Composite Building Material for Cementitious Material Wall Assembly

Abstract

A composite building material includes at least one membrane, a spacer material bonded to one face of the membrane, and a lath bonded to an opposite face of the membrane. The components of the composite building material are installed simultaneously as an integral unit within a wall, roof or like assembly. The lath is preferably made of plastic or metal and is used to support cementitious material such as stucco, mortar, plaster, concrete and the like. The spacer material provides ventilation and drainage passages and is preferably provided as separate or integrally-formed spacer elements, an openwork mat, a corrugated material, or the like. Preferably, the membrane is building paper, tar paper, roofing felt, house-wrap material or like weather-resistive material. A wall/roof assembly and a method of assembling a wall/roof structure are also disclosed.

1 . A composite building material, comprising: 
 at least one membrane having opposite faces;    a spacer material bonded to one of said faces of said at least one membrane and providing ventilation and drainage passages along said face; and    a lath bonded to the opposite face of said at least one membrane and adapted to provide a base for cementitious material.    
   
   
       2 . A composite building material according to  claim 1 , wherein said at least one membrane is a single layer membrane.  
   
   
       3 . A composite building material according to  claim 1 , wherein said at least one membrane is a multi-layer membrane.  
   
   
       4 . A composite building material according to  claim 1 , wherein said composite building material is adapted to be stored and shipped in a spiral roll.  
   
   
       5 . A composite building material according to  claim 1 , wherein said composite building material is adapted to be stored and shipped in sheets.  
   
   
       6 . A composite building material according to  claim 1 , wherein said lath is made of plastic or metal.  
   
   
       7 . A composite building material according to  claim 6 , wherein said lath is bonded to said at least one membrane.  
   
   
       8 . A composite building material according to  claim 6 , wherein said at least one membrane is selected from a group consisting of a weather-resistive membrane, a building paper, a tar paper, a roofing felt, and a house-wrap material.  
   
   
       9 . A composite building material according to  claim 8 , wherein said spacer material is selected from a group consisting of a plurality of separate spacer elements, an openwork material, an openwork mat of randomly convoluted polymeric filaments, a corrugated material, a thermoformed web of thermoplastic material, and a vacuum-stamped web of thermoplastic material.  
   
   
       10 . A composite building material according to  claim 8 , wherein said spacer material is bonded to said at least one membrane.  
   
   
       11 . A wall or roof assembly of a building, comprising: 
 an inner structural component, said inner structural component being a sheathing member or open studs;    an exterior finish including a cementitious material; and    a composite building material installed between said inner structural component and said exterior finish, said composite building material comprising at least one membrane, a spacer material bonded to one face of said at least one membrane, and a lath bonded to an opposite face of said at least one membrane.    
   
   
       12 . An assembly according to  claim 11 , wherein said composite building material is positioned within said assembly such that said lath confronts said exterior finish and said spacer material faces said inner structural component.  
   
   
       13 . An assembly according to  claim 12 , wherein said lath and spacer material are bonded to said at least one membrane before being installed within said assembly.  
   
   
       14 . An assembly according to  claim 13 , wherein said at least one membrane is a single layer membrane.  
   
   
       15 . An assembly according to  claim 13 , wherein said at least one membrane is a multi-layer membrane.  
   
   
       16 . An assembly according to  claim 13 , further comprising a fastener that connects the composite building material, including said at least one membrane, spacer material and lath, to the inner structural component.  
   
   
       17 . An assembly according to  claim 16 , wherein said fastener is a nail, a nail with a washer, or a staple.  
   
   
       18 . An assembly according to  claim 16 , wherein said lath is made of plastic or metal.  
   
   
       19 . An assembly according to  claim 18 , wherein said cementitious material is selected from a group consisting of stucco, mortar, concrete and plaster.  
   
   
       20 . An assembly according to  claim 18 , wherein said exterior finish is selected from a group consisting of stucco, masonry, natural stone, and synthetic stone.  
   
   
       21 . An assembly according to  claim 18 , wherein said at least one membrane is selected from a group consisting of a weather-resistive membrane, a building paper, a tar paper, a roofing felt, and a house-wrap material.  
   
   
       22 . An assembly according to  claim 21 , wherein said spacer material is selected from a group consisting of a plurality of separate spacer elements, an openwork material, an openwork mat of randomly convoluted polymeric filaments, a corrugated material, a thermoformed web of thermoplastic material, and a vacuum-stamped web of thermoplastic material.  
   
   
       23 . An assembly according to  claim 22 , further comprising an optional second weather-resistive membrane positioned between said inner sheathing member and said composite building material.  
   
   
       24 . An assembly according to  claim 23 , wherein said optional second weather-resistive membrane is a building paper, tar paper, roofing felt or house-wrap material.  
   
   
       25 . A method of assembling a wall or roof of a building comprising the steps of: 
 fastening a composite building material to an inner structural component of a building structure, said inner structural component being a sheathing member or open studs, said composite building material comprising at least one membrane, a spacer material bonded to one face of said at least one membrane, and a lath bonded to an opposite face of said at least one membrane; and    applying cementitious material on the lath of the composite building material to form an exterior finish.    
   
   
       26 . A method according to  claim 25 , further comprising the step of providing the composite building material in a spiral roll and unrolling the composite building material before or during said fastening step.  
   
   
       27 . A method according to  claim 25 , further comprising the step of providing the composite building material in sheets.  
   
   
       28 . A method according to  claim 25 , wherein said lath and spacer material are bonded to said at least one membrane before said composite building material is fastened to said inner structural component.  
   
   
       29 . A method according to  claim 28 , wherein said fastening step includes applying a fastener through all layers of the composite building material to simultaneously secure all layers of the composite building material to the inner structural component in a one step process.  
   
   
       30 . A method according to  claim 29 , wherein said spacer material faces the inner structural component and provides ventilation and drainage passages that extend between the at least one membrane and the inner structural component.  
   
   
       31 . A method according to  claim 30 , further comprising the optional step of securing a weather-resistive membrane to the inner sheathing member before fastening the composite building material to the inner structural component.