GB2214538A - A batten holder and roof valley employing a batten holder - Google Patents

Abstract

A batten holder 1 for supporting the ends of roofing battens has a substantially constant C-shaped cross-section with one limb of the C being longer than the other two. The holder comprises a lower wall 4 providing the longer limb, an upper wall 2 providing the shorter limb and a back wall 3 that joins the upper and lower walls together. A channel is defined by the lower, upper and back walls. <IMAGE>

Description

A batten holder and a roof valley employing a batten holder The invention relates to a batten holder, to a method of constructing a roof valley employing such a batten holder, to a pitched roof incorporating such a valley, and to a method of constructing such a roof.

In a typical construction of a pitched roof, rafters are provided to support the weight of the roof, the rafters being fixed at the upper ends to a ridge beam and at the lower end to a lower beam. A layer of roofing felt may be fixed over the rafters, and roofing battens are then positioned across the rafters at intervals and nailed into position. Tiles are then fixed to the battens to complete the roof.

Where a first portion of the building is at an angle to a second portion of the building the roof may be arranged such that the rafters of the first portion of the roof meet the rafters of the second portion of the roof in a valley that runs from the point where the two ridge beams meet to the point where the two lower beams meet. A valley gutter is then constructed to carry water that flows into the valley. Where roofing battens meet the valley gutter they are usually cut at an angle to lie flush with the side edge of the valley and nailed to a valley board through the thin portion of the angled end to prevent the end from moving. As a result the ends of the roofing battens often split and subsequently deteriorate rendering them inadequate to support sufficiently the weight of the roofing material.

To reduce the possibility of damage to the roofing battens it has been proposed that a short piece of wood (a noggin) should be nailed to the underside of the valley gutter so that it protrudes beyond the side edge of the gutter; the end of the roofing batten then lies on top of the protruding part and is nailed to it.

That process does reduce the possibility of damage but is rarely put into practice because it is difficult and time consuming, and still leaves some risk of the roofing batten being split as a result of being nailed and inadequately supported from below.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a batten holder and a method of construction that allows the roofing battens at the valley to be supported and fixed in position without it being necessary to nail the ends of the battens or fix noggins to support the ends of the battens.

The present invention provides a batten holder for supporting the ends of roofing battens, the batten holder having a substantially constant C-shaped cross section with one limb of the C being longer than the other, the holder comprising a lower wall providing the longer limb, an upper wall providing the shorter limb and a back wall that joins the upper and lower walls together, a channel being defined by the lower, upper and back walls. In use, the lower wall of the batten holder supports the ends of the roofing battens while the upper wall restricts upward movement of the battens and the back wall prevents movement of the batten down the roof.

The extension of the lower wall beyond the upper wall can facilitate fastening of the batten holder to the roof.

Advantageously, the batten holder is provided with a plurality of cuts that define tangs. The tangs may then be pressed downwards into the battens to inhibit or prevent the movement of battens.

Preferably, the lower wall of the batten holder is provided with a plurality of openings disposed on a part of the lower wall that lies outside the channel.

The openings may be used for fixing, for example by nailing, the batten holder in place.

The back wall of the batten holder may be perpendicular to the upper wall and to the lower wall.

The present invention also provides a batten holder as defined above and one or more battens, one end of the or each batten being received in the channel.

The invention also provides a method of fixing one or more batten ends in which a batten holder as defined above is fixed in position and one end of the or each batten is inserted into the channel of the fixed batten holder.

The invention also provides a method of constructing a valley between a first and a second portion of a roof comprising the steps of fixing rafters to the first and second portions of the roof such that a valley is formed where the rafters of the first portion of the roof meet the rafters of the second portion of the roof, fixing a batten holder in the valley, the batten holder comprising a lower wall supported on some of the rafters and a back wall, and fixing roofing battens to at least some of the rafters with ends of the battens supported by the batten holder.

In such a method the ends of the roofing battens are fully supported by the batten holder without it being necessary to provide any additional fixing of them.

A valley gutter may be constructed by fixing a first valley board so that it forms one side of the gutter and a second valley board so that if forms the other side of the valley gutter.

The batten holder may be fixed directly to rafters on which it is supported.

Preferably, the ends of the roofing battens that are supported by the lower wall of the batten holder are shaped such that they lie flush with the back wall of the batten holder.

Advantageously, the batten holder employed in the method of the invention is provided with an upper wall and the ends of the roofing battens are arranged such that they lie below the upper wall. As already mentioned, the upper wall serves to restrict upward movement of the batten ends. Preferably, the upper wall is provided with a plurality of cuts that define tangs and some of the tangs are bent downwards onto the roofing battens to inhibit movement of the roofing battens.

The invention further provides a roof having a valley constructed by the method described above.

One form of batten and one method of construction in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the following drawings, in which: Fig. la is a view of the valley batten from one end; Fig. lb is a plan of the valley batten; Fig. lc is a side view of the valley batten; Fig. ld is a view of the valley batten from below; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a roof on which a valley is to be constructed; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the roof having a partially constructed valley; Fig. 4 is a vertical section on a line perpen dicular to the ridge beam of a main portion of the roof, the roof having a valley that has been constructed; Fig. 5 is a vertical section along line V-V of Fig. 4; Fig. 6a is a plan view of the valley batten with roofing battens in place; and Fig. 6b is a view of the valley batten and roofing battens from one end of the valley batten.

Referring to Figs. la to ld, the batten holder, which is indicated generally by the reference numeral 1, comprises a narrow upper wall 2, a back wall 3 and a broad lower wall 4 so arranged that the cross section of the batten in generally C-shaped with an extended lower limb. The upper and lower walls 2, 4 are parallel to each other and a channel is formed between them.

The narrow upper wall 2 is provided with U-shaped cuts that define tangs 5 spaced at intervals along its length. The tangs 5 can be bent so that they protrude into the channel. The height of the back wall 3 is greater than the length of the tangs 5. The lower wall 4 is perforated near its outer edge with two staggered rows of holes 6.

Fig. 2 shows a building having a main part 7 and a wing 8 that lies at right angles to the main part. The roof of the main part 7 has a ridge beam 9, lower beam 10 and rafters 11 and the roof of the wing 8 has a ridge beam 12 and lower beam 13.

To construct a valley, a plank 14 is nailed to the rafters 11 along the line where the rafters of the wing will meet the rafters 11 of the main part, that is to say along the line joining the point where the ridge beams 9 and 12 meet to the point where the lower beams 10 and 13 meet.

Referring to Fig. 3, rafters 15 of the wing 8 are fixed at their upper ends to the ridge beam 12 and at their lower ends either to the lower beam 13 or in the valley to the plank 14.

A valley gutter is then constructed by nailing a first valley board 16 over the lower ends of the wing rafters 15 that are fixed to the plank 14 to form one side of the gutter and a second valley board 17 to the main rafters 10 such that it abuts the first valley board and forms the other side of the gutter. The valley boards 16, 17 slope downwards towards each other and extend from the ridge beams 9, 12 to the lower beams 10, 13 as shown in Fig. 4. A layer of roofing felt (not shown) is then nailed over the rafters 10, 15.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, two batten holders 1 are then placed one on each side of the valley so that the back wall 3 of each batten holder abuts the outer face of the respective valley board 16 or 17, and the mouths of the channels face away from the valley. Each batten holder 1 is fixed to the respective rafters 10, 15 by nails or other fasteners that pass through appropriate ones of the holes 6 into the rafters.

Roofing battens 18 are then nailed to the rafters 10, 15 such that they lie at right angles to the rafters to which they are fixed. Where the roofing battens 18 meet the valley boards 16 or 17 their ends are cut such that they lie in the channel of the batten holder 1 abutting the back wall 3, as shown in Figs. 6a and 6b. Some of the tangs 5 are then pressed downwards into the roofing battens 18 to inhibit the movement of the roofing battens along the channel.

The tangs 5 are optional; where movement along the channel is not a problem the tangs and the upper wall 2 may be omitted. However, if it is undesirable that the ends of the roofing battens 18 move upwards the upper wall 2 should be retained.

The batten holder 1 can be attached to the roof in a wide variety of ways, for example, by nails or staples that pass through the lower wall 4. Thus the holes 6 are not essential; the lower wall 4 could have no perforations or could be provided with any shape of opening (for example slits that extend from the outer edge of the lower wall towards the channel). The holes need not, of course, be arranged in two staggered rows.

Batten holders 1 may be used with roof valleys of other constructions for example, valleys where the rafters of both the first and second parts of the roof are supported at their lower ends by a valley joist that extends from the junction of the ridge beams 9 and 12 to the junction of the lower beams 10 and 13. The batten holders 1 may also be used with prefabricated roof trusses or where no ridge boards or valley boards are used.

Indeed the batten holders 1 may be used in any method of construction where a support surface of the type provided by the lower wall of the batten holder is required for the ends or edges of battens or other members that it would be undesirable or difficult to fix by conventional methods. Thus, the batten holders may be used to facilitate the construction of a gable, a dormer window or the like.

Furthermore, although the batten holder is primarily designed for use in roofing work, it may be of value in other applications where batten ends are to be fixed. Examples of other possible applications are dry lining and cladding.

Claims (16)

Claims:-

1. A batten holder for supporting the ends of roofing battens, the batten holder having a substantially constant C-shaped cross section with one limb of the C being longer than the other, the holder comprising a lower wall providing the longer limb, an upper wall providing the shorter limb and a back wall that joins the upper and lower walls together, a channel being defined by the lower, upper and back walls.

2. A batten holder as claimed in claim 1 wherein the upper wall is provided with a plurality of cuts that define tangs.

3. A batten holder as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the lower wall is provided with a plurality of openings disposed on a part of the lower wall that lies outside the channel.

4. A batten holder as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the back wall is perpendicular to the upper wall and to the lower wall.

5. A batten holder as claimed in any preceding claim and one or more battens, one end of the or each batten being received in the channel.

6. A roof structure including a batten holder and one or more battens as claimed in claim 5.

7. A method of fixing one or more batten ends, in which a batten holder as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 is fixed in position and one end of the or each batten is inserted into the channel of the fixed batten holder.

8. A method of constructing a valley between a first and a second portion of a roof comprising the steps of fixing rafters to the first and second portions of the roof such that a valley is formed where the rafters of the first portion of the roof meet the rafters of the second portion of the roof, fixing a batten holder in the valley, the batten holder comprising a lower wall supported on some of the rafters and a back wall, and fixing roofing battens to at least some of the rafters with ends of the battens supported by the batten holder.

9. A method of constructing a valley as claimed in claim 8 wherein a valley gutter is constructed by fixing a first valley board so that it forms one side of the gutter and a second valley board so that it forms the other side of the valley gutter.

10. A method of constructing a valley as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9 wherein the batten holder is fixed directly to rafters on which it is supported.

11. A method of constructing a valley as claimed in any of claims 8 to 10 wherein the ends of the roofing battens that are supported by the lower wall of the batten holder are shaped such that they lie flush with the back wall of the batten holder.

12. A method of constructing a valley as claimed in any of claims 8 to 11 wherein the batten holder is provided with an upper wall and the ends of the roofing battens are arranged such that they lie below the upper wall.

13. A method of constructing a valley as claimed in claim 12 wherein the upper wall is provided with a plurality of cuts that define tangs and some of the tangs are bent downwards onto the roofing battens to inhibit movement of the roofing battens along the valley.

14. A roof having a valley constructed by the method claimed in any one of claims 8 to 13.

15. A batten holder as herein described with reference to and a shown in Figs. 1, 4, 5, and 6 of the accompanying drawings.

16. A method of constructing a valley as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figs. 2 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.