US3029560A - Building clip - Google Patents

Description

April 17, 1962 1.5. BENSON I 3,029,560

BUILDING CLIP @727251519726072 Z3 %zw w j April 17, 1962 .1. B. BENSON 3,029,560

BUILDING CLIP v Filed Dec. 6, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wm Humlll United States Patent Odice dgb Patented Apr. 17, 1962 3,029,560 BUILDING CLIP John B. Benson, Shorewood Subdivision, Round Lake, Ill. Filed Dec. 6, 1954, Ser. No. 473,183 2 Claims. (Cl. 50-215) The present invention relates generally to building clips and more particularly to a building clip for supporting and positioning building facing material such as clapboards, shingles, and the like.

In forming the siding or roof of a building, the facing material is generally arranged in overlapping courses one above the other over the sheathing of the building. Although various forms of building clips have been suggested and used for supporting and positioning the facing in such building structures, none has proven entirely satisfactory.

The main objects of the present invention are to provide an improved building clip which is free of the disadvantages of the prior art building clips; to provide a building clip which is engageable with the lower edges of an overlying facing, and, when so engaged, has a section which reinforces the inner surface of the overlying facing adjacent its lower edge so as to prevent the splitting or breaking of the facing; to provide a building clip for facings which will permit wide exposure of the facings without the necessity of face nailing; to provide a building clip which will position the facings so that a deep shadow line is visible below each course of facings; to provide a building clip which will permit moisture to escape from behind the facings; to provide a building clip which will permit fast and even positioning of the facings; to provide a building clip which is engageable with the upper ends of an underlying course of facings and the lower ends of an overlying course of facings; and to provide such a building clip which is simple in construction, economical to fabricate, and eflicient for its intended use.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of one corner of a building in which building clips embodying the present invention have been used, with portions broken away so as to more clearly show certain details of the construction;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along theline 2 2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a partial, enlarged perspective view of the building clip employedin the siding shown in FIG- URES l and 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along theline 4 4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a partial sectional view similar to FIG-URE 2 of the wall structure of a building in which a modified form of building clip embodying the present invention has been used; and

FIGURE 6 is a partial, enlarged perspective view of the building clip employed in FIGURE 5.

Building clips formed in accordance with the present invention may be used in the construction of buildings for supporting and positioning clapboards or shingles in either the siding or rooting of the buildings. Since the manner in which the building clips are used is the same, regardless of whether the building clips are used in forming the siding or the rooting, they have been illustrated by way of example in the drawings only in connection with the siding of a building.

Referring to FIGURES l and 2 of the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a building, the interior of which is constructed in a generally conventional manner. The building 1 includes afoundation wall 2 along the upper surface of which are attached sills 3.Headers 4 andjoists 5 are attached to the sills 3 and support asubfloor 6.Floor plates 7 are attached to the outer margins of thesub-floor 6 for supportingstuds 8. The outer portions of the exterior walls of the building 1 includesheathing 9 which is attached to thestuds 8 and other internal structural members, insulating sheathing paper 1t) which is attached -to the exterior surface of thesheathing 9,exterior lap siding 11, andcorner boards 12.

Thelap siding 11 comprises facingstrips 13, such as shingles or clapboards, and a relativelynarrow starting strip 14 secured to the lower edge of the sheathing bynails 15. Thenails 15 are positioned adjacent the upper edge of thestarting strips 14 and are concealed by overlying portions of the siding structure.

Building clips 16 are positioned with their upper ends in engagement with thestarting strips 14 and are secured to the sheathing bynails 17. The lower end portions of thebuilding clips 16 extend below the upper edge of the starting strips 14- and engage the lower edges of a lowermost course of facingstrips 13, thereby locating the lower ends of these facing strips in overlapping relation to the upper ends of thestarting strips 14. The facingstrips 13 are canted so that their upper ends rest against the sheathingpaper 10. The upper ends of all of the facing strips are secured in position by theclips 16. The lower end portions of thebuilding clips 16 engage and support the lower edges of an overlying course of facingstrips 13. This sequence of alternating building clips and facing strips is repeated for the entire height of the siding. In this siding structure, there are no exterior nails which mar the appearance of the siding. Thecorner boards 12 abut the side edges of the facing strips to give a finished appearance to the corners of the building and to prevent wind, rain, and snow from getting behind the facing.

Thebuilding clips 16 are preferably constructed from elongated strips of corrosion-resistant sheet metal, such as aluminum or stainless steel, by suitable stamping and bending operations. Suiiiciently rigid building clips for the purposes of the present invention may be made from relatively thin sheet metal. It should be understood, however, that suitable building `clips may also be made out of material such as plastic by suitable molding operations.

Theclip 16 may be divided for purposes of convenience and analysis into three sections: an upper stepped attaching and engaging section, an intermediate transverse bracing or reinforcing section, and a lower channel-shaped positioning and supporting section. The upper stepped attaching and engaging section includes an upstanding portion 1S which is adapted to lie against and be attached to the surface to be covered, a generally transversely disposedshelf portion 19 and a downwardly disposed portion 2t) adapted to embrace and clamp the upper edge of an underlying facing strip. The intermediate transverse reinforcing section of each clip consists of a generally transversely disposedspacer portion 21 extending outwardly from the lower edge of the downwardly disposed portion 20 a suitable distance so that its outer edge will engage the inner face of an overlying facingstrip 13. The lower channel-shaped positioning and supporting Vsection includes an innerinclined leg portion 22 extending downwardly and rearwardly from the outer edge of thespacer portion 21 to the plane of the downwardly extending portion 2i). Abase portion 23 extends outwardly from the lower edge of theleg portion 22 in a plane parallel to theintermediate spacer portion 21 and its outer edge is bent upwardly to form anouter leg portion 24 extending in a direction generally parallel to the downwardly disposedportion 20 to a height slightly below the plane of the intermediatetransverse spacer portion 21.

Thebuilding clip 16 may be attached to an underlying surface, such as the sheathing of a building, by driving 3 the nails '17 through theupstanding portion 18. In general, the sheet material from which the building clip is formed is sufficiently soft so that nails may be driven there through without the necessity of first providing suitable holes in the upstanding portion 1S. However, holes (not shown) may be provided and in certain cases, such as when the building clip is formed of relatively strong sheet material or plastic, such holes are necessary.

To provide means for draining the moisture which may accumulate behind the facing, thebuilding clip portions 21, 22, and 23 are provided with aligneddrain openings 25, 26, and 27, respectively. The drain openings also provide means whereby air may enter and circulate behind the facing. The drain openings 25, 26, and 27 may be formed in the sheet metal strip from which the building clip is formed before the shaping of the strip by a suitable stamping operation. The building clip may be made of any desired length with drain openings suitably positioned at spaced intervals therealong. If desired, the building clip may be made of relatively long length and cut into the desired length when put into use.

The facingstrips 13 which are used with the building clips of the present invention may be formed of any suitable material. The lower edge of each facing strip is recessed to provide agroove 28 extending the full length thereof for receiving theupstanding leg portion 24 of theclip 16. The inner wall of thegroove 23 is preferably bevelled as shown at 29 to facilitate entry of theleg portion 24 into the groove. Theouter wall 30 of the groove projects downwardly below thebase portion 23 of theclip 16 so as to conceal the clip from view.

To apply thebuilding clip 16 in the construction of a siding such as is illustrated in FIGURES l and 2,starting strips 14 are first nailed in position adjacent the lower end of thesheathing 9. Suitable care should be taken to position the starting strips horizontally along a straight line. When this is done, the various courses of facing strips will be automatically aligned in a horizontal direction by the use of thebuilding clips 16. Thebuilding clips 16 are positioned along the upper ends of the starting strips 143 with theirengaging portions 19 and 20 embracing the upper edges of the starting strips. Thebuilding clips 16 are then permanently attached to the sheathing by driving thenails 17 through the upstanding portions 1S of the clips.

The lower edges of thelowerrnost facing strips 13 are then mounted on theouter leg portions 24 of the attachedbuilding clips 16 in the manner shown in FIGURE 2. As previously mentioned, theintermediate portions 21 of the clips are suitably dimensioned so that when the facingstrips 13 are interengaged with the clips, the outer edges of theintermediate portions 21 will engage the inner faces of the facing strips adjacent the lower edges thereof.Other building clips 16 are then supported on the upper ends of the interengaged facingstrips 13 with their upperengaging portions 19 and 20 embracing the upper edges of the interengaged strips. These building clips are then attached to the sheathing by drivingnails 17 through theirupstanding portions 18. This last operation locks the lower course of shingles in position. The lower edge of the next course of facing strips is then mounted on the building clips and the process is repeated until the facing is completed.

lt is apparent from the foregoing that the building clips 16 space the lower edge of each course of facing strips outwardly from the upper edge of the next lower course of strips. The building clips 16 are proportioned so that the outward spacing of the lower edges of the facings will be such as to produce the desired shadow lines below each course of facings.

if desired, thebuilding clip 16 may be formed without the upperupstanding portion 18. In this case, the building clip would be secured to the sheathing by driving thenails 17 through the upper engagingportion 29 and underlying facing and into thesheathing 9. When l the building clip is made in this manner, it is preferred to extend the height of the engagingportion 20 so that thenails 17 may be driven therethrough at a point spaced from the upper edge of the underlying facing, thereby avoiding the risk of splitting the facing.

Another form of buildingclip 31 embodying the present invention is illustrated in FIGURES 5 and 6. The upper engaging and attaching section and intermediate reinforcing section of this building clip are similar to those of the previously describedbuilding clip 16. However, the lower channel-shaped section of this building clip differs somewhat from that of the previously describedbuilding clip 16. The upper attaching and engaging section of thebuilding clip 31 includes theportions 32, 33, and 34 which may be identical with the previously described portions l, 19, and 2G. The intermediate reinforcing section includes a transversely disposed portion 3S, which may be identical with the transversely disposedportion 21 of thebuilding clip 16. Theportion 35 may include spaceddrain openings 36, as illustrated in FIGURE 6. The lower channel-shaped section of thebuilding clip 31 is U-shaped in transverse cross-section and includes aninner leg portion 37 extending downwardly from the outer edge of the intermediate transverse portion 3S, abase portion 38 which extends transversely from the lower edge of theleg portion 37, and anouter leg portion 39 which extends upwardly from the outer edge of thebase portion 38 in a direction parallel to theinner leg portion 37 and terminating at a height slightly below the plane of theportion 35. The dimension of thebase portion 38 of theclip 31 is such that when theouter leg portion 39 of the building clip extends into theslot 28 of a facing strip, the inner face of the strip will engage theinner leg portion 37.

Thebuilding clip 31 is generally used in the construction of siding or roofing in the same manner as has been previously described in connection with thebuilding clip 16. In certain cases, the building clips 31 may be made without theupstanding portions 32 and, in such cases, the attaching nails would be driven through the engagingportions 34.

The above described building clips provide a satisfactory support for the overlying facing strips with which they are interengaged because of the reinforcement which is given to the inner faces of the facings adjacent their lower edges by the intermediate reinforcing sections of the building clips. Without adequate support at this point, the facings would be subject to splitting when pressure was applied. A siding or roofing can be quickly and evenly erected with the described building clips with a minimum of effort.

It is clear that various modifications may be made in the described building clips without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims:

I claim:

l. A building clip for use in arranging a plurality of facing strips in overlapping courses one above the other over a at supporting surface, wherein each of the facing strips has a longitudinally extending slot along the lower edge thereof, said building clip comprising an upper stepped section having portions extending forwardly and downwardly, an intermediate section extending forwardly from the lower edge of the downwardly extending portion of said stepped section, and a lower channel-shaped section, said channel-shaped section including an inner leg portion extending rearwardly and downwardly from the outer edge of said intermediate section, the lower edge of said inner leg portion being approximately in the plane of the downwardly extending portion of the upper stepped section, a base portionextending outwardly from the lower edge of said inner leg portion, and an outer leg portion of said channel-shaped section extending upwardly from the outer edge of said base portion, and said outer leg portion adapted to extend within the slot along the lower edge of said facing strip.

2. A building clip for use in supporting a plurality of facing strips in overlapping courses over a flat supporting surface, said clip comprising an upper stepped section including a generally transversely disposed shelf portion, an upstanding portion extending from one edge of said shelf portion and a depending portion extending from the other edge of said shelf portion, an intermediate section extending forwardly frorn the lower edge of said depending portion of said stepped section, and a lower, generally channel-shaped section, said channel-shaped section including an inner leg portion extending downwardly and rearwardly from the forward edge of said intermediate section with the lower edge of said inner leg portion be- 15 2,754,551

6 ing generally in the plane of said depending portion of said upper stepped section, a base portion extending forwardly from the lower edge of said inner leg portion, and an outer leg portion of said channel-shaped section extending upwardly from the forward edge of said -base portion. Y

References Cited in the tile of this patentUNITED STATES PATENTS 10 2,467,637 Strohrn Apr. 19, 1949 2,648,103 Wahlfeld Aug. 11, 1953 2,648,104 Scott et al Aug. 1l, 1953 2,659,323 Alvarez Nov. 17, 1953 2,740,166 Siering Apr. 3, 1956 Legnaioli July 17, 1956

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