Veneer construction and method of achieving same

• US 4,920,716 A
• Filed: 06/09/1988
• Issued: 05/01/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Jess R. Coffey
• Original Assignee: Jess R. Coffey
• Inventors: Coffey, Jess R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Friedman, Carl D.
• Application Number:
  US07/204,377
• Time in Patent Office: 691 Days
• Field of Search: 52/388, 52/389, 52/390, 52/391, 52/386, 52/387, 52/744
• US Class Current: 52/386
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 13/04 Bases for plaster sub-ceilings with plaster-carrying means E04B9/06
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 13/0862 composed of a number of elements which are identical or not, e.g. carried by a common web, support plate or grid
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 13/147 with an outer layer imitating natural stone, brick work or the like

Abstract

A method of installing facing bricks on the surface of an outer building wall including, as a first step, the attachment to the wall of chicken wire provided with parallel ridge configurations. These configurations are positioned to form horizontal barriers in the chicken wire which are spaced far enough apart to receive the facing bricks between them. The bricks are buttered on one side with mortar, then pressed into position between the barriers with their lower edges adjacent the lower of the two flanking barriers. When the mortar sets, grout is applied to the spaces between the bricks to embed the ridge configurations in the chicken wire. The result is a veneered wall having the bricks fastened to the wall surface with mortar and integrated into a cohesive veneer skin, along with the mortar, chicken wire and grout. Thus, if one or more of the bricks breaks away from the wall through loss of the mortar bond between the bricks and the wall, the chicken wire will hold them in position and prevent them from falling and harming or damaging persons or property below.

Claims

1. A method of veneering a wall with a plurality of facing units, comprising:

fastening reinforcing mesh having a plurality of parallel outwardly extending ridge configurations to said wall, said ridge configurations being positioned to form horizontal barriers in the mesh, when so fastened which barriers define horizontally extending troughs sized to accommodate the facing units in horizontal rows flanked by said barriers;

mortaring the facing units in aligned positions in said troughs with their bottom edges oriented just above the lower ridge configurations of the troughs and the mortar embedding the reinforcing mesh therebehind and adhering to the wall; and

subsequently pointing the spaces between said facing units with grout so that the grout embeds the ridge configuration barriers flanking the rows of facing units;

whereby said reinforcing mesh binds the resulting veneer construction together to prevent the fall of a facing unit even if its mortar bond with the wall comes loose.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 in which the mortaring of said facing units to said wall is accomplished by back-buttering each of the facing units with mortar and then pressing it into proper position in one of said troughs.

3. A veneered wall comprising:

a wall;

a layer of reinforcing mesh having a plurality of parallel ridge configurations defining elongate troughs therebetween;

fastening means holding said reinforcing mesh against said wall with the elongate troughs horizontally disposed;

a plurality of facing units disposed in rows in said elongate troughs, said rows being flanked by said ridge configurations;

mortar disposed between said facing units and said wall and embedding said reinforcing mesh behind said units; and

groud disposed between said facing units and embedding said ridge configurations.

4. A veneered wall in accordance with claim 3 in which said reinforcing mesh is chicken wire.

5. A veneered wall in accordance with claim 4 in which said chicken wire is 1-inch, 20-gauge chicken wire.

6. A veneered wall in accordance with claim 5 in which said chicken wire is in mostly spaced apart relationship with said wall.

7. A veneered wall in accordance with claim 6 in which said wall is a stucco wall and said facing units are bricks.

8. A veneered wall in accordance with claim 3 in which said reinforcing mesh includes outwardly extending barrier configurations disposed in spaces between horizontally separated facing units in said rows.

9. A veneered wall in accordance with claim 3 in which said reinforcing mesh is wire fabric comprising a plurality of 90°

angles and disposed vertically and horizontally;

said ridge configurations comprising spaced, outwardly extending loops in the horizontally disposed wires.

10. A veneered wall in accordance with claim 9 in which said wire fabric includes outwardly extending loops in the vertically disposed wires forming barriers disposed in spaces between horizontally separated facing units in said rows.

11. A veneered wall in accordance with claim 3 in which said facing units are tiles.

12. A veneered wall in accordance with claim 3 in which said facing units are bricks.

13. A veneered wall in accordance with claim 3 in which said wall is a stucco wall.

14. A veneered wall in accordance with claim 13 in which said facing units are bricks.

15. A veneered wall in accordance with claim 3 in which said reinforcing mesh is in mostly spaced apart relationship with said wall.