GB2195679A

GB2195679A - A cill for use with a cavity wall

Info

Publication number: GB2195679A
Application number: GB08722918A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William Maldwyn Rowlands
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-09-30
Filing date: 1987-09-30
Publication date: 1988-04-13
Anticipated expiration: 2007-09-30
Also published as: GB2195679B; GB8722918D0

Abstract

A cill arrangement 10 for mounting a door or window frame 21 on a support surface 11 of an outer skin 12 of a cavity wall comprises an upright plate 17 for insertion with the cavity, a first support 15 extending laterally from said plate on one side and a second support 19 extending laterally from the other side of the plate at a lower level than the first support. The first support 15 is vertically spaced from the upper edge of the upright plate so as to form a cill upstand 18, and the lower edge of the frame is placed on top of support 15 and adjacent the cill upstand 18. Capillary channels 28 may be provided on the upstand 18 and second support 19 to further impede the ingress of water. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A cill for use with a cavity wall This invention relates to a cill for use with a cavity wall of a building.

The invention has been developed primarily, though not exclusively, in relation to a cill which can form, effectively, an undercill for a window or door frame which is to be mounted on the outer skin of a cavity wall, and especially for use in doorways and at kitchen and bathroom window chills. In the mounting of a frame (window or door) on the outer skin of a cavity wall, it is important that a substantially waterproof seal should be formed between the underside of the frame and the support surface (e.g. brick courses or concrete blocks) on which the frame is mounted.However, any undercill arrangement between the underside of the frame and the support surface, which is intended to form the required substantially waterproof seal, should not permit any lateral shedding of water across the cavity and into the inner skin of the cavity wall.

The present invention therefore seeks to provide a cill arrangement for supporting and sealing along the underside of a window or door frame which is to be mounted on an outer skin of a cavity wall, and which has improved means for resisting water flow into or across the cavity, and into the inner skin of the cavity wall.

According to the invention there is provided a cill arrangement for mounting on a substantially horizontal support surface of an outer skin of a cavity wall, said cill arrangement comprising an upright plate and a support projecting laterally from one side of said upright plate so as to form a cill positionable on said support surface, said support being connected to said upright plate at a position spaced from the upper edge therefor, and a cill upstand defined by the upright plate between the connection of the support and the upper edge of the plate.

Preferably, the cill arrangement is provided, in addition to the said first support, a second support projecting laterally from an opposite side of the plate at a position further spaced from the upper edge of the plate than said first support, said second support in use overlying a respective further support surface on an inner skin of the cavity wall and at a lower level than the support surface on the outer skin of the cavity wall.

The cill arrangement according to the invention provides a reliable support and sealing arrangement for a window or door frame which is to be mounted on the support surface of the outer skin, and which resists any tendency for water to be wind-driven, or to migrate laterally into/across the cavity, and into the inner skin. This is achieved by the arrangement of the upright plate and the first and second support surfaces, and at least in part also by means of the cill upstand.

Further resistance to water migration into the cavity and/or into the inner skin may be provided by arranging one or more generally horizontal "capillary channels" on the outer face of the cill upstand, and/or on the underside of the second support.

The second support provides a reliable support surface onto which a floor can be mounted, this floor being formed from any convenient material, including a screeded concrete floor slab, and by virtue of the arrangement of the cill arrangement according to the invention, the floor effectively butts right up against the lower or cill portion of the window or door frame, in that it engages the inner face of the upright plate which is defined between the connection of the second support and the upper edge of the plate. This therefore enables the floor to be effectively "fin- ished" into a window or door frame, without the previous necessity for a hollow construction, such as slates, across the cavity, which have always caused a problem in the past with cracking and loosening of mortar, thus causing holes in floors and tile window cills to become ineffective.

Cavity walls in buildings are often left with a substantially free cavity, though it is becoming a growing practice for the cavity to be filled subsequently with insulating material. In order to take this into account, preferred modifications of the cill arrangement according to the invention may be provided with suitable arrangements on the underside of the first support. These arrangements comprise a downwardly projecting rib which is spaced laterally from the connection of the first support to the upright plate by a distance which depends upon the thickness of inserted insulation sheets.

As a further safeguard against water migration, the upper edge of the plate, which also forms the upper edge of the cill upstand, may be provided with a condensation channel.

The invention also includes a method of mounting a window or door frame on a support surface of an outer skin of a cavity wall, employing a cill arrangement according to the invention.

The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagramatic and perspective view of an embodiment of cill arrangement according to the invention, mounted in position on the inner and outer skins of a cavity wall; Figure 2 is a plan view of part of a door frame to be mounted in position via the arrangement shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a detail view of part of the cill arrangement shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a detail view of a further part of the cill arrangement shown in Figure 1; Figures 5a to 5f are diagramatic views of alternative constructions of cill arrangement according to the invention; Figure 6 is a side view of a further construction of cill arrangement, shown with the frame in place;; Figure 6A shows the cill arrangement of Figure 6 before it is installed; Figure 6B shows the cill arrangement of Figures 6 and 6A with a condensation channel; Figure 7 is a side view of another embodiment; Figure 7A is a side view of the embodiment shown in Figure 7 before it is installed; Figure 8 is a view, similar to Figure 1, of a modified embodiment of cill arrangement according to the invention; Figure 8A shows an alternative version of the arrangement of Figure 8, with a condensation channel; Figure 9 is a view, similar to Figure 2, of another modified embodiment of the invention; and, Figures 10, 11, 12a to 12f, 13 and 14 are views, corresponding respectively to Figures 3, 4, 5a to 5f, Figure 6 and Figure 7 of the drawings, and showing further modified embodiments in accordance with the invention.

Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings, a cill arrangement according to the invention is designated generally by reference 10 and is adapted for mounting on a substantially horizontal support surface 11 of an outer skin 12 of a cavity wall. The cill arrangement 10 comprises an upright plate 13 which is positioned in the cavity 14 of the cavity wall.

A first support 15 projects laterally from one side of the upright plate 13 so as to form a cill positionable on the support surface 11, the support 15 being connected to the plate 13 at a position 16 which is vertically spaced from the upper edge 17 of plate 13. A cill upstand 18 is defined by the upright plate 13 between the connection 16 and the upper edge 17.

A second support 19 projects laterally from the opposite side of the plate 13 at a position further spaced from the upper edge 17 than the first support 15, and the second support 19 overlies a respective further support surface 20 on the inner skin of the cavity wall and at a lower level than the support surface 11 on the outer skin 12.

The cill arrangement 10 provides a reliable support and sealing arrangement for a window or door frame which is mounted on the support surface 11, and, by way of example, a door frame 21 is shown mounted in position.

The frame 21 has a lower horizontal element or "cill" 22 and this is supported on the surface 11 through the intermediary of the first support 15 of the cill arrangement 10. The cill arrangement 10 resists any tendency for water to be wind-driven, or to migrate laterally into/across the cavity 14, and into the inner skin. This is achieved by virtue of the general arrangement of the upright plate 13 and supports 15 and 19, and also at least partly by means of the cill upstand 18.

In order to provide further resistance to water migration into the cavity 14 and/or into the inner skin, generally horizontal capillary channels 23 may be provided on the outer face of the cill upstand 18, and also on the underside of the second support 19 (see Figure 3).

Referring now to Figures 5a to 5f, this shows alternative constructions for the cill arrangement 10. Figure 5a shows the arrangement shown in Figure 1, whereas Figure 5b shows an arrangement which is suitable for use with an insulated wall construction in which rigid insulating sheets, such as 20 to 25 mm thick polystyrene sheets, are secured in position in the cavity 14 by suitable wall ties. The first support 15 is provided with a downwardly projecting rib 24 at a suitable spacing from the upright plate 13. Figure 5c shows an arrangement in which the rib 24 is further spaced from the upright plate 13, and this is suitable for use with an insulated wall construction in which 50mm thick mineral fibre rigid sheets completely fill the cavity 14.

Either of these constructions may also include a condensation channel 25, as shown in Figures S(b)(1) and S(c)(1).

Figure 5d shows a modification in which a condensation channel 25 is provided along the upper edge 17 which is formed as an integral part of a one-piece moulding. Figure S(d)(1) shows an alternative version of the condensation channel, 25a. Figure 5e shows an arrangement which is suitable for use as a repair installation in which slates have been previously used to bridge the cavity. Figure 5e(1) shows the arrangement of Figure 5e but with a condensation channel 25 provided on the cill upstand. Figure 5f shows an arrangement for use with a raft foundation construction, and this also may be provided with a condensation channel.

It will be noted from Figure 1 that a concrete floor slab 26 is mounted on the second support 19 and extends closely adjacent to the inner face of the frame 21, in that it butts against the inside face of the portion of the upright plate 13 between the second support 19 and the upper edge 17. Therefore, a floor can be mounted on the cill arrangement 10 so as to be closely adjacent to a window or door frame, and bridging the cavity, thereby avoiding the previous disadvantageous use of means, such as slates or the like to bridge the cavity.

If required, a vertical damp-proof course can be fitted into a central plough groove 26 in an upright part of the frame 21 (vertical DPC position A), in which case it is preferred that the DPC is a mastic material entered into the groove only. When the vertical DPC is to be fitted against the inner face of the frame (vertical DPC position B) again the DPC should be in mastic material to the frame only. However, a slot can also be cut alongside the cill upstand to allow the vertical DPC to pass through, if desired.

The cill arrangement 10 described and illustrated herein may be used with a building having cavity walls made of conventional brick construction, and also may be used in timber framed housing if required.

Further modified constructions are shown in Figures 6 and 7, which are suitable for use with timber framed houses. In Figures 6 and 6A, there is shown a stepped upright plate cill arrangement 30 for use with a frame 31 of a door/patio door opening. Again, the arrangement may be provided with a condensation channel 25 as shown in Figure 6B. In Figures 7 and 7A, there is shown a stepped upright plate cill arrangement 32 for use with a frame 33 of a window opening.

Referring now to Figure 8, this shows a modification of the embodiment of Figure 1, in that a downward prolongation 34 (see Figure 1) of the cill arrangement 10 is omitted. This embodiment may also include a condensation channel 25. Figure 9 corresponds generally with Figure 2 and shows a slight modification thereon.

Figure 10 corresponds with Figure 3, but also shows a modification in which a downward projection 35 (see Figure 3) of the cill arrangement is excluded. Figures 11 and 12a to 12f correspond generally with the embodiments of Figures 4 and 5a to 5f, but again are modified so as to exclude a downward projecting portion of the cill arrangement. A condensation channel 25 may be provided, as shown in Figures 12(b)(1), 12(c)(1) and 12(e)(1). Finally, Figures 13 and 14 correspond with Figure 6 and 7, and show similarly modified embodiments.

Claims

1. A cill arrangement for mounting on a substantially horizontal support surface of an outer skin of a cavity wall, said cill arrangement comprising an upright plate and a support projecting laterally from one side of said upright plate so as to form a cill positionable on said support surface, said support being connected to said upright plate at a position spaced from the upper edge thereof, and a cill upstand defined by the upright plate between the connection of the support and the upper edge of the plate.

2. A cill arrangement according to Claim 1 in which there is provided, in addition to the said first support, a second support projecting laterally from an opposite side of the plate at a position further spaced from the upper edge of the plate than said first support, said second support in use overlying a respective further support surface on an inner skin of the cavity wall and at a lower level than the support surface on the outer skin of the cavity wall.

3. A cill arrangement according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which an outer face of the cill upstand is provided with one or more generally horizontal capillary channels which, in use, resist migration of water into the cavity.

4. A cill arrangement according to Claim 2 in which the underside of the second support is provided with one or more generally horizontal capillary channels which, in use, resist migration of water into the cavity and inner skin of the cavity wall.

5. A cill arrangement according to any of the preceding Claims in which there is provided a downwardly projecting rib which is spaced laterally from the connection of the first support to the upright plate by a distance which depends upon the thickness of insulation sheets inserted within the cavity.

6. A cill arrangement according to any of the preceding Claims in which the upper edge of the cill upstand is provided with a condensation channel which in use, safeguards against water migration into the cavity.

7. A method of mounting a window or door frame on a support surface of an outer skin of a cavity wall, the method including installing within the wall a cill arrangement in accordance with any of the preceding Claims, and locating the lower edge of the frame on top of said first support and adjacent said cill upstand.

8. A chill arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to any of Figures 1 to 4, 5a to 5f, 6, 7, 8, 8A, or 9 to 14 of the accompanying drawings.

8. A cill arrangement according to Claim 1 and substantially as herein described.

9. A cill arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. A method of mounting a window or door frame on a support surface of an outer skin of a cavity wall, the method being substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

CLAIMS Amendments to the claims have been filed, and have the following effect: Claims 1,3 and 9 above have been deleted or textually amended.

New or textually amended claims have been filed as follows: Claims 4 to 8, and 10 above have been renumbered as 3 to 7, and 9 and their appendancies corrected.

1. A cill arrangement for mounting on a substantially horizontal support surface of an outer skin of a cavity wall, said cill arrangement comprising an upright plate and a support projecting laterally from one side of said upright plate so as to form a cill positionable on said support surface, said support being connected to said upright plate at a position spaced from the upper edge thereof, and a cill upstand defined by the upright plate between the connection of the support and the upper edge of the plate, an outer face of the cill upstand being provided with one or more generally horizontal capillary channels which, in use, resist migration of water into the cavity.