Patent Application
20060272224
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to construction tools and, more particularly, to a tool for positioning a molding on a corner.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Many homes being built today are covered with stucco or tabby. These homes have external corners which require the installation of corner molding prior to the application of stucco or tabby. However, corner molding is flexible and care must be taken during installation that the corner molding does not flex in a manner that results in a finished corner that is wavy or irregular rather than straight. Also, care must be taken that the corner molding is not pushed too forcefully onto the corner or the corner molding will not be seated properly and the sides of the corner molding will splay outward, which will prevent the proper application of the mud, stucco and/or tabby. Further, care must taken that the corner molding is pressed forcefully enough onto the corner or the corner molding will not be seated properly and, after nailing, the corner of the corner molding will be forced into an acute angle point, which will be weak and misshapen, and any mud, stucco and/or tabby applied will be more susceptible to fracture and breakage.
Currently, there is no tool to assist with the installation of the corner molding. A common practice is to hammer a nail into the wall at the top of the corner and then hammer another nail into the wall at the bottom of the corner. A plumb bob may be used to ensure that the two nails are aligned vertically. A string is then attached to the two nails. The installer then uses the string as a guide to align the corner molding and then nails the corner molding into place on the wall at several points, such as by using a nail gun, generally starting at middle of the corner molding and working alternately toward the top and bottom ends of the molding. The string helps the installer to ensure that the corner molding is not flexed and is attached in a straight manner. However, this is a slow process, often taking up to 15 minutes to install a single section of corner molding. After the corner molding has been installed and smoothed over with “mud”, as that term is used in the construction industry, the stucco or tabby finish coating can be applied. The mud is applied to the corner molding, including the crevasses and openings therein to provide a proper surface for the application of the stucco or tabby coating.
The present invention provides a tool for the installation of corner molding. Briefly stated, the tool allows the installer to quickly and accurately align the corner molding. With the present invention, it may take 3 minutes or less to install a section of the corner molding.
The tool has a mainstay and first and second positioning members, and an optional handle. The mainstay has first and second longitudinal sections joined along a corner having a predetermined angle. A positioning member has a top surface which is approximately parallel to the longitudinal section. The tool is used to align corner molding on an external corner joining first and second wall sections where the corner molding has first and second sections joined at a corner. The positioning members press against the corner molding to align the corner of the corner molding with the external corner.
The tool may have one or more of the following features: a positioning member may have a bottom surface which is attached to a longitudinal section by an attachment device, such as, but not limited to, a screw; a positioning member may be made unitary with the mainstay; a positioning member may have an internal side surface and an angled face, the angled face joining the internal side surface and the top surface; a positioning member may have an angled face joining the bottom surface and the top surface; the predetermined angle of the corner of the mainstay may be approximately 90 degrees; and/or the predetermined angle of the corner of the mainstay may have an angle approximately equal to the counterpart of the predetermined angle of the external corner.
The Wall Sections 52.
The wall sections 52A, 52B are preferably joined at a corner 51 and at an exterior angle 55. If the walls are joined at an approximately 90 degree angle, the exterior angle 55 will normally be approximately 270 degrees. However, it will be appreciated that the design or construction of the house may call for or require a different angle.
The Corner Molding 50.
The corner molding 50 has first and second longitudinal sections 53A, 53B, respectively, typically joined at a protruding corner 54 at an angle 57. The angle 57 is the counterpart to the external angle 55. In most cases, the external angle 55 will be approximately 270 degrees so the angle 57 will be approximately 90 degrees. The corner molding, well known to those of skill in the art, is not a solid piece of material but is more in the form of a lattice, as shown by the exemplary lattice section 59 in
The Mainstay 11.
The mainstay 11 has first and second longitudinal sections 12A and 12B, respectively, joined at an angle 14 at an internal corner 13. The angle 14 is the counterpart to the external angle 55 discussed below. In most cases, the external angle 55 will be approximately 270 degrees so the angle 14, like the angle 57, will preferably be approximately 90 degrees.
In one embodiment, the mainstay 11 is a six-inch length of ⅛-inch thick angle iron, with longitudinal sections 12A, 12B each preferably having a width of approximately 1-½ inches, each positioning member 16 is a six-inch length of ¾-inch thickness wood (commonly called 1-inch thick wood), and the attachment devices 22 are decking screws cut to a length of approximately one-inch. However, the materials used for this embodiment were those conveniently available to the inventor and other materials may be used.
The mainstay 11 may be any desired length. However, if it is too short, then the speed and accuracy of installation may suffer and, if it is too long, it may be too unwieldy or too heavy to be used efficiently or for long periods or too flexible over its length to properly align the corner molding. Likewise, the mainstay 11 may made of any material which has sufficient stiffness over its selected length to align the corner molding and sufficient durability to withstand repeated use and, preferably, some degree of misuse, for example, an occasional hit by a misguided hammer, being dropped on the floor, or being tossed to the side when not needed. For example, the mainstay 11 may be made of iron, steel, aluminum, other suitably hard and stiff metal, wood, a suitably hard and stiff plastic, etc. If the material lacks adequate stiffness, then the alignment may suffer. If the material is not sufficiently durable the tool may have to be repaired or replaced with an undesirable frequency. However, it may also be desirable to make the tool with less durable materials so as to reduce the cost of the tool and make the tool a disposable item.
The Positioning Members 16.
The positioning members 16A and 16B are attached to the first and second longitudinal sections 12A and 12B, respectively, of the mainstay 11 by attachment devices 22A and 22B, respectively. A positioning member, such as member 16A, preferably has a bottom surface 17A having a width of approximately 1-¾ inch, an internal side surface 18A having a height of approximately 5/16 inch, a top surface 19A having a width of approximately 1-⅛ inch, an angled face 20A, and an external side surface 24A having a height of approximately ¾ inch. The internal side surface 18A is preferably approximately one inch from the opposing longitudinal section 12B. At least a portion of the bottom surface 17A is in contact with the longitudinal section 12A. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the bottom surface 17A extends beyond the end of the longitudinal section 12A. However, this is a design choice and the bottom surface 17A could extend even with, or not extend to, the end of the longitudinal section 12A. The length of a positioning member 16 is selected to be, preferably, approximately the same length as the mainstay 11, but may be somewhat shorter or longer, if desired.
A positioning member 16 may be removably or permanently attached to the mainstay 11, as desired. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the attachment devices 22 are screws. However, it will be appreciated that the attachment devices 22 may be any desired and appropriate means including, but not limited to, bolts, rivets, adhesive, adhesive strips, posts and sockets included as part of the positioning members 16 and mainstay 11, etc. A positioning member 16 may be any desired length and material, subject to the same considerations above as for the mainstay 11. A positioning member 16 may also be made of other materials, such as Teflon™.
The Optional Handle 23.
The optional handle 23 allows the installer to conveniently hold and use the tool 10 and is preferred. However, the tool 10 may be used, if desired, without the optional handle 23. If used without the optional handle 23, the tool is easily grasped and used by the user, such as by placing one or more fingers into the area 25A formed by the overlap of section 12A and positioning member 16A, and by placing the thumb into the area 25B formed by the overlap of section 12B and positioning member 16B, or vice versa, depending upon which hand the user desires to use to hold the tool 10. The design of the optional handle 23 is exemplary and other handle designs may be used, as desired, limited only by the need for the handle, if used, to be functional. The optional handle 23 may be fastened to the mainstay 11 by any desired and appropriate means, or may be made unitary with the mainstay 11. The optional handle 23 may be any material, subject to the same considerations above as for the mainstay 11.
Variations Of The Positioning Members 16.
However, the shape of a positioning member 16 is not extremely critical. For example, in the exemplary embodiment of
Further, the widths of the surfaces are not critical but the width of the top surfaces 19 should be large enough to cover enough of the first and second longitudinal sections 53A, 53B of the corner molding 50 to prevent splaying and pointing. Preferably, positioning members 16A and 16B do not make contact with each other so as to leave a space to accommodate the protruding corner 54 of the corner molding 50. However, this is not a requirement as, in another exemplary embodiment, the angled faces 20A, 20B are used to accommodate the protruding corner 54 and then the bottom surfaces 17A, 17B of the two positioning members 16A and 16B may make contact with each other, or not, as desired.
Further, in another exemplary embodiment, the mainstay 11 and the positioning members 16A, 16B may, if desired, be fabricated as a unitary device so that fastening devices 22A, 22B may be eliminated.
Use Of The Tool 10.
Turn now to
The installer could also start at one end (top or bottom) of the corner molding 50, use the tool 10 to align that section of the corner molding 50 with the wall 52, nail in both sides of that section of the corner molding 50 in that area, move the tool 10 down (or up) to the next section of the corner molding 50, and then repeat the process until the installer has nailed the entire length of the corner molding 50 to the wall 52.
Referring to
Further, the positioning members 16 reduce the likelihood that the sides of the corner molding 50 will splay out from the installer applying too much force to seat the corner molding 50 onto the corner 51. In addition, the positioning members 16 force the corner molding 50 to seat deep enough with respect to the corner 51 so that the likelihood of an acute point on the corner 54 of the corner molding 50 is reduced. Once that section of the corner molding 50 is thus aligned and seated, the installer can install a nail 58A just above and a nail 58B just below that section of the corner molding 50, preferably on both sides of the corner molding 50. That section of the corner molding 50 is generally inaccessible for nailing at that time because the tool 10 covers that section of the corner molding 50. The installer can then remove the tool 10 and install any additional nails desired in the corner molding 50, or the installer can move or slide the tool 10 to the next section of the corner molding, repeat the process for that next section, etc., and then install any additional desired nails after some, most or all of the sections have been nailed into place.
Also, one method of using the tool is to push the inside corner (not numbered separately) of the corner molding 50 until the outside corner 54 of the corner molding 50 just touches the inside corner 13 of the tool 10 and the corner molding 50 locks in place.
Thus, the installer has not had to nail in marker nails at the top and bottom of the wall sections, use a plumb bob or string to align the marker nails, install a string to align the corner molding, or remove the marker nails and the alignment string after the corner molding has been installed. The installer simply presses a section of the corner molding 50 into place using the tool 10, nails that section of the corner molding 50 into place, such as by using a nail gun, and then moves on to the next section of the corner molding 50. Thus, the corner molding 50 can be installed quickly and accurately.
The present invention therefore provides a tool for rapid and accurate installation of corner molding on a wall. Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail herein, other variations may occur to those reading this disclosure without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the claims.
