Wall with decorative facing

摘要

Disclosed is an economical and effective way of producing a double sided decorative wall using facing panels having a decorative face surface, in particular dry cast concrete panels having a regular surface structure, more preferably an embossed surface, most preferably a patterned surface. Further disclosed are wall components and a wall kit for a double sided decorative wall. The facing panels in the wall are stacked in a back-to-back arrangement into a pair of first and second back-to-back walls, which walls are interconnected by connectors which link at least one facing panel in the first wall to at least one facing panel in the second wall for forming the double sided decorative wall. The connecting members can be in individual connectors, or a combination of connectors for linking multiple facing panels or linking facing panels at corners or curves in the wall. The connectors can be of different length to enable the construction of decorative walls of different thickness. A modular wall system for double sided decorative walls forming both straight and curved walls is also disclosed. The system uses facing panels and connectors, wherein all facing panels are of equal thickness, but may have different lengths and may have different widths. The facing panels of the modular wall system all have graduated lengths, each length being a multiple of a base length L. Thus, the facing panels have lengths of 2L, 3L, 4L, 5L etc. To facilitate the formation of walls with corners, such as right angled corners, the facing panels preferably have a depth which is equal to L or a multiple of L. Building the decorative wall of two partial walls of facing panels with intermediate connectors renders the wall more economical than the previously known walls with base blocks and facing panels suspended from the base blocks on one or both sides.

主权项

1. A method for providing a double sided decorative retaining wall or freestanding wall, comprising the steps of
dry-casting a plurality of decorative concrete facing panels by compressing a dry cast concrete mix in a top to bottom direction to generate an impressed patterned decorative front surface and an opposite, back surface, the plurality of concrete facing panels including decorative front surfaces; stacking the concrete facing panels back-to-back in spaced apart parallel rows to form a pair of spaced apart parallel first and second decorative walls and an intermediate space; connecting each concrete facing panel in the first decorative wall with at least one concrete facing panel in the second decorative wall in the back-to-back orientation to form the double sided decorative wall; and connecting at least one concrete facing panel in the first decorative wall with at least two concrete facing panels in the second decorative wall for providing the wall with lateral stability against shifting, wherein the dry-casting step includes generating a cast retaining groove in the back surface of each of the plurality of decorative concrete facing panels and the step of connecting each concrete panel includes providing a plurality of connectors having opposite connecting ends for respectively removably engaging the retaining groove of one of the concrete facing panels, and removably engaging each connector at the one end in the retaining groove of at least one of the concrete facing panels in the first decorative wall and at the opposite connecting end in the retaining groove of at least one of the concrete facing panels in the second decorative wall, wherein the step of connecting at least one concrete facing panel further includes providing at least one Y-shape branched connector having a first connecting end and two opposite second connecting ends and attaching the first connecting end of the branched connector to the retaining groove in one of the concrete facing panels in the first decorative wall and attaching each of the second connecting ends to the retaining groove of a different one of the concrete facing panels of the second decorative wall.