NL2014990B1 - Method, exterior wall, anchor rail, and façade renovation system. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides for a method for covering at least a part of an outside of an exterior wall of a building to be retrofitted with at least one prefab fa~:;ade element, preferably a substantially panel shaped prefab fa~:;ade element. An anchor means for mounting a prefab fa~:;ade element, especially a substantially panel shaped prefab fa~:;ade element, to an outside of an exterior wall of a building is installed at an outside of an exterior wall of a building to be renovated at least partly. At least one prefab fa~:;ade element, preferably a substantially panel shaped prefabricated fa~:;ade element, e.g. a substantially panel shaped prefab fa~:;ade element having relatively good thermal insulation capacities, is mounted by means of the anchor means installed at the outside of said exterior wall. At least one of said anchor means is formed as an anchor rail.

Description

P108522NL00

Title: Method, exterior wall, building, anchor rail, and facade renovation system

The invention relates to a method for covering at least a part of an outside of an exterior wall of a building to be retrofitted with at least one prefab facade element, preferably a substantially panel shaped prefab facade element.

Often, existing buildings, especially houses and homes, are renovated, for example in order to facilitate long term energy reduction, e.g. in order to improve the dwelling stock and/or to enable providing substantially climate neutral buildings, and/or to provide them with a modern look. Thereto, in a known method, an existing building is at least partly covered by prefabricated facade elements and/or prefabricated roof elements, wherein such prefabricated elements or so-called prefab elements, that together can substantially envelope the existing building, can be formed as or may comprise thermal insulation panels.

An advantage of such known method can be that the prefab fagade elements are installed outside on the pre-existing fagade, such that users, such as residents, of the building may experience only little disruption during the renovation. Moreover, because the pre-existing fagade and/or fagade cladding is not removed in this known method, the renovation can be performed relatively rapidly, which can make this method relatively cost efficient and/or relatively little disruptive to e.g. users of the building to be renovated.

In said known method, a plurality of substantially J-shaped aluminum hooks is installed at an outside of an exterior wall of a building to be renovated at least partly. Said aluminum hooks are installed at different heights, such that a substantially panel shaped prefab fagade element can subsequently be installed onto said hooks in order to mount said faqade element to the wall at different heights. In order to install the faqade element relatively well onto the wall, e.g. in order to counteract sagging of said fagade element, the fagade element is to be supported by many hooks. It is noted that each of said hooks should be installed at exactly the right height in order to facilitate that the weight of the prefab fagade element supported by said hooks is well distributed over said hooks, e.g. in order to counteract that one or more of the hooks will be loaded to a too high extent and to counteract that the hook, its fixation to the wall, and/or the wall will be overloaded and/or damaged.

Therefore, although this known method for renovating a building at least partly has the advantage that prefabricated fagade elements are installed outside on the pre-existing fagade thereby causing little inconvenience for residents, this known method requires extreme accuracy in order to install said prefabricated fagade elements in a safe and reliable manner. The required accuracy can make this known method not only relatively expensive, e.g. because it is time consuming and/or because highly skilled professionals are needed, but is also relatively error prone.

Also other methods are known for renovating a building at least partly. For instance, a method is known wherein also prefabricated fagade elements are installed at the outside of a building. In this method, the existing fagade, e.g. being formed at least partly by the outer skin of a cavity wall, is first removed at least locally, and subsequently new fagade elements, e.g. having relatively well thermal insulation properties and/or a new or fresh look, are installed. Although this method counteract that a new fagade is not installed properly, this method has other disadvantages. For example, the demolition works can be time consuming (and therefore relatively expensive) and/or may cause relatively much disturbance.

Further, other methods are known. However, many of these methods have one of the above mentioned disadvantages and/or other disadvantages.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an alternative method and/or alternative means for renovating a building at least partly. Additionally or alternatively, it is an object of the present invention to alleviate or solve at least one of the disadvantages above, preferably without introducing other, especially larger, disadvantages. In particular, the invention aims at providing a method in which a facade of a building, especially the facade of a house or home, can be at least partly renovated or refitted in a manner that is relatively cost efficient and relatively insensitive to relatively dangerous errors.

In a first aspect of the disclosure, the present disclosure provides for a method for covering at least a part of an outside of an exterior wall of a building to be retrofitted with at least one prefab facade element, preferably a substantially panel shaped prefab fagade element. The method comprises the steps of providing anchor means for mounting a prefab fagade element, preferably a substantially panel shaped prefab fagade element, to an outside of an exterior wall of a building, and installing said anchor means at an outside of an exterior wall of a building to be renovated at least partly. Said outside of the exterior wall can for example be formed by the outer skin of a cavity wall or as the fagade, e.g. a non-load bearing fagade, of an existing building, e.g. a home or house, to be renovated at least partly. The method further comprises a step of providing at least one prefab fagade element, especially a substantially panel shaped prefabricated fagade element, e.g. a substantially panel shaped prefab fagade element having relatively good thermal insulation capacities, and a step of mounting said at least one prefab fagade element by means of the anchor means installed at the outside of said exterior wall. At least one of said anchor means is formed as an anchor rail or as mounting rail.

By mounting a prefab fagade element, especially a substantially panel shaped prefab fagade element, at the outside of the exterior wall by means of an anchor rail installed to said outside of said wall, it can be facilitated that said fagade element can be supported at different adjacent regions of said anchor rail, seen in the width direction of the fagade element and/or in the length direction of said rail, and/or that said fagade element can be supported over a relatively wide width by means of said anchor rail. Preferably, only a single anchor rail is used to substantially support the weight of the prefab, especially substantial panel shaped, fagade element mounted to the wall. Using an anchor rail as an anchor means can facilitate that the, preferably substantially panel shaped, prefab fagade element can be supported, seen in width direction of said fagade element, at different adjacent regions, and/or over a relatively wide width of said fagade element, preferably over substantially the full width of said fagade element, by relatively few anchor means, in particular substantially by means of single anchor means. Hence, alignment problems, such as which can relatively easily occur when using multiple hooks for supporting a single fagade element, may be prevented or at least counteracted, thereby counteracting that vertical forces, e.g. due to the force of gravity acting upon the fagade element, may not be distributed relatively well seen along the width of said fagade element. Additionally or alternatively, multiple fagade elements, especially adjacent fagade elements, e.g. fagade elements for covering parts of adjacent homes or apartments, can be mounted by means of at least one shared anchor rail. Hence, it can be facilitated that adjacent fagade elements can be alignment with respect to each other relatively well and/or easily.

Since an elongate anchor rail may be aligned by measuring out only a limited number of fastener locations, e.g. only two fastener locations, a relatively good alignment can be provided by performing only a very limited number of measurements. The method may therefore be relatively simple, swift and/or precise. Apparently, a relatively high installation speed can be cost efficient and may facihtate that users of the building may be inconvenienced only to a relatively small extent.

Advantageously, the anchor rail can be installed against a pre-existing facade of the building to be renovated by means of a plurality of fasteners extending through said pre-existing fagade and being fastened to a part of a load bearing structure of the building, e.g. an inner skin of a cavity wall or a subfloor. For example, seen in the length direction of the anchor rail, said fasteners connecting the rail to the load bearing structure of the building may be located at least at three different locations, preferably at least at four different locations, such as for instance at at least eight, at least ten, or at least fifteen locations. By connecting the anchor rail to the load bearing structure of the building at relatively many positions seen in the length direction of the rail and in the width direction of the facade element, the load bearing structure of the building can support the facade element relatively evenly over the width of said facade element, thereby counteracting too high local loads or stresses.

Advantageously, the anchor rail, preferably a web portion thereof that can face the existing fagade, can comprise a plurality of openings for receiving fasteners in order to mount said anchor rail to the wall, e.g. by fixing it to the load bearing structure of the building, especially by fixing said fasteners into a floor or inner skin of a cavity wall forming a part of said load bearing structure. For example, the anchor may be provided with multiple fastener receiving facilities such as openings, preferably through holes, wherein adjacent ones of said facilities or openings are located relatively close to each other seen in the length direction of the rail. For instance, adjacent a first one of said facilities or openings can be located from an adjacent one over a distance of at most 1.5 meter, at most 1 meter, or at most 0.8, 0.7, 0.6 or 0.5 meter, e.g. measured from the edge of the opening to the facing edge of the adjacent opening or measured from the center of one hole to the center of the adjacent hole.

Additionally or alternatively, seen in the length direction of the anchor rail, the anchor rail may be provided with a relatively large number of positions arranged for receiving of fasteners for connecting said rail to the load bearing structure of the building. For example, at least four, five, six or seven locations, preferably at least eight, at least ten, or at least fifteen of such locations, e.g. provided with an opening, hole or slot for receiving a fastener can be provided in the anchor rail.

It is noted that the anchor rail may have a relatively large length. Said length may for instance be at least 6 or at least 10 times larger than the height of the anchor rail, preferably at least 20 times larger than said height. For example, the anchor rail may be at least 2 or at least 4 meter long, such as for instance about 5, 6, 7, 8 or 10 meter. The length of the anchor rail may correspond to the width of the facade element to be supported by said anchor rail, and may for instance cover at least 80% or at least 90% of the width of said facade element.

In embodiments, the width of the fapade element can for instance correspond to the width of the fagade of the building or to the width of the fagade part belonging to a single part, such as a single home or apartment, within said building. Additionally or alternatively, the length of the anchor rail may correspond to the width of the fapade of the building or to the width of the fagade part belonging to a single part, such as a single apartment, house or home, within said building. For example, the length of the anchor rail may be instance cover at least 80% or at least 90% of the fagade or at least 80% or at least 90% of such facade part belonging to a single part within said building.

It is noted that the anchor rail may be mounted such as to extend over at least parts of the widths of at least two adjacent parts of the building, e.g. the anchor rail can extend over at least parts of at least two adjacent homes or apartments in a single building. It is noted that the facade elements for covering at least parts of said adjacent homes or apartments, do then not need to substantially extend over a border between said two adjacent homes or apartments, and can (at least) at their facing edges be mounted by means of the same anchor rail. This may for instance thus facilitate aligning facade elements of adjacent or neighboring homes or apartments.

Advantageously, a part of the openings in the anchor rail for receiving the fasteners for fixation to the building can have a relatively small height and/or diameter, and another part of said openings can have a relatively large height and/or diameter. Preferably, the relatively small height or diameter may correspond to a diameter (or vertical cross-section) of a fastener extending through said opening, such that the fastener will fit into said opening relatively tightly. As a result, the anchor rail can be supported by said fastener and downwardly oriented forces can be transferred from said anchor rail onto the fastener extending through said relatively low opening relatively easily. The relatively large height of the relatively high openings may be oversized with respect to the diameter (or vertical cross-section) of a fastener extending through said relatively high opening. As a result, there may be relatively much free space between a top edge of the opening and an upper surface of the fastener extending through said opening, such that downwardly directed forces will not be transferred, or at least only to a relatively low extent, onto the fastener extending through said relatively high opening. As a result, it can be enabled relatively easily that some of the fasteners will together substantially bear the load of the weight of the fagade element, whereas other ones of said fasteners will not bear or only relatively little bear the weight of the facade element.

For example, one or multiple fasteners extending into the wall at locations above a window opening or doorway in said wall can then be installed in such a manner that said fasteners will not substantially support the anchor rail and the fagade element or elements supported thereby, but can counteract that the anchor rail (and the fagade element(s) supported thereby) can be pulled in an outward direction away from the wall.

In embodiments, a single opening for receiving a fastener, e.g. a fastener having a predetermined diameter such as for instance about 8, 10, 12, 16 or 20 mm, can be arranged such as to receive said fastener in a first position in a manner in which said fastener can bear a substantial part of the weight of the fagade part supported, as well as to receive said fastener in a second position in a manner in which said fastener will substantially not bear a substantial part of the weight of the fagade part supported. For example, a part of the opening can includes a first portion having a relatively small height and can include a second portion having a relatively large height. In embodiments, such hole can for instance have the shape of a keyhole, e.g. having an oversized part for loosely surrounding a non-load bearing fastener and having a slotted part having a height corresponding to the diameter of the fastener for substantially fittingly receiving a load bearing fastener.

It is noted that the anchor rail or so-called mounting rail can be arranged for mounting a prefab fagade element thereto.

Advantageously, the anchor rail, preferably a top flange portion thereof, can be provided with an upper support surface for supporting a support element provided at a rear side of a, preferably substantially panel shaped, prefab fagade element. Preferably, said upper support surface of the anchor rail can be slanting in a downward direction towards a centrally located web portion of said anchor rail and/or slanting in a downward direction towards the exterior wall (to be) covered at least partly by the fagade element.

The invention further relates to a building and to an exterior wall, especially a building or exterior wall renovated or refitted at least partly.

Further, the invention relates to an elongated envelope-renovation anchor rail.

The invention also relates to a fagade renovation system.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described below and in the appended claims.

By way of non-limiting examples only, embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures in which:

Figs. 1A-1C show schematic perspective views of a building being renovated by means of a method according to an aspect of the invention;

Figs. ID-IF show schematic perspective views of an alternative building being renovated by means of a method according to an aspect of the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a schematic, partly cut-away, cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a fagade renovation system according to the invention;

Fig. 3 shows a schematic, partly cut-away, cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of a fagade renovation system according to the invention;

Figs. 4A and 4B show schematic cross-sectional view and a schematic front view of a first embodiment of an anchor rail according to an aspect of the invention;

Fig. 5 shows a schematic perspective, partly cut-away, view of an alternative embodiment of an anchor rail according to an aspect of the invention;

Figs. 6A and 6B show schematic perspective, partly cut-away, views of an alternative embodiment of a fagade renovation system according to the invention; and

Fig. 7 shows a detail of a schematic perspective view of a top part of the fagade renovation system of Fig. 6A.

It is noted that the figures show merely preferred embodiments according to the invention. In the figures, the same or similar reference signs or numbers refer to equal or corresponding parts.

Figures 1A-1C show schematic perspective views of a building 1 being renovated by means of a method according to an aspect of the invention. Here, the building 1 is formed by linked houses or row houses. However, the building may also be another type of building, e.g. a block of flats or an apartment building, a detached house, semidetached house, an office building, a school, a hospital, a shop, etc.

The method is for covering at least a part of an outside of an exterior wall 2 of the building 1 to be retrofitted with at least one, preferably substantially panel shaped, prefab facade element 3. For example, at least a part of the exterior of the building 1 can be enveloped by means of mounting prefabricated fagade element and/or prefabricated roof elements placed over the pre-existing house(s).

The method according to the invention comprises a step of providing anchor means 4 for mounting a, preferably substantially panel shaped, prefab fagade element 3 to an outside of an exterior wall 2 of a building 1. Said anchor means 4, at least a part of which is formed as an anchor rail 4R, are installed at an outside of an exterior wall 2 of a building 1, which building 1 is to be renovated at least partly. Preferably, said exterior wall 2 or outer wall 2 can be formed by the outer skin 2B of a cavity wall 2A, such as can for instance be seen in Figs. 2 and 3 showing schematic cross-sectional views of different exemplary embodiments of fagade renovation systems 3, 4 according to the invention.

As can be understood from Fig. IB, a first anchor rail 4Ri can be installed at a lower region of a portion 20 of the wall to be covered by first fagade element 30 and a second anchor rail 4R2 can be installed at a top region of said wall portion 20. Preferably, the lower one 4Ri of the two rails 4Ri, 4R2 located above each other will support at least the major part of the weight of the fagade element 30 after said element has been installed.

Advantageously, the anchor rail 4R, and also alternative anchor means 4A, are installed against a pre-existing fagade of the building 1 to be renovated by means of a plurality of fasteners 5. Said fasteners 5 extend through said pre-existing fagade, which for instance can be formed by an outer skin 2B of a cavity wall 2A as is the case in the exemplary embodiments of Figs. 2 and 3, and which fasteners 5 are being fastened to a part of a load bearing structure of the building 1.

Since the anchor rail 4R can be relatively long and since the outer surface of the pre-existing wall may not be completely even or smooth, fill material 17 can be provided between the anchor rail 4R and the outer surface of the pre-existing wall 2. For example, after mounting the rail 4R to the pre-existing wall, a part of the space between said rail 4R and said wall can be filled with a curing or hardening material 17A or a mortar 17A, e.g. an injectable mortar, which for instance can be injected, e.g. trough a side eyelet 92 which may be provided adjacent to a main eyelet 91 through which the fastener 5 extends. Alternatively, possible clearance between the anchor rail 4R and the outer surface of the pre-existing wall may at least partly be filled up by other means, e.g. by means of one or more compressible elements 17B, such as O-rings, provided between said pre-existing wall and said rail 4R.

For example, the fasteners 5 may be of elongated design and/or may be substantially rod shaped. The fasteners 5, which for instance may be formed by bolts, screws and/or chemical anchor bolts, can be fixed in or at an inner skin 2C of a cavity wall 2 A or in or at a subfloor of the building 1.

For example, the fastener 5 may mechanically fastened to, e.g. screwed (see Fig. 3) into, the building 1, especially to its load bearing structure, and/or said fastener 5 may be bonded or adhered (see Fig. 2) to said building 1, especially to its load bearing structure, e.g. by means of a mortar, especially a chemical mortar, such as an injectable chemical mortar, wherein said mortar for instance may bond a distal end part of an anchor rod, or of another fastener 5, inside a hole drilled into said load bearing structure.

Fixating a fastener 5 in a subfloor can be advantageous because a subfloor may be capable of absorbing tensile forces relatively well. As for instance can be seen in Fig. 1A, some ground around the building 1 may be removed temporarily in order to mount one or more anchor means, e.g. at least one first anchor rail 4Ri at least partly below ground level 6, e.g. in the subfloor of the ground floor.

By locating the anchor rail 4R at a level 2L below a doorway 7 in the wall 2, it can be facilitated that a lower anchor rail 4Ri, which may bear at least a substantial part of the weight of the, preferably panel shaped, prefab fagade element 3, can extend along the wall 2 over a substantial part of the width 3W of said facade element 3, over a substantial part of the width of the building 1, and/or over a substantial part of the width 1W of a single part, such as a single apartment, house 1A or home, within said building 1.

However, in alternative embodiments, the anchor rail 4R may advantageously be mounted to the wall at a level 2N higher than the bottom edge of the doorway 7, such as for instance can be seen in Fig. IE, which together with Figs. ID and IF, shows an alternative embodiment of the method of the invention. Here, the lower anchor rail 4Ri, which may extend over at least parts of the existing fagade of multiple parts IA, IB, especially adjacent parts IA, IB, within the building 1, is mounted at a level 2N above the ground level 6 or so-called surface level 6. Hence, in this advantageous embodiment, the new facade 3, 30, 31 can be placed relatively swiftly and/or easily, e.g. because no ground, or almost no ground, has to removed. Another advantage may be that existing paving and/or plantation can substantially be kept in place and/or may be damaged only to a relatively small extent.

The method according to the invention also comprises a step of providing at least one prefab fagade element 3, preferably a substantially panel shaped prefab fagade element 3. For example, said element 3 may be formed as or may comprise thermal insulation panels, and/or said elements 3 may include a cladding, e.g. for providing a fresh look to the building. It is noted that the elements 3, preferably panels, may be made substantially as sandwich panels or laminated panels, which can be free of a frame, but may in other embodiments comprise a frame, which can comprise slats 3S, as can for instance be seen in the exemplary embodiment of Fig. 3. However, the prefab fagade element 3 or one or more of a plurality of prefab facade elements 3 may be of different design. For example, the prefab fagade element 3, or one or more prefab fagade elements 3, may be formed as an installation module, e.g. an installation box or installation cabinet, for accommodating equipment, e.g. solar panels, heat collectors, heat exchangers, pipes, etc., or parts thereof. Said module may for instance comprise a housing, preferably a reclosable housing, which can allow a service man or mechanic to access at least a part of equipment accommodated by said module. Although said housing may be substantially made of steel, preferably cold rolled steel, said housing may alternatively or additionally be made out of any other suitable material(s).

Here, at least a part of the, preferably substantially panel shaped, prefab fagade elements 3 have a substantially rectangular shape. However, other shapes are possible, such as for instance a substantially triangular shape, or any other suitable shape.

Further, it is noted that the design of the prefab fagade element 3 may comprise doorway openings and/or window openings, which openings may for instance be provide with window or door frames. Additionally or alternatively, the facade elements 3 can be provided with other equipment, e.g. solar panels, heat collectors, pipes, etc., or parts thereof.

After the anchor means 4 have been installed, the prefab fagade element 3 are installed at the outside of said exterior wall 2 by connecting them with said anchor means 4.

Thereto, at rear side 3R of the, preferably substantially panel shaped, prefab fagade element 3, preferably at a lower region of said rear side of said element 3, at least one support element 8 for resting upon the anchor rail 4R can be provided. For example, said support element 8 may be formed by a slat 8 or bar 8. Alternatively, said support element 8 may be formed as a rail, e.g. a rail substantially formed from a sheet material, especially a sheet metal such as cold rolled steel, for instance by forming it into a rail by means of bending and/or roll forming.

Additionally or alternatively, the support element 8 may extend over a relatively large part of the width 3W of said prefab facade element 3, e.g. over at least 70%, 80% or 90% of the width 3W of the prefab fagade element 3.

The anchor rail 4R, preferably a top flange portion 4TF thereof, can be provided with an upper support surface 4S for supporting the fagade element 3 by supporting its support element 8. Said upper support surface 4S of the anchor rail 4R and/or a lower support surface 8S of the support element 8 of the fagade element 3 can be slanting in a downward direction towards the exterior wall 2 (to be) covered at least partly by the fagade element 3. For example, the angles between said surfaces 8S, 4S can correspond, and both angles with the horizontal plan can be substantially equal, e.g. both can be substantially 45°. The inclined support surfaces may facilitate the installation of the prefab fagade element 3, e.g. a substantially panel shaped prefab fagade element 3, and/or may serve as guiding means for facilitating locating the fagade element 3.

As can be understood from Fig. 2, the support surface 8S of the fagade element may be formed by a triangular or wedge shaped channel. A top portion of the anchor rail 4R may be at least partly inserted into said channel during installation. It is noted that, as for instance can be seen in Figs. 4A and 5 showing two different embodiments of an anchor rail 4R according to the invention, said top portion of the anchor rail 4R, which top portion can be formed and/or can comprise a top flange 4TF of the anchor rail, may comprise a stop portion 4X, which can abut a rear surface of the facade element 3 to be installed.

As further can be understood from the exemplary embodiments of Figs. 4A, 4B and 5, the anchor rail 4R can have an elongated body part formed as an elongated profile. For example, said profile can be formed from a sheet material, especially a sheet metal, e.g. by means of bending and/or roll forming, as a result of which the anchor rail 4R can advantageously be formed in a relatively simple, cost efficient and/or precise manner. Advantageously, the anchor rail is made of cold rolled steel, as a result of which the anchor can be relatively stiff, strong and/or durable. It is noted that the cold rolled anchor element can have a relatively elegant and/or simple geometry or form. Further, it is noted that the thickness of the sheet material can for example be between 1.5 and 5 mm, such as for instance 2.5 mm.

In preferred embodiments, the anchor rail 4R may have a substantially C-shaped cross-section, such as for instance can be seen in the examples of Figs. 2, 3 and 4A. Said anchor rail 4R can then have a centrally located web portion 4W for positioning along a part of an outside of an exterior wall 2 and a top flange portion 4TF and a bottom flange portion 4BF. Said flange portions 4TF, 4BF can extend substantially laterally away from the web portion 4W, e.g. in an outward direction or direction away from the wall 2.

As mentioned before, the anchor rail 4R, especially its web portion 4W, can be provided with openings 9 arranged for receiving fasteners 5 for installing the anchor rail 4R at an outside of an exterior wall 2.

In embodiments, the openings 9 may be long holes or elongated holes.

Additionally or alternatively, in embodiments, a portion 91, e.g. a main eyelet 91, of the opening 9 can have a relatively small height 91H and another portion 92, e.g. a side eyelet 92, of the opening 9 can have a relatively large height 92H, preferably wherein said portions 91, 92 are located besides each other. For example, the first portion 91, e.g. a main eyelet 91, can be arranged to receive a fastener 5 having a certain diameter in manner having relatively little clearance, whereas the second portion 92, e.g. a side eyelet 92, can receive the same fastener 5 while providing relatively much clearance. Said opening 9, e.g. a through hole, may for instance have a substantially keyhole shaped form, e.g. having an oversized part 92, e.g. forming a main eyelet 92, for loosely surrounding a non-load bearing fastener and having a slotted part 91, e.g. a side eyelet 91, having a height 91H corresponding to the diameter of the fastener 5 for substantially fittingly receiving a load bearing fastener. For instance, said height 91H of said first portion 91 may for instance be less than 15% or even less than 10% larger than the height or diameter of the fastener, whereas the height 92H of the second portion 92 of the opening 9 may additionally or alternatively be at least 20% or at least 30% larger than the height or diameter of the fastener. For example, when the diameter of the fastener 5 is for instance 12 mm, the diameter of height 92H of the second portion can for instance be between 15 and 20 mm, preferably about 17 mm, whereas the diameter or height 91H of the first portion can for instance be between 12 and 14 mm, e.g. about 12.5 mm or about 13 mm.

During installation of the anchor rail 4R against the wall 2, the anchor rail 4R can first be positioned and held against the wall at the right position and may then be moved slightly sideward, e.g. in a direction corresponding to the direction from the second portion 92 of the opening towards the opening’s first portion 91, and may then be temporarily held in said position. Then, holes 10 for load bearing fasteners 5 can be drilled into the wall 2 through at least a part of said second opening portions 92. Said portions 92, which are relatively large with respect to the fastener, may provide a template for drilling at the right places and may provide sufficient space for easily drilling without harming the anchor rail 4R. Subsequently, fasteners 5 may be inserted into at least a number of said holes 10 and the rail 4R may be moved back sideward to its desired position and at least a number of said load bearing fasteners 5 can be tightened in order to fixate the anchor rail 4R.

It is noted that, in advantageous embodiments, the anchor rail 4R, which can advantageously be installed in a horizontal manner, can first be placed at the right height onto the wall 2 by using only two fasteners 5, e.g. one at a left end side of the rail and one at a right hand side of the rail. In this manner, the anchor rail can be mounted relatively accurately in a relatively easy manner which leaves almost no room for mistakes. Subsequently the other holes for load bearing fasteners 5 can be drilled and then the rail can be moved sideward to its desired position. Subsequently, holes may be drilled for non-load bearing fasteners, e.g. fasteners extending into the wall 2 at locations 14 of which is expected that the load bearing structure of the building 1 is relatively weak, e.g. locations 14 relatively close above a window opening 12 or doorway 7 in said wall 2. At said locations 14, the fasteners 5 can extend through the respective openings 9 in the anchor rail 4R, substantially without touching the upper edge 9E of the opening 9. Hence, said fastener 5 can be at those locations 14 be installed in a manner that it will not substantially support the anchor rail 4R and the fagade element 3 or elements supported thereby. Nevertheless, like the load bearing fasteners, the non-load bearing fasteners can hold the that the anchor rail 4R (and the facade element(s) 3 supported thereby) in place and can counteract that said rail 4R (and facade element(s) 3) can be moved unintentionally, for instance in an outward direction away from the wall 2, e.g. due to suction forces of wind.

After mounting the respective anchor means 4, at least one, preferably substantially panel shaped, prefab fagade element 3 is installed. With reference to Figs. 6A and 6B, it is noted that, in advantageous embodiments of the method, the support element 8 of the, preferably substantially panel shaped, prefab facade element 3 can then be placed upon a first anchor rail 4Ri installed at the outside of the exterior wall. Preferably, said first anchor rail 4Ri can be formed by a lower one of at least two anchor means 4Ri, 4R2 used for mounting said facade element 3 to the wall 2. In such case, substantial parts of forces may be led into the construction of the wall 2 at a relatively low level.

Subsequently, at a region substantially opposite to the fagade element’s region provided with the support element 8, e.g. a top region, the fagade element 3 can then be fixed to a second anchor means 4, especially a second anchor rail 4R2, installed at the outside of the exterior wall 2. It is noted that said second anchor means can thus be a second anchor rail 4R2 installed to the exterior wall 2 at a higher level than the level at which the first anchor rail 4Ri is installed to the exterior wall. The fagade element 3 can preferably thus firstly be placed onto a first anchor rail 4Ri for substantially supporting its weight, and can subsequently be fixated to a second anchor rail 4R2 in order to keep the fagade element 3 substantially in place.

It is noted that the fagade element 3 can be attached to the second anchor rail 4R2 in any suitable manner. For example, as can be seen in the exemplary embodiment of Fig. 2, one or more U-shaped profiles 15, e.g. a strip or multiple clamps, may be placed over a substantially upright front edge of a bottom flange portion 4BF of the anchor rail 4R and over a suitable part of the fagade element 3, such a substantially rigid rear plate 3P thereof. Preferably, said profile 15 is not supported on the second anchor rail 4R, such that the weight of the fagade element 3 is substantially transferred via the first anchor rail.

Alternatively, as can be seen in the exemplary embodiment of Fig. 3, other means may be used to secure the fagade element 3 to the second anchor rail 4R2. Here, a relatively flexible strip is used that wifi not substantially transfer shear loads or vertical forces from the fagade element 3 onto the fastener 5, but which can transfer substantially horizontal forces, e.g. tensile forces due to wind.

Fig. 7 shows just another example. Here, a cavity 18 is provided in the facade element 3, from which a vertically oriented slot shaped through hole extends in a backward direction. Through this hole a fastener (not shown) can fasten the facade element 3 onto the anchor rail 4R. For example, said fastener may for instance be formed as a bolt cooperating with a nut, e.g. a nut 21 fixedly attached in or at the anchor rail 4R. Due to the vertical direction of the slot 19, it can be counteracted that shear loads or vertical forces from the fagade element 3 will be transferred onto the fasteners 5 fixing the anchor rail onto the wall 2.

After installing a first fagade element 30, a second facade element 31 can be installed above said first one. Advantageously, a support element 8 of said second, preferably substantially panel shaped, prefab facade element 31 can then be placed upon the second anchor rail 4R2. Further, said second facade element 31 can then, at a higher region than at which its support element 8 is located, be fixed to a third anchor means 4, preferably a third anchor rail 4R3, installed at the outside of the exterior wall 2 at a level located above the second anchor rail 4R2.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, a single anchor rail 4R2 can be used to hold a first, preferably substantially panel shaped, prefab facade element 30 that is substantially supported by other anchor means, especially another anchor rail 4Ri, and to support at least one second, preferably substantially panel shaped, prefab facade element 31 thereon.

It is noted that for the purpose of clarity and a concise description features are described herein as part of the same or separate embodiments, however, it will be appreciated that the scope of the invention may include embodiments having combinations of all or some of the features described.

Further, it is noted that the invention is not restricted to the embodiments described herein. It will be understood that many variants are possible.

For example, a fagade element can be mounted to the wall by means of two anchor rails, e.g. one rail supporting said element and another rail substantially merely preventing tilting and shifting of said facade element.

As another example, the facade elements can also be fixed to the wall at other locations, e.g. at side edges of said elements.

Furthermore, it is noted that anchor rail may be longer than the width of a facade element and/or than the width of a house. For instance, a relatively long anchor rail may support multiple facade elements and/or the top sides of multiple facade elements may be locked to said relatively long anchor rail.

Such and other variants will be apparent for the person skilled in the art and are considered to lie within in the scope of the invention as formulated in the following claims.

Claims (22)

1. Claims

   1. Method for covering at least a part of an outside of an exterior wall of a building to be retrofitted with at least one prefab fagade element, especially a substantially panel shaped prefab fagade element, the method comprising the steps of: providing anchor means for mounting a prefab fagade element, especially a substantially panel shaped prefab fagade element, to an outside of an exterior wall of a building; installing said anchor means at an outside of an exterior wall of a building to be renovated at least partly; providing at least one prefab fagade element, preferably a substantially panel shaped prefab fagade element; and mounting said at least one prefab fagade element by means of the anchor means installed at the outside of said exterior wall, wherein at least one of said anchor means is formed as an anchor rail.
2. 2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the step of installing said anchor means at an outside of the wall comprises: installing the anchor rail against a pre-existing fagade of the building to be renovated by means of a plurality of fasteners extending through said pre-existing fagade and being fastened to a part of a load bearing structure of the building, e.g. an inner skin of a cavity wall or a subfloor.
3. 3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a rear side of the prefab fagade element, preferably at a lower region of said rear side of said element, is provided with at least one support element for resting upon the anchor rail.
4. 4. Method according to claim 3, wherein the anchor rail, preferably a top flange portion thereof, is provided with an upper support surface for supporting the fagade element by supporting its support element.
5. 5. Method according to claims 4, wherein the upper support surface of the anchor rail and/or a lower support surface of the support element of the fagade element is slanting in a downward direction towards the exterior wall (to be) covered at least partly by the fagade element.
6. 6. Method according to any one of claims 3-5, wherein the support element of the prefab fagade element is placed upon a first anchor rail installed at the outside of the exterior wall, and wherein the fagade element, at a region substantially opposite to the fagade element’s region provided with the support element, is fixed to a second anchor means, especially a second anchor rail, installed at the outside of the exterior wall, preferably wherein the second anchor means is a second anchor rail installed to the exterior wall at a higher level than the level at which the first anchor rail is installed to the exterior wall.
7. 7. Method according to claim 6, wherein a support element of a second prefab fagade element, preferably being a substantially panel shaped prefab fagade element, is placed upon the second anchor rail, and wherein said second fagade element, at a higher region than at which its support element is located, is fixed to a third anchor means, preferably a third anchor rail, installed at the outside of the exterior wall at a level located above the second anchor rail.
8. 8. Method according to claim 2 or any one of claims 3-7 when dependent on claim 2, wherein at least two first fasteners extending into the wall are installed in such a manner that the anchor rail is supported onto said first fasteners.
9. 9. Method according to claim 8, wherein at least one second fastener extending into the wall at a location above a window opening or doorway in said wall is being installed in such a manner that said second fastener can counteract that the anchor rail can be pulled substantially radially away from the pre-existing fagade, wherein the first and second fasteners are installed in such manner that after installation only the first fasteners substantially support the anchor rail.
10. 10. Exterior wall, or building comprising an exterior wall, provided with a prefab fagade element installed by means of the method according to one of the preceding claims, said prefab fagade element preferably being a substantially panel shaped prefab fagade element.
11. 11. Elongated envelope-renovation anchor rail for use in a method according to any one of claims 1-9 and for supporting a prefab fagade element, especially a substantially panel shaped prefab fagade element.
12. 12. Anchor rail according to claim 11, wherein said anchor rail has a height and a length, wherein said length is at least ten times larger than said height of the anchor rail.
13. 13. Anchor rail according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the anchor rail has an elongated body part formed as an elongated profile, preferably wherein said profile is formed from a sheet material, especially a sheet metal, e.g. by means of bending and/or roll forming.
14. 14. Anchor rail according to any one of claims 11-13, especially according to claim 12, wherein the anchor rail is made of cold rolled steel.
15. 15. Anchor rail according to any one of claims 11-14, wherein the anchor rail has a substantially C-shaped cross-section having a centrally located web portion for positioning along a part of an outside of an exterior wall and having a top flange portion and a bottom flange portion, wherein said flange portions extend substantially laterally away from the web portion.
16. 16. Anchor rail according to any one of claims 11-15, wherein the anchor rail, preferably its web portion, is provided with openings arranged for receiving fasteners for installing the anchor rail at an outside of an exterior wall.
17. 17. Anchor rail according to claim 16, wherein a part of the openings has a relatively small height and another part of the openings has a relatively large height.
18. 18. Anchor rail according to claim 16 or 17, wherein a part of the openings includes a first portion having a relatively small height and includes another portion having a relatively large height.
19. 19. Anchor rail according to any one of claims 11-18, wherein the anchor rail, preferably a top flange portion thereof, is provided with an upper support surface for supporting a support element provided at a rear side, preferably at a lower region of said rear side, of a prefab fagade element, preferably a substantially panel shaped prefab fagade element.
20. 20. Anchor rail according to claim 19, wherein the upper support surface of the anchor rail is slanting in a downward direction towards a centrally located web portion of said anchor rail.
21. 21. Fagade renovation system, comprising: at least one anchor rail according to any one of claims 11-20; and a plurality of fasteners for installing said anchor rail at an outside of an exterior wall of a building to be renovated at least partly.
22. 22. Fagade renovation system, comprising: at least one anchor rail according to any one of claims 11-20; and at least one prefab fagade element, preferably a substantially panel shaped prefab fagade element.