Wall-Cladding System

Abstract

The invention concerns a wall-cladding system using brick slips (10). A carrier (12) is to be secured to a wall and the brick slips (10) are mounted on the carrier (12) which has a back member (14) having a front (16), a back (18), a top (20) and a bottom (22), the back 5 member (14) being securable to the wall with its back (18) against the wall, a finger (28) which projects from the front (16) of the back member (14) and which has an upwardly facing surface (34) which is upwardly inclined in the direction from back to front, a locating feature (34) on the front (16) of the back member (14). The brick slip has a front face (38), a rear face (40), and a channel (52) in the rear face (40), the channel 10 (52) having a downwardly facing surface (54) which is inclined downwardly in the direction from the front face (38) toward the rear face (40). The brick slip (10) is to be received on the carrier (12) with its rear face (40) against the front (16) of the carrier (12) and the finger (28) inside the channel (52) with the upwardly facing surface (34) of the finger (28) against the downwardly facing surface (54) of the channel (52). The locating feature (34) 15 of the carrier (12) engages with a complementary feature of the brick slip (10) to prevent the brick slip (10) from moving upwardly and so to lock the brick slip (10) in place on the carrier (12).

Description

The present invention is concerned with wall claddings, and particularly with wall claddings based on brick facing elements or slips. Brick slips are applied to interior and exterior walls to give them the appearance of a brick-built wall despite their having some other basic form of construction. A brick slip is akin to a thick tile but typically has the outward appearance of a brick in terms of colour, surface texture, size and proportions. Brick slips are attached to a wall in a bond (pattern) imitative of a brick-laying bond, with spaces between adjacent slips within a row and spaces between rows, which are typically mortared. Brick slips can be made by cutting the outer faces from new or reclaimed clay bricks. A known alternative is to extrude clay and then wire cut it to the chosen length prior to firing in a kiln. Some slips made of materials other than clay are known. Brick slips need to be secured to the wall in some way. Adhesive bonding is often used but the necessary quantity of adhesive is large and long-term security of mounting can be an issue, especially since failure of the adhesive can permit brick slips to fall, with the danger of consequent damage to property or of personal injury. There are existing commercial cladding systems that use some form of carrier which is secured to the wall and which serves to mount the brick slips. The Genbrix® system from Ibstock plc of Ibstock, England uses extruded aluminium rails screwed to the wall and having a pair of profiled, horizontally running walls between which the brick slips are gripped. The brick slips are extruded with upper and lower edges profiled to complement the rails and to be received between them. A blow with a mallet is needed to introduce the brick slips between the rails and so mount them, seemingly due to a degree of elastic deformation of the components. Removal of tiles, e.g. for repositioning, also requires use of a significant degree offeree. Somewhat similar comments apply to the Corium™ cladding system from Wienerberger Ltd. of Cheadle, England. Subject to impacts and force, brick slips can crack. GB2371314A, Chelwood Brick Ltd., discloses a wall-cladding system having a panel for attachment to the wall with a rail received by a side wall of the brick slip described as being of re-entrant form. The brick slips can thus be hung on the rail, but this system appears to rely on adhesive to keep the brick slips in place. The present invention aims to provide a wall cladding system which provides a positive and straightforward means of mounting brick slips. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is a wall-cladding system comprising a carrier to be secured to a wall and a brick slip to be mounted on the carrier, wherein the carrier comprises: a back member having a front, a back, a top and a bottom, the back member being securable to the wall with its back against the wall, a finger which projects from the front of the back member and which has an upwardly facing surface which is upwardly inclined in the direction from back to front, a locating feature on the front of the back member, and the brick slip comprises a front face, a rear face, and a channel in the rear face, the channel having a downwardly facing surface which is inclined downwardly in the direction from the front face toward the rear face, the brick slip being receivable on the carrier with its rear face against the front of the carrier and the finger inside the channel with the upwardly facing surface of the finger against the downwardly facing surface of the channel, and the locating feature of the carrier being engageable with a complementary feature of the brick slip to prevent the brick slip from moving upwardly and so lock the brick slip in place on the carrier. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is a brick-slip carrier comprising: a back member having a front, a back, a top and a bottom, the back member being securable to the wall with its back against the wall, a finger which projects from the front of the back member and which has an upwardly facing surface which is upwardly inclined in the direction from back to front, a locating feature on the front of the back member, to engage with a complementary feature of a brick slip. Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 depicts a first carrier according to the present invention; Figure 2 depicts a brick slip according to the present invention; Figure 3 depicts the brick slip mounted upon the carrier; Figure 4 is a cross section through a second carrier according to the present invention; and Figure 5 depicts a part-completed installation comprising multiple carriers and slips. The embodiments depicted and described herein provide a cladding system for use on exterior and interior walls in which brick slips 10 are secured to the wall through carriers 12, 12a. The invention imposes no particular limitation on the form of the wall to be clad. It may for example comprise poured concrete, concrete construction blocks, any form of timber frame such as studwork with or without a covering board, or any other suitable form of wall construction. The present system enables the wall to be clad to replicate the appearance of a brick-built wall. The cladding can be low maintenance and highly durable even when deployed on exterior walls. The carriers 12, 12a of the depicted embodiments are in the form of an elongate rail for carrying a single row of brick slips 10, although in other embodiments a deeper carrier may carry multiple rows. Figures 1 and 3 depict a prototype first embodiment of the carrier 12 made by layer manufacturing, and the same profile may be made on an industrial scale by extrusion, but the second embodiment 12a, whose profile is represented in cross section in Figure 4, is formed by cold rolling of mild steel. Any suitable material and manufacturing process may be used for this part. The two embodiments 12, 12a of the carrier have the same functional features which are given the same reference numerals throughout, and the following explanation applies to both. The carrier 12,12a has a back member which in the present embodiment take the form of an elongate, flat back plate 14 having a front face 16, a back face 18, a top edge 20 and a bottom edge 22. An upstanding lower wall 24 extends along the bottom edge 22 and an upstanding upper wall 26 extends along the top edge 20. A finger 28 projects from the front face 16 of the back plate, lying part-way between its upper and lower edges 20, 22 and extending along the length of the carrier 12,12a. The finger 28 has a root end 30 which meets the back plate 14 and a free end 32, and is inclined upwardly in the direction from back to front so that its free end 32 is higher than its root end 30. A surface 34 of the finger which faces generally upwardly is inclined upwardly in the direction from back to front. Above the finger 28 - that is, in a region of the back member 14 between the finger 28 and the top edge 20 - is a locating feature 36 in the form of a shallow upstand extending along the length of the carrier 12 and projecting forwardly from the front face 16. Referring in particular to Figure 2, the brick slip 10 of the present embodiment is roughly cuboidal in shape, having a front face 38, a rear face 40, and upper and lower edges 42, 44. The brick slip's length 46 is greater than its height 48. In the present embodiment the length is 210mm and the height is 65mm, similarly to a standard house brick. Depth 50 of the brick slip 10 is smaller than its height, and is approximately 20mm in the present example. All of these dimensions are by way of example only: the dimensions of other embodiments may be different. A channel 52 is provided in the rear face 40 of the brick slip 10 to receive the finger 28. The channel 52 extends along the length of the brick slip 10 and is disposed part-way between its upper edge 42 and its lower edge 44. Viewed along the length of the brick slip 10, the channel is inclined downwardly in the direction from the front face 38 toward the rear face 40, to complement the inclination of the finger 28. The channel 52 has an internal surface 54 which faces generally downwardly and which is inclined downwardly in the direction from the front face toward the rear face. Beneath the channel 52 and communicating with it is a shallow recess 56 formed in and extending along the brick slip's rear face 40. In installation of the wall-cladding system, a plurality of the carriers 12,12a are first secured to a wall in horizontal rows (see Figure 5). The fitter will typically need to ensure that the first row is horizontal, e.g. by reference to a marked line, spirit level etc. Subsequent rows can simply be placed against a neighbouring row to ensure that they are plumb, the upper wall 26 of one row abutting the lower wall 24 of the one above to ensure that neighbouring rows are parallel. Screws can be used to secure the carriers 12,12a, being driven through the back plate 14 into the wall itself in a zone coinciding, when the brick slip 10 is mounted on the carrier 12,12a, with the recess 56. Screw heads can thus be received in the recess 56 without fouling the brick slip 10, making it unnecessary to countersink for the screw heads. The form of screw mounting will be chosen to suit the construction of the wall itself, and may for example use masonry screws or woodscrews. Any other suitable fastening or method of attachment may be used to secure the carriers 12,12a to the wall. Once the carriers 12, 12a are secured to the wall, mounting the brick slips 10 to them is very straightforward. The brick slip 10 is simply advanced onto the carrier 12, 12a so that the finger 28 is received in the channel 52. This involves moving the brick slip 10 both rearwardly (toward the wall) and downwardly, since as the inclined channel 56 advances over the complementarily inclined finger 28, the brick slip must move down somewhat. The upwardly facing surface 34 of the finger 28 thus engages the complementary downwardly facing surface 54 of the channel, supporting the weight of the brick slip 10. Once the finger 28 is engaged in the channel 54, the brick slip 10 cannot be removed from the carrier 12 without moving up somewhat, due to the inclination of the upwardly facing surface 34 of the finger 28 and the complementary downwardly facing surface 54 of the channel. To lock the brick slip 10 in place, the upper edge 42 of the brick slip 10 is received beneath the locating feature 34. Thanks to a snug fit, some pressure is needed to bring the upper edge 42 into this position, providing a snap-fit action, so that mounting the brick slip 10 involves first advancing it onto the carrier (engaging the finger 28 in the channel 54) and then applying pressure to engage the upper edge 42 with the locating feature 34. This having been done, the locating feature locks the brick slip 10 from moving upwardly and so prevents disengagement of the finger 28 from the channel 52, rendering the brick slip captive. The rear face 40 of the brick slip 10 abuts the front face 16 of the back plate 14. The lower wall 24 of the carrier 14 may be slightly upwardly inclined and positioned to abut the lower edge 44 of the brick slip 10, so as to be slightly deformed as the brick slip 10 is snapped into place, biasing the brick slip 10 upwardly and so helping to maintain it in engagement with the locating feature 34. The brick slips 10 are typically laid in a conventional bond imitative of a brick wall, each being spaced somewhat from their immediate neighbours in a row as at 58 to leave room for mortar. A very simple spacer or gauge may be used to set this spacing. The depth of a horizontal mortar line 60 is defined by the carriers 12,12a. The brick slips 10 can be mortared. That is, the mortar lines 58, 60 are wholly or partly filled with a settable composition. A conventional cement-based mortar may be used, but the present invention imposes no particular limitation on the composition of the mortar or its mode of installation. Once mortar has set, the brick slips 10 are securely mounted. For any brick slip 10 to escape its mounting, it would not only have to overcome the snap fit against the locating feature 34, but would also have to be raised far enough to disengage the inclined finger 28 from the channel 52. But upward movement of the brick slip 10 is prevented by the mortar line 60 above. Hence the invention provides a form of mounting which, unlike prior art systems discussed above, uses the mortar itself to effectively lock the brick slip 10 in position. The brick slips 10 may be formed of any suitable material including fired clay, and may be machined from house bricks. But in the present embodiment a non-fired, moulded material is chosen. An airdrying material is favoured. The material may be a composite of gypsum (plaster) and a plastics resin, which may be an acrylic resin. A suitable material is sold by Jesmonite Limited of Shropshire, England under the registered trade mark Jesmonite®. The brick slips 10 may be formed in an upwardly open mould. To provide for release, the mould may be resiliently flexible. It may for example comprise an elastomer such as silicone. An alternative would be a rigid mould with e.g. a removable insert to form the inclined finger 28, thereby allowing for mould release. The front face 38 of the brick slip 10 may be dressed to give it a desired appearance. For example, it may be coloured to imitate the colouration due to firing of a clay brick, and / or it may be given scarring lines or other visual features. In some cases this dressing is done before the brick slip 10 is fully cured, while it remains in the mould. It is emphasised that the above-described embodiments serve as examples only of the manner of implementation of the present invention. Numerous variations and changes are possible without departing from the scope of the invention according to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wall-cladding system comprising a carrier to be secured to a wall and a brick slip to be mounted on the carrier, wherein the carrier comprises:a back member having a front, a back, a top and a bottom, the back member being securable to the wall with its back against the wall,a finger which projects from the front of the back member and which has an upwardly facing surface which is upwardly inclined in the direction from back to front,a locating feature on the front of the back member,and the brick slip comprises a front face, a rear face, and a channel in the rear face, the channel having a downwardly facing surface which is inclined downwardly in the direction from the front face toward the rear face,the brick slip being receivable on the carrier with its rear face against the front of the carrier and the finger inside the channel with the upwardly facing surface of the finger against the downwardly facing surface of the channel, and the locating feature of the carrier being engageable with a complementary feature of the brick slip to prevent the brick slip from moving upwardly and so lock the brick slip in place on the carrier.

2. A wall-cladding system as claimed in claim 1 in which the brick slip has an upper face and the locating feature comprises an upstand engageable with the upper face of the brick slip to prevent upward movement of the brick slip.

3. A wall-cladding system as claimed in claim lor claim 2 in which the placement of the locating feature is such that bringing the brick slip into engagement with the locating feature involves a snap-fit action.

4. A wall-cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim in which the back member comprises a back panel.

5. A wall-cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim in which the brick slip has a lower face and the carrier has a lower wall which projects forwardly from the back member to engage the lower face of the brick slip.

6. A wall-cladding system as claimed in claim 5 in which the lower wall is inclined upwardly somewhat in the direction from back to front and is positioned to be resiliently deformed by the brick slip when the brick slip is engaged with the locating feature, thereby to bias the brick slip against toward engagement with the locating feature.

7. A wall-cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim in which the brick slip has a recess in its rear face to accommodate heads of fixings used to secure the carrier to the wall.

8. A wall-cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim in which the carrier comprises rolled steel plate.

9. A wall-cladding system as claimed in any preceding claim in which the brick slip comprises non-fired, moulded material.

10. A brick-slip carrier comprising:a back member having a front, a back, a top and a bottom, the back member being securable to the wall with its back against the wall,a finger which projects from the front of the back member and which has an upwardly facing surface which is upwardly inclined in the direction from back to front,5 a locating feature on the front of the back member, to engage with a complementary featureof a brick slip.

11. A brick-slip carrier as claimed in claim 10 in which the locating feature comprises an upstand from the front of the carrier for engagement with a top edge of the brick slip.

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