GB2529206A - Pointing tool and method - Google Patents

Abstract

A pointing tool 100 comprises first 110 and second plates 150 joined by a coupling 190. The first and second plates have respective first and second straight edges that between them define a gap. The coupling allows the separation between the first and second edges to be adjusted. The coupling may include a releasable lock operable to fix the separation between the edges, and the edges may remain parallel when the separation is adjusted. The first and second plates may be flexible. One end of the tool may include a handle 122. A third plate 182 may be arranged perpendicular to the plane of the second plate to define a further gap. A further coupling may allow the separation of the further gap to be adjusted. A method comprising the step of introducing jointing material, such as mortar, into the gap between the first and second edges is also claimed.

Description

Pointing Tool and Method The present invention relates to a tool and in particular a pointing tool and method of pointing.

Pointing is generally known and relates to filling a gap between wall or floor constructions members, such as bricks, stones or paving, with a jointing material, such as a cement or mortar.

Pointing is generally a manual task although various approaches can be used to try and speed up the process such as gun grouting a poured gTrouting. However, in many instances, hand pointing is used.

In hand pointing, a pointing trowel and larger bricklaying trowel are often used. The cement or mortar is loaded onto the bricklaying trowel and any mortar overhang is trimmed to prevent spillage and staining of the construction members, e.g. paving. The pointing trowel is then used to feed mortar carefully into the joint being filled. The mortar is then packed into the joint using the edge of the pointing trowel, to remove voids or air pockets, until the joint is completely filled. This procedure is repeated moving along the joint until its ftill length has been filled with mortar. A pointing bar can then be used to smooth off the mortar (also known as Polishing' or Striking'). Any spillages of mortar should be cleaned immediately to try and avoid or reducing staining of the surface with a damp cloth or similar. A soft brush can be used to dust off any mortar left on the surface after the mortar has become dry.

It will be appreciated that this a reasonably skilled and time consuming operation, particularly in order to avoid unsightly staining of the surface of the paving elements and when pointing large areas such as patios or drive ways. -Also, it can be necessary to avoid pointing when the surface of the paving elements is damp, for example during or after rain, as this can exacerbate the risk of staining.

Hence, a tool which can increase the ease or speed of pointing while reducing the risk of staining would be beneficial.

A first aspect of the invention provides a pointing tool comprising: a first plate having a first inner straight edge; a second plate having a second inner straight edge; a coupling by which the first plate and second plate are connected with the first inner straight edge opposed to the second inner straight edge and defining a gap between them, and wherein the coupling permits the separation between the first inner straight edge and the second inner straight edge to be adjusted.

Hence, the first and second plates can provide an adjustable mask to help prevent or reduce staining of exposed surfaces of construction elements while introducing a jointing material into a joint between them Further, as the width of the gap can be varied, the same pointing tool can be used when pointing gaps of different widths during the same or different pointing jobs The pointing tool therefore provides an aid to make pointing easier and speed up pointing.

The coupling can include a releasable lock or fastener operable to fix the separation between the first inner straight edge and the second inner straight edge. Hence, once the separation has been adjusted it can be fixed to allow the tool to be used subsequently to point joints of similar widths elsewhere during a pointing job. A first releasable lock or fastener can be provided at a first end and/or a second releasable lock or fastener can be provided at a second end. The or each releasable lock or fastener can be a quick release type fastener.

The coupling can be arranged to maintain the first inner straight edge substantially parallel to the second inner straight edge while the separation between them is adjusted.

This makes the width of the gap is substantially constant along the longitudinal length of the gap and is particularly helpftil for regularly shaped andlor spaced construction elements.

The first plate and/or the second plate can be flexible. The first and/or second plate can be sufficiently flexible to accommodate variations in the height, shape or profile of a working surface against which they are placed in use. This helps to avoid the ingress of jointing material between an underside of the plates and the working surface which might otherwise stain or mark the working surface.

The pointing tool can further comprise a handle at a first end and/or second end of the pointing tool. The handle can facilitate manual handling of the pointing tool, particularly when partially loaded with jointing material. A handle at a first end can include one or more apertures for receiving a user's hand and/or for allowing the tool to be hung up for storage. A handle at a second end can include one or more grabs to improve manual handling and/or manipulation of the pointing tool.

The coupling can comprise a first part at a first end of the pointing tool and/or a second part at a second end of the pointing tool. The first part and/or the second part can each include one or more formations arranged to allow the first plate and/or second plate to slide relative to each other.

The pointing tool can further comprise a third plate having a lower straight edge The second plate can have a first outer straight edge, and the third plate can be arranged generally perpendicular to a plane of the second plate and with its lower straight edge opposed to the outer straight edge and defining a further gap between them This allows the pointing tool to be used to more easily point a joint between a vertical and a horizontal working surface, e.g. between a wall and a floor. Hence, the same tool can be used to more easily and quickly point joints between horizontal working surfaces and joints between a vertical and horizontal working surface as can exist at boundaries.

The pointing tool can further comprise a further coupling by which the second plate and third plate are connected. The further coupling can permit the separation between the first outer straight edge and the lower straight edge to be adjusted. Hence, the same tool can be used to point joints of different widths between horizontal and vertical working surfaces.

The third plate can be flexible to accommodate variations in the shape of a working surface against which it is placed in use. This helps to avoid the ingress ofjointing material between an underside of the third plate and the vertical working surface which might otherwise stain or mark the vertical working surface.

The thickness of the first plate and/or the second plate and/or the third plate can be less than 2mm or less than 1mm. The thickness of the first plate and/or the second plate and/or the third plate can be in the range of approximately 0.5mm to 2mm. Such thicknesses can help make the jointing material lie substantially flush with the working surface.

The length of the first plate and the second plate along a longitudinal axis of the pointing tool can be at least 0.3m, at least 0.Sm, at least 0.7rn or at least im. Preferably, the length of the first plate and second plate is at least O.3m. Preferably, the length of the first plate and second plate is not more than im. The length of the first plate and the second plate along a longitudinal axis of the pointing tool can be in the range of approximately 0 2m to 1 5m, 0 3m to 1 Sm, 0 3m to 1 2m or preferably 0 3m to Im The coupling can include a scale arranged to indicate the size of the gap between the first inner edge and the second umei edge The scale can include a plurality of markings or indicia. A first group of markings or indicia can be provided at the first end of the pointing tool and a second group of markings or indicia can be provided at the second end of the pointing tool An end part of the first plate and/or an end part of the second plate can include a slot, or slots, extending in a direction generally transverse to a longitudinal axis of the pointing tool. The slot or slots can each be arranged to receive a respective part of the or each releasable lock or fastener.

The third plate can have a first ann at a first cud having an opcn slot thcrein and/or a second arm at a second end having a further open slot therein. The open slots can provide part of a slide mechanism by which the further gap can be adjusted.

The first plate and/or second plate and/or third plate can each be made of a sheet of metal and in particular a sheet of steel. Other parts of the pointing tool can be integrally formed with the first, second and/or third plates. Major parts of the pointing tool can be formed from moulded, formed or pressed and/or cut sheet metal.

A second aspect of the invention provides a method of pointing comprising; adjusting the separation between a first inner straight edge of a first plate of a pointing tool and a second inner straight edge of a second plate of the pointing tool to substantially match the width of a gap between a first edge of a first construction member and a second edge of a second construction member; aligning the first and second inner straight edges respectively with the first edge of the first construction member and the second edge of the second construction member to at least partially mask an exposed surface of the first construction member and an exposed surface of the second construction member; and introducing a jointing material into the gap and between the first inner straight edge and the second inner straight edge Hence, the method allows a user to point a joint between construction members more quickly and easily The first construction member and the second construction member can each be a wall construction member The first construction member and the second construction member can each be a floor construction member The first construction member can be a wall construction member and the second construction member can be a wall construction member.

The construction members can be wall construction members or floor construction members or a combination thereof. Wall construction members can include bricks, stones, blocks, tiles and similar which often have a joint that can be pointed. Floor construction members can include flagstones, payers, paving stones, bricks, blocks, cobbles, tiles and sunilar which often have a joint that can be pointed An embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective exploded view of a pointing tool according to the invention; Figure 2 shows a plan view of the pointing tool of Figure 1 when assembled; and Figure 3 shows a perspective partially exploded view of a first end of part of the pointing tool of Figure 1.

Similar items in the different Figures share common reference numerals unless indicated otherwise.

With reference to the Figures, Figure 1 shows a perspective exploded view of an embodiment of a pointing tool 100 according to the invention The pointing tool 100 is assembled from three main parts which are held together and operated by a number of fasteners and fixings as descnbed in greater details below The pointing tool includes a first part 110 and a second part 150 having a similar form and a third part 180 which is attached to and interacts with the second part 150 The first part 110 has a base 112 in the form of a rectangular flexible plate and includes a first end wall 114 at a first end and a second end wall 116 at a second end The first end wall 114 has a flange 118 extending from an upper end of the first end wall 114 and which defines an aperture 120 therein which provides a first handle portion 122 The first end wall also includes a first pair of holes 124, 126 for receiving respective ones of a first pair of nut 127, split washer 128 and bolt 129 fasteners. The second end wall 116 has a shorter flange 130 extending from an upper end of the second end wall 116 and which provides a first grab portion 132. The second end wall includes a second pair of holes 134, 136 for receiving respective ones of a second pair of nut, split washer and bolt fasteners.

The second part 150 has a base 152 in the form of a rectangular flexible plate and includes a first end wall 154 at a first end and a second end wall 156 at a second end. The first end wall 154 has a flange 158 extending from an upper end of the first end wall 154 and which defines an aperture 160 therein which provides a second handle portion 162.

The first end wall also includes a first elongate aperture 164 in the form of a rectangular slot for receiving a threaded skewer 166 attached to a handle 167 of a first quick release type fastener 168 which also includes an internally threaded nut 169. The second end wall 156 has a shorter flange 170 extending from an upper end of the second end wall 156 and which provides a second portion 172. The second end wall includes a second elongate aperture 174 in the form of a rectangular slot for receiving a threaded skewer 176 attached to a handle 177 of a second quick release type fastener 178 which also includes an internally threaded nut 179.

The third part 180 has a main body 182 in the form of a rectangular flexible plate and includes a first end arm 184 at a first end and a second end arm 186 at a second opposed end The third part 180 has a generally U-shaped fonn The first end arm 184 defines a first open slot 188 having an open end and a closed end Similarly the second end arm 186 defines a second open slot 190 havrng an open end and a closed end The separation between the first end arm 184 and the second end ann 186 is slightly greater than the separation between the first end wall 154 and the second end wall 156 of the second part The first and second end arms 184, 186 overlap the outer surfaces of the end walls 154, 156 of the second part 150 and the third part 180 can be slid relative to the second part in a direction generally transverse to a longitudinal dimension of the pointing tool 100 as described in greater detail below The pointing tool 100 also includes a first 190 and a second 200 length of right angled bar. Each length of right angled bar has a pair of circular holes 192, 194 and 202, 204 in a lower mounting part 196, 206 and in registration with the corresponding pairs of holes 124, 126 and 134, 136 in the first and second end walls of the first part 110. Each lower mounting part also includes a respective third hole 198, 208 positioned in registration with the corresponding slots 164, 174 in the first and second end walls of the second part 150. An upper part 199, 209 of each right angled bar 190, 200 extends generally transversely of its respective lower mounting part and bears a plurality of markings or indicia 210, 212 in the form of straight lines on an upper surface which provides a scale as described in greater detail below.

The pointing tool is assembled by fastening the first 190 and second 200 lengths of right angled bar to the first 114 and second 116 end walls of the first part 110 using the first and second pairs of bolts, split washers and nuts. The threaded skewers 166, 176 of the quick release fasteners 168, 178 pass through the respective open slots 188, 189 and the respective closed slots 164, 174 at the first and second ends of the third and second parts with threaded nuts 169, 179 attached to their respective free ends. The first arm 184 and the second arm 186 of the third part can be trapped between the respective bodies 167, 177 of the quick release fasteners 168, 178 and the outer surface of the first 154 and second 156 end walls of the second part 150.

Hence, the quick release fasteners 168, 178 can be opened to allow the first and second parts to be slid relative to each other in a direction generally transverse to their longitudinal axis and can be closed to prevent relative sliding Additionally or alternatively, the quick release fasteners 168, 178 can be opened to allow the third part to be slid relative to the second part in the direction generally transverse to their longitudinal axis and can be closed to prevent sliding As best illustrated in Figure 2, which shows a plan view from above of the pointing tool 100, the base 112 of the first part 110 has an inner straight edge 113 and the base 152 of the second part 150 has an inner straight edge 153 The inner straight edges 113, 513 are arranged in opposition and define between them a gap 216 with an adjustable width as illustrated by pair of arrows 220 in Figure 2 As illustrated in Figure 2, the first and second inner straight edges 113, 153 are substantially parallel and therefore define a gap 216 having a constant width However, there can be a certain amount of play in the pointing tool which means that the first and second inner straight edges 113, 153 may not be parallel and the gap 216 defined between them may vary in width along its length and taper toward either the first or second end of the tool As also bcst illustratcd in Figurc 2, the base 152 of the second part also has an outer straight edge 155 which is arranged in opposition to the main body 182 of the third part, and in particular a lower edge 183 of the main body 182 of the third part 180, and defines between them a gap 226 with an adjustable width as illustrated by pair of arrows 230 in Figure 2. As illustrated in Figure 2, the outer straight edge 155 and main body 182 are substantially parallel and therefore define a gap 226 having a constant width. However, there can be a certain amount of play in the pointing tool which means that the outer edge and main body 182 may not be parallel and the gap 226 defined between them may vary in width along its length and taper toward either the first or second end of the tool.

The first 110, second 150 and third 180 parts may be made from a metal or alloy and in particular may be made from aluminium or steel. They may be manufactured by cutting and pressing thin metal sheets. The pointing tool can have a length of about Im, a width of about 0.25m and a height of about 0,1 m. The thickness of the metal sheet of which the first, second and third parts are made can be about 1mm. The first base 112, second base 152 and body 182 of the third part are flexible to a degree so that the can accommodate significant variations in the profile or shape of the surface against which they are placed in use However, they are also reasonably stiff and do not exactly conform to the shape of the surface against which they are placed The pairs of bolts and nuts can have a thread diameter of 8mm Although quick release type fasteners are shown and descnbed, it will be appreciated that other releasable fasteners can be used in other embodiments For example wing nuts and bolts can be used instead As will be appreciated from the above, the angle bars 190, 200 not only serve to connect or couple the first and second parts together, but also provide a part of an adjustment mechanism by which the width 220 of the gap 216 can be adjusted to correspond to a gap between adjacent paving stones Further, the end arms 1 84, 186 of the third part 180 serve to connect or couple the third 180 and second 150 parts together, but also provide a part of a ifirther adjustment mechanism by which the width 230 of the further gap 226 can be adjusted to correspond to a gap between a paving stone and a vertical surface, such as a wall or step Having described the construction of the pointing tool, an example of its use will now briefly be described in connection with pointing flagstones However, it will be appreciated that its use is not limited to any particular of floor or wall covering. Rather, the pointing tool can be used in any application in which it is desired to fill gaps between, or at any edge of covering members, such as tiles, bricks, flag stones, paving stones or similar, with a jointing material, such as a grout, mortar or similar.

Initially the ground is prepared and the flagstones are laid often on a bed of cement or similar. The quick release fasteners 168, 178 are opened and the pointing tool is placed on a pair of adjacent flag stones and the width 220 of the gap 216 is adjusted by sliding S the first and second members toward or away from each other until the width 220of the gap 216 substantially matches the gap between the flagstones. if they gap between the flagstones is known in advance then scales 210,212 can be used to set the width 220 of gap 216 in advance. Then the quick release fasteners 168, 178 are closed to fix the width of the gap A brick trowel or similar can then be used to introduce an excess of mortar along the length of the gap 216 of the pointing tool A pointing trowel or similar can then be used to feed the mortar into and fill the gap between the flagstones and then finally smoothed off (also known as stnking or polishing) The pointing tool, can then be lifted by the handles 122, 162 and grabs 132,172 and moved along the joint currently being filled, with any remaining mortar retained on the bases 112, 152 of the first and second members Depending on whether thejoint is of generally constant thickness, the gap 216 may or may not be re-adjusted as descnbed above The next section of the joint can then be filled with mortar as described above Additionally or alternatively, the pointing tool can be used to increase the speed of filling a gap between a honzontal and a vertical surface also, using the further gap 226 defined between the outer edge 155 of the base 152 of the second part and the lower edge 183 of the body 182 of the third part Use of the pointing tool is similar in that the quick release fasteners 168, 178 are opened and the third part is slid relative to the second part to adjust the width 230 of the gap 226 to match the size of the gap between the honzontal surface, e g a flagstone, and the vertical surface, e g a wall, with the main body 182 abutting the vertical surface The quick release fasteners are then closed to fix the width 230 of the ftirther gap 226 and then the jointing matenal can be introduced and worked into the gap between the flag stone and the wall via the gap 226 in a similar way to that described above for adjacent flagstones.

A number of benefits arise from the pointing instrument of the invention.

The bases help to avoid staining of the flooring parts or floor covering by the jointing material by acting as a mask so that the jointing material generally only engages the gap between the flooring parts or floor covering rather than their upper surfaces. This can increase the speed with which a large area can be pointed while reducing or avoiding staining by the jointing material.

This is particularly advantageous when the floor has become damp, for example because of rain, which can exacerbate staining. However, using the invention, even damp flooring can be pointed without significant staining by the jointing material.

Further, as the gap between the bases can be adjusted, the same pointing tool can be used to point a large areas irrespective of any irregularities in the gaps between flooring members or different areas having different sized gaps between flooring members The flexible bases 112, 152 allow them generally to conform to the shape or surface profile of the floor covering which can be quite vanable for some matenals, e g flag stones, and so helps avoid or reduce jointing material from entering any gap between the underside of the bases and the floor covering and causing staining by the jointing material Further, as the bases are made of a thin sheet, this helps to allow the jointing material to be applied substantially flush with the upper surface of the flooring members rather than giving rise to a ridge or edge which can more easily become worn or damaged The length of the pointing tool can be generally greater than the length of typical flooring members and so can be used to point along the entire length of a flooring member in one go Also, the greater the length, the lesser the number of times the pointing tool needs to be re-positioned in oidei to point joints extending over a significant distance, e g across a patio or over a dnve way or hard standing Further, the third part and ftirther adjustable gap allows the pointing tool to be used for pointing gaps between honzontal and vertical surfaces, e g, a floor and wall, without the jointing material staining.

Manual pointing without staining is a skilled and labour intensive task and hence the invention also allows a novice to applying pointing without staining or a professional to apply pointing more quickly.

Various modifications and changes to the specific pointing tool described will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art from the discussion and explanation of the invention provided above.