US44831A

US44831A - Improvement in roofs of churches

Info

Publication number: US44831A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1864-10-25
Anticipated expiration: 1881-10-25

Description

UNITED STATES PATEN Erice.

SHEPHERD S. YVOODOOOK, OF SOMERVILLE, AND GEORGE F. MEAOHAM, OF WATERTOVN, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN ROOFS OF CHURCHES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 14,83% dated October 25, 1864.

To @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that we, SHEPHERD S. WoonoooK, of Somerville, and GEORGE F. MEA- CHAM, of Watertown, both in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Building Churches and other Similar Edices; and We hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ot' this speciiication, in which- Figure l is a view of the interior ot a church, the clear story 7 of which is supported according to our improved plan of construction; and Fig. 2 is an inside elevation, a part ot' the finishing being removed, showing the framing and our improved method of support ing the clear story.

In churches and other similar edilices in which a large open area is required on the lower floor, and which are constructed with a clear story, it has been necessary to support the roof by means of a series of columns on each side in the interior of the structure. These columns added materially to the cost ot the building, occupied considerable space, and obstructed the view and light.

The object ot' our invention is to overcome these objections, and it consists in supporting the roof by means of a truss7 or trussed girder on each side ot' the building, properly supported in the end walls and stayed in place by means of wind-braces77 and ties,7 which bind the roof together and prevent it from spreading and giving a lateral thrust to the truss, the whole weight of the roof being thus made to bear vertically upon it, by which construction we are enabled to dispense with the columns heretofore used, thus greatly lessening the cost of the building, and leaving an unobstructed area, which adds to the beauty and iinish of the interior.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and apply our invention, we will proceed to describe the manner in which we have carried it out.

ln the said drawings, A represents the side walls ot' a church, constructed in the usual manner. B is a truss or trussed girder extending the Whole length of the building, (there being one on each side,) and supported at its extremities by the end walls, U. This truss B is ot' equal depth with and forms one ofthe vertical walls ofthe clear story D. The rafters c of the lower roof or lean-to77 E are secured to the wallplate F and to the lower girder of the truss B, which is stayed and held irmly in place by means of the windbraces b, also secured to the plate F and truss B, as seen in Fig. 2. The rafters c of the main roof G extend from the ridge H to the upper girder of the truss B, which is steadied and still further stayed by means of the wind-braces d and ties e, which bind the roof G together and prevent its giving a lateral thrust to the truss, upon which the whole weight of the roof is thus brought to bear vertically. The whole is then covered and nished, as seen in Fig. l, the spaces between the braces of the truss -B being occupied by the clearstory windows I. The root' is thus supported without the use of columns by the truss B, the depth and great strength of which precludes any possibility of its settling or sagging in the center of its length.

lt will thus be seen that by the above-de` scribed method of supporting the roof we are enabled to combine the advantages of lightness, strength, and durability with great economy of construction, and the interior presents an open, unobstructed area.

le do not conne ourselves to the exact details here shown, as it is obvious that these may be'varied without departing from the spirit of our invention.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isn

Supporting the roof of a building by means of trusses B, steadied and held in place by wind-braees b d, in the manner substantially as set forth.

S. S. WOODCOGK. GEO. F. MEAUHAM. Vitnesses:

P. E. TEscHEMAcHEE, N. W. SrEARNs.