Patent ID: 8898977

Claim:
A locking quoin block for assembling into a column to be secured to a corner of a structure, comprising: a sheet of semi-rigid polymeric material, the sheet being formed as a pair of wings, the pair of wings comprising a first wing and a second wing connected at a right angle along a corner axis, each wing having a top edge, a bottom edge, a distal edge, and an exterior surface; a side flange extending from the distal edge of each wing, the side flange being adapted to be nailed to a structure; the exterior surface of each wing having a decorative portion bounded by the bottom edge of each wing; the distal edge of each wing being parallel to the corner axis and having a vertical groove; the top edge of each pair of wings having a horizontal groove with a horizontal lip formed over the groove and spaced apart from the top of one side of the groove; a ridge extending from the bottom edge of each pair of wings, the ridge having a front surface; the ridge and the horizontal groove being adapted to matingly engage when the ridge of a first locking quoin block is inserted into the horizontal groove of a second locking quoin block; at least one wedge extending from the front surface of the ridge below each wing, configured so that, when force is applied to insert the ridge of the first block into the horizontal groove of the second block, the at least one wedge deforms the lip over the top edge of the horizontal groove, permitting the at least one wedge to slide past the lip and to continue to a position where the lip is entrapped between the top of each wedge and the bottom edges of the wings, whereby the two blocks are locked together.