Cladding assembly and method of cladding posts
View Patent ↗A cladding assembly comprises first and second cladding panels, each having top and bottom edge portions and a pair of lateral sides, and a corner connection element disposed to couple a pair of adjacent lateral sides of the first and second cladding panels together. The corner connection element includes top and bottom edge portions and a pair of lateral sides, wherein the corner connection element comprises a pair of female connectors disposed at its lateral sides and the pair of adjacent lateral sides of the first and second cladding panels comprises a pair of male connectors for mating with the female connectors, or wherein the corner connection element comprises a pair of male connectors disposed at its lateral sides and the pair of adjacent lateral sides of the first and second cladding panels comprises a pair of female connectors for mating with the male connectors of the corner connection element.
1. An aesthetic cladding assembly for cladding a post, comprising:
a plurality of polymeric cladding panels, each cladding panel having top and bottom edges, a pair of opposite lateral edges and respective catches extending along the length of the lateral edges;
a plurality of polymeric corner connection elements for connecting adjacent cladding panels together in cladding the post, wherein each corner connection element includes a pair of catches for mating with the catches of the cladding panels; and
a decorative trim section for finishing an end of the cladding assembly,
wherein a first end portion of each catch of the cladding panels is spaced from the bottom or top edge of the cladding panel, thereby providing space for installation of the decorative trim section at the end of the cladding assembly.
2. The aesthetic cladding assembly of claim 1 , wherein one or both of the connection elements and cladding panels is sufficiently flexible so as to permit a snap fit engagement between the connection elements and the cladding panels.
3. The aesthetic cladding assembly of claim 2 , wherein the connection elements are flexible about a longitudinal axis thereof.
4. The aesthetic cladding assembly of claim 1 , wherein an opposite end portion of each catch of the cladding panels is also spaced from the top or bottom edge of the cladding panel, thereby providing space for installation of a second decorative trim section for finishing an opposite end of the cladding assembly.
5. The aesthetic cladding assembly of claim 1 , wherein each catch of the cladding panels is generally u- or semicircular-shaped.
6. The aesthetic cladding assembly of claim 1 , wherein the cladding panels and connection elements are formed from a thermoplastic polymeric material.
7. A cladded post installation, comprising:
a post having a plurality of outer faces;
a plurality of polymeric cladding panels installed on the outer faces of the post, each cladding panel having top and bottom edges, a pair of opposite lateral edges and respective catches extending along the length of the lateral edges;
a plurality of polymeric corner connection elements connecting adjacent cladding panels together at corners of the post, wherein each corner connection element includes a pair of catches mated with the catches of the cladding panels; and
a decorative trim section disposed to finish an end of the cladding assembly,
wherein a first end portion of each catch of the cladding panels is spaced from the bottom or top edge of the cladding panel, thereby providing space for installation of the decorative trim section at the end of the cladding assembly.
8. The cladded post installation of claim 7 , wherein each of the corner connection elements is reversibly secured at a respective corner of the post to a pair of adjacent cladding panels with a snap fit engagement, wherein the snap fit engagement holds the corner connection element to the pair of adjacent cladding panels under tension.
9. The cladded post installation of claim 7 , wherein one or both of the connection elements and cladding panels is sufficiently flexible to permit a snap fit engagement between the connection elements and the cladding panels.
10. The cladded post installation of claim 9 , wherein the connection element are flexible about a longitudinal axis thereof.
11. The cladded post installation of claim 7 , wherein the decorative trim section is disposed at least in part in the space provided at the first end portion of each catch and the corner connection elements are disposed over an upper surface of the decorative trim section.
12. The cladded post installation of claim 7 , wherein each catch of the cladding panels is generally u- or semicircular-shaped.
13. The cladded post installation of claim 7 , wherein the first end portion of each catch of the cladding panels is spaced from a bottom edge of the cladding panel, and wherein the decorative trim section is disposed underneath the corner connection element and around the outer faces of the post.
14. The cladded post installation of claim 7 , wherein the first end portion of each catch of the cladding panels is spaced from a bottom edge of the cladding panel, and wherein the decorative trim section is disposed underneath the catches of the cladding panels and around the outer faces of the post.
15. An aesthetic cladding assembly for cladding a post, comprising:
a plurality of polymeric cladding panels, each cladding panel having top and bottom edges, a pair of opposite lateral edges and respective catches extending along the length of the lateral edges;
a plurality of polymeric corner connection elements for connecting adjacent cladding panels together in cladding the post, wherein each corner connection element includes a pair of catches for mating with the catches of the cladding panels; and
a decorative trim section for finishing a bottom end of the cladding assembly,
wherein a first end portion of each catch of the cladding panels is spaced from the bottom edge of the cladding panel, thereby providing space for installation of the decorative trim section at the bottom end of the cladding assembly.
16. The aesthetic cladding assembly of claim 15 , wherein one or both of the connection elements and cladding panels is sufficiently flexible so as to permit a snap fit engagement between the connection elements and the cladding panels.
17. The aesthetic cladding assembly of claim 15 , wherein the connection elements are flexible about a longitudinal axis thereof.
18. The aesthetic cladding assembly of claim 15 , wherein each catch of the cladding panels is generally u- or semicircular-shaped.
19. The aesthetic cladding assembly of claim 15 , wherein the cladding panels and connection elements are formed from a thermoplastic polymeric material.
20. The aesthetic cladding assembly of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of polymeric cladding panels consists of four cladding panels and the plurality of polymeric corner connection elements consists of four corner connection elements.