BRICK OR TILE CLADDING SYSTEM

Abstract: A brick or tile cladding system comprising a mounting plate (10) adapted to support a plurality of tiles (13) wherein the adherence of the tiles (13) to the plate (10) is by means of grouting interposed between adjacent tiles which keys the tiles to the plate by passing through openings (15) in the plate (10).

Description: BRICK OR TILE CLADDING SYSTEM TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to cladding systems for buildings and, more particularly, cladding which in its completed form has the appearance of a solid brick or brick veneer finish. BACKGROUND ART The prior art in this field is exemplified by the disclosure of Australian Patent No. 624139 and International Publication WO93/05251, the contents of which specifications are included herein by reference. The prior art arrangement of patent No 624139 suffers some problems and added costs in installation, not the least of which are that the tiles that are used in such an arrangement are required to be slotted on a pair of parallel edges, so that mounting flanges on a mounting plate fit into those slots to retain the tile in position on the mounting plate preparatory to the application of mortar between the bricks. The disclosure of O93/05251 avoids the necessity to use slotted edge tiles but employs a cladding support panel having complicated resilient teeth to retain the tiles in place prior to grouting. The mortar in such applications is typically applied using piping bags, air cartridge guns or low pressure air pots as is known in the art. Other prior art arrangements have proposed support sheets for brick tiles or similar where the tiles are adhered to the sheet via adhesive with grouting placed between the mounted tiles to provide a desired aesthetic finish. DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION The present invention recognises that the complexity of the mounting plate and tiles of the prior art are unnecessary and proposes a much simplified and less costly arrangement which employs a mounting plate or cladding support panel of the general form of that shown in Australian patent No 624139 but wherein the mounting flanges are provided as ledges or shelves which project normally to the plane of the plate and function to provide a support surface for the bottom edge of a tile, while the tile is adapted to be temporarily held in situ in its desired location on the shelf or shelves relative to the mounting plate by means of such as an adhesive applied to at least a portion of the rear face of a tile which, when the tile is placed on the ledge(s), is pushed to contact the mounting plate so that the adhesive adheres the tile to the mounting plate while it rests on the ledge(s). A suitable adhesive for this purpose would be that sold under the trade mark "Liquid Nails". Permanent fixing of the tile to the mounting plate is achieved by grouting applied between adjacent tiles such that openings or cut¬ outs in the mounting plate provide for passage of the grouting through the plate to key the tiles to the plate and facilitate permanent fixing of the tiles to the plate. In another form, the present invention consists in the use of a plate with ledges in similar manner to that contemplated above, but wherein the ledges are inclined upwardly from the horizontal when the plate is in situ, so as to act to hold a tile against the plate when a tile is rested against a ledge or ledges in the same horizontal alignment. A preferred incline for the ledges of this form of the present invention is upwardly at about 8 from the horizontal. By means of this form of the present invention the use of adhesive as a temporary fixative can be eliminated as compared with the above described aspect of this invention. Permanent fixing of the tile to the mounting plate is achieved by grouting applied between adjacent tiles such that openings or cut-outs in the mounting plate provide for passage of the grouting through the plate to key the tiles to the plate and facilitate permanent fixing of the tiles to the plate. Once the mortar has been applied between the tiles such that it passes back to the plane of the mounting plate and keys into openings formed in the mounting plate behind the tiles, the assembly of the mounting plate, tiles and mortar form a coherent structure which provides substantial resistance to cracking of individual tiles. In the present invention the grouting between tiles to key the tiles to the plate provides not only an aesthetic affect but a functional imperative not previously contemplated as an adequate permanent fixative to hold tiles to the mounting plate in use. By considering the form of the mounting plate shown in the drawings of patent No 624139, it can be seen that an embodiment of a first form of the present invention relative to Fig. 6 of that patent specification is required to have the flanges 14 formed as base portions 16 without "a tile engaging lip 17", while doing away entirely with flanges 15 and having openings in the plate so as to enable the grouting to key the tiles to the plate. In one embodiment the mounting plate comprises a plurality of shelves as aforesaid. In another embodiment the present invention consists in a cladding assembly comprised of at least one mounting plate as aforesaid holding bricks or tiles with or without grouting applied to form a coherent integrated unit. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig 1 is a perspective view of a mounting plate in accord with the present invention; Fig 2 is a front elevation of the plate of Fig 1; Fig 3 is a plan view of the plate of Fig 1; Fig 4 is a side elevation of the plate of Fig 1? Fig 5 is the same view as Fig 4 but with tiles in place ready for the addition of grouting mortar therebetween; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the plate of another aspect of the invention and Fig. 7 is the same view as Fig. 6 but with tiles in place ready for the addition of grouting mortar therebetween. BEST MODES The mounting plate 10 as shown in the drawings comprises a planar section 11 adapted to be mounted to an existing wall surface via battens or similar or to wall framing. Mounting plate 10 comprises a plurality of shelf members 12 cantilevered out from one surface of the planar member 11. Shelves 12 are formed by punching out portions of planar member 11 which are hingedly bent out of the plane of the member 11 and adapted to receive a plurality of tiles 13 in a suitably aligned arrangement. Tiles 13 rest on shelves 12 and are temporarily held in their respective relative positions by a tack of adhesive 14 adhering the back face of each tile 13 to mounting plate 10 preparatory to the addition of grouting mortar between tiles 13. The grouting mortar keys the tiles 13 to plate 10 by passing through openings 15 and the openings left by shelves 12 being displaced from the plane of member 11. In the embodiment of Figs 6 and 7 tiles 13 rest on shelves 12 and are held in their respective relative positions by the upward incline (α) of shelves 12 which act to retain the tiles in situ against planar member 11 preparatory to the addition of grouting mortar between tiles 13. The incline of shelves 12 is critical to the functioning of the invention only insofar as shelves 12 serve to hold tiles 13 in place against member 11 preparatory to grouting. A typical incline may be 5 -10 but any incline that is suitable for achieving the desired result is appropriate. Plate 10 may comprise stiffening ribs to give added rigidity to the plate as well as additional holes 15 or openings to those provided by the formation of shelves 12 so as to provide additional keying of the mortar to the plate 10 to provide added structural integrity to the finished assembly. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention has particular suitability for use in earthquake prone regions. A timber, metal or bamboo framed structure could be readily cladded with a cladding support panels or mounting plates of the present invention having tiles, brick panels or cladding pieces affixed to the panel via grouting which also keys the tiles etc to the panel. Upon the occurrence of a quake or tremor the framing of the building may flex causing some or portions of the tiles to break their keyed connections with the panels but repair to the veneer of the structure is easy and relatively inexpensive. It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A mounting plate for tiles adapted to provide a cladding component comprising a generally planar sheet panel comprising a plurality of shelves or ledges in spaced apart mutually parallel rows, said shelves or ledges being adapted to support a tile edge rested on same, a plurality of openings through said panel adapted to provide for passage of grouting material applied between adjacent tiles when supported on said ledges, such that grouting material passing through said openings acts to permanently fix the tiles to said panel by keying to the openings in the panel while adhering to the edges of the tiles . 2. A mounting plate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mounting plate is of metal and the shelves are formed by tabs punched out of the plate and which tabs are bent out of the plane of the plate to provide said shelves . 3. A housing plate as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the planes of the shelves are perpendicular to the plane of the plate. 4. A mounting plate as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the shelves are inclined toward the plane of the plate by 5 -10 from a plane perpendicular to the plane of the plate. 5. A cladding assembly comprising a mounting plate as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and comprising a plurality of tiles affixed to the plate by grouting applied between adjacent tiles on the plate and wherein the grouting material keys through the openings in the panel. 6. A method of forming a cladding assembly comprising positioning a plurality of tiles on a mounting plate as claimed in any one of claims 1-4, applying a grouting material between adjacent tiles, such that the grouting adheres to the edges of the tiles and passes through the openings in the panel to form a coherent cladding assembly when the grouting material has set.

Inventors: MCINNES KENNETH JOHN, MCINNES, KENNETH, JOHN
Applicants: MCINNES KENNETH JOHN, MCINNES, KENNETH, JOHN
Application year: 1995
Main classification: E04F13
IPC codes: E04F13