GB2436570A

GB2436570A - Floorboard with rebated side and end edges

Info

Publication number: GB2436570A
Application number: GB0606386A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Greg Butler
Original assignee: SONAE
Current assignee: SONAE
Priority date: 2006-03-30
Filing date: 2006-03-30
Publication date: 2007-10-03
Also published as: GB0606386D0

Abstract

A rectangular floorboard 10 has rebated profiles on both pairs of opposite parallel edges. The board 10 can be mechanically joined to a similarly configured board 10' by the profiled edges. Relief 18, 18' may be provided at the top and/or bottom of each edge. The relief 18, 18' may be in the form of an angled cut or a concave or convex curved channel. The edges of the board may deviate from the perpendicular to the faces of the board. The same profile may be provided along both pairs of opposite edges. Alternatively the profiles provided on one pair of edges may be different from those provided on the other pair of edges. A flooring comprising rows of such boards with profiles on adjacent boards cooperating is also provided. A method of laying such a flooring is also provided. A method of lifting a flooring board from a flooring is also provided.

Description

1 2436570 Floorboards This invention relates to floorboards and to a

method for installing and lifting floorboards.

Floors have traditionally been laid with square edged boards, but more recently rebated boards (for example, tongue and groove boards) have been used for ease of laying and for increased strength. An example of this can be found in GB23 11 793 in which the boards have rebates or tongue and groove fittings down the long sides of the boards and are square at the ends. All the boards are preferably identical and in alternate rows the boards are turned over to make adjacent flanges or rebates overlap. In one configuration, only the alternate boards with rebates facing down will be fastened with the remaining boards being held in place laterally by the secured boards and longitudinally by the friction between adjacent boards.

However, the boards of GB23 11793 exhibit some problems in both fitting and subsequent appearance. The boards are arranged to have a close fit but make no allowance for debris between boards or for manufacturing differences in the thickness of the boards. This can result in adjacent boards being at slightly different heights which can produce "telegraphing" -the contours of the edges of the floorboards being visible through any subsequent floor covering, for example the lines of the floorboards being visible through carpet. It may also be difficult to obtain the close fit between adjacent boards which is desired and which can result in gaps between adjacent boards which again causes telegraphing and is not such a tight fit.

An object of the present invention is to provide boards and flooring which overcomes the problems of the prior art. A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for laying flooring and another object of the present invention is to provide a method for lifting flooring.

According to the present invention, there is provided a rectangular floorboard wherein both pairs of opposite parallel edges have rebated cooperating profiles to mechanically join a similarly configured co-operating adjacent floorboard.

Such boards have the advantage of having a close and secure fitting along both the long and the short sides. This provides a gap-free flooring in all directions.

Each board has complimentary profiles on opposite sides so that each board is the same way up on assembly and looks the same. The prior art systems do not have rebates on both the long and the short sides and accordingly there may be gaps between adjacent boards within each row as the square endsdo not fit tightly together. This gap is potentially a problem from a health and safety point of view and also from an aesthetic point of view where these gaps may produce telegraphing in the flooring.

Optionally, each edge of the board has a relief at the top and/or bottom edge of the board. On assembly this allows for a smooth transition from board to board minimising or negating the effect of differences in board thickness and thereby avoiding the problem of "telegraphing". This relief may be in the range of from 0.5 to 3mm in depth, optionally from ito 3mm in depth, optionally from 1.5 to 3mm in depth or from 2 to 3mm in depth. The total depth of the floorboard may be between 10 and 3 0mm, or between 12 and 25 mm, or between 15 and 2Onim,orbetween 16 and 18mm.

This relief may be in the form of an angled cut taking off the corner of the board. The angle may be from 25 to 65 from the horizontal, or from 35 to 550, or from 40 to 50 . Alternatively, the relief may be a curved channel running the length of the edge of the board. The curve may be either concave or convex relative to the board.

The board may also be profiled to have edges which deviate by an angle from the vertical. In particular they may be cut at an angle to the vertical which is in the range 0 to 100, optionally 1 to 100 or 2 to 8 or 3 to 6 . Such angled edges on adjacent boards allow the boards to be fitted together more easily as there are fewer points of contact between adjacent boards but they still provide a gap free top and bottom surface. The boards may be slid into place more easily and any debris between adjacent boards is pushed down into the resulting gaps.

This avoids the problem of boards being forced apart by debris in between the edges. The deviation may apply to the substantially vertical portions running from both the top and the bottom of the board to further reduce the number of points of contact between adjacent boards.

The same co-operating profiles may be present on the long and the short sides of the boards or different profiles may be present on the long sides from those present on the short sides. The co-operating profile may be a lip extending out from the top surface on one each of the long and short sides of the floorboard, and a co-operating lip extending out from the bottom surface on the remaining two sides. On assembly the top lip of one board will co-operate mechanically with the bottom lip of an adjacent board with the upper lip holding the lower lip securely in place without need for additional fixings on the board with the lower lip.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flooring comprising a plurality of floorboards as set out above, the floorboards being arranged in rows such that the cooperating profiles on adjacent boards cooperate, and the boards are secured by fixing means. The securing may be along just the longitudinal side with a lip at the top surface of each row for the central portion of the floor where a board is surrounded by further floorboards on each side, but by fixing means along both sides of the board at the perimeter of the flooring. The fixing means may be any suitable means, for example screws.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for laying a flooring comprising a plurality of floorboards as set out above, the method comprising laying a first row of boards with the rebated cooperating profiles on the short sides cooperating, laying a second row of boards adjacent to and cooperating with the first row of boards by means of the rebated cooperating profiles along the long sides of the boards, and securing the first row of boards by fixing means. A further row of boards may then be placed adjacent to and co-operating with the second row of boards and the second row of boards secured by fixing means. The fixing means maybe any suitable means such as screws. The securing may be at the two corners on the long side of the board with an upper lip, or may additionally include further fixings at points along said long side, for example at the mid point of the side or at each joint.

The additional fixing means, beyond the mechanical co-operation between adjacent boards, may be placed according to builders recommended guidelines or in accordance with existing best practice. They may be placed at least 8mm from the edges of the floorboards or any such distance from the edge such that the fixing passes through the complete board and not through rebated profile, for example 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 or 22mm from the edge. The fixing may be at 300mm intervals or more or at every joist, for example at 400mm intervals.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for lifting a selected board from an assembled flooring, in which the fixings of the selected board are removed, the fixings in the adjacent boards which mechanically secure the selected board by means of the co-operating profile are loosened, the selected board is lifted at the corner and the board is slid out and removed. In this way, any one specific board can be removed and it is not necessary to lift multiple boards to gain access to a specific area under the floor in the event that access is desired. Fixings in adjacent boards are loosened to enable sufficient flexibility in the flooring in the region of interest for the selected board to be removed.

Other optional features of the floorboards set out above apply equally to the flooring, the method of laying and the method of lifting the floor according to the present invention.

The present invention may be put into practice in a number of different ways and various embodiments will be described here in further detail by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying figures in which: Figure 1 shows an edge of a floorboard according to one embodiment of the present invention with the relief at the top and bottom of the board exaggerated; Figure 2 shows adjacent boards fitted together; and Figure 3 shows schematically an assembled floor and the method of lifting according to the present invention.

Figure 1 shows one embodiment of an edge of a floorboard according to the present invention. The opposite edge has a complimentary shape such that adjacent boards are joined in the manner shown in figure 2. Both the long and the short sides of each rectangular floorboard has a profiled form such that each board will be mechanically secured to a plurality of boards as shown by way of

example in figure 3.

A rectangular floorboard 10 has a top surface 12, a bottom surface 14 and four edges 1 6. The edge 16 is profiled to allow mechanical connection to adjacent boards. In the embodiment shown, the profile takes the form of a step or rebate 17 in which there is a lip extending from the top surface along two edges of the board (one long and one short) and a co-operating lip extending from the bottom surface along the other two edges. As will be clear from the discussion of cooperating profiles above and from figure 2 showing two adjacent boards, the edge along the opposite side to edge 16 will have a profile in which the step or rebate is the opposite way round. The step 17 is shown to be at an angle 0, but it may be that this surface is parallel to the top and bottom surfaces such that 0=0. In a preferred embodiment 0 falls in the range 0 to 20 , preferably 10 .

The edge 16 has relief 18 at the top and bottom. The relief is in the form of an angled cut removing the right-angled corner from the join between the substantially vertical side portion and the top or bottom surface respectively.

The angle of the cut with respect to the top surface 12 is a and that between the cut and the bottom surface 14 is f3. In a preferred embodiment a=3=45 . The width d1 and depth d2 of the cut 18 is between 1 and 3mm and in one embodiment is 2mm. The depth d3 of the step or rebate may be in the range 10 to 20mm, or lOto 15mm or l2to 14mm.

The substantially vertical portions of the edge 16 deviate from the vertical by a small amount. This is defined by angle y for the upper portion 16a of edge 16 and by angle for the]ower portion 16b of edge 16. In a preferred embodiment =6=5 . An advantage of having the edge portions 16a and 16b deviate from the vertical is that there are reduced contact points between adjacent boards which makes the boards easier to fit and easier to slide because there is reduced friction between boards. This is shown more clearly in figure 2.

Figure 2 shows two adjacent boards 10, 10' which have been laid together such that they mechanically join by virtue of their cooperating profiles. Similar features on each board are referenced by the same numeral with those for the right hand board being distinguished by a prime mark. As mentioned above, each board has relief 18, 1 8' at the top and at the bottom. The advantage of such relief is that there is no prominent discontinuity between adjacent boards resulting from a difference in depth d, d'. In a preferred embodiment d=d' for all boards laid in a single flooring. However, cutting tolerances for the boards mean that in some cases d!=d'. In the systems of the prior art without relief 18, 18' such differences in height would be immediately noticeable as there would be a step on the top surface of the flooring. The may translate into telegraphing of the edge of the boards through any subsequent floor covering, for example carpet. With the relief present, there is no sharp edge where the top surfaces of the adjacent boards meet so if there is a slight difference in height this is not noticeable through a subsequent floor covering.

The edges of the boards also have deviation from the vertical as discussed above. When adjacent boards are laid, there are two points of contact 20, 211 in addition to the step or rebate portion 17, 17'. This has a number of advantages associated with it. Firstly, any debris or dust which is between the boards as they are being fitted will be pushed into the spaces 24 and 25. In the systems of the prior art there was nowhere for this debris or dust to go and would potentially prevent close fitting of the boards. Secondly, the boards may be slid into place more easily. The reduced number of points of contact mean that there is less friction between the boards in the event that you want to slide one relative to the other during laying of the flooring. Thirdly, the result is cosmetically more pleasing. The single point of contact 20 just below the top surface means that, when viewed from above, the flooring will have an uninterrupted appearance and no visual gaps between adjacent boards.

Figure 3 shows a way of lifting a single board from a previously laid flooring.

The flooring has been laid with boards arranged in rows 30,40,50,60 such that the rows are staggered with respect to each other so that the end of board 31 in row 30 does not line up with the end of board 41 in row 40. This will ensure stronger flooring as you do not have weak links in the form ofjoins running across the floor in two perpendicular directions.

The boards are preferably secured by means of fixings such as screws. The boards around the perimeter of the flooring are secured at least in each corner of the board and optionally also at the mid-point of each long side or at each joist. The boards in the middle of the flooring are only secured along one of the long sides, namely the side with the lip extending from the top surface, or through board 10' in figure 2. The other side of the board will be held in place by the mechanical cooperation between the adjacent boards. The additional fixings along the edge of the boards with the lip extending from the top surface are at 300 or at 400mm intervals, or at each joist. The fixings are at sufficient distance from the edge to pass through the whole board and not through the profile. This is shown in figure 3. The solid lines represent the edge, 1 6a of the board with a lip extending from the top surface, the dotted lines representing the edge 1 6b of the rebated portion which meets with a lip extending from the bottom surface of an adjacent board. This shows the mechanical co-operation between adjacent boards, and how the flooring may be secured with a reduced number of fixings.

To remove board 42 from the middle of the floor, it is not necessary to remove all surrounding boards or indeed any of the surrounding boards. The three fixings 44a, 44b, 44c in the selected board 42 are removed. The fixings from the boards which mechanically hold the other edges of 42 are loosened. These are fixings 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d, 44d. The board 42 is then lifted at the bottom right hand corner (where fixing 44c has been removed) and is moved to the right and down in the direction of arrows A and B. The loosening of boards 31, 32 and 41 provides sufficient flexibility for the board 42 to be released from the mechanical fixing with these boards by the co-operating profiles. It is therefore easy to remove a single board from the middle of a flooring in the event that you need to gain access.

Other configurations of the profile along the edges of the floorboards are of course possible provided that they are cooperating and will form a close connection when they are laid and mechanically secure adjacent boards along one edge.

Claims

Claims 1. A rectangular floorboard wherein both pairs of opposite

parallel edges have rebated cooperating profiles to mechanically join a similarly configured co-operating adjacent floorboard.

2. A floorboard as claimed in claim 1, in which the board has relief at the top and/or bottom of each edge.

3. A floorboard as claimed in claim 2, in which the relief is in the form of an angled cut.

4. A floorboard as claimed in claim 3, in which the angle is in the range 25 to 65 from the horizontal.

5. A floorboard as claimed in claim 3, in which the angle is in the range to 55 from the horizontal.

6. A floorboard as claimed in claim 3, in which the angle is in the range to 50 from the horizontal.

7. A floorboard as claimed in claim 2, in which the relief is in the form of a curved channel.

8. A floorboard as claimed in claim 7, in which the curved channel is concave relative to the board.

9. A floorboard as claimed in claim 7, in which the curved channel is convex relative to the board.

10. A floorboard as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9, in which the depth of the relief from the top or bottom surface is in the range 0.5 to 3mm.

11. A floorboard as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9, in which the depth of the relief from the top or bottom surface is in the range 1.0 to 3mm.

12. A floorboard as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9, in which the depth of the relief from the top or bottom surface is in the range 1.5 to 3mm.

13. A floorboard as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9, in which the depth of the relief from the top or bottom surface is in the range 2 to 3mm.

14. A floorboard as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the edges of the board deviate from the vertical.

15. A floorboard as claimed in claim 14, in which the edges are cut at an angle to the vertical in the range 0 to 100.

16. A floorboard as claimed in claim 14, in which the edges are cut at an angle to the vertical in the range 1 to 100.

17. A floorboard as claimed in claim 14, in which the edges are cut at an angle to the vertical in the range 2 to 8 .

18. A floorboard as claimed in claim 14, in which the edges are cut at an angle to the vertical in the range 3 to 6 .

19. A floorboard as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the same profile is present along the long and the short sides of the board.

20. A floorboard as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 18, in which different profiles are present on the long and short sides of the board.

21. A flooring comprising a plurality of floorboards as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 20, the floorboards being arranged in rows such that the cooperating profiles on adjacent boards cooperate, and the boards are secured by fixing means.

22. A flooring as claimed in claim 21, in which the fixing means are screws.

23. A flooring as claimed in claim 21 or claim 22, in which the fixing means are only placed along one long side andlor one short side of each floorboard.

24. A method of laying a flooring comprising a plurality of floorboards as claimed in any one of claims I to 20, the method comprising laying a first row of boards with the rebated cooperating profiles on the short sides cooperating, laying a second row of boards adjacent to and cooperating with the first row of boards by means of the rebated cooperating profiles along the long sides of the boards, and securing the boards by fixing means.

25. A method as claimed in claim 24, in which the fixing means are screws.

26. A method as claimed in claim 24 or claim 25, in which the fixing means are only placed along one long side and br one short side of each floorboard.

27. A method for lifting a selected board from an assembled flooring, in which the fixings of the selected board are removed, the fixings in the adjacent boards which mechanically secure the selected board by means of the co-operating profile are loosened, the selected board is lifted at the corner and the board is slid out and removed.

28. A floorboard constructed and arranged substantially as herein specifically described with respect to and as shown in figures 1 and
2.

of the accompanying drawings 29. A method of lifting a board as specifically herein described with reference to figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.