When flashing roof penetrating building struc- tures, for example chimneys or frame structures for roof windows, in order to protect them from the weather and to provide a seal between the structure itself and the roof, it is common to use flashing covers of sheet metal, for instance aluminium, cop- per, steel or zinc. Conventionally, such flashing covers have been manufactured by ordinary tin man work from a plane sheet material which is profiled and formed to make a fit at the desired location..

The comparatively costly adjustment and assem- bly work on location, which is required when using this conventional craftsmanship, may be avoided by use of pre-manufactured flashing members. When these flashing members are used with, for example, a stan- dard window type mounted in a given roof surface, it is possible to use the same standard flashing members regardless of, for example, the slope of an inclined roof surface.

Typically, a flashing assembly adapted to be used between, for example, a roof window and a slop- ing roof surface comprises upper and lower flashing members adapted to be mounted in a horizontal posi- tion between the roof surface and the upper and lower frame portions of the window, respectively, as well as first and second side flashing members adapted to be mounted in a sloping position between the two side

frame portions of the window and the roof surface.

Such a flashing assembly further comprises corner segments adapted to provide a seal between the side flashings and the upper and lower flashings, such corner segments often being integrated in either the upper and lower flashing members or the side flashing members.

Although the upper and lower flashing members essentially serve the same purpose of providing a seal between the roof window frame and the surround- ing sloping roof surface, the two flashing members are adapted to fulfil their function in two rather distinct ways. The upper flashing member is normally formed as a gutter-like member with a flange adapted to be mounted on the upper window frame portion and a sheet portion adapted to be mounted under the. roof surface. When water flows down the sloping roof sur- face and onto the upper flashing member, the gutter directs the water outwards towards the side flashing members, which are also gutter-like.

In contrast, the lower flashing member is adapted to provide a seal between the lower window frame portion and the upper surface of the roof such that water entering the space between the window and the roof is directed outwards and/or downwards onto the outer surface of the roof. To serve this purpose, a typical lower flashing member comprises a rail ele- ment and a skirt element. The rail element is at- tached to the skirt along an edge thereof and serves as a connecting element between the skirt and, for example, the lower frame portion of a window in- stalled in an inclined roof. The skirt may be a sim- ple sheet member which can be mounted on top of a

substantially planar roof surface, however, for use on roof surfaces in the form of undulated tiles with very deep troughs, skirts are used which can be manu- ally deformed or stretched during mounting to enable a good fit between the flashing and roofing. Tradi- tionally such skirts have been made of lead, however, in recent years lead-free skirts have been developed which are typically of a sandwich construction and which may be of wave-corrugated and pleated designs.

Some types of flashing members are, however, not standard as they are dependent upon, for example, whether a single window is mounted in a roof surface or whether two or more windows are mounted in neighbouring relationship, e. g. side by side or one above another. In the latter case one or more special flashing members are used to provide a seal between two neighbouring windows, the flashing member being adapted to span the width between two windows, to be connected directly to each other, or to be connected by additional flashing members, which are adapted to create a seal between two neighbouring flashing mem- bers.

DK-B-154 099 discloses a connecting flashing specifically adapted for mounting between two neighbouring windows, one being arranged above the other. As can be seen from Fig. 7 of this document, the connecting flashing is adapted to engage only those surfaces of the upper and lower window frame being perpendicular to the roof surface, the corre- sponding portions of the window frames, that are par- allel to the roof surface, being covered by an addi- tional edge flashing portion in an overlapping fash- ion (not shown in the figure). Thus the flashing of

the space between the windows takes at least two separate flashing portions leading to high production and storage costs, the possibility of wrongful mount- ing and possible leaks at the joints between the flashing portions. Furthermore the connecting flash- ing is a special flashing that can be used only in the space between windows mounted at a predetermined distance above each other, thus necessitating a large number of different flashing items being held on stock.

Having regard to the problems discussed above, the object of the present invention is to provide sheet flashing members which enable roof flashings to be provided in an economical and efficient way.

When in the context of the present application the terms"upper !' and"lower"are used, they refer to structures in their mounted state. The term"roof window"is used only as an example of a roof pene- trating building structure.

According to the present invention, a combined sheet flashing member is provided which may be used either as a connecting flashing element between a pair of upper and lower neighbouring roof windows, or, when separated appropriately, as both an upper flashing member between a roof window and the neighbouring roof surface and as a lower flashing member between a roof window and the roof surface.

More specifically, such a sheet flashing member com- prises a first sheet portion adapted to engage an outer surface of a first frame portion, a second op- posed sheet portion adapted to engage an outer sur- face of a second frame portion, the first and second sheet portions forming a longitudinal gutter-like

flashing member, the first sheet portion having op- posed end portions, at least one end portion compris- ing a corner segment arranged substantially perpen- dicular to the general longitudinal orientation of the flashing member, wherein separation means is pro- vided between the first and second sheet portions al- lowing them to be separated corresponding to a prede- termined configuration.

Preferably, the separation means is arranged generally in parallel with the general longitudinal orientation of the sheet flashing member, as this ar- rangement will give a practical as well as aestheti- cally agreeable separation of the flashing.

The present invention is based on the realisa- tion that a unitary (or combined) dual-purpose flash- ing member can be provided by incorporating means, which allows it to be easily and securely adapted for a selected purpose. Thus the same member can be used for flashing the top and bottom of a single window as well as the space between two windows being arranged one above the other, meaning that a new window can be arranged above an existing window without the need to discard the existing flashing, as it can be used in combination with the new one, and that, when ordering a window, it is not necessary to know whether the window is to be use alone or in combination or con- figuration with other windows.

Although it may be possible to adapt a given standard flashing member for a desired purpose by us- ing conventional craftsmanship, the scope of the pre- sent invention is to allow such an adaptation by merely selecting one of two different configurations for the flashing member, i. e. as a combined flashing

between two neighbouring windows or as separate upper and lower flashings. By the term"selecting"is meant that the non-skilled or the"do-it-yourself"person will be able to easily and fail proof modify the uni- tary flashing for the desired purpose.

Correspondingly, the present invention provides a solution to the above problem, which allows the user to easily identify which operation is to be per- formed and subsequently to perform the modification with a minimum of traditional skill, yet providing the desired result.

In a preferred embodiment, the present inven- tion provides a separation-aid by which a sheet mate- rial, e. g. a metal, can be divided along a predefined line with a minimum of-effort and with a maximum. of precision. The separation-aid is in the form. of a pattern indicating one or more lines along which the sheet material is to be separated, however, the pat- tern itself does not have to be in the form of lines.

Such a separation-aid may be in the form of a groove provided between the first and second sheet portions and arranged along the length thereof. It is to be noted that the groove is not to be understood as, for example, the grooves making up a corrugated material. The groove serves as a combined aid, i. e. providing both a guide as to where the separation is to be and a guide for a tool performing the separa- tion. When the sheet flashing is made of a material which will. break and separate relatively easily under a bending operation, merely scoring the material along the groove with a knife or similar instrument will allow for easy separation, i. e. a light scoring followed by some bending back and forth will result

in separation along the groove. A suitable material allowing for this operation would be a rigid material such as a metal or a hard plastic like PVC and nor- mally zinc or iron or aluminium, which is also tradi- tionally used for roof flashing members. The groove may be formed as a simple depression, which can ad- vantageously be performed during manufacture, but it may also be formed between raised portions. Alterna- tively a one-or double-sided notch may be used, in which case a scoring is no longer necessary.

The separation means may also be formed as a thread or wire embedded in the flashing material in such a way, that is can be torn out, thereby separat- ing the flashing in two or leaving it sufficiently weakened to be separated by hand, the system corre- sponding the one known from packs of crackers or the like. Analogously two notches may be formed in the flashing material, the notches being so close to each other that the flashing material between them formes a threadlike strip. This strip may be pulled out of the flashing by hand, as it is know from the opening of a beverage cans, or by using a tool.

In another preferred embodiment the first and second sheet portions are connected by an additional longitudinal connecting element allowing for easy separation, either by use of a tool such as a knife, or by simple manual tearing apart. The connecting element may be formed by, for example, a metal foil, a polymer, bitumen or laminates thereof.

In a further preferred embodiment the first and second sheet portions comprise cooperating coupling means, allowing the two portions to be either con- nected to each other (when supplied as separate mem-

bers) or separated from each other (when supplied as a pre-connected unitary member) or, preferably, in the form of releasable coupling means. In such a con- figuration, the coupling means may serve as a means for attaching a skirt portion, which may be supplied either in combination with the flashing member or may be provided separately. Indeed, the coupling means should provide a seal between the two portions sub- stantially impermeable for water in a mounted posi- tion.

The flashing members of the present invention are preferably manufactured from sheet metal, for in- stance aluminium, copper, steel or zinc, which may be surface coated on one or both sides. However, other materials such as plastics may be used for the entire flashing member or for portions thereof, e. g. for the connecting element.

The invention will now be explained in detail with reference to the schematic drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the dif- ferent components of a prior art flashing assembly for four adjacent roof windows, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a flashing mem- ber according to the present invention, Figs. 3 to 5 show cross-sectional views of flashing members according to the present invention, Fig. 6 shows a flashing according to the inven- tion in the state, where it is separated and mounted on a single window, and Fig. 7 shows a flashing in combination with a skirt member.

In the figures the different components are not necessarily drawn to scale but merely serve to illus-

trate the general principles of the present inven- tion. Further, like numerals are used to denote iden- tical or like components.

Fig. 1 illustrates the different components of a prior art flashing assembly for four roof windows 1 mounted in a 2x2 configuration. As appears, a special flashing member 2 is arranged between the upper and lower windows and different flashing members are used as upper 3 and lower 4 flashing members.

Fig. 2 shows a sheet flashing member 100 ac- cording to the present invention, the flashing member being adapted to seal the gap between a pair of roof windows (not shown) mounted above each other with an upper respectively a lower frame portion facing to- wards each other. The flashing member comprises a first sheet portion 110 adapted to engage the lower frame portion of the upper window, a second opposed sheet portion 120 adapted to engage the upper frame portion of the lower window, the first and second sheet portions 110,120 forming a longitudinal gut- ter-like flashing member 100, extending in the mounted position between the upper portion of the lower window and the lower portion of the upper win- dow. As appears, the flashing member 100 has a bottom portion in the form of an intermediate sheet portion 121, which does not engage any window frame portions but merely spans the gap there between.

The flashing member 100 comprises at its op- posed ends corner segments 111,112 arranged substan- tially perpendicularly to the general orientation of the flashing member. In the embodiment shown, each corner segment 111,112 comprises an upstanding flange portion alla, 112a, 112b of which flange por-

tions llla and 112a are connected with the first sheet portion 110 and the not shown flange portion at the corner section 111 and the flange portion 1. 12b are connected with the second sheet portion 120. The flange portions llla, 112a, 112b are adapted to en- gage and connect side frame portions of the two win- dows. It is to be understood, that the corner seg- ments 111,112 need not have the shape shown in Fig.

2 as this embodiment only serves an illustrative pur- pose.

The bottom portion 121 and corner segments 111, 112 may be formed as one-piece parts of either the first 110 or second 120 sheet portion or both in com- bination or they may be formed as separate parts that are attached to one or both sheet portions by welding or the like.

In the embodiment shown the second sheet por- tion 120 has an upper edge portion 123 comprising a flange member 124 arranged at an angle and facing away from the first sheet portion 110. Preferably the flange is arranged substantially perpendicularly relative the second sheet portion 120 to which it connects. The flange member 124 is intended for con- nection with the top side of the upper frame portion of the lower window and the first sheet portion 110 may also be provided with such a flange member for connection with the lower frame portion of the upper window.

Between the first 110 and second 120 sheet por- tions the flashing member 100 is provided with addi- tional separation means 130 as will be described be- low.

The corner segments 111,112 shown in Fig. 2

are relatively large ones that will give a large overlap with the side coverings (not shown) of the flashing, but they may also be formed as smaller seg- ments as long as the resulting flashing arrangement is tight and will not come apart under the influence of strong winds or the like. Alternatively the flash- ing according to the invention may be formed without corner segment. The inventive flashing may then be fastened to the side coverings by welding, gluing or the like, or the side coverings may have segments that will penetrate into or fit underneath the inven- tive flashing serving the same purpose as the corner segments.

Fig. 3 shows, in cross-section, a sheet flash- ing member 200 according to the present-invention.

Essentially, this flashing member comprises the same features as the flashing 100 described with respect to Fig. 2, i. e. first and second sheet portions 210, 220 forming a longitudinal gutter-like flashing mem- ber, the first portion 210 being provided with corner segments of which only one 211 can be seen. The sec- ond portion 220 is here provided with an upper flange member 224. In accordance with the invention the flashing member 200 is provided with separation means 230 arranged between the first and second sheet por- tions allowing them to be separated corresponding to a predetermined configuration. The shown separation means is in the form of an embossed groove 230. When the sheet flashing is made of a material which will relatively easily break and separate under a bending operation, merely scoring the material along the groove with a knife or similar instrument will allow for easy separation. In the shown embodiment the

groove is arranged approximately in the middle of a bottom portion formed in combination by the first and second sheet portions, however, it may arranged closer to either of these portions, just as more than one separation means may be provided allowing for in- creased flexibility.

In Fig. 4, showing a sheet flashing member 300, the separation means is provided by a strip of a flexible foil material 330 or the like connecting op- posed edge portions 331,332 of the two sheet por- tions 310,320, respectively, this material allowing for easy separation, either by use of a tool such as a knife, or by simple manual tearing. To secure a precise separation the strip-formed separation means must be easier to separate that the sheet flashing. members. it connects.

In Fig. 5, showing a sheet flashing member 400, the separation means 430 is provided by cooperating, releasable coupling means 431,432 arranged on edge portions of the two sheet portions 410,420, respec- tively, allowing the two portions to be easily dis- connected from each other without the need for a tool. The shown coupling means is in the form of bend-over edge portions allowing the edges to be eas- ily disconnected and further allows some adjustment of the width of the bottom portion. As appears, this type of connection can be disengaged by relative ax- ial movement of the two sheet portions 410,420. As will be described below these coupling means 430 also allows a reengagement of the sheet portions 410,420.

In Fig. 6 a flashing has been separated into two separate flashings by a splitting of the bottom portion 721 into two parts 721a and 721b of approxi-

mately equal size, the two new flashings correspond- ing to the two sheet portions 710 and 720. The first portion 710 have been mounted below a roof window 701 and the second portion 720 above it so that the flange 724 overlaps the top of the upper frame por- tion 726.

The flashing members described with reference to Figs. 3-6 may be characterized as combined, uni- tary flashing members serving a dual purpose. More specifically, for a given roof window a single flash- ing member is provided which in its separated form provides an upper as well as a lower flashing member, whereas it in its combined form provides a flashing member to be mounted between an upper and a lower roof window, e. g. when a pair of roof windows are to be mounted above each other, two identical combined, unitary flashing members are provided, one serving as a lower flashing for the lower window as well as an upper flashing for the upper window, the other serv- ing as a flashing between the two windows.

In the above description, a combined flashing is separated to form two individual flashing members, however, in case the separation means are in the form of coupling means the upper and lower flashing mem- bers may also be supplied as separated members, which may then be connected to serve as connecting flash- ing. In preferred embodiments, the coupling means are releasable allowing for both assembling and disassem- bling.

Further, coupling means may serve as a means for attaching a skirt portion, which may be supplied either in combination with the flashing member or may be provided separately. This is shown in Fig. 7 in

which a flashing member 510 for a lower frame portion comprises a bend-over lower edge portion 531 (corre- sponding to the. one 431 shown in Fig. 5) which may serve as a coupling means for both a flashing member for an upper frame portion (not shown) or for a skirt member 540 comprising a lower free edge 541 and a corresponding coupling means 542 along the upper edge portion 543 thereof and adapted for engaging the flashing member 510. The skirt member may be of a sandwich construction comprising a stress damping and stabilizing core layer of ductile material covered on at least one side by a foil sheeting.

Whereas the present invention has been de- scribed with respect to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various changes and modifications will be suggested to one skilled in the art and it is intended to encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the ap- pended claims. For example, additional sealing mate- rial may be provided between the cooperating coupling means.