Patent Grant
7600356
1. Field of the Invention
This invention in one embodiment relates to a building material for covering the frame of a structure, wherein the building material is comprised of a building board having an extending flange adapted to engage an end of an adjacent board to provide a means by which to secure the building board within a system of building boards while improving the shear strength of the system in a cost effective manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
The cladding market uses building boards for covering the frame a structure. The market includes building boards of different materials; in particular, wood, ceramic, metal, plastic or composites of two or more of these. These boards are generally in the form of discreet planks or panels that must be placed adjacent to each other on the frame of a structure in order to cover the structure and thereby provide a protective and decorative covering. In order for this covering to be contiguous, the joints between boards must be treated to appear aesthetically pleasing. This treatment, however, is time consuming and can be expensive. Accordingly, what is needed is an improved building material having a jointing system that reduces the cost and improves the ease of installing building boards. There is also a need in the market for building boards that are, among other things, better at preventing water seepage between the joints, improving the joint strength between building boards, and enhancing the shear strength of the building board system.
Construction industries, such as a residential construction, prefer using nailable building boards for attaching to various types of framing, including wood and metal framing. However, hard, dense or brittle materials, such as ceramic, concrete, stone or thick metal are not nailable and must therefore be attached to wood or steel frames by some other means, such as by providing pre-drilled holes for nails. Drilling holes is time consuming and expensive, so there is a need to reduce installation cost by finding a means of nailing a non-nailable substrate such as ceramic or dense cement composite without pre-drilled holes.
When installing building panels, the panels are butted against each other such that their edges simultaneously cover a framing member. Each panel edge is fastened to the framing member with a row of nails, such that there are two rows of nails at each panel joint. This process is necessary to achieve a minimum level of shear strength as established by building codes. As a way of reducing installation costs, it would be advantageous to minimize the number of nails applied to a panel joint while obtaining comparable or improved shear strength performance as the building board system having two rows of nails at each panel joint.
Nailable materials, such as plywood or OSB panels, that have shiplapped edges may reduce the number of nails needed to merely connect panels together; however, two rows of nails are still needed at each joint of those products in order to maintain the minimum level of shear strength needed to satisfy building codes. For instance, wood-based, shiplapped panels are nailed with two rows of nails; one through the shiplap of the under lapping board and one through the shiplap of the overlapping board to avoid buckling under shear forces. What is needed is a joint treatment using only one row of nails that is resistant to buckling under shear load.
Shiplapped building boards made of fibercement are poor candidates for reducing the numbers of nails needed to connect boards together while maintaining the minimum level of shear strength. Fibercement boards are generally brittle and thus, the shiplapped edges of such boards are prone to breakage during shipment and installation. In addition, it is expensive to machine shiplap joints into the edges of a fibercement panel. What is needed is a means of treating the edges of a fibercement panel to make the edge of the panel less prone to breaking.
Building boards are sometimes sold with a factory applied finish. Often, the finish on these boards is damaged when the boards are nailed to framing members. The building board must be repainted or recaulked (or both) with a coating that matches the original finish. This is a time consuming process and adds cost. Thus, there is also a need for a means of nailing a building board to a framing member that minimizes the damage to the finished surface of the board.
A building material is provided for covering the frame of a structure. The building material, in one embodiment, is uniquely configured to cover a frame of a structure using a single row of fasteners at each joint or framing element. This building material is preferably a building board with a conforming flange that extends beyond an end of the building board. The conforming flange is preferably embossed onto the building board and adapted to engage or mate with an end of an adjacent building board. The building material may further have a water resistant material deposited between the adjacent building board along the shiplapped joint for managing water seepage.
In an alternative embodiment, the building material may be comprised of an article connected to a building board. The building board can be, but is not limited to, a panel, plank, trim, roofing slate, shake, or tile. In addition, the building board can be made from any one of a number of materials, individually or in combination thereof, including, but not limited to, stone, brick, clay, metal, ceramic, glass, vinyl, fibercement, cement, and PVC. More particularly, a fibercement building board provides especially advantageous properties in a unique configuration. Likewise, the article may be made of any one of a number of materials, individually or in combination thereof, including, but not limited to, stone, brick, clay, metal, ceramic, glass, vinyl, fibercement, cement, and PVC as well as fabrics and fiberglass.
The article preferably acts as a joint extending beyond one edge of the building board for receiving a fastener to fix the building board to the structure. In one embodiment, the article also preferably acts as a flange by which another building material of the same configuration can be easily aligned and secured to the structure. These two building materials work together as a building board system that can be attached to a framing element. This building board system has the capacity of achieving equal or greater shear strength than other building board systems. Preferably, the building board system achieves this level of shear strength by having each building board being nailed to framing members on only 3 edges, thus, reducing the cost and improving the ease of installing the system. The article may also be configured to provide a specific building board system with a specific aesthetic appearance, such as that of a board and batten construction.
The article may be comprised of more than one flange, wherein at least two of the flanges are connected by a hinge or a channel. The hinge is preferably made of a flexible material, such as polymer material, plasticized PVC, nylon mesh or an elastomer, and may be attached to the flanges by any suitable fastening means including, but not limited to, chemical bonding, mechanical bonding, thermal bonding, and adhesives such as a hot melt polyurethane glue. The hinge may also be co-formed with at least one of the flanges for example by co-extrusion, pultrusion or injection molding. The hinge preferably allows at least one of the flanges to rotate around the hinge and lie next to the flange attached to the building board or in a plane substantially parallel with the building board, which improves the strength of the joint. The hinge also provides flexibility to the joint, which helps to prevent damage resulting from packaging and shipping the building material.
The article may be attached to the building board by any suitable chemical, thermal or mechanical means. For instance, the article may be bonded to the building board using any suitable adhesive including structural adhesive, polyurethane glue, hot melt polyurethane adhesive, epoxy adhesive, acrylic foam, polyurethane foam, pressure sensitive adhesive, pressure sensitive foam adhesive (e.g., butyl rubber or acrylic foam), silicone caulk and polyurethane caulk. The adhesive may be applied as a layer between the article and the building board. In one embodiment, the adhesive may be incorporated into the body of the article and activated when the article is pressed against the building board. In another embodiment, the adhesive is also activated by heat. In another embodiment the article is a polymeric material and a solvent is used to swell and adhesively bond the polymer to the building article
The channel may be made of a rigid material such as metal and may be attached to the flanges by any suitable fastening means including chemical bonding, mechanical bonding, thermal bonding, and adhesives. The channel preferably rests between the adjacent ends of the building boards to provide a region for fastening the building board system to a framing element. To further improve the shear strength of the building board system, a jointer compound may be added between the edges of the building board system and/or in the channel connecting adjacent building boards.
The building boards may further have beveled edges and/or notches and tabs. The beveled edges and/or notches cause to interlock with adjacent boards to form a building board system with improved shear strength while improving the ease of installation of the boards.
The building material may be configured in other embodiments. For instance, the building material may be configured with angled edged building boards which help to reduce the conspicuousness of the seams between building boards. The building boards are preferably formed with angles along opposite edges, e.g., top and bottom edges or opposing side edges, so that the edges of adjacent building boards overlap when installed. This overlapping feature along the edges of the building board, in conjunction with the hinged article, helps to make the joint less conspicuous by allowing the edges of each board to slidingly engage with each other as the boards expand or contract from exposure to heat, cold or changing moisture content. The angled edges also help to reduce installation time by providing a means by which the building boards can be easily aligned and fixed to the framing members.
Likewise, in another embodiment, a building material is provided with a fibercement board having a surface and opposing edges and an article connected to the surface of the board. The article extends beyond at least one of the opposing edges and is adapted to receive a fastener to fix the board to the structure. The article has at least a first flange connected to the panel and a second flange extending beyond one of the opposing edges, the second flange being capable of moving relative to the first flange.
In a further embodiment, a building material is provided with at least two strips of material. Each strip of material has a surface, wherein the at least two strips are adjacent each other and connected together along an edge. The building material is further provided with a board having a substantially planar surface and opposing ends, wherein the surface of one of the at least two strips of material is connected to a surface of the board along one of the opposing ends of the board. One of the at least two strips of material is configured to extend beyond one of the opposing ends of the board, wherein the extending strip is capable of movement relative to the strip connected to the board.
In a further embodiment, a system of building materials is provided with at least two boards connected to a framing element, wherein one of the boards is a main board and a second of the at least two boards is an adjacent board. The at least two boards each have a surface, opposite ends, and opposite edges. The system is further provided with an article connected to the main board surface along one of the opposite ends of the main board, wherein the article has at least one flange parallel with the main board surface, the at least one flange extending beyond one of the opposite ends of the main board. The system is further provided with a row of fasteners extending at least through the article to the framing element, wherein the row of fasteners extending through the article secures the main board and the adjacent board relative to the framing element.
The various embodiments of the building material may be installed in numerous ways. In one embodiment, a method of installing a system of building materials is provided, which comprises selecting a first board having at least one flange extending from at least one of the opposing edges and away from the first board, positioning the first board on a framing element of the structure such that a surface of the article rests along an outward facing surface of the framing element, selecting a second board having a surface and opposing edges, aligning the second board on the framing element of the structure, wherein at least one of the opposing edges of the second board is adjacent one of the edges of the first board and fastening the article to the framing element causing to relatively secure the first board and second board to the framing element. In another embodiment, the method and system involves fastening the article to the framing member using only one row of nails at each board joint.
These and other objects and advantages will become more fully apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In one embodiment, the building material 5 comprises at least one shiplapped building board. The building material is preferably rabbeted so that the edge of one board 10 overlaps an adjacent board 20 to create a substantially flush joint 30 as shown in
The joint 30 preferably comprises a cut or groove 40 along a surface near at least end of the building board 10 adapted to receive the end 50 of an adjoining building board 20. Alternatively, the end 50 of the adjoining board 20 may be adapted to receive the unique configuration of the cut or groove 40. For instance, the end 50 of the board 20 shown in
Optionally, a portion of the recess 60 may be left uncovered by the cut or groove 40 of building board 10 as shown in
In addition to enhancing the look of the system, the building material may further provide for water management between adjacent building boards 10, 20. For instance, in
To further improve the shear strength of the system, a bonding material may be applied between the surfaces of the groove 40 and the recess 60. The bonding material may be selected from any suitable material including structural adhesive, polyurethane glue, hot melt polyurethane adhesive, epoxy adhesive, acrylic foam, polyurethane foam, pressure sensitive adhesive, pressure sensitive foam adhesive (e.g., butyl rubber or acrylic foam), silicone caulk and polyurethane caulk. Adding bonding materials, such as a pressure sensitive adhesive, between the groove 40 and the recess 60 of the joint 30 will assist to restrict out of plane movement of the building boards and help prevent buckling at the joint between the building boards. In addition, the bonding material will assist in allowing building material 5 to attain higher shear load values, including instances where one row of fasteners is used to secure the building material 5 to framing member 210.
The shiplapped building boards provide a substantially rigid connection that allows for transfer of loads across joints enabling the system to act more like a single board. For instance, in a test of a system employing shiplapped boards attached to framing elements on a 6″×12″ nailing pattern (e.g., 6 inch intervals along the perimeter of the building board by 12 inch intervals within the field of the building board), the system deflected only ⅛ of an inch upon application of a load over 280 lbs/ft. The minimum shear strength of a system employing shiplapped building boards is 270 lbs/ft.
In another embodiment, the building material comprises an engineered panel joint 100 as shown in
The joint 105 is preferably affixed to the building board 110 by means of an adhesive 150, more preferably an adhesive capable of adhering a fibercement board to the joint, such as, but not limited to, a hot melt moisture cured polyurethane, polyurethane glue, pressure sensitive foam, rubber tape, and elastomeric tape with fabric backing. However, the joint 105 could be the result of embossing or forming a flange along an end of a building board that provides an interlocking region integral with and conforming to the building board; the flange adapted to receive the end of an adjacent building board.
The joint 105 of
In one embodiment, the joint 105 shown in
The flanges 120a, 120b can be made of a variety of different materials such as metal, rubber or an elastomer, but are preferably made from PVC, and are preferably connected by a hinge 130 that is flexible. The flexible hinge 130 is preferably made from a plasticized PVC material but can be made from any material that is flexible such as plasticized polymers, natural or synthetic rubbers, metal, or elastomeric materials. Although the flanges 120a, 120b of one preferred embodiment are made from the same material, the flanges 120a, 120b can be made from two separate materials. For instance, the flange 120a can be made from an elastomer while the flange 120b can be made from a plastic material such as PVC. In addition, even though the hinge 130 of the preferred embodiment is a different material from the flanges 120a, 120b, the hinge can be the same material as one or both of the flanges.
The hinge 130 is preferably positioned between the flanges 120a, 120b to allow the flange 120b to move or rotate about the hinge 130 and lie along a plane that is substantially parallel with the flange 120a and/or flush against the building board 110. However, the hinge 130 can take the place of one of the flanges. For instance, the flange 120a can be substituted for a longer and/or wider version of the hinge 130 such that the hinge may be directly adhered to the building board 110 as well as connect the building board with the flange 120b. The hinge 130 provides a means by which the engineered panel joint 100 may be easily packaged at the production site and shipped to the installation site while reducing the risk that the flanges 120a, 120b will snap off from the building board 110 or break in half. In addition, the hinge 130 also provides some give between the connected building boards 110, 220, as shown in
An additional bead 135 may be added along the edge of building board 110 as shown in
In
In each of the embodiments, however, the bead 135 can be the made from the same material as the flanges 120a, 120b or from a substantially different material than the flanges 120a, 120b. In one embodiment, the bead 135 is made from substantially the same material as the flanges 120a, 120b, but is generally more pliable and flexible than the flanges 120a, 120b. In this embodiment, the flanges 120a, 120b are preferably rigid or stiff. In an alternative embodiment, the bead 135 is made from substantially the same material and has substantially the same material properties as the flanges 120a, 120b. In this embodiment, the bead 135 and the flanges 120a, 120b are both preferably flexible and/or pliable. In a further embodiment, the bead 135 is made from a material that is substantially different from the flanges 120a, 120b, wherein the flanges are rigid and the bead is flexible and/or pliable.
In an alternative embodiment of the building material, the building boards are connected to joints that are substantially similar to the joints 105 shown in
The joint 105 of
The joint 105 of
A system of building materials having a joint with a dual hinge system assists in improving the shear strength characteristics of the building material. For example, a ASTM E72-02 Section 14 test of a system utilizing a joint substantially similar to the joint 105 of
A system with boards having a thickness of ½ of an inch and attached to a structure according to a 6″×12″ nailing pattern is able to withstand a load of approximately 250 pounds per foot or more. For instance, in a test of one embodiment of the system of building boards employing the joint of
The joint 105 of
A system of building materials employing the joint of
In an alternative embodiment, the joint includes a jointer 310 as shown in
The flanges 320a, 320b of the jointer 310 may be attached to the building board 350 by any suitable means, including adhesives, mechanical bonding, and chemical bonding. In an alternative embodiment, the flanges 320a, 320b of the jointer 310 have perforations 390 as shown in
The building board is preferably made from fibercement, but can be made of a variety of materials such as metal, wood, or plastic. The building board may also be made of a non-nailable material, including but not limited to, stone, ceramic or metal. Alternatively the building board may also have either a factory applied finish or a finish applied in the field prior to installation.
The building board preferably has edges angled between 30° and 60°, but the edges may also be angled between 90° and 180°. For instance, an edge of building board 110 could be manufactured with a compound angle as shown in
The angles along the edges of the building board help to further provide adequate overlap between two adjoining or adjacent building boards such as the building boards 110 and 220 shown in
The edges of the building board 110 are preferably designed with recessed portions to receive the flange 120a, but the edges could be manufactured without recess portions. If the edges of the building board 10 have recessed portions, the recessed portions are preferably no deeper or longer than necessary to adhere the flange 120a to the building board 110 and allow the top surface of the flange 120a to be flush with the top surface of the building board 110. While the illustrated embodiment has recessed portions along the edge of the building board 110 to avoid unevenness when the flange 120a is adhered to the building board, the building board could be manufactured having no recessed portions.
As shown in
The joint 105 is preferably co-extensive with the width of the building board 110; alternatively, the width of the joint 105 can be less than the width of the building board 110 so that multiple joints can be applied in discrete locations along the width of the building board. The flanges 120a, 120b of the joint 105 are preferably thinner than the building board 110, but may be equal or greater in thickness. The flange 120a is preferably wide enough to hold at least two beads of glue, but could be large enough to cover the entire back of the building board 110. The flange 120b is preferably wide enough to just cover the framing element width (nominal 2″) and be able to hold a row of fixtures without breaking; however, the flange 120b could also be large enough to cover the entire back of an adjacent building board. Although the thickness of the flanges 120a, 120b depends in part on the material of the flanges, the flanges are preferably thick enough to obtain the required shear values, but not so thick as to cause unevenness on the back of the building board. The texture of the flanges 120a, 120b may also vary; however, the flanges are preferably smooth. Ideally, the texture of the flanges 120a, 120b in the illustrated embodiment aid with the bonding process between the flanges and the building boards 110, 220.
The flanges 120a, 120b of the illustrated embodiment of
The flange of the joint may be attached to the building board in numerous ways. Although the preferred embodiment illustrates bonding flange 120a to the building board 110 by means of the adhesive 150 between the flange and a surface of the building board as shown in
In an alternative embodiment, the joint 105 and building board 110 may be connected together by snapping the joint to an edge of the building board as shown in
The joint 105 may be snapped into the building board 110 by various means. For instance, in one embodiment, the joint 805 can be machined or molded with a groove 810 along an edge of flange 820 that would be adapted to receive an edge of the building board 830 as shown in
The joint may be riveted with the building board. The joint 865 has at least one rivet portion 870 as shown in
The building material can be mounted to a wall or framing element in a number of ways. For instance, in one embodiment, the building material is an engineered panel joint 100 that can be mounted by aligning the joint 105 with the framing element 210, placing a building board 220 on the joint 105 to cover the flange 120b, and nailing the building board 220 and the flange 120b to the framing element 210 as shown in
An adhesive 910 may be applied between the edges of the building boards 920a, 920b as shown in
The increased shear strength capacity of a system of building materials with an adhesive between the edges of adjacent building boards is exemplified by results of ASTM E72-02 Section 14 tests of such a system. For instance, where the adhesive is discontinuously applied between the edges of the boards, the system is able to withstand a load of more than 220 pounds per foot using a 6″×12″ nailing pattern. Where the adhesive is continuously applied between the edges of the boards, the system is able to withstand a load of more than 260 pounds per foot using a 6″×12″ nailing pattern.
Although the embodiment of
The engineered panel joint 100 may, alternatively, be fixed to a framing element 210 by aligning the joint 105 to the framing element 210 and nailing the flange 120b to the framing element as shown in
In yet another embodiment, the engineered panel joint 100 may be affixed to the framing element 210 by placing a single row of nails 230 through the hinge 130 of the joint 105 as shown in
To enhance load transfers across the joint and allow the assembly or system of building boards to act in unison as one large building board, the edges of the boards may be beveled at a suitable angle to create an interlock 1005 between adjacent building boards 1010a, 1010b as shown in
The interlocks may be formed by using a water jet to cut the beveled angles or the notches and tabs along the ends of the building boards. The interlocks may also be formed when the building board is a greensheet or post autoclave on the finishing line. The resulting interlock will help to resist higher shear loads when adjacent building boards with the beveled angles and/or notches and tabs are connected together.
The increased shear strength capacity of a system of building materials having an interlock between adjacent building boards is exemplified by results of ASTM E72-02 tests on such a system. Based on such tests using a 6″×12″ nailing pattern, the system of building materials having an interlocking feature is able to withstand a load of 200 pounds per foot or more. For instance, a test of one embodiment having a structure substantially similar to the system of
As mentioned earlier, the building boards can be made from a number of different materials including, but not limited to, the grade and/or thickness of fibercement. However, regardless of the material or the dimensions of that material, a building board having the joint, discussed and provided for in the above description, is able to perform with sufficient shear strength, satisfying building codes, with a single row of nails along the joint connecting two building boards.
For instance, the industry standard uses two rows of nails on a panel without the joint 105. A system of panels, as shown in
This typical process of securing panels requires the use of two rows of nails on each panel (e.g., one row of nails along opposite ends of each panel) and two rows of nails at a single framing element where the two panels meet. As one can quickly recognize, this process can be costly and inefficient. However, because of the available materials and products in the building industry, it is the industry standard to use two rows of nails at each joint or framing element to achieve the necessary joint and shear strength to meet building codes.
In a test conducted according to the ASTM E72-02 Section 14 standard using a 6″×12″ nailing pattern, a system of engineered panel joints were nailed to framing elements using a single row of commercially available 8d nails, as shown in
Systems of building materials employing embodiments of the invention, secured to a structure using a 6″×12″ nailing pattern, will be able to withstand shear values between 130 lbs/ft and 270 lbs/ft in an ASTM E72-02 section 14 test; however, such systems preferably have a minimum shear strength of 150 lbs/ft.
A system of building materials using embodiments of the invention that employ higher nailing patterns will be able to achieve even higher shear strengths. For example, a system of building materials using embodiments of the invention, secured to a structure using a 4″×6″ nailing pattern, could have achieve shear strengths greater than 300 lbs/ft. As exhibited in Table 2, the minimum shear strength values of the system of building materials employing embodiments of the invention will, in general, increase as the nailing pattern increases (e.g., as the nail spacing perimeter decreases, the minimum shear strength values of the system increase).
To provide additional shear strength to the panel system, at least one biscuit 1105 may be inserted along the edge of the panel 1110a for receipt in a corresponding slot along the edge of an adjacent panel 1110b as shown in
The increased shear strength capacity of a system of building materials with biscuits between the ends of adjacent building boards is exemplified by results of ASTM E72-02 Section 14 tests on such a system. Based on such tests using a 6″×12″ nailing pattern, the system is able to withstand a load of at least 170 pounds per foot and deflect ⅛ inch under a load of approximately 230 pounds per foot or more. For instance, in a test of one embodiment having a structure substantially similar to the system shown in
In addition to attaching the joint 105 to a panel, as mentioned above, the engineered panel joint 100, with or without the biscuit 1105, can be formed from other building boards, including planks, roofing shakes, slates, and tiles. For instance, the joint 105 could be applied to a trim 1200 as shown in
The trim 1200 of
The trim 1200 of
The trim 1200 preferably has an edge 1205 with an extending flange 1210 along the front surface of the trim. The edge 1205 is preferably machined or extruded such that it can accommodate siding planks. The joint 105 is preferably attached to the back surface of the trim 1200 such that a portion of the joint 105 extends from the edge 1205 forming a channel 1220 with the edge 1205 and the flange 1210; the channel 1220 adapted to receive a siding plank. The joint 105 may be attached to the trim 1200 by any suitable means including chemical bonding, mechanical bonding, and adhesives.
As shown in
The joint can be made of a number of different materials, including a variety of meshes, such as metal, fiberglass, and fabric. Where the joint is formed of two flanges, such as the joint 105 of
A preferred method of manufacturing the engineered panel joint 100 from a fibercement building board involves the following steps as shown in
Step 510: Receiving greensheet from forming machine: In this step, a moldable fibercement “greensheet” is produced by a forming machine. This forming machine uses a slurry dewatering manufacturing process, such as, but not limited to, the Hatschek process. Once the moldable fibercement greensheet is formed, it is feed through to the rest of the process.
Step 520: Putting pattern on front: In this step, a decision is made concerning whether to add a pattern or texture to the fibercement greensheet to provide for an ornamental feature on the building board. If it is determined that an ornamental feature is desired, the manufacturing process will proceed with step 530; if it is not desired, the manufacturing process will skip step 530 and proceed to step 540.
Step 530: Putting a pattern on the greensheet: In this step, a pattern is applied to the fibercement greensheet. This pattern is preferably applied to the greensheet by a means of embossing or pressing using a roll or a plate, but can be also be applied by a variety of other methods including, but not limited to, craving, beveling, or jet spraying. A texture or batten is preferably applied to the front of the building board while on the back, a recessed channel is preferably created in which the joint will rest and become flush with the building board, adding no appreciable thickness to the engineered panel joint. Preferably, the battens are embossed or pressed into the greensheet after the texture is applied embossed or pressed.
Step 540: Cutting angles on building board edges: In this step, 30° angles are preferably cut from the top and bottom vertical edges of the building boards by a water jet. Angles other than 30° may be used within the range of 90° to 180°. Alternatively, the edges may have a combination of angles or compound angels as illustrated in
Step 550: Curing material: In this step, the fibercement greensheet is preferably pre-cured at an ambient temperature for a period of up to 24 hours. The greensheet is then preferably placed in an autoclave for a period of up to 12 hours at a temperature of approximately 180° C. and a pressure of approximately 125 psi. Alternatively, the fibercement greensheet may be air cured or moisture cured under relatively humid conditions at an ambient or elevated temperature until a predetermined level of strength and/or a preselected material property is obtained. For example bending strength or tensile strength is may be selected, but other material properties such as density, shear strength, moisture content or content of unreacted components may also be used as an index of degree of cure.
Step 560: Finishing material (Optional): In this step, a coating is optionally applied to at least one side of the building board preferably by a spray coating apparatus, but could be applied by other means including, but not limited to, roll coating, curtain coating, powder coating, vacuum coating, or other known means of coating. The coating is then cured in a manner appropriate to the coating formulation, for example by thermal curing, radiation curing, or a combination thereof.
Step 570: Applying adhesive and the joint: In this step, the adhesive and the joints are applied to the back side of the building board as the building board moves along rolling conveyors. The adhesive is preferably a hot melt polyurethane glue, but can be made from any composition that provides a good bond and adequate shear strength between polymers and cementitious surfaces. The joints may be made from a variety of materials, including fibercement, but is preferably made from a plastic material, such as PVC. The joints may be pre-cut as strips before they are applied to the building board or may be applied directly from a spool. Accordingly, there are alternate ways by which the adhesive and joints can be applied to the building board. For instance, the adhesive can be applied to the surface of the joint strips before the building board and joint strips are pressed together. Alternatively, the adhesive may be preformed on the joint strips in a liquid form or as a self-adhesive strip. The self-adhesive strip could be either attached to the building board during the manufacturing process or in the field during the installation process. In another embodiment, the building boards are flipped over after step 560 so that the backside of the building boards face up. The adhesive and joint strips are then applied to the backside of the building boards along the edge to form the engineered panel joint. The building boards are then flipped back over so that the front side faces up. In yet another embodiment, the joint strips are attached using various other fastener types such as, but not limited to, screws, staples, or other adhesive means. In a separate embodiment, the joints are installed onto greensheets after step 540. In another embodiment, the joint strips are sized to fit along the entire back surface of the building board. The joint strips are attached to cover most of the backside of the building board, but are offset from the building board such that the joint strip extends beyond the building board along one edge for joining the building boards.
Step 580: Stacking material: In this step, the finished engineered building material is stacked for packaging and/or shipping.
As mentioned above, one preferred embodiment of the engineered panel joint is manufactured from a fibercement building board. Other materials, however, may be substituted for the fibercement building board. If an alternative building board material is used, the following method of manufacturing the engineered panel joint, as shown in
Step 610: Receiving finished material: In this step, any building board material, such as, but not limited to, wood, wood composites, and vinyl is obtained in a finished state or finished according to methods known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
Step 620: Cutting angles on vertical edges: In this step, angles within the range of 30° and 60° are preferably cut from the top and bottom vertical edges of the building boards by a water jet. Other angles may be used including angles within the range of 90° to 180°. In addition, these angles can be cut by a means other than using a water jet. This step could be done earlier in the manufacturing process depending on the material being used and its corresponding finishing process.
Step 630: Creating recessed channel for the joint (Optional): In this step, a channel is optionally formed on the backside vertical edges by a process that includes, but is not limited to, routering or embossing depending on the building board material. The recessed channels along the backside vertical edges of the building board are preferably added to fit and place the joint.
Step 640: Applying adhesive and the joint: In this step, the adhesive and the joints are applied to the back side of the building board as the building board moves along rolling conveyors. The adhesive is preferably a hot melt polyurethane glue, but can be made from any composition that provides a good bond and adequate shear strength between polymers and cementitious surfaces. The joints may be made from a variety of materials, including fibercement, but is preferably made from a plastic material, such as PVC. The joints may be pre-cut as strips before they are applied to the building board or may be applied directly from a spool. Accordingly, there are alternate ways by which the adhesive and joints can be applied to the building board. For instance, the adhesive can be applied to the surface of the joint strips before the building board and joint strips are pressed together. Alternatively, the adhesive may be preformed on the joint strips in a liquid form or as a self-adhesive strip. The self-adhesive strip could be either attached to the building board during the manufacturing process or in the field during the installation process. In yet another embodiment, the joint strips are attached using various other fastener types such as, but not limited to, screws, staples, or other adhesive means. In another embodiment, the joint strips are sized to fit along the entire back surface of the building board. The joint strips are attached to cover most of the backside of the building board, but are offset from the building board such that the joint strip extends beyond the building board along one edge for joining the building boards.
Step 650: Stacking material: In this step, the finished engineered building material is stacked.
It will be appreciated from the embodiments described above that an improved joint can offer several advantages to a fibercement panel or other type of building board. These advantages are not limited to panels or even fibercement, but can be applied to a variety of building materials as described above.
The shiplapped board described above are preferably configured to provide a rigid connection allowing for load transfers across the joint. The rigid connection of the shiplapped board aids in enhancing the shear strength of the system and the individual boards that make up the system. Although the joint of the shiplapped board is preferably embossed onto the board to conform with the board, the joint may be a separate article that is attached to a surface of the building board.
The articles or joints described above are desirably adhered to the board to provide a pre-fabricated board that simplifies installation of the board over a surface and provides excellent shear strength. For example, the article or joint can provide a nailing or fastening region, and in one embodiment, enables single row nailing of adjacent boards while achieving at least the same shear strength as a joint with two rows of nail at a framing element. In addition, the flexibility of one embodiment of the joint provides for a durable building material that can be easily manufactured, transported, and distributed, and a building material that can relieve stress between building boards caused by differential movement.
The articles or joints described above are also adapted to work with the edge of the building board to which it is adhered to create a locking region for connecting adjacent building boards and ensuring the building boards are properly aligned when nailed to the framing element. Additionally, the building material provides for a joint that does not require caulking to help prevent water seepage between the seams of the building board system.
Although the foregoing invention has been described in terms of certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, in view of the disclosure herein. Accordingly, the present invention is not intended to be limited by the recitation of preferred embodiments, but is instead intended to be defined solely by reference to the appended claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/471,700, filed May 19, 2003, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 132345 | Woolfolk | Oct 1872 | A |
| 1959519 | Black | May 1934 | A |
| 2062149 | Stark et al. | Nov 1936 | A |
| 2222573 | Reger | Nov 1940 | A |
| 2253753 | Black | Aug 1941 | A |
| 2882564 | Couse et al. | Apr 1959 | A |
| 3047985 | Cornelius et al. | Aug 1962 | A |
| 3181662 | Maertzig, Jr. | May 1965 | A |
| 3407786 | Beyer et al. | Oct 1968 | A |
| 3407985 | Miller | Oct 1968 | A |
| 3444657 | Swanson | May 1969 | A |
| 3460860 | Stevens, Jr. | Aug 1969 | A |
| 3468092 | Chalmers | Sep 1969 | A |
| 3566553 | Kellman | Mar 1971 | A |
| 3735596 | Stephenson | May 1973 | A |
| 3756140 | Kolivas | Sep 1973 | A |
| 3797190 | Widdowson | Mar 1974 | A |
| 3815310 | Kessler | Jun 1974 | A |
| 3818961 | Davey et al. | Jun 1974 | A |
| 3852934 | Kirkhuff | Dec 1974 | A |
| 3977145 | Dobby et al. | Aug 1976 | A |
| 3990206 | Reusser | Nov 1976 | A |
| 4001997 | Saltzman | Jan 1977 | A |
| 4018017 | Schoop | Apr 1977 | A |
| 4034528 | Sanders et al. | Jul 1977 | A |
| 4094115 | Naz | Jun 1978 | A |
| 4096679 | Naz | Jun 1978 | A |
| 4104840 | Heintz et al. | Aug 1978 | A |
| 4107896 | Wetzel | Aug 1978 | A |
| 4184301 | Anderson et al. | Jan 1980 | A |
| 4223490 | Medow | Sep 1980 | A |
| 4251967 | Hoofe, III | Feb 1981 | A |
| 4266382 | Tellman | May 1981 | A |
| 4267679 | Thompson | May 1981 | A |
| 4272939 | Herzfeld et al. | Jun 1981 | A |
| 4301633 | Neumann | Nov 1981 | A |
| 4327528 | Fritz | May 1982 | A |
| 4424655 | Trostle | Jan 1984 | A |
| 4433516 | Fricker | Feb 1984 | A |
| 4529174 | Pickett | Jul 1985 | A |
| 4546584 | Mieyal et al. | Oct 1985 | A |
| 4553366 | Guerin | Nov 1985 | A |
| 4555885 | Raymond et al. | Dec 1985 | A |
| 4563381 | Woodland | Jan 1986 | A |
| 4619100 | Emblin | Oct 1986 | A |
| 4669238 | Kellis | Jun 1987 | A |
| 4712351 | Kasprzak | Dec 1987 | A |
| 4741136 | Thompson | May 1988 | A |
| 4814301 | Steinmann et al. | Mar 1989 | A |
| 4877672 | Shreiner | Oct 1989 | A |
| 4879854 | Handler | Nov 1989 | A |
| 4930287 | Volk | Jun 1990 | A |
| 4977718 | Hoffman, Sr. | Dec 1990 | A |
| 5050663 | Rhoads et al. | Sep 1991 | A |
| 5070670 | Alderson | Dec 1991 | A |
| 5083405 | Miller | Jan 1992 | A |
| 5094051 | Miller | Mar 1992 | A |
| 5115603 | Blair | May 1992 | A |
| 5150555 | Wood | Sep 1992 | A |
| 5202994 | Begur et al. | Apr 1993 | A |
| 5224318 | Kemerer | Jul 1993 | A |
| 5313755 | Koenig, Jr. | May 1994 | A |
| 5333433 | Porambo et al. | Aug 1994 | A |
| 5339608 | Hollis | Aug 1994 | A |
| 5363623 | King | Nov 1994 | A |
| 5394672 | Seem | Mar 1995 | A |
| 5406765 | Brown | Apr 1995 | A |
| 5450694 | Goranson et al. | Sep 1995 | A |
| 5496598 | Delisle et al. | Mar 1996 | A |
| 5502930 | Burkette et al. | Apr 1996 | A |
| 5502938 | Backer | Apr 1996 | A |
| 5564245 | Rademacher | Oct 1996 | A |
| 5628158 | Porter | May 1997 | A |
| 5729946 | Beck | Mar 1998 | A |
| 5857303 | Beck et al. | Jan 1999 | A |
| 5887403 | Beck | Mar 1999 | A |
| 6000185 | Beck et al. | Dec 1999 | A |
| 6014849 | Yonemura | Jan 2000 | A |
| 6032426 | Tamlyn | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6073406 | Kearney | Jun 2000 | A |
| 6122876 | Bado | Sep 2000 | A |
| 6134855 | Beck | Oct 2000 | A |
| 6151855 | Campbell | Nov 2000 | A |
| 6170214 | Treister et al. | Jan 2001 | B1 |
| 6178708 | Porter | Jan 2001 | B1 |
| 6315489 | Watanabe et al. | Nov 2001 | B1 |
| 6316087 | Lehan | Nov 2001 | B1 |
| 6332296 | Moscovitch | Dec 2001 | B1 |
| 6425218 | Doyon et al. | Jul 2002 | B1 |
| 6488792 | Mathien | Dec 2002 | B2 |
| 6630531 | Khandpur et al. | Oct 2003 | B1 |
| 6719363 | Erlandsson et al. | Apr 2004 | B2 |
| 20010004821 | Kaneko et al. | Jun 2001 | A1 |
| 20010025463 | Rudduck | Oct 2001 | A1 |
| 20010047741 | Gleeson et al. | Dec 2001 | A1 |
| 20020023398 | Ito | Feb 2002 | A1 |
| 20020088584 | Merkley et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020158325 | Yano et al. | Oct 2002 | A1 |
| 20030046891 | Colada et al. | Mar 2003 | A1 |
| 20030054123 | Black et al. | Mar 2003 | A1 |
| 20030056458 | Black et al. | Mar 2003 | A1 |
| 20030074846 | Tollenaar | Apr 2003 | A1 |
| 20040078890 | Tavivian | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040082700 | Khandpur et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 40 04 103 | Aug 1991 | DE |
| 0 342 886 | Nov 1989 | EP |
| 1 020 504 | Jul 2000 | EP |
| 1263576 | Feb 1972 | GB |
| 1 353 902 | May 1974 | GB |
| 2 269 833 | Feb 1994 | GB |
| 03279547 | Mar 1990 | JP |
| 0 418 9958 | Jul 1992 | JP |
| 08218503 | Aug 1996 | JP |
| 11247306 | Feb 1998 | JP |
| 2000170349 | Dec 1998 | JP |
| 2002220910 | Jan 2001 | JP |
| WO 8705327 | Sep 1987 | WO |
| WO 8706967 | Nov 1987 | WO |
| WO 9013402 | Nov 1990 | WO |
| WO 9205327 | Apr 1992 | WO |
| WO 0233191 | Apr 2002 | WO |
| WO 02055806 | Jul 2002 | WO |
| WO 03012224 | Feb 2003 | WO |
| WO 2004018799 | Mar 2004 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20040231252 A1 | Nov 2004 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60471700 | May 2003 | US |
