GB2316695A

GB2316695A - Adjustable cavity weep/ventilator

Info

Publication number: GB2316695A
Application number: GB9717490A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Louis Shillabeer
Original assignee: Cavity Trays Ltd
Current assignee: Cavity Trays Ltd
Priority date: 1996-08-22
Filing date: 1997-08-18
Publication date: 1998-03-04
Anticipated expiration: 2017-08-18
Also published as: GB9617624D0; GB2316695B; GB9717490D0

Abstract

A duct (10) for providing a weep vent in a cavity wall is formed of telescoping inner and outer sleeves (14,12). The exposed front end has louvres (22) for restraining inward flows of air while allowing water to drain outwardly. A hinged flap (18) can be torn off when no longer required or can close over the duct by means of a small projection (20) frictionally engaging over the bottom of the flange (16). The outer sleeve (12) has ribs (16) for engaging mortar.

Description

DUCT The present invention relates to a duct for use in building. Such a duct may serve as a "weep" to allow discharge of water from within the cavity of a cavity wall, e.g. rain water which has penetrated to the cavity.

Alternatively or additionally, the duct may serve as a ventilator and/or allow discharge of trapped gas.

The type w cavity weep/ventilator of Cavity Trays Limited (Yeovil, England) is a slim tubular duct for insertion between two bricks in the outer skin of a cavity wall. It can be extended to produce a much longer duct by connection of an extension piece, which is a push-fit. However there is no provision for relatively minor variations in the length of the duct, to adapt it to different thicknesses of walls, e.g. associated with the presence or absence of rendering on the outer face of a wall.

According to the present invention, there is provided a duct consisting of an outer tubular sleeve and an inner tubular sleeve which is telescopically received therein so that the combination can be adjusted to provide ducts of a range of lengths.

The sleeves will usually be of rectangular section but might be (e.g.) circular or elliptical.

The outer sleeve may have external formations such as ribs to encourage adhesion to mortar.

The externally exposed end of the duct (which will usually be the end of the inner sleeve which is not received in the outer sleeve but might be the end of the outer sleeve remote from the inner sleeve) will generally be provided with a grille or other form of restriction for resisting the passage of large insects or other unwanted matter. There may be formations such as louvres to discourage direct inflow of air (which may inhibit the outflow of water). Desirably there are stop means to prevent the inner sleeve from being pushed too far into the outer sleeve. Thus the outer region of the inner sleeve may be of increased size, defining a front flange which will, in use, tend to abut against the external face of a wall (or of the outer sleeve) and thus prevent the inner sleeve from being pushed back too far into the wall and/or into the outer sleeve.

The externally exposed end of the duct may have a flap or other removable closure. This is intended to prevent the ingress of debris, mortar etc during installation. It may be adapted to be removed thereafter.

In a second aspect the invention provides a method of producing a ducted wall, including providing a duct according to the first aspect, telescoping the inner and other sleeves to produce a duct of the required length, and locating it in a wall (which may be built up around it). Telescoping may occur before and/or after location.

In a third aspect the invention provides a wall assembly having a duct according to the first aspect extending through a skin thereof.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a duct embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the outer sleeve thereof; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the inner sleeve thereof; and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical section through the front region of the inner sleeve (after removal of a flap).

The illustrated composite duct 10 is composed of a relatively large outer sleeve 12 and a slightly smaller inner sleeve 14 which extends for a variable distance into the outer sleeve 12. Both sleeves are made of a plastics material with a certain resilience. They are dimensioned so that the inner sleeve 14 is a fairly close fit within the outer sleeve 16, being slidable on application of a little force.

The outer sleeve 12 is a tube of rectangular section, relatively high and narrow, for installation in a "perp" joint between masonry units (e.g. being externally 24 x 10 mm). It has ribs 16 in the top and bottom faces, for encouraging adhesion with mortar. As shown in Fig. 2 its rear mouth 17 may be slightly narrowed by flanges 19 for conferring greater rigidity.

They may also serve as stops to prevent the inner sleeve 14 from being pushed out of the rear of the outer sleeve 12.

The inner sleeve 14 is also basically an oblong tube, e.g. 7.75 x 21.75 mm externally. At the front, there is a projecting flange 16 at the sides and bottom.

At the top of the flange 16, there is a hinged flap 18.

The flap, hinge and the body of the sleeve 14 are integrally formed, the hinge being a region of thin plastics material, thin enough both to allow hinging and also to allow the flap to be torn off when it is no longer required. The flap has a small projection 20 on its inner face near the bottom for frictionally engaging over the bottom of the flange 16, to hold it in the closed configuration.

The front end region of the inner sleeve 14 is provided with louvre flaps 22 extending downwardly towards the front opening (see Fig. 4).

In a practical example, the outer sleeve was of length 90 mm and the inner sleeve was of length 70 mm.

Thus the components could be assembled to provide a composite duct of length from 90 mm up to about 140 mm.

Claims

1. A wall assembly comprising a wall and a duct extending through the wall to provide a weep outlet, said duct consisting of an outer tubular sleeve and an inner tubular sleeve which is telescopically received therein so that the combination can be adjusted to provide ducts of a range of lengths.

2. A wall assembly according to claim 1 wherein said wall comprises courses of masonry units, with perp joints between laterally adjacent units and said duct is installed in a perp joint.

3. A wall assembly according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the sleeves are of rectangular section.

4. A wall assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the wall includes mortar and the outer sleeve has external formations which encourage adhesion to the mortar.

5. A wall assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the duct has an externally exposed end which is provided with a grille or other form of restriction for resisting the passage of large insects or other unwanted matter.

6. A wall assembly according to claim 5 wherein said externally exposed end is the end of the inner sleeve which is not received in the outer sleeve.

7. A wall assembly according to claim 5 wherein said externally exposed end is the end of the outer sleeve remote from the inner sleeve.

8. A wall assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the duct has an externally exposed end which has a flap or other removable closure.

9. A wall assembly according to any preceding claim wherein said duct has formations such as louvres to discourage direct inflow of air.

10. A wall assembly according to any preceding claim wherein said duct has stop means to limit how far the inner sleeve can be pushed into the outer sleeve.

11. A wall assembly according to claim 10 wherein the outer region of the inner sleeve is of increased size, defining a front flange which constitutes said stop means and which tends to abut against the external face of the wall or the outer sleeve and thus prevent the inner sleeve from being pushed back too far into the wall and/or into the outer sleeve.

12. A wall assembly according to any preceding claim which comprises a cavity wall having inner and outer walls separated by a cavity; and wherein the duct extends through the outer wall and is arranged to allow discharge of water from the cavity.

13. A wall assembly substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

14. A method of producing a wall assembly according to any preceding claim including providing a duct as defined therein, telescoping the inner and outer sleeves to produce a duct of the required length, and locating it in a wall.

15. A method according to claim 14 wherein the wall is built up around the duct.

16. A duct for use in a wall assembly according to any of claims 1-13.

17. A duct according to claim 16 wherein the inner sleeve has a front end which is intended to be exposed at the exterior and is provided with barrier means for resisting the ingress of insects and/or for discouraging the inflow of air while permitting the outflow of water; and a flap for closing said front end, which flap is adapted to be removable.

18. A duct substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.