NZ527865A - Improvements in and relating to moisture meter readings in houses made from timber - Google Patents

Abstract

A building construction having wooden framing forming part of a shower, a floor, a roof, or the interior of a wall; a length or lengths of wire connected to the framing in a manner which enables signals indicative of a moisture content within the framing to be passed along the wire(s); the wire or wires proceeding to a measuring point which can be accessed from a position remote from or outside of the shower, floor, roof, or wall; the construction having a socket which enables ready releasable connection of a moisture meter to the wire or wires at the measuring point, directly or indirectly, and wherein the meter can be used to measure, via the wire or wires, the moisture content of the framing.

Description

Patents Form No. 5 4 1 fc> 27*65 ;THE PATENTS ACT 1953 ;COMPLETE SPECIFICATION ;No. 527865 ;MOISTURE DETECTION ;I, Ian Conrad Holyoake, a New Zealand citizen, of 70 Churchill Road, Howick, Auckland, New Zealand, hereby declare this invention for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: ;Intellectual prupewy ;:i 5 ;9 ;2 9 NOV 200*1 ' 2 TITLE Moisture Detection FIELD OF INVENTION This invention relates to means for detecting moisture. A preferred form of the invention relates to means for detecting moisture in constructions such as residential dwellings and commercial buildings.

BACKGROUND Many modern construction methods involve applying cladding to framing in a tight fashion to better insulate the interior of a house, or other building, against fluctuations in interior temperature. This means that in the event of rain leaks water may enter spaces within wall cavities with little or no way of escape. Over time this can cause timber to rot, with consequential damage to the structural integrity of the house, etc. It is desirable to have a useful way of measuring the moisture content of timber framing so that one can assess whether repair work is necessary without having to remove exterior or internal cladding. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to go at least some way towards enabling the measurement of moisture within a construction, or to provide the public with a useful choice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a building construction having wooden framing forming part of a shower, a floor, a roof, or the interior of a wall, a length or lengths of wire connected to the framing in a manner which enables signals indicative of a moisture content within the framing to be passed along IPONZ 2 9 MAY 2006 3 the wire(s), the wire or wires proceeding to a measuring point which can be accessed from a position remote from or outside of the shower, floor, roof, or wall; the construction having a socket which enables ready releasable connection of a moisture meter to the wire or wires at the measuring point, directly or indirectly, and wherein the meter can be used to measure, via the wire or wires, the moisture content of the framing.

Optionally there are additional wires connected to wooden framing forming part of the shower, floor, roof, or the interior of another part of the wall, or to wooden framing forming part of the interior of a different wall or walls, of the construction, wherein the additional wires proceed to the measuring point, or to a different measuring point or points, such that a moisture meter can be directly or indirectly connected to the additional wires at the first mentioned measuring point or at the second mentioned measuring point or points to measure, via the wires, the moisture content of the respective framing.

Optionally all of the wires are connected to the same measuring point and wherein moisture readings for all of the framing mentioned can be taken at that measuring point.

Optionally the measuring point, or if appropriate the measuring points, comprise(s) a socket or sockets.

Optionally the measuring point, or if appropriate the measuring points, comprise(s) a data terminal or data terminals.

IPONZ 23 MAY 2006 4 Optionally a modem is situated in the construction and is connected to the measuring point, or if appropriate to the measuring points, so that it can transfer, to a computer, moisture measurements for the corresponding framing.

Optionally the building construction is in the form of a house, an apartment, or a nonresidential building.

According to further aspect of the invention there is provided a method of measuring the moisture content of wooden framing of a shower, a floor, roof, a wall, or foundations, of a building construction, wherein a moisture meter is connected to a measuring point, or if appropriate to the measuring points, of a building construction as described above, and wherein the meter is used to obtain moisture content readings for the framing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Some preferred forms of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 shows terminations of pairs of wires in the timber framing within the wall of a house fitted with a moisture measurement system, Figure 2 shows terminations of the pairs of wires in relation to wall cladding of the house, Figure 3 shows pairs of wires of the system terminating at a data terminal or port, Figure 4 shows several pairs of wires forming part of the system terminating at a data terminal or port, Figure 5 shows a plurality of data terminals or ports connected to a central data capture point, Figure 6 shows the central data capture point connected to a computer modem, and Figure 7 shows a single data terminal or port forming part of the system connected to a moisture meter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to figures 1 and 2, a single pair of wires 1 is attached to timber framing 2 forming an internal part of the wall of a house. More specifically, the wires 1 are connected to the framing 2 by way of pins 3. The wires are of sufficient length 4 to enable their ends 5 to extend beyond wall cladding 2a adjacent a concrete floor 2b for connection to a moisture meter. The interior wall lining, or Gib™ board, is shown at 2c, with internal floor covering (eg carpet) shown at 2d. The meter can thus take, by way of the wires, moisture readings for the framing 2 at the points where the pins 3 are embedded therein. This may involve processing signals (eg levels of current) passed along the wires.

Referring to figure 3, in some embodiments of the invention a single pair of wires 6 may have their ends 7 fixed by way of pins to timber framing within a wall. The opposite 6 ends of the wires 8 are attached to a data port 9 with can be accessed from outside the wall (ie inside or outside of the house). The data port 9 may be located on Gib™ board with a suitable facing block. A moisture meter can be fitted to the data port 9 so that moisture readings can be taken for the framing at 7 without the need for destructive test techniques.

Referring to figure 4, the data port 9 may facilitate connection to numerous (eg four) pairs of wires. The wire pairs thus enable moisture content readings to be taken at different parts of the framing. One way of carrying out the invention is to arrange the wire pairs so that one of the wires in the data port 9 serves as an earth 10, which is shared by each of the pairs of wires connected to the data port. The other wire in the pair 11 runs to the data port to complete a circuit for measuring the moisture content at the respective part of the framing. The wire pair 10/12 also completes a circuit to measure the moisture content at the respective part of the framing, and so on until seven pairs of wires are connected to the data port from the four pairs of wires.

Figure 5 shows a specific embodiment of the invention with at least two data ports 13. The data ports 13 with their wires connected can be connected by way of a modem cable 14 to a central data capture device 15. The central data capture device 15 can thus be connected to many separate data ports located at various points around the house. In this way all of the moisture meter readings can be read at one place.

Figure six shows the central data capture device 15, with its collection of modem cables 14, connected to a transmitter 16 so that moisture meter readings can be dispatched to a computer 17 to keep a record of the moisture meter readings for the house. Some 7 embodiments of the invention may involve connecting, via a data logger, a telephone modem so that moisture meter readings can be taken from a remote location. In this way a single entity can monitor many houses as part of a fee based service agreement.

Figure 7 shows a data port 9 from which moisture meter readings are taken utilizing an adapter 18 and a splitter arrangement 19 so that readings corresponding to pairs of wires can be measured separately by a moisture meter 20.

The present invention may be installed at the time of constructing the house, with any number of wire pairs all attached to timber framing so that many moisture meter readings can be taken at any time in the future. In this way preferred embodiments of the present invention may enable accurate and precise moisture meter readings. By taking regular moisture meter readings a homeowner or service person can in many situations accurately determine the condition of timber framing throughout the life of a house or other building. The need for destructive moisture reading techniques may thus be reduced. Moisture content for timber may be determined for virtually any source of water accumulation, condensation or capillary action. As embodiments of the present invention enable moisture meter readings to be easily taken on a regular basis the risk of mould, rot, and fungal degradation can be minimized.

In some forms of the invention the above arrangement may be extended with wires, etc, extending to floor and roof framing so that floor and/or roof framing moisture readings can be taken in similar fashion. In some forms of the invention the arrangement be such that it only functions to enable moisture readings in shower, floor and/or roof framing. An embodiment of the invention may thus facilitate moisture measurements at 8 points under roof spaces (eg skillion roof spaces), roof materials, flooring materials or floors generally. References to floors in this document should be taken as broad enough to embrace decks.

In some embodiments of the invention the wall or walls for which moisture measurements are taken may be a parapet or parts thereof.

While some forms of the present invention have been described by way of example it should be appreciated that modifications and improvements may take place without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (8)

9 WHAT I CLAIM IS

1. A building construction having wooden framing forming part of a shower, a floor, a roof, or the interior of a wall, a length or lengths of wire connected to the framing in a manner which enables signals indicative of a moisture content within the framing to be passed along the wire(s), the wire or wires proceeding to a measuring point which can be accessed from a position remote from or outside of the shower, floor, roof, or wall; the construction having a socket which enables ready releasable connection of a moisture meter to the wire or wires at the measuring point, directly or indirectly, and wherein the meter can be used to measure, via the wire or wires, the moisture content of the framing.

2. A building construction according to claim 1, wherein there are additional wires connected to wooden framing forming part of the shower, floor, roof, or the interior of another part of the wall, or to wooden framing forming part of the interior of a different wall or walls, of the construction, wherein the additional wires proceed to the measuring point, or to a different measuring point or points, such that a moisture meter can be directly or indirectly connected to the additional wires at the first mentioned measuring point or at the second mentioned measuring point points to measure, via the wires, the moisture content of the respective framing.

3. A building construction according to claim 1 or 2, wherein if appropriate all of the wires are connected to the same measuring point and wherein moisture readings for all of the framing mentioned can be taken at that measuring point. iponz 2 9 may 2006 10

4. A building construction according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the measuring point, or if appropriate the measuring points, comprise(s) a socket or sockets.

5. A building construction according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the measuring point, or if appropriate the measuring points, comprise(s) a data terminal or data terminals.

6. A building construction according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a modem is situated in the construction and is connected to the measuring point, or if appropriate to the measuring points, so that it can transfer, to a computer, moisture measurements for the corresponding framing.

7. A building construction according to any one of the preceding claims in the form of a house, an apartment, or a non-residential building.

8. A method of measuring the moisture content of wooden framing of a shower, a floor, roof, or within a wall of a building construction, wherein a moisture meter is connected to a measuring point, or if appropriate to the measuring points, of a building construction according to any one of the preceding claims, and wherein the meter is used to obtain moisture content readings for the framing. Ian Conrad Holyoake By His Attorney jpONZ 29MM 2M6