Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Field of the Invention
X0001] The present invention relates to the field of stone masonry. In
particular, it
relates to a method of manufacturing stone veneers, corners and payers and a
method of
applying the veneers to buildings.
Background of the Invention
X0002] Stone has long been used as a construction material for houses and
other
buildings. Typically, it was quarried and cut into blocks that were laid as
structural
components of buildings. More recently, due to the costs associate with
materials like
granite, it has become popular to cut stone into thin slabs of about one inch
in thickness
and to apply these slabs or veneers to the exterior of buildings to give the
appearance that
the buildings are made from stone.
X0003] Stone that is cut with a saw loses its natural appearance on the
surfaces
created by the saw cut and those surfaces are not visually appealing. It is,
therefore,
beneficial to maximize the amount of veneer created from a single stone that
has at least
one natural surface rather than having both its upper and lower surfaces saw-
cut.
X0004] Another difficulty in the industry is that, when two veneers are used
to make a
corner, it is visually obvious, because of the seams between the veneers, that
thin stone is
being used and this is not desirable. It is, therefore, also beneficial to be
able to make
corners that are seamless and not obviously veneers.
X0005] Stone typically has a grain to it, so that a cut stone block, having
six sides,
will have four sides in which the grain is visible, called the side grain or
ashler sides and
two sides, called the split face sides. The split faces are so-called because
that is the face
along which it is easy to split the stone. Cutting the stone across the split
face requires a
saw and is both more difficult and more expensive than splitting stone.
However, the
appearance of the ashler has become more popular than split face.
(0006] Often, when the stone is split or cut, it may end up less than 1" think
and be
unsuitable for use as veneer. However, such pieces can be suitable for use as
floor tiles.
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100071 The use of a jigsaw pattern is well known in the paving industry, where
payers
of widths of 5", 6" and 11.5" are often used. With two half inch fill gaps, a
5" and a 6"
payer will have a combined width of 12", as will the 11.5" pave with one fill
gap, which
allows for the easy placement of the payers to form a tile pattern, something
that can be
done by an unskilled workman. This method of placement is not known for
veneers.
Summary of the Invention
100081 It is an object of this invention to provide a method of manufacturing
seamless
corner veneers that give the appearance that they are full building stones.
0091 It is another object of this invention to provide a method of
manufacturing that
maximizes the output of such corners from a single stone.
100101 A still further object of this invention is to provide a method of
manufacturing
veneers that maximizes the amount of veneer or payers produced from a single
stone that
has at least one natural, non-saw cut face.
100111 Another object of the invention is to provide a simple method of
applying
veneers to a building wall that allows an unskilled worker to perform the
task.
100121 According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a method of
manufacturing veneer corners from a roughly cuboid stone, comprising the steps
making
a cut from a split face side of the stone into the stone a distance equal to
the dimension of
the stone from the surface being cut into to the opposite surface of the
stone, less a
thickness equal to a desired thickness of the veneer corner; splitting the
stone, from the
side of the stone parallel to the cut and furthest from it, along a grain to
the internal end
of the cut whereby the veneer corner is created having an ashler side and a
split face side
and the remaining stone has only one cut face on an ashler side.
100131 Preferably, there are the further steps creating one or more additional
veneer
corners by repeating the method above described. Preferably, there are the
further steps
of splitting the remaining stone into veneers or floor tiles or cutting or
splitting the
remaining stone into payers. The corners thus formed may be 90°, or may
have any
useful angle between 0° and 180°.
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(0014) According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method
of
manufacturing veneer corners from a roughly cuboid stone, comprising the steps
o~
making a first cut from a split face side of the stone into the stone a
distance equal to the
dimension of the stone from the surface being cut into to the opposite surface
of the
stone, less a thickness equal to a desired thickness of the veneer corner;
making a second
cut, from the side of the stone parallel to the cut and furthest from it,
towards the internal
end of the cut but terminating a distance from the internal end of the cut,
whereby the
veneer corner remains attached to the remaining stone by a narrow overhang;
snapping
the overhang to release the veneer corner having an ashler side and a split
face side.
(oo~s) Preferably, there are the further steps creating one or more additional
veneer
corners by repeating the method above described. Preferably, there are the
further steps
of splitting the remaining stone into veneers or floor tiles or cutting or
splitting the
remaining stone into payers. The corners thus formed may be 90°, or may
have any
useful angle between 0° and 180°.
(0016) According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method
of
manufacturing veneers or payers from a cuboid stone comprising the steps o~
cutting a
veneer off an ashler side of the stone; cutting a second veneer off the
opposite ashler side
of the stone; splitting the remaining stone into two or more split face
veneers, payers or
floor tiles.
(0017) According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a
veneer, payer,
floor tile or veneer corner made by the method of manufacture as disclosed
above.
)ools) Other and further advantages and features of the invention will be
apparent to
those skilled in the art from the following detailed description thereof,
taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Brief Description of the Drawings
(0019) The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example
only,
with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numbers refer to
like
elements, wherein:
Figure 1 is a split face view of a typical building stone;
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Figure 2 is a view of the stone showing the method of manufacturing a first
veneer corner;
Figure 3 is a view of the stone showing the first veneer corner detached from
the
remainder of the stone;
Figure 4 is a view of the stone showing the method of manufacturing two ashler
and a plurality of split face veneers.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments
(0020] Referring now to Figure 1, a typical stone is shown at 10. The side or
ashler
faces are indicated at 1 and the split face is indicated at 2. A presently
preferred
embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 2 and 3, in which veneer
corners 30 of
thickness Tl and T2 are produced by making a cut 20 into the stone across the
split face 2
to a depth equal to the thickness of the stone, less T1, a desired thickness
of the veneer
corner, and then splitting the stone from the side planar with the cut, but
furthest from it,
along a plane 24, distance T2, a desired thickness of the veneer corner,
typically, but not
necessarily, equal to T1, from the face of the stone opposite the side from
which the first
cut was made. This process may be repeated a number of times with the
remaining stone
34.
(0021] In another presently preferred embodiment, the splitting can be
replaced by a
second cut along plane 24 that terminates before intersecting the first cut
20. The created
overhang supports the remaining stone until the saw can be removed and the
stone
repositioned, at which time it can easily be snapped to release the veneer
corner and the
remaining stone. This process may also be repeated a number of times.
(0022] In a further embodiment of the invention, the remaining stone, after
the
creation of one or more veneer corners by either approach, can be split into a
plurality of
veneers or payers.
(0023] Referring to Figure 4, in yet a further embodiment of the invention,
the stone
20 is cut twice along 40 resulting in two pieces of ashler veneer. The
remaining stone is
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then either split parallel to the split face to produce a plurality of split
face veneers or is
cut once along 14 to produce two split face payers.
(00241 This concludes the description of a presently preferred embodiment of
the
invention. The foregoing description has been presented for the purpose of
illustration
and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise
form
disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the
above teaching
and will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is intended the scope of
the invention be
limited not by this description but by the claims that follow.
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