GB2461255A - Support structure for a roof lantern - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a roof lantern support structure for use with such structures as orangeries. The roof lantern support structure comprises at least two lantern supports, each providing a first bearing surface 9 configured to support a wall (5 figure 2) of a roof lantern 3, and a second bearing surface 8 configured to rest upon a part of a building (2 figure 2). The first bearing surface 9 is located inwardly of the second bearing surface 8 and is preferably connected to the second bearing surface 8 by cross members 7. The lantern supports are attachable to one another by means of a connector, which comprises a spigot 31 attached to one of the lantern supports. The spigot is shaped and dimensioned so as to fit into another one of the lantern supports. The lantern supports are preferably made from aluminium.

Description

Roof Structure

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to roof structures, and in particular roof structures for orangeries.

Background of the Invention

The conservatory was developed by the Victorians as a place to cultivate temperature sensitive plants. In modern times conservatories are generally considered as additional living space.

In recent years it has become very popular amongst home owners and house builders to add conservatories to houses. Conservatories have been seen as desirable for a number of reasons. They offer a means of extending a house using special planning regulations (a conservatory, being defined as a building where at least seventy percent of the external surface area is glazed). They provide a room with plenty of light. They provide a link between house and garden. They are considered as a mark of sophistication.

However, conservatories have certain disadvantages. It is difficult to regulate the internal temperature of a conservatory. In the summer they tend to be very hot, whereas in the winter keeping them warm requires large inputs of heat. Also, their roofs are difficult to clean.

An orangery is a type of building which predates the conservatory and was developed for the cultivation of sensitive plans, such as citrus fruit trees, in northern climates. The type of building takes its name from the orange tree, being one of the citrus fruits cultivated. Historically, an orangery might have been adjoined to a house, or a separate building.

In their original guise orangeries were the preserve of the most wealthy members of society.

Whilst orangeries are now seldom used for the cultivation of citrus fruits, they are increasingly specified by home owners to provide garden rooms as an alternative to a conservatory. Due to their historic association with grand properties, orangeries are perceived by many as a mark of sophistication, and adding one to a home will increase its value.

The principal feature that distinguishes an orangery from a conservatory is the difference in roof structure. Whereas a conservatory has a glazed roof (or an alternative substantially transparent roof), an orangery has a lantern or atrium (referred to herein collectively as a "lantern") which typically sits to the centre of a solid flat roof. The orangery may therefore be provided with significantly better roof insulation than a conservatory, as the flat roofed part of the roof may be lined with insulating materials, which is not possible for a glazed roof. The orangery will therefore be cooler in summer and warmer in winter than a conservatory.

Such has been the popularity of conservatories that instead of these structures being built by traditional builders and carpenters, specialist companies have developed which manufacture, sell and install conservatories. Conservatory manufacturers have developed and patented particular constructional features of conservatories which allow conservatories to be built of modern materials and simplify their construction.

It is now becoming popular to construct an orangery rather than a conservatory. However, the only element of the roof structure which a conservatory manufacturer can fabricate is the roof lantern/atrium.

An orangery roof requires a specific type of supporting structure, which can support the lantern, and a flat roof between the lantern and the walls of the orangery. Lanterns are heavy objects, particularly when glazed with glass as opposed to transparent plastics materials. Further, the flat roof extending between the lantern and the walls may also be heavy, and must be able to withstand loadings imposed by snow and workmen using the roof for access. Whilst a number of materials are used to provide the surface covering for the flat roof, the most traditional material is lead.

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To date, construction of the roof structure which serves to support the lantern and make the flat roof area between the lantern weatherproof it has been necessary to revert to traditional building methods using timber joists attached to the walls of the orangery, supporting the lantern off those joists. Such a construction method presents a number of problems. First, it is time consuming taking approximately two joiners two days to construct the lantern supports and mount the lantern thereon. Further, such structures are often constructed on an ad hoc basis, with the joiners using whatever materials they think to be suitable, rather than having the structure designed by a structural engineer. The resulting flat roof structure may be used by maintenance personnel to gain access to the lantern, for the purposes of cleaning or repair, or to other parts of a building to which the orangery is attached. A structure which has not been designed to accommodate the weight of such personnel may present a hazard to them.

It would therefore be desirable to provide an improved orangery roof structure, to both reduce the time required to install an orangery roof, to provide a structure of consistent strength, and to bring orangery roof construction into line with manufacture of the glazed wall elements of orangeries, which occurs principally in factories.

Summary of the Invention

According to the invention there is provided a roof lantern support structure comprising at least two lantern supports, wherein the lantern supports provide a first bearing surface, configured to support a wall of a roof lantern, and a second bearing surface configured to rest upon a part of a building, wherein the first bearing surface is located inwardly of the second bearing surface, and wherein the lantern supports are attachable to one another by means of a connector, wherein the connector comprises a spigot attached to one of said lantern supports, wherein the spigot is so shaped and dimensioned as to fit into another one of said lantern supports with a small clearance therebetween.

Preferably, the lantern supports are adapted to support a roof covering extending over the area between the first and second bearing surfaces.

Preferably, the spigot is removably attachable to the lantern supports by means of fasteners.

This provides for the spigot to be attached loosely to a lantern support prior to and during assembly of a roof lantern support structure of the invention, which allows the spigot to be moved slightly in three orthogonal planes, thereby allowing the lantern supports to be attached to one another when not perfectly aligned.

Preferably, each spigot is substantially narrower than the lantern support into which the spigot fits. This provides the advantage that lantern supports to be joined together need not be perfectly aligned.

Advantageously, the two bearing surfaces are provided by elongate elements joined together by cross-members. Preferably, cross-members are aligned towards the free ends of the elongate elements, so that any deflection resulting from joining the cross-members to the elongate members is minimised.

Preferably, the support structure includes means to pull together lantern supports. Such means may comprise a threaded rod, associated nuts and washers and apertures in an element secured to the lantern supports, such as cross-members thereof In use, when the spigot of one lantern support has been aligned with and inserted at least partially into another lantern support, a threaded bar is inserted through apertures of the connected lantern supports and nuts tightened to bring the lantern supports together. The threaded bar may form part of a bolt.

In one embodiment of the invention at least one of the elongate elements is joined to the cross-member such that the upper surfaces thereof occupy substantially the same plane, and the lower surface of the outer elongate element may occupy a plane below the lower surface of the cross-member.

At least one of the elongate elements, preferably the inner elongate element, may be joined to the cross-member such that the lower surfaces thereof occupy substantially the same plane, and the upper surface of the inner elongate element may occupy a plane above the upper surface of the cross-member.

In use, the lower surface of the outer elongate element rests on a wall or brackets attached to a wall, or some other support. The lower surface of the outer elongate element extending below the lower surface of the cross-member provides for increased ceiling height.

Where an orangery is built as an extension to an existing building it is desirable that the outer elongate element which lies flush with the wall of the existing building does not extend below the lower surface of the cross-member. This allows plaster to be applied flush with the existing wall up to the level of the ceiling.

The lantern supports are preferably formed as corner elements and elements which extend between the corner elements. The lantern support structure can therefore be matched to the size of building upon which it is to be mounted simply by selecting the length of the elements (referred to later on in this specification as longitudinal and transverse elements) which extend between the corner elements, or by the joining together of multiple longitudinal or transverse elements. Similarly, different sizes of lantern can be accommodated by increasing or decreasing the distance between the inner and outer members of the lantern supports.

Another embodiment of the invention provides a lantern roof comprising a lantern supported on a lantern support structure according to the invention.

Another embodiment of the invention provides a method of assembling a lantern roof comprising the steps of: i) positioning lantern supports such that a bearing surface thereof rests on a wall of a building or an object fixed to such a wall; ii) presenting an end of a lantern support having a spigot up to an end of another lantern support configured to receive the spigot and at least partially inserting the spigot therein; iii) drawing the lantern supports together; iv) repeating steps ito iii until the roof structure is complete; v) placing a roof lantern on the upper bearing surface of the lantern supports and attaching the lantern thereto.

Hence, the present invention provides a lantern roof support structure which is very simple and fast to erect, and does not require the same level of skill as would be required to create a roof structure using traditional methods. Further, the lantern roof support structure of the invention can be used to create roofs of greater dimensions than is possible using traditional timber construction.

Still further, the lantern roof support structure of the invention can be specified such that it provides the required strength to not only hold up the rooC but also withstand snow and wind loadings and people walking on the roof between the lantern and the wall.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Tn the drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, and are by way of

example:

Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of an orangery roof Figure 2 is a cross-sectional elevation of a section of a roof support structure of the invention; Figure 3 is a schematic representation of an assembled roof support structure according to the invention; Figure 4 is a schematic representation of the roof support structure illustrated in Figure 3 with the elements thereof disassembled; Figure 5 is a schematic representation of a corner element of the roof support structure ifiustrated in Figures 3 and 4; Figure 6 is an end view of elements of the roof support structure illustrate in Figures 2 to 5; and Figure 7 is an exploded view of elements of the roof support structure illustrated in Figures 2 to 6 showing the elements used to tie separate elements of the structure together, and to assist in the assembly of elements of the structure.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

Referring now to Figure 1, there is shown an orangery 1 comprising walls 2 (not all walls 2 are shown), a lantern 3 and a flat roof 4 extending therebetween. The flat roof 4 may be covered with any suitable material, SARNAFIL �, copper, zinc and lead being examples.

Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown in cross-section an element 6 of the roof support structure. The element 6 comprises spaced apart longitudinal members 8, 9, which are joined at intervals by cross-members 7. It can be seen from the illustration that the top of the member 8 lies flush with the upper surface of the cross-member 7, with the bottom of the said member 8 extending below the lower surface of the said cross-member, whereas the top of the member 9 lies above the upper surface of the cross-member 7, with the bottom of the said member 9 lying flush with the lower surface of the said cross-member 7.

A rail 5 extends around the perimeter of the lantern 3, the lantern 3 being supported by the rail 5, which sits on the upper surface of the member 9. The lower surface of the element 8 rests of a frame element 2' of the orangery wall 2.

The cross-members 7 and the longitudinal members 8, 9 are formed of metal, preferably aluminium. The cross-members 7 may be of 150mm x 50mm x 3mm box section formed from a metal such as aluminium, and the longitudinal members 8, 9 of 250mm x 50mm x 4mm box section again formed from a metal such as aluminium. Preferably, the cross-members 7 are welded to the longitudinal members 8, 9. Tn order to avoid condensation and prevent unwanted egress of heat, the outer surface of the member 8 is covered with an insulating material 13, which is itself covered with material 14, such as timber. A decorative moulding 12 is attached to the material 14 and may include a gutter. Such decorative mouldings 12 are well known, and hence not described in great detail herein.

A flat roof 4 is laid on top of the surface provided by the upper surfaces of the longitudinal elements 8 and the cross-members 7, the roof comprising a structural and insulated roofing material 10, such as THERMAROOF TR31 supplied by Kingspan Ltd. The upper surface of the roofing material 10 is covered with a weather proof material such as SARNAFTL � or lead.

The surfaces of the structure facing the interior of the orangery are covered with plasterboard 16 so that they may be decorated in the normal manner. A cornice moulding 15 is attached to a lower part of the inner surface of the longitudinal member 8 in order to give the orangery a desired standard of finish, and to obscure the interface between the frame 2' and the longitudinal element 8.

The roof support structure will now be described with reference to Figures 3 to 5. Figure 3 ifiustrates an assembled roof support structure 20 comprising corner elements 21 joined together by elements 6, 6'. Figure 4 illustrates the same components in exploded view.

Figure 5 illustrates the corner elements 21, which comprise outer members 22 and inner members 23, joined together by corner brace members 24a, 24b, 25. The brace members 25 extend between the intersection of the outer elements 22 and brace member 24b, the ends of the brace members 25 proximate the intersection of outer elements 22 being mitred to fit the corner.

The ends of the inner members 23 are cut to form an inward facing mitre 26 to provide for adjacent inner members 23 to be joined so as to form a right angle by welding along the mitre 26. To provide a strong connection between the inner members 23 and the inner corner brace 24, the ends of the inner members 23 are cut to form outward facing mitres 27. Providing outward facing mitres exposes two spaced apart edges which are presented up to the inward facing surface of the inner corner brace 24 and welded thereto. The corner braces 24 do not extend to the full height of the inner members 23. A corner piece 28 is located above the brace 24 and welded to the said brace at 29, and to the free edges of the exposed walls of the inner members 23 at 30.

The cross-section of the corner elements 21 is such that the outer and inner members 22, 23 thereof and the outer and inner members 8, 9 of the longitudinal elements 6 and the transverse elements 6' align.

The apparatus and method for attaching corner elements 21 to longitudinal and transverse elements 6, 6' will now be described in greater detail with reference to Figures 6 and 7.

Referring specifically to Figure 7, extending from the outer and inner members 8, 9 is a spigot 31. The spigot is provided with holes 32 (each spigot has two pairs of two holes in the present example) which are threaded internally. One pair of holes (not shown) is aligned with holes 35 of the outer and inner members 8,9 of the longitudinal element 6. The other pair of holes 32 is positioned so as to align with holes 39 of the outer and inner members 22, 23 of the corner element 21 when the end faces of the outer and inner members 8, 22 and 9, 23 of the longitudinal and corner elements respectively, abut against one another.

The roof support structure is designed to be installed manually. It will be appreciated that technicians may be required to hold the pieces of the roof support structure above their heads. One skilled in the art of roofing will understand that controffing the position of a so held object is not easy. For this reason, it is preferable that the spigots 31 are installed in the outer and inner members 8, 9 with a degree of play in at least two directions. The spigot 31 is dimensioned so as to give a small clearance between itself and the upper and lower walls of the outer and inner members 8, 9.

Further, in the pre-assembled state, the screws 33 are driven through the holes 35, which are not threaded, such that the head of the screw 33 is not "home", i.e. not engaged with the outer surface of the wall which includes the hole 35. The spigot 31 is therefore able to move slightly in the directions x, y, z, or in a direction representing a combination of one or more of those directions.

Alternatively, in the pre-assembled state, the spigots 31 could be located on the outer and inner members 22, 23, of the corner element 21, with screws 33 driven through the holes 39, which are not threaded, such that the head of the screw 33 is not "home".

In order to simplify the above-mentioned assembly two threaded bars 36 are provided, which pass through the holes 34. The threaded bars 36 are provided with washers 37 and nuts 38 at each end thereof Assembly of a corner element 21 to a longitudinal element 6 (and similarly for a transverse element 6') therefore requires the corner element to be presented up to the longitudinal element 6, such that the open ends of the outer and inner members 8, 9 are aligned with spigots 31.

The corner element 21 is then pushed towards the longitudinal element 6 such that the spigots 31 enter the outer and inner members 22, 23, overlapping therewith. At this point, the threaded bars 36 and their associated nuts 38 may be used to pull the corner element 21 and the longitudinal element 6 towards one another until the holes 35 of the inner and outer members 8, 9 are aligned with the threaded holes 32 of the spigots 31. The screws 33 are then inserted through the holes 39 and driven into the said threaded holes 32 and tightened. Tightening the screws 33 brings the inner and outer members 8, 22 and 9, 23 of the longitudinal and corner elements respectively into line in the directions x, y and z. After final tightening of the screws 33, the nuts 38 may be given a final tightening. Alternatively, the nuts 38, washers 37 and threaded bars 36 could be slackened off and removed, to be used in the assembly procedure of another roof structure.

It can be seen from Figures 6 and 7 that the spigots 31 are located to the inside of the outer and inner members 8, 9. This provides two advantages. First, there are only two pieces requiring alignment, and each spigot 31 may be provided with sufficient amount of play to make such alignment straightforward, and second, the screws 33 only extend into the area between the outer and inner members 8, 9 and 22, 23, which area is covered from the underside, typically with plasterboard (see Figure 2) in the finished orangery. Screw heads protruding from the outer surfaces may give rise to a fmish of a standard that would not be acceptable to consumers.

Whilst the roof support structure illustrated is rectangular, the invention is not limited to such a shape. Different regular shapes may be constructed by changing the angle formed by the corner elements. For example, a hexagonal structure may be provided by constructing the corner elements to provide an angle of 60 degrees. Whilst the invention is particularly suited to the construction of roof support structures of regular shape, because different sizes of structure may be formed by increasing or decreasing the length of the longitudinal and transverse elements, the invention is not limited to roof structures of regular shapes. One or more of the corner elements, longitudinal and transverse elements may not be regular in shape. For example, one or more of the said elements may be curved, to provide a circular, effipsoidal or otherwise curved structure.

Further, whilst in the roof support structure illustrated, the lantern support is of the same shape as, but smaller in size than, the frame which sits on the wall of the orangery, the invention is not limited to such a construction. For example, the outer members of one or more of the corner, longitudinal and transverse elements may be curved, whilst the inner members of those elements may be straight. Such an arrangement may be desirable where the external wall of the orangery is to be curved, but the lantern is to have straight sides.

In the illustrated embodiment, the roof 4 is described as a flat roof Whilst a flat roof between the lantern and the wall is typical of an orangery, there is no reason why the roof 4 should not be sloped. All that would be required would be for the ends of cross-members 7 to be cut at for example 10 degrees to the vertical, to provide a roof slope of ten degrees. Such a roof may otherwise be constructed in the same manner as the flat roof 4 described above.