GB2465185A

GB2465185A - Bricklayer's Trowel

Info

Publication number: GB2465185A
Application number: GB0820457A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Garnet Denman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-11-08
Filing date: 2008-11-08
Publication date: 2010-05-12
Anticipated expiration: 2028-11-08
Also published as: GB2465185B; GB0820457D0

Abstract

The invention relates to a bricklayer's trowel 10 and comprises a quadrilateral blade 1 adapted for a handle 12 located at one corner. A protrusion 15 is provided near one or both of the corners 13, 14 adjacent to the corner bearing the handle. The thickness of the blade and the protrusion(s) are equal to the desired gap between adjacent bricks in the same horizontal course of brickwork. The trowel is used to set the gap between adjacent bricks in the same course. The protrusions are preferably circular in cross section and smoothly curved. The protrusions may be formed by pressing or by spot welding a stud or boss on the blade.

Description

Bricklayer's Trowel The present invention relates to a bricklayer's trowel.

Bricklayer's trowels are used in the building trade for applying and spreading mortar. Such trowels are employed to apply and spread mortar on horizontal layers or courses of bricks before the bricks of the next higher course are laid. The thickness of mortar between courses is regulated by horizontal cords and/or by the skill and experience of the bricklayer. Bricklayers sometimes use trowels for cutting or chopping bricks.

A problem encountered in bricklaying is that there is no straightforward means or method of regulating the amount of mortar in the gap or cross-joint between the adjacent vertical faces of adjacent bricks in the same course. As a result, a course of bricks could be longer or shorter than the desired length. The present invention is intended to address this problem.

The present invention provides a bricklayer's trowel having the features recited in claim 1 of the set of claims following this description. Optional and/or preferred features of the trowel are the subject of other claims in the said set of claims.

The invention also provides a structure comprising courses of bricks held together by mortar which has been applied by a trowel as defined in one or more of the claims of the said set of claims.

The invention is now further described with reference to some embodiments, given by way of non-limitative example, and with reference to the diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of part of a trowel of the invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the trowel of Figure 1 (and also of the trowels of Figs. 3 and 4); Figure 3 is a plan view of another trowel according to the invention; and Figure 4 is a plan view of another trowel according to the invention.

The trowel 10 of Figs 1 and 2 comprises a flat quadrilateral blade 11 and a handle 12 (or a blind tube for receiving a handle). The blade 11 has two corners or shoulders 13, 14 adjacent to the end where the handle 12 is located. Adjacent to one corner 13, there is provided or formed a protrusion 15 which projects from the flat surface of the blade 11. The protrusion 15 is preferably near the corner 13 (e.g., 5 to 12 mm from the corner) and preferably on or near to the edge of the blade 11 between the handle 12 and the corner 13. The protrusion 15 may be an integral or unitary part of the blade or it may be a separate part which is secured to the blade 11. Thus, the protrusion 15 may be a dimple which is integral with the blade 11 and formed by pressing or stamping. Alternatively, the protrusion 15 may be a separate member secured to the blade, e.g., by spot welding. The protrusion 15 is preferably of a smoothly-curved dome-like form and may have a circular base, as depicted in the drawings, since this is easier to clean than a protrusion having sharp angles. A smoothly-curved domed protrusion can be made by stamping or pressing the blade 11.

Alternatively, the blade may be formed from suitable sheet metal having a ridged section which is subjected to a grinding process to form a desired protrusion 15.

Another form (not shown) of the protrusion is cylindrical with a flat outer face. This latter form can be made by welding or spot-welding a cylindrical disc (e.g., a stud or boss) to the face of the blade. The total distance between the free end of the protrusion and the lower or bottom face (as shown) of the blade 11 should be equal to (or approximately equal to) the desired gap for mortar between adjacent vertical faces of adjacent bricks in the same course. In UK, this distance is usually 10mm. In USA, this distance is /4 inch (6.3 5cm). Thus for UK use, if the blade 11 has a thickness of 2mm, the protrusion 15 should extend 8mm from the surface of the blade 11 from which it protrudes. However, the blade 11 may have a thickness in the range 1 to 3mm, and the protrusion 15 would then extend a distance in the range 9 to 7mm so that the total thickness of the blade and protrusion is 10mm if the desired gap between adjacent bricks in the same course is 10mm.

In use, the trowel 10 is employed to apply and spread mortar on bricks. When bricks are being laid, bricks are laid in a bed of mortar to form a horizontal course.

As each additional brick is added to the course, mortar is applied by the trowel to the vertical face of the last-laid brick of the course. The corner region 13 of the trowel 10 of the invention is located in the vertical gap between adjacent bricks where it serves as a gauge or spacer, wherein one brick abuts a face of the trowel's blade and the adjacent brick abuts the "top" or free end of the protrusion 15. Thus, the gap or space between adjacent bricks in a course is relatively accurately defined. When adjacent bricks in a course are thus located with a gap of the desired size between them, the corner region 13 of the trowel is withdrawn from the gap and the gap is filled with mortar to complete the joint. The gaps between bricks in each course can therefore be of substantially uniform dimensions, substantially equal to the thickness of the blade plus protrusion. As a result, each course laid by the method described has substantially the desired length. It has not previously been possible to ensure that the gaps or cross-joints between bricks in a course were unifonn. The trowel of the invention enables this difficulty to be surmounted.

The trowel of Fig. 1 is shown with the protrusion 15 near one corner or shoulder 13 of the blade 11. Fig. 3 shows a trowel of the invention in which the protrusion 15 is near the opposite corner or shoulder 14. The side elevation of the trowel of Fig. 3 is the same as Figure 2. The trowel of Fig. 3 might be suited to a left-handed bricklayer, and the trowel of Figure 1 might be suited to a right-handed bricklayer.

Fig. 4 shows a trowel having two protrusions 15, one near one corner 13 and the other near the other corner 14. The trowel of Fig. 4 might be suited to bricklayers who are right handed and left handed. The side elevation of the trowel of Fig. 4 is the same as Fig. 2.

The trowels of Figs. 3 and 4 are used to set the gap between adjacent bricks in a horizontal course in the same way as the trowel of Fig. 1.

The or each protrusion 15 is located on the blade 11 slightly offset from its respective corner(s) 13 or 14 of the blade 11, so that the corner(s) 13, 14 can be used for cutting bricks in the well-known manner. The offset distance from the respective corner(s) may be in the range 2 to 20mm, e.g. 3 to 15mm, for example 4 to 10mm, suitably about 5 or 6mm, so that the corner(s) 13, 14 are available for cutting bricks.

Features of one embodiment described herein may be employed in any feasible combination with features of another embodiment.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A bricklayer's trowel comprising a flat quadrilateral blade having, or adapted to have, a handle at one corner, the blade having a protrusion on one face of the blade at or in the region of another corner.
2. The trowel of claim 1 wherein the protrusion is in the region of said another corner adjacent to the said one corner.
3. The trowel of claim I or claim 2 wherein there is another similar protrusion in the region of the other corner which is adjacent to the said one corner.
4. The trowel of any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the or each protrusion is near a respective corner and preferably between the said one corner and the respective other corner.
5. The trowel of any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the or each protrusion is formed by a pressing in the blade or the protrusion is formed by a stud or boss on the blade.
6. The trowel of any of claims 1 to 5 wherein the or each protrusion is smoothly curved from its base at or adjacent to the blade to its tip or free end.
7. The trowel of any of claims ito wherein the or each protrusion is substantially circular in cross-sections parallel to the surface of the blade.
8. The trowel of any preceding claim wherein the or each protrusion extends away from the blade a distance of up to 15mm.
9. The trowel of any preceding claim wherein the distance between the or each protrusion and the immediately adjacent corner of the blade is from 8 to 12 mm.
10. The trowel of any preceding claim wherein the distance between the free end of the or each protrusion and the distal or remote face of the blade is substantially 10mm or substantially 6.35mm (0.25 inch).
11. The trowel of any preceding claim wherein the blade has a length in the range to 30 cm and/or a width in the range 70 to 110mm.
12. The trowel of any preceding claim wherein the blade has a thickness of 1.0 to 3.0mm.
13. The trowel of any preceding claim comprising a handle.
14. A bricklayer's trowel substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
15. A structure comprising one or more courses of bricks bound by mortar, wherein the mortar has been applied by a trowel according to any preceding claim.