I A roof valley gutter guard The present invention relates to a roof valley gutter guard and, in particular, to a compressible metallic guard suitable for sheet metal roof valleys of differing widths. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 5 When a roof is constructed, a valley may be created between two hip portions of the roof which does not have a layer of additional roofing material such as tiles or metal. As such standing water occurs when debris accumulates in the valley and prevents the run-off of rainwater. As a consequence, leakage or other damage may occur. Therefore, regular cleaning of debris out of the valley often take places, however a more practical solution is the 10 presence of a guard to prevent the debris from accumulating in the valley and therefore allowing rainwater to run down the valley and off the roof, thus reducing the chances of leaks or damage caused by standing water. Such guards are known but have limitations in that they are typically adapted for use with tile roofs only, and not with other roofing materials such as metal sheeting. They also 15 typically require a large number of fixings to ensure they are appropriately secured inside the valley. Valley guards known to the Applicant are made of plastic material which can be vulnerable to collapse when there is excess debris, and also detachment from the roof in strong wind environments, Another disadvantage is that such guards are not adapted for the use within valleys of differing widths, 20 It is an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned problems, or at least provide the public with a useful alternative. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore in one form of the invention there is proposed a roof valley gutter guard comprising: 25 an elongate strip of material including a plurality of apertures, said material having a concave shape and including a plurality of apertures to prevent particulate matter of a greater size to that of said apertures from entering the roof valley; opposed fins extending transversely outwardly from said elongate strip, said fins adapted to be retained by a roof member; and 2 wherein said concave strip is constructed of a flexible material which allows a transverse dimension of said guard to be adjusted to facilitate entry into roof valleys of varying widths. Preferably said fins are adapted to be retained beneath a roof medium forming said valley when the concave strip is released after being compressed to facilitate entry into the 5 valley. In a further aspect of the invention, the fins may be secured beneath the roof medium using a fastening means such as rivets. In preference said roof medium is in the form of corrugated metal roof sheets including a plurality of peaks and troughs, each fin being retained beneath troughs of said corrugated 10 sheets. Preferably the elongate strip and fins are integrally formed and made of a compressible metallic material. In preference said plurality of apertures are arranged such that at spaced apart intervals along the length of the elongate strip of material there is an aperture-free line of material 15 extending transversely across which allows for straight gutter guard ends to be formed. In a further form of the invention there is proposed a gutter guard adapted to extend between two adjoining roof cladding elements forming a roof valley, said gutter guard including: a concave body including a plurality of apertures adapted to allow passage of liquid into said valley but not particulate matter over a predetermined size, said concave body being 20 transversely compressible to facilitate entry into roof valleys of varying width; and two opposed fins extending outwardly from lower edges of said compressible concave body, said fins adapted to be retained beneath said roof cladding elements when the strip of material is released to a substantially uncompressed state, In a still further form of the invention there is proposed a roof structure for a building 25 including at least one roof valley gutter guard as defined above, In a yet further form of the invention there is proposed a method of assembling a roof valley gutter guard as defined above, including the steps of: (a) compressing the concave strip of material to an extent which allows said guard to enter the roof valley; and 30 (b) releasing the concave strip of material such that fins thereof move transversely outwardly 2a beneath the roof medium forming said valley, said strip being retained by transverse pressure exerted by the compressible strip of material towards the roof medium.
3 In a still further form of the invention there is proposed a method of producing one or more roof valley gutter guards for a roof structure from a longitudinal, compressible strip of material, said method comprising the steps of: (a) inputting design data relating to the roof structure into a computing means, said computing 5 means adapted to translate said data into operational instructions for a hole punching machine, a roll forming machine, and a cutting machine; (b) feeding said longitudinal strip of material through said hole punching machine to form apertures of said gutter guard between two longitudinal fold lines extending adjacent side edges of the strip of material, said apertures being arranged such that at spaced apart intervals along 0 the length of the material there is a transverse aperture-free line across adapted to facilitate the formation of ends of said guard; (c) feeding said longitudinal strip of material through said roll forming machine adapted to fold the strip of material along said longitudinal fold lines to form gutter guard fins; and (d) feeding said longitudinal strip of material to the cutting machine responsible for cutting 5 leading and trailing edges of each gutter guard to produce lengths of gutter guard which are in accordance with said design data. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several implementations of the invention and, together with the 10 description, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a roof valley gutter guard in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 illustrates the roof valley gutter guard of Figure 1 being used in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, that is, in a valley between two metal 25 roof sheets; Figure 3a illustrates an end view of the roof valley gutter guard of Figure 1 in its non compressed state; and Figure 3b illustrates an end view of the roof valley gutter guard of Figure 1 in a compressed state. 30 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 4 The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. Although the description includes exemplary embodiments, other embodiments are possible, and changes may be made to the embodiments described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used 5 throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same and like parts. The present invention relates to a roof valley gutter guard 10 comprised of a flexible metallic construction including a generally concave, elongated strip 12 having a plurality of apertures 14 thereon, open ends 16 and outward fins 18. The valley guard 10 when not in use is shown in Figure 1, that is, the guard 10 is in a non-compressed state. 0 Figure 2 illustrates the gutter guard in use in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, that is, on a slanted roof with adjoining metal roof sheets 20 interconnected at an angle and forming a valley therebetween. The concave strip 12 covers the open valley and abuts the underside of the roofing medium 20, as will be described in more detail below, while the plurality of apertures 14 are small enough to allow rainwater to pass through but prevent 5 larger debris such as leaves from falling into or accumulating in the valley below. Rainwater, or water from other sources, runs along a gutter portion 22 extending along the valley, out of the lower open end 16 and safely away from the roof. The gutter guard 10 is retained under the roofing medium on either side of the valley by the fins 18 extending outwardly from both sides of the strip 12. The fins are constructed of the !0 same material as the strip 12 and are preferably integrally formed. The guard is adapted to be compressed to enter the valley area then released to that the fins 18 are retained under the roofing medium and held in place by the side ways pressure created by the product being released. In this position, the fins 18 extend beneath the roof sheets 20 such that the fins 18 are sandwiched between the roof sheets 20 and a roofing component there below (in the 25 embodiment shown, gutter portion 22). It is to be understood that the roofing component could be any other component, and that the roofing medium could be metal sheets as shown, tiles or any other roof medium. Obviously, it is preferable for such a guard 10 to be installed during a new roof construction, but it could well be retrofitted to existing roofs by detaching roof cladding along the 30 valley and then re-attaching it during installation of the guard 10. The valley guard is typically dimensioned such that once it has been compressed for insertion into the valley, and then released, the guard 10 returns substantially to its original 5 uncompressed state and thus requires no additional fixings. The guard could however be secured in position using a fastening means. In the embodiment shown, for example, rivets 23 are used at each trough of the corrugated roofing material 20 to secure the guard 10 in place. Other fasteners could equally well be used. The gutter guard is thus securely attached to the S roof and prevents movement or displacement of the strip 12. The gutter guard 10 is of a flexible metallic construction and in accordance with a preferred embodiment is able to be used to fit between valleys of between 70mm and 100mm widths. Figure 3a illustrates the guard 10 in a non-compressed state whilst Figure 3b illustrates the guard in a compressed state with the fins having been moved inwardly in the transverse o direction of arrows 24 to allow the guard to enter the valley area. The valley guard 10 is constructed of a material which allows such compression to be achieved manually. Once released, the fins 18 will move back to the non-compressed state in the direction of arrows 26. The skilled addressee would realise that because of the ease at which the guard can be compressed, inserted, and released inside a roof valley, they can be constructed to fit a wide 5 range of valleys with varying widths. Turning back to Figure 1, the skilled addressee will appreciate that at spaced apart intervals along the length of the guard 10 there is a less concentrated area of apertures 14. In fact, at each of these areas one can make out a transverse aperture-free transverse line 30 across the material. The skilled addressee would realise that in cutting the strip of material 0 along such lines during the manufacture of the gutter guard of the present invention, there will be no jagged edge along the ends of the guard as a result of cutting through one or more apertures. This configuration also facilitates the more efficient manufacture of a plurality of gutter guards in that a longitudinal strip of metal can simply be hole punched as shown in Figure 1, roll formed into shape, and then cut along any one of the aperture-free transverse lines along 25 the strip of material to form a gutter guard of a required length. In a preferred embodiment, the method of manufacturing each roof valley gutter guard for a building structure is automated in that each machine including hole punching and roll forming machines (not shown) is configured to receive operational instructions from a computing means (not shown) into which data can be input. Those skilled in the art would realise that once 30 a house plan is drawn up, for example, the number of roof valley gutter guards and their respective lengths will all be known. Such information can be input into the computing means, which is then translated into operational instructions for each of the machines, and a strip of metal can be fed through to undergo the required processes to form each and every roof valley gutter guard required for that particular job.
6 Further advantages and improvements may very well be made to the present invention without deviating from its scope. Although the invention has been shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope and spirit of the invention, which is not to be limited to 5 the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus. In any claims that follow and in the summary of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprising" is used in the sense of "including", i.e. the features specified may be associated with further 0 features in various embodiments of the invention.