CA1205970A

CA1205970A - Building wall energy conservation system

Info

Publication number: CA1205970A
Application number: CA000304952A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Herman R. Wells; John O. Beynon
Original assignee: Bailey Metal Products Ltd
Current assignee: Bailey Metal Products Ltd
Priority date: 1978-06-07
Filing date: 1978-06-07
Publication date: 1986-06-17

Abstract

ABSTRACT
A building wall energy conservation system in which a metal structural member having a face portion and a per-pendicular depending leg portion is used to hold at their joints, adjoining sheets of insulative material adjacent the wall and to provide a face on which finishing mater-ial may be affixed. Adjoining insulative sheets have their joint edges so formed and arranged to provide a contact area, and outwardly of this contact area, a gap of suff-icient depth and width to receive the structural member leg. The face portion contacts at least one of the sheets when positioned and secured to hold the adjoining sheets at their joints adjacent the wall.

Description

s~

This invention relates to interior or exterior building wall structure for holding insulative material adjacent such wall and to which interior or exterior finishing material may be affixed.
BACKGROUND O~ T~IE INVENTION
With increasing awareness of energy conservation in building construction there is a significant demand for a simple efficient insulative system for buildi~g walls and which provides an anchor for interior finishing material such as gypsum drywall~ wire lath, wood paneling and the like or exterior finishing material such as steel siding, stucco, sheet panels such as porcelin panels, prepainted panels and the like. This has particular importance in the field of insulating masonry walls where it is di~ficult to fasten ~inishing material to the wall with interposed insulative material.
A common approach to insulating interior walls of masonry and provide an anchor for gypsum drywall is dis-closed in Canadian Patent 998,g~3 or United States Patent 3,401,494. The essential aspect of that system is to provide a metal stud having parallel spaced-apart serrated flanges which are pressed into and griped by insulative Styrofoam (trademark) sheet. The metal is affixed directly to the wall to sandwich the sheets between the studs and wall. It has been found however, that the system disclosed in that patent has significant drawbacks respecting forcing or pressing the flange portions into the styrofoam sheet causing sheet and stud distortion. To overcome that pro-blem, saw cuts were pîovided in the sheet prior to instal-~ ` -1 lation to receive the serrated flanges of the stud. This necessitated accurate positioning of such saw cuts in -the pre-installed sheet. That system was limited in it's free-dom of design changes to accommodate varying building wall shapes because of the pre-formed saw cuts or because of the need to embed the serrated stud flanges in the sheets of Styrofoam.
Another type of system used in insulating walls is to secure directly to the interior surface of the building wall, wood strapping at spaced apart intervals. Insul-ative material is positioned between the strapping and then over the insulation and connected to the strapping is the finishing material. Such systems result in air gaps between the strapping and the insulation, thereby detracting from the very important aspect of energy conservation.
The system according to this invention increases the insulative value of wall insulation system and provides a system which is more easily installed in a controlled accurate manner, yet offers freedom in accon~Qdating instal-lation changes in the field.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a system for holding adjoining sheets at their joints adjacent to a buildinq wall and provides an anchor to which finishing material may be affixed. This is accomplished by using a metal structure member having a face portion and perpendicular depending leg portion. The adjoining sheet edges of insulative mat-erial are so formed and arranged to provide an area of contact along the joint length. Outwardly of this contact area, they define a gap adapted to receive the leg of the . :~
~2~

metal member where the face portion acts as a stop in locating the member along the joint. The face portion contacts at least one of the sheets of insulative material.
In securing and locating the structural member in the pro-per position, the sheets of insulative material are held at their joints adjacent a building ~all. This locates the face portion on the outer-sheet surface to which finishing material may be affixed.
The method according to this invention of insulating and applying finishing material to a building wall comprises positioning two sheets of insulative material adjacent the wall. The sheets have their edges so formed to contact one another along their joint length and to provide the afore-mentioned gap along the joint outwardly of such contact area. The metal structural member is positioned with its face portion overlapping at least one of the sheets and with the dependin~ leg portion located in the gap between the edge portions of the sheets. The metal memker is located and secured relative to the wall in a manner to hold the insulative sheets at their joint adjacent the wall~ Finishing material is affi~ed to the face portion.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
.
Figure 1 is an isometric view of a preferred embodi-ment of the invention showing an aspect of the system as partially assembled.
Figure 2 is a section through the assembled system of Figure 1 along the lines2-2.
Figure 3 which appears on the sheet of drawings having Figures 12 and 13, is a side view of another embodiment of the invention.

. .

~2~7~

1 Figure 4 is an exploded view of the system to be assembled.
Figures 5 through 7 are sections showing various embodiments for joints between adjoining ins~lative sheets and methods of holding such sheets adjacent building wall.
Figures 8 through 13 are isometric views showing por-tions of various embodiments for the metal structural member.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF T~IE
INVENTION
The energy conservation system may be used on either interior or exterior surface of building walls. According to a preferred embodiment shown in Figure 1 reference is made to interior building wall surface application in explaining the best mode of applying the principle of the invention. The building wall 10 may be of any conventional type such as poured concrete, masonry brick or block, wood frame or the like. The insulation system is provided on the interior surface 12 of the wall 10, and comprises insulative sheets 14 and 16 held along their joint 20 adjacent or against the wall by a metal structural member 18 which has a face portion 22 and perpendicular depending leg portion or divider 24 placed between opposing joint edges of the sheets.
In this embodiment, the structure member 18 is tee-shaped in cross-section. As shown in Figure 3, the tee-shaped member 18 is positioned vertically and secured at its bottom and top by screws 26 and 28 to floor track 30 and ceiling track 32. Intermediate the member's ends, it may be secured to the wall by use of fastening means L2~

1 34 shown in Figure 2. Fastener 34 extends through the tee-member 18, insulative sheet 16 and is secured in the wall ]0. The fastening means 34 may be any of the con-ventional type namely combination of screw and plastic plug set in for example a concrete wall, power driven nails, fasteners which are screwed directly into ho]es drilled in the concrete or masonry walls or nails or screws driven into wooden walls.
The floor and ceiling track is in this instance L-shaped and is secured as shown in Figure 1 by power driven nails 36. The ceiling track is so formed that its face portion is substantially wider than the face portion of floor track. This permits insertion of the beam 18 which is shorter than the wall height by placing its upper end behind the face portion of ceilinq track 32 thereby clearing the face portion of lower track 30. The member is dropped to permit fastening at 26 and 28. The sheets of insulative material 14 and 16 are located behind the track outer faces where the insulation e~tends from the ceiling to the floor.
To place it behind the track ! the insulation sheet may be bowed outwardly to clear the face portions of the floor and ceiling track and is allowed to straighten. In the alter-native to having to bow the insulative sheets to place them behind the track, the floor track may be installed after the sheets are positioned behind the ceiling track and the beams 18 are in position. The latter installation of the floor track may be done by placing the base of angle outwardly of the insulation and nailing the base to the floor. The positioning of the tee-member in the track is such that the outer face 22 as i-t overlaps sheets 14 and

2~ 7~

1 16 along the joint holds such sheets adjacent or against the wall 10. With this arrangement face section 22 is unobstructed to provide a surface to which finishiny material may be affixed. As shown in Figure 1, finishing material such as gypsum drywall sheet 38 may be secured to face portion 22 in a conventional manner using self tapping drywall screws 40. Instead of using floor and ceiling track, the members 18 may be secured to the wall hy fasteners 34 spaced along each member. The manner of securing the members 18 will be discussed with respect to Figure 4.
The system according to this invention therefore provides an easy arrangement for holding insulative sheets adjacent a wall and in turn providing a face to which finishing material may be affixed. Freedom in construction design is provided due to the shape o~ the structural member as it holds the sheets adjacent to the wall by cooperatin~ with the joint and thereby providing a unique joint assembly for such systems.
An embodiment of the method for insulat~ng and applying interior finishing material to a building wall is exemplified with reference to the exploded view of Figure 4. The building wall lO as previously mentioned, may be poured concrete, block, or wood frame work. In this embod-iment the arrangement is such to exemplify insulating and affixing finishing material in a vertical plane. The sheets of insulative material 14 and 16 extend the height of the wall. They are positioned adjacent the wall where their shiplap joint generally disignated at 42 consists ~2~ 7~

1 o, overlaped tongue portions ~4 and 46, tongue por-tion ~4 of the sheet 14 being outermost. With the so -formed and arranged edges, the underside 48 of tongue ~4 contacts and is held against surface 50 of underlying tongue 46 by T-shaped member 18.
The insulative sheets 14 and 16 may be of any well known materials such as a polymer resin foam, including polystyrene foam. The thickness of the sheets may vary considerably depending upon the building specifications.
The substantial advantage with this system is that it can accommodate the application of a wide variation in sheet thickness. As an example, the sheets may be approximately four inches thick, and their width may vary considerably but with most building interior finishing it is desirable to provide sheets which are of a two foot width. The insulative sheet width may be dependent upon the width of the finishing material to be applied, particularly with external use~ It may be that with some exterior finishing sheet, they need only be secured at four foot widths. This would place the members at four widths and therefore require that the insulation sheet widths be of four feet.
A further consideration is that in using the system for applying insulation along the horizontal, the sheets may extend the length of the wall where again they may be of two foot width. In such horizontal applications, the members 18 are posn~tioned along -the horizonta] joints of adjoining sheets of insulative material. The members 18 may be equal to the wall length or shorter requiring member joints along the insulation joints. Floor and ceiling track may be used -to hold the insulation along 1 floor and ceiling and provide floor and ceiling faces to which finishing material may be affixed.
The sheets 14 and 16 are held adjacent or against wall interior surface 12 by tee-member 18 co-operating with the shiplap joint 20. The sheets 14 and 16 are so arranged to define a gap between opposing edge portions 52 and 54 which opens outwardly from the contact area between faces 48 and 50O The depth and width of the gap is sufficient to receive the depth and width of divider leg 24. The structural member 18 is held in position for securement where the inner surfaces 56 and 58 on each side of leg 24 of tee-member 18 contact and overlap respectively tongue portion 44 of sheet 14 and a portion of the outermost face 60 o~ sheet 16 along the joint. The securement of tee member 18 is such that with faces 56 and 58 contacting sheets 14 and 16, they are held along their joint adjacent the building wall l0. Repeating this joint assembly for every joint along the wall results- in each sheet being held along its two joints adjacent the wall.
With the embodiment shown in Figure 4, the tee-member 18 is secured to the wall 10 by use of screws 34 which as mentioned are fastened or screwed into wall 10. This may be accomplished by the use of the combination drill and screw chuck arrangemenl such as that sold ~mder the trade mark Condrive using Tapcon (Trade mark) anchors. The tee-member 18 may be prepunched with holes 62, the screw 34 as it passes through hole 62, penetrates the tongues 44 and 46 of the insulative sheets 14 and 16 and is anchored in the wall 10. The screws 34 are advanced far ~ ~.~
~ s~

1 enough to hold the sheets in position but no-t so far as to begin the extenslve compression of the foam sheet tongues between tee-member and wall which could resul-t in distortion of the foam sheet or member. The holes 62 may be alter~
nated from side to side along the length of the beam. It is desirable to punch holes 62 as close as possible to either side of leg 24 so that in instances where fasteners are applied to one side of the leg along beam length, the forces exerted on the member face are more e~7enly distrib-uted on both sides of the leg for the tee-member construction.
The method also includes in the step of locating and securing the tee-members 18, the use of track 30 and 32 where the tee-member is fastened at 26 and 28 in the manner sh-own in Figure 3. In place of L-shaped track 32, channel track may be used.
~fter the installation of the insulation has been completed the system is ready to ha~e finishing sheets such as drywall 38 affixed thereto. The drywall screws 40 are of the well known self tapping type. The drywall may be of four foot widths and ceiling height so that it is fastened to the tee-members on two foot centres. The drywall screws 40 penetrate the drywall and then due to their self-tapping feature, drill into the metal face portion 22 and Oll continued advancement firmly secure the drywall sheet to the tee-member. The drywall may be applied either horizontally or vertically depending on design requirements.
The system according to an embodiment as assembled by the method of this invention is shown in Figure 2. It can 9 _ - :~2~

1 be seen with the shiplap joint 20, the sheets or joint edges are arranged to define a gap between opposing edges 52 and 54 of sufficient wid-th and depth to receive the depending leg portion 24 of the beam 18. The screw 3~
as it extends through the beam 18 and the insulation mat-erial serves to compress slightly and thereby ensurè contact between mating faces 48 and 50 to provide a positive insul-ation barrier for the joint in the contact area 55.
The system according to this invention provides a great deal of freedom in accommodating the installation of insulating material and providing an anchox to which finishing material may be fixed. Due to the use of a member having a face portion and perpendicular depending leg portion for use at the joints of insulating shee-ts, the depth of the leg portion may be varied to any extent as dependent upon the thickness of insulative sheet to be applied. There is no requirement to provide slots along the sheet as required in the prior art because the connec-tion and holding of the sheets adjacent the wall is com-pleted at the sheet joints. The ability to vary the depth of the depending leg of the member permits a wide choice of member or beam construction to provide desired struct-ural strength when using thicker insulative sheets. In making the depth of the leg deeper, the beam has greater resistance to bending along it' 5 length. When used with track system such as shown in Figure 3, the beam having enhanced structural strength due -to the depending leg requires a minimal number of fastening means between its ends and may result in the use of a single fastening 2~9~

1 means about the c~ntre of the beam in securing it to -the wall. The increased structural stxength of -the beam as used in the arrangement of Figure 3 assures an essentially planar wall section.
The embodiments oS the invention as discussed with respect to Figures lthrough 4 relate to interior wall application. As mentioned, the system may also be used for exterior wall application. This is particularly applicable in reju~-enating older homes or buildings where in increas-ing older building wall insulative values, it may be easier to insulate building wall exterior and affix exterior wall finishing material to the structural members of this system. It is appreciated that in using the system on building wall exterior, the metal structural members may have to be of larger cross-sectional and thickness dimen-sions to provide the necessary structural strength to withstand exte~nal weather forces and to properly support exterior finishing materials.
Although the installation discussed with respect to Figures 1 through 4 involves the use of a tee-shaped member 18 and shiplap joint 20 between adjoining sheets, it is understood that there are several other arrangements for sheet joints and the type of structural member used in combination with the sheet joints.
Figures 5 through 7 exemplify other combinations of joints and members which demonstrate the principle of the invention .
Figure 5 shows an embodiment in which the edges of adjoining insulative sheets 14 and 16 have their edges formed to provide a tongue and groove joint g~nera]ly S~7~

1 designated 66. The tongue 68 o:E sheet 16 is received by groove 70 of sheet 14 to provide contact on both sides of the tongue to complete the insulative barrier between finishing material and wall 10. The gap in this embodiment 64 is defined between opposing edge portions of the joint 72 and 74. The pin 34 extends through the tee-member 18 and through the tongue and groove joint to complete assembly.
There may be slight compression of the joint to ensure proper contact in the tongue and groove joint.
Figure 6 shows another embodiment for the system where the structural member 76 is L-shaped with a face portion 78 and a depending leg portion 80. The joint between adjoining sheets 14 and 16 is shiplap joint. The depending portion 80 is positioned in the so defined gap 64 between opposing faces of the shiplap joint 52 and 54.
The pin for securing the structural member to the wall 10 passes through the ~ace portion 78 and the shiplap joint where the face portion overlaps the outermost tongue with the pin extending through the lowermost tongue. This ensures that the L-shaped member main-tains the assembled joint thereby holding the insulative sheets 14 and 16 against the wall 10 without joint separation.
Figure 7 shows another embodiment for a joint between adjoining insulative sheets 14 and 16 where a modified butt joint is used. The edge 84 of the sheet 14 is planar whereas the edge 82 of sheet 16 is no-tched or kerfed to provide a recess portion 86 extending the length of the edge 84 to define a aap 64 which receives the depending leg 24 of the tee-member 18. The contact 3n area is therefore maintained between opposing edges 82 and 84 beneath the gap portion 84 to ensure a complete insulative barrier for the system. This embodime~t is preferred with respect to removing a minimum amount of material from a sheet edge to provide a joint for adjoining sheets. It is understood that only one sheet edge would be kerfed in this embodiment, thereby leaving the other sheet edge planar.
Figures 8 through 13 show vaxious configurations for the structural member used in this system. Characteristic to each structural member is that it has a face por-tion and a perpendicular depending leg portion where the member is used in the manner shown and described in the previous FiguresO Figure 8 shows an L-shaped structural member 76 of the type used in Figure 6, having a depending leg portion 80 and a face portion 78 which in this embodiment has a recessed pllanar portion 88 with raised overturned edge 90 and raised ledge 92 whidh is integral with the depending leg portion 80. Pre-fo~med holes 62 axe provided through which the fastener member for anchoring the beam or stud to the wall pass~ The face portion `78 is of a thickness to readily receive the self tapping drywall screws. The L-shaped member may be formed by a continuous rolling process where a single sheet is rolled into the shape shown.
The continuous length of rolled member is cut ~o desired lengths.
Figure 9 is representative of a tee-member 18 which is roll formed from a single sheet having a depending leg portion 24 and a face portion 22O The face portion 22 is substantially planar with an underturned lip 94 and a i .
~. .. ~., ~S~7~) 1 double layered portlon 96 to one side of the leg consti-tuted by the overlapped portion in rolling the tee from a single sheet of material. Pre--punched holes 62 are pxovided in face portion 22 for the purposes mentioned where in this embodiment a recess 98 surrounds hole 62 to receive the head of the fastening screw in providing a counter-sunk arrangement. This lessens or eliminates inter-ference between screw head and the underside of the drywall.
It is understood, that with most types of finishing mater-ial such as drywall, the plaster portion will indent to the extent of the depth of the head to provide a flush mounting. In the instance of using wood interior finishing panel, it is desirable to use a counter-sunk arrangement in the structural member face for the screw heads because the wood panel does not indent to any great extent.
Figure 10 illustrates an embodiment where face portion 22 has pre-formed holes 62. The face portion 22 is made up of overlapped portions 100 and 102 which extend downwardly to form a double wall leg portion 104 and 106. The longer leg 106 is folded over at 10~ to hold the double wall leg together.
~ Figures ll through 13 show various tee-shaped struct-ural members where the face portion of each member is split due to it's being roll formed from a length of metal sheet.
The tee-member of Figure 11 has a plurality of ridges and valleys formed on it's face portion 110 and 112 where the holes 62 for the fastening screws are located inwardly of the face portion on a planar part 127 of the beam which \
is below the u~per part o~ ridges 12~ to prov;d~ a recessed area for the screw heads. The ridges and grooves 129 provide faces through which the drywall screws proceed in fastening the drywall to the tee-member. The outer edges S of face portions 110, 112 are turned upwardly at 130 to ensure that any drywall screws being applied to the outer-most part of the tee-member are caught by the upturned lip 130. The addition of the ridges and grooves to the face section 110, 112 of the beam enhance the stru~tural strength of the face portion.
The beam member of Figure 12 has a depending leg portion 24 of double wall thickness and a face portion 22 of planar sections 110 and 112 on each side of leg 22 Holes 62 are provided in the face portions 110~ 112 and may be counter-sunk at 98. The outer edges of the beam are overturned at 114 and 116 to add strength to the beam and provide a planar face portion.
The tee-member of Figure 13 is similar -to t~e beam of Figure 12 where the outer edges of face portions 110, 112 has downturned lips 118 and 120. On securing the beam in position by passing a fastener through hole 62, the down-turned lips 118 and 120 hite into the insulative sheet material to assist in preventing joint separation as the sheets are held against the building wall by the undersides 112 and 124 of face portion 22.
The insulative sheet material, as mentioned, may be Styrofo~m or equivalent. It is understood, however, that several other types of insulation are useable which may for example, be foamed and have structural characteristics similar to Styrofoam or may be mated insulative material 5~

1 in the form of sheets.
Preferably in systems where the structural members are secured to the wall without the use of floor and ceiling track, the insulation sheets are of sufficient structural strength and therefore relied on to supportively space the members from the wall in providing a structurally sound system on which finishing material is to be affixed.
The energy conservation system according to this i~ven-tion is readily installed on interior or exterior parts of building walls and accommodates varying thickness of insulative material to keep up with varying standards on building specifications as energy conservation measures change. The structural member having a depending leg functions as a divider for adjoining sheets of insulation and stabalizes the face portion to maintain it in contact with the face portions of adjoining sheets. Further, in using a tee-section, the face portion as it overlaps adjoining sheet portions, enhances thermal insulative value of the system in closing off the gap of -the joint above or outwardly of the contact area.
Although various preferred embodiments of the invention have been described herein in detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations may be made thereto in keeping with the principals of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

3~

~ ~?~597~

SUPPLEMENTARY DISCLOSURE
1 In l~eeping with various embodiments of this invention the L-shaped member of Fiaure 8 mav be modiied -to provide a face portion which overlaps both adjoining insulative sheets along joint edges. This is accomplished by providing one or more tab portions along the structural member extending outwardly of the leg portion and away fxom the face portion so as to overlap and contact the other sheet of the joint.
Two preEerred embodiments of the L-shaped structural member provided with the tab portions are shown in the drawings wherein:
Figure 14 is an exploded view of the arrangement using one form for the structural member;
Figure 15 is a section through the assembly of Figure 14;
Figure 16 shows the L-shaped me~er in combination with an attachment to provide the tab portion; and Figure 17 shows another embodiment for the L-shaped member having a tab portion.
The energy conservation system can be applied to either the e~terior or interior wall of a building. For the embod-iment shown in Figure 14, the description relates to appli-cation of the system to building wall interiorO
The insulative sheets 204, 206 are positioned adjacent the interior surface 202 of building wall 200. The sheets are held in position by the structural member 216. In this instance sheet 204 has a planar edge 208 which butts against portion 204 of shee-t 206. Edge 210 of sheet 206 is notched or kerfed at 212 to provide a gap opening outwardly away from contact at 214 of the joint. The contact between 30 ~ - 17 -5~7~

1~ surEaces 20S and 214 ensures optimum insulative value of the system.
The L-shaped member 216 has secured to its leg portion 220, a clip 222 having an outwardly projecting tab or flange 224 which is generally in the same plane as face por-tion 218.
The U-shaped clip 222 is secured to the leg porticn 220 as demonstrated by arrow 226 with the tab portion 22~ lying generally in the same plane as face portion 218. The tab portion 224 overlaps sheet 206 at spaced apart portions along the length of the member whereas face portion 218 overlaps the sheet along its entire len~th. The L-shaped member 216 is secured to the wall by power driven fasteners 228 which pass through preformed holes 230 in the face member in the manner discussed with respect to the other assemblies.
The person installing this system can clip to the depending leg of the L-shaped member any desired number of clips to provide proper holding of the insulative sheet a~ail~st the buildin~ wall. For example with building wall heights of approximately eight feet, three evenl~ spaced apart clips along member 216 are suggested for holding insu-lative sheets such as St~rofoam adjacent the wall.
With the clips in position on the structural member 216 the insulation is held adjacent the wall in the manner shown in Figure 15. The notch 212 as it is provided in sheet 206 provides the gap 213 which opens outwardly of the contact area between faces 208 and 214. The size of the gap formed is sufficient to receive the leg 220 of the structural member with the clips fastened thereto. The power driven fastener 228 is firmly secured in the concrete or masonery wall 200 where undue compression of sheet 20 ~ 18 -,~, 5~7~

1 is avoided.
To complete -the interior finishing, drywall panels 232 and 234 are secured at their joint to the face 218 by drywall screws 236 in manners previously discussed with respect to the other Figures.
It is appreciated that the clip 222 can be formed so that when clipped on member 216, the plane of its tab 224 is offset from and parallel to the plane of face 2~8. This is desirable in instances where sheet 206 is not as thick as or offset from sheet 204 which can arise in certain offset areas of building construction and therefore such variations are readily accommodated.
Figure 16 shows a portion of the L-shaped member 216 with clip 222 clipped onto leg portion 220. The installer may carry several of these clips and apply them to the L-shaped member when setting up the installation. On the other hand when desire'd the L-shaped member is ready for use around window casings and the like where the tab portion is not needed. There are no interuptions on the leg or face section of the L-shaped member so that its structural strength is retained. The L-shaped member without the clips is readily stacked for handling and transport.
Another embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 17. Struck from the leg portion 240 which depends from the face portion 233 is a tab 242 extending outwardly from -the leg 240 and away from the face portion 238. The tab is bent away from the leg portion about its base 244 which is integral with the structural member 216. This leaves an opening 246 in the leg portion 240. The L-shaped member of Figure 17 is ready for use in the field with the tab 597~

1 portions already formed thereon at desired spacings along the structural member. The tab por-tion 2~2 may be c3enerally in the same plane as face portion 238 so as to function in the same manner as the structural member discussed with respect to Figure 15 in holding the insulative sheets adjacent the building wall 200.
The L--shaped member of Figure 17 may be stacked where the tab 242 of the lower member in the stack projects through the opening 2~6 of an upper member in the stack.
Although the design of the L-shaped beam with this modification is preferably for use with a butt joint of the type shown in Figure 15 it is understood that such L-shaped member may be used with other types of joints such as the tongue and groove joint for the insulative sheet as shown in Figure 5 and the shiplap joint for the insulative sheet as shown in Figure 6.
It is apparent with this type of structural member for use in anchoring finishing material to buildincJ walls with interposed insulative material, there is provided a great deal of flexibility in accommodating various designs. The type of insulative material used may of course be other than the Styrofoam sheet material and may be of the type discussed with respect to other figures showing other embodiments of the invention.
Although various preferred embodiments of this invention have been described herein in detail it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

~ - 20 -

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OF PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A joint assembly for adjoining sheets of insulative material which are between a building wall structure and finishing material, said joint assembly comprising a T-shaped in cross-section metal structural member having a face portion with a perpendicular depending leg portion of a depth less than the thickness of said insulative material, opposing edges of said insulative sheets being formed to contact one another along their joint length and to define above said contact a gap extending along said joint length between said sheet edges, said gap opening outwardly and of a depth and width adapted to receive said depending leg along the joint's length where said face portion provides a stop in locating said depending leg between said sheets in said gap, the arrangement being such that in locating and securing said T-shaped member adjacent a building wall, said adjoining sheets of insulative material are held adjacent such wall with said formed edge portions contacting one another beneath said T-shaped member by said face portion contacting both of said sheets along said joint length in presenting its outer surface for affixing finishing material thereto.

2. A joint assembly of claim 1, wherein said formed edges of said insulative material provide a tongue and groove joint.

3. A joint assembly of claim 1, wherein said formed edges of said insulative material provide a shiplap joint.

4. A joint assembly of claim 1, wherein one of said formed edges of said insulative material is planar, the other is recessed to provide said gap between such opposing edges.

5. A method of insulating and applying finishing material to building wall comprising positioning two sheets of insulative material adjacent such wall, the sheets having their opposing edges formed to contact one another along their joint length and to provide a gap above said contact opening outwardly from such contact area, positioning a T-shaped in cross-section metal member extending the length of said joint with its face portion overlapping both of said sheets along their joint and with its perpendicular depending leg portion in said sap where said leg's depth is less than the depth of said gap, securing said metal member to hold such insulative sheets at their joint adjacent such wall, and affixing fini-shing material to said face portion of said metal member.

6. A method of claim 5, wherein said step of securing said member includes fastening said member at its ends to supporting structure.

7. A method of claim 5, wherein said step of securing said member is accomplished by fastening said member to such building wall by using fasteners extending through the member's face portion, insulative sheet and into such wall.

8. A method of claim 6, further including securing track to building floor and ceiling and spaced from such wall, securing said member at its top and bottom to such track, the position of such track being such to locate said face portion at the position for holding said sheets adjacent said wall at their joint, said sheets extending the wall height.

9. A method of claim 5, comprising forming a tongue and groove joint between formed edges of adjacent sheets of insulative material where a gap is provided above contact between said tongue and groove.

10. A method of claim 5, comprising forming a shiplap joint between formed edges of adjacent sheets of insulative material.

11. A method of claim 5, comprising kerfing an edge of one of said sheets to provide said gap between abutting opposing sheet edges.

12. In combination, sheets of expanded foam insulation, strapping of a T-shaped configuration in cross-section used for securing the sheets of expanded foam insulation material to a concrete wall, of a building structure, the strapping having an upper flange of predetermined width and a spine extending away from the flange a predetermined distance less than the thickness of the sheets of expanded foam insulation, from a position intermediate the side edges of the flange defining its width for the purpose of strenghtening the flange, and fastening means for driving through the upper flange of the T-shaped strapping through the insulation into the concrete wall, the edges of the sheets of insulation being rabbeted to provide spine receiving recesses therein to accommodate the spines of the T-strapping used to secure the insulation.

13 The combination of claim 12, wherein each flange of the T-shaped strapping has shot receiving apertures therethrough.

14. The combination of claim 13, wherein each aperture is surrounded by a recess in the flange to receive the head of fastening means driven through the apertues in the flange to secure the insulation to the outer wall of the building structure.

15. The combination of claim 13, wherein said shot receiving apertures are disposed in the flange on either side of the spine.

16. The combination of claim 15, wherein said shot receiving apertures are disposed in the flange on either side of the spine.