Illinois Tool Works Inc.

S Riaz Hasan

Michael Starozhitsky

Sigismund G Paul

Mark D Bauer

Louis Thomas

William J Blucher

William A Spring

Lawrence R Reinebach

A roof decking membrane welding system and method comprises first and second roof decking membranes having edge portions thereof welded to each other so as to define a seamed connection therebetween. The edge portion of a first one of the membranes is disposed beneath a seam plate and folded over the top of the seam plate so as to be secured upon itself either at a location adjacent to the seamed connection with the second membrane or between the first membrane and the edge portion of the second membrane. In either case, the folded edge portion of the first membrane forms a closed loop portion which presents multiple regions for load-sharing in resisting uplifting wind load forces. Alternatively, the edge portion of the first membrane is folded over itself but disposed beneath the seam plate so as to present dual plies of the first membrane for engagement with the seam plate so as to again provide load-sharing characteristics under uplifting wind load forces.

Roof decking membrane welding system and method

A carbon steel screw has one or more portions which have been selectively hardened by selective heat treatment and quenching. In one embodiment, an upper portion of the screw head is selectively hardened to prevent or reduce damage when torque is applied using a driving tool. In another embodiment, the screw tip is selectively hardened for more effective penetration into a substrate. Preferably, the selectively heated portions are selectively quenched to reduce or avoid distortion.

Screws having selected heat treatment and hardening

A stress plate for use with a threaded fastener for securing relatively soft insulation to a solid base, such as in a roofing environment, includes a generally planar main body with an underside, an aperture on the main body configured for receiving the fastener, and a sleeve circumscribing the aperture and depending from the underside a sufficient distance to receive the fastener and maintain the fastener perpendicular to the plate, especially when the plate is located intermediate the fastener ends. In the preferred embodiment, the fastener is threaded with a defined pitch of the thread, and the sleeve is dimensioned to span at least one pitch of the fastener.

Stress plate with depending sleeve

An improved method of attaching a roofing membrane to an underlayment and an improved roofing construction made by the improved method. A screw and a composite roofing washer are used to attach the membrane to the underlayment. The composite roofing washer is an interlocked assemblage of a metal roofing washer and a thermoplastic insert. After the screw has been driven, the thermoplastic insert is heated so as to cause some of the material of the thermoplastic insert to flow over the head of the screw, thereby to heat-seal the screw to the thermoplastic insert. The thermoplastic insert may be so heated when the roofing membrane is welded to another like membrane at an overlapped seam.

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Palatine, IL, United States of America

S Riaz Hasan