Patent Abstract:
Nail or screw holes are provided on the body of a trim unit so that the trim body can be more robustly secured to the building structure, beneath a slidable molding which in a first position reveals these holes and in a second position covers the holes. This sliding is preferably achieved by a self-retaining interference connection, such as a dovetail joint, between a movable molding part and the body of the trim unit. In a further preference, the molding has a stationary portion that is fixed with respect to the trim body, and a movable portion which, after attachment of the trim body to the structural member, can be slid into engagement with the stationary portion and glued thereon to complete the molding.

Full Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. Sec. 120, of copending U.S. application Ser. No. 12/152,068 filed May 12, 2008 for “Window Frame With Hidden Nailing Channel” and U.S. application Ser. No. 12/383,976 filed Mar. 31, 2009 for “Prefabricated Corner Post.” 
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to building construction and in particular to the installation of trim on the building exterior. 
     Such trim can, for example, be a frame for doors, windows, and other wall penetrations, four-sided columns, two-sided corner simulations of columns, or simply simulation of a front face of a column. Trim units of this kind are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Pub. 2009/0277110 and (as yet unpublished) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/383,976. These documents show techniques for mounting the trim via mounting strips to structural members such as walls or posts. However, some trim units can be very heavy and the need arises for easily securing these trim members in a more robust fashion to the structural member. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one broad aspect, the invention is directed to providing nail or screw holes on the body of the trim unit so that the trim body can be more robustly secured to the building structure, beneath a slidable moulding which in a first position reveals these holes and in a second position covers the holes. 
     This sliding is preferably achieved by a self-retaining interference connection, such as a dovetail joint, between a movable moulding part and the body of the trim unit. 
     In a further preference, the moulding has a stationary portion that is fixed with respect to the trim body, and a movable portion which, after attachment of the trim body to the structural member, can be slid into engagement with the stationary portion and glued thereon to complete the moulding. 
     In the end-use embodiment, the building construction trim unit comprises a body attached to a building and the body has an associated decorative moulding. The body has an installation side bearing on a structural member of the building and a front side opposite the installation side. At least one hole passes from the front side to the installation side. A slidable connection is provided between the moulding and the body whereby in one end position the moulding exposes the hole to receive a fastener into the structural member and in another end position the moulding covers the hole. 
     Those familiar with the construction trades will readily appreciate that the trim unit disclosed herein provides for quick, efficient, and aesthetically clean decoration on a wide variety of building surfaces such as window trim, four-sided posts, and simulated columns. The trim unit body is rigidly attachable to the building structure and the associated moulding is rigidly attachable to the trim body without the need for externally driven nails or screws. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       Various embodiments will are described below with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an elevation view of a window frame constituting a trim unit for a window box, showing moulding secured on the top frame element according to one embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a section view taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an elevation view of the window frame of  FIG. 1 , showing a movable portion of the moulding separated from the stationary portion of the moulding, to expose holes for attaching the trim body to the wall of a building; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a preference in which the side elements of the window frame have a channel for receiving end edges of wall siding panels; 
         FIG. 5  is a section view of another embodiment showing the movable portion of the moulding of a trim unit on a partial column; 
         FIG. 6  shows a third embodiment of a trim unit, for a column, having a body and a composite moulding at the bottom of the column; and 
         FIG. 7  shows a fourth embodiment of a trim unit for a wooden post, whereby all four sides of the post can be covered with a decorative trim. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIGS. 1-3  show a prefabricated window frame  10 , having top element  12 , bottom element  14  and side elements  16  connected or configured together to define a rectangular frame, each element having front  18  and back faces, and inner  22  and outer  24  edges. At least the side elements  16 , but preferably also the top and bottom elements  12 ,  14  have a channel  28  in which mounting strips  30  have been press fit. Optionally, the edges can also include another channel indicated at  26  in  FIG. 2 , to facilitate installation of vinyl or aluminum siding against the frame as described in U.S. Publication 2009/0277110. The inner edge  32  of the mounting strip  30  is retained well within the edge  22  of the frame, and the outer edge  34  of the strip extends outside the perimeter of the frame, where mounting holes  36  are provided in the strip. 
     Whether prefabricated as an entire unit or assembled on site as such unit, the frame with strips and/or complete mounting flange  38  are placed around the window box or similar penetration with the back face  20  of the frame against the wall  40  as shown in  FIG. 4 . The flange  38  then is affixed to the wall, such as by nailing through holes  36  to arrive at a condition shown in  FIG. 1 . To accommodate the subsequent attachment of vinyl or aluminum siding  42  to the wall  40 , the longitudinal end seams  44  and end edges  46  of the sliding panels are slid into the channel  26  of each frame element. 
     Although in a straightforward traditional manner the frame elements could be attached directly to the wall, this would require covering and careful painting over unsightly nail or screw heads. The use of mounting strips  30  or other indirect attachments that are hidden by the siding, avoids this labor intensive step. However, indirect attachment of the frame to the wall is generally not as strong as direct attachment. The present invention solves this problem by achieving direct attachment of at least one frame element, with or without indirect attachment of other frame elements, while avoiding the need to cover and paint nail or screw heads. 
     Preferably, before the vinyl siding is inserted and, in any event, where used with wood siding, an additional feature according to the present invention is relied upon to attach the frame to the building structure. The top frame element  12  (above the window opening  48 ) generally includes a decorative moulding  50 , preferably consisting of a top board  52   a  and a base  52   b . The top board  52   a  is permanently affixed near its inner edge  58 , to the top of element  12 . While the window frame is attached to the building by the mounting strips  30 , the base  52   b  of the moulding is vertically slid downward from the top board  52   a , to the position shown in  FIG. 3 . This is possible because the front  18  of element  12  includes a groove  54  indicated at  18 ′ engaging a projection  56  in the base portion of the moulding  52   b . The preferred dovetail joint  54 ,  56 , permits displacement of the base  52   b  downwardly below the elevation of the through hole  60 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . The installer can then further secure the frame to the building wall by connecting the rigid top element  12  to the wall with fasteners through hole  60 . Preferably, the attachment holes  60  are not in the grooves  54 , to avoid any interference between an installation nail or screw and the tongue portion  56  of the slidable moulding base  52   b.    
     After the screws are installed through holes  60 , the top surface  52   c  of the base  52   b  is glued and the base  52   b  is slid upward into contact with the top piece  52   b  and preferably clamped to complete the installation as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The entire trim unit, and especially the moulding, is preferably made of hard PVC plastic. 
     In a further improvement, the entire inside perimeter  22  of the window frame which defines the opening  48  for receiving the window box, includes a substantially continuous pre-installed gasket  62  which is preferably press fit with an enlarged portion  64  into a corresponding beveled groove  66 . Conventionally, the inside perimeter  22  is a simple board edge and the window box must be caulked in. The preinstalled gasket saves the installer significant time. 
     It should be appreciated that the preinstalled gasket feature can be employed without the movable moulding previously described and, moreover, with any window frame regardless of installation technique onto the building wall. 
     Another embodiment is shown in  FIG. 5 , where a construction trim member  68  in the form of a partial column or the like is shown in cross-section at the elevation where the body  70  has an installation side  72  bearing on or secured to the structural member  74  of the building, such as a wall, and a front side  76  opposite the installation side. At least one, and in this case two holes  78   a ,  78   b  pass from the front side  76  to the installation side  72 . It should be appreciated that body  70  extends vertically a substantial distance along the building structure, typically at least one story. 
     The trim member  68  includes a decorative moulding  80 , typically at the top and bottom of the vertically extending body  70 . As an example, the section view of  FIG. 5  can be considered as through the finally installed trim member  68 . The moulding  80  has a back side  82  and a front side  84 . The back side  82  includes an elongated protrusion such as tongue  86  that fits into a corresponding tapered groove  88  in the body  70 , providing a sliding relationship whereby the holes  78   a ,  78   b  are exposed for penetration the nails or screws  92   a ,  92   b  before the movable moulding portion  80  is slid into its final position covering the groove  88  and the nails  92 . It should be appreciated, that in a manner similar to that described with respect to  FIGS. 1-3 , the movable moulding portion  80  can have a flat top surface  94  that can be glued to a moulding top element which is not shown in  FIG. 5  but would rigidly project from the top of the body  70  such that the movable portion  80  is permanently joined to the top element portion of the moulding. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the moulding portion  80  has a generally inverted, squared-off “C” shape, with side portions  90  extending perpendicularly from the back surface  82 . According to the invention, the moulding  80  portion would still be slidable and attachable in the same manner as described above, even if the side portions  90  were not present, because these are not relied on either for the relative sliding or for laterally stabilizing the moulding movable part relative to the body. 
       FIG. 6  shows another embodiment of a column trim unit having a body  96  and a composite moulding  98 , at the bottom of the column. The moulding has a stationary part  102  that is permanently secured to a cement or wooden base in the manner to be described, and a movable base portion  100  which upon completion of the installation will rest on the portion  102 . The trim body  96  has a cutout or groove  106  in which a rigid, L-shape bracket  104  is flush with the visible or front side of the body  96 . Transverse bracket portion  108  projects outwardly from the drawing plane relative to the elongated portion of the bracket. The upper surface  110  of the projection  108  is spaced slightly below the upper surface of the groove  110  provided in the stationary portion  102  of the moulding. The projection  108  includes a hole  112  through which a screw  114  passes through the stationary portion  102  into the concrete or the like  118 . A through bore  116  can optionally be provided for this purpose. After the trim body  96  has been firmly secured to the floor  118  by means of the bracket  104  and screw or bolt  114 , the movable portion  100  of the moulding can be slid down and glued against the stationary portion  102 . This sliding is achieved by a continuation of groove  106  upwardly as shown at  122 , and a corresponding projection  120  on the back side of movable member  100  which slides in the groove. Holes  124  corresponding to  78   a  and  78   b  in  FIG. 5  can optionally be provided to secure the body portion  96  of the trim to the wall or post before the moulding portion  100  is slid down to portion  102 . 
       FIG. 7  shows another embodiment of a trim unit  126  whereby four sides of a square wooden post  128  can be covered with a decorative trim piece  130 . This view is similar to that shown in  FIG. 5 , i.e., without showing the top piece of the moulding, onto which the movable portions are glued as the final step in the installation. In this embodiment, each of the four substantially flat mold bases  132   a - d  has a projecting tongue or the like  134  which mates with a corresponding groove  136  in the rectangular, vertically elongated trim body  138 . Each body has holes  140  on either side of the corresponding groove for receiving nails or screws  142 . It should be appreciated that each of the movable moulding portions  132   a - d  relies only on the corresponding dovetail joint for both sliding and lateral stability. 
     Although not shown, each of the grooves in the previously described embodiments can have a lead-in which permits the initial overlap of the movable portion of the moulding relative to the body of the trim member, after which the permanent portion of the moulding can be secured to the body.

Technology Classification (CPC): 4