AU2908299A

AU2908299A - A method of brick cladding

Info

Publication number: AU2908299A
Application number: AU29082/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Brian Barber
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-06-25
Filing date: 1999-05-18
Publication date: 2000-01-13
Anticipated expiration: 2019-05-18
Also published as: AU757251B2

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Applicant(s): BRIAN BARBER Invention Title: A METHOD OF BRICK CLADDING 9* 9* The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 2- A METHOD OF BRICK CLADDING The present invention relates generally to a method of brick cladding a wall and a jig for locating a backing sheet on which a plurality of support rails are to be mounted in preparation for cladding of the wall. The invention further relates to a method of installing a backing sheet to which a plurality of support rails have been premounted and a locator frame for assisting in installing the backing sheet to a wall.

A known technique for brick cladding a house involves the

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following steps: 0**E *o i) equally spaced battens are nailed in a vertical -15 orientation over existing cladding to an internal or S.external wall of the house; ii) the wall is lined with fibro-cement panels which a are nailed to the battens; iii) a series of horizontal chalk-lines or similar are marked at predetermined vertically spaced apart locations on the fibro-cement panels to provide a series of horizontal reference lines for mounting of a sequence of rails; iv) the rails are individually nailed to the fibrocement panels at the reference lines; and v) brick biscuits are loaded between adjacent rails and the bricks grouted in a conventional manner.

The technique described above is time consuming and thus expensive particularly where significant building extensions, renovations or restorations are involved.

Furthermore, a relatively high degree of trade skill is required to brick clad a wall using this technique.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of brick cladding a wall, said method comprising the steps of: J.\Speci\300 399\300 349\34272 doc 18/05/99

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3premounting a plurality of support rails to one surface of a backing sheet, said rails being disposed parallel to one another at a spacing substantially equal to the height of one of a plurality of bricks; fixing the backing sheet to the wall so that the rails are arranged horizontally; and mounting the bricks between adjacent of the plurality of support rails.

Preferably the step of premounting the rails involves adhering of the rails to the backing sheet via an adhesive.

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9 Typically the step of fixing the backing sheet involves or, nailing the backing sheet to one or more battens which have 15 been nailed to the wall. More typically nailing of the backing sheet to the wall is effected via the rails.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a jig for locating a backing sheet on which a 20 plurality of support rails are to be mounted, the jig comprising: a backing sheet frame being adapted to removably receive the backing sheet which is thus located in a predetermined position; and support rail locating members each being operatively coupled to the backing sheet frame and configured to locate one of the plurality of support rails at a predetermined position on the backing sheet, the support rails thus being disposed parallel to one another at a spacing substantially equal to the height of one of a plurality of bricks to be mounted therebetween.

Typically the jig is of a two part construction including a backing sheet frame being configured to be lowered over the backing sheet and a rail locating frame having the support rail locating members which are each in the form of a pair of fingers connected to respective opposing sides of the J \Speci\300 399\300 349\34272 doc 18/05/99 4rail locating frame, each of the rails designed at opposing ends to abut the pair of fingers whereby said rails are located at the predetermined positions. More typically the rail locating frame is hingedly mounted to the backing sheet frame.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of installing a backing sheet to which a plurality of support rails have been premounted, said rails being disposed parallel to one another with adjacent rails being adapted to receive a row of bricks, said method comprising the steps of: *"providing at least one locator frame including one or more locator elements against which an edge of the oo 15 backing sheet or a specific surface or edge of one of the support rails is designed to locate; fixing said locator frame at a predetermined "c °position to the wall frame or one or more battens fixed to the wall; and 20 locating the edge of the backing sheet or said surface or edge of said one of the support rails against said one or more locator elements whereby the support rails are mounted to the wall in a generally horizontally orientation.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a locator frame for assisting in installation of a backing sheet to a wall, the backing sheet having a plurality of premounted rails disposed parallel to one another with adjacent rails being adapted to receive a row of bricks, the locator frame comprising: an affixture member being adapted to fix at a predetermined position to the wall or one or more battens fixed to the wall; and one or more locator elements connected to the affixture member at predetermined positions, an edge of the backing sheet or a surface or edge of one of the support J Speci300 399\300 349\34272.doc 18/05/99 rails being designed to locate against the locator element whereby the support rails are mounted to the wall in a generally horizontal orientation.

Preferably said at least one locator frame is an elongate member adapted to be fixed to a batten which is fixed vertically to the wall or the batten. More preferably said locator elements are each in the form of tabs protruding outwardly from and formed integral with the elongate member, a lower edge of the backing sheets being adapted to locate against a horizontal row of the tabs.

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Generally the backing sheet is a panel constructed of

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fibro-cement. Typically the bricks are each in the form of •15 brick biscuits.

o• In order to achieve a better understanding of the nature of "the present invention preferred embodiments of a method of brick cladding a wall and associated aspects of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a plurality of support rails premounted to a backing sheet together with a sample brick located below one of the rails; and Figure 2 is a schematic representation of installation of the backing sheet together with the premounted support rails on a wall.

As shown in Figure 1 there is a backing sheet 10 to which a plurality of support rails such as 12A to 12D are premounted.

In this embodiment the backing sheet 10 is a conventional building panel such as that constructed of fibro-cement.

The rails 12A to 12D are in this example cold roll formed from strip steel. In cross-section the rails 12 are J:\Speci\300 399\300 349\34272 doc 18/05/99 6generally L-shaped with a web 14 formed integral with a flange 16 having a tongue 18 and 20 protruding from and perpendicular to its lower and upper surfaces, respectively. The web 14 is generally flat and is designed to mount to the fibro-cement panel 10. The rails 12A to 12D are equally spaced and disposed parallel to one another. Adjacent rails such as 12A and 12B are spaced a distance substantially equal to the height of a brick such as the biscuit brick 22.

The biscuit brick 22 is of a known construction having a o pair of channel-shaped recesses 24 and 26 formed in its lower and upper edge surface. The lower and upper recesses

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24 and 26 are configured to engage or at least partly nest 15 upon upper and lower tongues 20 and 18 of adjacent rails such as 12B and 12A, respectively. Each of the brick biscuits such as 22 is slid into engagement with the lower tongue 18 of one rail such as 12A and then lowered into engagement with the upper tongue 20 of the adjacent rail such as 12B. It will be appreciated that the lower tongue 18 is of a greater depth compared to the upper tongue 20 to ensure that both the upper and lower recesses 26 and 24 are engaged for retention of the brick biscuit 22. Further, the depth of the recesses 24 and 26 are at least equal to the depth of the lower tongue 18. The spacing between adjacent rails such as 12A and 12B is in this example slightly greater than the height of the brick biscuit 22 to allow for grouting between adjacent rows of bricks and also to permit mounting of the bricks 22 on the rails 12 as described.

A critical feature of this embodiment of the invention is premounting of the support rails 12 to the fibro-cement panel 10. This is generally conducted in a factory and the panels together with the premounted rails 12 are transported to site for installation or erection.

Premounting of the support rails 12 to the fibro-cement J.\Speci300 399\300 349\34272.doc 18/05/99 7panel such as 10 is performed with the assistance of a jig.

The jig both locates the fibro-cement panel 10 and allows for accurate alignment of the support rails 12 on the panel According to one particular form of the jig which is of a two-part construction there is a backing sheet frame which is configured to receive a peripheral edge of the fibrocement panel such as 10, and a rail locating frame hingedly coupled to one another. For ease of use, the jig may be hingedly mounted to a wall within the factory in which the E backing sheet having premounted rails is fabricated. The rail locating frame includes a series of support rail locating members in the form of opposing pairs of fingers 15 connected to respective opposing sides of the locating frame. Adjacent pairs of the fingers are located a predetermined distance apart corresponding to the required separation between adjacent rails such as 12A and 12B.

In operation, the fibro-cement panel such as 10 is placed on a table or benchtop and the backing sheet frame lowered over the panel 10. The hinged rail locating frame of the *.jig including the sequence of locating fingers is then lowered over the panel 10. In this example an adhesive is applied to the panel 10 in line with each of the rails such as 12A to 12D and the rails adhered to the panel Importantly, accurate alignment of the rails 12A to 12D relative to the panel 10 is effected by abutting or contacting opposing ends of each of the rails 12 with the corresponding pair of fingers. It should be appreciated that the adhesive serves as a temporary means of fixing the rails 12 to the panel 10 prior to their erection.

Generally a lower edge of each of the panels 10 is used as a reference datum for accurately adhering each of the rails 12 to the panel 10 parallel to one another and at the required spacing. Thus, in erecting or installing the J:\Speci\300 399\300 349\34272.doc 18/05/99 8panels 10 the lower edge of each panel 10 is used as a reference point in fixing the panel 10 to a wall.

As illustrated in Figure 2 a locator frame in the form of a plurality of elongate members 30 is used to assist in accurate installation of the fibro-cement panel 10 together with its premounted rails 12 to a wall such as 32. In this embodiment the wall 32 is provided with a series of upright battens 34 which are equally spaced. The battens 34 are in a conventional manner nailed to the existing cladding or frame structure of the wall 32. However, an important S.feature of this aspect of the invention is the inclusion of *"the elongate members such as 30 which are in this example oooo nailed to at least two of the upright battens.

The elongate members 30 are each cold roll formed from strip steel. The elongate members 30 are formed as an angle-section having a web 36 and a flange 38. Each of the elongate members 30 also includes a sequence of tabs which in this embodiment are pressed from the web 36. The tabs 40 are equally spaced a distance corresponding to the height of one of the fibro-cement panels

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Installation or erection of the panels such as 10 together ooooo with their premounted rails 12 thus involves the following general steps: a horizontal datum line is marked along the battens 34; (ii) elongate members such as 30 are nailed to in this example every second batton 34, nailing being effected through the web 36 with the tabs 40 protruding outwardly from the battens 34; (iii) each of the fibro-cement panels 10 is located between adjacent rows of the horizontal tabs (iv) the panels 10 are each nailed to the battens 34 via the rails 12 thereby permanently securing the rails 12 to the panel I \Speci\300 399\300 349\34272 doc 18/05/99 9- Once the wall has been clad with the panels 10 together with the premounted rails 12, the biscuit bricks 22 are mounted between adjacent rails such as 12A and 12B in a conventional manner. Further, vertical and horizontal grouting of the biscuit bricks 22 is performed.

It will be appreciated that any cutting of the panels simultaneously cuts the premounted rails 12. This compares with conventional techniques where individual cutting of the rails is necessary independent of the fibro-cement panel which has already been fixed to the wall.

Now that a preferred embodiment of the various aspects of 15 the present invention have been described in some detail it o• S"will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the method of brick cladding and its associated aspects has at 0*• least the following advantages over the admitted prior art: expeditious and accurate mounting of rails to a corresponding backing sheet is possible; and (ii) significant time and expense is saved using the methods and apparatuses described.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. For example, the support rails may be fixed to the backing sheet by means other than or in addition to the adhesive described provided the premounted rails are retained on the backing sheet until it is fixed to the wall. The locator frame for assisting in installation of the backing sheet together with its premounted rails may vary in construction from that described provided there is an affixture member such as the web of the elongate member for fixing of the locative frame to the wall at a predetermined position, and one or more locator elements such as the tabs on which the backing sheet is located.

S\Speci\300 399\300 349\34272 doc 18/05/99 All such variations and modifications are to be considered within the scope of the present invention the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description.

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Claims

11- THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. A method of brick cladding a wall, said method comprising the steps of: premounting a plurality of support rails to one surface of a backing sheet, said rails being disposed parallel to one another at a spacing substantially equal to the height of one of a plurality of bricks; fixing the backing sheet to the wall so that the rails are arranged horizontally; and mounting the bricks between adjacent of the plurality of support rails. S.. p.. 2. A method of brick cladding a wall as defined in 15 claim 1 wherein the step of premounting the rails involves adhering of the rails to the backing sheet via an adhesive. 3. A method of brick cladding a wall as defined in claims 1 or 2 wherein the step of fixing the backing sheet involves nailing the backing sheet to one or more battens which have been nailed to the wall. 4. A method of brick cladding a wall as defined in claim 3 wherein nailing of the backing sheet to the wall involves nailing of the rails to said battens via the backing sheet. A jig for locating a backing sheet on which a plurality of support rails are to be mounted, the jig comprising: a backing sheet frame being adapted to removably receive the backing sheet which is thus located in a predetermined position; and support rail locating members each being operatively coupled to the backing sheet frame and configured to locate one of the plurality of support rails at a predetermined position on the backing sheet, the J\Speci\300 399\300 349\34272.doc 18/05/99

12- support rails thus being disposed parallel to one another at a spacing substantially equal to the height of one of a plurality of bricks to be mounted therebetween. 6. A jig as defined in claim 5 wherein the jig is of a two part construction including a backing sheet frame being configured to be lowered over the backing sheet and a rail locating frame having the support rail locating members which are each in the form of a pair of fingers connected to respective opposing sides of the rail locating frame, each of the rails designed at opposing ends to abut the pair of fingers whereby said rails are located at the S.. predetermined positions. o o 7. A jig as defined in claim 6 wherein the rail locating frame is hingedly mounted to the backing sheet frame. 8. A method of installing a backing sheet to which a plurality of support rails have been premounted, said rails being disposed parallel to one another with adjacent rails being adapted to receive a row of bricks, said method comprising the steps of: providing at least one locator frame including one or more locator elements against which an edge of the backing sheet or a specific surface or edge of one of the support rails is designed to locate; fixing said locator frame at a predetermined position to the wall frame or one or more battens fixed to the wall; and locating the edge of the backing sheet or said surface or edge of said one of the support rails against said one or more locator elements whereby the support rails are mounted to the wall in a generally horizontally orientation. J:\Spec\300 399\300 349\34272.doc 18/05/99

13- 9. A locator frame for assisting in installation of a backing sheet to a wall, the backing sheet having a plurality of premounted rails disposed parallel to one another with adjacent rails being adapted to receive a row of bricks, the locator frame comprising: an affixture member being adapted to fix at a predetermined position to the wall or one or more battens fixed to the wall; and one or more locator elements connected to the affixture member at predetermined positions, an edge of the 9. So. backing sheet or a surface or edge of one of the support rails being designed to locate against the locator element 9999 ro. whereby the support rails are mounted to the wall in a *9*9 1 15 generally horizontal orientation. 10. A locator frame as defined in claim 9 wherein 9*9* said at least one locator frame is an elongate member adapted to be fixed to a batten which is fixed vertically to the wall or the batten. 11. A locator frame as defined in claim 10 wherein said locator elements are each in the form of tabs protruding outwardly from and formed integral with the elongate member, a lower edge of the backing sheets being adapted to locate against a horizontal row of the tabs. 12. A method of brick cladding substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 13. A jig substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

14. A method of installing a backing sheet substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. J.\SpeiA3OO 399\300 349\34272 doc 18/05/99 I 14- A locator frame substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 18th day of May 1999 BRIAN BARBER to 6 S0 60 50 0 6 S0 o S to.. 060* *0 OS S 60 0 @0 00 6* 55 S S. 5@ 0 S. 0 0 S 0@ 5 0 0 By their Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK J.\Spe6i\300 399\300 349\34272.doc 18/05/99