RIGID FOAM, CONTINUOUS RAISED FLOOR STRUCTURE WITHOUT WOODEN SUPPORTS

Abstract

A building sub-floor construction comprising a plurality of elongated beams formed of rigid polymer foam material, wherein the elongated beams comprise similar cross-sectional shapes, and wherein the elongated beams are configured to snuggly engage one another along their lengths to produce a continuous slab.

Claims

1. A building sub-floor construction comprising a plurality of elongated beams formed of rigid polymer foam material, wherein the elongated beams comprise similar cross-sectional shapes, and wherein the elongated beams are configured to snuggly engage one another along their lengths to produce a continuous slab.

2. The building sub-floor construction of claim 1, further comprising trapezoid shaped blocks formed of rigid polymer foam material inserted between and supported by the elongated beams.

3. The building sub-floor construction of claim 1, wherein the elongated beams have triangular cross sections, wherein a first and a third beam have edges aligned and in contact with one another forming a V-shaped opening, and wherein a second triangular shaped beam is positioned in the V-shaped opening formed between the first and the third beams.

4. The building sub-floor construction of claim 1, wherein the beams are formed of rigid PUR/PIR (polyurethane/polyisocyanurate) foam.

5. The building sub-floor construction of claim 2, wherein the blocks are formed of PUR/PIR (polyurethane/polyisocyanurate) foam.

6. The building sub-floor construction of claim 1, wherein the beams are coated or encased in a plastic material.

7. The building sub-floor construction of claim 2, wherein the blocks are coated or encased in plastic material.

8. The building sub-floor construction of claim 1, wherein the beams are reinforced.

9. The building sub-floor construction of claim 1, wherein one or more beams is hollow to function as an air duct.

10. The building sub-floor construction of claim 1, wherein the construction further includes header joists on sill plates around a perimeter of the sub-floor providing a snug fit for said beams and blocks.

11. A building foundation wall sill plate configured for attachment to a building foundation wall, wherein the sill plate has a dimensional width greater than a dimensional width of the building foundation wall, wherein the sill plate has an upwardly extending tongue running a length of the sill plate, and wherein the sill plate is formed of a plastic material.

12. The building interior foundation wall sill plate of claim 11, wherein the sill plate also has two downwardly directly tongues for straddling a support beam.

13. The building foundation wall sill plate of claim 11, wherein the sill plate has a plurality of metal anchor bolts extending through and imbedded in the plate.

14. A building construction comprising a building foundation wall and a sill plate as claimed in claim 11, and further comprising a plastic header joint as claimed in claim 10 having a groove formed along its length for mating with the tongue of the plastic sill plate.

15. The building construction of claim 10, wherein the plastic header is adhesively fixed to the plastic sill plate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] Further features and advantages of the present invention will be seen from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0041] FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are cross sectional views showing respectively a standard foundation (FIG. 1) and a standard foundation with a wooden sill plate (FIG. 2);

[0042] FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view showing a standard foundation with a plastic sill plate for an exterior wall in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing a plastic sill plate in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention as a support on an internal load bearing wall;

[0044] FIG. 5 is cross sectional view of a prior art conventional footing showing a header joint toe nailed to a wooden sill plate;

[0045] FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing an exterior wall concrete footing in accordance with the present invention showing a plastic header attached to a plastic sill plate in accordance with the present invention;

[0046] FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 4 of an interior footer in accordance with the present invention, and showing an interior joist support fixed to a plastic sill plate in accordance with the present invention;

[0047] FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view showing a beam laid on plastic sill plates in accordance with the present invention;

[0048] FIG. 9 is an end view showing beams supported on sill plate in accordance with the present invention;

[0049] FIG. 10 is an exploded view of plastic beams and plastic blocks ready for accommodating a sewer pipe in accordance with the present invention;

[0050] FIG. 11 is an exploded view similar to FIG. 10, at an intermediate stage in accordance with the present invention;

[0051] FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view showing a floor beam with lower and upper blocks placed around a sewer pipe in accordance with the present invention;

[0052] FIG. 13 is a top plan view of a floor in accordance with the FIG. 12 embodiment;

[0053] FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view of a floor structure in accordance with the present invention having HVAC (heating and cooling ducts) incorporated into the floor structure; and

[0054] FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a plastic beam constructed in accordance with the prior art; and

[0055] FIGS. 16A, 16B and 16C are exploded perspective views illustrating yet other shapes, which are given as exemplary.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0056] For case of installation, no special design or adjusted positioning of loadbearing walls and foundations would he required from a conventional raised wooden floor. International Building Code compliant, construction.

[0057] Concrete footings and foundations prepared in accordance with the prior art conventional design usually contain anchor holts (meticulously) aligned ready for construction of the raised floor, a cross section as depicted in FIG. 1, and includes a concrete footing 20 and a pored wall 22.

[0058] Referring also to FIG. 2, for conventional wooden floors a sill or so-called sole plate in the form of a length of pressure treated dimensional lumber 24 is measured, bored to accommodate anchor bolts 26 and fixed in place by attaching a washer 28 and reattaching and tightening a nut 30. A similar process would be applied with the plastic sill plate 32. an embodiment of this invention, as depicted in FIG. 3. If the anchor bolts are aligned in a standardized format then the molded plastic sill plates could be produced with openings ready for accommodating the bolts significantly reducing installation time. Further a liquid sealant (not shown) could be applied prior to installation of the plastic sill plate for improved air seal over the somewhat rough concrete foundation surface.

[0059] As an alternative, metal anchor bolts 26 can be supplied already imbedded through the plastic sill plate so that the bolts and plastic sill plate can be fitted directly onto un-set freshly applied concrete foundation ready for further tightening when the concrete is set and the bolts securely set in the concrete foundation.

[0060] As can be seen in FIG. 3, plastic sill plates 32 in accordance with the present invention also include a tongue 34 preferably running to the length of the sill plate for engaging with a groove formed in and along a plastic header joist, as will be described below with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.

[0061] The sill plate of my invention is significantly different from dimensional lumber in structure and advantages. The sill plate has two important structural differences from conventional wooden sills in that it is wider extending beyond the foundation wall towards the interior of the building, and has an upstanding tongue 34 running along the exterior side of the perimeter wall foundation. The former of these differences facilitate subsequent installation and maneuvering of the plastic floor beams, and the latter supports the subsequent addition of an interlocking groove-containing plastic header joist as described below with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. These sill plates can be cut to facilitate perimeter wall angular junctions.

[0062] International Building Code compliant interior raised floor supports vary. For basements, the common method is to use steel support jacks or steel support posts. In crawl spaces, support jacks or concrete posts could be used, constructed on appropriate foundations. In both cases they can be spanned on lop by beams or girders. If they are intended to be spanned by a wooden beam, it can be replaced by reinforced polyisocyanurate rigid foam filled plastic beams in accordance with the present invention.

[0063] Referring to FIG. 4, a special plastic sill plate 36 is placed on the support beam of the aforementioned steel support jacks or concrete posts, a cross section of which is depicted in FIG. 4. As can be seen in FIG. 4, plastic sill plate 36 includes a pair of downwardly direction tongues 38 for straddling a support beam or girder 40, and an upwardly directed tongue 42 for mating with a groove in a plastic header joist 46.

[0064] In conventional wooded framed raised floors, header joists 44 are toe-nailed to the wooden sill plate a cross section of the resulting structure is depicted in FIG. 5.

[0065] Conversely in my invention plastic header joists 46 are adhesively attached to the plastic sill plates along their length via a tongue 34 and groove 46. A cross section of these arc depicted in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.

[0066] In another embodiment the present invention provides a beam and block flooring formed of plastic sub floor materials. Referring to FIG. 9, a beam and block plastic sub floor is formed of triangular cross sectioned beams 50a, b, c made of Polyisocyanurate (PUR-PIR) which are laid on the sill plates abutting the header joists. Beams 50a and 50c are placed parallel to each other and touching. Another beam 50b is then placed in the v shaped space formed between these beams. The beams 50a, b, c are lengthwise depicted in FIG. 8.

[0067] FIG. 9 depicts the beams endwise (with the Exterior Veneer 54 reduced and plastic header joist abutting the ends not shown—exposing the anchor bolts 26). As can be seen in FIG. 9, a half beam 50d is dropped into the gap between the first triangular beam and the header joist 46. In the simplest instance where there are no sewer, vent or water pipes traversing the raised floor section or no ductwork or other intrusion to the subfloor, then these triangular beams can continue in this pattern from header joist to header joist whereby another half beam will be placed in the mirror image of the other end of the raised floor construct ion. To guarantee a snug fit a rectangular filler joist may be provided and or rigid spray foam may be used to fill any remaining small channel between the beam arrangement and the header joist.

[0068] Referring to FIG. 10, where elements as a sewer, vent or water pipes 60 need to pass through the raised floor, a gap may be left between the parallel floor beams. This gap will then be infilled with trapezoidal shaped blocks from a header joist up to the sewer pipe or other traversing element. These blocks consist of a lower block 62 and an upper block 64. A cross section taken perpendicular to the beams across the sewer pipe is depicted in FIG. 10. Also shown are the lower block 62 and upper block 64 that fit into the void between beams.

[0069] The next lower block 62 is measured and bored to fit over the pipe 60 and to butt up against the adjacent block and be supported by the beams. This is depicted in FIG. 11.

[0070] FIG. 12 depicts a cross section of the floor with both the lower and upper blocks 62, 64 measured, bored and placed around the pipe and resting on beams 50a and 50c. The upper and lower blocks 62 and 64. should overlap to assist in providing an airtight seal. FIG. 13 depicts the view from above. Similarly this arrangement of blocks will continue up to the header joist. These blocks can be cut to provide snug fit against the header joist.

[0071] Heating and cooling ducts 66 also may be incorporated into this insulating foam floor structure supported by the two adjacent regular triangular beams; a cross section of which is depicted in FIG. 14. The duct beam can be provided in modular interconnecting pieces. Also junction pieces can be provided to transfer air flow up or down or to connect with transverse ducts in a second foam structure layer. When using hexagonal shaped beams or beam ducts smaller triangular beams may be inserted to fill the voids.

[0072] A second, thinner plastic layer of beams and blocks can be provided over the first (load bearing) layer mainly to distribute ducts in transverse direction to those in the first layer. A load bearing plastic beam can be constructed along lines of such bridge beam as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,270A to Hillman with the main exception that the concrete arch would be replaced with plastic.

[0073] The wood-free raised floor structure of this invention has several advantages over convention wooden flooring. This plastic floor structure is ideal for installation over crawl spaces and can be utilized as basement ceiling/ground level floor. It does not require vapor barriers or moisture barriers as the material itself is hydrophobic and akin to the plastics already used in such barriers. It docs not require extra sprayed on or batting insulation as it inherently possesses excellent energy saving insulation properties. The material needs no treating for protection against mold termites or other vermin. It is permanent—no rot or biodegradation. It requires very little fastening and is lightweight, easy to handle and install even in inclement weather. These beams and blocks can easily be cut and bored to accommodate building exterior wall design and internal utilities. The plastic structure also is an excellent consumer of recycled plastics. Further, the floor structures formed of polyisocyanurate are not significant fire hazards, since polyisocyanurate can be made to be self-extinguishing as soon as the source of ignition is no longer present.

[0074] Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. By way of example, while the elongated beams are illustrated as being essentially triangular in cross-section, the beams need not be completely triangular in cross section. (See FIGS. 16A, 16B, 16C). Other shapes are possible provided they are still interlocking to form a complete block for the floor. In like, manner, the blocks, while illustrated as being essentially trapezoidal in cross-section, may take other shapes provided they interlock with the beams.