GB2238805A

GB2238805A - Insulated roof gutter

Info

Publication number: GB2238805A
Application number: GB8927524A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alan Bell
Original assignee: STEELPRESS Ltd
Current assignee: STEELPRESS Ltd
Priority date: 1989-12-06
Filing date: 1989-12-06
Publication date: 1991-06-12
Also published as: GB8927524D0

Abstract

A roof gutter unit (G) comprises a base support member 1, e.g. in the form of a metal profile form, and a multi-layer assemblage carried by said base member (1), said multi-layer assemblage including a first layer (5A-C) of insulating block form, and a second outer layer (10) located above said first layer (5A-C) in the form of a membrane, e.g. of rubber or plastics, constituting a waterproofing layer. The outer layer (10) is preferably bonded to the lower layer (5A-C) by adhesive, preferably applied in strip manner. A gutter assembly is formed from a plurality of these gutter units (G) by joining successive units by means of a joggle overlap join (1A/B, Fig. 2) or by a strap plate (20) and an infill block (16) is positioned (Fig. 3) at the join between successive first layers (SA-C). The waterproofing layer (10) of one unit (G) projects (10A) to overlap onto the waterproofing layer (10) of the adjoining unit (C). <IMAGE>

Description

"Roof gutters and guttering" Description The present invention relates to roof gutters and guttering and especially but not exclusively to roof gutters of the valley-gutter type.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a roof gutter of improved performance.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a roof gutter unit comprising a base support member and a multi-layer assemblage carried by said base support member; said multi-layer assemblage including a first layer of insulating block form, and a second layer located above said first layer comprising a waterproofing layer.

Preferably the waterproofing layer is of membrane form and can be made of rubber or synthetic plastics material.

Preferably a heat sink layer is located between said first and second layers,said heat sink layer serving as a support strata for said waterproofing membrane. The heat sink layer can be of non-metallic material having a low thermal conductivity and low emissivity relative to metal: plywood or boarding are suitable materials for the heat sink layer.

In a preferred embodiment the first layer comprises a central block portion and side block portions: thus wherein the gutter is of valley form the central block portion will be at the valley bottom with the side block portions at the valley sides and upstanding from the central block portion.

Preferably the layers of the multi-layer assemblage are bonded together by adhesive while the assemblage is bonded to the base support member by adhesive, the various adhesive bonding operations being preferably achieved by spaced application of adhesive on a member or layer to be bonded.

Previous roof gutters were of composite construction comprising spaced metal skins of aluminium or steel with the space between the skins filled by insulating material a waterproofing membrane being applied to the outer metallic skin. The strength of these previous composite form gutters lay completely in the composite nature of the structure ie. each of the metal skins and foam layer contributed to the overall structural strength.

These composite gutters had the advantage of being of light weight yet strong but they had disadvantages. For example the outer metallic skin could create a surface heat build up with deleterious effect on the waterproofing membrane and differential thermal expansion effects between the metal skins and foamed core could weaken the structure. Further the nature of these composite gutters precluded convenient and satisfactory joining up of gutter sections for the formation of elongate guttering. The present invention overcomes these disadvantages.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of forming a joined gutter assembly utilising roof gutter units in accordance with the first invention aspect, the method comprising arranging the gutter units such that at at least one end of each unit the first, insulating block, layer stops short of the end of the base support member so that said base support member has a free projecting portion, placing two of said gutter units in end-to-end aligned relationship with the free projecting portions of the base support members oppositely located and with a space between the facing ends of the first layers of the gutter units, forming an overlap join between said aligned gutter units at the opposed free projecting portions, placing an infill block of insulating material in the space between the facing first layers of the aligned gutter units, placing a waterproofing layer over said infill block, and forming an an overlap join between waterproof layers for continuity of waterproofing on the joined gutter assembly.

Preferably the overlap join is provided by having a joggle on one of the free projecting portions to enable placement of the opposed free projecting portions in overlapping relationship. Preferably the join is achieved by mechanical fasteners such as for example by bolts.

Alternatively the free projecting portions could be directly opposed and the overlap join obtained by a separate connecting plate between the portions.

Preferably, one gutter unit has a waterproof layer portion which extends freely from one end of the first (insulating) layer, and this free waterproof layer portion is placed over the infill block and further placed in joined overlapping relationship with the waterproof layer of the other gutter unit of the assembly. Preferably the overlap join of the waterproof layers is achieved by hot air welding.

The present invention is also a gutter assembly made by a method in accordance with the second inventive aspect.

According to yet a further aspect of the present invention a roof gutter unit comprises a multi-layer assemblage including inner and outer layers and an insulating layer between said inner and outer layers, the outer layer being in the form of waterproof sheeting, said multi-layer assemblage additionally including a heat-sink layer constituting a support for said waterproof sheeting.

Preferably said heat-sink layer if of non-metallic material, and preferably the heat sink layer is made of wood or chipboard. The inner layer of the assemblage may be of metal or reinforced plastics material.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Fig. 1 shows a cross-sectional end view of a roof gutter unit according to the present invention; Fig. 2 shows a sectional elevation of a roof gutter assembly using gutter units of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation similar to Fig. 2 but showing a modification.

Referring to Fig. 1, a roof gutter unit G has a fairly conventional valley-form profile with a base B, sides S and lateral locating lugs E. It will be appreciated that the gutter unit could be of a form other than valley-form. The gutter G comprises a base support (load bearing) member 1 supporting a multi-layer assemblage L which essentially comprises an insulating block layer or core 5, and a heat-sink layer 8 serving as a support strata for an outermost waterproofing layer 10.

The layers 8, 9, 10 of the multi-layer assemblage L are bonded together by means of bond strata or adhesive 7, 9 while the assemblage L is similarly bonded to the base support member 1 by a bond strata or adhesive 3. A bond enhancer 2 is provided on the inner surface of the member 1 to facilitate bonding of the assemblage L to the member 1 and this enhancer 9 can comprise for example a coating of bitumen cut-back primer. Further both outer surfaces 4, 6 of the block 5 are formed as stabilising layers for example of impregnated woven glass stabilising and conditioning tissue, ensuring the long-term integrity of the bonded surfaces. More specifically the stabilising layers preclude against particle crumbling at the outer surfaces 4, 6 of the block 5.

The precise nature of the elements of the gutter G can be as follows. The base member 1 can be of: a) Treated steel, being of at least 1mm thickness depending upon the girth, configuration and support mode, b) Aluminium being at least 1mm thick, depending upon girth, configuration and support mode, c) Stainless steel, being at least 1mm thick, again depending upon girth, configuration and support mode, d) Glass reinforced plastics.

The insulating block 5 can be a high strength, reinforced, closed cellular polyisocyanurate or polyurethane or polystyrene insulating core, while heat-sink layer 8 can be boarding for example 4mm thick. The block 5 in fact comprises a central block portion 5A at the base B and side block portions 5B, 5C at the valley sides S. Each block portion 5A, 5C may be pre-preformed with a respective heat sink layer portion 8A-8C, or this assembly may be carried out in situ during assembly of the gutter unit G. The layer 8 provides a sound rigid strata layer for the waterproofing layer 10 and the layer 8 additionally serves as an insulation protective system and heat sink to ensure the long-term integrity of the waterproofing layer 10.The waterproofing layer 10 preferably comprises a laminated roofing grade elastomer or polymeric type membrane providing high performance waterproofing. There is thus provided a high performance, polymeric membrane 10 which is a compound of ethylene, vinyl, acetate, terpolymer and polyvinylchloride. This combination of polymers provides a waterproofing membrane 10 of exceptional characteristics with the requisite ratings in respect of durability, vapour permeability, tensile strength, emissivity, reflectance and self cleaning.

The bond strata (adhesive) 7 between the block 5 and the layer 8 can comprise a neoprene (or acrylic) based solvent curing contact adhesive ensuring high mechanical corrosive strength; while the bond strata (adhesive) at 3 and 9 preferably comprises bitumen/ polyurethane cold adhesive laid in spaced strips 11 (see Fig. 2). By way of example, the strips 11 may be 40 mm wide and spaced apart by a distance D of not more than 100 mm. The bond strata arrangement at 3 and 9 permits a degree of relative movement between layers of the assemblage L and this is beneficial for the longterm integrity of the gutter unit. In particular, the gutter unit G is better able to withstand differential expansion effects.

Further, the gutters G can be readily adapted for convenient and satisfactory joining in the formation of a gutter assembly. Thus, with reference to Fig. 2, for the joined assembly it is arranged that (a) at the ends of both gutters G the insulating layer 5 stops short of the end of the base member 1 by a selected amount so that the members have free projecting portions 1A, 1B and (b) at the joining zone one of the gutters has a portion 10A of the waterproof membrane 10 extending freely by a suitable length from the end of the layer 5 to define an overlapping portion. Further, the projecting portion 1B of one of the gutters (G2) is of a joggle form to permit overlap with the portion 1A of the other gutter (G1) as shown.

To effect the join, the guttering sections (G1, G2 ) are broughttogether on site with the portions 1A, 1B overlapping and with the overlapping waterproof portion 10A carefully laid back to one side (ie. per the dashed lines in Fig.2). The joint is then mechanically dry jointed from the top side by fitting and tightening captive nuts 12 into pre-set captive nut elements 13 at the portions 1A, 1B. A slot 14 being provided in portion 1A to facilitate fitting of the bolt. Bolt 12 includes a washer 15 covering the slot 14.

Suitable adhesive (eg. cold bitumen/polyurethane adhesive) is then applied to the joint at the portions 1A, 1B ensuring that a generous adhesive bed is applied to the V-groove of the interconnecting elements. A preassembled insulationg infill section (block ) 16 is then set into the adhesive bed at portions 1A, 1B, to occupy the space between the blocks 5 of the gutters G1, G2.

The laid-back overlapping section 10A of the waterproofing is carefully manipulated into position so as to overlie the block 16, and overlap waterproof layer 10 of the gutter G2. The overlapping portion 10A is joined to layer 10 of gutter G2 by hot air welding at zone 18, and tape 17 of the bond breaker type is applied to a heat sink layer 8 of block 16.

When the joint is complete, the step edge 19 of the lapped waterproofing layer is pointed with for example squeezed liquid PVC.

Integral accessories can be possible such as for example: - Outlets A complete range of compatible outlets with viable/ alternative components ie. pipe reducers, flexible elbows, heating elements, gravel stops, sumps etc., Weir ends/stop ends Checked and stepped end stops which dual as overflow connections. Expansion joints are available in the gutter sections.

Snow boards A range of lightweight snow boarding is available which duals as a walkway system.

Modifications are of course possible. Thus in Fig.

3 both are of the free projecting portions 1A of the base members 1 are similar and no joggle is present: in this case the overlap join is achieved by the use of a separate overlap plate 20 connected to portions 1 A by bolts 12. The overlap join of Fig. 3 will require the use of more bolts than that of Fig. 2 and the Fig.

3 join may be more inconvenient to instal than the joggle ji arrangc-cent f rig. 2.

Thus the present invention provides a gutter unit which can be readily manufactured in relatively large sizes in the factory then delivered to site for site jointing to form a high performance gutter assembly.

Claims

1. A roof gutter unit comprising a base support member and a multi-layer assemblage carried by said base support member; said multi-layer assemblage including a first layer of insulating block form, and a second layer located above said first layer comprising a waterproofing layer.

2. A roof gutter unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the waterproofing layer is of membrane form for example of rubber or synthetic plastics material.

3. A roof gutter unit as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein a heat sink layer is located between said first and second layers, said heat sink layer serving as a support strata for said waterproof ing membrane.

4. A roof gutter unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the heat sink layer is of non-metallic material having a low thermal conductivity and low emissivity relative to metal.

5. A roof gutter unit as claimed in claim 4, wherein the heat sink layer comprises plywood or boarding.

6. A roof gutter unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first layer comprises a central block portion and side block portions.

7. A roof gutter unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the layers of the multilayer assemblage are bonded together by adhesive while the assemblage is bonded to the base support member by adhesive.

8. A roof gutter unit as claimed in claim 7, wherein the various adhesive bonding operations are achieved by spaced application of adhesive on a member or layer to be bonded.

9. A method of forming a joined gutter assembly utilising roof gutter units in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, the method comprising arranging the gutter units such that at at least one end of each unit the first, insulating block, layer stops short of the end of the base support member so that said base support member has a free projecting portion, placing two of said gutter units in end-to-end aligned relationship with the free projecting portions of the base support members oppositely located and with a space between the facing ends of the first layers of the gutter units, forming an overlap join between said aligned gutter units at the opposed free projecting portions, placing an infill block of insulating material in the space between the facing first layers of the aligned gutter units, placing a waterproofing layer over said infill block, and forming an overlap join between waterproof layers for continuity of waterproofing on the joined gutter assembly.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the overlap join is provided by having a joggle on one of the free projecting portions to enable placement of the opposed free projecting portions in overlapping relationship.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the join is achieved by mechanical fasteners such as for example by bolts.

12. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the free projecting portions are directly opposed and the overlap join is obtained by a separate connecting plate between the portions.

13. A method as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein one gutter unit has a waterproof layer portion which extends freely from one end of the first (insulating) layer, and this free waterproof layer portion is placed over the infill block and further placed in joined overlapping relationship with the waterproof layer of the other gutter unit of the assembly.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the overlap join of the waterproof layers is achieved by hot air welding.

15. A roof gutter unit comprising a multi-layer assemblage including inner and outer layers and an insulating layer between said inner and outer layers, the outer layer being in the form of waterproof sheeting, said multi-layer assemblage additionally including a heat-sink layer constituting a support for said waterproof sheeting.

16. A roof gutter unit as claimed in claim 15, wherein said heat-sink layer is of non-metallic material.

17. A roof gutter unit as claimed in claim 15 or 16, wherein the heat sink layer is made of wood or chipboard.

18. A roof gutter unit as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the inner layer of the assemblage is of metal or reinforced plastics material.

19. A roof gutter unit substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and illustrated in Figs 1 and 2 or Figs 1 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.

20. A method of forming a roof gutter assembly as claimed in claim 9 and substantially as hereinbefore described.

21. A roof gutter assembly made by the method of any one of claims 9 to 14 or claim 21.