GB2241970A

GB2241970A - Inserts for use in the building of walls by laying bricks or blocks

Info

Publication number: GB2241970A
Application number: GB9026715A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ronald Walker
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1990-02-24
Filing date: 1990-12-07
Publication date: 1991-09-18
Anticipated expiration: 2010-12-07
Also published as: GB2241970B; GB9004229D0; GB9026715D0

Abstract

Inserts are made from thin strips of material and no thicker in height than the thickness of the required horizontal joints in the brickwork or blockwork they are to be used with. They are made narrower and shorter than the bricks or blocks, and placed in the mortar on a wall, and bricks or blocks are pressed firmly on top of them until the insert is in full contact with the bricks or blocks above and below them causing all the mortar excel that required to form a level and even joint to be extruded. whereby a joint of equal thickness is created at all times, and because the width of the inserts is narrower than the bricks or blocks they are used with, they remain concealed. The wall appears similar to those erected by skilled tradesmen even when erected by unskilled labour. <IMAGE>

Description

INSERTS FOR USE IN THE BUILDING OF WALLS.

This invention relates to frames or inserts which are placed in the mortar between brics or blocks when building walls.

Bricks and blocks from which walls are built are usually laid by skilled tradesmen. Because the wages of tradesmen are higher than those of unskilled men the cost of such work is relatively high. But since unskilled men would have difficulty in maintaining the even joints that are required to produce good quality brickwork or blockwork and would also have difficulty in keeping the walls level and plumb it is customary for the building of walls to be done by skilled tradesmen.

Though bricks and blocks are more uniform in thickness today than they were previously, the difficulty of spreading the mortar and the laying of the bricks or blocks in a neat and proper manner on the mortar by unskilled men still remains.

The nett result of this is, that presentable brick or block walls erected by skilled tradesmen cost more than they would if they were able to be erected by unskilled labour.

According to the present invention the difficulties unskilled people would have in building walls is overcome, when the bricks or blocks they are sing are of an even thickness, by inserting a frame of the same thickness as the required joint between each brick or block when they are being laid. These inserts or frames can be made in single units or in lengths to suit the requirements of the user and are made up from individual units joined together to form these separate lengths. The inserts are narrower in width and shorter in length than the bricks or blocks they are to be used with and are strong enough to support a brick or block placed upon them in a irm and level manner.Because of the way the insert is designed and constructed, inserts cause all the mortar except that which fills the horizontal joint between it and the lower bricks or blocks and those above to be extruded from its sides when a brick or block is pressed firmly down upon it. And because the insert is narrower than the brick or block and placed in the centre of the course of bricks or blocks being laidq a strip of mortar, which is part of the joint itself, is formed at both sides of the insert. This mortar effectively hiding the insert in the joint and the even and equal joints produced by its use are as neat as those made by skilled tradesmen.

When setting up the corners of brickwork or blockwork before filling in the courses between the corners, the end of the corner brick is exposed and due to the insert being shorter than the brick or block being used, the strip of mortar left in the joint hides the end of the insert from view.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows the front elevation of one type of an insert, in which the overall thickness of one unit is shown (1).

Figure 2 shows the top view of the same insert. The thinness of the material it is made from at the point where it is in contact with the brick or block above and below it is indicated by the arrows at (2).

Inserts can be made in many different forms but tb be setisfactory in use they must be capable of causing an even joint to be formed at all times and allow all the surplus mortar to be extruded.

Figures 3 and 4 are two separate isometric drawings showing inserts of a different design. The inserts which have similar qualities to the one in Figure 1 and 2, in that they are designed in such a manner that when used they cause an even joint equal in thickness to the required joint to be produced and all surplus mortar extruded when bricks or blocks are pressed down upon them.

Frames or inserts are made from thin strips of metal or other suitable material (which could very well be plastic or some other material) which is strong enough to retain its height when a brick or block is pressed down upon it and they are formed in such a shape that they allow all the surplus mortar to be extruded when a brick or block is pressed down upon them in a similar manner to the way mortar is extruded from bricks or blocks laid in the usual manner.

The narrow strip of material, from which the insert as shown in the plan FIG.2 is formed could be formed in many different shapes and would be equally satisfactory if made similar to those shown in the isometric drawings as shown in Figures 3 and 4. Other shapes would serve the same purpose if they were designed to be the same height of the required joint and made so that no mortar could be trapped between the top and bottom edges of the insert when used, yet strong enough to remain upright when bricks or blocks were pressed upon them so that they formed the required level joints in a wall. These frames or inserts would have to be manufactured in such a manner and in such a way that they could support the bricks placed upon it in a firm and stable manner.For example, they could could be made so that their width was half the respective width of the bricks or blocks being used and their length half the length of the same bricks or blocks. Such inserts when placed lengthways in the centre of the mortar in a wall being erected, would be found to be capable of supporting the bricks or blocks pressed down upon them in a firm and level manner, yet they would be narrow enough in width to allow their presence to be hidden from view by a good thickness of mortar on all sides.

Inserts, because they are light in weight can be made to adhere to the bottom of a brick or block if pressed into a thin smearing of mortar put on the base of the brick or block before laying it upon the mortar spread on the wall.

Rlternativelys the inserts can be placed lengthwise in the centre of then mortar already laid on a wall and the bricks or blocks pressed firmly on them. Irrespective of which of these methods are adopted when laying the bricks or blocks, it will be found that a wall built by unskilled labour in which inserts have been used will be of a neat appearance, with level and equal horizontal joints and similar to walls built by skilled tradesmen.

Claims

1. Inserts, as in FIG 1 and FIG 25 or as in Figures 3 or 4, or of any other shape, that is so designed that when they are placed between bricks or blocks in the process of building, they are of such a shape and thickness that causes all the surplus mortar to be extruded and the required even joint to be produced when bricks or blocks are pressed down upon them.

2. A light thin frame as in Claim 1 and as shown in Fig 1 and Fig 2, or in figures

3 or 4 and any other suitable shape, made from material, which could be a plain strip or a perforated or woven material which is bent or moulded, or manufactured to a shape able to support the weight of a brick or block when it is pressed down upon it without losing any of its height, 3.Frames or inserts as in Claim t and Claim 2, made equal in thickness to the required joint in brickwork or blockwork, which are made in single units short enough to fit under each invidual brick or block as ' in Figures 1,2,3,or 4, or in longer lengths, so designed that when they are embedded in mortar under bricks or blocks they will allow the mortar to escape from them in the same manner as it does when bricks or blocks are being laid without inserts being used.

4. Frames or inserts, as in Claim 1 and Claim 2, and Claim made from material that is so thin at the point where it comes into contact with the bricks or blocks pressed upon it and those below it, that no mortar is able to be trapped between the edges of it, yet strong enough to withstand all the pressures put upon it without losing any of its height.

5. Frames or inserts, as in Claim 1 and Claim 2, and Claims 3 and 4 which are joined together to make various lengths of the same units.

6. Frames or inserts, as in Claim 1 and Claim 2 and Claims 3, and 4, which are of such a width that when they are positioned in the centre of a course of bricks or blocks in a wall after the mortar has been laid, are sufficiently narrow in width that the thickness of mortar left on both of their longer sides will hide its presence in the wall.

7. R frame or insert5 as in the preceding Claims which is made of material that conforms with the Building Regulations, in so far as it not likely to deteriorate, or rust or combine or react in an objectional manner with the mortar when left in the horizontal joints between brickwork or blockwork.

8. fi Claim that when frames or inserts, as described in the previous Claims are used in the building of a wall built on a level foundation, because the brick or blocks are pressed firmly on to the inserts, the precise and similar dimensions of the inserts, cause each brick or block to be laid level and plumb as the work proceeds.

9. A claim as in all the previous claims that, by the use of inserts in the setting up of the corners of such walls, a wall can be built plumb with less effort than is usually required to do this by the person building them. Since the setting up the corners when building walls usually requires much skill and attention, the advantage gained by using the inserts is immense. This same advantage, that of each brick or block being automatically upright and level when pressed on to the insert, allows walls to be built by unskilled labour or amateurs more easily than they would be able to do without inserts.

10. Frames or inserts substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 1, 2 3, 4 of the accompanying drawings.