Components for masonry construction

Abstract

A component is a building block having a pair of parallel load-bearing concrete side walls separated by a gap and joined by crossed metal ties which bridge the gap. The outer faces of the side walls can be covered with a decorative finish such as stone. The blocks have an added end wall which enables pillars to be built. The method of casting the blocks utilizes a collapsible metal mold which permits the side walls to be stepped.

Claims

1. A method of casting a masonry component comprising the steps of: erecting a pair of upright end walls to form a mold; joining the end walls with a pair of outer walls and a pair of inner walls lying parallel to the outer wall spanning the two inner walls with a pair of cross-shaped reinforcement ties which extend through the inner walls; and filling the mold space between the inner and outer walls with hardenable construction mix, whereby the cross-shaped reinforcement ties are embedded in the mix, wherein the pair of upright end walls are provided with pairs of cutouts in the top and bottom edges and channel pieces are inserted in the pair of cutouts in order to create a step in the top of each cast wall and the bottom of each cast wall.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner walls are slotted in order to admit the cross-shaped reinforcement ties during the mold sequence.

Description

BRIEF DESCRPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) One embodiment of the invention is now described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a plan view of the variety of blocks required for wall and pillar construction.

(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the endmost block in FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a pair of blocks superimposed.

(5) FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of part of a wall made from three courses of blocks.

(6) FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the bottom two courses of a pillar made from blocks with the same shape as the endmost block in FIG. 1.

(7) FIG. 6 is a plan view of a corner block, being a variant of the short end block of FIG. 1.

(8) FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of a fragment of the mold showing an inner wall with a slot housing a portion of the metal tie which spans the block walls.

(9) FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a fragment of two inter-fitting wall ends with a tenon and groove formation.

(10) FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of a portion of a production line showing pairs of end walls with step-forming channels in position and about to receive a drop-in outer wall and a drop-in innerwall.

(11) FIG. 10 is a plan view of an end wall.

(12) FIG. 11 is a sectional perspective view of a fragment of a mold in the production line of FIG. 9 showing two walls and two channels ready to be charged with concrete.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(13) Embodiments of the invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

(14) In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is to be understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

(15) Referring firstly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the wall block 2 (180 W360 L150 H mm) is made from a pair of parallel concrete slabs 6, each with a rebate 8 so that when laid in courses the rebates 8 and upstands 10 form lap joints. In FIG. 2 the upstands have a groove 12 which allows the blocks to be laid at 90 forming the pillar of FIG. 5.

(16) The slabs 6 are held parallel by embedded steel ties 14. The embedded steel ties 14 are galvanized steel rods 14 which are welded centrally to form a cross. The ends of the rods are in turn welded to steel strip plates 16 which are incorporated in the casting stage of the block.

(17) FIG. 1 shows four versions of the block which a block layer would use in wall and pillar work. Block 18 has a pair of side walls joined by end wall 20 and ties 14. These are used to construct hollow pillar 22 shown in FIG. 5. As block 18 is 360 mm long it is advantageous to have an end block of half the length of block 18. This half end block 24 has a single tie 14. Half block 26 has two ties.

(18) In FIG. 4 the blocks 2 are laid in courses and covered by a masonry cap 28. The outer face of slab 6 is veneered with small rectangular pieces of stone 30 in ashlar style creating a decorative outer surface. In the example shown both outer faces are veneered.

(19) In FIG. 6 an L-shaped corner block 32 is pebble dashed on one face and braced by ties 14.

(20) In FIG. 8, two inter-fitting wall ends formed from slabs 6 with a tenon and groove formation 38 are shown.

(21) In FIGS. 9 and 10 the casting molds 40 are aligned in order to be filled by a mobile mixer which travels the length of the production line.

(22) The molds lie on a casting table 42 and consist of pairs of upright, supported end walls 44 spaced from each other. Inner walls 36 are dropped into grooves 46 in end walls 44. Each end wall 44 has square cutouts 48 in the top edge 50 and square cutouts 52 in bottom edge 54. Outer walls 56 drop into grooves 58. End walls 44 imprison pairs of inverted steel channels 60 which lie on the molding table 42. These ensure that the added concrete forms a cast step in the slab wall along the bottom edge of the slab. Likewise cutouts 48 capture pairs of steel channels 62 in order to cast a step in the top edge of the slab.

(23) Concrete enters the gap 70 in FIG. 11. When the ties 14 are inserted in slots 34, with the ties 14 extending through the slots 34 of the inner wall and the strip plates 16 being aligned with the gap, as shown in FIG. 7, casting ensues and when the slabs 6 are set, the mold is collapsed, cleaned and reassembled. The strip plates 16 are not visible being embedded in the mix.

(24) It is to be understood that the word comprising as used throughout the specification is to be interpreted in its inclusive form, i.e., use of the word comprising does not exclude the addition of other elements.

(25) It is to be understood that various modifications of and/or additions to the invention can be made without departing from the basic nature of the invention, These modifications and/or additions are therefore considered to fall within the scope of the invention.