Wall Construction and Method of Providing a Wall Construction

Abstract

A wall construction (10) comprising a wooden stud (14), a wall panel (12) with a predetermined thickness (T), and a fastener (20) in the form of a nail or a staple with a pre¬determined length (Ls) is described. The stud (14) comprises a flat mounting surface (16) and at least one continuous recess (18), arranged in parallel with and at a predetermined distance (D) from said mounting surface (16), and exhibiting, in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface (16), a predetermined width (B). The wall panel (12) is attached to the mounting surface (16), and fastened to the wooden stud (14) by the fastener (20) being driven through the wall panel (12) and into the wooden stud (14) to a depth which is greater than the sum of said predetermined thickness (T) and said predetermined distance (D), and less than the sum of said predetermined thickness (T), said predetermined distance (D) and said predetermined width (B). A method for forming such a wall construction (10) is also described.

Description

The present invention relates to a wall construction and a method of providing a wall construction.

It is common to use wooden studs as supporting structures in buildings, both in exterior walls and in interior walls. The studs are normally set vertically with a center-center distance (cc-distance) of about 450-600 mm. An upper stud or bar (hammer band) and lower stud or bar (sill) connect the studs to from a framework. The framework then forms a basis for mounting wall panels.

Common materials in wall panels are plaster, MDF (Medium Density Fiber), OSB (Orientated Strand Board), shavings and wood chips. Magnesium oxide, calcium silicate, fibre cement and fibre gypsum boards as well as different types of composite boards also occur.

The wall panels are screwed or nailed to the framework. Until the 1970s, basically all wall panels were nailed, but since then screwing the wall panels has become more prevalent.

One reason why screws increasingly came to replace nails, is that moisture variations in wood can cause movements that drive out nails. The consequence of this can be that the nails after a while risk becoming visible in the finished wall surface, even through paint or wallpaper. Screws are not driven out in a similar way.

Another factor that made the screw more popular than the nail for mounting wall panels, was that the motorised screwdrivers were developed around the 1970s.

A disadvantage of screws is that it is more expensive than nails. Another disadvantage is that it takes longer to mount a wall panel with a screw and a motorised screwdriver than with a nail and nail gun. Another disadvantage is that screwing wall panels is a tiring and monotonous job that exposes the fitters to wear. Screwing above shoulder height or below knee height is stressful. The screw torque provides a torsional resistance on the fitters' wrists when the screw heads are to be countersunk in the surfaces of the wall panels. The amount of attachment points is large—usually about 20 screws are used per square meter of wall panel. A building that comprises twenty thousand square meters of plaster wall, which is not unusual or particularly large, thus requires about four hundred thousand screws.

Using nails instead of screws when mounting wall panels provides several benefits. Nails are driven in with the impact force from the nail gun and have a body with a relatively small diameter, while screws have threads along a large part of the body and are driven into the panel material by rotation. Nailing is therefore less stressful for the panel material than screwing and nails can therefore be placed closer to the edges of the wall panels than screws without the wall panel cracking.

Another advantage is that nails take up less space in the tool. Some nail machines can hold as many as 250 nails in their magazine. The corresponding number for motorised screwdrivers is about 50, which requires more time-consuming refills of the magazine. Additional advantages are, as indicated above, that it is faster to nail than to screw, which reduces the installation cost, and that nailing is less stressful for the fitters.

Nailing in wooden studs, however, has the above-mentioned disadvantage that there is a risk that the nails are “worked out” by the shape change that takes place in wood when the humidity in the air changes.

An object of the present invention is to provide a wall construction and a method which can contribute to solve this problem at least partially.

A first aspect of the present invention relates to a wall construction comprising a wooden stud, a wall panel displaying a predetermined thickness T and a fastener in the form of a nail or staple having a predetermined length Ls. The wooden stud displays a planar mounting surface and at least one continuous recess which is arranged parallel to and at a predetermined distance D from the mounting surface and displays, in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface (16), a predetermined width B. The wall panel is positioned on the mounting surface and is attached to the wooden stud by the fastener being driven through the wall panel and into the wooden stud to a depth which is greater than T+D, i.e. greater than the sum of said predetermined thickness T and said predetermined distance D, and which is less than T+D+B, i.e. less than the sum of said predetermined thickness T, said predetermined distance D and said predetermined width B.

The fastener is thus driven through the wall panel and into but not through the recess. In other words, the tip of the fastener is located in the recess.

The width B of the recess may preferably be within the range of 5-10 mm.

Said distance D, i.e. the distance D between the mounting surface and the recess, may preferably be within the range of 15-25 mm.

The at least one recess may preferably have a length L_U within the range of 400-600 mm.

The length L_S of the fastener may preferably be greater than T+D, i.e. greater than the sum of the thickness T of wall panel and the distance D between the mounting surface and the recess, and less than T+D+B, i.e. less than the sum of the thickness T of the wall panel, the distance D between the mounting surface and the recess, and the width B of the recess.

More preferably, the length L_S of the fastener may be equal to T+D+B/2, i.e. equal to the sum of the thickness T of the wall panel, the distance D between the mounting surface and the recess, and half the width B of the recess.

The wooden stud may display a plurality of continuous recesses arranged in a common plane and at the same, predetermined distance D from the mounting surface. The recesses may be of equal length and arranged with a mutual distance A within the range of 5-20% of the length of the recesses.

A second aspect of the present invention relates to method of forming a wall construction according to the above-discussed first aspect, which method comprises the steps of:

• • mounting the wooden stud in the wall construction;
  • positioning the wall panel on the mounting surface; and
  • attaching the wall panel to the wooden stud by driving the fastener, by means of a nail or staple gun, through the wall panel and into the wooden stud to a depth which is greater than T+D, i.e. greater than the sum of said predetermined thickness T and said predetermined distance D, and which is less than T+D+B, i.e. less than the sum of said predetermined thickness T, said predetermined distance D and said predetermined width B.

That the fastener is driven into the stud to a depth that is greater than the sum T+D and less than the sum T+D+B means that the fastener is driven through the wall panel and into but not through the recess.

A third aspect of the present invention relates to a method of forming a wall construction comprising a wall panel displaying a predetermined thickness, which method is characterised by the steps of:

• • a wooden stud being mounted in the wall structure, which wooden stud displays a flat mounting surface and at least one continuous recess arranged parallel to and at a predetermined distance from the mounting surface and displaying, in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface, a predetermined width;
  • the wall panel being positioned on the mounting surface; and
  • the wall panel being attached to the wooden stud by a fastener being driven, by means of a nail or staple gun, through the wall panel and into but not through the recess.

The inventor has realized that one reason why movements in wood material can drive out nails during conventional nailing of wall panels in wooden studs, is that there is wood material at and in front of the tip of the nail. Movements next to the nail body do not drive the nail outwards or backwards. Wood material at and inside the tip of the nail, on the other hand, can “work out” the nail during movements in the wood material, for example caused by moisture variations, and can thereby, over time, cause protruding nail heads in the wall panels.

This is counteracted by the above-mentioned wall construction and method, which utilizes wooden studs which have a recess where there is no wood. By the fasteners being driven through the first flange part but not into the second flange part, the advantage is achieved that the tip of the fastener, after mounting the wall plate, will be located in said recess, which means that the fastener tip will not be surrounded by wood material which may “work out” the fastener.

The width of the recess may preferably be within the range of 5-10 mm.

Said distance between the mounting surface and the recess may preferably be within the range of 15-25 mm.

The at least one recess may preferably have a length within the range 400-600 mm.

The length of the fastener may preferably be greater than the sum of the thickness of the wall panel and the distance between the mounting surface and the recess, and less than the sum of the thickness of the wall panel, the distance between the mounting surface and the recess, and the width of the recess.

More preferably, the length of the fastener may be equal to the sum of the thickness of the wall panel, the distance between the mounting surface and the recess, and half the width of the recess.

The wooden stud may display a plurality of continuous recesses arranged in a common plane and at the same, predetermined distance from the mounting surface. The recesses can be of equal length and arranged at a mutual distance (A) within the interval 5-20% of the length of the recesses.

In the following, embodiments of the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a wooden stud that may be used in the method according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a cross section through a wall construction formed according to a method according to the invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of a wooden stud that can be used in the method according to the invention.

FIG. 4 shows a cross section through a wall construction formed according to a method according to the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a wooden stud that can be used in the method according to the invention and FIG. 2 shows a wall construction formed according to the method.

The wall construction 10 comprises a wall panel 12 and an elongate wooden stud 14 on which the wall panel 12 is mounted. The wooden stud 14 displays a substantially rectangular cross-section which has a width X and a height Y. The stud 14 displays a substantially planar mounting surface 16 (see FIG. 1) intended for receiving the wall panel 12 during its mounting. In parallel with and at a distance or depth D from the mounting surface 16, the stud 14 displays a plurality of recesses 18 which extend in the longitudinal direction of the stud 14. In the present embodiment, these recesses 18 are continuous, i.e. they extend through the stud 14 in the height direction (Y) of the stud 14. In the longitudinal direction of the stud 14, the recesses 18 have a length L_U and are arranged with a mutual distance A. In a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface 16, i.e. in the width direction (X) of the stud, the recesses 18 have a width B.

The continuous recesses 18 are thus arranged with a mutual distance A in a common plane at a depth D from the mounting surface 16.

When forming the wall construction 10, the stud 14 is mounted in the intended place, for example between a floor structure and a roof structure (not shown). This step may, for example, comprise that the stud 14 is placed in a floor rail (not shown) and fixed in a vertically standing position, for example by being attached to the floor rail and in a roof rail (not shown) mounted above the floor rail.

Thereafter, the wall panel 12 is positioned on the mounting surface 16 and attached to the wooden stud 14 by fastener 20 in the form of a nail (see upper fastener 20 in FIG. 2) or staples (see lower fastener 20 in FIG. 2) having a length L_S being driven, by means of a nail or staple gun, through the wall panel 12 and into but not through the recesses 18. In this case, the fastener 20 is selected so that its length L_S is greater than the sum of the thickness T of the wall panel 12 and the perpendicular distance D between the mounting surface 16 and the recesses 18, but less than the sum of the thickness T of the wall panel 12, the perpendicular distance D between the mounting surface 16 and the recess 18 and the width B of the recess 18, i.e. T+D<Ls<T+D+B. Preferably, however, fasteners are selected which have a length L_S which is T+D+B/2, which, after mounting and in the normal direction of the mounting surface 16, places the tips of the fasteners 20 in the middle of the recesses 18.

The width dimension B of the recesses 18 is preferably chosen large enough so that the fasteners 20 penetrate into but not through the recesses 18 even if the nail or staple gun is held at an oblique angle during the mounting of the wall panel 12. On the other hand, in order not to unnecessarily weaken the stud 14, the width dimension B should not be unnecessarily large. Experiments have shown that a width dimension B within the range of 5-10 mm is preferred.

In general, however, the design and location of the recesses 18 in the wooden stud 14 are adapted to the purpose of the wall construction 10 as well as the requirements and performance imposed on the wall construction. For example, it is understood that the depth dimension D defines the attachment region of the fasteners 20, so this dimension should be adapted to the thickness of the wall panels and to the desired fastening force. In an outer wall, for example, the wooden studs may have different dimensions depending on the thickness of the wall, but a common stud dimension in the transverse direction of the wall is 195 mm, i.e. that the width dimension X of the stud 14 is 195 mm. In such a wooden stud, when fastening wall panels to the inside of the outer wall, the recesses 18 can, for example, be arranged with a depth dimension D which is approximately 15 mm, with a length dimension L_U which is approximately 300 mm, and with a mutual distance A which is approximately 5-20% of this length, i.e. approximately 15-60 mm.

If wall panels are to be mounted on both sides of a wooden stud, recesses can be arranged in two parallel planes in the stud, as illustrated in FIG. 3. If the width dimension X of the stud is not too large, recesses arranged centrally in the bar can be used for mounting wall panels from both sides, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

Claims

1. A wall construction comprising: a wooden stud;a wall panel having a predetermined thickness (T); anda fastener in the form of a nail or staple having a predetermined length (Ls); wherein the wooden stud has a planar mounting surface and at least one continuous recess, the recess being arranged parallel to and at a predetermined distance (D) from the mounting surface and having, in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface, a predetermined width (B);wherein the wall panel is positioned on the mounting surface; andwherein the wall panel is attached to the wooden stud by the fastener being driven through the wall panel and into the wooden stud to a depth greater than the sum of said predetermined thickness (T) and said predetermined distance (D) and less than the sum of said predetermined thickness (T), said predetermined distance (D) and said predetermined width (B).

2. The wall construction according to claim 1, wherein the width (B) of the recess is within the range of 5-10 mm.

3. The wall construction according to claim 1, wherein said distance (D) between the mounting surface and the recess is within the range of 15-25 mm.

4. The wall construction according to claim 1, wherein the recess has a length (Lu) within the range of 400-600 mm.

5. The wall construction according to claim 1, wherein the length (Ls) of the fastener is greater than the sum (T+D) of the thickness (T) of the wall panel, and the distance (D) between the mounting surface and the recess, and less than the sum (T+D+B) of the thickness (T) of the wall panel, the distance (D) between the mounting surface and the recess, and the width (B) of the recess (18).

6. The wall construction according to claim 1, wherein the length (Ls) of the fastener is equal to the sum (T+D+B/2) of the thickness (T) of the wall panel, the distance (D) between the mounting surface and the recess, and half the width (B) of the recess.

7. The wall construction according to claim 1, wherein the wooden stud includes a plurality of continuous recesses arranged in a common plane and at the same, predetermined distance (D) from the mounting surface.

8. The wall construction according to claim 7, wherein the recesses are of equal length and are spaced apart a distance (A) within the range of 5-20% of the length of the recesses.

9. A method of forming a wall construction according to any one of the preceding claims, the method comprising the steps of: mounting the wooden stud in the wall construction;positioning the wall panel on the mounting surface; andattaching the wall panel to the wooden stud by driving the fastener, by means of a nail or staple gun, through the wall panel and into the wooden stud to a depth greater than the sum of said predetermined thickness (T) and said predetermined distance (D) and less than the sum of said predetermined thickness (T), said predetermined distance (D) and said predetermined width (B).