Insulating finishable panel

Abstract

A rigid faced foam cored panel system utilized to produce an insulating finishable surface in interior and exterior applications. The long edges of the rigid foam panels may be indented to form a recessed space for tapping, applying joint compound and assisting in achieving a level finished surface. The inside surface of the rigid foam panel may be radiant reflective with air spacers attached to the reflective surface to produce the needed air space for effective radiant heat reflection. The interior application may entail using the rigid foam panel both as insulation and as a finishable varied color painted or textured wall or ceiling surface. In exterior wall or other exposed surface applications the insulating rigid foam panel may be covered with moisture resistive coverings such as stucco style textures.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an assembly of laminates and foam filled sheet products, both decorative and structural, and more particularly it relates to rigid, usually fiber reinforced sheets of foam which are particularly useful in thermal insulating applications and in most applications have a finishable face on at least one side and may have an effective radiant reflective surface upon the other face.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Foam products have been reinforced and laminated to various facings to give them added strength or other desirable physical properties which the foam is incapable of providing. These foam products have become increasingly useful in the building industry since they possess strength coupled with relatively low density and thus are well suited for use as core materials in sandwich type laminates. The rigid foam laminates can be excellent heat insulators because of their fine closed cell structure. Many different techniques have been developed for manufacturing foam laminates, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,266,730, 3,172,072, 3,554,851, 3,578,544, 3,617,594, 3,627,603, 3,867,494, 4,118,533, 4,438,116 and 4,764,420.

One use of rigid foam products in interior insulating applications have been applied in basement or moisture prone areas. The rigid foam panel is attached directly to a masonry type wall either being glued or having mechanical means to attach to the wall. The mechanical attachment means may include attaching interior face applied furring strips or some type of clip mechanism. Furring strips may be attached first to the wall and then the rigid foam panel is attached to the furring strip. In this application if the exterior facing side of the rigid foam is radiant reflective then radiant heat may be reflected back to the exterior except for those surfaces where the furring strips touch the reflective surface. To have effective radiant heat reflection there needs to be an air space between the reflective surface and the next facing surface. The space formed by the wall attached furring strips helps moisture to vent or evaporate.

To finish the interior face in the above applications sheetrock, paneling or some other covering is applied by screwing or nailing to the furring strips or through the insulation foam to the wall surface. Some interior faces of the rigid foam panels have a prefinished face and joint covering strips or tape is applied at the panel joints. The joints of the panels should be sealed to keep moisture and air from moving into the interior space through the panel assembly.

In almost all rigid foam masonry wall applications where there is an exterior facing radiant surface furring strips must be first applied to the wall to create the needed air space, approximately ¾ inches. Purchasing, handling and applying the furring strips are costly and time consuming. Secondly to finish the rigid panel there is considerable cost and time for purchasing, transporting, handling and hanging the sheetrock or other wall covering.

In exterior wall applications the rigid foam panels have been usually used as insulating sheathing over a framed wall or substrate. The outer facing of the rigid foam has not been used as a substantial penetration reinforcing to substitute as part of the outer protective covering assembly.

In exterior applications using foam panels to create stucco type finishes customarily there has to be a fairly rigid sheathing and/or water barrier is placed behind the foam before wire or plastic mesh, brown or scratch coat and final finish coat is placed on the surface of the foam panel. For the exterior stucco system to be effective in reducing penetrating moisture the exterior surface of the rigid foam panel could be a vapor barrier and if any moisture did penetrate past the reinforced rigid foam panel then a water draining or evaporation space could be produced by a rippled or dimpled facing on the interior face of the rigid foam panel. In many geographical applications it would be advantageous to have the interior side of the rigid foam panel in the exterior stucco assembly to have a radiant barrier for radiant heat reflection. It would be also desirable if the number of assembly parts such as surface coating applications and labor time spent to produce the exterior stucco system could be reduced by using a finishable reinforced rigid foam panel and still provide an efficient, effective and economical assembly.

In an interior application if a rigid foam panel could be developed that would have a surface on the interior face of the panel that could be taped, joint compound applied, sanded and painted to the desired color and have a finished sheetrock style look and meet code requirements for exposed applications, then there could be considerable cost and time savings. Also if there could be an effective and efficient system to create the needed air space on the radiant reflective side while at the same time attaching the rigid foam panels to a wall surface the then an attractive and economical radiant rigid foam panel could be developed.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a finishable reinforced rigid foam panel for exterior and exterior applications. In the interior usage it is a rigid foam insulating panel that may have a radiant reflective face on one side and on the other side a finishable surface able to be taped, joint compound applied, sanded and painted and/or textured to a desired color. There is no need to place sheetrock or other covering over the primed reinforced surface of the rigid foam panel to meet fire codes.

The radiant foam panels are rigid and usually reinforced with fibers and/or metallic material, such as aluminum, composition of the reinforced face side such that the panels can usually span up to approximately 24 inches and still keep a straight appearance. The aluminum face on if there is a radiant reflective side is usually approximately 1 to 4 mills thick and if aluminum is used as the other reinforced face it may be 6 to 18 mills thick. It is a further objective of this invention that the finishable insulating possibly radiant panel with foam core which is resistant to delaminating and is particularly suitable for exposed applications.

One method of assembling and placing the interior finishable foam panels when there is a reflective face and a need for effective radiant heat reflection or the desire for electrical lines and other utilities to be attached behind the foam panels consists of first locating and attaching electrical lines, cables, outlet boxes, switches or other utilities to the wall surface where the finishable rigid foam panels are to be attached. These utilities should be attached close to the wall and not come out past the wall surface beyond ⅝ inch if possible. Before the finishable rigid foam panels are adhered the location of the outlet boxes, switches and other panel penetrations are cut through the foam panels. Usually 6 to 8 fairly stiff foam air spacers which run in size from approximately ¾ inch round to ½ inch wide short strips that are about ¾ inch thick are applied spaced apart to the reflective/adhering surface of the foam panel. Next, a low rise polyurethane foam style adhesive such as Dow Great Stuff Pro wall adhesive is applied on the wall surface where the foam panel is to be place. Vertical strips of the foam adhesive approximately ½ inches thick are placed about 16 inches apart. The polyurethane style foam usually rises to about twice its' initial applied size. Then the radiant/adhering side of the foam panel is placed on the wall where the adhesive has been applied and pressed toward the wall such that the foam air spacers are slightly compressed and then the panel is released. The process allows the fresh sticky foam adhesive to adhere to the radiant/adhering side surface and the foam air spacer keeps the radiant surface of the foam panel in an approximate ¾ inch spaced relationship from the wall. The ¾ inch air space enables effective radiant reflection; allows for moisture to evaporate and gives room for electrical and other utilities to be placed between the foam panel and the wall surface. Screws or nails may be used to add attaching support to the adherence of the finishable rigid foam panel in conjunction with the foam adhesive, or screws or nails can be the only attaching means.

If a surface separating air space is not needed when attaching the finishable rigid foam panel then the foam panels can be attached directly without air spacers. If the adhering side of the finishable rigid foam panel is textured in a dimpled form then moisture may be evaporated between the foam panel and the attached surface.

The radiant rigid foam panel may be also be used to add insulation to an existing interior wall where it may be hard to add insulation to the existing wall which may be very useful in older structures. In this application one may be giving up about 2 inches of room space but there is the possibility of saving a considerable amount on heating and cooling and even making the structure, in some instances, visually and economically habitable.

The exterior application of the finishable rigid foam panel is usually in a stucco style finish wall assembly. Such assembly might consist first having a vapor barrier placed over the exterior frame of a structure. Then the finishable rigid foam panel is either mechanically attached through the vapor barrier to the wood, metal or masonry framing or the finishable panel is adhesively or both mechanically and, adhesively attached. The interior face of the rigid panel may be rippled or dimpled so as to develop a water drainage or evaporation spaces between the interior rigid foam panel face and the previous applied vapor barrier exterior face. The interior face of the exterior applied finishable foam panel may be radiant reflective and low rise adhesive foam, usually applied in vertical strips to the sheathing or water barrier, produces the needed air space for effective radiant reflection and moisture drainage or evaporation. The sheathing or vapor barrier may also be radiant reflective with the vertically applied low rise adhesive foam providing the needed air space. Next mesh tape may be applied to the joints between the rigid foam panels and then an exterior joint material (usually flexable) is smoothed over the tape and filling the joint space. Depending upon the application one base coat and then a finish coat or, just one finish coat, such as an acrylic elastomeric finish, may be the final coating. The finishable reinforced surface may have enough strength and strong dimensional stability to only need one finish coat which may be spray or toweled to various textures.

The usual sizes of the radiant rigid foam panels are 36 and 48 inches in width and 8, 9 or 10 foot tall. The thicknesses may vary but 1 to 2 inches gives an overall insulation value for the 1½ inch thick finishable radiant foam panel of approximately R-13 for walls and R-19 for roof applications. Approximate 1 inch tapered indentures about 3/16 inch deep can be made along the long-side edge of the finishable side of the foam panels. The indentures can be used for the placement of support strips, sheetrock and exterior tape and sheetrock or exterior joint compound. The fairly rigid support strips are used to assist applying the rigid foam panel to a surface where the foam adhesive may not be adequate. Screws or nails can be applied through the support strip and into the wall surface. On exterior and interior applications if the finishable surface is strong enough nails and screws may be applied directly to the finishable surface as long as the screw or nail head does not penetrate through the finishable reinforced surface even though the nail or screw heads may be recessed into the reinforced surface. Adhesive/foam may be applied between the foam panels for strength and to seal out air and moisture.

The finishable rigid foam panels may be used to insulate and finish attics or other studded or raftered applications. The air spacers may be used to create the air space for radiant heat reflection; ventilation or moisture evaporation, between other forms of insulation, such as fibrous insulation, or another surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional perspective view of a finishable rigid radiant foam panel with air spacers.

FIG. 2 in an overhead cross sectional view of the finishable rigid radiant foam panel applied to a masonry wall.

FIG. 3 shows in a side cross sectional view the finishable rigid radiant foam panel's possible application with studs and/or rafters.

FIG. 4 in a cross sectional perspective view of a “one-coat” stucco application compared to a finishable rigid radiant foam panel one-finish-coat stucco wall application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1. shows in a cross sectional perspective view a finishable rigid radiant foam panel 10 with the 6 to 8 mill finishable reinforced surface 11, the tapered long edge indentures 12, the foam core 13, and the radiant reflective surface 14. Shown adhered on the radiant reflective surface 14 are the placed foam air spacers 15 that are spaced as needed depending on the roughness of the wall surface.

Shown in FIG. 2 in an overhead cross sectional view is the finishable rigid radiant foam panel 10 attached to a masonry wall or other wall surface 16. Foam air spacers 15 are shown adhered to the panel's radiant reflective surface 14 that have been pressed against the wall surface 16 with the freshly applied approximately ½ bead thick foam adhesive 17. The foam adhesive 17 is shown adhered to the wall surface 16 and the foam panel's reflective surface 14 with the two surfaces kept approximately ¾ inches apart by the foam air spacer 15 creating the air space 18. Sheetrock tape 19 and joint compound 20 is applied at the tapered indentures 12 on the edges of the foam panel. The finishable face 11 of the foam panel 10 can be painted or textured after the sheetrock joint compound 20 dries and is sanded. Another way to assist attaching the foam panel 10 to the wall 16 is by the use of a support strip 21 where nails or screws 22 attach through the support strip 21 and foam panel 10 into the wall. The tapered indentures 12 help recess the applied sheetrock tape 19, joint compound 20 and any support strips 21 so that the finished joint can be fairly smooth. The reinforced finishable surface 12 of the foam panel is durable enough for screws or nails 22 to be placed directly through the foam panel 10 into the wall surface 16 with the screw or nail heads 23 not penetrating through the reinforced surface 12 of the foam panel 10. The support strips 21 do not touch the wall 16 so as to reduce thermal bridging. Sheetrock tape 19 and joint compound 20 can also be used to cover over the support strips 21 to an acceptable paintable surface. Electrical wiring 24 and outlet box 25 is shown attached to the wall surface 16 and extending through the foam panel 10. Sealant spray foam 26 can be placed between the edge joint 27 to give strength and seal out moisture and air.

FIG. 3. shows in cross sectional views the radiant rigid foam panels 10 used with a “C” stud or rafter 28; a “Z” purlin or rafter 29 and wooden stud or rafter 30. In each application is shown the reinforced finishable surface 11; the foam core 13 and the radiant reflective surface 14 of the rigid radiant foam panel 10. Either a support strip 21 is used to help support the foam panel with nails or screws 22 applied through the support strip 21 and into the stud or rafter or nails or screws 31 are place directly through the reinforced surface 11 of the foam panel 10 and then into the “Z” stud or rafter 29. The sheetrock joint tape 19 and the joint compound 20 is shown applied at the foam panels' joints 27. In one example attached foam air spacers 32 create the air space 33 between the insulation 34 and the radiant reflective surface 14. In another example the air spacers 35 (solid batten style or foam) are placed between the radiant reflective surface and; the wooden stud or rafter 30, the “C” stud or rafter 28 and the insulation 36 to create the radiant reflective air space 37. Roof and/or wall sheathing 38 are also shown.

FIG. 4. in a cross perspective view is a traditional water barrier drainage system one-coat stucco wall assembly 39 compared to a one-finish-coat assembly 40 using a finishable rigid radiant foam panel 41. In both assemblies are shown the wall framing 42. The water barrier one-coat system then has attached a substrate/sheathing 43, then a weather resistive barrier (WRB) 44, waterway rain screen drainage mat 45, insulating non-reinforced face foam 46, reinforcing mesh 47, base scratch coat 48, brown coat 49, and then the final finish coat 50. The one-finish-coat assembly 40 shows possible substrate/sheathing (usually optional) 51, next is a vapor barrier 52 with vertically applied low rise foam adhesive strips 53 placed on the face of the vapor barrier 52. Then attached is the finishable rigid radiant foam panel 41 with radiant reflective dimpled moisture draining/evaporating interior facing 54, insulating rigid foam 55 and the reinforced finishable surface 56. Next shown is the joint covering mesh tape 57 and exterior joint compound 58 applied at the rigid foam panel joints over the mesh tape 57. Screws or other mechanical attaching means 59 are shown penetrating through the reinforced finishable rigid foam panel 41 with the head of the mechanical attaching means 60 not penetrating the reinforced finishable surface 56. Exterior joint compound 58 may be applied over the head of the mechanical attaching means 60. An optional scratch/brown coat 61 is shown. The one coat of an elastomeric acrylic finish 62, with various textures, is shown applied over the finishable reinforced surface 56 and the mesh/joint compound 57 and 58.

Claims

1. A finishable rigid foam panel assembly, comprising:

a. one face with a reinforced surface; and

b. the other face may have a radiant reflective surface;

c. wherein the reinforced surface is usually made of a metallic primed material such as aluminum but may be made of a composite material and is fairly hard to penetrate;

d. wherein the finishable rigid foam panel can be attached to another surface by either or both adhesive and/or mechanical means;

e. wherein the rigid foam panel when applied to an interior surface where the reinforced surface is does not need to be covered by another material to meet fire code approval;

f. wherein the surface of the reinforced face can be finished at the joints with a possible support strip, exterior/sheetrock joint tape and exterior/sheetrock joint compound; possibly sanded and/or textured; and covered with one base coat and finish stucco coat or just a finish coat or painted to reach the desired finish as other stucco or sheetrock style finished surfaces;

g. the foam core has good insulation values, usually around a 5 to 7 R-value per inch;

h. wherein the foam panels' weight is considerably lighter than sheathing or sheetrock, ½ to ⅓ the weight of sheetrock, and easier to handle than that of comparable size sheetrock panels.

2. A finishable rigid radiant foam panel assembly according to claim 1, wherein in an interior application air spacers, usually made of fairly firm foam, are placed upon the adhering surface of the finishable foam panel, create the space between the foam panel and the attaching surface for electrical lines, cables and other utilities to be located and which are attached to the wall surface between the radiant reflective/adhering face and the opposing adhered-to surface.

3. A finishable rigid foam panel according to claim 1, in an interior and exterior application, having a face opposite the reinforced face that may have a rippled or dimpled texture that moisture may drain out or be allowed to evaporate when said face is placed against another surface.

4. A finishable rigid foam panel according to claim 1, wherein low rise adhesive foam is applied (usually in vertical strips) to an opposing surface that will touch the none reinforced surface of the finishable foam panel where the adhesive foam helps adhere the two surfaces together; can produce the air space for effective radiant reflection and can assist in moisture drainage or evaporation.

5. A finishable rigid foam panel assembly according to claim 1, wherein the foam core may be reinforced with fibers or other strengthening materials for added strength and support.

6. A finishable rigid foam panel assembly according to claim 1, wherein fibers or other strengthening material may be added to the reinforced surface for added strength and support.

7. A finishable rigid foam panel assembly according to claim 1, such that the strength of the reinforced surface is durable enough to accept screws or nails to be driven directly through the foam panel, attaching the foam panel to another surface, such as framing members or wall:

a. wherein the screw or nail heads do not penetrate through the outer exterior layer of the finishable rigid panel's reinforced surface, and;

b. wherein said screw or nail heads, which may be slightly recessed and indenting the outer layer of the reinforced surface, can be covered with exterior/sheetrock style joint compound, possibly sanded and/or finished.

8. A finishable rigid foam panel assembly according to claim 1, wherein indentures are created along the edges of the foam panels to accept the recessed placement of possible support strips, exterior/sheetrock joint tape and exterior/sheetrock joint compound so as to assist in achieving a visually level joint finish.

9. A finishable rigid foam panel assembly according to claim 1, wherein usually in interior applications, the adherence side opposite the finishable reinforced side is radiant reflective and air spacers, usually made of fairly firm foam, can be placed and adhered to the radiant reflective face, or in some instances to the adhered/opposing surface, to maintain the desired depth of air space, for effective radiant heat reflection, between the radiant reflective face and another opposing surface that the radiant reflective surface will be attached.

10. A finishable rigid radiant foam panel assembly according to claim 6, wherein said air spacers are used in conjunction with low rising foam adhesive which is usually applied to the opposing surface (usually in vertical strips) that the radiant reflective face is to be adhered. The air spacers may be slightly compressed by applying pressure against the reinforced surface of the foam panel toward the adhered surface to promote good adhesion to the foam adhesive. The air spacers may then be slightly decompressed to obtain the desired air space depth.

11. A finishable rigid radiant foam panel assembly according to claim 6, in that the created air space assists in ventilation and/or moisture evaporation.