Support arrangement for covering elements of a building

Abstract

A support arrangement for supporting covering elements on a soffit and/or a fascia of a building. The support arrangement has a backing member that is operable to receive covering elements and is formed at least partially from non-metallic material. The support arrangement further has an attachment means for attaching the support arrangement to a building or building component such that it forms a part of the building. The support arrangement is non-flammable and can easily receive fixings to fix covering elements thereto. Covering elements can be fixed to the support arrangement and then the arrangement can be attached to a building or building component such that the covering elements form a part of the soffit or fascia of the building.

Claims

1. A support arrangement for supporting covering elements on a soffit and/or a fascia of a building, the support arrangement comprising a non-combustible backing member that is operable to receive covering elements and is formed at least partially from cementitious and non-metallic material, the support arrangement further comprising an attachment means for attaching the support arrangement to a building or building component such that the support arrangement forms a part of the building; wherein the attachment means comprises an elongate attachment channel, one or more fixing elements that are operable to fixedly engage with fixing means; and wherein the one or more fixing elements are movable relative to the attachment channel.

2. The support arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the support arrangement has a soffit-forming face.

3. The support arrangement as claimed in claim 2 wherein the support arrangement has a fascia-forming face.

4. The support arrangement as claimed in claim 3 wherein the attachment means is located to a rear of the fascia-forming face and proximal an upper portion of the fascia-forming face.

5. The support arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the attachment means is operable to mount or mechanically fix the support arrangement to a building component, or to hang the support arrangement from a building component.

6. The support arrangement as claimed in claim 5 wherein the attachment means is operable to mount the support arrangement on a building such that at least part of the support arrangement forms at least a part of a building soffit.

7. The support arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fixing element is a female fixing element that can receive a male fixing element that extends to the female fixing element of the attachment means.

8. The support arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the attachment means comprises a retaining means to retain at least one fixing element within the attachment channel.

9. The support arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the support arrangement comprises a supporting structure and wherein the backing member is supportable by the supporting structure.

10. The support arrangement as claimed in claim 9 wherein the backing member is fixed to the supporting structure by a fixing means.

11. The support arrangement as claimed in claim 9 wherein the supporting structure comprises a plurality of spaced apart support members having a spacing therebetween, the spacing between support members being traversable by the backing member.

12. The support arrangement as claimed in claim 11 wherein one or more of the plurality of spaced apart support members are fixed to the attachment means and wherein the support members and the attachment means are arranged defining a virtual plane, and the backing member is mounted to the plurality of spaced apart support members.

13. The support arrangement as claimed in claim 11 wherein the attachment means has a longitudinal axis and wherein one or more of the plurality of spaced apart support members are elongate support members having a longitudinal axis, and wherein one or more elongate support members are arranged extending away from the attachment means such that the longitudinal axis of the support member is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the attachment means.

14. The support arrangement as claimed in claim 11 wherein one or more of the plurality of spaced apart support members are formed from metal angles.

15. The support arrangement as claimed in claim 11 wherein the support members are sized and/or are spaced apart at predetermined distances according to a size of the covering elements to be fitted to the support arrangement such that the support members are fixed to the backing member by fixing means that are positioned between covering elements when the covering elements are applied to the backing member.

16. The support arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the backing member is shaped to interlock with backing members of adjacent support arrangements such that a continuous surface is formed.

17. The support arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the support arrangement comprises covering elements fitted to the backing member, wherein the covering elements are fixed to the backing member solely by a mechanical fix and not via adhering, gluing or bonding the covering elements to the backing member.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which shows only three embodiments of a support arrangement according to the invention, and only one embodiment of a mount for a support arrangement according to the invention by way of example only.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of a support arrangement with cover elements attached thereto according to the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a top plan view of the support arrangement of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 shows an underside/soffit view of the support arrangement of FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 4 is a side view of the support arrangement of FIG. 1;

(6) FIG. 5 is a side view of a second embodiment of a support arrangement with cover elements attached thereto according to the invention;

(7) FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the support arrangement of FIG. 5;

(8) FIG. 7 shows a top plan view of the support arrangement of FIG. 5;

(9) FIG. 8 shows an underside/soffit view of the support arrangement of FIG. 5;

(10) FIG. 9 shows a top perspective view of a third embodiment of a support arrangement according to the invention;

(11) FIG. 10 shows a front perspective view of the support arrangement of FIG. 9;

(12) FIG. 11 shows a top view of the support arrangement of FIG. 9;

(13) FIG. 12 shows a side view of the support arrangement of FIG. 9;

(14) FIG. 13 is a front perspective view of a mount for a support arrangement as according to the invention;

(15) FIG. 14 shows a side view of the mount shown in FIG. 13, and a side view of a third embodiment of the support arrangement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(16) In FIGS. 1 to 4 there is shown a first embodiment of a support arrangement according to the invention illustrated generally by reference numeral 1. The support arrangement 1 has a supporting structure 2 and a backing member 3, the backing member 3 being a backing board 3. The backing board 3 is formed from two separate sheets of fibre cement board although other cementitious boards are suitable, and any number of sheets may be combined to form the backing member. For example, in one preferred embodiment, the backing board 3 is formed from calcium-silicate based fibre cement. The support arrangement 1 has a fascia-forming face 60 and a soffit-forming face 61, defined by the backing board 3. The fascia-forming face 60 and the soffit-forming to face 61 are planar with their planes extending orthogonally to one another. There are a series of twelve L-shaped brick slips 4 and twelve rectangular brick slips 5 arranged on the backing board 3 although alternative arrangements of brick slips will be apparent to the skilled person. Covering elements other than brick slips, such as composite slips, may also be used with the support arrangement 1. The brick slips 4, 5 are adhered to the backing board 3 by adhesives and/or mechanical fix however it is not necessary to adhere the brick slips 4, 5 to the backing board 3 as they can be fixed via a mechanical fix. There are numerous known ways to mechanically fix a brick slip to a surface. One example is shown in FIG. 14, where the brick slips 204, 205 have a slot 235 along their sides to receive a washer 236, the washer 236 then being fixed to the brick slips 204, 205 and the backing board. The L-shaped brick slips 4 are disposed on both the fascia-forming face 60 and the soffit-forming face 61. Specifically, the longer portion of the L-shape extends along the fascia-forming face 60, with the short portion on the soffit-forming face 61. The supporting structure 2 has a plurality of support members 6. In particular, it has four, spaced apart, elongate L-shaped support members 6. Each support member 6 has a flat portion 7 to which the backing board 3 is mounted. Each support member 6 further has a reinforcing flange 8 extending perpendicularly from the flat portion 7. The support members 6 have apertures 9 for receiving bolts (not shown) that extend into the backing board 3 thereby fixing the backing board 3 to the support members 6. In particular, the apertures 9 are located on the flat portions 7. The flat portions 7 are aligned such that they provide two virtual planes, one orthogonal to the other, to which the backing board 3 is mounted. The backing board 3 is mounted against the flat portion 7 of the support members 6 and traverses the spacings between the support members 6. The spacing between the support members 6 is such that an exact number of covering elements 3 can be mounted to the backing board in the space between the support members 6. This means that it is not required to place the covering elements over any of the fixings that fix the backing board 3 to the support members 6. The apertures 9 of the support members 6 are located between the covering elements 4 and the fixings that extend through the apertures 9 do not interfere with the placement of the covering elements 4 on the backing member 3. However, this is not essential in all embodiments as not all types of fixings will interfere with the covering elements, or the covering elements could be adapted to fit around the fixings.

(17) The support arrangement 1 further has an attachment arrangement 10 to enable the support arrangement 1 to be attached to a building or building component, the support arrangement 10 in this embodiment being an attachment channel 10. The attachment channel 10 is located to the rear of the fascia-forming face 60 and it is proximal an upper portion of the fascia-forming face 60. The top of the attachment channel 10 is flush with the top of the fascia-forming face when the support arrangement 1 is orientated upright as it would be when fitted to a building component. The support members 6 are interconnected via an elongate attachment channel 10 that extends between the support members 6. The longitudinal axis of the attachment channel 10 is perpendicular the longitudinal axis of the support members 6. Specifically, the longitudinal axis of the attachment channel 10 is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of part of the flat portion 7 that is fixed to the attachment channel 10. The flange 8 of each support member 6 is shaped to extend along a portion of the attachment channel 10. The attachment channel 10 is bifunctional in that it forms a part of the support framework to which the backing board 3 is fixed, and it is engageable with fixings of a mount for mounting the support arrangement 1 on a building. The attachment channel 10 has a base 15 with two mutually opposing sidewalls 16a, 16b that extend perpendicularly from the base 15, and an opening that is mutually opposing the base 15. The attachment arrangement 10 further has a retaining arrangement to retain fixing elements movably within in the attachment arrangement 10. In this embodiment, the retaining arrangement is formed by retaining lips 11, wherein the opening has two mutually opposed retaining lips 11 that extend from the upper portion of the sidewalls 16a, 16b to project over the opening.

(18) Fixing elements such as a nut or bolt or similar element can be inserted into the attachment channel 10 to enable the support arrangement 1 to be fixed to a building or building component. For example, a spring nut can be inserted into the attachment channel 10 and slid along the attachment channel 10 to a desired location (see FIG. 14), thereby altering the final position of the support arrangement 1 relative to a mount. The spring biases the nut towards the opening and the retaining lips 11 retain the spring and the nut within the attachment channel 10 such that a bolt can easily engage with the nut. Alternatively, a machined block (not shown) having an aperture for receiving a bolt could be used within the attachment channel 10. The orientation of the attachment channel 10 and the fixing elements is such that fixing means can be inserted vertically downwards through a building component to engage with the fixing elements thereby fixing the support arrangement 1 to a building component. The attachment channel 10 is arranged extending along one edge portion of the backing board 3 such that fixings can attach to the edge of the backing board 3 when mounting the support arrangement 1. The support members 6 and the attachment channel 10 are formed from steel. The flat portion 7 of the support members 6 each extend from the base 15 of the attachment channel 10 and perpendicularly to the plane of the base 15. The reinforcing flange 8 extends across the base 15 and along the sidewall 16a and the attachment channel 10 is fixed thereto.

(19) FIGS. 5 to 8 show a second embodiment of a support arrangement according to the invention referred to generally as reference numeral 101. The support arrangement 101 has a supporting structure 102 formed from three identical elongate support members 120 and two identical support members 121 having a shorter length than the three identical support members 120. Each of the support members 120, 121 have a flat portion 107 and a reinforcing flange 108 that extends from the flat portion 107 perpendicularly to the flat portion 107. The support members 120, 121 each extend form the attachment channel 110.

(20) The support arrangement 101 has a backing board 103 formed from fibre cement boards. The backing board 103 is shaped to form a soffit surface having three rows 125a, 125b, 125c of brick slips wherein the middle row 125b is offset relative to the top 125a and bottom 125c row to replicate the appearance of a traditional brick wall. One row of the brick slips 125a forms a part of the face of the building when the support arrangement 101 is mounted, and each brick slip in this row has a right angle turn which extends out from the soffit surface and upwards along a portion of the face of the building. In this embodiment, the flat portion 107 of the support members 120, 121 extends perpendicular to the plane of the sidewall 116a of the attachment channel 110 and is coplanar with the plane of the base 115 of the attachment channel 110. The attachment channel 110 sits at the right angle of the brick slips 125a that form a part of the face of a building, and the support members 120, 121 extend back across the rows of brick slips 125a, 125b, 125c. The support arrangement 101 is shaped such that it can interlock with an adjacent support arrangement 101 of the same shape and interlock such that a continuous surface is formed. The rows 125a, 125b and 125c are all of equal length but the middle row 125b is offset relative to the upper and lower rows 125a, 125c, thereby creating a projection at one end that is engageable with an opening in a similar support arrangement, and an opening at the opposing end of the row 125b to receive a similar projection of an adjacent similar support arrangement. The shorter support members 121 extend across two rows 125a, 125b, terminating at the location of the third row 125c. The longer support members 120 extend between brick slips of the third row 125c.

(21) The third embodiment of a support arrangement is shown in FIGS. 9 to 12 and is indicated generally by reference numeral 201. The arrangement 201 has a backing board 203 and a support frame 230 comprised of an attachment channel 210, an elongate support member 231 parallel to, and spaced apart from, the attachment channel 210, and three parallel and spaced apart support members 232a, 232b, 232c extending between the attachment channel 210 and the elongate support member 231. The longitudinal axes of each of the three shorter support members 232a, 232b, 232c extend perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the attachment channel 210 and the elongate support member 231, defining a rectangular framework. The support arrangement 201 has two rows of brick slips 225a, 225b bonded to the backing board 203. A first row 225a of brick slips have a soffit surface and an outward-facing surface, the planes of the soffit surface and the outward-facing surface being orthogonal to one another. The second row 225b of brick slips form a part of the soffit. The second row 225b is laterally offset relative to the first row 225a to create a traditional brickwork effect. The support members 232a, 232b, 232c extend from the attachment channel 210 in a similar orientation to that of the second embodiment in that the flat portion 207 is coplanar with the base 215 of the attachment channel 210. The flat portion 207 extends underneath the base 215 and is between the base 215 and the backing board 203.

(22) Further provided by the invention and as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 is a mount for a support arrangement 1, 101, 201 indicated generally by reference numeral 50. The mount 50 has a support surface 51 for masonry such as rows of brickwork. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the mount 50 is adapted to form a part of a lintel. The support surface 51 functions as a shelf to which a support arrangement 1, 101, 201 can be attached, but it also provides a platform for the upper brickwork. The support surface 51 has a thickness not greater than that of the space between rows of brickwork, such that the end portions of the support surface 51 can be embedded between rows of bricks. The support surface 51 has two elongate slots 52a, 52b extending therethrough. The slots 52a, 52b are sized to receive bolts 53a, 53b that can engage with the support arrangement 1, 101, 201. In particular, the bolts 53a, 53b can engage with a spring nut 240 as shown in FIG. 14. The position of the support arrangement 1, 101, 201 can be moved forwards or backwards by adjusting the location of the bolt 53a, 53b in the slot 52a, 52b and the support arrangement 1, 101, 201 can be moved laterally by adjusting the location of the spring nut 240 in the attachment channel 10, 110, 210.

(23) The mount 50 further has two spaced apart brackets 54a, 54b that each support the masonry support surface 51. The brackets 54a, 54b have a slot (not shown) and a lock washer 55a, 55b arranged to attach the brackets 54a, 54b to a wall with bolts 56. The bolts 56 extend through the slot and are fixed relative to the slot by the lock washers 55a, 55b. Each lock washer 55a, 55b has a body (not shown) and a protrusion (not shown) disposed on one face of the body. The protrusion is configured to be disposable in a corresponding slot of a bracket 54a, 54b. The lock washer further has an engagement arrangement (not shown) disposed on the protrusion that is configured to be engageable with the slot of the bracket 54a, 54b and hold the body stationary with respect to the bracket 54a, 54b. Further, there is a slotted hole (not shown) disposed in the body configured to admit a shaft of a bolt 56 therethrough to allow lateral movement of the body relative to the shaft while the shaft is admitted through the slotted hole. The mount 50 further has a shim 57a, 57b located and the wall, providing adjustability of the building arrangement.

(24) In use, the support arrangement 1, 101, 201 can be prefabricated to a desired shape and size before fitting on a building. Initially, the supporting structure 2, 102, 202 is manufactured by assembling and welding together or otherwise connecting support members 6, 120, 121, 231, 232a, 232b, 232c to produce a desired framework. Ideally, although not essentially, an awareness of the final brick slip location should be considered when designing the support member framework. For example, in the first and second embodiments 1, 101, the fixings of the support members 6, 120, 121 are located between the brick slips. Either before or after assembling the supporting structure 2, 102, 202, holes should be drilled through the support members 6, 120, 121, 231, 232a, 232b, 232c. The attachment channel 10, 110, 210 should also be attached to the supporting structure 2, 102, 202 at this stage. The backing board 3, 103 is cut to size and then a mechanical fix (see FIG. 14) is installed between the backing board 3, 103, 203 and the supporting structure 2, 102, 202. This can be any suitable fixing such as a screw and washer, pop rivet, spring clip, or any suitable fixing means. Brick slips of desired size and shape are prepared and are bonded to the backing board 3, 103 using a grout/bonding method and/or mechanical fixings. Pointing can also be placed between the brick slips at this stage if desired.

(25) The support arrangement 1, 101, 201 is mounted to a wall by first attaching a mount 50 to the surface of the wall. The brackets 54a, 54b of the mount 50 are first attached to the surface of the wall using a bolt 56 for each bracket 54a, 54b. A lock washer 55a, 55b is also used. The bolt 56 passes through the lock washer 55a, 55b and a slot of the bracket 54a, 54b and into the wall. The lock washer 55a, 55b can fixedly adjust the location of the bracket 54a, 54b relative to the placement of the bolt 56 after the bolt has been inserted into the wall. This enables the final location of the support arrangement 1, 101, 201 on the building to be adjusted even after the bolt has been inserted into the wall. Once the brackets 54a, 54b are fixed to the wall, the support arrangement 1, 101, 201 can then be fixed to the masonry support surface 50. The location of the attachment channel 10, 110, 210 relative to the fascia forming face 61 is such that when the support arrangement 1, 101, 201 is fitted to the masonry support surface 50, covering elements on the support arrangement 1, 101, 201 form a continuous, preferably patterned surface, with the brickwork that is disposed on and supported by the masonry support surface 50. Initially, spring nuts 240 are inserted into the attachment channel 10, 110, 210 and moved along the attachment channel 10, 110, 210 to the location of the slots 52a, 52b in the masonry support surface 50. Then bolts 53a, 53b are inserted through the slots 52a, 52b and the support arrangement 1, 101, 201 is raised, with the attachment channel 10, 110, 210 being located at the bolts 53a, 53b. The bolts 53a, 53b are tightened through the spring nuts 240 to fix the support arrangement 1, 101, 201 to the mount 50.

(26) In the preceding discussion of the invention, unless stated to the contrary, the disclosure of alternative values for the upper or lower limit of the permitted range of a parameter, coupled with an indication that one of the values is more highly preferred than the other, is to be construed as an implied statement that each intermediate value of the parameter, lying between the more preferred and the less preferred of the alternatives, is itself preferred to the less preferred value and also to each value lying between the less preferred value and the intermediate value.

(27) The features disclosed in the foregoing description or the following drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing a disclosed function, or a method or a process of attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may separately, or in any combination of such features be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.