AU690248B2 - Improved shower base and sealing therefor - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Invention Title: SitXMc Qus~G\ hA c. Peter Fitzsimmons H.R, HODGKINSON CO, Patent Trade Mark Attorneys Level 3, 20 Alfred Street MILSONS POINT NSW 2061 IMPROVED SHOWER BASE AND SEALING THEREFOR Details of Associated Provisional Application: No: PM6209 Filed 10 June 1994 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: IMPROVED SHOWER BASE AND SEALING THEREFOR The present invention relates to an improved shower base and more particularly relates to a shower base which includes means to prevent leakage of water from the shower base and which would otherwise contact adjacent wall structures, coverings or partitions.

There are a large variety of known shower base arrangements which are configured with the specific aim of ensuring a waterproof seal between the inside of a shower recess and a wall and floor structure particularly stud walls.

Among the known shower bases are those which have raised edges each of which include a stepped portion including a shoulder which allows for wall cladding material to overlap the peripheral edges of the shower base and seat onl the shoulder. The overlapping prevents egress of water beyond the limits of the shower base and ensures that the shower recess is kept water proof For water to penetrate beyond the cladding it must travel underneath the cladding then upward. This makes it difficult for water to penetrate beyond the cladding but it can and does happen, particularly when water is able to pass beyond the tiles and percolate S: through the wall materially which typically is timber.

Other known shower bases are typically installed in a corner and generally adjacent timber or S metal stud walls over which cladding is to be laid. The wall studs extend from a horizontal under floor over which the shower base is laid. The usual method of installing the:;e shower bases is to set the base at the correct attitude with levelling equipment and then to ensure that it is flush against the horizontal underfloor and hard up against the internal studs of the wall.

S In order to effect a fast and watertight seal between the shower base and the bottom plate/wall stud structure, the bottom plates and wall studs are sometimes recessed by sawing or chiselling from the floor surface up to a height equivalent to the top of edge of the shower base. In this way, the edge of the shower base adjacent the narrow step can be contained within the surface

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of the wall stud and allowing the step shoulder to sit proud of the stud wall surface so that wall cladding and tiling material attached to the wall stud will seat on the narrow step portion of the shoulder. This prevents water penetration behind the wall and consequent rotting of the wall structure which in time would kiquire replacement.

Although this method provides a suitable means of installing a shower base and sealing a shower recess, it is however, labour intensive particularly as the base plate has to be recessed into the wall studs requiring time consuming cutting of the studs. This increases the cost of shower base installation.

In the applicant's own petty patent 643442 an improvement in the above method is described.

The shower base in that patent was configured to solve or at least substantially overcome the problems associated with the above described shower base installation techniques.

15 The applicant in recognising those problems, developed an alternative shower base which is easy and economic to install and which is able to be sealed with respect to adjacent walls so there will be no leakage of water from the shower recess into the wall cavity or behind the wall partition or wall cladding.

The invention in petty patent 643422 describes a shower base consisting of an upper surface that has a gradient or fall towards a drainage means with at least part of the periphery of the upper surface having a slot which is adapted to receive and locate sealing means in sheet form.

The preferred sheet material to be used is a stiff metallic material such as aluminium. The slot penetrates the shower base with the opening of the slot extending substantially parallel to one or more adjacent edges of the shower base. The slot described above is for receiving a sealing means in sheet form with the sealing means being partially located within the slot and extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom to provide a water seal between the shower base and the adjacent wall.

I Petty patent 643442 also describes, according to another aspect of the invention a method of installing a shower base which includes the following sequence of steps: a) locating the shower base in a desired position relative to the existing plumbing fittings adjacent a corner of a room; b) inserting a sealing means in sheet form into a slotted recess within an upper surface of the shower base along one or more adjacent edges; c) introducing the sealing means into the slotted recess; d) bending the sealing means so that the upper portion is flush against the walls; e) Placing and fixing a wall cladding against wall studs such that an upper portion of the sealing means is located between the wall cladding and studs; f) applying a sealing material between the base of the wall cladding and the sheet form sealing means to effect a watertight seal; g) fixing tiles or another wall covering against said wall cladding with grouting or a sealant being applied between the tiles or wall covering and upper surface of the base.

Whilst this shower base provided one solution to the difficulties of the prior art bases, the use of a metallic sheet placed along the notch without secondary flashing can cause the junction of the sheet a and the shower base to be prone to leakage causing damage to the surrounding structures.

20 The present invention seeks to provide an alternative shower base sealing arrangement and an alternative method of installation thereof whereby a complete waterproof seal is formed.

According to one form of the present invention there is provided a shower base adapted to receive sealing means formed of a flexible material which requires no bending or forming once the shower base is in position. In another form, the invention comprises a shower base which includes thereon a flexible seal preventing egress of water beyond the edges of the base.

In its broadest form the present invention comprises:

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characterised in that at least one of the sidewalls of the shower base has disposed at least part way therealong at least one inwardly directed slot which receives a rubberised sealing element, wherein the sealing element includes at least first and second legs one of which abuts the upper surface of the shower base and the other of which engages the slot thereby effecting a waterproof seal which prevents water egress beyond and via the sealing element.

In another form the present invention comprises; a sealing element configured so as to fit with a shower base of the type comprising: a cement or concrete core enveloped by an outer skin to form an upper surface, lower surface and sidewalls of said shower base, wherein the upper surface includes a contoured profile which allows water to gravitate from the highest point of the upper surface to a central drain in the shower base; characterised in that the sealing element comprises a bifurcated portion comprising two legs disposed such that one engages an upper surface of the shower base and the other engages a slot in "15 the wall of the shower base.

According to the preferred embodiment, the rubberised sealing element comprises a planar portion and a bifurcated portion with the latter comprising the first and second legs which provide two distinct means of flashing between the shower base and the wall and/or floor structure. In an alternative embodiment the shower base may be constructed with one or more slots running the full length of one or more sides of the base. The rubber seal is generally used along at least two edges of the shower base.

According to one embodiment the shower base is provided with the waterproof sealing element prefitted. In another embodiment the shower base is provided with the seal separated from the base so that the seal may be site fitted according to requirements. Thus, The shower base according to the invention is manufactured primarily in two parts which when mated and placed in situ provide waterproofing for a shower recess.

The invention will now be described in more detail according to a preferred but non limiting embodiment and with reference to the accompanying illustrations wherein: the invention is manufactured primarily in two parts which when mated and placed in situ provide waterproofing for a shower recess, The invention will now be described in more detail according to a preferred but non limiting embodiment and with reference to the accompanying illustrations wl.t;erein Figure 1: shows a sectional view of one portion of the shower base when in situ and also showing the profile of the sealing element according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2: shows an alternative embodiment of the invention; Figure 3: shows a perspective view of the shower base according to a preferred embodiment of the invention showing the sealing element along one edge; and Figure 4: shows a cross sectional view of a sealing element according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.

5 Referring to figure 1 there is shown a shower base which consists of an upper surface 2, side wall 3 and a base surface 4. The shower base essentially comprises a concrete or cement core 5 which is enveloped by an outer skin which forms the upper surface 2, side wall 3 and base surface 4. The shower base 1 has a profiled cor t'r 6 which begins at location 7 where the upper surface 2 and terminates where the side wall begins at point 8. At corner 6, the shower base is profiled in such a O20 way as to enable anchorage of a sealing member 9 and at the same time to prevent egress of water goo* from the upper surface 2 of the shower base. In order to prevent the escape of water, there is a natural contour introduced into the shower base in upper surface 2 which results in shoulder oolo o. The corner profile 6 includes descending face 11 which travels away from return portion 12, Descending face 11 terminates at a notch 13 in thile side wall 3 which receives leg 16 of sealing *25 element 9, As well as assisting in the prevention of egress of water from upper surface 2, shoulder S 10 provides an engaging surface for leg 14 of sealing means 9 thereby providing an additional seal.

Upper surface 2 is contoured so that there is a pronounced fall from the outside of the base to a central drain. Thus, water falling on upper surface 2 will naturally gravitate towards the central drain, Sidewall 3 of shower base 1 when in situ abuts wall 15. Due to the arrangement of the sealing means 9, the shower base sandwiches the sealing means between it and wall 15. This provides a secondary flashing between the base and the wall structure and it arrests any water which may escape beyond shoulder 10 if it penetrates around leg 14 of the sealing means 9.

By use of sealing means 9 the present invention provides a means of sealing with first and second flashing restraining travel of any water along upper surface 4 and around corner profile 6.

In addition to providing a secondary sealing means, leg 16 of sealing means 9 terminates in notch 13 via tapered element 17 which is preferably configured to conform to the shape of the notch in the shower base.

Unlike the prior art shower bases the notch is placed in the sidewall so as to sandwich leg 16 of 15 sealing means 9 between corner profile 6 and wall 15 thereby providing a secondary sealing against S" egress of water from the shower base, This shower base avoids the need to notch out a part of the wall structure and it also enables the sealing means to be secured and more particularly, anchored to the base via the notch eliminating 20 the possibility of unwanted withdrawal from the notch as could occur in the prior art shower bases.

The use of the flexible rubber better compensates for any movement in the shower base due to the tensile properties of the rubber. The notch enables significant improvements in the known shower bases namely, it allows for insertion and anchorage of a rubber sealing 9 which is bifurcated so that one legs 14 and 16 provide first and second flashing with leg 16 terminating in the notch to provide i' 2"5 an anchorage from the sealing means. It can be seen from figure 1 that it would be virtually impossible for water to penetrate beyond leg 14 and between corner profile 6 and leg 16 of the sealing means 9. The second advantage of the use of the sealing means in the present invention is that there is no need for bending of the sealing sheet once the shower base is in position. Due to the rubberised material the sealing sheet conforms to the shape of the wall against which it abuts.

Sealing means 9 may be constructed of any length according to the amount of overlap required between leg 18 and wall 15. Once the sealing means 9 has been abutted against structural wall it is then possible for a cladding material 19 to sandwich leg 18 of the sealing means 9, Leg 18 prevents egress of water from the shower enclosure via the rear of cladding 19. According to one embodiment the bottom most portion of the cladding member 9 may terminate on the upper surface 2 of the shower base. Alternatively, it may sandwich elbow portion 20 of the sealing means 9 between it and cornered profile 6 of the shower base. Preferably the slot 13 is disposed horizontally that is, having an axis which is normal to the alignment of side wall 3, However, it will be appreciated that the slot may be disposed at an upward angle or at a downward angle according to specific requirements.

According to the preferred embodiment, the shower base is contoured to facilitate maximum water flow to the drain without introducing surfaces that are too steep for the user, :15 According to the preferred form the upper surface 2 of the shower base has a substantially convex contour for a distance of 150mm from the edge of the shower base and over that distance the surface contour drops approximately 20mm fri-om the top of the wall of the shower base which is effectively half the height of the shower base. Over the remaining distance the upper surface falls a further 20mm to the drain.

The contours and in particular the radii of the base varies around the outer portion of the upper surface.

Figure 2 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention. This embodiment shows the wall I* 25 cladding 20 and tiling 21 sandwiching the sealing member 22 against wall studs 23. Sealing member 22 is bifurcated to form legs 24 and 25 the former engaging the upper surface 26 of the shower base and the latter engaging the longitudinal slot 27 which is formed in side wall 28. Water seeping behind tile 21 is arrested by leg 24 and is further arrested by leg 25, if any water by chance seeps past leg 24. Leg 25 also provides the anchorage for the sealing means 22.

Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a full shower base with the sealing means introduced around two edges.

Referring to figure 4 there is shown an alternative embodiment of the sealing element. According to this embodiment leg 30 is extended so that return portion 31 is further spaced apart from leg 32.

Preferably, leg 30 has a length in the order of 18mm with return portion 31 being disposed at an angle of approximately 800 to leg 30. Leg 32 is preferably disposed at an angle of 850 to leg The shower base, according to the present invention, requires significantly less labour to install than the prior art showers.

It will be recognised by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the overall spirit and scope of the invention as 5 broadly described herein.

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Claims (13)

1. A shower base of the type comprising; a cement or concrete core enveloped by an outer skin to form an upper surface, lower surface and sidewalls of said shower base, wherein the upper surface includes a contoured profile which allows water to gravitate from the highest point of the upper surface to a central drain in the shower base; characterised in that at least one of the sidewalls of the shower base has disposed at least part way therealong at least one inwardly directed slot which receives a rubberised sealing element, wherein the sealing means includes at least first and second legs one of which abuts the upper surface of the shower base and the other of which engages the slot thereby effecting a waterproof seal which prevents water egress beyond and via the sealing element.

2. A shower base according to claim 1 wherein the rubberised sealing element comprises an integral bifurcated portion. 0

3. A shower base according to claim 2 wherein the bifurcated portion comprises two legs.

4. A shower base according to claim 1 wherein said at least one slot runs the length of said at least one sidewall.

5. A shower base according to claim 2 wherein there is one slot whose cross sectional profile is disposed at an angle to the lower surface.

6. A shower base according to claim 4 wherein the slot is separated from the upper surface by an upstanding ridge.

7. A shower base according to claim 6 v/herein the sealing element is located along the full length of one side of the shower base.

8. A shower base according to claim 7 wherein at least one of the legs of bifurcated portion terminates in a free end with the second of the two legs anchored in a slot.

9. A sealing element configured so as to fit with a shower base of the type comprising: a cement or concrete core enveloped by an outer skin to form an upper surface, lower surface and sidewalls of said shower base, wherein the upper surface includes a contoured profile which allows water to gravitate from the highest point of the upper surface to a central drain in the shower base; characterised in that the sealing element comprises a bifurcated portion comprising two legs disposed such that one engages an upper surface of the shower base and the other engages a slot in the wall of the shower base.

A sealing element according to claim 9 wherein the legs each terminate in a return portion wherein one of said return portions engages said slot.

11. A sealing element according to claim 10 wherein one leg is substantially longer than the other leg.

12. A sealing clement according to claim 11 wherein the sealing element is formed from a rubberised material.

13. A shower base including a sealing element hereinbefore described and with reference to the accompanying illustrations. S14. A sealing element for a shower base hereinbefore described and with reference to the accompany drawings. DATED this 30th day of December, 1997. S. SIRAMA AUSTRALIA PTY. LTD. Its Patent Attorneys 11 ABSTRACT A shower base of the type comprising; a cement or concrete core enveloped by an outer skin to form an upper surface, lower surface and sidewalls of said shower base, wherein the upper surface includes a contoured profile which allows water to gravitate from the highest point of the upper surface to a central drain in the shower base; characterised in that at least one of the sidewalls of the shower base has disposed at least part way therealong at least one inwardly directed slot which receives a rubberised sealing element, wherein the sealing means includes at least first and second legs one of which abuts the upper surface of the shower base and the other of which engages the slot thereby effecting a waterproof seal which prevents water egress beyond and via the sealing element. *0 0 0o II I