GB2039562A - Tile units and tiling systems - Google Patents

Abstract

Tiles 1a, 1b and 1c interlock on a roof having a rafter 20 and roofing felt 29. Each tile has peripheral walls 24 and 26 to act as moisture barriers. Wall 26 is a side wall of a peripheral rib 17 and wall 24 is a side wall of a member 15 having an elongate channel open to the tile underside to mate with rib 17 of a tile laid alongside. No channel between two tiles is open to the elements so water cannot penetrate between tiles. The tiles each have a recess, preferably open to the tile under side, which contains thermal insulating material such as expanded polystyrene. The combination of lower nib 10, upstand 18 at the upper tile edge, and lower upstand 11 provides an effective barrier to moisture, snow and wind. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Tile units and tiling systems This invention relates to tiling systems and tile units therefor. In addition to conventional slates and clay tiles, tile units made from other materials such as concrete are now available. Such units are normally referred to as tiles, but certain types having a flat upper surface are also referred to as slates. The term "tile" will be used herein to include all such units whether the upper surfaces are flat or not.

Concrete roofing tiles are normally provided with at least one nib projecting from the underside thereof and, when the tiles are in position, they are hung on to wooden or metal battens or grids by means of the nib or nibs. In addition, when wooden battens are used, the tiles may also be secured to the battens by mean of nails passing through holes in the tiles made during manufacture. In most cases, the nib, or nibs, is, or are, provided in the vicinity of the upper edge of the tile, and the battens are spaced apart so that the lower edge of each tile (except the lowermost course) overlaps an upper marginal portion of the tile below, including any nail holes.

It will be understood that, with the normal deadweight arrangement referred to above, the lower edge of the tile is held merely by gravity, since if the tile is fastened by nails, these are at the top of the tile. Accordingly, it is normally necessary for the pitch of the roof to be relatively steep in order to prevent the lower edge of the tile being lifted by the effect of wind pressure on the roof. Wind blowing against the roof not only tends to enter the gap between the lower edge of one tile and the upper marginal portion of the tile beneath it, but also creates suction above the tile, also tending to lift the lower edge thereof, the tile acting like a lever pivoted at, or near, its upper edge. This lifting of the tile may allow water, cold air, and/or snow to penetrate below the tile and, in extreme cases, may even remove or break a tile.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved tiling system and tiles therefor.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a roofing tile including a recess extending over at least a major portion of the tile area, which recess contains thermally insulating material.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a roofing tile having an upper edge and a lower edge, the tile comprising: a nib projecting from the underside of said tile and extending at least partly across the tile between the centre of gravity of the tile and the lower edge; a transverse upstanding rib at the lower edge on the lower surface; and a transverse upstanding rib at the upper edge on the upper surface.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a tiling system including a plurality of tiles according to any of said preceding aspects of the invention.

For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure lisa perspective view of the under side of a tile in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 shows a roofing system in perspective and partially cut away, including tiles as shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line Ill-Ill of Figure 2, showing the tile head lap; Figure 4 shows an alternative form of head lap; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a tile upper side showing an alternative form of side overlap; and Figure 6 shows in longitudinal section a tile of increased length.

Figure 1 shows in perspective the under side of a dead-weight moulded tile 1. The tile has an upper edge 2, a lower edge 3, and side edges 4 and 5. Near the upper edge 2 is provided an upstand 6 extending parallel to the upper edge 2. The upper edge of the upstand 6 provides a shoulder 7 whose purpose will be described hereinafter. At the two sides of the tile are provided two further upstands 8 and 9 of similar height to upstand 6. These lateral upstands 8 and 9 reinforce the tile to some extent in its lateral regions.

At a position between the centre of gravity of the tile and the lower edge, is provided a nib 10 for engaging a batten when the tile is positioned on a roof. It will be seen that an acute angle is defined between one side surface of the nib 10 and the region of the tile between the lower edge 3 and the nib 10. It will also be seen that upstands 7,8 and 9 and nib 10 together form a rectangular recess on the base of the tile. This recess may be filled with insulating material such as polystyrene (preferably expanded) for improved roof insulation.

At the lower edge of the tile is provided an upstanding rib 11 for engagement at the edge of the upper surface of a further tile when laid on a roof, as will be described hereinafter.

Along the edge 4 of the tile is provided a locking member 15 for forming a side lock by overlapping the marginal portion of a further tile. The member 15 has a generally U-shaped cross-section thus defining a channel 12 between a thickened tile edge 1 5a and a lateral rib 13. The thickening at edge 15a reinforces the tile to some extent. Rib 13 terminates at a short distance from the upper edge 2 of the tile in order that it may fit correctly with an adjacent tile as will be described in more detail hereinafter. However, at the upper edge of the tile and forming part of member 15 is provided a stop plate 14whosethickness is equal to about half the height of the rib 13. This provides a stop shoulder 16 at the upper end of the channel 12to preventwaterfrom being blown up the channel 12 during strong winds.It also acts to prevent capillary seepage up the channel 12.

On the upper surface of the tile 1, which surface is not shown in Figure 1, a rib 17 is provided along the edge 5, and thus reinforces this edge 5. The end of this rib 17 is just visible in Figure 1.

Figure 2 shows three tiles 1 a, 1 b, and 1 c, assembled together on a roof. The roof is of conventional construction and includes a rafter 20, a layer of roofing felt 29, and three battens 21, 22, and 23. Each tile is laid between two battens with the nib 10 engaging the lower batten and the upper shoulder 7 fitting up against the upper batten in each case. It will be seen that on the upper surface of each tile there is provided an upstand 18 at the upper edge extending substantially between the side of member 15 and the lateral rib 17. However, in tile 1a (but not in tile 1 b which is an alternative embodiment) where upstand 18 meets rib 17, it is cut away to some extent as shown at 19 in order to mate effectively with the stop plate 14 provided at one end of the member 15 of an adjacent tile.However, in tile 1 a upstand 18 is only cut away at 19 for about half its depth so that around the periphery of each tile 1 an upstand is formed on each of the lateral edges and the upper edge. Of course, stop plate 14 could not be provided in a tile to mate laterally with tile 1 b.

However, the side wall 24 of member 15, the side wall 25 of upstand 18, and the side wall 26 of rib 17 together provide a boundary wall at three edges of the tile, both in tile 1 a and tile 1 b. Thus any surface water on the tile is able to flow inwardly or laterally only with difficulty. It will be seen that the side wall 26 is formed with a step 27. However, this step 27 is not essential, and side wall 26 may in fact be formed in similar manner to side wall 24. In this case, rib 13 need to be somewhat deeper in order that the tiles should fit together correctly. However, returning to the illustrated embodiment, by observing tile 1c it may be seen that rib 13 of tile 1 b sits upon the step 27 of tile 1c, whilst rib 17 of tile 1c of course sits in channel 12 of tile 1b.Member 15 has a lateral wall 28, and between this wall 28 and the side wall 24 provided on tile 1 c, the rib 11 of a further tile is to fit.

Thus, rib 11 must be of an appropriate length to fit between walls 24 and 28.

It will be observed that each of ribs 11,13 and 17, as well as upstand 18, are provided with small channels in their upper surfaces. This is to allow the collection and subsequent egress of any water seeping in to the joints between the tiles. For this purpose, these ribs and upstands may be given an amount of lateral fall, where appropriate to assist this process. It is also possible to give the main upper surface of each tile between member 15, rib 17 and upstand 18 an amount of lateral fall in order to assist the removal of surface water.

Reference will now be made to Figure 3 which is a sectional view taken along the line Ill-Ill of Figure 2, but with the addition of a further tile below tile 1 b.

Figure 3 shows clearly how the tiles overlap in the region of the headlap. Each nip 10 engages a respective batten 21 or 22 and each shoulder 7 at the upper edge of each tile engages the batten above the one engaged by the nib of that tile. Thus, each tile is unable to slide upwardly of the roof. Each tile may be further secured by a nail 30 for additional safety.

Figure 4 shows an alternative form of head-lap where the batten 40 has been provided with an angled surface 41 in order that it may more exactly fit the angled surface of the nib 10. This may make it necessary to leave a slight cap 42 between the shoulder 7 and the batten 40 in order to allow insertion of the tile. Clearly, the necessity of otherwise for leaving this gap would depend to some extent upon the depth of the shoulder 7.

In all the embodiments discussed so far, the step 27 is parallel to the main surface of the tile. However, it is also possible for this step to slope relative to the surface of the tile as shown at 50 in Figure 5. This also produces a barrier 51 to the upward passage of water. Of course it is necessary for the rib 13 on the under side of the tile to be shaped appropriately to fit into the sloping channel 50.

Figure 6 shows a further form of tile which is of twice the length of the tiles discussed previously. A support beam 60 is provided along the centre of the tile in this case, and this beam rests against a batten.

Otherwise, the tile shown in Figure 6 is substantially identical with the tile shown in Figure 1. The advantage of a longer tile is that a roof may be covered with fewer tiles and also that the angle between the central plane of the tile and the surface of the rafters is reduced. This renders the tile less susceptible to being blown off by gusts of high wind.

The tiles which have been described in the specification are suitable for use on roofs of pitch varying from about 10 upwards. They are also suitable for use as hanging tiles on vertical walls.

Preferably, each tile has a single nib 10 extending across the full width of the underside of the tile. In the case of single-lap tiles having complementary overlapping and underlapping side marginal portions as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the nib 10, of course, does not extend into the overlapping side marginal portion, but preferably does extend right across the underlapping side marginal portion to the edge of the tile as illustrated. The use of a continuous nib on each tile may make it possible to reduce the strength of the rafters because of the better distribution of the forces acting on the battens.

Preferably, the tiles are laid with their upper edges flush with the upper edge of the upper batten as shown in Figure 3, and, if desired, one or more nail holes may be provided along a marginal portion at the upper edge of the tile enable a nail or nails to be used to secure the upper edge of the tile to the respective batten. The nib or nibs provided near the lower edge of the tile are of sufficient height to allow a marginal portion of the tile between the nib 10 and the lower edge 3 of the tile, to be raised above the upper edge of the tile below. In this connection, if desired, the said marginal portion of the tile below the nib may be thiner than the remainder of the tile.

Apart from the fact that the increased weight of the lower part of each tile reduces the likelihood of the tile being raised by wind pressure, a further advantage of a lower nib 10 is that any wind, rain or snow that should penetrate between the lower marginal edge 3 of a tile and the upper edge 2 of the tile beneath it will meet the lower edge of the nib.

Accordingly, if a single nib extending across the full width of the tile is provided, any wind, rain or snow penetration can be substantially prevented. If desired, in order to increase this effect even further, a mastic seal or the like may be provided along the junction between the upper and lower tiles. In particular, this seal may be provided by a strip of malleable adhesive packing secured to the junction between the nib and the underside of the lower marginal portion of each tile during its manufacture.

As is well-known, roofing tiles can be divided into double-lap tiles and single-lap tiles. Double-lap tiles are provided with plain side edges which butt up against each other when the tiles are laid. Accordingly, it is necessary to lay a further course of tiles to cover these butt joints and prevent water passing through the joints. In this case, the vertical overlap between one course of tiles has to be much greater than in the case of single-lap tiles and similarly the spacing between the battens has to be reduced.

Accordingly, in the case of double-lap tiles, the nib, or nibs, is, or are, provided on the underside of the tile at a point close to the centre of gravity of the tile.

Thus, with this arrangement, the lower marginal portion of each tile is sufficient to cover the butt joint between two adjacent tiles in the course below.

In either type of tile, the nib is preferably shaped in such a way that the tile cannot be rotated about its upper edge without the lower edge of the nib penetrating into the upper side of the batten against which it is supported. It will be understood that, even if the lower side of the nib is perpendicular to the lower face of the tile, and therefore parallel to the upper side of the batten, the tile cannot rotate about its upper edge without there being some upward movement of the tile. However, this effect can be increased even further by inclining the lower side of the nib so that there is an acute angle between this side and the underside of the lower marginal portion of the tile, as illustrated.

In Patent Applications Nos. 32114/78 and 33235/78 there are described inter alia roofing tiles comprising a layer of crushed slate/binder mixture and a layer of thermally-resistant material. Advantageously, the tile described herein is made from a crushed slatel binder mixture either along or preferably in conjunction with thermally-resistant material.

In particular, the tile may be constructed of pieces of expanded plastics material such as polystyrene enclosed in a recess formed between two layers of concrete or crushed slate slag formed with cement, or resin, or other binding agent. Alternatively, a layer of plastics material such as po[ystryrene may be attached to the underside of the tile as previously mentioned. If desired, a net of plastics material may be incorporated in the crushed slate;binder mixture to provide reinforcing. It is also possible to form the tile entirely of thermally insulating material such as synthetic resin material.

The above mentioned two Patent Applications also refer to the possibility of forming one side of the tile with a smooth and glossy finish. This feature may advantageously be applied to a tile described herein, the side having the smooth and glossyfinish being the side which is uppermost when the tile is in use.

Advantages of using the crushed slateíbinder mixture in conjunction with a thermally-resistant material include low porosity and low noise and heat transfer.

If desired, the roofing tile may be constructed with a hollow interior or with an interior filled with an expanded plastics material. The use of such a box section gives increased strength for any particular weight of tile.

The additional waterproofing provided by a roofing system in accordance with Figure 2 may make it possible to omit the usual roofing felt or other waterproof membrane provided underthe roofing tiles.

If desired, the lower edge of the time may be chamfered to further decrease the lifting effect of wind pressure on the tile.

Also, if desired, a channel or cut-away portion may be provided in either or both of the marginal portions of the tile to enable a mastic seal to be introduced between the overlapping and underlapping portions. A nail hole may be provided near the lower edge of the underlapping side portion so that the lower edge of the tile may be positively anchored to the lower batten, if wooden battens are used.

Although the illustrated tiles all have a generally flat upper surface, this could, without the scope of the invention, be curved or be provided with an angled ridge, or any other form of decorate shape.

The overlapping marginal portion 15 of the tiles may have an inverted U-shaped or V-shaped cross section or a semi-circular cross-section and may be wider than rib 17 to allow for lateral tile movement for adjustment purposes.

The rectangular enclosure between side upstands 8 and 9, upstand 6 and nib 10 may, instead of being recessed as shown in Figure 1, be formed as a solid thickened tile centre portion to fit between two battens.

At the tail of each tile on the under side may be provided a groove to fit the top upstand 18 of an underlapping tile. This groove could be provided instead of rib 11 as described in U.K. Patent Application No.79.02431.

The disclosure of each of U.K. Patent Specifications No.41324/78, No. 45125/78, No.47990/78, No.

7902431 and No.79.11366 is hereby incorporated into this specification.

The invention also consists of any features of novelty, taken singly or in combination, of the tiles and tiling systems described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings and the tiles and tiling systems described in the U.K. Patent Specifications incorporated above by reference into this specification.

Claims (34)

1. A roofing tile including a recess extending over at least a major portion of the tile area, which recess contains thermally insulating material.

2. Atile according to claim 1 wherein said material is a plastics material.

3. A tile according to claim 2 wherein said material is polystyrene.

4. A tile according to claim 3 wherein said material is expanded polystyrene.

5. Atile according to any one of clairns 1 to 4 wherein said recess is open to the underside of the tile.

6. A tile according to claim 5 wheren said recess is peripherally defined by two lateral upstands and an upper and a lower transverse upstand.

7. A tile according to claim 6 wherein said recess is rectangular.

8. A tile according to claim 6 or 7 wherein the lower transverse upstand forms a nib for engagement with a roof batten.

9. A tile according to claim 8 wherein the upper edge of the upper transverse upstand provides a stop surface for engagement with a roof batten to arrest upward sliding of the tile on a roof.

10. A roofing tile having an upper edge and a lower edge the tile comprising: a nib projecting from the underside of said tile and extending at least partly across the tile between the centre of gravity of the tile and the lower edge; a transverse upstanding rib at the lower edge on the lower surface; and a transverse upstanding rib at the upper edge on the upper surface.

11. A tile according to claim 10 having two lateral walls on its upper surface extending along respective marginal zones thereof to act as barriers to the lateral movement of moisture from the tile surface, which lateral walls join said upstanding rib at the upper edge to form a continuous U-shaped upstand around three edges of the tile.

12. A tile according to claim 11, wherein one of said lateral walls is a side wall of a marginal rib and the other lateral wall is a side wall of a marginal locking member providing a channel opening to the under side of the tile, which channel is shaped to mate with said marginal rib of a further similar tile said alongside said tile in use.

13. A tile according to claim 12 wherein said side wall of the marginal rib is provided with an elongate peripherally extending step.

14. Atile according to claim 12 or 13 wherein said channel is terminated at the upper edge of the tile by a shoulder forming a barrier to moisture.

15. A tile according to claim 14 wherein said transverse upstanding rib at the upper edge is recessed for part of its depth at one end thereof to accommodate a raised portion of a like adjacent tile in use, which raised portion forms said shoulder.

16. A tile according to any one of claims 10 to 15 wherein there is provided a stop means positioned between the nib and said upper edge on the lower side of the tile for engagement with a roof batten to arrest upward sliding of the tile when in use.

17. A tile according to claim 16 wherein said stop means is formed by a peripheral recessed portion at said upper edge.

18. A tile according to claim 17 wherein on the under side of the tile between the lateral edges of the tile and between the recessed portion and the nib, the tile is provided with a further recess forming two side upstands and a further upstand at the upper edge of the tile.

19. A tile according to claim 18 wherein said further recess contains thermally insulating material

20. A tile having two lateral walls on its upper surface extending along respective marginal zones thereof to act as barriers to the lateral movement of moisture from the tile surface, wherein one of said lateral walls is a side wall of a peripheral rib and the other lateral wall is a side wall of a peripheral locking member providing a channel opening to the under side of the tile, which channel is shaped to mate with said peripheral rib of a further similar tile laid alongside said tile in use.

21. A tile having a transverse upstanding rib at its upper edge on its upper surface.

22. A tile according to claims 20 and 21 wherein said lateral walls join said upstanding rib to form a continuous U-shaped upstand around three edges of the tile.

23. A tile according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said side wall of the peripheral rib is provided with an elongate peripherally extending step.

24. A tile according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said channel is terminated at the upper edge of the tile by a shoulder forming a barrier to moisture.

25. A tile according to claim 24 when dependent on claim 22 wherein said transverse upstanding rib is recessed for part of its depth at one end thereof to accommodate a raised portion of a like adjacent tile in use, which raised portion forms said shoulder.

26. A tile having on one surface at one edge an elongate upstanding rib and having at its outer edge a channel open to the other surface of the tile which channel is shaped to mate with said upstanding rib of a further similar tile laid alongside said tile in use, wherein said channel is terminated at the upper edge of the tile by a formation providing a shoulder forming a barrier to moisture and said upstanding rib is shaped at its upper end to accommodate said formation of a further similar tile laid alongside said tile in use.

27. A tile having an upper edge and a lower edge and having on its underside a projecting nib and a stop means, the nib extending at least partly across the tile between the centre of gravity of the tile and said lower edge, and the stop means being positioned between the nib and said upper edge in a position for engagement with a batten to arrest upward sliding of the tile when in use.

28. A tile according to claim 27, or claim 27 and any of claims 20 and 26 wherein said stop means is formed by a peripheral recessed portion at said upper edge.

29. A tile according to claim 28 wherein on the underside of the tile between the lateral edges of the tile and between the recessed portion and the nib, the tile is provided with a further recess forming two side upstands and a further upstand at the upper edge of the tile.

30. Atile according to claim 29 wherein said further recess contains thermally insulating material.

31. A tile substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1,23 and 4 or to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 as modified in accordance with Figure 5 or Figure 6.

32. A building in which the roof andsor at least one wall is provided with tiles according to any one of claims 1 to 31.

33. A tiling system comprising a plurality of interlocking tiles according to any one of claims 1 to 31.

34. A tiling system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 2.