1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a ventilation system for covering an opening along the ridge of a roof. More specifically, this invention relates to a roof ridge vent assembly including vent panels placed end-to-end over the ridge of a roof to allow for ventilation of air through the ridge.
2. Description of the Related Art
Roof ridge ventilators are commonly installed over an opening along the length of a building at the ridge of the roof in order to reduce the heat that builds up in the space below the roof or in the attic. Ridge ventilators allow naturally rising hot air to escape the attic through an elongated ridgeline opening within the roof decking. The elongated ridgeline opening is typically formed by making two elongated cuts in the roof deck, each cut substantially parallel to the ridge, the cuts being on opposite sides of the ridge. Generally, ventilation helps to prevent degradation of the roof structure, and reduces the accumulation of condensation in the insulating material covering the floor of the attic. Additionally, ridge ventilators increase the efficiency of cooling the building covered by the roof, and accordingly reduce the cooling costs and other problems associated with such heat. In particular, ridge ventilators can assist in the expulsion of hot gases that are produced in living areas of the building (e.g., from dishwashers, heaters and other household appliances), rise and permeate through the ceiling and insulation material into the attic space. In addition, ridge vent systems are installed to meet net free vent area (NFVA) requirements included in building codes. Ridge vent systems also desirably prevent rain, snow, insects, vermin and other debris from entering through the opening along the ridge, while providing for the free flow of air to and from the interior of the building.
Early ridge vents included corrugated covers attached to the roof over the ridge opening, with traditional ridge cap shingling secured over the covers. However, this construction can be costly and not easily adaptable to accommodate various roof pitches. Moreover, the earlier ridge vents typically were not durable and did not allow adequate air flow. The most common recent designs include molded plastic vent sections attached to the roof end-to-end to span the entire opening along the ridge. The vent sections are typically plastic center panels flanked along either edge with a row of ventilation slots. The plastic center panels are typically laterally flexible to conform to the apex of particular roofs with various pitches. The plastic center panel is also typically held a short distance above the roof by support structures that define a space between the panels and the roof. After the ridge vents are installed, a ridge cap shingling is fixed over the top surface of the ridge vent sections, using well-known shingles such as asphalt composition shingles.
According to one embodiment, a ridge vent covers an opening at a ridge of a roof. The ridge vent includes an elongated panel with two opposed lateral edges. The ridge vent also includes a pair of elongated sidewalls each extending downward from one of the lateral edges. The ridge vent also includes a pair of elongated floor portions each extending outward from one of the sidewalls, each floor portion having an underside. The ridge vent also includes a sealant on the underside of at least a part of each floor portion to improve the seal between the floor portions and the roof.
According to another embodiment, a ridge ventilation system includes a plurality of ridge vent sections configured to be arranged end-to-end over an open ridge of a roof. Each of the ridge vent sections has a laterally flexible panel having two opposed lateral edges and two opposed ends. Each of the ridge vent sections also has a pair of sidewalls extending downward from each respective lateral edge. Each of the ridge vent sections also has a pair of sidewalls extending downward from each respective lateral edge. Each of the ridge vent sections also has a pair of floor portions extending outward from each respective sidewall, each floor portion having an underside. Each of the ridge vent sections also has a pair of baffles extending upward from each respective floor portion. Each of the ridge vent sections also has a weather strip on an underside of each floor portion to improve the seal between the floor portions and the roof.
For purposes of summarizing the invention and the advantages achieved over the prior art, certain objects and advantages of the invention have been described above and as further described below. Of course, it is to be understood that not necessarily all such objects or advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other objects or advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.
All of these embodiments are intended to be within the scope of the invention herein disclosed. These and other embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments having reference to the attached figures, the invention not being limited to any particular preferred embodiment(s) disclosed.
While modern ridge vent systems are an improvement over early ridge vents, there are still many shortcomings inherent in their designs. One problem of the prior art is that since the individual vent sections that form the long ridge ventilation system are simply nailed to the roof one at a time from the top of the ridge vent, a perfect seal is not guaranteed between the bottom of the sides of the vent sections and the surface of the roof along the entire ridge. Moreover, the ridge vent is typically nailed over a roofing material (e.g., composition shingles) which lies over plywood sheathing. Many roofing materials have a rough and/or uneven surface involving different heights along the top surface of the roof. Even roofing materials with flatter surfaces may be covered by granules or other materials that give a granulated texture. Accordingly, the textured or granulated surfaces of the roofing materials present the problem of gaps between the roof surface and the bottom attachment surface of the ridge vent after the vent sections are nailed over the ridge.
A ridge vent section is typically provided immediately above the uneven surface of the roofing material, without a sealant therebetween. The lack of a seal between the ridge vent and the roof is undesirable because it permits leakage caused, for example, by wind-driven rain or snow.
Thus, there is a need for an improved ridge vent system that addresses and solves the problems associated with current systems. It is desirable for such an improved system to eliminate the leakage of water, wind, debris and insects between the edges of the vent sections and the roof and to further improve the shingling of ridge caps over the entire roof ridge.
Ridge vent 10 can vary in thickness and width as desired, but preferably, the central panel portion 12 is sufficiently thin and laterally flexible across its width in order to bend over the apex of the ridge 28. In some embodiments the flexible central portion may be slightly thinner in thickness than the rest of vent section to allow lateral flexing of the central portion over the apex of a roof to accommodate various roof pitches. In other embodiments, the ridge vent 10 can be integrally scored (not illustrated) to assist in further flexing, in a single line or several lines running longitudinally along the entire length of the center panel portion 12 or any portion thereof.
Ridge vent 10 may be formed from a single sheet of flexible plastic or the like to a predetermined length and width. According to one embodiment, each ridge vent 10 is approximately 4 feet in length along lateral edges 14 and 16, and approximately one to one and a half feet in width along end portions 18 and 20. Although ridge vent 10 may be of any suitable length and width, the above dimensions are preferred in order to accommodate a variety of building sizes and for convenience of use, assembly and manufacture.
Ridge vent 10 is preferably injection-molded as a single piece of plastic from polymeric materials well known in the art, including but not limited to, for example, high-density linear polymers such as polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, and copolymers thereof. Recycled polymeric materials can also be used. Ridge vent 10 may also be formed by any of the above along with U.V. inhibitors to resist degradation from ultraviolet radiation exposure. A suitable material for the U.V. inhibitor would be carbon black or a U.V. stabilizer as readily available to those skilled in the art. The ridge vent 10 material is chosen based on its cost, ease of manufacture and effective resistance to warping and wear due to weather.
Building roof 30 may comprise a plurality of cross-beams or rafters 32 joined to form the structural support for building roof 30, with decking panels 34 laid over in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. The plurality of decking panels 34 is typically referred to as a roof deck (also referred to herein by reference numeral 34). Skilled artisans will recognize that a roof deck can be formed of materials other than wood, such as steel. While the illustrated embodiment shows a roof deck comprising two layers of panels 34, it will be understood that the roof deck can alternatively be formed with only one layer of panels 34, or with more than two such layers. The decking panels 34 are covered with a layer of cover elements, such as shingles or a composition roofing material 36 nailed to decking panels 34 using well-known roofing nails (not shown). The decking panels 34 and the overlying shingles or composition roofing material 36 do not completely cover the roof 30, except for at the very ends of the ridge. Between the ends, an elongated ridgeline opening is cut out of the roof deck 34.
According to other embodiments, the ridge vent 10 may be installed over roofs without a deck or decking panels. As known in the art, in place of a deck such a roof can include a row of parallel rafters arranged perpendicular to the ridge of the roof, and a row of counter battens overlying and perpendicular to the rafters. Shingles, tiles or slates as known in the art can then be secured over the battens to form the exterior surface of the roof. The ridge vent 10 may be installed over the uppermost shingles at the peak of the roof.
Nail lines 40 and 42 and a plurality of nail holes 38 running parallel to edges 14 and 16 are formed along a topside 22 of the ridge vent 10 for facilitating installation. A plurality of nails (not shown) are respectively inserted through nail holes 38 molded into the central panel 12 in intervals along the longitudinal length of ridge vent 10 for securing the vent 10 to the roof. The nails are then pounded into the underlying decking panels 34 using a hammer or the like to secure each ridge vent 10 to the roof 30. A plurality of ridge cap or ‘capping’ shingles 44 can then be placed over the ridge vent 10 as shown in
When attached to a roof, the central panel 12 is held a predetermined distance above the roof by end caps that extend from the underside 24 of the panel 12 at opposite ends 18 and 20 of ridge vent 10. Referring to
As shown in
Adjacent to the bases of the sidewalls 48 and 50 respectively are floor portions 55 and 57 that form floors of drain portions or “troughs” 56 and 58 on opposite sides of central panel 12 and which run along the entire length of ridge vent 10. As shown in
The water collected in the troughs 56, 58 is allowed to drain away through drain openings 60, or weep holes, as shown in
As shown in the bottom and top views of
According to an embodiment, barriers to prevent water from entering through drain openings 60 can be provided by closing off a number of vent slots 54. As shown in
Wind baffles 62 and 64 have been found to generate relatively low pressure regions over the vent slots 54 inside troughs 56, 58, when even gentle breezes blow across a roof. As the external wind hits the vertical walls of wind baffles 62 and 64, it is deflected upward towards the peak of the roof and the ‘Bernoulli effect’ is thereby induced. That is, as the wind passes over the vent slots 54, areas of lower pressure are created in the troughs and the lower pressure regions draw air out from the attic through the vent slots 54. Wind baffles 62 and 64 thus significantly enhance the air flow through the open ridge 28 of the roof 30 to improve ventilation of the attic.
As shown in
As shown in the cross sectional view of
It is also noted that an optional screen or filter may be positioned below the underside 24 of ridge vent 10, and extending to each of the inner surfaces of sidewalls 48, 50, to provide additional protection against snow, rain, insects, vermin and the like from entering the building. Although the filter can be made of many materials, it is preferably porous enough to enable sufficient air to flow from the attic to the outside ambient. The screen or filter material may be a wire mesh, fiberglass material, foam, sponge, and the like. The screen or filter may also comprise several different portions adhesively fixed to the ridge vent 10 at one or more locations along the underside 24 of ridge vent 10 to form a single combined unit. Alternatively, the screen or filter can be provided separately and secured between the central panel portion 12 of the ridge vent 10 and the roof 30 during installation by being simultaneously nailed to the decking panels 34.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the ridge vent 10 includes a sealing portion such as a weather strip, sealant, adhesive, or other similar barrier 72, 74 (hereinafter referred to as “weather strip”) fixed to the undersides of at least a part of the drain troughs 56 and 58. The weather strip 72, 74 may be fixed to the undersides continuously or intermittently from one end of the vent to the other. As shown in
Weather strip 72, 74 may have a uniform thickness along the underside of the trough 56, 58. According to embodiments of the invention, the thickness of the uniform weather strip 72, 74 can be in the range of about 1/16 inch to about 2 inches at the underside of trough 56, 58. Alternatively, the thickness of the weather strip 72, 74 can vary along the width thereof, and need not be uniform across the underside of troughs 56 and 58. For example, the thickness of the weather strip 72, 74 may vary from a first edge on the underside of the sidewall 48, 50, or any location on the underside of the trough 56, 58, to a second edge on the underside of the baffle 62, 64, or any location on the underside of the trough 56, 58. In the illustrated embodiment, the thickness of the strip 72, 74 is shown to increase from its inner edge to its outer edge. According to embodiments of the invention, the thickness at the larger edge at the underside of the baffle 62, 64 can be in the range of about 1/16 inch to about 2 inches.
The weather strip 72, 74 can be made of various sealing materials, including but not limited to high-density foams and sponges made of polyvinyl chloride, EPDM rubber, silicon, neoprene, vinyl, urethane, latex, neoprene, polyurethane or a combination of materials. However, weather strip 72, 74 is preferably elastic enough to sealingly conform to a plurality of different heights and profiles along the length of ridge vent 10 to ensure a tight seal between the lateral edges of ridge vent 10 and the underlying shingles or composition roof material. For example, the weather strip 72, 74 preferably can be compressed to at least about 30% or, more preferably, to at least about 50%. The weather strip 72, 74 also preferably is resistant to most chemicals, acids and solvents as well as weather elements.
According to an embodiment, the weather strip 72, 74 is adhered to the underside of the trough 56, 58 with a heat treatment such as, for example, a heat-stake machine. Other heat treatments include the use of, for example, a glue gun for applying various hot thermoplastics between the weather strip 72, 74 and the underside of the trough 56, 58, which can then be allowed to harden as they cool. Alternatively, the weather strip 72, 74 may be adhered to ridge vent 10 by using various commercial adhesives or other similar means (e.g., pressure sensitive adhesives; contact adhesives; laminates; synthetic adhesives, etc.) prior to installation on the roof.
According to an embodiment, the weather strip 72, 74 itself may be a single or double sided tape made of foam or other appropriate conformable material (e.g., such as among those listed above) that can be adhered easily with simple application of pressure at room temperature to the bottom of ridge vent 10.
The embodiments described above thus provide improvements in the seal between the lateral sides of ridge vent 10 and the underlying shingles or composition roofing material 36. Thus, ridge vents according to embodiments of the invention can be nailed from the topside of the ridge vent while ensuring a secure seal at the sides of the ridge vent. Accordingly, openings between the undersides of the troughs 56, 58 and the underlying shingles or composition roofing material 36 after installation of the ridge vents are significantly reduced, even in the case of a relatively highly textured roof surface.
Thus, ridge vents according to embodiments of the invention provide superior protection against the entry of wind-driven rain, insects, vermin, etc., and also improve the aesthetic qualities of the ridge vents along the entire ridge and the overlying capping shingles.
Whereas particular embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated above, it is not to be so limited since it can be appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous modifications and changes may be made within the full intended scope of the invention and without departing from the invention as set forth in the claims.