GB2096060A - Trim strips for use with ceramic tiles - Google Patents

Abstract

A trim strip for use in providing a seal between a ceramic tile surface 31 and an adjacent surface 33, for example of a kitchen work-top, or as a stop strip along an exposed edge of a row of tiles, comprises plastics extrusion 1 having a first portion 5, 6 adapted to lie along the edge of the tiles and a second portion 4 in the form of a web which is adapted to lie behind the tiles to locate it in position. The first portion may have teeth 7 to retain a sealing strip or sealant material 34. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Trim strips for use with ceramic tiles This invention relates to trim strips for use in providing a seal between a ceramic-tile surface and an adjacent surface for example of a kitchen worktop, bath or shower surrund or as a stop strip along an exposed edge of a row of tiles.

In the past such seals have usually been provided by one of the following methods: 1. Resilient filler usually having a silicone base, which is applied as a bead fillet between the tiles and adjacent surface.

2. Grouting material; this has the tendency to break away from the adjacent surface and fall out to leave an untidy gap although this disadvantage can be alleviated to some extent by using epoxy resin based grouting material.

3. Extruded pliable sealing strip that is formed into a quadrant-curve on application and is fixed in position by impact adhesive or the like; it has the disadvantage of being unsightly and the quality of finish depends upon the abiiity of the user.

4. Special upstand extrusions typically in PVC; they have the disadvantage that they are bulky in appearance and are expensive.

All of the above methods seek to provide acceptable seals after the tiling operation has been completed, either as a specialised grout or as an additional item fixed after tiling and grouting.

The object of the present invention is to provide a trim strip which can be fitted as part of a tiling operation.

According to the present invention, a trim strip comprises an extrusion having a first portion adapted to lie along the edge of the tiles and a second portion in the form of a web which is adapted to lie behind the tiles to locate it in position. Thus the trim strip is applied during the tiling operation, the tiles being laid over the web portion.

If desired the web portion can be secured to the wall to be tiled prior to the laying of the tiles over it rather than relying on the tiles to hold it in position.

When the trim strip is designed for use in providing a seal between a tile surface and an adjacent surface which extends substantially horizontally away from the tile surface, said first portion is designed to form a spacer between the two surfaces to produce a designed gap between the two surfaces.

Advantageously the seal with the two surfaces can be provided by a separately formed sealing strip which locates for example by a snap fit in said first portion and effectively seals against the two surfaces to prevent ingress of dirt and liquids. Such a sealing strip would normally be applied after the tiling and possibly all grouting had been completed and can be provided in various shapes, sizes and colours to suit specific finishes.

Equally advantageously the seal may be provided by a commerically available air-cured sealant or similar product but using the trim strip in such a way as to overcome the problem of inadequate surface adhesion sometimes experienced with commercially available sealants when repeatedly subjected to vibration, thermal movements or the effect of water or condensation. Thus the trim strip produces the aforesaid designed gap between the edge of the tiles and the adjacent surface, such that the waterproof sealant or the like subsequently impressed has somewhere to lodge, rather than remaining as an external fillet between the tile face and the adjacent surface. Preferably the trim strip is designed with hooks, barbs or serrations that will effectively retain the impressed sealant after it has cured.This means that even if surface adhesion to the edge of the tiles or the adjacent surface is lost, the sealant bead will still be retained in position by the trim strip.

When the trim strip is used as a stop strip along the exposed edge of a vertical or horizontal row of tiles said first portion may be formed with an abutment flange which abuts against the exposed edge of the row of tiles and which joins with said web portion by a limb which extends at an angle of for example 45" to both the web portion and the abutment flange so that it provides a neat visible bevelled surface along the edge of the row of tiles.

The invention will now be further described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows an exploded view of a first design of trim strip in accordance with the invention with separately formed sealing strip for providing a seal between a tile surface and an adjacent surface.

Figure 2 shows a second design of trim strip in accordance with the invention with separately formed sealing strip for providing a seal between a tile surface and an adjacent surface.

Figure 3 shows a design of trim strip in accordance with the invention for providing a stop strip along the exposed edge of a row of tiles, Figure 4 shows a further design of trim strip in accordance with the invention and with an air-cured sealant for forming a waterproof seal between the tiles and adjacent surface, and Figures 5 and 6 show still further designs of trim strip for use with an air-cured sealant for forming a waterproof seal between the tiles and an adjacent surface.

As far as possible throughout the drawings the same reference numerals have been used to designate corresponding parts.

Referring now to Figure 1 the trim strip comprises an extrusion 1 of rigid unplasticised PVC. A pliable sealing strip 2 is formed as an extrusion from plasticised PVC.

The extrusion 1 has a spacer portion 3 of substantially 'U'-shape and a web portion 4 extending at right angles to the 'U'. In use the extrusion 1 is placed in position in the orientation shown in Figure 1 so that the web portion 4 lies against a wall surface to be tiled and the lower limb 5 of the 'U'-shaped spacer portion 3 rests on an adjacent surface for example of a kitchen work-top. The tiles are then laid over the web portion 4 and the lower edges of the lowermost row of tiles lie against the upper limb 6 of the 'U'-shaped spacer portion 3. Thus the web portion 4 is held in position by the tiles laid over it, although it could be fixed to the wall surface prior to the laying of the tiles, for example by adhesive.

After the tiling has been completed the sealing strip 2 is fitted by snapping it into the 'U'-shaped spacer portion 3. To effect this the upper limb 6 of the spacer portion 3 is provided with a hook 7 which extends across the mouth of the 'U' and limb 8 of the sealing strip 2 is provided on one side with a number of barbs 9 one of which, depending upon the depth to which the limb 8 is pushed into the spacer portion 3, locates behind the hook 7. The inherent resilience of the space portion 3 and of the sealing strip 2 permit the barbs 9 to be forced past the hook 7.

Extending at an angle of for example 60 to the limb 8 of the sealing strip 2 is sealing limb 11. Thus as the limb 8 of the sealing member 2 is pushed into the spacer portion 3, the outer edges of the limb 11 come into sealing engagement with the tile surface and the adjacent work-top surface respectively and the outwardly facing surface 12 of the limb 11 provides the only visible surface of the strip 2 and extends neatly across the angle between the tile surface and the adjacent work-top surface. It is intended that the width of the limb 11 will only be of the order of7 mm to 15 mm so that it will be quite unobtrusive.

Conveniently the extrusion 1 can be supplied in lengths of for example 1 or 2 metres and the sealing strip supplied in rolls of for example 5 or 10 metres in length. The sealing strip can be made sufficiently pliable so that it does not have to be cut at 90" corners but can be bent around such corners to that its sealing function is not interrupted.

Figure 2 shows a trim strip which is generally similarto that shown in Figure 1 and the same reference numerals have been used to designate corresponding parts. The main difference between the Figures 1 and 2 embodiments is that a hook 7 is provided on both the limbs 5 and 6 of the spacer portion 3 and barbs 9 are provided on both sides of the limb 8 of the sealing strip 2 for engaging with both hooks 7. The limb 8 is also provided with an axial recess 14 extending from its free end to increase its resilience. A further difference is that the sealing limb 11 is slightly cranked towards its upper edge.

Figure 3 shows a trim strip designed as a stop strip for fitting against the exposed edge of a row of tiles and comprises a single extrusion of rigid unplasticied PVC. The extrusion has a web portion 21 which corresponds in function to the web portion 4 of the Figures 1 and 2 embodiments. It also has an abutment flange 22 which extends at 90" to the web portion 21 and which joins with web portion 1 through limb 23 which extends at 45 to both the web portion 21 and the abutment flange 22. In use of the trim strip the web portion 21 is placed in position with the web portion 21 against the wall surface to be tiled. The tiles are then laid up to the abutment flange 22. Thus the outwardly facing surface 24 of the limb 23 is the only visible surface of the trim strip and provides a neat bevelled surface along the edge of the tiles.

Referring now to Figures 4 and 6 the trim strips 1 are of the same material as and are fitted in exactly the same manner as the trip strip of Figure 1. Thus referring particularly to Figure 4, the trim strips have a web portion 4 which is trapped in position between the tiles 31 and the wall surface 32 and a 'U'-shaped spacer portion 3 which locates between the lower edges of the tiles 31 and the adjacent surface 33 of for example a kitchen work-top.

After the tiling has been completed sealant 34 that is to be used to form a seal between the lower edges of the lower-most row of tiles and the adjacent surface, is manually impressed into the space formed by the 'U'-shaped spacer portion. Sealant applied in sufficient quantity will ingress between the inner surfaces of the limbs 5 and 6 of the 'U'-shaped spacer portion 3 and sealant will settle behind the retaining hooks 7. When the sealant has cured from a viscous liquid to a resilient solid, the retaining hooks 7 will have the effect of causing the cured sealant to be retained in position.

Figure 5 shows a trim strip which is similar to that shown in Figure 4 except that the retaining hooks 7 have been replaced by simple inturned ends 35 of the limbs 5 and 6.

Figure 6 shows a trim strip which is similar to that shown in Figure 4 and 5 except that the retaining hooks 7 shown in Figure 1 and the inturned limb ends shown in Figure 2 have been replaced by a horizontal limb 36 whose opposing surfaces 37 become partially or fully covered with the viscous liquid sealant when this is forced into the spacerportion 3. After the sealant has cured, the resultant adhesion of the sealant to the surfaces 37 and to the inner faces of the limbs 5 and 6 of the 'U'-shaped spacer portion 3, will increase the retention of the sealant within the 'U'-shaped spacer portion 3, since the direction of forces attempting to remove the sealant would be acting in the same plane as the horizontal limb 36. The inherent characteristic of adhesive substances to be better able to resist shear forces than forces that tend to 'peel', would result in a high retention characteristic of the subsequently applied sealant to the extrusion.

Claims (10)

1. A trim strip for use in providing a seal between a ceramic tile surface and an adjacent surface, for example of a kitchen work-top or as a stop strip along an exposed edge of a row of tiles comprises an extrusion having a first portion adapted to lie along the edge of the tiles and a second portion in the form of a web which is adapted to lie behind the tiles to locate it in position.

2. A trim strip according to Claim 1, wherein said first portion is designed so that when it is fitted between a tile surface and an adjacent surface it spaces said edge of the tiles from said adjacent surface.

3. A trim strip according to Claim 2, wherein said first portion comprises a pair of spaced limbs one of which locates along said edge and the other of which locates against said adjacent surface.

4. A method of tiling using a trim strip according to Claim 3, wherein a separately formed sealing strip locates between said limbs of said first portion and seals with said tile surface and said adjacent surface.

5. A method of tiling according to Claim 4, wherein said sealing strip is a snap fit in said first portion.

6. A method of tiling using a trim strip according to Claim 3, wherein a viscous sealant material is applied to form a seal between said tile surface and said adjacent surface and ingresses into the space between said limbs.

7. A method of tiling according to Claim 6, wherein said spaced limbs are provided with hooks or inturned ends for retaining the sealant between said limbs after it has cured.

8. A method of tiling according to Claim 6, wherein an additional limb extends between said two spaced limbs to provide additional surface area to which the sealant can adhere to retain it in position.

9. A strip substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of Figures 1 to 6.

10. A method of tiling substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of Figures 1 to6.