AU2015218172B2

AU2015218172B2 - A roofing spacer attachable to a purlin

Info

Publication number: AU2015218172B2
Application number: AU2015218172A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Timothy Scott Clifton
Original assignee: Clifton Development and Designs Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Clifton Development and Designs Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2014-02-14
Filing date: 2015-02-13
Publication date: 2019-07-25
Anticipated expiration: 2035-02-13
Also published as: AU2015218172A1; WO2015120507A1

Abstract

A roofing spacer which comprises an elongate member (16) which is substantially channel shaped and therefore comprises a top wall (16) A and opposed sidewalls (16B). A "front" end of the elongate member comprises a first attachment member in the form of a hook (18). The other "rear" end of the elongate member comprises a second attachment member in the form of a sharp projection (20). The elongate member comprises galvanised steel which is pressed into the required shape. The length of the elongate member in the preferred embodiment is between 0.7-1.5 m.

Description

A ROOFING SPACER ATTACHABLE TO A PURLIN

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is directed to a roofing system and to a roofing spacer that can be attached to roofing purlins and to which roof sheets can be attached. The spacer functions, inter alia, to provide space for insulation placed over the purlins and underneath the roofing sheets. The spacer can also function to provide a system to enable roof sheets to be attached to purlins without using multiple screws.

BACKGROUND

Any references to methods, apparatus or documents of the prior art are not to be taken as constituting any evidence or admission that they formed, or form part of the common general knowledge.

Large roof areas, such as on shopping centers or other large buildings typically comprise steel girders to act as beams. Smaller purlins are fixed across the beams and at spaced intervals. A safety mesh is attached to the purlins. Roofing sheets are then screwed into the purlins or attached by other known means such as via a clip lock mechanism. These attachment methods are time consuming and require the use of multiple screw fasteners and clips.

There would be an advantage to enable roof sheets (for example) to be more conveniently attached to purlins using intermediate members and in a manner that required less fasteners and was quicker and easier to achieve.

It is often a requirement to provide suitable insulation in the roof area. Conventionally, insulating material in roll form is laid over the purlins and the roofing sheets are then attached. The insulating material can comprise aluminium foil and PE bubble insulation, glasswool insulation and the like.

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A disadvantage with this system is that the insulation material is compressed between the purlins and the roof sheets. For insulation material to achieve its proper insulating rating it needs to be in the fully expanded form. Compressed or crushed insulation reduced insulation efficiency. The safety mesh may also cause compression of the insulation between the purlins by trapping the insulation between the mesh and the roof sheets.

There would be an advantage if it were possible to provide a roofing system where the insulation was less compressed.

There would be an advantage if it were possible to provide a roofing system where the insulation was less compressed and which could be achieved in a relatively quick and easy manner.

There would be a particular advantage to provide a roofing system where the insulation was less compressed and which could be achieved in a relatively quick and easy manner and which does not require a large number, or any, separate fasteners to do so.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a roofing spacer comprising an elongate member, attachment means to attach the elongate member to a purlin, roofing sheets able to be attached to the elongate member to space the roofing sheets from the purlin.

In a more particular form, the invention comprises a roofing spacer attachable to a purlin and to which roofing sheets can be attached comprising:

an elongate member, attachment means to attach the elongate member to a purlin, the attachment means comprising a projection on the elongate member adapted to pass into an opening on the purlin

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PCT/AU2015/000078 roofing sheets able to be attached to the elongate member to space the roofing sheets from the purlin.

In this manner a space is created between the purlin/mesh and the roof sheets, and if insulation is laid in the usual manner over the purlins/mesh, there is sufficient space to enable the insulation to retain its expanded state.

In a non-limiting example of the invention reference may be had to figure 1 which illustrates a roofing spacer according to a non-limiting embodiment. Figure 7 illustrates a roofing spacer according to a second embodiment of the invention.

The spacer may be of any suitable length and a suitable length will be one that allows the spacer to be handled by installers in a safe manner. It is expected that a suitable length will be between 0.5-3 meters, and preferably between 0.8-1,5meters, these lengths being particularly suited to manual placement of the spacers. Longer lengths may require lifting machinery to assist.

The spacer may be made from any suitable material. A suitable material comprises steel which may be treated for corrosion resistance by galvanization or some other method. Other metals may be suitable such as aluminium. Other suitable materials may comprise laminate materials, plastics materials, filled or reinforced plastics materials, composite materials and the like. It is expected that steel plate will suited for most applications.

The spacer may have a channel like configuration and may therefore comprise a top wall and opposed sidewalls. The top wall and the side walls may be formed integrally and in one form the spacer comprises sheet material bent or otherwise shaped into the channel like configuration. The thickness of the sheet material may vary, inter alia, on the type of metal chosen and the size of the spacer. A thickness of between 0.5-4mm for steel is considered

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PCT/AU2015/000078 suitable. The space may also be made of a number of different pieces of material of different thicknesses that are joined together.

The spacer may be oriented to provide a top wall and depending side walls (for instance, as illustrated in figure 1), or may be oriented to provide a base wall and upstanding side walls, (for instance, as illustrated in figure 7).

For ease of attachment of the spacer to a purlin (or other support member), it is considered suitable for the width of the spacer to be less than the width of the purlin. Thus the width of the top wall of the spacer is typically less that the width of the purlin.

The height of the sidewalls will, inter alia, determine the space available for the insulation between the roof sheets and the purlin. The height may vary but it is considered that a height of between 40mm-200mm will be suitable for most roof installations.

While the present invention will be described with reference to the roofing spacer being attached to a purlin, it should be appreciated that no particular limitation is meant thereby and the roofing spacer may also be attached to any other type of support beam, support member or support where there is an advantage in providing a roofing spacer according to the present invention.

The top wall/base wall may be continuous or may include openings, cutouts, profiles, or other configurations. The top wall may be continuous to enable maximum flexibility with attachment of roof sheets to the top wall. It should be appreciated that the roof sheets may be attached directly to the top wall via roofing screws.

Alternatively, the top wall (or another part of the roofing spacer) may be provided with some form of fixing means or fixing member to enable roof sheets to be clipped, press locked or otherwise fixed to or relative to the roofing spacer.

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In a nonlimiting example, reference may be had to figure 6 which illustrates an embodiment of the roofing spacer where the top wall contains a plurality of fixing clips to clip roof sheets in place.

In another form, the invention comprises a roofing attachment member comprising:

an elongate member, attachment means to attach the elongate member to a purlin, the attachment means comprising a projection on the elongate member adapted to pass into an opening on the purlin; and roof sheet attachment clips on the elongate member to enable press locked roof sheets to be press locked to the elongate member via the attachment clips.

An example of this form is illustrated in figure 12.

This version of the invention is particularly suited for a common type of roofing system using press locked roof sheets. A known system comprises the Klip Lok roofing system. The elongate member can be pre fitted with a multiplicity of attachment clips to greatly reduce installation time and complexity.

The opposed sidewalls may be continuous, or may include cutouts, openings, recesses and the like. It is preferred that the sidewalls contain substantially full height end parts and reduced height areas between the end parts to assist in preventing unnecessary compression of the insulation. This will be described in greater detail below.

The sidewalls may have turned in or turned out lips/flanges this being particularly preferred if the spacer is in the orientation as illustrates in figure 7 at least.

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Attachment means is provided to attach the roofing spacer to a purlin (or other suitable substrate). The attachment means may comprise one or more attachment members. It is preferred that the attachment means comprises at least two attachment members which may be positioned at or adjacent each end of the elongate member.

Suitably, one attachment member (hereinafter called the first attachment member) comprises a hook like portion adapted to extend into an opening on the purlin. The hook like portion is suitably configured in such a manner that the portion can extend into the opening when the roofing spacer is in an upright or inclined position and is locked in position when the roofing spacer is positioned on the purlin. A nonlimiting example of a hook like portion is identified as reference numeral 18 in at least figure 1.

The first attachment member may be integral with a sidewall of the spacer. In this embodiment, the sidewall can be stamped out with the first attachment member. There may be circumstances where is it desirable to have a first attachment member on each side wall (this requiring two pre formed slots in the underlying purlin).

Alternatively, the first attachment member may be formed separately and attached to the remainder of the spacer by any suitable means including by spot welds or rivets. A non-limiting embodiment of this version of the invention is illustrates in figure 7 at least.

Suitably, and if provided, the other attachment member (hereinafter called the second attachment member) comprises some form of projection which is adapted to enter into an opening on the purlin when the roofing spacer is positioned on the purlin. A nonlimiting example of the projection is identified as reference numeral 20 in at least figure 1. Of course, it is not considered that that any particular limitation should be placed on the hook like portion or the second attachment member merely by the illustration of a preferred embodiment.

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There may be circumstances where it is desirable to provide more than one hook like portion on the elongate member. There may be circumstances where it is desirable to provide more than one projection on the elongate member.

It is preferred that the configuration of the elongate member is such that the front end of one elongate member (which hereinafter is the end of the elongate member which may contain the first attachment member) can engage with the rear end of a second elongate member (the rear end hereinafter being the end that contains the second attachment member). This inter engagement between adjacent members can facilitate installation and this will be described in greater detail below.

It is preferred that the inter engagement is by overlapping the front end of one elongate member with the rear end of a second elongate member.

In one form, the overlapping may be achieved by slightly enlarging the front end of the elongate portion such that it can overlap the rear end of a second elongate portion. In a preferred form, the elongate member may taper from a larger front end to a narrower rear end to enable the overlapping to take place. However, in another form, the front end may be belled outwardly such that it can overlap the rear end of a second elongate portion and in this form of the invention, the elongate member need not taper entirely from the front end to the rear end.

The elongate member may be provided with various other modifications. For instance, strengthening ribs, walls, and gussets may be provided between the opposed sidewalls to provide strength.

There may be circumstances where it is desirable to provide some form of length adjustability to the elongate member. Should this be required, the elongate member may be formed in two parts which can be slidable or otherwise length adjustable relative to each other and then locked into place.

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In another form, the invention comprises a roof installation method comprising placing at least one roofing spacer as described above onto a purlin and connecting roofing sheets to the roofing spacer.

Suitably, insulation material is placed in position prior to attaching the at least one roofing spacer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention may be discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. The Detailed Description is not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of the Invention in any way. The Detailed Description will make reference to a number of drawings as follows:

Figure 1. Illustrates a roofing spacer according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Figure2. Illustrates installation of the roofing spacers with the insulation removed for clarity.

Figure 3. Illustrates attachment of the front of a second roofing spacer of figure 1 to the rear of a first roofing spacer.

Figure 4. Illustrates installation similar to that described above but this time with the insulation in place.

Figure 5. Illustrates attachment of roofing sheets to the roofing spacers as illustrates in figure 1.

Figure 6. Illustrates a variation of the roofing spacer of figure 1 containing attachment clips for the roofing sheets.

Figures 7-10. Illustrate a roofing spacer according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Figure 11. Illustrates initial attachment of the spacer of the first embodiment to a purlin.

Figure 12. Illustrates a slim line spacer.

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring initially to figure 1, there is illustrated a roofing spacer which comprises an elongate member 16 which is substantially channel shaped and therefore comprises a top wall 16A and opposed sidewalls 16B. A front end of the elongate member comprises a first attachment member in the form of a hook 18. The other rear end of the elongate member comprises a second attachment member in the form of a sharp projection 20. The elongate member comprises galvanised steel which is pressed into the required shape. The length of the elongate member in the preferred embodiment is between 0.7-1.5 m.

The channel is not uniform and instead tapers from a wider front end (in the area of hook 18) to a narrower rear end (in the area of projection 20). The reason for this is to enable adjacent roofing spacers to be attached in an overlapping manner and this will be described in greater detail below.

The sidewalls of the elongate member have a large cutaway portion 16 C to minimise compression or crushing of insulation and this will also be described in greater detail below.

The hook 18 projects forwardly of the remainder of the roofing spacer and has a sharp piercing point and the reason for this will be described in greater detail below. Projection 20 contains a sharp piercing point and the reason for this will be described in greater detail below.

Having now briefly described the roofing spacer, reference will now be had to figure 2 which illustrates part of a roof assembly without insulation. Figure 2 illustrates a conventional system comprising elongate steel purlins 4 and 6. A strong safety mesh 12 is attached to the purlins and one function of mesh 12 is to prevent workers from falling to the ground (it being appreciated that the purlins might be ten or more metres above ground). Another function of mesh 12 is to support the insulation. Conventionally, steel roof sheets (not

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PCT/AU2015/000078 illustrated) are screwed directly to the purlins and a disadvantage of this is that the insulation (which sits on top of the purlins and on top of mesh 12) has insufficient space to fully expand and therefore provide maximum insulation.

Referring to figure 3, the purlins are provided with slots 14a,b etc. at spaced intervals and the function of the slots is to allow the hook 18 and the projection 20 on each roofing spacer to be attached to the purlin via a respective slot 14a,b. In the particular embodiment, the purlin is provided with a first slot 14a (see figure 2) to accommodate the width of hook 18 and a second slot 14 b to accommodate hook 18 of a second roofing spacer and the projection 20 of the first roofing spacer in the same slot (14b).

Figure 11 illustrates the initial attachment of the first spacer (e.g. 16w) to a purlin. The purlin 4 has a pre formed slot 4a into which the hook 18 can pass. When the spacer is held in the vertical position as illustrates in figure 11, the tip of the hook 18 passes through the slot. When the spacer is subsequently lowered to the horizontal (see for instance figure 2), the hook 18 has rotated anticlockwise to sit under the purlin to lock the spacer to the purlin as long as the spacer is in the lowered position (see figure 2).

The installation of the spacers to the underlying purlins (containing the pre formed slots 14), can be achieved quickly and without requiring multiple fastening screws. A first spacer is held in a generally upright configuration and hook 18 is pushed into the slot 14a on the purlin. Thereafter, the spacer can be lowered (or even dropped) onto the purlin and this causes the hook rotate back to the “horizontal” position illustrated in figure 1 and in this position, the hook sits under the purlin to lock the front of the spacer to the purlin. In this lowered position, the other projection 20 passes into slot 14b on purlin 4. The spacing between slots 14b and 14b is predetermined such that the lowering of the roofing spacer will automatically result in projection 20 passing into slot 14b. In practice, the installer can push hook 18 into its slot 14b and then drop the roofing spacer onto the top of the purlin which will cause projection 20 to

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PCT/AU2015/000078 pass into slot 14b. Also, the configuration of hook 18 is such that once the roofing spacer is on top of the purlin, the roofing spacer cannot be removed.

Once the first roofing spacer e.g. 16w, 16x is in position, a second roofing spacer e.g. 16y, 16z can be installed and reference will now be had to figure

3. In figure 3, a second roofing spacer 16y is in the substantially vertical position and the hook 18 on the second roofing spacer 16y has been pushed into the same (wider) slot 14b which already contains projection 20 from the first roofing spacer. This is also why hook 18 on each roofing spacer extends from one side wall of the roofing spacer. Also, because this end (the front end) of the roofing spacer 16y is wider than the narrower rear end of the first roofing spacer, the front end can overlap the rear end as illustrated in figure 3. This is achieved by having the roofing spacer tapering from a wider front end to a narrower rear end. The second roofing spacer also functions to lock the rear end of the first roofing spacer against the purlin to prevent removal.

Once the second roofing spacer 16y has been initially positioned by having its hook 18 forced into slot 14b, it is then lowered onto purlin 4 and the projection 20 on the second roofing spacer enters into its wider slot. The process can then be repeated with further roofing spacers until such time as the entire length of the purlin has been covered. Each roofing spacer will lock the previous roofing spacer into position on the purlin. The last roofing spacer may be locked using a fastener or by some other method.

Referring to figure 4, there is illustrated the arrangement of figure 2 but including an insulation layer 22a which is placed in the usual manner over the safety mesh and the purlins.

Once the insulating layer is in place, a first roofing spacer 16w or 16x can be positioned. At this stage, it is necessary to align the hook 18 with the slot 14a on the purlin but slot 14a is not immediately visible because of the overlying insulation. Thus, it may be necessary to find the approximate position of slot 14a. Then, the advantage of the piercing properties of hook 18 become

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PCT/AU2015/000078 apparent as an installer (while holding the roofing spacer in a substantially vertical position) can find slot 14a and then push hook 18 through the insulation layer and into the slot 14a. Once this has been achieved, the roofing spacer can then be lowered or dropped and if necessary a small pushing force applied to the rear end of the spacer such that the projection 20 can pierce through the insulation layer and into its slot 14b.

Once the first roofing spacer (16w, 16x) is in position, the second one (16y, 16z) can be easily fitted as all that is necessary is to overlap the wider frontend of the second roofing spacer onto the rear end of the first position roofing spacer and then to push the hook of the second roofing spacer into the shared slot 14b.

It can be seen in figure 4 that the insulation is not compressed and has sufficient space to expand due to the roofing spacers. The large cut-out portion 16C in each roofing spacer (see figure 1) minimises compression of the insulation by the spacer on top of the insulation.

Referring now to figure 5, roofing sheets 24 can be attached to the roofing spacers by any suitable technique which may comprise screws or clips 24a (see figure 6). There is sufficient space underneath the roofing sheets for the insulation to properly expand.

Referring to figures 7-10, there is illustrated a second embodiment of the roofing spacer. The roofing spacer may have a length and be made of materials similar to that described previously. Roofing spacer 30 is generally channel shaped and therefore comprises a bottom wall 31 and a pair of opposed sidewalls 32. Each side wall contains a turned in lip 33 which does not extend the entire length of each side wall for reasons that will be described in greater detail below.

Attached to one end of the channel is a first attachment member 34. Attachment member 34 is better illustrated in figures 8 and 9. The attachment

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PCT/AU2015/000078 member comprises a separate member which is attached to the channel by any suitable means and, in this particular embodiment, the attachment member is riveted or spot welded to the bottom wall 31 of the channel.

The attachment member can therefore be formed of thicker and stronger steel than the remainder of the roofing spacer which is in contrast to the first embodiment where the attachment member (hook 18) forms part of the material of the roofing spacer.

In the particular embodiment, attachment member 34 is made from two plates of steel spot welded or otherwise attached together. Each plate is a mirror image of the other sheet and each plate comprises a side tab 35 (see figure 8) to enable the plate to be attached to bottom wall 31 of the channel, a main plate like body portion 36 which has been cut with the upper portion of the cut having been bent away to form another side tab 37, and the bottom portion forming a hook 38.

The attachment member 34 is attached to the roofing spacer in such a manner that the hook 38 is approximately midway across the channel. Of course, it is envisaged that there may be circumstances where the attachment member is positioned in such a way that the hook is not approximately in the middle and may be towards one or the other of the sidewalls 32.

The sidewalls in the area about attachment member 34 do not contain turned in lips and this is to enable attachment of one roofing spacer to a second roofing spacer, which will be described in greater detail below.

The other end of roofing spacer 30 (better illustrated in figure 10) is provided with an opening 39 the function of which is to enable the hook of a second roofing spacer to be attached and this will be described in greater detail below. In the particular embodiment, opening 39 is somewhat triangular in shape to provide an opening sufficiently large to allow the hook 38 of a second roofing spacer to pass through the opening and engage with a

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PCT/AU2015/000078 preformed slot in a purlin (this being similar to that described with reference to the first embodiment). However, it is envisaged that opening 39 may also be oval, rectangular, or have other shapes.

The turned in lips 33 in the side wall area about opening 39 are modified as follows. The turned in lips are cutaway at 40 immediately to each side of the opening 39 (when viewed in plan) and the turned in lips between the end 41 of the roofing spacer and the cutaway area 40 are provided with ramped portions 42 to assist in the locking a second roofing spacer to the roofing spacer and this will be described in greater detail below.

In use, the roofing spacers 30 are attached to the underlying purlin (not illustrated) in a manner similar to that described with reference to the previous embodiment. Thus, a first roofing spacer 30 is held in a substantially upright position and the hook 38 is pushed through a slot in the purlin (see the previous embodiment). The roofing spacer can then be dropped (rotated) to the horizontal position where it sits on top of the purlin.

One point of difference with the roofing spacer 30 of this embodiment is that the roofing spacer is not provided with a second attachment member (see for instance 20 in the previous embodiment). Thus, when the first roofing spacer is hooked into the purlin via hook 38 and placed on top of the purlin, it is loose at the other end which contains opening 39. Opening 39 aligns with another slot in the purlin (this being similar to that described previously).

A second roofing spacer is then held in a substantially upright position and the hook 38 of the second roofing spacer is pushed through opening 39 of the first roofing spacer and into the pre-formed slot in the purlin. Then, the second roofing spacer is pushed down to the horizontal position where it sits on top of the purlin. As the second roofing spacer is pushed down, the end turned in lips 43 (see figure 10) will be pushed downwardly and/or pushed slightly outwardly until such time as the second roofing spacer is in the final horizontal position. At this stage, the turned in lips 43 snap back into the position

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PCT/AU2015/000078 illustrated in figure 10 where the turned in lips overly the sidewalls of the front part of the second roofing spacer and this functions to further lock the second roofing spacer to the first roofing spacer.

When the second roofing spacer is in place, the front part 44 (see figure 8) of the bottom wall of the second roofing spacer overlies the rear part 45 of the bottom wall of the first roofing spacer thereby locking the rear part of the first roofing spacer against the purlin.

Thus, although the roofing spacer of this embodiment is not provided with a rear projection, the rear part of the roofing spacer is nevertheless clamped or locked to the purlin upon the attachment of a second roofing spacer.

The sidewalls 32 can be provided with conventional roof clips 46 to enable a conventional clip lock or press lock roofing sheets to be attached via the roof clips 46 to the roofing spaces.

Of course, other types of roof sheet attachment means may be provided other than roof clips 46.

In another embodiment, the spacer can be used to enable roofing sheets to be press locked relative to a purlin is a much more convenient manner. The spacer need not be used with insulation and so the spacer can be more slim line in configuration. Figure 12 generally illustrates this type of spacer. The sidewalls do not have the cut outs (16C see figure 1) and the sidewalls are much slimmer. Thus, in this variation, the spacer can be seen as a roofing attachment member. Roof clips (not illustrated but of the type illustrated a 24a in figure 6 and 46 in figure 7 at least) can be attached to the member.

One advantage of the present invention is that the spacers can be fitted essentially without separate fasteners.

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Although the invention has been described with reference to roofing, the spacers may also be suitable for use in walls or partitions that require insulation that needs to be maintained in the expanded position.

In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. The term “comprises” and its variations, such as “comprising” and “comprised of’ is used throughout in an inclusive sense and not to the exclusion of any additional features. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art.

Throughout the specification and claims (if present), unless the context requires otherwise, the term substantially or about will be understood to not be limited to the value for the range qualified by the terms.

Any embodiment of the invention is meant to be illustrative only and is not meant to be limiting to the invention. Therefore, it should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications can be made to any embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A roofing spacer attachable to a purlin and to which roofing sheets can be attached comprising:

an elongate member; and a first attachment means adjacent one end of the elongate member, the first attachment means comprising a hook projecting from the elongate member to attach the elongate member to a purlin, the hook adapted to pass into an opening on the purlin.
2. The spacer of claim 1, wherein the hook has a sharp point.
3. The spacer of claim 1 or claim 2, including roofing sheet clips for attachment of roofing sheets thereto.
4. The spacer of claim 3, wherein said roofing sheet clips number three clips disposed along the elongate member.
5. The spacer of claim 2, wherein the elongate member is substantially channel shaped comprising a pair of opposed sidewalls and an interconnecting wall therebetween.
6. The spacer of claim 1 further including a second attachment means adjacent another end of the elongate member.
7. The spacer of claim 6, wherein said the second attachment means comprises a member projecting from the elongate member and formed with a point.
8. The spacer of claim 7, wherein the hook and the second attachment means extend from a sidewall of the elongate member.

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9. The spacer of any one of claims 6-8 wherein the first attachment means and the second attachment means project from the elongate member at a right angle to each other.
10. The spacer of claim 9 wherein the elongate member comprises a pair of opposed sidewalls and an interconnecting wall and the attachment means comprises a hook extending from the interconnecting wall.
11. The spacer of claim 10, wherein an end of the elongate member opposite the hook includes an opening in the interconnecting wall adapted to allow the hook of a second spacer to pass through the opening and into a slot in an underlying purlin.
12. A roof installation including a spacer according to any one of the preceding claims in combination with a purlin and in engagement with a roofing sheet.
13. A roof installation method comprising placing a plurality of roofing spacers according to any one of claims 1 to 11 onto a purlin; and connecting roofing sheets to the roofing spacers, adjacent spacers being in a partially overlapping arrangement.
14. A roofing spacer comprising:

an elongate member including opposed sidewalls and an interconnecting wall therebetween;

attachment means to attach the elongate member to a purlin including a first attachment means comprising a hook extending forwardly from a first end of the elongate member to attach the elongate member to a purlin, the hook adapted to pass into an opening on the purlin, and a second projection at a second end of the elongate member extending downwardly; and roofing sheet attachment means fast with the elongate member for attaching roofing sheets to the elongate member to thereby space attached roofing sheets from the purlin.