CA1264519A - Standing seam roof skylight - Google Patents

Abstract

STANDING SEAM ROOF SRYLIGHT

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A skylight system for standing seam metal roofs, shingle roofs and sun roofs in which sheet plastic skylights having upstanding edges are provided. In one embodiment, a skylight is installed in a roof formed from metal standing seam panels. In another embodiment, a skylight is installed in an opening in a shingle roof in which step flashing is used to form a standing seam with the skylight upstanding edges and a watertight joint with the roof shingles. Another embodiment utilizes the skylights in which the flat edges are formed by folding over to make lateral joints between adjacent skylights while longitudinal joints are formed by abutting the upstanding edges to thereby produce a sun roof.

Description

S~9 3 ACKGRO~ND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention 7 The present invention relates to skylight 8 systems for standing seam roofs, shingle roofs and 9 sun rooms, and more particularly to a skylight systems providing simple and leakproof installation 11 thereof~

13 2. Description of the Prior Art The use of skylights in residences as well as 16 commercial buildings has become widespread in 17 recent years with the advent of low cost and rugged 18 plastic dome skylights. Self flashing plastic 19 skylights are popular, partly due to economies in eliminating extensive curb construction. However, 21 some skill is required if a leakproof installation 22 is to be achieved and some customer dissatisfaction 23 has occurred from poor installation practices.
24 Certain types of roofs have not been suitable for skylight installation. For example, it is 26 common in the southern parts of the United States 27 to construct patios, porches and the like using 28 sheet metal standing seam roofing. A typical roof 29 of this type utilizes long panels having upturned--edges. The panels are laid side by side with the 31 upstanding edge of one panel contiguous with the 32 upstanding edge of adjacent panels. The upper 33 edges of the upstanding portions may be bent at 34 right` angles or rolled. In either style, an interlocking bead is provided which snaps over the , c~3 .

S~9 1 contiguous upstanding portions of the panels. This

2 type of roof also is widely used for metal

3 industrial buildings.

4 Although it is desirable in many installations to install skylights in a standing seam roof, 6 difficulty has been experienced in adapting 7 standard plastic dome type skylights to the 8 standing seam metal roofs. Self flashing skylights 9 have been used which must be screwed to the metal and require caulking compound to prevent leaking.
11 However, due to the differing expansion 12 coefficients of the plastic and sheet metal, it has 13 been found very difficult to prevent leaks.
14 Furthermore, openings must be cut into the metal which reduces the strength of the roof and adds to 16 the labor cost.
17 There have been attempts to overcome these 18 problems. For example, it is known to form a 19 narrow continuous panel of acrylic plastic or the like which will simply replace a standard metal 21 roof panel and which runs the entire length of the 22 roof. It is apparent that this type of unit must 23 be narrower than a standard roof panel since the 24 plastic lacks the required strength for a full width panel.
26 Problems have also arisen in installing self 27 ~lashing plastic skylights in shingled roofs and 28 care must be taken to ensure freedom from leaks.
29 This problem is compounded when a so-called sunroof, formed by joining a plurality of plastic 31 skylights together, is desired.
32 There is a need for a plastic dome type 33 skylight which can be installed at any point along 34 a metal roof panel without cutting an opening in the metal panel, which will not experience ~,X~j4~C,1~3 1 difficulties with leakage and which can be 2 installed in a shingled roof with the same 3 watertight integrity that is obtainable with curb 4 type installations. Additionally, there is a need for a self flashed skylight which can be 6 interlocked with others to form a leakproof 7 sunroof.

11 The present invention includes a plastic 12 skylight formed from acrylic sheet, CAB plastic 13 sheet, polycarbonate sheet or the like havinq a 14 conventional skylight dome formed therein and a self flashing flange which may be installed in a 16 metal standing seam roof. The skylight is formed 17 to have the same width as a standard metal rooE
18 panel. The side flanges are bent upward to the 19 same height as the metal roofing standing seam and 2a the end edge flanges are formed in the same manner 21 ~s those of the metal roofing panels. The width of 22 the skylight is the same as that of the metal roof 23 panels. As may now be understood, the upstanding 24 edges of the skylight of the invention will mate with the adjacent upstanding edges of the metal 26 panels of the roof. A standard metal seam clip and 27 batten are utilized and are clamped over the 28 standing seam. Other types of upper edges such as 29 a rolled edge can also be provided to be usable with other roof seam designs. A flange is provided 31 at each end of the dome of the skylight which is 32 formed to overlap the ends of metal roof panels in 33 the same run with the skylight. The skylight 34 flanges are formed to make a snug fit with a metal 35 panel roof panel. The joint between the skylight ;

~ti4~13 1 and the adjacent panels in the same run may be 2 sealed with any suitable compound. Preferably, a 3 flat plastic sheet is bonded to a lower perimeter 4 of the skylight dome so as to provide a dead air space for insulation properties. In an alternative 6 embodiment r an inverted dome may be bonded to the 7 flat sheet thereby providing two insulating air 8 spaces.
9 Some seam roofs have a flat upstanding seam.
One implementation of the invention is formed by 11 folding a flat self flashing flange of an all 12 plastic skylight up at 90 to fit against a flat 13 seam of a metal roof panel. A snap on seam cap is 14 installed over the plastic to metal seam.
The flat seam version of the invention is 16 suitable for installation on a shingled roof using 17 step flashing coupled to the upstanding seam by a 18 seam cap. The step flashing solves the leakage 19 problem experienced with prior art self flashing plastic skylights.
21 In another embodiment of the invention used 22 for forming sloping sunroofs, an upstanding flat ~3 seam is provided along the sides of a plastic 24 skylight. The upper and lower edges are formed by folding the lower edge and under the ~h~ upper edge 26 over, thereby producing means for interlocking 27 similarly formed skylights. A sun roof can be 28 produced by mounting a multiplicity of such 29 skylights with the lateral edges coupled by seam caps and the folded edges by forming interlocking 31 joints. A grid of extruded metal rafters and 32 purlins can be used to support the skylights which 33 have suitable metal seam clips and C-clips to 34 secure the skylight edges and joints to the grid.

~j45~9 Sealants are applied at all joints to prevent leaking.
As will be understood, the provision of the above plastic skyliohts will permit fast and accurate assembly and installation of skylights and sunroofs by relatively unskilled workers, and will provide leakproof joints with the roof.
Broadly speaking, therefore, the present ; invention provides a skylight molded from sheet plastic for installation in a metal roof formed from a plurality of metal roof panels, each of the metal panels having a pair of parallel upstanding edges with means for joining such edges with adjacent abutting upstanding edges comprising:
an essentially rectangular first sheet of plastic having a ~` pair of essentially parallel edges thereof folded upward to form a right angle with the sheet of plastic, the upward folded edge formed to match the upstanding seam edges of the metal roof panels; and a dome formed in and projecting upward from the sheet of plastic.
These and other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION O~ Tn~ DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a typical skylight dome in accordance with the invention.
Figure 2 is a top view of the dome skylight of .. ..
Figure 1;

LCM ~ls -- `- ~- ~ --s~

Figllre 3 is a cross-sectional view of the skylight of Figure 1 through the plane 3-3;
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a double skylight similar to that of Figure l;
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of a triple skylight similar to that of Figure lo '. Figure 6 shows a fragmentary perspective view of a metal roof system having a skylight in accordance with the invention installed therein;
Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the skylight of Figure 1 in cross section showing the manner of joining to two adjacent metal panels;
Figure 8 is a perspective view of a skylight in accordance with the invention for use on shingled roofs and the like;
Figure 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of a skylight of Figure 6 installed on a shingled roof;
Figure 10 i9 a perspective view of a shroud showing the manner of installing on the skylight of Figure 9;
Figure 11 is a perspective view of a skylight in : accordance with the invention that is suitable for forming sunroofs;
Figure 12 is a typical sunroof shown in - perspective view using the skylights of Figure 11;

- ~CMjml~s -- ~

S~9 1 Figure 13 is a partial cross sectional view of 2 the skylight of Figure 11 showing a standing seam 3 thereof;
4 Figure 14 shows in partial view the ends of the skylight of Figure 11;
6 Figure 15 shows a cross sectional view of a 7 perimeter rafter of the sunroof of Figure 12 8 showing in partial view the installation of the 9 standing seam edge of the skylight thereof;
Figure 16 is a cross sectional view of an 11 interior rafter of the sunroof of Figure 12 showing 12 partially two abutting standing seams of the 13 skylight of Figure 11;
14 Figure 17 is a cross sectional view of the front perimeter rafter of the sunroof of Figure 12 16 showing the manner of attaching the skylight end 17 thereto;
18 Figure 18 is a cross sectional view through a 19 purlin showing the manner of coupling the ends of two of the skylights of Figure 11 and attaching to 21 the purlin;
22 Figure 19 is a perspective view of an anchor 23 clip util.ized with the standing edge seams of the 24 skylights of a sunroof of Figure 12; and Figure 20 is a cross sectional view of the 26 rear perimeter rafter of the sunroof of Figure 12 27 showing the attachment to a building.

29 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF TH~ PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
31 The present invention is an improved all 32 plastic skylight design that is applicable to 33 several types of roof structures~ In one 34 embodiment of the invention, a plastic dome type 1 sky light is provided for use with metal standing 2 seam roof panels. Standing seam roof panels of 3 metal are generally found in a rectangular shape 4 having a flat or corrugated roof section with standing seam portions bent upward at 90 along 6 each longitudinal edge. The standing seam height 7 may be on the order of two inches. Various designs 8 of the standing seam are available. In Figure 1, 9 one embodiment of the invention is shown for use with metal standing seam roof panels in which the 11 top edge of the standing seam is bent inward at 12 90 and a seam is formed by a batten cap disposed 13 over the abutting standing seamO Thus, the 14 skylight 10 shown in Figure 1 has longitudinal-edge upstanding seams 20 with a folded-over edge 16 to 16 match the metal standing seam roof panel with which 17 the sky light 10 will be used. It is to be 18 understood that other standing seam designs may 19 also be applied to the skylight 10 to match the particular metal standing roof panel. This 21 implementation of the invention will be disclosed 22 with reference to the right angle edge 16 as shown.
23 Plastic sky light 10 may be made of any suitable 24 plastic sheet; however, a preferred material is polycarbonate sheet such as General Electric 26 Lexan~. A dome or bubble 14 is formed in the 27 center of the plastic sheet leaving a flat poxtion 28 18 at one end and a flat portion 12 at the opposite ~9 end. Preferably~ a trough area 15 is provided between seam 20 and dome 14 to insure water 31 drainage.
32 In Figure 2, a design feature of skylight 33 element 10 is indicated. As shown in somewhat 34 exaggerated form, the seam portions 20 are not parallel but taper slightly longitudinally. This ~ tj~5 1~

g l produces a spacing A at one end of skylight lO and 2 a spacing B at the opposite end with respect to 3 parallel edges of metal roof panelsO This 4 deviation from a straight line may be on the order of l/8 inch. This permits the narrow end 12 to be 6 inserted between the upstanding seams of an 7 abutting metal standing seam panel and the end of 8 the abutting steel panel at the opposite end will 9 slide inside of wide end 18. As will now be recognized, dimensions A and B need only be ll approximately the thickness of the sheet metal of 12 the metal roof panels. A cross section of the 13 skylight 10 of Figure l through the plane 3-3 is 14 shown in Figure 3. Although a single dome skylight 10 may be utilized, it is preferable to add a 16 rectangular plastic sheet 22 bonded to the edges of 17 dome 14. Plastic sh~et 22 serves two purposes: it 18 adds additional strength to the dome; and it 19 provides a dead air space for insulation purposes.
Another advantageous construction is shown in 21 the cross-sectional view of a double air space 22 slcylight of Figure 5. The skylight in accordance 23 with Figures 3 and 4 has an inverted plastic dome 24 23 bonded to the edges of plastic sheet 22 thus forming two dead air spaces for additional 26 insulation.
27 A typical installation is shown in Figure 6.
28 Here, a roof structure is shown utilizing metal 29 standing seam panels 30 having standing seams 32.
As may be noted, metal panels 30 are secured 31 together by a batten strip 34 best seen in cross 32 section in Figure 7. Normally, a sealant is 33 applied to the mating surfaces of standing seams 32 34 and 30 and may also be applied to the inside of 1 batten strip 34 before installing. Batten strip 34 2 is crimped about the edges formed in standing seams 3 32 and 20.
4 In Figure 6, a skylight 10 in accordance with the invention has been installed between metal roof 6 panels 30A and 30B and adjacent metal roof panels 7 30C and 30D. As best noted in the cross sectional 8 view through skylight 10 and roof panels 30C and 9 30D of Figure 7, batten strip 34 is crimped around skylight standing seam 20 and metal roof panel 11 standing seam 32. Sealant may be applied between 12 the seams 20 and 32 prior to installation. End 12 13 of skylight 10 has been inserted between standing 14 seams 32 of roof panel 30A at the lower end while, at the upper end 18, the lower end of panel 30B has 16 been inserted between standing seams 20. Sealant 17 is placed across the entire length of the flat seam 18 formed at both the upper and lower edges. The 19 installation is made such that the pitch of the roof is as shown by the arrow.
21 As may be recognized, skylight 10 can be the 22 full width of a metal roof panel 30 and may be 23 installed at any place in the roof desired.
24 Similarly, the length of skylight 10 may be selected in accordance with the amount of exposure 26 desired.
27 An embodiment of the invention which is 28 suitable for use in shingled roofs, either during 29 new construction or in modification of e~isting roofs, is shown in Figure 8. Skylight 60 is formed ~`'3 31 from sheet pl~/stic having a dome 64 and upper and 32 ~ lower edges ~ and 66. The longitudinal edges are 33 bent up at 90 to ~orm straight standing seams 62.
34 As will be explained hereafter, it is desirable to cut the corners of seams 62 at an angle as shown.

5~9 The method of installation of skylight 60 is 2 shown in the partial cross sectional view of Figure 3 9. Here a rafter or truss element 78 is shown 4 supporting roof sheathing 76. A space indicated at 77 is left which is open to the interior of the

6 building over which the skylight dome will be

7 installed. The skylight is held in place by a

8 plurality of anchor clips 68 shown in more detail

9 in the perspective view of Figure 19. Anchor clips are nailed to sheathing 76 and spaced along the 11 skylight seams 62. As may be noted, one clip end 12 59 is folded over standing seam 62. A plurality of 13 step flashing elements 70 having the same height as 14 standing seam 62 are abutted to standing seam 62 and anchor clips 68. One clip end 67 in each 16 anchor clip 68 is folded over an adjacent step 17 flashing 70. Step flashing 70 is nailed to roof 18 sheathing 76 beneath roofing 74 and over roofing 19 felt 75. As is well known in the ark, the step flashing is suitably overlapped to prevent water 21 leakage. After installation of the skyliyht 60, 22 anchor clips 68 and step flashing 70, the standing 23 seam is covered with a seam cover or batten 72.
24 Th i s batten may be formed of sheet metal and crimped over the standing seam, in which instance 26 sealant is used to insure a water tight seam.
27 However, it is pre~erred to use a snap on seam 28 having an extruded vinyl weather seal such as is 29 available from Berridge Manufacturing Company.
3û This snap on seam device presents an attractive 31 appearance and forms a weathertight seal.
32 At the upper and l~wer ends of skylight 60, 33 skylight ends ~ and ~ are nailed to the roof 34 sheathing in conventional fashion. To prevent leakage at the ends of the standing seams, a shroud s~

1 65 seen in Figure 10 is provided. Shroud 65 may be 2 formed from sheet metal or the like. An angular 3 recess 63 is formed which matches the ends of 4 skylight standing seams 62. The step flashing 70 5 i5 trimmed to match this angle and shroud 65 is 6 placed over flashing 70 and standing seam 62. It 7 is then nailed to the roof sheathing. Thereafter, S snap on seam cover 72 is installed on seams 62 and 9 70 producing a watertight seam.
As will now be recognized, this embodiment of 11 the invention permits a low cost and watertight 12 installation of a skylight in either an existing 13 roof or in new construction without the time, labor 14 and materials required to construct a curb in the roof opening for a curb type skylight. It also 16 eliminates the problems heretofore found with self 17 flashing skylights due to separation and cracking 18 of sealant after exposure to the weather and 19 provides a desirable low profile skylight.
A third embodiment of the invention is shown 21 in Figure 11 in which a skylight 40 is provided 22 having standing seam edges 42 similar to that of 23 skylight 60 of Figure 8. However, the lower edge 24 46 and upper edge 48 are formed such that these edges of adjacent skylights 40 can be joined 26 together. Thus, skylight 40 is usable to form sun 27 roofs as will be described hereinafter. For 28 examplel a typical sun roof is shown in Figure 12 29 formed from six skylights 40. The sun roof of Figure 12 has a pitch as indicated in the direction 31 of the arrow. To permit the upper edge of one 32 skylight 40 to be joined to the lower edge of 33 another skylight 40, these edges are formed as 34 indicated in Figure 14. Here, the lower edge of skylight 40A is shown which is formed by folding ~q~

1 the edge 46 under itself to form a narrow first U
2 shaped edge. Similarly, lower skylight 40B has its 3 upper edge 48 folded over itself to form a narrow 4 second U shaped edge. As will be noted, edge 46 may be interlocked with edge 48 in a manner as will 6 be described below. Figure 13 shows the cross 7 section through plane 13-13 in Figure 11 8 illustrating the standing seam edge 42.
9 A sunroof as shown in Figure 12 can be formed with multiple skylights 40 mounted on a rafter and 11 purlin system. A side perimeter rafter 82 is shown 12 with the system having a similar rafter along the 13 opposite side, a front perimeter rafter 85l and a 14 pair of interior rafters 83, not seen in this view.
Purlins 100, seen in phantom view, run between the 16 rafters 82 and 83. Details of the joints between 17 the skylights 40 and the manner of connecting the lB skylights to the raters and purlins are shown in 19 Figures 15 through 18. Figure 15 shows a cross-section through plane 15-15 of Figure 12.
21 Although the rafters and purlins may be o~ wood or 22 other material, it is preferred to use rectangular 23 extruded aluminum tubing. In Figure 15, a side 24 perimeter rafter 82 is seen having an anchor clip 68 fastened to rafter 82 by screws 67. Flashing 80 26 is butted with side seam 42 of skylight 40 and the 27 upper clip ends of anchor clip 68 are bent over the 28 skylight standing seam and the flashing 80 to hold 29 these elements securely in place. Sealant is applied to this seam prior to assembling. A seam 31 cover 84 is then placed over the seam and sealant 32 92 installed to insur~ against leakage~ As will be 33 understood, anchor clip 68 may be installed every 34 foot or so along the seam.

5~9 1 In Figure 16, the standing seam between two 2 adjacent skylights is shown in cross-section 3 through plane 16-16 of Figure 12. An interior 4 rafter 83 has anchor clips 68 fastened to it by screws 67O Anchor clips 68 are bent over standing 6 seams 42 of the adjacent skylights and a seam cover 7 84 installed with sealant 92.
8 Along the front perimeter rafter 85, the lower 9 folded edge 46 of skylight 40 is attached thereto as shown in the cross-sectional view 17-17 of 11 Figure 17. Front rafter flashing 87 runs the 12 length of rafter 85 and is attached thereto by 13 screws 91. Flashing 87 has its upper edge folded 14 over on itself to engage the folded portion 46 of skylight 40. Sealant 92 is provided to insure a 16 leakproof joint. The manner in which the upper and 17 lower edges of two skylights 40 are joined is 18 indicated in Figure 18 through cross-section 18-18.
19 Lower edge 48 of the lower skylight is interlocked with upper edge 46 of the upper skylight. A
21 plurality of C-clips 48 is installed along purlin 22 100 and coupled into the joint formed between edges 23 4 6 and 4~ to secure the joint to the purlin.
24 Sealant 92 is applied to prevent leakage. A
typical joint between the skyroof and a building 26 106 is shown in cross-sectional view 20-2Q in 27 Figure 20. The rafter assembly 83 and 85 is 28 attached to a hangar bracket 104 which is fastened 29 to wall 106. The upper edge 48 of skylight 44 is held against rear perimeter rafter 85 by clips lOB.
31 A closure channel 110 is fastened by suitable 32 screws to rafter 85~ A plurality of Z-clips 112 33 along the top of channel 110 is used to hold 34 flashing 114 in place. The assembly is sealed with sealant 92.

3~S3 It will be understood that in the figures, the 2 thicknesses of the materials and the spacing 3 therebetween are somewhat exaggerated for clarity.
4 In actual use, the interlocking joints are formed to i n terlock tightly with a minimum of space 6 between the materials forming the joints. Prior to 7 joining the interlocking edges, sealant is applied 8 to fill any voids.
9 Although speci f ic implementations ana conf igurations of the skylights of the invention 11 have been disclosed and aescribed herein, the 12 invention is not to be considered limited to such 13 examples. Various modifications to the exemplary 14 disclosures will be obvious to those of skill in the art and are considered to fall within the 16 spirit and scope of the invention.

.

Claims (9)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A skylight molded from sheet plastic for installation in a metal roof formed from a plurality of metal roof panels, each of said metal panels having a pair of parallel upstanding seam edges with means for joining such edges with adjacent abutting upstanding edges comprising:
an essentially rectangular first sheet of plastic having a pair of essentially parallel edges thereof folded upward to form a right angle with said sheet of plastic, said upward folded edges being formed to match said upstanding seam edges of said metal roof panels, and said upward folded edges being spaced apart a distance slightly less than the spacing of said upstanding seam edges of said metal roof panels at one end of said sheet of plastic and being spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the spacing of said upstanding seam edges of said metal roof panels at the other end thereof; and a dome formed in and projecting upward from said sheet of plastic.

2. A skylight as recited in claim 1 which further comprises a sheet of plastic disposed below said dome and bonded to said first sheet of plastic to form a first insulating air space between said second sheet of plastic and said dome.

3. A skylight as recited in claim 2 which further comprises a third sheet of plastic having a downwardly projecting dome formed therein, said third sheet of plastic disposed below and bonded to said second sheet of plastic to form a second insulating air space between said third sheet of plastic and said second sheet of plastic.

4. A sheet plastic dome skylight installation for a pitched roof having shingles thereon comprising:
roof sheathing having a rectangular opening therethrough;
a rectangular skylight formed from a sheet of plastic having a pair of parallel edges thereof folded upward to form a right angle with said sheet of plastic thereby producing a pair of standing seam edges, said sheet of plastic having a dome formed in and projecting upward therefrom, said skylight disposed over and covering said opening with said standing seam edges disposed along the sloping edges of said roof sheathing;
a plurality of anchor clips attached along the sloping edges of said roof sheathing adjacent said opening and abutting said standing seam edges of said skylight;
a plurality of step flashings attached to said roof sheathing and having flanges thereof abutting with said standing seam edges of said skylight and said anchor clips, said anchor clips attached to a seam formed by said step flashing flanges and said skylight standing seam edges; and a batten disposed over each of said seams formed by said standing seam edges and said step flashing flanges.

5. A skylight formed from plastic sheet for a sun roof comprising:
an essentially rectangular sheet of plastic having a first pair of parallel edges thereof folded upward to form a right angle with said sheet of plastic to form a pair of standing seam edges;
a second pair of parallel edges of said sheet of plastic, one edge thereof folded over and back on itself to form a first narrow U-shaped edge and the other edge thereof folded under and back on itself to form a second narrow U-shaped edge such that said first U-shaped edge of one said skylight will snugly interlock with said second U-shaped edge of another of said skylight; and a dome formed in and projecting upward from said sheet of plastic.

6. The skylight as recited in claim 4 in which the corners of the ends of said seams formed by said standing seam edges and said step flashing flanges are cut off at an angle and which further comprises a shroud formed to match said cut off ends, said shroud disposed over said cut off ends and attached to said roof sheathing prior to disposition of said batten over each of said seams.

7. A skylight molded from sheet plastic for installation in a metal roof formed from a plurality of metal roof panels, each of said metal panels having a pair of parallel upstanding metal seam edges with the top edges thereof folded inwardly at 90 degrees with means for joining such edges with adjacent abutting upstanding edges comprising:
an essentially rectangular first sheet of plastic having a pair of essentially parallel edges thereof folded upwardly to form a right angle with said sheet of plastic, each of said upwardly folded edges having a top edge thereof folded at an essentially 90 degree angle inward to match said upstanding seam edges of said metal roof panels in which said essentially parallel folded up edges are spaced apart a distance slightly less than the spacing of said upstanding seam edges of said metal roof panels at one end of said sheet of plastic and spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the spacing of said upstanding seam edges of said metal roof panels at the other end thereof; and a dome formed in and projecting upward from said sheet of plastic.

8. A sheet plastic dome skylight installation for a pitched roof having roof shingles thereon comprising:

(a) roof sheathing having a rectangular opening therethrough, said opening having a pair of sloping edges, an upper horizontal edge, and a lower horizontal edge;

Claim 8 cont'd...

(b) a rectangular skylight formed from a rectangular sheet of plastic having (i) a first pair of parallel edges thereof folded upward to form a right angle with said sheet of plastic thereby producing a pair of standing seam edges, (ii) a pair of parallel flat flanges formed along a second pair of parallel edges of said rectangular sheet of plastic, (iii) a dome portion in the central portion of said sheet of plastic, and (iv) said skylight being disposed over and covering said opening with said standing seam edges disposed along said pair of sloping edges of said roof opening and attached to said roof sheathing and a first one of said flat flanges disposed along said upper horizontal edge of said opening and attached to said roof sheathing and a second one of said flat flanges disposed along said lower horizontal edge of said opening and attached to said roof sheathing over a row of said roof shingles;

(c) a plurality of anchor clips attached along the sloping edges of said roof sheathing adjacent said opening and abutting said standing seam edges of said skylight;
(d) a plurality of step flashings having horizontal portions thereof attached to said roof sheathing and having vertical flanges thereof abutting with each of said standing seam edges of said skylight and said anchor clips, said anchor clips attached to standing seams formed by said vertical flanges of said step flashings and said skylight standing seam edges;
(e) a first row of overlapping roof shingles disposed along each of said standing seams and covering said horizontal portions of said step flashings;
(f) a second row of overlapping roof shingles disposed along and covering said first one of said flat flanges of said skylight; and (g) A batten disposed over each of said standing seams.

9. A sunroof comprising:
at least two longitudinal rafters;
a plurality of purlins arranged at right angles to said rafters to define at least two essentially rectangular openings;
at least two rectangular plastic skylights having the dimensions of said rectangular openings and having a dome, a first pair of parallel edges of said skylights folded upward to form a right angle thereby forming a pair of standing seam edges, and a second pair of parallel edges, one edge thereof folded over and back on itself to form a first narrow U-shaped edge and the other edge thereof folded under and back on itself to form a second narrow U-shaped edge such that said first U-shaped edge of one of said skylights will snugly interlock with said second U-shaped edge of the other of said skylights;

Claim 9 cont'd...

a plurality of anchor clips attached to said rafters and a plurality of C-clips attached to said purlins; and said plastic skylights disposed over and covering said rectangular openings with said standing seam edges disposed along said rafters and said anchor clips engaging said standing seam edges, and said U-shaped edges disposed along said purlins with a first of said U-shaped edges of one of said skylights snugly interlocked with a second of said U-shaped edges of another of said skylights to form a joint, said C-clips coupled into each of said U-shaped edges.