GB2258679A - A cribwall structure - Google Patents

Abstract

A cribwall structure which comprises a plurality of tiers of headers 1 each header 1 extending from the front face to the rear face of the wall; a plurality of front stretchers 2 positioned between the tiers of headers 1 near the front ends thereof and having a length sufficient only to span the gap between adjacent tiers, and a plurality of rear stretchers 3 positioned between the tiers of headers 1 near the rear ends thereof and extending along the wall locating means in the form of cut-outs 5 in the side faces of the front ends of the headers 1 and shoulders 4 at the ends of the front stretchers 2 being provided to permit the front stretchers 2 to be positioned perpendicular to the headers 1, or at an angle to the perpendicular, whereby the cribwall may be constructed with adjacent front stretchers 2 within a tier being angled to or offset from each other. The headers 1 and stretchers 2, 3 may be formed of timber, e.g. of hardwood such as oak, elm and yew. <IMAGE>

Description

A CRIBWALL STUCTURE This invention relates to a cribwali structure.

A wide variety of cribwali structures are known such as that sold under the trade name Fermacrib and described in UK patent specification No GS2i33056.

Such cribwalls are commonly made up of a series of tiers oi headers and stretchers. The headers and stretchers can take a variety of forms each having advantages and disadvantages. The heaaers and stretchers are, however. generally designed for constructing a substantially straight cribwall although special constructions can be provided for forming right angle benas in the wall as, for exampie, describea in GB2i33056.

The present invention provides a cribwall structure comprising a plurality of tiers of headers each extending from the front face to the rear face of the waii; a plurality of front stretchers positioned between the tiers of headers towards the front enas thereof and having a length sufficient only to span tne gap between adjacent headers within a tier; ana a plurality of rear stretchers positioned between the tiers of heaaers towards the rear enas thereof and extending along the wall, locating means being provided at the enos of tne front stretchers and at the front ends ot' the needers to permit the front stretchers to be positioned perpendicular to tne neaaers or at an angle to the perpendicular whereby the cribwall may be constructed with adjacent front stretchers within a tier being anglea to or offset from each other.

As adjacent front stretchers may be anglea or offset from each other, it is possible not only to buiid straignt criswalls or a cribwall with sharp benos out to build walls which curve along their length or wnich comprise a series of faces offset from each otner.

The invention also reiates to a kit of parts for constructing a nriowall structure as aescribea aoove.

Preferred features of the invention wiii be apparent from the foiiowing description and from the subsidiary claims of the specification.

The term 'front', 'rear', 'top' and 'bottom' used herein are to be understood to refer to directions relative to the view given in Figure i nereof and do not restrict the scope of the invention.

The invention will now further be described, merely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure i is a perspective view from the front of part of a cribail according to a preferred form of tne invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view showing how a front stretcher is locatea with respect to the front end of a header in the arrangement snowy in Figure i; Figure 3 is a view in the direction of arrow A in Figure 1 showing the location of adjacent front stretcners with respect to the front ene of a header; and Figures 4, 5 and 6 are plan views showing how adjacent front stretchers may be located witn the front end of a neader so that the stretcners are parallel to each other, angled to each other or off set with respect C eacn other respectively.

The cribwall shown in the Figures comprises a plurality of tiers of headers l between which are tiers of front stretchers 2 ana rear stretchers 3.

The iowermost tier of headers i may be positioned on the ground or on some other base sucn as a concrete foundation which, as for other types of cribwall, is usually inclined at an angle of between iO and 15 degrees to the horizontal so the wall ieans backwards against the face of a ban along which it is constructea. Each header extends from the front face of the wall to the rear face thereof. A tier of stretchers comprising front stretchers 2 towards the front ends of the headers 1 and rear stretchers 3 towards the rear end of the headers 1 is then positioned on the tier of headers 1. Further tiers of headers and stretchers are then constructed as shown in Figure 1 to build up the wall.The headers 1 in adjacent tiers are preferably positioned one above the other as shown and, similarly, the front stretchers 2 in adjacent tiers are positioned above each other and rear stretchers 3 in adjacent tiers are also positioned above each other.

As it is constructed, the interior of the cribwall is filled with soil or other material in tile conventional manner. The spacing between front stretchers 3 in adjacent tiers allows vegetation to grow through these gaps to help conceal the wall and/or to improve its appearance.

The front and rear stretchers 2 and 3 thus extend along the length of the wall, the front stretchers 2 forming the front face of the cribwall and the rear stretchers 3 forming the rear face of the cribwall.

it should be noted that the front stretchers 2 have a length sufficient only to span the gap between two adjacent headers 1 in a tier whereas the rear stretchers 3 have a length sufficient to span the gap between three or more adjacent headers 1 in a tier, As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the end of a front stretcher 2 is located with respect to the front end of a header 1 by fitting the end of the stretcher 2 into a slot 4 provided in a side face of the header 1 so that a shoulder 5 on the end of the stretcher 2 rests on the top face of the header 1. The headers 1 are preferably provided with slots 4 in opposite faces thereof, in this case in the sides of the header 1. In an alternative arrangement (not shown), the slots may be provided in the top and bottom faces of the header 1.

Location of the shoulder 5 on the top face of the header 1 enables the header 1 to support the stretcher 2. The fitting of the stretcher 2 within the slot 4 also locates the end of the stretcher 2 with respect to the length of the header 1. The distance between adjacent headers 1 in a tier is thus determined by the length of the front stretchers 2. The shoulder 5 may be simply formed by a cut-out in the end of the stretcher 2 as shown in the Figures.

The cribwall may be constructed with the front stretchers 2 substantially perpendicular to the headers 1 as shown in Figure 4. However, the front stretchers may also be inclined to the perpendicular, e.g. by about 10 degrees, as shown in Figure 5. The end of the stretcher 2 is still located by the slot 4 and the shoulder 5 is still supported by the top face of the header i although the area of contact therebetween is slightly reduced compared to Figure 4. To enable the front stretchers 2 to be inclined in this way, it is, of course, necessary for the slot 4 to be wider than the front stretcher 2.

By this means, adjacent front stretchers may be angied with respect to each other, e.g. by about 20 degrees as shown in Figure 5, so enabling the cribwall to be constructed so that it curves along its length.

The front stretchers 2 may also be positioned so they are angied with respect to the perpendicular to the header 1 but lie still parallel with each other as shown in Figure 6. This enables the cribwali to be constructed so that it comprises a series of faces which are offset from each other.

The angle the front stretcher 2 makes with the perpendicular to the heaaer i may be adjusted as required. The angle may be relatively smali, e.g. from 0 to 10 degrees, but may be much larger if required. if the angle is increased too far, only one side of the stretcher will be located bv the slot 4, although this may be of little consequence. Also, the contact area between the shoulder 5 and the top face of the header i, and hence the strength of the structure, wili be reduced. Nevertheless, it is feasible to inciine the stretcher 2 at quite large angles to the perpendicular to the header 1 and, if necessary, the outer corners of the slot may be rounaea to prevent them fouling a stretcher inclined at such a large angie.

Siots and shoulders as described above are preferably used for locating the ends of the front stretchers with the front ends of the headers, cue to their simplicity and ease of construction. However, other forms of locating means may be used to perform a similar function.

As shown in Figure 1, the rear stretchers 3 and the rear ends of the headers 1 need not be provided with any means for locating themselves with each other, the rear stretchers simply being sandwiched between adjacent tiers of headers i. However, if desired, the rear ends of the headers i and the rear stretchers 3 may be nailed together to increase the strength of the cribwall. To ensure the headers 1 in adjacent tiers lie parallel to each other, the depth of the rear stretchers, i.e. tfle distance between their upper and lower faces, should be the same as that of the shoulders 5 of the front stretchers 2.

However, if desired, locating means such as inter-engaging slots and/or projections may be provided to locate the rear stretchers with respect to the rear ends of the headers.

The rear stretchers preferably extend across the gaps between three or four adjacent headers 1 within a tier and the cribwall should preferably be constructed so that the ends of rear stretchers in different tiers do not lie above each other but are staggered in order to increase the strength of the structure.

The cribwall structure illustrated in the Figures can, of course, be made in a variety of sizes depending upon the application. However, details of one specific arrangement and possible ranges are given below: Specific example Range Preferred Range Header length (lah) 76cm 50-100cm 70-80cm Header width (WM) 7.5cm 5-10cm 7-9cm Header depth (D,) 10cm 7-13cm 9-11cm Slot depth (Ds) 1.3cm 0.7-2cm 0.7-2cm Slot width (W.s) 6cm 4-8cm 4-8cm Front stretcher length (LF) 76cm 60-100cm 70-90cm Front stretcher width (WF) 5cm 3-7cm 4-6cm Front stretcher depth CDF) 10cm 7-i3cm 9-11cm Cut-out depth (DG) 3.5cm 1/4-1/2 DF i/4-i/2 DF Cut-out length oLc) 2.5cm 1.5-3.5cm i.5-3.5cm Rear stretcher length (LR) 240cm 2-4 LF 2-4 LF Rear stretcher width (WR) 10cm 7-i3cm 9-iicm Rear stretcher depth (DR) 6.5cm 1/2-3/4 DF 1/2-3/4 DF The heaaers 1 and front and rear stretchers 2 and 3 are preferably formed of timber. In a preferred arrangement, the headers i are formed of hardwoods such as oak or elm and the front stretchers 2 of yew.Such materiais provide a very strong structure which should remain in good condition for very many years without the neea to apply preservatives or other treatments to prevent the structure rotting. The materiai used for the rear stretchers 3 is less criticai as these are usually covered by soil and not exposed to the air so are iess likely to rot. However, in a preferred arrangement these are also formed of oak.

it should also be noted that the components of the cribwaii described above, and particularly the headers, are preferably made mucn more substantial and hence stronger than the corresponding components of known cribwall structures which are often formed from softwooes. With a cribwall formed of components having the dimensions given in the specific example given aoove, it is not necessary to provide additional support flocks between headers 1 of adjacent tiers miawav between the front and rear stretchers 2 and 3 (such as those described in GB2133056) to prevent the structure from being crushed when it is built above a given height.

Claims (1)

1. i) A cribwall structure comprising: a plurality of tiers of headers each extending from the front face to the rear face of the wall; a plurality of front stretchers positioned between the tiers of headers towards the front ends thereof and having a length sufficient only to span the gap between adjacent headers witnin a tier; and a plurality of rear stretcher-s positioned between tne tiers of headers towaras the rear enas tnereof ano extending along t.ne wall, locating means being provided at tne enoD oi the trans stretchers ana at tne front ends of the headers to permit tne front stretcflers to be positioned perpendicular to the headers or at an angle to the perpendicular whereby the cribwail may be constructed with adjacent front stretchers within a tier being angled to or offset from each other.

   2) A cribwall structure as claimed in claim 1 in which the locating means provided at the front end of a header comprise slots in opposite faces of the header.

   3) A cribwali structure as claimed in claim 2 in which the slots are provided in side faces of the header.

   4) A cribwall structure as claimed in claim 1, 2 and 3 in which the locating means provided at the ends of the front stretchers comprise shoulders in the ends of the stretchers.

   5) A cribwall structure as claimed in any preceding claim in which the rear stretchers are of a length sufficient to span the gaps between at ieast three adjacent headers within a tier.

   6) A cribwall structure as claimed in any preceding claim in which neither the rear ends of the headers nor the rear stretchers are provided with locating means for locating them with respect to each other.

   7) A cribwall structure as claimed in any preceding claim in which the headers have a length in the range of 50 to iOO cm, and preferably in the range 70 to 80 cm, a width (between side faces thereof) in the range 5 cm and 10 cm, and preferably in the range 7 cm and 9 cm, and a depth (between top ana bottom faces thereof) in the range 7 cm to 13 cm, and preferably in the range 9 cm to li cm.

   8) A cribwall structure as claimed in claims 3 and 7 in which the slots have a depth in the range 0.7 to 2 cm and a width in the range 4 cm to 8 cm.

   9) A cribwail structure as claimea in any preceding claim in which the front stretchers have a length in the range 60 cm to iOO cm, and preferably in tne range 70 to 90 cm, a width (between front and rear faces tnereof) in the range 3 cm to 7 cm, and preferably in the range 4 cm to 6 cm, ana a depth (between toD and bottom faces tnereof) in the range 7 cm to i3 cm, and preferably in the range 9 to ii cm.

   iO) A cribwail structure as claimed in claims 4 ana 9 in which the shoulder is formed by a cut-out having a length in the range i.5 and 3.5 cm into the end of the front stretcher and a depth in the range of /4 to i/2 the depth of the front stretcher.

   ii) A cribwall structure as claimea in any preceding claim in which the headers ana front stretchers are formed of timber, for example harawoods such as oak, eim and yew.

   12) A cribwall structure substantially as hereinbefore aescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings.

   i3) A kit of parts for constructing a cribwall structure as claimed in any preceding claim.

   14) Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein.