Building material for forming an architectural surface covering and method for producing the same

Abstract

A building material for use in forming exterior surface coverings. According to a preferred embodiment, the building material consists of the combination of a paper material, bonding agent, and water. The building material can either be formed directly upon a substrate, such as a wall or ceiling, or otherwise formed as a sheet of material or molding that can thereafter be affixed to a given surface or substrate. The building materials can be customized to have a specific type of color, shape and texture, and can further be utilized in a wide variety of building applications.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 - 23 . (canceled) 
     
     
         24 . A process for forming a building material for application to a substrate comprising the steps:
 a) selecting a first paper material;   b) combining said paper material in step a) with water to form a first admixture consisting of said first paper material and water;   c) blending said first admixture produced in step b) to produce a second homogeneous admixture;   d) straining said second homogeneous admixture produced in step c);   e) combining said strained admixture produced in step d) with a bonding agent to form a third admixture;   f) mixing said admixture in step e) to form a mash;   g) mixing said mash formed in step f) with at least one additive selected from the group consisting of sand, plastic particles, paper shreds, confetti, metallic powder, string and combinations thereof for imparting an appearance characteristic and at least one additive selected from the group consisting of a flame retardant, gloss, acrylic, hardener, preservative, dye, scent, and combinations thereof for imparting a property characteristic;   h) providing a substrate selected from the group consisting of plywood, hardboard and drywall and applying said mash admixture produced in step g) directly upon said substrate;   i) sculpting said mash admixture applied directly to said substrate in step h); and   j) drying said mash admixture sculpted upon said substrate in step i) to create at least one raised pattern consisting of a fibrous mixture of said paper material in step a), said bonding agent in step e), and said additives selected in step g) formed as a single layer.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24  wherein in step d), said blended admixture is strained such that the ratio of paper to water is 3:16 by weight. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24  wherein in step e) said second admixture comprises from 1 to 14 parts by weight of said first admixture and from 1.5 to 3.5 parts by weight of said bonding agent. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26  wherein in step e) said second admixture comprises 7 parts by weight of said admixture and 3.5 parts by weight of said bonding agent. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 26  wherein in step e) said bonding agent comprises white glue. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28  wherein said bonding agent comprises the combination of white glue and a thickening agent. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29  wherein said thickening agent comprises a mixture of water and cornstarch. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30  wherein said bonding agent comprises from 1 to 2 parts by weight of white glue and from 0.5 to 1.5 parts by weight of thickening agent. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31  wherein said bonding agent comprises 2.0 parts by weight of white glue and 1.5 parts by weight thickening agent. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 24  wherein said mash is formed as a molding. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 24  wherein said mash is formed as a sheet. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 24  wherein following step f) and prior to performing step g), steps a) through f) are repeated with a second paper material dissimilar from said first paper material such that two mashes are produced and combined to produce a combined mash comprising two mashes. 
     
     
         36 . A process for forming a building material for application to a substrate comprising the steps:
 a) selecting a first paper material;   b) combining said paper material in step a) with water to form a first admixture consisting of said first paper material and water;   c) blending said first admixture produced in step b) to produce a second homogeneous admixture;   d) straining said second homogeneous admixture produced in step c);   e) combining at least one additive to the admixture produced in step d), said additive being selected from the group consisting a preservative, antioxidant, a hardness agent, and combinations thereof;   f) combining said admixture produced in step e) with a bonding agent to form a third admixture;   g) mixing said third admixture in step f) to form a mash;   h) providing a substrate selected from the group consisting of plywood, hardboard and drywall and applying said mash admixture produced in step g) directly upon said substrate;   i) sculpting said mash admixture applied directly to said substrate in step h); and   j) drying said mash sculpted upon said substrate in step h) to create at least one raised pattern comprising a fibrous mixture of said paper material in step a), said additive selected in step e), and said bonding agent in step f), formed as a single layer.   
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 36  wherein in step d), said blended admixture is strained such that the ratio of paper to water is 3:16 by weight. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 36  wherein in step e) said second admixture comprises from 1 to 14 parts by weight of said first admixture and from 1.5 to 3.5 parts by weight of said bonding agent. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 36  wherein in step e) said bonding agent comprises white glue. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 39  wherein said bonding agent comprises the combination of white glue and a thickening agent. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 36  wherein said mash is formed as a molding. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 36  wherein said mash is formed as a sheet. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 36  wherein following step f) and prior to performing step g), steps a) through f) are repeated with a second paper material dissimilar from said first paper material such that two mashes are produced and combined to produce a combined mash comprising two mashes.