Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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STONE, METAL AND TAR LAMINATE
FOR EXTERIOR CLADDING
Technical Field
This invention relates to a laminate for use as an exterior cladding
construction
material, for example, wall panels and roof tiles. In particular, the
invention relates to
a laminate which combines three historically proven raw materials: stone,
metal and
tar.
Background Art
Since the beginning of time, human beings have sought improved materials for
l0 shelter. Most of what was used thousands of years ago is still in use
today, in one
form or another. For example the stone used in caves is used as slate roofing
or granite
walls. Mud is transformed into bricks and leaves are used in thatch roofing.
Modern
cladding originates from one form of or a combination of very basic materials.
The historic benefits of stone, metal and tar don't come without some
drawbacks. For
15 example stone, including slate and granite, is very durable and resistant
to the sun's
ultraviolet UV rays but it is also very heavy and rigid. Metal such as copper
and
aluminum is relatively lightweight and can be bent into any shape but
installation can
be very specialized and the resulting structure is susceptible to condensation
leaks. Tar
including bitumen and asphalt is also lightweight and very waterproof but does
not
20 last very long in the sun and has very little body so that it is flimsy to
handle.
Improvements have been made by modifying or combining the materials with each
other.
Asphalt shingles, by far the most popular roof cladding in North America, is
basically
tar and gravel supported by saturated felt. The stone granules in the gravel
delay
25 deterioration of the tar from LTV rays and the tar holds the granules in
place. Although
this is a great innovation, the effect of the UV rays on the tar is not
eliminated and the
asphalt shingles eventually do shed their granules, curl, craclc and lift from
the
underlying wood panels, and although they are laid in an overlapping manner,
the
shingles need to be replaced. Depending on the thickness of the shingle, and
the trend
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has been towards thinner shingles, it is generally recommended to replace the
roof
shingles every ten to fifteen years.
Metal tiles are becoming more popular. However, they still suffer from the
drawback
that they are expensive because of the cost of the tile itself and also the
complexity of
installation and warehousing. Suitable metals for use in roof tiles are
galvanized steel,
aluminum, zinc or copper. Another disadvantage is that snow and ice easily
slide off
a metal roof and this creates a potential hazard to persons walking or working
adj acent
to the building or home and can destroy property such as eavestroughs, lower
roofs,
declcs, vehicles and the like. For occupants of the home, the noise from rain
falling on
to the roof can also be disturbing and condensation problems have also been
observed.
Another disadvantage is that smooth metal has a commercial loolc and the color
will
fade when exposed to UV rays.
One solution to these problems has been the application of a simulated stone
covering
to the metal tile. This reduces noise transmission to the interior of the
building
structure, restrains movement of snow and ice, remains colorfast and more
residential
in appearance. This process has improved since its start in 1956 and is now
accepted
as a proven process worldwide. A series of recent patents issued to BASF
Corporation, including US 6,540,829 provide a system for coating sheet metal
coil
with a resinous composition and embedding granular material in the wet surface
of
2o that coating to simulate the appearance of a traditional mineral covered
asphalt
shingle.
US 200210116886 provides a simulated wood shake made of metal which has a
stone-
chip coating to form a pattern of differently colored areas, the areas being
coordinated
with alternating raised and lowered sections of the metal roof panel. The
product is a
successful simulation of wood shakes but it is still expensive and difficult
to install
primarily because the metal needs to be sufficiently thick to maintain its
shape under
pressure and specialized installation accessories are required.
Another stone coating innovation is an exterior cladding consisting of a
mixture of
stone granules in an acrylic resin which is applied on an exterior wall system
using a
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trowel. This demonstrates the use of synthetic adhesives to replace tar, and
results in a
cladding which is more resistant to UV rays.
A foil faced bitumen products is currently available and sold in association
with the
trademark Tegola0. This allows the cladding to be made thinner and easier to
apply
to a roof deck surface while giving it a protective layer of metal so that it
can last
longer. An exemplary description of a metal clad asphalt shingle is provided
in US
3,607,529 issued to Alcan Aluminum Corporation in 1971. One problem with this
shingle is that the metal covers the whole of the backside, eliminating the
sealing
qualities of the tar. Another problem is that the wealc unprotected metal foil
is easily
to susceptible to scratches, puncture, tearing, fading and delamination.
Applicant is aware of only one attempt at combining stone, metal and tar to
produce a
superior cladding laminate. This was a New Zealand roof tile consisting of
stone
granules imbedded into a bitumen-based adhesive originating from a WWII
British
innovation branded as Decramastic and applied to a metal panel. These were
supposed
15 to last a lifetime. Instead, the granules would shed after only a few
years. As a
solution, the bitumen was eliminated and replaced with acrylic. The concept
was to
protect the metal, which was primitive galvanized steel sheets which had a
tendency
to rust easily from scratches and simple elements with a bituminous coating.
The
stone chips were only introduced by chance, and not for their UV resistant
qualities,
20 when sand was applied to the bitumen to solve the problem of panels
sticking together
in the shipping. When the aesthetic qualities of the sand were noticed, they
began to
use color co-coordinated natural stone chips. Although stone-coated metal is a
great
innovation, it still relies on the thickness of the metal for structural
strength,
wall~ability and water tightness.
25 An object of this invention is to provide an improved exterior cladding
laminate
which combines the beauty and protection of stone with the durable and
preserving
qualities of metal and the water repelling qualities and easy installation of
tar
including asphalt and bitumen. Significant material cost savings also may be
achieved
by selecting thinner and lighter materials which also malces the product
easier to
30 handle, cut and install hence also reducing installation costs.
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Disclosure of the Invention
In accordance with this invention, there is provided a construction laminate
for use as
an exterior cladding, the laminate having a plurality of layers including an
asphaltic
core body, a metallic facing applied to cover or partially cover an
operatively outer
side of the asphaltic core body to protect the asphaltic core body in exposed
areas, and
a granular coating applied to the metallic facing to provide an exterior stone
coating
appearance to the exterior cladding.
Most preferably, the asphaltic core body has an inner side which is coated to
prevent
sticking of laminates which are stacked for transportation to a work site and
an
to adhesive tab, which can be covered with a release tape, for securing the
laminates at
the location where they are used.
The granular coating may be applied using a resinous coating, applied to the
metallic
facing and protected with a seal applied over or mixed with the granular
coating.
Description of Drawings
15 In order to better understand the invention, a preferred embodiment is
described below
with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a construction laminate made in
accordance with the invention;
Fig 2 is a perspective view of the construction laminate of Fig. 1;
2o Figs. 3a to 3c are cross-sectional views of a roofing tile made in
accordance with the invention each having different thicknesses;
Fig. 4a is a top plan view of a plurality of roofing tiles made in
accordance with the invention and disposed to lie over each other in
overlapping fashion;
25 Fig. 4b (drawn adjacent Fig. 4a) is a cross-sectional view of a pair of
overlapping roofing tiles of Fig. 4a;
Fig 5 is a cross-sectional view of a plurality of roofing tiles disposed to
lie over each other in overlapping fashion;
Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a roofing tile made in accordance with the
30 invention;
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Fig. 7a is a top plan view of a wall panel made in accordance with the
invention;
Fig. 7b (drawn adjacent Fig. 7a) is a cross-sectional view of a plurality
of wall panels disposed to lie over each other in overlapping fashion
and an associated wall surface;
Fig. 8a is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of a construction
laminate made in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 8b is a plan view of a plurality of construction laminates of the
lcind shown in 8a disposed side by side;
io Fig. 8c is a cross-sectional view of a plurality of the laminates shown
in Fig. 8b mounted side by side on a supporting surface.
Best Mode for Carryin~ Out the Invention
A preferred embodiment of the invention is described with reference to the
accompanying drawings in which a construction laminate is generally designated
by
reference numeral 20. The construction laminate 20 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 has
an
asphaltic core body 22 consisting of bituminous materials commonly used for
roofing
applications also known as asphalt or tar and typically having a thickness of
.3 to 25
ruin or more, if fillers are added. Suitable materials will include asphalt
saturated or
asphalt coated web type materials which will include the following: felt,
fiberglass,
polyester, paper, polypropylene, and polyethylene. This list is not meant to
be
exhaustive but only exemplary of the type of material contemplated for use as
the
asphaltic core body comprising the invention. Fillers may consist of mineral
powders
such as mica, limestone and the like or glass and felt embedded in asphalt for
added
bulk to increase thickness in the laminate.
The asphaltic core body 22 supports all the other elements comprising the
construction laminate and is a material with wluch construction experts are
familiar
and for which installation is not problematic. The asphaltic core body 22 is
wrapped
with a metallic facing 24 that covers an operatively outer side of the
asphaltic core
3o body 22, a forward edge (drawn to the right of Fig. 1) and a portion of an
inner side
adapted to cover and protect an underlying surface (not shown) from the
elements.
The metallic facing 24 is made of metal sheet which is thin enough and
malleable
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enough to allow it to conform to the shape of the asphaltic core body 22. Any
suitable
metal may be applied and selected according to the intended application and
its
availability and cost. In particular, it is contemplated that the metallic
facing will be
sheet metal selected from the group comprising steel, aluminum, copper, zinc,
tin,
alloys of aluminum and zinc commonly sold under the trademarlc GALVALUME and
galvanized steel. Most preferably, the metallic facing 24 is adhesively
attached to the
asphaltic core body 22 by an adhesive asphalt coating which when warmed
sufficiently can be tacky in nature. The metallic facing 24 will have a
thickness
between .015 mm and 1.000 mm and it may be given any desired color, for
example,
1o by coating the metallic facing with a suitable resin. It will be understood
that the
thiclcness of the metallic facing 24 is reduced as much as possible to
minimize costs
while being thick enough to resist impacts from debris such as branches or
from hail
stones. Where cost is not a concern, the metal facing 24 can be made as thick
as
known metal cladding. The metallic facing 24 also operates to preserve and
reinforce
15 the underlying asphaltic core body 22.
A protective granular coating 26 is applied over the metallic facing 24 so as
to cover
at least a portion of an outer surface. The combination of the granular
coating 26 with
the asphaltic core body 22 gives the metallic facing 24 sufficient support and
strength
to allow one to use a metal facing with minimum thickness and still have a
durable
20 and walkable surface. The granular coating 26 is primarily selected to give
the
construction laminate a more aesthetic appeal and will be selected accordingly
from
materials which may include the following: stone, stone chips, sand, ceramics,
quartz,
mica, slag, plastic, glass and combinations of the foregoing. The irregular
texture
provided by a granular coating 26 will also operate to increase resistance to
sliding so
25 that it is safer to walls on a roof cladding which has been made from the
construction
laminate 20 acid to prevent sheets of ice and snow from sliding off a roof and
thereby
endangering passersby. The granular coating 24 also acts as a barrier to UV
rays to
further protect the other components.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the granular coating 26 is applied
to the
30 exterior surface of the metal facing 24 by first coating the metallic
facing with a
resinous coating such as acrylic or epoxy which is tacky and will retain the
granular
coating on its surface before it is dry. The resinous coating layer is
generally indicated
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by reference numeral 28 in Fig. 1 and its thickness is exaggerated for
illustration
purposes. It will be understood that the resinous coating 28 will embed the
components forming the granular coating 26 and will not be apparent as a
distinct
layer. Suitable substitutes for the resinous coating 28 will be apparent to
those slcilled
in the art. It will also be understood that the resinous coating 28 may be
tinted in
order to provide the aesthetic finish desired and will of course vary in
thickness
according to the adhesion forces required to secure the granular coating. The
resinous
coating can also be mixed with the granules and applied simultaneously.
The assembly is completed by providing a protective sealant layer 30 over the
to granulax coating 26. The sealant 30 which likewise has its thickness
exaggerated in
Fig. 1 for illustration purposes may consist of acrylic, epoxy, silicone and
other
materials as will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it may be clear
or color
tinted.
While exterior cladding is intended to be mounted to an underlying surface
(not
15 shown) such as a roof deck using conventional fasteners, including
mechanical
fasteners such as nails, it is suggested that construction laminates 20 made
in
accordance with the invention be secured to each other in an overlapping
fashion
using an adhesive tab 32. Preferably, the adhesive tab 32 is a bitumen-based
material
which is located on the inner side of the asphaltic core body 22 so as to
overlap the
2o asphaltic core body and the metallic facing 24 of an underlying laminate
20. The tab
32 may be formed as a continuous tape or consist of a plurality of spaced tab
elements. The location of the tab 32 at the joint between the metal facing and
the
asphaltic core body reinforces the seal at a key wealc area. Preferably, the
outer surface
of the tabs 32 is covered with a release tape (not shown) cormnonly used in
the
25 industry, to prevent sticking while shipping.
During transportation to a jobsite, it is desirable for the construction
laminates to be
stacked and for the individual laminates 20 to remain separate. Therefore, the
preferred embodiment of the invention provides for an additional parting layer
or
undercoat 34 applied to the inner side of the asphaltic core body 22. A
suitable
30 material to use for the parting layer 34 is a fine .granular material
disposed in an
adhesive coating which will be selected to be as economical as possible.
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In use, it will be appreciated that the invention provides enormous advantages
over the
construction materials of the prior art, particularly those that have been
used as
roofing materials. Thus the problems associated with asphalt shingles that
crack, curl
and shed are overcome by reinforcing and preserving the asphaltic core body 22
with
the metallic facing 24 and granular coating 26. Conversely, the asphaltic core
body
operates to weatherproof the metallic facing 24 to improve corrosion
resistance and
minimize infiltration of condensation onto a supporting surface. Since the
thinnest
possible metal sheet can be used, the expense of metal cladding does not need
to be
incurred.
l0 Particular forms of exterior cladding embodying the invention will now be
described
with reference to Figs. 3a to 8c.
A number of roofing tiles made in accordance with the invention and each
having a
different thickness, are shown in Figs. 3a to 3c. In Fig. 3a, a roofing tile
is generally
designated by reference numeral 40 and includes an asphaltic core body 42, a
metallic
15 facing 44. applied to cover a portion of the operatively outer side of
asphaltic core
body (topside as drawn in Fig. 3a) and adapted to leave the asphaltic core
body 42
bare in areas which will be covered by adjacent roofing tiles as shown in the
cross-
sectional views of Fig. 4b and Fig. 5. The metallic facing 44 also covers the
forward
edge (drawn to the right of Fig. 3a) of the asphaltic core body 42 and a
portion of the
2o inner side (drawn on the bottom of Fig. 3a) of the asphaltic core body
adjacent to the
forward edge. The metallic facing 44 is thereby adapted to protect the
underlying
asphaltic core body 42 in exposed areas thereof as shown in the plan view of
Fig. 4a.
The exposed areas are further protected by a granular coating 46 applied to
the
metallic facing 44 to cover substantially an outer surface of the metallic
facing 44 and
25 a forward edge (drawn to the right of Fig. 3a). The granular coating 46
leaves the
metallic facing 44 bare in an area adjacent to the bare area of the asphaltic
core body
which as can be seen most clearly in Fig. 4b is adapted to receive a
mechanical
fastener or nail which couples the bare metallic facing 44 to the bare
asphaltic core
body 42 and an underlying surface (not shown). It will be noted that the
metallic
3o facing 44 is also bare on a portion covering the inner side of the
asphaltic core body
(drawn on the bottom of Fig. 3a). In this way, the granular coating 46 is
adapted to
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provide an exterior, stone coating appearance to the roof tile 40 as is more
apparent
from Figs. 4a, 4b and 5 where all exposed areas are visible.
The roofing tile 40 also has an adhesive tab 50 on the inner side (drawn at
the bottom
of Fig. 3a) and disposed to lie partially over the metallic facing 44 and the
asphaltic
core body 42. As described with reference to,the construction laminate of Fig.
1, the
tab may be provided with a release tape and be formed in longitudinally
extending
strips or consist of a plurality of tab sections disposed side by side along
the length of
the joint between the metallic facing and the asphaltic core body. As can be
seen most
clearly with reference to the cross-sectional views of Figs ~4b and 5, the
adhesive tab
l0 50 is positioned in order to bond metal to metal between adjacent roofing
tiles and
asphalt to asphalt in adjacent roofing tiles which are disposed to lie over
each in
overlapping fashion. Thus, when the roofing tile 20 is exposed to the sun, the
bottom
surface is heated to cause the adhesive tab 50 to become tacky so that it will
adhere to
adjoining surfaces. As demonstrated by the cross-sectional view of Fig. 5,
each
roofing tile 40 is secured at three points consisting of the fastener 48, the
adhesive tab
50 of the roofing tile and the adhesive tab 50 of an overlying roofing tile.
Installation
of the roofing tiles is thus very easy to perform and does not require any
specialized
tools or accessories. The resulting seal between adjacent tiles is weather
proof thereby
improving the durability of the resulting roof structure.
2o In Fig. 3a as in the remaining figures, the roofing tile has been drawn to
omit layers
corresponding to the release coating 34 of Fig. 1, the resinous coating 28,
and the
sealant layer 30, for simplicity. It will of course be understood that these
materials
may form part of the roofing tile and they will be applied in the manner
described with
reference to Figs. 1 and 2. Further the materials comprising the asphaltic
core body,
the metallic facing 44, and the granular coating 46 will correspond to the
materials
described with reference to Fig. 1 and layers 22, 24, and 26 respectively.
In Fig. 3b a roofing tile 52 is shown in which the asphaltic core body 54 is
drawn to
have a greater thiclo~ess thereby exemplifying an embodiment in which the body
may
include fillers such as glass, felt, mineral powders and the like embedded in
the
3o asphalt, as described above with reference to Fig. 1. As the remaining
layers
correspond to those shown in Fig. 3a they have been assigned like reference
numerals
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in the drawing. Likewise, in Fig. 3c a still thicker roofing tile 56 is shown
having a
still greater thickness imparted by the asphaltic core body 58 and a somewhat
thicker
metallic facing 60. Varying the thickness of the asphaltic core body as
demonstrated
by Figs. 3b and 3c and the metallic facing as demonstrated in Fig. 3c allows
one to
fabricate the roofing tile with a three dimensional profile which is not
planar and
which can give the laminate additional architectural appeal if this is
desired.
With planar tiles, architectural appeal may also be provided by varying the
color and
distribution of the granular coating 46. As will be seen in Fig. 4a, the
granular coating
46 is disposed to leave selected areas of the underlying metallic facing 44
bare so as to
to simulate the appearance of a three tab shingle. Alternatively, as shown in
Fig. 6a, the
granular coating 46 may be uniformly distributed across the entire length of
the
roofing tile 40.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 7a and 7b, the
construction laminate is shown for use as exterior cladding on an underlying
wall
15 surface indicated by reference numeral 62. The wall tile 64 shown in Figs.
7a and 7b
has a similar profile to the roofing tile .40 shown in Figs. 4 to 6 and
consists of an
asphaltic core body 66 having an inner side adjacent to the wall surface 62 so
as to
cover and protect the wall. The outer side has a metallic facing 68 which
protects the
underlying asphaltic core body 66 in exposed areas and a granular coating 70
is
2o applied to the metallic facing 68 to provide an exterior stone coating
appearance to the
wall cladding. The wall tiles 64 are applied to the wall surface 62 using
nails 72 and
adhesive tabs 74 in the manner described above with reference to the roofing
tiles 40.
A still further embodiment of a construction laminate made in accordance with
the
invention and which may for example be used as wall cladding or floor
cladding, is
25 shown in Figs. 8a to 8c. It will be assumed that appropriate durable
materials will be
selected to fabricate a floor tile. In the drawings, a wall tile is designated
by reference
numeral 80. The wall tile has sides of equal length so that it has a square
appearance
as shown in the plan view of Fig. 8a. As in the other embodiments described,
the
wall tile 80 has an asphaltic core body 82 but in this case, the metallic
facing 84 is co-
30 extensive with the asphaltic core body so as to cover the entire exposed
surface of the
wall tile 80, the side edges, as well as a portion of the inner side of the
asphaltic core
to
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body 82 adjacent to an underlying wall surface 86. A granular coating 88 is
applied to
the metallic facing 84 so as to be co-extensive with an outer surface and side
edges so
as to provide an exterior stone coating appearance to the wall cladding. As in
the
other embodiments described, each tile is provided with adhesive tabs 90 which
.overlap the joint between the metallic facing 84 and the asphaltic core body
82 on an
inner side thereof so as to couple the tiles 80 to the lower surface 86. The
assembly is
further secured by nail fasteners 92 which penetrate the entire thickness of
the tiles 80
so as to couple the tiles to the underlying wall surface 86.
It will be understood that several variations may be made to the above-
described
l0 embodiment of the invention within the scope of the appended claims. In
particular, it
will be understood that the construction laminate may find many applications
which
are not limited to the cladding of a roof deck. The laminate could for example
be used
as a decorative or functional cladding for interior walls or exterior walls
and, provided
the granular coating 26 is sufficiently durable, it may also be applied as a
flooring
15 material.
m
