Soffit and Fascia Panel

This invention relates to a soffit and fascia panel.

A considerable amount of time, labour and expense is involved in the installation of the facias and soffits of a house, and the main object of the present invention is to provide pre-fabricated panels, which are simple and economical to manufacture, and which may be quickly and easily installed on a house frame to form an integrated soffit and fascia.

According to the invention, a soffit and fascia panel comprises a single member of sheet material roll-formed or otherwise shaped to substantially uniform cross-section and including a substantially flat soffit section with parallel front and rear edges, adapted to be installed below the extended end portions of rafters of a building frame, an integral soffit attachment flange extending down from the rear edge of the soffit section and adapted to be attached to a wall of the building frame. An integral fascia section extends upwardly from the front edge of the soffit section and is adapted to lie in front of the extremities of the rafters, and an integral fascia top piece extending rearwardly from the top of the fascia section to overlie the extremities of the rafters. Other features of the invention will become apparent from the following description.

In order that the invention may be readily understood and carried into practical effect, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partly broken-away perspective view of a soffit and fascia panel according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of part of a house frame showing the soffit and fascia panel installed,

FIG. 3 is a view, similar to FIG. 2, showing a modified form of soffit and facia panel, and

FIG. 4 is an end view of a soffit and fascia panel according to another modified form of the invention.

A soffit and fascia panel as illustrated may suitably be made of a single section of sheet metal shaped, for example by roll-forming, to the required cross-sectional configuration. Sheet steel which has been treated against corrosion by a coating of zinc and aluminum, and has been additionally coated on one side with polyvinyl chloride, to give an attractively coloured and durable finish, is well suited to the construction of the panels.

Referring initially to the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the coated sheet metal is shaped to form a flat and normally horizontal soffit section 10 of which one edge portion, hereinafter called the rear edge, is down-turned through a right angle to form a soffit attachment flange 11. At the other, or front, edge of the soffit section 10, the sheet metal is bent down through a right angle, forwardly through a right angle, and then upwardly through a right angle so there is formed a narrow rectangular channel 12, of which the fairly high normally vertical front flange constitutes a fascia section 13. The top edge portion of the fascia section is bent through an obtuse angle to incline upwardly towards the rear, and further bent through a right angle to extend downwards, this angled part being a fascia top piece 14. The sheet metal is arranged, during shaping, so that its PVC coating is on the weather side of the panel, that is, at the underside of the soffit section 10 and the front of the fascia section 13.

Ventilation apertures are formed in the soffit section 10, for example by forming a series of parallel transverse cuts near to the rear side of this section and deforming the metal between the cuts to louvred ventilation openings 15.

The soffit and fascia panels may be made in long sections, but it may be necessary to connect two or more panels end to end, in which case this may be done by means of a T-section bar 16 of extruded metal riveted or otherwise secured above the junction of succeeding soffit sections 10, and by the use of appropriately profiled connector pieces (not shown) fitted and riveted or otherwise secured between the adjacent ends of fascia sections 13.

As shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings, the panel is located for fixing to the timber frame of a house by the use of simple sheet metal alignment brackets 17 nailed to the outer ends of rafters 18, each bracket having a front edge which is aligned vertically, to register with the end of the rafter, and having a downward projection 19. The soffit and fascia panel is positioned so its channel 12 is fitted closely to the projections 19 of the brackets 17 and the fascia top piece 14 overlies the rafters 18. The soffit attachment flange 11 is nailed to the studs 20 of the frame. The fascia section 13, being located against the ends of the rafters 18, may be fixed by the subsequent nailing of conventional gutter supporting brackets (not shown) through the fascia section to some of the rafters. The top piece 14 of the fascia section 13 overlying the ends of the rafters 18, serves in place of the usual lower-most roof batten and with other battens provided, one being indicated at 21, supports tiles or other roofing (not shown) fixed to the house roof structure in usual manner. The soffit attachment flange 11 is concealed by the subsequent attachment of external wall cladding 22.

The soffit and fascia panels may be very simply and economically manufactured, and may be very quickly and easily installed without any high degree of skill being required to present a neat and attractive appearance not readily distinguishable from that of conventional soffit and fascia constructions, the installation of which is likely to involve much more time, labour and expense.

In the modified form of the invention shown in FIG. 3, the soffit and fascia panel 23 is generally as before described except that its soffit section 24, when the panel is installed, lies closely under the extended end portions of the rafters of the roof structure.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4, the soffit and fascia panel 25 has a fascia section 26 which, instead of presenting a plane front surface, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and in FIG. 3, is instead shaped to form a step at 27, some distance above the bottom of the fascia section, to facilitate the alignment and installation of a gutter (not shown) in front of the fascia section.