Wall and roof drainage apparatus, method, and tool

Abstract

An inexpensive system and method of dwelling wall construction allows water to drain from the wall instead of being absorbed into the wood. A tool creates a moisture-reduction system within an existing wall.

1 ] A shredded hydrophobic moisture drainage panel comprising, at least: 
 a layer of thin, preferably water-resistant, material, and a layer of shredded hydrophobic material.    
     
     
         2 ] The panel of claim  1  in which said layers are bonded by heat fusion.  
     
     
         3 ] The panel of claim  1  in which said layers are bonded by adhesive interposed between them.  
     
     
         4 ] The panel of claim  1  in which said hydrophobic material is substantially rubber.  
     
     
         5 ] A sheet moisture drainage panel comprising: 
 a sheet of expanded polymeric foam having two parallel faces, a top edge, a bottom edge and two side edges, and wherein at least one face contains parallel vertical grooves.    
     
     
         6 ] The sheet moisture drainage panel of claim  5  further comprising: 
 parallel bottom grooves across said bottom edge which join said vertical grooves so as to form a continuous L-shaped groove.  
 
     
     
         7 ] A method of moisture-draining exterior surface construction comprising the steps of: 
 a) fastening a plurality of wood panels to the outward-facing sides of wooden structural members;    b) fastening a plurality of moisture drainage panels, taken from the group of i) shredded hydrophobic moisture drainage panels and ii) sheet moisture drainage panels, to the outward-facing sides of the wood panels;    c) fastening a lath to the outward-facing sides of the moisture drainage panels; and    d) applying a surface composition to the lath.    
     
     
         8 ] The method of claim  7  wherein: 
 said fastening of said wood panels to said structural members is accomplished by driving nails through said wood panels into said structural members;  
 said fastening of said moisture drainage panels to said wood panels is accomplished by application of adhesive between said drainage panels and said wood panels; and  
 said fastening of said lath to said moisture drainage panels is accomplished by application of adhesive between said lath and said drainage panels.  
 
     
     
         9 ] A structure exterior drainage tool, comprising: 
 An elongated flexible tube having a first tube end and a second tube end;    An elongated hardened flexible wire having a first wire end and a second wire end, the wire rotatably held within the tube, the first and second wire ends extending outwardly beyond the first and second tube ends, respectively;    A square drive capable of receiving a chuck being fixedly attached to the first wire end;    A shaped bit being fixedly attached to the second wire end so that when the chuck is rotated, the wire turns within the tube the bit rotates relative to the tube; and    A bit steering assembly being fixedly attached to the second tube end.    
     
     
         10 ] The tool of claim  9  in which said bit steering assembly further comprises: 
 An anchoring collar fixed to said second tube end;  
 A wire guide surrounding said second wire end between the collar and said bit, the collar and the guide flexibly connected by a strut, the strut being substantially collinear to said wire;  
 A plurality of steering cables connected to the wire guide at equally-spaced intervals around the guide, the cables capable of being pulled so as to bias said second wire end and said bit in the direction of pulling.  
 
     
     
         11 ] The tool of claim  10  in which said cables are comprised of wire that shortens when a voltage is applied to it, and said tube supports electrical leads for transmission of voltage to the cables.  
     
     
         12 ] The tool of claim  11  in which said shaped bit comprises hardened wire formed into a helix being coaxial to said second wire end.  
     
     
         13 ] The tool of claim  12  in which said helix extends coaxially away from said second tube end and has a decreasing radius in that direction.  
     
     
         14 ] The tool of claim  9  in which said first tube end is affixed to a vacuum chamber capable of having a vacuum applied to it, so that the annular space between said wire and said tube communicates with the space within the vacuum chamber, and so that air in the vicinity of said bit will be pulled through the annular space into the vacuum chamber.  
     
     
         15 ] The tool of claim  14  in which said vacuum chamber is equipped with a level indicator to indicate the level of water accumulated in the chamber.  
     
     
         16 ] The tool of claim  9  wherein a moisture detecting probe, capable of producing an electrical signal responsive to the water vapor content of the air next to it, is attached to said second tube end, and the signal is transmitted via electrical conductors to a readout mounted near said first tube end.