GB2166042A - Spacing bracket - Google Patents

Abstract

A bracket for mounting sheet material to lie spaced from a support surface comprising a mounting plate (1) for attachment against the support surface, at least one spacer arm (4) extending, preferably at right angles, outwardly from the mounting plate and at least two bendable tags (6) extending generally longitudinally from the arm and adapted to be passed through apertures in the sheet material and to be bent over to hold said sheet material. The brackets can be used to fix sheets of metal mesh parallel to a wall surface which mesh may then be rendered to provide a finish. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Spacing bracket The present invention relates to brackets and in particular brackets suitable for spacing a sheet material from a support surface.

In a known method of improving the insulation value of the walls of a building, particularly useful where the existing wall is of solid brick construction, expanded metal mesh sheet is fastened to the outside of the wall and used as a support for rendering, thus providing the wall with an outer skin of rendering spaced from the surface of the wall.

Generally, at present, the expanded metal mesh is fixed in spaced relationship with the wall by first attaching timber battens to the wall and then nailing the expanded metal mesh to the battens. This is a time consuming procedure and requires the use of considerable amounts of timber. Moreover, it is a time consuming task to use nails to fix the expanded mesh to the battens.

The present invention provides a bracket for mounting sheet material to lie spaced from a support surface comprising a mounting plate for attachment against the support surface, at least one spacer arm extending, preferably at right angles, outwardly from the mounting plate and at least two bendable tags extending generally longitudinally from the arm adapted to be passed through appertures in the sheet material and to be bent over to hold said sheet material.

Such a bracket may be used for attaching expanded metal mesh to a wall in a particularly convenient manner. A set of brackets may first be fixed to the wall using suitable fasteners such as screws or nails. Expanded metal mesh may then be laid up against the brackets so that the tags of the brackets pass through the appertures in the mesh and thus tend to retain the mesh generally in position whilst it is fastened. If desired, another sheet material may first be past onto the brackets before the expanded metal mesh, e.g. a layer of waterproofing sheet.

The tags of the brackets may then be bent over the mesh to retain it on the brackets.

In this type of use, it may be desirable to be able to vary the length of selected brackets, for instance to take up their regularities in the wall and obtain a true and plumb surface for later work.

Accordingly, the or each spacer arm preferably comprises two or more spacer arms sections telescopically slidable relative to one another to vary the length of the spacer arm.

Preferably, the tags are bendable to lie against an abutment wall and to pinch areas of the sheet material against said abutment wall.

The or each spacer arm is preferably of U section. This leads to greater rigidity in the bracket. This type of section also renders easy the formation of suitable tags.

For instance, the bendable tags may be formed by forming aligned slots, one in each arm of the U, to the base of the U and bending the base through substantially 90" along a line joining the ends of the slots so that portions of the arms of the U protrude outwardly as tags.

Alternatively, bendable tags may be formed by removing an end portion of the base of the U section of the spacer arm to leave the arm portions of the U section protruding as tags.

The invention includes a method of supporting a sheet material spaced from the support surface which comprises attaching brackets as described above to the support surface by means of their mounting plates, applying the sheet material over the tags of the spacer arms of the brackets and bending said tags over the sheet material to retain the sheet material in place at the end of the brackets.

Preferably in such a method the sheet material is expanded metal mesh.

Preferably, the support surface is a wall.

The invention includes a method of forming a wall panel spaced from and supported by a wall, comprising supporting a sheet material as described above and applying a settable rendering thereover, e.g. plaster or cement rendering.

The invention includes a method of erecting a building comprising erecting a structural frame of metal frame members, cladding the frame with panels of metal, e.g. panels of metal mesh, to define walls, supporting a sheet material thereover by the above method and, rendering over said sheet material to form a wall panel.

The invention will be further illustrated by the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first bracket according to the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a second bracket according to the invention; and Figure 3 is a perspective view of an extension piece for use with the bracket of Figure 2.

As shown in Figure 1, a bracket according to the invention comprises a mounting plate (1) containing screw holes or slots (2) whereby the mounting plates may be fixed to a support surface such as a wall. Extending at right angles from the plane of the mounting plate (1) is a support arm (3) in the form of a U section channel. The base (4) of the U is joined to the end of the mounting plate (1).

Typically, the base of the U and the mounting plate (1) will originally have been part of a single sheet of material such as metal and will have been bent to lie at right angles to one another.

The arms (5) of the U depend from the base of the U extending in a direction opposite to the mounting plate (1) from the base (4) of the U.

A pair of bendable tags (6) extend longitudinally away from the mounting plate at one end of the support arm (3) and are each connected to a wall (7) extending across one end of the base (4) of the U and upstanding therefrom. Such a bracket may be formed from a suitable blank of sheet material by bending down portions to form the arms (5) of the U, bending up a portion to form the mounting plate (1), cutting slots through the arms (5) of the U to the the base (4) of the U to separate the tags (6) from the arms (5) of the U and bending up the wall (7) carrying the tags (6) along a line across the base of the U joining the ends of the slots.

The dimensions of the bracket are not critical and in particular the length of the spacer arm (3) will be chosen depending upon the spacing desired between the sheet member and the support surface. Typically however the mounting plate (1) may be 50 mm by 25 mm, the depth of the arms (5) may be 9 mm and the length of the spacer may be 50 mm.

Preferably, the bracket is formed from stainless steel, e.g. 16 gauge stainless steel, to avoid corrosion. The brackets may be produced in various spacer arm lengths, e.g. 38 mm, 50 mm and 62 mm.

As shown in Figure 2, an alternative bracket according to the invention again comprises a mounting plate (1) having slots (2) for receiving fasteners such as screws or nails. A spacer arm (3) again comprises a U section comprising a base (4) and depending arms (5).

The tags (6) are however extensions of the arms (5) of the U which may be formed by cutting away an end portion of the base (4) of the U. Holes (8) are provided in the base (4) of the U along the mid-line thereof for receiving fixing bolts when the bracket is used in conjunction with the extension piece shown in Figure 3.

When not used to accomodate such fixing bolts, the holes shown in Figure (4) of the spacer arm (3) serve an additional function of allowing any water falling or condensing on the arm to pass through the arm.

To vary the length of the spacer arm of the bracket shown in Figure 2, the extension piece shown in Figure 3 is telescopically receivable thereover. The extension piece comprises a spacer arm portion (9) of U-section corresponding to the spacer arm (3) but sufficiently larger in size to be snugly receivable over the spacer arm (3). At one end the extension piece has tags (6) extending from an upstanding wall (7) corresponding to the end structure of the spacer arm of the bracket of Figure 1. A slot (10) is provided in the base of the U-section of the extension piece spacer arm portion (9) so that the extension piece may be fixed at a desired position along the spacer arm (3) by use of a suitable fastener such as a nut and bolt.

In a typical procedure for the use of the brackets, the brackets are first fixed to the exterior wall of a building by screwing or nailing through the appertures (2) in the mounting plate (1). When a sufficient number of brackets have been fixed, a waterproof sheet material such as a waterproof breather paper is pushed over the protruding tags (6) of the brackets whereby it is loosely held in place.

Expanded metal mesh, such as expanded stainless steel metal mesh, is then passed over the protruding tags (6) where it is to some extent loosely held in place. the tags (6) are then rapidly bent inwards to pinch portions of the mesh against the upstanding wall (70), thus securing the mesh.

The mesh may then be used as a rendering support upon which coats of rendering or plaster may be built up to form an outer wall spaced from the main wall of the buildings.

Any desired insulation material may be inserted between the new outer wall and the pre-existing main wall of the building. Depending upon the nature of the insulation material, this may be most conveniently inserted after the exterior wall has been completed or may more conveniently be placed over the brackets before the expanded metal mesh is fixed.

The rendered mesh may be finished in any desired manner including the use of brick slips, tiles or pebble dashing as desired.

Use of the brackets as described above greatly simplifies and speeds the operation of fixing the expanded metal mesh and where applicable the waterproof breather paper layer ready for rendering and avoids the use of substantial quantities of timber.

In an alternative building procedure utilising brackets according to the invention, a steel frame for a building may easily be clad with wall panels.

Once the steel frame has been completed to the desired degree, panels of metal mesh of the kind conventionally used as reinforcement in concrete flooring may be welded over the steel frame. This mesh is composed of metal bars of a substantial nature. Brackets according to the invention may be fixed securely to the reinforcement mesh at suitable intervals and a wall panel may be created by affixing expanded metal mesh and plastering or rendering thereover as described above. This method may be used to provide both interior and exterior wall surfaces. Any desired insulation material may be included between the wall panels. The interior panel may be finished with plaster as is conventional, and the exterior panel may be finished in any suitable exterior finish as described above. Using this method of providing panels on a steel frame and also using prefabricated metal frame window and door units, a building may be erected without the services of either a brick layer or a carpenter.

Whilst the invention has been described with reference to characteristics of specific embodiments, it should be understood that many modifications and variations thereof are encompassed within the scope of the invention.

Claims (14)

1. A bracket for mounting sheet material to lie spaced from a support surface comprising a mounting plate for attachment against the support surface, at least one spacer arm extending outwardly from the mounting plate and at least two bendable tags extending generally longitudinall.y from the arm adapted to be passed through appertures in the sheet material and to be bent over to hold said sheet material.

2. A bracket as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the spacer arm extends at right angles to the mounting plate.

3. A bracket as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the or each spacer arm preferably comprises two or more spacer arms sections telescopically slidable relative to one another to vary the length of the spacer arm.

4. A bracket as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the tags are bendable to lie against an abutment wall and to pinch areas of the sheet material against said abutment wall.

5. A bracket as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the or each spacer arm is of U section.

6. A bracket as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the bendable tags have been formed by forming aligned slots, one in each arm of the U, to the base of the U and bending the base through substantially 90" along a line joining the ends of the slots so that portions of the arms of the U protrude outwardly as tags.

7. A bracket as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the bendable tags have been formed by removing an end portion of the base of the U section of the spacer arm to leave the arm portions of the U section protruding as tags.

8. A bracket for mounting sheet material to lie spaced from a support surface, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to and as illustrated in Figure 1 or Figures 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawing.

9. A method of supporting a sheet material spaced from a support surface which comprises attaching brackets as claimed in any preceding claim to the support surface by means of their mounting plates, applying the sheet material over the tags of the spacer arms of the brackets and bending said tags over the sheet material to retain the sheet material in place at the end of the brackets.

10. A method as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the sheet material is expanded metal mesh.

11. A method as claimed in Claim 9 or Claim 10, wherein the support surface is a wall and the method further comprises applying a settable rendering over the mesh.

12. A method of erecting a building comprising erecting a structural frame of metal frame members, cladding the frame with panels of metal to define walls, supporting a sheet material by a methcd as claimed in Claim 9 or Claim 10 and rendering over said sheet material to form a wall panel.

13. A method of supporting a sheet material spaced from a support surface substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 1 or Figures 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.

14. A method of erecting a building substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 1 or Figures 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.