Expansion joint guide for masonry walls

Details Expansion joint guide for masonry walls Expansion joint guide for masonry walls

1999-01-08

2001-09-25

Kent, Christopher T. (Department: 3635)

Static structures (e.g., buildings)

Relatively yieldable preformed separator

Exposed separator between prefabricated components

C052S393000, C052S396040, C052S402000, C052S747120, C052S745090

Reexamination Certificate

active

06293066

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There is a recognized problem with cracking of masonry walls due to the expansion and contraction of the walls and the uneven settling of the footings. Various methods have been tried for solving this problem. Also, there is a need for an improved guide for assuring that the wall joints are plumb and for finishing wall edges. Current practice in this regard utilizes a short length of wooden or metal bar which is moved vertically along the wall edge to simply provide a guide for finishing the wall edge after which it is removed. This prior art practice is time consuming and leads to jagged control joint edges.
Some of the past practices in attempting to prevent cracking of masonry walls have included horizontal and vertical reinforcements in the mortar, a practice which has not been very effective. Other approaches have utilized resilient members between rows of blocks. Such a suggestion is found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,869,356 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,099,110. The resilient members in these patents are cruciform in shape to inter fit with grooves in the masonry blocks. Another attempt has been through the utilization of asphalt impregnated horizontal sheets which are used in lieu of mortar and may be nailed to an interior sheet of wall board. Such a method is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,239,127.
Other prior art suggestions in combating cracking caused by expansion contraction and uneven settling of footings has utilized rubber sealing joints and caps. These have been suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,369; U.S. Pat. No. 2,016,968; U.S. Pat. No. 3,760,544; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,683.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a guide is provided for aligning the masonry blocks of a multi-course masonry block wall and for providing an improved expansion joint for that wall. The guide has a rigid elongated flat planar base which is adapted to be secured to a flat surface such as an underlying wall which may be constructed, for example, of wall board or sheet rock, concrete or concrete block. The guide also has a rigid elongated planar leg which is integral and longitudinally co-extensive with the base and extends substantially perpendicular from the base. This perpendicular extension of the leg is substantially less than the thickness (i.e., front to back) of bricks or other masonry blocks of the wall, and the leg is of a thickness substantially equal to the desired thickness of the joint to be formed between adjacent sections of the wall. The distal or outer end portion of the leg is preferably longitudinally slotted in the portion extending between the masonry blocks to provide a transverse resilience at this outer end. Thus, the base of the guide may be secured to a support structure (such as an underlying wall), with a planar leg extending outwardly and defining a vertical joint between the sections of the wall to be constructed.
The invention includes the process for the construction of a multi-course masonry wall having a vertical expansion joint between adjacent sections of the wall, with the wall covering a previously constructed underlying wall. That process includes the steps of providing a guide having an elongated flat planar base and elongated planar leg extending substantially perpendicularly outward from the base. The width of the leg is preferably less than the thickness of the wall to be constructed, and the thickness of the leg is equal to the desired thickness of the joint between laterally adjacent blocks of the wall being constructed. The process further includes the step of securing the base of the guide to the previously constructed underlying wall with the leg of the guide extending vertically and located at the desired position of the vertical expansion joint between adjacent sections of the wall being constructed. The construction of the masonry wall is then completed using the leg of the guide to position the edges of the masonry blocks at the vertical expansion joint in the wall.


REFERENCES:
patent: 2016968 (1935-10-01), Marble
patent: 2085168 (1937-06-01), Payne
patent: 2239127 (1941-04-01), Swenson
patent: 2361205 (1944-10-01), Hoover
patent: 2869356 (1959-01-01), Kulhavy et al.
patent: 3099110 (1963-07-01), Spaight
patent: 3137973 (1964-06-01), Williams
patent: 3508369 (1970-04-01), Tennison
patent: 3760544 (1973-09-01), Hawes et al.
patent: 5168683 (1992-12-01), Sansom et al.
patent: 5263294 (1993-11-01), Koenig et al.

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