This invention relates generally to wood frame and metal frame construction and, more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for finishing a wall surface used in wood frame and metal frame construction.
At least some known methods of constructing walls and barriers or half walls includes the use of inorganic wallboard panels or sheets, such as gypsum wallboard (GWB), sometimes referred to as “wallboard,” “drywall,” or “plasterboard.” Walls and ceilings made with gypsum wallboard panels are conventionally constructed by securing the wallboard panels to structural members, for example vertically and horizontally oriented pieces of steel or wood such as “studs.” Because wallboard is typically supplied in standard-sized sheets or panels, when forming a wall from the sheets or panels, there will generally be a number of joints between adjacent sheets. In most wallboard construction, these joints are filled and coated with wallboard tape and an adhesive material called joint compound so that the wall will have a monolithic finish.
Generally, wallboard is conventionally produced by enclosing a core containing an aqueous slurry of calcium sulfate hemihydrate (e.g., calcined gypsum) between two large sheets of board cover paper. The calcined gypsum forming the core between the two cover sheets is allowed to set (react with water from the aqueous slurry). The continuously-produced board may then be cut into panels of a desired length (for example, eight feet). After the core has set and is dried, the sandwich becomes a strong, rigid, fire-resistant building material called gypsum drywall.
Gypsum drywall can be used to form almost any cylindrically curved surface. Standard half-inch drywall can be bent around curved framing to a radius as small as 10 feet, as long as the panels are installed with their long edges perpendicular to framing members that are spaced not more than six inches on center. The five-eights-inch panels can bend to a fifteen-foot radius; three-eights-inch panels to a seven foot, six-inch radius; five-sixteenths-inch panels to a six-foot, three-inch radius; and quarter-inch panels to a five-foot radius. Drywall can be bent to tighter curves than listed above by wetting the paper backing, or wetting the front and back paper. However extreme care must be used to avoid damaging or breaking the drywall panel. Additionally, wet drywall is very prone to the growth of mold. When wetting drywall, it is imperative to use plenty of airflow to dry the boards completely after installation.
For very tight curves, for example, to finish off a traditional arch window or doorway, the back of the panel may be scored width-wise to give it more flexibility. These scores are called “kerfs” and they cut through the “back” of the drywall, which makes it much more flexible. A utility knife is used to make parallel cuts from edge to edge, spaced approximately one inch apart. The core is then purposely broken at the cuts to create a flexible length of drywall. However, the only support for the drywall panel is the paper backing, making the scored and broken panel flimsy and easy for the paper to rip and destroy the panel during handling and/or installation.
Aside from standard gypsum board, also available are special flexible panels that can bend to much tighter radii. These ¼-inch panels are usually installed in double layers and can achieve a radius as small as 12 inches.
In frame construction a wood frame wall is built using relatively rough lumber and the interior surface of the wall is finished with GWB. In the event that the wall has a window opening, a window frame is installed with the inner face of the window frame offset outward from the interior of the wall. The return surfaces, which surrounding the window opening and are perpendicular to the interior of the wall, may be finished using either wood wrap and drywall or GWB wrap. Using the drywall wrap technique, GWB is attached to the upper and lower horizontal return portions and to the vertical return portions and suitable reinforcing corner beading is installed to protect the corner transition between the vertical wall and the return surfaces bounding the window opening. Round, arched, and half arch windows present a special problem in that the return surfaces are arcuate and have a bend radius that is less than can be achieved by GWB without using labor intensive and error prone techniques to make the GWB more flexible.
The upper surface of a half wall may also be formed having an arcuate surface to create many types of desired aesthetic effects. In many cases a monolithic wall surface complementary to the vertical surfaces of the wall are desired, in which case the cap of the wall requires a surface treatment similar to that of a circular or arched window or an arched doorway. Using GWB increases the amount of labor required to score the backside of the GWB panels or to wet and then thoroughly dry the GWB to attempt to bend it into conformity with the arcuate surface.
In one embodiment, a finish member portion of a wall surface comprising a substantially organic material and having a length along a longitudinal axis and a thickness perpendicular to the longitudinal axis wherein the finish member is flexible along the length in a direction of the thickness.
In another embodiment, a method of forming a surface of a wall that includes a plurality of drywall members rigidly coupled to framing members wherein the method includes providing a finish member having a thickness substantially equal to a thickness of at least one of the plurality of drywall members, bending the finish member to conform to an area of the wall having an arcuate surface, and coupling the finish member to a framing member defining the arcuate surface.
In yet another embodiment, a wall surface includes a plurality of gypsum-based drywall members rigidly coupled to a plurality of framing members defining a wall, and a finish member including a substantially organic material coupled to one or more of the plurality of framing members that define an arcuate portion of the wall wherein the finish member has a length along a longitudinal axis and a thickness perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and wherein the finish member includes a bend radius along the length in a direction of the thickness of less than ten feet.
The following detailed description illustrates embodiments of the invention by way of example and not by way of limitation. It is contemplated that the invention has general application in industrial, commercial, and residential applications.
As used herein, an element or step recited in the singular and proceeded with the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding plural elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly recited. Furthermore, references to “one embodiment” of the present invention are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.
The above-described embodiments of an apparatus and a method for forming an arcuate wall surface provide a cost-effective and reliable means frame construction. More specifically, the methods and systems described herein facilitate finishing arched windows and doorways, circular windows, and “drywall art” features in walls. As a result, the apparatus and method described herein facilitate wall finishing in a cost-effective and reliable manner.
While the disclosure has been described in terms of various specific embodiments, it will be recognized that the disclosure can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims.