Certain bathing areas are surrounded by walls that are covered with tile to provide a desired appearance. Tiled walls offer the advantage of an aesthetically appealing appearance with the option of having many different style, color, texture, and/or pattern choices. However, installing tile is a time consuming and messy process. Further, when remodelling a bathroom, tearing out tile and installing new tile can be expensive.
Plastic bathing area surrounds provide a less expensive option for remodelling a bathroom. Typically, these surrounds are formed in one or more large sections that are secured together to cover the bathing area walls or to cover existing outdated tile. One disadvantage with these surrounds is that they are made from materials that are not as aesthetically appealing as tile.
It is desired to provide an alternative to tile that is easy to transport and simple to install, as well as providing the aesthetic options that are available for tile.
In one exemplary embodiment, a wall system includes at least one starter piece having at least one mount interface configured to be attached to a wall structure. A plurality of panels includes at least a first panel and a second panel, and wherein the first panel is fit to the starter piece to cover a portion of the wall structure. An intermediate cleat is associated with the first panel, and a second panel is associated with the first panel via the intermediate cleat to cover another portion of the wall structure.
In a further embodiment of the above, the first and second panels have decorative external surfaces that cooperate to form a desired aesthetic appearance for walls surrounding a bathing area.
In a further embodiment of any of the above, the starter piece comprises a starter strip that includes at least one first locating feature and the first panel includes at least one second locating feature that cooperates with the first locating feature to align the first panel and starter strip.
In a further embodiment of any of the above, wherein one of the first and second locating features comprises a tongue and the other of the first and second locating features comprises a groove.
In a further embodiment of any of the above, including at least one seal between the starter piece and the first panel.
In a further embodiment of any of the above, wherein the first panel includes a wall facing side and a visible decorative surface, and wherein an upper portion of the wall facing side has a cut-out such that a lower edge of the intermediate cleat is positioned between the wall structure and the upper portion of the first panel.
In a further embodiment of any of the above, wherein the second panel includes a wall facing side and a visible decorative surface, and wherein a lower portion of the wall facing side has a cut-out with an upper edge of the intermediate cleat being positioned between the bathroom wall and the lower portion of the second panel such that the visible decorative surfaces of the first and second panels are aligned with each other.
In a further embodiment of any of the above, the plurality of panels cooperate with each other to cover the bathroom walls that surround a bathing area. The plurality of panels includes at least one uppermost panel. A finishing cleat is fit to the uppermost panel and a horizontal trim piece fits to the uppermost panel and covers the finishing cleat.
In a further embodiment of any of the above, the plurality of the panels are aligned to provide at least one exposed vertical edge. At least one vertical trim piece is coupled to at least one of the plurality of panels that form the vertical edge, and the vertical trim piece abuts against the horizontal trim piece and covers the exposed vertical edge.
In a further embodiment of any of the above, the walls include a rear wall and at least one side wall that intersects the rear wall at a corner. The plurality of panels includes at least one first corner panel covering a portion of the rear wall and a second corner panel covering a portion of the side wall. At least one corner piece is fit within the corner and abuts against the first and second corner panels.
In a further embodiment of any of the above, the at least one starter piece comprises at least one first starter strip associated with the rear wall and a second starter strip associated with the side wall. An intermediate starter strip corner piece fits within the corner and abuts against the first and second starter strips.
One exemplary method of covering walls that surround an area includes installing at least one starter piece, fitting at least one first panel of a plurality of panels to the starter piece to cover a portion of a wall structure, associating an intermediate cleat with the first panel, and associating at least one second panel of the plurality of panels with the intermediate cleat and first panel to cover another portion of the wall structure.
In a further embodiment of any of the above, the method further includes installing at least one horizontal trim piece to cover an exposed uppermost edge formed by the plurality of panels.
In a further embodiment of any of the above, the method includes installing at least one vertical trim piece to cover an exposed vertical edge formed by the plurality of panels.
In another example embodiment, a wall panel for an area enclosed by a plurality of walls includes a panel body having a wall facing surface and an exterior surface that faces the area. The walls provide an area defined by an overall vertical wall height and an overall horizontal wall width, and wherein the panel body is sized to cover only one vertical segment of the overall vertical wall height. Decorative features are formed within the exterior surface to provide a desired appearance. A lower portion of the panel body interfaces with a lower seal and an upper portion of the panel body interfaces with an upper seal.
An example method for forming a wall panel includes forming a panel body to have a desired appearance, In one example, the panel body is sized to form one of a plurality of planks or the panel body is cut to form a plurality of planks each having an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion is configured to have an upper seal interface and the lower portion is configured to have a lower seal interface.
These and other features of this application will be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description.
The rear 22 and side 24 walls are prepped and water-proofed as known. Then as shown in
In the example shown, the starter strip 30 includes a plurality of openings 34 that are configured to receive fasteners 36. One opening 34a of the plurality of openings 34 is configured to be larger than the remaining openings 34. The opening 34a is surrounded by a toothed surface 38. An adjustment puck 40 with a mating toothed surface is pressed into engagement with the toothed surface 38 (
First, the starter strip 30 is positioned such that a bottom edge 41 rests on the upper ledge 32 of the tub 26. A first fastener 36a is inserted through the aligned puck opening and starter strip opening 34a to provide an initial temporary hold for the starter strip 30 (
Once the starter strip 30 along the rear 22 and side 24 walls is installed as shown in
The first 46 and second 48 wall portions intersect each other at a box-shaped corner section 54 that includes a vertically extending bore 54a (
Once the starter strips 30 and corner piece assembly 42 is installed for the rear 22 and side 24 walls as shown in
The panel 64 includes a panel substrate 76 that provides the structural integrity for the panel 64 and which defines a wall facing side 78 for the panel 64. A decorative portion 80 of the panel 64 is attached to the substrate 76 and defines the visible, decorative exterior surface 82 of the panel 64. In the example, shown in
The wall facing side 78 of the panel 64 includes a groove 88 that is configured to receive the rib 74 of the starter strip 30. A bottom edge of the panel 64 includes a recess 90 that is configured to receive the protrusion 72 of the starter strip 30. A seal or gasket 92 is installed and compressed against surfaces defined by the recess 90 as the protrusion 72 is inserted into the recess 90. The gasket 92 provides an added level of water ingress protection. Optionally, the seal could be located anywhere along the interface, or the protrusion itself could serve as the seal.
A lower end of the wall facing side 78 of the panel 64 also includes a cut-out portion 94 within which the starter strip 30 fits. A bottom edge of the panel 64 rests on an upper surface of the lip 70 such that the wall facing side 78 of the panel 64 and the wall facing side 66 of the starter strip 30 are generally flush with each other. An additional cut-out portion 96 is also formed within the panel 64 to accommodate a head 98 of the fastener 36.
Once the first panel 64 is installed to cover a first portion of the rear wall 22, additional panels 64 are added until the specified area of the rear wall 22 is covered (
The wall facing side 78b of the second panel 64b includes a groove 88b that is configured to receive the rib 116 of the intermediate cleat 102. A bottom edge of the second panel 64b includes a recess 90b that is configured to receive a protrusion 118 formed on an upper edge of the first panel 64a. A gasket 120 is installed and compressed against surfaces defined by the recess 90b as the protrusion 118 is inserted into the recess 90b. The gasket 120 provides an added level of water ingress protection. A lower end of the wall facing side 78b of the second panel 64b also includes a cut-out portion 94b within which the upper portion 108 of the cleat 102 fits. A bottom edge of the second panel 64b rests on an upper edge surface of the first panel 64a. An additional cut-out portion 96b is also formed within the second panel 64h to cover a head 98b of the fastener 112.
The first panel 64a fits on the cleat 102 and can be attached via thermally activated adhesive, ultra sonic welding, or solvent bonded, for example. The cleat 102 interlocks the two panels 64a, 64b. The cleat 102 can be formed as a separate extrusion, as part of the same extrusion of one of the panels, or a separate extrusion attached to the panels in a manner as discussed above.
During installation, the first panel 64 is aligned with, or between, respective corner piece assemblies 42 and is slid downwardly to lock into the starter strip 30.
Once the rear wall 22 is completely covered with panels 64 (
A wall facing side 142 of the trim panel 122 includes a groove 144 that is configured to receive the rib 140 of the cleat 128. A bottom edge of the trim panel 122 includes a recess 146 that is configured to receive a protrusion 148 formed on an upper edge of the uppermost panel 64. A gasket 150 is installed and compressed against surfaces defined by the recess 146 as the protrusion 148 is inserted into the recess 146 (
Once the trim panel 122 is installed along the rear wall 22 (
An optional vertical trim piece 180 is shown in
As discussed above, the corner piece assembly 42 of
Another example of an optional corner piece 500 is shown in
The panels 64 can be formed using any of various manufacturing process options. For example, a cosmetic panel could be extruded and decorated with film or could be decorated using hydro-graphics. In another example, a non-cosmetic back panel could be extruded with a cosmetic panel being bonded to the back panel. The cleats 102, 128 could be bonded to the back panel, or extruded as part of the back panel as described above. Further, as discussed above, the cosmetic portion of the panels can be formed as patterns for stone, marble, and granite. Wood grain patterns, photographic images, metallic finishes, etc. could also be provided.
The panels can be fabricated using any of various methods. One example manufacturing method is shown in
In another example, the panel could be molded.
The wall installation system described above provides a bathing area surround that is easy to transport, is simple to install and easy to check, while also being fully functional and providing an aesthetically appealing appearance. The system utilizes the series of planks or panels to interlock with each other, while small gaskets are mounted within each panel section to create a waterproof barrier. Over the life of the system, the panel construction allows for easy plumbing access without necessitating the demolition of an entire unit. Further, panels can be easily removed and replace during remodeling.
Further, while the wall installation system is disclosed as being used for a bathing area surround, the wall installation could also be used for walls in other rooms such as kitchens, family rooms, etc. Also, for example, the wall installation could be used for countertops, backsplashes, etc.
Although an embodiment of this invention has been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.
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