IES20030340A2 - A roof edging strip - Google Patents

Abstract

An edging strip (1) is disclosed, manufactured from strip steel having a base member (2), comprising an inner portion (3) for placement under slates at the gable end or eave of a building and an outer portion (4) to project free of the building. A clamping portion (5) having an upright leg projecting orthogonallly from the outermost part of the outer portion (4) of the base member (2) and a clamping leg (7) projecting back across the base member (2) for retention of slates therebetween. The clamping leg (7) includes corrugations (9) to provide better contact of the clamping leg (7) onto slates. A mounting portion (10) is provided intermediate the inner portion (3) and the outer portion (4) of the base member (2) and orthogonal thereto. The inner portion (3) forms a drain channel (10). A lip (15) forms a further moisture barrier on the inner portion (3) of the base member (2). <Figure 1>

Description

Introduction The present invention relates to an edging strip for a roof eave and gables, having slates projecting beyond the eave of a building.

Such an edging strip is known, for example, from UK Patent Specification No. 2164369 (R.R. & J. Willan Limited). This specification discloses an edging strip for a roof eave having slates projecting beyond the eave of a building, the edging strip comprising:a base member having an inner portion for placement under the slates at the eave, and an outer portion to project free of the building; a clamping portion comprising an upright leg projecting up from the outermost part of the outer portion of the base member and a clamping leg projecting back across the base member for retention of slates therebetween; a depending mounting portion intermediate the outer and inner portions of the base member and orthogonal thereto for engagement against the eave of the building; and a drain channel in the outer portion of the base member projecting below the inner portion of the base member.

Unfortunately, certain problems have been encountered with such an edging strip. Because of the manner in which it is generally made, the clamping leg does not adequately contact the slates along its length. The problem is that the edge of the strip tends to distort and thus there can be substantial gaps between the slates and the clamping leg along its length. This causes leaves and other debris to lodge between the clamping leg and the slates. As well as being unsightly, it allows debris to be delivered into the drain channel causing the drain channel to be clogged. This then can subsequently cause considerable difficulties and indeed the ingress of moisture j OPEN TO PUBLIC INSPECTION UNDER SECTION 28ANC RULE 21 jNLNnJA%^.....

IE 0 3 03 4 0 into the building.

Another problem that has arisen is that moisture has been known to travel along the base member underneath the slates and onto the interior of the roof which again is undesirable.

A further problem with the lifting of the clamping leg is that it is unsightly on a roof but, even more importantly, for the purchaser, when buying it, it looks to be distorted and thus, very often, it is not used because it is perceived to be of low quality.

The present invention is directed towards providing an edging strip of this type that will overcome these problems.

In this specification, the term “slate” encompasses not only slates as they are conventionally known, namely, flat quarried plates of stone but also cast tiles or indeed any form of roofing or cladding material such as, for example, wood shingles, metal timber or composite cladding panels. Such slates are laid in overlapping fashion to facilitate formation of the roof covering and they are also usually laid so as to project beyond the eave of a building. The eave of the building would not be particularly waterproof because it would be easy for rain, impinging against the eave of the building to be driven up under the slates.

To provide better waterproofing, it is known to provide an edging strip for a roof eave which generally engages, for example, against a fascia board mounted on the roof eave and then engages over the slates. Unfortunately, such edging strips are not particularly efficient and in certain circumstances, they allow the ingress of moisture, particularly below the slates. Usually, such an edging strip comprises some means for overlapping the top of the exposed slate edges and then is led down around the outside of the exposed edges of the slates to engage against the fascia board. Unfortunately, water tends to be driven under the edging strip and then, by capillary action, is drawn up underneath the slates.

The present invention is directed towards providing an improved construction of edging strip. ΙΕ η 3 0 3 4 0 - 3 Statements of Invention According to the invention, there is provided an edging strip for a roof eave having slates projecting beyond the eave of a building, the edging strip being manufactured from an integral strip of steel bent back on itself comprising:a base member having an inner portion for placement under the slates at the eave, and an outer portion to project free of the building; a clamping portion comprising an upright leg projecting up from the outermost part of the outer portion of the base member and a clamping leg projecting downwardly and back across the base member for retention of slates therebetween and in which a plurality of corrugations are formed in the clamping teg projecting rearwardly from the free edge thereof; a depending mounting portion intermediate the outer and inner portions of the base member and orthogonal thereto for engagement against the eave of the building; and a drain channel in the outer portion of the base member projecting below the inner portion of the base member.

The advantage of this edging strip is that the clamping portion now clamps against all of the tiles with the clamping leg in close proximity to the tiles. Therefore, the clamping leg has an edge which is effectively straight. While the edge, due to the corrugation, rises and fells slightly, it is in the one pane contacting the tile throughout its length. This prevents unsightly gaps appearing under the clamping leg and thus prevents the ingress of relatively large pieces of dirt, such as leaves, etc.

Thus, if water is driven off the roof, it will be driven under the clamping leg and it will then fall down into the drain channel which, being unobstructed, will allow it to flow under gravity down the gable into a guttering, as would normally be sited on the roof. The advantage of the drain channel is that water is not held and lifted by capillary action beneath the slates. However, if the drain channel were to, in any way, be - 4 IE 3 0340 obstructed, this would happen.

In one embodiment of the invention, a moisture barrier is provided by an upstanding lip on the tile engaging face of the inner portion of the base member adjacent its free edge. This further ensures that even if water is driven under the edging strip, it will not move, in some way, by capillary action or the like, beneath the slates and back under them, beyond the edging strip.

Ideally, the lip is formed by bending the free end of the base member back on itself.

Ideally, the clamping portion is so configured that the clamping leg is biased upwards in use on engaging the slates.

The clamping leg may be inclined downwards at an angle of between 80° and 87° and preferably 85° relative to the retaining portion.

Detailed Description ofthe Invention The invention will be more dearly understood from the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an edging strip according to the invention, Fig. 2 is an end view of the edging strip of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is an end view in the direction of the arrow A in Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a perspective view of portion of a roof eave gable end mounting an edging strip according to the invention, and Fig. 5 is an end view in the direction of the arrow A of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, there is provided an edging strip, indicated generally by the IF ” S η 5 4 0' reference numeral 1, manufactured from strip steel having a base member, indicated generally by the reference numeral 2, comprising an inner portion 3 for placement under slates at the gable end or eave of a building and an outer portion 4 to project free of the building. There is further provided a clamping portion, indicated generally by the reference numeral 5, having an upright leg projecting substantially orthogonally from the outermost part of the outer portion 4 of the base member 2 and a clamping leg 7 projecting back across the base member 2 for retention of slates therebetween. The clamping leg is of comigated construction having an edge 8 with a plurality of corrugations 9 projecting rearwardly therefrom.

A depending mounting portion 10 is provided intermediate the inner portion 3 and the outer portion 4 of the base member 2 and orthogonal thereto. It will be noted that the outer portion 4 is of stepped construction relative to the inner portion 3 and forms a drain channel, indicated by the reference numeral 12, A lip 15 forms a further moisture barrier on the inner portion 3 of the base member 2.

As can be seen from Fig. 2, the clamping leg 7 is inclined downwards at an angle of 85° relative to the retaining portion 10 and thus will tend to clamp slates therebetween as it will be biased upwards by slates inserted therein, presuming that the correct configuration and distance between the top of the inner portion 3 and the bottom of the clamping leg 7 is chosen. The use of the edging strip 1 can be clearly seen from Figs. 3 and 4 where the edging strip 1 is shown gripping slates 20 on a gable end 21 having a fascia board 22. The edging strip 1 can be nailed, if desired, to the fascia board 22.

In use, any moisture and rain that is driven across, for example, the slates 20, under the clamping leg 7, will fail into the drain channel 10 and will then simply drain away into a gutter or simply off the roof. The sealing lip 15 will prevent any water travelling by capillary action under the slates 20. In most instances, the lip 15 will not be necessary. It will be noted that the edging strip can be manufactured from the one strip of steel by simple bending.

The corrugations 9 forming the edge 8 of the damping leg 7 ensure that the edge 8 is effectively straight along an axis in the sense that it will not rise and fall over its length leaving large gaps between the clamping leg and the slates. Thus, the construction IE 03054 0 - 6 will prevent, for example, leaves or larger dirt lodging in the drain channel 12.

It will also be appreciated that the actual dimensions of the edging strip will be dependent on the type of the slate that the edging strip is being used with. For example, a cementitious tile will require a much greater spacing between the clamping leg 7 and the inner portion 3 which is placed under the slates. This spacing will depend entirely on the physical construction of the slates.

It is also envisaged that the edging strip according to the present invention could form, 10 with its depending mounting portion, the fascia board of the roof, thus obviating the need for a separate fascia board.

It will also be appreciated that instead of the particular construction of drain, many other forms of drain could be provided such as, for example, instead of forming the pending mounting portion by a crush fold, it could form a V-shaped member and thus provide the necessary channel for drainage.

It is envisaged that a silicone sealant, mastic adhesive sealant or other suitable sealant may be applied to the edging strip prior to fixing to further prevent the ingress of moisture.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described but may be varied in construction and detail within the scope of the claims.

Claims (5)

1. An edging strip for a roof eave having slates projecting beyond the eave of a building, the edging strip being manufactured from an integral strip of steel bent back on itself comprising:a base member having an inner portion for placement under the slates at the eave, and an outer portion to project free of the building; a clamping portion comprising an upright leg projecting up from the outermost part of the outer portion of the base member and a damping leg projecting downwardly and back across the base member for retention of slates therebetween and in which a plurality of corrugations are formed in the clamping teg projecting rearwardly from the free edge thereof; a depending mounting portion intermediate the outer and inner portions of the base member and orthogonal thereto for engagement against the eave of the building; a drain channel in the outer portion of the base member projecting below the inner portion of the base member; and a moisture barrier provided by an upstanding lip on the tile engaging face of the inner portion of the base member adjacent its free edge.

2. An edging strip as daimed in daim 1, in which the lip is formed by bending the free end of the base member back on itself.

3. An edging strip as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the clamping portion is so configured that the damping leg is biased upwards in use on engaging the slates.

4. An edging strip as daimed in any preceding claim, in which the damping leg is . f ' , '·, ’ ‘C fFn jnJ40 inclined downwards at an angle of between 80° and 87° and preferably substantially 85° relative to the retaining portion.

5. An edging strip substantially as described herein with reference to and as 5 illustrated in the accompanying drawings.