INTERESTING FACTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 243, 4 January 1928, Page 6

INTERESTING FACTS

TILES FOR ROOFING Tile for roofing purposes dates back to the very earliest times, even to the Egyptians and Assyrians. These early efforts toward an ornamental and useful roofing were simply huge slabs of limestone quarried from the Armenian mountains. Crude as they were, they were used on some of the most famous structures of the ancient world. Later we find the Greeks likewise using tile, marble slabs much lighter than the stone of the Assyrians. Coming to the Romans, we find still further improvement. It was they who gave us the first metal tiles, casting them from bronze. The next step was the invention of tiles similar to our own modern type, the burnt clay tile of the Moors. Many of the wonderful structures built during the Moorish conquest of Spain were roofed with them. Following the example of the Moors, the Spaniards were quick to appreciate the artistic and practical features of these tiles, and used them to such an extent that they later became known as Spanish tiles. These tiles, made of burnt clay, were used by all the nations without change or improvement until very recent years. They made a beautiful roof, but they had a great many drawbacks, being very heavy, easily broken and difficult to keep watertight. It remained for the “sheet metal people” to solve the problem and make a Spanish tile which retained all the beauty and massiveness of the old clay tile and at the same time overcame its many disadvantages. Stamped from metal, the cost is less than that of clay tiles and little more than that of wooden shingles. Being non-porous, it does not absorb moisture, and its composition makes it an excellent insulator. Moreover, it is almost impossible to detect any difference in appearance between metal tile and clay tile.