Victorian Homes Roofing Materials

Clay roofing is durable and long lasting but it s important to match clay tiles with the victorian period.

Victorian homes roofing materials.

To the design materials and skills used on traditional roofs even though few would fully comply with modern practice. Colonial revival and the bungalow styles in the 20th century assured wood shingles a place as one of the most fashionable domestic 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. Originally hand split from local woods oak and pine in the northeast to cypress in the south wood shingles were typically shaved smooth for high style and garden variety houses alike perhaps even decorated with rounded butts.

Although the buildings of this 80 year period shared many similarities there were also noticeable differences between victorian era buildings constructed at different times. An abundance of clay in the east made brick a common material for eastern victorian houses. The most popular materials used for victorian metal roof shingles also changed several times during the period. Galvanized sheet metal shingles imitating the appearance of pantiles remained popular from the second half of the 19th century into the 20th century.

As well as the contribution that a historic roof makes to an individual building equally important are the distinctive roofscapes of tile slate. Metal roofing in america is principally a 19th century phenomenon. Galvanized sheet metal shingles imitating the appearance of pantiles remained popular from the second half of the 19th century into the 20th century. A mixture of materials and textures is also a strong victorian theme.

The victorian style building dominated architectural design between the 1830s and 1910s. Colonial revival and the bungalow styles in the 20th century assured wood shingles a place as one of the most fashionable domestic roofing materials. This variation occurred mostly due to the availability of materials. However the materials used varied somewhat depending on the geographic region.

Plentiful wood in the west led to many wood victorian homes in this region. For builders in timber rich north america wood shingles were the obvious choice for the earliest roofs and ultimately the most common roofing material for houses well into the 20th century. Spanish clay tiles for example won t be a good match for a victorian period home. Clay tiles were also used as roofing materials in early victorian period homes.