larity in the "lining up" of the tiles, that was impossible, they 
 were far too irregular in shape and thickness to permit of mechanical 
 perfection in the alignment. The modern commercial tiles are laid 
 to a chalk line with great precision, the result is an effect which is, 
 comparatively speaking, monotonous in the extreme. 
 
 ONE of the illustrations shows the roof of a large bungalow 
 laid with small Mission tiles, and incidentally the roof-line of 
 houses beyond with the mountains in the distance. The 
 small Mission tiles are only sixteen inches long, with a spread of eight 
 inches at the wide end, as compared with thirty-four by twelve. 
 They are machine-made and devoid of the human interest which 
 attaches to the old, but otherwise they are fairly good in shape and 
 color, and make a beautiful roof. It is not every building that will 
 carry the old tile, but they would be exceedingly handsome on the 
 large roof of this particular bungalow. The commercial reproduc 
 tions of the large Mission tiles are not very successful. They are 
 ugly in their proportions, thin, and, for the most part, more or less 
 porous and defective. 
 
 This particular roof was laid twice. The tiles first used were poorly 
 made, poorly baked and poorly laid; they absorbed water like a 
 sponge, and dripped like an oZ/o, with the result that, after four or 
 five hours of heavy rain, countless small leaks would develop. As 
 the tiles rested in flimsy building paper, and this on ordinary sheath 
 ing laid lengthwise of the roof instead of from ridge to eaves, there 
 was nothing in the foundation to turn the water which the tiles failed 
 to keep out; each tile was nailed so the paper was filled with holes 
 to begin with. 
 
 The roof as relaid^was first made tight underneath. A specially 
 cut sheathing, the joints of which would turn water, was used ; on 
 this was laid an asphalted felt of almost the thickness and tough 
 ness of sole leather; the strips ran lengthwise, and the over-Tap 
 of four inches, though quite sufficient without cement, was thor 
 oughly cemented ; on this heavy felt the tiles were laid without nail 
 ing, as the pitch of the roof was so low that nails were not necessary; 
 as a final precaution, the over-laps of all the lower tiles were joined 
 with an oil cement, fifty pounds to the square being used. As the 
 tiles were specially burned and selected, it is believed that the roof 
 is trebly tight, that the tile, the asphalted felt, the sheathing each 
 independently of the other will turn water, while the three are 
 quite impervious to heat and cold. 
 
 189 
 
TILED ROOFS FOR MODERN BUILDINGS 
 
 AT PRESENT there is a slight revival of interest in the use 
 of the old tiles, they are being carefully preserved, but, un 
 happily, the new buildings on which they are used seldom 
 conform in design and construction to the massive irregularities of 
 the tiles and the results are not satisfactory. For instance, they are 
 exceedingly ill-at-ease in their painful regularity on a lightly built 
 building, and the very modern red brick chimney worries them. 
 
 Tile is the normal covering for the adobe, cement or plaster 
 house, providing, of course, the construction of the walls is suffi 
 ciently massive to carry the heavy roof, to carry it to the eye as 
 well as in fact. A heavy tile roof on light walls, or on walls^the 
 proportions of which are only too apparently false and artificial, 
 produces a sense of discomfort, the roof sinks in the estimation in 
 more senses than one. 
 
 Very little pains have been taken to save the roofs of the Cali 
 fornia Missions, though not a little has been done to preserve some 
 of the walls and interiors. In many instances the roofs have been 
 sheathed and shingled, a very matter-of-fact and inappropriate 
 covering for walls so substantial. In some places the tiles and shingles 
 appear side by side; in others the old tiles have been relaid loosely 
 over shingles. 
 
 While the old Mission tiles make picturesque and serviceable 
 roofs in Southern California, they would not serve so well in the 
 colder climates of the north and east, as they are a poor protection 
 against snow. From time immemorial the ingenuity of builders has 
 been exercised in the endeavor to lay a weather-proof tile roof in 
 a cold climate. In England an ancient custom prevailed to bed the 
 tiles in hay or moss, " when the roof is of full pitch this suffices without 
 mortar, they may even be laid dry. But with any less pitch, some 
 precaution must be used to keep out drifting snow, and such wet 
 as may be blown up between the tiles lifted by the force of the wind. 
 In lieu of oak pegs, extra large flat-headed wrought nails, made of 
 pure zinc or of zinc and copper have been used." 
 
 The Japanese method of laying a tiled roof is described by Prof. 
 Edward F. Morse as follows 'The boarded roof is first roughly 
 and thinly shingled, and upon this surface is then spread a thick 
 layer of mud into which the tiles are firmly bedded. The mud is 
 scooped up from some ditch or moat, and is also got from the canals. 
 In the city one often sees the men getting the mud for this purpose 
 from the deep gutters which border many of the streets. This is 
 kneaded and worked with hoe and spade till it acquires the con- 
 
 190 
 
sistency of thick dough. In conveying this mess to the roof no hod 
 is used. The material is worked into large lumps by the laborer, 
 and these are tossed one after another to a man who stands on a 
 staging or ladder, who in turn pitches it to the man on the roof, 
 or, if the roof be high, to another man on a still higher staging. 
 The mud, having been got to the roof, is then spread over it in a 
 thick and even layer. Into this the tiles are then bedded, row after 
 row. There seems to be no special adhesion of the tiles to this 
 substratum of mud, and high gales often cause great havoc to a roof 
 of this nature. In the case of a conflagration, when it becomes 
 necessary to tear down buildings in its path, the firemen appear to 
 have no difficulty in shovelling the tiles off a roof with ease and 
 rapidity. 
 
 "The older a tile is the better it is considered for roofing pur 
 poses . . . Second-hand tiles, therefore, are always in greater 
 demand. A new tile, being very porous and absorbent, is not con 
 sidered so good as one in which tune has allowed the dust and dirt 
 to fill the minute interstices, thus rendering it a better material for 
 shedding water." 
 
 IN THE effort to produce tiles which will "lay tight" and in 
 themselves be rain and snow proof, all sorts of queer and 
 ugly patterns are turned out. Most of these "patented" 
 tiles are half baked and soft; were they baked properly their joints 
 and laps would not meet, as their inventors intend. They depend 
 for their color upon "slipping" or glazing. Tiles which are bold and 
 eautiful in form, well vitrified and fine in color cannot be laid tight. 
 Dust, rain and snow proof joints are impossible. The finer and 
 handsomer the tile, the greater the necessity of making a perfect 
 foundation. 
 
 The almost endless varieties of flat, "pan," inter-locking, and 
 "patented" tiles may give the effect of color at a distance, but color 
 is not the only effect to be sought in a roof, shape is equally impor 
 tant. The roof is the hat of the house, and the shape of a man's 
 hat is quite as important as its color. 
 
 Whether tile can be used, and the pattern, depends a good deal 
 upon the pitch, and the pitch to be given a roof depends upon three 
 considerations, climate, materials used, and effect desired. Gener 
 ally speaking, the warmer the climate, the flatter the roof. In a 
 southern climate, a steep roof is simply a device for catching and 
 holding; heat, like the sloping sides of a hot-house. 
 
 191 
 
TILED ROOFS FOR MODERN BUILDINGS 
 
 A number of years ago an effort was made by a French publica 
 tion to arrive at a rule for the pitch of roofs based upon climatic 
 conditions. The globe between the equator and the polar circle was 
 divided into twenty-four belts or bands parallel to the equator, but 
 of unequal size, depending upon the length of the longest day. Allow 
 ances were made for dryer and damper climates, and for the shape 
 of the tiles; "in the roofs of the continent covered with the hollow 
 tile (like Mission tile), as in the south of France, for instance, less 
 slope is required than with the Roman tiles which are in sections 
 alternately flat and circular, and these again require less slope than 
 the common plain tile or slate." A table constructed in accordance 
 with the theory gives the following variations in pitch for the coun 
 tries, localities and materials named 
 
 LOCALITY HOLLOW TILES PLAIN TILES 
 
 Southern Spain pitch 16 deg. 12 min. 24 deg. 12 min. 
 
 Italy 18 " 12 " 26 " 12 " 
 
 France 21 " 29 " 
 
 Northern " 24 " 36 " 32 " 36 " 
 
 Germany 28 " 36 " 36 " 36 " 
 
 England (London) 27 " 24 " 35 " 24 " 
 
 Scotland 33 " 12 42 " 12 " 
 
 Sweden, Russia and Norway 
 
 (average) 30 " 49 
 
 According to above table South 
 ern California would require 
 
 about 17 26 
 
 In pitch, the Mission roofs varied greatly. The variations are 
 as^numerous as the structures themselves. No rule of construction 
 can be laid down which would not be compelled to admit brilliant 
 and successful exceptions. The good builder is not restricted by 
 arbitrary considerations, he meets conditions as he finds them and 
 builds as he pleases ; if he consider only the needs of the people and 
 the exigencies of environment, and if he uses only the materials of 
 the vicinity, he cannot go far astray. 
 
 192