Rafter vent system for hip roofs and valleys

Abstract

A rafter vent system suitable for valley roof or hip roof construction, the system having at least one rafter bypass channel member in fluid communication with rafter vent members positioned between adjacent hip or valley rafters, the rafter bypass channel member providing a bypass channel for passage of ventilating air along a hip or valley rafter, such that a passageway is created extending between eave vents and ridge vents.

Claims

1. A rafter ventilating system comprising a rafter bypass channel member in combination with rafter vent members sized and configured to fit between adjacent hip or valley jack rafters in a hip roof or a valley roof; said rafter bypass channel member comprising a bypass channel and a pair of opposing lateral wings extending from said bypass channel, each of said pair of opposing lateral wings defining a ventilating passage in fluid communication with said bypass channel and with one of said rafter vent members; said rafter bypass channel member sized and configured such that said rafter bypass channel member is mountable in a hip roof or a valley roof such that said bypass channel is configured to be disposed beneath and on both sides of a hip rafter or a valley rafter.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said pair of opposing lateral wings comprises wing mounting members sized and configured to sit atop said hip or valley jack rafters.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein each of said wing mounting members comprises an overlay portion and a lip member.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said pair of opposing lateral wings extends from said bypass channel at an angle of 45 degrees.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said pair of opposing lateral wings extends either upward or downward relative to said bypass channel.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein each of said pair of opposing lateral wings extends from said bypass channel at an angle of 45 degrees.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said pair of opposing lateral wings extends either upward or downward relative to said bypass channel.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said pair of opposing lateral wings is in fluid communication with said bypass channel through a lateral opening in said rafter bypass channel member.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein each of said pair of opposing lateral wings is in fluid communication with said bypass channel through a lateral opening in said rafter bypass channel member.

10. The system of claim 4, wherein each of said pair of opposing lateral wings is in fluid communication with said bypass channel through a lateral opening in said rafter bypass channel member.

11. The system of claim 5, wherein each of said pair of opposing lateral wings is in fluid communication with said bypass channel through a lateral opening in said rafter bypass channel member.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein said rafter bypass channel member comprises a pair of channel walls and a channel floor defining said bypass channel, and wherein said pair of channel walls and said channel floor are spaced apart from said hip or valley jack rafters.

13. The system of claim 2, wherein said rafter bypass channel member comprises a pair of channel walls and a channel floor defining said bypass channel, and wherein said pair of channel walls and said channel floor are spaced apart from said hip or valley jack rafters.

14. The system of claim 4, wherein said rafter bypass channel member comprises a pair of channel walls and a channel floor defining said bypass channel, and wherein said pair of channel walls and said channel floor are spaced apart from said hip or valley jack rafters.

15. The system of claim 5, wherein said rafter bypass channel member comprises a pair of channel walls and a channel floor defining said bypass channel, and wherein said pair of channel walls and said channel floor are spaced apart from said hip or valley jack rafters.

16. A rafter ventilating system comprising at least one rafter bypass channel member in combination with rafter vent members sized and configured to fit between adjacent hip or valley jack rafters in a hip roof or a valley roof; said rafter bypass channel member comprising a pair of channel walls and a channel floor defining a bypass channel, and further comprising a pair of opposing lateral wings each extending from a lateral opening in one of said pair of channel walls in an upward or downward direction relative to said bypass channel, each of said pair of opposing lateral wings defining a ventilating passage in fluid communication with said bypass channel and with one of said rafter vent members, said rafter bypass channel member sized and configured such that said rafter bypass channel member is mountable in a hip roof or a valley roof such that said bypass channel is configured to be disposed beneath, on both sides and separated from a hip rafter or a valley rafter.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein each of said pair of opposing lateral wings comprises wing mounting members sized and configured to sit atop said hip or valley jack rafters.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein each of said wing mounting members comprises an overlay portion and a lip member.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein each of said pair of opposing lateral wings extends from said bypass channel at an angle of 45 degrees.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein each of said pair of opposing lateral wings extends from said bypass channel at an angle of 45 degrees.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a hip rafter bypass channel member.

(2) FIG. 2 illustrates the hip rafter channel bypass member of FIG. 1 as mounted onto a hip roof and in combination with hip jack rafter vent members.

(3) FIG. 3 is an end view of the hip rafter channel bypass member of FIG. 1 as mounted onto a hip roof.

(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a valley rafter bypass channel member.

(5) FIG. 5 illustrates the valley rafter channel bypass member of FIG. 4 as mounted onto a valley roof and in combination with valley jack rafter vent members.

(6) FIG. 6 is an end view of the valley rafter channel bypass member of FIG. 4 as mounted onto a valley roof.

(7) FIG. 7 is an underside view showing an assembly of hip rafter bypass channel members positioned along a hip rafter to form a bypass channel.

(8) FIG. 8 is an illustration of an example of a hip roof and a valley roof, as shown with common rafters, hip jack rafters and valley jack rafters.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(9) In general, as shown in the illustrations, the invention is a rafter vent system that addresses ventilation flow problems in hip roofs 30 and valley roofs 50. A hip roof 30 comprises in simple form an angled hip rafter 31 that extends from a horizontal ridge board 90 downwardly to the eaves, typically formed by the combination of a facia board and a soffit board, with eave vents disposed in the soffit board. Hip jack rafters 32 extend from the eaves to the hip rafter 31. A valley roof 50 comprises in simple form an angled valley rafter 51 that extends from the ridge board 90 downwardly to the eaves. Valley jack rafters 52 extend from the ridge board 90 to the jack rafter 51. Common rafters 92 extend from the eaves to the ridge board 90. Ridge vents are positioned at or adjacent the ridge board 90 such that heated air beneath the roof decking 91 will rise to the ridge vents and be dispersed into the ambient, while cooler air is drawn in through the eave vents. Because hip jack rafters 32 do extend up to the ridge vents, instead being blocked by the hip rafter 31, and valley jack rafters 52 do not extend down to the eave vents, instead being blocked by the valley rafter 51, heated air is blocked by the hip rafters 31 from passing up to the ridge vents and outside cool air is blocked by the valley rafters 51 from passing into the area between the valley jack rafters 52.

(10) The hip/valley rafter vent system described herein comprises rafter vent members 10 which are known in the art. The rafter vent members 10 are utilized with common rafters 92 and typically are thin plastic members having a floor member 13 bounded by a pair of mounting members 13 which enable the rafter vent member 10 to be affixed between adjacent rafters underneath roof decking 91, thereby creating a defined ventilating passage 11 below the decking 91 that is not blocked by the application of insulation beneath the rafter vent members 10. The rafter vent members 10 may be mechanically fastened or adhesively bonded to the top or sides of the rafters 20, or they may be sized for retention by friction. In a preferred embodiment, the floor members 13 of the rafter vent members 10 are provided with pleated or angled segments which allow the width of a rafter vent member 10 to be increased or decreased to account for variations in the distance between rafters without significantly altering the depth of the rafter vent member 10. The rafter vent members 10 may also be configured to extend across more than two rafters.

(11) One or more rafter bypass channel members 20 are utilized in combination with rafter vent members 10 to address the problems described in ventilating hip roofs 30 and valley roofs 50. The rafter bypass channel members 20 have two main embodiments-embodiment 20A for hip roofs 30 and embodiment 20B for valley roofs 50. As will be described in more detail below, the rafter bypass channel member 20A comprises lateral wings 41 that angle downward to accommodate the downward slope of the hip jack rafters 32, while the rafter bypass channel member 20B comprises lateral wings 41 that angle upward to accommodate the upward slope of the valley jack rafters 52.

(12) In some circumstances a single rafter bypass channel member 20 may be sufficient to address the ventilation problem, but in many situations multiple rafter bypass channel members 20 will be combined in a linear manner along the hip rafter 31 or valley rafter 51 to accommodate a large number of jack rafters 32 or 52. An example of this is illustrated in FIG. 7, which shows a combination of three hip rafter bypass channel members 20A positioned on a hip rafter 31. The rafter bypass channel members 20 may be formed as a unitary member, as shown in FIGS. 4-6, or may be formed as two lateral components that are overlapped or otherwise connected, as shown in FIGS. 1-3 and 7. The rafter bypass channel members 20 are preferably formed of thin, slightly flexible sheet material such as plastic or aluminum.

(13) A rafter bypass channel member 20A for hip roofs 30 is illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 and 7. The rafter bypass channel members 20A comprises a pair of opposed lateral wings 40 that are sixed to fit between adjacent hip jack rafters 31. Wing mounting members 41 are provided for affixation to the hip jack rafters 31, and as shown in this embodiment each wing mounting member 41 may comprise a generally vertical or angled wall, an overlay portion and lip member. The lateral wings 40 further comprise a wing floor member 42 and the wing mounting members 41 are designed such that the wing floor member 42 occupies a position a short distance below the roof decking 91 when installed, thereby creating a ventilating passage 22. The configuration of the lateral wings 40 and the configuration of the rafter vent members 10 are chosen to mate or correspond, preferably in abutting or overlapping manner, such that air may flow from the raft vent member ventilating passage 11 into the lateral wing ventilating passage 22.

(14) The lateral wings 40 extend outwardly from an elongated bypass channel 23 formed by channel walls 43 and channel floor 44. The lateral wings 40 for the rafter bypass member 20A extend downwardly relative to the channel bypass 23 to correspond to the downward angle at which the hip jack rafters 32 extend from the hip rafter 31, and the lateral wings 40 also extend from the channel bypass 23 at 45 degree angles to correspond to the angle of the junction between the hip jack rafters 32 and the hip rafter 31. A lateral opening 21 is provided at the junction of each lateral wing 40 with the channel bypass wall 43 such that ventilating air may pass from the lateral wing ventilating passage 21 into the bypass channel 23.

(15) The overall depth of the rafter bypass channel member 20A is chosen such that the channel floor 44 is separated from the bottom of hip rafter 31 when installed, and likewise the channel walls 43 are laterally separated from the sides of the hip rafter 31, thereby creating gaps between the hip rafter 31 and the rafter bypass channel members 20A such that a relatively large volume of ventilating air may pass through the bypass channel 23, as seen best in FIG. 3. Thus, the width and depth of the channel member 23 is greater than the width and depth of the hip rafter 31. The bypass channel 23 is open on both ends.

(16) To provide ventilation beneath the decking 91 and between hip jack rafters 31, rafter vent members 10 are installed to extend from the eave vents to a short distance from the hip rafter 31, and one or more hip rafter bypass channel members 20B are mounted to fluidly communicate with the rafter vent members 10. As seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 7, the longitudinal axis of the channel bypass 23 is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the hip rafter 31, thereby creating an upwardly extending passageway such that cooler ambient air may be drawn into the rafter vent members 10 through eave vents, where it is pulled through the rafter vent ventilating passages 11 and the rafter bypass ventilating passages 23 and into the bypass channel 23. The bypass channel conducts the air upwardly along the hip rafter 31 and is dispelled at or near the roof board 90 and ridge vents, such that the areas adjacent to hip jack rafters 32 are no longer dead zones restricted by the hip rafter 31.

(17) An embodiment of the rafter bypass channel member 20 suitable for use with valley roofs 50 is illustrated in FIGS. 4-6. The valley rafter bypass channel member 20B differs from the hip rafter bypass channel 20A in the angle of the lateral wings 40 relative to the bypass channel 23. In a valley roof 50, the valley jack rafters 32 angle upwardly from the valley rafter 51, and therefore the lateral wings 40 in the rafter bypass channel member 20B angle upwardly from the bypass channel 23.

(18) The rafter bypass channel members 20B comprises a pair of opposed lateral wings 40 that are sixed to fit between adjacent valley jack rafters 51. Wing mounting members 41 are provided for affixation to the valley jack rafters 51, and as shown in this embodiment each wing mounting member 41 may comprise a generally vertical or angled wall, an overlay portion and lip member. The lateral wings 40 further comprise a wing floor member 42 and the wing mounting members 41 are designed such that the wing floor member 42 occupies a position a short distance below the roof decking 91 when installed, thereby creating a ventilating passage 22. The configuration of the lateral wings 40 and the configuration of the rafter vent members 10 are chosen to mate or correspond, preferably in abutting or overlapping manner, such that air may flow from the raft vent member ventilating passage 11 into the lateral wing ventilating passage 22.

(19) The lateral wings 40 extend outwardly from an elongated bypass channel 23 formed by channel walls 43 and channel floor 44. The lateral wings 40 for the rafter bypass member 20B extend upwardly relative to the channel bypass 23 to correspond to the upward angle at which the valley jack rafters 52 extend from the valley rafter 51, and the lateral wings 40 also extend from the channel bypass 23 at 45 degree angles to correspond to the angle of the junction between the valley jack rafters 52 and the valley rafter 51. A lateral opening 21 is provided at the junction of each lateral wing 40 with the channel bypass wall 43 such that ventilating air may pass from the lateral wing ventilating passage 21 into the bypass channel 23.

(20) The overall depth of the rafter bypass channel member 20A is chosen such that the channel floor 44 is separated from the bottom of valley rafter 51 when installed, and likewise the channel walls 43 are laterally separated from the sides of the valley rafter 51, thereby creating gaps between the valley rafter 51 and the rafter bypass channel members 20B such that a relatively large volume of ventilating air may pass through the bypass channel 23, as seen best in FIG. 6. Thus, the width and depth of the channel member 23 is greater than the width and depth of the valley rafter 51. The bypass channel 23 is open on both ends.

(21) To provide ventilation beneath the decking 90 and between valley jack rafters 51, rafter vent members 10 are installed to extend from the area of the ridge board 90 and ridge vents to a short distance from the valley rafter 51, and one or more valley rafter bypass channel members 20B are mounted to fluidly communicate with the rafter vent members 10. As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the longitudinal axis of the channel bypass 23 is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the valley rafter 51, thereby creating an downwardly extending passageway such that cooler ambient air may be drawn from the eave vents into the bypass channel 23, from where it is delivered through the lateral wings 40 into the rafter vent members 10 to be dispelled at or near the roof board 90 and ridge vents, such that the areas adjacent to valley jack rafters 52 are no longer dead zones restricted by the valley rafter 51.

(22) It is understood that substitutions and equivalents for certain elements and structures disclosed may be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art, and therefore the true scope and definition of the invention is to be as set forth in the following claims.