AU1129899A

AU1129899A - Improved roof flashing

Info

Publication number: AU1129899A
Application number: AU11298/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Michael Carew; Steve Peric
Original assignee: Ritosi Prec Engineering Pty Ltd Trading As Aries Rubber Products; Tradsol Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Ritosi Precision Engineering Pty Ltd Trading As Aries Rubber Products; Tradsol Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1998-01-13
Filing date: 1999-01-12
Publication date: 1999-08-05
Anticipated expiration: 2019-01-12
Also published as: AU744066B2

Description

P/00/0011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT a.

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ORIGINAL

Name of Applicants: Actual Inventors: Address for service in Australia: Invention Title: TRADSOL PTY ENGINEERING PTY

PRODUCTS

LTD

and RITOSI PRECISION TRADING AS ARIES RUBBER MICHAEL CAREW and STEVE PERIC CARTER SMITH BEADLE 2 Railway Parade Camberwell Victoria 3124 Australia IMPROVED ROOF FLASHING Details ofAssociated Provisional Application: PP1309 filed 13 January 1999 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us -2- IMPROVED ROOF FLASHING The present invention relates to an improved roof flashing. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved roof flashing for fitment around ventilation pipes or other pipes extending through a roof Roof structures invariably include an exterior covering or cladding such as tiles or corrugated sheeting. The exterior covering or cladding provides an aesthetic appearance to the roof More importantly, the exterior covering or cladding must provide a weatherproof seal to keep out rain.

Difficulties in obtaining a weatherproof seal can arise in the vicinity of pipes that extend upwardly through the roof or with other penetrations through the roof.

Such pipes include ventilation pipes extending from toilet systems (commonly known as "stink pipes"). In order to allow such pipes to extend through the roof, it is ooooo necessary to remove a portion of the exterior coating or cladding of the roof to enable the pipe to extend upwardly. In the case of tiles roofs, this is generally achieved by removing at least one tile or cutting out a portion of a tile. For corrugated iron roofs, a cut-out may be made in the corrugated iron. In either case, a hole is made in the roof, which hole is a potential breach of the weatherproof seal. Hence, it is necessary to form a weatherproof seal around the pipe to prevent leaks through the roof. The S•flashing may comprise a soft metal alloy that includes an opening that fits closely to the pipe to thereby form a seal around the pipe. In some instances, a collar may have to be fitted to the pipe, which collar overlies the opening in the flashing in order to obtain the necessary seal. The outer periphery of the flashing lies either underneath the above (or both underneath and above) the exterior coating or cladding to form the seal where the cladding has been removed.

The present invention provides an improved roof flashing.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a roof flashing including flexible, resilient boot means having an opening therein, said opening adapted to seal around a pipe or other elongate member extending through said opening, and a flange extending from a lower portion of said boot means, said flange having a thickness that MAW:PP:#27269.CAP 12 January 1999 -3includes a portion that generally tapers down to a narrow thickness at an outer periphery of the flange.

The present invention also provides a method for affixing a roof flashing to a roof including the step of: providing a roof flashing including flexible resilient boot means having an opening therein and a flange extending from a lower portion of said boot means, said flange having a thickness that includes a portion that generally tapers down to a narrow thickness at an outer periphery of the flange; ii) positioning said flashing such that a pipe or other elongate member extending upwardly from the roof extends through said opening; and iii) affixing said flange to the roof.

For convenience, the invention will be described hereinafter with reference to ooooo :use with pipes. However, it is to be appreciated that the invention may be used to form a seal around other elongate members.

A particular advantage of the apparatus and method of the present invention is that the tapering thickness of the flange of the roof flashing allows the roof flashing to be affixed to the roof in a very flush manner, thereby avoiding the damming effect of previous roof flashing devices incorporating a boot.

:In a preferred embodiment, the roof flashing of the present invention further 20 includes a plastically deformable member attached to or incorporated into the flange.

The plastically deformable member may be shaped to accurately fit the contour of the roof, which will in turn act to shape the flange to fit the contour of the roof. This allows for an easier and better fit of the flange to the roof, which assists in obtaining a better seal between the roof and the flange. Preferably, the plastically deformable member is a metal strip or a metal wire. An aluminium wire or aluminium strip, especially an annular aluminium strip, has been found to be especially suitable. The plastically deformable member may be moulded into the flange or it may be attached to the flange, for example, by use of an adhesive or by passing the plastically deformable member through one or more protrusions or housings formed in the roof MAW:PP:#27269.CAP 12 January 1999 -4flashing.

It is especially preferred that the plastically deformable member is attached to or incorporated into the flange, and most preferably at a part of the flange that is located near the lower portion of the boot means.

In an especially preferred embodiment of the present invention, the roof flashing further includes adhesive means positioned on an underside of the flange.

The adhesive means may include an adhesive tape affixed to the underside of the flange. The adhesive tape preferably includes a tape layer having an adhesive layer thereon and a release layer overlapping said adhesive layer. The adhesive tape may be a double-sided adhesive tape with a second adhesive layer joining the tape layer to the underside of the flange.

In another embodiment, the adhesive means may comprise a layer of adhesive .ooo.: •in direct contact with the underside of the flange. Again, it is preferred that a release layer is overlaid over the adhesive layer to enable storage of the flashing and to prevent unwanted adherence of the flashing to another surface.

A number of adhesives may be used in this embodiment of the invention and the person of skill in the art would readily recognize which adhesives are suitable for use in the present invention. The inventors have found that a butylene adhesive gives a particularly good bond between the roof flashing and the roof.

20 Another advantage of the tapering thickness of the flange of the roof flashing is that the flange can be more accurately conformed to the shape or contour of the roof due to its narrow thickness at the outer periphery thereof. This also enables a better fit to be obtained between the flange and the roof.

In a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention, the roof flashing is affixed to the roof by an adhesive means positioned between the roof and the underside of the flange. If the plastically deformable member comprises a strip of metal, it may also be possible to affix the roof flashing to the roof by means of fastening means (such as screws and the like) that extend through the metal strip and into the roof. If an adhesive is also used, the adhesive may form a seal around the MAW:PP:#27269.CAP 12 January 1999 fastening means, thereby obviating the requirement to separately seal the top of the fastening means.

In one embodiment, an inner portion of the flange extends below the level of a plane containing the outer periphery of the flange. In this case, the inner portion of the flange may extend downwardly with a generally frusto-conical or frusto-pyramidal shape. The inner-most portion of the inner portion of the flange preferably defines the lowermost region of the flange. This arrangement may assist in ensuring that the inner part of the flange stays in good contact with the roof to further improve the seal.

The boot means of the roof flashing of the present invention is preferably generally frusto-conical in shape. In order to accommodate pipes of different diameters, the upper part of the boot means may be cut off to increase the diameter of the opening. To assist in this, one or a plurality of guide means for indicating an opening diameter may be included on the boot means. The guide means may comprise circumferential markings or projections, with each marking or projection

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15 corresponding to a different pipe diameter. In order to have the pipe fit tightly through the opening, the appropriate guide means is selected and the part of the boot means above the selected guide means is cut-off.

In some instances where the roof flashing is to be fitted to an existing pipe, it i *may not be possible to fit the pipe through the opening because the pipe may have a 20 vent cap or other larger diameter fitting mounted thereto. Clearly, providing an opening that would be able to pass over the larger diameter fittings could result in the opening not sealing properly around the smaller diameter pipe. To overcome this problem, the method of affixing the roof flashing may further include the steps of cutting the side of the boot means and optionally the flange to form a cut portion, opening the roof flashing by separating respective edges of the cut portion, positioning said flashing over the pipe and joining the cut portion together. The edges of the cut portion may be joined together by an adhesive. In this embodiment, a good seal can be obtained between the pipe and the roof flashing.

In order to facilitate this embodiment of the method, the roof flashing may MAW:PP:#27269.CAP 12 January 1999 include two opposed flanges extending transversely from a side of the boot means.

The material of the boot means positioned between the two opposed flanges may be cut to form the cut portion and the cut portion may be joined together by joining the two opposed flanges together. The opposed flanges may preferably be joined together by a suitable adhesive. One or both flanges may be provided with an adhesive layer to facilitate saidjoining.

The opposed flanges may also extend across the width of the flange of the roof flashing to enable the boot means and the flange to be cut, if required.

The boot means may include a cross-sectional profile that includes first and 0006 10 second arcuate portions. Said first and second arcuate portions may extend substantially around the boot means. The second arcuate portion may be located *0 above the first arcuate portion, preferably such that a lower part of the second arcuate .60o0: portion is substantially adjacent to an upper part of the first arcuate portion. When the flange of the roof flashing is shaped to conform to the contours of the roof, the first 0: 15 and second arcuate portions can deform in shape to enable the conforming shape of the flange to be obtained whilst also assisting in maintaining the shape of the opening at the desired shape. The first and second arcuate portions are preferably located at or near a lower portion of the boot means.

In another embodiment, the lower part of the boot means may include a generally vertical wall and a shoulder formed at a top portion of the generally vertical wall. The shoulder may connect directly to an upper part of the boot means.

Alternately one or more parts having an arcuate cross-section may be interposed between the shoulder and the upper part of the boot means. Both of these embodiments assist in minimizing distortion in the shape of the upper part of the boot means (including the opening) when the flange is conformed to the shape of the roof.

The boot means may be made from any flexible, resilient material. Preferred materials are rubber materials or elastomeric materials.

The opening in the roof flashing is preferably circular in shape.

The present invention will now be further described with reference to preferred MAW:PP:#27269.CAP 12 January 1999 -7embodiments shown in the accompanying Figures. In the Figures: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a roof flashing in accordance with the present invention fitted to a roof; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional elevation of the roof flashing shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the flange of the roof flashing in accordance with the present invention; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional elevation of a roof flashing in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in Figure 4; Figure 6 shows an enlarged view of the flange to clearly show the .;-"adhesive on the flange; and oooo.: Figure 7 shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 1, the roof flashing 1 of the present invention is affixed to roof 2. A pipe 3 extending upwardly from (and through) roof extends through •opening 4 in roof flashing 1. The edge 5 of hole 4 forms a seal around the outer wall ofpipe 3.

.As generally indicated in Figure 1, the roof flashing 1 includes boot means 6 and flange 7 extending from a lower part of the boot means 6.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, the boot means 6 is of generally frustoconical shape. The upper part of boot means 6 includes an upper edge 5 defining opening 4. The boot means 6 extends downwardly through body portion 8. Body portion 8 includes guide means 9, 10, 11 formed thereon to guide a user of the flashing to appropriate positions to cut-off the top of the boot means 6 if the flashing is to be fitted to pipes of larger diameter than will pass through opening 4. For example, in order to accommodate pipe 3A (shown in dashed outline in Figure the user would cut-off the top of boot means 6 at the lower end of guide means Boot means 6 also includes first arcuate portion 12 and second arcuate portion MAW:PP:#27269.CAP 12 January 1999 13. As shown in Figure 1 and 2, arcuate portions 12, 13 extend around the boot means. First arcuate portion 12 and second arcuate portion 13 can deform when flange 7 is deformed to conform to the roof contour whilst allowing upper body portion 8 of boot means 6 to retain a substantially uniform shape. This assists in ensuring that opening 4 retains a shape that will allow a seal to form between the edge of opening 4 and the pipe.

Flange 7 extends from a lower portion of boot means 6. More details of flange 7 will be described with reference to Figures 3 and 7.

A plastically deformable member, in this case an aluminium wire 14 is joined to or incorporated in flange 7. As best shown in Figure 1, a series of housings 15 are formed on the upper surface of flange 7 and aluminium wire 14 is inserted through housing 15 to join wire 14 to the flange 7. It will be appreciated that the aluminium wire may be incorporated into or joined to the flange in a number of difficult ways.

Aluminium wire 14 can be easily deformed to the shape of the contour of the roof and 15 this assists in flange 7 maintaining a complementary shape to the contour of the roof, thereby simplifying fitment of the flange to the roof.

Referring now to Figure 3, which shows the cross-sectional shape of the flange 7 in greater detail, flange 7 has an underside 16, an upper side 17 and an outer S. periphery 18. As can be seen, the flange has its smallest thickness at outer periphery 20 18. The flange 7 includes a tapered portion 19 where the flange tapers from its largest thickness to its smallest thickness at outer periphery 18. The underside 16 is substantially flat to enable the underside 16 of flange 7 to be closely fitted to the roof.

The cross-sectional profile of flange 7, in including a tapered portion, has the following advantages: i) the reduced thickness at the outer periphery allows the flange to be easily and closely conformed to the contours of the roof, thereby enabling the flange to be satisfactorily fitted to the roof; and ii) the tapered profile allows a very flush fit to be achieved, thereby minimizing the damming effect that occurs with known roof flashings.

MAW:PP:#27269.CAP 12 January 1999 -9 Turning now to Figures 4 and 5, which show another embodiment of a roof flashing in accordance with the present invention, it will be noted that the roof flashing of Figures 4 and 5 includes many similar parts to the rod flashing of Figures 1, 2 and 3. In order to simplify description, the like parts of Figures 4 and 5 have been given the same reference numerals as used in Figures 1, 2 and 3 and the like parts will not be described further.

The embodiment of Figures 4 and 5 differs from that of Figures 1, 2 and 3 in the provision of two opposed flanges 20, 21. Opposed flanges 20, 21 extend transversely from boot means 6 and flange 7.

The embodiment shown in Figures 4 and 5 is particularly useful where it is desired to fit the roof flashing to a pipe that has fittings of a larger diameter than the pipe diameter attached thereto. Such fittings may include a vent cap or a joining collar. In order to fit the roof flashing to such a pipe, the material 22 of the boot means 6 and optionally the flange 7 is cut from the edge 5 of opening 4. The edges of the cut portion are separated, which effectively opens or enlarges the diameter of opening 4 to thereby allow the roof flashing to fit over the larger diameter fittings of the pipe. If the roof flashing is cut all the way through boot means 6 and flange 7, the *9 roof flashing may be opened by separating the edges of the out portion and placed around the pipe.

20 When the roof flashing has been positioned around the pipe, the opposed flanges 20, 21 are joined together, suitably by an adhesive, to reform the boot means and form a seal between the pipe and the edges 5 of the opening 4 of the roof flashing.

The adhesive may be positioned between the opposed flanges 20, 21 during manufacture of the roof flashing or the adhesive may be applied to one or both of the opposed faces of the opposed flanges 20, 21 by the installer of the roof flashing.

Figure 6 shows an enlarged view of the flange 7 to more clearly show the adhesive. In the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the adhesive takes the form of a double-sided adhesive tape attached to the underside 16 of flange 7. More particularly, tape layer 24 is attached to the underside 16 of flange 7 by adhesive layer MAW:PP:#27269.CAP 12 January 1999 23. Another adhesive layer 25 is positioned on the lower side of tape layer 24 and adhesive layer 25 is covered by release layer 26. To affix the flange 7 to the roof, the release layer 26 is removed and adhesive layer 25 pressed into contact with the roof.

To assist in removal of the release layer 26, the release layer may include a pull tab or protruding edge (not shown).

In order to ensure that the outer periphery 18 of the flange 7 is firmly affixed to the roof, the adhesive layers 23, 25 preferably extend to the outer periphery.

Although Figure 6 shows a double-sided adhesive tape, it will be appreciated that other arrangements for the adhesive may be used and still fall within the scope of 10 the present invention. For example, the installer of the flashing may simply apply the adhesive to one or both of the underside of the flange or the roof and still fall within the scope of the present invention.

Turning to Figure 7 which shows a further embodiment of the present invention, roof flashing 30 includes boot means 31 and flange 32. Boot means 31 has •go 15 an upper part 33 including top edge 34 defining opening 35. Guide means 36, 37 are formed in upper part 33 in a similar fashion to guide means 9, 10, 11 of the roof flashing shown in Figure 1. The lower part 38 of boot means 31 includes generally vertical wall 39 that terminates at shoulder 40. As shown in Figure 7, shoulder *°:connects to the upper part 33. It will also be appreciated that first and/or second 20 arcuate portions similar to arcuate portions 12, 13 of Figure 1 may be present between shoulder 40 and upper part 33.

The roof flashing 30 also includes flange 41 having an outer portion 42 and an inner portion 43. Outer portion 42 includes at least a part having a cross-sectional thickness that tapers towards a generally narrow outer periphery edge forming a downwardly directed lip 44. A strip of aluminium 45 is attached to flange 41 by moulded housing 46.

Inner portion 43 of flange 41 includes downwardly and inwardly extending portion 47 that is positioned below the level of a plane 48 that contains outer portion 42 of the flange. Portion 47 connects with the lowermost part of wall 39.

MAW:PP:#27269.CAP 12 January 1999 11 The present invention provides a unique roof flashing that is simple to fit and yet results in a firm bond to the roof that has good resistance to leakage.

It will be appreciated that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. It is to be understood that the invention encompasses all such variations and modifications that fall within its spirit and scope.

a ***ee So e MAW:PP:#27269.CAP 12 January 1999

Claims

12- THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOW: 1. A flashing including a flexible, resilient boot means having an opening therein, said opening adapted to seal around a pipe or other elongate member extending through said opening, and a flange extending from a lower portion of said boot means, said flange having a thickness that includes a portion that generally tapers down to a narrow thickness at the outer periphery region of said flange. 2. A flashing according to claim 1 including a plastically deformable member associated with the outer periphery region of said flange. 3. A flashing according to claim 3 wherein said plastically defomable member is a metallic strip of corresponding configuration to the periphery of said flange. 4. A flashing according to claim 3 wherein said plastically defomable member is associated with the flange by passing through one or more housings formed in said flange. A flashing according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein said outer periphery •region includes a periphery edge which forms a downardly directed lip. oO• 0 6. A flashing according to any one of claims 1 to 5 which in cross section 0:00: :includes one or a plurality of arcuate portions. 7. A flashing according to claim 1 wherein said arcuate portion or portions extend S. substantially around said boot means. 8. A flashing according to claim 7 wherein said arcuate portions occur adjacent each other and toward the lower portion of said boot. 9. A flashing according to any one of claims 1 to 8 including adhesive means positioned on the underside of said flange. A flashing according to claim 9 wherein said adhesive means is positioned on the underside of said flange. 11. A flashing according to claim 10 wherein said adhesive means includes a tape layer having an adhesive layer and a release layer overlapping said adhesive layer. MAW:PP:#27269.CAP 12 January 1999

13- 12. A flashing according to claim 11 wherein said adhesive means is a double sided adhesive tape with a second adhesive layer joining the tape layer to the underside of the flange. 13. A flashing according to any one of claims 9 to 12 wherein said adhesive is a butylene.

14. A flashing according to any one of claims 1 to 13 which is of general frustro conical shape. A flashing according to any one of claims 1 to 14 including a generally vertical wall and shoulder formed at the lower part of the boot.

16. A flashing according to any one of claims 1 to 15 including two opposed flanges extending transversely from a side of the boot means and formed integrally S"therewith.

17. A method for affixing a roof flashing to a roof including the step of: providing a roof flashing including flexible resilient boot means having •an opening therein and a flange extending from a lower portion of said boot means, said flange having a thickness that includes a portion that generally tapers down to a narrow thickness at an outer periphery of the flange; ii) positioning said flashing such that a pipe or other elongate member extending upwardly from the roof extends through said opening; and iii) affixing said flange to the roof.

18. A flashing according to any one of claims 1 to 16 substantially as hereinbefore described with particular reference to the examples.

19. A method according to claim 17 substantially as hereinbefore described. DATED: 12 January 1999 CARTER SMITH BEADLE Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: TRADSOL PTY LTD AND RITOSI PRECISION ENGINEERING PTY LTD TRADING AS ARIES RUBBER PRODUCTS MAW:PP:#27269.CAP 12 January 1999