Building Coverings

Abstract

A wall surface covering system comprising: a wall surface covering for covering an underlying vertical support surface constituted by a wall, said wall surface covering comprising a rigid body; a first component of a hook-and-loop fastener fixable to the rigid body of the wall surface covering; and a second component of the hook-and-loop fastener that is fixable to the underlying vertical surface. The first and second components are cooperable such that,when the first component is fixed to the surface covering and the second component is fixed to the underlying vertical surface, the first and second components can be engaged to cause the wall surface covering to grip the wall. The first and second components are configured to cooperate to provide a fastening having a pull strength and a shear strength that are high enough to hold the surface covering in position on the vertical support surface, and a peel strength that is low enough to allow removal of the surface covering from the underlying surface by peeling the rigid body away from the wall.

Claims

1. A wall surface covering system comprising: a wall surface covering for covering an underlying vertical support surface constituted by a wall, said wall surface covering comprising a rigid body; a first component of a hook-and-loop fastener fixable to the rigid body of the wall surface covering; and a second component of the hook-and-loop fastener that is fixable to the underlying vertical surface; wherein the first and second components are cooperable such that, when the first component is fixed to the surface covering and the second component is fixed to the underlying vertical surface, the first and second components can be engaged to cause the wall surface covering to grip the wall; and wherein the first and second components are configured to cooperate to provide a fastening having a pull strength and a shear strength that are high enough to hold the surface covering in position on the vertical support surface, and a peel strength that is low enough to allow removal of the surface covering from the underlying surface by peeling the rigid body away from the wall.

2. The wall surface covering system of claim 1, wherein the peel strength of the fastening is less than the stress required to fracture the rigid body.

3. A wall surface covering system as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the cooperating engagement properties of the hook and loop components first and second components are configured to provide a synergy that balances, or provides a balance, between relatively high pull strength, relatively high shear strength and relatively low peel strength.

4.-6. (canceled)

7. A wall surface covering system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hook component has a thickness of between approximately 0.3 mm and approximately 0.75 mm.

8. (canceled)

9. A wall surface covering system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the loop component has a thickness of between approximately 0.3 and 0.75 mm.

10. A wall surface covering system as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that hook and loop components have a combined thickness which is no greater than approximately 1.5 mm.

11. A wall surface covering system as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the Pull Strength is in the range of 0.5 N/cm.sup.2 to 2.50 N/cm.sup.2, the Shear Strength is in the range of 20 N/cm.sup.2 to 40 N/cm.sup.2 and the Peel Strength is in the range of 0.2 N/cm.sup.2 to 1.0 N/cm.sup.2.

12. A wall surface covering system as claimed in claim 7, characterised in that the pull strength is in the range of 1.0 N/cm.sup.2 to 2.0 N/cm.sup.2, the shear strength is in the range of 25 N/cm.sup.2 to 35 N/cm.sup.2 and the peel strength is in the range of 0.4 N/cm.sup.2 to 0.8 N/cm.sup.2.

13. A wall surface covering system as claimed in claim 8, characterised in that the pull strength is approximately 1.5 N/cm.sup.2, the shear strength is approximately 30 N/cm.sup.2 and the peel strength is approximately 0.6 N/cm.sup.2.

14. A wall surface covering system as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the hooks of the hook component comprise a stem and a cap, the cap extending beyond the stem in at least two mutually transverse directions to engage the loop fastening bi-directionally.

15. A wall surface covering system as claimed in claim 10, characterised in that the hooks are generally of mushroom shape.

16. A wall surface covering system as claimed in claim 11, characterised in that the generally mushroom-shaped hooks are microscopic, tightly packed and arranged in rows.

17.-18. (canceled)

19. A wall surface covering system as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that loops of the loop component are of a lightweight knitted material.

20. A wall surface covering system as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the loop weight has a range of from about 80 to about 120 grams per square meter.

21. A wall surface covering system as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the loops of the loop component are carried by a carrier layer of plastics material.

22. A wall surface covering system as claimed in claim 15, characterised in that the carrier layer has a thickness of about 45 microns.

23. (canceled)

24. A wall surface covering system as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that one or both of the first and second components have a glued backing for fixing the respective components to the surface covering and/or the wall surface.

25.-31. (canceled)

32. The wall surface covering system of claim 1, wherein the wall surface covering is a tile.

33.-35. (canceled)

36. The wall surface covering of claim 1, wherein the first component is fixed to or integrated with the rigid body.

37. A method of installing a wall surface covering system said method comprising: fixing a first pre-glued component of a hook-and-loop fastener to a wall surface from a supply of such component; fixing a second pre-glued component of a hook-and-loop fastener from a separate supply of such component to a back of a wall surface covering; fixing one or more tiles to the wall surface by pressing the cooperating hook and loop components into engagement with one another such that the tiles are held on the wall surface; and applying grout between, and surrounding, the one or more tiles.

38.-39. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0131] FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a large format ceramic wall tile bearing a first component of a hook-an-loop fastener according to an aspect of the invention;

[0132] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of two rolls of a second component of a hook-an-loop fastener for applying to an underlying wall surface, which can be used in conjunction with the tile of FIG. 1 to provide a wall covering system according to another aspect of the invention;

[0133] FIG. 3 is a side view of a portion of the hook component of the hook and loop fastener element of FIGS. 1 and 2;

[0134] FIG. 4 is a top view of the hook component of FIG. 3;

[0135] FIG. 5 is a side view of the loop component of the hook and loop fastener element of FIGS. 1 and 2;

[0136] FIG. 6 is a top view of the loop component of FIG. 5;

[0137] FIG. 7 is a plan view from below of the loop-backed ceramic tile of FIG. 5;

[0138] FIG. 8 shows the peeling action to separate the release liner from the hook component;

[0139] FIG. 9 shows the hook component with top section of release liner peeled back and folded;

[0140] FIG. 10 shows the application of the top section of the hook component to the underlying wall surface;

[0141] FIG. 11 shows one way of carrying out the application of the hook component to an underlying support surface by hand;

[0142] FIG. 12 shows another way of carrying out the application of the hook component to an underlying support surface using a decorating brush;

[0143] FIG. 13 shows the application of hook component to an underlying wall surface, from either of the rolls shown in FIG. 2;

[0144] FIGS. 14 and 15 show the application of the loop backed large format ceramic tiles of FIG. 1 to the hook component applied to the underlying wall surface as shown in FIGS. 10, 11, 12 and 13;

[0145] FIG. 16 shows the application of grout to complete the installation process of the loop backed large format ceramic tiles of FIGS. 1 and 2;

[0146] FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a tanking roll component for use in the wall covering system;

[0147] FIG. 18 shows the peeling action to separate the right-hand side of a spliced release liner from the tanking roll component of FIG. 17;

[0148] FIG. 19 further demonstrates the peeling action showing the right-hand side of the spliced release liner being separated from the tanking roll component whilst leaving the left-hand side of the release liner attached;

[0149] FIG. 20 shows the tanking roll component with both left-hand and right-hand sides of the spliced release liner partially peeled;

[0150] FIG. 21 shows the folding action of the tanking roll component;

[0151] FIG. 22 shows the folded tanking roll being installed onto a corner section of a wall;

[0152] FIG. 23 shows the hook component overlaid onto the tanking roll component after it has been installed on a corner section of a wall;

[0153] FIG. 24 shows the hook component overlaid onto the tanking roll after it has been installed on a flat section of a wall;

[0154] FIG. 25 shows a full waterproof installation where multiple sections of hook component overlay multiple strips of the tanking roll component;

[0155] FIG. 26a is a schematic of the forces applied during a Pull Strength Test;

[0156] FIG. 26b is a schematic of the forces applied during a Shear Strength Test;

[0157] FIG. 26c is a schematic of the forces applied during a Peel Strength Test;

[0158] FIG. 26 shows the application of a Pull Strength Test of hook and loop component fixed large format ceramic tiles and is carried out in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

[0159] FIG. 27 shows how a Peel Strength Test may be carried out before grouting in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

[0160] FIG. 28 shows how one embodiment of a Shear Strength Test is carried out in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

[0161] FIG. 29 shows how grout around the edge of a single tile is removed using an oscillating blade tool;

[0162] FIG. 30 shows how, after grout has been removed around a single tile, the remaining grouted tiles can be removed from the wall using a trowel tool.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0163] FIG. 1 illustrates a wall covering in the form of a tile 30 that forms part of a wall covering system. The tile 30 comprises a rigid body 31. A first component 20 of a hook-and-loop fastener is fixable to the rigid body 31, and in the embodiment illustrated is more specifically shown fixed to the rigid body 31.

[0164] FIG. 2 illustrates a second component 10 of the hook-and-loop fastener that, in use, is fixable to a vertical underlying surface defined by a wall (not shown). In this example, the second component 10 is supported on a backing sheet 17 that is rolled into a roll 15. The backing sheet has a pre-glued undersurface (not shown) that can be fixed to a wall surface.

[0165] In the embodiment shown, the first component 20 is a loop component that comprises a plurality of loop structures and the second component 10 is a hook component that comprises a plurality of hook structures. However, embodiments are also envisaged in which the first component 20 is the hook component and the second component 10 is a loop component.

[0166] In use, the second component 10 is fixed to the wall surface via the pre-glued backing sheet 17. The tile 30, with the first component 20 attached, is then pressed onto the second component 10 on the wall surface so as to engage the first and second components, 20, 10 of the hook-and-loop fastener. Engaging the first and second components 20, 10 causes the tile 30 to grip the wall, thereby fixing the tile in place on the wall.

[0167] As will now be explained by more detailed description of the hook and loop components 10, 20, the hook and loop components 10, 20 are configured to cooperate so as to provide a synergy between the physical properties of pull strength, shear strength and peel strength. In particular, the components 10, 20 are configured to provide a fastening having a pull strength and a shear strength that are high enough to hold the surface covering 30 in position on the vertical support surface, against the weight of the surface covering 30, but a peel strength that is low enough to allow removal of the surface covering 30 from the underlying surface by peeling the rigid body 31 away from the wall.

[0168] Referring to FIGS. 3 to 6, there is shown a hook-and-loop fastener of which a hook component 10 (FIGS. 3 and 4) and a loop component 20 (FIGS. 5 and 6) engagingly cooperate to fix wall surface coverings, in particular conventional ceramic tiles, (not shown), to underlying surfaces such as walls (not shown).

[0169] In the illustrated hook-and-loop fastener comprising the hook and loop components 10 and 20 the forces for holding a conventional ceramic tile to yet allowing removal of the tile from, an underlying support surface, are in synergy.

[0170] The engagement properties of the cooperating hook and loop components 10 and 20 of the fastener are such that there is synergy between the physical properties of pull strength, shear strength and peel strength, and this which synergy balances these physical properties.

[0171] The hook component 10 is made of an extruded moulding of plastics material which is of low and smooth profile and waterproof. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the hook component 10 may be of polypropylene and has a base layer 12 with microscopic hooks 14 projecting therefrom and generally of mushroom shape, having a cylindrical stem and a domed cap of circular cross section that extends beyond the cylindrical stem in all directions. A glue layer 13 is provided on the under surface of the hook component 10, which can be used to fix the hook component 10 to a surface.

[0172] It is envisaged that shapes other than mushroom shapes may achieve the same synergistic result. For example, any shape including a relatively narrow stem supporting a relatively wide cap may achieve the same result. The cross section of the cap could be of any suitable shape, for example an oval, a square shape or a cross shape.

[0173] As can be seen more readily in FIG. 2, the microscopic mushroom-shaped hooks 14 are tightly-packed and moulded in rows 16, giving widespread coverage over the entire surface of the hook component 10. The mushroom-shaped hooks 14 are of low profile, and preferably have a height of approximately 0.42 mm above the base layer 12.

[0174] As is visible in FIGS. 3 and 4, the loop component 20 comprises a multiplicity of dense, lightweight, knitted low-profile loops 22 carried by a base layer 31. The base layer 21 is made of plastics material which is conveniently of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) and preferably has a thickness of 45 microns. The loops 22 preferably have a height of less than 0.41 mm, such that a total thickness of the hooks 14 and loops 22 is no greater than approximately 0.83 mm.

[0175] The dense arrangement of the loops ensures that widespread cooperative engagement occurs across the back surface of the ceramic tile. The low-profile nature of the loops 22 ensures that once the hooks 14 are trapped in the loops 22, the hooks 14 are held tightly and close to the carrier layer of plastics material, such that very little vertical and horizontal movement is possible between the hook and loop components. In this way, movement of the components 10, 20, and hence of the tile 30, generally in the plane of the tiles is strongly restricted. This is particularly advantageous as it avoids the position of the tiles 30 creeping over time, for example, under the weight of the tile 30, or during laying of the tiles.

[0176] The loop density and widespread engagement of the loops 22 with the hooks 14, and the low-profile nature of the hook and loop fastenings reduces vertical and horizontal movement resulting in a high shear strength. The mushroom shape of the extrusion hooks 14 allows bi-directional engagement with the loops 22 enabling a ceramic tile to be fixed in either portrait or landscape orientation without affecting pull strength, shear strength or peel strength.

[0177] The smooth mushroom-shaped extruded hooks 14 and low-profile loops 22 create an engagement property which provides relatively low engagement strength for each individual pair of cooperating hook and loop components 10 and 20, achieving the desired low peel strength. Although each individual pair of hook and loop components exhibits low engagement strength, the tightly packed microscopic hooks ensure widespread engagement across the entire surface leading to the desired high pull strength.

[0178] A critical factor in ensuring that the tile is fixed securely to the wall is to ensure that the shear strength of the hook and loop components can support a range of different tile weights. Typical weights of tiles of particular sizes are as follows:

TABLE-US-00001 Tile size Weight 100 × 100 × 6.5 mm  0.112 kg 150 × 150 × 6.5 mm  0.245 kg 200 × 100 × 6.5 mm  0.221 kg 200 × 200 × 6.5 mm  0.441 kg 300 × 100 × 10 mm 0.489 kg  300 × 200 × 8 mm 0.804 kg  360 × 275 × 8 mm 1.341 kg  300 × 300 × 8 mm 1.634 kg 400 × 150 × 10 mm 1.021 kg 400 × 300 × 10 mm 2.052 kg 450 × 450 × 10 mm 4.341 kg  600 × 150 × 9 mm 1.902 kg 600 × 300 × 10 mm 3.301 kg 600 × 600 × 10 mm 8.296 kg 850 × 290 × 10 mm 4.432 kg 900 × 450 × 11 mm 9.332 kg 900 × 600 × 11 mm 12.909 kg 1000 × 160 × 11 mm  3.754 kg

[0179] The hook-and-loop fastener must be configures such that the shear strength of the fastener is greater than the shear force applied by the weight of the tile.

[0180] Horizontal or vertical movement should be minimised to avoid grout cracking after a tile installation has been completed. Horizontal and vertical movement is determined by the amount of play between individual hook and loop elements when the tile is fixed to the wall. The surface area of the tile will further define the amount of horizontal and vertical movement;in particular, this movement is reduced exponentially when the surface area of the tile is increased due to the increase in the number of individual hook-to-loop engagements. After a series of tests the applicant determined that horizontal and vertical movement for tiles with a surface area less than 300 mm by 300 mm should not exceed 2 mm, while horizontal and vertical movement for larger tiles with a surface area greater than 300 mm by 300 mm should not exceed 1 mm. The combined thickness of the hook and loop components is also a key contributor to lateral movement therefore low profile hook and loop products are a necessity.

[0181] To ensure tile removal is easy, two key factors need to be addressed. Firstly, the requirement of the invention is to connect two rigid surfaces (wall substrate and a rigid decorative covering) therefore the aggressive peel strength of most common hook and loop products would create a bond strength that was too strong for a person to physically separate. Instead, the peel strength must be relatively low.

[0182] A second key factor is to ensure that the decorative covering can be removed without being broken. The invention has been designed primarily for ceramic tile installation therefore breaking strength values are a key factor. Ceramic tile breaking strength standards are categorised by material type—B1A Porcelain tiles and Bill Monoporoso tiles. B1A Porcelain breaking strength standards are defined by material thickness: tiles with a thickness 7.5 mm must have a breaking strength not less than 1300N and tiles with a thickness >7.5 mm must have a breaking strength not less than 700N. Bill Monoporoso breaking strength standards are also defined by thickness: tiles with a thickness 7.5 mm must have a breaking strength not less than 600N and tiles with a thickness ≦7.5mm must have a breaking strength not less than 200N. During testing the applicant found that Bill Monoporoso tiles would break repeatedly during removal when fixed with aggressive hook and loop products and the high breaking strength values of a B1A porcelain combined with aggressive hook and loop products prevented tile removal altogether. The breaking strength tests highlighted the need for a hook and loop combination with a low peel strength.

[0183] The low peel strength of the invention has therefore been developed to ensure that the peel force required to remove a decorative covering is a) low enough to prevent any damage to the underlying vertical wall, b) less than the force required to break the decorative covering of the rigid body and c) lower than the amount of force a typical person could feasibly apply. This ensures that the tile can be removed easily by hand, and without damaging the wall or the tile.

[0184] Referring to FIG. 5, the loop component 20 of Combination C is glued onto the back of a ceramic tile during manufacture of the tile to form a loop-backed tile 30.

[0185] The extruded hook component 10 (Combination C) may be supplied in the larger of the two hook rolls 15 as shown in FIG. 2. Alternatively, the hook component 10 may be supplied in the smaller (retail sized) of the hook rolls 17 shown in FIG. 2.

[0186] The installation process consists of two phases. The first phase is to apply the glue-backed hook component 10 onto the surface 32 of the wall. The second phase is to fix the loop-backed ceramic tiles 30 onto the surface of the wall 32 by attaching them to the hook component.

[0187] The first phase of applying the glue-backed hook component 10 to the wall surface 32 consists of four steps. As shown in FIG. 8, the first step is to separate the top edge section of the release liner 18 from the glue-backed element of the hook component 19. To simplify the peeling process the release liner 18 features an oversized lift edge 11 on both sides of the hook component as shown in FIG. 8.

[0188] FIG. 9 shows the second installation step where the release line 18 is separated along the entire top edge and folded back to reveal the top edge section of the glue-backed hook component 19. The third installation step is shown in FIG. 10 where the top edge section of the glue-backed hook component 19 is pressed into place on the surface 32 of the wall.

[0189] FIG. 11 shows the fourth installation step where the remaining section of release liner 18 is peeled away from the glue-backed hook component in a continuous movement as the operator smooths the glue-backed hook component 19 onto the surface 32 of the wall. FIG. 11 shows the smoothing action using the operators hand and FIG. 12 shows an alternative smoothing method using a decorating brush. As shown in FIG. 13 the simultaneous action of peeling off sections of release line 18 and smoothing sections of glue-backed hook component onto the surface 32 of the wall is repeated until the operator reaches the bottom of the wall. At the bottom of the surface 32 of the wall the hook component 10 is cut to length from the roll 15 using a sharp blade 37.

[0190] FIGS. 14 and 15 demonstrate the second installation phase where the loop-backed tiles 30 are fixed to the hook component 10 on the wall surface 32. Loop-backed tiles 30 are pushed into position to ensure engagement of the loop and hook components 20 and 10. As per traditional fixing, the loop-backed tiles 30 are positioned using tile spacers 36. A trowel tool 37 can be used to remove and reposition a hook-and-loop fastened tile 38.

[0191] In the third and final step shown in FIG. 16, grout is applied between, and surrounding, the hoop and loop fastened tiles 38 using the traditional method, with the applied grout being indicated at 39.

[0192] To cater for wet area installations the invention includes a waterproofing solution that will now be described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 25.

[0193] The waterproofing solution consists of a 100 mm wide tanking roll component 40 shown in FIGS. 17 and 18. The tanking roll 40 consists of two elements: a glue-backed waterproof tape 41 and a release liner 42, 43.

[0194] As can be seen in FIGS. 19 and 20, for ease of installation the release liner consists of separate right-hand 42 and left-hand 43 sections which can be peeled back and detached separately. The peeling action is further simplified by an oversized lift edge 44 on both sides of the tanking roll component. The separate right-hand and left-hand components 42, 43 also ease installation in corner areas 45 of the wall surface 32.

[0195] FIGS. 21 to 22 show the installation of the tanking roll 40 at a corner region where two perpendicular walls meet. As shown in FIG. 21, a section of tanking roll 40 is folded in preparation for installation. The right-hand and left-hand sections 42, 43 of the release liner can be peeled away separately and, as shown in FIG. 22, the operator applies the folded glue-backed tanking roll component 41 to each plane defined by the two walls that meet at the corner. To make a watertight bond the glue-backed hook component 19 is overlaid on top of the glue-backed tanking roll component 41 as shown in FIG. 23.

[0196] FIG. 24 shows a tanking roll installation on a flat wall surface 32. When installed onto a flat wall the right-hand and left-hand sections 42, 43 of the release liner can be peeled off simultaneously. After peeling off the sections of release liner the glue-backed tanking roll component 41 is smoothed onto the wall.

[0197] As shown in FIG. 25, once the tanking roll 41 has been applied to the wall, the tanking roll 41 is overlaid with sections of glue-backed hook component 19 on the flat wall surfaces 32 and the corner areas 45. Once the glue-backed hook component 19 has been applied, the wall surfaces 32 are ready to receive the tiles 30.

[0198] The Applicant carried out pull, shear and peel strength tests and time trials on hook and loop component Combination C fastened to conventional large-format ceramic tiles, which were of the Applicant's own devising and not Industry Standard, with the following results.

[0199] Pull Strength Test (Large Format Ceramic Tiles)

[0200] The Pull Strength Test measures the force required to pull a hook and loop component fastened tile away from the wall surface.

[0201] An application of the Applicant's Pull Strength Test is shown in FIG. 26, and the forces applied during the Pull Strength Test are illustrated schematically in FIG. 26a. The Pull Strength Test uses a suction device 50 having a pair of suction cups 52, joined by a handle 54 having a suction valve 56 so a vacuum can be produced in the suction cups. The suction cups 52 are applied to a loop-backed tile 30 which has been fastened to the hooks 14 of a hook component 10 adhered to the tiles 30 applied to the wall, the valve 56 is opened and air is sucked from the suction cups to produce the requisite holding vacuum. A fitter 58 pulled on the vertically arranged handle 54 of the suction device 50 with one hand 59 and exerting counter pressure against the wall with his other hand 59a but failed to pull the Combination C hook-and-loop fastened tile 30 from the wall.

[0202] Shear Strength Test

[0203] The Applicant's Shear Strength Test is shown in FIG. 28, and the forces applied during the Shear Strength Test are illustrated schematically in FIG. 26b. In the Shear Strength Test, two suction devices 50 are applied to two loop-backed tiles 30 respectively which have been fastened to the hooks 14 of a hook component 10 applied to the wall, with the two handles 54 horizontal. The valves 56 are opened, and air is sucked from the suction cups 52 to hold the suction device to the tiles 30. In this test, the fitter 58 uses his two hands to hold onto the respective two handles of the suction device 50 and then pulls himself up into the illustrated position in doing which he is hanging and supporting his entire weight from the suction device 50 through the hook-and-loop fastened tiles of Combination C. The Applicant knows from this test that the hook-and-loop fastened tiles of Combination C are capable of withstanding a weight of 80 kg (12.5 Stone), and hence a vertical (Shear) force of approximately 785 N.

[0204] Peel Strength Test

[0205] FIG. 27 shows how the Applicant's Peel Strength Test was carried out, and FIG. 26c illustrates schematically the forces applied during the peel strength test. The Peel Strength Test was carried out without grout 39 being applied between, and surrounding, the hook-and-loop fastened wall tiles 38 using Combination C. The free end of a trowel tool 60 is inserted (as shown) between the empty grout gap 39 and the tile and behind the loop backing of the tile 38 between the hook component on the wall and the loop component on the tile 38 and simply levered upwards utilising a prising movement to disengage the loop component easily from the underlying hook component. The ease and simplicity of this levering and turning movement shows that the Peel strength of Combination C is low.

[0206] As shown in FIGS. 29 and 30, Peel Strength Tests were also carried out after grouting was applied. As shown in FIG. 29, a single hook and loop Combination C fastened tile may be removed as the first tile 38 of all the tiles 38 on the wall surface 32 for re-tiling after grout 39 has been removed with a tool 62 having a grout-removing oscillating disc 64.

[0207] Water Penetration Test

[0208] Working with a UKAS accredited testing house the invention has been subjected to a series of water penetration tests to establish regulatory compliance performance of the hook and loop system and make direct comparisons with the performance of conventional cementitious based tile adhesive. Tiles fixed to plasterboard panels via both hook and loop and cement based adhesive were subjected to various testing cycles using a Hydrothermal Chamber. The panels were subjected to BS EN tensile and shear strength adhesion tests both before and after each testing cycle. The conditioning cycles subjected the boards to the following conditions: 20 minutes water spray at 40 oC, 20 minutes dehumidifying and 20 minutes at ambient humidity/temperature. The testing panels were subjected to conditioning for a period of 28 days and a total of 675 cycles. The panels were inspected on a daily basis and on completion of the cycle the adhesion tests were repeated both wet and after drying and a comparison of the results were made with control samples.

[0209] Key points from the testing results are as follows:

[0210] The hydrothermal chamber tests measured water penetration levels over a 28 day period under extreme conditions and the results showed that although the daily visual inspections revealed areas of shading on both walls there was no damage to either wall or evidence that water had penetrated to the rear of the plasterboard. A tiled layer can never be considered as a completely impervious layer even when traditional water resistant adhesive and grouts are used. Hydrothermal cycling results in an extreme environment with a tile system constantly subjected to moisture and high humidity which allows little or no time for drying. Moisture penetrates the grout lines and is absorbed into the body of the tile resulting in equal amounts of shading in the tile body on both of the fixing systems. Removing tiles from the walls revealed moisture in the tile adhesive and between the hook and loop but in both instances the plaster board remained dry. Drying of both walls resulted in a complete reversal of the shading effect.

[0211] A comparison of the tensile values obtained before and after hydrothermal cycling indicates that there has been little or no degradation of the bond between the tile and the substrate after testing. Tensile values obtained for the hook and loop system using both gloss and matt tiles were in fact found to be higher after hydrothermal conditioning. The higher value of the tensile test arises because the loop material is known to shrink when wet, which results in a higher bond strength as the loop shrinks around the hook.

[0212] The tensile strength of the hook and loop system was found to be lower than traditional tile adhesive. However, the tensile strength was intentionally designed to be lower since a lower peel strength is necessary to allow the tiles to be removed and exchanged without the need to replace the hook material or plasterboard.

[0213] At present there are no standards which relate to the tensile strength of tile installations in situ, under perfect laboratory conditions a traditional cementitious adhesive is expected to obtain a tensile value in the region of 0.5 N/mm.sup.2. The hook and loop system achieved a value lower than this but the average value of 0.023 N/mm.sup.2 would mean that a single tile would be able to support a weight of 234 kg or the equivalent of 2.8 average adult males. Such a strength is ample to keep the tile in place on the vertical surface under the sorts of stresses that would be applied during use of the tile, for example by a person leaning on the wall.

[0214] Hydrothermal cycling tests represent accelerated climate conditioning resulting in accelerated aging. Completion of 675 cycles in the chamber can be said to equate to approximately 10 years' service under normal domestic conditions.

[0215] Fire Testing

[0216] Working with a UKAS accredited fire testing company the invention has been evaluated using European Standard EN 13501-1 which provides the reaction to fire classification procedures for all products and building elements. Fire classifications are A1, A2, B, C, D, E and F with A1 being the highest or best rating and F being the lowest rating (no performance determined). Currently, ceramic tiles have the highest fire rating under CE marking of A1 (classified without testing) due to the nature of tiles being inert having been fired to 1130 C.

[0217] The UKAS testing house recommended a target classification of B for the hook and loop fixing system. Group B is for products and systems suitable for all buildings with a few exceptions e.g. marine environments and rail carriages. Exceptions such as marine environments are subject to further toxicity evaluations therefore acceptance could also be achieved with the successful completion of further tests.

[0218] The testing process was conducted using the maximum number of joins between tiles in the system, i.e. utilising the smallest 10×10 cm tiles. By selecting a tile size that maximises the number of joins between the tiles, this test would cover all field tiles 10×10 cm and above.

[0219] Two categories of tests were performed to obtain classification B to EN13501-1:

[0220] Single Burn Item Test EN 13823:2010

[0221] The SBI test is the main reaction to fire test for building products and investigates the response of a product in a corner configuration when it is exposed to a thermal attack typifying fire involving a single burning item. 1.5 m by 1.0 m panels will be constructed in a corner configuration and exposed to a single heat source to assess the fire performance of the combined hook and loop elements measuring time to ignition, heat release, spread of flame, smoke production rate and formation of flaming droplets/debris.

[0222] Ignitability Test EN ISO 11925-2:2002

[0223] This test method measures the ignitability of building products when exposed to a small flame. The test takes place inside a draught free test chamber where the test specimen is mounted vertically. The test specimen is subjected to edge and/or surface exposure from a gas flame. During the test, time of ignition, burning droplets and whether the flames reach the top marking of the test specimen within a prescribed time period, is registered. Each element of the hook and loop system is tested separately to calculate the individual smoke production and flame droplet values. The values are adjusted based on the mass of each element within a square meter area and combined to produce a total value for the whole tiling system. The total value determines the classification.

[0224] Time Trials

[0225] Time trials were conducted on a typical installation of hook-and-loop fastened conventional ceramic tiles by comparing ready mix adhesive, rapid set adhesive and Applicant's hook and loop component Combination C.

[0226] In this time trial, Applicant carried out tile fixing tests by tiling a typical size bathroom wall, with a 36×27 ceramic tile in a brick bond fashion), with the following results:

TABLE-US-00002 Hook-and-loop fastener Rapid Set Ready Mix Applying hook 24 mins — — component roll to a wall surface Preparation/Mixing —  5 mins — Tile Fixing 34 mins 51 mins 51 mins Total 58 mins 56 mins 51 mins Drying Time — 60 mins 180 mins  Grouting Time 10 mins 10 mins 10 mins

[0227] If excluding drying time, the Applicant's hook and loop Combination C took marginally longer to fix to the wall surface than conventional adhesives. However, significant time savings arise as a result of the fact that there is no drying time, which means that the Applicant's hook and loop Combination C can be grouted immediately. This is particularly important in time sensitive applications when tiling as a wet trade is on the project critical path.

[0228] The Applicant has found that a particularly advantageous combination of pull strength, shear strength and peel strength, which provides for the tiles to be particularly securely fixed to the wall whilst also allowing for particularly easy removal of the tile by peeling is as follows:

[0229] Pull strength: approximately 1.5 N/cm.sup.2, measured according to European Standard EN 12 242;

[0230] Shear strength: approximately 30 N/cm.sup.2 measured according to European Standard EN 13 780; and

[0231] Peel strength: approximately 0.6 N/cm.sup.2 measured according to French Norm NF G 91 103.

[0232] The Applicant concluded that its hook and loop Combination C has the following particular advantages: [0233] a) there is no mess to the tiler or the room; [0234] b) there is no need to clean tools; [0235] c) if the tiler makes a mistake or client does not like the job it is very easy to change; and [0236] d) there is less physical effort as there is no need for the tiler to keep walking up and down a ladder to re-load a trowel with tile adhesive.

[0237] Further advantages include the following:

[0238] Installation Temperatures

[0239] Unlike traditional cement adhesive systems, installation of the hook-and-loop fastening system is unaffected by installation temperature. As stated in British Standard BS 5385-4:2009 sections 9.1.1 and 9.2.3 tiling using traditional cement based adhesive should be avoided during periods of low and high temperatures. Although the prevailing humidity and degree of air movement might be modifying factors, the approximate temperature range within which installation can be carried out with normal methods and materials is 5° C. to 25° C. In lower temperatures ice crystals will begin to form in the water-based adhesive mix causing delays on building sites if heating systems are not yet connected and can incur additional costs if portable heating systems are required. In higher temperatures the adhesive mix starts to dry too quickly causing difficulties maintaining an accurate powder-to-water ratio when additional top-ups of water are required to keep the adhesive mixture at a suitable consistency, this can be further compounded in warmer regions where water is in short supply. The hook and loop products are applied using robust hot melt adhesives which are commonly used in the automotive industry and are therefore design to operate in a wider range of temperatures with typical values ranging from 40° C. to 70° C. The wider range of installation temperatures of the invention will significantly reduce the time that would normally be lost installing with cement based adhesives.

[0240] Weight Savings

[0241] When applied as per the manufacturer's instructions the weight of cement based adhesive is approximately 3 kg per square meter. By contrast, the hook-and-loop fastening system of the invention weighs approximately 0.35 kg per square meter, which is 2.65 kg per square meter lighter than conventional adhesive.

[0242] The reduction in weight per square meter has a significant impact on overall building weight in high-rise multi-story structures. The reduction in overall building weight facilitates a reduction in cost when calculating the steelwork required for the structural framework.

[0243] An alternative benefit can also be achieved if aesthetics are a higher priority than weight savings. Currently, weight restrictions apply to plastered walls and plasterboard, and the maximum allowed weight per square meter is 20 kg for plastered walls and 32 kg for dry plasterboard installations. When adhesive weight is factored into the equation, tile choice can be limited. For example with current weight limits some larger tile sizes that cannot be installed on a plastered wall using traditional adhesive could be installed using the invention therefore widening the customer choice.

[0244] Time Savings

[0245] If using traditional cement-based adhesive, grouting cannot begin until the adhesive has dried. Adhesives are generally split into two categories: ready mix adhesives and powder-based. Ready mix adhesives have a water-based content, which means that they require between 16 and 24 hours of drying time before grouting can begin. Powder-based adhesives have shorter setting times (approx. 3 hours); however the mixture preparation and clean-up times are longer and they require access to large volumes of water. The invention has time saving advantages over both types of adhesive because grouting can begin as soon as the tiles have been fixed, mixture preparation is removed, clean-up is kept to a minimum and large volumes of water are not required.

[0246] Waterproofing

[0247] Wet areas in commercial installations such as shower areas in changing rooms need to be watertight, therefore boarding and tiling solutions must be upgraded in these areas to meet the additional waterproofing demands. Normal plasterboard is replaced with moisture resistant board or tile backer-board and further water proofing is added using wet area tanking kits. A tanking kit usually consists of a primer, membrane and tape. Fitting alternative boards and tanking kits can be time consuming and expensive. The hook material element of the invention provides an alternative waterproof membrane and combined with a tanking tape could remove the need for a tanking kit. In domestic bathrooms the levels of waterproofing are often lower than commercial installations with standard plasterboard being replaced with moisture resistant boarding and no other waterproofing element added. The waterproofing properties of the hook material would therefore offer a higher level of protection and potentially removed the need for moisture resistant board.

[0248] Replacing Tiles Damaged after Installation

[0249] During the construction and refurbishment of buildings tiles are often damaged. With conventional cement-based adhesives, significant effort is required to replace to replace damaged tiles. Due to the permanent properties of traditional cement based adhesive it is very difficult to remove a broken tile without damaging the substrate, cracking surrounding tiles or creating a dusty mess. Using the fastening of the invention, tiles can be removed and replaced easily as follows: step 1—using an oscillating blade tool the grout surrounding the damaged tile can be removed, step 2—using a flat-bladed trowel the damaged tile can be prised away from the hook material and removed without damaging the substrate, step 3—residual grout attached to surrounding tiles can be removed using a sharp blade, step 4—the new loop-backed tile can be positioned and pushed into place to engage the hook/loop elements, and step 5—the area surrounding the new tile can be re-grouted.

[0250] Accessing and Repairing Plumbing Leaks after Tile Installation

[0251] Water leaks are a reoccurring problem in wet areas such as bathroom and showers. Accessing pipework areas behind traditionally-fixed tiles to repair plumbing faults can be costly, time consuming and messy. Using the removal process described above tiles can be removed quickly without damaging the substrate or creating a mess. The pipework can be accessed by cutting and removing the relevant section of plasterboard. After the leak has been fixed the plasterboard and hook material can be repaired or replaced and pre-hooked tiles can be installed and re-grouted. A further benefit of the invention, when repairing plumbing faults, is the potential to reuse the existing tiles by removing residual grout rather than buying a new set of tiles.

[0252] Retail and Hotel Environments

[0253] Ceramic tiles are hardwearing, easy to clean and hygienic, making them a popular option for retail and hotel environments. However, due to time restraints, during store or hotel refurbishment tiles are often considered to be a less viable wall covering in these environments. When refurbishment occurs stores or hotel rooms are required to reopen in the shortest time possible. The drying time and clean-up process during conventional tile installation would extend the store or hotel closure period beyond an acceptable duration. By contrast, the fast installation time of the wall covering system of the invention is advantageous. Furthermore, during future refurbishments, the tiles can be easily removed as a result of the low peel strength.

[0254] An additional benefit of the easy removability of the wall covering system of the invention is that access for repair of plumbing faults is easier, which can remove the need for plumbing access space between hotel rooms. It is estimated that removing the access space between adjacent hotel rooms could potentially create enough space to fit additional rooms on each floor of a hotel.

[0255] Various modifications may be made to the invention described herein. For example, the invention comprehends supplying building products including building panels or boards, such as plasterboard, having pre-applied hook component; 500 mm wide rolls of hook component, 10 meters in length; pre-cut 50 mm PET film rolls having pre-applied hook component for building panel or board such as plasterboard joints and corners; and wall tiles with pre-applied loop component.

[0256] For example, the second component of the hook-an-loop fastener may not be supplied as a roll, but may instead be supplied as plasterboard that is already provided with the second component attached to it, or embedded within it. This would remove the time necessary to apply the second component to the wall surface, which would fully streamline the installation process and maximise the time of the wall covering system of the invention. Pre-hooked plaster board will facilitate a rapid tiling process where loop-backed tiles are unpacked, installed and grouted in a single seamless operation.

[0257] In the forgoing description, the wall covering system is a tile system for interior wall coverings. However, embodiments are also envisaged in which the wall coverings are designed for external building cladding. In such embodiments, the hook-and-loop engagement forces are strengthened to cater for adverse weather conditions, and glue layers are selected so as to cater for higher and lower temperatures, exposure to chemicals in the atmosphere and higher levels of water penetration.

[0258] The Applicant envisages selling building products incorporating the inventive hook and loop fastening systems to the Building Trade, including house builders, architects, interior designers, quantity surveyors, direct commercial customers and POD manufacturers and to Building Retail including tile fitters and consumers.

[0259] Depending upon the products and their advantages, the following products and selling points are envisaged for plasterboard with pre-applied hook component and jointing/corner rolls, namely houses, hotels, leisure centres, educational buildings, office buildings, off-site modular building systems and fixers; and for 10 m hook component rolls and jointing/corner rolls, and tile on tile and pre-packed splash-backs, namely consumers.

[0260] The invention comprehends the use of a wide variety of surface coverings including: tiles having rigid bodies such as ceramic tiles, porcelain tiles, clay tiles , encaustic tiles, quarry tiles, slate tiles, marble tiles, travertine tile, quartz tiles, natural stone tiles, concrete tiles, cementitious tiles, plaster tiles, glass tiles jesmonite tiles, wooden tiles, vinyl tiles, cork tiles, polyester resin-based tiles, plastic-based tiles, acrylic-based tiles, acrylic polymer-based tile, and laminate tiles; brick slips; wall coverings of wood, vinyl, clay, cork, plaster, glass, jesmonite, concrete, cementitious material, plastic-based material, polyester resin-based material, acrylic-based material, acrylic polymer-based material, and laminate material.

[0261] Whilst the invention has been particularly described for use with wall surface coverings of large format tiles, it should be appreciated that the invention also comprehends the use of smaller format tiles having inter alia the dimensions of 100 mm by 100 mm, 150 mm by 150 mm, 200 mm by 100 mm, 200 mm by 200 mm, 300 mm by 100 mm and 300 mm by 200 mm.