Wall construction method

Abstract

A method for forming a composite wall ( 1 ), said method including the steps of: erecting frame ( 2 ) including a plurality of generally upright spaced apart studs ( 3 ); positioning a plurality of external cladding sheets ( 4 ) over the frame in a generally horizontal orientation such that a majority of the cladding sheets extend across two or more of the studs; fastening the sheets ( 4 ) to the frame in substantially contiguous abutting relationship to form a generally planar substrate for a wall; and applying a surface render ( 10, 12 ) including a reinforcing mesh ( 11 ) substantially uniformly over the substrate; thereby to form a structural wall with an external appearance of rendered masonry without the need for supplementary internal rendering, bracing for reinforcement.

1 . A method for forming a composite wall, said method comprising: 
 erecting a frame including a plurality of generally upright spaced apart studs;    positioning a plurality of external cladding sheets over the frame in a generally horizontal orientation such that a majority of the cladding sheets extend across two or more of the studs;    positioning the cladding sheets such that the abutting ends of at least one pair of adjoining sheets are joined off-stud;    tying the abutting ends of said at least one pair of the cladding sheets together at an off-stud joint with an off-stud joining formation to provide resistance to movement, and co-planar misalignment between the abutting ends of said at least one pair of the cladding sheets;    fastening the sheets to the frame in substantially contiguous abutting relationship to form a generally planar substrate for a wall; and    applying a surface render including a reinforcing mesh substantially uniformly over the substrate;    thereby to form a structural wall with an external appearance of rendered masonry without the need for supplementary internal rendering, bracing or reinforcement.    
   
   
       2 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the off-stud joining formation has a generally H-shaped cross-sectional profile defining opposing longitudinal channel sections.  
   
   
       3 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the abutting ends of said at least one pair of the cladding sheets are tied together by engaging the abutting ends of said at least one pair of the cladding sheets in the opposing channel sections.  
   
   
       4 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the off-stud joining formation takes the form of complementary longitudinally extending interlocking edge profiles in the abutting ends of said at least one pair of the cladding sheets.  
   
   
       5 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the frame is formed substantially from timber.  
   
   
       6 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the frame is formed substantially from metal.  
   
   
       7 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the studs are spaced apart at centers of between about 300 and 600 mm.  
   
   
       8 . A method according to  claim 7 , wherein the studs are spaced apart at approximately 450 mm centers.  
   
   
       9 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the external cladding sheets are formed from fibre reinforced cement (FRC).  
   
   
       10 . A method according to  claim 9 , wherein the FRC sheets are between about 4 mm and 20 mm in thickness.  
   
   
       11 . A method according to  claim 10 , wherein the FRC sheets are between about 6 mm and 10 mm in thickness.  
   
   
       12 . A method according to  claim 10 , wherein the FRC sheets are between about 7 mm and 8 mm in thickness.  
   
   
       13 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein the external cladding sheets are substantially rectangular in shape, having a pair of substantially parallel longitudinal sides, and a pair of substantially parallel ends.  
   
   
       14 . A method according to  claim 13 , wherein the sheets are approximately 2.4 m long, approximately 0.45 m wide and approximately 7.5 mm thick.  
   
   
       15 . A method according to  claim 13 , wherein the sheets have a density of between about 8 and 10 kg/m 3 .  
   
   
       16 . A method according to  claim 12 , wherein the elongate cladding sheets are applied to the frame in an horizontally oriented staggered pattern, with the longitudinal edges of the sheets extending generally perpendicularly across the framing studs.  
   
   
       17 . A method according to  claim 1 , including a further step of a roughening the outer surface of each cladding sheet to facilitate mechanical and chemical bonding to the surface render.  
   
   
       18 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the step of providing at least one square edge on each cladding sheet, such that adjacent cladding sheets can abut one another with minimal visibility at the joint.  
   
   
       19 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the cladding sheets are positioned such that the mating ends of at least one pair of adjoining sheets are joined over the top of an underlying stud.  
   
   
       20 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the step of applying the surface render further comprises: 
 applying an initial leveling layer of cementitious render over the outer surfaces of the cladding sheets, so as to substantially cover the sheets and intermediate join lines;    applying the layer of reinforcing mesh to the surface of the leveling layer while the render is still wet; and    applying an outer covering layer of render in sufficient thickness to fully embed and conceal the mesh.    
   
   
       21 . A method according to  claim 20 , wherein a combined thickness of the render layers, incorporating the embedded reinforcing mesh, is between about 5 mm and 15 mm.  
   
   
       22 . A method according to  claim 21 , wherein a combined thickness of the render layers, incorporating the embedded reinforcing mesh, is between about 7 and 8 mm.  
   
   
       23 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing mesh is formed substantially from fibreglass.  
   
   
       24 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the mesh is applied such that any joints are formed with a minimum overlap of around 50 mm.  
   
   
       25 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the render is a high-build render.  
   
   
       26 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the render is formed from an acrylic-modified cementitious material adapted to be screeded to a flat level finish when applied externally to a vertical surface.  
   
   
       27 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the render is applied to a depth sufficient to eliminate the possibility for sheet “read” by the un-aided eye in normal lighting conditions.  
   
   
       28 . A method according to  claim 1 , comprising the further step of applying a selected texture finish to the render in order to achieve a particular desired aesthetic impression.  
   
   
       29 . A method according to  claim 1 , comprising the further step of applying an acrylic texture membrane paint as an outer-most protective layer.  
   
   
       30 . A method according to  claim 1 , comprising the further step of applying a layer of back-render on reverse sides of the cladding sheets, intermediate the framing studs.  
   
   
       31 . A method according to  claim 1 , comprising the further step of applying a layer of back-primer to exposed surfaces on reverse sides of the cladding sheets.  
   
   
       32 . A method according to  claim 1 , comprising the further step of installing a thermal insulation material on the inside of the cladding sheets, between the studs.  
   
   
       33 . A method according to  claim 1 , comprising the further step of applying a layer of suitable flashing material over the inner surfaces of the cladding sheets.  
   
   
       34 . A method according to  claim 32 , wherein the flashing is a vapour permeable sarking material.  
   
   
       35 . A method according to  claim 1 , comprising the further step of closing the wall cavity with an internal lining material.  
   
   
       36 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the step of installing a finishing strip to provide a substantially straight edge, and to protect the sheet edges at the top and bottom of the wall.  
   
   
       37 . A method for forming a composite wall, said method comprising: 
 erecting a frame including a plurality of generally upright spaced apart studs;    positioning a plurality of external cladding sheets over the frame in a generally horizontal orientation such that a majority of the cladding sheets extend across two or more of the studs;    positioning the cladding sheets such that the abutting ends of at least one pair of adjoining sheets are joined off-stud;    tying the abutting ends of said at least one pair of adjoining sheets together at an off-stud joint with an off-stud joining formation to provide resistance to movement and co-planar misalignment between the abutting ends of said at least one pair of adjoining sheets;    fastening the sheets to the frame in substantially contiguous abutting relationship to form a generally planar substrate for a wall; and    applying a surface render including a reinforcing mesh substantially uniformly over the substrate to thereby form a structural wall with an external appearance of rendered masonry.    
   
   
       38 . A method of forming a composite wall, comprising: 
 erecting a plurality of generally vertical, spaced apart studs;    positioning a plurality of horizontally extending cladding sheets across two or more of the studs such that abutting ends of at least one pair of adjoining sheets are joined off-stud;    fixing an end of one cladding sheet with respect to an abutting edge of an adjacent cladding sheet such that relative movement between the cladding sheet abutting edges is inhibited;    fastening the cladding sheets to the studs; and    applying a surface render to the cladding sheets, whereby a composite wall is formed.