Device for covering masonry

Abstract

 Covering device (9) for covering new masonry, comprising a shielding strip (10) which fits on the top of a leaf of new masonry having a length of a number of bricks, a cavity closing flap (11), a stop strip (13) and an obliquely inclined water conducting strip (14), wherein the shielding strip (10), the stop strip (13) and the water conducting strip are provided with drainage channels (17) which connect to one another and run continuous in transverse direction.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a device for covering new masonry, i.e. a raised wall, also called a leaf, of brickwork, of which the cement in the top layers has not yet sufficiently hardened and dried to not be adversely influenced by the effect of moisture, in particular rainwater.

[0002] According to the Dutch standard NEN 2489 covering the top layer of the masonry in rainy weather and at the end of the day's work is recommended to prevent the new joints from being washed out and the masonry surface from being soiled with mortar fluid. As an example the use of a scaffolding parts is given, a length of flexible roofing or (damp-proof) plastic, if available on the building site.

[0003] When using a scaffolding deal for shielding the labourers have to remove a part of the scaffolding, to wit the scaffolding deal and to manoeuvre it past the scaffolding parts up to the masonry which is to be covered. This is quite laborious and is therefore frequently not done. Besides, there is not always scaffolding near every masonry site. This also applies to the length of flexible roofing and damp-proof plastic. The drawback of this damp-proof plastic is that it is quite awkward to drape over the masonry. Lengths of flexible roofing first of all have to be cut to size from the roll. It is consequently not surprising that the above recommendations of the norm NEN 2489 are only seldom followed up. The result is that it occurs fairly often that joints have to be replenished and that the side of the masonry which is in view has to be cleaned.

[0004] It is an object of the invention to improve on this and it provides for this purpose a device for covering new masonry, comprising a shielding strip which fits on the top of a leaf of new masonry having a length of a number of bricks. Such a shielding is easy to handle and can be held in readiness whilst the brick laying so that after brick laying it can be placed by a labourer in a simple way on top of the wall portion which has been laid. Hereby the laborious manoeuvring with scaffolding deals and thin plastic can be dispensed with, the result being that the labourers will sooner be prepared to cover up the new masonry.

[0005] A brickwork wall will mostly be a part of a cavity structure. Between the inner leaf of the cavity wall and the outer leaf of the cavity wall there is a cavity into which rain can fall. It will not always be possible for the water which falls into the cavity to flow off easily, particularly because of cement residue at the bottom of the cavity. The result is that the cavity structure will remain damp for a long time, this being detrimental to the quality of residence of the building in question, in particular a house. This applies especially if an insulation blanket has been arranged on the cavity side of the inner leaf. This insulation blanket absorbs rainwater until it is saturated, as it were, and only slowly exudes it again.

[0006] In order to improve on this the shielding strip of the device according to the invention is preferably provided on the one longitudinal side with a closing strip for closing off an air or cavity space located adjacent the leaf of new masonry, preferably inclusive of an insulating layer arranged therein. In this way, in one placing action of the device onto the leaf of masonry, several parts of the masonry structure can be shielded from rain. The closing strip is preferably flexible at least in the outer margin area area so that it can adjust to irregularities in the cavity surface of the inner leaf or the surface of the insulation layer, the closing off therefore remaining safeguarded.

[0007] Preferably the shielding strip is provided on one longitudinal side with a water conducting strip, which slopes in transverse direction. In this way on the one hand a kind of umbrella is provided for the side of the masonry which is in view so that the new joints are also shielded from rain during gusts of wind and, on the other hand, it is realized that the rainwater collected in the covering device is shed from the masonry.

[0008] Preferably the shielding strip is provided on one longitudinal side with positioning means, which can advantageously be formed by a depending stop strip. In this way the device according to the invention can be placed in a quick and reliable way in the correct position by the labourers.

[0009] It is further preferred that the shielding strip is provided with channels for sideward discharge of water, wherein the channels preferably extend perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the shielding strip. In this way it is achieved that water falling down on the shielding strip is drained off via the shortest route, and the risk of remaining water which could be a nuisance for the labourers when they remove the shielding devices the next day, is minimized.

[0010] In addition to that it is advantageous if the underside of the shielding strip is formed substantially equal to the upper side thereof, and the shielding strip has a zigzag shape in longitudinal cross section. In this way the contact surface between the covering device and the masonry is kept small and therewith also the risk that the cover device gets dirty, whilst moreover ventilation channels are realized between the covering device and the masonry are realized which contributes to the drying and hardening of the mortar in the joints.

[0011] According to a further preferred embodiment the closing strip is connected to the shielding strip by means of a raised intermediate strip, which is provided with channels which connect to the channels in the shielding strip. By doing this the connecting area of the closing strip is stiffened which contributes to the force with which the closing strip can be pressed against the inner leaf or the insulation. Moreover, as a result the device as a whole is given a heightened stiffness which contributes to its manageability. The channels connecting to each other afford a quick, oriented discharge of the water from the closing strip to the shielding strip.

[0012] On the other longitudinal side of the shielding strip the channels of the shielding strip preferably continue up into the stop strip and, if present, into the water conducting strip. The water which comes from the closing strip and the shielding strip can then easily flow off without being curbed by transverse obstacles and fall obliquely downwards from the sloping water conducting strip away from the masonry. By letting the channels of the water conducting strip terminate at their end which is remote from the shielding strip in a water flow deflecting of stiffening strip which slopes upwardly and is through-going in longitudinal direction, the falling water trickles will be forced somewhat, relatively upwards, the place at which they arrive on the ground being transferred to a place which is further away from the masonry.

[0013] Preferably the channels have a V-shaped cross section. In case there is little rain a quick discharge is thus guaranteed. Besides, in this way it is also achieved that in the case named above, in which the upper and lower side of the shielding strip are equally formed, the contact surface between the covering device and the masonry is restricted to a series of almost linear bearings.

[0014] The covering device according to the invention is preferably made of LDPE, a material to which mortar hardly sticks. In addition LDPE, is relatively soft so that a good contact against the inner leaf or the insulation layer will also be attainable. Other materials are, of course, possible, such as nylon, teflon, PVC or other forms of PE, or metal. Forming the covering device can take place in various ways, such as by extrusion, injection moulding or vacuum forming.

[0015] The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the exemplary embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

Fig.1 shows a perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of the covering device according to the invention, that is a portion thereof, placed on a brickwork;

Fig. 2 shows a schematic cross section of a cavity wall structure, on which the covering device of fig. 1 is placed; and

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross section according to III-III of the covering device of fig. 1.

[0016] A portion of a masonry wall 1 is shown in fig. 1, built up of stones 2, which are connected to each other by horizontal joints 3 and vertical joints 4 by mortar. As can be seen in fig. 2, the wall 1 forms a part of a cavity wall structure, further comprising a concrete inner leaf of a cavity wall 6, a cavity 7 and an insulation layer 5, made, for example, of glass wool panels, anchored in the cavity to the inner leaf of the cavity wall 6 by means of anchors 8.

[0017] The top row of stones 2 is covered by means of the exemplary embodiment of the covering device of the invention. This covering device 9 comprises a shielding strip 10, the width of which corresponds to the width of the stone 2, the shielding strip 10 merging at the cavity side into a raised portion 12, which itself merges into a closing flap 11. On the other side the shielding strip 10 merges into a depending stop portion 13, which itself merges in water conducting strip 14 which stands away from the wall 1 in a downwardly sloping way.

[0018] The raised portion 12, the shielding strip 10, the depending portion 13 and the conducting strip 14 are provided with channels 17 with a V-shaped cross-section which are continuous in transverse direction. The lower side of these areas is formed correspondingly. On the upper side the drainage is optimized by this, while on the lower side the contact surface with the stones 2 is kept to a minimum and there, too, channels are provided, in this case for ventilation, however.

[0019] The flap 11 is relatively flexible so as to adjust to changes or deviations in the thickness of the insulation plates 5. Because of this one standard plate of the covering device according to the invention suffices for almost all cavity structures. In the Netherlands it is customary that the thickness of the cavity parts 6, 7 and 1 is always approximately 10 cm, the thickness of the insulating layer 5 varying between 4 to 8 cm.

[0020] The shielding strip 10 has a width which is comparable to that of the stones 2. The length of the covering device 9 amounts to a number of stone lengths, and can, for example, be a half or a whole meter or several meters.

[0021] The situation shown in fig. 2 is common, in which the insulating layer 5 extends quite far above the brickwork wall 1. In that case the flap 11 would have to have a length which would be rather difficult to manage, if the insulating layer also had to be covered. In cases in which the insulating layer 5 extends to approximately the same height as the wall 1, however the covering device according to the invention can, however, be provided with a somewhat extended flap 11, with which the 10 cm wide cavity can be completely bridged so as to come to rest in a closing manner against the cavity surface of the inner leaf 6.

[0022] At the location of the transition between the flap 11 and the raised portion 12 the flap 11 runs on locally to form small triangular areas 15. In this way the bending stiffness is increased there. The stiffness of the margin area of the flap 11 is, moreover, increased by the raised portion 12, which is almost perpendicular to the shielding strip 10. The bending stiffness about a horizontal axis is thus, despite the flexible material, very large, and as a result the position of the inner margin area of the flap 11 will be retained positively, which contributes further to the reliability of the closing-off of the cavity space 7 by the flap 11.

[0023] A similar measure which increases the bending stiffness has been taken on the other longitudinal side of the shielding strip 10, wherein a stop has, moreover, been realized, and that by means of the under side of the depending portion 13 which is approximately perpendicular to the shielding strip 11 and which can be slid up to against the viewing side of the stone 2 when sliding the covering device 10 onto the stone 2.

[0024] The outer edge of the water conducting strip 14 is also provided with a series of small triangular areas 16, which are, moreover, connected with one another via a narrow strip 17. These small areas 16 with the strip 17 also locally increase the bending stiffness.

[0025] When rain falls on the covering device 9, it will flow off from the closing flap 11 in the direction A, enter the channels 17 and flow downwards in the direction B in the raised portion 12, flow further in horizontal direction C over the shielding strip 10, subsequently fall further downward in direction D in the depending portion 13, then flow obliquely in the direction E over the umbrella portion or water conducting portion 14, hit the small areas 16 and the connecting strip 17, and then fall bent somewhat relatively vertically upwards, in the direction F, to come down in a place beyond the splashing distance of the brickwork wall 1.

[0026] The covering device 9 according to the invention can be made of environment-friendly LDPE which is rust and rot-proof and is made UV-proof by added soot. The covering device 1 can be made of very thin material, for example with a thickness of 0.5 to 1.5 mm, which, on account of the profiled shapes discussed above, has sufficient stiffness, at a length of, for example, 1 meter, to be able to be handled by a bricklayer.

[0027] The channel profile (see also fig. 3) of the shielding strip 1 permits stones to be laid on the shielding strip 10, despite the limited material thickness, without the through-flow profile being decreased by crushing due to the weight of the stones. These stones will not be always be necessary, but in the case of strong wind it could be advisable to lay some loose stones, which are, in any case, to hand on the building site, on the covering devices to prevent them from being blown away.

[0028] Another advantage of the V-shaped channel cross section is that because of this the covering device according to the invention can be easily nested, so that a stack of covering devices will take up little room. An advantage of the nesting capability is that covering devices which connect to each other in longitudinal direction can be made to overlap in a simple and stable way.

[0029] The covering device 9 is sufficiently flexible to compensate differences in height in the masonry, which height difference will generally measure the height of one stone.

[0030] The covering device 9 can easily be cut to the desired size. In a inside corner, that is at the point where the side of the wall 1 in view includes an angle of 90°, a portion comparable to the stone width can be cut off from one of the covering devices which meet each other of the depending portion 13 and areas located outwardly therefrom, so that both portions which meet each other in the corner can be placed on top of each other. Where an outside corner is concerned, where the side of the wall 1 in view includes at an angle of 270°, at the location of the overlap of the two covering devices which meet each other, a portion with the width of a stone can easily be taken away from the areas 12 and 11.

[0031] It can be seen that the covering device according to the invention is versatile, easy to handle and that it will thus hardly hinder the labourers from placing it on newly laid masonry, so that the quality of the masonry and the cavity structure will be improved as a whole, which itself leads to the users experiencing a greater enjoyment during their stay in the building concerned. Because the device is easy to handle it is not even inconvenient whilst working to cover the layer just built if there is a shower.

Claims

1. Device for covering new masonry, comprising a shielding strip which fits on the top of a leaf of new masonry having a length of a number of bricks.

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein on the one longitudinal side the shielding strip is provided with a closing strip for closing off an air or cavity space located adjacent the leaf of new brickwork, preferably including an insulating layer arranged therein.

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein on one longitudinal side the shielding strip is provided with a water conducting strip, which slopes downwardly in transverse direction.

4. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein on one longitudinal side the shielding strip is provided with positioning means.

5. Device according to claim 4, wherein the positioning means are formed by a depending stop strip.

6. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the shielding strip is provided with channels for sideward discharge of water, wherein the channels preferably extend perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the shielding strip.

7. Device according to claim 6, wherein the underside of the shielding strip is formed substantially equal to the upperside thereof, and the shielding strip has a zigzag shape in longitudinal cross section.

8. Device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the closing strip is connected to the shielding strip by means of a raised intermediate strip, which is provided with channels which connect to the channels in the shielding strip.

9. Device according to claim 6, 7 or 8, when dependent on claim 5, wherein the channels of the shielding strip connect to the channels in the stop strip and, if present, to the water conducting strip.

10. Device according to claim 9, wherein at their end which is remote from the shielding strip the channels of the water conducting strip terminate in a water flow deflecting or stiffening strip which slopes upwardly and is through-going in longitudinal direction.

11. Device according to any one of the claims 6-10, wherein the channels have a v-shaped cross section.

12. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, made of LDPE.

13. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the length of the shielding strip is approximately 1 meter or more.

14. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the width of the shielding strip is approximately 0.1 m.

15. Method for shielding the top of a series of newly laid masonry stones, wherein one or more covering devices according to any one of the claims 1-14 are placed in a fitting way on the top of the brickwork.

Drawing