Molded stone architectural product having a foam core

Abstract

An architectural cast stone product for use in building construction has a unitary shell made of a molded cementitious material that partially surrounds and is affixed to a foam core. The architectural cast stone product has a mounting surface including an exposed surface of the foam core and an exposed surface of the shell. The architectural cast stone product is made by obtaining a front pattern having a desired surface configuration for the architectural cast stone product, obtaining a foam core, affixing the foam core to a backer, affixing the front pattern to the backer that together form a mold, pouring a cementitious material into the mold and into contact with the foam core, at least partially curing the cementitious material to form the architectural cast stone product, and removing the front pattern and backer from the architectural cast stone product. The architectural cast stone product may optionally be surface finished, such as by sanding or polishing, to yield a desired surface finish.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 900,969, filed Jul. 28, 2004, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 490,626, filed Jul. 28, 2003.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to molded stone architectural products having a foam core. The present invention further relates to a slurry casting method for the manufacture of foam core architectural stone products. [0003] The use of natural cut and carved stone is often too expensive to be used in most homes and buildings. Natural stone is also heavy and subject to seismic limitations. Over the years, various products and construction methods have been developed to simulate cut and carved stone on home and building exteriors. For example, many commercially available cementitious products may be used to prepare three-dimensional shapes, which when cured, may serve as window sills, crown moldings, window surrounds,...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention relates to a method of preparing a mold for manufacturing architectural cast stone products containing a foam core. The method involves using a foam core and a cementitious material to form the shell of the product. The foam core is partially or fully surrounded by the shell, with the shell being cast in a mold around the foam core. The resulting product has a mounting surface that is hidden from view when installed in a building. The shell of the product also has projections that affix the shell to the foam core. The foam core is made of a foam material, such as expanded polystyrene, which is shaped in a three-dimensional form through molding or other methods. The invention provides an improved method for manufacturing architectural cast stone products with foam cores that have a solid shell and a reduced weight.

Problems solved by technology

The use of natural cut and carved stone is often too expensive to be used in most homes and buildings.

Natural stone is also heavy and subject to seismic limitations.

Each of these methods has limitations that have created a need in the art.

Cast solid architectural stone products are heavy and expensive because of the amount of cementitious material required to fabricate the product.

The method of coating a three-dimensional shaped substrate is wasteful and often the product is of poor quality.

Material is often wasted because too much cementitious slurry is made and much material falls to the ground during the coating process.

Poor or uneven quality results from the difficulty in applying a uniform coating on the shaped substrate.

In addition, this method is also expensive because of the labor skill and time required in applying the coating.

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