GB2262113A - Ridge assembly for lean-to conservatory - Google Patents

Abstract

A ridge assembly for a lean-to conservatory the roof of which extends downwards and away from the supporting wall to which the ridge assembly is secured. The assembly comprises an elongate support member 1 and an elongate capping member 4 which is fixed above the support member so as to form a waterproof cover. The support member is formed from a material capable of receiving screws 2 and is generally L-shaped in cross section to define an upwardly extending portion that is fixed to the support wall and an outwardly extending portion on to an upper surface of which roof beams 8 are secured. The capping member defines an upwardly extending flange 6 for fixing to the supporting wall above the support member and an outwardly and downwardly extending flange 7 which when the capping member is secured to the supporting wall extends above the upper ends of the roof beam <IMAGE>

Description

CONSERVATORY RIDGE ASSEMBLY The present invention relates to a ridge assembly for a lean-to conservatory the roof of which extends downwards and away from supporting walls to which the ridge assembly is secured.

The roof of a lean-to conservatory comprises a ridge assembly which is secured to a supporting wall and to which the roof frame work including roof beams is attached. The roof beams extend downwardly and away from the ridge assembly and support glazing panels.

Conventional ridge assemblies for lean-to conservatory roofs are designed to accept roof beams extending at a predetermined angle to the horizontal, typically 300. There are however many circumstances in which it is desirable to be able to adjust the angle of inclination of a conservatory roof to fit particular circumstances. For example, lean-to conservatories are often fixed to a supporting wall beneath an existing window, the existing window setting an upper limit for the height of the conservatory roof assembly. It is therefore highly advantageous if a conservatory can be assembled to make maximum use of the available space by adjusting the inclination of the conservatory roof so that the ridge assembly is just beneath whatever obstacles such as existing windows may be present on the supporting wall.In some circumstances angles of inclination of as little as LOO might be desirable. Ridge assemblies have been designed to accept roof beams at inclinations other than 300 but not single conventional system is capable of accepting a wide range of roof inclinations. Thus it is customary to design a lean-to conservatory with a predetermined angle of roof inclination and then to select a ridge assembly appropriate to that angle. In practice this is not really satisfactory as it is difficult to accurately calculate the angle of inclination before installation of the conservatory has been started, and in any event it is disadvantageous from the point of view of cost to maintain the availability of a variety of ridge assemblies each capable of accepting a different angle of roof inclination.

A further problem associated with conventional ridge assemblies for lean-to conservatory roofs is that they comprise relatively complex interlocking elements which are expensive to manufacture and difficult to assemble.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate the problems outlined above.

According to the present invention, there is provided a ridge assembly for a lean-to conservatory the roof of which extends downwards and away from a supporting wall to which the ridge assembly is secured, the assembly comprising an elongate support member formed from a material capable of receiving fixing screws and an elongate capping member for fixing above the support member such that it forms a water proof cover thereover, wherein the support member is generally L shaped in cross section to define an upwardly extending portion for fixing to the supporting wall and an outwardly extending portion to an upper surface of which the upper ends of roof beams may be secured by fixing screws, and the capping member comprises an upwardly extending flange for fixing to the supporting wall above the support member and an outwardly and downwardly extending flange which when the capping member is secured to the supporting wall extends above the upper ends of the roof beams fixed to the support member.

The outwardly extending portion of the support member may be inclined downwards by for example 100 so that roof beams inclined at that angle to the horizontal can rest flat on the outwardly extending member. When used with a roof having a greater degree of inclination to the horizontal, for example 300, the roof beam simply rest on the upper outer edge of the outwardly extending portion of the support member but can nevertheless be securely fixed to the support member.

The outwardly and downwardly extending flange of the capping member may be inclined at an angle to the horizontal corresponding to the maximum degree of inclination of any roof which is to be secured thereto, for example 30G. Thus if fitted in a roof inclined to the horizontal at 300 the outwardly and downwardly extending flange will rest fiat against the upper surface of the roof beams. If the angle of inclination of the roof is less than 300 only the outer tip of the downwardly and outwardly extending flange touches the upper edges the roof beams.

Thus the assembly in accordance with the present invention provides a two part assembly capable of receiving roof beams inclined at a wide range of angles to the horizontal. The assemblers of the conservatory do not need to calculate accurately the angle of roof inclination before installation but can simply fit the components as appropriate to the conditions found on site.

The support member may be formed as a single piece of for example high density fibre board or alternatively assembled from two flat fibre board members secured together by appropriate means such as adhesive or fixing screws.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a cross sectional view through a ridge assembly in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of one end of the support member shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan view of the support member shown in Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 is plan view of a capping member shown in Figure 1; and Figure 5 is a front elevation of the capping member of Figures 1 and d Referring to the accompanying drawings, the illustrated assembly comprises a support member 1 which is generally L-shaped in section.

An upwardly extending portion of the support member 1 is secured by screws 2 to a supporting wall 3 of a building from which the conservatory roof extends. A lower portion of the support member 1 extends outwardly from the wall 3 and is inclined downwards relative to the horizontal by 100. A capping member 4 is secured by screws 5 to the supporting wall above the support member 1. The capping member includes an upwardly extending flange 6 through which the screws 5 extend and a downwardly and outwardly extending flange 7 which projects above roof beams secured to the support member 1.

A roof beam 8 is shown by full lines, the roof beam 8 being inclined to the horizontal at 100 that it rests flat against the upper surface of the lower portion of the support member 1. The roof beam 8 may be secured to the support member 1 by screws (not shown) extending in the direction indicated by the broken line 9. Adjacent roof beams will be interconnected by an upper horizontal member extending parallel to the ridge and that member may be secured to the upper portion of the - support member 1 by screws (not shown) extending in the direction indicated by broken line 10.

With a roof beam 8 in the position shown, only the outer tip of the flange 7 rests against the upper surface of that roof beam. A roof beam could however be arranged at an angle other than 10 to the horizontal, for example at an angle of 300. In such circumstances the roof beam would be in the position indicated by broken lines 11. If the roof beam was positioned as indicated by broken lines 11, the capping member would be lower than indicated in the drawing so that the flange 7 would rest flat against the upper surface of the roof beam.

Thus it will be appreciated that the use of the ridge assembly described in the accompanying drawings is a simple matter. The installer simply fixes the support member 1 as appropriate, ensuring that the resultant angle of inclination of the conservatory roof will be between 10 and 30 degrees. When the roof beams are positioned they are simply pushed rearwardly until they abut the upwardly extending portion of the support member 1 and rest on the lower portion of the support member 1. The upper ends of the roof beams are then secured by fixing screws to the support member 1. Once the roof beams have been secured in position, the capping member is lowered on to the roof beams until the outward edge of the flange 7 rests on the roof beams. The capping member 4 is then secured to the support walls by screws 5. There is thus no requirement for advance calculation of the angle of inclination of the roof and the fixing of the ridge assembly to the supporting wall requires no accurate measurements to be made. It is simply necessary to ensure that the support member 1 is horizontal.

Figure 2 is a perspective illustration of one end of the support member '. It can be seen that the upwardly extending portion of the support member 1 terminates for example 70 mm from the extreme ends of the lower portion of the support member 1. The curved end of the lower portion of the support member enables the appropriate positioning of end roof beams which are not perpendicular to the length of the member 1 but extends downwardly at the same angle as the roof beams which extend perpendicular to the length of the support member 1.

The detailed structure of the end portions of the capping member 4 is illustrated in Figures 4 and 5. It will be noted that the upwardly extending flange 6 extends the full length of the downwardly extending flange 7. Flattened portions 12 are also provided adjacent the ends of the capping member to enable embellishments such as vertically extending finials to be supported in a visually pleasing manner.

It will also be appreciated that further decorative features could be supported on the capping member, for example by providing an elongate groove in the upper portion o-f the capping member into which a suitable crest could be secured in any appropriate matter.

In the illustrated embodiment, the support member 1 is formed from fibreboard. This is an ideal material as screws can be driven into it without requiring the provision of preformed apertures.

Furthermore, fibreboard can be produced to reasonably tight dimensional tolerances, ensuring that the support member is straight so as to in turn ensure that the roof beams are all in horizontal alignment. Fibreboard does not warp and is therefore inherently far superior for this application than simple lengths of timber.

It will be appreciated that silicone sealant could be injected into the area defined beneath the capping member to prevent any possibility of water being blown under the capping member. It would also be possible to insert wedging members beneath the roof beams where the roof beams do not lie flat on the upper surface of the lower leg of the support member 1. For example, a variety of wedge profiles could be produced to accommodate various angles of roof inclination. If a roof was positioned at 300 to the horizontal, in the illustrated example a wedge having a 200 angle would be appropriate.

Claims (6)

CLAIMS:

1. A ridge assembly for a lean-to conservatory the roof of which extends downwards and away from a supporting wall to which the ridge assembly is secured, the assembly comprising an elongate support member formed from a material capable of receiving fixing screws and an elongate capping member for fixing above the support member such that it forms a water proof cover thereover, wherein the support member is generally L shaped in cross section to define an upwardly extending portion for fixing to the supporting wall and an outwardly extending portion to an upper surface of which the upper ends of roof beams may be secured by fixing screws, and the capping member comprises an upwardly extending flange for fixing to the supporting wall above the support member and an outwardly and downwardly extending flange which when the capping member is secured to the supporting wall extends above the upper ends of the roof beams fixed to the support member.

2. A ridge assembly according to claim 1, wherein the included angle between the upwardly extending portion of the support member and the outwardly extending portion of the support member is substantially equal to 1000.

3. A ridge assembly according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the support member is formed from a fibreboard.

4. A ridge assembly according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the outwardly and downwardly extending flange of the capping member is inclined to the horizontal by substantially 300.

5. A ridge assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the capping member is in the form of a single piece moulding.

6. A ridge assembly for a lean-to conservatory substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.