A roof eaves is the lowest area of a pitched roof and must shed all the water that the roof collects over its entire surface into the gutters. As such, it is important to design and construct the eaves correctly, to ensure that it will remain durable and prevent water ingress into the structure.
Traditionally, underlay support behind the fascia was provided by a timber detail, usually plywood. However, in modern construction, time and cost efficiencies are key objectives, and the best way to achieve these are by using well designed proprietary products. Here at Manthorpe, we have over 35 years of experience developing roofing products and solutions that deliver a variety of benefits to the construction industry. Our design team has come up with the perfect eaves solutions in our 2-in-1 Ventilator and 3-in-1 Ventilator products.
These products combine an underlay support tray, to prevent the underlay sagging behind the fascia, with an over fascia ventilator and insect grille under the support tray to provide 10,000mm² per metre of air flow into the roof space. The 3-in-1 Ventilator has the addition of an integral eaves bird comb filler for use with profiled roof tiles.
The support tray is sufficiently robust to properly support the underlay, whilst the front edge is angled to aid water run-off into the gutter and is thickened to provide a robust support for the eaves course tiles. There are clear and stable fixing points into the top of the fascia, with drainage gullies around each point to prevent water ingress. Further fixing points are incorporated for secure fixing to the rafters. The support tray is wide enough for use at low pitches and is ingeniously designed with a live hinge between the front edge and support tray to enable the ventilators to be used on all roof pitches from 150 up to 700.
The 2-in-1 and 3-in-1 Ventilators are suitable for use on refurbishment projects as well as fast installation on new buildings. They are supplied in a 1 metre coverage length for ease of estimating and ordering, plus side interlocks to provide fully supported overlaps between each unit.
The underlay can be taped to the underlay support tray to prevent the underlay flapping in the wind using either integral fixing tape or double-sided underlay tape.
Even for roofs where eaves ventilation is not deemed necessary, using the 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 ventilator is still far more cost effective in supporting the underlay than purchasing plywood, with all the additional labour and time in cutting it to fit and installing it.
Once installed, the Manthorpe 2-in-1 and 3-in-1 ventilators allow access to the gutters for maintenance or future retro-fitting.
In summary, Manthorpe 2-in-1 and 3-in-1 Ventilators provide a fast to install, economical, and robust solution for roof eaves in refurbishment and new build projects.