WO1990002235A1

WO1990002235A1 - Improvements relating to wall building aids

Info

Publication number: WO1990002235A1
Application number: PCT/GB1989/000923
Authority: WO
Inventors: Laurence Raymond Peterson
Original assignee: Laurence Raymond Peterson
Priority date: 1988-08-20
Filing date: 1989-08-11
Publication date: 1990-03-08
Also published as: AU4067489A

Abstract

A guide member (1) is secured in place relative to a wall corner by means of locating clamps (6) passing through slots (7) and through the wall and suitable adjustment of locating screws (9) to determine the attitude of the member (1). The vertical position of a post (2) within a passageway (3) will then be adjusted until a true vertical alignment is achieved and four screws (4) will then be tightened to hold the post in that required attitude. A sleeve (10) (Figure 5) is slid over the post (2) and is fixed by a screw (11) to hold the sleeve (10) at a desired height on the post (2). An angled plate (12A) locates against a wall surface and the position of the plate (12A) with respect to the sleeve (10) is adjusted, and fixed by nuts (11, 14). Reference lines can then be run from pillars (15).

Description

Improvements relating to Uall Building Aids

During construction of walls it is coππon practice to position a reference line between two reference posts to indicate the height of the next course of bricks or building blocks. If the post and the means for fixing the line to the post are not carefully positioned, angular displacements out of the true vertical of a wall being constructed can occur and the effect would, of course, -be magnified as the height of the wall increases. This problem is particularly relevant in relation to the correct positioning of a reference post at a corner of a wall being constructed.

This invention aims to provide suitable means whereby the problems indicated above may be alleviated substantially. According to one aspect there is provided a guide member and reference post combination for determining correct vertical alignment of the reference post to be set at a corner of a wall under construction, the guide member being shaped to lie against the corner of the wall and having locating claπps to be secured into the wall through gaps between courses thereof, secondary locating members adjustably mounted on the guide member and having projecting ends to bear against the wall surface, and post securing members for retaining the post in a chosen variable attitude with respect to the guide member.

Thus, by using this guide member, the reference post can be fixed to the wall, in a correct vertical alignment (for example by using spirit levels) by suitable securing of the locating clamps and the post securing members. In addition, the secondary locating members hold the guide member firmly in place against the corner of the wall without any tendency for movement of the guide member occurring subsequently, even if the faces of the guide member facing the wall are not fully flush with the wall surfaces. This can, of course, occur if part of the wall has been laid slightly out of true. In the preferred arrangement the secondary locating members are screwthreaded bolts which can be screwed into the guide member from either sides of walls thereof. This enables the guide member to be correctly and securely positioned where it should be located on the outer angle of the wall corner or within the wall corner.

Ideally the post will be received in a vertical passageway in the guide member allowing for angular play of the post within the passageway. A shield plate is, with advantage, provided against the surfaces of the post against which bear the post securing members. It is preferred that the post securing members should be provided in vertically displaced pairs, as this eliminates any possibility of movement of the post within the guide member once the post securing members have been tightened.

The locating clamps will ideally be received within elongated slots enabling the horizontal positioning of the locating clamps to . be varied as required when setting up the guide member against a corner of a wall. These clamps can then be positioned at a suitable point along a boundary between courses of blocks in the wall.

From a further aspect the invention extends to a line mounting to be located onto a vertical reference post at a corner of a wall under construction and comprising a sleeve to be positioned slidably on the reference post, fixing means for securing the sleeve in a desired position on the post, an angled plate to be located against the corner of the wall, mounting means on the angled plate to which a line may be attached, and intermediate members interconnecting the sleeve with the angled plate whereby the attitude of the sleeve to the angled plate may be adjustably secured.

Preferably the intermediate members will comprise shaped plate members v/ith elongated slots through which pass securing members which are adjustably connected to the sleeve and angled plate respectively. This enables -4- the sleeve and angled plate to be adjusted in two directions in the horizontal plane to allow for any inaccuracies in the construction of the portion of the wall already built. This arrangement also provides for ς a certain amount of twisting to be applied between the sleeve and the angled plate out of the horizontal plane, if needed. Advantageously in this arrangement, each shaped plate member comprises outer plate portions aligned with side walls of the sleeve and the angled

10 plate respectively and an intermediate plate portion directly interconnecting ends of the two outer plate portions.

The sleeve may be located within the angle of the angled plate, or alternatively the sleeve could be

15 located adjacent the exterior corner of the angled plate. The mounting means can comprise posts projecting from the top edge and/or a side edge of the angled plate.

From a still further aspect, there is provided, in

20 accordance with the invention, a post retaining clamp for determining correct vertical positioning of a post set at a corner of a wall under construction, the clamp comprising a sleeve to be mounted slidably on the post, securing means for fixing the sleeve at a desired

25 position on the post, arms extending from the sleeve to be located adjacent portions of the wall defining the two sides of the corner thereof and locating members for holding said arms in fixed attitudes adjacent said wall corner portions to determine the desired vertical positioning of the post. It will be appreciated that even if the lower end of a post is fixed securely, the upper end could twist out of correct alignment which would provide an inaccuracy in* the reference line or other means provided for indicating the positioning of further courses of wall blocks. This post retaining clamp provides a secure mounting for the post to enable it to be held in the correct vertical alignment.

In one arrangement said arms will project from a common point on the outer face of the sleeve and incorporate locating screws which will be positioned so that their ends locate against said two wall portions defining the wall corner. Alternatively, the clamp could be constructed such that said arms extend from angularly displaced outer faces of the sleeve and provide mountings for adjustable hook members to be located in vertical gaps between adjacent wall blocks in each of said two wall portions defining the wall corner.

The invention also extends to a guide member and reference post combination of this invention as herein- before defined, incorporating a line mounting of this invention and/or a clamp of this invention as herein- -5- before defined.

The invention may be performed in various ways and preferred embodiments thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 illustrates parts of a guide member and reference post combination of this invention in exploded perspective view;

Figures • 2 and 3 are respectively plan and perspective views of a line mounting device to be secured to a reference post positioned outside the corner of a wall being constructed;

Figures 4 and 5 are respectively plan and perspective views of a line mounting device to be secured to a reference post positioned internally of a corner of a wall being constructed; and

Figures 6 and 7 are perspective views of post retaining clamps to be located on a post which is positioned respectively to the exterior of a corner of a wall being constructed or within the corner of the wall being constructed.

Figure 8 illustrates a modified arrangement of a line mounting device similar to that shown in Figure 4;

Figure 9 is a modification of a line mounting device similar to that shown in Figure 2; Figure 10 illustrates a post location fitting to be used in association with the post shown in Figure 1; Figure 11 illustrates how the fitting shown in Figure 10 will be used during the construction of a wall; and

Figure 12 is a partial view of a modification of an alternative structure for the guide member shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 illustrates an L-shaped guide member 1 and a vertical reference post 2 of square cross-section. A passageway 3 is formed in the corner of the guide member 1 to receive the post 2. Securing of the post 2 within the passageway 3 is achieved by rotating screws 4 so that the ends thereof bear against a protective shield 5 positioned about the post 2. The passageway 3 is slightly larger than the post 2 so that by suitable manipulation of the bolts 4 a desired relationship of the angle of the post 2 with respect to the guide member 1 may be achieved. Preferably the passageway 3 will be so formed that it effectively creates a neck half-way between the top and bottom of the guide member 1 with the walls of the passageway 3 flaring slightly outwardly from that neck in both directions. The guide member 1 is secured against courses of a portion of a wall which have already been constructed to define a corner by means of clamping bolts 6 which pass through horizon¬ tally elongated slots 7 in the guide member 1 and locate also, by means of their hooked ends 8, over faces of blocks forming part of the wall. It will be appreciated that the guide member 1 can be .positioned either extern¬ ally or internally of the corner of the wall so con¬ structed. It is possible that he existing courses of the wall may be slightly out of true so that the faces of the guide member 1 are not wholly flush with the blocks forming the two runs of the wall leading from the corner. Secondary locating screws 9 are therefore provided which can be tightened within screwthreaded passageways in the guide member 1 so that their ends bear against the wall surfaces. As shown in Figure 1, these secondary locating screws are positioned for fixing the guide member securely against the wall surfaces when the guide member is positioned within the corner of the wall. If it is desired that the guide member should be positioned on the outer faces defining the corner of the wall, then the locating screws will be inserted from the other sides of the passageways within the guide member 1.. ^*7hen the combination illustrated in Figure 1 is used to determine the correct vertical alignment of a reference post with respect to the corner of a wall being built, the guide member 1 will first be secured in place by means, of the locating clamps 6 and suitable adjustment of the locating screws 9. The vertical position of the post 2 within the passageway 3 will then be adjusted until a true vertical alignment is achieved and the four screws 4 will then be tightened to hold the post in that required attitude. Figures 2 and 3 illustrate a line mounting which will be fitted onto the post 2 shown in Figure 1. Thus, this line mounting incorporates a sleeve 10 which can slide over the post 2 an .which has a fixing screw 11 to hold the sleeve.10 at a desired height on the post 2. The sleeve 10 is connected to an angled plate 12 by means of a pair of shaped plate members 13 adjustably held by wing nuts 14. As can be seen from Figure 3, the plate members 13 incorporate slots 13A which, when the wing nuts 14 are slackened off, enable the position of the angled plate 12 to be modified to a certain extent in two directions in the common plane of the sleeve 10 and the angled plate 12. This enables allowance to be made for any displacement of the corner of the wall being built with respect to the correctly vertically positioned post 2. Furthermore, a certain amount of twisting of the angled plate 12 out of the aforesaid plane is possible so as to ensure that the inner faces of the angled plate 12 will lie flush against the external faces of a^'building block positioned at the wall corner.^' TJhen the angled plate 12 is suitably aligned the wing nuts 14 will be tightened to hold the angled plate 12 in a correct position with respect to the post 2. Reference lines can then be led from pillars 15 to another fixing point at^" another end of a run of the wall being constructed. Ends of the ⁵ reference lines can be tied off by being wound around posts 16 on the outer faces of the angled plate 12.

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate a modified form of line mounting which is .to be positioned on a post 2 which is situated within the corner of a wall being built. Again, ° there is a sleeve 10 provided v/ith a fixing screw 11 and this sleeve 10 is interconnected by shaped plate members 13 to an angled plate 12A which is soπewhat larger than the angled plate 12 illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 and which is positioned around a corner of the sleeve 10. I⁵ Again, the angled plate 12A can be manipulated into the required position relative to the internal faces of the corner of the wall being constructed and will then be secured in place by tightening the wing nuts 14. reference lines will then be led from the pillars 15 and ^***u again tie-off posts 16 are provided on the faces of the angled plate 12A.

It will be appreciated that although the lower end of the post 2 shown in Figure 1 may be properly secured to determine the correct vertical alignment of the post,

25 the upper end of the post 2 could twist out of alignment. Figure 6 therefore illustrates a post retaining clamp for holding an upper portion of a post 2 in a correct alignment with respect to a corner of a wall being constructed. In this instance the post 2 is situated outside the corner and the retaining clamp of Figure 6 comprises a sleeve 17 from which project a pair of arms 20 which will locate against the two sides of a block positioned at the corner of the wall. The sleeve 17 will be secured to the post by means of a fixing screw 18 and the desired position of the post 2 will be determined by suitable manipulation of two screws 19 in the arms 20 so that the ends of the screws 19 bear against the wall block.

An alternative form of post retaining clamp is illustrated in Figure 7. Here a sleeve 17A (provided v/ith a fixing screw 13) has pairs of arms 21 projecting from two sides thereof which provide mountings for clamps 22. It v/ill be noted that he two clamps 22 are set at mutually different heights. The sleeve 17A is for mounting over a post positioned on the inside of a corner of a wall being built. Hooked ends 23 of the clamps 22 will be located in vertical gaps between adjacent wall blocks (in respective upper and lower courses at the corner of the wall) and will then be secured in position by rotating the screwthreaded nuts 24 illustrated. By this means the upper end of a post 2 can be secured in the desired position within the angle of a corner of a wall being constructed.

In the modified line mounting device shown in Figure 8 the plate members 13 are extended upwardly and down¬ wardly and have flanges 25 turned over so as to locate over the corners of two sides of the sleeve 10 and of the angled plate 12. This arrangement resists possible twisting movements which might tend to be exerted between the sleeve 10 and the angled plate 12.

A similar modification is illustrated in the device shown in Figure 9. This drawing also illustrates a depressed section 35 of the top surface of each arm of the angled plate 12 at the free end. The string receiving posts are mounted there so that any twisting movement created by string tension will be reduced. In addition there is shown a large nut 26 which replaces the wing nut 11 illustrated in the devices shov/n in Figures 2 to 5. This nut 26 is carried on a screw threaded shaft so that it can be screwed in to lock against the corner of the post 2 when a line mounting device is positioned on the post. This locks the line mounting device securely on to the post and the size of the nut 26 is such that it can easily be operated by the user. The threaded mounting of the nut 26 is such that it cannot be removed from its shaft (and possibly lost). The fitting shown in Figures 10 and 11 is used to locate the upper regions of the post 2 in the right attitude as courses of brickwork are built up. The fitting has a bar 27 which can be fed through between tv/o courses of brickwork and then rotated so that the end part 28 (which is T-shaped) locates against the bricks. Rotation of a wing nut 29 then causes a plate member 30 to be pressed against the other side of the rows of bricks. A brass nut 31 is then screwed out¬ wardly to bear against the post 2 so as to hold it in a desired attitude. A further fitting will be positioned against the other free side of the post 2. The brass nut 31 only of the other fitting is shown in Figure 11.

Figure 12 illustrates an alternative to the locating screws 9 shov/n in Figure 1. Each screw 9 is replaced by a screw member 32 which can be screwed in either direction through a brass fitting post 33 held within the guide member 1. Enlarged ends 34 are provided for the screw member 32 to enable one or other of the ends to be gripped easily for rotation so as to press the other end against the existing inner or outer surface of the wall structure. Preferably there will be two of these screw fittings 32 on each limb of the guide member 1, above and below the slots 7.

It will be appreciated that whilst the various building aids illustrated in the drawings have been formed so as to be used in the construction of right angled corners of walls being built, modified units could be made for use in the construction of buildings v/here the corners of the building define other angles. Furthermore, although a post 2 of square cross-section is shown and is preferred, posts having circular or other cross-sections could also be used with suitable modification of the parts used in conjunction therewith.

Claims

1. A guide member and reference post combination for determining correct vertical alignment of the reference post to be set at a corner of a wall under construction, the guide member being shaped to lie against the corner of the wall and having locating clamps to be secured into the wall through gaps between courses thereof, secondary locating members adjustably mounted on the guide member and having projecting ends to bear against the wall surface, and post securing members, preferably in vertically displaced pairs, for retaining the post in a chosen variable attitude with respect to the guide member.

2. A combination according to claim 1, wherein the secondary locating members are screwthreaded bolts which can be screv/ed into the guide member from either sides of walls thereof.

3. A combination according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the post is received in a vertical passagev/ay in the guide member allowing for angular play of the post within the passageway, and preferably a shield plate is provided against the surfaces of the post against which bear the post securing members.

4. A combination according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the locating clamps are received within elongated slots enabling the horizontal positioning of -16- the locating clamps to be varied as required when setting up the guide member against a corner of a wall.

5. A line mounting to be located onto a vertical reference post at a corner of a wall under construction

5 and comprising a sleeve to be positioned slidably on the reference post, fixing means for securing the sleeve in a desired position on the post, an angled plate to be located against the corner of the wall, mounting means on the angled plate to which a line may be attached, and

10 intermediate members interconnecting the sleeve with the angled plate whereby the attitude of the sleeve to the angled plate may be adjustably secured.

6. A line mounting according to claim 5, v/herein the intermediate members comprise shaped plate members

₁5 with elongated slots through which pass securing members which are adjustably connected to the sleeve and angled plate respectively, each shaped plate member preferably comprising outer plate portions aligned v/ith side walls of the sleeve and the angled plate respectively and an

20 intermediate plate portion directly interconnecting ends of the tv/o outer plate portions.

7. A line mounting according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the sleeve is located within the angle of the angled plate, or wherein the sleeve is located adjacent

25 the exterior corner of the angled plate.

3. A line mounting according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the mounting means comprise posts project¬ ing from the top edge and/or a side edge of the angled plate.

9. A post retaining clamp for determining correct vertical positioning of a post set at a corner of a wall under construction, the clamp comprising a sleeve to be mounted slidably on the post, securing means for fixing the sleeve at a desired position on the post, arms extending from the sleeve to be located adjacent portions of the wall defining the two sides of the corner thereof and locating members for holding said arms in fixed attitudes adjacent said v/all corner portions to determine the desired vertical positioning of the post.

10. A clamp according to claim 9, wherein said arms project from a common point on the outer face of the sleeve and incorporate locating members in the form of screws which will be positioned so that their ends locate against said two v/all portions defining the wall corner, or v/herein said arms extend from angularly dis¬ placed outer faces of the sleeve and provide mountings for adjustable hook members to be located in vertical gaps between adjacent wall blocks in each of said two v/all portions defining the wall corner.

11. A post retaining clamp for determining correct vertical positioning of a post set at a corner of a wall -18- under construction, the clamp being defined by a pair of members for location into the tv/o runs of a wall meeting at a corner, each member comprising a locating plate for abutting the wall surface and a bar which will pass through the wall and has an enlarged head to abut the

10 opposite wall surface and adjustment means for pressing the locating plate and the enlarged head firmly against the two wall surfaces, the locating plate also having an adjustably mounted boss projecting at right angles from the axis of the bar, for adjustable abutment against a

15 wall.

12. A combination according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and incorporating a line mounting as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 8 and/or a clamp according to any one of claims 9 to 11.