Apparatus for rapid and accurate installation of wall siding planks in interlocking relationship

Abstract

Apparatus for installing siding over a wall composed of spaced apart studs and for forming an interlock of the siding and for providing easy installation and for resistance to high winds and for allowing waters to drain therefrom comprising an upside down U-shaped receiving member for being clipped on a first siding plank and connected to a second U-shaped receiving member with the second U-shaped receiving member being faced for receiving a second siding plank for creating the desired over lap relationship between the first and second siding planks. One form of the apparatus has a substantially U-shaped aperture formed therein for avoiding the studs when clipped on a siding plank. Another form of the apparatus has a second up side down U-shaped receiving member for being clipped on factory created end joints which may meet at any location on the wall without regard to the studs to form a joint.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to an apparatus which can be used in the installation of siding in overlapping relationship by one worker in a very rapid, safe, and accurate manner. Also this invention provides an apparatus which allows siding to be installed on a wall composed of spaced apart studs without regard for where the studs are located and have one plank with a factory created end joint meet another at its factory created end joint and yet create an interlocking relationship of the siding planks. This invention also, relates to creating a finished wall of siding planks with good aesthetics and resistance to high winds, because of its interlocking properties.[0002] The process of installing over lapping siding members to a wall, in the prior art, required two people in the installation process. One person would be on one end of a siding plank holding the siding and another person would be on the other end of the siding plank holding the other end, while some type of measuring...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011] The object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for rapid, safe, and accurate installation of siding over a wall composed of spaced apart studs, without regard to where the studs are located relative to the ends of the siding to be fastened and which after its installation provides interlocking properties for resistance against wind and storm damage.

[0012] As another objective of this invention, this invention allows a single installer to install this horizontal over lapping siding accurately without having to manually hold a plank in position while nailing it in place. This accuracy means that the overlapping relationship as it relates to the depth of overlapping in each plank after the initial row of siding planks is installed is determined automatically by the apparatus of this invention and not by manual measuring and holding the siding plank in place for installation by the installer. This also makes for a safer work site and prevents siding planks from falling during the installation process with the possible injury to other workmen below.

[0013] It is a further object of this invention that the installers do not have to measure and cut planks accurately to meet on 1 / 2 of a stud's surface width for fastening the siding plank to the stud, but allows the installer to use full planks and join planks at factory created ends of a siding plank by butting one factory created end joint against the next factory created end joint of the next siding plank without having to have its end align with a stud. This reduces greatly the amount of time required for installation because it eliminates measuring and then cutting a siding plank to have the siding plank land on a stud for being fastened. It also provides flush 90 degree joints created on the factory created end joints and eliminates the need for caulking because no joint would be an improperly cut joint and eliminates any requirement for caulking to provide a proper joint. This allows the installer to create a tight, more ascetically pleasing splice between the siding planks and a more water tight instillation, all without regard to where the studs are located.

Problems solved by technology

If the cuts were not at right angles, then the points where the cut siding planks meet and were installed had to be caulked because there would be excessive space between the joints.

If there was an error in the measurements then a whole siding plank or some portion of it could become waste material which would drive up the cost of installation of the siding planks.

Therefore the prior art could not make very much use of every joint in the installation process which had been created as a factory end joint and which would provide for superior joints between butted siding planks.

The prior art also had the problem of holding accurate alignment around windows and doors and other openings which might even require an installer to remove planks previously installed and reinstall them in order to achieve alignment at the top of a window, door or other openings when they came to the top of the window, door, or other opening and continued installing full length planks again after continuing installation over the window, door or other opening again.

Also in the prior art, the cuts of the siding planks had to be made at perfect right angles which can be very difficult to achieve on consistent basis for the joint of one siding plank to meet the next siding plank to which it is abutted.

If the cuts was not a perfect right angle, then the joint can be ragged and not provide a quality installation or may require that the joint be caulked.

If the angle was too great off 90 degrees it could even cause a portion of the end to miss landing on the stud, which could leave a gap in the siding which would be difficult to fill with caulk.

In any event it required additional labor to cut and then caulk such joints when necessary and it drove up the prior art cost of installation in both labor and materials costs.

Many of the prior art devices for installing planks required a separate device for each size plank to be installed and on the larger planks the prior art devices were relatively heavy and cumbersome in size.

Therefore a worker could not carry very many of them up the scaffolding to be used in the installation process, which meant that the worker had to make frequent trips during the installation process for additional prior art devises to be used in the installation process.

Further many of the prior art devices could only be installed in one direction because of the way they were designed with a fitting to receive a plank and the other end of the devise was designed to be hung on the plank to which the plank was to be installed.

This step of having to orient the prior art device, however took up valuable time and increased the cost of installation.

This at least double step of first nailing the prior art device and then inserting the material to be installed added additional time and labor expense to the cost of installation of a job.

In the case of having to install the prior art device first and then insert the siding plank or roofing material not only increased the cost but required the installer to first accurately install the prior art device for proper alignment and overlapping arrangement which again took extra time and increased the cost of installation.

While there are many prior art devices which utilize clips most of those devices did not provide a finished product which achieved an interlocking relationship between the planks such that a prior art plank or plank system installed created an overall interlocking system which resisted storm and wind damage.

Also the prior art devices did not provide any means of draining rainwater which might be blown up under the planks and / or dripped down behind the wall onto the prior art devices.

Therefore with no drainage and continual wetting in the prior art devices, the prior art devices experienced corrosion of the devices as well as damage to the siding.

As a prior art device required considerable more cutting of the planks therefore there was more labor costs associated with the process of installing the planks with the prior art devices.

Also because of the increase cutting of planks in the prior art there was considerably more waste of plank materials which raised the cost of the finished product.

Further the prior art devises would only occasionally cause the factory created end joints to meet for creating a joint, if they managed to hit perfectly on a stud at 1 / 2 its thickness and then leave 1 / 2 of its thickness for the factory created end joint of the next piece, thus in most cases forcing a cut to be performed to hit the stud accurately for fastening its end to the stud.

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