AU710861B2 - A roof gutter - Google Patents

Description

THIS INVENTION relates to a roof gutter and particularly to a roof gutter for use on inclined edges of a roof.

Roofs, and especially tiled roofs, usually have a horizontal gutter at the lower edge of the roof to collect and carry away water. Such roofs also have inclined edges leading up to the apex of the roof. These inclined edges are usually finished by attachment of a barge board to conceal the roof battens.

It is common to provide a barge gutter (that is, an inclined gutter extending along the inclined edge of the roof), to collect and carry away any water which may pass over the inclined edge of the roof. A disadvantage with some existing barge gutters, is that they are positioned generally between the barge board and the tiles, and thus the water is carried away in an internal portion of the roof. Thus, any improper assembly of the gutter, or any blockage, corrosion or the like, will result in water leaking inside the roof area.

20 With tiled roofs, and other stepped roof configurations, gaps or openings are present between the :*'*roof and the barge board. These gaps or openings provide entry for debris, rodents and other vermin.

Other types of barge gutters have been proposed 25 which also have a water carrying portion external to the roof. Examples of such gutters have been described in UK patent no. GB1158911 and Australian patent application no.

80801/95. Each of these documents describes a gutter for a gable roof which has a water carrying channel external to the roof. The gutter described in GB1158911 has a first flange adapted to fit under the tile battens. The gutter is secured in place by means of an angle bracket which is nailed to a batten. A disadvantage of this gutter is that it must be installed prior to laying of the roof battens and tiles. It is not possible to easily install this type of gutter onto existing roofs without significantly disturbing the battens and tiles. Similar problems would also be experienced when replacing damaged or rusted sections of gutter.

The gutter described in AU 80801/95 has an inverted L-shaped mounting portion. The gutter is installed by first placing the gutter in position adjacent a roof edge with a flange of the L-shaped mounting portion extending over the roof battens. In order to maintain the gutter in position it is necessary to install support clips which are pivoted into position and then nailed to the battens. It is also not possible to easily install a gutter of this type after construction of the roof.

Further removal and replacement of damaged sections would also be difficult.

S. Each of the gutters, as described in AU 80801/95 and GB1158911 have a vertical side wall in which a lower 15 section forms part of the water carrying channel. When installed, this vertical side wall is located quite close the edge of the roof tiles and there is a relatively narrow gap therebetween. This narrow gap can easily be *.*,"blocked or obstructed by leaves or other debris. When 20 this occurs, water may still leak into the inside portion of the roof.

The present invention has been devised to provide a gutter which can be used as a "barge" gutter and which may overcome the abovementioned disadvantages or 25 provide the public with a useful or commercial choice.

The gutter of the invention can be located generally externally of the barge board and thus water carried away by the gutter can not leak inside the roof area. Also, a flexible seal can be provided to inhibit entry of debris and rodents.

In one form, the invention resides in a gutter for an inclined roof edge, the gutter having a lower channel to carry away water, a wall extendable around and above the inclined roof edge, and a mounting portion to mount the gutter adjacent the inclined roof edge such that the channel is located externally to the roof, the channel additionally having a bottom wall and an outer side wall which continues to extend upwardly to also form the wall, i the wall continuing to extend generally upwardly and outwardly from the roof and then being generally curved towards the roof, in use, so that it extends over an edge of roof tiles.

The gutter may be of various shapes and configurations depending on the size and type of roofing material. The gutter may comprise plastic or metal and may be in the form of an extrusion or section. Typically, the gutter comprises a metal extrusion or section which can be cut to length.

The mounting portion may be attachable to a barge board. The mounting portion may be integral with or separate from the gutter.

The mounting portion may comprise a lip or the like which can fit over an upper edge of the barge board Sto mount the gutter thereto. If desired, the gutter can be fastened to the barge board by fasteners or the like.

Preferably, the mounting portion comprises an inverted Ushaped channel having an outer side wall, an inner side wall and a top wall, the outer side wall terminating in a free edge and the inner side wall forming an inner side *..wall of the channel to carry away water.

The gutter may have an open side through which edges of tiles or other roofing elements may pass. These 25 edges suitably extend over the barge board such that any water passing over the edges of the roofing elements passes into the channel of the gutter.

The gutter may further include sealing means to at least partially close any gaps between the gutter and the edges of the roofing elements. The sealing means may be a flexible member. The flexible member may be connected to the gutter and preferably is connected to the top wall of the gutter. The flexible member may be elongate and may comprise a flexible skirt. The skirt may be continuous or may be slotted.

An embodiment of the invention will be described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figures 1 and 2 illustrate prior art barge gutters; Figure 3 illustrates a gutter according to an embodiment of the invention attached to a roof; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the gutter of figure Figure 5 illustrates a side section view of the gutter of Figure 3.

Referring initially to the systems illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, there is shown prior art barge boards 11, 12 which are attached to inclined sides or roofing elements such as tiles (see, for instance, Figure The :prior art gutter 10 as illustrated in Figure 1 is located between a barge board 11, and a roof batten 12. The gutter 10 includes a bottom channel 13 which carries away S. water which may pass over tiles 14. The edges 15 of tiles 14 extend into gutter 10 such that water passing over edges 15 falls into gutter 13. A strengthening flange 16 is provided on top wall 17 of gutter 10. It can be seen, that this gutter is mounted between barge board 11 and roof batten 12 and thus channel 13 is an internal channel.

Any holes or blockage in channel 13 will cause water to overflow or pass into the interior of the roof. This can cause major damage. Furthermore, gaps are present between 25 tiles 14 and gutter 10 through which debris (to clog the internal gutter 13), rodents or other vermin may pass.

Figure 2 illustrates a further known barge gutter. Gutter 20 includes a portion 21 which is mounted over a barge board 22 and further includes an internal channel 23. A roof tile 24 has an edge 25 which extends over channel 23 to allow water to pass therein. A roof batten 26 is attached to one end of gutter 20. Again, this gutter is an internal gutter which the same problems of overflowing should the gutter be clogged or passing water into the roof area should the gutter leak. Also, gaps or openings 27 are present through which debris, rodents or vermin may pass. These gaps occur due to tolerance variations.

Referring now to Figure 3, there is illustrated, in perspective view, a gutter according to the invention.

The Gutter 30 sits over an edge of roofing tiles 31 and can communicate with a normal front horizontal gutter.

Referring to Figures 4 and 5, there is illustrated the gutter of Figure 3 in section. The gutter according to the embodiment comprises an upper wall 31, an outside curved side wall 32 and a bottom wall 33.

Walls 31, 32, 33 define an internal space 34. The gutter is formed from rolled metal and can be cut to length.

Bottom wall 33 is formed with a channel 34A along which water may pass. Gutter 30 further includes a mounting :portion 35 which is in the form of an inverted channel and which can pass over an upper end 36 of barge board 37.

Barge board 37 is nailed or otherwise fastened to a truss 38 in the usual manner. Roof tiles 39 pass into space 34 such that the edges 40 of roof tiles 39 extend over channel 34A. Any water passing over these edges will then fall within channel 34A.

20 As roof tiles 39 have a stepped configuration (better illustrated in Figure a sealing means in the form of a flexible skirt 41 is provided to seal the gaps.

Flexible skirt 41 is also illustrated with reference to Figure 3. Flexible skirt 41 may be formed from rubber and 25 may include a generally thin walled skirt portion, and a thickened bead 42 at one end which can be fitted into a corresponding recess 43 upon gutter 30. Skirt 41 may be slit at the stepped portion between adjacent tiles (see Figure 3) to provide an efficient sealing against entry of debris, rodents or vermin into gutter 30. In this arrangement, the channel 34A of gutter 30 sits on the outside of barge board 37 and thus in the event of leakage occurring, water does not pass into the roof area.

The gutter according to the invention is easy to install compared to known gutters as installation does not require positioning of an internal channel.

Further, curved side wall 32 provides the gutter with a larger internal space than known gutters.

This large space assists in minimising the likelihood of leaves or other debris from obstructing water from entering the water carrying channel. Further, the presence of the curved side wall also allows the edges of the tiles 40 to extend further into the gutter space and away from the roof edge. This was not possible with the prior art gutters illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. Another advantage of the side wall being generally curved is that it allows the width of the water carrying channel to be minimised whilst still creating a large internal gutter space. Gutters are typically made from thin metal sheets, typically about 1mm in width. Gutters made from thicker materials are impractical because of the increased costs of manufacture. A gutter having a wide water carrying channel would be prone to sagging.

Provision of a relatively narrow water carrying channel and a curved wall assists in avoiding the problem of sagging whilst still providing a large internal gutter space.

'20 An advantage of the U-shaped mounting portion is that the gutter can easily be installed by placing the *--mounting portion over the edge of the barge board. This 600enables the gutter to be fitted to existing roofs with no or minimum disruption of the roof tiles. This has not 25 been possible with earlier gutters.

It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications may be made to the embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. A gutter for an inclined roof edge, the gutter having a lower channel to carry away water, a wall extendable around and above the inclined roof edge, and a mounting portion to mount the gutter adjacent the inclined roof edge such that the channel is located externally to the roof, the channel additionally having a bottom wall and an outer side wall which continues to extend upwardly to also form the wall, the wall continuing to extend generally upwardly and outwardly from the roof and then being generally curved towards the roof, in use, so that it extends over an edge of roof tiles.

2. The gutter of claim 1 wherein the mounting S. portion is attachable to a barge board.

3. The gutter of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the channel, wall and mounting portion are integrally formed.

DATED this 9th day of July 1998 METAL LINE INDUSTRIES PTY. LTD.

055 692 487) By their Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO.

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