GB2216922A

GB2216922A - Roof drainage gutters

Info

Publication number: GB2216922A
Application number: GB8905957A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Bernt Torsten Johansson
Original assignee: Granges Aluminium AB
Current assignee: Granges Aluminium AB
Priority date: 1988-03-16
Filing date: 1989-03-15
Publication date: 1989-10-18
Anticipated expiration: 2009-03-15
Also published as: SE8800947L; GB2216922B; GB8905957D0; SE8800947D0; SE461540B

Abstract

A gutter arangement for a roof having, as a primary roofing material, corrugated roofing sheets 12 comprises a gutter 11 which extends substantially horizontally, and which is adapted to receive water discharged from the roofing sheets. The gutter is formed with at least one discharge aperture 14 or gulley to permit water to drain from the gutter. The gutter is covered by corrugated panels 13 which extend axially of the gutter. The gutter panels are perforated at least in the region above the or each discharge gulley. The perforations 17 extend into the region of the gutter panel which is located beneath the lower edges of the roofing panels so that even if the exposed apertures are blocked, some apertures will remain unblocked to permit water to drain from the valley into the gutter and thus to the discharge gulley. <IMAGE>

Description

DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION Improvements in or relating to a drainage gutter arrangement THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to a drainage gutter arrangement and more particularly relates to a drainage gutter arrangement intended for use on a roof having, as a primary roofing material, corrugated roofing sheets.

Conventionally it has been proposed to provide at least one substantially horizontal water-collecting gutter for use on the roof of a building, the gutter being formed with one or more screened discharge apertures or gullies. However, such gutters and gullies may readily become blocked by leaves in the autumn, and by snow and ice in the winter. If the gutters and gullies have been formed at the base of a roof valley, it has been necessary to clear away the leaves and snow, during the autumn and winter, to prevent any risk of damage being caused by damp due to water collecting in the roof valley. The removal of snow and ice in the winter is time-consuming, since the work must be carried out very carefullly if damage to the roof and to the gutter arrangement is to be avoided.

The present invention seeks to provide a drainage gutter arrangement adapted for use on a roof, which cannot readily be blocked by leaves and snow, and which thus requires very little attention.

According to this invention there is provided a gutter drainage gutter arrangement for a roof which has, as a primary roofing material, roofing sheets, the drainage arrangement comprising at least one horizontal gutter adapted to receive water discharged from the roofing sheets, said gutter being formed with at least one discharge gulley for the removal of water received by the gutter, the gutter being covered by corrugated panels or sheets or the like, with the axes of the corrugations extending axially of the gutter, the corrugated panels being perforated at least in a region adjacent the or each discharge gulley in the gutter.

Preferably the gutter is formed by a layer of water-proof material located below the gutter panels.

Conveniently the water-proof layer is made of butyl rubber sheet or roofing felt.

Advantageously the lower ends of the roof sheets extend over the edges of the gutter panels.

Preferably the perforations in the gutter panels extend into the region or regions of the gutter panels located beneath the lower ends of the roof sheets.

Conveniently the perforations in the gutter panels are present both in the bottoms and in the tops of the corrugations.

Preferably the perforations provided in the gutter panels are present in the side walls of the corrugations.

Advantageously the gutter panel located above the discharge gulley is provided with a removable in spection hatch.

Conveniently the inspection hatch is formed by a removable perforated panel.

Preferably the gutter panels have corrugations of trapezoidal cross-section having planar tops and planar bottoms.

Advantageously the cross-sectional area of the perforations in the gutter panels adjacent the or each discharge gulley is greater than the area of the discharge gulley.

Preferably the gutter is formed in the lower part of a roof valley, with roofing sheets from each side of the valley being located to discharge water into the gutter.

Conveniently the total width of the gutter sheets is less than the total width of the gutter.

Preferably the roofing sheets are formed as corrugated sheets.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE 1 is a sectional view through a drainage gutter arrangement according to the present invention mounted in a roof valley, taken transversely of the valley, FIGURE 2 is a section through the arrangement illustrated in Figure 1, taken axially of the valley, and FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the gutter arrangement of Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 1 illustrates a roof 10 of conventional construction which forms a roof valley. Extending axially of the valley are battens 16a which are seucred to the roof in a convenient manner. The base of the valley is provided with a water-impermeable gutter 11.

The main roofing material of the roof is comprised of corrugated panels 12 which are mounted on the battens 10a. The corrugated panels may be of any convenient form, but preferably have trapezoidal corrugations, and are of the type TRP 20-75. The panels are mounted on the battens with their edges overlapping.

The corrugated roof panels 12 cover the whole roof except for the central region of the gutter 11.

The corrugations of the roof panel have tops 12a and bottoms 12b, and the corrugations are aligned so that the axes of the corrugations extend towards the gutter 11.

Located within the gutter 11, in the base of the valley, are corrugated gutter panels 13, which may again have trapezoidal corrugations and may be of the type TRP 20-75. The gutter panels 13 substantially cover the gutter 11 and are arranged with overlapping ends. The gutter panels 13 have corrugations with tops 13a and bottoms 13b, and the axes of the corrugations extend axially of the gutter 11, that is to say transversely of the axes of the corrugations of the panels 12.

It is to be noted that the lower ends 12c of the roof panels on either side of the valley defined by the roof 10 overlap, to a certain extent, the gutter panels 13, so that the corrugations formed, by the edge regions of the gutter panels, at either side of the valley are located beneath the lower edges of the roof panels 12. This can be clearly seen in Figures 1 and 3.

The gutter 11 is provided, at appropriate spaced positions, with a number of discharge apertures or gullies 14 which extend downwardly through the roof 10 to an appropriate system of drainage pipes which pass through the interior of the building on which the roof is mounted. The gutter panel 13 located above the gulley 14 is provided, above the gulley 14, with a relatively large hole in which is mounted a removable inspection hatch 15. The hatch may be itself perforated with a plurality of small perforations. The inspection hatch 15 may be unscrewed and removed for inspection and maintenance of the gulley 14.

As can be seen clearly from Figure 2 the roof 10 is covered with a water-proof surface layer 16 which forms the gutter 11, and the layer 16 is drawn down into the gulley 14. The drainage pipe which would then be connected to the gutter is not illustrated.

The water-proof layer 16 extends to a greater width than the width of the gutter panel 13. Thus the gutter 11 is wider than the gutter panel 13. The water-proof layer 16 may be formed of butyl rubber sheet, roofing felt, or other impervious sheet material.

At least in the region of the gullies lit, the gutter panels are perforated. The perforations may be located at the tops of the corrugations, or at the bottoms of the corrugations, or both at the tops and at the bottoms of the corrugations. The side walls of the corrugations may also be perforated. The perforations are illustrated at 17 in Figure 3, and the perforations extend in the region of the gutter panels 13 which are located underneath the lower edges of the roofing panels 12.

The gutter panels may be, in cross-section (that is to say perpendicularly to the axis defined by the corrugations) a plane or slightly downwardly convex shape. As can be appreciated from a consideration of Figure 3, the area of the perforated gutter panel above the gulley lit is considerably larger than the inlet area of the gulley 14. The effective perforate or open area of the perforated panel, i.e. the sum of all the areas of all the perforations, can therefore be made considerably greater than the effective open area of the gulley lit.

It is to be appreciated that the entire upper surface of each gutter panel 13 may be perforated as described.

When a gutter arrangement as described as being mounted on a roof, especially in a roof valley, any rain falling on the roof will be directed by the corrugations on the roofing sheets 12 and will flow downwardly into the valley. The water will then flow through the perforations 17 in the gutter sheets 13, and will flow along the gutter 11 and down through a gulley 14, leaving the roof through the drainage system which passes through the interior of the building.

In the autumn-time leaves may fall on the roof, and may serve to block the apertures 17 in the central part of the valley. However, the leaves cannot block the apertures formed in the parts of the gulley sheets 13 which are located underneath the lower edges of the roofing sheets 12. Thus, even if the apertures 17 in the central part of the valley become blocked, water subsequently running down the roofing panels 12 will, on reaching the valley, flow back up under the lower edges of the roofing panels, and then flow through the apertures 17, located underneath the gutter panels 13. The water may then flow down the water-proof material 16 forming the gutter 11 to the appropriate gulley 14.

It will be appreciated that the perforations 13 in the parts of the gutter panels located under the lower edges of the roof 12 also cannot be blocked by snow or ice. This ensures a satisfactory discharge of water from the gutter panels to the gutter 11 and thus to the gulley 14 in all weather conditions and without special supervision.

The perforate panel over the gulley 14 ensures that the gulley itself cannot be blocked by leaves and snow or ice, and reduces heat radiation from the open mouth of the gulley 14. This minimises any risk of the gulley 14 itself freezing before the rest of the roof has frozen. It is to be appreciated that if the gulley 14 freezes before the rest of the roof has frozen, which might occur especially on cold autumn and spring nights in a conventional roof construction, large quantities of water may build up in a roof valley, and may cause damage through dampness.

It is envisaged that a guttering arrangement in accordance with the invention may be particularly useful in renovating an old or existing roof, such as a roof lined with roofing felt. In such cases the gutter is first formed, if necessary, by applying to a valley in the roof a water-proof coating, for example, a butyl rubber cloth or a new layer of roofing felt, so that dampness cannot penetrate through the water-proof layer. The gutter panels are subsequently fitted on top of the new water-proof layer, thus serving to protect the water-proof layer against physical damage and against the effects of solar radiation. Finally the roofing panels are fitted, so that the outer edges of the gutter panels are located below the lower edges of the roof panels.

The gutter panels are preferably laid with an overlap of, for example, 100 millimetres. No sealing of the overlapping parts is required, and no securing elements are necessary, which might otherwise hinder possible movements of the panel due to thermal expansion and contraction. The gutter panels can be positioned horizontally or with a relatively slight fall, for example, one in a hundred.

Whilst there may be some leakage at the joints between gutter panels, the leakage quantities are small, and, in any event, any water passing through the joints between the gutter panels will flow along the gutter 11 formed by the water-proof layer 16.

Since snow cannot readily block all the perforations in the perforated panels which are located under the lower edges of the roof panels 12, usually no provision is required against drifting snow. However, such provision may be necessary, exceptionally, if the pitch of the roof panels is substantial.

Although only one embodiment of the arrangement according to the invention has been described and illustrated, many modifications may be effected without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following Claims. For example, the corrugated panels need not necessarily have trapezoidal corrugations, but may have some other shape of corrugation, defining appropriate channels. The perforations in the gutter panels may be located in many different ways.

The gulley can, if required, also be covered by a conventional grid, since the perforated gutter panels prevent them from becoming blocked.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A drainage gutter arrangement for a roof which has, as a primary roofing material, roofing sheets, the drainage arrangement comprising at least one horizontal gutter adapted to receive water discharged from the roofing sheets, said gutter being formed with at least one discharge gulley for the removal of water received by the gutter, the gutter being covered by corrugated panels or sheets or the like, with the axes of the corrugations extending axially of the gutter, the corrugated panels being perforated at least in a region adjacent the or each discharge gulley in the gutter.

2. A gutter arrangement according to Claim 1 wherein the gutter is formed by a layer of water-proof material located below the gutter panels.

3. A gutter arrangement according to Claim 2 wherein the water-proof layer is made of butyl rubber sheet or roofing felt.

4. An arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the lower ends of the roof sheets extend over the edges of the gutter panels.

5. A gutter arrangement according to Claim 4 wherein the perforations in the gutter panels extend into the region or regions of the gutter panels located beneath the lower ends of the roof sheets.

6. A gutter arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the perforations in the gutter panels are present both in the bottoms and in the tops of the corrugations.

7. A gutter arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the perforations provided in the gutter panels are present in the side walls of the corrugations.

8. A gutter arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the gutter panel located above the discharge gulley is provided with a removable inspection hatch.

9. A gutter arrangement according to Claim 8 wherein the inspection hatch is formed by a removable perforated panel.

10. A gutter arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the gutter panels have corrugations of trapezoidal cross-section having planar tops and planar bottoms.

11. A gutter arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the cross-sectional area of the perforations in the gutter panels adjacent the or each discharge gulley is greater than the area of the discharge gulley.

12. A gutter arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the gutter is formed in the lower part of a roof valley, with roofing sheets from each side of the valley being located to discharge water into the gutter.

13. A gutter arrangement according to Claim 12 wherein the total width of the gutter sheets is less than the total width of the gutter.

14. A gutter arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the roofing sheets are formed as corrugated sheets.

15. A gutter arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.

16. Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein.