GB2373001A

GB2373001A - Prefabricated building panel

Info

Publication number: GB2373001A
Application number: GB0105749A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter William Brown
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-03-08
Filing date: 2001-03-08
Publication date: 2002-09-11
Anticipated expiration: 2021-03-08
Also published as: GB0105749D0; GB2373001B

Abstract

A prefabricated building panel 2 comprising a peripheral timber frame 10, first and second wall members 4, 6 affixed to respective opposed sides of the frame to define a cavity 8 therebetween and a body of insulation material 16 disposed in the cavity. At least one of the peripheral edges of the frame is provided with an interlocking joint member 22, 24, the interlocking joint member comprising a peripherally outwardly extending section located adjacent to one of the first and second wall members. The panel can be used for constructing timber frame buildings, and a construction method and kit of parts is described as a further embodiment.

Description

PRE-FABRICATED BUILDING PANELS The present invention relates to a pre-fabricated building panel and in particular to such a building panel having a closed panel construction. The present invention also relates to a building incorporating at least one of such building panels and to a method of constructing such a building. The present yet further relates to a kit of parts for constructing a timber frame building.

In some countries, particularly the United Kingdom, there is an increasing demand for timber framed housing to replace masonry constructions. Currently, for the manufacture of timber framed housing, the building industry uses craft based technology that requires sequential processing. For example, the current method of constructing a timber framed house, using an open panelled system, is for basic factorymanufactured wall panels of timber studs forming a frame and oriented strand board (OSB) to be delivered to site and off loaded. The panels to form the ground floor of the building are positioned and nailed together. Thereafter, the first floor joists are nailed to the top of the panels and the first floor decking is nailed to the joists. In order to form the first floor of the building, the first floor panels are then positioned and nailed together and finally, for a two storey building having a ground floor and a first floor, the roof trusses are fixed to the top of the panels. The roof trusses require felt and battens and the wall panels then require insulation and plaster board to be fixed to them.

The limitations of the existing approach to the use of timber frame construction are that such buildings are slow to construct, requiring on average five days per house; the building construction technique is labour intensive; the building quality is labour dependent; and there can be considerable waste.

The known closed panel system of timber framed construction uses the same basic form of construction as the open panel system. However, the space or cavity between the timber studs of the frame is factory-filled with insulation and electrical and mechanical services and then closed off with panel sheathing on both sides to form a closed unit. Thus the level of factory pre-fabrication for closed wall panels is greater and also the quality of the product is more easily controlled, thereby providing considerable benefit to the construction process and the building performance. However, the requirement to connect adjacent closed panels has not yet been satisfactorily resolved in the industry and this has all but prevented the commercial use of closed panel timber frame construction.

A number of pre-fabricated building panel constructions are known in the art.

One example is disclosed in US-A-4989386 which discloses building panel elements wherein adjacent panels may be affixed together along adjacent side by tongue and groove edges. The tongue edge is provided with pins extending therefrom which are received in corresponding holes in the groove edges, with the pins being retained in the groove edge by respective retaining members inserted through slots provided in an inner face of the building panel having the groove. This construction is complicated and expensive and not suitable for connecting the panels to a timber frame. US-A-5588269 discloses a pre-fabricated construction system for a timber house in which adjacent rectangular panel elements are connected by a tongue and groove joint and fixed together by screw joints which extend parallel to the plane of the panel element and are embedded and concealed within the cavity defined by the inner and outer partial panels of each panel element. It is disclosed that a screw jack of particular construction may be employed to tighten the screw joint which is embedded deep in the panel element. This prefabricated modular assembly suffers from the disadvantage that the assembly of the panels is complicated.

WO-A-97/05341 discloses a bi-dimensional pre-fabrication system incorporating pre-fabricated wall panels. The disclosed system incorporates a particularly fabricated multiequipped bed frame and joint elements for such a frame.

Although a full wall panel is disclosed, there is no disclosure of any particular structure for such a panel.

Again, the system disclosed in the specification is complicated and expensive.

EP-A-0890681 discloses a building produced of a plurality of roof, floor and wall elements for forming a timber frame, with there being a particularly constructive connecting element between interconnecting parts of the timber frame. The specification is not concerned with the structure of prefabricated wall panels.

It is an aim of the present invention to produce closed panel components for timber frame housing constructions having simple and cost effective connections therebetween. Accordingly, the present invention provides a pre-fabricated building panel comprising a peripheral timber frame, first and second wall members affixed to respective opposed sides of the frame to define a cavity therebetween and a body of insulation material disposed in the cavity, wherein at least one peripheral edge of the frame is provided with an interlocking joint member, the interlocking joint member comprising a peripherally outwardly extending section located adjacent to one of the first and second wall members.

Preferably, the peripheral frame and the interlocking joint member together form an L-shaped section.

Preferably, at least two opposed peripheral edges of the frame are provided with respective complementary interlocking joint members, the joint members being asymmetrically arranged with a first number adjacent to the first wall member and a second joint member adjacent to the second wall member.

In a preferred embodiment, the interlocking joint member comprises a timber section affixed to the timber frame.

More preferably, the timber section has a rectangular crosssection.

Optionally, the first wall member comprises impregnated soft board.

Optionally, the second wall member comprises a two ply laminate of an innermost ply of structural material and an outermost ply of plaster board.

The structural material may comprise oriented strand board.

The present invention also provides a building incorporating a panel according to the invention, with the interlocking joint member being received in a correspondingly-shaped recess in a part of the building.

Preferably, the correspondingly-shaped recess is provided above a floor or beneath a roof of the building.

The present invention further provides a building incorporating at least two of the panels according to the invention, with the panels being assembled adjacent to each other and the adjacent panel edges being each provided with a respective interlocking joint member, the two interlocking joint members having a complementary interlocking arrangement whereby each joint member is fitted adjacent surfaces of the other joint member and the other frame.

The present invention further provides a building incorporating at least two of the panels according to the invention, with the panels being assembled adjacent to each other, one vertically above the other, and the adjacent panel edges being each provided with a respective interlocking joint member, the two interlocking joint members having a complementary interlocking arrangement providing an elongate recess for receiving an edge of a floor.

Preferably, the building further comprises an elongate fixing for the two panels assembled together, the fixing extending orthogonal to the plane of the panels and through each of the joint members. More preferably, the fixing also extends through the second wall member.

The present invention also provides a method of constructing a building using pre-fabricated panels, the method comprising (a) providing two pre-fabricated building panels, each panel comprising a peripheral timber frame, first and second wall members affixed to respective opposed sides of the frame to define a cavity therebetween and a body of insulation material disposed in the cavity, wherein at least one peripheral edge of the frame is provided with an interlocking joint member, the interlocking joint member comprising a peripherally outwardly extending section located adjacent one of the first and second wall members; (b) assembling together the two panels with adjacent edges of the panels whereby the interlocking joint members of the two panels are assembled together in a complementary interlocking arrangement, and (c) fixing the two panels together by driving a plurality of elongate fixings in a direction orthogonal to the plane of the panels through the pair of the complementary interlocking joint members.

Preferably, the plurality of elongate fixings are also driven through the second wall member.

Preferably, in step (b) the two panels are assembled together additionally to provide, adjacent to the interlocking joint members, a recess for receiving an edge of a floor of the building.

The present invention yet further provides a kit of parts for constructing a timber frame building, the kit of parts including a plurality of pre-fabricated building panels according to the invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic section from above through a closed wall building panel in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic section from above showing corners and panel-to-panel connections between closed wall building panels in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 shows a schematic section from one side of a ground floor to wall connection incorporating a closed wall building panel in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a schematic section from one side through a floor to wall connection incorporating closed wall building panels in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a schematic section from one side through a pair of separated and opposed wall and floor connections incorporating closed wall building panels in accordance with a yet further embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 is a schematic section from one side through a roof to wall connection incorporating a closed wall building panel in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention ; Figure 7 is a schematic section from one side through a roof ridge connection incorporating a closed wall building panel in accordance with a still further embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 8 is a schematic section from one side through a gable end to external wall connection incorporating closed wall building panels in accordance with a yet further embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, a closed wall building panel, designated generally as 2, comprises two parallel spaced-apart outer and inner wall members 4,6 defining a cavity 8 therebetween. The wall members 4,6 are spaced by a peripheral timber frame 10 composed of interconnected timber studs to which the inner surfaces 12, 14 of the respective outer and inner wall members 4, 6 are affixed, e. g. by screws or nails and/or adhesive. The cavity 8 is filled with insulation material 16, such as mineral wool. The cavity 8 is also provided with electrical and mechanical services (not shown).

The outer wall member 4 typically comprises a sheet of impregnated soft board, for example 12mm thick. The mineral wool 16 typically has a thickness of 140mm. The inner wall member 6 typically comprises a two-ply laminate structure of an innermost sheet 18 of oriented strand board (OSB), typically 15mm thick and an outermost sheet 20 of plasterboard, typically 9mm thick. The oriented strand board 20 acts as the structural sheathing for the closed wall system and is affixed to the timber studs forming the frame 10. In accordance with this embodiment of the invention, an interlocking joint for connecting adjacent closed wall building panels 2 is provided. This joint may be factory fitted or fitted on-site. In the embodiment illustrated, the interlocking joint comprises a pair of complementary yet asymmetrically arranged L-shaped interlocking joint members 22, 24 on opposed sides of the closed wall building panel 2.

In the embodiment illustrated, a first interlocking joint member 22 is formed by connecting, for example, by means of screws or nails, a first timber elongate rectangular section 26 to the outer face 28 of the associated timber stud 30 of the frame 10 along the length of the respective side 32 of the panel 2. As may be seen from Figure 1, the timber section 26 is butted against an inner surface 34 of the outer wall member 4 and has a dimension (dol) in a direction between the outer and inner wall members 4,6 which less than that of the corresponding dimension (d total) of the timber stud 30 of the frame 10. In this way, an L-shaped interlocking joint member 22 is formed at that side 32 of the panel 2.

On the opposed side 36 of the panel 2, a second timber section 38 also of substantially the same length as that of the adjacent timber stud 40 of the frame 10 is butted against the inner surface 42 of the inner wall panel 6 and affixed, for example by screws or nails, to the outer surface 44 of the timber stud 40 of the frame 10. The dimension (d2) of the second timber section 38 in the direction between the inner and outer wall members 4,6 is also less than that of the corresponding dimension (d total) of the timber stud 40 of the frame 10 thereby to form an L-shaped interlocking joint member 24 along that side 36 of the building panel 2. The sum of the dimensions di and d2 is equal to the width d total of the timber frame 10. In this way, corresponding complementary interlockable L-shaped joint members 22,24 are formed on opposed sides 32,36 of the panel 2.

When it is desired to connect together the panels 2 of Figure 1 in side-by-side relationship with a first panel 2 already having been fitted into position to a timber frame floor, roof etc. (in the manner described hereinbelow), a second panel 2 may simply be butted up against the first panel 2 with the two complementary L-shaped interlocking joint members 22,24 being butted together. The two panels 2 may then be simply and readily fixed together from the direction of the inner wall member 6 by driving a screw or nail through, in turn, the inner wall member 6, the relatively inner joint member 24 and the adjacent relatively outer joint member 22. This enables a strong and secure butt joint to be achieved in a straight forward manner. The provision of complementary asymmetrical L-shaped connections on opposed sides 32,36 of a common panel 2 can prevent panels 2 from being installed upside down, which is a common fault with known open panels when using timber frame constructions.

Typically, when the panel 2 is affixed to a timber frame 10 when constructing a building, the outer wall member 4 would be covered by an external cladding of a weatherproof material, for example sheet timber 21mm thick separated from the outer wall member 4 by a cavity, typically 19mm thick.

The embodiment shown in Figure 1 may be modified in that the L-shaped interlocking joint member may be provided along only one side of the closed wall building panel, and may be adapted or arranged to be connected to any other building element, such as a timber frame, floor, roof, door frame, window frame, as well as to another closed wall building panel. Furthermore, when interlocking joint members are opposed, they may not necessarily asymmetrically arranged. An interlocking joint member may be provided on any one or more of the sides of a closed wall building panel, and when a plurality of joint members are provided, they may not necessarily have the same construction.

Referring to Figure 2 there is shown an example of corner and panel-to-panel connections between closed wall building panels in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. In this Figure, two walls 50,52 are connected together at a corner 54. As shown in the Figure, each wall 50,52 comprises two respective closed wall building panels 56,58 and 60,62 which have been connected together by an interlocking joint 61,63 having a construction as described hereinabove with reference to the embodiment of Figure 1. In the interlocking joint 65 to form a corner connection, the inner face 64 of a corner panel 60 has recessed therein an elongate timber section 66 along the height of the panel 60 which extends orthogonally inwardly away from the inner surface 68 of the timber stud 70 of the timber frame 72 located at that side of the panel 60. The timber section 66 is affixed to the corresponding adjacent timber stud 74 of the adjacent corner panel 58 for example by nails or screws driven in from the inner surfaces of the building panels 58,60.

Referring to Figure 3, there is shown a floor to wall connection incorporating a closed wall building panel.

Located above a concrete foundation wall 80 provided above ground level is a pair of rectangular timber sections 82,84 together forming an L-shaped interlocking joint member 86 for complementary cooperation with a corresponding L-shaped interlocking joint member 88 provided along a bottom edge 90 of a closed wall building panel 92. In this embodiment, an elongate horizontal recess 94 is provided in the interlocking joint for receiving an edge 96 of a floor 98. The floor 98 comprises an inner wall member of a closed wall building floor panel 100 incorporating a lowermost waterproof ply 102 insulation material 104 in the central cavity 106, and a peripheral timber frame 108, for forming a floor of the building. The interlocking joint is formed by driving nails or screws through the inner wall member 110 of the wall panel 92, the timber section 88 of the wall panel 92 and the timber section 84 affixed to the concrete wall 80 by the timber section 82. The joint may be concealed by a skirting board 112.

Figure 4 shows a floor to wall connection incorporating closed wall building panels in accordance with the invention. As shown in Figure 4, a lower floor vertical wall panel 120 has affixed thereto a higher floor vertical wall panel 122 using a pair of complementary L-shaped interlocking joint members 124,126 respectively in the manner substantially the same as described hereinabove with reference to Figure 3. The complementary joint members 124,126 provide therein an elongate recess 128 for receiving the edge 130 of a floor 132.

The floor 132 comprises an upper wall element of a closed wall building floor panel 133 for forming a floor of the building. Each outer wall member 134,136 of the respective building panel 120,122 is covered by a respective external cladding 138,140. Referring to Figure 5, this shows a pair of separated and opposed wall and floor connections incorporating closed wall building panels. The structure and arrangement is similar to that of Figure 4, except that the external cladding is not provided and instead where the opposed outer wall members of the two opposed vertical walls are provided, the outer wall members are provided by waterproof sheets 142 and 142.

Figure 6 shows the connection between a roof and a wall incorporating a closed wall building panel. In this arrangement, the roof 146 may be composed of one or more closed wall building roof panels 148 with the opposed timber frames 150,152 of adjacent roof and vertical wall panels 148,149 being interconnected by a"fill-in"timber section 154 of appropriate shape and dimensions. When each roof side is composed of a plurality of the closed wall building roof panels 148, adjacent panels 148 may be connected together by the interlocking joint with complementary L-shaped interlocking joint members as described hereinabove with reference for example to Figure 1. The roof is finished with conventional roofing materials which are affixed over the closed wall building roof panels 148.

Figure 7 shows a roof ridge connection incorporating closed wall building roof panels. It may be seen that to form a ridge connection 160, the adjacent closed wall building roof panels 162,164 may be provided with appropriately shaped inclined edges 166,168 and butted together at the required angle with a joint member 170 therebetween. Again, as for Figure 6, when a roof surface comprises an assembly of a plurality of the closed wall building roof panels, the closed wall building roof panels may be connected together by an interlocking joint substantially as described with reference to Figure 1.

Figure 8 shows a gable edge to external wall connection incorporating closed wall building panels. It may be seen that the roof incorporates a closed wall building roof panel 180 which has provided on an inner surface thereof a timber section 182 to form an interlocking joint member which complements a corresponding L-shaped interlocking joint member 184 provided along the upper edge of a wall member 186 composed of a closed wall building wall panel. The roof panel 180 is covered by conventional roofing material and sofitting.

The closed panel timber frame construction provided in accordance with the invention has been found to comply with a number of standards, for example British Standards, concerning structural stability, fire safety, resistance to moisture, sound insulation, and energy efficiency and condensation, including cold bridging and surface condensation and air tightness of the timber interlocking joints.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a number of advantages over the prior art. Most particularly, the invention provides an interlocking joint connection between adjacent closed panel construction pre-fabricated building panels which has the required structural strength, but nevertheless is simple to manufacture and install and cost effective. Moreover, the interlocking joint has a universal application in timber framed construction. The preferred embodiment of the present invention facilitates the production of on-site construction by allowing wall, floor and roof components to be fabricated as more fully finished panels in the factory which are later simply and speedily erected. Not only does the preferred embodiment of the present invention achieve these objectives, but it also achieves speeding up of the construction process and improving of the predictability of site programming; improving the quality control through factory manufacture; reducing waste; improving the durability of the finished house; improving thermal and acoustic performance; lowering consumer running costs; simplifying the site operation; and providing a demountable house for ease of adaption, extension and relocation.

The preferred embodiments of the pre-fabricated building panel having a closed wall construction in accordance with the invention have a plurality of interrelated advantages. The panel is inexpensive to construct and assemble using timber components constituting no real significant additional costs to the panel but allowing the full exploitation of closed panel construction, and also the construction technique is essentially"idiot proof". Adjacent closed panels can readily be butted together and fixed together from the inside of the building. Moreover, the interlocking joints may be provided having asymmetrically different complementary structures on opposed sides of the panel so that the panels cannot be installed upside down. The use of cooperating L-shaped connections and simple screw fixings from the inside thus allows ease of erection and the possibility of exploiting a panel complete with a lightweight external cladding. Since the erection method on site is straight forward using screw fixings, it is estimated that the erection time may be reduced by at least 65% compared to known systems for erecting panels in timber frame systems. In this embodiment, an external padding 114 for the outer wall member 116 of the wall member 92 is provided, with a cavity 118 therebetween.

Claims

CLAIMS : 1. A pre-fabricated building panel comprising a peripheral timber frame, first and second wall members affixed to respective opposed sides of the frame to define a cavity therebetween and a body of insulation material disposed in the cavity, wherein at least one peripheral edge of the frame is provided with an interlocking joint member, the interlocking joint member comprising a peripherally outwardly extending section located adjacent to one of the first and second wall members.
2. A panel according to claim 1 wherein the peripheral frame and the interlocking joint member together form an L-shaped section.
3. A panel according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein at least two opposed peripheral edges of the frame are provided with respective complementary interlocking joint members, the joint members being asymmetrically arranged with a first number adjacent to the first wall member and a second joint member adjacent to the second wall member.
4. A panel according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the interlocking joint member comprises a timber section affixed to the timber frame.
5. A panel according to claim 4 wherein the timber section has a rectangular cross-section.
6. A panel according to any foregoing claim wherein the first wall member comprises impregnated soft board.
7. A panel according to any foregoing claim wherein the second wall member comprises a two ply laminate of an innermost ply of structural material and an outermost ply of plaster board.
8. A panel according to claim 7 wherein the structural material comprises oriented strand board.
9. A pre-fabricated building panel substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of Figures 1 to 8.
10. A building incorporating a panel according to any one of claims 1 to 9, with the interlocking joint member being received in a correspondingly-shaped recess in a part of the building.
11. A building according to claim 10 wherein the correspondingly-shaped recess is provided above a floor or beneath a roof of the building.
12. A building incorporating at least two of the panels according to any one of claims 1 to 9, with the panels being assembled adjacent to each other and the adjacent panel edges being each provided with a respective interlocking joint member, the two interlocking joint members having a complementary interlocking arrangement whereby each joint member is fitted adjacent surfaces of the other joint member and the other frame.
13. A building incorporating at least two of the panels according to any one of claims 1 to 9, with the panels being assembled adjacent to each other, one vertically above the other, and the adjacent panel edges being each provided with a respective interlocking joint member, the two interlocking joint members having a complementary interlocking arrangement providing an elongate recess for receiving an edge of a floor.
14. A building according to claim 12 or claim 13 further comprising an elongate fixing for the two panels assembled together, the fixing extending orthogonal to the plane of the panels and through each of the joint members.
15. A building according to claim 14 wherein the fixing also extends through the second wall member.
16. A method of constructing a building using pre-fabricated panels, the method comprising (a) providing two pre-fabricated building panels, each panel comprising a peripheral timber frame, first and second wall members affixed to respective opposed sides of the frame to define a cavity therebetween and a body of insulation material disposed in the cavity, wherein at least one peripheral edge of the frame is provided with an interlocking joint member, the interlocking joint member comprising a peripherally outwardly extending section located adjacent one of the first and second wall members ; (b) assembling together the two panels with adjacent edges of the panels whereby the interlocking joint members of the two panels are assembled together in a complementary interlocking arrangement, and (c) fixing the two panels together by driving a plurality of elongate fixings in a direction orthogonal to the plane of the panels through the pair of the complementary interlocking joint members.
17. A method according to claim 16 wherein the plurality of elongate fixings are also driven through the'second wall member.
18. A method according to claim 16 or claim 17 wherein in step (b) the two panels are assembled together additionally to provide, adjacent to the interlocking joint members, a recess for receiving an edge of a floor of the building.
19. A method of constructing a building substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of Figures 1 to 8.
20. A kit of parts for constructing a timber frame building, the kit of parts including a plurality of pre-fabricated building panels according to any one of claims 1 to 9.