TILED ROOFS FOR MOD)ERN BUILDINGS


roof for his house a man should display some of the taste he exhibits
in the choice of a hat; lie 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 (lone 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.
O FTHE 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 esthetic 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
to ibelieve 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.
   MVetal-Tin and galvanized iron pressed into various and more
orless fantastic shapes. These roofs are also serviceable for the
same class of buildings, and they possess the advantage of resisting
186