[0001] The invention relates in the first instance to a process for the construction of
a dormer window, in which a rectangular piece is sawn out of the roof boarding while
sawing through the purlins present there, along the two slanting boundaries of the
hole formed a cheek is fixed in such a way that two essentially congruent triangles
project from the roof face, between or against the cheeks a window frame is fixed,
a roof section is placed on the cheeks, and the joint round the opening in the roof
boarding is sealed.
[0002] Such a process is known from US Patent Specification 2,724,152. With such a process,
starting from a number of parts, a dormer window can be made in a sloping roof with
widely differing roof pitches. The known method is, however, relatively time-consuming:
both outer and inner cheeks have to be fitted; filler strips are necessary to bridge
a gap between the rebates in the side uprights of the frame and the trimming joists;
the bottom side of the inner cheeks must be sawn off to prevent it from projecting
underneath the trimming joists, and the outer cheeks must also be sawn to match the
inner cheeks.
[0003] The object of the invention is to simplify the fitting of a dormer window, and for
this purpose the process referred to in the preamble is characterized in that the
bottom edge of the cheeks is provided with a trimming joist which is fixed against
the sawn faces of the purlins which have been sawn through. The ends of the trimming
joists will rest with their top faces against the existing roof boarding. Tiles are
placed on the fitted roof section, preferably the tiles which lay originally on the
sawn-out piece when the roof was still whole. In principle, two cheeks, a window frame
and, if necessary, sealing strips can be supplied in one construction kit. The cheeks
are, for example, triangles with angles of 110, 50 and 20 degrees. There is no need
for the front-facing outside edges of the cheeks to stand vertically in the finished
dormer window; consequently, the construction kit with standard parts is suitable
for very differing roof pitches, for example between 30 and 50 degrees relative to
the horizontal.
[0004] In order to make one single kit of parts of a dormer window suitable for various
thicknesses of roof boarding, a groove is preferably provided in the top edge of the
trimming joists and in the bottom edge of the cheeks, and wedge pieces are slid into
opposite grooves of trimming joists and cheeks, the trimming joists are brought flush
with the bottom face of the roof boarding, and the trimming joists are fixed in this
position, the wedge pieces are fixed in a position in which the bottom edge thereof
projects slightly beyond the tile laths, the bottom edge of the cheeks being flush
with the top edge of the tile laths.
[0005] An easy, firm fixing of the trimming joists on the sawn-through purlins can be achieved
if use is made of a purlin shoe.
[0006] The front edge of the cheeks will stand more or less at an angle depending on the
pitch of the roof. In order to conceal this slanting position, a covering piece is
fixed in front of the front edge of the two cheeks.
[0007] The seal preferably consists of an elastic, deformable plastic strip folded over
the roof tiles and a strip fixed on parts of the dormer window. A suitable sealing
system is described in Dutch Patent Application 161,836. This is the so-called concealed
gutter system, which is universal for all types of imbricated roof covering.
[0008] The cheeks are preferably made of waterproof and weatherproof sheet material and
provided with a finishing layer on the inside.
[0009] The invention also relates to a construction kit provided with at least two cheeks
and a frame, a trimming joist being fitted on the bottom edge of the cheeks. The top
edge of the trimming joists and the bottom edge of the cheeks are preferably provided
with a groove, and the construction kit in that case has wedge pieces which can be
slid into opposite grooves of trimming joists and cheeks.
[0010] The kit can also have purlin shoes for fastening the sawn-through purlins to the
trimming joists, and two covering pieces to cover the front edge of the cheeks.
[0011] The invention will now be explained in greater detail with reference to the figures,
in which two embodiments are shown.
Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the constructed dormer window, seen from the inside.
Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the constructed dormer window from the outside,
in which the roof section of the dormer is left out.
Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the completed dormer window, with roof section,
but without roof tiles.
Fig. 4 shows a detail, illustrating in particular the sealing.
Fig. 5 shows a perspective view from the inside, partially in cross section, of a
variant of the dormer window according to Figs. 1 to 4.
Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of the completed dormer window according to the variant
of Fig. 5, in which a part is imagined cut away.
[0012] The first phase of the construction of a dormer window in an existing sloping roof
is to saw out of the roof boarding a rectangular piece which will serve as the roof
of the dormer window. This piece is indicated by 1 in the figures. Of course, this
piece also has the purlin parts 2a sawn out of the purlins 2 of the roof boarding.
[0013] A cheek 3 is disposed along the two sloping boundaries of the hole formed. These
cheeks are in the form of a triangle and are made of waterproof and weatherproof sheet
material, with which the inside-facing face is also finished when the construction
is complete. The bottom edge of the triangles is provided with a trimming joist 4
(see Fig. 1), which is fixed against the sawn faces of the sawn-through purlins 2
and at its ends is preferably fixed against the first purlins not damaged. The top
edge of the trimming joists is flush with the bottom face of the roof boarding.
[0014] A prefabricated window frame 5 is then placed between or against the cheeks 3 on
the existing roof boarding and fixed in a vertical position. The front-facing faces
of the cheeks need not be vertical, which means that the cheeks are suitable for a
wide range of roof pitches (for example between 30 and 50 degrees).
[0015] The sawn-out roof boarding piece 1 is placed and fixed on the cheeks 3 and the cross
girder of the frame 5. For the fastening, use is made of hinges 6 with which the top
edge of the piece 1 is connected to the roof boarding. It is not out of the question
to use another roof section instead of the sawn-out roof boarding piece.
[0016] After laying of the roof tiles on the roof and the roof boarding piece 1, the seam
round the cutout made in the roof boarding is covered with a so-called concealed gutter
construction, comprising an elastic, deformable plastic strip 7 and a covering fillet
8.
[0017] Use is preferably made of the system described in Dutch Patent Specification 161,836.
Drifting snow sealing elements can be added to this concealed gutter system. The strips
7 are folded over the roof tiles 9.
[0018] One advantage of the structure described is that a construction kit with two cheeks
and a window frame is suitable for roofs with very differing roof pitches. The triangular
cheeks with angles of, for example, 110, 50 and 20 degrees can, of course, assume
a position in which the outward-facing edges 3a of the cheeks are vertical in the
case of only one roof pitch. In the above-mentioned example this roof pitch is 40
degrees. In the case of other roof pitches these front edges 3a stand at an angle.
[0019] The original roof tiles 9 can be placed on the roof boarding 1, so that no additional
expense need be incurred for roof covering (zinc, mastic) of the roof of the dormer
window. This tile covering is also virtually maintenance-free. A neat finish is achieved
by fixing the trimming joist 4 against the sawn faces of the purlins 2.
[0020] A dormer window can be constructed in a very short time by an amateur with a minimum
of materials.
[0021] The embodiment according to Figs. 5 and 6 differs from that according to the preceding
figures in that the connection between the trimming joists 4 and the cheeks 3 is designed
in such a way that a possibility of adjustment is given. A groove is provided both
in the top edge of the trimming joists 4 and in the bottom edge of the cheeks 3, and
a wedge piece 11 is slid into each pair of opposite grooves.
[0022] The sequence of operations for producing the correct positioning of the various parts
is as follows:
[0023] First, the trimming joists 4 are fixed against the sawn faces of the purlins 2 in
such a way that the top edge of the trimming joists 4 is flush with the bottom face
of the roof boarding. This flush position is achieved by itself by making the ends
of the trimming joists grip the roof boarding. The fixing against the sawn faces can
take place by interconnecting purlin shoes 14. A wedge piece 11 is inserted into the
groove of each trimming joist to such a position that the top edge of the wedge pieces
projects about 2 cm beyond the top edge of the tile lath 15. In this position the
wedge pieces 11 are fixed by means of screws relative to the trimming joists 4; a
cheek 3 is then placed on each of the wedge pieces, one wedge piece always projecting
into a groove in the bottom face of a cheek. This bottom edge runs essentially parallel
to the fixed top edge of the relevant wedge piece and is flush with the top edge of
the tile laths. This position is also fixed with screws. The side walls can be finished
by planks 12, it being possible to dispose a piece of foam 13 between each plank 12
and the wedge piece 11.
[0024] The shoes 14 consist of an L-shaped strip with two slanting struts.
[0025] In general, the front edge of the cheeks will be slanting, which is ugly next to
the vertical frame uprights. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 6, the side uprights of the
frame are provided with an external rebate in which an edge of an L-shaped covering
piece 16 engages, concealing the front edge of the side wall 3 concerned.
[0026] The object of the wedge pieces 11 is to make the dormer window structure suitable
for roof boarding elements with thickness differences up to about 10 cm. The object
of the covering pieces 16 is to accommodate the differences in the slope of the front
edge of the cheeks which are due to differences in the pitch of the roof.
[0027] Various modifications of the constructions shown are possible within the scope of
the invention.
1. Process for the construction of a dormer window, in which a rectangular piece is
sawn out of the roof boarding while sawing through the purlins present there, along
the two slanting boundaries of the hole formed a cheek is fixed in such a way that
two essentially congruent triangles project from the roof face, between or against
the cheeks a window frame is fixed, a roof section is placed on the cheeks, and the
joint round the opening in the roof boarding is sealed, characterized in that the bottom edge of the cheeks is provided with a trimming joist which is fixed against
the sawn faces of the purlins which have been sawn through.
2. Process according to Claim 1, characterized in that a groove is provided in the top edge of the trimming joists and in the bottom edge
of the cheeks, and wedge pieces are slid into opposite grooves of trimming joists
and cheeks, the trimming joists are made flush with the bottom face of the roof boarding,
and the trimming joists are fixed in this position, the wedge pieces are fixed in
a position in which the bottom edge thereof projects slightly beyond the tile laths,
and the bottom edge of the cheeks is flush with the top edge of the tile laths.
3. Process according to Claim 2, characterized in that the sawn-through purlins are fixed to the trimming joists by means of a purlin shoe.
4. Process according to Claim 2 or 3, characterized in that a covering piece is fixed in front of the two cheeks.
5. Construction kit designed for the process according to one of the preceding claims,
provided with at least two cheeks and a frame, characterized in that the bottom edge of the cheeks (3) is provided with a trimming joist (4).
6. Construction kit according to Claim 5, characterized in that a groove is provided in the top edge of the trimming joists (4) and in the bottom
edge of the cheeks (3), and the construction kit contains wedge pieces (11) which
can be pushed into opposite grooves of trimming joists and cheeks.
7. Construction kit according to Claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the kit has purlin shoes (14) for fixing the sawn-through purlins to the trimming
joists.
8. Construction kit according to one of Claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the kit has two covering pieces (15) for covering the front edge of the cheeks (3).