Roofing system, roof panel therefor, and method of assembling a roof

Abstract

This invention relates to a roofing system, to a roof panel therefor, and to a method of assembling a roof. According to the invention, there is provided a roofing system for a building, the building having four walls, an opposed two of the walls including gable means, the roofing system comprising a number of roof panels which can span the distance between the gable means and be supported thereby and a number of intermediate panels which cannot span the distance between the gable means, the roof panels and the intermediate panels having cooperating surfaces whereby the intermediate panels can be supported by the roof panels. The use of intermediate panels allows the installation of windows into the roof.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates to a roofing system, to a roof panel therefor, and to a method of assembling a roof. The invention is expected to find its greatest utility in relation to roofs for domestic dwellings, and the following description therefore relates to such use. It may, however, be that the invention also has utility in relation to commercial or industrial buildings and such applications are not excluded. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART [0002] Domestic dwellings can have flat roofs or pitched roofs; the invention relates to the latter. A pitched roof is traditionally created by a number of roof trusses comprising wooden frames (typically pre-fabricated) which are set upon the brick or timber-frame walls of the building. A layer of waterproofing material is laid over the trusses and battens are mounted thereupon which support the tiles or other outermost roof covering. [0003] The trusses are usually of general triangular shape, with a horizontal (in u...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014] It is an object of the present invention to provide a roofing system, and roof panels therefor, which avoids or reduces the above-stated problems with the Unilin type of construction technique. The present invention utilises r

Problems solved by technology

It is a recognised disadvantage of such truss designs that the intermediate members cause obstructions within the loft space, and render the loft space substantially unusable as living accommodation.

However, attic trusses are heavier than traditional trusses and are difficult to handle on site.

Another significant factor for house builders is the cost of materials and labour used in building domestic dwellings, particularly low-cost domestic dwellings.

Whilst the attic trusses allow a home with a given number of bedrooms to be constructed on a smaller ground area, and therefore at greater density, the materials and labour costs of construction are high.

It is a recognised disadvantage of this type of construction that the intermediate purlins lie within the loft space.

Because of the considerable weight of the roof panels, and the snow load they must be designed to withstand, the purlins are necessarily of large cross-section, and so present a sig

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