Patent Grant
7634883
The present invention relates to flexible joints for application at the coincidence of two different materials on the exterior of a structure and more particularly to such a flexible joint at the area where a stucco finish or the like is applied over the joint at the second floor line where the block transitions to a different material.
In the construction of buildings having exterior finishes of stucco, or the like, is necessary to preserve the integrity of the over-applied stucco finish in the transition area where two dissimilar materials, such as wood and concrete meet. This area of transition is commonly termed the floor line. As a result of the different coefficients of expansion between the concrete portion and the wood portion, a flexible joint is sometimes provided to accommodate movement that occurs between these two portions of the structure. Such flexible joints are commonly referred to as transition joints or control beads. As the floor line typically extends around the entire periphery or a large potion of a structure, the transition joints are typically supplied in long lengths to facilitate rapid covering of the floor line.
A transition joint for use on the exterior wall of a building was disclosed in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/324,996, which is commonly owned by the assignee of the present invention and the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference thereto. The transition joint disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/324,996 included a first and second vertical flange separated by a generally W-shaped central portion including a first, second, third, and fourth leg. The area between the third and fourth legs included a first transition zone. A longitudinal drip edge was provided extending downward from the first transition zone and a bulbous longitudinal eyebrow was provided extending downward from the fourth leg of the W-shaped central portion. The longitudinal drip edge provided a place for rain or condensation to gather and drop without infiltrating the transition joint. The bulbous longitudinal eyebrow provided a structure for increasing adhesion of stucco to the second vertical flange and to the area underneath the W-shaped central portion.
Although the transition joint described in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/324,996 did include better water shedding abilities and did improve the adhesion of stucco to the second vertical flange, further improvement in the performance of the transition joint are effected by increasing the length of the drip edge, replacing the bulbous eyebrow with a T-shaped member to include more surface area and more convoluted surfaces for adhering to stucco, and the inclusion of a floor line alignment guide for enabling an installer to accurately align the transition joint with the floor line to enable an accurate installation on the building to insure that the transition joint is properly positioned to allow moisture to migrate down and be shed away from the wall.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a transition joint having a floor line alignment guide to enable accurate alignment of the transition joint with respect to the floor line of a building thereby creating maximum effectiveness for protecting the outer surface of a building against surface fissures from expansion and contraction. As the individual floor line transition joints are supplied in long lengths, such as 10 feet or more, two installers typically work together in installing the joints. The floor line alignment guide speeds up the installation task significantly as it allows the installer at each end to rapidly align the alignment guide with the floor line, thereby reducing guesswork and misalignment of the transition joint.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a transition joint that includes a substantially longer drip edge to improve shedding of water and inhibit infiltration of water into the stucco layer below the joint and also to mask more of the V-channel.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a transition joint that includes a T-shaped extension that further enhances the adhesion of stucco to the flange and area beneath the joint.
According to the present invention there is provided a transition joint comprising: 1) a generally W-shaped central portion including first, second, third and fourth legs; 2) a first vertical flange extending upwardly form the first leg of the W-shaped central portion; 3) a second vertical flange extending downwardly from the fourth leg of the W-shaped central portion; 4) a first transition zone or land between the first and second legs and a second transition zone between the third and fourth legs; 5) a longitudinal drip edge of substantial length extending downward from the first transition zone; 6) a T-shaped stucco anchor extending downward from the fourth leg intermediate the second transition zone and the second vertical flange; and 7) a floor line alignment guide extending longitudinally along the first vertical flange. The floor line alignment guide provides accurate positioning of the transition joint with respect to a building in order to create proper clearance for runoff of rainwater and condensation and prevent infiltration of rainwater into the floor line.
Referring to
Second 88 and third 88 legs of the W-shaped central portion 82 form a V-channel 112 that faces the front of the transition joint 80. First vertical flange 92 is preferably between 2.5 and 4.5 inches high while second vertical flange 94 is preferably between 1.5 and 2.5 inches high. Legs 84, 86, 88, and 90 should be of a length adequate to provide a fixed support for stucco on the order of ⅜ to ⅞ of an inch. Typically, stucco (not shown) is spread across the front surface 106 of first vertical flange 92 to the extent indicated by dashed line 114 and stucco is spread across the front surface 108 of second vertical flange 94 to the extent indicated by dashed line 116. Since the thickness of stucco applied over the framed portion is generally greater than that applied over the concrete portion, legs 84 and 86 are longer than legs 88 and 90 to provide surfaces that are adequate to support the varying stucco thicknesses. Legs 84 and 86, being longer than legs 88 and 90, direct rain and condensation runoff beyond legs 88 and 90 and therefore beyond the lower stucco layer, which will be at expected extent 116.
The T-shaped stucco anchor 102 includes a base portion 118 that extends a substantial distance downward from the fourth leg 90 and an end portion 120 that is generally perpendicular to the base portion 118. The base portion 118 and end portion 120 provide substantial surface area for stucco (not shown) to adhere to once it is spread along the front surface 108 of the second vertical flange 94. The end portion 120 is preferably at least 0.10 inch in length.
By providing a longitudinal drip edge 100 of substantial length, as shown in
With reference to
With reference to
Normal variation in temperature causes significant daily expansion and contraction of building structures. During daily changes in temperature, the framed portion of a building will expand and contract at a different rate than the concrete portion as a result of their different materials of construction. The joint between the framed portion and the concrete portion is typically referred to as the floor line. Transition joints are therefore installed on a structure to provide a flexible joint that is capable of flexing vertically to absorb the differences in expansion and contraction of the two portions of the structure. One critical aspect of installing a transition joint is achieving the proper alignment of the transition joint with respect to the floor line. Misalignment of the transition joint with respect to the floor line is a frequent mistake made by installers and can lead to water or condensation leaking into the floor line of the structure.
With reference to
With reference to
As shown in
While transition joint 80 can be manufactured from a wide variety of materials including metals such as aluminum or copper, it is preferred for purposes of cost and ease of manufacture that it be fabricated from an extrudable polymeric material such as polyvinyl chloride or the like.
As the invention has been described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the same may be varied in many ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Any and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.
This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/324,996 filed Jan. 3, 2006 and now abandoned.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1030044 | Wittbecker | Jun 1912 | A |
| 1555392 | Tracy et al. | Sep 1925 | A |
| 1954847 | Scholer et al. | Apr 1934 | A |
| 2298251 | Burson | Oct 1942 | A |
| 3568391 | Conway | Mar 1971 | A |
| 3672108 | Conway | Jun 1972 | A |
| 4391074 | Holsman | Jul 1983 | A |
| 4651488 | Nicholas et al. | Mar 1987 | A |
| 5365713 | Nicholas et al. | Nov 1994 | A |
| 5477643 | Koenig, Jr. | Dec 1995 | A |
| 5491936 | Logan et al. | Feb 1996 | A |
| 5628857 | Baerveldt | May 1997 | A |
| 5630297 | Rutherford | May 1997 | A |
| 6293064 | Larson | Sep 2001 | B1 |
| 6298609 | Bifano et al. | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6374559 | Rutherford | Apr 2002 | B1 |
| 6385932 | Melchiori | May 2002 | B1 |
| 6491468 | Hagen | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 6591559 | Contreras et al. | Jul 2003 | B2 |
| 6893187 | Lehto et al. | May 2005 | B2 |
| 7284357 | McInerney et al. | Oct 2007 | B2 |
| 20060150553 | Reyes et al. | Jul 2006 | A1 |
| 20060277841 | Majusiak | Dec 2006 | A1 |
| 20070062137 | Maylon | Mar 2007 | A1 |
| 20070130861 | Chenier et al. | Jun 2007 | A1 |
| 20080016808 | Pilz | Jan 2008 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11324996 | Jan 2006 | US |
| Child | 11475643 | US |
