Exterior building cladding having rigid foam layer with drain channels

Abstract

A novel building construction is described for exterior building walls. The construction comprises an interior frame formed of a plurality of laterally spaced studs or beams, a layer of rigid insulation adjacent to the exterior side of this steel frame, exterior building cladding adjacent the exterior side of the rigid insulation and a plurality of non-thermal conducting plastic connectors extending through the layer of rigid insulation and connecting together the exterior cladding and the interior steel studs or beams. Vertical channels are formed adjacent both the inside and outside faces of the insulation layer to remove moisture. This provides the required structural strength with a minimum of thermal conductivity from the warm side to the cold side of the building envelope, while providing exterior drain channels and interior moisture removing channels.

1 . A building wall construction comprising an interior frame formed of a plurality of laterally spaced studs or beams, a layer of rigid foam insulation adjacent the exterior side of said frame and an interior wall connected to the interior side of the frame with the rigid insulation layer and interior wall forming a wall cavity therebetween, vertical venting channels formed on the interior side of said rigid insulation layer for collecting and removing moisture from the wall cavity and vertical venting channels formed on the exterior side of said rigid foam insulation for collecting and removing rain water, exterior building cladding adjacent the exterior side of said rigid foam insulation and a plurality of non-thermal conducting plastic connectors extending through said layer of rigid foam insulation and connecting said exterior cladding to said studs or beams.  
     
     
         2 . A wall construction according to  claim 1  wherein the interior frame is formed of wood or steel studs.  
     
     
         3 . A wall construction according to  claim 2  wherein the rigid foam insulation is in the form on panels having a thickness of about 1 to 3 inches.  
     
     
         4 . A wall construction according to  claim 3  wherein the rigid foam insulation panels are joined edge to edge by means of edge slots containing plastic splines.  
     
     
         5 . A wall construction according to  claim 4  wherein screws extend through the splines and into the studs.  
     
     
         6 . A wall construction according to  claim 4  wherein the vertical venting channels are laterally spaced by a distance of about 2 to 4 inches.  
     
     
         7 . A wall construction according to  claim 3  wherein the plastic connectors are flexible plastic straps.  
     
     
         8 . A wall construction according to  claim 3  wherein the plastic connectors are rigid plastic strips.  
     
     
         9 . A wall construction according to  claim 8  wherein the rigid plastic connectors are strips having sharp points capable of piercing the rigid insulation.  
     
     
         10 . A wall construction according to  claim 3  wherein the plastic connector is formed of polyolefin.  
     
     
         11 . A wall construction according to  claim 10  wherein the polyolefin is polypropylene or polyethylene.  
     
     
         12 . A wall construction according to  claim 11  wherein the plastic connectors are joined to studs by means of screws.  
     
     
         13 . A wall construction according to  claim 3  wherein the exterior cladding is stucco on metal mesh lath and the plastic connectors have loop portions which hook onto the metal mesh.  
     
     
         14 . A wall construction according to  claim 3  wherein the exterior cladding is bricks and the plastic connectors are joined to the brick wall by means of metal brick ties extending from the outer ends of the plastic connectors into the brick mortar joints.  
     
     
         15 . A wall construction according to  claim 3  wherein the exterior cladding is siding connected to vertical furring strips which are connected to horizontal plastic splines.