[0001] The present invention relates to roof flashing and in particular to a method and
apparatus for flashing rooves around vent pipes and the like, to form a weather seal
where such pipes pass through a roof.
[0002] Conventionally such flashing is achieved using a sheet of malleable material, usually
lead, through which a hole is made for the pipe. The edge of the material around the
hole is "dressed" in an upwardly extending sleeve using a dressing tool so as to fit
closely around the pipe and the sheet of material is located in a roof to replace
one or more roof tiles. Once the sheet is in position with the pipe passing therethrough
a weather apron is affixed to the pipe. In more recent times the pipe and weather
apron are made from PVC and affixed using a solvent cement whereas previously the
pipe and weather apron were generally formed from galvanized iron and were affixed
by soldering.
[0003] A problem with the aforementioned conventional method is that they are relatively
expensive both in materials and labour. The lead sheet needs to be 14.66 kg/m
2 lead in order to provide enough material for dressing and is therefore relatively
expensive to purchase. Furthermore, it is time consuming to perform the dressing operation
and a special tool is required.
[0004] Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved method and
apparatus for flashing rooves around vent pipes and the like, which avoids or at least
reduces the aforementioned problem of conventional methods.
[0005] The invention therefore provides apparatus for flashing rooves around vent pipes
or the like wherein a relatively thin sheet of material is adapted to surround said
vent pipe or the like and form part of the roof, said sheet being provided, in use,
with a hole through which said pipe passes, characterized in that, said apparatus
includes an inner sleeve member adapted to fit over said pipe and pass through said
hole and having an annular flange for engaging the underside of said sheet, an outer
sleeve member of similar shape to said inner sleeve member and adapted to fit over
said inner sleeve member, said outer sleeve member having an annular flange for engaging
the upper side of said sheet, and a locking cap adapted for attachment to an upper
end of said inner sleeve member in a manner applying a force on an upper end of said
outer sleeve so as to force said respective flanges towards each other in a manner
clamping said sheet therebetween.
[0006] In order that the invention may be more readily understood, one particular embodiment
will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein the sole
Fig.. is a sectional side elevation of an apparatus for flashing rooves around vent
pipes.
[0007] In the drawing, there is shown part of a vent pipe 10 in the area where it would
pass through a roof surface. The apparatus for flashing the roof includes a thin aluminium
sheet 11 which is used to replace a concrete or ceramic roof tile in the same manner
as a lead sheet used in the past. The aluminium sheet is provided with a hole already
cut therethrough although in an alternative the hole is cut on site. The purpose of
the hole is to facilitate passage of the vent pipe 10. Before locating the aluminium
sheet in position in the roof, an inner sleeve member 12 is slid over the vent pipe
10 such that a flange 13 thereon will be located against the underside of the aluminium
sheet 11. The aluminium sheet 11 is then placed in position and an annular rubber
washer 15 is placed over the inner sleeve member 12 and slid downwardly to rest on
the top of the aluminium sheet 11. Once the rubber washer 15 is placed in position
an outer sleeve member 16 is slid downwardly over the inner sleeve member 12 such
that a flange 17 thereon bears against the rubber washer 15.
[0008] When both sleeve members 12 and 16 are in position a locking cap 18 is slid downwardly
over the vent pipe 10 and is threadably engaged with the upper end of the inner sleeve
member 12. The locking cap 18 has a downwardly depending annular groove around the
outer perimeter thereof for engaging the upper end of the outer sleeve member 16.
By rotating the locking cap onto the inner sleeve member 12, the annular groove causes
the locking cap to apply a downward force on the outer sleeve member 16 forcing the
flange thereof towards the flange 13 of the inner sleeve member 12. The result is
that the rubber washer 15 is forced against the aluminium sheet to provide a good
weather seal.
[0009] It will be noted from the drawing that the flanges 13 and 17 are inclined with respect
to the longitudinal axis of the respective sleeve members. According to this embodiment
the angle of inclination is about 25° as this is considered a good compromise for
enabling the apparatus to be used on most rooves. Generally the angle of inclination
of a roof is somewhere between about 17° and about 35° and an angle of 25
0 inclination of the flanges enables the apparatus to be used in such a range of rooves
because the aluminium sheet 10 is able to flex sufficiently to account for any variation
in angle of inclination between the flanges and the actual roof.
[0010] Whilst the locking cap 18 may be a closefit over the vent pipe 10, it is necessary
to provide a weather seal to prevent any water which runs down the vent pipe 10 from
entering the underside of the roof. Thus a neoprene weather apron 19 is provided for
this purpose. The weather apron 19 resiliently engages the outer surface of the vent
pipe 10 and is slid downwardly thereover to a position where a downwardly depending
skirt 20 of the apron 19 is over the locking cap 18 and thus protects the upper ends
of the sleeve members 12 and 16 from the ingress of water. The weather apron 19 may
be provided without a hole to accommodate the vent pipe 10 and such a hole may be
cut on site by the user. This enables a common apron 19 to be used for a range of
pipe sizes within certain limitations.
[0011] The apparatus of the above described embodiment is formed essentially from PVC. In
other words, both the inner and outer sleeve members 12 and the locking cap 18 are
of PVC whilst the other components are formed from the materials previously indicated.
Since vent pipes are of varying sizes it is necessary to provide different kits of
apparatus to take into account the wide variation in vent pipe sizes. The aluminium
sheet 11 may be provided with a hole therethrough which accounts for various sizes
of vent pipes provided the variation is not too great. Alternatively, as mentioned
above the hole may be cut on site as with the weather apron 19 in which case one particular
kit can be used for various pipe sizes at least within the range of variation which
occurs between galvanized iron PVC and copper pipes of the same nominal diameter.
Similarly, the rubber washer 15 may be provided in a size which is suitable for various
sizes of vent pipe 10.
[0012] Whilst one particular embodiment has been described above, it is conceivable that
variations may be readily effected without departing from the scope of the invention.
For example, the neoprene weather apron 19 may be a more conventional PVC weather
apron as has been used in the past although such is only suitable for PVC vent pipes
and must be the exact size for the pipe. As another example, the locking cap 18 may
be attached to the inner sleeve member 12 by means other than a screw attachment such
as for example a clip-on attachment although at the present time a screw attachment
is preferred.
[0013] It should be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art that the present invention
has considerable advantages over the existing apparatus for flashing rooves. Whilst
a number of components are involved, the overall cost of materials is considerably
less than the cost of a lead sheet as previously used. Furthermore, since installation
of the apparatus is much quicker and easier than with the prior apparatus due to the
fact that it is not necessary to use a special tool to dress the lead sheet the time
involved in installation is far less. Thus, the savings in material and labour create
a considerable saving in the overall cost of flashing a roof around a vent pipe or
the like. Whilst the above described embodiment utilizes an aluminium sheet a 9.77
kg /m
2 or even 4.88kg/m
2 lead sheet could be utilized since it is not necessary to dress or form the sheet
up around the pipe and therefore the extra material of a 14.66 kg/m
2 sheet is not required. Of course an aluminium sheet is far less expensive than even
the lighter weight lead sheets and is thus preferred.
[0014] Since it is envisaged that the apparatus will be sold in kit form it is conceivable
that only the inner and outer sleeves 12 and 16 and the locking cap 18 will be provided
along with perhaps the rubber washer 15. The remainder of the apparatus, that is,
the sheet of material 11 and the wheather apron 19 is apparatus which is generally
used by plumbers for other purposes and is readily on hand. Thus for convenience in
packaging at least the sheet 11 would probably be omitted from the kit although in
some instances the weather apron 19 may be included. According to another modification
a second rubber washer similar to the washer 15 may be provided for insertion on the
underside of the sheet 11 between the sheet and the flange 13 of the inner sleeve
12 although in most cases the need for this further washer is felt to be unjustifiable.
1. Apparatus for flashing rooves around vent pipes or the like wherein a relatively
thin sheet of material is adapted to surround said vent pipe or the like and form
part of the roof, said sheet being provided, in use, with a hole through which said
pipe passes, characterized in that, said apparatus includes an inner sleeve member
(12) adapted to fit over said pipe and pass through said hole and having an annular
flange (13) for engaging the underside of said sheet (11), an outer sleeve member
(16) of similar shape to said inner sleeve member (12) and adapted to fit over said
inner sleeve member (12), said outer sleeve member (16) having an annular flange (17)
for engaging the upper side of said sheet and a locking cap (18) adapted for attachment
to an upper end of said inner sleeve member (12) in a manner applying a force on an
upper end of said outer sleeve so as to force said respective flanges towards each
other in a manner clamping said sheet (11) therebetween.
2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, it further includes an annular
sealing washer (15) for location between said sheet (11) and said flange (17) of said
outer sleeve member (16) to provide a waterproof seal when said apparatus is assembled.
3. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, it further includes a weather
apron (19) adapted to fit sealingly around said pipe (10) and having a downwardly
depending skirt (20) for covering the upper ends of said sleeves (12,16) and said
locking cap (18).
4. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, said attachment of said
locking cap (18) to said upper end of said inner sleeve member (12) is a screw thread
arrangement which enables said cap (18) to be tightened to bear down on said upper
end of said outer sleeve (16) for applying said force, said cap having a downwardly
directed annular recess for accommodating said upper end of said outer sleeve (16).
5. Apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that, said flanges (13,17) are
inclined at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the respective sleeves (12, 16) so
as to conform more or less with the slope angle of an inclined roof.
6. Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that, said thin sheet of material
is aluminium sheet.
7. Apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that, said weather apron is formed
of neoprene and has a conical portion through which a hole is made to accommodate
said pipe (10), said hole being of a slightly smaller diameter than the outside diameter
of said pipe (10) whereby said apron resiliently engages said pipe (10), said skirt
(20) depending from said conical portion.