GB2234540A

GB2234540A - Adjustable brickwork or other facade support apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2234540A
Application number: GB9021362A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Tony Buttling
Original assignee: Wincro Metal Industries Ltd
Current assignee: Wincro Metal Industries Ltd
Priority date: 1990-03-28
Filing date: 1990-10-02
Publication date: 1991-02-06
Anticipated expiration: 2010-10-02
Also published as: GB2234540B; GB9006895D0; GB9021362D0

Abstract

Apparatus for supporting the brickwork or other facade forming the outer skin of a cavity wall includes a bracket having a vertical slot 14 with at least one serrated side wall 16 and a clamping washer 20 a plug portion of which has serrations 18 formed down at least one side surface for engaging the serrations 16 of the slot. <IMAGE>

Description

Brickwork or other facade support apparatus.

The invention relates to apparatus of the kind for supporting the brickwork or other facade forming the outer skin of a cavity wall in a multistorey building having a concrete or steel framed inner wall structure.

Generally, in order to support the brickwork or other facade forming the outer skin of such a cavity wall, fixing elements such as fixing bolts or studs are provided when constructing the inner wall structure, such fixing bolts or studs projecting outwardly from said wall structure in horizontal rows. However, such fixing elements can never be exactly aligned horizontally and it is usual to provide apparatus of the kind to which the invention relates whereby a support plate, or a number of support plates arranged end to end, which are to carry the courses of bricks or other facade material forming the outer skin, are capable of some limited vertical adjustment to compensate for any variations in alignment of the fixing elements.

It is known for apparatus of the kind referred to above to be constituted by a horizontally extending support plate, at least one bracket secured to said support plate and having a central vertical slot and side flanges with aligned vertical slots, and a washer plate extending slidably through said aligned slots, the washer plate having an inclined slot, the arrangement being such that, in use of the apparatus, a fixing bolt can extend through the central vertical slot in the bracket and through the inclined slot in the washer plate so that the lateral adjustment of said washer plate relative to the bracket can adjust the vertical position of the bracket relative to the fixing bolt.

Such known apparatus is useful but suffers from one particular disadvantage, this being that the lateral adjustment of the washer plate is not positive. In other words, the washer plate is sometimes able to slip out of adjustment before the fixing bolt has been tightened to lock the arrangement in an adjusted position. It will also be understood that load applied to the support plate tends to urge the washer plate laterally if the fixing bolt is not secured very tightly.

The invention has for its object to at least alleviate these disadvantages.

According to the invention, there is provided apparatus of the kind for supporting the brickwork or other facade forming the outer skin of a cavity wall in a multi-storey building having a concrete or steel framed inner wall structure, the apparatus including a support plate, at least one fixing element secured to or forming part of said support plate, said fixing element having a vertical slot with at least one serrated side wall, and a clamping washer a plug portion of which has serrations formed down at least one side surface and adapted to engage the serrations of the slot, the arrangement being such that, in use of the apparatus, a fixing bolt can extend through the clamping washer and the serrations of the plug portion thereof can be engaged with the serrations of the slot whereby the adjustable re-locating of said clamping washer relative to the fixing element, in increments of movement corresponding to the spacing of the serrations, can adjust the vertical position of the support plate relative to the fixing bolt, the fixing element being thereby positively fixed in said adjusted position when the fixing bolt has been tightened. Preferably, the vertical slot in the fixing element will be formed centrally of the element and will preferably be serrated down both side walls, the plug portion of the clamping washer then being serrated also down both side walls. The clamping washer and the plug portion thereof will preferably be formed integrally together, conveniently being made as a diecasting. The fixing element may be in the form of a bracket to which the support plate is secured or may be an integral part of the support plate if the latter is in the form of a length of angle section material.

In order that the invention can be fully understood and readily carried into effect, the same will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which Figure 1 is a front view of a brickwork support apparatus embodying the invention, Figure 2 is a plan view thereof, Figure 3 is a part sectional view on the line 3-3 in Figure 1, Figure 4 is an exploded view which illustrates the component parts of the apparatus, Figure 5 is a perspective view of a different type of support apparatus embodying the invention, and Figures 6 and 7 are respective side and front views of yet a further different type of support apparatus embodying the invention.

Referring now to Figures 1 to 4 of the drawings, the brickwork support apparatus there illustrated includes a support plate 10 constituted by a length of angle section material. The apparatus also includes a number of fixing elements, that is to say a number of brackets such as that generally indicated 12, welded to the support plate, as shown, at intervals along its length.

Each bracket 12 is of channel section, as shown, and extends vertically from the support plate. An upper portion of the bracket has a central vertical slot 14 in the web of the channel which, in use of the apparatus, is clamped against a concrete or steel framed inner wall structure of a building, as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

The side walls of the central vertical slot 14 are serrated and the serrations 16 are engaged by similar serrations formed down the side surfaces of a plug portion 18 of a clamping washer 20. The clamping washer is engaged on a fixing bolt 22 which is shown extending from the concrete or steel framed inner wall structure 24 and extending through the slot 14 in the bracket. When a nut 26 has been tightened on the fixing bolt 22 the clamping washer holds the bracket flat against the concrete or steel framed inner wall structure of the building.

The arrangement is such that, in use of the apparatus, with the nut 30 slackened off and the serrations of the clamping washer out of engagement with the serrations of the slot 14, the vertical position of the bracket can be adjusted relative to the fixing bolt, as shown by the chain-dotted lines in Figure 1. In practice, when the support plate 10 is of such a length that it requires three or more brackets 12 to carry it, the endmost brackets will be fixed in position to locate the support plate horizontally with the intermediate fixing bolt or bolts extending through the vertical slot or slots of the respective intermediate bracket or brackets. It is then a very simple operation to place in position the or each clamping washer and nut (and it will be understood that in order to be able to engage the serrations of the or each plug portion with the serrations of the respective slot, as required, the clamping washer needs to have a hole with some slight clearance around the fixing bolt, that is of at least half the pitch spacing of the serrations).

It will be understood that the positive location of the serrated edged plug portion of the clamping washer in the slot 14 of the bracket completely overcomes any tendency for that element to move along the said slot under the load applied to the support plate, so much so that even if a workman failed by inadvertence to fully tighten the nut 26, the bracket would be very unlikely to move out of adjustment. Only if the nut was very fully slackened off could the serrated edged plug portion of the clamping washer move out of engagement with the serrations down the side walls of the slot 14 and such slackness would almost certainly be observed.

Referring now to Figure 5, in a slightly different type of support apparatus embodying the invention the support plate 10 is constituted by a relatively short length of flat plate connected to a bracket 12 by means of a welded gusset plate 13.

The bracket is otherwise the same as the bracket generally indicated 12 in Figure 1.

As shown, the brackets 12 of this type of support apparatus are intended to be relatively closely spaced. In Figure 5 they are shown to be spaced apart at distances such that a building brick can be supported between an adjacent pair of brackets.

In Figures 6 and 7 there is illustrated yet a further different type of support apparatus embodying the invention. In this case, SF indicates a steel framed inner wall structure of a building to which has been secured a substantially horizontal line of screwthreaded studs or bolts 22 to which the support apparatus is to be secured.

The support apparatus itself is constituted by an adapted support plate 10, that is to say by a length of angle section material which in at least two longitudinally spaced apart regions has been provided with fixing elements such as that generally indicated 28 in Figure 7. The fixing element 28 is a rectangular steel plate 30 which has been welded to the vertical flange of the length of angle section material to overlie an aperture which has been stamped out or cut from said flange. The steel plate has a vertical slot 14 the side walls of which are serrated and the serrations 16 are engaged by similar serrations formed down the side surfaces of a plug portion of a clamping washer 20 in like manner to the embodiments previously described.

Various other modifications may be made. For example, the support plates in the embodiments of Figures 1 to 4 and Figures 6 and 7 may be strengthened by the provision of one or more gusset plates welded within the angle of the section as shown by way of example in chain-dotted lines in Figure 3. If such gusset plates are provided, some of the bricks or other facade material laid on the support plate will need to have portions chipped away to accommodate the gusset plates. It may be found that serrations down one side of the slot in the bracket, engaged by serrations formed down only one side of the plug portion of the clamping washer, would be adequate to positively locate the clamping washer relative to the bracket.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. Apparatus of the kind for supporting the brickwork or other facade forming the outer skin of a cavity wall in a multi-storey building having a concrete or steel framed inner wall structure, the apparatus including a support plate, at least one fixing element secured to or forming part of said support plate, said fixing element having a vertical slot with at least one serrated side wall, and a clamping washer a plug portion of which has serrations formed down at least one side surface and adapted to engage the serrations of the slot, the arrangement being such that, in use of the apparatus, a fixing bolt can extend through the clamping washer and the serrations of the plug portion thereof can be engaged with the serrations of the slot whereby the adjustable re-locating of said clamping washer relative to the fixing element, in increments of movement corresponding to the spacing of the serrations, can adjust the vertical position of the support plate relative to the fixing bolt, the fixing element being thereby positively fixed in said adjusted position when the fixing bolt has been tightened.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the vertical slot in the fixing element is formed centrally of the element and is serrated down both side walls, the plug portion of the clamping washer being serrated also down both side walls.

3. Apparatus according to either one of the preceding claims, in which the clamping'washer and the plug portion thereof are formed integrally together.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, in which the integral clamping washer and plug portion have been made as a diecasting.

5. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the fixing element is in the form of a bracket to which the support plate is secured or is an integral part of the support plate if the latter is in the form of a length of angle section material.

6. Apparatus of the kind for supporting the brickwork or other facade forming the outer skin of a cavity wall in a multi-storey building having a concrete or steel framed inner wall structure, the apparatus being constructed and arranged, and adapted to be adjusted1 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by Figures 1 to 4, or Figure 5 or Figures 6 and 7 of the accompanying drawings.