GB2503975A

GB2503975A - Insulated window sill

Info

Publication number: GB2503975A
Application number: GB201308280A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Cameron Challinor
Original assignee: Manthorpe Building Products Ltd
Current assignee: Manthorpe Building Products Ltd
Priority date: 2012-05-18
Filing date: 2013-05-08
Publication date: 2014-01-15
Also published as: GB201308280D0; GB201208836D0

Abstract

An elongate hollow structure made of plastic or possibly PVC, which can be used as an insulated window cill 10, specifically an under-sill, and may have end caps or covers for the body 20. The window sill can have thermal insulation 24, such as expanded polystyrene or mineral fibre wool, between support members that define chambers 22. There may be a thermoplastic elastometer seal 32 and there may be a mounting plate 26 to fix the sill to a wall using screws through holes 28 in the mounting plate. The sill may also have a projection 54 to fit in a recess 56 in a window frame 58. The sill may also have a gentle inclination and a lip 30.

Description

Buildinn Product This invention relates to a building product, and particularly a building product which can be used as a window cill.

There is an ever increasing desire and requirement to reduce the energy consumption of buildings. With existing buildings many steps are being taken to increase their efficiency. With external walls where the walls have an internal cavity, these are often filled with insulating material. Such an arrangement is however not possible for instance for buildings with solid walls. In this instance insulation is often mounted onto the inside or outside of the walls.

Typically with a residential property if insulating the outside of the building, an insulation material of a thickness of between 60 and 110mm is applied to the exterior walls. The insulation material is covered with a render system with a thickness of around 10mm. This can give an additional thickness of up to around 120mm.

A standard external window cill protrudes from the face of the wall by approximately 35mm. This would therefore not cover such external insulation which may be applied to the building. An option to overcome this is to move the window outwardly but this can involve a significant amount of work and hence cost. A further approach has been to provide over or under cills made of metal. Such bespoke metal cills can however be a relatively expensive product.

If insulating materials are applied to the interior face of building walls, these would generally be covered by plasterboard or another covering. With such internal insulation this will generally mean that the existing window cill or window board will not cover the top of the insulation material.

According to the present invention there is provided a building product, the product comprising an elongate member which can be used as a window cill, with the elongate member being of sufficient width to extend over and beyond an insulating layer and a covering layer applied to a wall immediately below the window, the building product being made of plastics material and in the form of a body with a hollow structure including an uppermost structural part.

The building product may include thermal insulation material located within atleasta part of the interior of the body.

The building product may be made by extrusion, and may be made by cutting a length of plastics material extrusion to a required length.

End covers may be provided to cover ends of the body, and the end covers may snap fit on the ends of the body.

The building product may be made of PVC.

The body may have a box section configuration.

The thermal insulation material may be expanded polystyrene or may be mineral fibre wool.

In one arrangement the body comprises upper and lower faces spaced from each other, with a structural thermal insulating material between the lower and upper faces providing support therebetween. The upper and lower faces may be joined at their outer edges by a fold in the plastics material which provides the upper and lower faces.

In a further arrangement a plurality of support members extend downwardly from the uppermost structural part, and the thermal insulation material is located between the support members.

In a first embodiment the building product is usable on the outside of a building, and the building product is mountable to an outer wall immediately below an existing cill, with the product extendable outwardly therebeyond.

The building product may include a seal at the proximal end of an upper face to engage with the underside of the existing cill to prevent ingress of moisture inbetween.

The seal may include a length of a thermoplastic elastomer.

The building product may include a mounting part fixable in use to a wall, from which the mounting part of the body extends.

The mounting part may be in the form of a plate mountable to a wall, and a plurality of mounting holes may be provided through the plate.

The plate may extend downwardly from a proximal end of the product.

The building product may be configured such that when the mounting part is fixed to a vertical wall, an upper face extends outwardly and at a gentle inclination downwardly therefrom.

A downwardly extended lip may be provided on the underside of the distal end of the product to guide water away therefrom.

In a second embodiment the building product is usable in the inside of a building to extend over part of an external wall and insulation applied to the interior side of the external wall.

A formation may be provided on a proximal end of the product engageable with the window frame. The formation may be an elongate projection engageable with a recess in the window frame, and the elongate projection may be an extension of an upper face of the product.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: -Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a first building product according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic sectional perspective view of the product of Fig.1; Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view of the product of Fig. I in use; Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic sectional perspective view of the product of Fig. 1 in use; Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic sectional perspective view of a second building product according to the invention; Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic sectional perspective view of the product of Fig. 5 in use; and Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic sectional view of the second product of Fig. 5 in use.

Figs. 1 to 4 show a first building product 10 usable to provide an external window cill when insulation has been provided on the exterior of a building. The external insulation 12 is shown in Figs. 3 and 4 on the outside of a building wall 14 with a conventional window cill 16 resting on the wall 14. An outer render layer 18 is provided on the insulation 12.

The product 10 is formed by extruding a plastics material such as PVC, and cutting a required length thereof for a particular window. The product 10 comprises a body 20 of relatively thin rectangular section in the form of box section with two cells 22. The cells 22 are filled with an insulating material 24 which may be for example expanded polystyrene.

On a proximal edge of the body 20 a mounting plate 26 is provided which extends downwardly therefrom and includes a plurality of mounting holes 28. On a lower distal end of the body 20 a downwardly extending extension 30 is provided to take any drips away from the product 10. On an upper face of the body 20 at a proximal edge thereof, an elongate seal 32 is provided, which is in the form of a strip of thermoplastic elastomer.

In use, the product 10 can be mounted to the external face of the wall 14 immediately below the cill 16 such that the seal 32 provides a seal to prevent ingress of water between the product 10 and cill 16. As can be seen the body 20 extends at a little less than 90° to the mounting plate 16 such that when the mounting plate 16 is fixed to the wall 14 the body 20 extends outwardly and slopes gently downwardly. The body 20 is of sufficient width to fully cover the insulation layer 12 and render layer 18 and to extend therebeyond so as to direct water there away from. End caps (not shown) are provided for the first building product 10 to close the ends of the cells 22, and the end caps may be a snap fit on the end of the body 20.

Figs. 5 to 7 show a second building product 34 which is usable where a layer of insulation 36 has been provided on the inner side of a building wall 38, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. A layer of plasterboard 40 is provided on the interior side of the insulation layer 36.

The product 34 comprises a body 42 made by extruding plastics material such as PVC. The body 42 has a relatively narrow rectangular configuration with a box section which defines four inner cells 44 and an outer cell 44, which has a rounded exterior end.

The four inner cells 44 are filled with a thermal insulating material 48 such as expanded polystyrene. The outer cell 46 is not filled as it does not require insulation as it is spaced inwardly of the insulation layer 36 and plaster board 40. To close the ends of the cells 44, 46, the end caps (not shown) may be provided which are a snap fit on the body 42. An upper face 50 of the body 12 extends inwardly for a greater distance than a lower face 52 beyond the innermost cell 44, to define an elongate projection 54. The projection 54 is engageable in a groove 56 conventionally provided on a window frame 58.

In use, if the insulation layer 36 and plaster board 40 are subsequently fitted below an existing window, the existing window cill or window board is removed and replaced by the building product 34. As it can be seen, the product 34 neatly fits in place of the existing window cill or window board, and clearly extends inwardly beyond the insulation layer 36 and plaster board 40.

The product 34 can be mounted in place conventionally using screws or otherwise.

There are thus provided building products which can be used where insulation is subsequently fitted onto a building wall, to cover and protect such insulation in a conventional manner. As the products include insulation they will maintain the wall's insulation, and not form a cold bridge in the wall.

Otherwise for instance if the insulation was not provided the building products would tend to act as a cold bridge, thereby attracting condensation and thus dampness and potential mould.

The products can readily be mounted in place in conventional manners. The products can readily be formed by extrusion, and for instance at least with the second product a single extrusion could for instance produce a pair of products which can be separated following extrusion. As the products are extruded, they can readily be cut to a required length on site or prior to dispatch to site. Whilst providing relatively inexpensive products, these products can be formed to provide conventional and also aesthetically pleasing appearances.

A number of modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, a different number of cells may be provided in the body. Rather than having a box section, the products can be made with upper and lower faces, with a structural insulation material therebetween providing support between the upper and lower layers.

The product may not be hollow, and could comprise a structural upper layer, with insulating material provided underneath or on the underside thereof. Support members, which may have an inverted T shape profile, may extend downwardly from the upper layer, to be engageable against a surface beneath if required. The thermal insulation material may locate between the support members.

Different materials could be used other than those indicated, and for instance the insulation material could be mineral fibre wool or a range of other materials. The insulation material can be located in the products by sliding appropriate shaped solid pieces into the box sections or otherwise.

Alternatively, non solid insulation material may be dispensed or pumped into the product to solidify therein.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

Claims 1. A building product, the product comprising an elongate member which can be used as a window cill, with the elongate member being of sufficient width to extend over and beyond an insulating layer and a covering layer applied to a wall immediately below the window, the building product being made of plastics material and in the form of a body with a hollow structure including an uppermost structural part.
2. A building product according to claim 1, in which the building product includes thermal insulation material located within at least a part of the interior of the body.
3. A building product according to claim 2, in which the thermal insulation material is expanded polystyrene.
4. A building product according to claim 2, in which the thermal insulation material is mineral fibre wool.
5. A building product according to any of the preceding claims, in which the building product is made by extrusion.
6. A building product according to claim 5, in which the building product is made by cutting a length of plastics material extrusion to a required length.
7. A building product according to any of the preceding claims, in which end covers are provided to cover ends of the body.
8. A building product according to claim 7, in which the end covers snap fit on the ends of the body.
9. A building product according to any of the preceding claims, in which the building product is made of PVC.
10. A building product according to any of the preceding claims, in which the body has a box section configuration.
11. A building product according to any of the preceding claims, in which the body comprises upper and lower faces spaced from each other, with a structural thermal insulating material between the lower and upper faces providing support therebetween.
12. A building product according to claim 11, in which the upper and lower faces are joined at their outer edges by a fold in the plastics material which provides the upper and lower faces.
13. A building product according to any of claims I to 10, in which a plurality of support members extend downwardly from the uppermost structural part, and thermal insulation material is located between the support members.
14. A building product according to any of the preceding claims, in which the building product is usable on the outside of a building, and the building product is mountable to an outer wall immediately below an existing cill, with the product extendable outwardly therebeyond.
15. A building product according to claim 14, in which the building product includes a seal at the proximal end of an upper face to engage with the underside of the existing cill to prevent ingress of moisture inbetween.
16. A building product according to claim 15, in which the seal includes a length of thermoplastic elastometer.
17. A building product according to any of claims 14 to 16, in which the building product includes a mounting part fixable in use to a wall, from which mounting part the body extends.
18. A building product according to claim 17, in which the mounting part is in the form of a plate mountable to a wall.
19. A building product according to claim 18, in which a plurality of mounting holes are provided through the plate.
20. A building product according to claims 18 or 19, in which the plate extends downwardly from a proximal end of the product.
21. A building product according to any of claims 17 to 20, in which the building product is configured such that when the mounting part is fixed to a vertical wall, an upper face extends outwardly and at a gentle inclination downwardly therefrom.
22. A building product according to any of claims 14 to 21, in which a downwardly extended lip is provided on the underside of the distal end of the product to guide water away therefrom.
23. A building product according to any of claims 1 to 13, in which the building product is usable in the inside of a building to extend over part of an external wall and insulation applied to the interior side of the external wall.
24. A building product according to claim 23, in which a formation is provided on a proximal end of the product engageable with the window frame.
25. A building product according to claim 24, in which the formation is an elongate projection engageable with a recess in the window frame.
26. A building product according to claim 25, in which the elongate projection is an extension of an upper face of the product.
27. A building product substantially is hereinbefore described and with reference to figs. 1 -4 of the accompanying drawings.
28. A building product substantially is hereinbefore described and with reference to figs. 5 -7 of the accompanying drawings.
29. Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter disclosed herein, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.