BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONS

CONSTRUCTION

English Abstract

ABSTRACT
A building construction has a series of tongued and grooved
planks are arranged one above the other with end faces
joined vertically is characterized in that some preferably
all the vertical joints include inner sealing means to seal
the inner portions of the end faces one to the other or to
vertical structural members so that air may enter a joint
but is substantially prevented from passing through the
inner sealing means. Interconnecting means join the planks
and the vertical structural members and some preferably all
joints base cover means including air entry means to permit
air entry but limit or prevent precipatation entry.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A building construction in which a plurality of tongued
and grooved planks each having outside and inside surfaces
and end faces are arranged horizontally and the end faces
joined vertically at joints into the building construction
by joining means characterised in that at least some of the
vertical joining means include inner sealing means arranged
to substantially seal the inner portions of the end faces
of the planks one to the other or the inner portions of
such end faces to a structural member, interconnecting
means are arranged to join adjacent planks one to the other
or one of said planks to said structural member in a manner
such as to resist forces tending to widen the joint and at
least some joints are provided with outer cover means the
outer cover means including air entry means the
construction and arrangement being such that air may enter
the joint but is substantially prevented from passing
through the inner sealing means.
2. A building construction as claimed in Claim 1 wherein
said outer cover means include a shield means arranged to
prevent direct entry of water on to the planks.
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3. A building construction as claimed in Claim 1 wherein
said inner sealing means comprise a brush type seal.
4. A building construction as claimed in any one of Claims
1 wherein said air entry means are provided by forming said
cover means as a series of discontinuous members assembled
with spaces provided between adjacent members the covers
having fixing means arranged to hold the covers in place to
other members of the jointing system.
5. A building construction as claimed in Claim 1 wherein
said cover means are provided by a plurality of side by
side lengthwise members with a continuous slot between
contiguous members,
6. A building construction as claimed in Claim 1 wherein
longitudinal plank sealing means are provided between a
tongue of one plank and a groove of an adjacent plank in
which that tongue fits.
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7. A building construction as claimed in Claim 6 wherein
said blank sealing means comprise an extruded member having
one or two blades which is or are deformed when a tongue of
one plank engages in a groove of the other.
8. A building construction as claimed in Claim 6 wherein
said building planks have double tongues and complementary
groove profiles and said plank sealing means are provided
on the tongue and groove adjacent the inner surfaces of
said planks.
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Description

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This invention relates to building constructions.
It is an object of the present ~nvention to provide a
building construction which will at least provide the
public with a useful choice~
Accordingly the invention consists in a building
construction in which a plurality of tongued and grooved
planks each having outside and inside surfaces and end
faces are arranged horizontally and the end faces joined
vertically at joints into the building construction by
joining means characterised in that at least some of the
vertical joining means include inner sealing means arranged
to substantially seal the inner portions of the end ~aces
of the planks one to the other or the inner portions of
such end faces to a structural member~ interconnecting
means are arranged to join adjacent planks one to the other
or one of said planks to said structural member in a manner
such as to resist forces tending to widen the joint and at
least some joints are provided with outer cover means the
outer cover means including air entry means the
construction and arrangement being such that air may enter t
the joint but is substantially prevented from passing
through the inner sealing means.
Preferably said cover is an extrusion or extrusions.
AlternatiYely said air entry means may be provided b~ !
forming said cover as a series of discontinuous members
assembled with spaces provided between adjacent members
1,
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the covers having fixin~ rneans arranged to hold the covers
in place to other members of the jointing system.
As a further alternative the cover may be provided by a
plurality of side by side lengthwise members with a
Continuous slot between contiguous members.
Preferably longitudinal plank sealing means are
provided between the tongue of one plank and the groove of
an adjacent plank in which that tongue fits.
Preferably said plank sealing means comprise a hollow
tube which is compressed in use.
Alternatively said sealing means comprise an extruded
member having one or two blades which is or are deformed
when the tongue of one plank engages in the groove of the
other.
Said sealing means may be provided in the base of a
grooYe or on the side of a tongue.
Preferably said plank sealing means are provided on the
tongue and groove adjacent the inner surfaces of said
planks.
To those skilled in the art to which the invention
relates, many changes in construction and widely differing
embodiments and applicaSions of the invention will suggest
themselves without departing from the scope of the
invention as defined in the appended claims. The
disclosures and the descriptions herein are purely
illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense
limtinK~

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One preferred form of the invention and modification
thereof will now be described with reference to the
accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 is a plan view of a building construction
according to the invention showing a corner and a window
jamb spaced away from the corner
Figure lA is an enlargement of part of Figure 1.
Figure 2 is a plan view of a building construction
corner and in which a jamb is adjacent that corner
Figure 3 is a plan view of two interconnected jambs
~igure 4 is a plan view of a further jam connection to
a plank
Figure 5 is similar to part of Figure 1 but shown
without a cover and to a larger scale to show the inner
sealing means
Figures 6 to 10 are plan views of different alternative
arrangements of joints members and covers therefor
Figure 11 is a vertical scrap view of a cover suitable
for the invention
Figures lZ to 14 show inner sealing means for the
tongued and grooved planks used in the invention
Figures 15 and 16 show alternative types of tongue and
groove joint sealing means and
Figure 17 is a sketch showing sealing means used to
seal the bevelled edges of planks against the cover used in
the invention
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Referring to the drawings the invention is an
improvement to the wellknown building system sold under the
registered trade mark LOCKWOOD and in which a series of
tongued and grooved planks are arranged horizontally and
vertical joints are provided.
According to the present invention such vertical joints
utilise the connectors and method of using those connectors
described in New Zealand Patent Specification 197169 and
the connectors are shown in Figure 1 referenced 1, splayed
ends of the connectors fitting in dovetailed slots 2 in the
planks 3.
As may be seen from Figure 5 the connecting means 1 in
adjacent planks 3 are interconnected by a bulbuous member 5
engaging c-shaped slots in a channel member 6 which is
arranged vertically. Also associated with the channel
members 6 are further c-shaped slots 7 in which sealing
means 9 are provided and preferably such sealing means 9
comprise brush sealing means such as those sold under the
Trade Mark SCHLEGEL. Such brush sealing means are arranged
adjacent the inner surfaces 10 of the planks 3, i.e. the
surfaoes which are inside the building when completed.
To protect the outer faces 15 of the planks 3 from the
weather a cover 16 is provided for the edges 15 and such
cover includes air entry means which may comprise a
continuous slot 17 as shown in Figure 1 i.e, in the
construction of Figure 1 the cover 16 is in two pieces

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and assembled together by a shaped member 18 which may be a
series of discontinuous shorter pieces as compared with the
single long piece that form each of the covers 16. The
shaped members 18 are spaced apart by short distances to
provide air entries to the joints. The shaped members 19
provide a shield to prevent moisture e.g. rain from
directly entering into the joint9 the members 19 draining
downwardly to discharge accumulated water. To attach the
member 18 to the planks the member 19 is provided with
wings which fit in shaped slots 20.
It will be apparent from Figure 1 that at the corner a
corner member 21 is provided having shaped members 22 which
engage the shaped member 18 in a similar way to that
described with the left hand side of Figure 1. Similarly
with the jamb 27 shown in Figure 1 the member 16 engages
with shaped members 18 spaced apart by short distances
which engage a shaped member 25 mounted on the jamb 27.
Aluminium alloy frame 26 butts onto member 25 and also
mounts on frame 27.
Ir. Figure 2 the corner member 21 is shown en~aging
directly with a jamb 30 with some modification to the
arrangement shown in Figure 1.
In Figure 3 two jambs 31 and 32 are provided with the
window frames jambs 33 of an aluminium alloy extrusion.
The shaped member 25 is mounted in the window frame 32 and
engages a slot 37 in the window frame jamb 31. Shaped
member 25 engages with shaped member 18 spaced
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apart by short distances. To fill the gap between shaped
member 25 and window frame 33 a shaped member 28 is engaged
with shaped members 18. Although not shown the brush
arrangement 9 could be provided adjacent the jamb at 39 or
Sealing at this position otherwise achieved.
In Figure 4 a simplified arrangement is shown in which
the aluminium window jamb 40 is provided with an integral
cover 41. In this case the inner seal is provided by a
wooden moulding 42 and a sealant 43 e.g. an extrudable
sealant. Similarly in Figure 3 the joint 39 could be
sea.led in a positive way for example by adhesive.
The covers 16 are preferably sealed against the planks
3 by a sealant 50 (Figure 1) inserted in a crow's foot
arrangement at the end of the outer end of the members 16.
Such a sealant would need to extend into the bevelled edge
51 at the junction between adjacent planks 3 as shown
diagrammatically in Figure 17. In this case an extrudable
sealant is used. The gap may also be filled by using a
plastics injection moulding e.g. flexible P.V.C.
2~ Referring now to Figures 6 to 10, those fi~ures show
varying types of covers and holding means for such cover.
Thus in Figure 6 the joint cover comprises an extruded or
folded member 51 held in position by a cap 5~ having a
shouldered pin 52 the shoulders 54 of which engage in a
series of members 55 which are fixed in slots similar to
the slots 20 shown in Figure 1.

sic~
In Figure 7 the construction is similar to that shown
in Figure 6 except that the shouldered members 55 are fixed
to other members by a plate 57 and screws 58~
In Figure 8 the cover system comprises two separate
cover members 60 and 61 which engage with a holding member
62 having hooks 63 which engage with detents 64 which in
turn engage a member 65 fixed in a similar way to that
shown in Figure lo In Figure 9 the members 60 and 61 again
engage a holding member 62 and in this arrangement the
detents 64 are fixed to a plate 65 nailed or otherwise
fastened to the planks 3. Holding members 62 are spaced
apart by short distances to allow air entry.
In Figure 10 a construction somewhat similar to Figure
1 is shown but the cover 70 is made in one piece with a
series of longitudinal slots 71 in it as shown in Figure
11. To prevent moisture e.g~ rain passing directly into
the joint a shield 72 is provided and the shield 72 is
mounted on a stalk 73 connected to winged members 74
similar to those shown in Figure 1.
The constructions above described operate by providing
pressure equalisation in the joint in that air may freely
enter the joint although in all cases a shield is provided
to prevent direct entry of water e.g. rain into the joint
as shown more particularly in Figure 10 and because of the
presence of the brush system 9 shown in the dra~ings entry
of air into the room is prevented or substantially reduced.

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To assist in the sealing of the wall system the plank~
3 are preferably provided with horizontal sealing means in
the tongues and grooves adjacent the inner surface 100 of
the wall being formedO Thus in Flgure 12 a slot 80 is
Provided in the base of a groove 87 which is arranged in
use on the inner surface and an inner seal is provided in
that grooYe which can take the form either of a hollow
flexible tube for example of a plastics material such as
plasticised polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene but
preferably the seal comprises a tube 83 shown in Figure 15
with a flexible blade 84 theraon the seal being mounted as
shown in Figure 12~ As an alternative shown in Figures 13
and 16 the seal may comprise a "Christmas tree" or serrated
member 85 having two blades 86 thereon the member 85
fitting in the slot 86 Figure 13 and the blades being
compressed in a plane normal to the serrated member 85 by
the tongue 87 o~ the plank 3.
~n Figure 14 there is shown an alternative construction
in which a tube 90 is mounted in a slot 91 on the side of a
tongue 92 in the plank 3.
The u~e of the construction is as follows.
Referrin8 to the construction shown in Figure 1 the
planks 3 are assemblied together using the connecting means
I in the manner described in New Zealand Patent
Specification No. 797169. These members being inserted
preferably in one len~th but abutting short lengths may be used lf

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desired. The brush sealing means 9 are preferably inserted
in long lengths to provide a substantially continuous seal
adjacent the lnner surface 10 of the planks 3. The members
l9 are inserted in the slots therefor and the joining
members 18 inserted in the c-shaped groove therefor these
members being provided either in short lengths with long
gaps between adjacent lengths or substantially continuously
but with long slots formed in the base thereof. The
preferable arrangement is to provide as large an opening as
possible in a long but narrow arrangement. The cover 16 is
then clipped in place and if in two members these covers
are held by the c-shaped portion thereof engaging a flat
portion of the member 18.
The constructions shown in Figures 6 to 9 are assembled
lS in a similar way ~ith the covers 51 held in place by the
caps 53 or the covers 60 and fil held in place by the
members 62 being provided in short lengths and clipped o~er
the detents 64 and similarly with the construction shown in
Figures 10 and 11.
The seals shown in Figures 12 to 14 are pre~erably
placed in position during manufacture of the plan~s that is
to say the grooves to contain the seals are grooved out and
the seal provided from a roll thereof and pressed in by,
for example, a pressing roller immediately following the
making of the groove or if desired may be provided as a
separate operationO
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The systems above described assist in weather proofing
the joints by providing pressure equalization in the
joints. The covers are generally sealed on the edges
thereof with separate air entries, the air entries being
Shielded to prevent direct access for rain into the
joints. The inner surfaces of the planks are sealed or
substantially sealed to prevent the passage of air into the
room formed by the planks and the space within the joints
enables the velocity of entering air to be reduced
reasonably rapidly giving the desired pressure equalization
effect.