Wall cladding system

Abstract

A system and method for cladding a building. The system comprises a rigid base layer supported by an exterior exposed surface of the building and a metal mesh secured and retained in direct contact with an exterior surface of the rigid base layer with fasteners. The system further comprises a layer of a base coat applied over the metal mesh so as to form a matrix therearound and a finishing barrier layer applied over the matrix of the metal mesh and the base coat layer. The method comprises securing the rigid base layer to an exterior exposed surface of the building, securing and retaining a metal mesh in direct contact to the exterior surface of the rigid base layer with fasteners, applying a cement base coat over the metal mesh so as to form a matrix therearound and applying a finishing barrier layer over the base coat.

Claims

1. A system for cladding a building comprising: a rigid insulating base layer comprising expanded polystyrene supported by an exterior exposed surface of said building; a metal mesh applied over said rigid insulating base layer; a plurality of fasteners adapted to be passed through and bear said metal mesh against said exterior surface of said rigid insulating base layer, said fasteners being selected to penetrate and terminate within said rigid insulating base layer; a layer of a base coat applied over said metal mesh so as to form a matrix therearound; and a finishing barrier layer applied over said matrix of said metal mesh and said base coat layer.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said base coat is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of cement, and or polymers.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said finishing barrier layer is formed of an acrylic.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said metal mesh is substantially planar.

5. A method for cladding a building comprising: securing a rigid insulating base layer comprising expanded polystyrene to an exterior exposed surface of the building; applying a metal mesh in direct contact to an exterior surface of said rigid base layer; passing a plurality of fasteners through said metal mesh into said rigid insulating base layer so as to terminate therein and so as to bear said metal mesh against said exterior surface of said rigid base layer; applying a cement base coat over the metal mesh so as to form a matrix therearound; and applying a finishing barrier layer over the base coat.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said finishing barrier layer is formed of an acrylic.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein said metal mesh is substantially planar.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention wherein similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in each view,

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wall cladding system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

(3) FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view the assembly of a portion of the wall cladding system of FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a wall cladding system according to a further embodiment of the present invention applied to an existing stucco wall.

(5) FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a v-groove having the present system therein.

(6) FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a mesh being applied over a hole in a wall according to a further embodiment of the present invention for wall repairs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(7) Referring to FIG. 1, a wall cladding assembly is illustrated generally at 10 as applied to a wall sheathing 8. The wall sheathing 8 may be of any conventional type, such as, by way of non-limiting example, plywood, masonry, concrete, lumber or wall studs. The assembly 10 comprises a layer of an insulating material 12 having a metal mesh layer 20 secured thereover. The assembly further includes a base matrix layer 30 applied around the metal mesh and a top coat layer 40 applied thereover.

(8) The insulating material 12 may comprise a plurality of substantially planar insulating panels (only one shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) located side by side so as to form a continuous planar barrier. The insulating material 12 has front and rear surfaces, 16 and 14, respectively. The insulating material may be formed of any suitable material, such as, by way of non-limiting example, expanded polystyrene, wall board, plywood or the like. The rear surface 14 of the insulating panels may be secured to the wall sheathing 8 by fasteners, adhesives or the like as is commonly known in the art.

(9) The metal mesh 20 comprises a semi-permeable member formed of a plurality of elongate metal members 22 having bores or cavities 24 therethrough. The metal members 22 are connected to each other to form a continuous perforated member. As illustrated, the metal mesh 20 may be formed of an expanded metal mesh, although it will be appreciated that any other metal mesh type may be useful as well, such as, by way of non-limiting example woven, knitted, welded, photo-chemically etched or electroformed (screen filter) from steel, stainless steel, aluminium, copper or any other metals. In particular, it has been found that a wire mesh having cavities 24 therethrough of up to 2 inches (51 mm) therethrough may be particularly useful although it will be appreciated that many other types and sizes of wire mesh may be useful as well.

(10) With reference to FIG. 2, the metal mesh 20 is secured to the front surface 16 of the insulating material 12 by fasteners 26. The fasteners 26 include a threaded portion 28 sized to be passed through the cavities 24 of the metal mesh and a head portion 29 sized to overlap at least one metal member 22 such that when the fastener 26 is passed through the cavities 24 of the metal mesh the head portions 29 will bear against the metal mesh 20 and bias the metal mesh into direct contact with the front surface 16 of the insulating layer. It will be appreciated that any suitable fastener may be utilized, although it has been found that EZ Anchors manufactured by Buildex are particularly useful.

(11) After the metal mesh 20 has been secured to the front surface of the insulating material 12, a base coat of a matrix material 30 is applied thereover so as to surround and encase the metal mesh therein while retaining the metal mesh in contact with the front surface of the insulating material 12. The matrix material 30 may be selected from any conventionally known base layer, such as, by way of non-limiting example, cement or polymers. The matrix material 30 is applied to the insulating material 12 and mesh 20 by a trowel or sprayed on in a conventional manner. The matrix material 30 may be applied in any desired thickness so as to completely cover the metal mesh 20, such as by way of non-limiting example between and inches (3 and 6 mm).

(12) It will be appreciated that although the matrix material 30 is applied to the insulating material 12, it is not required to be completely adhered to the front surface 16 of the insulating material. Rather a portion of the weight of the matrix material 30 will be supported by the metal mesh 20 which is fixedly secured to the insulating material. Therefore it will be appreciated that the additional step of rasping or sanding of the insulating material may not be necessary.

(13) After the matrix material 30 is allowed to dry for a sufficient length of time, such as, by way of non-limiting example at approximately 24 to 48 hours as is commonly known in the art, the top coat 40 is applied thereto. The top coat 40 comprises a finished color selected layer which is weatherproof so as to prevent the inclusion of weather and other elements into the assembly. The top coat 40 is commonly selected from any suitable material, such as, by way of non-limiting example, acrylic and is commonly applied by a trowel or sprayed on according to known methods. The top coat 40 may have any thickness desired depending upon the use, although it will commonly have a thickness of approximately inches (3 mm).

(14) In use, the present assembly will prevent the penetration of pests such as rodents and birds by providing a metal mesh layer which the pests are unable to penetrate. Therefore, although the birds and rodents may be able to penetrate the outer layers of the assembly they will not pass all the way through into the insulating layer where they would be able to build a nest or cause other further damage. Therefore, the amount of repair necessary to fix to such superficial damages will be significantly reduced.

(15) Turning now to FIGS. 3 and 5, according to a further embodiment of the present invention the present assembly 10 may be applied to an existing stucco or other wall type as illustrated. The pre-existing wall may be formed of a layer of an insulating material 12 having a matrix layer 9 applied thereover and an outer top coat layer 7 as is commonly known. The assembly 10 of the present invention may be applied over such a pre-existing EIFS stucco wall by applying a metal mesh layer 20 thereover having a base matrix layer 30 applied around the metal mesh and a top coat layer 40 applied thereover. In such a manner, damage, such as hole generally indicated at 11 in FIG. 5 to existing EIFS stucco walls may be repaired without requiring the complete removal of the pre-existing EIFS stucco.

(16) With reference to FIG. 4, the assembly 10 may be applied to v-grooves 50 as illustrated. The assembly may include a shaped mesh 52 having first and second side panels 54 and 56 and with first and second flanges 58 and 60, extending therefrom. The shaped mesh 52 may be formed of a substantially similar mesh material as metal mesh 20 as described above. The shaped mesh 52 may be bent, or otherwise formed into the desired shape to correspond to the v-groove in the insulating material 12. Once applied to the v-groove, adjacent metal meshes 20 may be overlapped thereon and both the metal mesh 20 and shaped mesh 52 secured to the insulating material 12 by fasteners 26. It will also be appreciated that similar shaped meshes may be utilized to form interior and exterior corners as well as curves and other shaped in the finished wall.

(17) While specific embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated, such embodiments should be considered illustrative of the invention only and not as limiting the invention as construed in accordance with the accompanying claims.