Building construction of spaced panels with weather seals

Claim 1

A building construction comprising a pair of vertical columns, and a side wall disposed between each pair of said columns, and an expansion joint between each of said columns and the associated side wall, said expansion joint comprising: an elongated vertically extending groove aligned with a corresponding elongated tongue which extends partially into the elongated groove and is spaced therefrom such that said columns are unaffected by horizontal expansion and contraction of said side wall, said tongue having an end surface and a pair of opposite side surfaces, each of said elongated grooves and tongues being generally rectangular-shaped in cross-section, the cross-sectional area of each of said tongues being substantially less than that of the corresponding groove such that there is a space therebetween, and a weather seal member disposed in said space between each of said tongues and grooves to seal the space against the elements, said weather seal member comprising a single sheet of flexible material folded on itself and conforming in shape to said tongue portion and said groove, one portion of said seal member paralleling and engaging the surfaces of said column, and the other portion of said seal member paralleling and engaging the surfaces of said side wall, said one portion paralleling said other portion and horizontally separated therefrom by an expansion air space which permits horizontal expansion of said side walls without cracking said columns, said weather seal member including exposed edges each defined by a vertical fold of said sheet of material such that said expansion air space is sealed against the elements of the weather, said sheet of material including generally vertical terminal edges oppositely disposed of each other and within the confines of said groove and tongue end surface to substantially seal said expansion space.