Wall Cladding Starter Assembly

Abstract

A wall cladding starter assembly (Fig. 5), adapted to be installable against an exterior wall (12) of a building, has a starter strip (66) for affixing (68) to a base of the wall, and a starter wall cladding board (10a) which is interconnectable with the starter strip already affixed against the wall by engagement of an inverted trough (32) of the starter wall cladding board over a free end (42) of a starter lip (70) of the starter strip. Any water that enters a gap between a floor (30) of the starter wall cladding board and an outward location of the starter lip of the starter strip cannot progress further inwardly unless it progresses up and over the free end of the starter lip, in which unlikely event the water cannot progress further inwardly because it is restricted by the inverted trough to progress down into a starter channel (52) where it is able to flow along the starter channel to a water exit. 20 24 22 76 69 25 O ct 2 02 4 A B S T R A C T 2 0 2 4 2 2 7 6 6 9 2 5 O c t 2 0 2 4

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD 5 The present invention relates to wall cladding for the exterior of buildings and, in particular, to a wall cladding starter assembly for installing cladding boards against an exterior wall of a building. The wall cladding starter assembly has improved water proofing capability. 10 It is to be understood that the terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description only and should not be regarded as limiting. For instance, the terms “comprising” or “comprises” are to be understood as meaning “including”, unless otherwise stated. Also, the term “board” is to be understood as including any elongated board-like structure made by an aluminium extrusion process. 15 BACKGROUND ART There are many wall cladding systems on the market or which are known, but most suffer from serious problems associated with water ingress, such as may occur during 20 heavy storms, that can cause water damage to the covered walls and / or to support members for the cladding. Reduced water proofing capability of these prior art systems is usually the “trade off’ for structurally designing the cladding boards so that they are more easily 25 interconnected. Alternatively, prior art wall cladding systems that have high water proofing capability utilize cladding boards that are difficult to interconnect. Also, high water proofing capability relies largely on the use of rubber sealing strips on or between cladding boards, and / or on the use of waterproof membranes or sheeting 30 protecting the walls. 2024227669   25 Oct 2024 There is no currently known wall cladding system which offers both high water proofing capability and greatly enhanced ease of interconnecting cladding boards made of extruded aluminium. 5 DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the disadvantages and problems of the aforementioned prior art, or at least provide a useful alternative. 10 It has been found by the present inventor that these and other objects of the invention may be achieved in general by providing a wall cladding starter assembly for installing cladding boards against an exterior wall of a building, the wall cladding starter assembly comprising: 15    (i) a starter strip for affixing to a base of the wall, the starter strip comprising a starter lip spaced from the wall, the starter lip extending upwardly to terminate at a free end, and further comprising an affixing bracket which is connected to the starter lip at an inward location and which extends upwardly alongside the starter lip, wherein the affixing bracket abuts the wall and wherein an upper part of the starter lip and a lower 20 part of the affixing bracket which extends upwardly alongside the starter lip define a starter channel, and (ii) a starter wall cladding board comprising: (a) a main portion comprising a main surface which is presented outwardly from the wall, 25          (b) a lower portion connected to a bottom region of the main portion, the lower portion comprising a floor which is located at the lowermost end of the lower portion, and further comprising an inverted trough which is located above the floor and which extends closer to the wall than does the floor, and (c) an upper portion connected to a top region of the main portion, 30 wherein the starter wall cladding board is interconnectable with the starter strip already affixed against the wall by engagement of the inverted trough of the starter wall cladding board over the free end of the starter lip of the starter strip, whereby any water 2024227669   25 Oct 2024 that enters a gap between the floor of the starter wall cladding board and an outward location of the starter lip of the starter strip cannot progress further inwardly unless it progresses up and over the free end of the starter lip, in which unlikely event the water cannot progress further inwardly because it is restricted by the inverted trough to 5 progress down into the starter channel where it is able to flow along the starter channel to a water exit. In a preferred form, the floor of the starter wall cladding board is located sufficiently closely against the starter lip of the starter strip so as to prevent the top region of the 10   main portion of the starter wall cladding board from pivoting away from the wall by rotating about the location where the inverted trough engages the starter lip. Preferably, the inverted trough has an opening which is dimensioned to receive the free end of the starter lip to effect such engagement by tilting of the starter wall cladding 15   board relative to the wall by no more than about a 20° angle from the vertical. The affixing bracket preferably has an upper part which extends upwardly beyond the starter lip and comprises a plurality of slots adapted to engage screws for securing the wall cladding starter assembly against the wall. 20 It is further preferred that the inverted trough has an opening which is dimensioned to receive the free end of the starter lip to effect such engagement by tilting of the starter wall cladding board relative to the wall by no more than about a 10° angle from the vertical. 25 The inverted trough preferably does not abut the wall. The wall cladding starter assembly of the present invention may be made of extruded aluminium. 30 There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which the 2024227669   25 Oct 2024 disclosure is based, may be readily utilized as the basis for designing other wall cladding starter assemblies and wall cladding systems for carrying out the objects of the present invention. 5 It is important, therefore, that the broad outline of the invention described above be regarded as including such equivalent constructions in so far as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 10 The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 15 Figure 1 is an end view of a starter wall cladding board used to form a wall cladding starter assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure 2 is a side perspective view (from the front or outward side) of the starter wall cladding board of Figure 1, 20 Figure 3 is a perspective view of a wall structure against which a starter wall cladding board of Figures 1 and 2 has already been installed, and to which an upper wall cladding board has been interconnected. 25 Figure 4 is an enlarged view of detail A shown in Figure 3, the enlarged view showing the interconnection of the starter wall cladding board and the upper wall cladding board, and Figure 5 is an enlarged view showing the interconnection of a starter wall cladding board 30 with a starter strip used to form a wall cladding starter assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the starter strip being affixed to the base of a wall. 2024227669   25 Oct 2024 MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION With reference now to the above summarized drawings of Figures 1 to 5, an example of a wall cladding board and an example of a wall cladding system embodying the 5 principles and concepts of the present invention will now be described. The wall cladding board 10 shown individually in Figures 1 and 2 is made of aluminium by a conventional aluminium extrusion process, and is adapted to be installable against an exterior wall (such as wall 12 shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5) of a 10 building. The aluminium wall cladding boards 10 can be extruded in long lengths (typically 6.5m) which enable fast installation and minimal wastage. Each wall cladding board 10 has a main portion 14, a lower portion 16 and an upper portion 18, each said portion being integrally interconnected. 15 The main portion 14 has a main surface 20 which is presented outwardly from the wall 12 and which, in this embodiment, is planar. The main portion 14 also has, in this embodiment, three spacers 22, 24 and 26 which extend toward and abut the wall 12. The planar main surface 20 has applied thereto a wood grain finish to replicate the 20 appearance of timber. Alternatively, the main surface 20 may not be planar, but take any shape or profile, and have applied thereto any one or more colour. The lower portion 16 is connected to a bottom region 28 of the main portion 14 and has a floor 30 and an inverted trough 32 which has a mouth that opens downwardly and is 25 connected to the bottom region 28 by a stem 33. The floor 30 is located at the lowermost end of the lower portion 16 and extends toward the wall 12 to terminate at a free end 34 but does not abut the wall. The inverted trough 32 is located above the floor 30 and extends closer to the wall 12 than does the floor 30 but does not abut the wall. 30 The upper portion 18 is connected to a top region 36 of the main portion 14 and has a lip 38 and a riser bracket 40. The lip 38 extends upwardly from the uppermost spacer 22 to terminate at a free end 42. The lip 38 is located closer to the wall 12 than is the 2024227669   25 Oct 2024 planar surface 20 but does not abut the wall. The riser bracket 40 is connected to the lip 38 at an inward location 44 between an upper lip part 46 having the free end 42 and a lower lip part 48 of the lip 38. The riser bracket 40 extends upwardly alongside and then upwardly beyond the lip 38 and does abut the wall. The upper lip part 46 and a 5 lower part 50 of the riser bracket 40 which extends upwardly alongside the lip 38 defines a channel 52. An upper part 54 of the riser bracket 40 which extends upwardly beyond the lip 38 has, in this embodiment, a plurality of elongated slots 56 which are adapted to engage fastening means (such as screws) for securing the wall cladding board 10 against the wall 12. In this embodiment, the elongated slots 56 are sufficiently 10   enlarged to allow for expansion and contraction of the wall cladding board 10 due to temperature variation without loosening or snapping the screws. The above described wall cladding board 10 is interconnectable with a like wall cladding board 10a (shown interconnected with wall cladding board 10 in Figures 3 and 15   4 and having identical structure therewith). The wall cladding board 10a is installed against the wall 12 (at or nearer to the base of the wall) before installation of the wall cladding board 10 above it. The lower and upper wall cladding boards 10a and 10, respectively, are interconnected 20 by engagement or mating of the inverted trough 32 of the upper wall cladding board 10 over the free end 42 of the lip 38 of the lower wall cladding board 10a. This interconnection can be achieved by an individual installer. To facilitate this engagement or mating, the curvature of the top edge of the free end 42 25   of the lip 38 is a convex curvature, and the curvature of the uppermost inner bend of the inverted trough 32 is a concave curvature, each such curvature having the same radius so that their mating together (as shown in Figures 4 and 5) contributes to improved water proofing capability. 30 The inverted trough 32 of the upper wall cladding board 10 has a downwardly facing opening 58 or mouth which is dimensioned to receive the free end 42 of the lip 38 of the lower wall cladding board 10a to effect such engagement or mating by tilting of the 2024227669   25 Oct 2024 upper wall cladding board 10 relative to the wall 12 by no more than about a 20° angle from the vertical. In this embodiment, the inverted trough 32 has a downwardly extending free end region 60 which is inclined at an angle of from about 8° to about 10° from the vertical and which extends downwardly beyond the height of the other side of 5 the opening 58, and so mating can be effected by tilting of the upper wall cladding board 10 relative to the wall 12 by no more than about a 10° angle from the vertical. The aforementioned engagement or mating of the inverted trough 32 of the upper wall cladding board 10 over the free end 42 of the lip 38 of the already installed lower wall 10   cladding board 10a provides high water proofing capability, as any water that enters a gap 62 between the free end 34 of the floor 30 of the upper wall cladding board 10 and an outward location of the lip 38 of the lower wall cladding board 10a cannot progress further inwardly unless it progresses up and over the free end 42 of the lip 38. In the unlikely event that the water does progress up and over the free end 42 of the lip 38, the 15   water cannot progress further inwardly because it is restricted by the inverted trough 32 to progress down into the channel 52 where it is able to flow along the channel 52 to a water exit to outside the wall 12. In this embodiment, there is a T-shaped slot 64 between the stem 33 and the floor 30. 20 The slot 64 can securely receive a sealing member (such as a bulb seal) which will seal against the upper lip part 46 and so serve to seal the gap 62 between the free end 34 of the floor 30 of the upper wall cladding board 10 and an outward location of the lip 38 of the lower wall cladding board 10a. A similar T-shaped slot (not shown) can be provided between the lower part 50 of the riser bracket 40 and the lip 38, in which 25 event a sealing member received by such a slot will occupy the channel 52 and will serve to seal the opening 58 of the inverted trough 32. Also, optionally, the spacers 22, 24 and 26 are so configured with perpendicularly turned ends or legs that abut the wall 12 so as to allow insulation (not shown) to be 30 fitted between any two adjacent spacers. 2024227669   25 Oct 2024 Of course, a fully assembled wall cladding system utilizing a plurality of the wall cladding boards 10, 10a installed against a wall will also require numerous additional components, such as extruded components for ends, internal comers, external comers, starter strips, head flashings, joining connectors, cover strip clips and cover strip bases. 5 Figure 5 shows the use of a starter strip 66 which is affixed to the wall 12 by a screw 68 and which has a lip 70 which is engaged with an inverted trough 32 of the lower wall cladding board 10a. The manner of the engagement is similar to that of the earlier described engagement of the inverted trough 32 of the upper wall cladding board 10 10   over the free end 42 of the lip 38 of the already installed lower wall cladding board 10a, and thereby also provides high water proofing capability at the base of the wall 12. It will be readily apparent from reading the above, and to persons skilled in the art, that there are various advantages of the present invention. 15 It will also be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in details of design and constmction of the embodiments of the wall cladding board, and in the steps of installing a wall cladding system using the wall cladding boards, as described above without departing from the scope or ambit of the 20 present invention. The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or 25 information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates before the filing date of this patent application.

Claims

1. A wall cladding starter assembly for installing cladding boards against an exterior wall of a building, the wall cladding starter assembly comprising:(i) a starter strip for affixing to a base of the wall, the starter strip comprising a starter lip spaced from the wall, the starter lip extending upwardly to terminate at a free end, and further comprising an affixing bracket which is connected to the starter lip at an inward location and which extends upwardly alongside the starter lip, wherein the affixing bracket abuts the wall and wherein an upper part of the starter lip and a lower part of the affixing bracket which extends upwardly alongside the starter lip define a starter channel, and(ii) a starter wall cladding board comprising:(a) a main portion comprising a main surface which is presented outwardly from the wall,(b) a lower portion connected to a bottom region of the main portion, the lower portion comprising a floor which is located at the lowermost end of the lower portion, and further comprising an inverted trough which is located above the floor and which extends closer to the wall than does the floor, and(c) an upper portion connected to a top region of the main portion, wherein the starter wall cladding board is interconnectable with the starter strip already affixed against the wall by engagement of the inverted trough of the starter wall cladding board over the free end of the starter lip of the starter strip, whereby any water that enters a gap between the floor of the starter wall cladding board and an outward location of the starter lip of the starter strip cannot progress further inwardly unless it progresses up and over the free end of the starter lip, in which unlikely event the water cannot progress further inwardly because it is restricted by the inverted trough to progress down into the starter channel where it is able to flow along the starter channel to a water exit.

2. The wall cladding starter assembly of claim 1, wherein the floor of the starter wall cladding board is located sufficiently closely against the starter lip of the starter strip so as to prevent the top region of the main portion of the starter wall cladding board from pivoting away from the wall by rotating about the location where the inverted trough engages the starter lip.2024227669   25 Oct 20243. The wall cladding starter assembly of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the inverted trough has an opening which is dimensioned to receive the free end of the starter lip to effect such engagement by tilting of the starter wall cladding board relative to the wall by no more than about a 20° angle from the vertical.

4. The wall cladding starter assembly of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the affixing bracket has an upper part which extends upwardly beyond the starter lip and comprises a plurality of slots adapted to engage screws for securing the wall cladding starter assembly against the wall.

5. The wall cladding starter assembly of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the inverted trough has an opening which is dimensioned to receive the free end of the starter lip to effect such engagement by tilting of the starter wall cladding board relative to the wall by no more than about a 10° angle from the vertical.

6. The wall cladding starter assembly of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the inverted trough does not abut the wall.

7. The wall cladding starter assembly of any one of claims 1 to 6, which is made of extruded aluminium.

Images