Patent Publication Number: US-6209280-B1

Title: Jig for supporting fascia board installation

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to frame construction for a building and particularly to a jig for supporting the fascia board while it is being nailed to the end of the eaves of the roof frame. 
     BACKGROUND AND INFORMATION DISCLOSURE 
     The typical construction of the roof section of frame for a building includes a number of parallel “eaves” that extend from peak beam of the roof down a lower edge where the rain gutter is mounted. The eaves are conventionally spaced sixteen inches apart. According to construction practice, after the eaves have been secured in place, a fascia board is nailed across the lower ends of the eaves, The operation of securing the fascia board in place requires that the board be held horizontally against all of the ends of the eaves by two carpenters, one carpenter supporting each end of the board. This is a very dangerous operation since it requires that each carpenter must somehow support himself usually at least two stories from the ground, support his end of the board and simultaneously hammer a nail through the fascia board and the end of the eave. 
     Various methods and designs for constructing frame buildings have appeared in the patent literature. 
     For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,66,766 to Markey discloses a “kit” for building a frame building. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,628 to Knudson discloses a building constructed from panels that are roll-formed on the job site. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of this invention to provide a jig that is useful for constructing the frame of a conventional frame building. 
     It is a further object that the jig be especially adapted to support the fascia board while it is being secured to the ends of the eaves of the frame. It is still another object that the carpenter can secure the fascia board to the ends of the eaves by himself and that the operation be performed safely. 
     This invention is directed toward a jig best described as a cutout from a plastic panel having a shape of the letter U. One leg of the letter U is longer than the other leg. A short angle bracket has one leg swivelly bolted to the face of the long leg of the cutout and another leg extending at a 90° from the face of the cutout. The jig is temporarily mounted to the end of one of the eaves by a nail. 
     One such jig is secured to the lower end of the eave at one end of the row of eaves and another such jig is secured to the lower end of the eave at the other end of the row of eaves. One end of the fascia board is supported by one jig and the other end of the fascia board is supported by the other jig. The jigs are removed after the fascia board has been secured. 
     The jig is made preferably from clear polycarbonate about one quarter inch thick and is resiliently flexible. Polycarbonate about one quarter inch thick is preferred because it is very strong and has a desired degree of resiliency that enables a user to flex the jig to support boards at inclinations other than perpendicular when required. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows the two cutouts comprising the jig of this invention. 
     FIG. 2 shows a pair of jigs supporting a fascia board against the ends of sloping eaves. 
     FIG. 3 shows a jig that has been flexed to support a beam inclined relative to another beam. 
     FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of the method of the invention for securing the fascia board. 
     FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the jig of this invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF AN ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE 
     Turning now to a discussion of the drawings, FIG. 1 shows exploded the two parts of the jig  10  of this invention including a “U-shaped” cutout  12  and a short angle bracket  14 . The angle bracket  14  is secured to the cutout by a single bolt  18  through one leg of the bracket and cutout. 
     FIG. 2 shows a pair of assembled jigs  10  each mounted on a pair of eaves  16  at opposite ends of a row of eaves  18  (three eaves are shown). A fascia board  20  (shown in phantom) is supported by the jigs  10  and is in position for being nailed to the ends of the eaves  16 . 
     FIG. 3 shows a jig  10  of this invention that has been temporarily twisted to support a first board  22  inclined to a beam  24 . 
     FIG. 4 is a flow chart listing the steps for performing the method of this invention. 
     In step  1 , a user attaches a first fascia board support of this invention to the lower extending end of an eave being on one end of a row of eaves forming the roof frame of a building being constructed. 
     In step  2 , the user attaches a second fascia board support of this invention to the lower extending end of an eave being on an opposite end of the row of eaves. 
     In step  3 , the user hangs the fascia board horizontally on the ends of the row of eaves by engaging each end of the fascia board in a respective one of the supports. 
     In step  4 , the user nails the fascia board to each one of the eaves. 
     In step  5  the user removes the supports of this invention. 
     The two parts,  12  and  14 , of the jig  10  are preferably made from polycarbonate plastic because of its strength and resilient flexibility compared to other plastics. 
     The advantage in using this device to secure fascia boards is that one carpenter can perform the entire operation of securing the board to the ends of the eaves. This is accomplished by simply securing one support on one end of the row of eaves and then securing another support on the opposite end of the row of eaves and then hanging the fascia board horizontally with an end engaged in each support. Finally nailing the board to the ends of the eaves and removing the supports. Each of these steps is conveniently a one man operation. 
     Variations and modifications of the supports and method of performing the operation may be suggested by reading the specification and studying the drawings which are within the scope of the invention. 
     As shown in FIG. 5, the jig may be a bent strap  30  with one end of an bracket angle  32  secured to eave  16  and the other leg of the angle bracket swivelly attached to the leg of the strap. The jig is shown supporting a fascia board  20  (in phantom). 
     The strap is preferably made of polycarbonate plastic because of its superior strength and flexible resiliency compared to other materials such as a metal alloy or any of the well known plastics. 
     For example the jig may be used to support boards in a location other than on the ends of eaves. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the appended claims.