Method and apparatus for sealing windows of a building
OwnerDavid Nelsoninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for forming a waterproof building wall is disclosed, including providing a mold that fits around a window or other structure held in the wall, applying stucco or other moldable material that hardens to form an exterior coating for the wall and a recess from the mold, and sealing the recess with an elastic and waterproof sealant that is attached to both the structure and the side of the recess. The resulting wall may have a sealed recess between the stucco coating and the structure that extends less than about one centimeter from the structure, and the seal can expand and contract in conformance with expansion and contraction of a distance between the edge and the side surface.
Claims36
A method of fabricating a building wall, the method comprising:
- attaching a structure to a support for the wall;
- holding a mold adjacent to an edge of the structure;
- forming a coating over the support adjacent to the structure, including forming an exterior surface of the coating, and forming a side surface of the coating that substantially adjoins the mold;
- removing the mold from the coating and from the edge to form a recess in the coating adjacent to the edge, including exposing the side surface of the coating;
- and
- forming a substantially waterproof and elastic seal in the recess, including joining the seal to the edge and joining the seal to the side surface, such that the seal can expand and contract in conformance with expansion and contraction of a distance between the edge and the side surface.
A building comprising:
- a wall dividing an interior region of the building from a region exterior to the building, the wall having an exterior surface disposed adjacent to the exterior region;
- a structure held in the wall, the structure including a part that is exposed to the exterior region;
- a recess in the exterior surface that is disposed adjacent to the structure, the recess substantially encircling the structure and not extending more than about one centimeter away from the structure, the recess including a bottom surface and a side surface, the side surface being disposed between the exterior surface and the bottom surface;
- and
- a waterproof and elastic seal that is disposed in the recess, the seal being joined to the structure and to the side surface of the recess, the seal being disjoined from the bottom surface, wherein the seal expands and contracts in conformance with expansion and contraction of a distance between the structure and the side surface.
An apparatus for a building wall including stucco, the apparatus comprising:
- a window having a frame that is sized to fit in the wall;
- and
- a removable mold fitting around the frame to shape the stucco, the mold including a projection having a width extending beyond the frame by not greater than about one centimeter, the projection having a depth measured in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the width, the depth being greater than the width, the mold being made of a material that detaches from the stucco to form a recess in the stucco adjacent to the frame.
An apparatus for a building having a window held in a wall, the apparatus comprising:
- molding means for molding a recess in an exterior surface of the wall adjacent to the window, the recess substantially encircling the window and having a side surface that is disposed adjacent to the exterior surface;
- and
- holding means for holding the molding means to the window.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.