Concrete Wall Siding With Built-In Rainscreen Drainage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wood or wood-composite based lap siding on concrete walls requires a weather resistant barrier (WRB) or separate rainscreen, leading to increased costs, labor, and compromised drainage due to compression, which results in moisture absorption and deterioration.
Innovation Solution
Integrated rainscreen feature in the siding, eliminating the need for a WRB or separate rainscreen, with raised elements or ridges providing channels for drainage and allowing fasteners to penetrate, resisting compression and maintaining a drainage plane.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a weather resistant barrier (WRB) or separate rainscreen is used with wood siding on concrete walls, then moisture protection is improved, but installation cost and labor increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the WRB and rainscreen functions into a single integrated component that is factory-applied to the back of the siding. This eliminates the need for separate WRB and rainscreen layers, reducing installation steps and complexity while maintaining moisture protection through the integrated design that includes drainage channels and spacing features.
Solution Approach 2:
The rainscreen features are pre-applied to the back of the siding during manufacturing. This preliminary action includes factory-application of the integrated WRB and rainscreen components, so that no additional moisture management components need to be installed at the job site, thereby reducing installation time and complexity.
2Reliability
If a woven-mesh style WRB is used behind wood-based siding on concrete/block construction, then moisture barrier is provided, but drainage capability is compromised due to compression at attachment points
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces localized raised elements, strips, or ridges with channels or spaces at specific locations on the back of the siding. These localized features create dedicated drainage pathways that prevent compression of the WRB material at attachment points, allowing water to drain through the channels while maintaining the moisture barrier function of the WRB.
Solution Approach 2:
The raised elements, strips, or ridges with channels act as intermediaries between the siding and the wall. These intermediary features provide spacing and drainage pathways that prevent direct contact and compression of the WRB, thereby maintaining both moisture barrier and drainage capabilities.
3Device complexity
If wood-based siding is used on concrete walls without WRB or rainscreen, then installation cost and labor are reduced, but direct contact between siding and concrete occurs causing reduced service life
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated rainscreen features including raised elements, strips, or ridges with channels serve as intermediaries between the wood-based siding and the concrete wall. These intermediary features prevent direct contact between the siding and concrete, eliminating the need for separate WRB while maintaining siding service life through the protective spacing and drainage functions.
4Reliability
If separate rainscreen components are installed at job site, then drainage function is provided, but installation time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The rainscreen components including raised elements, strips, or ridges with drainage channels are pre-applied to the back of the siding during manufacturing. This preliminary action eliminates the need for job-site assembly of separate rainscreen components, thereby reducing installation time while maintaining the drainage function through the pre-configured channels and spaces.
Data Source
AI summary
A wood or manufactured wood-composite based siding used on concrete wall or concrete masonry unit (CMU, or block) construction (including, but not limited to, insulated concrete form construction) with an integrated rainscreen feature. The rainscreen feature or component is applied to, or integrated into or with, the back of the siding (i.e., the inner surface) during the manufacturing process, or in a secondary process thereafter. The features may include raised elements, strips, ridges, or wedges, with one or more channels or spaces. No job-site assembly is required, thereby reducing time and cost.