GB2084210A

GB2084210A - Gutter guard assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2084210A
Application number: GB8029925A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1980-09-16
Filing date: 1980-09-16
Publication date: 1982-04-07
Also published as: GB2084210B

Abstract

A leaf guard 1 for a gutter 5 comprises an elongated member the outward edge of which is bent into hooked configuration 6 to engage a co-operating hooked outward edge 7 of the gutter; its inward edge may be attached to the inward wall of the gutter or to the facia of the building; the transverse cross-section is of saw-tooth profile, the substantially vertical portions being provided with a plurality of perforations 3; in use the saw-tooth profile is mounted with the perforated, substantially vertical portions facing outwardly. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Gutter guard assembly This invention relates to a leaf guard adapted to be attached to a gutter so as to effectively cover its upwardly-opening mouth, and also to such a leaf guard in combination with a gutter and facia arrangement.

Very many gutters which are associatedwith the roofs of building are left 'open', that is to say, the upwardly-opening mouth of the channel-section gutter is left unencumbered, and this arrangement is quite satisfactory in such circumstances as exist in cities and in other closely built-up areas. But in districts where trees commonly overhang roofs-as in the 'leafy suburbs' of a town or city---dis- carded leaves and twigs falling into gutters can be a nuisance or even constitute a hazard.

Various 'leaf guards' have been proposed; one such is an elongated element of tangled metal or other filaments which is laid in the gutter to be 'guarded'. Such a device, of course, only aggravates the problem by providing a matrix in which leaves, twigs and other detritus become inextricably enmeshed.

Another leaf guard, as described and claimed in the specification relating to Australian Patent No. 410,068, has a perforated portion angling downwardly from the outer edge of a gutter. Rain shed from an associated roof will pass through this perforated portion but entrained detritus will cling to the portion until it dries off, whereupon it can build up in the angle between perforated portion and facia, perhaps to effectively block further run-off from the roof in course of time, and so present a fire hazard.

The above-going dissertation has had to do with guttering on city and suburban buildings but there is another field in which rainwater run-off is of great value. This field is, needless to say, where rainwater is the only source of potable water available. Many country areas are ciearly in this category, particularly farms and grazing properties but also some entire states or countries rely solely on rainwater run-off for their potable water-for example, Gibraltar and Norfolk Isiand to name but two.

In such cases it is most desirable that rain should be collected from run-off areas, such as roofs, with minimum contamination by rotting vegetable matter, as leaves and twigs, and animal droppings. The latter poses a serious problem with respect to the 'rock apes' of Gibraltar for instance.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to overcome the above and other disadvantages of prior art leaf guards for gutters by the provision of a leaf guard adapted to be attached to a gutter so as to effectively cover its upwardly-opening mouth, the leaf guard comprising an elongated member the outward edge of which is bent into hooked configuration so as to engage a cooperating hooked outward edge of the gutter, and the inward edge of which is attachable to, or adjacent, an inward wall of said gutter. The transverse cross-section of the leaf guard is of a saw-tooth profile, the substantially vertical portions of which are provided with a plurality of perforations, the saw-tooth profile being so oriented that each of the perforated portions faces outwardly.

In order that the reader may gain a better understanding of the present invention, hereinafter are described certain embodiments thereof, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows, in cross-section, a leaf guard according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the preferred kind of perforation; Figure 3 shows a leaf guard in combination with a gutter and integral facia; and Figure 4 illustrates a suitable joining strip for leaf guard and gutter sections.

Fig. 1 is a cross-section of a leaf guard according to the present invention, such a leaf guard being preferably an extruded metal section, perhaps an aluminium or aluminiumalloy section. The leaf guard will be seen to have a saw-tooth profile, the substantially vertical portions 1 of which face outwardly with respect to a line of rafters 2 of the roof of a building. These vertical portions 1 are provided with a plurality of perforations 3 which, ideally, are vertical slots the better to be seen in Fig. 2, which slots may well be formed, in the extruded section, by such means as stamping, punching or the like. While vertical slots are preferred, other kinds of apertures are also contemplated, such as round holes made by drilling.These perforations should be sufficiently large to permit the passage of a rapid flow of water, but small enough to entrap leaves, twigs, animal droppings and the like. As will be appreciated, having regard to the fact that the slots or other perforations face outwardly and are shielded from direct contact with run-off water by the sloping portions 4, detritus entrained in the run-off water is prevented from entering the gutter 5 disposed beneath the leaf guard.

The outward edge 6 of the leaf guard is bent into hooked configuration so as to engage a co-operating hooked outward edge 7 of gutter 5, a slight inward pinching of edge 6 sufficing to firmly anchor the leaf guard to edge 7 of gutter 5.

The inward edge of the leaf guard extends upwardly to constitute a flange 8, which flange is attachable to the ends of a line of rafters 2 of the roof of a building. In order to enable flange 8 to be bent so as to fit the rafters of roofs of various pitches, there may be a notch 9 running the length of the extruded section, and flange 8 may be affixed to the rafters 2 as by nailing-reference numerals 10. In areas in which strong winds are uncommon and where the roof is a flat one or of very low pitch, it will be found that the leaf guard will require little or no fixing to the rafter ends.

Although Fig. 1 shows flange 8 as an elongated, angled integer, it may well be longitudinally corrugated so as to bend easily about the ends of rafters 2 as in Fig. 2.

Advantageously, the outward part of flange 8, designated by reference numeral 11, extends along the rafters 2 as shown, under the roof cladding, to abut an outermost purlin 1 2.

Fig. 3 illustrates a leaf guard according to the present invention in combination with a suitable gutter having an integral facia.

In conventional building practice, the outer ends of a line of rafters of a building are often clad with an elongated board known as a facia which serves to support a gutter for the purpose of collecting rainwater shed from the roof, as has been said. Such a gutter is usually fastened by hanging it from a series of brackets which are fastened at intervals to the facia, the brackets being, for example, simply nailed to the facia. Ideally, in such building practice, a further elongated board known as a soffit is located so as to span that space beneath the eaves defined outwardly by the facia and inwardly by the wall of the building.

Even such simple forms of construction as those above described are expensive, because of the labour costs involved in the many separate operations necessary. For example, the facia has first to be nailed in position and then the gutter brackets nailed to the facia, followed by the installation of the lengths of gutter and often the location of some form of leaf guard, as previously described. Yet another step involved is that of boxing the gutter in the case of strutures having so-called boxed eaves.

In Fig. 3 is to be seen a leafguard generally similar to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, again preferably an extruded metal section. This leaf guard has outwardly facing vertical portions 21, perforated preferably by a series of vertical slits 22, and associated sloping portions 23. The outward edge 24 of the leaf guard is bent into hooked configuration so as to engage, as before, a co-operating hooked outward edge 25 of a gutter 26.

Gutter 26 is preferably an extruded metal section, perhaps of aluminium alloy, and its inward wall 27 extends upwardly to a height beyond that of its outward wall 28. Thus inward wall 27 will be seen to constitute a facia which is attachable to the ends of a line of rafters 29 of the roof of a building. In order to enable the upper portion of facia 27 to be bent so as to accommodate various pitches of roof, there may be a notch 30 running the length of the gutter and facia 27 may be affixed to rafters 29 as by nailing, as at, say, 31.

The angled portion 32 of facia 27 extends along rafters 29 as shown, under the roof cladding, to abut an outermost purlin 33.

Towards the top of facia 27, that is to say, extended inward wall 27 of gutter 26, there is a channel element 34 which extends the length of the gutter and which has its edge bent into hooked configuration so as to engage a co-operating hooked inward edge 35 of the leaf guard.

Thus, the leaf guard may be simply sprung into firm engagement with the edge 25 and the channel 34 of gutter 26, but may just as easily be detached for occasional cleaning.

The floor portion 36 of gutter 26 is extended rearwardly, beyond the inward wall/ facia 27, to constitute a rearwardly-projecting shelf 37 upon which the outer edge of a soffit 38 may rest without the necessity of nailing it in position.

In order to accommodate soffits which may slope from the horizontal, there is provided a notch 39 which runs the length of the gutter section and which enables shelf 37 to be bent from the horizontal.

In both the above-described embodiments it is desirable, needless to say, that the roof cladding should extend outwardly beyond the inward wall of the gutter but not so far outward from the building that rainwater will be discharged other than substantially centrally into the gutter so as to pass through the leaf guard.

As has been stated, both the gutter and the leaf guard are preferably extruded metal sections, although this specification also envisages extruded sections of suitable plastics mterial and even gutters and leaf guards made of copper or galvanised iron; an ideal length for each section may well be in the order of ten feet. These ten foot sections are suitably joined together when a longer run is required.

One such system for the joining of the sectons will now be described with reference to Fig. 4 in which 40 represents a fragment of an H-section strip which may be extruded plastics material or aluminium or aluminium alloy or it may be, say, of moulded rubber.

Strip 40 has a pair of opposed bights 41 and 42 so dimensioned as to accommodate the thickness of the material of the gutter and/or j leaf guard.

The H-section 40 may be employed in strip form around the ends of gutter sections or cut into discrete sections with which to join sections of leaf guard.

When leaf-guards according to the first embodiment of the present invention are intended for application to the mouths of existing gutters, it will, of course, be desirable to make such leaf guards in a spectrum of standard sizes so as to provide a suitable range for commercial inventories.

From the abovegoing, the reader will readily appreciate that leaf guards made according to the present invention provide the public with an improved article possessing several advantages over the prior art, or at the very least, offer to it a useful and attractive choice.

Claims

1. A leaf guard adapted to be attached to a gutter so as to effectively cover the upwardly-opening mouth thereof, said leaf guard comprising an elongated member the outward edge of which is bent into hooked configuration so as to engage a co-operating hooked outward edge of said gutter, and the inward edge of which is attachable to or adjacent an inward wall of said gutter; the transverse cross-section of said leaf guard being of sawtooth profile, the substantially vertical portions of which are provided with a plurality of perforations therein, the saw-tooth profile being so oriented that each perforated, substantially vertical portion faces outwardly.

2. The leaf guard as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inward edge of said leaf guard extends upwardly to constitute a flange formed so as to be attachable to the ends of a line of rafters.

3. The leaf guard as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said perforations are formed as vertical slots.

4. The leaf guard as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, being an extruded metal or plastics section.

5. The leaf guard as claimed in any one of claims 1, 3, or 4, wherein said gutter has an inward wall which extends upwardly to a height beyond that of said outward wall so as to constitute a facia, the upper edge of which is formed so as to be attachable to the ends of a line of rafters, the inner surface of said inward wall having, towards the upper edge thereof, a channel element which extends the length of said gutter and has its outer edge bent into hooked configuration so as to engage a co-operating hooked inward edge of said leaf guard; the floor of said gutter being extended rearwardly, beyond said inward wall, to constitute a rearwardly-projecting shelf upon which the outer edge of a soffit is enabled to rest.

6. The leaf guard as claimed in claim 5, wherein said gutter is an extruded metal or plastics section.

7. A leaf guard, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

8. A leaf guard in combination with a gutter and facia, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings.