Field of the Invention

The invention relates to spacers for use in tiling, more particularly to a spacer that can also be used as a packing shim.

Background of the Invention

The process of laying tiles on surfaces such as walls, floors or worktops generally involves positioning individual tiles in horizontal rows onto a surface primed with some form of adhesive. Tiles are laid with gaps between adjacent tiles and this gap is later filled with grout to create a waterproof surface. For aesthetic reasons these gaps between tiles must be kept uniform in width. Any misalignment of a tile affects the appearance of the tiled surface as a whole.

Tile spacers are generally used while the tiles are being positioned to provide a uniform gap between adjacent tiles. Conventional tile spacers are usually in the form of a cross shape, with four arms of uniform length, width and depth. These spacers are usually laid at the intersection defined by four tile corners and support the tiles while the adhesive is setting. Once the tile adhesive has set the spacers are removed either by hand or with pliers prior to the application of grout in the gaps.

Removal of tile spacers prior to grouting is important. If grout is applied on top of a tile spacer it will not adhere as effectively. Removing conventional tile spacers can be a difficult and time consuming job.

The bottom row of tiles is often laid next to a surface which is perpendicular to the tiled surface. Wall tiles, for example, may be laid with the bottom row next to a floor or a worktop, and floor tiles may be laid next to a wall or skirting board. For aesthetic reasons, this bottom or end row of tiles must also be laid along a straight line. When tiling a wall, the gap between the underside of the lowermost row of tiles and the adjacent surface must be packed in order to support the entire set of tiles until the tile adhesive has set, otherwise the tiles are at risk of slipping. When tiling a floor, the gap between the edge of the end row and the adjacent wall or skirting must also be packed to ensure that all rows of tiles maintain their position until the adhesive has set.

Floors and other surfaces are invariably not perfectly straight and the distance between the edge of the bottom or end tile and the surface perpendicular to the tile is likely to vary along the length of the intersection of the two perpendicular surfaces. Even if the perpendicular surface is perfectly straight, the edge of the tile may be uneven as it often is with hand made tiles. The arms of conventional tile spacers all have uniform length, width and depth and are therefore not used for packing the gap between this bottom or end row of tiles and the adjacent surface. To pack this gap a tiler will use a variety of materials such as a combination of matchsticks and folded pieces of cardboard of varying depth wedged in between the tile edge and the surface.

It would be desirable to provide an improved tile spacer device, which can also be used to accurately pack the end or bottom row of tiles.

Summary of the Invention

One aspect of the invention provides a device suitable for use as either a tile spacer or a packing shim as specified in Claim 1.

A further aspect of the invention provides a method for tiling a surface as specified in Claim 13.

Preferred aspects of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

The present invention provides a dual purpose removable tile spacer and packing shim. This device enables a tiler to accurately space tiles as well as easily and accurately support a bottom or end row of tiles using just one product.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view from above of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side view along the line X of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an end on view of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1 in use as a spacer;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention;

Figure 6 is a side view along the line X of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 4;

Figure 7 show the device of the invention in use in tiling a wall; and

Figure 8 is an end on view of the device of the invention being used as a packing shim.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

With reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3, a device according to the invention comprises a body in the form of a cross with four arms 10, 12, 14, and 16. The arms extend radially from a common intersection 26 and each arm is arranged at an angle of about 90° to the next arm. Each arm is of uniform width w. The width w sets the spacing between adjacent tiles that will later be filled with grout.

The desired spacing between tiles varies according to the type of surface, size of tile as well as the personal preference of the tiler. The size of the spacer, and hence width w may be modified to produce a variety of different sized spacers suitable for various different tiling jobs.

Each arm has a substantially flat bottom edge for positioning against a substantially flat surface to be tiled. The bottom edge of each arm resides in the same plane (see Figure 3).

The depth of each arm is defined as the distance between a top surface 10 ^l , 12 ^l , 14 ^l , 16 ^ti and 16 ^ώ and a base 28 of each arm. In the preferred embodiment three of the arms 10,

12 and 14 each provide one of three different depths d ¹ , d ² and d ³ and one arm 16 comprises two portions each with a different depth d ⁴ and d ⁵ . As each arm has a different depth, the top surfaces of all the arms do not reside in a common plane. The depth of the arms decreases incrementally. For example in a device suitable for wall tiling the different depths d ¹ to d ⁵ are 5mm, 4mm, 3mm, 2mm and lmm respectively.

Figure 4 is an end on view of the device 60 in use as a spacer between two tiles 56 and 58. When the device is used as a spacer the tallest arm 10 protrudes above the level of the

tiles and in this way is more easily removed from the surface as arm 10 can easily be gripped with two fingers.

An alternative embodiment is illustrated in Figures 5 and 6. Common features are illustrated with common reference numerals. In this embodiment, arm 10 comprises an extending portion 32 on its upper surface at the end of the arm. This extending portion acts as a finger pull to aid removal of the spacer prior to grouting. To remove the spacer easily the tiler simply engages the protrusion with his finger or finger nail and pulls the spacer away from the surface.

With reference to Figure 7, when tiling a wall 34 the device is used as a spacer 42 and is oriented vertically with its base 28 against the wall 34 at the intersection defined by four tile corners 36. The arms of the device have a uniform predetermined width w and define a uniform gap 40 between the tiles.

The surface 38 adjacent to the bottom row of tiles is uneven. To support the bottom row of tiles, the device 1 is used as a packing shim 44 and one of the four arms 10, 12, 14 or 16 is placed into the gap between the bottom tile edge 50 and the surface 38. The four arms provide different depths d ¹ to d ⁵ . The particular arm used will depend on the depth to be packed. Arm 16 has two possible depths d ⁴ and d ⁵ depending on how far into the gap the arm is pushed.

More than one device 1 can be stacked upon each other in order to create more varied depths for packing. This is illustrated in Figure 8 where packing shims numbered 46 and

48 are stacked on top of each other and arms 12 and 10 respectively are inserted into the gap 2 between tile 50 and the surface 38. The packing shims numbered 52 and 53 are stacked on top of each other and arms 10 on both packing shims and inserted into the gap 3 between tile 54 and the surface 38. For example in a device suitable for wall tiling the different depths d ¹ to d ⁵ are 5mm, 4mm, 3mm, 2mm and lmm respectively. Using this example applied to Figure 8, the gap 2 between tile 50 and the surface 38 is 9mm and the gap 3 between tile 54 and the surface 38 is 10mm. Two of these devices may be stacked to create a packing shim with a depth in the range 6 to 10mm, and three spacers may be stacked creating a packing shim with a depth in the range 11 to 15mm and so on. In this way incremental changes in shim depth are possible.

Dual purpose tile spacers and packing shims are provided in a plurality of colours and finishes, including white and transparent and translucent. White or transparent or translucent spacers may be preferred if a tiler does not intend to remove the spacers prior to the application of grout.

A range of spacers, each one of the range having a different width w is provided, the range of widths w providing for differently sized gaps between adjacent tiles. Tile spacers are commonly available with widths w of 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm and 7mm. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, each different width of the tile spacer device of the invention is available in a different colour. For example a 2mm spacer may be black in colour, a 3mm spacer may be red and a 4mm spacer may be blue. Colour coding the spacers assists the tiler in identifying the correct size spacer for a particular tiling job, and also aids removal of the spacers after tiling as the coloured spacers stand out from the background, especially on a white surface.