Abstract:
An apparatus and method for a drainage system of an exterior wall of a building comprising insulation having a rear face for contact with the exterior wall of the building and a drainage plane positioned on the rear face for removal of water from the exterior wall.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/511,527 filed on Oct. 15, 2003, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to a siding panel for an exterior wall of a building. In particular, the invention provides for a drainage plane positioned on the rear face of a contoured foam backer used with siding products. The drainage plane allows water to more efficiently dissipate from the exterior wall.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The construction industry, both new construction and remodeling, is increasingly confronted with problems associated with the buildup of moisture on surfaces within exterior walls. This moisture buildup may cause various types of mold, including black mold. Such mold is frequently blamed for causing serious respiratory illnesses and numerous other health conditions in both humans and animals. Individuals often go to great expense to remove mold from their homes, and in extreme cases walls and even entire structures are torn down.  
         [0004]     Building codes have long required that exterior walls be permeable so that moisture can escape if such moisture finds its way into the wall. However, on occasion due to poor insulation, inadequate flashing, leaking pipes or bad building practices, water can nonetheless find its way into exterior walls. In some cases water can be found in such large quantities that it overwhelms the exterior wall system. In other words, the exterior wall material simply cannot dissipate the moisture fast enough before conditions become sufficient to promote the growth of mold.  
         [0005]     A need has arisen to improve dissipation of water in the exterior walls of buildings.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention is intended to augment exterior wall systems to assist in the removal of water or water vapor from such exterior walls. Exterior walls often include insulation products, for example, contoured foam backing or composite siding. Exterior insulation includes a rear face that contacts the building. The present invention provides a drainage plane on that rear face to facilitate the removal of water from the exterior wall. The drainage plane can be made up of a grid of grooves that provide a path for water to flow. These grooves encourage water from leaks and water from heavy condensation to run theredown off the exterior wall and away from the building. In the preferred embodiment, and when used with composite siding, the water flows out through weep holes located in the bottom of the siding. It is understood that the grooves may be positioned in any number of ways, including vertically or diagonally. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]     The description herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:  
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a composite siding panel including the drainage plane of the present invention;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is a rear exploded perspective view of a panel backing and siding product including the drainage plane of the present invention;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3A  is a rear plan view of the backing of  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0011]      FIG. 3B  is a rear plan view of the backing showing the drainage plane arranged in a diagonal pattern;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3C  is a rear plan view of the backing showing the drainage plane arranged in a vertical pattern;  
         [0013]      FIG. 3D  is a rear plan view of the backing showing the drainage plane arranged in a square pattern; and  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view illustrating a preferred groove profile.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0015]     The present invention relates to a drainage arrangement positioned on a rear face of an exterior insulation product. The construction market utilizes a large number of exterior insulation products. The preferred embodiment of the instant application is described in the context of composite siding by example only. It is understood that the instant invention could be applied to any exterior insulation product having a planar surface.  
         [0016]     The drainage arrangement, as it is positioned on the otherwise flat rear face of a foam backer, is generally referred to as a drainage plane. The drainage plane is configured to encourage water from leaks and water from heavy condensation to run down grooves positioned therein. The grooves can be of any of a wide variety of configurations and can be laid out in any of a wide variety of patterns. The grooves can be positioned in a grid and can be positioned anywhere from vertically to some angle off the vertical. The drainage plane of the present invention is particularly beneficial in those cases where a foam board is positioned flat against another component such as an OSB panel that would naturally resist the water from freely running down the back of the OSB panel.  
         [0017]     With reference to the drawings wherein like items are numbered alike, and with particular reference to  FIGS. 1, 2 , and  3 A, a composite siding product  10  is illustrated. The composite siding product  10  can include a panel backing  14  that can be operably attachable or mountable to a siding component  12 . By way of example and not limitation, the siding component  12  can be a contoured siding product  12  and/or the panel backing  14  can be a contoured foam backer. It is understood that the backing  14  can be attached to the siding component  12  in a wide variety of fashions, where attaching and mounting are general terms that can include, by way of example and not limitation, an adhesive, chemical bonding, interlocking complementary surfaces, fasteners, and/or “dropping in” the backing  14  at the job site. As seen in  FIG. 4 , the rear face of the backing  14  can be positioned parallel to and proximate to an exterior wall  18  of a building. Returning to  FIGS. 1, 2 , and  3 A, the siding component  12  can include a nail strip  15  that can include at least one nail aperture  15 ′, a locking flange  17 , and/or a locking lip  17 ′. The locking flange  17  can be located at a top edge of the siding  12  and the locking lip  17 ′ can be located at a bottom edge of the siding component  12 . The locking flange  17  can be configured to operably engage the locking lip  17 ′ of an adjacent contour siding  12 . In this way, the composite siding panels  10  can be vertically interlocked in courses up the exterior wall  18  of the building. Installers can drive nails through nail apertures  15 ′ to secure each piece onto the exterior wall  18 .  
         [0018]     By way of example and not limitation, the backing  14  can be formed of an expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam material, and the siding component  12  can be formed of a vinyl material. By way of example and not limitation, the foam can have a permeability rating of 1.0 or higher. By way of example and not limitation, a suitable adhesively-formed composite siding panel on which the present invention may be advantageously used is manufactured by Progressive Foam Technologies of Beach City, Ohio.  
         [0019]     With reference to  FIG. 2 , the composite siding product  10  is further illustrated. As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the rear face of the backing  14  can include a drainage plane made up of a grid network that can include a plurality of drainage grooves  19 . As shown in the example of  FIG. 2 , the drainage grooves  19  can be positioned in a diamond pattern and can be set apart with a spacing of one inch. As water flows through the grid made up of the drainage grooves  19 , the water can flow into a plurality of exit grooves  20 . The exit grooves  20  can be positioned on a pocketed area  21  of the backing  14 . The exit grooves  20  can intersect the drainage grooves  19 . The exit grooves  20  can facilitate the water to travel into at least one weep hole  13 . After exiting the at least one weep hole  13 , the water can be harmlessly directed to the exterior surface of the siding component  12  and ultimately to the ground.  
         [0020]     As illustrated in  FIG. 3A , each set of drainage grooves  19  can be arranged in a diamond pattern at roughly a 30° angle from a vertical orientation. It is understood, that, as will be described below, the grooves can be positioned in a wide variety of angles and in a wide variety of patterns.  
         [0021]     With reference to  FIGS. 3B-3D , there is illustrated a plurality of examples of grid arrangements. These arrangements can include a diagonal pattern as illustrated in  FIG. 3B , a vertical pattern as illustrated in  FIG. 3C , and/or and a square pattern with the drainage grooves  19  positioned at an angle of 45° from the vertical orientation as illustrated in  FIG. 3D .  
         [0022]     With reference to  FIG. 4 , the preferred profile of each drainage groove  19  and each exit groove  20  is illustrated. By way of example and not limitation, each drainage groove  19  and each exit groove  20  can have a depth of approximately {fraction (1/16)} to ⅛ of an inch, inclusive. In the preferred embodiment, each drainage groove  19  and exit groove  20  can have a tapered or rounded bottom  23  to cause the water to flow with reduced surface tension. Each drainage groove  19  and each exit groove  20  can include a tapered edge  21  to encourage water to flow freely into each groove. As water is drawn into the grid, a syphoning effect will cause water flow to increase.  
         [0023]     The drainage plane of the present invention may be formed in a wide variety of ways. By way of example and not limitation, the drainage plane can be formed by molding the drainage grooves  19  and the exit grooves  20  into the rear face of the backing  14 , and/or the drainage grooves  19 , and the exit grooves  20  can be cut into the rear face of the backing  14  using hot wires or the like.