GB2405878A - Weatherboarding - Google Patents

Abstract

Weatherboarding formed of lengths of weatherproof material (1), each length having at its upper edge (2) an upwardly facing limb (4) and at its lower edge (6) a downwardly facing limb (8). The upwardly facing limb (4) is arranged to engage with the downwardly facing limb (108) of a further length (100) of similar weatherboarding to be fitted above the lower length. A benefit of the arrangement of the invention is that subsequent lengths of weatherproof material may be more easily fitted above a previously fitted length, by a single person.

Description

Imorovements in and relating to weatherboarding The present invention

relates to extruded weatherboarding.

Weatherboarding is commonly used on external vertical surfaces of buildings to provide a protective weather resistant surface. Traditionally, weatherboarding has been made of timber planks, often with a decorative relief feature running the length of each plank. Use of alternative materials such as plastics or metals, gives rise to problems due to the large coefficient of thermal expansion of these material. Further, it is preferably to use long lengths of weatherboarding to minimise joints between lengths. Since the fitting of weatherboarding is often at a high level, a person installing a weatherboarding plank will be often using a ladder or small access tower to reach, and a disadvantage of long lengths is that they are difficult for one person to handle and install by themselves.

According to the present invention, there is provided weatherboarding comprising lengths of weatherproof material, each length having at its upper edge an upwardly facing limb and at its lower edge a downwardly facing limb, whereby the upwardly facing limb is arranged to engage with the downwardly facing limb of a further length of similar weatherboarding to be fitted above the lower length.

A benefit of the arrangement of the invention is that subsequent lengths of weatherproof material may be more easily fitted above a previously fitted length, by a single person.

Preferably each length further comprises at its upper edge a downwardly facing surface, the downwardly facing surface being above the upwardly facing limb.

Preferably the downwardly facing surface is arranged to engage with a co operating surface of a fixing clip so as to retain the length of weatherboarding to a mounting surface.

A benefit of the fixing clip engaging with the downwardly facing surface is that the length of weatherproof material may be arranged to be able to move relative to the fixing clip, so as to permit relative movement between the length and the mounting surface to accommodate thermal expansion. - 2

Preferably the upwardly facing limb protrudes a forward facing surface of the length of weatherproof material.

A benefit of the upwardly facing limb protruding the forward facing surface is that a subsequent length of weatherproof material, when mounted to the upwardly facing limb of a similar length fitted below, may be arranged to cover the fixing clip of the length below.

Preferably each length of weatherproof material further comprises a downwardly facing groove at its upper edge and an upwardly facing groove at its lower edge, the grooves being arranged to receive a joint plate, the joint plate abutting a rearward facing surface of the length.

Preferably the rearward facing surface further comprises at least one rib arranged to space the joint plate away from the rearward facing surface. 1 5

Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a end view of an extruded length of weatherboarding according to the invention; Figure 2 is an end view of a clip for mounting the length shown in Figure 1 to a mounting surface; Figure 3 is an end view of a drip Gill for use with the length shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a end view of the extruded length shown in Figure 1, with a joint plate fitted behind the length; Figure 5 is an end view of the drip cill shown in Figure 3, with a joint plate fitted behind the length; Figure 6 is a scrap end view showing a top portion of a lower length to which is mounted a bottom portion of another length; and Figure 7 is a scrap end view showing the clip of Figure 2 retaining a length as shown in Figure 1. - 3

From Figure 1, a length of weatherboarding 1 is shown, the length having at its upper edge 2 an upwardly facing limb 4 and at its lower edge 6 a downwardly facing limb 8 and a bottom lip 34. In use the upwardly facing limb 4 is arranged to engage with the downwardly facing limb 8 of a further length 100 of similar weatherboarding shown fitted above the lower length 1 in Figure 6.

Preferably the upwardly facing limb and downwardly facing limb are arranged so that when two lengths are engaged with each other, the lower length being mounted firmly to a mounting surface, a bottom lip 134 of the upper length rests against a forward facing surface 12 of the length of weatherboarding below so that the upper length may hang forward at no more than an angle 6A measured between a plane 6B of the front surface 12 of the lower length and a plane 6C of a front surface of the upper length.

Preferably the angle 6A is less than 30 degrees. More preferably the angle is less than 15 degrees. Yet more preferably the angle is less than 10 degrees.

With careful control of the manufacturing tolerances, it has been found that a value of 3 degrees is obtainable for the angle 6A.

Hence an installer may easily position a second length above a first length, and the second length will be safely retained in position while the installer fixes it back to the mounting surface with nails or screws as described below.

A groove 32 in the front face of the length provides a means for an installer to make a visual check on the engagement of the upwardly facing limb 4 with the downwardly facing limb 108 of the further length 100. The groove 32 is preferably positioned so that it is only visible when the upper length is displaced by displacement 6D above the maximum engagement position. When fully engaged the groove 32 is hidden by bottom lip 134 of the further length 100.

Preferably displacement 6D is less than 6mm and more preferably it is less than 4mm.

A suitable value for the embodiment shown of the displacement 6D has been found in practice to be 2mm. - 4

The length of weatherboarding is made of a weatherproof material, such as a metal or a plastics.

A suitable process for the manufacture of the weatherboarding would be by means of extrusion.

The length 1 has at its upper edge 2 a downwardly facing surface 10. The downwardly facing surface 10 may be seen to be above the upwardly facing limb 4.

In use the downwardly facing surface 10 is arranged to engage with a co operating clamp face 72 of a fixing clip 70, so as to retain the length of weatherboarding to a mounting surface 90 as shown in Figure 7.

The upwardly facing limb 4 protrudes a forward facing surface 12 of the length of weatherboarding 1 so as to form a channel 14.

Figure 1 also shows a top lip 24 arranged to engage with a claw of a claw hammer, or of a nail bar to facilitate the removal of a length of weatherboarding which has been wrongly fitted to the mounting surface using a nail hammered directly through the weatherboarding at nailing groove 26. Preferably nailing groove 26 is dimensioned so that a 3mm diameter nail shank 112 may be received in the groove, so that a 6mm nail head 116 will sit up on the top edge 1 14 and 1 15 of the groove 26 and the nailing portion 28 is sufficiently thin to be easily pierced by such a nail with a 3mm shank with no pre- drilling of the nailing portion. A burr pocket 30 is arranged to be sufficient to contain a burr arising from driving the said nail through the nailing portion 28, so that any burr resulting from driving the nail shank through the nailing portion 28 does not cause a rear mounting face 25 to be held away from a mounting surface 90 A centre line of the nailing portion is sufficiently spaced vertically away from an upper edge 5 of the upwardly facing limb 4 that a standard carpenters or claw hammer may be used for nailing the weatherboarding without risk of damaging the upwardly facing limb.

Where clip fixing is desirable to permit relative movement of the length of weatherboarding with respect to the mounting surface, the clip 70 may be used.

Clip 70 is provided with sharp edges 73, 74 and 75 arranged to embed into a - 5 timber mounting surface when a 4.1mm diameter screw 76 is inserted through a pre-drilled hole in the clip as shown in Figure 7. Groove 78 is provided to facilitate the drilling of the said hole, and any burr resulting from the drilling of the hole is contained within the burr pocket 79. The clip is provided with clamp face 72 arranged to engage with surface 10, and a protruding rib 81 is provided to prevent the clip being located incorrectly instead in the nail groove 26.

The clip 70 is preferred for use in high wind load situations, as a 4.1mm screw typically has a retention capacity three times that of a 3mm nail, while the dimensions of the clip are such that a dimension 2A between a rear face of the clip 82 and a rear face 83 of the clamp face 72 is such that the length of weatherboarding is nevertheless able to move horizontally with respect to the mounting surface and the clip to accommodate any thermal expansion along the length.

Such thermal expansion is typically 1mm per metre in normal building installations, but may be greater where unusually large temperature variations occur.

A suitable length for the clip 70 would be 40mm, and in a typical installation clips would be fitted approximately every 600 mm along a length of weatherboarding.

From Figure 7, it can be seen that rear face 83 is preferably a clearance fit in groove 13, and the abutting surfaces 10 and 11 prevent the length 1 being displaced vertically in either direction 7V or 7W. Hence, the weather protection afforded by one length mounted above another, with a desired overlap, can not be compromised by accidental vertical displacement of a length mounted using clips 70.

The length of weatherboarding 1 is also provided with a downwardly facing groove 16 at its upper edge 2 and an upwardly facing groove 18 at its lower edge 6. From Figure 4, it may be seen that in use the grooves are arranged to receive a joint plate 80, the joint plate abutting a rearward facing surface 20 of the length 1. The rearward facing surface further comprises at least one rib 22 arranged to space the joint plate away from the rearward facing surface. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, due to the proportions of the length, multiple ribs 22' are provided spaced at intervals along a height 1 H of the rear surface 20.

To ensure vertical joints are weather-tight should two or more vertical joints coincide, the groove 16 of a lower length 1 is arranged to be a height 1 L above the groove 118 of a length 100 mounted above. - 6

Preferably height 1 L is more than 5mm. More preferably height 1 L is more than 8mm.

In the embodiment shown, a suitable dimension for height 1 L is 1 Omm.

Grooves 16 and 18 are arranged to be tapered so as to have a wider opening to ensure easy insertion of top edge 82 and bottom edge 84 respectively of the joint plate 80. A suitable thickness 4T of the joint plate is 1.2mm, and in the embodiment shown, may be easily produced by pressing two bends into short length of suitable metal.

Preferably the length of the joint plate is at least 50mm. More preferably the length of the joint plate is greater than 75mm.

For the embodiment shown, a suitable length for the joint plate 80 has been found to be 100mm.

Ribs 22 and 22' ensure sufficient space between the joint plate and the length of weatherboarding to permit the use of sealant 86 such as silicone or butyl mastic material vertically on each side of the joint line.

Ribs 22 and 22' further improve the strength of the main flat face of the length of weatherboarding with out significant weight increase per unit length.

Heel 36 is provided to ensure that if pressure is applied to the front surface of the length, it will be resisted by the increased strength of the extrusion at the heel 36, resisting distortion of the length, or deflection of the upper edge 2 sufficient to loosen any fixing nails or clips.

The features on the shallow drip Gill 150 shown in Figure 3 are identical to the similarly numbered features of the length 1 described above. Cill 150 is provided with a drip edge 33' to ensure any water on the external front face 31' runs off away from a mounting surface, such as surface 90.

The features on the shallow drip cill 150 and the Gill joint plate 80' shown in Figure 5 are identical to the similarly numbered features shown and described above and particularly with reference to Figure 4. - 7

Claims (7)

1. Weatherboarding comprising lengths of weatherproof material, each length having at its upper edge an upwardly facing limb and at its lower edge a downwardly facing limb, whereby the upwardly facing limb is arranged to engage with the downwardly facing limb of a further length of similar weatherboarding to be fitted above the lower length.

2. Weatherboarding as claimed in claim 1, wherein each length further comprises at its upper edge a downwardly facing surface, the downwardly facing surface being above the upwardly facing limb.

3. Weatherboarding as claimed in claim 2, wherein the downwardly facing surface is arranged to engage with a co-operating surface of a fixing clip so as to retain the length of weatherboarding to a mounting surface.

4. . Weatherboarding as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the upwardly facing limb protrudes a forward facing surface of the length of weatherproof material.

5. Weatherboarding as claimed in claim 4, wherein each length of weatherproof material further comprises a downwardly facing groove at its upper edge and an upwardly facing groove at its lower edge, the grooves being arranged to receive a joint plate, the joint plate abutting a rearward facing surface of the length.

6. Weatherboarding as claimed in claim 5, wherein the rearward facing surface further comprises at least one rib arranged to space the joint plate away from the rearward facing surface.

7. Weatherboarding, substantially as hereinbefore described and with reference to the accompanying drawings.