Exterior finishing system and building wall containing a corrosion-resistant enhanced thickness fabric

Abstract

A corrosion-resistant lath is provided for use in exterior finishing systems, such as stucco systems and exterior insulation and finish systems (“EIFS”). The lath includes in a first embodiment an open, woven fabric comprising weft and warp yarns containing non-metallic fibers, such as glass fibers. A portion of the weft yarns are undulated, resulting in an increased thickness for the fabric. The fabric is coated with a polymeric resin for substantially binding the weft yarns in the undulated condition. This invention also includes methods for making an exterior finish system and building wall including an exterior finish system using such a lath.

1 . A building wall comprising:
 a building wall substrate;   a corrosion-resistant woven lath attached to said substrate, said lath comprising warp and weft yarns comprising non-metallic fibers, wherein at least a portion of said warp yarns have a torque effect on at least a portion of said weft yarns and wherein at least a portion of said weft yarns are undulated when viewed in the plane of the lath; and   a stucco matrix applied to said lath.   
     
     
         2 . The building wall of  claim 1 , wherein weft yarns are inserted through twisted warp yarns at regular intervals and are mechanically locked in place. 
     
     
         3 . The building wall of  claim 1 , wherein the non-metallic fibers are selected from the group consisting of polymeric fibers, glass fibers, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The building wall of  claim 3 , wherein said non-metallic fibers comprise glass fibers. 
     
     
         5 . The building wall of  claim 4 , wherein said glass fibers are selected from the group consisting of E-glass fibers, A-glass fibers, ECR-glass fibers, S-glass fibers, AR-glass fibers and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The building wall of  claim 5 , wherein said glass fiber comprise AR-glass fibers. 
     
     
         7 . The building wall of  claim 6 , wherein said fabric comprises a leno weave. 
     
     
         8 . The building wall of  claim 6 , wherein said weft yarns are fixed in said undulated condition when viewed in the plane of the lath by a coating. 
     
     
         9 . The building wall of  claim 8 , wherein said coating comprises a polymeric coating. 
     
     
         10 . The building wall of  claim 9 , wherein said a polymeric coating is disposed over at least a portion of said yarns for substantially fixing said weft yarns in said undulated condition. 
     
     
         11 . The building wall of  claim 10 , wherein at least a portion of said weft yarns are fixed in a substantially sinusoidal pattern when view in the plane of the lath. 
     
     
         12 . The building wall of  claim 10 , wherein said polymeric coating comprises an alkaline resistant coating. 
     
     
         13 . The building wall of  claim 1 , wherein said warp yarns have a combined weight which is greater than the combined weight of the weft yarns. 
     
     
         14 . The building wall of  claim 1 , wherein said weft and warp yarns are spaced apart to provide openings of about 0.02-4.0 square inches (0.5-102 mm 2 ). 
     
     
         15 . The building wall of  claim 1 , said lath retains and supports the weight of a wet stucco matrix applied thereto. 
     
     
         16 . A building wall comprising:
 a building wall substrate;   an insulation board attached to the substrate;   a base coat applied to the insulation board;   a reinforcing mesh comprising warp and weft yarns comprising non-metallic fibers, wherein at least a portion of said warp yarns have a torque effect on at least a portion of said weft yarns and wherein at least a portion of said weft yarns are undulated when viewed in the plane of the mesh; and   a finish coat applied to said reinforcing mesh, wherein the reinforcing mesh is substantially embedded within the base coat and the finish coat.   
     
     
         17 . The building wall of  claim 16 , wherein weft yarns are inserted through twisted warp yarns at regular intervals and are mechanically locked in place. 
     
     
         18 . The building wall of  claim 16 , wherein the non-metallic fibers are selected from the group consisting of polymeric fibers, glass fibers, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         19 . The building wall of  claim 18 , wherein said non-metallic fibers comprise glass fibers. 
     
     
         20 . The building wall of  claim 19 , wherein said weft yarns are fixed in an undulated condition when viewed in the plane of the mesh by a coating. 
     
     
         21 . The building wall of  claim 20 , wherein said coating is disposed over at least a portion of said yarns for substantially fixing said weft yarns in said undulated condition. 
     
     
         22 . The building wall of  claim 21 , wherein at least a portion of said weft yarns are fixed in a substantially sinusoidal pattern when view in the plane of the mesh. 
     
     
         23 . The building wall of  claim 21 , wherein said coating comprises an alkaline resistant coating. 
     
     
         24 . The building wall of  claim 16 , wherein said warp yarns have a combined weight which is greater than the combined weight of the weft yarns.