Patent Application
20080289279
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The present disclosure relates to sheathing products and, more particularly, to a sheathing product with an overlay of a weather resistive barrier.
External insulation systems are used to insulate buildings. The installation of an external insulation system typically involves securing a sheathing product to the frame of a building. After the sheathing product is secured to the frame, a weather resistive barrier is then applied over the sheathing product in a separate step.
The weather resistive barrier is typically a film wrap that comes in the form of a roll. Application of the weather resistive barrier requires at least two people. One person unrolls the weather resistive barrier horizontally across the building while another person nails or staples it to the sheathing product. The weather resistive barrier is typically attached to the sheathing product beginning at the bottom of the building and working up such that an upper roll of film wrap overlaps the bottom roll of film wrap. Any tears, breaks, or holes created during the application are then repaired by taping or patching. In windy conditions, more than one person may be required to handle the roll of weather resistive barrier.
Once applied, the weather resistive barrier is then covered with an exterior finishing material, such as brick, wood siding, cement stucco, and others.
In one embodiment, a sheathing product is provided, the sheathing product having a structural substrate with two or more edges. The sheathing product also having a weather resistive barrier attached to the structural substrate prior to securing the structural substrate to a frame of a building. A part of the weather resistive barrier extends beyond an edge of the structural substrate to create a flap that allows the weather resistive barrier to be attached to an abutting sheathing product.
In another embodiment, a method of fabricating a sheathing product is provided. The method includes providing a structural substrate having two or more edges and attaching a weather resistive barrier to the structural substrate such that a part of the weather resistive barrier extends beyond the structural substrate along one or more edges. The weather resistive barrier is attached to the structural substrate prior to securing the structural substrate to a frame of a building.
In yet another embodiment, a method of insulating a joint between two sheathing products is provided. The method includes providing a first sheathing product having a weather resistive barrier attached to a structural substrate such that the weather resistive barrier of the first sheathing product overlaps the structural substrate at an edge and forms a flap along the overlapped edge. The method also includes providing a second sheathing product having a weather resistive barrier attached to a structural substrate. The method further includes securing the first sheathing product to a frame of a building and securing the second sheathing product to the frame of the building with the flap of the first sheathing product overlapping the second sheathing product. The method also includes adhering the flap of the first sheathing product to the weather resistive barrier of the second sheathing product such that a joint formed between the first and second sheathing products is insulated by the flap extending from the first sheathing product to the second sheathing product.
a and 4b illustrate front views of sheathing products with the overlay forming an overlapping region along a single edge of the substrate.
a and 6b illustrate front views of sheathing products with the overlay forming an overlapping region along three edges of the substrate.
In describing embodiments of the present disclosure, various terms used in the construction of external insulation systems are used.
As used herein, a substrate is any sheathing product that provides structural support. This may include, for example, gypsum board, fiberboard, oriented strand board (OSB), plywood, cement board, wood planks, foam boards—(ISO, EPS), and coated paperboard (wax or other—e.g. THERMO-PLY® brand products). The substrate may be of any dimension used in conjunction with conventional frame sections. For example, the substrate may be 4′×8′ or 4′×10′. The substrate of the present disclosure provides structural support as distinguished from interior insulation with a paper backing, which does not provide structural support.
A weather resistive barrier is any film wrap or felt designed to resist liquid moisture while allowing vapor transmission. The weather resistive barrier conforms to the ASTM E-96 water vapor transmission test and complies with the standards of the IRC 2003, Section R318 regarding vapor retarders. The weather resistive barrier can be, for example, TYVEK®, TYPAR®, DELTA-DRY®, polypropylenes, polyesters, or fiberglass filled with inorganic and/or organic compounds to provide a Class A burn surface.
As discussed above, prior art technology requires that application of the sheathing product to the frame of a building occurs as a separate step from the application of the weather resistive barrier. Accordingly, once the sheathing product is secured to the frame, construction of the building must stop until insulation tradesmen install the weather resistive barrier. Until the weather resistive barrier is completely installed, the interior of the building cannot be “dried in” and damage to other materials inside the building due to blowing rain at the job site can occur. Thus, applying the weather resistive barrier as a separate step results in additional time, labor, and materials. Also, because application techniques are often inconsistent within the trade, the quality of the application will depend on the application technique and skill of those installing the weather resistive barrier.
Another problem of the prior art is damage caused by wind on the weather resistive barrier during the construction process. Prior art technology uses individual staple or nail fasteners and with sufficient wind at the job site, the weather resistive barrier may tear away from the fasteners. The disclosed embodiments provide more extensive and consistent fastening of the weather resistive barrier to the sheathing and should provide better resistance to wind loads on the job site.
Accordingly, the present application discloses a system and method for applying the weather resistive barrier at the same time that the sheathing product is secured to the frame of a building. This is accomplished by having the weather resistive barrier applied to the sheathing board before it is secured to the frame. Thus, the additional time, labor, and materials involved in applying the weather resistive barrier as a separate step is eliminated, and a greater consistency in the application of the weather resistive barrier is provided.
In this disclosure, the bonding agent 102 which attaches the weather resistive layer 103 to the substrate 101 is referred to as glue, while the bonding agent 107 applied to the flap 105 is referred to as adhesive. This terminology is intended to distinguish the locations and desired functions of the bonding agents, not to indicate that they should necessarily be different materials. In some embodiments, they may be the same material. The term bonding agent is used to describe either or both of the glue 102 and adhesive 107.
It is noted that the figures in this disclosure are not drawn to scale and that certain aspects of the figures have been exaggerated for ease of illustration. For example, substrate 101 may be from one-eighth inch to 4 inches thick while overlay 103 may be from 0.004 inch (0.1 mm) to 0.030 inch (0.76 mm) thick, as measured in accordance with ASTM D1777.
In the above embodiment, overlay 103 is adhered to substrate 101 by applying a glue or bonding agent 102 between overlay 103 and substrate 101 in such a way as to allow permeability in overlay 103 and substrate 101. One of the advantages of gluing is that the combination of the overlay used and the gluing system 102 employed can be chosen to achieve a desired vapor transmission rate. Although gluing is disclosed in this embodiment, any method of attaching overlay 103 to substrate 101 until substrate 101 is secured to the frame of a building can be utilized as long as it allows for the desired permeability in overlay 103 and substrate 101. The method of attaching overlay 103 to substrate 101 may be temporary because the means for securing substrate 101 to the frame of a building, such as by nails or screws, will also secure overlay 103 to substrate 101. Overlay 103 and the system, e.g. glue 102, for adhering it to the substrate 101 may also provide increased strength to substrate 101. Overlay 103 and the system, e.g. glue 102, for adhering it to the substrate 101 may also provide increased insulation to the wall.
Flap 105 is wide enough to allow it to extend across a joint between the sheathing products and adhere to the adjacent sheathing product. In some embodiments, flap 105 may be from two to six inches wide. Also, the adhesive used in adhesive layer 107 may be any adhesive that complies with the standards of ASTM D 903 regarding peel or stripping strength of adhesive bonds. For example, the adhesive may be a polyethylene-to-polyethylene adhesive that complies with the standards of ASTM D 903. Other adhesives may also be suitable. Adhesive layer 107 may be applied over the entire area of flap 105 and may act as an additional liquid moisture barrier.
Although the above embodiments show flap 105 as having pre-applied adhesive layer 107 for adhering to an adjacent sheathing board, flap 105 may also be adhered by an adhesive layer that is applied to flap 105 at the job site. Such an adhesive layer may be applied, for example, using a caulking gun, a paint roller, or double-sided tape.
a and 4b illustrate front views of sheathing products with the overlay forming an overlapping region along a single edge of the substrate. In
a and 6b illustrate front views of sheathing products with the overlay forming an overlapping region along three edges of the substrate. In
As stated earlier, one of the advantages of gluing is that the combination of the selected overlay, bonding agent, and gluing pattern can be chosen to achieve a desired vapor transmission rate. Although the glue may only serve to temporarily attach the overlay to the substrate until the substrate is secured to the frame of a building, the glue may still block vapor transmission. Therefore, the gluing patterns in the above embodiments do not cover the entire underlying substrate to avoid blocking vapor transmission. The overlay and the gluing pattern may also be perforated to achieve a desired vapor transmission rate. In embodiments in which a substrate is covered with a fill coat of glue, glue which does not restrict permeability itself may be selected, or it may be pin pricked or perforated to achieve a desired permeability. Thus vapor permeability of the sheathing product may be controlled by selecting a vapor permeable overlay 103 or pin pricking or otherwise perforating the overlay 103, and by selecting a vapor permeable glue 102 or covering less than the entire surface of the substrate 101 with the glue 102 or pin pricking or otherwise perforating the glue 102, which pin pricking or perforating of the glue 102 may occur in the same process as pin pricking or perforating the overlay 103.
The adhesive 107 used to attach the flap of the first sheathing product to the weather resistive barrier overlay of the second and third sheathing products may differ from the glue 102 used to attach the overlay 103 to the underlying structural substrate 101 in that the adhesive 107 may be permanent and vapor-resistant. While the glue 102 only needs to hold until the sheathing product is secured to the frame of a building, the adhesive 107 desirably forms a permanent bond with the overlay of an adjacent sheathing product in order to properly insulate the joint between the two sheathing products during the life of the building. In order to properly insulate the joint, the adhesive 107 should also be water-resistant. Because the adhesive is primarily at the joint and does not cover the entire sheathing product, the adhesive 107 may be impermeable to vapor and may cover the entire flap without significantly affecting the overall vapor permeability of the sheathing product. This is in contrast to the glue 102 whose application over the entire substrate could significantly affect the overall vapor permeability of the sheathing product, unless a permeable glue is selected or it is pin pricked or perforated.
There are potential advantages of the disclosed embodiments as compared to the prior art methods for applying a weather resistive barrier to sheathing boards. For example, a one step process for installing both sheathing and a weather resistive barrier decreases labor cost and increases the speed of installation. Labor cost is decreased in that the disclosed embodiments decrease the number of trades that must be employed at the job site. The time for the total construction process is reduced because the exterior finishing material can be installed immediately after the sheathing product is secured to the frame without waiting for the insulation tradesmen to apply the weather resistive barrier. Material cost is also reduced in that there will not be any rolls of weather resistive barrier that remain unused at the end of a job. By installing the weather resistive barrier at the same time as the sheathing board, the interior of the building is “dried in” quicker and damage to other materials due to blowing rain on the job site would be reduced. The prior attachment of the weather resistive barrier to a defined sheathing board assures that the sheathing board will be compatible with the weather resistive barrier. Also, the disclosed embodiments provide better sealing of joints between sheathing boards that are not presently being directly sealed. The disclosed embodiments also assure consistency in coverage in that a full sheet barrier is provided everywhere a sheathing board is secured to the frame of a building.
While the weather resistive barrier overlay may be attached to the structural substrate at a job site, the advantages of the disclosed embodiments are best achieved when the weather resistive barrier overlay is attached to the structural substrate in good indoors working conditions that are not affected by the weather. This allows the production of the disclosed sheathing product to be efficient and consistent.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a bundle of the structural substrates is manufactured using an automated process. Once the bundle is manufactured, it may be taken to another area where a weather resistive barrier overlay may be manually attached to each structural substrate in the bundle. This would require that the structural substrates be bundled after manufacturing and unbundled during the application of the overlay. After the overlay is attached, the structural substrates are then bundled again for further processing or delivery.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, after the bundle is manufactured, it may be taken to another area where it is fed into another automated process that attaches a weather resistive barrier overlay to each structural substrate in the bundle. Again, this would require that the structural substrates be bundled after manufacturing, unbundled during the application of the overlay, and bundled again for further processing or delivery.
In yet another embodiment, the automated process that manufactures the structural substrates may feed directly into another automated process that applies the overlay to the structural substrates as they are being manufactured. The structural substrates would then come off the combined assembly line with the overlay already attached. This embodiment would eliminate the need to bundle and unbundle the sheathing products in order to apply the overlay.
In any of the above described assembly methods, the overlay material may be provided in various forms. For example, the overlay may be provided in a roll having a width equal to the width of a substrate 101 plus the width of flap 105. The overlay may then be fed from the rolls and glued to substrates. By cutting the unrolled sections of overlay, flaps may be provided one or both ends of a sheathing product as well as along a side. For bundling and shipping purposes, the flaps may be folded back onto the sheathing product so that a bundle of the products will have standard dimensions, e.g. four by eight feet. The folded flaps expose the appropriate surface of the flap 105 to facilitate application of the adhesive 107 and release strip 109.
If desired, the overlay 103 may be provided in precut sections having the appropriate dimensions to cover substrates 101 and provide the flaps or flaps 105. Such precut sections may have the adhesive 107 and release strips 109 preapplied. After such precut sections are glued to substrates 101, it may be desirable to fold the flaps 105 back onto the substrates 101 to provide conventional bundle sizes. A preapplied adhesive 107 and release strip 109 may stiffen the flaps 105 and thereby facilitate folding of the flaps 105 back onto the substrates 101.
While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods may be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intention is not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents. For example, the various elements or components may be combined or integrated in another system or certain features may be omitted, or not implemented.
Also, techniques, systems, subsystems and methods described and illustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may be combined or integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, or methods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Other items shown or discussed as directly coupled or communicating with each other may be coupled through some interface or device, such that the items may no longer be considered directly coupled to each other but may still be indirectly coupled and in communication, whether electrically, mechanically, or otherwise with one another. Other examples of changes, substitutions, and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in the art and could be made without departing from the spirit and scope disclosed herein.
