Composite Material Roofing Structure

Abstract

The present invention is a composition for making high quality, mold resistant, water proof building products. The composition from which these products are formed is a mixture of various polyethylene or polypropylene materials, in conjunction with fillers which may comprise recycled rubber products such as ethylene propylene-diene monomers, and styrene butadiene rubber, or mineral fillers to achieve a different feel and texture to the formulation without compromising the integrity of the product. This is achieved by altering the melt and amount of the high and/or low density polyethylene or polypropylene in the mix to end up with the correct material integrity. Colorants may be additionally be added to the mixture prior to final molding. This composition allows for products to be made that resemble traditional building products, but with a higher performance level that are also recyclable in their entirety.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to building components, such as roofing elements, and more particularly to building components that are formed of specified combinations of synthetic materials to simulate building components formed from natural materials and to enhance the desirable properties of the building components.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]In the art of building components such as roofing with tiles constructed of natural materials, it has been known for many years to roof tiles with natural slates. Such slates, derived from quarries, are cut to size, drilled or punched with nail holes, and applied to roofs in a conventional manner. However, such natural slates, while providing for roofs for many years, often 50-100 years, generally require a basic supporting roof structure capable of withstanding great amounts of weight, such as on the order of 2,000 lbs. per square, with a square being a 10 feet by 10 feet area of a roof.[0003]Synthetic produc...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]According to one aspect of the present invention, a one-piece building component, such as a roofing element, is provided that is formed of a molded synthetic material so as to simulate a natural appearing element, with the building component composition including various materials selected to provide various benefits to the building component. The composition for the building component is formed of a polymeric resin combined with a binder. The presence of the binder allows for the manipulation of the properties of the polymeric resin, especially in the case of recycled polymeric resins, and the resulting building component, in manner that improves the ability to process the resin to form a building component using various molding techniques. These property benefits include increased mold resistance, fire retardency, increased wind resistance, increased impact resistance, and appearance.

[0009]According to another aspect of the present invention, the binder utilized in the composition of the roofing element enables the composition for the building component to be formed with synthetic components that can be obtained from scrap or other recycled materials. Also, the use of these materials and the binder renders the roofing component itself entirely recyclable for forming additional building components The primary materials used in forming the roofing tiles include polymeric resins or plastics of various types, such as polypropylene, giving the composition a large amount of flexibility when processing the composition into the desired roofing element. The additional components of the composition are then added to this initial starting material and subsequently formed into the building component with the desired shape, color and size.

Problems solved by technology

However, these synthetic building components are either very heavy, or if weight is a consideration, rather thin, when constructed thinner than natural slate or other natural roofing tiles, in order to reduce the weight required.

However, such prior art synthetic products either have not adequately simulated the natural materials in either appearance or desirable impact, wear and fire resistance properties, or have not been constructed in a manner that enables the building components to be made with recycled materials, which are becoming more and more prevalent with the continued usage of these types of materials.

Most of the synthetic materials used to form the building components have a large carbon footprint, e.g., due to the extra energy used to form the material and in its processing into the building components.

Further, because prior art building components are formed exclusively from virgin materials, as the reuse of the materials results in significant degradation of the properties of the materials, the inability to use any forms of recycled materials does not make the formation of prior art synthetic building components environmentally friendly.