GB2385083A

GB2385083A - Tie component for installing architectural components

Info

Publication number: GB2385083A
Application number: GB0221814A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ian Douglas Law
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-02-11
Filing date: 2002-09-19
Publication date: 2003-08-13
Also published as: GB0221814D0; EP1818494A2; GB0224895D0; GB2385103B; GB2385103A; EP1818494A3; GB2385085B; GB2385069A; GB0203179D0; GB0221816D0; GB2385085A

Abstract

A tie component comprising a plate and an attachment means for slidably attaching the tie to a locating component 10. The tie component is preferably unitarily formed from a single sheet of metal, a plate with opposing sides 114. The tie may comprise a pair of straight flanges in the plane of the tie, or also include a pair of bent flanges on each side 114, cut and stamped out of plane with the plate (116, Fig 9). Preferably gaps 124 may extend between the straight flange and the bent flange for receiving the opposed flanges 110 of a locating component. Another embodiment of the invention is a method of installing architectural finishing components such as door and window frames, assisting with locating the architectural finishing components by using a pre-installed locating component fixed into the building structure by the tie component. A further embodiment describes a kit of parts for undertaking the installation of the tie component, locating component and the finishing components.

Description

1 2385083

Installing Architectural Finishing Components in a Building The present invention relates to a method of installing architectural finishing components in a building, in particular components such as doors, trims, skirting boards and architrave.

5 The present invention also provides a wall tie for a locating component for use in such a method of building and a kit of components for use in such a method.

This invention is related to GB0203179.7, the whole contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

There is a constant drive in house building to reduce costs. A large part of the cost of building a house is labour. Further, the more skilled the labourer, the more expensive his or her time on site will be. Therefore, any way of reducing the time that is spent onsite by skilled labourers or craftsmen is of interest to a site or project manager.

Systemising house construction so that standard building components, i.e. components of a standardised size (for example length, width, height and/or thickness), can be factory built, delivered to the site and quickly installed by labourers with relatively low skills, can make big savings to the overall cost of building, modifying, converting or decorating a house or 20 building. Traditional methods of building, however, do not lend themselves to using such systems because tolerances cannot be kept close enough for the doors, etc., to be fitted as received. Therefore, even doors and architrave etc. of a standard size need to be adjusted or cut in order to be fitted in a building using traditional building methods.

25 Traditional building methods involve three essential steps. The first two are performed by relatively unskilled labourers. The first step is the construction of a structural skeleton for the building, formed of various structural elements such as walls, floors and ceilings.

These structural elements are constructed of general-purpose building materials such as bricks or concrete blocks in the case of walls or concrete that is cast in situ in the case of 30 floors. These building materials are general-purpose in the sense that they are not designed for the construction of buildings of set dimensions; they can be and are used to construct buildings to any design. The second step is the application of general-purpose finishing materials to the structural elements, for example to finish off the walls, the floors or the

ceilings. Such general-purpose building or finishing materials include plaster (for the walls and ceilings) and flooring materials such as floor screed, floorboards or tiles, although these latter could also be regarded as structural building materials, since they are designed to be load-bearing in use. Finally, there is the third step: onto these "finished" 5 walls, floors or ceilings, standard building components are installed to give the room a "designed" look. This currently has to be done by skilled craftsmen such as joiners or carpenters. These standard building components include architectural finishing components such as 10 architectural mouldings. Architectural finishing components are those items of a building that are position-critical, i.e. need to be installed in a building in exactly the correct position, or to within very small tolerances, in order to achieve their function or to look right. Such items include, but are not limited to, doors, trims, skirting boards, architrave, and cornices. Masonry items, such as stone fireplaces, can also be architectural finishing 15 components for use with the present invention.

A typical example of an architectural finishing component is a door and its surround. A door must be upright and positioned correctly within a doorframe, otherwise it will not open and close properly. Another example is a skirting board. A skirting board must be 20 correctly positioned relative to the wall and the floor so that there is no visible crack between the skirting board and the wall. Furthermore, with architectural finishing components such as skirting boards, owing to their proximity to the floor, if fitted askew, the fact that they are not level would be plain to see.

25 Unfortunately, however, as suggested above, it is often the case that such architectural finishing components need to be cut or resized in order to fit correctly to the walls, floors or ceilings when constructed using traditional building methods. Therefore, specialised building techniques involving skilled craftsmen such as joiners or carpenters will be required. It would therefore be desirable to provide a means for assisting in the correct installation of standard building components, such as prefabricated architectural finishing components, so

that they can be fitted as received on site by unskilled labourers where the principal methods of the construction employed are traditional.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of installing an architectural finishing component in a building comprising: a) installing a S locating component that is adapted to receive the architectural finishing component for attachment at a predetermined relative position; b) constructing a low portion of a structural element of the building using the locating component as a locating reference for the application of general-purpose building or finishing materials; c) installing a tie component for the locating component in or on the top of the low portion of the structural 10 element; d) constructing a further portion of the structural element on the lower portion, over the tie component, with further general purpose building or finishing materials to tie the locating component to the structural element of the building; and then e) attaching the architectural finishing component to the locating component at the said predetermined relative position.

15 The method may comprise: i) installing the locating component; ii) constructing the structural element of the building using the locating component as a locating reference for general-purpose building materials and the tie component for tying the locating component to the structural element, and then iii) attaching the architectural finishing component to the locating component at the said predetermined relative position.

20 Alternatively, the method may comprise: i) constructing the low level portion of the structural element of the building, ii) installing the locating component with the tie component on or in the top of the lower level portion of the structural element; iii) finishing the structural element using the locating component as a locating reference for the general-purpose building or finishing materials, the tie component thereby tying the 25 locating component to the structural element; and then iv) attaching the architectural finishing component to the locating component at the said predetermined relative position.

The locating component may have a generally C shaped section, the generalpurpose building components being built into the C-shaped section so that the inside of the arms of the C shaped section provide the reference for the general-purpose building components.

30 However, this can be awkward for a builder. The C shaped section can therefore be made shallower, e.g. such that the ratio of the arm lengths to the base length is approximately

1:4, rather than approximately 1:2. The general-purpose building materials, in particular the mortar fillet, can then be built up to the ends of the arms instead of being between the arms. The shallower section for the C shaped section allows the finished assembly to have a comparable rigidity to an assembly made with the less shallow section.

5 Such methods of building allow architectural finishing components to be fitted in or on a wall, a floor or a ceiling without adjustment of the architectural finishing components, the locating components or the building or finishing materials.

The architectural finishing components will usually be joinery building components or 10 masonry building components.

Building up the wall, floor and/or ceiling adjacent to or around the locating component with the tie component being sandwiched in mortar between, for example, building blocks or bricks in the finished structural element of the building, secures the locating component into or onto the wall, the floor or the ceiling.

15 Preferably the locating component defines a door sub-frame. The architectural finishing component may then comprise three standard door liners and the method may comprise attaching them to three inwardly facing surfaces of the door sub-frame to form a doorframe. It is then possible to hang a standard door to one of the standard door liners.

Standard architrave may be fitted to sides of the door sub-frame.

20 According to the second aspect of the present invention there is provided a tie component for a locating component used in the construction of a part of a building, comprising a plate and an attachment means for slidably attaching the tie component to the locating component. Preferably the attachment means can lock the tie component to the locating component.

25 Preferably the attachment means comprises a pair of straight flanges in plane with the plate. More preferably the attachment means further includes a pair of bent flanges in opposed sides of the plate, each bent flange being bent out of plane from the plate and opposing one of the straight flanges.

Preferably a gap is formed in each of the opposed sides of the plate. Preferably this gap is inwardly extending. More preferably the gap extends between the straight flange and the bent flange for receiving opposed flanges of the locating component that are preferably inwardly extending.

5 This aspect of the present invention allows the tie component to be slidably attached to the locating component, the tie component and the locating component thereby co-operating like a runner on a slide..

Preferably the tie component is made of metal.

Preferably the plate and the attachment means are unitarily formed from a single sheet.

10 Preferably the bent flange is cut and stamped into the opposed sides of the plate.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a kit of building components comprising: 1) at least one tie component and 2) a locating component for locating an architectural finishing component in a building, the tie component being adapted to attach slidably to the locating component at positions along the locating 15 component's length, the locating component being a) adapted to receive an architectural finishing component for attachment at a predetermined relative position, and b) so shaped as to provide a locating reference for the application of general-purpose building or finishing materials used in the construction or finishing of a structural element of the building, such that subsequent attachment of the architectural finishing component to the 20 locating component at the said predetermined position determines its position relative to the structure or fabric of the said structural element of the building; the tie component, in use, tying the locating component to the structural element of the building.

Preferably the tie component is in accordance with the second aspect of the present 25 invention. The kit or tie component can be used in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, which is a new way of applying traditional construction methods.

A preferred application of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure l shows a front plan view of a locating component in the form of a skeletal building 5 component for use as part of a door sub- frame, Figure 2 is a section II - II through the skeletal building component of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows an assembled door sub-frame; Figure 4 shows a section through the skeletal building component of Figure 1 fitted to a blockwall; Figure 5 shows the skeletal building component of Figure 4 having a door liner and 15 architrave fitted thereto; Figure 6 is a partial section of the architrave of Figure 5 fixed to the skeletal building component; 20 Figure 7 shows details of a double-ended fastener for use in the present invention; Figure is plan view of a tie component fitted to a locating component in accordance with the present invention; 25 Figure 9 is a side view of the tie component and locating component of Figure 8 in a sliding state; and Figure lO is a partial sectional view of the tie component fitted in the structural element of a building.

Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 8, the locating components (skeletal building components) are each a metal section 10 that is built into the fabric of the building at an early stage of construction. The term "skeletal" is used to imply that an outer skin, such as architectural

finishing components can be supported by it. Thus, they form frameworks for the whole assembly. The metal sections 10 shown in Figures 1 and 8 are for making a door sub-frame 100 - see 5 Figure 3. Referring to Figure 3, the door sub-frame 100 is formed from two upright sections 12, and two horizontal sections 14, 16. These sections are of a predetermined size so that they fit together to form a fixed size, rectangular frame, the door sub-frame 100.

The first horizontal section 14 may be designed to be capable of supporting a load as a lintel. Alternatively, a load-bearing lintel may need to be fitted for the doorway. The 10 second horizontal section 16 is a floor section and may be a Doorplate or it may be adapted to receive a Doorplate thereon.

To fit the door sub-frame, standard building techniques are used, all steps of which can be done by unskilled labourers. First of all the door sub-frame 100 is braced in an upright 15 position on a floor. Then a blockwall structural element is built-up around the sub-frame 100 to form a wall (with a tie component being incorporated into the structural element to tie the locating component to the structural element of the building, when done in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention). Finally, general-purpose finishing materials are applied to the wall up to the sub-frame 100 to finish the walls.

20 Once fitted, the door sub-frame gives a precisely sized and shaped opening to accept a factory built door set comprising a door and door liners that is securely fixed to the structural element. The architectural finishing components simply press fit to the sub-

frame, thereby being installable by unskilled labourers.

25 The metal sections 10 of Figures 1, 2 and 8 comprise lengths of galvanised steel, preferably formed from a flat sheet of steel folded into the generally c-shaped section shown in Figures 2 and 8. The steel is galvanised for longevity, i.e. to prevent corrosion.

The metal sheet 10 could alternatively be made of a rigid plastics material.

30 In accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, the metal section 10 is fixed to the wall using tie components. These can be similar to those used to tie an inner leave to an outer leave of a brickwork wall, i.e. butterfly ties. Attachment means (not shown) for such ties may, for example, be stamped into the section 10. Preferably, however, the tie

component is slidably mountable to the locating component, for example as shown in Figures 8 to 10.

Referring to Figure 8, the tie component comprises a generally trapezium shaped sheet of metal (the plate) having apertures 1 12 extending therethrough. The apertures allow mortar, 5 in use, to lock the tie plate into the structural element of the building (see Figure 10).

There are two generally parallel sides 114 in the plate, squaring off the corners of the trapezium shaped plate. These two sides 114 oppose each other.

In each side 114, a bent flange 116 is provided (see Figure 9). To make each bent flange 116, an L shaped cut is made in each side 114 of the plate. The feet 118 of each L shaped lO cut are made perpendicular to the sides 114. The legs 120 of each L shaped cut, perpendicular to the feet 118, are also cut into the plate. They extend parallel to the sides 114. These cuts complete the L shaped cuts of the tie component and form flanges. These flanges are then bent out of the plane of the plate along bend lines 112 that are also perpendicular to the sides 114 of the tie component. By bending the flanges out of plane, 15 gaps 124 are formed in the sides of the tie component.

Still referring to Figure 8, the two sides 18 of the metal section 10 of the locating component are arranged to be parallel to each other for providing a finished wall having parallel sides. The sides 18, however, have inwardly facing opposed flanges 110. These inwardly facing opposed flanges 110 have a width suitable to fit snugly within the gaps 20 124 in the tie component, as can be seen in Figure 10, when the tie component is perpendicular to the locating component. However, when the tie component is angled non perpendicularly to the locating component 10 (upwardly in Figure 9), the gaps allow the tie component to slide 126 relative to the locating component lO. In this manner, the tie component can be positioned at any point along the length of the locating component l O. 25 and, when re-oriented perpendicularly to the locating component lO, as shown in Figure 10, the bent flanges 1 16 engage against the flanges 1 l O of the locating component 10 to lock the tie component in position relative to the locating component. This allows the tie component to be positioned on top of a building block, irrespective of the height of the block, or more specifically in the mortar between two building blocks.

Of course other embodiments will be readily apparent to a skilled person, for example for

Affixing skirting boards, dado rails or picture rails to walls using tie components attached to the locating components with clips and the like.

The present invention has been described above purely by way of example. Modifications 5 in detail may be made to the present invention as defined in the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. A tie component for a locating component used in the construction of a part of a building, comprising a plate and an attachment means for slidably attaching the tie component to the locating component.

5 2. The tie component of claim 1, wherein the attachment means can lock the tie component to the locating component.

3. The tie component of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the plate and the attachment means are unitarily formed from a single sheet.

4. The tie component of claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the attachment means 10 comprises a pair of straight flanges in plane with the plate.

5. The tie component of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the attachment means includes a pair of bent flanges in opposed sides of the plate, each bent flange being bent out of plane from the plate.

6. The tie component of claims 4 and 5, wherein each bent flange opposes one of the 15 straight flanges.

7. The tie component of claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the bent flange is cut and stamped into the opposed sides of the plate.

8. The tie component of any one of the preceding claims, wherein a gap is formed in each of the opposed sides of the plate.

20 9. The tie component of claim 8, wherein the gap is inwardly extending.

10. The tie component of claim 8 or claim 9, when dependent upon claim 4 and claim 5, wherein the gaps extend between the straight flange and the bent flange for receiving opposed flanges of the locating component.

The tie component of any one of the preceding claims, made of metal.

25 12. A method of installing an architectural finishing component in a building comprising: a) installing a locating component that is adapted to receive the architectural

finishing component for attachment at a predetermined relative position; b) constructing a low portion of a structural element of the building using the locating component as a locating reference for the application of general-purpose building or finishing materials; c) installing a tie component for the locating component in or on the top of the low portion of 5 the structural element; d) constructing a further portion of the structural element on the lower portion, over the tie component, with further general purpose building or finishing materials to tie the locating component to the structural element of the building; and then e) attaching the architectural finishing component to the locating component at the said predetermined relative position.

10 13. The method of claim 12, comprising: i) installing the locating component; ii) constructing the structural element of the building using the locating component as a locating reference for general-purpose building materials and the tie component for tying the locating component to the structural element; and then iii) attaching the architectural finishing component to the locating component at the said predetermined relative position.

15 14. The method of claim 12, comprising: i) constructing the low level portion of the structural element of the building; ii) installing the locating component with the tie component on or in the top of the lower level portion of the structural element; iii) finishing the structural element using the locating component as a locating reference for the general-purpose building or finishing materials, the tie component thereby tying the 20 locating component to the structural element, and then iv) attaching the architectural finishing component to the locating component at the said predetermined relative position.

15. The method of claim 12, claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the tie component is in accordance with any one of claims 1 to l l.

16. The method of any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein the architectural finishing 25 components are joinery building components or masonry building components.

17. The method of any one of claims 12 to 16, wherein the tie component is sandwiched in mortar between building blocks or bricks in the finished structural element of the building.

18. The method of any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein the locating component defines 30 a door sub-frame.

i 19. A kit of building components comprising: 1) at least one tie component and 2) a locating component for locating an architectural finishing component in a building, the tie component being adapted to attach slidably to the locating component at positions along the locating component's length, the locating component being a) adapted to receive an 5 architectural finishing component for attachment at a predetermined relative position, and b) so shaped as to provide a locating reference for the application of general-purpose building or finishing materials used in the construction or finishing of a structural element of the building, such that subsequent attachment of the architectural finishing component to the locating component at the said predetermined position determines its position 10 relative to the structure or fabric of the said structural element of the building; the tie component, in use, tying the locating component to the structural element of the building.

20. The kit of claim 19, wherein the tie component is in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 11.

21. The kit of claim 19 or claim 20, wherein the locating component has a generally C 15 shaped section.

22. The kit of claim 21, wherein, the ratio of the arm lengths to the base length for the C shaped section is approximately 1:4.

23. A method of installing a door frame substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 8 to 10.

20 24. A tie component substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 8 to 10.

25. A kit of building components substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.