Patent Application
20060117694
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to building siding attachment clips, and more particularly, to attachment clips able to withstand the temperature extremes of weather conditions while permitting the building siding attached by the clips to freely expand and contract and not affect the attachment.
2. Background Art
Attachment of building siding to outer or external walls is required to meet several criteria, among which is the ability to maintain the integrity of the siding attachment, even when experiencing extremes in weather conditions, such as temperature or high winds. Siding for buildings may comprise any of a number of materials, such as aluminum, wood, vinyl, etc., and the expansion and contraction of these materials may often affect the siding attachment or connection by repeated stresses on the attachment mechanism that retains the siding against the wall to which it is attached. Especially in temperate climates, where temperature may range from well below 0° F. to over 100° F., the repeated stress on the attachment mechanism may externally detach one or more attachment means so that it becomes possible for a strong wind to blow off one or more siding strips, thereby risking further damage and requiring repair or replacement of the siding.
Most external walls require attachment mechanisms, e.g., screws, nails, etc., which may be easily inserted, for example, into walls having a wood panel or similar underlayment. However, it has been especially difficult to attach siding to walls made of concrete blocks, bricks, stucco, stone or similar materials, hereinafter referred to as concrete walls. In order to ensure the integrity of the attachment mechanism to concrete walls, it has been general practice to provide a secondary structural framework comprising an easily attachable material, such as wood, to the underlying concrete wall, and then to attach the siding onto the secondary framework. One preferred form of this type of framework, referred to in the siding installation industry as firring, includes attaching or firring a plurality of wood strips, usually 1″×4″ in dimension, vertically to the concrete wall at regular intervals, to provide an attachment framework to which the siding is then horizontally attached in overlying layers. To fir all of the external walls of a building in order to provide the framework for siding attachment can become an overly expensive proposition, for example, costing approximately $4,000.00 for a typical residential building.
Although conventional clips, normally used for attaching siding to underlying surfaces made of wood are available, these mechanisms do not provide the integrity to the attachment when applied to a concrete wall. The conventional clips do not take into account the relative differences in expansion characteristics of the concrete wall, when compared to that of the siding, so that stresses develop as a result of the weather extremes described above. Moreover, the design of conventional attachment clips was not considered as suitable for use with concrete walls, and the shape and configuration of such clips cause the clips to come crack or otherwise deform when installing in concrete walls, as to contact the adjacent or overlying strip of siding, which contact adds significantly to the stresses which the attachment mechanism experiences. Especially in hot weather, such contact may even cause the siding itself to deform. What has been found necessary is an attachment clip that is designed specifically for attaching siding to concrete walls that significantly reduces or substantially eliminates stresses on the attachment mechanism, especially those generated by weather extremes.
Thus, what is described below, and claimed herein is an attachment clip for attaching siding to a wall, the siding having an attachment groove, comprising a nail attachment portion including a body having at least one part extending in a plane and having at least a predetermined thickness and a central nail attachment aperture, a siding engagement portion including a tongue configured and oriented for engagement with the siding attachment groove; and a connecting portion for connecting the nail attachment portion to the siding engagement portion, the connecting portion having at least one part extending away from the plane of the body at a first end and being connected to the siding engagement portion at a second end. Preferably the connection portion extends away from the plane defined by the body at an oblique angle, for example, between 120° to 150°, and most preferably about 135°.
Referring now to
Most standard siding 12 for installation on walls comprised slats or strips made from wood or other natural materials. More recently, strips of siding 12 have become available that are pre-formed, that is, that have a standard shape and size to facilitate their installation. For example, the siding 12 in
The siding 12 usually comprises an undulating surface 22 which includes a first curve 24, and a second curve 26, disposed below the first curve 24. The second curve terminates in a rim 28, that attaches into a crevice 30 formed in the undulating top portion of the next adjacent siding 12. Thus, the clips 10 hold down one siding strip 12, as shown, but through the attachment between the rim 28 of one strip 12 and the crevice 30 of the adjacent lower strip 12, also retain the ends of both strips 12 against the wall, while only actually coming into physical contact with one of the strip of siding 12.
The undulating upper portion of the siding strip 12 extends upwardly from the crevice 30 to double back and present a flat narrow portion or band 32 that is flush with the surface of the blocks 14, so as to retain the siding immediately adjacent the concrete wall. The narrow band 32 is essentially a flat narrow band having a width much narrower than the width of the strip 12, and includes a series of plural apertures 34 that extend through the material forming the strip 12. The apertures 34 provide the means for attachment of the clips 10 to connect the strip 12 to the blocks 14 on the wall, as will be explained below.
As can be seen from
The inventive features of the clips 10 will now be described, as well as the advantages and benefits deriving from those features. Specifically, the clips 10 are shaped and configured to provide a tight attachment to the siding, especially of the narrow band 32, to the outer surface of blocks 14. That is, the dimensions of the elements comprising the clip 10 are also predetermined to fit within a standard siding strip 12 and to withstand the impact stresses and strains of installation and attachment of the clip 10 to the blocks, as well as the stresses that result from weather extremes, such as excessive temperature and wind that are experienced in most localities, but especially more recently in temperature zones close to the sea.
The clip 10, in order to withstand expected stresses, comprises a plastic material that has high resistance to deformation or cracking and can maintain its shape and integrity without losing its ability to perform its function. That is, the inventive clip 10 will retain the attachment of the siding 12 to the blocks 14 in all types of conditions, including high winds and repeated fluctuations between excessively high and low temperatures and still maintain its integrity. An especially notable feature of the clips 10 is that the construction and materials tend to avoid nail pull through the nail slot aperture of the clip 10, and because the clip 10 is constructed to be attached with concrete or masonry nails, the nails can also withstand weather extremes without pulling loose from the attachment to the blocks 14.
Referring now to
The length dimension of the tongue 44 should be long enough to hold the siding in place, but also not so long as to severely deform the clip 10 when the nail attachment section 52 has been attached to the blocks 14 forming the wall due to the tongue stresses placed on the clip 10. Excessive deformation may result in the tongue 44 being unable to retain the siding 12 against the concrete wall 14.
The nail attachment section 52 preferably also comprises a sturdy and generally circular bead 54, including a concentric, circular aperture 56, for receiving the fastener 16 (
The connecting portion 62 incline with respect to the plane defined by the nail attachment portion 52, and extends from the portion 52 at a predetermined oblique angle defined at a first bend 64. The angle may be between 120° and 150° relative to the surface of portion 52, and is preferably about 135° relative thereto. After it reaches a predetermined height from the surface of the bead 54, another oblique angle of the same magnitude located at a bend 66 smoothly changes the direction of the connecting 62 to a projection 70 that is essentially parallel to the plane of the bead 54, as shown.
A preferred high impact plastic materials, such as amorphous thermoplastic materials, are well suited to provide the desirable characteristics for manufacture of the clips 10. It has been found that high flow polycarbonate materials are ideally suited for the clips 10, and such materials are available from Bayer Material Science, Klein Chemical Corporation, a subsidiary Division of Bayer Corporation, located in Trenton, N.J. and Whately, Mass., being sold under the names Bayer Polymers Makrolon® 2458 Polycarbonate.
These materials may be injection molded to the desired shape and are able to withstand temperature extremes without excessive shrinkage or deformation.
That is, when the clip 10 is placed upon the concrete wall 14 with the tongue 44 extending through a groove 34 (
A second embodiment that includes a number of variants in design relative to the clip 10 is shown in
Clip 110 also comprises three portions, including a siding engagement portion 142, a nail attachment portion 152 and a transition portion 162, connecting the two portions 142, 152. Subtle differences are evident when comprising the clip 10 with the clip 110. First, the nail attachment section 152 does not have a circular shape, but is semicircular at the top around a central aperture 156, but distinct transitional tab is present, the bead 154 running smoothly together into the first bead 164 of connection section 162, as shown. A second difference exists in the nose extension 168, extending beyond the attachment of the siding strip engagement portion 142 to the flat downwardly extending projection 170. Yet another design variant lies in the width of the rearwardly extending tongue 144, which is shown in the perspective view of
Other modifications, alterations or variants may be utilized by those having ordinary skill, for example, by utilizing some other material or shape, or for use with other building materials, as described above, to retain the siding against the wall or to provide for more automated installation, without departing from the scope of the present invention. Although the above description has been directed mostly toward the use of the inventive clip for attaching siding to concrete or cinder block walls, it is possible to use these types of clips in building having wood or other conventional materials, which can be utilized in extreme conditions. For example, the clip can be used on wood installations in areas that are subject to frequent high winds, e.g., the areas of the Mexican Gulf during hurricane season. Modification, for example using a screw to connect the inventive clip to a wood wall, may be required, so as to enable conventional wood installations to withstand the high winds experienced in such areas. Accordingly, the above embodiments are to be considered as being illustrative only, the invention being limited only by the following claims.
