AU667128B2

AU667128B2 - Improvements in cladding systems for buildings

Info

Publication number: AU667128B2
Application number: AU48694/93A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Brian Barber
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-09-28
Filing date: 1993-09-28
Publication date: 1996-03-07
Anticipated expiration: 2013-09-28
Also published as: AU4869493A

Description

Sr' P/00/011 AUSTRALIA Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 JA& 667 1 28 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

NOTICE

1. The specification should describe the invention in full and the best method of performing it known to the applicant.

2. The specification should be typed on as many sheets of good quality A4 International size paper as are necessary and inserted inside this form.

3. The claims defining the invention must start on a new page. If there is insufficient space on this form for the claims, use separate sheets of paper.

The words "The claims defining the invention are as follows" should appear before claim 1. After the claims the date and the name of the applicant should o* appear in block letters.

4. This form must be accompanied by a true and exact copy of the description, claims and drawings (if any) and an additional copy of the claims.

S(see Pamphlets explaining formal requirements of specifications and drawings) TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT ame o Applicant: BRIAN BARBER lam e of A pplicant: r 'Actual Inventor(s): B ?RI, AN B AR BER HALL L.IL AYS .Address for Service: .44 ASHLEY STREET. HORNSBY N.S.W. 2077, AUSTRALIA S* InVention Title: IMPROVEMENTS IN CLADDING SYSTEMS FOR BUILDINGS inV e n tio n T i°te Details of Associated Provisional Applications: Nos: PL. f d The following statement Is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- IMPROVEMENTS IN CLADDING SYSTEMS FOR BUILDINGS.

This invention relates to cladding of the type used to protectively and/or decoratively cover the exterior of buildings.

Hitherto cladding of several types has been commonly used, these include, aluminium in plank form, various form of plastic in plank form and simulated brick and sandstone tiles. As presently applied all of the above forms of cladding have drawbacks.

10 The plank cladding lacks the visual appeal of brick and the durability of brick as the cladding planks are subject to colour change, age hardening and paint flaking.

The brick tile used hitherto has been conventionally, a tile moulded from a mixture of resin and coloured sand or was a layer sliced from a conventional brick where the slice was in the order of 25% of the thickness of a conventional brick. The tile usually had upper and lower edge slots engage tile support means.

20 The brick tile unit as hitherto most commonly used, has been mounted on panels provided with lugs to support multiple rows of brick tiles. The panels were precision items and the brick tiles and the notches therein to engage the lugs were required to be precisely dimensioned. This presented problems in the manufacture of the brick tiles and the mounting method

I

was very time consuming as each tile had to be individually fitted ontd spaced apart lugs of the panels and sometime adjustment of the lugs by deflection or bending was required in order to mount the tiles.

This invention provides a method and track means for the mounting brick tiles made from fired clay which is superior to previously known arrangements adopted for the fixing of tiles of the above type. It is to be understood however that tiles of other materials could, if desired, be mounted by the method and track means oo'" provided by this invention. The means of mounting the tiles as hereinafter set forth is simple, economic and go* conducive to providing a regular tile arrangement which duplicates tte appearance of conventionally laid brickwork.

:o Broadly stated the invention provides a method of cladding an area with tiles which are substantially rectangular in shape and have a substantially uniform 20 thickness between a tile front face and a tile rear face, and have two long edges respectively at the top and bottom of the tile each with a longitudinally extending slot therealong with a predetermined depth and spaced a predetermine distance from the tile rear face, and have two ends of length less than the length of the tile long edges; the method includes the step of: providing lengths of track each including a mounting Ikr I 3 part with an inner face and an outer mounting face for fixing against a support means and a support limb extending away from said inner face and having a support surface in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of the mounting face and where the support surface has a width approximating but less than the thickness of the tiles to be mounted, an upper rib.

upstanding from the support surface of the support limb and parallel to the plane of the mounting face and spaced from said inner face by a distance exceeding said predetermined distance and a downwardly extending rib aligned with said upper rib with the height of -the *ribs not exceeding the predetermined depth of said tile slots; and the steps of fixing the mounting face of a first track to a support means with said track support surface horizontal, positioning a row of spaced tiles on said support surface with the slots in the bottom edges of the tiles engaged over said upper rib, positioning a second track above the first track with the downwardly extending rib of the second track engaged in the slots in the upper edges of the tiles supported by said first track, fixing said second track to said support means with a space between the top edges the tiles supported by said first track and the support limb of said second track, and repeating the previous steps until the required number of rows of tiles have been laid.

The invention also provides a track for mounting tiles 4 which are substantially rectangular in shape and uniform thickness between a tile front face and a tile rear face, two long edges respectively at the top and bottom of the tile each with a longitudinally extending slot therealong with a predetermined depth and spaced a predetermined distance from the tile rear face, and two ends of length less than the length of the tile long edges; the track including a mounting part with an inner face and an outer mounting face for fixing against a support means and a support limb extending away from said inner face ard having a support surface in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of the mounting face and where the support surface has a width approximating but less than the thickness of the tiles to be mounted, an upper rib upstanding from the support surface of the support limb and parallel to the plane of the mounting face and spaced from said inner face by a distance exceeding said predetermined distance and a downwardly extending rib aligned with 0 20 said upper rib with the height of neither rib exceeding 0.

the predetermined depth of said tile slots.

0** 00 0 A presently preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig.] is a perspective view of a section of track according to the invention, Fig.2 is an end view of tiles mounted on tracks, Fig.3 shows two form of alignment bars for use with the method of the invention and Fig.4 is a front view of tiles mounted by the method of the invention on track of the invention.

In the drawings the preferred form of the track is shown as being of generally section although as will be understood from the following description the track could be of generally section. The track has a mounting part 1 with an outer mounting surface and strengthening grooves and ridges 2 and the track has a forwardly extending support limb 3 which extends away from the inner face of the mounting part 1. The support surface of the support limb 3 is in a plane at right angles to the plane of the mounting face of the mounting part 1.

00 0 0 Upstanding from the support surface of the limb 3 there is a top rib 4 of a first height and extending downwardly from the limb 3 and aligned with the rib 4 there is another rib 6 which has a height greater than 0 the rib 4. The height difference is a preferred feature and not an essential.

The ribs 4 and 6 are spaced a predetermined distance .o from the inner face of the mounting part 1 for reasons to be explained and the ribs are spaced in from the free end of the limb 3 by a distance providing a land The total width of the limb 3 is less than the thickness of tiles to be supported in the track.

For strength and straightness of the rib 6 (where the 6 track is made from thin material as in a rolled formed sheet metal version) the bottom edge is turned back upon itself as indicated 7. It is to be understood that tracks of the form ilustrated could be made from plastic or extruded from aluminium. Presently, roll forming the track provides the most economical method of track manufacture.

In Fig.2 there is shown two tracks, as shown in Fig.l, fixed by nails 8 to a stud 9 of a stud and plate wall frame. Tiles 10, preferably made from fired clay, are shown mounted on the tracks each tile has a top edge 16, a bottom edge 12, two ends 17 and 18 (see Fig.3), a front face 19 and a back face 20. There are slots 11 6 DO and 14 respectively in the bottom edges 12 and the top edges 16 of the tiles. The slots 11 and 14 are shown as being of different depths but this is not essential, it is however important that the depth of the slots be related to the heights of the ribs 4 and 6.

a In the method of the invention the lowermost track for a wall of tiles is mounted on the studs 9 with the support surface of the limb 3 in a horizontal plane. A row of tiles is placed with the tile slots 11 engaged over the rib 4. The tiles so laid will sit in a stable manner as the support surface of the support limb is substantially horizontal, because the width of the support surface (including the land 5 beyond the rib 4, which land serves a primary function in the stable support of the tiles) is only a little less than the 7 thickness of the tile (being the width of the bottom edge 12 of the tile) and because of th!e support which is obtained from the engagement of the rib 4 in the slot 11.

With a row of tiles mounted on the nailed track the upper track is arranged with the rib 6 in the slots 14 in the top edges of the tiles on the nailed track and the mounting face of the upper track is secured to the studs 9 by nails with the support surface of the upper track in a horizontal plane and the support limb of the upper track spaced above the top edges 16 of the tiles on the nailed track. The spacing of the tracks is arranged to provide a spacing between tiles as is required for mortar pointing-up between tile rows. The spacing between tracks can be adjusted to suit circumstances, for example by adjusting the spacing between tracks the tiles can be laid so as to have complete tiles as the last row in a laid covering thereby avoiding the need to finish a wall with half 20 height tiles,. When tiles are laid as outlined above they are non-removable.

In order to assist with the alignment of the top edge *slots 14 of the tiles on the supporting track alignment *S bars of the type 13 and 13a as shown in Fig.3 are used.

The bars are a neat fit in the slots 14 and bridge over between adjacent tiles as shown in Fig.4. The tabs on the bars 13 serve as end spacers for the tiles and determine the width of the gap to be pointed-up with ~s~a II s I IL 8 mortar when all of the tiles are laid.

In another arrangement the ribs 4 and 6 on the tracks are of a particular height relationship to allow tiles to be removed from between tracks. Referring to Fig.2, the gap 21 between the support limb 3 and the top edge of the tile is no less than the height of the rib 4 and the rib 6 is (as illustrated) greater in height than the rib 4. This would allow the tile shown lowest in Fig.2 to be raised to abut the underface of the support limb 3 of the upper rail and then to be moved arcuately at the bottom as shown by the arrow to take up the position shown in broken lines. It is a simple matter to then move the tile downwardly past the outer edge of the land 5 to disengage the tile from the tracks. This is not an essential arrangement but is one which can be included in the method of tile mounting contemplated by the invention.

e O *6 a'

Claims

1. A method of cladding an area with tiles which are substantially rectangular in shape and have a substantially uniform thickness between a tile front face and a tile rear face, and have two long edges respectively at the top and bottom of the tile each with a longitudinally extending slot therealong with a predetermined depth and spaced a predetermine distance from the tile rear face, and have two ends of length less than the length of the tile long edges; the method includes the step of: providing lengths of track each including a mounting part with an inner face and an outer mounting face for fixing against a support means and a support limb extending away from said inner face and having a support surface in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of the mounting face and where the support surface has a width approximating but less than the thickness of the tiles to be mounted, an upper rib upstanding from the support surface of the support limb and parallel to the plane of the mounting face and spaced from said inner face by a distance exceeding said predetermined distance and a downwardly extending rib aligned with said upper rib with the height of the ribs not exceeding the predetermined depth of said tile slots; and the steps of fixing the mounting face of a first track to a support means with said track support 0.50 0 6i 44 -III 10 F-uface horizontal, positioning a row of spaced tiles on said support surface with the slots in the bottom edges of the tiles engaged over said upper rib, positioning a second track above the first track with the downwardly extending rib of the second track engaged in the slots in the upper edges of the tiles supported by said first track, fixing said second track to said support means with a space between the top edges the tiles supported by said first track and the support limb of said second track, and repeating the previous steps until the required number of rows of tiles have been laid.

2. The method claims in claim 1 where the upstanding rib on the track support member is made with a height *4 less than the height of the downwardly extending track .rib and the space between the top edges of the tiles in a row and the support limb of the track with the rib engaged in the slots in the top edges of the tiles is *greater than the height of the upstanding rib. 664 *4 1

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 including the step of bridging adjacent tiles by positioning an alignment bar in the top slots of adjacent tiles prior to engagement of the downwardly extending rib of an upper track in the slots of a row of tiles.

4. A track for mounting tiles which are substantially rectangular in shape and have a substantially uniform 11 thickness between a tile front face and a tile rear face, and have two long edges respectively at the top and bottom of the tile each with a longitudinally extending slot therealong with a predetermined depth and spaced a predetermine distance from the tile rear face, and have two ends of length less than the length of the tile long edges; the track including a mounting part with an inner face and an outer mounting face for fixing against a support means and a support limb extending away from said inner face and having a support surface in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of the mounting face and where the support surface has a width approximating but less than S the thickness of the tiles to be mounted, an upper rib upstanding from the support surface of the support limb and parallel to the plane of the mounting face and spaced from said inner face by a distance exceeding said predetermined distance which distance includes a land extending beyond said upper rib and a downwardly extending rib aligned with said upper rib with the o height of neither rib exceeding the predetermined depth S".of said tile slots.

A track as claimed in claim 4 where the upstanding 'rib has a height greater than the downwardly extending rib.

6. A track as claimed in claim 4 of claim 5 where the track is of form with the longer of the legs providing said mounting part and the shorter of said I A i I -12 legs providing said support limb.

7. A method of cladding an area with tiles, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

8. A track for use in a method of cladding an area with tiles, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 19th day of September, 1993.

9 BRIAN BARBER By his patent Attorneys, HALLIDAYS *go: 0 0 0 .9 .9 9 9 99 lqa7-I I ABSTRACT: A method of cladding an area with rectangular tiles with lower and upper edge slots (11,14), the method includes the step of providing lengths of track each including a mounting part and a support limb extending away from the mounting part where the support limb has an upstanding rib spaced from a free end of the support limb to provide a land between the upstanding rib and the limb end and with a depending rib on the limb aligned with the upstanding rib the step of fixing the mounting part of a first track to a support means the step of positioning a row of spaced tiles (10) on the support limb with the lower edge slots (11) of the i S tiles (10) over the upstanding rib with the lower Otile edges (12) resting on the support limb and the land the step of positioning a second track above the first track with the downwardly extending rib (6) O of the second track engaged in the slots (14) in the C* 0 top edges of the tiles supported by said first track, the step of fixing the second track to said support means with a space between the top tile edges (16) and the support limb of the second track, and then 0, 0, repeating the previous steps until the required number S0 of rows of tiles have been laid.