AU2004210621B2 - A Building Component - Google Patents

Description

12556AU

ORIGINAL

Complete Specification Applicant: John Edward Oliver A Building Component Title: Address for Service: LESICAR PERRIN, 49 Wright Street, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: TITLE A BUILDING COMPONENT.

FIELD

This invention relates to building construction, more particularly useful within buildings having wooden or metal framing, and the invention particularly relates to building components for assisting in minimising effects of water damage both during and after construction by ensuring the retention of spacings.

BACKGROUND

The risk of water damage is a well-known problem in buildings built according to the common style including the step of erecting a usually un-treated wooden frame, which forms a internal or an external wall, upon a floor. During the construction period before the building is enclosed rain may fall on the floor and collect in pools bounded by the framing in contact with the floor. The bottom plate of a frame forming an internal or external wall of a building under construction normally lies in firm contact upon a floor surface. Perhaps the plate will be separated from the floor by means of a thin waterimpervious layer called a "damp proof course" and one material used widely in this application is a tarry sheet substance called "Malthoid"(TM).

If a building is being constructed in wet weather, there is an exposed phase before a roof can be supported and before the building is enclosed, to keep the rain out, during which phase builders may find a pond or lake up to 50 mm in depth over the floor. A "shoreline" of bottom plates prevents removal of the water by for example sweeping or squeegeeing. This free water is an unsafe and adverse working environment. It is unsafe to use power tools close to water. The underlying floor (particularly if it is particle board) will soon deteriorate. Water will be absorbed into and between materials, and cause high humidity levels for a long time afterwards. Water damage of this type is a cause of high moisture levels resulting in rotting structural members and rotting floor material, with moulds and fungi possibly spreading toxic spores, as have been noted in a number of buildings.

In fact, providing a builder with a dry working surface is a major problem in the industry.

The economic cost of water removal certainly involves hours of builders' labour in sweeping and bailing out the water during or after each rainy period (unless one is fortunate to build during a long dry spell), may include the cost of delays in lining walls as a result of moisture content behind, early floor replacement, and may include costs associated with the replacement of structural members and/or reduction in value.

OBJECT

It is an object of this invention to provide means for conserving the life of wooden buildings by means of devices providing for water removal, or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION In a first broad aspect the invention provides a building component or spacer for use during construction or reconstruction of a building, wherein the spacer has a first bearing surface having a contact area, and at least one second bearing surface each having a contact area, said bearing surfaces being on opposite sides of the spacer; the spacer being comprised of at least one substance impervious to water and capable of resisting compressive deformation over an extended period of time (such as 25-40 years), so that the spacer is capable in use of being inserted in contact between between a first building structure and a second building structure and of maintaining a physical separation therebetween.

Preferably the spacer is provided with fastening means capable of allowing the spacer to be fastened to one building structure before the building structure is installed in the building; fastening may be immediately prior to installation or carried out within a factory.

Preferably the spacer is comprised of at least one substance impervious to water so that the spacer is capable of interrupting a potential or actual passage of water between the first building structure and the second building structure.

In a related aspect the invention provides that the first building structure comprises a portion of a frame to be placed against a floor and the second building structure comprises the floor, and the spacer, when in use, comprises means for maintaining a controlled separation between the frame and the floor, so that the controlled separation may be used as egress for water that may fall and collect upon the floor during construction.

In a related aspect the invention provides that the spacer, when in use, comprises means for maintaining a controlled separation between the first building structure and the second building structure, the controlled separation including an internal gap or tunnel continuous within or beneath the spacer itself, so that the gap or tunnel may be used as a duct for placement of elongated elements including electrical cables laid along the length of a building structure such as under a bottom plate.

In a second broad aspect the spacer is comprised of a shaped block of a rigid plastics substance including at least one void; preferably made by either a casting or moulding process.

In a third broad aspect the spacer is comprised of a pressed rigid sheet material bent so that the first bearing surface and the second bearing surface are separated by more than the thickness of the sheet material, the spacer providing at least one gap or tunnel.

Preferably each spacer is constructed with a relatively low height, a width similar to the width of the floor plate, and a length similar to the width of the spacer.

One preferred height is for a spacer of a solid material (with optional voids) having an overall thickness of about 12 mm and a preferred length and width are about 80 mm.

Another preferred width is 50 mm, length 90 mm.

Another preferred height is for a bent plate of a metallic material; the bent plate having an effective thickness of about 12 mm, a preferred length of about 50 mm (along the length of the bottom plate, as installed) and a preferred width of about 90 mm.

Preferably the spacers are fastened along the length of the floor plate at about 600 mm centres.

More preferably each spacer is fastened along the length of the floor plate at within 100 mm of the centre of each stud or other load-bearing vertical beam attached to the floor plate (on the other side thereof).

Preferably each spacer is configured so as to include one or more lengthwise pathways capable of accommodating elongate objects (such as cables).

In a fourth broad aspect the invention provides a prefabricated part of a building wherein the prefabricated part bears a plurality of spacers as previously described in this section already attached or pre-attached to the prefabricated part along a surface intended to be spaced apart from another surface during and after assembly of the building at a site.

In a fifth broad aspect the invention provides a method for keeping a building free of collected water during construction, wherein the method uses a plurality of spacers installed so as to provide a discontinuous set of separators between a bottom plate of a wall comprising the first building structure, and a floor comprising the second building structure, so that any water which may collect upon the floor may be displaced or swept laterally beneath the bottom plate between the spacers and so be removed from the floor.

In a sixth broad aspect the invention provides a method for using a building component or spacer as previously described in this section, wherein a plurality of spacers is installed so as to provide a discontinuous set of separators between a wall comprising the first building structure, and a wall cladding comprising the second building structure, so that the first and second building structures are separated by a space and so that water within the wall is more easily removed by air circulation or by prevention of wicking (capillary transport) otherwise liable to cause water to move between the first and the second building structure.

In a seventh broad aspect the invention provides a method for reducing fruitless labour upon a building site, the method comprising the procedure of sweeping any water that may collect upon a floor sideways and through a gap created beneath a bottom plate spaced apart from an underlying surface by means of one or more spacers made and used according to the invention.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The description of the invention to be provided herein is given purely by way of example and is not to be taken in any way as limiting the scope or extent of the invention.

DRAWINGS

Fig 1: is a perspective view of an Example 1 spacer.

Fig 2: is a sectional view of the spacer.

Fig 3: is a plan view of the spacer, with non-limiting typical dimensions in millimetres.

Fig 4: is an edge view of an Example 1 spacer.

Fig 5: is an elevation view of part of the frame of a dwelling, showing the typical position, when in use, of some objects described in this specification.

Fig 6: is a section through a nominally 90 mm bottom plate and an example spacer, showing the placement of various cables behind a skirting board.

Fig 7: is a section through a nominally 70 mm bottom plate (as used in interior walls) and an example spacer, showing the placement of wall boards.

Fig 8: shows an example metal spacer in plan and elevation view.

Fig 9: is a perspective view of a bottom plate supported over a floor by metal spacers (Example showing the proximity of spacers to studs and the virtual duct or tunnel running beneath the bottom plate.

Fig 10: is a plan view through part of a wall showing Example 2 spacers used to maintain air circulation.

The invention generally relates to a specialised type of packing spacer having suitable physical properties and shapes for applications particularly within the building industry.

Example 1 refers to a plastics block designed for the purpose, and Example 2 refers to a stamped metal spacer also designed for the purpose. Example 3 comprises the manufacture of prefabricated parts of buildings (such as, or including, bottom plates) which are fitted with spacers during manufacture and are supplied ready for use.

EXAMPLE 1 This invention relates to a component designed for use in the building industry, and this example is shown in the illustrations Figs 1 to 5. spacers made according to this invention are intended to serve as a number of rigid supports for the framing plate of a dwelling. Each one is fastened into place with screws or nails, usually to the underside of the bottom plate of the framing before it is erected upon the floor. Fig 5 depicts the general layout. Here, 503 represents a floor slab which may be made of concrete as shown although it may be covered with, or replaced by, sheets of flooring grade particle board or other flooring materials as are known in the trade. spacers 100, 100a lie on the floor without any damp course being required. Preferably there would be one spacer placed at approximately every 600 mm or so beneath the framing plate, so that each one comes to lie near or beneath a stud 501, 501a. (By "near" we prefer that each spacer is located within 100 mm of the centre line of a corresponding stud). Studs are typically attached to the bottom plate 502 at 600 mm centres. For a typical house, approximately 250 spacers would be used along outside and inside walls.

One desired result of use of such spacers is to raise the bottom plate 502 above the plane of the floor surface so that there is a small gap 504. This has a number of advantages such as that water does not collect between the floor and the bottom plate, where it may travel for considerable distances by capillary action. Particularly if the preroof phase of construction of the building is done in rainy weather the invention prevents incoming water lying on the floor from being dammed up behind the bottom plate, because the bottom plate is raised significantly above the floor. A builder can easily remove water off the building platform simply by sweeping or squeegeeing it over the edge. The builder does not have to bail water out, at some inconvenience and much loss of time. One estimate is that 7 hours of work time a week can be lost in

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squeegeeing water off the floor.

Each spacer is designed to be capable of permanently (or at least for the design life of a wooden building) supporting the framing plate without significant dimensional alteration.

Loads would be shared between spacers and it is sensible to make each spacer strong enough to support a load imposed from a corresponding vertical member or stud of a frame (as shown in Fig Each plastics spacer (see Figs 1-4) is preferably constructed by injection moulding Although plain spacers with no surface modifications could be used, the moulded design including voids saves unnecessary material and provides useful channels. In Fig 1, 100 refers to the entire spacer. 102 is a first surface and 101 is a second surface, presumably 101 will lie above 102 when in use. Preferred shapes have a relatively low height (for example 12 mm as shown in Fig The spacer width (between edges 103 and 104) is typically 80 mm similar to or preferably about 10 mm less than the width of the floor plate (nominally 90 mm for outside walls, 69-70 mm internally), and the preferred length (between 105 and 106) is similar to the width. Each spacer is provided with a few holes (such as 108) for fasteners (such as nails (3.15 mm x 40 mm) or screws, such as if the bottom plate is hard or is made of metal) to transfix the spacers and hold them in place in particular during assembly.

Preferably the height of the spacer is provided without undue use of materials by means of internal voids 109 surrounded by weight-bearing walls and the voids could be a honeycomb (hexagonal spaces) square shapes (as shown) or any similar arrangement of voids. (In fact the functional part of the spacer is the walls. Floors or other membranes between walls would not be expected to be under much stress).

Optionally each plastics spacer is moulded with channels (107, 107a, 107b, 107c) so as to include one or more lengthwise pathways capable of accommodating elongated objects (such as electric cables see the sectional view in Fig 6, in which two of the channels 107 in the spacer 100 hold cables 601 and 602, while other cables 603, 604 are run between the spacer 100 and a skirting board 605, all lying upon a floor 503. The skirting board also covers the base of a wall panel 606. For some applications extra strength requirements may require the abolition of just the outer channels (107, 107d) or all of them.

In Fig 7, an interior wall bottom plate 701 (which has a nominal width of 70 mm according to current practice) is shown on top of a spacer according to the invention, which has a width of 80 mm. Rather than being a disadvantage, the "sill" 702 which may be set up to be 5 mm wide on each side, alternatively 10 mm on one side, is useful as a base for supporting an edge of a wall panel 606.

Preferably each spacer is moulded from a cheap, impervious material having appropriate strength and durability such as a selected plastics material or blend of materials, capable of withstanding a design load without undue creep, surface crazing or other deterioration during at least the expected lifetime of a house, even during extra loading such as during an earthquake or storm. Water resistance is a requirement. One such material is polypropylene. Recycled "Mylar" (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle material is another possibility. The material may be provided with fillers, fibrous materials like glass wool, and/or colouring agents. Other materials may be used but under current pricing structures at least, a moulded plastic spacer is likely to be cheaper than any other durable option and will be dimensionally consistent.

In a finished building, the gap is usually concealed from view or from accumulation of dirt by being located behind an overlapping skirting board (see 605 in fig 6) which reaches or abuts a flooring material like carpet. The gap can be reached after installation (such as for further cabling or location of a leak) by removing the skirting board. In office or industrial sites, the skirting board may be a removable, clipped-on product.

EXAMPLE 2 A metal spacer has the virtue that because "creep" under load is not a property of adequately specified metal building components, and no testing is required. Accordingly, a metal spacer as shown in Fig 8, may be constructed at an industrial level by taking a bulk supply of preferably corrosion-treated steel sheet (such as zinc plated steel) of 1.2 mm to 1.6 mm in thickness and stamping a number of spacers each as shown in Fig 8.

(Fig 8 shows the elevation (above and the plan (below) of an example metal spacer.

Each spacer 800 has a first bearing surface 801, preferably including one or more apertures 802 for attachment purposes which may be 3 mm diameter holes. Preferred fasteners include nails or screws, while an adhesive is an option, or a punched-out, tapered and upwardly bent part of the plate may be used as a fastener, when hammered or pressed into the underlying timber. Both ends of the spacer are bent downwards at an angle of typically 60 degrees providing a sloping portion 803, and then the periphery of the bend is bent outwards again so that the spacer has a second bearing surface 804 and 805; one at each end. A hole 808 may be useful for nailing the spacer to a floor. Preferably all corners 807 are rounded so that there is less risk of injury to a person during construction. The material of the spacer is sufficiently stiff to ensure that no significant deformation occurs during normal use. (The fasteners tend to prevent any downwards bowing of the first bearing surface). The overall width is typically mm and the overall length is typically 50 mm. The distance between the first and second bearing surfaces is typically 12 mm. All these features can be created within feedstock sheet metal by a suitable die used in a press.

When in use, the spacer is positioned across the underlying timber so that the apertures beneath each spacer form the sides and roof of a tunnel running lengthways along the bottom plate, useful for carrying circulating air, electric cables, and the like, as shown in the perspective view 900 in Fig 9 where a cable 905 is laid over a floor 904 and beneath spacers 800, the cablwe running under the length of a bottom plate 903. Fig 9 also illustrates the best-practice placement of spacers, fixing each one beneath or at least within about 100 mm of a corresponding stud 901, 902 (part only shown here) so that downwards forces of typically 200 Kg per stud are directed through the bottom plate and into the floor.

The angle of the bend, being less than 90 degrees (see Fig 8; elevation view at top), allows a number of these spacers to be packed for transport as a tight array. Too tight a bend may tend to open fissures through existing anti-corrosion surfaces which may lead to premature failure of the spacer, although it is not expected that the spacer will be exposed to water after the building is sealed off from the weather with a roof, and has been enclosed. (Its primary purpose is facilitating drainage of a wet floor during early stages of construction, before a roof can be erected.

One possible modification is to press stiffening ribs 806 along the width of the spacer, raising the stiffness of the separator or permitting the use of thinner metal for a similar amount of stiffness. The stiffening ribs may be extended around the folds as well. The length may be increased in other modifications, in case the floor beneath is susceptible to deformation beneath the edges 805 of the spacer.

The metal spacer could be made by cutting 50 mm lengths from an aluminium extrusion; however the cost of aluminium is relatively high. A galvanised (dipped) or zinc- or cadmium- plated steel sheet appears to be the most cost-effective material.

EXAMPLE 3 The invention includes prefabricated parts of buildings that are provided with spacers (according to the invention, as described in Example 1 or in Example 2) already attached such as bottom plates, and pre-constructed interior framing (typically including bottom plates, top plates, vertical studs, braces, and horizontal dwangs), ready for erection as delivered. The spacers (particularly Example 2) are inherently suitable for semi-automatic fastening to prefabricated structures within a factory making pre-constructed framing. For this Example, Fig 9 can be viewed as an illustration of part of a prefabricated timber frame 900, bearing a series of pre-affixed spacers 800 along a bottom plate 903 each corresponding to the position of a stud 901 or 902.

EXAMPLE 4 For attaching cladding to an external wall, a spacer according to this invention (or a less massive and less strong version thereof) may be nailed onto studs through the building paper layer. See Fig 10, a plan view of part of an external wall showing Example 2 spacers being used to maintain air circulation. Fig 10 shows cladding 1000, and spacers 800 against which the cladding is pressed onto studs 1001 of a timber frame (also including nog 1002 and insulation packing 1003) forming a wall. The exposed surfaces of the spacers provides a surface against which the cladding may be fixed, such as by nailing (not shown). In case a plastics spacer is used, a softer plastic may be used in the same moulds as for the previously described spacers, in order to make optimised spacers capable of receiving nails anywhere). A suitable plastic may be a nylon, polyethylene, or may be polypropylene (as before) with different, or more, plasticiser type additives. Preferably wall spacers are made in a clearly different colour to that of framing bottom-plate spacers if their physical characteristics are incompatible. In the case of the metal option, nails for fixing cladding would most probably be placed to each side of the spacer though a spacer made of a thinner material may be acceptable for penetration anywhere over the surface 801 and alternatively a spacer may be made of a multiply perforated sheet material rather than a solid sheet.

Use of the invention in this situation provides a space 1005 of a controlled thickness between the cladding and the insulation of the house, here represented by the layer of thermal paper 1006.

VARIATIONS

Buildings wherein the framing is made of metal (such as box section steel bottom plates) rather than timber have a similar need for the invention. The same problem with ponding occurs, and water tends to cause iron to corrode such as at cut ends, drilled holes, or around welds where any plating has been burnt off. It would be necessary to attach the spacers with suitable fasteners, such as screws or possibly a suitable adhesive. (After installation the weight tends to maintain their position).

Other uses for the spacer exist within a new building, such as a spacer between paired studs (often installed for strength) or during installation of doors and windows, which must be spaced 10 mm apart from framing, and where the channel is again useful for laying cables during wiring.

When modifying or adding onto an existing home, a builder may find that spacers according to the invention not just used on the floor are a convenient way to match a new structure to the dimensions of an existing structure while retaining rigidity. Wood may shrink with time, and there is a discrepancy between the older imperial and the current metric measurements. Spacers of a variety of thicknesses may be provided, and a wedged pair sold as a set can be continuously adjusted at the time of installation to fit any intermediate dimension. This may be useful such as when putting a new framed wall on top of an irregular floor.

A method of construction may be developed in which spacers according to the invention are affixed to a floor along the lines of intended walls. The spacers include means to attach to the bottom plates of frames when those are placed in their correct positions on the rows of spacers.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY and ADVANTAGES 1. Spacers raise the bottom plates of a frame above the floor and stop water from ponding behind the framing particularly during construction but also after completion, in event of a spillage, a leak, or water entry. Ponded water is a major problem in the building industry and is evident whenever showery or rainy weather occurs. A substantial amount of builder time is lost in removing that water. To tolerate the water is to invite worksite accidents and fines by regulatory agencies, as well as to raise the risk of later deterioration. A floor without ponded water will dry more quickly.

2. Keeping the structures at a low moisture content will speed erection time. Sizes remain "as cut", building inspectors cannot use high moisture content as a reason to enforce a delay, and low moisture wood is easier (and lighter) to work with.

3. Spacers keep the bottom plate in a relatively dry state throughout its life. If a water flow should appear for any reason, an inability to so easily flow horizontally should make location of the leak easier. Low moisture content wood should reduce the rate of insurance claims made because of rotting timber, and maintain the value of a building. It should facilitate certification and quality assurance such as provided by a building inspector. Blocking of possible capillary action (wicking) carrying water between timber beams is useful. Growth of micro-organisms capable of attacking wood is blocked.

4. The invention eliminates a presently perceived need for the bottom plate to be made of treated timber eg H3 treated ("tanalised") timber so saving a framing prefabricator the expense of keeping stocks of several types of wood, the cost of treatment, and side-effects of treatment with toxic chemicals. In any case, reliance on treated timber in this position does not solve the other problems such as ponding upon particle-board floors and capillary action leading water up the studs which this invention solves by allowing easy sweeping out and avoidance of water in the first instance.

No damp proof course (membrane) is required beneath the bottom plate.

6. The invention saves time when lining walls, for which a dry wooden support for the wall material is required. A high-class finish on a rigid wallboard will be spoilt if there is subsequent movement underneath, or popping nails. If the wood does not get saturated and its moisture content remains low, there is no need to wait before attaching (for example) plaster board to the bottom plate. (Building inspectors may otherwise enforce a delay). The lining material can be kept off the floor more easily, and can be transfixed further up from its bottom edge.

7. A facility to run cables under the bottom plate is provided, through channels in the spacers Fig If the spacer is narrower than the bottom plate, there is also an outer edge that can be used as a cable routing space. Current practice is to drill large holes through the timber framing, which is a crude and potentially adverse solution to placing cables within walls. That space cannot be reached after completion of the job.

Also, nails used to affix Gibraltar board (or the like) can inadvertently penetrate electric cables whose exact location is not known. Cables laid as per Fig 9 can be accessed (with a high reliability of finding them) by removal of a skirting board or the like.

8. The invention is useful when constructing a building having a particle board floor there is less risk of water collecting and then seeping into the particle board, threatening or destroying its integrity.

9. During the life of the building the presence of the space below the bottom plate means that water from a leak or other source tends to stay where it arose. The problem is more readily identified and repaired and the risk of damage as a result of long-term degradation through moisture is reduced.

If a builder is sawing through the bottom plate, such as when removing the bottom plate at a doorway, the gap beneath gives some protection for saw teeth from hitting the underlying concrete.

Finally, it will be understood that the scope of this invention as described and/or illustrated herein is not limited to the specified embodiments or examples. Those of skill will appreciate that various modifications, additions, known equivalents, and substitutions are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

Claims (8)

1. A building component or spacer for use during construction or modification of a building, characterised in that the spacer has a first bearing surface having a first contact area, and at least one second bearing surface each having a second contact area, said bearing surfaces being on opposite sides of the spacer; the spacer being comprised of at least one substance impervious to water and capable of resisting compressive deformation over an extended period of time, so that the spacer is capable in use of being inserted in contact between a first building structure and a second building structure whereupon the spacer is capable of maintaining a physical separation therebetween and of interrupting a potential or actual passage of water between the first building structure and the second building structure..

2. A building component or spacer as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the spacer is provided with fastening means capable of allowing the spacer to be fastened to one building structure before the building structure is installed in the building.

3. A building component or spacer as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the first building structure comprises a portion of a frame to be placed against a floor and the second building structure comprises the floor, and the spacer, when in use, comprises means for maintaining a controlled separation between the frame and the floor, so that the controlled separation may be used as egress for water that may collect upon the floor during construction.

4. A building component or spacer as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the spacer, when in use, comprises means for creating and maintaining a controlled separation between the first building structure and the second building structure, the controlled separation including an internal gap or tunnel continuous within or beneath the spacer itself, so that the gap or tunnel may be used as a duct for placement of elongated elements laid along the length of a building structure.

A building component or spacer as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the spacer is comprised of a shaped block of a rigid plastics substance including at least one void providing at least one gap or tunnel past the spacer.

6. A building component or spacer as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the spacer is comprised of a pressed rigid sheet material bent so that the first bearing surface and the second bearing surface are separated by more than the thickness of the sheet material, the spacer providing at least one gap or tunnel.

7. A method for keeping a floor of a building free of collected water during construction, using a plurality of spacers as claimed in claim 1 wherein the method includes a step of installing a discontinuous set of spacers under a bottom plate of a wall, to be supported upon a floor, and a step of moving or sweeping any water which may have collected upon the floor laterally beneath the bottom plate and between the spacers towards and over a perimeter of the floor so that the water is removed from the floor.

8. A method for using a building component or spacer as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that a plurality of spacers is installed so as to provide a discontinuous set of separators between a wall comprising the first building structure, and a wall cladding comprising the second building structure, so that the first and second building structures are separated by a space so that water within the wall is more easily removed by air circulation or by prevention of wicking otherwise liable to cause water to move between the first and the second building structure.