GB2401121A

GB2401121A - Stud wall perimeter channel

Info

Publication number: GB2401121A
Application number: GB0309708A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stuart Dennis Mckeith; Lee Royal Robert Mckeith
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-04-29
Filing date: 2003-04-29
Publication date: 2004-11-03

Abstract

A perimeter channel 10 for a stud wall or a suspended ceiling has a set of markings 14 at regular intervals to facilitate positioning of studs 12. The markings 14 may comprise indents or formations locally restricting the width of the channel. The markings 14 may be on the surface of the channel. The markings 14 may comprise notches or holes in side walls of the channel. The channel 10 may have a plurality of sets of markings visually distinguishable from one another and arranged at different regular intervals from one another. The channel 10 may be formed from sheet aluminium.

Description

24011 21 1 - Stud Wall Perimeter Channel The present invention relates to

the erection of a stud work frame for constructing walls and suspended ceilings.

A convenient way of building a partition wall or a suspended ceiling is to attach wall boards, which are usually of plaster boards, to a stud work frame. The frame can be made of wood but the present invention is concerned lo only with stud work made of sheet metal, most commonly aluminium.

Using this method, walls are constructed by securing a perimeter channel to the floor and ceiling. This consists of a U-section track that receives studs which extend vertically in the case of wall and horizontally in the case of a suspended ceiling. The wallboards are attached to the stud work frame by screwing them to the studs. The studs are arranged so that the join between two adjacent wallboards corresponds with the centre line of a stud so that each wallboard may be screwed near its edges to a stud.

As the studs provide the only fixing point for the wallboards, it is of paramount importance for each wallboard to overlap a stud near its edge so that a screw can be guaranteed to engage in a stud.

Wallboards are supplied in standard widths, normally 1200mm. When using wallboards of this size, the studs need to be secured to the perimeter channel at 600mm centres so that each wall board can be secured to a stud both at its edges and midway across its width.

A problem that arises in practice is that the position of each stud is measured from the previously erected stud rather that from the same datum line. For example, a length of wood may be used as a spacer to set the required - 2 - separation of the studs. The spacer is placed inside the perimeter channel adjacent the first stud. The second stud is then placed against the other end of the spacer thereby fixing its distance from the first stud. The spacer is then removed and used to set the distance between the second and third studs, this process being repeated until all the required studs for a wall are erected.

A disadvantage of this method of positioning the studs lo is that it can result in misalignment errors which only become apparent when attempting to secure the wallboards to the studs. Though an single error of a few millimetres between the position of two adjacent studs can be tolerated, when several studs are erected, an error build-up can occur which results in a total misalignment between the abutting edges of the boards and the studs.

If the wall has only one thickness of wallboard, such misalignment will be seen and can, with additional and unnecessary effort, be rectified. However, when a wall is to be constructed from a double thickness of wallboards, the first layer of wallboards will totally obscure the position of the studs and stud misalignment can result in the edges of the boards of the second layer being secured by screws that engage only in the boards of the first layer instead of engaging in the studs.

With a view to mitigating the foregoing problem, the present invention provides a perimeter channel for receiving studs for use in erecting a wall or suspended ceiling, wherein the channel is provided with a set of markings at regular predetermined intervals so as to enable the studs to be positioned accurately at fixed centres. - 3 -

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a perimeter channel with three studs assembled in it, Figure 2 is a side view of a perimeter channel according to a preferred embodiment with three studs assembled in it, Figure 3 is a top view of a perimeter channel and lo stud according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure 4 is a side view of a perimeter channel according to a further embodiment of the invention, and Figure 5 is a horizontal section through a stud wall having two layers of wallboards attached on each side of the stud.

Figure 1 shows part of a stud work frame made using a conventional perimeter channel 10 supporting three vertical studs 12. During construction, the perimeter channel 10 is secured to the floor, ceiling and adjacent end wall by the use of screws or nails.

The perimeter channel 10, which is conventionally made from thin aluminium, has a U-shaped cross-section. The studs 12, which are also made of aluminium, have a C-shaped cross- section as shown in Figure 3 with two central ridges 13 to withstand deflection of the front and rear faces of each stud. The aluminium sheeting is textured to improve further the structural rigidity of the channel and the studs.

The use of thin sheet aluminium for the construction of the studs and the perimeter channel allows self tapping screws to be used so that studs and wallboards may be secured to the perimeter channel 10 without the need for pre-tapped holes.

Conventional perimeter channel is not marked in any way and a worker assembling a stud work frame for a wall or a ceiling is required to locate the studs at the correct point along the length of the perimeter channel 10 so that they effectively support the wallboards which make up the surface of the wall or ceiling itself. As discussed in the introduction, accurate spacing of the studs is a requirement which is not always achieved because of cumulative errors.

lo Figure 2 shows a similar view to that of figure 1 of a stud work frame using perimeter channel according to the present invention. In this case the perimeter channel 10 is provided with markings 14 at regularly spaced intervals. The markings in the case of the embodiment of Figures 2 and 3 comprise formations 14 that locally restrict the width of the perimeter channel and are used to engage in the ridges 13 of the studs to provide positive location of the studs 12. Studs can conventionally move along the perimeter channel after they have been inserted into it, but the engagement of the formations 14 in the ridges 13 increases the resistance to movement when the studs are located in their correctly aligned position.

Though markings that are formed deformations that assist in the positive location of the studs are preferred, it is only necessary to provide a visual marking to enable each stud to be positioned correctly. The alignment of each individual with its marking is not crucial in the present invention because errors are not cumulative, that is to say misalignment is restricted to the individual stud and does not affect the alignment of any other stud.

The markings 14 may this alternatively consist, as shown in Figure 4, of surface markings 16, holes 18 in the walls of the perimeter channel, or notches 20 in the edges of the side walls of the channel. - 5 -

The markings are intended to indicate a regular spacing interval for locating the studs. This interval is preferably half the width of the wallboards to be secured to the studs.

Wallboards tend to come in standard widths of typically 1200mm, and the markings 14 should therefore be located 600mm on centre.

To accommodate wallboards of different width, it is possible to provide several sets of markings with different lo mutual spacing. In this case, to minimise the risk of error, the markings of each set should be visually distinguishable from the markings of other sets. This may be achievable by using a combination of two types of marking, or by distinguishing the way one type of marking is applied to the perimeter channel, for example using triangular and round holes, or using arrow shaped pressings or scratches which point in different directions. Most simply, the alignment markings may each comprise a line adjacent which there is printed the distance between centres.

The different types of markings 14 may be formed by a variety of methods in the sheet metal of the perimeter channel which will be readily apparent to the person skilled in the art. The markings can be formed or applied while the sheet metal is still flat or after sides of the channel have been bent into shaped. Furthermore they can be formed continuously by means of a roller engaging the surface of the channel or at a station through which the sheet stock is indexed by fixed increments.

Where the markings are formed by notches 20 along the edge of the perimeter channel 10, these can be formed by punching holes in the sheet aluminium stock along one of the cut lines, prior to it being cut into strips of the correct widths to form perimeter channels. - 6

For increased noise suppression, some stud walls and suspending ceilings are provided a double layer of wallboards 22 and 26 as shown in figure 5. The wallboards in such construction are secured to the studs so that the axes of two layers of wallboards are perpendicular to each other.

Using this construction, it is more important to ensure that the studs are located in the correct position since the studs are obscured entirely by the first layer 22 when fixing the second.

It is also important for the studs of a wall to be perpendicular in the case of a wall and parallel in the case of a suspended ceiling. The perimeter channel of the present invention assists in achieving these requirements if the opposite walls to which the studs are secured are parallel to one another. Using normal methods, such as a laser light to define where horizontal and vertical planes intersect the perimeter walls, the perimeter channels are mounted so that they lie in the same plane as one another with one pair of markings in correct alignment. Once this has been done, the studs need only be cut to length and slotted into position in the perimeter channels to ensure that they are both evenly spaced and plumb or parallel.

Of course, if the perimeter channels are not parallel to another, the one perimeter channel will ensure the correct spacing of the studs at one end but the other ends of the studs will need to be positioned in a conventional manner, such as by use of a plumb line or a laser line. - 7 -

Claims

Claims 1. A perimeter channel for receiving studs for use in erecting a

wall or suspended ceiling, wherein the channel is provided with a set of markings at regular predetermined intervals so as to enable the studs to be positioned accurately at fixed centres.
2. A perimeter channel as claimed in claim 1, wherein lo the markings are indents or formations that locally restrict the width of the channel.
3. A perimeter channel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the markings are applied to the surface of the channel.
4. A perimeter channel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the markings comprise notches in the edge of the side walls of the channel.
205. A perimeter channel as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the markings comprise holes in the walls of the channel.
6. A perimeter channel as claimed in any preceding claim, having a plurality of sets of markings that are visually distinguishable from one another, each set markings have a mutual separation that differs from the other sets, so as to enable studs to be positioned at different fixed centres.
307. A perimeter channel as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the channel is formed from sheet aluminium.
8. A perimeter channel substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.