AU2007231770A1

AU2007231770A1 - A vented ridge

Info

Publication number: AU2007231770A1
Application number: AU2007231770A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Michael Frogatt; David Peterson; Bart Prasser; Garry Van Rees; Michael Watts
Original assignee: N Q ROOFING GROUP Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Nq Roofing Group Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2006-11-01
Filing date: 2007-11-01
Publication date: 2008-05-15

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: "A VENTED RIDGE" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:

(TITLE

"A VENTED RIDGE" 0 4 FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a vented ridge. In particular, the invention relates to a cyclone resistant vented ridge for use on a metal roof.

CHowever, it should be appreciated that the vented ridge may be used in standard weather conditions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In tropical and subtropical climates, cooling a house is an 010 important issue. One of the leading factors in cooling a house is to release heated air that is trapped within a roof space. Trapped heated air radiates heat through the ceiling of a house increasing cooling costs. Accordingly, many houses have insulation located on the top of the ceiling within the roof space to reduce the level of radiated heat from the heated air.

Another way in which to reduce the effect of heated air located within a roof space is to remove the heated air. Rotary ventilators are often located on top of the roof so that the heated air is able to pass from the roof space into the atmosphere. These types of roof ventilators operate very effectively in normal conditions. However, in cyclonic conditions, these rotary roof ventilators can become detached from the roof due to their shape and operation. The detached rotary ventilator then becomes a dangerous piece of debris which is undesirable.

Another type of ventilator used to remove heated air from a roof space is a vented ridge. A vented ridge provides an opening typically located at the apex of a roof to remove heated air from the roof space. The vented ridge relies on the formation of a convection current within the roof space so that heated air passes out of the top of the vented ridge. A problem with vented ridges is they are quite tall and extend upwardly from a top of the roof for a large distance. This is both aesthetically unappealing and further makes the vented ridge more susceptible to detachment in high wind conditions.

Further, many of these vented ridges include a vermin barrier that prevents the ingress of animals such as birds and rodents. Many of these vermin barriers located within the vented ridge are either difficult to

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Z manufacture and/or are difficult to install.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to overcome and/or alleviate one Oor more of the above disadvantages or provide the consumer with a useful or commercial choice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one form, although not necessarily the only or broadest form, the invention resides in a vented ridge comprising: at least two roof members having a roof aperture located between the roof members; a shroud located above and spaced from the roof members; at least one shroud support attached to one of the roof members and the shroud; and a barrier that extends over the roof aperture.

Preferably, the barrier is held over the roof aperture by the shroud supports.

Preferably, the barrier is located between the shroud supports and the roof members.

There may be at least two rain deflectors located adjacent the roof aperture.

In addition to the rain deflectors, there may be weather strips located directly below the shroud support.

In another form, the invention resides in a method of installing a vented ridge including the steps of: locating a barrier over a roof aperture; placing a shroud support over the barrier; attaching the shroud support to a roof member; and attaching a shroud to the shroud support.

O BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An embodiment of the invention will be described with the 0 Z reference to the accompany drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vented ridge according to an embodiment of the invention; 0FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the vented ridge of FIG. 1; SFIG. 3 is a side section view of a vented ridge according to FIG.

1; and FIGS. 4A to 4D show side views of the steps of installation to produce the vented ridge of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIGS. 1 to 3 show a vented ridge 10 for use with a metal roof.

The vented ridge 10 is used to assist in the dissipation of heated air located within a roof space.

The vented ridge 10 includes a two roof members 20, a shroud a series of shroud supports 40, two rain deflectors 50, two end caps and a barrier The two roof members 20, in this embodiment, are formed from two sides of a standard metal roof. Each roof member 20 includes a side of a series of roof trusses 21, a series of interlinked metal roof sheets 22, and roof battens 23 that join the roof trusses 21 to the metal roof sheets 22. Roof screws 24 are used in a standard manner to attach the roof battens 23 to the roof trusses 21 and the metal roof sheets 22 to the battens 23. A roof aperture 25 is located between the two roof members 20. The roof aperture is formed from a space located between the ends of the metal roof sheets 22.

The shroud 30 is located over the two roof members 20 and the roof aperture 25. The shroud 30 is formed from a single metal sheet having a 0.55 mm bass metal thickness (BMT). It should be appreciated that type and thickness of the metal utilised may be varied. The shroud 30 is shaped using standard fabrication techniques such as roll forming or a brake press 4 Sfabrication. The shroud 30 includes an arcuate top 31, two attachment portions 32 and two covering skints 33. A series of ribs 34 extend the length Z of the arcuate top 31 to strengthen the arcuate top 31.

SThe shroud supports 40, in this embodiment, are in the form of a series of roof battens. The roof battens are Stramit T M 40 mm cyclone Sbattens having a 0.75 mm BMT. The shroud supports 40 are attached to the respective roof members 20 and respective attachment portions 32 of the Sshroud 30 using standard roof screws 24.

The rain deflectors 50 are located adjacent the roof aperture 25. The rain defectors 50 are formed by laterally cutting an existing ridge cap 71 at the apex. This cut can be made as long as desired but typically is made 200mm shorter than the length of the shroud 30. Once the cut is made, the ridge cap 71 is manually bend back away from the apex to create the rain deflector 50. The cutting of the ridge capping also forms the roof aperture 25 for the egress of trapped heated air. However, it should be appreciated rain deflectors 50 may be formed from materials other than ridge capping and attached separately to the roof members The barrier 60 extends over the roof aperture and the rain defectors 50. The barrier 60 is made from a mesh. However, it should be appreciated that the barrier 60 can be made from various materials such as metal or plastics. The barrier 60 is held in position by its location between the metal roof sheets 22 and the shroud supports Two end caps 70 are located at ends of the shroud 30 that seal the shroud 30. The end caps 70, in this embodiment, are made of 0.55 BMT metal sheet. However, it should be appreciated that the end caps 70 may be made from any suitable material. It should also be appreciated that the end caps 70 may be integrally moulded with the shroud Weather strips 80 are located under the shroud supports The weather strips 80 have a base 81 that is located under the shroud support 40 and an up-turned portion 82 located adjacent the end of the base 81.

FIGS. 4A to 4D show how the vented ridge 10 is installed on an Sexisting metal roof. FIG. 4A shows the standard metal roof having two roof members 20 interconnected by a ridge cap 71. In order to commence 0 Z installing the vented ridge 10, a top of the ridge cap 71 is cut so that two of the ridge cap 71 are located on each side of the roof member as shown in FIG. 4B. The two portions of the ridge cap 71 are then bent towards the respective roof members to form the rain deflectors The next step is to place the weather strips 80 over the ridge Scap 71. The barrier 60 is then placed over the rain deflectors 50, the roof aperture 25 and along both roof members 20. The shroud supports 40 are then placed over the barrier 60 to hold the barrier 60 and the weather strips firmly in position as shown in FIG. 4C. Roof screws 24 are then screwed through the shroud support 40, barrier 60 and weather strips 80 and finally into respective roof members The next step is to locate the shroud 30 on top of the shroud supports 40 so that the attachment portions 32 abut against the shroud supports 40. Roof screws 24 are then screwed through the shroud 30 into the shroud supports 40 to hold the shroud 30 to the shroud supports 40 as shown in FIG. 4D. End caps 70 are located at the end of the shroud 30 to enclose and complete the vented ridge In use, air located within the roof space becomes heated indirectly by the sun. The air, as it is heated, rises towards the roof aperture and passes out of the aperture 25 through the barrier 60, passed the shroud supports 40 and then out of a gap 35 located between the two covering skints 33 of the shroud 30 and the roof members 20. A convection current is created that allows heated air to escape from the roof space within the roof.

The construction of the vented ridge 10 is of a substantially low profile and all the materials used (especially the fasteners) allow the vented ridge 10 to be suitable for use on roofs in cyclonic regions. Rain that passes along the roof and under the shroud 30 is captured by the weather strips in most conditions. However, in heavier rain conditions with associated high winds, the rain may pass over the weather strips but will be captured by the 6 0 rain deflectors 50 so that the rain is deflected back down the respective roof sheets 22. Hence, virtually no rain is able to pass into the roof space via the

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Z roof aperture 25. Further, during normal conditions, vermin are unable to pass into the roof space as the barrier 60 covers the roof aperture It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications may be made to the embodiment described without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

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Claims

1. A vented ridge comprising: Z at least two roof members having a roof aperture located between the roof members; a shroud located above and spaced from the roof members; at least one shroud support attached to one of the roof members and the shroud; and Cc a barrier that extends over the roof aperture.

S2. The vented ridge of claim 1 wherein the barrier is held over the roof aperture by the shroud supports.

3. The vented ridge of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the barrier is located between the shroud supports and the roof members.

4. The vented ridge of any one of the preceding claims wherein at least two rain deflectors are located adjacent the roof aperture.

5. The vented ridge of any one of the preceding claims wherein the shroud includes an arcuate top, two attachment portions and two covering skirts.

6. The vented ridge of claim 6 wherein a series of ribs extend the length of the arcuate top,

7. The vented ridge of any one of the preceding claims wherein shroud supports are roof battens.

8. The vented ridge of any one of the preceding claims wherein the rain deflectors are formed from existing ridge capping.

9. The vented ridge of any one of the preceding claims wherein the barrier is a mesh.

The vented ridge of any one of the preceding claims including at least one end cap attached to an end of the shroud.

11. The vented ridge of any one of the preceding claims including at least one weather strip located directly below the shroud support.

12. A method of installing a vented ridge including the steps of: locating a barrier over a roof aperture; placing a shroud support over the barrier; 8 0 attaching the shroud support to a roof member; and attaching a shroud to the shroud support. O Z

13. The method of installing a vented ridge of claim 12 further including the step of cutting ridge capping to form at least one rain deflector.

14. The method of installing a vented ridge of claim 11 or claim 12 further including the step of locating a weather strip under a support shroud. The method of installing a vented ridge of claim 11, claim 12 or claim S13 further including the step of attaching at least one end cap to the shroud.