Conventional gutters, whether of metal or some other 5 material such as rigid plastics material are usually of generally U-shaped configuration in section, with one wall of the gutter being attached to a facia board or the like, with the open portion of the gutter facing upwardly and into which the water from the roof is adapted to run.

10 However such gutters have the problem that they are open at the top and thus subject to the accumulation of dirt, debris,, leaves and the like, and also care is required in the install¬ ation of such gutters to provide for the required fall to the outlet from the gutters.

15 It is an object of this invention to overcome one or more of the above disadvantages by providing a gutter which is easy to install, and which is not open at the top to such a great extent as the prior art gutters.

Thus there is provided according to the invention a

20 gutter for the collection of rain water from a roof, said gutter being formed to be tubular in shape, with a longitudinal slot whereby the tube is clamped by the slot to the protruding portion of the roofing material.

The said invention is further illustrated with the aid of 25 the diagrams shown in FIGS. 1 to 5.

The diagrams are - FIG. 1. An oblique parallel view of tubular guttering incorporating slots.

FIG. 2. Cross-section of guttering pipe attached to a

30 protruding roof (Sectional view A-A in FIG. 3.).

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FIG. 3. An illustration of a guttering attached to a roof.

FIG. 4. An illustration of guttering, roof and a modified fitting.

FIG. 5A. S 5B. An isometric illustration of roof modificat prior to the fitting of a gutter for metallic roof

The gutter could be formed of conventional plastic pip such as that having a diameter of 90 - 150 mm, these pipes generally being of unplasticised PVC.

A longitudinal slot 1 can then be cut along the pipe 2 and it will be seen that by spreading the slot 3 that the p can be clamped over the protruding portions of the roofing material 4, such as corrugated roofing material whether of iron or plastics or fibreglass material, or the metal roofi material such as sold under the name "Stramit".

Preferably the longitudinal slot is cut in the form of spiral 1 from one end of the pipe to the other, which will then provide the pipe with a slope so that by choosing the slot, whether to be of right hand or left hand spiral, that the slope can be given in the correct direction thus provid the fall 5 to allow the efficient drainage of the water fro the gutter.

Preferably the pipe is formed of a length greater than the span of the roof to be guttered, and at the portion whe the end of the roof occurs on the pipe, a short circumferen slot 6 is provided around the pipe from the slot, this circumferential slot being a fraction (generally about one third) of the circumference of the pipe, dependent on the material elasticity and terminating in a circular hole 7 to arrest the cracking of the pipe.

Thus the terminal ends of the pipe outside the circumferential slot would remain near circular, and to the circular portions standard fittings 8 can be attached to th

pipe, such as end caps, elbows, T-fittings , down pipes and the like.

While the invention is particularly adapted for use with UPVC pipes, it is to be realized that it can be utilized with other materials, such as metal pipes, and also sectional shapes other than circular, such as square, polygonal or the like.

In order to help locating the gutter on the roof, the uppermost portions of the corrugations or convolutions of the roof at the outer edges can be cut and bent up to form lips 9, these being provided for example at every second or third crest. These lips need not be of the same height 10, but can vary in height to assist in the fall of water when the gutter is attached.

For short spans of roofs the lips may be of the same height, since the spiral slot will determine and assist in the all required for the flow of water, but for long spans in order to obtain the desired slope and fall for water the lips which are bent up may be of graduated height.

Instead of bending up the metal at the crest to form the lips, clips may be provided to be utilized instead of the turned up lip, and these can be readily attached to the roofing material.

Where tiled or other similar roofs, such as shingled roofs are used, special clips may be used for attachment to the tiles or shingles or the like spaced at suitable intervals along the edge.

Where it is required that there be a down pipe along the span of the roof, a standard T-fitting 11 can be utilized, but this would be modified by incorporating a suitably cut slot 12 to fit over the edge of the roofing material in a manner similar to the pipe forming the gutter.

It will be realized that this guttering system may bes be fitted to metallic roofs, but that other types of roofs have these fitted but these may require special attachments before fitting the gutter.

Thus it is to be realized that by the invention that guttering which is inexpensive in comparison with other for of guttering is provided, and that existing standard fittin for example elbows, T-fittings and end caps can be used.

The gutter inhibits large objects and large leaves and other objects such as tennis balls from blocking the gutter and thus reduces the amount of unwanted rubbish which may pollute conventional gutters.

It will be seen that the gutter does not attach to any timber work or formation on the gutter, and hence it may be used on roofs which project well past the timber work or fa board 13.

By utilizing the UPVC gutters, these are durable, will not rust or corrode and no painting is required for these c be available in various colours and it is simple and easy t fit. The techniques for fitting the gutter is simple, and special tools may not be required.

Although various forms of the invention have been described in some detail it is to be realized that the invention is not to be limited thereto but can include vari modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

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