Improvements in and connected with Roof Gutters and Valleys.
Year: 1892

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Roof Gutters and Valleys.
I, JAMES HUNT of No. 12, Hampton Park, Redland, Bristol, Accountant, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
My invention relates to improvements in and connected with roof gutters and
valleys, and has for its object the prevention of leaves and dirt, or snow and hail
from getting into or stopping the outlet of water or melted snow from gutters or
valleys, as the choking of the gutters and stack pipes from this cause frequently
results in the water coming through the roof to the ceilings below, producing
considerable damage and annoyance.
In nearly all roofs where there are gutters or valleys there will be a constant
accumulation of dust, leaves and the like, which has a tendency to drift towards
the stack pipe and choke the outlet; and after a heavy fall of snow or hail
the gutter will retain a considerable portion of the deposited mass without much
inconvenience until the thaw takes place, and then as the upper layer of snow
melts more rapidly than the under portions of the solid mass it cannot flow
away in the usual manner, but will force a passage between the tiles of the
roof, and thence to the ceilings underneath.
The object of my invention is to provide a remedy for these annoyances, and to
prevent an overflow of water or melted snow on account of the gutters or valleys
being choked; this is done by placing a protecting guard or cover along the
gutters or up the sloping valleys of the roofs; this guard consists of a covering for
the gutters or valleys, made either with perforations in the sides or upper part to
form a strainer, or of a corrugated material, like ordinary corrugated roofing
between the curves of which the water will drain and flow on to the stack pipe.
When a perforated covering is used, it may be of any convenient size or shape,
such for example, as could be made by perforating ordinary semicircular spouting
and laying it in the gutters with the convex side upward, but any other shape may
be used which will best serve the purpose of a strainer to keep back dirt and snow
and allow the rain and melted snow to pass through; when corrugated coverings
are used, they may be either of wood with grooves cut therein, or of corrugated
roofing material as already named, and the corrugations may be either transverse or
longitudinal, preferably transverse, with an iron bar or bars to keep them rigid ;
these coverings may be made of any suitable and convenient material, either metal,
wood, earthenware or other composition, the object attained by their use being the
prevention of dirt and snow from choking the gutters, while a passage is kept clear
through which the water can be conveyed to the stack pipe.
The accompanying drawings will illustrate some of the most convenient shapes
for making the perforated coverings, and show two positions in which it is laid in
the gutters, and also a piece of corrugated roofing iron laid on bars with the
corrugations running in a transverse direction.
Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are transverse sections of five different shapes of perforated
coverings, and 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are longitudinal views of the same, showing per-
forations in the sides and upper part thereof through which any liquid will readily
pass to the covered space below; the sockets at the ends of the coverings are for
lapping one over the other, but they may be made without these sockets, and laid
end to end where the edges are parallel so that they may fit close enough to exclude
dirt, leaves, and snow; Fig. 11 is a sectional view of part of a roof, with a section
of covering as shown in Figs. 1 and 6 laid in a gutter between two sloping roofs, and
Fig. 12 is a similar view of part of roof with parapet, and the covering as shown in

page_text: Figs. 5 and 10 laid in the gutter against the parapet, Fig. 13 is a view of a length
of corrugated roofing iron on supporting rods ready to be laid in a gutter, this may
be made without the rods if desired, or may have the corrugations longitudinally;
and instead of being made and laid flat as shown, it may be bent into other shapes
as shown in Figs. 1 to 5, and perforations may also be made in the corrugated
surface if considered desirable, as an additional means for passing on the melted
snow.
These coverings are also made in elbows and bends to enable an open water way
to be kept from all parts of the gutters to the stack pipes.
The perforated or corrugated coverings being provided and laid in the gutters as
described, any accumulation of leaves or dirt will be outside the coverings ready to
be cleared away, and after a snow storm when the roof is covered therewith and an
increased mass of snow is in the valleys or gutters, an open. passage will be
maintained through which a current of air will flow to assist in inelting the snow
and also in keeping the surrounding space free from the severe frost to which it
may otherwise be subject; while any liquid passing under the coverings will pass
on to the stack pipes without danger of freezing.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is ;-
The manufacture and use of perforated or corrugated coverings or gutter pro-
tectors for the purpose of keeping the gutters, valleys, and stack pipes of roofs free
from stoppage with dirt, leaves, snow and the like; substantially as, and for the
purposes herein described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 14th day of Danombor 1902
J. G. WESTLAKE,
2, John Street, Bristol, Applicant's Agent.
J. G. WESTLAKE,
2, John Street, Bristol, Applicant's Agent.