Fibre cement plate and a wall structure having the fibre cement plates

Abstract

A fibre cement plate includes a rectangular body having a top edge and a bottom edge arranged spaced apart and substantially parallel to each other, first and second lateral edges arranged spaced apart and substantially perpendicularly to the top and bottom edges and inwards and outwards facing surfaces. Further, the first and second lateral edges are disposed substantially parallel to each other and connect the top and bottom edges. Moreover, the bottom edge is provided with a longitudinal groove and the top edge is provided with an elongated projection adapted to be inserted inside an elongated groove of a bottom edge of an adjacent identical fibre cement plate. Also, the first lateral edge is provided with an elongated groove and the second lateral edge is provided with an elongated projection adapted for insertion inside an elongated groove of a first lateral edge of an adjacent identical fibre cement plate.

1 . A fibre cement plate for a wall structure, the fibre cement plate comprising:
 a rectangular body having a top edge and a bottom edge arranged spaced apart and substantially parallel to each other, a first and a second lateral edge arranged spaced apart and substantially perpendicular to the top and bottom edges and inwards and outwards facing surfaces, wherein the first and second lateral edges are disposed substantially parallel to each other and connect the top and bottom edges,   wherein   the bottom edge is provided with an elongated groove and the top edge is provided with an elongated projection adapted to be inserted into an elongated groove of an adjacent identical fibre cement plate,   in that the first lateral edge is provided with an elongated groove and the second lateral edge is provided with an elongated projection adapted for insertion inside an elongated groove of a first lateral edge of an adjacent identical fibre cement plate, and   in that a sealant is provided in the elongated groove of the first lateral edge.   
     
     
         2 . The fibre cement plate of  claim 1 , wherein the elongated groove of the bottom edge of the fibre cement plate is devoid of a sealant. 
     
     
         3 . The fibre cement plate of  claim 1 , wherein the outwards facing surface is provided with a hydrophobic coating which reduces water ingress into the outwards facing surface. 
     
     
         4 . The fibre cement plate of  claim 1 , wherein the fibre cement plate is a part of a wall structure, the elongated groove of the first lateral edge and the elongated projection of the second lateral edge are disposed vertically and the outwards facing surface is arranged further from a centre of the wall structure than the inwards facing surface. 
     
     
         5 . A wall structure comprising:
 an array of vertically or horizontally extending support beams; and   a plurality of fibre cement plates attached to the support beams and engaged with each other, each fibre cement plate having a first and a second vertically oriented edge, a first and a second horizontally oriented edge and an inwards facing and an outwards facing surface,   
       wherein
 the first horizontally oriented edge is a bottom edge and is provided with an elongated groove and the second horizontally oriented edge is a top edge and is provided with an elongated projection arranged inside an elongated groove of a bottom edge of an adjacent fibre cement plate, 
 in that the first vertically oriented edge is provided with an elongated groove and the second vertically oriented edge is provided with an elongated projection arranged inside an elongated groove of a first vertically oriented edge of an adjacent fibre cement plate, and 
 in that a sealant is provided in the elongated groove of the first vertically oriented edge. 
 
     
     
         6 . The wall structure of  claim 5 , wherein the elongated groove of the first horizontally arranged edge of each fibre cement plate is devoid of a sealant. 
     
     
         7 . The wall structure of  claim 5 , wherein the outwards facing surface of each fibre cement plate is provided with a hydrophobic coating which reduces water ingress into the surface. 
     
     
         8 . The wall structure of  claim 5 , wherein the plurality of fibre cement plates is arranged in a horizontally oriented staggered arrangement. 
     
     
         9 . A method of forming a wall structure, the method comprising the steps of:
 providing an array of vertically or horizontally extending support beams;   providing a plurality of fibre cement plates, each fibre cement plate including a top edge provided with an elongated projection, a bottom edge provided with an elongated groove, a first vertically oriented edge provided with an elongated groove, a second vertically oriented edge provided with an elongated projection and a sealant arranged in the elongated groove of the first vertically oriented edge;   attaching a first fibre cement plate of the plurality of fibre cement plates to at least one of the support beams; and   engaging a second fibre cement plate of the plurality of the fibre cement plates with the first fibre cement plate by aligning a bottom edge of the second fibre cement plate with a bottom edge of the first fibre cement plate and sliding the second fibre plate in a horizontal direction so as to cause an elongated projection of the second vertically oriented edge of the first fibre cement plate or an elongated projection of the second vertically oriented edge of the second fibre cement plate to be inserted into an elongated groove of the first vertically oriented edge of the second fibre cement plate or into an elongated groove of the first vertically oriented edge of the first fibre cement plate respectively and to squeeze the sealant arranged in the elongated groove of the second vertically arranged edge of the second or first fibre cement plate.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further including engaging a third fibre cement plate of the plurality of fibre cement plates with the first fibre cement plate by sliding the third fibre cement plate in a vertically downward direction and fitting an elongated projection of the top edge of the first fibre cement plate into an elongated groove of the bottom edge of the third fibre cement plate. 
     
     
         11 . The fibre cement plate of  claim 2 , wherein the outwards facing surface is provided with a hydrophobic coating which reduces water ingress into the outwards facing surface. 
     
     
         12 . The fibre cement plate of  claim 2 , wherein the fibre cement plate is a part of a wall structure, the elongated groove of the first lateral edge and the elongated projection of the second lateral edge are disposed vertically and the outwards facing surface is arranged further from a centre of the wall structure than the inwards facing surface. 
     
     
         13 . The fibre cement plate of  claim 3 , wherein the fibre cement plate is a part of a wall structure, the elongated groove of the first lateral edge and the elongated projection of the second lateral edge are disposed vertically and the outwards facing surface is arranged further from a centre of the wall structure than the inwards facing surface. 
     
     
         14 . The wall structure of  claim 6 , wherein the outwards facing surface of each fibre cement plate is provided with a hydrophobic coating which reduces water ingress into the surface. 
     
     
         15 . The wall structure of  claim 6 , wherein the plurality of fibre cement plates is arranged in a horizontally oriented staggered arrangement. 
     
     
         16 . The wall structure of  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of fibre cement plates is arranged in a horizontally oriented staggered arrangement.