GB2476170A

GB2476170A - Trim strip device between a floor covering and a wall covering

Info

Publication number: GB2476170A
Application number: GB1021091A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Martin Cook; Richard Gardner
Original assignee: EASIBATHE Ltd
Current assignee: EASIBATHE Ltd
Priority date: 2009-12-11
Filing date: 2010-12-13
Publication date: 2011-06-15
Also published as: GB2476170A8; GB201021091D0; GB0921683D0

Abstract

The device comprises a body with wall engaging portion 102, a wall covering engaging portion 106, a floor engaging portion 104, a floor covering engaging portion 108 and a flange 110 for covering the junction between at least the wall engaging portion and wall covering engaging portion or the floor engaging portion and floor covering engaging portion. In use the floor engaging portion is placed in a position between the wall 120 and a vertical plane 124 defined by the part of the flange furthest from the wall. The device may have a uniform cross section formed by extrusion. The floor engaging member may be tapered. Also claimed is a device where the flange portion is a separate component and can be attached to the rest of the body during installation. In use, the strip preferably forms a seal between tiled walls and vinyl floors.

Description

A DEVICE FOR CREATING A JUNCTION BETWEEN A FLOOR COVERING

MATERIAL AND A WALL COVERING MATERIAL

The present invention relates to a device for creating a junction between a floor covering material and a wall covering material, and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to capping strips used to join tiled walls to vinyl floors in wet rooms and showers.

For ease of cleaning it is well known for a room, such as a bathroom or a wet room allowing level access to a shower and other similar facilities, to be provided with a vinyl (or other flexible waterproof material) floor that extends partially up the wall of the room where It meets a tiled surface. At the junction between the vinyl floor and the tiles, a capping strip is provided in order to make a neat junction between the two covering materials and examples of these capping strips are shown in figures 1 and 2.

In figure 1 the capping strip 10 provides a junction between a wall covering, in this example this is a waterproof board 12, formed of a plastic material, and a flexible, typically vinyl, flooring material 14. The capping strip 10 is attached to a wall 16 using an adhesive or screws and a wallboard 12 engages an upper surface 18. The edge of floor cover 14 is hidden behind a flange 20 and a curved coving support 22 supports the flooring material at the junction between the wall 16 and floor 24.

Such an arrangement has the disadvantage that the capping strip is difficult to locate correctly on the wall.

Furthermore, waiting for adhesives to dry delays the time before the wall covering can be added.

In the capping strip 30, shown in figure 2, the curved portion 32, equivalent to coving, 22 is formed integrally with a planar portion 34 thereby removing the need for separate curving portion 22 and capping strip 10 as seen in figure 1. However, this capping strip has similar disadvantages to that shown in figure 1 and has the further disadvantage that the capping strip is difficult to install on uneven floor surfaces or floor surfaces where a drainage slope is included, such as a shower.

Traditionally tiles have been used as the wall covering around shower areas. However, waterproof wall hoards ar increasingly used to form a waterproof barrier over a wall.

Such boards have the advantage that they are quick and clean to install using little adhesive and no grout. Some board fixing systems use an adhesive free locking mechanism that requires each board to move out of the plane of the wall it is to protect. As a result, boards cannot be simply slotted into place.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to

overcome the above disadvantages of the prior art.

According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a device for creating a junction between a floor covering material and a wall covering material, the device comprising a body having:-a wall engaging portion for engaging a substantially vertical surface; a floor engaging portion for engaging a substantiaily horizontal surface; a wall cover engaging portion for engaging a wall covering material; a floor cover engaging portion for engaging a floor covering material; and a flange for at least partially covering the junction between the floor cover and the floor cover engaging portion and/or the wall cover and the wall cover engaging portion, wherein in use said floor engaging portion engages said horizontal surface within a volume defined by a vertical plane extending from a front most surface of said flange and said substantially vertical surface.

By locating the floor engaging portion of the device within a volume defined by the front face of the flange and the wall, the advantage is provided that the device is able to support any weight exerted on it by for example a wall covering board. Addition of the wall covering board therefore does not require an adhesive used to stick the device to a wall to be dry and indeed the sticking of the device to the wall is significantly simplified since the adhesive or screw attachments are not weight bearing.

Furthermore, on a sloping floor the floor engaging portion can be cut so as to follow the slope thereby maintaining a horizontal wall covering engaging portion. On an uneven flooring sections of the floor engaging portion can be cut away with negligibie effect on the support provided by the device.

In a preferred enthodiment the body tapers to said floor engaging portion.

By providing a taper to the floor engaging portion the advantage is provided that the body adjacent the floor engaging portion is easier to cut thereby making adjustment of the device simple for the Installer.

In another preferred embodiment the wall engaging portion comprises at least one extension portion extending perpendicular to said body.

The extension portions provide the advantage that the floor engaging portion is located slightly away from the wall. This has two major effects, firstly by moving slightly away from the wail, it decreases the chances of having to deal with uneven surfaces that are more likely at the junction between the wall and the floor. Secondly, it increases the stability of the capping strip by the transferring weight of the wail board to a line below the centre of the thickness of the board rather than closer to one edge.

In a preferred embodiment the floor cover engaging portion is adapted to engage a floor cover having a first thickness and said wall cover engaging portion is adapted to engage a wall cover having a second thickness and said first thickness is less than said second thickness.

By having extension portions extending perpendicular to the body the advantage is provided that a thick waterproof wallboard or thick tile can be used in conjunction with a thinner vinyl floor with the extension portions making up the difference in spaoe. This provides a substantially planar and aesthetically pleasing junction between the floor cover and wall cover. In situations where the thickness of the wallboard is apparent, for example if it does not extend to the full height of the room, this gives the impression that an equally thick flooring material is used without the need to use such a heavy duty material, thereby avoiding the difficulties of handling such materials.

In a further preferred embodiment the body has a substantially regular cross-section and is formed by extrusion.

In another preferred embodiment the flange is formed as a separate component from the remainder of said body and can be attached to the remainder of the body after installation.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a device for creating a junction between a floor covering material and a wall covering material, the device comprising:-a body having a wall engaging portion for engaging a substantially vertical surface, a wall cover engaging portion for engaging a wall covering material and a floor cover engaging portion for engaging a floor covering material; and a flange for at least partially covering the junction between the floor cover and the floor cover engaging portion and/or the wall cover and the wall cover engaging portion, wherein said flange is formed as a separate component from the remainder of said body and can be attached to the remainder of the body during installation.

By forming the flange separately from the remainder of the body the advantage is provided that the device can be used in conjunction with wall boards that extend up to the ceiling of the room in which the device is being used.

The device may further comprise a floor engaging portion for engaging a substantially horizontal surface.

The device may further comprise fixing means for fixing the device relative to the wall.

In a preferred embodiment at least one of said flange and said body comprise a pair of ribs extending along their length and the other of said flange and said body comprises a single rib adapted to engage said ribs ad thereby hold said flange and body in engagement with each other.

In another preferred embodiment the ribs include engaging protrusions adapted to engage other protrusions on the other ribs.

The protrusions may comprise further smaller ribs.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only, and not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings in whioh:-Figure 1 is an example of a capping strip of the prior arty Figure 2 is an example of another capping strip of the

prior art;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a device of the present invention showing the front surfaces; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the device of figure 3 showing the rear surfaces; Figure 5 is a sectional view of the device of figure 3; Figure 6 is a perspective view of another device of the present invention with a froht strip removed; Figure 7 is a sectional view of the device of figure 6; Figure 8 is a perspective view of the device of figure 6 with the front strip in place; and Figure 9 is a section view of the device of figure 8.

Referring to figures 3 to 5, a device, in the form of a cap strip 100 has a body of uniform cross-section formed by an extrusion process. The cap strip 100 includes wall engaging portions 102 and a floor engaging portion, in the form of bottom edge 104. The cap strip 100 also has a wall cover engaging portion, in the form of first recess 106 into which an edge of a wallboard or tiles (not shown) are located. The cap strip also has a floor cover engaging portion, in the form of second recess 108 into which an edge of a floor covering such as a waterproof vinyl flooring (not shown) is located. The front most faces of the first and second recesses 106 and 108 together form a flange 110 that covers the junction between the wall covering and first recess 106 and the floor covering and second recess 108.

The body of the capping strip extends from the first recess 106 to the bottom edge 104 having substantially linear front and rear surfaces 112 and 114 that taper towards each other as they near the bottom edge 104. The front surface 112 has a recess line 116 which is used for locating and tapping fixing screws if they are used. The rear surface 114 has extension portions 118 that connect the rear surface 114 to the wall engaging portions 102.

Use of the cap strip 100 will now be described. The cap strip 100 is placed against a substantially vertical surface, such as a wail so that the wall engaging portions 102 touch the wall 120 and at the same time the bottom edge 104 engages a floor surface 122. 21 spirit level can be laid onto flange 110 in order to determine that the cap strip is sitting horizontally. If the cap strip 100 is not sitting horizontally the bottom most portion of the body, adjacent bottom edge 104 can be cut away to create a new bottom edge in order to ensure horizontal alignment of the cap strip 100.

Once the orientation of cap strip 100 is correct the cap strip can be attached to wail 120. This can be achieved by applying an adhesive to one or more of the wall engaging portions 102 and/or by applying a self tapping screw through the front surface 112 using groove 116, the self tapping screw extending into the wall 120.

The attachment of the cap strip 100 to wall 120 does not need to be particularly strong since the major force exerted on the cap strip 100 is a vertically downward force applied through first recess 106 as a waterproof wallboard is added to the cap strip 100. Any weight of the wallboard is transferred through the first recess 106 and through the remainder of the body between front and rear surfaces 112 and 114 through to the bottom edge 104 where it engages floor 122. Because the bottom edge 104 Is located within a volume defined by the front surface of flange 110 and wall 120, the weight of the wallboard on cap strip 100 is transferred through the vertical portion of the body between surfaces 112 and 114 directly into the floor 122. If the bottom edge 104 extended beyond the front surface of flange 110, as indicated by the dashed line 124, the weighty of the wallboard in recess 106 would tend to push bottom edge 104 further away from wall 120 (this is equivalent to the prior art shown in figure 2 With the cap strip 100 in position a wallboard can be added into first recess 106 and the wallboard attached to the wall 120. A flexible waterproof flooring material can also be placed on floor 122 and edges of the floor extended up into second recess 108. A support coving (not shown) can be positioned under the flooring and adjacent the cap strip 100 in order to support the curved edge of the flooring as it extends up from floor surface 122 into second recess 108.

In the example shown, the wallboard that sits in first recess 106 is thicker than the flooring material that extends into second recess 108. However, if the wallboard and flooring material were of a similar thickness the first and second recesses could be of a similar thickness and the * -10-extension portions 118 removed so that the rear surface 114 becomes the wall engaging portion 102.

Typically the cap strip is formed by extrusion of a thermoplastic material such as rigid PVC. The above cap strip is equally suitable for use with tiles, such as ceramic bathroom tiles as with the waterproof wallboards described.

If the floor surface that the cap strip is being placed against is uneven, sections of the tapered portion, adjacent edge 104, can be cut away. In fact quite long sections of the edge 104 can be cut away and it is not necessary for the cut edge to engage the uneven floor surface since the weight of the wall board is distributed to sections of the edge 104 that remain in connect with the floor.

Referring to figures 6 to 9, in which parts in common with those in figures 3 to S have been indicated with like reference numerals increased by 100, the cap strip in this embodiment differs from that illustrated in figures 3 to 5, in that the front surface flange 210 is removable from the remainder, or body 230, of the device. The flange 210 and body 230 are connected by the rib 232 and slot 234 fixing.

In the embodiment shown the rib 232 is located on the front surface flange 210 and the slot is formed from a pair of further ribs 236. Alternatively the rib 232 could be on the body 230 and the slot 234 (and ribs 236) on the front surface flange 210. The surfaces of single rib 232 and pair of ribs 236 have further much smaller ribs extending along the length of the cap strip. These ribs act like barbs to help maintain the flange 210 in place and indeed can be shaped like barbs making it easier to press the flange into place than remove it.

The embodiment of the invention is particularly designed for use with waterproof waliboards. When installing a wallboard that extends all the way to the ceiling it can be difficult to manoeuvre the board over the fixed front surface flange 110. However, in the embodiment shown in the figures 6 to 9 the board can be slid into place without having to go vertically above the front surface flange 210.

The board can still be supported on the upper of ribs 236 providing the advantages of the present invention set out above and once in place the front surface flange 210 can be added to the cap strip 200 to complete it by covering the join between the wall board and the cap strip, therefore creating an aesthetically pleasing finish. The separate flange 210 can equally be used with a cap strip that does not include the bottom edge 204 that engages the floor below the first recess 206 and is. instead fixed to the wall by adhesive or is screwed to the wall.

The above embodiments have been described by way of example only, and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, the flange 110 need not extend in up and downward directions. It is generally preferable to cover the cut edge between the vinyl flooring and the cap strip since this means that the cut edge of the vinyl flooring is hidden. The same applies to the edge of a wall board. The flange also helps locate the wall board in the recess 106 and forces the board and cap strip together where the wall they are attached to is uneven.

Claims

Claims 1. A device for creating a junction between a floor covering material and a wall covering material, the device comprising a body having:-a wall engaging portion for engaging a substantially vertical surface; a floor engaging portion for engaging a substantially horizontal surface; a wall cover engaging portion for engaging a wall covering material; a floor cover engaging portion for engaging a floor covering material; and a flange for at least partially covering the junction between the floor cover and the floor cover engaging portion and/or the wall cover and the wall cover engaging portion, wherein in use said floor engaging portion engages said horizontal surface within a volume defined by a vertical plane extending from a front most surface of said flange and said substantially vertical surface.
2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said body tapers to said floor engaging portion.
3. A device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said wall engaging portion comprises at least one extension portion extending perpendicular to said body.
4. A device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said floor cover engaging portion is adapted to engage a floor cover having a first thickness and said wall cover engaging portion is adapted to engage a wall cover having a second thickness and said first thickness is less than said second thickness.
5. A device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said body has a substantially regular cross-section and is formed by extrusion.
6. A device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said flange is formed as a separate component from the remainder of said body and can be attached to the remainder of the body during installation.
7. A device for creating a junction between a floor covering material and a wall covering material substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to figure 3 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.
8. A device for creating a junction between a floor covering material and a wall covering material, the device comprising:-a body having a wall engaging portion for engaging a substantially vertical surface, a wall cover engaging portion for engaging a wall covering material and a floor cover engaging portion for engaging a floor covering materialT and a flange for at least partially covering the junction between the floor cover and the floor cover engaging portion and/or the wall cover and the wall cover engaging portion, wherein said flange is formed as a separate component from the remainder of said body and can be attached to the remainder of the body during installation.
9. A device according to claim 8, further comprising a floor engaging portion for engaging a substantially horizontal surface.
10. A device according to claim 8, further comprising fixing means for fixing the device relative to the wall.
11. A device according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein at least one of said flange and said body comprise a pair of ribs extending along their length and the other of said flange and said body comprises a single rib adapted to engage said ribs ad thereby hold said flange and body in engagement with each other
12. A device according to claim 11, wherein said ribs include engaging protrusions adapted to engage other protrusions on the other ribs.
13. A device according to claim 12, wherein said protrusions comprises further smaller ribs.