GB2293393A - Bedded verge undercloak for roofing - Google Patents

Abstract

A mortar bedded roof verge construction comprises an extruded plastics undercloak (2), which extends longitudinally of the verge. The undercloak may have a downwardly extending flange (18) to hide the edge of the cut bricks and to deflect rain-water. The undercloak may also have a cover portion (19, 20) to cap the end of a roof tile batten. Preferably the undercloak includes a track (2) along which a clip (6) may be slid into frictional engagement with overlapping tiles at the verge of the roof. <IMAGE>

Description

Verge System for Roofs The present inventions relate to a verge system for roofs covered by tiles or other suitable elements.

Conventional roof construction usually involves laying roofing underlay. The underlay can be held in place by battens which are positioned laterally across the roof to support the tiles. On the underside at the top end of a tile there is provided a nib which hooks over a tile batten to locate the tile in position on the roof. The bottom end of the tile, which overlaps the top of the next tile below, needs to be held down securely to prevent it from being removed by the wind and this may be done by means of a clip.

At the verge of a roof a bedded verge construction is generally used. This generally consists of building up the brickwork close to the level of the rafters, applying a bed of mortar and laying down an undercloak to remove any minor inequalities in the height of the brickwork and to bring the height up to the adjacent rafter. The roofing underlay usually continues over the insulating cavity of the brickwork and is covered by an inside edge of the undercloak.

There are drawbacks associated with the conventional bedded verge. For example, the appearance of the verge is largely dependent upon the craftmanship of the builder and the time spent in cutting the bricks to the required level. Furthermore, the cement fibreboard undercloaks have an undesirable colour, they have a lack of ability to key to mortar, they absorb moisture from the mortar and they do not provide any protection to either the tile battens or the mortar.

Over recent years there has been increasing use of a verge system which uses a plastic section in place of the traditional bedded mortar system. An example is in WO81/01583. This provides protection for the various roof elements but there are many people who prefer the appearance of a conventional system.

According to one invention disclosed herein there is provided a roof verge construction including an extruded plastics undercloak which extends longitudinally of the verge, the undercloak having a downwardly extending flange extending along its length.

The extruded undercloak is used to replace the cement fibreboard undercloak of the traditional roof construction. Not only does the conventional cement fibreboard suffer from technical drawbacks such as drawing out moisture too quickly from the bedding mortar, but also the appearance of the material is poor.

It is only readily available in a dull grey colour and has a surface to which it is very difficult to key paint. Thus the appearance of the undercloak as well as the quality of the key to the bedding mortar can be improved by using an extruded coloured plastics undercloak, eg. one made from PVC. In addition it also allows the easy manufacture of larger lengths of track, for example 5m lengths as against the 1.2m maximum length presently available for cement fibreboard undercloak.

Preferably the undercloak is bedded on mortar.

However, the downwardly extending portion eliminates the need for a bedded mortar joint at the top of the brickwork, as it conceals the line of cut bricks and also weathers it.

The conventional method of constructing a bedded mortar verge involves a very time consuming step of cutting and finishing the brickwork to within reasonably fine tolerances, and bedding down the undercloak in order to make a joint neat. With the downwardly extending portion of the improved undercloak, the joint is hidden from view and thus the joint can be prepared much more quickly and easily, because any variations in the level will not be visible. The joint covering portion can either extend straight down or incline towards the brickwork, perhaps actually pressing against the brickwork in a resilient manner. Preferably the downwardly extending portion is integral with the undercloak although a two piece construction is also envisaged.

Additionally, the undercloak can include a channel to allow profiled facia sections to be fitted between the undercloak and the adjacent brickwork. The facia section may be secured in place by interlocking serrated tongue and groove arrangements to allow easy assembly.

Alternatively the profiled section can be integral with the undercloak to improve the appearance. Again, the colours of these fittings can be chosen to complement the other fixtures or paintwork of the building.

The downwardly extending flange of the undercloak can also be used when barge boards are employed. This downwardly extending portion is then beneficial in preventing rain water penetrating the gap between the undercloak and the top of the barge board, thereby reducing the likelihood of the barge board rotting.

In preferred embodiments, the undercloak is attached directly to the tile battens by means of a suitable fastener, eg. a nail or screw, as this will secure the undercloak much more positively to the supporting structure than by bedding mortar. This can be achieved by having an upwardly extending portion through which a fastener can be passed directly into the end portion of the tile batten, preferably through premade holes. Ideally, the upwardly extending portion has a further laterally extending portion which can cover the top of the tile batten as well. This will help to shield the end of the tile batten from moisture penetrating through the mortar bedding, making it less likely to rot. This is a significant improvement over the conventional method of covering the end of the batten directly with mortar. The arrangement is inventive with or without the downwardly extending flange.

Thus, according to another invention disclosed herein there is provided a roof verge construction including an extruded plastics undercloak which extends longitudinally of the verge, the undercloak having an upwardly extending flange with an inwardly extending portion to cap the end of a roof tile batten.

In a further preferred embodiment, the undercloak has an outwardly extending rib running substantially the length of the section. The provision of a rib makes it significantly easier to finish off neatly a layer of mortar covering the region between the tiles and the top of the undercloak. By using the rib as a guide, an appropriate tool can be scraped along the face of the plaster or mortar removing excess material.

Preferably the undercloak is provided with an undercut or the like which will assist in keying mortar.

This undercut can form, or be part of a track or channel to receive a tile clip. The clip will extend over the sides of the tiles at the verge of the roof.

In a particularly preferred arrangement the clip is movable longitudinally of the undercloak. This means that it can be moved so that it can be engaged tightly against the tiles. Such an arrangement is inventive with or without the features of the undercloak discussed above.

Thus, according to another invention disclosed herein there is provided a roof verge construction including a track which extends along the verge of the roof and a clip which is slidably engaged with the track for longitudinal movement so that it can be slid into secure engagement with overlapping tiles at the verge of the roof.

Preferably the clip is slidable along the length of the track so that it can be slid into frictional engagement with the surface of a tile. However, other embodiments are envisaged, whereby a given size of clip can be slid into a receiving hollow or hole located at an appropriate position along the track, bringing it into frictional engagement with an overlapping tile, preferably being secured in position by a push or snap fit action.

Preferably the clip is made of a plastics material by a suitable technique such as injection moulding. One advantage of using a clip made from plastics is that the colour can be chosen to either blend in with the colours of other fittings, or preferably can be made from a dark colour material making it far less conspicuous than the conventional clips of stainless steel and aluminium. Of course the clip of the present invention can also be made of any suitably resilient metal if so desired.

The track is again preferably made from a plastics material since this lends itself to simple methods of manufacture, for example by extrusion. It also allows the colour to be chosen to match other plastics roofing items such as gutters etc. Alternatively the track can be made from extrudable aluminiums or other alloys, perhaps to match window frames.

The clip and track arrangement of the present invention provides significant advantages over the traditional system. Just one size of clip can now accommodate a range of the tiles presently on the market. The freedom and ability of the system to accept different depths of tile opens many new options to the tile designer and the architect. For example tiles having textures, patterns or some manner of varying profile can now easily be secured to the roof structure.

Also coloured plastic extrusions and injection mouldings are now available to complement or blend in with the overall appearance of the building as desired.

The track is preferably an integral part of the undercloak discussed earlier.

Since, because of the internal stresses, there is a likelihood that the covering layer of mortar will crack with time, the clip is preferably provided with at least one thin inwardly projecting web to promote cracking.

Thus any cracks that occur will hopefully be obscured from view by the width of the clip. This not only improves the appearance of the covering layer but additionally protects those cracked regions from the effects of the weather. The web may also serve to reinforce the clip.

The clip may also be used independently of the track or undercloak system.

Thus, according to another invention disclosed herein there is provided a roof verge construction including a clip bedded in mortar and having a portion which extends upwardly and inwardly to bear down on a tile at the verge of the roof, the clip having an inwardly directed web embedded in the mortar, and the web having an aperture therethrough.

There are also disclosed herein inventions consisting of the separate components of the roof verge construction, such as the undercloaks, tracks and clips, as well as combinations thereof. Also disclosed are inventions consisting of the methods used to make the verge constructions. Furthermore, whilst the undercloaks are preferably of extruded plastics or the like, other materials and manufacturing processes are possible. Protection is sought for all of the inventions disclosed, including these components and modifications.

Preferred embodiments of the various inventions will now be discussed by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the clip and track assembly in operation; Figures 2a to 2c are a front, side and back elevation respectively of the preferred tile clip; Figures 3a and 3b are a side and front elevation respectively of a preferred integral track and undercloak assembly; Figure 4 is a side elevation showing the clip of Figure 2b received by a further preferred embodiment of the track; Figure 5 is a side elevation showing an alternative clip and undercloak system; Figure 6 is a side elevation showing a preferred undercloak and profiled facia panel; and Figure 7 is a side elevation showing a traditional clip used in conjunction with a preferred undercloak.

Referring initially to Figure 1, there is illustrated an area of brickwork 1, upon which is supported a track 2. Preferably the track 2 is formed as an integral part of the undercloak. Resting on the tile battens (not shown) are a series of tiles 3,4, the upper tile 4 overlapping in a region 5 the tile 3 immediately below.

By the very nature of this arrangement, the separation between the top surface of the upper tile 4 and the track 2 will vary with the displacement along the track 2. This situation makes it possible to insert a given size of clip 6 into the track 2 at a position where the separation is small and then sliding the clip 6 along the track 2 until the progressively increasing separation brings the clip 6 into frictional engagement with tile 4, thereby clamping tile 4 to the supporting structure and sandwiching tile 3 therebetween.

Another advantageous feature of the system depicted in Figure 1 is the downwardly extending portion 7 of the undercloak 2. This portion 7 not only hides the cut edge of the bricks from view but also protects it from the effects of the weather.

Numeral 8 denotes an outwardly extending rib which runs substantially the length of the track 2. The provision of rib 8 makes it much easier to produce a neat surface finish on the mortar 9 which is used to fill in the gaps between the tiles 3,4 and the top of the track 2. This is achieved by using the rib as a guide for an appropriate scraping tool which is passed along the face of the plaster 9.

Figures 2a to 2c illustrate a preferred embodiment of the tile clip 6. The clip 6 in its simplest form is composed of three portions, a clamping portion 10, an elongate portion 11 and a foot portion 12. The clamping portion 10 extends substantially at right angles to the elongate portion 11 and is intended to provide a surface which will be brought into frictional engagement with a tile 4. Preferably the contacting surface of the clamping portion 10 is flat so that it engages as much of the tile 4 as possible. This provides greater friction and increases the clamping strength of the clip 6. The length of the elongate portion 11 corresponds roughly to the separation between the top surface of tile 4 and the track 2 at a location in the overlapping region 5. Foot portion 12 is preferably provided with a tab 13 and a nib 14 which cooperate with a pair of channel flanges (see Figure 4) to retain the clip 6 in the track 2.

Also shown in Figure 2b is an internally projecting web 15 which is provided to promote localised cracking of the surrounding mortar 9 (see Figure 1). Obviously the web 15 would perform the same function of promoting cracking if it extended from only the elongate portion 11 or only the foot portion 12. However, if the web 15 is constructed as shown in Figure 2b, it also provides a degree of rigidity and strength to the clip 6.

Preferably there is a hole 16 in the web 15 which can act as a key for the mortar. It is intended that the clip 6 is made sufficiently wide to cover any of the localised cracks that might occur in the mortar 9.

Lastly, numeral 17 denotes a further web which is provided to strengthen the clip 6.

Figures 3a and 3b show a preferred embodiment of an extruded undercloak 2' having an integral track 2, downwardly extending portion 18 and a batten covering portion 19,20. The upwardly extending portion 19 used to cover the end of the tile batten preferably has premade holes or very thin regions of material 23 to receive nails or other fasteners. The upwardly extending portion 19 and the laterally extending portion 20 are preferably manufactured so that they can fit snugly around the end of a standard size tile batten.

The channel for the clip 6 is created by the provision of flanges 21,22. This arrangement is preferable since the clip fitter can insert the clip into the track by firstly positioning tab 13 of the clip 6 under flange 21 and then snap the nib 14 past flange 22 to retain the foot portion 12 of the clip 6 securely in the channel. Obviously other arrangements for retaining the clip are available to the skilled man, such as foot portions which are intended to be inserted and then twisted through an angle, engaging protections from the foot portion 12 into receiving grooves or gaps.

Figure 3a shows clearly the rib 8 which can be used as a guide to smooth the face of the plaster 9. The size of this rib 8 is preferably chosen to vertically align with the visible surface of the elongate portion 11 of the clip 6. Additionally it should be noted that the flanges 21 and 22 of the channel provide a good keying surface for the plaster 9. If desired, a number of other features can be incorporated in the extrusion to provide further sites for the mortar 9 to key with.

Figure 4 shows a clip 6 in position in a track 2 of a further preferred embodiment of the undercloak 2'.

This embodiment has a portion 18 which extends straight down rather than being inclined towards the brickwork 1.

Figure 5 shows an alternative assembly. The undercloak 2' has an integral track 2 and a groove 24 to receive a tongue 25 formed on a separate downwardly extending portion 18'. Preferably this two piece construction is secured together by means of interlocking serrations on the surfaces of tongue 25 and groove 24. This arrangement has the advantage that the downwardly extending portion 18 can be pressed neatly against the brickwork 1 regardless of the width of the undercloak 2'. It also allows the possibility of using two complementary colours for the fittings.

As shown in Figure 5, the illustrated undercloak 2' has an upwardly extending portion 19, through which fasteners 26 can be passed directly into the end of the tile batten 27 to secure the undercloak 2'.

The clip 6 shown in Figure 5 has a knee 28 upon which the tiles 3,4 are clamped by the resiliently sprung clamping portion 10 of clip 6. The clip 6 further includes a foot portion 12 which is shaped so that it can be slidably adjusted with respect to the track 2. This allows the clip fitter to correctly position the clip so that it properly secures the tiles 3,4 by frictional engagement. Again mortar 9 is provided to fill in the region between the tile 3 and the top of the track 2.

In Figure 6 there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of an extruded undercloak 2'. The undercloak 2' is attached to the roof structure in the same fashion as the embodiment of Figure 5, ie. by passing a fastener 26 through the upwardly extending portion 19 and into the end of the tile batten 27. The fastener 26 and the upwardly extending portion 19 are hidden from view by a covering layer of mortar 9.

The illustrated undercloak 2' has a groove 24 sandwiched between the tile batten 27 and the brickwork 1. The groove 24 is intended to receive and retain in place a tongue 25 of a profiled facia section 29. Again preferably the panel 29 is secured in position by interlocking serrations on the surfaces of the tongue 25 and groove 24 as this makes assembly relatively easy and allows for variations in the positioning of the undercloak 2'. Alternatively the undercloak 2' could incorporate such a profile as an integral part of the extrusion.

Figure 7 shows a clip 30 whose foot portion 31 is secured to the top of a tile batten 27 by nails 32 rather than being clipped into a channel. However, the illustrated clip 30 is made by injection moulding a dark coloured plastics material to make it less conspicuous than the conventionally used shiny metal tile clips.

Figure 7 also shows a preferred two piece undercloak 2' having a downwardly extending portion 18 secured by the tongue 24 and groove 25 assembly mentioned previously.

Again mortar 9 is used to fill in the space between the tile 3 and the top of the undercloak 2'. Preferably the foot portion 31 of the clip 30 has a hole 33 to provide an additional key for the mortar 9. Thus, in this arrangement the clip and the undercloak can be used independently.

In the preferred embodiments the undercloaks are formed from extruded plastics material and the clips are preferably formed from injection moulded plastics material. Any suitable plastics material may be used, such as PVC. Thus there has been disclosed a number of inventions which can be used either independently or in combination with one another by the construction industry to improve conventional roofing systems.

Claims (17)

1. A roof verge construction including an extruded plastics undercloak which extends longitudinally of the verge, the undercloak having a downwardly extending flange extending along its length.

2. A roof verge construction as claimed in claim 1, wherein the downwardly extending flange is integral with the undercloak.

3. A roof verge construction as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the undercloak has an upwardly extending flange with an inwardly extending portion to cap the end of a roof tile batten.

4. A roof verge construction including an extruded plastics undercloak which extends longitudinally of the verge, the undercloak having an upwardly extending flange with an inwardly extending portion to cap the end of a roof tile batten.

5. A roof verge construction as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the undercloak has an outwardly extending rib running substantially the whole length of the undercloak.

6. A roof verge construction as claimed in any proceeding claim, wherein an undercut or the like is provided on the undercloak.

7. A roof verge construction as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the undercloak is bedded with mortar.

8. A roof verge construction including a track which extends along the verge of the roof and a clip which is slidably engaged with the track for longitudinal movement so that it can be slid into secure engagement with overlapping tiles at the verge of the roof.

9. A roof verge construction including a track which extends along the verge of the roof and a clip which is slid into a receiving hollow or hole located at an appropriate position along the track, into secure engagement with overlapping tiles at the verge of the roof.

10. A roof verge construction as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein the clip is provided with a thin inwardly projecting web to promote cracking of a covering layer of mortar.

11. A roof verge construction as claimed in claim 8, 9 or 10, wherein the track is made from plastics.

12. A roof verge construction as claimed in any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the clip is made from plastics.

13. A roof verge construction as claimed in any of claims 8 to 12, wherein the track is an integral part of an undercloak used in a roof verge construction as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7.

14. A roof verge construction including a clip bedded in mortar and having a portion which extends upwardly and inwardly to bear down on a tile at the verge of the roof, the clip having an inwardly directed web embedded in the mortar, and the web having an aperture therethrough.

15. A roof verge construction comprising a course of brickwork, an undercloak arranged on top of the brickwork, a plurality of tile battens whose ends are located on top of the undercloak, a plurality of overlapping tiles resting on the tile battens, and mortar supported on the undercloak to fill gaps between the underside of the tiles and the top of the undercloak, wherein the undercloak is of extruded plastics and has a downwardly extending flange extending along its length.

16. A roof verge construction as claimed in claim 15, wherein the undercloak is not bedded on a layer of mortar on the course of brickwork.

17. A roof verge construction as substantially hereinbefore described with reference to figures 1 to 4, Figure 5, Figure 6, and Figure 7.