GB2424007A

GB2424007A - Box gutters

Info

Publication number: GB2424007A
Application number: GB0604954A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Thompson
Original assignee: Ultraframe UK Ltd
Current assignee: Ultraframe UK Ltd
Priority date: 2005-03-11
Filing date: 2006-03-10
Publication date: 2006-09-13
Also published as: GB0505025D0; GB0604954D0

Abstract

A box gutter arrangement for a conservatory roof comprises a box gutter 14 having one side 26 for securing to a wall, and a ledge 64 extending from the other side for supporting an eaves beam 20. The ledge 64 may be provided as a separate item and may be fixed to the box gutter by spot welding.

Description

TITLE: Box Gutters

DESCRIPTION

This invention concerns box gutters.

Box gutters are generally used where a roof slopes down to an existing wall and the roof is to be secured to that wall. Thus, in the case of a conservatory roof a box gutter may be provided as a structural element of the roof construction. Such box gutters are :.: : usually made from a structural material such as aluminium. In practice the box gutter * ..* will be fixed to a wall using screws or bolts. A ical box gutter will act as an eaves beam by having mounting means for glazing bars along its intended inner side.

One particular problem associated with box gutters is that they can transfer cold : from the outside to cause condensation on the inside of the conseato, leading to 4S..

* water dripping down.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved eaves beam assembly.

According to the invention there is provided a box gutter arrangement for a conservatory roof comprising a box gutter having one side for securing to a wall and a ledge extending from the other side for supporting an eaves beam.

The ledge may conveniently be provided as a separate item. The ledge may be mounted on the box gutter in any suitable way. Conveniently, the ledge has one or more hook formations that locate on cooperating formations of the box gutter side. It is preferred that the ledge be spot-welded or otherwise fixed to the box gutter.

The ledge preferably has an upwardly open channel for location of a depending part of the eaves beam. The depending part of the eaves beam is preferably also a channel extending from a base of the eaves beam, which provides a location for receiving securing screws or bolts that extend through the ledge and ultimately through the eaves beam base. The ledge preferably also has at its free edge shaping for attachment of insulating components, such as plastics trim.

The eaves beam may be of the type used with snap fit connectors for glazing bar ends, such as described in our co-pending application No. PCT/GB2004/00860.

:. : The box gutter assembly of the invention preferably also has insulation means attachable thereto. The box gutter side mountable to a wall preferably has an upper part : through which screws or bolts can be fixed to secure the gutter to the wall. Below said upper part the gutter side is preferably stepped back to provide space for a plastics trim.

The plastics trim preferably extends down part of the gutter side and at least partially S.....

6 underneath. This trim provides an insulating barrier between the box gutter and the wall but may also provide an attachment point for a second plastics trim to underlie the box gutter assembly. The second trim is preferably twin walled having several connecting webs to split the trim into chambers. The second trim may locate at one side to the first trim and at its other side to the ledge of the box gutter assembly.

Further support for the box gutter assembly may be provided. Such support may be from above or below the box gutter assembly. Below support may be in the form of brackets securable to the wall and on which the box gutter can rest. Alternatively, the box gutter support may be provided by brackets that connect to side walls of the gutter and extend upwardly for attachment to the wall. Preferably opposite sides of the gutter have downwardly open channels thereon to receive cooperating formations of the brackets. Preferably at least one co-operating formation of the bracket includes a deformable portion for locking over part of the gutter side.

A third trim may be provided on the gutter assembly in the form of internal decorative trim. Such trim may conveniently be mounted between the eaves beam and the second trim in order to conceal the eaves beam and box gutter assembly internally.

The third trim may be provided with a replaceable decorative strip.

The box gutter may also have on its intended inner side a flexible seal member, such as of rubber or elastomerjc material to bridge any gap between the top of the box gutter side and the underside of overlying glazing panels.

This invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing, which is a section through a box gutter arrangement of a conservatory roof.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, a conservatory roof 10 is mounted to a wall 12 by means of box gutter 14. The roof comprises glazing bars 16 supporting glazing panels 18 between them. The glazing bars 16 are supported on an eaves beam The box gutter 14 is an aluminium extrusion having a base 22 and, in use, inner and outer sides 24 and 26 respectively. The outer side 26 is higher than the inner side 24 * to provide a section 28, through which screws (not shown) are fixed to secure the box gutter to the wall. Below that section 28, the outer side 26 is stepped inwardly, so that when the box gutter is fixed to the wall 12 there is a space below the fixing section to receive a plastics trim 30.

The inner side 24 of the box gutter 14 has a T-section top 32 providing an inner end 34, which is turned up and an outer end 36, which is turned down. The inner end 34 carries a snap-on flexible sealing strip 38 of rubber or other suitable elastomeric material that seals against the underside of the glazing panels 18. The outer end 36 provides a location in the form of a downwardly open channel 40 for one end of a support bracket 42 for the gutter. There is a corresponding location 44 on the inside of the outer side 26 of the box gutter, in which the opposite end of the bracket locates. The bracket has opposed ends 46 and 48 that locate in the channels 40 and 44 respectively and extends upwardly to a fixing section (not shown) that takes a screw or the like (not shown) to lix the bracket to the wall.

The first end 46 of the bracket 42 has a deformable tongue 52 that can be bent over the outer end 36 of the T-section to hold the bracket in place. As an alternative, the box gutter can be supported by a bracket 54 underneath the box gutter, the bracket again being fixed to the wall by means of screws or the like. Brackets 42 or 54 can be provided at desirable spacings along the length of the box gutter. S...

* The inner side 24 of the box gutter has near its bottom edge a pair of ribs 56 and 58 that form upwardly open channels. These channels 56, 58 receive in a hook like fashion co-operating formations 60, 62 of a ledge member 64, which is, in practice, spot- welded to the box gutter 14. The ledge member 64 has a longitudinal channel 66 with a shelf 68, 70 on either side. The ledge 64 provides a mounting for the eaves beam 20. The eaves beam 20 is generally of box section and has a base 72, sides 74 and 76 and a top 78. In terms of connecting glazing bars 16 to the eaves beam 20, the eaves beam has one side 74 and its top 78 shaped to receive snap fit connectors 80 at the ends of glazing barsl6 of the type described in our co-pending application No.PCT/GB2004/00860.

The base 72 of the eaves beam 20 has a depending screw location channel 82 that sits within the channel 66 of the ledge 64. Screws (not shown) to fix the eaves beam 20 to the ledge 64 are screwed upwardly through the ledge into the depending channel and up through the base 72 of the eaves beam. This is usually done in the factory before delivery to site, as is the spot-welding of the ledge to the box gutter.

Because the box gutterl4, the ledge 64 and the eaves beam 20 are all made of aluminium and the gutter is exposed to the outside, measures have to be taken to reduce the likelihood of condensation forming on the gutter inside the roof leading to drips of water within the conservatory. Firstly, a layer 84 of foamed or sponge insulation material is adhered to the underside of the gutter 14 and the ledge 64.

Secondly as has already been mentioned, there is a piece of plastics trim 30 that is fitted between the gutter 14 and the wall 12. This trim 30 is generally L-shaped, so

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* *** that it extends partly under the gutter. The trim has a pair of ribs 88 that snap fit over a * T-section flange 90 of the gutter. The part 92 of the trim that extends under the gutter is * twin walled to provide a slot 94 to receive one end of a multi- chambered plastics cover 96 for the underside of the gutter assembly. The cover 96 has a first rounded narrower end part 98 that locates in the slot 94 of the trim and a second end 100 that is upturned S...

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and becomes single walled at 102. The lop end of the single waIl 102 has a pair of webs 104, 106 forming a slot 108 that locates on an end 110 of the ledge that has a bead 112 therealong to retain the cover. The cover 96 provides for greater insulation of the underside of the box gutter and reduces the likelihood of condensation forming below the box gutter within the conservatory.

Where the cover 96 becomes single walled (102), the last chamber 114 has a top wall 116 with a groove 118 therein. Also the eaves beam 20 has a groove 122 on the underside of its channel 120 for receiving the snap-fit glazing bar connector 80. The two grooves 118, 122 receive spaced ends 124, 126 respectively of an internal eaves trim 128.

The eaves trim 128 has a rebate 130 for receiving a decorative or coloured strip (not shown). The rebate 130 has grooves 140, 142 top and bottom, the top one being deeper than the bottom groove, so that the decorative strip can be pushed up into the top groove, so that the bottom edge of the strip can clear the bottom groove before it is dropped into the bottom groove to be retained by both groove. S.

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Claims

Claims: 1. A box gutter arrangement for a conservatory roof comprising a

box gutter having one side for securing to a wall and a ledge extending from the other side for supporting an eaves beam.
2. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ledge is provided as a separate item.
3. An arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein the ledge has one or more hook formations that locate on cooperating formations of a box gutter side.
4. An arrangement as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the ledge is spotwelded to the box gutter.
5. An arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the ledge has an upwardly open channel for location of a depending part of the eaves beam.
6. An arrangement as claimed in claim 5 including an eaves beam and wherein the : : : depending part of the eaves beam is a channel extending from a base of the eaves beam, which provides a location for receiving securing screws or bolts that extend through the * ledge and ultimately through the eaves beam base.
7. An arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the ledge has at : * its free edge shaping for attachment of insulating components.

*
8. An arrangement as claimed in claim 7, wherein the insulating component is in the form of a plastics trim.
9. An arrangement as claimed in any one of claims I to 8 having insulation means attached thereto.
10. An arrangement as claimed in any one of claims I to 9, wherein the box gutter side mountable to a wall has an upper part through which screws or bolts can be fixed to secure the gutter to the wall.
11. An arrangement as claimed in claim 10, wherein below said upper part the gutter side is stepped back.
12. An arrangement as claimed in claim 11 further comprising a plastics trim extending down part of the gutter side and at least partially underneath the gutter, said downwardly extending part being accommodated in said stepped back region.
13. An arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12 having a second plastics trim below the box gutter.
14. An arrangement as claimed in claim 13, wherein the second trim is twin walled having several connecting webs to split the trim into chambers.
15. An arrangement as claimed in claim 13 or 14 with claim 12, wherein the second trim locates at one side to the first trim and at its other side to the ledge of the box gutter *0

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assembly. S... es..
16. An arrangement as claimed in any one of claims I to 15 having additional wall S. mounted support from above or below the box gutter.
17. An arrangement as claimed in claim 16, wherein the support is in the form of a bracket securable to the wall and on which the box gutter can rest.
18. An arrangement as claimed in claim 16, wherein the support is in the form of a bracket that connects to side walls of the gutter and extends upwardly for attachment to the wall.
19. An arrangement as claimed in claim 18, wherein opposite sides of the gutter have downwardly open channels thereon to receive cooperating formations of the brackets.
20. An arrangement as claimed in claim 19, wherein at least one cooperating formation of the bracket includes a deformable portion for locking over part of the gutter side.
21. An arrangement as claimed in any one of claims I to 20 having a third trim in the form of an internal decorative trim.
22. An arrangement as claimed in claim any one of claims 12 to 21, wherein the internal trim is mounted between the eaves beam and the second trim in order to conceal the eaves beam and box gutter assembly internally.
23. An arrangement as claimed in claim 21 or 22, wherein the internal trim has a replaceable decorative insert.
24. An arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein the box gutter has on its intended inner side a flexible seal member.

*
25. An arrangement as claimed in claim 24, wherein the seal member is of rubber or * ** * * * ** elastomerjc material. I. **
26. A box gutter arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing * I.. * a