AU686419B2 - Improved roof aperture flashing assembly - Google Patents

Description

"IMPROVED ROOF APERTURE FLASHING ASSEMBLY" This invention relates to improvements to roof aperture flashing assemblies.

This invention has particular application to roof aperture flashing assemblies for skylights and the like. This invention is not limited to such application and can provide communication through a roof for a roof vent, duct or other apparatus. However for illustrative purposes only, this invention will be described hereinafter with reference to its application to skylights.

Skylight bases which frame and flash a roof aperture traditionally have been fabricated from pressed sections in order that a rectangular one piece perimeter frame may be fabricated.

Typically the perimeter frame for the skylight has respective base flanges pressed and welded together at the frame corners and 15 an upstand portion welded to the inner edges of the base flanges.

For the purposes of longevity or for matching an existing roof covered with factory coated sheeting, such as COLORBOND sheeting or galvanised sheeting, it is desirable to minimise damage to the factory formed coating. This is difficult with the 20 present forming methods. A further disadvantage of the existing construction methods is that the joining seam between the upstand and the base panel is formed at the level of water flow along the base. This seam thus confines water in locations about connectors such as spot welds or rivets where the factory applied coating is ruptured. This leads to premature corrosion and failure of the joint.

A further disadvantage associated with the present construction methods is that the fixings and the damage they cause to the factory applied finishes are exposed to weather and to view. This results in early deterioration of such areas which readily become unsightly.

This invention aims to alleviate at least one of the above disadvantages and to provide a roof aperture flashing assemblies which will be reliable and efficient in use. Other objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter become apparent.

1 With the foregoing and other objections in view, this invention in one aspect resides broadly in a roof aperture flashing assembly including:a base assembly having an upstand assembly mated thereto; the base assembly in use being inclined and having a top S 15 flange assembly which extends across the top of the base assembly, opposed side flange assemblies which extends along the opposite sides of the base assembly, and a lower apron flange assembly which extends across the bottom of the base assembly; a roof aperture formed in a substantially centrally 20 disposed raised mounting portion in the base assembly; side flow troughs extending between the side flange assemblies and the raised mounting portion; a soaker trough extending across the base assembly between the top flange assembly and the raised mounting portion and communicating with the side flow troughs; the raised mounting portion and the upstand assembly having .3ating inwardly directed mounting flanges, and fastening means fastening together the inwardly directed mounting flanges of the raised mounting portion and said upstand assembly.

Preferably the top flange of the base assembly is contoured to match the underside of the roof profile and includes feeder troughs communicating with the soaker trough. For example the top flange may include ribs and feeder troughs forming a cross section which corresponds to corrugated roof sheeting. In such embodiment it is also preferred that the side troughs are continuations of outer feeder troughs in the top flange. However if desired a flat top flange with or without rear upstand conforming to the underside of the roof may be utilised if desired.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the base assembly is pressed from sheet metal and has a lower flange contoured to conform with the contour of the overlap roofing S" material. For example the lower apron flange may be corrugated to conform with the corrugations in the top and side flanges.

20 Preferably the raised mounting portion is dished upwardly and terminates in an inwardly directed flange extending from a o. junction line, formed with its junction with the upstand assembly, contained in a plane substantially parallel to the base assembly. In such embodiment it is preferred that the upstand has a corresponding inwardly directed mating flange terminating in a turned-down innermost portion which positively locates the 4 upstand about the inner edge cf the roof aperture in the base assembly. An up-turn may be formed on the inner edges of the raised mounting portion if desired as alternate locating means.

Furthermore the abovementioned mating flanges could extend upwardly or downwardly from the horizontal and may be non-planar if desired and provide complementary interlocking flanges not visible from the exterior of the flashing assembly. The mating flanges are utilised to connect the upstand to the base assembly by connectors which may disrupt the surface coating of the flanges but at positions which are normally concealed from view and the weather.

It is also preferred that the connector portion be spaced upwardly from the upper level of the trough a distance substantially equal to or greater than the depth of the side troughs and feeder troughs.

The upstand assembly may incorporate a perforated mounting ego• flange for a skylight dome. Suitably the perforations extend o about the side and front mounting flanges only and if desired these flanges may be of pleated form so as to increase the 20 breathing area for a given width of flange. This feature is illustrated in my earlier patent application No. PL 5877.

In order that this invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be ~made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate typical embodiments of the invention and wherein: FIG.I is a perspective view of a skylight base assembly on I a roof; FIG.2 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the skylight illustrated in Fig. 1; FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate typical sections of the top and bottom flanges.

As illustrated in the drawing, a flashing assembly 10 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention adapted for use on a corrugated roof and includes a base assembly 11 having a corrugated top flange 12 with ridge portions 13 extending between feeder troughs 14 which communicate directly with a soaker trough 15 extending across a lower portion of the top flange 12. The outermost feeder troughs 16 continue along the full length of the side flanges 17 to form drainage troughs 18 communicating with the ends of the soaker trough The corrugations in the top flange correspond with the underside profile of the roofing sheet and the intermediate feeder troughs 14 feed to the intermediate portion of the soaker trough 15 and are constituted by the valleys of the corrugations.

The lower ends of the ridge portions 13 between the feeder ate.

20 troughs 14 converge to the level of the feeder troughs 14 and soaker trough 15. The lower apron flange 19 is corrugated to S closely overlie the roof as illustrated.

The central portion of the base assembly 11 is pressed upwardly, inwardly of the soaker and side troughs 15, 18 and terminates in an inwardly directed horizontal mounting flange the inner edge 21 of which defines the roof aperture 22. The 6 outer edge of the horizontal mounting flange 20 forms a crease or junction line 28 which aligns with the outer wall 24 of the upstand 25 and which is parallel to the side flanges 17.

The upstand 25 also includes a base flange 26 which overlies the flange 20 and an downturned flange 27 which provides positive location of the upstand 25 about the roof aperture 22.

The upstand 25 is connected to the base assembly by rivets, screws or spot welds located at 30 in the base flange 26 and mounting flange 20 so as to interconnect the flanges JO0 and wall 26.

It will be seen that when so connected, the external visual interconnection between the base assembly 11 and the upstand assembly 25 is a thin connecting junctior line 28 and that all fastenings and possible surface damage therefrom will be concealed from external view and from the deteriorating effects of the weather.

A base assembly 10 of the present invention has several advantages over prior art type base assemblies. Firstly, because the top flange 12 is contoured to correspond to the roof profile, 20 the roof pitch angle on which the flashing assembly 10 may be used is increased for a corresponding upward extension of the upstand. A further advantage is that flow along the roof flows onto the top flange 12 and along the short exposed portions of the feeder troughs 16 into the soaker 15 for distribution to the side troughs 18 along which water passes to the roofing below the flashing assembly 10. Furthermore as the joining seam 28 between la the base assembly 11 and the upstand assembly 25 is elevated above the soaker trough 15 and side troughs 18, it is less likely to be subject to ingress of water and the resultant deleterious effects associated with such ingress including contamination with particles which may accelerate deterioration of the damages surfaces at the fastenings.

In addition, as the connecting means for connecting the upstand assembly to the base assembly is concealed from view, any damage formed by the connecting means to the surface coating is not visible or prone to corrosion. In this respect the elevated position of the seam results in water reaching the seam only upon a substantial downpour and thus light rainfalls which may carry dust and other debris from the roof is unlikely to reach the seam and deposit such material in the seam. As such material assists in moisture retention and premature failure it is considered that a reduction in the frequency of such occurrence will prolong the life of the base assembly of the present invention.

Suitably the top dome mounting flange, not shown, is not apertured so as to prevent water splashing and entering the roof S 20 aperture, while the side and bottom flanges 32 are perforated for ventilation. The upstand assembly and the base assembly may be assembled on-site or be factory assembled if desired.

It will of course be realised that the above has been givea only by way of illustrative example of the invention and that all such modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within I _1 the broad scope and ambit of the invention as is defined in the appended claims.

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Claims (12)

1. A roof aperture flashing assembly including:- a base assembly having an upstand assembly mated thereto; the base assembly in use being inclined and having a top flange assembly which extends across the top of the base assembly, opposed side flange assemblies which extends along the opposite sides of the base assembly, and a lower apron flange assembly which extends across the bottom of the base assembly; a roof aperture formed in a substantially centrally d sposed raised mounting portion in the base assembly; side flow troughs extending between the side flange assemblies and the raised mounting portion; a soaker trough extending across the base assembly between the top flange assembly and the raised mounting portion and communicating with the side flow troughs; the raised mounting portion and the upstand assembly having mating inwardly directed mounting flanges, and fastening means fastening together the inwardly directed 20 mounting flanges of the raised mounting portion and said upstand assembly.

2. A roof aperture flashing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said top flange of the base assembly is contoured to match the underside of a roof profile and includes feeder troughs communicating with the soaker trough.

3. A roof aperture flashing assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said side troughs are continuations of feeder troughs formed in said top flange assembly.

A roof aperture flashing assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claiias, wherein the base assembly is formed from sheet metal and has a contoured lower apron flange assembly which conforms with the contour of a roofing material.

5. A roof aperture flashing assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein the lower apron flange assembly is corrugated with corrugations which form continuations of corrugations in the top and side flanges.

6. A roof aperture flashing assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said raised mounting portion terminates in an inwardly directed flange extending from a junction line contained in a plane substantially parallel to the base flange assemblies. S

7 A roof aperture flashing assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein said upstand has a corresponding inwardly directed mating flange terminating in a turned-down innermost portion which positively locates the upstand about the inner edge of the inwardly directed flange. e sl I 11

8. A roof aperture flashing assembly as claimed in any one of the claims, wherein said raised mounting is spaced above the upper level of a flow trough a distance substantially equal to or greater than the depth of the side troughs.

9. A roof aperture flashing assembly as claimed in any one of the claims, wherein said upstand assembly includes a dome mounting flange assembly for mounting a skylight dome.

10. A roof aperture flashing assembly as claimed in claim 9, wherein said dome mounting flange assembly includes perforated side and front dome mounting flanges and a non-perforated top dome 'ounting flange.

11. A roof aperture flashing assembly substantially as Se. hereinbefore described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings. DATED THIS Fourth DAY OF September, 1995. REGENT SHEET METAL PTY LTD BY g PIZZEY COMPANY PATENT ATTORNEYS i I f

12 ABSTRACT A roof aperture flashing assembly [10] includes a base assembly [11] having an upstand assembly [25] mated thereto. The base assembly [11] is inclined when installed on a sloping roof and has a top flange assembly [20] which extends across the top of the base assembly opposed side flange assemblies [19] which extends along the opposite sides of the base assembly [11], and a lower apron flange assembly [19] which extends across the bottom of the base assembly. A roof aperture [22] is formed centrally of the base assembly [11]. The upstand assembly [25] is fastened to the base assembly [11] through complementary inwardly extending horizontal flanges 26] elevated above the soaker trough [15] extending across the top flange assembly [12] and side flow troughs [16] extending between the side flange assemblies [17] and the raised mounting portion *e e -LI-l