Information
-
Patent Grant
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6298620
-
Patent Number
6,298,620
-
Date Filed
Monday, April 10, 200024 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, October 9, 200122 years ago
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Inventors
-
-
Examiners
- Stephan; Beth A.
- Dorsey; Dennis L.
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 052 3021
- 052 3023
- 052 3026
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A moisture control panel is used in exterior walls. A wall constructed with the panel has an inner back-up wall component and an outer wall component of a moisture pervious material, for example stucco. The moisture control panel is positioned between the two. It has a base sheet on the inner face of the outer wall component. A set of drying perforations slope downwardly toward the inside through this sheet. This drains moisture from the inside of the outer wall component. On the inside, the base sheet has a set of upwardly sloping bosses which provide an air space on the inside of the moisture control panel providing for air circulation and drainage of any moisture.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the construction of exterior building walls and more particularly to a moisture control panel for exterior walls.
BACKGROUND
With certain types of exterior building walls, moisture penetration from the outside, generally as a result of rain, can be a problem. For example, with stucco, the moisture can penetrate the stucco to the underlying structure of the wall, creating a potential for leakage and damage to the wall.
The present invention is concerned with a moisture control panel that ameliorates this problem.
SUMMARY
According to the present invention there is provided a moisture control panel for use in exterior walls, said panel comprising:
a base sheet having top and bottom ends and inner and outer faces;
a plurality of drying perforations distributed over and extending through the base sheet from the outer face to the inner face; and
a plurality of bosses projecting from the inner face of the sheet.
The panel is placed in the wall under the outer layer of the wall. This allows moisture to leave the outer layer through the inner face, migrating through the drying perforations to the air space provided by the bosses projecting from the inner face of the moisture control panel.
To minimise the transfer of moisture from the inner face of the moisture control panel to the underlying inner wall structure, the bosses may be made to slope upwardly away from the inner face. They are preferably tapered to flat end faces lying in a common plane to support the moisture control panel at a fixed distance from the backing wall structure.
The drying perforations may slope downwards towards the inner face to aid in draining moisture away from the wet outer layer of the wall. Moisture capture is improved by recesses in the outer face of the moisture control panel into which the drying perforations open, near the bottom of each recess.
The base sheet is preferably made in standard panel sizes, for example 4 ft.×8 ft. or 1200 mm×2400 mm.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a wall having:
an inner back-up wall component;
a moisture pervious outer wall; and
a moisture control panel comprising a base sheet overlying an inner face of the outer wall, a plurality of drying perforations extending through the moisture control panel and a plurality of bosses on an inner face of the base sheet engaging the back-up wall component.
The moisture control panel may be configured as described above. In preferred embodiments, vents at the top and bottom ends of the moisture control panel vent the air space provided by the bosses.
The outer wall may be a cementitious material, for example stucco.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the present invention:
FIG. 1
is an isometric view of a moisture control panel from the front;
FIG. 2
is a detail of a portion of the panel;
FIG. 3
is cross-section along line
3
—
3
of
FIG. 2
;
FIG. 4
is an isometric view of the panel from the back;
FIG. 5
is a cross-section of a wall;
FIG. 6
is a cross-section of a wall above an opening; and
FIG. 7
is a cross-section of another embodiment of the wall at the base.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a moisture control panel
10
. The panel has a rectangular base sheet
12
sized to match standard building panels. This base sheet
12
has a top end
14
, a bottom end
16
, two side edges
18
, a rectangular inner face
20
and a parallel, rectangular outer face
22
. Extending through the panel is a rectangular array of drying perforations
24
. Each of the perforations slopes towards the bottom end
16
from the inner face
20
to the outer face
22
.
On its outer face
22
the base sheet has a set of recesses
26
, one for each of the perforations
24
. The recesses are positioned so that each of the perforations will open into the bottom of a respective one of the recesses.
A set of bosses
28
projects from the inner face of the base sheet
12
. Each boss tapers in cross-section from its base
30
at the face of the base sheet to its free end
32
. The free end is a flat face parallel to the inner face of the base sheet.
FIGS. 5
,
6
and
7
illustrate the incorporation of the moisture control panel into a wall
34
.
Referring to
FIG. 5
, the wall is set on a foundation
36
. It includes a backup wall
37
including floor and ceiling plates
38
and
39
and a set of vertical studs
40
, one of which is illustrated. On the outside of this wall framing is plywood sheathing
42
covered on the outside by a tar paper membrane
44
. At the bottom of the wall, outside the plywood sheathing and above the foundation
36
is sheet metal flashing
46
.
On the outside of the tar paper membrane is a moisture control panel
10
. It is held in place by fasteners
48
through the panel
10
and selected ones of the bosses
28
, into the plywood sheathing
42
. At the top and bottom of the panel
10
are vents
50
and
51
. Each vent is a notch formed in the end of the panel to provide air circulation through the space provided by the bosses
28
.
On the outside of the moisture control panel is a wire mesh
52
supporting a layer of stucco
54
.
A similar wall construction is illustrated in
FIG. 6
, where the wall is mounted above a window frame header
56
.
FIG. 7
illustrates another embodiment of the wall in which a layer of rigid insulation
58
is installed over the tar paper membrane
44
and under the moisture control panel
10
.
In damp weather conditions, when the stucco layer
54
of the wall becomes laden with moisture, water on the inside of the stucco may be collected in the recesses
26
and drained through the perforations
24
. On the inside of the moisture control panel base sheet, moisture will run down to and off the flashing. The drying perforations and the air space provided by the bosses
28
provide for drying of the stucco layer on the inside as well as on the outside, providing a more uniform and rapid drying of the wall. This keeps water away from the underlying backing wall to minimise any rain damage that might otherwise occur.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been described in the foregoing, it is to be understood that other embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention. For example, the orientation of the drying perforations may differ from that of the described embodiment. They may extend horizontally through the pane, or slope upwardly to the inside. The latter orientation may be beneficial for manufacturing purposes with a moulded panel. Thus, the invention is to be considered limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A moisture control panel for use in the exterior walls, said panel comprising:a base sheet having top and bottom ends and inner and outer faces; a plurality of drying perforations distributed over and extending through the base sheet; and a plurality of bosses projecting from the inner face of the sheet.
- 2. A moisture control panel according to claim 1 wherein the bosses slope outwardly from the inner face towards the top end of the sheet.
- 3. A moisture control panel according to claim 2 wherein the bosses taper in cross section away from the sheet.
- 4. A moisture control panel according to claim 3 wherein the bosses have free ends parallel to the inner face of the sheet.
- 5. A moisture control panel according to claim 1 wherein the bosses have free ends parallel to the inner face of the sheet.
- 6. A moisture control panel according to claim 1 wherein the drying perforations slope towards the bottom end of the sheet in a direction from the outer face to the inner face.
- 7. A moisture control panel according to claim 1 including recesses in the outer face at the ends of respective ones of the drying perforations.
- 8. A moisture control panel according to claim 7 wherein the drying perforations open into bottom ends of the recesses.
- 9. A wall having:an inner back-up wall component; a moisture pervious outer wall; and a moisture control panel comprising a base sheet overlying an inner face of the outer wall, a plurality of drying perforations extending through the moisture control panel and a plurality of bosses on an inner face of the base sheet engaging the back-up wall component.
- 10. A wall according to claim 9 wherein the drying perforations are distributed over the base sheet and slope downwardly from the outer wall component towards the inner face of the base sheet.
- 11. A wall according claim 9 wherein the bosses slope upwardly from the inner face of the base sheet towards the back-up wall component.
- 12. A wall according to claim 9 wherein the bosses taper in cross-sectional dimension away from the inner face of the sheet.
- 13. A wall according to claim 9 wherein the bosses have free ends parallel to the inner face of the sheet.
- 14. A wall according to claim 9 including recesses in an outer face of the sheet at the ends of respective ones of the drying perforations.
- 15. A wall according to claim 14 wherein the drying perforations open into the bottom ends of the recesses.
- 16. A wall according to claim 9 including at least one vent in a bottom end of the base sheet.
- 17. A wall according to claim 9 wherein the outer wall component comprises a cementitious material.
- 18. A wall according to claim 17 wherein the outer wall component comprises stucco.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
4674249 |
Bennett, Jr. |
Jun 1987 |
|
6155013 |
Kim |
Dec 2000 |
|
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2249509 |
Apr 2000 |
CA |