There are various methods of covering, protecting, and decorating an exterior surface of a building known in the art. For example, the construction of a brick or a stone wall against the exterior surface of the building is popular with consumers. However, the construction of the brick or the stone wall can be expensive as compared to other methods.
Siding systems have been used for decades as an alternative to the brick or the stone wall construction. Generally, siding systems are less expensive to construct than the brick or the stone wall method. Typically, the siding systems include a plurality of panels with the panels disposed adjacent to one another for covering the support surface of the building.
Additionally, it is known in the art for the panels to include a decorative element for aesthetic purposes, such as a patterned face that may resemble a brick or a stone wall. Typically, in the siding system resembling a brick or a stone wall, adjacent panels engage each other to assist in securing the panels to the support surface. For example, it is known in the art for the panels to define a pair of pockets and have a pair of tabs. The tabs of the panels are disposed within the pockets of an adjacent panel that is secured to the support surface. Generally, the tabs simply rest within the pockets without providing an interlocking mechanism to secure the tabs within the pockets. An example of a siding system resembling the brick or the stone wall is in U.S. Pat. No. 3,968,610. The lack of the locking mechanism may result in the separation of the panels from each other when subjected to a force, such as wind, thereby requiring additional maintenance to monitor and re-secure the panels to each other and/or the support surface.
Alternatively, siding systems without the aesthetic appearance of a stone or a brick wall are known in the art. The panels of these systems typically include a first tab and a second tab each having a complementary configuration to each other. The second tab of one of the panels interlocks with the first tab of the other panel, generally by lifting the bottom edge of one of the panels vertically, as the panels are mounted to the support surface. The interlocking of the first tab with the second tab requires that vertically adjacent panels overlap each other in a stepped configuration. A general example of a siding system having a first tab and a second tab is U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,955. Although the interlocking of the first tab and the second tab provides a secure engagement between adjacent panels, the overlapping of vertically adjacent panels prevents the siding system from resembling a brick or a stone wall.
Furthermore, it is known in the art for siding systems to utilize a plurality of wall brackets mounted to the support surface as an intermediary for securing the panel to the support surface. Typically, the wall brackets include at least one first tab and the panels include at least one second tab having a complementary configuration to the first tab. The panels are disposed on the wall brackets for securing the panels to the support surface. Generally, a first wall bracket and a second wall bracket are mounted to the support surface spaced from each other, such that the second tabs of the panels interlocks with the first tabs of the wall brackets. The panels are disposed on the wall brackets by pressing the panels toward the support surface to snap the second tabs of the panels into the first tabs of the wall brackets. An example of a siding system using wall brackets can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,874,290. However, utilizing the wall brackets require an additional step of mounting the wall brackets to the support surface before the panels can be secured to the support surface resulting in more complex process as compared to siding systems without the wall brackets. The increase complexity results in additional time to install the siding system.
Therefore, there remains a need to provide a siding system that emulates a brick or stone wall that has a strong interlocking connection between adjacent panels to resist separation while minimizing the complexity of construction to reduce installation time.