Patent Application
20070011968
The illustrated and described embodiments of the present invention relate generally to architectural finish attachment assemblies and, more particularly, to architectural finish attachment assemblies used for attaching architectural finishes to building structures and to the methods of attaching architectural finishes to building structures using architectural finish attachment assemblies.
An architectural finish in the form of moldings can transform a standard doorway into a grand archway and a fireplace mantle into a room's centerpiece. Or, an architectural finish in the form of wall cladding can provide a wall with an aesthetically pleasing finish, such as a stucco styled finish. Architectural finishes, such as moldings, cornices, and wall claddings, are widely used in the homebuilding industry as a way to increase the aesthetic and economic value of a home. To obtain market share and to establish a reputation, builders are seeking out variations on classic architectural finishes.
In the recent past, architectural finishes were typically formed from stone/concrete, wood, or stucco. With a number of advancements made within the foam industry, many builders are now utilizing pre-coated foam architectural finishes. One reason for their popularity is that they have a similar look and feel to precast, natural stone products, wood, or stucco, at the same time providing a significant reduction in raw material and installation costs. The foam based architectural finishes are also being used to accommodate climates adverse to wood and to offset rising wood costs.
In a typical construction, a mesh is applied to a foam core, which is in turn coated and topped with a stone like or other finish to create a product that is strong and aesthetically pleasing. The resulting product may be one-tenth the weight of precast stone. Further, the resultant product is easier and costs less money to install. It can be made in any shape and size. The manufacturing time is considerably less as well, and the cost is around 40 percent less for the installation of a foam product versus a precast product.
The foam base is easily formed into any shape, allowing designers wide latitude in designing the shape of the architectural finishes. The design aspects for coated foam products are infinite and have become extremely popular with architects and interior designers alike. The foam is dimensionally stable, resistant to expansion, contraction, warping, rotting, and twisting. Additionally the foam is not a nutrient source for insects, which is important in humid and termite-prone climates.
Although previously developed foam-based architectural finishes are effective, they are not without their problems. It has been discovered that previously developed architectural finishes are not well adapted for easy attachment to a building structure. In previously developed attachment methods, a permanent adhesive was applied to a back of the architectural finish, such as a stucco styled finish panel, in a prescribed pattern. A hot melt glue gun was then used to apply holt melt glue to the back of the finish panel. The finish panel was then quickly applied to the wall. The holt melt glue temporarily held the finish panel to the building structure while the permanent adhesive cured.
Although effective, this process has several drawbacks. For example, the method requires the installer to purchase hot melt glue guns and carry them around the job site, and locate power sources and rig extension chords between the hot melt glue guns and the power sources. Further, the installer is subject to injury from burns received from the hot melt glue gun. Additionally, the installer has very little time to set and position the finish panel before the hot melt glue dries. Further still, the installer has only one shot at correctly installing and positioning the panel, since once the hot melt glue dries, the panel often cannot be removed for realignment without damaging the panel. Also, due to the large size of the finish panel, it can take the installer a while to apply a sufficient amount of the hot melt glue to the finish panel such that the hot melt glue first applied starts to cure by the time the last of the hot melt glue is applied and the panel installed. For at least these reasons, previously developed application methods and attachment assemblies are cumbersome, labor intensive, costly, increase a potential of injury to the installer, do not permit realignment of the architectural finish, and decrease the quality of the installation of the product.
Thus, there exists a need for a method and an architectural finish attachment assembly which permits an architectural finish to be more easily attached to a building structure, that is reliable, permits realignment of the panel during initial installation, and/or is inexpensive to manufacture.
One embodiment of a method performed in accordance with the present invention for attaching an architectural finish to a building structure using an architectural finish attachment assembly having a spike is disclosed. The method includes attaching the architectural finish attachment assembly to the building structure with the spike facing outward from the building structure and applying an adhesive to the architectural finish. The method further includes impaling the architectural finish upon the spike such that the architectural finish is attached to the building structure with the adhesive in contact with the building structure and permitting the adhesive to permanently cure to adhere the architectural finish to the building structure.
Another embodiment of a method performed in accordance with the present invention for attaching an architectural finish to a building structure using an architectural finish attachment assembly having a spike is disclosed. The method includes placing the architectural finish attachment assembly against the building structure and attaching the architectural finish attachment assembly to the building structure with the spike facing outward from the building structure by passing a fastener through a preformed fastener aperture in the architectural finish attachment assembly and into the building structure. The method also includes applying an adhesive to the architectural finish and impaling the architectural finish upon the spike such that the architectural finish is removably attached to the building structure with the adhesive in contact with the building structure. The method further includes permitting the adhesive to cure to permanently adhere the architectural finish to the building structure while the architectural finish attachment assembly holds the architectural finish in place.
One embodiment of an architectural finish attachment assembly formed in accordance with the present invention for coupling an architectural finish to a building structure is disclosed. The architectural finish attachment assembly includes a base structure having a first surface adapted to engage the building structure and a second surface disposed opposite the first surface and a spike extending outward at an incline from the second surface, the spike adapted to impale the architectural finish for removably coupling the architectural finish to the building structure.
The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to
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Although the base structure 110 is illustrated and described as being planar, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the base structure may also be contoured so as to be other than a planar structure. For instance, the base structure may to be cooperatively shaped to match a specific building structure shape, a few suitable example being an L-shaped base structure 110 adapted to conform to a corner of a building structure 104 (a few suitable examples being a stucco, brick, cementitious, or wood wall) or a contoured base structure 110 adapted to cooperatively conform to a contoured portion of the building structure 104. The base structure 110 may be made of a rigid or semi-rigid material, a few suitable examples being plastic or metal, such as 22 gauge galvanized steel.
The base structure 110 may also include one or more fastener apertures 112. The fastener apertures 112 pass through the base structure 110 and permit a fastener 116 to pass therethrough when the architectural finish attachment assembly 100 is coupled to the building structure 104. The fastener apertures 112 also help in providing a template to aid an installer in correctly positioning and spacing the fasteners 116 when the architectural finish attachment assembly 100 is coupled to the building structure 104. Although the base structure 110 is illustrated and described as having one or more fastener apertures 112, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the fastener apertures 112 are optional and may be eliminated. For instance, in one working embodiment, the base structure 110 is absent of fastener apertures 112 and the base structure 110 is simply adhered to the building structure 104 with an adhesive. In still another embodiment, the base structure 110 is absent of fastener apertures 112 and the fasteners 116 are simply driven through the base structure 110 without the aid of preformed fastener apertures 112. Therefore, although fastener apertures 112 and fasteners 116 are illustrated and described with respect to the illustrated embodiment, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the fastener apertures 112 and fasteners 116 are illustrative in nature and non-limiting, and may be eliminated without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The retainment assembly 108 may include one or more spikes 114. The spikes 114 may extend substantially perpendicularly outward from the base structure 110, or may extend at other angles relative to the base structure 110, a few suitable examples being at angles exceeding about 45, 55, 65, 75, or 85 degrees relative to the base structure 110. The spikes 114 may be integrally formed with the base structure 110 or may be a separate structure coupled to the base structure 110. The spikes 114 may be made from any rigid or semi-rigid material, a few suitable examples being plastic or metal, such as galvanized steel or aluminum.
In the illustrated embodiment, a perimeter shape of the spikes 114 is cut or stamped into the base structure 110, and then the spikes 114 are bent from an orientation coplanar with the base structure 110 to an orientation wherein the spikes 114 are inclined relative to the base structure 110, for instance so as to be substantially perpendicular to the base structure 110. Once the spikes 114 are bent up as described, spike cut-out apertures 118 remain in the base structure 110, the spike cut-out apertures 118 having a perimeter shape substantially identical to the perimeter shape of the spikes 114.
The spikes 114 may be shaped in any suitable manner having sufficient strength to puncture the architectural finish without collapsing or excessively bending. In
In one embodiment, the illustrated spikes 114 are between about ¼ inch to ½ inch in height and about ⅛ inch to ½ inch in width. A few suitable alternate embodiments of spikes 114 suitable for use with and within the spirit and scope of the present invention are shown in
Referring to
A permanent adhesive 106 is strategically applied to a back surface 122 of the architectural finish 102 in accordance with well known techniques in the industry and upon the architectural finish attachment assemblies 100. The architectural finish 102 is then pressed towards the building structure 104 such that the architectural finish 102 is impaled upon the spikes 114 and the permanent adhesive 106 contacts the building structure 104. The spikes 114 of the architectural finish attachment assembly 100 hold the architectural finish 102 upon the building structure 104 until the permanent adhesive 106 cures, permanently adhering the architectural finish 102 to the building structure 104.
If the initial installation of the architectural finish 102 is for any reason misaligned and needs adjustment, the architectural finish 102 may be simply pulled outward from the building structure 104 (as long as the permanent adhesive 106 has not yet cured). This causes the spikes 114 to pull out of the architectural finish 102 to permit the architectural finish 102 to be realigned and re-impaled upon the architectural finish attachment assembly 100 to attach the architectural finish 102 in the correct position.
Referring to
The building structure spikes 750 are adapted to be driven into a building structure to attach the architectural finish attachment assembly 700 to the building structure. The building structure spikes 750 may be shaped in any suitable manner permitting their attachment to a particular building structure. For instance, the building structure spikes 750 may be planar and triangular shaped as illustrated, or may take another form, such as the form of any of the above illustrated and described architectural finish spikes of the previously described embodiments. The building structure spikes 750 extend outward at an incline from an inner surface 752 of the base structure 710 of the architectural finish attachment assembly 700, generally in an opposite direction of the architectural finish spikes 714. In the illustrated embodiment, the building structure spikes 750 are oriented substantially perpendicular to the inner surface 752 of the base structure 710, however other angles of inclination relative to the inner surface 752 are suitable for use with and within the spirit and scope of the present invention, such as angles exceeding about 45, 55, 65, 75, and 85 degrees. Preferably, the building structure spikes 750 are oriented parallel and in an opposite direction relative to the architectural finish spikes 714.
In the illustrated embodiment, the building structure spikes 750 are offset from the spikes 714 used in impaling the architectural finish, thereby permitting an installer to strike the outer surface 753 of the base structure 710 directly above the building structure spikes 750 without hitting the architectural finish spikes 714. Although a specific number of building structure spikes 750 are illustrated and described, it should be noted to those skilled in the art that any number of building structure spikes 750 may be used, a few suitable examples being a single building structure spike 750, two or more, three or more, four or more, etc.
The building structure spikes 750 may be integrally formed with the base structure 710 or may be separate structures coupled to the base structure 710. The spikes 750 may be made from any rigid or semi-rigid material, a few suitable examples being plastic or metal. In the illustrated embodiment, a perimeter shape of the building structure spikes 750 is cut or stamped into the base structure 710, and then the spikes 750 are bent from an orientation coplanar with the base structure 710 to an orientation wherein the spikes 750 are inclined relative to the base structure 710, for instance so as to be substantially perpendicular to the base structure 710. Once the spikes 750 are bent up as described, spike cut-out apertures 754 remain in the base structure 110, the spike cut-out apertures 754 having a perimeter shape substantially identical to the perimeter shape of the building structure spikes 750.
While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
