US2318857A - Building material - Google Patents

Description

P. R. HOLLAENDER BUILDING MATERIAL Filed March 11, 1941 rl a @QQV/Y 223 BY I ATTORNEYJ' Patented May 11, 1943 UNl'lhB STATES OFFICE BUILDING MATE IAL Peter R. Hollaender, Cincinnati, Ohio Application March 11, 1941, S lial No. 382,762

Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in bathtub installations. The principal object has been to provide means for sealing the joints or .J'm ctures at which the rim of a recessed or built-in bathtub joins the wall of the room so that the seepage of water is prevented.

In the typical modern bathtub installation, the bath room is provided with a recess which is 01? approximately the same dimensions as the bathtub to be installed. The tub is appropriately mounted within the recess and the tile or finish coat of plaster is applied so that a built-in appearance is obtained. Thus the piping is concealed, and one side wall and one or both ends of the tub meet with the walls of the bath room so that no pockets are left around the tub or beneath it, within which dirt may accumulate.

In some instances, and especially when the bathtub is supported upon the floor of the room, there is a settling which takes place (due to the tub weight) and a crack or opening is formed at the juncture of the tub rim and the room wall. In other instances the wall shrinks, separating from the tub and thereby leaving a similar crack or opening through which any water collected upon the rim of the tub is free to flow or seep. The seepage of water frequently causes damage to the plaster on the walls of adjoining rooms or the ceiling of the room below. The d-ifiiculty obviously is most pronounced in shower'installations, since a stream of water from the shower head falls upon the bathtub rim. The object of the present invention is to provide a positive seal for preventing such leakage of water even if there actually is an opening at the juncture of the bath room wall and the tub rim.

A further object is to provide a seal which can be installed very easily and conveniently by the plumber and which does not in any manner interfere with the other requirements of the installation.

The sealing material by which these and other objects of the invention are accomplished is dis.- closed in the specification which follows, and several typical embodiments are illustrated in the drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the principal details of a typical bathtub installation which has been performed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional viewshowing the relationship of the seal to the room wall and :to the tub rim.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing .a supplemental sealing material adapted to he :used in conjunction with the rim seal of the present invention.

Briefly, one type of material of the pr s nt invention is a .fiexible strip having means adjacent one longitudinal edge for engagement w t t e b th u rim so as to est t er on pr e attac e thereto convenient A flesibls wall o panel por ion ex nds lat ra i m. th s e g s a to pro ect bove the bath rb his extended w o pane portion i adapted to lie against the lathing of the room wall and thu constitu e a dam a ra ged to Prev nt t es pe 0 wate Pa t the rim Qf the 11 1?- T e a el port on Pref rab but set .nss s ar ly eath red as to t ness so hat it dess'net nt r e wit he sub equent pla ter n of its wall.

I i recomm nded at t e ma er a Q w ich h ealing t p is ma e be ex ble e pliabl ub tance s she rubb r rub er p epo it on o mp e a e a i he p a l t en bles he stripping to be conformed to the wall contours as we s t th t b m nfi m'at an the typical use of the material the attachment portion of the strip is placed over the edge of the tub at the rim portion, and the panel part of the sealing strip is fastened to the lath, either being tacked or adhesively cemented into place, Then the plastering or the tiling of the bath room wall is performed in the iisual manner, with the plaster or the tile starting at the rim of the tub and continuing upwardly over the sealing strip and over the room -wall 'thereabove.

. Similar strips of material may be installed at the room corners above the tub.

The bathtub l shown in the drawing is oi the typical ceramic type and theportions of-the rim 2, which are adapted to reside adjacent the room walls, terminate in splayed flanges '3. This part of the tub'is of the general shape of a T incross section, with one edge beadextending above the tub 'rim and another below it, so as to provide strengthening beads. This r-im normally is adapted to reside adjacent the studding 4 of the room wall or the plaster lath which is carried upon the studding.

In accordance with the present invention the sealing strip 6 is installed to form an impervious bridge between the plaster-lath and the tub rim. Thus, the sealing material, in .one sense, constitutes a supplemental rim of substantial height associated vwith .the :bathtub so that water cannot pass beyond the built-in edges of it.

In -:the preierredembodiment, .the sealin strip 5 :is constituted of rubber aor suitable rubber composition material .of 1a pliant nature, and .a groove delin a ed by inwardly-turned flanges L0 is provide a Q :the lower longitudinal edge of the. strip. This groove :is .of the general .contou .of thesplayed tub rim, and :the portions in of thastri-nwbichdfine :the:groov p nebespread part; so that the strip maye slipped .dver Zthe flan a 1th, tub whe "this a done :gthe sealing strip ,1s' attached to the rim in sealing relationship and the tub is now prepared to be built into the recess. Thus, in Figure 1 the strip 6 is attached to the tub rim and the panel portion 1 extends above the rim and rests against the plaster lath of the room wall.

The panel portion 1 may be tacked into place by means of the tacks 8, as shown in Figure -2. or it may be cemented, though in many instances no secondary fasteners at all are required. The J sealing strip is used both along the sidewise edge of the tub and along each of the ends of the tub. Then the plaster or tiling 9 is put upon the room walls in the usual manner.

As will be seen in the cross sectional Figure 2, the sealing strip is sufiiciently thin so that it does not interfere with the plastering or tiling subsequently applied. If panel board or linoleum is to be applied to the room walls the lower edges thereof may be feathered or chamfered to lap over the panel portion of the sealing strip in such manner that the thickness of it can be readily accommodated.

While the sealing strip shown in Figures 1 and 2 has one endwise portion configurated in the form of a yieldable cleat adapted to engage the splayed edge of the tub rim, this arrangement is not essential, but it is preferred because it provides a convenient means for attaching the sealing strip to the tub rim. Instead, however, the portion of the strip which engages the lower part of the rim may be omitted. In such an instance the strip may be of angle or L shape, the one web being adapted to rest on the tub rim and the other against the wall. The rim portion preferably is shaped to complement the configuration of the upper part of the tub rim. In installations of the latter sort it is desirable to fasten the strip to the studding by means f tacks or the like.

In the preferred installations the sealing strip passes continuously around the built-in edges of the tub and consequently the use of the strip is particularly advantageous in maintaining watertight joints at the corners where theroom walls adjoin one another. Since the strip is flexible it may be bent around the corners of the tub to provide a continuous seal.

In the installation of bathtubs equipped with shower heads there is frequent leakage of Water at the junctures of the room walls above the bathtub. The plaster separates at the vertical corner crevices through shrinkage, and openings are provided through which water may pass into adjacent rooms or the rooms below and thereby cause damage. I

In accordance with the present invention vertical sealing strips are provided for use in conjunction with the endwise sealing strips. These yerticalstrips are of angle or L-shape, with the edges at the lower part of each strip being chamfered or feathered outwardly to complement the chamfering of the horizontal sealing strips. The upper portions of the vertical sealing strips are chamfered inwardly. This is done for two purposes. The strips may be relatively short duplicate lengths adapted to be arranged serially in a vertical rim, extending as high as necessary to provide protection against seepage. If a single length is all that is necessary, the inward tapering at the upper portions of the vertical sealing strips makes plastering easier since there are no sharp abutments. Thus, the material for vertical sealing may be made in relatively short lengths of say one or two feet, with each of the thereto, which bathtub rim is of splayed, T-like formation, the said material comprising a relatively thin strip of substantial width, with a. portion of the strip adjacent one longitudinal edge being configurated in cross section to complement at least the upper edgewise portion of the said bathtub rim and the remainder of the strip being of outwardly tapering formation in cross section.

2. A material for providing a water-tight seal between a bath room wall and a splayed T-like rim of a bathtub adjacent the wall, said material comprising a flexible, substantially water impervious strip which is of substantial width, the said strip consisting of a longitudinal panel portion of reduced thickness and an edgewise portion adjacent the panel portion of increased over-all thickness, the said thicker edgewise portion having a groove therein which is adapted to engage and grip the upper and lower edgewise portions of the splayed T-like bathtub rim.

3. A material for providing a water-tight seal between a bath room wall and the rim of a bathtub adjacent the wall, which rim is of the kind terminating in a splayed portion said material comprising a flexible, substantially Water impervious strip which is of substantial width, the said strip being comprised of a panel portion of reduced thickness and an edgewise portion adjacent the panel portion of increased over-all thickness, the said thicker edgewise portion having a groove therein which is complementary to the splayed portion of the rim and is adapted to engage and grip the edge of the bathtub rim, the said portion of reduced thickness being outwardly tapered, in cross section, toward the edge which is opposite the said thicker portion.

4. A material for providing a water-tight seal between a bath room wall and the rim of a bathtub adjacent the wall, which rim is of the type terminating in a splayed edge the said material comprising a resilient strip of water impervious material of substantial width, a portion adjacent one edge of the strip being chamfered outwardly to a substantially feather-like edge, the portion of the strip adjacent the other edge being configurated to provide a groove having a contour complementary to the splayed portion of said bathtub rim, the grooved portion and the panel portion being arranged relative to one another in such manner that when the grooved portion is in engagement with a bathtub rim the panel portion extends above the rim.

5. A material for providing a water-tight seal between a bath room wall and the rim of a bathtub adjacent th wall, which rim is of the type terminatin in a splayed portion the said material comprising a resilient strip of water imper vious material of substantial width, a portion adjacent one edge of the strip being chamfered outwardly to a substantially feather-like edge, the portion of the strip adjacent the other edge having a dovetail groove therein whereby the walls constituting the groove may be spread apart to receive the splayed rim of a bathtub and thereafter be released to grip said rim.

PETER R. HOLLAENDER.

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