Patent Publication Number: US-10774538-B2

Title: Hip and ridge vent

Description:
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/611,063, filed Jun. 1, 2017, and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/344,023, filed Jun. 1, 2016, both of which are incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a roof ridge and hip ridge vent for use on contoured tile and metal roof panels. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In general, roof ridge vents work in conjunction with soffit vents in order to allow air to flow beneath the roof to provide passive ventilation. As hot stale air is withdrawn from the ridge slot vent by convection and/or wind suction, it is replaced by fresh ambient air through the soffit vents. This equalization inhibits moisture from condensing on insulation and wood roofing materials which causes mildew and rot, prevents build-up of ice dams which could buckle shingles and gutters, and reduces air-conditioning costs when hot attic air is replaced by cooler ambient air. 
     It has been known to ventilate attics under gable roofs made of contoured metal panels by running a vent along the roof ridge that is in communication with a slot or ridge opening that connects to the attic or under-roof space. A highly successful one of such vents which is manufactured and sold under the name “PROFILEVENT” is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,561,953, which is incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth, in which the contour of the metal roofing panel is cut into a non-woven strip of vent material. The vent material in this product is required to be stiff enough to hold its shape and resist crushing when the ridge cap is installed by nailing through the ridge cap and the vent material so that the net free area of the vent material is not diminished. The material is fire retardant, and the configuration is such that it prevents the ingress of wind driven-rain within the limits of the applicable building standards, and also prevents the ingress of debris and insects. To the extent that moisture penetrates into the non-woven material, it is freely draining so that it does not trap moisture against the metal roof panels which can occur with some of the known open cell foam vent products, which causes corrosion of the roof panels themselves, requiring costly repair or replacement. Further, this known product is UV stable and does not break down due to sunlight or environmental factors, such as hot and cold temperature exposure, which is an issue with some other ridge vent products made of open cell foam. 
     However, a drawback of the known “PROFILEVENT” material is that the profile is matched to the contoured roof panel in a direction parallel to the ridge, i.e., generally perpendicular to a direction that the contours or ribs of the roof panels extend. This does not allow the product to be used with a hip ridge vent, due to the angle it makes relative to the contoured roof panels, which can vary depending on the roof pitch, direction of the hip ridge, etc. This can result in insufficient ridge length being available for venting. Additionally, even with gable ridge vents, there is a higher cost involved with having to create vent material with the correct profile to match the known panel contours, as well as having to carry an inventory of vent material specific for each of such panel types. 
     Other known ridge vents use a porous foam strip or a non-woven mesh strip having enhanced flexibility that are compressed by the ridge cap to match a roof profile, for example of standing seam metal roofs. These arrangements can suffer issues with water retention causing roof decay in the case of foam, and incomplete filling of the profiled gap between the roof surface and the cap in which the ridge vent is installed for the non-woven mesh. Further, the enhanced flexibility of the non-woven mesh is due to the use of less fiber or smaller deniers of fiber and a reduced volume or more elastic binder to allow compressibility. This introduces additional issues with respect to the ability of the non-woven vent strip to prevent the entry of wind driven rain (WDR) as well as up slope-driven rain (USR) due to the more open non-woven material required for conformability as well as capillary action carrying moisture along the fibers, all of which can result in leakage through the vent. 
     SUMMARY 
     Briefly stated, the present invention provides a roof ridge and hip ridge vent system for contoured roofs which include a vent slot located through the roof structure along at least one of a roof ridge or hip ridge. A contoured roofing material having upwardly directed projections and valleys between the projections forms the roof surface. The projections preferably have a height of about 0.8 inches or less. Vent strips are provided having top and bottom surfaces, with the bottom surface being located on the roof surface, with a respective one of the vent strips extending on each side of the vent slot. The vent strip is comprised of synthetic fibers that are randomly aligned into an open web by an air flow and then joined by a phenolic or latex binder that is heat cured to form an air permeable mesh material having a generally uniform height, preferably in the range of 0.9 to 1.2 inches for a roofing sheet with 0.8 inch high ribs or projections, a density of about 0.08 to 0.1 grams per cubic centimeter (1.3 to 1.6 grams per cubic inch), and a crush recovery of at least 80%. The vent strip has a width of about 2 inches or more, and a longitudinally extending groove, arranged parallel to the hip or ridge, extending from the bottom surface about 40% to 60% of the height, and more particularly about 50% of the height. The groove has a groove width that is at least about 0.12 inches to about 0.25 inches and is located at least about 1 inch from a downslope side of the vent strip. The vent strip is resiliently compressible such that a space between the projections in the contoured roofing material is filled with the vent strip, and a portion of the strip is compressed into contact with and extends over the projections, at least partially filling the groove in an area of the projections. A cap overlies the slot and the top surface of the vent strip. 
     For roofs having a pitch of at least 5/12, the width of the vent strip is preferably approximately 2 inches. For roofs having a pitch of less than 5/12, the vent strip can have a greater width, such as approximately 3 inches, and preferably two of the longitudinally extending grooves are provided extending from the bottom surface. The grooves are nominally spaced apart by 1 inch from one another, and the downslope groove is located at least about 1 inch from a downslope side of the vent strip. 
     The groove or grooves in the vent strip provide a capillary break as well as a stilling gap for drainage of WDR as well as any USR component, which based on gravity and the deceleration caused by the baffle effect of the vent strip results in the WDR and USR components that are not directly blocked by the material matrix settling below an upper edge of the groove or upslope located one of the grooves, which prevent further capillary migration of the water, which then drains downwardly out from the vent strip and down the roof. 
     Preferably, the roof and hip ridge vent system provides at least 28 square inches of net free area per lineal foot of ridge. 
     The vent strip can be provided in stick or roll form. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be explained in more detail in connection with the drawings in which presently preferred embodiments are shown. 
       In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a portion of a roof ridge showing the installation of an embodiment of the roof ridge vent with an air-permeable resilient strip mounted on a metal roof. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the roof ridge vent illustrated in  FIG. 1  and taken along line  2 - 2 . 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the roof ridge of  FIG. 1 , showing an embodiment of the roof ridge vent installed thereon. The left-hand side of the figure shows an alternative positioning of the vent strip relative to the edge of the metal roof. 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged perspective view of the air permeable and resilient strip on the metal roof showing the compression of the material at the rib or projection locations of the roof panel. 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged perspective view of the air permeable and resilient strip positioned as a hip ridge vent on a corrugated metal roof shown with the same projections or ribs as in the ridge vent installation in  FIGS. 1-4  with the vent strip being arranged at an angle relative to the ribs. 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram showing different vent strip configurations for different roof slopes. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not considered limiting. Words such as “front”, “back”, “top” and “bottom” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. This terminology includes the words specifically noted above, derivatives thereof and words of similar import. Additionally, the terms “a” and “one” are defined as including one or more of the referenced item unless specifically noted. 
     The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawing figures wherein like numerals represent like elements throughout. 
       FIGS. 1-4  illustrates an embodiment of a roof venting system designated generally as  10 . The roof venting system  10  is described in relation to a sloped roof  12  which may include rafters  15  that support decking  14  or purlins (not shown) that support a roofing material, such as a corrugated roofing sheet  16  formed by a plurality of metal or composite roofing panels  18 . The roof  12  comes to a ridge  22  at a slope defined by its rafters  24 . 
     The roofing panels  18  extend up to a vent slot  20  located at the ridge  22 . A strip of venting material is installed either in one piece over the slot  20  such that it extends over the upper ends of the roofing panels  18  adjacent to the slot  20 , or two separate strips  40  are installed, with one strip  40  being located over the upper ends of the roofing panels on each side of the slot  20 . The roofing panels  18 , the venting material strip(s)  40  and the vent slot  20  are covered with a ridge cap  26 , usually made of similar material as the panels  18  and installed in sections running along the ridge  22 . 
     The roofing panels  18  each have a plurality of projections  28  that project upwardly. As known to those in the art and shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , adjacent roofing panels  18  are joined together to form the sheet  16  by overlying a pair of lateral ends  38  from adjacent panels  18 . In the exemplary embodiment shown, the projections  28  of the roofing panels  18  are both a larger stiffening rib  48  and a smaller squared stiffening rib  46 . The larger stiffening ribs  48  in proximity to the lateral edges  38  are used to overlap the adjacent panel. However, other panel configurations can be used in conjunction with the vent strips  40 . 
     Still with reference to  FIGS. 1-4 , the vent strip  40  is comprised of synthetic fibers that are randomly aligned into an open web by an air flow and then joined by a phenolic or latex binder that is heat cured to form an air permeable mesh material having a generally uniform height h, preferably in the range of 0.9 to 1.2 inches for a roofing sheet with 0.75 inch ribs, a density of about 0.08 to 0.1 grams per cubic centimeter (1.3 to 1.6 grams per cubic inch), and a crush recovery of at least 80%. Preferred fibers include 180 denier polyester, although other materials and deniers could be used. The fibers are preferably chopped to a length between 1 and 5 inches, and more preferably 1.5-2 inches. A preferred binder is a latex binder, such as those available from DOW Chemical, Rohm and Haas, and others. The width W 1  in the illustrated embodiment is about 2 inches, although other widths could be used, depending on the application and roof slope. A longitudinally extending groove  42 , arranged parallel to the ridge  22 , extends up from the bottom surface about 40% to 60% of the height h, and more particularly about 50% of the height as indicated in  FIG. 6 , in an uninstalled state of the vent strip  40 . The groove  42  has a groove width a that is at least about 0.12 inches to about 0.25 inches. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , for roofs having a 5/12 pitch or greater, preferably a single groove  42  is provided in the vent strip  40 , preferably spaced a nominal distance S from the downslope side. For a width W 1  of 2″, S is preferably at least about 1″. For roofs with a pitch of less than 5/12, the vent strip may be provided with a greater width W 2 , which is preferably 3″, as represented in  FIG. 6 . Here, two grooves  42  are provided in the vent strip  40 , with a nominal distance S of at least about 1″ from the downslope side to the downslope groove  42 , and also the nominal distance of S between the two grooves  42 . Generally, the width of the vent strip  40  equals S*(number of grooves +1). 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the WDR (which is considered as being horizontal) and USR paths (indicated by roof slope as USR 2 , USR 4 , USR 6 , USR 8 , USR 10 , and USR 12  which are parallel to the roof surface) for water that is not directly blocked by the material matrix of the vent strip  40  will generally intersect one of the grooves  42 , which provide a capillary break as well as a stilling area for water to drop down to the roof surface rather than continuing to the vent slot  20  and entering the structure as a leak. The dashed horizontal line extending from WDR at each of the roof slopes illustrated is at the maximum WDR height in the vent strip, and the drop path is indicated by the lower curved arrow in each of the vent strips  40  represented. For the USR component of the rain, the velocity profile is lower higher from the roof surface, and the higher curved arrow in each of the illustrated vent strips  40  is shown. For lower roof pitches, it can be seen that the greater width W 2  may be required based on the material matrix openness. For example for a 4/12 pitch, while the downslope groove  42  may have proven effective for WDR, the USR 4  component could pass over the groove  42  and capillary action for the fibers in the material matrix of the vent strip  40  could carry water to the upslope side of the vent strip  40 . It should be noted that the vent strip  40  cannot be used for 1/12 or lower pitched roofs. 
     While providing a greater width W 2  for roofs with a slope less than 5/12 is preferred, this may not be required depending on the particular material matrix of the non-woven web forming the vent strip  40 . Additionally, more grooves  42  could be provided in the vent strip  40  for enhanced conformability. 
     The vent strip  40  is resiliently compressible such that a space between the projections in the contoured roofing material is filled with the vent strip  40 , and a portion of the strip  40  is compressed into contact with and extends over the projections  28  upon installation of the ridge cap  26 . The vent material may be heat treated so that it “lofts” or expands, and then calendared down to a specific thickness to allow the completed vent strips to expand and conform to uneven surfaces when solar energy raises the roof temperature. The groove(s)  42  also provide additional space for the fibers of the matrix to be moved or compressed into in the areas over the stiffening ribs  46 ,  48 . The compression of the vent strips  40  in these areas over the stiffening ribs  46 ,  48  results in a denser, less permeable arrangement of the fibers that acts as a direct material block for WDR and USR. 
     The vent strip  40  has at least a portion that is air permeable to allow the passage of air to ventilate the roof. The strip  40  completely fills the space between the panels  18  and the ridge cap  26  to prevent water, such as wind driven rain, from entering in accordance with building standards, but allows the passage of air. Preferably, the entire strip  40  is made from the air permeable and resilient material. As shown in  FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 , due to the compression of the air permeable mesh material over the larger stiffening ribs  48 , the net free area is reduced as the fibers are pressed closer together. However, these areas are localized and only slightly reduce the overall net free area provided for venting. 
     As seen in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the relative position of the strip  40  to the upper edge  34  of the roofing panels  18  can vary and still meet the objective of this invention. The right-hand side of  FIGS. 3 and 4  show the strip  40  extending beyond the upper edge  34  of the metal panels  18 . As seen in  FIG. 3 , the strip  40  overlaps slightly the vent slot  20  in the ridge  22 . The left-hand side of  FIGS. 3 and 4  show the strip  40  located slightly below or downward from the upper edge  34 ′ of the metal panels  18 . 
     The vent strip  40  is not profiled or cut, and rather is formed with a higher resiliency and a greater net free area than the prior known non-woven mesh vent strips so that it can be compressed in the area of the projections  28  and is able to conform to the roof panels  18  and fill the spaces between the projections  28 . The use of specific widths W 1 , W 2  in connection with certain roof pitches, as well as the use of the groove(s)  42 , provides further improvements in preventing the entry of WDR and USR. The vent strip  40  meets the present building requirements for preventing wind driven rain entry through the ridge vent system  10 , and also generally prevents the entry of debris and insects. 
     Preferably, the vent strip  40  is secured in proximity to an upper edge of the roofing panels  18  and overlies the projections  28 , and is secured to the roofing panels  18  by an adhesive. The ridge cap  26  is secured to the roofing panels  18  by a series of fasteners  36 , such as screws, preferably into one of the larger stiffening ribs  48  as seen in  FIG. 3 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , a further benefit of the present vent strip  40  is that it can be used in connection with a hip ridge vent system  10 ′ since it can conform to the angle of the projections in the roofing panel  18  at the roof hip, which by definition would not be at 90°. This addresses a need that the vent strip of U.S. Pat. No. 5,561,953 could not meet in that the length of the vent strip  40  between the projections, illustrated as X′ in  FIG. 5  changes depending on the angle of the roof hip from the nominal distance X at 90°. Further, the path of the projections through the vent strip  40  is at an angle, meaning that it would not be economically feasible to attempt to form the vent strips with complementary recesses in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 5,561,953 for all of the various hip ridge configurations that are possible. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the vent strip  40  can conform to the projections  28  of the roofing panel  18  along the path of the hip ridge  44  since it is resiliently compressible, and accordingly allows improved venting for a building structure with a hip roof. 
     Preferred versions of the vent strips  40  prior to installation are shown in  FIG. 6 . Here, it can be seen that the material is generally uniform, in comparison to the compression of the air permeable mesh material over the larger stiffening ribs  48 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     An additional advantage is that the same vent strip  40  can be used to vent a roof ridge and a hip ridge, and further can be used as a universal vent strip for corrugated roofing panels or roofing panels with projections falling within a certain size range—for example, the preferred embodiment described above can be used in connection with roofing panels having projections of 1 inch or less. The thickness of the vent strip  40  could be modified to accommodate other size ranges of roofing panel ribs or projections, for example, the thickness could be increased to 2.2 to 2.5 inches for roofing panels with projections having a depth of 2 inches. Here the depth of the groove  42  can also increase to up to 75% for a height of 2″ or greater, and is preferably at least 0.5*h. Similar adjustments can be made for other height ribs or projections. 
     While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, the invention is not limited to these specific embodiments described above which should be considered as merely exemplary. Further modifications and extensions of the present invention may be developed and all such modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.