IE904267A1 - Support strip - Google Patents

Abstract

A batten support strip for use with a roof valley includes a fixing portion 14 which is nailed onto the top of a valley batten 10, an upstanding portion 15 that abuts the side of the valley batten, and a support portion 16 for supporting ti1ing/slate battens 5. The support portion 16 includes a number of upstanding teeth 19 which are punched out of the support portion to bite into the roof battens.

Description

SUPPORT STRIP TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to support strips which are particularly (but not exclusively) intended for use in roof valleys as formed at the junction of two inclined roof sections.

BACKGROUND Roof valleys often include a valley trough which is located by a pair of timber battens running along each side of the trough, and a series of roof battens meet each of the valley battens at intervals along its 1ength .

Hitherto it has been considered good practice to nail the ends of the roof battens on top of the valley battens, which has the effect of raising the ends of the roof battens, and packing pieces are cut and inserted between the roof battens and adjacent roof timbers in order to prevent the tiles or slates from lying irregularly. This packing operation is a very labour intensive and hence expensive operation, and it is not unknown for workmen to attempt to nail the ends of the roof battens to the side of each valley batten on the same level in order to save time. This is not good practice since the roof battens can come adrift from the valley battens if someone should happen t.n P292.IE stand on the roof near to the valley.

It has previously been proposed to manufacture an integral valley trough flanked by two upstanding ribs which are in turn flanked by marginal flanges which provide support the roof battens. (See Australian Patent No. 577 132 and European Patent Specification No. 0 383 604 for example.) If such troughs are formed of metal they have adequate strength but are heavy to handle and are expensive to make, but on the other hand, if they are formed of lighter materials such as plastics they usually provide inadequate support for the ends of the roof battens. Moreover, although the Australian Patent proposed securing the roof battens to the flanges by spot welding or pop-riveting there is no convenient method of quickly and reliably securing the battens to the flanges so that there is still a danger of them coming adrift.

British Patent Specification No. 2 214 538 A proposes a metal batten holder of C-section for mounting along the edges of a valley trough. The batten holder is secured to the rafters by nails inserted through the lower limb of the C-section, and the top limb has tongues which can be pressed into the channel to provide some location for the battens.

An object of the present invention may be viewed as being to provide a support strip which can be used to support roof battens, which is inexpensive to manufacture, and which allows the battens to be quickly and reliably secured thereto.

P?92.IE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention proposes an elongate support strip comprising a support portion, an upstanding portion which extends substantially perpendicular to the support portion, and a fixing portion which extends substantially perpendicular to the upstanding portion in the opposite direction to the support portion, in which the support portion is provided with a number of upstanding tooth elements.

In one use^of the support strip the fixing portion may be secured to the top surface of a valley batten so that the ends of the roof battens can be supported on the support portion secured by the tooth elements.

The tooth elements may conveniently be punched out of the support portion.

The attachment portion preferably includes a series of holes for the insertion of fastening elements, e.g. nails.

The support strip may cheaply be formed from a single stri p of metal.

The invention includes a roof valley comprising valley battens running along each side of a valley trough, a support strip as defined above being secured to each valley batten by means of the fixing portion, and a series of roofing battens arranged to meet each of the valley battens with their ends supported by the support portion of the respective strip.

P292.IE BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is exemplified in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a cut-away perspective view of a roof valley of the invention, Figure 2 is a transverse section through the valley, Figure 3 is a detailed perspective view of a fixing strip used in the valley, and Figure 4 is a transverse section through the fixing strip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 shows a valley tray 1 extending along the junction between two inclined roof sections 2 and 3. As is conventional, each roof section includes a number of spaced, upwardly inclined roof timbers 4 upon which are nailed a series of transversely extending timber roof battens 5, with a layer of roofing felt 6 interposed between the timbers and the battens. These battens 5 in turn support rows of slates or tiles 7.

The valley tray includes a conventional concrete valley trough 8 (see Fig. 2 in particular) which is located between a pair of valley battens 9 and 10, the battens being nailed to the roof timbers 4 on top of the layer of roofing felt 6.

P292.1E In accordance with the present invention a batten fixing strip 11 is secured to each of the valley battens 9 and 10, and this is shown in more detail in Fig.s 3 and 4. Each fixing strip 11 is of galvanised steel and is formed from a flat strip having two longitudinally extending perpendicular bends 12 and 13. The bends are made in opposite directions and divide the strip into a fixing zone 14, an intermediate upstanding zone 15, and a support zone 16. The fixing zone 14 at least partially overlies the top of the valley batten 9 or 10 in use and is secured thereto by galvanised nails 17 inserted at intervals through a series of holes 18 provided along the length of the fixing zone. The upstanding zone 15 abuts the side of the valley batten and is substantially equal in width to the depth of the batten. The support zone 16 extends from the side of the valley batten in the opposite direction to the fixing zone 14 and is substantially wider than either of the other two zones. This support zone 16 supports the adjacent ends of the roof battens 5 and includes a number of upstanding Vshaped teeth 19 which are punched from the strip to project substantially perpendicularly from the support portion 16. The ends of the roof battens 5 are cut so as to end closely adjacent to the upstanding zone 15 and are then hammered down onto the teeth 19 so that they bite into the ends of the battens 5 thereby securing them firmly in place.

The ends of the roof battens 5 are thus firmly supported from the valley battens on substantially the same level, thus eliminating the need for packing of the roof battens.

P292.IE It will be appreciated that the invention can be used with other kinds of valley trough such as glass fibre or lead/timber troughs. In addition, the strip can be used in other locations where it is desirable to secure the ends of a series of battens transversely abutting another timber such as in roof hips, at gable ends, or for securing the ends of battens for vertical cladding. **★*★***

Claims (7)

1. An elongate support strip comprising a support portion, an upstanding portion which extends substantially perpendicular to the support portion, and a fixing portion which extends substantially perpendicular to the upstanding portion in the opposite direction to the support portion, in which the support portion is provided with a number of upstanding tooth elements .

2. A support strip according to Claim 1, in which the tooth elements are punched out of the support portion.

3. A support strip according to Claim 1 or 2, in which the fixing portion includes a series of holes for the insertion of fastening elements.

4. A support strip according to any preceding claim, which is formed from a single strip of metal.

5. A roof valley comprising valley battens running along each side of a valley trough, a support strip according to any preceding claim secured to each valley batten by means of the fixing portion, and a series of roofing battens arranged to meet each of the valley battens with their ends supported by the support portion of the respective strip.

6. A support strip substantially as described with reference to the drawings. P292.IE

7. A roof valley substantially as described with reference to the drawings.