US2810166A - Laminated wall and partition structure - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 22, 1957 I v N. NELSSON LAMINATED WALL AND PARTITION STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 11, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORQ BY Wedm 4 Oct. 22, 1957 N. NELSSON 2,810,166

LAMINATED WALL 'AND PARTITION STRUGTURE Filed Oct. 11, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

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United States Patent ()fitice 2,810,166 Patented Oct 22 T95? LAMINATED WALL AND PARTITION STRUCTURE Nels Nelsson, Chicago, IlL, assignor to United States Gypsum Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application October 11, 1952, Serial No. 314,300 3 Claims. (Cl. 20-4) The present invention relates to a wall or partition structure.

More particularly it relates to a laminated wall or partition structure in which a base layer of plasterboard or wallboard is applied to a suitable support whereafter a ,top or covering layer of relatively narrow vertically extending wallboard panels is applied in close edge to edge contact, and adhesively secured to the first layer, the result being a dry wall structure which is immediately ready for finishing.

The popularity of using wallboards for interior surfacing of dwellings has increased considerably in recent years. The use of wallboards frequently referred to as dry wall has a number of advantages over regular lath and plaster, such for example as lower cost. It can be erected by semi-skilled labor, requires no appreciable drying, and does not seriously mess up floors and other areas during application such as is experienced with plaster. While the so-called dry wall system has many advantages, there are several disadvantages which, if they could be overcome, would greatly enhance the utility of such a system of construction.

One of the outstanding disadvantages is the condition known as nail popping, a term given to the difficulty sometimes encountered with nails which, while driven flush with the board surface during erection, work themselves out so that they extend above the surface.

Another difliculty frequently experienced with dry wall construction is that known as photographing. This is the term given to the discoloration over the head of nails which takes place after the nails have been painted and in place for some time. The nail-heads appear to have a difilerentcolor on the surface than the remaining wall. This is highly objectionable. Many attempts have been made to overcome conveniently the above difiiculty, with but little success. to stop the above, is to countersink the nails below the board surface to an appreciable depth and then cover the hole with cement or other types of plastic. While this is successful in solving the problem, it is expensive and also greatly reduces the supporting efiect of the nail; for the paper surface, in the case of a gypsum board, is a major factor in the strength of the sheet. When this outer paper surface is broken and forced into the core, the nail-holding ability is greatly impaired.

I Another serious defect of the dry wall construction is the unsightly appearance of the joints. Because of the poor appearance of the joints and the size and shape of the present wallboard, it is usually desirable to make the wall smooth like plaster. In order to accomplish this, the joints are covered with a paper tape and a cement is troweled over this to give the desired plaster-like finish. It is diflicult to obtain a smooth wall in this manner, as considerable skill is needed in covering the joints so that they will not be readily detected. Another disadvantage with most wallboard construction is that the supporting studs must be in a common plane and in line, for otherwise a wavy appearance will be given to the wall.

One method, which has been found It is therefore an object of this invention to disclose a dry wall system which is free from nail pops. I It is also an object of this invention to set forth a wallboard system which is entirely free from photographing.

It is a still further object of this invention to disclose a wallboard system which does not require the supporting studs to be substantially straight and which does not require the wallboard joints to be covered.

It is also an object of this invention to disclose a novel method of erecting wallboards.

Various other objects will readily occur to those skilled in the art in which this invention is a part.

The objects of this invention are carried out by use of the well-known system of applying two layers of wallboard but in a manner entirely novel, and hitherto unknown to the art; vThe invention is illustrated in two sheets of drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view with certain parts removed and others in section so as to reveal the exact construction, using metallic studding; Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, except that it shows the use of wooden studs and joists; .Fig. 3 is a drawing, on an enlarged scale, of the edge of two abutting gypsum core paper covered wallboard panels or planks with their rounded edges in such;cloise contact as to smash or deform a portion of the edges;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a number of the wallboard panels in the process of having adhesive applied thereto by means of a special screedingtooL' and Fig. 5 is a perspective drawing of the said tool.

One of the outstanding features of the present invention resides in the fact that the wallboards are erected verticallyin the form of relatively narrower panels so that the eifect will be like that of so-called planking which is commonly used when knotty pine interiors are constructed.

' It has been common, within the last ten or twelve years, to line rooms with vertically extending fiberboard paneling without any attempt to hide the joints, but rather to depend upon the joints to afford a pleasing panel etfect. Thus, insulation board planks of varying widths, say, 16, 14 and 12 inch widths, may be assembled in certain predetermined sequence so as to obtain vertical lines spaced apart. Usually where the planks meet there is an inwardly extending V-shaped groove which quite often, by reason of its shadow effect, gives the efiect of being of a different color. So far as the inventor is aware, such a construction has, however, been restricted to fibrous planking which is provided either with a tongue and groove or a shiplap type of joint and where each board, after being interlocked with the previous board, is then blind nailed, the second board being applied so as to conceal the nailing of the first board. Gypsum core wallboards, as previously obtainable, would not lend themselves to such a construction.

' The present invention avoids all these difiiculties, and makes it possible to erect a wall from a combination of plaster-board or wallboard and gypsum core panels in a simple, effective, quick and inexpensive manner.

As used in the present specification, the term plasterboard is used to designate an artificial board of the type usually employed as a base for the application of plaster thereto, i. e., where the board is used as a substitute for wood lath or expanded metal. Wallboard is used to designate artificial boards of such a nature that they may form the exposed surface of a room, either with or without applied decoration. Both types come in various sizes, such as 4' x 12', 4 x 8', 4' x 4, 16" x 48", etc.

In erectinga wall in accordance with the present invention, there may first be erected, for instance as shown in Fig. 1, suitable vertically extending metallic studs 6 which are secured in well known manner to a metallic base rail 7 which maybe, for instance, nailed by means of the nails 8 to a horizontally extending sole plate 9. Horizontally extending wallboards 10, preferably of the type which have a gypsum core and paper cover sheets, are atfixed to each other and to the studs 6 by means of the well known oppositely extending clips 11. No particular attention need to be paid to the lengths of these wallboards provided only that they form a first or base layer, which is collectively numbered 12 in Figs. 1 and 2. In case wooden studding is used as is shown in Fig. 2, there are first erected the usual wooden studs 16 which are nailed at the bottom to the sole plate 19 and which may also be secured to a top plate 20. To the studs 16 there are nailed in the usual manner the wallboards 10 forming the aforementioned base layer 12. After the base layer 12 is in place, elongated paper covered gypsum core wallboards, which, because of their relatively narrow width I prefer to call panels and which may be conveniently 12, 14 or 16 inches in width, and which are usually furnished by the manufacturer in the form of a bundle 21 (see Fig. 4) have applied to the reverse side 22 thereof ridges 23, for instance three in number, of a suitable adhesive, these being applied by means of a special screed 24, which has rearwardly and inwardly converging side walls 25, the front wall 26 being slightly rearwardly inclined and provided with a plurality, for ex ample three, of semicircular notches 27 for the escape of the cementitious or adhesive material 28 contained in the screed 24.

There is a distinct advantage in thus applying adhesive as will be apparent from the further operations described hereinbelow.

Referring for the moment to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the wallboard panels 30 consist of cover sheets 31 and 32 with an intermediate gypsum composition core 33. These panels are provided on both longitudinal sides with rounded edges 34 and 35. After the adhesive has been applied to the rear surface 22 of a panel 30, this panel having first been cut so as to coincide with the height of the intended wall or partition, the panel is erected and pressed against the base layer 12, and if it happens to be the first one, is pushed into contact with the abutting wall or at least is placed on the extreme left, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The next panel is then coated with adhesive and applied against the base layer and is then slid laterally, for example to the left, until its rounded edge abuts against the rounded edge of the previously placed panel, enough force being used so as partly to smash any irregularities of the rounded edges of the panels, as can best be seen from the contact area 36 in Fig. 3. This smashing together of the rounded sides produces a substantially straight line of contact 37 which therefore lends thewall a pleasing appearance.

If desired, the panels may be as wide as 4 feet, but ordinarily a narrower width gives a more pleasing effect. However, the invention is not limited to any particular dimensions although preferably a gypsum wallboard in total thickness is the most advantageous. It should also be understood that the directionof the boards in the. base layer 12 need not necessarily be horizontal, although for most purposes this is distinctly advantageous.

If panels had been used which had been provided with what purports to be straight edges, the crack between adjacent panels would have been irregular, because it would vary noticeably in width so that the edges at the joint would appear to be wavy.

I have discovered, however, that if rounded edged panels are used, of a thickness of, say, about the adjoining edges, when they are rounded, will first touch at certain points and will be mutually smashed in slightly thus allowing the hollow portion to touch or come so close together that the eventual crack or joint between adjacent panels will not appear to be irregular in width.

Inasmuch as that portion of the edge which is smashed extends out normally of the crack, it is not noticeable particularly after the panels have been painted or otherwise decorated. The panels when painted provide a very pleasing effect; the V-shaped vertical lines formed by the abutting edges of the board create anillusion that the ceiling of the room is higher than it really is.

It will be understood that the exposed surface of the panels may be easily decorated. Thus, if originally paper sheet covered gypsum board panels are used, these may be painted, although it is within the scope of the present invention to employ predecorated panels such as have a surface imitative of knotty pine, wormy cypress, wood grain, cloth, or the like.

Any suitable adhesive may be used for alfixing the boards to each other, but an adhesive having the following formula has been found to be particularly advantageous because it can be furnished to the user in the form of a dry mixture, which is stirred with the requisite amount of water to provide the adhesive:

. Percent Casein 8.0 Soy flour 2.0 Trisodium phosphate 2.0 Sodium pentachlorophenate .4 Hydrated line 1.6 Asbestos floats 15.0 Fine dry ground mica 15.0 Ground limestone to make up to If desired, although not essential, the vertically extending boards may be nailed to the top plate 20 and the sole plate 19, because these nails will not be visible in the ultimate wall, as it is quite common to use a mopboard at the bottom of the wall and a picture molding, or the like, at the top.

By employing the present invention, it is entirely unnecessary to cover the abutting joints with a crack filler and tape, as has been customary, and also no nails need be used in the top layer except if desired at the top and bottom, as just mentioned. A wall thus constructed is ready for use substantially immediately after it has been erected so that there is no waiting for plaster to set and dry.

I am aware of the fact that plasterboards and wallboards have been laminated together by the manufacturer quite often in such a manner as to provide a shiplap joint, but this is quite a different idea than providing a wall or partition structure with the vertically running pleasing appearing joints.

The really important feature is the use of the rounded edge gypsum core panels and the pushing together of adjacent panels with sufiicient force to slightly smash in or crush portions of the rounded edges thereof so as to provide the straight appearing joint 37.

I claim:

1. A wall construction comprising a plurality of studs arranged in relatively spaced, substantially parallel, relation, a plurality of first panels secured to said, studs and arranged in abutting edge-to-edge relation to form a first course, and a plurality of second panels having rounded edges of irregular contour longitudinally and a crushable gypsum core, said second panels being secured to the exposed surface of said first course and disposed in abutting side-by-side relation to form a second course, the abutting edges, of said second panels being in crushing contact with one another to form a substantially closed joint.

2. The wall construction recited in claim 1, wherein said second panels extend substantially the full height of the wall and the abutting edges of said second panels form substantially linear uniform-appearing closed joints.

3. The wall construction recited in claim 1, wherein each of Said second panels has the gypsum core thereof paper-covered and each second panel is adhesively s- 2,440,936 Elmendorf May 4, 1948 cured to the exposed surface of said first course. 2,531,128 Hobbs Nov. 21, 1950 2,556,884 Muller June 12, 1951 References Cited in the file of this patent 2,566,563 Hartung Sept. 4, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 FOREIGN PATENTS g i i 3;; 541,733 Great Britain Dec. 9, 1941 Z 540,302 Great Britain Oct. 13, 1941 2,291,498 Odell y 1942 v 940 99 France June 14 194 2,342,682 Miller Feb. 29, 1944 10 2,395,186 Jones Feb. 19, 1946

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