Patent ID: 7694477

Claim:
A precast panel having a front face, a rear face, an upper edge, and a lower edge, wherein: (a) the upper edge or the panel has a continuous notch, forming: a.1 a ledge extending rearward from the front face of the panel; and a.2 a substantially vertical upstand adjacent to the ledge and extending vertically upward from the level of the ledge to the upper edge of the panel, said upstand having a rear face and a top rear edge; (b) a plurality of fastener holes extend through the thickness of the upstand; (c) the thickness of the panel at its lower edge is less than or approximately equal to the transverse width of the ledge; (d) the panel has one or more generally vertical channels formed in the rear face and extending downward from the top of the upstand; and (e) the rear face of the upstand is beveled such that when the panel is mounted to a supporting structure with the top rear edge of the panel's upstand bearing against a supporting structure along a line of contact, and with the front face of the panel substantially parallel to the supporting structure, a downwardly-opening, V-shaped gap will be formed between the rear face of the upstand and the supporting structure, with said V-shaped gap propagating downward from the line of contact between said top rear edge of the upstand and the supporting structure.