GB2399108A

GB2399108A - A wall fastener anchor for spacing a reinforcing mesh from a structure

Info

Publication number: GB2399108A
Application number: GB0405134A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Derek Gamble; Edward Dawson
Original assignee: MERDEL Ltd
Current assignee: MERDEL Ltd
Priority date: 2003-03-06
Filing date: 2004-03-08
Publication date: 2004-09-08
Anticipated expiration: 2024-03-08
Also published as: GB2399108B; GB0305068D0; GB0405134D0

Abstract

A wall fastener anchor 10 for use with a wall fastener (58) for anchoring a second structure, such as a reinforcing mesh 48, to a first structure, such as a wall. The anchor 10 may have pairs of rotationally offset projections 34, 36 which space the mesh 48 from the wall, the projections preferably extend radially from the end of the tubular anchor 10. Preferably, two pairs of projections 34, 36 extend diametrically opposite each other from a flange 14. The anchor 10 may be plastic and may have a body 12 which tapers away from the projections. The anchor 10 may be used for cladding, wherein a reinforcing mesh 48 spaced from a wall by the anchor is fastened into position and covered with a layer of weatherproofing material (62). A building block may also be formed, wherein a layer of insulating material is sandwiched between a pair of reinforcing members 48, with wall fasteners (58) and anchors 10 fastening the reinforcing members together, all covered by a weatherproofing layer (62).

Description

2399 1 08 1 Wall Fastener Anchor 3 The present invention relates to wall

fastener 4 anchors for wall fasteners, and in particular, but not exclusively, for wall fasteners for use in 6 applications concerning cladding, external wall 7 insulation and the like.

9 Cladding comprising external wall insulation for structures conventionally comprises an insulating 11 layer, a mesh and wall fasteners for holding the 12 insulating layer against the wall and providing a 13 contact surface which a rendered weatherproofing 14 layer can be applied to.

16 Conventionally, the wall fasteners hold the mesh 17 flush against the insulating layer. Whilst this 18 arrangement is satisfactory for providing a contact 19 surface for rendering, it fails to take the opportunity of simultaneously utilising the mesh as 21 a reinforcement to the rendered layer. An un 22 reinforced rendered layer is more susceptible to a. ::e.. e:e.e

. ee...DTD: 1 crack propagation, which is the major cause of 2 render failure.

4 Also, conventional wall fasteners that hold the insulating layer against the wall have a large domed 6 head of a size which is larger than the mesh 7 aperture. Whilst this arrangement is satisfactory 8 for holding the insulating layer against the wall, 9 it has the undesirable effect of reducing the thickness of the rendered layer which is applied 11 over it. Rendered layer systems of alternating 12 thickness are extremely susceptible to differential 13 cracking due to the differential rate of water loss 14 through evaporation of adjacent sections which go into tension at different rates.

17 Furthermore, conventional wall fasteners are mounted 18 such that they have one end which is proximal to the 19 outer surface of the external wall insulation and another end which is embedded within the building 21 wall. Whilst this arrangement is satisfactory for 22 holding the insulating layer against the wall, it 23 has the undesirable effect of creating a thermal 24 bridge between the building and the external wall insulation. This significantly reduces the thermal 26 efficiency of the external wall insulation.

28 It is an object of the present invention to provide 29 a wall fastener anchor for such wall fasteners which mitigates or obviates one or more of the 31 disadvantages referred to above.

::' he:e::. À ..

1 According to a first aspect of the present 2 invention, there is provided a wall fastener anchor 3 comprising: 4 an elongate body portion having a longitudinal axis and a bore adapted to receive and engage a wall 6 fastener; and 7 a flange member having at least one first 8 engagement surface facing in a first direction and 9 at least one second engagement surface facing in a second direction which is substantially opposite to 11 said first direction.

13 Preferably the flange member is located adjacent one 14 end of said body portion and projects radially outwardly from the body portion in a plane 16 substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 17 of the body portion.

19 Preferably the flange member has at least one first projection and one second projection projecting 21 radially outwardly from the circumference thereof, 22 and wherein the first and second engagement surfaces 23 are formed on the first and second projections.

Preferably the flange member has a pair of first 26 projections and a pair of second projections, and 27 the anchor has a corresponding pair of first 28 engagement surfaces formed on the pair of first 29 projections and a corresponding pair of second engagement surfaces formed on the pair of second 31 projections.

# ::e '. .:e 'd- À e. À . 4e 1 Preferably the flange member is an annular member, 2 and wherein each pair of projections has one 3 projection substantially diametrically opposed on 4 the flange member to the respective other projection of the pair.

7 Preferably the first and second pairs of projections 8 are rotationally offset from one another about the 9 longitudinal axis by substantially 90 degrees.

11 Preferably the bore has a first portion and a second 12 portion, wherein the first portion has a greater 13 diameter than the second portion.

Preferably the first and second portions of the bore 16 define an abutment adapted to engage the head of a 17 wall fastener.

19 Preferably the abutment is longitudinally spaced from an end of the body portion.

22 Preferably the second portion of the bore is 23 threaded.

Preferably the body portion has first and second 26 ends, and wherein the flange member is located 27 adjacent a first end of the body portion and wherein 28 at least a portion of the body portion tapers 29 longitudinally outwardly from the second end of the body portion towards the first end. . l

aV t': l. :.

.e À e:: be: À 1 Preferably the body portion and flange member are 2 integrally formed.

4 Preferably the flange member is provided with one or more apertures therethrough.

7 Preferably the at least one second engagement 8 surface has a chamfered edge.

Preferably the anchor further comprises an axial 11 spacer adapted to abut the flange member.

13 Preferably the anchor is manufactured from a 14 plastics material.

16 According to a second aspect of the present 17 invention, there is provided a wall fastener for 18 fastening a reinforcing member to a wall, the wall 19 fastener including a wall fastener anchor in accordance with the first aspect of the present 21 invention.

23 According to a third aspect of the present 24 invention, there is provided a method of cladding a surface, the method comprising the steps of: 26 forming at least one layer of insulating 27 material; 28 fastening at least one reinforcing member and 29 the at least one layer of insulating material to the surface such that the at least one reinforcing 31 member lies a predetermined distance from the 32 insulating material; and se À:. :r:: À e. . I 1 covering the reinforcing member and insulating 2 material with a layer of weatherproofing material.

4 Preferably the at least one reinforcing member and the at least one insulating layer are fastened to 6 the surface by a plurality of wall fasteners.

8 Preferably each of the plurality of wall fasteners 9 includes a wall fastener anchor in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention.

12 Preferably the at least one reinforcing member is a 13 mesh formed from metal.

Preferably the predetermined distance between the 16 insulating material and the reinforcing member is in 17 the range lmm to 8mm.

19 Preferably the method further includes the step of attaching the reinforcing member and insulating 21 layer to one another by way of a plurality of 22 attachment means prior to the fastening step.

24 Preferably the attachment means comprise a plurality of snap fixtures.

27 According to a fourth aspect of the present 28 invention, there is provided a building block 29 comprising: a layer of insulating material; 31 a pair of reinforcing members sandwiching the 32 insulating material; À c. At:. :. e.: c.

À . À . . . 1 at least one wall fastener fastening the 2 reinforcing members together; and 3 a weatherproofing layer substantially covering 4 the insulating material and reinforcing members; wherein the pair of reinforcing members are 6 spaced a predetermined distance from the insulating 7 material.

9 Preferably the at least one wall fastener is provided with a wall fastener anchor according to 11 the first aspect of the present invention, wherein 12 the anchors are adapted to anchor the wall fastener 13 to the reinforcing members.

Preferably the building block further comprises a 16 mechanical fixing means adapted to fix the block to 17 an adjacent block or structure.

19 Preferably the predetermined distance between the reinforcing members and the insulating material is 21 in the range lmm to 8mm.

23 Preferably the insulating material is an expanded 24 foam insulating material.

26 Preferably the building block further comprises one 27 or more axial spacers located about the wall 28 fasteners.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be 31 described, by way of example only, with reference to 32 the accompanying drawings, in which: e':. ':. :: '.

. . . . 2 Fig. 1 is a top view of the anchor in accordance 3 with the present invention) 4 Fig. 2 is a cross sectional side view of the anchor of Fig. 1 along line II-II; 6 Fig. 3 a side view of the anchor of Fig. 1 in the 7 direction shown by arrow III; 8 Figs. 4 (a) and 4 (b) are in-use top views of the wall 9 fastener anchor being applied to a mesh; Fig. 5 is an perspective in- use view of the wall 11 fastener anchor being applied to a mesh; 12 Fig. 6 is an in-use side view of the wall fastener 13 anchor as part of an external wall insulation; 14 Fig.7 is a perspective cut-away view of a wall fastener anchor as part of an external wall 16 insulation; and 17 Fig. 8 is an in-use side view of the wall fastener 18 anchor as part of a building block.

Referring to the drawings, a wall fastener anchor 10 21 comprises an elongate body portion 12 having a 22 longitudinal axis 13, and a flange member 14 formed 23 integrally with one another. Although it should be 24 noted that the elongate body portion 12 and the flange member 14 may be formed separately from one 26 another.

28 As best seen in Fig. 2, the body portion 12 has a 29 first bore portion 16, a second bore portion 18, a first end 20, a second end 22 and a shoulder 31 receiving recess, or abutment 24.

::. .. :e:. t.

. . À . . À 1 The body portion 12 has an inward taper 26 in the 2 direction of the second end 22 such that the body 3 portion 12 has a reduced diameter at the second end 4 22.

6 The diameter of the first bore portion 16 is greater 7 than that of the second bore portion 18 such that a 8 shoulder receiving recess 24 is created which is 9 adapted to receive a wall fastener. The second bore portion 18 may be threaded (not shown) to receive a 11 wall fastener.

13 As best seen in Fig. 1, the flange member 14 is 14 annular with an outer peripheral edge 28, a first surface 30, a second surface 32, a pair of first 16 projections 34 and a pair of second projections 36.

18 The first bore portion 16 of the body portion 12 19 goes through the flange member 14.

21 The flange member 14 has perforations 38 for 22 allowing weatherproofing material to pass through 23 the flange portion 14 upon rendering. Although it 24 should be appreciated that the flange member 14 may be formed without perforations 38.

27 The first and second pairs of projections 34, 36 are 28 formed integrally with the outer peripheral edge 28 29 of the flange member 14. Although it should be appreciated that the first and second pairs of 31 projections 34, 36 may be formed separately from the 32 flange member 14.

t. ':. :. ::.

< . ' 2 The first and second pairs of projections 34, 36 are 3 rotationally offset from one another about the 4 longitudinal axis 13 by 90 degrees. Although it should be appreciated that the first and second 6 pairs of projections 34, 36 may be rotationally 7 offset from one another by any angle between O 8 degrees and 90 degrees.

As best seen in Fig. 3, the first pair of 11 projections 34 define a first pair of engagement 12 surfaces 40 the normals of which are substantially 13 parallel to the longitudinal axis 13 and face in a 14 first direction towards the body portion 12.

16 The second pair of projections 36 define a second 17 pair of engagement surfaces 42 the normals of which 18 are substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis 19 13 and face in a second direction substantially opposite to the first direction. The surfaces 42 of 21 the second pair of projections 36 have chamfered 22 edges 44, 46. As best seen in Figs. 3 and 1, the 23 chamfered edges 44, 46 face in the same rotational 24 direction relative to the longitudinal axis 13.

26 The preferred material of construction of the wall 27 anchor 10 is polypropylene, although other polymers 28 or plastics may be used.

With reference to Figs. 4(a), 4 (b), 5, 6 and 7, in 31 operation the wall fastener anchor 10 is mounted by 32 the first and second pairs of projections 34, 36 to c.e el:. te- ::.e ' te: 1 a reinforcing member, or a mesh 48 consisting of 2 lower horizontal wires 50 and upper vertical wires 3 52. The mounting of the wall fastener anchor 10 to 4 the mesh 48 is accomplished by firstly placing the wall fastener anchor 10 in the mesh 48 in a manner 6 such that the first and second pairs of projections 7 34, 36 are adjacent the lower horizontal and upper 8 vertical wires 50, 52 respectively. Then the anchor 9 10 is rotated clockwise about the longitudinal axis 13 such that the first pair of projections 34 11 impinge upon the lower horizontal wires 50 and the 12 chamfered edges 44, 46 of the second pair of 13 projections 36 impinge upon the upper vertical wires 14 52 of the mesh 48 and lift the upper vertical wires 52 of the mesh 48 onto the second pair of engagement 16 surfaces 42. In this position the anchor 10 is held 17 fixed to the mesh 48 by equal and opposite forces 18 working on the first and second pairs of engagement 19 surfaces 40, 42 respectively. As best seen in Fig. 6, when the anchor 10 is mounted to the mesh 48, the 21 first surface 30 of the flange member 14 is 22 substantially flush with the mesh 48. The mesh 48 23 is then applied to an insulating material 54 mounted 24 on a wall 56. A wall fastener 58 is then passed through the anchor 10 such that the shoulder 26 receiving recess 24 receives a shoulder 60 of the 27 wall fastener 58 at a predetermined countersunk 28 depth. The wall fastener 58 is preferably made from 29 a fire resistant material, e.g. metal. However, it should be appreciated that the wall fastener 58 31 could be made from any suitable fire resistant 32 material. 1

e: : : : e 2 The wall fastener 58 is then connected to the wall 3 56 such that the insulation material 54 is held in 4 place by the mesh 48 in a manner which spaces the mesh 48 from the insulation material 54. Preferably 6 the mesh 48 is spaced from the insulating material 7 54 by a gap 64 between 1 mm and 4 mm. However, this 8 gap 64 may be increased to 8 mm with the use of an 9 axial spacer (not shown). The gap 64 between 1 mm and 4 mm (up to 8 mm) is preferable, as layers of 11 weatherproofing (or rendering) are typically between 12 2 mm and 16 mm thick. Thus, by spacing the mesh 48 13 from the insulating material 54 by between 1 mm and 14 8 mm ensures that the mesh 48 is positioned substantially in the middle of the rendered layer 16 such that it acts as a reinforcing member.

18 The mesh 48 is then rendered with at least one layer 19 of weatherproofing material 62. The configuration of the mesh 48 being spaced from the insulating 21 material 54 by a gap 64 allows the weatherproofing 22 material 62 to use the mesh 48 as a structural 23 reinforcement, since the weatherproofing material 62 24 can pass through the mesh 48 and form about it.

26 Although the anchor 10 has been described as being 27 used to apply layers of insulating material to 28 walls, it could also be used to create complete wall 29 insulation systems, or building blocks. As illustrated in Fig. 8, in this case sections of mesh 31 48, pre-fitted with anchors 10 in the same manner as 32 described above, are used to enclose layers of t. #e t:' . t:e À . À . . À 1 insulating material 54. The anchors 10 are aligned 2 in such a manner that a wall fastener 58 may be 3 passed through one anchor 10 on one section of mesh 4 48 and connect and engage with a bolt 61 on a corresponding anchor 10 on an opposite section of 6 mesh 48 to hold the insulating material 54 between 7 the sections of mesh 48 and to space the mesh 48 8 from the insulating material 54 by a gap 64 in a 9 similar manner as above. The tops and sides of the block are then capped to form a building block. The 11 mesh sections 48 are then rendered with at least one 12 layer of weatherproofing material 62 to form a mesh 13 48 reinforced building block for a wall insulating 14 system.

16 The building blocks are typically 2400 mm x 1200 mm 17 x 200 mm. Although it should be appreciated that 18 the building blocks could have larger or smaller 19 dimensions than those detailed above.

21 To aid location of corresponding anchors 10 and to 22 increase the gap 64 between the mesh 48 and the 23 insulating material 54, axial spacers (not shown) 24 may be connected about the wall fasteners 58 between the anchors 10. The gap 64 between the mesh 48 and 26 the insulating material 54 may be increased to 20 mm 27 in this manner.

29 The building block may also comprise a mechanical fixing (not shown) for connecting the block to other 31 blocks or structures.

:e c:. :. : e À . 1 The anchor 10 therefore obviates or mitigates the 2 disadvantages of previous proposals by firstly, 3 using the rotationally offset first and second pairs 4 of projections 34, 36 to space the mesh 48 from the insulating material 54 by a gap 64 through the 6 balance of equal and opposite forces which allows 7 the mesh 48 to be used as a structural reinforcement 8 to the rendered layers of weatherproofing material 9 62. Secondly, the positioning of the first and second pairs of projections 34, 36 about the outer 11 peripheral edge 28 of the flange member 14 allows 12 the anchor 10 to be mounted flush with the mesh 48 13 and mitigates the problems associated with 14 alternating thickness of rendered layers of weatherproofing material 62. Thirdly, having two 16 cylindrical bore portions 16, 18 in the body portion 17 12 of varying diameter allows a shoulder receiving 18 recess 24 to be created within the body portion 12 19 which allows a wall fastener 58 to be countersunk to a depth which creates a sufficient thermal barrier 21 between the wall fixing 58 and the weatherproofing 22 material 62.

24 Modifications and improvements may be made to the above without departing from the scope of the 26 present invention. Although the flange member 14 of 2 7 the anchor 10 has been described above as having a 28 first and second pair of projections 34, 36, which 29 correspondingly define first and second engagement surfaces 40, 42, it should be appreciated that the 31 flange member 14 itself may simply define a first 32 engagement surface and a second engagement surface À 't #at t'; 1 which face in substantially opposite directions with 2 respect to the longitudinal axis. Also, although 3 the flange member 14 has been described above as 4 having a pair of first and second projections 34, 36, it should be appreciated that flange member 14 6 may only have one first projection and one second 7 projection. Also, although the first and second 8 pairs of projections 34, 36 have been described 9 above as being diametrically opposed, it should be appreciated that they could be rotationally offset 11 from one another by any angle between O degrees and 12 90 degrees. Also, although the second engagement 13 surfaces 42 have been described above as being 14 chamfered, it should be appreciated that they may also be formed without chamfers 44, 46. Also, 16 although the mesh 48 has been described above as 17 being mounted to the insulation material 54 and wall 18 56 with the anchor 10 already in place, the mesh 48 19 could be mounted with the insulation material 54 to the wall 56 prior to the mounting of the anchor 10.

21 In this case a series of snap fixtures (not shown) 22 are used to mount the insulation material 54 and 23 mesh 48 to the wall 56. The snap fixtures are 24 mounted within the wall 56 and pass through the insulation material 54 to allow the mesh 48 to be 26 clipped to their outer end portion. The snap 27 fixtures allow the mesh 48 to be held in place and 28 positioned on the wall 56 prior to the anchor(s) 10 29 being fitted. The snap fixtures also act as an additional spacer that maintain a pre-determined gap 31 between the insulation material 54 and the mesh 48 32 at areas between anchors 10. Furthermore, although I' tee t' : :.

1 the mesh 48 has been described above as being spaced 2 from the insulating material 54 by between 1 mm and 3 8 mm, it should be appreciated that this distance 4 could be increased to any amount by the use of axial spacers, or the like.

Claims

À. ::. . :e::..

À e. À 16.

1 Claims 3 1. A wall fastener anchor comprising: 4 an elongate body portion having a longitudinal axis and a bore adapted to receive and engage a wall 6 fastener; and 7 a flange member having at least one first 8 engagement surface facing in a first direction and 9 at least one second engagement surface facing in a second direction which is substantially opposite to 11 said first direction.

13 2. A wall fastener anchor as claimed in Claim 1, 14 wherein the flange member is located adjacent one end of said body portion and projects radially 16 outwardly from the body portion in a plane 17 substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 18 of the body portion.

3. A wall fastener anchor as claimed in either 21 Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the flange member has at 22 least one first projection and one second projection 23 projecting radially outwardly from the circumference 24 thereof, and wherein the first and second engagement surfaces are formed on the first and second 26 projections.

28 4. A wall fastener anchor as claimed in Claim 3, 29 wherein the flange member has a pair of first projections and a pair of second projections, and 31 wherein a corresponding pair of first engagement 32 surfaces are formed on the pair of first projections ce ee e.e be.. e.

de A. 1 and a corresponding pair of second engagement 2 surfaces are formed on the pair of second 3 projections...CLME: 5. A wall fastener anchor as claimed in Claim 4, 6 wherein the flange member is an annular member, and 7 wherein the first pair of projections are 8 substantially diametrically opposed to one another 9 on the flange member, and the second pair of projections are substantially diametrically opposed 11 to one another on the flange member.

13 6. A wall fastener anchor as claimed either Claim 14 4 or Claim 5, wherein the first and second pairs of projections are rotationally offset from one another 16 about the longitudinal axis by substantially 90 17 degrees.

19 7. A wall fastener anchor as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the bore has a first 21 portion and a second portion, wherein the first 22 portion has a greater diameter than the second 23 portion.

8. A wall fastener anchor as claimed in Claim 7, 26 wherein the first and second portions of the bore 27 define an abutment adapted to engage the head of a 28 wall fastener.

9. A wall fastener anchor as claimed in Claim 8, 31 wherein the abutment is longitudinally spaced from 32 an end of the body portion.

a.:. ce. :.. À .. .' 2 10. A wall fastener anchor as claimed in any of 3 Claims 7 to 9, wherein the second portion of the 4 bore is threaded.

6 11. A wall fastener anchor as claimed in any 7 preceding claim, wherein the body portion has first 8 and second ends, and wherein the flange member is 9 located adjacent a first end of the body portion and wherein at least a portion of the body portion 11 tapers longitudinally outwardly from the second end 12 of the body portion towards the first end.

14 12. A wall fastener anchor as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the body portion and flange 16 member are integrally formed.

18 13. A wall fastener anchor as claimed in any 19 preceding claim, wherein the flange member is provided with one or more apertures therethrough.

22 14. A wall fastener anchor as claimed in any 23 preceding claim, wherein the at least one second 24 engagement surface has a chamfered edge.

26 15. A wall fastener anchor as claimed in any 27 preceding claim, wherein the anchor further 28 comprises an axial spacer adapted to abut the flange 29 member.

e::' . t:e '' À . . 1 16. A wall fastener anchor as claimed in any 2 preceding claim, wherein the anchor is manufactured 3 from a plastics material.

17. A wall fastener for fastening a reinforcing 6 member to a wall, the wall fastener including a wall 7 fastener anchor in accordance with any preceding 8 claim.

18. A method of cladding a surface, the method 11 comprising the steps of: 12 forming at least one layer of insulating 13 material; 14 fastening at least one reinforcing member and the at least one layer of insulating material to the 16 surface such that the at least one reinforcing 17 member lies a predetermined distance from the 18 insulating material; and 19 covering the reinforcing member and insulating material with a layer of weatherproofing material.

22 19. A method of cladding a surface as claimed in 23 Claim 18, wherein the at least one reinforcing 24 member and the at least one insulating layer are fastened to the surface by a plurality of wall 2 6 fasteners.

28 20. A method of cladding a surface as claimed in 29 either Claim 18 or Claim 19, wherein each of the plurality of wall fasteners includes a wall fastener 31 anchor in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 16.

. ::e.. :e:: À . . . . À 1 21. A method of cladding a surface as claimed in 2 any of Claims 18 to 20, wherein the at least one 3 reinforcing member is a mesh formed from metal.

22. A method of cladding a surface as claimed in 6 any of Claims 18 to 21, wherein the predetermined 7 distance between the insulating material and the 8 reinforcing member is in the range lmm to 8mm.

23. A method of cladding a surface as claimed in 11 any of Claims 18 to 22, wherein the method further 12 includes the step of attaching the reinforcing 13 member and insulating layer to one another by way of 14 a plurality of attachment means prior to the fastening step.

17 24. A method of cladding a surface as claimed in 18 Claim 23, wherein the attachment means comprise a 19 plurality of snap fixtures.

21 25. A building block comprising: 22 a layer of insulating material; 23 a pair of reinforcing members sandwiching the 24 insulating material; at least one wall fastener fastening the 26 reinforcing members together; and 27 a weatherproofing layer substantially covering 28 the insulating material and reinforcing members; 29 wherein the pair of reinforcing members are spaced a predetermined distance from the insulating 31 material.

e::e. . :. :-:.

À . . À À 1 26. A building block as claimed in Claim 25, 2 wherein the at least one wall fastener is provided 3 with a wall fastener anchor according to any of 4 Claims 1 to 16 at either end thereof, wherein the anchors are adapted to anchor the wall fastener to 6 the reinforcing members.

8 27. A building block as claimed in either Claim 25 9 or Claim 26, wherein the building block further comprises a mechanical fixing means adapted to fix 11 the block to an adjacent block or structure.

13 28. A building block as claimed in any of Claims 25 14 to 27, wherein the predetermined distance between the reinforcing members and the insulating material 16 is in the range lmm to 8mm.

18 29. A building block as claimed in any of Claims 25 19 to 28, wherein the insulating material is an expanded foam insulating material.

22 30. A building block as claimed in any of Claims 25 23 to 29, wherein the block further comprises one or 24 more axial spacers located about the at least one wall fastener.

27 31. A wall fastener anchor as herein described with 28 reference to the accompanying drawings.

32. A wall fastener as herein described with 31 reference to the accompanying drawings.

ce Gil: . .: À-: À À c.

c c: À 1 33. A method of cladding a surface as herein 2 described with reference to the accompanying 3 drawings.

34. A building block as herein described with 6 reference to the accompanying drawings.