SEALING METHOD AND APPARATUS
The invention is directed to a method and an apparatus for sealing the joint between two pieces of wood in an airtight manner. A longitudinal grove is created in the face of one of the pieces of wood. The groove has an upper portion and a narrower lower portion. Suitable compressible seal means such as a foam rod is placed in the groove. When the face of the second piece of wood is placed against the first face, the compressible seal means is compressed and forms an airtight seal. The remaining space in the upper groove portion allows longitudinal airflow along the length of the sealing means ameliorating moisture build up problems.
This application claims the priority benefit of Canadian Patent Application 2,532,832 filed on Jan. 13, 2006 entitled “Sealing Method and Apparatus”, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a method and apparatus for sealing the joints between pieces of wood used in the construction of a building.
BACKGROUNDIn the construction of buildings there are numerous joints formed by abutting pieces of wood. Due to imperfections in the wood itself or in the underlying surface that is supporting the wood, it is frequently very difficult to get the faces of both pieces of wood forming the joint to be exactly true to each other. If the adjoining faces of the two pieces of wood are not true to each other, such joints will be compromised and gaps and cracks will result. If the joint is on the perimeter of a building, this leads to the loss of heat to the exterior of the building. The loss of heat through imperfect exterior joints can result in damage to the exterior cladding such as stucco or siding.
There are a number of prior art sealing methods that have been used to try and create an airtight seal between two pieces of wood to try and overcome the aforementioned problems of imperfect joints. One such method comprises placing a flexible seal between the two pieces of wood forming the joint. The problem with such a method is that it can alter the dimensions of the finished joint. Further, once lateral airflow is blocked by the seal there can be moisture build up against the seal resulting in damage to the wooden joint.
What is needed is a method and an apparatus for airtight sealing the joint between two adjoining pieces of wood which does not alter the dimensions of the joint, and which mitigates the problem of moisture build up at the seal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is directed to a method and an apparatus for creating an airtight sealing a joint between two pieces of wood such that the dimensions of the joint are unaltered and that allows longitudinal airflow along the length of the seal while preventing lateral airflow through the seal.
Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention, the invention comprises a method of sealing a joint between a face of a first piece of wood and a face of a second piece of wood comprising the steps of:
-
- (a) making at least one longitudinal groove along the face of the first piece of wood, the groove having a lower groove portion and an upper groove portion, the upper groove portion being wider than the lower groove portion;
- (b) inserting elongate compressible seal means into the length of the at least one longitudinal groove such that the compressible seal means protrudes out beyond the face of the first piece of wood when in its uncompressed state; and
- (c) placing the face of the second piece of wood against the face of the first piece of wood thereby compressing the compressible seal means and forming an airtight seal between the face of the first piece of wood and the face of the second piece of wood;
whereby the compressed compressible seal means distends filling the lower groove portion while only partially filling the upper groove portion such that a longitudinal channel of space is created in the upper groove portion on each side of the compressible seal means.
In one embodiment of the method of the present invention the lower groove portion is substantially semicircular and the upper groove portion has beveled walls sloping out and away from the lower groove portion. In a further embodiment, the beveled walls of the upper groove portion are sloped at about a 45° angle relative to the face of the first piece of wood. In one embodiment, the compressible seal means may comprise a foam rod or a rubber gasket.
In another aspect of the invention, the invention comprises a method of sealing the joint between a face of a foundation ladder and a face of a rim joist of a building comprising:
-
- (a) making a longitudinal groove along the face of the rim joist, the groove having a lower groove portion and an upper groove portion, the upper groove portion being wider than the lower groove portion;
- (b) inserting elongate compressible seal means into the length of the groove such that the compressible seal means protrudes out beyond the face of the rim joist when in its uncompressed state; and
- (c) placing the face of the foundation ladder against the face of the rim joist thereby compressing the compressible seal means and forming an airtight seal between the face of the rim joist and the face of the foundation ladder.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the invention comprises a method of sealing the joint between a face of a bottom plate of an exterior wall frame and a subfloor of a building comprising:
-
- (a) making a longitudinal groove along the face of the bottom plate, the groove having a lower groove portion and an upper groove portion, the upper groove portion being wider than the lower groove portion;
- (b) inserting elongate compressible seal means into the length of the groove such that the compressible seal means protrudes out beyond the face of the bottom plate when in its uncompressed state; and
- (c) placing the subfloor against the face of the bottom plate thereby compressing the compressible seal means and forming an airtight seal between the face of the bottom plate and the subfloor.
In one aspect of the present invention, the invention comprises a rim joist sealing apparatus comprising:
-
- (a) a rim joist having a first end face and a second end face;
- (b) at least one longitudinal groove along the first end face, the groove having a lower groove portion and an upper groove portion, the upper groove portion being wider than the lower groove portion; and
- (c) elongate compressible seal means contained in the at least one longitudinal groove, the compressible seal means extending the length of the groove and the compressible seal means protruding out beyond the first end face of the rim joist when in its uncompressed state;
whereby the compressible seal means when compressed distends filling the lower groove portion while only partially filling the upper groove portion such that a longitudinal channel of space is created in the upper groove portion on each side of the compressible seal means.
In one embodiment, the rim joist further comprises a longitudinal groove and compressible seal means on its second end face.
The invention will now be described by way of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying simplified, diagrammatic, not-to-scale drawings. In the drawings:
The present invention provides for a sealing method and apparatus. When describing the present invention, all terms not defined herein have their common art-recognized meanings. To the extent that the following description is of a specific embodiment or a particular use of the invention, it is intended to be illustrative only, and not limiting of the claimed invention. The following description is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents that are included in the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.
The present invention comprises a method of air tight sealing the joint between a first piece of wood (22) and a second piece of wood (24). It should be understood having reference to the accompanying figures that the method of the present invention may be used to seal the joint between the faces of any two adjoining pieces of wood. The method of the present invention may be used with pieces of wood that are adjoined in an end-to-end configuration, or that are adjoined in a perpendicular orientation, or with any other joint configuration provided that two relatively flat faces will be placed against each other to form the joint.
As shown in
An elongate compressible seal means (30) is inserted into the length of the groove (12) so that it protrudes beyond the face of the first piece of wood (20) as shown in
When the joint is created by bringing the face of the second piece of wood (26) together with the face of the first piece of wood (20) having the longitudinal groove (12), the face of the second piece of wood (26) compresses the seal means (30). The compressed seal means (30) distends and expands within the groove (12) filling the lower groove portion (16) and partially filling the upper groove portion (14) as shown in
As can be seen in
As shown in
The wall frame (68) includes the bottom plate (66) which sits on the subfloor (64). The seals of the present invention may advantageously be used between the rim joist (50) and the subfloor (64), and between the subfloor (64) and the bottom plate (66) of the wall frame (68). It can be understood that the present sealing method may be used in other aspects of building construction.
As may be seen in
As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, various modifications, adaptations and variations of the foregoing specific disclosure can be made without departing from the scope of the invention claimed herein.
Claims
1. A method of sealing a joint between a face of a first piece of wood and a face of a second piece of wood comprising the steps of:
- (a) making at least one longitudinal groove along the face of the first piece of wood, the groove having a lower groove portion and an upper groove portion, the upper groove portion being wider than the lower groove portion;
- (b) inserting elongate compressible seal means into the length of the at least one longitudinal groove such that the compressible seal means protrudes out beyond the face of the first piece of wood when in its uncompressed state; and
- (c) placing the face of the second piece of wood against the face of the first piece of wood thereby compressing the compressible seal means and forming an airtight seal between the face of the first piece of wood and the face of the second piece of wood;
- whereby the compressed compressible seal means distends filling the lower groove portion while only partially filling the upper groove portion such that a longitudinal channel of space is created in the upper groove portion on each side of the compressible seal means.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the lower groove portion is substantially semicircular and the upper groove portion has beveled walls sloping out and away from the lower groove portion.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the beveled walls of the upper groove portion are sloped at an angle of about 45° relative to the face of the first piece of wood.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the compressible seal means comprises a foam rod.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the compressible seal means comprises a rubber gasket.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein two substantially parallel longitudinal grooves are formed along the face of the first piece of wood.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the first piece of wood comprises a foundation ladder and the second piece of wood comprises a rim joist.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first piece of wood comprises a bottom plate of an exterior wall frame and the second piece of wood comprises a subfloor.
9. A rim joist sealing apparatus comprising:
- (a) a rim joist having a first end face and a second end face;
- (b) at least one longitudinal groove along the first end face, the groove having a lower groove portion and an upper groove portion, the upper groove portion being wider than the lower groove portion; and
- (c) elongate compressible seal means contained in the at least one longitudinal groove, the compressible seal means extending the length of the groove and the compressible seal means protruding out beyond the first end face of the rim joist when in its uncompressed state;
- whereby the compressible seal means when compressed distends filling the lower groove portion while only partially filling the upper groove portion such that a longitudinal channel of space is created in the upper groove portion on each side of the compressible seal means.
10. The rim joist of claim 9 further comprising:
- (a) a longitudinal groove along the second end face, the groove having a lower groove portion and an upper groove portion, the upper groove portion being wider than the lower groove portion, the longitudinal groove on the second end face being parallel in orientation the longitudinal groove at the first end face; and
- (b) elongate compressible seal means contained in the groove, the compressible seal means extending the length of the groove and the compressible seal means protruding out beyond the second end face of the rim joist when in its uncompressed state;
- whereby the compressible seal means when compressed distends filling the lower groove portion while only partially filling the upper groove portion such that a longitudinal channel of space is created in the upper groove portion on each side of the compressible seal means.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 15, 2006
Publication Date: Aug 2, 2007
Inventor: Gilbert SOUSA (Edmonton)
Application Number: 11/560,215