CA2204044C - Insulative wall cladding - Google Patents

Abstract

A wall of a building comprising cladding having a plurality of interconnecting air pressure and moisture vent channels. The cladding prevents formation of an air pressure differential between the outside atmosphere and the inside atmosphere of a building or the atmosphere in a cavity of the cladding, which reduces moisture ingress. Preferred cladding is further provided with fire-retardant panels.

Description

This is a Divisional Application of C~n~ n Application No. 2,113,955, filed 21 January, 1994.
F~el~ Of The Tnvention Thi~ invention relate~ to ~r~-~ative cl~ g of wall~ of building~, particularly to ther~al and water-proof in~ulative cladding, and to insulation boards and batten- of U8- in said cladding.

~arl~ "~l to ~-- Tnvent~on Wall~ of buildings that are not formed of reinforced concrete, typically, compris- ~tructural ~U~OL ~ ~ -ber~ ~ad of stesl, concrete and like material~ and having cladding disposed therebetween. The outer face of th~ cladding is generally provided with a decorativo finish ~uch as, for example, a poli~hed granite slab, a brick wall or an exterior finish layer having an outer surface of a polymertparticulate dc_GLative ~aterial. In the latter ca~e, the ëxterior finish is al~o provided a~ a rain-fast ~urface.
Certain type~ of walls of buildings have an inner cavity between outer cladding and an inner wall, typically con~i~ting of a pla~terboard material. The afG.~ d cavity com~unicates with the out~ide atmo~phere to provide an air yL~Fllre equalization chamber and water

- 2 - SL363 vent conduit for water ingressing through the outer cl~ g Notwith~anAi~g th- high degre- Or care during con~truction to provide a water-impermeabl- ie rain-fa~t membrane to the out~ide claA~ng surfacQ, over periods of time under the influence of wind and rain, temperature and fro~t and th- lik-, hair-lin- crack~ invariably are form d in th- rain-fast layer to permit ~aid i~L~-~9 of moi~ture through the cladding to the cavity and into the interior of the building Accordingly, th- cavity mu~t communicate with a weep or vent hole or channel to prevent build-up of water within the cavity One s~c~r-ful ~or~ of in~ulative cl r~
pre~-ntly in U8- that does not reguire the pre~-nc- of an inner cavity compri~e~ a multi-layer in~ulation board having a, typically, 6-8c~ thick lay r of insulating foa~, such a~, eYr~n~6A poly Ly..ne, polyurethane, ure~-formaldehyd- or mineral wool Adher~d to the inn-r surfac- of ths foa~ layer i~, typically, a ~y~
plasterboard lay-r of a~Loximately 2 c~ thickn-ss On the out-r ~urfac- of th- foa~ layer i~ a reinforcing layer of two or more glas- fibr- me~he~ float-d in a polymer-ce~ent modified ba~ecoat Thi~ ba~-coat protect~
the foa~ in-ulation layer fro~ both phy~ical damag- and moi~tur- ingre~- To th- outer ba~ecoat layer i~
provid~d an exterior de_G~ativQ layer o~ a polyn!r-particulat- ~aterial, typically, sand di~per~ed in an~
acrylic poly~r Such ~ulti-layer insulative cladding i~ forned, genQrally, a~ a handleable, rectangular batt-n or board of dim nsion~ of 1 2 ~ x 0 6 ~ x 8 cu co~prising 4 0 c~
foa~ in~ulative material Each of the-compo~it~ layer d batten~ or board~
may be mad- i~ ~i~ ie the inner pla~terboard and outer water-proofed layers may be adhered to the foa~ layer after the wall of in~ulative foa~ ha~ be-n con~tructed,

- 3 - S~363 one batten upon another batten, during C,Gl._ ~L lction Alternatively, th- in~ulative battens and boards may be pre-fabricated and shipp-d to the construction site Th-claA~ng comprising a plurality of th- in~ulation boards or battens is formed by the plurality of insulation boards being cooperatively hon~ -A in ad~acent relati~ p as to provid- in~ulation to the wall Such construction lie~ well within the ~kill of plasterboard tradesmen Battens are abutted on- on top of and next to other ~i~ilar batten~ and caulked or the like to fill in any gap-, void~ between batten~ Suitable connection~ to th- structural _ ~l0r-8 of the walls of th- building are mad-In con~idering tho desirability of a particular lS ty~- Or in~ulative cladding for U8- in a wall, regard mu-t b had to th- ~ff-ct of wind pr--sure and rain on th~ outer wall In th- ab-ence of direct co~unication betweQn th- out~id- atmosphQre and the at~osphere in~ide the building and/or any cavity, significant air ~ re differentials ~ay exist de~-nA~nt on the wind ~peed and th- lik- In con~Qquence of this relatively large pre~ur- diff~ ntial b tween th- outsid- and inside of th- building creatQd by ~o ~ wind- acting on th- wall, ~ignificant wat-r ingres~ tl~ou~l hair-lin- cracks and othor unintentional oF n~n~- and th- lik- ~ ly 0~
In th- ab~onco of a cavity in the wall such moisture will reach and da~ago the in id- surface of the wall of the h ~ . Accordingly, cavitie- ar- mo~t pref~rred in wall-, to pr-v~nt wat-r ingress, provided the cavity i~
vented to at~osphQre to allow for pressure equalization and accumulative water run-off out of the cavity Thu~, cladding ~ysto~ relying solely on outer face ~ealing materials ~uffer the risk of water ingre~s over time, enh-nc~ by air pressure differentials, rain, and

- 4 - SL363 ~ ive freezing and thawing of water contained within th~ Cl~A~q Thu~, whil- th~ composite lay-red cla~ing of the prior art providea a generally ~ati~factorily s cla~nq, which readily enable~ a decorative c~ ng sy~tQ~ of a wall to b- ~atisfactorily and quickly cu _~L~cted, such a re-ultant wall often suffer~ from the effect- of water damag- under the air pre~sure differentiala aa afG~ d de~cribed, in th- ab~-nc~ of an out~id- air-vented cavity It is an ob~ect of th~ ~nt invention to provide an im~Loved c~ nq for th- wall of a building which can b readily constructed on-sit- and which provide~ air pressure equalisation with th- out~ide air It i- a further ob~-ct of th- invention to provide im~ov-~ in-ulation board~ or batten- for u~- in th- afore~aid im~L~d cladding of th- wall of the building Thes- and other ob~ect~ and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent to th- man skilled in the art fro~ a r-ading of thi~ specification a~ a whole ~marv of the Invention -Accordingly, the invention provide~ in it~
broade~t a~pect a wall of a building comprising cladding having a plurality of interconnecting air prea~ure and moisture vent chann-l-Th- invention providsa in a further broad aspect an im~Love~ c~ nq of th- wall of a building, said clr~nq comprising a plurality of inaulation board~
in cooperative, ad~acent relationship a- to provide insulation to the wall, the im~Lovement comprising said boards being ~o shaped as to provide ~aid cl~ nq with CA 02204044 l997-04-30 ~ S - S~363 a plurality of int-r-co, ~-ing air ~r~6s~re egualization - and v-nt chann-ls in ~aid cl r~ ng By ~coop-rative, ad~ac-nt r-lati~ ~~ir~ i8 m ant that the insulation board- ar- built or layered one ad~ac-nt or atop anoth-r b tween th~ atructural ~upport ber- of th- wall a- i- pr---ntly don- in th- art a~ to provid- an in-ulation lay-r to th- wall By th- t-r~ ~cladding with a plurality of int-rconnecting air pr-ssur- qualization and ~oi~ture v nt chann-ls is meant clr~ng having a plurality of criss-crossing channels throng~t a d-~irQd area of the cladding It i~ not neant to includ- cladding having a plurality of parall-l vertically align d chann-ls which int-rs-ct sol-ly with a ~ingle, horizontally aligned chann-l ~xt--~A~ng acros- th- width of th- cl~ g, particularly, at a low r part th r-of The board~ ar- 80 shap d ~uch that when they are part of th- wall th-y produc-, in con~eguenc- of ad~acent r-lation~hip with-oth~r boards, a plurality of chann-l~ which inter-connect with ~ach o~h-r and via a low r v nt ~ nber with th- outsid- atnosph-r- Th-plurality of chann 1~ ~ay ~xtend ~ub~tantially across the full area of th- cladding or, if d ~irsd, only a part th-r-of Th- wall ~ay bo provid d with int-rvening ~truc~ uch a~ doors or windows which may a~ut, dir-ctly or indirectly, in~ulation boards according to th inv ntion, but which wall still sati~factorily sati-fie- th ob~-ct of th- invention Although th- inv-ntion includ-~ cladding co~prising board- a~ h-r~ ~v d-fined wherein the v rtically aligned chann~ls communicat- with horizontally allgnod chann~ls at tho sid~ ace~ and edgeg, cl~ ng for~ed of a plurality of boards having a plurality of vertically aligned channel~ on a full fac- of the board, which chann-l~ must b~ in align~ent ContiguouJ with th~

plurality of upwardly aligned channels of at lea t one other board resting upon it Provided that the full face al~o has a portion defining a lateral channel which inter~onnect~ with th- upwardly align-d channela to provide an interconn-cting air yL~ r- egualization and vent channel Each of th in-ulation board~ may be of any ~uitabl- ~hape and di~en~ion Pr-f-rably, th- board is of th- ord-r of 1 2 D X O. 6 1 x 8 0 cl rectangularly ~haped batten of in~ulativ ~aterial Alternatively, ~ach of th- batten~ ~ay b- of oth-r ~hape~, such a- a triangle Th- batt-n~ ~ay be ~o shap d a- to provid-suitabl- interconn-cting chann 1~ of a~Lv~Liat-location, ~hap- and di~ nsion to p ruit ~atisfactory air pressur- egualization and wat-r reuoval In on-~bodiment, the batten ha~ cut-away edg- portion~ along at least a portion of at lea~t on- edg- of a first face which preferably constitute~ th- inn r fac- of the cladding Th- cut-away portion may be d-fined by th-~dg- surfac- a- a guadrant arcuat- forn, ~-ni-sguare foru or 45 d gr-e angl d tor~ In an alternativ channel foruing board of th inv ntion, th- board ha~ a trough ext-nA~nq at l a-t partly along at l-a~t one ~ide of the board Pref rably, th- ~ough xt-nds th- whol- length and ~idway of ~ach of the ~ides Surpri-ingly, we have found that a r-latively ~all vent hol- in co~ unication with the int-rconnecting air pr-Jsur- equalization chann-lJ provid ~ ~ati~factory equalization The cladding and th- ~ulti-lay-r-d board~ hav-pr-f-rably an airtight inn-r barri r ~ith-r adhered thereto, or disposed or ad~acent in c108- proximity thereto _ 7 _ SL363 Thu~, in a further a~pect the invention provid-- insulation boards a~ h-r-in d-finsd for U8Q in th- im~ov-~ c1a~A~n~ o~ th- wall of a building as hQrein d-fined On- very i~portant con~id-ration that ~ust b-given to the con~truction of wall cladding, particularly, cladding of co~mercial and indu-trial ~ , is that conc-rning fire pr-v-ntion and r~tardation Wall cladding co~prising ~Y~an~=d poly.~y.ane of th- prior art 0 iJ provided with a back wrapping compri~ing a glass fiber mesh embedded in a ce~ nt modified acrylic polyner base coat, which env lope~, at lea~t, th- EPS
Prior to th co~ercial il~d~ction to th-trad- of a nov-l wall cladding for u~- in a co~ ercial or indu~trial building, th- wall ~at~rial~ and constructed wall ~u~t und-rgo ~xt-nsive, ~an~-rd fir- t--ting In on~ ~uch test, a flau i~ play d onto the back wrapping of th~ EPS in~ulativ cladding to d-teruin- whether the resultant ~yateu ~ ets th regulatory r quirement~
It i~ known that EPS ~ lt~ ç~ 170 C to a vi~cou~, but uobil- fluid Thu-, in th- wall cladding structur- according to th- inv-ntion, it i~ r a~onable to expect that, notwith-tan~ng th- fir- r-tardancy of the conventional back wrapp~d EPS, under certain ~xtre~e high tenperatur- condition~ th- EPS ay ~ lt and exit to and through th- low r air ~ re e~ 2~tion and ~oi~ture v~nt ch~nn l~ of th~ pan~ls and cladding according to th-invention Furth r, it i~ realized that th- chan~ m_y al~o con~titut- passage~ in th- cladding by which fla~e~
and hot gas-~ ~ay ri-- throughout th- cladding in th-event of a fir-Accordingly, to reduce th- possibility of the ch~nnel- in th- cladding acting a~ such fla~ passages, th- inv~ntion provid-~ in a further aspect, wall cladding of a building as her~inabov- defined whsrein a portion of a l-a~t ono of ~aid channel~ i~ filled with a flame resi-tant, fluid p~rvious, particulat- material By "rluid p-rviou~" i8 meant that air may r-adily pa~- through th- aterial to allow of rapid air S pr---ur~ ~qualization wh-n ~ub~ect-d to ext-rnal wind eff-ct~ and th- lik-, and al~o allow wat-r to be v-nt~d t~ough and out of th- chann-l- Clearly, such m~terial ~u-t not be capabl- of b ing burnt in th event of a fir~ Suitabl- ~at-rial~ includ- solid particulate ~aterial, ~uch as in-ulativ ver~iculit- but mo~t pr-f-rably, ~in-ral wool and gla~- fib r in th- for~ of inter~ s~ ~trand- or lay-r- Provid d that th location and volu~ Or th- fla~ re-i~tant aterial in th- channol i~ ~uffici-nt to prev-nt propagation of tho fla~e and al~o to ab~orb, hold-back or oth rwi-- ~e~
or r-~train any m lted;EP8 fro~ ~xiting out ot the fla~Q
r-~i~tant ~at-rial fron th- cladding, ~n~~r~ flame r-tardation and improved fir- ~atety can be achi-ved In it~ ~i~ple~t for~, thi~ a~pect of th-inv ntion co~pri~-s a w dg- Or th- fla~ retardant ~at-rial di-poa d within at lea~t a sufticient number of chann-l~ to prop rly achi-ve th- fir- r~tardant and air pre~ur- qualization goal Mo~t tr quently, th-~aterial will b di~po~-d within chann-l~ at a ~uitable 2s low~r place th reot, to opti~ally trap any ~ lted EPS
How v~r, ~uch ~aterial ~ay b- di~po~ed ad~acent or in clo-- proxi~ity to upp r, and/or ~ide edg-~ of w~n~
and door~ in t_- wall, wh-r- air pr-~aure ditt~rential ~ 7~tion i~ para ount, al~ hO~lgh no wat-r drainage facility ia r-quir d Pr-ferably, th- fla~ retardant aterial is di-poa d within a rigid tir- r-~i~tant atructur- auch a~
a ~mall conduit tor~ d of a ~ tal, brick or th~ lik~, which communicatea with and form- part of the channel The cQ~An~t may t~ua b emLE~A~A within th- EPS or, more preferably D~lG- de~ by flame retardant material a~
h-r-~n~hQv~ de~cribed In a mo-t preferrsd embodiment the flame re~istant ~y~te~ co~pri~e~ a di~parate panel of flame r~ tant ~atsrial a- h-r-inabove d--cribed disposed b low, but ~xt~nA1n1 b yond th- cro~ ectional area of th- chann-l In on ~ibodimQnt, th- unit compri~es a rectangularly ~hap-d ~ ~ber for~ed of a mineral wool, gla~ fiber or the like which fit-, wholly or partly, within an aperture wholly or partly within th- ct-~A~ng Thu~, in a further a~pect th- in~ention provides cl-~1n~ of a wall of a ~ ~tA~n~ a~ her~in~h~v-defin d, wher-in a portion of at l-a-t on- of said channel- ha~ a flam re-istant fluid p-rviou~-, particulate material di~po--d ther-in ~o a~ to for~ a fla~ re~i-tant barri-r for the chann-l In a pref rr d a~p-ct of th inv-ntion the clr~t~ng further co~pri~es a m ~ber formed of a fla~-retardant, fluid p-rvious, particulate material and di~po~ed within, in whol- or in part, said cla~n~
ad~acent and in co~unication with at least one of aid chann-ls ~o a~ to for~ a flam -retardant barrier for ~aid chann-l; ~aid ~ ~b-r having a conAl~t form d of a rigid, fir~ re~i~tant ~at-rial, which conduit ha~ a fir-t portion defining a fir~t aperture in communication with said fla~ re tant ~aterial and a ~-conA portion defining a ~econd ap rture in com~unication with the at~osphere, wh-reby said conA~1t con~titut~s an air pre~sur- conduit and ~oi~ture drain in indirect co~unication with said channel The ~-cond aperture may bo in direct or indirect co_unication with the at~o-phere d-p~AIn~ on wh-ther or not an air and water perviou~ ~aterial i~ provided to p~v_ ~ direct com~unication ~0 SL363 Accordingly, in yet a further asp-ct of the invention th-r- i- provided a flam -retardant panel for u in the cla~ n~ of a wall of a building, ~aid panel comprising a flame-retardant, fluid perviou~, particulate mat-rial; and a conduit for~ d of a fire resistant material and having a fir~t portion d-fining a fir~t aperturQ in communication with ~aid fla~e-retardant material and a ~econA portion d-fining a ~-cond aperture in communication with th- at~o-ph-r- Pr-ferably the conA~it i- formed of a rigid material such a~ a metal, for example, alu~inu~, copper, ~teel and th- like, or a cera~ic material The qec~ d ap.L~r~ aay be in direct or indir-ct co~unication with th- at~o~pherQ depen~ ng on whether it i~ advantageou~ly providsd with an air and water p~rviou- layer or aembran-Th- pan-l i- pr-f-rably forued having th-conduit di~po~ed, in whol- or in part, within the fire-retardant material ad~acent on dge th~reof Pr-ferably, th- conAn~t ha~ a ~ub-tantial upstanAtnq portion pro~ecting froa an edge of th- panel of ~uch h-ight fro~
th- edge of th- pan-l that when fitt d, eg ç~ 1 5c~ to cGLLa~pond with the thickne~ of ca~ typically u-ed betw en individual pan-l~ of a con~truct d cladding of a wall Th- flaa r--i~tant pan-l- according to the inv ntion aay bo of any ~uitable di~ n~ion, but panel~ of 30c~ x 8ca x Sca, optionally provid d with a back wrapping a~ h r-inb fore de~cribed and having a metal conduit wh r-in th- panel i~ adapt-d to fit b tween two ad~acent in~ulativ board~ a~ h-reinb~for- de~cribed such that th~ lower ~nd of th- channel i- di~po- d above the flame-retardant panel and the fir~t ap_L~c of the conA~t, i~ mo~t preferrQd It will b readily under~tood by the man ~killed in the art that flame retardant aaterial and/or '35 fla~e retardant pan-l~ will b ~o ~-r~ in the wall ~ SL363 c~ t~q in r-lation to those channel~ where fir~
rotardancy and m lt-d EPS material retardation is de~ired Pr-~erably, each 12- x 6~ expan~- of wall area ha~ a flamQ-retardant panel at the lowor end of each channel which abuts eith-r a structural cross-member or tho top of th- lower wall ar-a ~Yp-n~ Preferably, a minimu~ 8cu thickne~- of fla~ -retardant material is utiliz-d Descript1Qn of 1-ho Draw~r~

Thus, in order that th- inv-ntion ~ay b~ b tter und-rstood, preferred e bodiment~ will now b described, by way of exa pl~ only, with r-fer~ _e to th-accompanying drawing~ wh-rein Figur- 1 r-pr--ent~ a por~p~ctiv~ view o~ a plurality of identical insulation battens according to tha inv-ntion;
Figur- la ~ nt~ a p-r~pective vi-w of th~
batten~ of Figure 1 in cooperative ad~acent r-lationship;
Figur- lB r-p~ t~ a p rsp ctiv view of alternativa in~ulation batten- according to the inv-ntion;
Figuro~ 2A - 2C L e~ ent schematic cross-s-ctional viow- o~ in~ulation battons, in part, having alternativ cut-away edg~ portion~ according to tho invontion;
Figuro 3 re~rc-~nt~ a p-rspectiv view, partly cut-away of a ~ulti-laye. 1 in~ulation batten according to th- inv ntion;
Figure- 4 and 5 re~L~-e~t p-rspectiv- views of wall cladd$ng according to tho invention co~prising the in-ulation battens of Figure 1 or Figure 3;

Figures 6, 6A, 6B and 6C represent perspective view- of altern~tive board~ according to th- invention;
and Figur~s 7 and 8 r~ ~nt diagram~atic perspectiv- views of ~odified wall c~ ng according to th- invention, further co~prising fir~-retardant panel~
Lik- nu~eral- d-~crib th sa~e feature within the drawing~
Figur- 1 show- a plurality of 1 2~ x 0 6~ x 8c~
rectangularly shap d in-ulation board- shown g n rally as 10, formed of ~Ypan~e~ poly_~rL~n- and having a fir~t or inner fac- 12, a -~onA or outer face 14, upper fac~ 16, lowQr fac- 18, and ~id- face~ 20, 22 Inner face 12, with face~ 16, 18, 20 and 22 d-fin- 45 degre- angled edges, 24, i6, 28 and 30, r-spectiv 1y Pigure 1 show~ th- four board~ 10 in intended (a~ indicated by th- arrow~) ad~ac-nt r-lation~hip, on-board 10 abut~ oth-r board~ 10, with lower face~ 18 to rest on upper face~ 16 of a lower board 10 and side faces 20 abutting ad~ac~nt ~ide faces 22 The effect of this co ~ ction i~ to provid- a plurality of ~urface channel-, 32 ~hown in Figur- lA, b tJ~Pn board~ 10 Channel~ 32 con~titut- air pr--~ur- ~ 7-tion and ~oi~tur- vent chann-l~ in a cladding of a wall of a building a~ h r-inaft r de~cribed Figure lA shows the plurality of in~ulation boarda 10 in cooperative, ad~acent relationship a~ to provid- in~ulation a~ a unifi~d seg~ent of a wall a~
better described h-reinafter Figur- lB ~hows a plurality of triangular shaped insulation board~ shown generally a~ 50 having an inner face 52, side faces 54, 56 and 58, which with face 50 defin- 45 degree angularly ~haped edge~, 60, 62 and 64, respectively Cooperative, adiacent relationship coJl_~Luction o~ in~ulation boards 50 provide~ the resultant cl~ nq with inte~cG ~?cting air ~ re equalization and vent chann-l- a~ for th- emh~1ment of Figure lA
With ref.L. _~ to Figure~ 2A - 2C, the~e S Figure~ show, in part, in~ulation boards lOA, lOB and lOC
having cut-away portion- 40A, 40B and 40C, respectively, at edges, 42A, 42B and 42C, re~p ctively, at inner face~, 12A, 12B and 12C, re~pQctiv ly Thu~, the surface- of edge~ 42A defin- a 45 degre- angled ~urface, edges 42B
define a quadrant arcuat- ~urface, and those of 42C
defin- a ~eni-sguare surface Figur- 3 show~ generally a- 100, a r-ctangularly ~hap d ~ulti-lay-red board having a layer of in~ulation board 10 a- de~cribed with refcl~ ~ to Figur- 1 Adhered to inner face 12 of board 10 ia a 1 2c~ thick ~Y~ plaster~oard 102 and to outer face 14 a modified basecoat 104 Ba~ecoat 104 con~i~t~ of two layer~ of glas~ fibre reinforc-uent m ~h floated in a polymer coated ~odified base coat conposition To the outer surfac- ha~eco-t 104 i~ an exterior d-corative water proof 0 2cu thick layer 106 of an acrylic polyuer impr gnated with ~and Board 10 ha~ ~dge~ 108 defin d a~
45 degrQ~ angl d surfac-~ which d-fin- a cutaway portion 110 Portion 110 with coop-rating, ad~ac-nt boards 100 (not ~hown) d-fine air pressurQ equalization and ~oi~tur-vent channel~
Figur- 4 shown generally a~ 200, a cladding for the wall ~hown g n-rally a~ 20~ of a ~ nq (no~ ~hown) b tween ~tructural ste-l ~U~G~ 204 Cladding 200 co~pris-~ a plurality of in~ulation board~ 10 a~ de~crib d with r-f-~e _e to Fig~r- 1, or board~ 100 a~ described with ref~.G e to Figure 3 Board~ 10 or loO, a~ the cas- may be, are manually laid in the sta~r~, coop-rative ad~acent one-to-on- relation~hip a- to provide insulation to the wall A~ de~cribed with r-f_.~ g to Figure~ 1 and lA, the array of th- cut-away dged, ~haped board- when so laid provid- a plurality of horizontally and vertically allgn d c~~nr l~ 32 acro-~ th- inner face~ of th- board~
within th- wall cladding In an alternativ ~nbodi~ent, the c~ ing conpri~ing a ~ingl- full ar-a o~ in~ulation board that may b- con~tructed i~ and th- plurality of interconnecting channel~ in th- for~ of trough~ defined on th- surface of th- in~ulation in~crib d th_ eG.~. Th~
re~ultant appearance ~ay b- a~ ~hown a~ for Figure~ 4 or Al~ yh within th- ~cope o~ the ~ nt invention, it can b r-adily s-en th_t it i- not n-ce~ary that the board~ 10 or 100 b- ~o ~tac~ such that ~ach vertical v nt chann-l 32 runs cont~n~ ly the height of th- wall ~hould th- vertical dge- of the board~ be vertically aligned one directly on or below a v-rtical edge~ or channel~ of ad~acent board-, a~ ~hown with r-f-r-nc- to Figur- lA Such an arrange~ent requir-~ labour-att-ntiv~ COL._rt po~itioning o~ each board 10 or 100 A ~ignificantly, advantageou- feature of the pre~ent invention i- that the boards according to the inv ntion can b r-adily, quickly and ~ati~factorilyr operatively laid in apparent h~r~ ~rd ~anner one board ad~ac-nt, abov- or b low other board~, to provide internitt-nt, vertically and horizontally aligned chann-l~ di~placed fro~ the vent channel~ of upper and low-r cooperating ad~acent boards Thu-, a wall ~o con~tructed with cladding according to the inv-ntion ha~
a plurality of air pre~ur- equalization and ~oi~ture vent c~ nr~l~ which connect with a lower air v nt oriface 34 in communication with the outside at~p~or-CA 02204044 l997-04-30 Figure 5 repre~ents a wall cl A~l 'i n~ shown gen-rally as 300 Or a wall shown generally as 302, and having an alternatively laid-out array of in~ulation board~ according to th- invention, wh-rein th- boards and chann-l- 308 ar- align d at an angl- of 45 degree~ to the horizontal and v-rtical ax~ In thi- e bodiment, the r-ctangularly ~haped board- 304 at th- top, bottou, and at the ~id-, ad~acent ~tructural ~U~G~- 306 of th- wall ar- non-rectangularly ~haped, but ar- ~uitably and readily shaped, for ~xa~ple by th- cutting of the stan~-rd board or by ~anufactur- with a suitably shaped ~old A- de~crib d with ref_~a _e to Figur-~ 1, lB, 2A - 2C th- board~ ar- laid to produc- ~ingle lay r in-ulation cladding according to tho invention to which, ~ub~equently, ar- adh-red d-~ired lay-r- Or pla-terboard, glas- fibr-, polyner r-inforce~ent and out-r decoration, a~ th- ca~e ~ay b , to provide a multi-layered in~ulation - bo~rd-cladd-d wall In the alt-rnativ-, th cladding may b- constructed to co~pri~- the wall by ~ethod~ known in th- art with th ~ulti-layered in~ulation board~ a~
h-r~n-~ov- de~cribed Provided that th ~hape and size of th- r-~ultant air pr-~sur- equalizatio~ and ~oi~ture vent chann-l- in th clr~ng of th~ wall are sufficient 2S to provid- ~ati~factory com~unication with th- outaide at~o~pher-, th ob~-ctiv-~ of th- ~e--nt invention are m-t Such ~uitable size~ and shape~ of each individual insulation board ~ay bo readily d-termined by th- skilled p~r~on in th art In alt-rnativ~ emhc~ent~, each of the ~n-ul~tion board~ may hav~ a sid~ fac- portion defining a trough which provide~, when in coop~rative adjacent r-lation~hip with ~ub~tantially id-ntical boards, cladding with a plurality of int-rconnecting air ~re~ re equalization and vent channels removed from the inner and outer faces of ths in~ulation boards Figur- 6 show~ a board 400 having an interface 402, outer face 404 and sid- faces 406, 408, 410 and 412 A portion of ~ach of sid~ facQs 406, 408, 410 and 412 has c-ntrally th-reof, a tlough 414 ~xt~n~ng cont~nl~o~l~ly around th- ~id~ face~ Board- 400, when constructed into a cl~ nq according to th- inv-ntion in a similar manner a- hereinbefore describ d with r-~pect to Figur- 1, lA, 4 and 5, provide th- re~ultant clA~ng with a plurality of int-rconnecting air pr-s~ur~ ~qualization and moisture vent chann-ls thLo~-Jl~e~t the cladding at the edge~ of ~ach insulation board 400 In oth-r ~nbodi~ent~ of board~ having a cQntrally provided tLough, th- tLV~gh may not ~xtend ths full l~ngth of each sid- nor bs y~ ent on all four faces For exa~pl-, a suitabl~ cladding may bs construct-d using boards having a csntral ~ou~. that extend~ only part way of one sid~ face Provid d such an e~bodi~ent is cooperativ-ly ad~acent boards having ~uffici-nt l~ngths, location- and nu~bers of troughs to enable an int-rconnecting air pressure equalization and vent channsl to be for~sd, th-n th~ ob~-ctives of this invention ar- ~ t IIo~Jever, it will b~ readily appreciated that additional attention ~ust bs paid by~the p r~on constructing th c~ ng wall in ord-r that sid-fac-- not having a trough interposQd bet/~en the~ are not for~ d Figur- 6A shows an alt-rnativ~ e~bodiment of a board 500 of triangular shap having a c-ntrally ~ pc--~
trough 502 on ~ach side facQ 50~, S06 and 508 Wall cl~~n~ using boards 500 may be readily constructed as h~rsinabove d-~cribed Figure 6B shows a board 600 of rectangular shape having an inner face 602 defining a plurality of vertically aligned and laterally aligned int., c u ~cting chann-l- 604 and 606, re~pactiv ly Figur- 6C show~ a board 700 of rectangular shape having a portion on a fac- d-fining a ~Lougl. 702 ~ub~tantially in the for~ of diagonal interconnecting channel-In further e bodi~ent~, r-ctangularly ~haped and triangularly shaped board- conpri-ing nultilayered in-ulation board- of ~atsrial~ and general con~truction a~ her-inabove de~crib d, nay also b- mad- having ~ide fac-~ with c-ntrally disposed ~ v~h~ a- hereinabov de~cribed Figur- 7 ~hows in-ulation boards 10 or 100, a~
the cas- ~ay b , of th- wall a- shown in Figure 4 but having flan -retardant panel~ 220 co~pri-ing flan~-retardant nin-ral wool 222 and conduit 224 having ap-rture 226 po~itioned b low nineral wool 222 by which ~oistur- p-rcolate- downwardly through to conduit 224, and an aperture 228 op n to th- atmo-pher- and acting a~
a ~pout Figure 8 repre~ent~ a ~odifi d wall of Figure S having th flan~-r-tardant pan l de~cribQd with refele _~ to Figur- 7 It will b readily appreciated that th- ~pout or oth-r drainage and air pa~sage vents ar- ~ost pref rably di~po~ed on th wall cladding on~the outQr or r--ot- sid~ fron th- channel~ on th- in~ide or inn r p~rt- of th wall Witb reference to Figur- ~, each of ~he v~nt channel~ shown th-r-in, ~ay, optionally hav th- fir--retardant ~at-rial packed ther-in (not ~hown) or p~keA
within a ~uitably ~hap~d conduit (not shown) Although thi- di~closure has de~cribed and illustrated certain preferred e~bodi~ents of the invention, it i~ to b understood that the invention i~
not restricted to tho~e particular emh~ment~ Rather, th- invention includes all emho~iments which are functional or m_ h~n~cal eguivalenc- of th~ specific e~bodi~ents and features that hav been de~cribed and illustrated

Claims (8)

We claim

1. A flame-retardant panel for use in the cladding of a wall of a building, said panel comprising a flame-retardant, fluid pervious, particulate material; and a conduit formed of a fire resistant material and having a first portion defining a first aperture in communication with said flame-retardant material and a second portion defining a second aperture in communication with the atmosphere.

2. A panel as claimed in claim 1 wherein said conduit is at least partially disposed within said fire-retardant material adjacent an edge thereof.

3. A panel as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a back wrapping around said flame-retardant material.

4. A panel as claimed in any one of claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein said flame-retardant material is selected from the group consisting of a mineral wool and glass fiber.

5. A panel as claimed in any one of claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein said conduit is formed of a metal.

6. A panel as claimed in claim 1 wherein said fire conduit is made of a fire resistant material.

7. A panel as claimed in claim 2 wherein said conduit is entirely disposed within said flame retardant material.

8. A panel as claimed in any one of claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein said conduit is formed of a ceramic material.