IES940393A2 - Insulation panels for use at reveals - Google Patents

Abstract

An insulation panel 1 for providing insulation at reveals of doors, windows and all other openings in a wall, comprising an elongate reveal insulation panel of generally L-shaped cross-section the base of one leg in use abutting the reveal (reveal facing leg) and the side of the other leg (insulation board-facing leg) remote from the base of the reveal facing leg being provided with a groove along its length, said groove being capable of engaging, the tongue of an insulation board. The panel had the advantage that it bridges the area between the reveal and a traditional insulation board in the cavity wall, thereby providing effective insulation at the reveal. A damp-proof membrane C may be fixed to the insulation panel 1.

Description

INSOLATION PANELS FOR USE AT REVEALS The present invention relates to insulation panels for use at reveals and particularly for installation in a cavity wall.

In insulated cavity wall type building construction, the construction comprises an outer wall (known as the outer leaf), a cavity and an inner wall (the inner leaf). Such construction may incorporate either full or partial fill insulation.

It is known that gaps occurring in and/or between insulation boards result in air circulation in the cavity wall which leads to a substantial decrease in the thermal performance of the insulation i.e. decrease in the effectiveness of the insulation. This is brought about by inter alia a phenomenon known as thermal looping.

Thus, in order to obtain a proper thermally insulated cavity wall, adequate steps must be taken to prevent natural convection from occurring.

Furthermore, under the Irish Building Regulations 1991, the insulation in the cavity wall must abut the reveal at an opening in the cavity wall such as at a window or door reveal.

At present the general method of insulating reveals is awkward and cumbersome and is highly dependant on a bricklayer's skill and judgement to achieve a satisfactory application. This involves applying (1) a separate strip of insulation to fill the void at the reveal. As the width of the void is usually less than that of the traditional insulation board, the tendency is to cut the insulation OPEN TO PUBLIC INSPECTION SECTION zc +.NU PULE 23 ο 39 3 board on site, to a suitable thickness. This results in badly fitted insulation with unnecessary gaps leading to a phenomenon known as, cold bridging which increases the possibility of condensation occurring.

Furthermore, the current building regulations require that wall ties be spaced at locations no greater than 150mm from the edge of an unbonded jamb.

In addition, the regulations demand that around an opening, wall ties be placed at every horizontal block course. The height of a traditional insulation board is 450mm which corresponds to the height of two courses of blocks. This means that in order to satisfy the requirement that wall ties be placed at every horizontal block course, the traditional insulation board has to be impaled on the wall ties which in practice, may already be in position. Furthermore, in practice, if the regulation is to be satisfied, a blocklayer must rupture the main body of the insulation board in order to accommodate the wall tie.

This clearly leads to a drastic reduction in the efficiency of the insulation.

The present invention seeks to alleviate the disadvantages of the prior art.

The present invention accordingly provides an insulation panel for providing insulation at reveals of doors, windows and all other openings in a wall, comprising an elongate, one piece reveal insulation panel of generally L-shaped cross-section, the base of one leg, in use, abutting the reveal (reveal facing leg), and the side of the other leg (insulation board-facing leg) remote from the base of the reveal facing leg being provided with a groove along its length, said groove being capable of engaging the tongue of 940393 ' an insulation board.

Preferably, the one-piece reveal insulation panel has a cross-section, perpendicular to its length, having two parallel sides spaced apart by a spacing sized appropriately to a standard cavity width, the grooved side being perpendicular to the parallel sides, and being of a dimension less than the standard cavity width.

Preferably, the panel includes a vertical edge along its length, to enable cutting into the board on site, so as to provide slots at appropriate centres to accommodate wall ties at every horizontal block course as required at unbonded jambs in accordance with Technical Guidance Document Part A of the Building Regulations 1991. The width of the insulation board-facing leg is appropriately sized so to provide a means of indicating the maximum distance allowed in placing wall ties from the face of an unbonded j amb.

The panel may include a damp proof membrane bonded to at least part of the outer face of the insulation panel.

The panel advantageously includes cut ribs/grooves to accommodate mortar squeeze and to provide grip to hold the insulation panel in place.

The insulation panel of the present invention Will now be described more particularly with reference to the accompanying drawings in which is shown, by way of example only, one embodiment of the panel in accordance with the present invention.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the panel in place at a reveal; Figure 1a is an exploded perspective view of the panel in place and providing insulation at a window reveal; Figure 2 is a plan view of the panel of the invention; and Figure 3 is a plan view of the panel in place in a cavity wall.

Referring to the drawings, the insulation panel adapted for use at reveals in accordance with the present invention is indicated generally by the reference numeral 1. The elongate panel 1 is of generally L-shaped cross-section has a reveal facing leg 8 and an insulation-facing leg 9. The cross-section of the panel 1, perpendicular to its length, has two parallel sides 2,3 respectively, spaced apart by a spacing x, sized appropriately to the width of the cavity wall. The distance X is shorter than the spacing between the inner leaf A and the outer leaf B of the cavity wall. Thus, when the panel 1 is in place at a reveal, there is a residual space C remaining between the panel 1 and the outer leaf B of the cavity wall.

The panel 1 also includes a groove 10 extending along the length of one side thereof (the grooved side of panel 1), for receipt of the tongue provided along an opposing edge of a traditional tongue and groove EPS insulation board. Thus, the insulation panel 1 has the advantage that it abuts the reveal of a window or door, while at the same time, accommodating in a mating arrangement, the tongue of a traditional board which provides the insulation in a cavity wall. 940393 The panel 1 also includes a plurality of ribs 11 which are cut into the panel 1 along its full length at edge 5 i.e. at the inner face of the reveal-facing leg 8 of the panel 1. These cut ribs 11 accommodate mortar squeeze and provide a grip so as to secure the insulation panel 1 in place against the reveal.

The panel 1 includes a clean vertical edge 6 allowing for slots to be made on-site, in the board at edge 6 so as to accommodate wall ties at approximately 225mm centres i.e. at every horizontal block course. The wall tie is inserted in the slot which is made on site and the tongue of an adjacent insulation board is then inserted in the groove 10 so that the panel 1 and insulation board are engaged in mating arrangement and provide effective insulation at the reveal.

The width of the insulation-facing leg 9 of the panel 1, is chosen so as to accurately provide wall ties at the required locations from the reveal. Thus, the panel has the advantage of providing an immediate indication of the maximum spacing from the face of an unbonded jamb where the blocklayer should place a wall tie and guess work is eliminated.

The panel 1 may include a damp proof membrane, bonded onto the edge 2, i.e. the outer face of the reveal facing leg 8, for its full length and for a further overlap length of approximately 100mm at its end so as to provide the required damp proofing at window sills and blockwork.

The one-piece reveal insulation panel 1 provides a range of benefits, namely, 1) the insulation at the reveal will be accurately placed 9403931 in position; 2) the panel 1 will fully integrate with standard traditional cavity wall insulation boards; 3) use of panel 1 considerably reduces on-site application time and eliminates guess work and ad hoc workmanship.

The panel 1 can be provided in lengths so that it will suit all wall opening heights. In the event that the requirement is for a shorter length, it is easy to cut the insulation to suit leaving the required overlap length of damp proof membrane, thus making the panel 1 suitable for all wall opening sizes.

The panel 1 can also be produced as a cut board, a moulded board or an extruded board of Expanded Polystyrene or any other foam insulation.

An alternative embodiment of the panel 1 can be produced to suit the requirements of a full-fill cavity wall insulation construction.

It will of course be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details described herein, which are given by way of example only, and that various modifications and alterations are possible within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

MACLACHLAN & DONALDSON, Applicants' Agents, Merrion Square, DUBLIN 2.

Claims (5)

CLAIMS :

1. An insulation panel for providing insulation at reveals of doors, windows and all other openings in a wall, 5 comprising an elongate one piece reveal insulation panel of generally L-shaped cross-section, the base of one leg, in use, abutting the reveal (reveal facing leg), and the side of the other leg (insulation board-facing leg) remote from the base of the reveal facing leg being provided with a 1Q groove along its length, said groove being capable of engaging the tongue of an insulation board.

2. An insulation panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one-piece reveal insulation panel has a cross-section, 15 perpendicular to its length, having two parallel sides spaced apart by a spacing sized appropriately to a standard cavity width, the grooved side being perpendicular to the parallel sides, and being of a dimension less than the standard cavity width.

3. An insulation panel as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the width of the insulation board-facing leg is appropriately sized so as to provide a means of indicating the maximum distance allowed in the placing of wall ties 25 from an unbonded jamb.

4. An insulation panel as claimed in claim 1 to 3, comprising cut ribs/grooves to accommodate mortar squeeze and to provide grip to hold the insulation panel in place.

5. An insulation panel, substantially as herein described, with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.