US Patent 7673423 Cladding apparatus, method and system

There is provided cladding apparatus comprising a body portion (108) having an inner surface (110) and an outer surface (112) extending longitudinally between a leading edge (114) and a trailing edge (116) and transversely between opposed side edges (118). The leading edge (114) is provided with a formation (124) which inter-engages with complementary formation (126) provided on an adjacent body portion thereby permitting the body portions to inter-engage when laid in a longitudinal sequence. The body portion (108) is provided with a pair of longitudinally extending elongate mounting portions (128) on the inner surface (110) thereof. A longitudinal mounting batten (144) is attached to the fascia panel (106) adjacent to the exposed edge of the tiles (104), and into which the elongate mounting portions (128) may slide. A roof batten (132) is laid on the tiles and has on its lower face a plurality of steps which compensate for the overlapping nature of the tiles to provide a level upper face (140) when laid on the tiles (104), the upper face (140) forming a labyrinth with the inner surface (110) to assist in excluding weather in use.