Victorian Roofing Materials

The biggest manufactured roofing innovation of the mid 19th century was the introduction of shingles and rolls of material composed of asphalt felt and a granular coating which came into wide use in the early 20th century because of their low cost fire resistance and ease of installation.

Victorian roofing materials.

Apart from the differences in roofing materials people of the 19th century also used different roofing designs. Wood clay and the beginning of the victorian era when the architectural design choices that have grown to be known as the victorian style emerged wood and clay tiles were the roofing materials of choice. In varying degrees each of these sheet metals are likely to deteriorate from chemical action by pitting or streaking. Slate a more expensive and durable roofing material was also used for high class homes.

Since this time period however wood roofing has evolved and is now made to be more resistant. Wood roofing was used primarily for early victorian homes. Second only to wood as a natural traditional roofing material slateis a fine grained sedimentary rock that has topped castles and large buildings for centuries in europe. While in warmer parts of the country people tended to use wood roofing in colder regions people often used slate or metal.

To the design materials and skills used on traditional roofs even though few would fully comply with modern practice. Of the inorganic roofing materials used on historic buildings the most common are perhaps the sheet metals. Imported from wales to colonial america for fire proof roofs in boston philadelphia and new york it was still slow to catch on for houses. Video of the day volume 0.

The roofing material was typically composed of multiple layers of coal and tar over tongue and groove planking. Lead copper zinc tin plate terne plate and galvanized iron. Victorian architecture was primarily constructed with brick and mortar. For higher end buildings clay was typically used whereas wood was sought as a less expensive alternative.

Our company is also a member of the victorian roof tiling association and victorian distributors association. Colonial revival and the bungalow styles in the 20th century assured wood shingles a place as one of the most fashionable domestic roofing materials. Galvanized sheet metal shingles imitating the appearance of pantiles remained popular from the second half of the 19th century into the 20th century. Wood is cost effective and visually appealing but it is not a long lasting material.