Patent Publication Number: US-8984828-B2

Title: Brick tie anchor

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to masonry anchors for tying a mason veneer to a stud backup wall in a cavity wall and more particularly to masonry anchors having greatly increased resistance to corrosion. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Cavity walls of a masonry veneer tied to a stud backup wall are commonly utilized in construction to provide for esthetically pleasing appearance while being less expensive than solid masonry walls. One common type of cavity wall used in both residential and commercial buildings is a brick veneer tied to a stud backup wall. 
     The brick veneer is tied to the stud backup wall by use of masonry or brick veneer anchors. Such anchors are generally a planer anchor plate which is attached to the stud of the stud backup wall. The anchor plate at the exposed end is provided with a slot through which a brick tie wire is inserted, the brick tie wire being mortared between two rows of bricks to provide a secure connection between the brick veneer and backup wall. In the past, these connectors have been made of galvanized carbon steel which is a material similar to that which is used in construction of metal studs for the stud backup wall. However, there has recently been a serious concern expressed by a number of agencies regarding the potential for corrosion or failure of the masonry anchors due to the exposure of the anchors to moisture which is present in the cavity between the stud backup wall and the masonry veneer. Thus the use of stainless steel masonry anchors is becoming more prevalent. The problem with the use of the stainless steel anchors is the dissimilarity in metal composition between the stud and the masonry anchor. While the stainless steel anchor and brick tie wire has reduced the potential for corrosion of the anchors between the stud backup wall and the masonry veneer the dissimilar metals contact between the anchor and the stud of the stud backup wall may result in problems of corrosion and weakening of the attachment of the anchor to the stud backup wall. 
     There thus remains a need for a masonry anchor which overcomes this difficulty. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides for a masonry anchor for tying a masonry veneer wall to a stud back-up wall. The anchor comprises a generally planar anchor plate of corrosion resistant steel having an outer coupling end for connection to a veneer tie wire and an inner anchoring end for securement to the stud back-up wall. The anchor plate is provided with a plurality of holes therethrough in the inner anchoring end for accepting a fastening means for fastening the anchor to the stud back-up wall. A backing plate of an inert material is provided for positioning between the inner anchoring end of the anchor plate and the stud back-up wall, the backing plate being provided with raised structures on a face thereof sized to be contained within the holes in the inner anchoring end of the anchor plate to allow a shank of the fastening means to pass through the raised structure without contacting the inner anchoring end of the anchor plate. 
     In an aspect of the invention, the backing plate is provided with upwardly and downwardly extending tabs on an upper and lower edge respectively at a forward end of the backing plate for engaging an outer covering of the stud back-up wall to provide for proper spacing of the coupling end of the connected anchor plate from the stud back-up wall. 
     In another aspect of the invention, the corrosion resistant steel is stainless steel. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the attached drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a masonry anchor of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the masonry anchor of the present invention being utilized to tie a brick veneer wall to a stud backup wall; 
         FIG. 3  is a side elevation view of the masonry anchor being utilized with a stud backup wall having a 2″ insulation covering; 
         FIG. 4  is a side elevation view of the masonry anchor being utilized in a stud backup with a 0.5″ covering; 
         FIG. 5  is an end view in cross-section illustrating the attachment of the masonry anchor to the stud of the stud backup wall; 
         FIG. 6  is an end view in cross-section of the masonry anchor attached to the stud backup wall; 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded end view in cross-section of one of the fastening means attaching the masonry anchor to the stud backup wall; and 
         FIG. 8  is a view of a second embodiment of the backing plate of the masonry anchor of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A first preferred embodiment of the masonry anchor according to the present invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 7 . The masonry anchor of this embodiment is particularly for use as a brick veneer anchor and is shown in the figures generally indicated by the numeral  10 . The masonry anchor  10  comprises an anchor plate  12  of a corrosion resistant metal and a backing plate  14  of an inert material for positioning between the anchor plate  12  and the stud backup wall, the details of both of which will be described further herein below. 
     The brick veneer anchor  10  is attached to a stud  16  of a stud backup wall  18  by means of suitable fastening means  20  to tie a brick veneer wall  22  constructed of a number of individual bricks  24  to the backup wall  18 . Bricks  24  are mortared together by the use of mortar  26  to form the brick veneer wall  22 . The brick veneer wall  22  is spaced from the stud backup wall  18  to provide an intermediate air space or cavity  28 . 
     As illustrated in the figures, the stud wall  18  is composed of a plurality of studs  16  to which an outer covering  30  is attached. During construction of the stud backup wall  18 , the studs  16  are placed in position and the outer covering  30  is attached to the studs  16  to form the stud backup wall  18 . A number of slots  32  are cut in the outer covering  30  adjacent the studs  16  to provide for openings through which the anchor plate  12  of the masonry veneer anchor  10  may be inserted as will be described below. 
     The anchor plate  12  is comprised of a generally planer body manufactured from stainless steel to resist the corrosion effects of the environment of the cavity  28 . The anchor plate  12  has an outer coupling nose or end  34  having a vertically extending slot  36  for connection to a veneer tie wire  38  and an inner anchoring end  40  for securing the anchor plate  12  to the stud  16 . 
     The vertically extending slot  36  has a maximum vertical dimension approximately equal to the height of the brick  24  and has a horizontal dimension to allow the tie wire  38  to pass through. The dimensioning of the vertically extending slot  36  allows for adjustability of the positioning of the tie wire  38  in relation to the anchor plate  12  to allow for adjustment based on the location of the brick courses of the brick veneer wall  22 . Brick tie wire  28  extends from the coupling end to lie between two courses of bricks  24  in the brick veneer wall  22 . After the tie wire  38  is properly positioned as shown in  FIGS. 2 through 4 , it is mortared between the two courses of bricks  24  of the brick veneer wall  22 . In this way the brick veneer wall  22  is securely tied or connected to stud backup wall  18 . 
     It would be considered that the height of the nose portion  34  which accommodates the tie wire slot  36  will depend on the amount of vertical adjustment required to meet variations in the mortaring of the brick veneer wall  22 . For example, when erecting large, generally single story buildings such as a shopping mall, the care taken to ensure the evenness of the mortaring is much less than when erecting a multi-story building such as an apartment building. The spacing between floors is precise thus for multi-story buildings such as apartment buildings the tie wire adjustments can be less requiring smaller anchors. 
     As a practical example for a 3″ brick course providing for a full course adjustment the height of the nose portion  34  would be of the order of 4″ and the length of the slot  34  would be of the order of 3″. 
     When this degree of adjustment is not required the height of the nose piece  34  for example could be 3″ with the length of the slot  36  being 2¼″. Again as another example for a nose portion  34  having a height of 2″ the length of the slot would preferably be 1¼″. 
     The anchor plate is provided with an anchoring end  40  distal of the coupling end  34  for securing the anchor plate  12  to the stud  16  of the stud backup wall  18 . The anchor plate  12  is attached to the stud  16  of the stud backup wall  18  in a manner to permit the outer coupling end  34  to project from the vertically extending slot  36  beyond the outside surface of the backup stud wall  18 . This dimension would depend upon the thickness of any covering  30  attached the stud back up wall  18 . Generally the coupling end  34  would project the slot  36  about 0.5 inches into the cavity  28  beyond the wall surface. The masonry anchor of the present invention is provided with a means to adapt the anchor to multiple thicknesses of wall coverings without requiring a separate anchor for each individual thickness of wall covering. 
     The anchoring end  40  of the anchor plate  12  is provided with a plurality of equally spaced holes  42 . Preferably holes  42  are provided as 2 lines of vertically aligned holes. Each of these sets of vertically aligned holes  42  are spaced 0.5″ apart from the other. In this way, depending upon which set of holes  42  is used for the fastening means  20  when the anchor plate  12  is placed in the proper position, the outer end  34  of the anchor plate  12  illustrated in the figures will project the desired distance beyond the outer covering  30 . The embodiment of the masonry anchor  10  illustrated in the figures is for use with wall coverings  30  of the stud back wall  18  which range from a thickness of about 0.5 inches up to 2 inches. Other positioning of the holes farther away from the coupling end would allow the masonry anchor to accommodate other ranges of wall covering thicknesses such as for example, 2½to 4″ or greater. This could be accomplished by providing a longer anchor plate with more sets of aligned holes. Alternatively, a longer anchor plate with the same number of sets of aligned holes could be provided with the aligned holes spaced further from the outer end. With changes in the regulations and standards concerning building construction especially in terms of higher energy efficiency buildings, the masonry anchor of the present invention could be easily adapted to cover any thickness of wall covering material which may be desired or mandated. 
     The proper positioning of the anchor plate  12  is provided by the backing plate  14 . The backing plate  14  is constructed of an inert non-conductive material, preferably a plastic such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, etc. The backing plate  14  is provided with annular rings  44 , extending from the surface of the backing plate  14 . The annular rings  44  are sized to fit within the hole  42  of the anchor plate  12  and are provided with central opening  46  to accept the fastening means  20 , to attach the masonry anchor  10  to the stud  16  of the stud backup wall  18 . 
     In order to properly position the anchor plate  12  such that the outer end  34  projects beyond the covering  30  the proper distance, the backing plate  14  is provided with tabs  48  extending upwardly from the upper and lower edges of the backing plate  14  at the forward end thereof. The tabs  48  rest against the surface of the outer covering  30  above and below the slot  32  through which the outer end  34  of the anchor plate  12  projects. This positions the annular rings  44  in the proper position such that when the holes  42  for the thickness of the outer covering align with the annular rings  44 , then the outer end  34  of the anchor plate projects the required distance beyond the outer covering. 
     This alignment is illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . In  FIG. 3 , the thickness of the outer covering  30  is 2″ and the aligned holes  42  closest to the rear end of the anchoring end  40  are utilized to overlie and contain the annular rings  44  of the backing plate. In  FIG. 4 , where the thickness of the outer covering is only 0.5″, the aligned holes  42  closet to the front of the anchoring end are utilized. The holes  42  intermediate these two sets of aligned holes  42  would be utilized for outer coverings having thickness of 1″ or 1.5″. 
     Once the masonry anchor  10  is properly positioned as described above as well as illustrated in  FIGS. 5 to 7 , the fasteners  20  are utilized to attach the masonry anchor  10  to the stud  16  of the stud backup wall  18 . In order to avoid issues of dissimilar metals, the fastener  20  is constructed of the same metallic material as the stud  16  to which it is to be attached. As the fastener  20  is being attached to the stud  16 , the fastener threads and shank  50  pass through the central opening  46  of the annular ring  44  of the backing plate  14  and into the stud  16 . In this way, the threads and shank  50  are in contact with the inert material of the backing plate  14  and not the dissimilar metal of the anchor plate  12 . In order to prevent contact between the head  52  of the fastener  20  and the surface of the anchor plate  12 , an inert washer  54  is provided that lies between the head  52  of the fastener  20  and the surface of the anchor plate  12  when the fastener  20  is fully driven in. 
     Once the masonry anchor  10  is attached to the stud back up wall  18  as described above, the tie wire  38  is placed within the slot  36  of the outer end  34  of the anchor plate  12  projecting beyond the outer covering  30 . The tie wire  38  is then mortared between two rows of bricks  24  of the brick veneer wall  22  to tie the brick veneer wall  22  to the stud backup wall  18 . 
     A variation of the masonry anchor of the present invention is illustrated in  FIG. 8  where the tabs  48  of the backing plate  14  that extend upwardly and downwardly from the upper and lower edges of the backing plate  14  are provided with projections  56  which extend perpendicularly from the forward edges of the tabs  48 . The projections  56  provide a more positive engagement and alignment of the backing plate  14  by resting against a larger area of the surface of the outer covering  30  than would be provided by the forward edge of the tabs  48  alone. This could make the installation easier when either the slots  32  cut in the outer covering  30  are larger than required or if the outer covering  30  is a relatively soft material such as certain types of insulating panels. 
     The masonry anchor  10  of the present invention provides numerous advantages over the prior art arrangements. Firstly by providing the inert materials of the backing plate  14  and washer  54  between the dissimilar metals of the stud  26 , fastener  20  and anchor plate  12 , the potential of corrosion from dissimilar metal contact is significantly reduced and eliminated. 
     Secondly, by providing the rows of aligned holes  42  in the anchor plate  12 , a single version of the anchor plate  12  is adaptable to different thickness of covering material without having to produce different versions for each individual thickness. This significantly reduces manufacturing costs as it is not necessary to produce a series of dies for a series of anchor plates. Warehousing costs are also reduced as it is no longer necessary to produce and stock numerous different products for the different thicknesses of covering material. 
     The design of the masonry anchor  10  with the backing plate  14  properly positioning the anchor plate  12  reduces installation time as it is not necessary to measure for the proper positioning of the masonry anchor. Rather, the anchor plate  12  is placed on the backing plate  14  with the annular rings  44  contained within the desired aligned holes  42  for the thickness of the covering material  30 . The outer end  34  of the anchor plate  12  is then slid through the slot  32  in the outer covering  30  until the tabs  48  and/or projections  56  of the backing plate  14  rest against the surface of the outer covering  30  and the fasteners  20  with the washers  54  on the shank  50  are driven through the central opening  46  and into the stud  16  of the stud back up wall  18 . This properly positions the slot  36  of the outer end  34  of the anchor plate  12  in the proper position beyond the outer covering  30  to accept the tie wire  38  to be mortared into the brick veneer wall  22  and tie the brick veneer wall  22  to the stud back up wall  18 . 
     The use of the combined backing plate and anchor plate where the proper positioning of the masonry anchor is determined by the surface of the covering material attached to the front edge of the stud also allows the masonry anchor of the present invention to be used by any size stud as the positioning is not determined by the depth of the stud. For example, the same masonry anchor could easily be used by the 3⅝″ or 5½ metal studs commonly employed for exterior stud back up wall construction. This also reduces manufacturing and warehousing costs. 
     Although various preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described herein in detail, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.