CA2872412C - Ridge vent and method of securing the same to a roof peak - Google Patents

Abstract

A ridge vent for ventilating a building enclosure having one or more main body sections, each body section having a width, a length and a height and being configured to be secured end to end over a ventilation slot opening along a ridge of a roof. Each of the main body sections defines an air flow passageway between the ventilation slot and the outside through the main body to permit air to vent from under the roof and to prevent weather and pests from passing into the building enclosure though the vent. Each of the main body sections has fastener receiving slots along opposed sides for fastening the body sections to a roof deck on opposed sides of the ridge. Each of the main body sections is sized and shaped to have a row of cap shingles carried along a middle of the body when the main body sections are installed on the roof peak and the cap shingles are secured by fasteners along either side of the middle of the vent body. Each of the body sections including a fastener gripping means carried in the vent body above the roof on either side of the middle for retaining the fasteners used to attach the cap shingles to the main body whereby the cap shingles can be secured to the vent body instead of the roof deck to permit the air flow passageway under the cap shingles to be unconstrained by a length of the fasteners. A method of installing such a roof vent is also comprehended.

Description

, Title: RIDGE VENT AND METHOD OF SECURING THE SAME TO A
ROOF PEAK
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the field of building ventilation and in particular to the type of ventilation that may be provided from unheated spaces such as attic spaces in residential buildings. Most particularly this invention relates to a form of ridge vent that can be mounted over a slot along a peak or ridge and used to allow air to passively vent from the attic while at the same time inhibiting weather, pests and the like from passing through the ridge vent and into the attic.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Roof vents are well known devices to allow air to passively vent from inside building spaces, such as attics, to the outside. This form of venting prevents the buildup of moist air within the attic or other building space thus reducing condensation, mold, rot and other consequences of trapped moist air. As well, the changeover of attic air allows for heat trapped in the attic to be vented, for example in the summer. As the warm air rises through the ridge vent, cooler air may be drawn in to the bottom of the attic space through eve or soffit vents and thus the air can be changed over in the attic. For these reasons and others modern building codes require that certain structures, such as residential buildings, include an appropriate amount of roof venting from their attic spaces.
Such venting is typically provided by preformed vent devices which can take many forms. Although in the past many were made from metal, more recently they have been formed from molded plastic. There are different styles of vents including stand alone vents that are placed over openings formed in the roof deck and ridge vents which are placed over a slot the peak or ridge of the roof. Ridge vents are popular because,

-2-among other things they provide a topmost venting point at the peak of the roof allowing for complete air exchange from the enclosed space.
They also can provide a relatively large venting area which is sometimes called a net free air flow area.
There are also many forms of ridge vents including sectional vents, which are made from discreet relatively rigid sections of vent that are attached end to end to form a continuous vent along the peak and roll vents which are flexible and can be rolled into place on the roof peak. A
common feature of both sectional vents and roll vents is that the air flow pathway passes through vent structure and then out along the side edges of the vent which run parallel to the roof peak. As the vents are typically attached to the roof deck along the same side edges, this means the air passageway also typically passes past or around the fasteners. As a result special care is required to avoid having the fasteners compress the vent and block off the air passageway, when the vent is being fastened to the roof of the building. As well in many of the prior art designs the tops of the vents are covered by a row of cap shingles. In some cases this is an advantage as openings can be left in the sectional vent under where the cap shingles are placed saving on the amount of plastic material used to mold the vent for example.
However, again a risk arises that the act of attaching the shingles with roofing nails through the vent body will compress the height of the vent and compromise the net free air flow area. This tendency to compromise the air flow at both the center and the edges of the vent can be exacerbated by the use of air compression nail guns which are commonly used in modern roofing construction. To combat this compression problem special design features and reinforcements are required in the ridge vent designs.
Another problem with such prior vent designs is that the standard nails in the conventional compressed air nail guns have a specific maximum length. This maximum length in effect imposes a height

-3-restriction on the vent body which in turn imposes a height restriction on the air flow passageway through the vent. For the standard nail to establish enough purchase in a roof deck, it must penetrate a certain amount. Therefore there is only a certain amount of nail that can remain protruding above the roof deck. This then becomes a height limit on the roof vent where the air flow passageway passes past the nailing points.
This limits the net free flow area that can be designed for the vent. Where the vent design includes a row of cap shingles the nails must not only pass through the body of the vent but must also pass through the shingles, further shrinking the maximum height within the body of the vent available to air flow. This extra shingle thickness can restrict the air flow passageways even for nails which are driven in to the preferred depth.
U.S. Patent 6,308,472 teaches that for nails of 1.75 inches, the maximum height of the vent can be about 0.6875 inches, which provides about 10 to 12 square inches of net free flow ventilation area per linear foot of ridge vent.
A further problem with using nails relates to the nature of the plastic used to form many roof vents. To reliably secure the roof vent along the ridge an installer will nail along both sides of the peak in a generally regularly spaced nailing pattern. Then of course there is a need to secure the cap shingles along the top, which adds a further set of nails through the vent and into the roof deck. Often though the plastic used in the bodies of rigid sectional ridge vents has a large enough coefficient of thermal expansion that a change in length can occur during temperature fluctuations associated with normal weather patterns. When the vent is nailed down, with a double set of attachment nails as described above, there is no expansion room to accommodate the thermal expansion which can lead to buckling of the vent along the ridge. This is both unsightly and may allow the penetration of pests, water or the like through any gaps that so arise from such buckling.
Some of the problems associated with using air guns for driving , ,

-4-fasteners into the roof deck to secure ridge vents to the roof peaks have been recognized by others in the past. For example, U.S. Patent 8,069,621 provides reinforcing around predetermined nailing points to try to avoid over compressing the vent height during nailing, but it doesn't

5 deal with the vent height restriction imposed by the standard nail length.
U.S. Patent 5,528,872 provides a sleeve to prevent the nail from over penetrating, but again does not deal with the height limitation imposed by the maximum nail length. U.S. Patent 7,066,371 provides an adaptation to the nail gun itself in terms of a spacer to prevent over penetration of the 10 nails, but it doesn't deal with the height restriction imposed by the maximum nail length.
Examples of various other prior art ridge vents are provided in the following patents and applications:
United States Patent No. 4,924,761 15 United States Patent No. 5,528,872 United States Patent No. 6,298,613 United States Patent No. 6,308,472 United States Patent No. 6,793,574 United States Patent No. 7,066,371 20 United States Patent No. 7,182,688 United States Patent No. 7,384,331 United States Patent No. 8,069,621 United States Publication No. US2009/0049769 Canadian Patent No. 2,405,534 25 What is desired is a ridge vent design in which the net free ventilation area is not limited by the length of the nails used to secure the vent to the ridge, or to secure a row of cap shingles to the ridge on top of the vent body as is the case in the prior art. Further a vent is desired that is does not get compressed by the nails to secure cap shingles whereby 30 the net free ventilation area can be compromised by overly aggressive nailing. Further a plastic molded ridge vent that avoids buckling under the usual thermal stresses induced by normal range of temperatures arising from weather changes is also desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention may provide a sectional ridge vent design that avoids some of the problems discussed above with respect to the prior art. In particular the invention may relate to a sectional ridge vent formed from molded plastic sections. Each section may have a main body that is adapted to be attached over an elongate ventilation slot formed along a roof peak. The vent body may define an air flow passageway from the slot to the outside through or under the body and may include a grill or other air permeable structure to let the air out while keeping pests, weather and the like from getting in. The grill can be formed along both of the lateral edges of the vent to provide for a maximum net free flow area for the vent.
The body may also be provided with nailing points adjacent to the later edges to secure the body on either side of the ridge by means of mechanical fasteners such as nails. Preferably the nailing points will include slots to permit the body of the vent to expand and contact without causing the vent body to buckle. The slots may be axially aligned. The body may also carry a fastener gripping means located towards a top surface of the main body and carried by said main body above a roof deck. In this way the fasteners, which may be used for example to secure a row of cap shingles, can be gripped within the fastener gripping means rather than being forced into the underlying roof deck. As a result the main body is not pinched or compromised by fasteners secured to the roof deck below the main body as in the prior art thus preserving the net free air flow area as designed.
Therefore according to one aspect the invention provides a ridge vent for ventilating a building enclosure comprising:
one or more main body sections each section having a width, a

-6-length and a height and being configured to be secured end to end over a slot opening along a ridge of a roof, each of said main body sections defining an air flow passageway between said slot and the outside through said main body to permit air to vent from under said roof and to prevent weather and pests from passing into said building enclosure though said vent, each of said main body sections having fastener receiving slots along opposed sides for securing said body sections to a roof deck on opposed sides of said ridge each of said main body sections being sized and shaped to have a row of cap shingles carried along a middle of said body above said roof peak and secured along either side of said roof peak when said sections are installed on said roof and, each of said body sections including a fastener gripping means carried in said vent body above said roof deck on either side of said peak for gripping fasteners used to secure said cap shingles in place, whereby said cap shingles can be secured to said vent body instead of said roof deck to avoid compromising a net free flow area of said air flow passageway beneath said cap shingles.
According to another aspect the present invention provides a method of installing a roof vent having a row of cap shingles over a ventilation slot formed along a ridge of a roof, the method comprising the steps of:
centring a first body section over said ventilation slot;
securing said first body section over said peak with fasteners located at attachment points along opposed side edges of said body section; and fastening a row of cap shingles to said roof vent along a middle of said body section by extending the fasteners into a fastening gripping means located on either side of said peak and carried by said vent body.

-7-BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Reference will now be made by way of example only to preferred embodiments of the invention by reference to the following drawing in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a roof vent according to one aspect of the present invention;
Figure 2 is the roof vent of Figure 1 with the fastener securing means shown in exploded view;
Figure 3 is an end view of the roof vent of Figure 1 showing the fasteners being positioned in preparation for use;
Figure 4 is an end view of the roof vent of Figure 3 showing the fasteners in use; and Figure 5 shows an alternate embodiment of the present invention in exploded view.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A section of a vent 10 is shown in Figure 1 including a plastic moulded body 12 having a bendable middle section 14 and opposed side edges 16 and 18. Grills 20, 22, can be provided along each side edge which are the side terminus of a ventilation passageway under or through the body 12. The side edges 16 and 18 can be slightly castellated to allow for drainage paths for any moisture or weather that gets through the grills 20 and 22. When installed the grills may be above the shingled roof deck. Attachment points 24 can be provided along the sides of the vent where nails can be driven through the body 12 and into a roof deck 52 to secure the vent body 12 over a roof peak 26 (shown in Figure 3). Inter-engaging tongue and groove features 27 may be provided at each end of the section 10 to facilitate aligning and securing adjacent vent body sections together.
In one embodiment the invention can provide an attachment point in the form of a nail slot 28 in the body 12. The nail slot 28 may be axially

-8-aligned with the body 12 to allow movement arising from the thermal expansion and contraction of the vent body section 10. In this way the expansion and contraction of the body 12 during thermal stresses caused by normal weather related fluctuations in temperature may not cause any buckling of the body 12 as the body can move relative to the nail along the slot 28 without causing buckling. Thus the slot 28 may allow for a certain amount of non buckling thermal expansion and contraction of the vent body 12.
In another aspect the body 12 may be provided with generally opposed fastener gripping means 30, 31 carried in or on said vent body 12, preferably towards a top edge 32 of the vent body 12. The position of the fastener gripping means 30, 311s generally above the level of the roof deck onto which the vent body 12 has been installed. As shown, the gripping means 30, 31 may be symmetrically disposed about the flexible middle portion 14 of the vent body 12. Most preferably the fastener gripping means may be supported in a plane generally parallel to the roof deck and above the bottom of the vent, and will be positioned so that a nail tip space is left between the bottom of the gripping means and the roof deck below. The size of the nail tip space can vary, but a space in the range of between 5/8" and 1" has provided reasonable results. As will be explained in more detail below the purpose of the nail tip space is to provide a space for the tips of fasteners such as nails to penetrate the fastener gripping means without then extending far enough to penetrate the roof deck below the vent. Thus the nail tip space may be large enough to accommodate the tip of the nail that penetrates the fastener gripping means.
The fastener gripping means 30, 31 can take any form provided that on the one hand it is soft enough to be penetrated by nails for example driven from a standard nailing gun of the type normally used in roofing applications and yet hard enough to retain the fasteners or nails that do penetrate the body of the gripping means in place against the

-9-normal strains of wind and weather. In one form the gripping means may be made of a high density plastic material that is carried by and secured to the main vent body 12, in the form of a strip having a length, a width and a thickness. Figure 2 shows an exploded view of the gripping means 30, 31, which are sized and shaped to fit with slots 34, 35. Most preferable it will be formed as part of the vent body and will be integral thereto. In some embodiments the fastener gripping means may be a separate element that is subsequently attached to the vent body, and in some cases it may be co-moulded into the body.
In terms of the preferred dimensions of the gripping means it will be understood that the width of the strip should be sufficient to allow the roofer some latitude in placing the fasteners used to secure the cap shingles in place on the top of the vent body. Thus it has been found that making the strip between about 1" and 3" with a most preferred width of 2"
provides reasonable results. Of course the strip could be made wider or narrower. If it is made wider however, more of the more expensive high density material is required which can add to the total cost of the finished product. If the strip is made too narrow then the roofers will have a harder time aligning the fasteners up with the gripping means underneath the shingles which is not desirable.
In terms of the preferred thickness reasonable results have been achieved with a thickness of between about 3/8" and 3/4" with a most preferred thickness of about 3/8" inches. It will be understood that the present invention comprehends using gripping means of different thicknesses, providing only that the gripping means can provide secure gripping of the fasteners for the purpose of holding the nails in place to in turn hold the cap shingles in place during typical weather events. The present invention comprehends that the gripping ability of the gripping means will be a combination of both the density of the material and its thickness and so a more dense material may be used which can result in a reduced thickness while maintaining the same overall gripping power on

-10-the fasteners.
In terms of the length of the gripping means along the body of the sectional ridge vent, it has been found preferable to extend the gripping means along essentially the full length of the vent section. It is difficult to know where the cap shingle row might start and to give the installers the most flexibility in terms of ease of installation it is preferred to place the strip as a single continuous strip as shown. However the present invention also comprehends that the gripping means could be formed as a series of discreet gripping points along the length of the vent section, where the gripping points are spaced to coincide with the distance between nailing points for cap shingles. However this, while saving on the cost of materials, is believed less preferred due to the difficulty in knowing where the row of cap shingles will actually have to start in any individual installation.
The present invention comprehends that such a material will be penetrated by a conventional fastener and that the fastener will then be generally as secure as a fastener in a standard wooden or plywood roof deck.
While the moulded plastic gripping means 30, 31 is the most preferred form of the present invention the present invention comprehends other forms of gripping means including wood, metal, foam, plastic or other materials which can be incorporated into the vent structure. As explained in detail below a main object of the invention may be to allow the row of cap shingles to be secured to the vent instead of having to penetrate through the vent and into the underlying roof deck to get enough purchase.
In summary therefore the preferred form of the gripping means 30, 31 is as a strip that is carried on the vent body 12 in a position underneath where the nails used to secure a row of cap shingles would likely be driven. It is preferred if the strip 30, 31 can be wide enough to allow the installer some latitude in the placement of the cap shingle nails and long

-11-enough that the cap shingles can be installed along the length of the body in the usual fashion. In addition it preferably is thick enough to securely grip any fastener that is driven into it.
As shown in Figure 3 the gripping means 30, 31 is carried in an upwardly facing surface of the vent body and may be exposed to the top.
The body may be co-moulded with the vent body, or can be a separate piece which is added to the vent body after the vent body is moulded.
Although the gripping means 30, 31 is shown as being exposed on a top face the present invention comprehends that the gripping means could be moulded within the body as long as the vent body plastic is soft enough and thin enough so as not to prevent the fasteners from being secured into the gripping means. The outside or exposed position is believed preferred because then it is easier for the installer to visually line up the nails with the appropriate nailing surface of the gripping means 30, 31.
The nailing strip may be made visually distinct from the body of the vent, or, visual markings may be used to denote the location of the gripping means.
In the embodiment where the parts are separately formed it may be preferred to include an opening 34, 35 in the top 32 of the vent body into which the gripping means can be inserted and then glued, heat staked or otherwise secured to the vent body. In this way the gripping means 30, 31 can be flush mounted into the top surface 32 of the vent body 12. The present invention comprehends other forms of mounting though, such as simply being mounted to an outside of the top surface or an inside of a bottom face of said top surface.
As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the position of the gripping means 30, 31 within the body 12 of the vent 10 section is raised above the roof deck meaning that there is an air gap 50 below the vent body 12 and the roof deck 52. This gap is part of the air flow passageway 60 (Figure 4) from below the roof deck 52, through the ridge slot 62, and then under the body 12 of the vent 10 to the side grills 20, 22. The lower face of the air

-12-passageway 60 may be defined by roof shingles 54 mounted on the roof deck 52. Fasteners, such as nails 70, 72, driven through the gripping means 30, 31 will end above the roof deck 52 as shown (due to the thickness of the shingles), thus the gap 50 can also be characterized as a nail tip space as previously described. Thus the act of nailing the cap shingles 80 onto the vent body 12 with nails 70, 72 passing through gripping means 30, 31 will not compromise the height of the air gap 50 and will allow for as large a net free flow air passageway as may be desired. Thus the present invention allows the cap shingles 80 to be secured to the vent body 12 rather than being secured to the roof deck 52 through the vent body 12. The size of the gap 50 is determined by the vent body height rather than the nail length as in the prior art. In this way the size of the air passageway 60 can be determined according to good ventilation design as opposed to being determined by the nail length used in the typical roofer nailing gun. As well, by securing of the cap shingles to the vent body instead of the roof deck below, the cap fasteners do not prevent the vent body from expanding and contracting due to temperature changes ¨ the vent body may be only secured at the attachment points 24 having the expansion slots 28. This invention therefore reduces the buckling stresses associated with temperature changes.
Figure 5 shows an alternate embodiment of the vent 14 in exploded view. The cap shingles 80 cover the roof slot 62 and are secured by the fasteners 76 to the vent body 14. In this embodiment the gripping means 30 is integrally formed with the vent body as a one piece unit, as opposed to being separately connected in a subsequent manufacturing step.
It can now be appreciated that the present invention provides for the gripping means to be carried in the vent body in a location which is generally above and spaced apart from the roof deck. The vent 10 can in turn be secured to the roof deck 52 by nails 74, 76. To prevent the nails 70, 72 from inadvertently penetrating the roof deck and compromising the

-13-air passageway there is a need for enough room below the nailing strip for the nail ends to penetrate fully yet without engaging the roof deck. To this end a vertical spacing of at least about 5/8" is preferred between the bottom of the gripping means and the roof deck although it could be more.
__ Further, the present invention comprehends the use of shorter standard nails for securing the shingles to the gripping means 30, 31 which will also be easier and reduce the costs of the installation somewhat. For example nails of a 3/4" length may be used. However, because of the thickness of the shingles, even if the same sized nails are used to fasten the cap __ shingles and the vent body there will still not be enough length for the shingle nail to reach the roof deck. In any event, the preferred net free flow areas can be made with a range of 12 to 20 with about 18 having provided reasonable results.
Having described the invention it is now possible to understand __ how the present invention may be installed upon over a roof peak for example. The first step is to mount a section of the vent above a ventilation slot, by bending the vent body section over the roof peak and aligning it with the slot. The next step is to attach the side edges to opposite sides of the peak by using fasteners. The fasteners can be __ driven into the roof deck and through the vent body at the slots at the attachment points. In a preferred installation the nails are secured in the roof deck but do not tightly compress the vent body, so that the vent body is allowed to expand and contract by the free movement of the slots.
Care should be taken to ensure that the roof deck is shingled up to the __ ventilation slot, and at least under where the grills are to be positioned.
The next step is to secure the cap shingles along the middle of the vent along the top. An air gun can be used to drive nails through the shingles into the body of the vent. The installer can visually align the nail position with the gripping means or other markings to permit the nail to be well __ gripped to in turn secure the cap shingle in place on said vent body. The tips of the shingle nails will extend in a nail tip space 50 located below the

-14-vent body 10 which defines part of the air flow passageway 60 but not so far as to penetrate the roof deck.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alterations are possible to the invention without departing from the broad sprit of the invention as defined by the attached claims. Some of these have been discussed above and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, while high density plastic is preferred, the present invention also comprehends that the fastener gripping means could be made from wood or other materials provided that the gripping means can be penetrated by fasteners issued from conventional fastener gun of the type that is typically used in roofing applications for example.

Claims (16)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A ridge vent for ventilating a building enclosure, said ridge vent comprising:
one or more main body sections, each body section having a width, a length and a height and being configured to be secured end to end over a ventilation slot opening along a ridge of a roof;
each of said main body sections defining an air flow passageway between said ventilation slot and the outside through said main body to permit air to vent from under said roof and to prevent weather and pests from passing into said building enclosure though said vent;
each of said main body sections having fastener receiving slots along opposed sides for fastening said body sections to a roof deck on opposed sides of said ridge;
each of said main body sections being sized and shaped to have a row of cap shingles carried along a middle of said body when said main body sections are installed on said roof peak wherein said cap shingles are secured by fasteners along either side of said middle of said vent body; and each of said body sections including a fastener gripping means carried in said vent body above said roof on either side of said middle for retaining said fasteners used to attach said cap shingles to said main body;
whereby said cap shingles can be secured to said vent body instead of said roof deck to permit said air flow passageway under said cap shingles to be unconstrained by a length of said fasteners.

2. The ridge vent as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said body sections is flexible along said middle of said body to permit said body to be bent over said ventilation slot formed along said ridge of said roof.

3. The ridge vent as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of said sections includes a solid web across said middle of said vent body.

4. The ridge vent as claimed in claim 2, wherein each if said sections contains openings in said middle of said vent body.

5. The ridge vent as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said body sections includes an upwardly open slot for retaining said fastener gripping means.

6. The ridge vent as claimed in claim 5, wherein said slot is sized and shaped to carry said fastener gripping means flush with a top surface of said ridge vent.

7. The ridge vent as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said body sections defines a nail tip space between said fastener gripping means and said roof deck.

8. The ridge vent as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fastener gripping means is between 1 inch and 3 inches wide.

9. The ridge vent as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fastener gripping means is in the form of a continuous strip.

10. The ridge vent as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fastener gripping means is between 3/8 inch and 3/4 inch thick.

11. The ridge vent as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fastener comprises a roofing nail and when said roofing nail is driven into said fastener gripping means it requires a pull out force equal to that of a standard roof deck to remove said roofing nail from said fastener gripping means.

12. The ridge vent as claimed in claim 1, wherein each side of said body section includes four or more fastener receiving slots.

13. The ridge vent as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said fastener receiving slots is at least 1/4 inch long.

14. The ridge vent as claimed in claim 1, wherein each body section is about 48 inches long and said fastener receiving slots are long enough to accommodate an amount of thermal expansion arising in said body section between said fastener receiving slots.

15. A method of installing a roof vent having a row of cap shingles over a ventilation slot formed along a ridge of a roof, the method comprising the steps of:
centring a first body section of said roof vent over said ventilation slot;
securing said first body section to said roof, over said peak, with fasteners located at attachment points along opposed side edges of said first body section; and securing a row of cap shingles to said roof vent along a middle of said body section by extending fasteners into a fastener gripping means located on either side of said peak and carried by said second body section;
whereby said cap shingles are secured to said roof vent instead of said roof to permit an air flow passageway under said cap shingles to be unconstrained by a length of the fasteners.

16. The method of installing a roof vent as claimed in claim 15, further comprising the steps of:

aligning a second body section of said roof vent up with said first body section and, centering said second body section over said ventilation slot;
securing said second body section to said roof, over said peak with fasteners located at attachment points along opposed side edges of said second body section; and securing a row of cap shingles to said roof vent along a middle of said second body section by extending fasteners into a fastening gripping means located on either side of said peak and carried by said second body section.