Stretched cable membrane attachment system

Abstract

In standard single ply membrane roofing, there is a great number of fasteners used. If the roof deck does not accept standard mechanical fasteners, the workload required to mechanically fasten a roof becomes quite immense. The stretched cable membrane attachment system is designed to improve efficiency in installing single ply roofing membrane, as well as improve wind uplift resistance for the roofing system. It consists of a cable that is attached at both ends to the roof substrate or decking and is then sealed from the elements by means of placing additional membrane over it and adhering it to the already installed membrane. One embodiment of the device has the means of installing a turn buckle to increase the cable tension or has the turn buckle as part of its integral design. In another embodiment, the cable can have multiple mechanical fastening points on the interior of its structure in addition to the endpoints.

1 . A method and device for securing a roofing membrane to a flat or low slope roof by means of securing a cable which consists of two endpoints which both have a place through which a mechanical roofing fastener can be placed and a length of cable between the two endpoints, wherein the cable is mechanically fastened over a layer of membrane and to the roofing deck or substrate and another layer of membrane is installed over the cable and its endpoints then adhered by standard non-penetrative means to the layer of membrane beneath the cable. 
   
   
       2 . The method and device as described in  claim 1  whereby the cable has a means of connecting a turn buckle linearly along the length of the cable and between the two endpoints such that the act of turning the turn buckle increases the tension of the cable when the two endpoints are secured to the roofing substrate or decking and the turn buckle is afterward sealed by a layer of roofing membrane with the cable and its endpoints. 
   
   
       3 . The method and device as described in  claim 1  whereby there exists at least one additional fastening point within the length of the cable through which a standard mechanical fastener can be used to secure the device to the roofing substrate or decking. 
   
   
       4 . The method and device as described in  claim 1  whereby the cable and its endpoints are manufactured and sealed within one side of a roll of roofing membrane. 
   
   
       5 . The method and device as described in  claim 1  whereby the membrane that is fastened over the cable is material from the same roll or piece of membrane and is that excess which lies on one side of the cable which is then folded over the cable and adhered to itself, thus sealing in the cable device with the single piece of membrane, which is already mechanically fastened to the roofing substrate or deck.