Composite Building Material for Cementitious Material Wall Assembly

Abstract

A composite building material includes at least one membrane, a spacer material bonded to one face of the membrane, and a lath bonded to an opposite face of the membrane. The components of the composite building material are installed simultaneously as an integral unit within a wall, roof or like assembly. The lath is preferably made of plastic or metal and is used to support cementitious material such as stucco, mortar, plaster, concrete and the like. The spacer material provides ventilation and drainage passages and is preferably provided as separate or integrally-formed spacer elements, an openwork mat, a corrugated material, or the like. Preferably, the membrane is building paper, tar paper, roofing felt, house-wrap material or like weather-resistive material. A wall/roof assembly and a method of assembling a wall/roof structure are also disclosed.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 USC §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/714,882, filed Sep. 7, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a wall assembly having an outer finish layer including stucco, mortar, stone, masonry, concrete, plaster or like cementitious material, and more specifically to a composite building material that is used within such a wall assembly and that prevents the accumulation of moisture therein.

Moisture permitted to accumulate within a wall, roof or like structure of a building typically will cause premature deterioration of the structure. Moisture accumulation can be avoided by providing ventilation/drainage passages within the wall/roof assembly. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,627 issued to Coulton et al. and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,594,965 B2 and 6,786,013 B2 issued to Coulton and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0045242 A1 of Lake, which are all assigned to Benjamin Obdyke, Inc., the assignee of the present application.

Laths are known for use in mounting plaster and like substances to substrates. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,287,673 and 5,481,843 issued to Kreikemeier and by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0108333 A1 of Clayton.

Various composite materials have been utilized in wall assemblies. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,131,353, 6,745,531 B1 and 6,804,922 B1 issued to Egan, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,395,401 B1 and 6,759,135 B2 issued to Bramlett et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,390 issued to Sacks, U.S. Pat. No. 6,233,890 B1 issued to Tonyan, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,869,901 B2, 6,761,006 B2 and 6,550,212 B2 issued to Lubker, II, U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,799 issued to Finestone et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,794,316 B1 issued to Buscher et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,392 issued to Sylvest and JP 1-83805 of Sato.

Although the drainage and/or ventilation products, building papers, house-wraps, laths and composite materials disclosed in the above referenced patents may function satisfactorily for their intended purpose, there remains a need for a composite building material for use in the assembly of a wall, roof or like structure having an exterior finish layer including a cementitious material, such as stucco. The composite building material should prevent moisture infiltration and provide drainage paths and ventilation air spaces between an inner sheathing member and the exterior cementitious material. The composite building material should simplify assembly of a wall, roof or like structure and be capable of efficient and inexpensive manufacture.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

More specifically, the present invention is a composite building material including at least one membrane, a spacer material bonded to one face of the at least one membrane, and a lath bonded to an opposite face of the at least one membrane such that all the components of the composite building material can be installed simultaneously as an integral unit within a wall or roof assembly. The lath is preferably made of plastic or metal and can be used to support cementitious material such as stucco, mortar, plaster and the like. The spacer material provides ventilation and drainage passages and is preferably provided as separate or integrally-formed spacer elements, an openwork mat, a corrugated material, or the like. Preferably, the at least one membrane is building paper, tar paper, roofing felt, house-wrap material or the like.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a wall or roof assembly of a building is provided. The assembly includes an inner structural component, an exterior finish at least partially formed of cementitious material, and a composite building material installed between the inner structural component and exterior finish. The inner structural component can be a sheathing member or open studs. The composite building material comprises at least one membrane, a spacer material bonded to one face of the at least one membrane, and a lath bonded to an opposite face of the at least one membrane. The spacer material is oriented toward the inner structural component, and the lath supports the cementitious material of the exterior finish.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of assembling a wall or roof of a building is provided. A composite building material is fastened to an inner structural component, such as a sheathing member or open studs, of a building structure. The composite building material includes at least one membrane, a spacer material bonded to one face of the at least one membrane, and a lath bonded to an opposite face of the at least one membrane. The spacer material is oriented toward the inner structural component, and the exposed lath is applied with an exterior finish that includes cementitious material. The composite building material can be provided in a spiral roll or sheets.

BREF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention should become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wall assembly according to the present invention;

FIG. 1A is a partial view of the wall assembly of FIG. 1 utilizing an alternate spacer material according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the wall assembly of FIG. 1 along line 2-2;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a spiral roll of the composite building material of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a sheet of an alternate composite building material according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 1A illustrate a wall assembly 10 of a building structure. Of course, the assembly can also be utilized to form roofs or other structures of a building. The assembly 10 includes an inner structural component, 12 or 14. In the illustrated embodiment, the inner structural component is provided as an inner sheathing member 12 that is affixed to support posts, or studs, 14. The inner sheathing member 12 can be panels of plywood, oriented strand board, particle board, insulated concrete, or like materials permitted by local building codes. Alternatively, the inner structural component can be provided by the support posts, or studs, 14, such as when open stud construction is utilized. In open stud construction, the sheathing members 12 would be eliminated.

A composite building material 16 is fastened as an integral unit to an external side of the inner sheathing member 12. Alternatively, the composite building material is fastened directly to the studs 14 when open stud construction is utilized. The composite building material 16 provides a support for cementitious material 18 applied thereto. The cementitious material 18 can be stucco, mortar, plaster, concrete or the like. The cementitious material 18 itself can form an exterior finish 20 of the assembly 10, or it can be utilized to secure other building elements, such as masonry materials, natural or synthetic stones, or the like to the assembly 10.

The composite material 16 includes three separately-formed components including a membrane 22, a spacer material 24, and a lath 26. The membrane 22 is preferably a building paper; however, it can also be tar paper, roofing felt, polymeric house-wrap material, or any other type of weather-resistive sheet material. The membrane 22 can be a single layer or multilayer membrane and more than one membranes 22 can be utilized. For instance, several like or different membranes can be secured together to form a multilayer membrane.

The membrane 22 has opposite faces, 28 and 30, and is sandwiched between the spacer material 24 and lath 26. Preferably, the spacer material 24 is bonded to one face 28 of the membrane 22, while the lath 26 is bonded to the other face 30. As an example, the spacer material 24 and lath 26 can be bonded to the membrane 22 with adhesives or via thermal, ultrasonic, mechanical, chemical or like bonding techniques. The composite material 16 can be provided in a spiral roll 32 as illustrated in FIG. 3 or in sheets 34 as illustrated in FIG. 4.

The lath 26 is preferably a plastic or metal mesh material that provides a base for the application of cementitious material. Thus, after the composite building material 16 is fastened to the inner structural component, 12 or 14, with the lath 26 facing outwardly, cementitious material 18 can be applied directly on the lath 26 to form an exterior finish 20 of the assembly 10.

The spacer material 24 provides open ventilation and drainage passages 36 adjacent the inner sheathing member 12 and/or studs 14. Thus, any condensation, liquid moisture or moisture vapor that collects between the exterior finish 20 and inner structural components, 12 or 14, will be directed downwardly and outwardly of the assembly 10 or will be evaporated and removed via air flow through the passages 36. To achieve this purpose, the spacer material 24 can be a corrugated material as illustrated in the drawings or can be provided as an openwork mat, a plastic sheet material thermoformed or vacuum-stamped with outwardly projecting spacer elements from one or both faces thereof, or a plurality of separate spacer discs or elements secured to the membrane 22. For example, a corrugated plastic sheet of material 38 with perforations 40 provides the spacer material 24 in the assembly 10 of FIG. 1. In contrast, the spacer material 24 in FIG. 1A is provided as a corrugated web 42 of randomly convoluted polymeric filaments.

If inner sheathing members 12 are utilized in the assembly 10, the members 12 are secured with nails 44 or like fasteners to posts 14. As an option, a weather-resistive membrane (not shown) can be applied directly over the inner sheathing member 12. Alternatively, the inner sheathing members 12 can remain exposed. If utilized, the weather-resistive membrane on the sheathing members 12 can be a building paper, tar paper, roofing felt or a polymeric house-wrap material that permits moisture vapor to exit outwardly therethrough.

The composite building material 16 can then be fastened to the inner sheathing members 12 with fasteners 46. Alternatively, if open stud construction is utilized, the composite building material 16 is fastened directly to the studs 14. The fasteners 46 can be nails with relatively large nailheads, nails utilized with relatively-large diameter washers, or staples. Thus, all layers 22, 24 and 26 of the composite building material 16 are connected simultaneously with the fastener 46 to the inner sheathing member 12, or studs 14. If the composite building material 16 is provided in a spiral roll, it is unrolled before or as the fasteners 46 are applied. The composite building material 16 can also be provided and applied in sheet form.

After the composite building material 16 is fastened to and covers the inner sheathing member 12 or open studs, cementitious material 18, such as stucco, is applied with a trowel or like tool to the outwardly facing lath 26 of the composite building material 16. The membrane 22 prevents ingress of the cemeintitious material 18 into the passages 36 provided by the spacer material 24.

While preferred composite building materials, wall assemblies, and methods of assembling wall structures have been described in detail, various modifications, alterations, and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A composite building material, comprising:

at least one membrane having opposite faces;

a spacer material bonded to one of said faces of said at least one membrane and providing ventilation and drainage passages along said face; and

a lath bonded to the opposite face of said at least one membrane and adapted to provide a base for cementitious material.

2. A composite building material according to claim 1, wherein said at least one membrane is a single layer membrane.

3. A composite building material according to claim 1, wherein said at least one membrane is a multi-layer membrane.

4. A composite building material according to claim 1, wherein said composite building material is adapted to be stored and shipped in a spiral roll.

5. A composite building material according to claim 1, wherein said composite building material is adapted to be stored and shipped in sheets.

6. A composite building material according to claim 1, wherein said lath is made of plastic or metal.

7. A composite building material according to claim 6, wherein said lath is bonded to said at least one membrane.

8. A composite building material according to claim 6, wherein said at least one membrane is selected from a group consisting of a weather-resistive membrane, a building paper, a tar paper, a roofing felt, and a house-wrap material.

9. A composite building material according to claim 8, wherein said spacer material is selected from a group consisting of a plurality of separate spacer elements, an openwork material, an openwork mat of randomly convoluted polymeric filaments, a corrugated material, a thermoformed web of thermoplastic material, and a vacuum-stamped web of thermoplastic material.

10. A composite building material according to claim 8, wherein said spacer material is bonded to said at least one membrane.

11. A wall or roof assembly of a building, comprising:

an inner structural component, said inner structural component being a sheathing member or open studs;

an exterior finish including a cementitious material; and

a composite building material installed between said inner structural component and said exterior finish, said composite building material comprising at least one membrane, a spacer material bonded to one face of said at least one membrane, and a lath bonded to an opposite face of said at least one membrane.

12. An assembly according to claim 11, wherein said composite building material is positioned within said assembly such that said lath confronts said exterior finish and said spacer material faces said inner structural component.

13. An assembly according to claim 12, wherein said lath and spacer material are bonded to said at least one membrane before being installed within said assembly.

14. An assembly according to claim 13, wherein said at least one membrane is a single layer membrane.

15. An assembly according to claim 13, wherein said at least one membrane is a multi-layer membrane.

16. An assembly according to claim 13, further comprising a fastener that connects the composite building material, including said at least one membrane, spacer material and lath, to the inner structural component.

17. An assembly according to claim 16, wherein said fastener is a nail, a nail with a washer, or a staple.

18. An assembly according to claim 16, wherein said lath is made of plastic or metal.

19. An assembly according to claim 18, wherein said cementitious material is selected from a group consisting of stucco, mortar, concrete and plaster.

20. An assembly according to claim 18, wherein said exterior finish is selected from a group consisting of stucco, masonry, natural stone, and synthetic stone.

21. An assembly according to claim 18, wherein said at least one membrane is selected from a group consisting of a weather-resistive membrane, a building paper, a tar paper, a roofing felt, and a house-wrap material.

22. An assembly according to claim 21, wherein said spacer material is selected from a group consisting of a plurality of separate spacer elements, an openwork material, an openwork mat of randomly convoluted polymeric filaments, a corrugated material, a thermoformed web of thermoplastic material, and a vacuum-stamped web of thermoplastic material.

23. An assembly according to claim 22, further comprising an optional second weather-resistive membrane positioned between said inner sheathing member and said composite building material.

24. An assembly according to claim 23, wherein said optional second weather-resistive membrane is a building paper, tar paper, roofing felt or house-wrap material.

25. A method of assembling a wall or roof of a building comprising the steps of:

fastening a composite building material to an inner structural component of a building structure, said inner structural component being a sheathing member or open studs, said composite building material comprising at least one membrane, a spacer material bonded to one face of said at least one membrane, and a lath bonded to an opposite face of said at least one membrane; and

applying cementitious material on the lath of the composite building material to form an exterior finish.

26. A method according to claim 25, further comprising the step of providing the composite building material in a spiral roll and unrolling the composite building material before or during said fastening step.

27. A method according to claim 25, further comprising the step of providing the composite building material in sheets.

28. A method according to claim 25, wherein said lath and spacer material are bonded to said at least one membrane before said composite building material is fastened to said inner structural component.

29. A method according to claim 28, wherein said fastening step includes applying a fastener through all layers of the composite building material to simultaneously secure all layers of the composite building material to the inner structural component in a one step process.

30. A method according to claim 29, wherein said spacer material faces the inner structural component and provides ventilation and drainage passages that extend between the at least one membrane and the inner structural component.

31. A method according to claim 30, further comprising the optional step of securing a weather-resistive membrane to the inner sheathing member before fastening the composite building material to the inner structural component.