This relates to a support for sealing around a utility, and in particular, a support used during installation of building wrap material around a utility.
In building constructions, a weatherproof or vapor barrier may be installed the walls of the buildings, which may include interior walls, exterior walls, ceilings, or roofs. Building wrap, sometimes referred to as WRB (water-resistive barrier), is typically a flexible, foldable material similar to paper. Examples of WRB may include Tyvek™, tar paper, felt paper, etc. The vapor barrier may be polyethylene sheeting, that may be installed on the inside of an external wall, the bottom of a ceiling, or other interior surface. The barrier may be installed around penetrations, such as windows, doors, pipes, conduits, utilities, etc. that pass through the walls of the building. Utilities may include electrical conduits, plumbing conduits, vents, gas lines, water lines, electrical outlets, recessed lighting, in-wall or in-ceiling speakers, etc.
In some constructions, rigid sheeting material, such as plywood, etc., may be installed on the wall surface that underlies the building wrap and the finished surface of the wall, such as siding material. For example, with an exterior wall, plywood may be installed on the structural members of the wall to allow vinyl siding or other siding material to be installed. In other constructions, referred to as open stud construction, the building wrap may be installed directly onto the structural members and behind the siding material.
According to an aspect, there is provided a method of sealing around a penetration that extends out of a wall of a building, the wall comprising structural members separated by spaces and the penetration being positioned in one of the spaces, the method comprising the steps of: installing a weather barrier across the spaces between the structural members of the wall such that the weather barrier defines a wall surface and such that the penetration extends past the wall surface, the weather barrier comprising a flexible sheet of material; installing a backer support behind the weather barrier and adjacent to the penetration, the backer support extending at least partially across one or more and may be substantially smaller than an average one of the spaces; and sealing the penetration to the weather barrier by applying a sealing material around the penetration, the backer support being sufficiently rigid to support the weather barrier and the sealing material against pressure applied during installation.
According to other aspects, the method may comprise one or more of the following aspects, alone or in combination: the weather barrier may be attached directly to the structural members and closes the spaces when installed; the sealing material may comprise a sheet of flashing material surrounding the penetration, the sheet of flashing material being installed such that an upper portion is between the backer support and the weather barrier, and a lower portion overlies the weather barrier and the backer; the sealing material may comprise caulking, acoustical sealant, adhesive tape, a sheet of flashing material, a sheet of flashing material, or combinations thereof; the backer support may comprise folding flaps that fold away from the wall surface to increase the rigidity of the backer; the backer support may be attached to a single support member; the backer support may be attached between adjacent support members to increase the rigidity of the backer; the backer support may mounted to the penetration; the backer support may surround the penetration; and the structural members may be studs, trusses, beams, joists, or a utility support member.
According to an aspect, there is provided a building wall having structural members separated by spaces and a penetration positioned in one of the spaces that extends out of the building wall, the building wall comprising a weather barrier installed across the spaces between the structural members such that the weather barrier defines a wall surface and such that the penetration extends comprising a flexible sheet of material; a backer support installed behind the weather barrier and adjacent to the penetration; and a sealing material that seals between the penetration and the weather barrier, the backer support having sufficient rigidity to support pressure applied to the sealing material and the flexible sheet of material during installation of the sealing material.
According to other aspects, the building wall may comprise on or more of the following features, alone or in combination: the weather barrier may be attached directly to the structural members and closes the spaces when installed; the sealing material may comprise a sheet of flashing material surrounding the utility, the sheet of flashing material comprising an upper portion positioned between the backer support and the weather barrier, and a lower portion overlying the weather barrier and the backer; the sealing material may comprise caulking, acoustical sealant, adhesive tape, a sheet of flashing material, or combinations thereof; the backer support may comprise folding flaps that fold away from the wall surface to increase the rigidity of the backer support; the backer support may surround the penetration; the backer may be attached to a single support member; the backer may be attached between adjacent support members to increase the rigidity of the backer support; the backer may be mounted to the penetration; the structural members may be studs, trusses, beams, joists, or a utility support member.
In other aspects, the features described above may be combined together in any reasonable combination as will be recognized by those skilled in the art.
These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting, wherein:
A building wall with a penetration and a method of sealing around a penetration will now be described with reference to
Homes are often constructed with sheeting along the walls of the building, however in some circumstances, the structural members that define the wall, such as studs, trusses, beams, joists, etc. may be an open frame design, may have sheeting only on one side of the wall, or may have sheeting installed later in the construction process. The structural members may also include cross braces, or other intermediate pieces where the main function is to support a penetration rather than as a structural component of the wall. For example, a penetration that is positioned part way between two structural members may require an additional component to be installed to provide adequate support to the penetration. The structural member may also include the penetration or a portion of the penetration itself, such as the outer surface of a pipe, or the electrical box in which an electrical outlet, switch, etc. is installed.
In some new constructions, an open frame design may be used, an example of which is shown in
In the examples below, the building wall will be discussed generally in terms of a vertical wall made from studs, however the discussion will apply generally to interior surfaces, exterior surfaces, ceilings, etc. unless otherwise specified, or apparent from the context. In the context of an exterior wall, referring to
On exterior surface 20 of wall 16, it is necessary to seal around utility 12 and install building wrap 18 around penetration 12 such that water is directed away from the interior of the building. This may be accomplished using tape 26, a sheet of material 22 with an aperture that receives penetration 12, or both tape 26 and sheet of material 22. Sheet of material 22 may be flashing material. One example of a suitable sheet of material is described in Canadian patent application no. 2,789,045 (Coscarella) entitled “Seal for a Protrusion on an Exterior Wall”. Sheet of material 22 may be made from various suitable materials, which may include breathable and non-breathable material, flexible material, rigid material, or semi-rigid material. In one example, sheet 22 may be made from polyethylene. In general, sheet of material 22, tape 26, etc. seal against at least water, and may be referred to as sealing material herein, along with other types of sealing material. If both sheet 22 and tape 26 are used, flashing 22 may be installed on penetration 12 to provide a barrier that sheds water away from penetration 12, and building wrap 18 may be installed over and around penetration 12 in combination with flashing 22 to shed water away from the interior of the building. In this example, tape 26 may be applied between flashing 22 and building wrap 18 to provide a suitable seal against water, vapor, air, etc. as required. Referring to
Backer support 24 is substantially smaller than the space defined by the structural member, and is sized primarily based on the size of the sealing material being installed. For example, the size of backer support 24 may be selected to be sufficiently large to underlie the sealing material, plus an additional margin, and sufficiently large to allow backer support 24 to be attached to the wall. In addition, while backer support 24 is sufficiently supportive to allow the sealing material to be installed, backer support 24 may be insufficiently supportive to provide structural support to the wall of the building.
Another type of barrier may include a vapor barrier such as may be installed on an interior surface, such as in a ceiling, a basement wall, etc. that are formed by studs, trusses, beams, joists, cross braces, etc. While the weather barrier installed on an external surface of a building may be used primarily as a barrier against water and may be breathable in some cases, a vapor barrier is typically intended to prevent airflow, in which case air passages through the barrier are preferably closed and sealed. In this example, the sheet of material may be a vapour barrier hat, such as may be used to surround a pot light, a switch, speaker, or other penetration that may be installed in a wall or ceiling, and that ties in with the vapour barrier in the wall. Alternatively, the weather barrier may involve the use of a fluid sealant, such as an acoustical sealant, caulking, etc.
Referring to
Backer plate 24 may be fixed in place by either attaching it to the stud 14, or by attaching it to the flexible sheet of material 22 such that it underlies the flexible sheet of material 22. As can be seen, flashing tape 26 is applied to the sides and to the top of the flexible sheet 22. This allows to be installed using a “shingling” design to prevent moisture from entering the structure, although it will be understood that tape may be applied to all sides as well.
Referring to
Backer plate 24 may be installed such that penetration 12 itself, or a portion thereof, provides some or all the structural support required by backer plate 24. In this case, baker plate 24 may have a collar or other rigid connection that allows it to be rigidly attached to penetration 12. This may not be a sealed connection if backer plate 24 is rigid, which may make a seal difficult to form. In one example, backer plate 24 may have a frangible opening 30 that opens to allow penetration 12 to be inserted therethrough such that it engages penetration 12. The frangible opening 30 may be resilient such that it applies a clamping force onto penetration 12, or may be plastically deformed sufficiently to fit over penetration 12, and then engages penetration 12.
When installing backer plate 24, flexible sheet 22, and building wrap material 18, the components may be shingled to better shed water. For example, flexible sheet 22 may be placed on penetration 12 when penetration 12 is installed. When building wrap material 18 is installed, typically from the bottom up, the bottom part of flexible sheet 22, such as the portion below penetration 12, may be folded up to allow building wrap 18 to be installed, then flexible sheet 22 folded down over building wrap material 18. Another layer of building wrap 18 may then be installed above penetration 12, such that the top portion of flexible sheet 22 is behind the building wrap while the bottom portion overlies building wrap material 18. In this case, backer plate 24 may be attached along the top of backer plate 24 and flashing 22, such that the bottom of flashing 22 may be lifted relative to backer plate 24, as shown in
An example of an installation of this embodiment is described below, where a sufficiently rigid backer 24 is installed around penetration 12 and behind flashing 22, or behind tape 26 that may be attached directly between penetration 12 and building wrap 18.
Referring to
Flashing 22 may be unattached to backer plate 24 and held in place based on its engagement with penetration 12, or may be attached to backer plate 24 such as along the top edge or top portion, which permits at least the bottom portion to fold up as shown in
Referring to
Another example of backer plate 24 is shown in
Referring to
Backer plate 24 may be designed to increase the rigidity when installed, such as by folding flaps or folding to form ribs, overlaps, multiple layers, etc. By way of example, referring to
Referring to
While opening 30 may be round or square, it may not necessarily match the shape of penetration 12. Instead, backer 24 is used to provide sufficient support to allow the seal to be formed as discussed herein.
Referring to
Referring to
Backer 24 may be designed with a living hinge to facilitate folding of flaps 34, although backer 24 may also have a score line, or be made from multiple parts. While previous examples above are depicted such that only a portion folds down, flaps 34 may be designed to fold across the entire width of backer 24.
The folded portion 34 may be used to increase strength, or may be used to help install backer behind barrier sheet. Referring to
In some examples, backer 24 may not be required to be a permanent installation as long as it provides sufficient support during installation to achieve the necessary seal between penetration 12 and the building wrap 18, with or without flashing 22 as an intermediate component. As such, the material may not be required to maintain the rigidity once building wrap 18 is installed, or to provide any additional support beyond the amount required to allow the seal to be made. In other examples, backer 24 may be used as a more permanent installation that is used to provide structural support to penetration 12.
The rigidity of backer 24 may be provided by selecting a suitable material, by properly forming the material such as by using corrugated or laminated material or with other ridges, etc., by folding backer 24 such as one or more flaps 34 as discussed above, or by attaching material between more than one anchor point, such as between adjacent studs 14.
The material in the depicted examples may be cardboard, plastic, or metal, and may be corrugated or a single sheet of material, or other materials that are sufficiently rigid, or may be made sufficiently rigid when installed, to at least provide sufficient support to allow the seal to be made, as discussed above.
The sheet of material 22 being supported by backer 24 may be flexible or sufficiently flexible that backer is useful to act as a support behind weather barrier 18 to facilitate the installation of adhesive tape 26. For example, sheet of material 22 and/or additional sheet of material may be sufficiently flexible that, upon application of a force to apply adhesive tape 26, the materials would otherwise move, and backer 24 provides a sufficiently rigid support to hold the materials in place as adhesive tape 26 is applied. Once installed, backer 24 is generally not required to provide any additional function, although it may be useful for doing so.
In another example, the material of backer 24 may be a strip of material to which the flashing is attached, such as by stapling, gluing, weaving through slots, etc. to attach them together, if the backer material is insufficiently rigid to support flashing on its own.
In another example, backer 24 may be a composite structure that may involve an additional support member. Referring to
In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the elements is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.
The scope of the following claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth in the examples above and in the drawings but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.
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