AU2011253569B2

AU2011253569B2 - A wall assembly having a conduit space and a structure including the wall assembly

Info

Publication number: AU2011253569B2
Application number: AU2011253569A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Stephen Cramb; Graeme Homewood
Original assignee: METECNO Pty Ltd
Current assignee: METECNO Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2010-07-20
Filing date: 2011-11-21
Publication date: 2014-03-20
Anticipated expiration: 2030-07-20
Also published as: AU2011253569A1

Abstract

A wall assembly 10 is disclosed including a wall body 12 comprising a series of wall 5 panels 22 having two wall faces 23 and an operatively lower edge and an operatively upper edge 26. The wall assembly 10 also includes a top plate 20 mounted over the upper edges 26 of the wall panels 22 and extending along the length of the wall body 12. The top plate 20 comprises a wall mounting portion 36 and a central top cap portion 38 that leaves exposed areas of the mounting portion 36 on either side thereof. 10 The top plate 20 is configured to define a substantially horizontally extending conduit space 56 on one side of the top cap portion 38 and another conduit space 58 on the other side thereof. An electrical conduit 60 containing electrical cables runs along the conduit space 56 and a water pipe can run along the conduit space 58. The wall panels 22 define at least one substantially vertically extending conduit space 67 therein 15 through which a conduit 63 carrying one or more electrical cables 66 can be passed. The electrical cables 66 travel down the conduit space 67 to a height at which they are required on the panels 22. The water pipe running along the conduit space 58 can be directed into a different vertically extending conduit space formed in the same way as the conduit space 67 by the channels between abutting sides of adjacent panels. FIG 3 for publication 6bY ~t 44;x cC I~q

Description

1 A WALL ASSEMBLY HAVING A CONDUIT SPACE AND A STRUCTURE INCLUDING THE WALL ASSEMBLY FIELD OF THE INVENTION 5 This invention relates to a wall assembly having a conduit space suitable for receiving a conduit therein, This invention also relates to a building structure including a wall assembly having a conduit space. This invention relates particularly but not exclusively to a building structure that is a 10 detached house built on a block of land of the type that is typically referred to as a family home. It will therefore be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention with reference to this example application. However at the same time it must be recognized that the invention is capable of broader application. 15 DEFINITIONS In the specification the term "comprising" shall be understood to have a broad meaning similar to the term "including" and will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps. This definition also applies to variations on the 20 term "comprising" such as "comprise" and "comprises". In this specification the term "service conduit" shall be interpreted broadly and shall include a conduit for carrying electrical cables, a conduit for carrying data service cables, or a conduit that carries a utility in a fluid form. An example of a conduit that 25 carries a utility in a fluid form is a water pipe, such as a hot water or a cold water pipe. However the conduit can carry any service and the term shall not be limited to conduits carrying the services described above. In this specification the term 'wall panel" shall be interpreted to refer to a panel that is 30 used to form part of a wall. The wall panels are arranged in a line along the line of the wall and there may or may not be spaces between some of the panels.

2 BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Building structures in general and houses in particular need to have services such as electricity, data cables for communication networks, and also water services for supplying for hot and cold water to living spaces within the house. Accordingly the 5 building needs to have conduits carrying these services arranged on or within the underlying structure of the home to provide these services. These services are conveyed through the house from a service entry point to distributed service provision points around the house by means of pipes or cables. 10 Water is conveyed from its service entry point to its distributed service provision points by means of pipes, Typically there are polymer pipes having a diameter of 25 to 55 mm. Electrical cables travel from a service entry point to distributed service provision points around the house within electrical conduits. The water pipes and electrical conduits are positioned outside of the living region of the house so that they are not 15 visible or accessible to people within the living region. There is a basic principle of safety and sensible house design. Consequently the water pipes and electrical conduits carrying cables are often passed through a roof space between a ceiling and a roof of the house or received within internal and external walls within the house where they are hidden away from the living region. 20 However a considerable amount of labour is often required to lay and establish the water pipes and the electrical conduits throughout the house. Some of the pipes and the conduits are laid out in the roof space. These pipes and conduits are then passed down through the walls to the service provision points. In homes with an internal frame 25 and an external cladding such as a brick veneer home, the pipes or conduits are often passed down from the roof space to a suitable height on the wall where the pipes or conduits are required for use through the space between the internal frame and the cladding. 30 However with houses built from wall panels, and in particular structural insulated panels, these spaces do not exist and there is no wall cavity through which the pipes and cables can be readily received. Further some houses do not have a roof space through which the service conduits and cables can be conveyed.

3 Consequently other ways of running electrical conduits, electrical and data cables, and water pipes from a service entry point to distributed service provision points need to be found. 5 Currently in houses built from wall panels this can require a considerable amount of extra building work and consequently extra cost. Conduit and pipe spaces sometime need to be cut or machined into the wall panels both when travelling horizontally through the house and vertically down through the walls. This leads to some poor building practices. These poor practices can impact on build quality and can also lead 10 to unsafe building practices. It would therefore undoubtedly be useful if a more elegant solution could be found to this problem. This would lead to lower building costs and better and more standardised building practices in relation to how these conduits and pipes are passed 15 through the walls. It would also be advantageous if the water pipes and electrical conduits were laid out in a way that made them accessible to a tradesman in the event that maintenance needed to be carried out on the electrical conduits and water pipes. Accordingly it would be advantageous if a contrivance and a method could be devised 20 for passing a conduit horizontally along the walls of a building structure and then at the appropriate point vertically down through the wall of the building structure for distributing a service from a service entry point in the building structure to one or more distributed service provision points. This would lead to lower building costs and better and more standardised building practices in relation to how there conduits and pipes 25 are passed through the building structure. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of this invention there is provided a structural, roof-supporting, wall assembly of a building, including: 30 a wall body having two wall faces and an operatively lower edge and an operatively upper edge, the wall body defining at least one substantially vertically extending conduit space therein through which a conduit carrying water or one or more cables can be passed; and 4 a top plate that is mounted over the operatively upper edge of the wall body and which extends along the operatively upper edge of the wall body, the top plate being configured to define at least one substantially horizontally extending conduit space along the top plate through which a conduit carrying water or one or more cables can 5 be passed. The wall body may comprise a plurality of panels arranged in a line along the length of the wall body, and each panel may have two faces, an operatively upper edge and an operatively lower edge, and two sides extending between the operatively upper and 10 lower edges. Each panel may define at least one substantially vertically extending channel therein, and each vertically extending conduit space may be formed by a said vertically extending channel. 15 At least one substantially vertically extending channel may be formed in one of the sides of the panel and may open onto the side of the panel. Further the channel may extend the full height of the panel. 20 In some forms of the invention, a plurality of panels has a substantially vertically extending channel formed on each side thereof. Further the channels located on each side of the panel are positioned along the side of the panel such that the channels on abutting sides of adjacent panels open into each other to form a combined channel. Optionally the channels may be disposed centrally with respect to the associated side 25 of the panel, e.g. they may be disposed centrally with respect to the thickness or depth of the panel, so that they always open into each other when the sides of adjacent panels abut against each other to form a combined channel of increased size. Each channel may have a width of 20-40mm and a depth of 20-40mm. 30 The top plate may comprise a wall mounting portion that is mounted over the operatively upper edge of the wall panels, and a top cap portion that projects up above the wall mounting portion and on which a roof member can be mounted.

5 The wall mounting portion may include a horizontally extending bridge section extending across the operatively upper edge of the wall body, and a skirt section on each side of the bridge section that extends downward over the wall faces of the wall body towards the operatively upper edge thereof. 5 The top cap portion may have two wall sections extending up from the bridge section of the wall mounting portion spaced in from the skirt sections, and a top section that extends perpendicular to the two wall sections and connects the two wall sections to each other. 10 The top cap portion may be positioned on the wall mounting portion so that the wall mounting portion has an exposed area of the bridge section on at least one side of the top cap portion. The adjacent wall section of the top cap portion may extend substantially vertically up from the substantially horizontally extending exposed area of 15 the bridge section whereby to define two mutually orthogonal surfaces and said mutually orthogonal surfaces may define said substantially horizontally extending conduit space. In particular the wall mounting portion may have an exposed area of the bridge section 20 on each side of the top cap portion, and both wall sections of the top cap portion may extend substantially vertically up from the exposed area of the bridge section on each side of the top cap, to define two mutually orthogonal surfaces on each side of the top cap portion, that define two substantially horizontally extending conduit spaces. 25 The wall assembly may further include a top plate conduit suitable for receiving cables therein within a said substantially horizontally extending conduit space extending along the top plate. The top plate conduit may have a substantially rectangular cross-sectional 30 configuration. Further the top plate conduit may comprise a conduit body having three walls forming three sides of the rectangular cross sectional configuration and a fourth side that is open defining a conduit opening. The top plate conduit may further include a conduit cover strip that is removeably mounted to the conduit body over the conduit opening. 35 6 In some forms the conduit body may have engagement formations and the cover strip may have complementary engagement formations thereon, and the cover strip may be mounted on the conduit body by engagement of said one and further complementary engagement formations. The one and complementary engagement formations may be 5 engaged with each other, by a user manually engaging the two formations with a snap fitting engagement, and when it is required to disengage the formations, this may be accomplished by a user exerting sufficient manual force to disengage the two formations. 10 The top plate may define a cable opening therein positioned adjacent to a selected one of said vertically extending conduit spaces, and a grommet may be mounted in the cable opening. This way electrical cables and/or data cables can be passed through the cable opening in the top plate and into the selected vertically extending conduit space defined by the panels. 15 The wall assembly may further include a panel conduit received within the vertically extending conduit space defined by the panels, and the electrical cables and/or data cables, can be received within the conduit. 20 The top plate conduit and the panel conduit may have one or more electrical cables and/or data cables received therein. In one form the top plate and panel conduits may have a plurality of electrical cables therein forming part of an electrical circuit within a house. In another form the top plate and panel conduits may have one or more data cables therein for the provision of IT and internet services. In some forms the top plate 25 and panel conduits may have electrical and data cables within the same conduit. Said one or more electrical cables and/or data cables may pass out of the top plate conduit, through the cable opening, and into the conduit within the selected one of said vertically extending conduit spaces defined in the panels. 30 The wall assembly may include a cable outlet defined in the panels at a selected height spaced beneath the operatively upper edge of the wall body that is adjacent to the selected one of said vertically extending conduit spaces. The electrical cables and/or data cables may be passed out of the wall panel through the cable outlet.

7 The electrical cables and/or data cables that are passed out of the wall panel may be electrically connected to an electrical fitting such as a power point or an electrical switch or a data fitting such as a data jack or a data port. 5 The wall assembly may further include at least one water supply conduit in a said substantially horizontally extending conduit space extending along the top plate. In some forms of the invention said at least one water supply conduit may be a single water pipe, and the single water pipe may be received within the other conduit space 10 defined by the top plate. The top plate may define a water pipe opening therein that is positioned adjacent to another selected one of said vertically extending conduit spaces, and a grommet may be mounted in the water pipe opening. The water pipe may be passed out of the other 15 conduit space of the top plate and through the water pipe opening. The water pipe may be passed into the other selected one of said vertically extending conduit space defined by the panels, and the water pipe may travel down the wall through the vertically extending conduit space. 20 The other selected one of the vertically extending conduit spaces that receives the water pipe therein may be different to the vertically extending conduit space defined in the panels that receives electrical cables and/or data cables so that water and electricity travel in different conduit spaces. 25 The panels may have a water pipe outlet defined therein, that is positioned at a selected height spaced beneath the operatively upper edge of the wall body, and is adjacent to the vertically extending conduit space within which the water pipe is received. This way the water pipe is passed out of the wall through the water pipe 30 outlet when it reaches a height at which it is required for use the water pipe that is passed out of the wall panel may be operatively connected to a water supply fitting such as a tap.

8 According to another aspect of this invention there is provided a building structure including a wall assembly as defined above in the preceding aspect of the invention. The wall assembly may include any one or more of the optional features of the wall 5 assembly defined in the preceding aspect of the invention. The building structure may further include a support on which the wall assembly is mounted, and the support may be in the form of a concrete slab that is poured on the ground, a so called slab on ground construction. 10 The building structure may further include a roof mounted on the top plate running along the operatively upper edge of the wall body. The roof may comprise a plurality of roof panels and the roof panels may be mounted on the top plate of the wall assembly by means of a plurality of fastening elements located at spaced intervals 15 along the wall assembly. The wall body having two faces may have an inside face which faces into an inside of the building structure and an outside face which faces towards the outside away from the building structure. 20 The building structure may further include a cover strip extending between the operatively upper edge of the wall body and the roof along the outside face of the wall body. The cover strip may be a fascia. 25 The roof may be mounted on the wall assembly by means of fastening elements that are passed through the roof and into the top cap portion of the top plate. The fastening elements may be driven through the roof and into the top cap portion at spaced intervals along the length of the wall assembly. The fastening elements may be nails. 30 According to a further aspect there is provided a panel for the structural, roof supporting, wall assembly of a building according to the first aspect, the panel having 9 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A wall assembly and a building structure that is a detached domestic house or home in accordance with this invention may manifest itself in a variety of forms. It will be convenient to hereinafter describe several embodiments of the invention in detail with 5 reference to the accompanying drawings. The purpose of providing this detailed description is to instruct persons having an interest in the subject matter of the invention how to carry the invention into practical effect. However it is to be clearly understood that the specific nature of this detailed description does not supersede the generality of the preceding broad description. In the drawings: 10 Fig 1 is a three dimensional view of a wall assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; Fig 2 is a sectional end view of a building structure including the wall assembly shown 15 in Fig 1; Fig 3 is a schematic perspective view of part of the building structure shown in Fig 2, with parts omitted for clarity, showing a service conduit carrying an electrical cable running along a horizontal conduit space formed by the top plate and then running 20 down through a vertical conduit space defined by two panels, and then exiting the conduit space through an outlet opening at a height where a switch or a power point is required; Fig 4 is a sectional view of a building structure that is similar to the building structure 25 shown in Fig 2, but showing different services being directed conveyed through two horizontal conduit spaces on each side of the top cap portion of the top plate; Fig 5 is a close up sectional view of part of the building structure shown in Fig 4 showing how the electrical and/or data cables as well as water pipes are passed 30 though respective openings in the top plate and then directed into separate vertically extending conduit spaces formed by channels in the sides of the panels; Fig 6 is a perspective view of the building structure of Fig 2 showing how the electrical and/or data cables and water pipes are directed along different horizontal conduit 10 Fig 2 is a sectional end view of a building structure including the wall assembly shown in Fig 1; 5 Fig 3 is a schematic perspective view of part of the building structure shown in Fig 2, with parts omitted for clarity, showing a service conduit carrying an electrical cable running along a horizontal conduit space formed by the top plate and then running down through a vertical conduit space defined by two panels, and then exiting the conduit space through an outlet opening at a height where a switch or a power point is 10 required; Fig 4 is a sectional view of a building structure that is similar to the building structure shown in Fig 2, but showing different services being directed conveyed through two horizontal conduit spaces on each side of the top cap portion of the top plate; 15 Fig 5 is a close up sectional view of part of the building structure shown in Fig 4 showing how the electrical and/or data cables as well as water pipes are passed though respective openings in the top plate and then directed into separate vertically extending conduit spaces formed by channels in the sides of the panels; 20 Fig 6 is a perspective view of the building structure of Fig 2 showing how the electrical and/or data cables and water pipes are directed along different horizontal conduit spaces on the top plate and then down different vertical conduit spaces defined in the panels to different service provisions points within the building structure; 25 Fig 7 is a perspective view of an inside wall of a finished building structure similar to that in Figure 2 and showing how the electrical and/or data cables and water pipes are directed through the conduit spaces, and then through outlets in the panels to their respective fittings within the building structure. 30 In Figures 1 and 2 a reference numeral 10 refers generally to a wall assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

11 The wall assembly 10 comprises broadly a wall body 12 having two wall faces 14, 16 and operatively upper and operatively lower edges 18, 19, and a top plate 20 extending along the operatively upper edge 18 of the wall body 12. The wall assembly 10 also includes a bottom plate 21 that extends along the operatively lower edge 19 of 5 the wall body 12. The components of the wall assembly 10 will now be described in more detail below. The wall body 12 comprises a plurality of wall panels 22 arranged side by side in a line 10 along the length of the wall body 12. Each panel 22 has two major panel faces 23 and 24 and collectively the panel faces 23 and 24 form part of the faces 14, 16 of the wall body 12. Each panel 22 also has a panel upper edge 26 and a panel lower edge 28 which, in the embodiment as illustrated in Figure 1, form the operatively upper and operatively lower edges 18, 19 of the wall body 12. Each panel 22 also has two panel 15 sides 30 and 32 extending between the panel upper edge 26 and the panel lower edge 28. Each panel 22 has a channel 34 defined in each panel side 30 and 32 thereof, and each channel 34 can serve as a vertically extending conduit space for receiving a 20 service conduit therein. Further when two panels 22 are positioned next to each other in the wall body 12, the abutting sides of the adjacent panels 22 each have channels 34 therein, that open into each other and form a combined channel. This combined channel can form a combined conduit space having a much greater cross sectional area than the conduit space formed by a single side 30 or 32 of a single panel 22 25 alone. In particular each vertically extending conduit space channel 34 can be used to receive an electrical conduit therein for conveying electrical cables from the upper edge 18 of the wall body 12 to a position spaced below the upper edge 18 of the wall body 12, as 30 will be described in more detail below with reference to Figures 3 to 6. Such a position could be where an electrical switch such as a light switch or the position of a power point, e.g. of the type used for an appliance or the like, could be located. Instead the service conduit could be a water pipe that carries hot or cold water.

12 Instead the channels 34 can be used to receive a support post therein that forms part of the wall assembly 10, and which is indicated generally by the reference numeral 35. The support post forms part of the structure of the wall assembly and supports vertical load, It is fixed to the support and is also fixed to the top plate, and thereby is indirectly 5 attached to the panels. It thereby helps to fix the entire wall assembly to the support on which it is mounted. The support posts 35 may be located every three or six panels along the length of the wall assembly 10. Thus there will be channels 34 that do not contain support posts 35 intermediate those that do receive support posts 35. A support post 35 is shown in Figure 1. 10 The top plate 20 has a wall mounting portion 36 for mounting over the operatively upper edge 18 of the wall body 12 and also a top cap portion 38 that projects up above the wall mounting portion 36, As shown in the drawings, the wall mounting portion 36, which extends across the operatively upper edge of the wall body 12 and a small 15 distance down each face thereof, comprises an upper edge bridging element 40 and two skirt elements 42 on each side of the bridging element 40. The skirt elements 42 extend down from the upper edge 18 of the wall body 12 over upper edge regions of internal and external faces 14 and 16 of the wall body 12. 20 The top cap portion 38 comprises two wall elements 44 that extend up from the bridging element 40 and a cap top element 46 that joins the two wall elements 44 to each other. The wall elements 44 are each spaced inward from the skirt elements 42 so that there is an area of bridging element 40 on each side of the top cap portion 38. The wall elements 44 extend substantially orthogonally away from the bridging element 25 40 at positions spaced inward from the skirt elements 42. Thus each wall element 44 defines, together with its associated portion of the bridging element 40 and the cap top element 46, a conduit space with orthogonal sides on each side of the cap portion 38. The service space defined by the orthogonal bridging element 40 and a wall element 44 respectively is well suited to receiving a rectangular or circular service conduit 30 therein, e.g. an electrical service conduit, having a cross sectional shape that complements the orthogonal bridging element 40 and wall element 44. The bottom plate 21 is mounted on a support surface such as an upper surface of a concrete slab and defines an upward facing channel 47 having walls which receives 35 the operatively lower edge of the wall body 12. The bottom plate 21 also includes a 13 skirt 48 that extends downward at an inclined angle in a direction away from the channel 47 which receives the wall body 12. The bottom plate 21 also includes a plurality of openings defined in the walls of the channel member at spaced intervals along its length. The openings allow air to pass out of the channel through the plate 5 21 and also moisture to drain out of the channel 47. The wall assembly 10 forms part of a building structure which is a house as shown in Figures 2, 4, 6 and 7. The house is indicated generally by the reference numeral 50. 10 The house 50 comprises a wall assembly 10 as described above, a support which is a concrete slab 52, and a roof which is indicated generally by the reference numeral 54. Unless otherwise indicated the same reference numerals will be used to refer to the same components of the wall assembly as in Figures 1 and 2 above. The roof 54 is mounted on the top cap portion 38 of the top plate 20 and is fixed thereto by means of 15 fastening elements 55 as shown in Figure 5 in particular. The wall assembly and the panels thereof have an inside face and an outside face that are determined with reference to the building structure. The panel face 23 faces into an inside of the building structure and the panel face 24 faces towards the outside of 20 the building structure. Figures 3 to 6 of the drawings illustrate how electrical and data services and also water supply services are directed in electrical or water conduits through the horizontal and vertical conduit spaces from the service supply points to the distributed service 25 provisions points throughout the house. Each of these electrical and water conduits will be described in turn below with reference to these drawings. 30 The top plate 20 defines two horizontally extending conduit spaces 56 and 58 on respectively inner and outer sides of the cap portion 38. The wall panels 22 define a plurality of vertically extending conduit spaces between adjacent wall panels 22 and 14 selected or specific vertical conduit spaces will be given specific numbers in the description below. In Figures 3 to 6 the building structure 50 has an electrical service conduit, which is 5 indicated generally by reference numeral 60, mounted in the horizontal conduit space indicated by the reference numeral 56 that is on the inside of the wall assembly 10. That is it faces into the inside of the house 50 rather than facing outwards away from the house 50. 10 The service conduit 60 is elongate and has a rectangular shape that complements the shape of the bridging element 40 of the wall mounting portion 36 and the adjacent wall element 44 of the top cap portion 38 forming the conduit space 56. This enables the conduit 60 to be snugly received within this conduit space 56 and to be covered by the bridging element 40 and adjacent wall element 44 along two of its four sides, 15 The service conduit 60 comprises a fixed conduit body 62 that forms three surfaces of the conduit and a removable conduit cover strip 64Athat is removably mounted on the conduit body 62 and that forms the fourth surface of the service conduit 60. Where the house 50 has a roof 54 on the wall assembly 10, the fixed conduit body 62 is covered 20 by the bridging element 40 and wall element 44 on the top plate 20 along two of its side, and also by the roof 54 on its top side, The conduit cover strip 64A faces outwardly away from the associated internal face 14 of the wall body 12 into a room within the building structure 50. 25 As shown in Figure 5 of the drawings, the cover strip 64A is removable so as to provide easy access to the electrical cables 66 inside it by simply removing the cover strip 64A, An additional or alternative cover strip 64B is configured to cover over the space defined between the operatively upper edge 26 of the wall panels and the roof 54. That way the additional or alternative cover strip 64B closes off the top plate 20 30 entirely from view to a person located within a room of the house 50. Further the additional or alternative cover strip 64B may optionally also be configured to resemble a cornice strip which is aesthetically pleasing when mounted in position on the inside of the wall assembly 10.

15 As described above, the wall assembly 10 comprises a series of wall panels 22 that are arranged in a line along the line of the wall assembly 10. Each wall panel 22 has the channel 34 defined in each side thereof that can be used to form a said vertically extending conduit space. As described above, the channels 34 of the abutting sides of 5 two adjacent panels 22 open into each other and define a combined channel between them that forms the vertically extending conduit space. This is suitable for receiving an electrical conduit containing at least one electrical cable 66 to enable the electrical cable 66 to travel down the wall body 12 while being received within the wall body 12. 10 The electrical cable 66 within the electrical conduit 60 on the top plate 20 is directed out of the service conduit 60 and down a selected vertically extending conduit space indicated by the reference numeral 67. The conduit space 67 which is defined by the combined channels 34 extends down the 15 wall to a desired height at which the electrical supply cables are required for electrical connection to an electrical fitting. The cable 66 is passed through a cable opening 68 that is defined in the top plate 20, and specifically in the bridging element 40 associated with that particular conduit space 20 56. A rubber grommet is mounted in the cable opening 68 and the cable 66 is passed through a snug fitting opening defined in the grommet. The wall assembly 10 has an electrical conduit 63 received within the conduit space 67 within which the electrical cable 66 is received, in the illustrated embodiment the 25 conduit 63 has a circular cross sectional shape although it will be appreciated that other cross sectional shapes could also be used. At the desired height within the selected vertical conduit space 67 the electrical cable 66 is directed out of the conduit 63, e.g. through an open end of the conduit 63. The 30 cable 66 is then directed out of the conduit space 67 through a cable outlet 69 in the associated wall panel 22 and into a room of the living space of the house 50. The electrical cable 66 is then operatively connected to a switch plate or an electrical switch on the wall assembly 10 within the room.

16 While the arrangement of cables above has been described above with reference to electrical cables, it will be appreciated that the same arrangement could also be used for data cables. Further data cables could also be conveyed through the same 5 conduits as electrical cables. In Figures 4 to 6, a water conduit or water pipe which is indicated generally by the reference numeral 70 directs water through the other horizontal conduit space 58 and then down through the panels 22 of the wall body 12 to a water service provision y 10 point at a plumbing fitting on the inside of the wall body 12. The conduit space 58 is adjacent the outside face 16 of the wall body 12 and adjacent the outside of the house. Specifically it is on the other side of the top cap portion 38 of the top plate 20 to the electrical conduit 60. The water pipe 70 travels along the upper 15 edge of the wall body 12, to the point along the length of the wall body 12 at which the water needs to be delivered through a plumbing fitting into the living space of the house for use. In the illustrated embodiment the water pipe 70 is simply received in the conduit space 58 and does not have a surrounding conduit within which it is received. However it will be appreciated that in some embodiments the water pipe 70 20 can be received within a surrounding or shielding conduit or sheath within the conduit space 58. Further while the drawing only illustrates one water pipe 70 within the conduit space it will be appreciated that two different water pipes, namely one for hot water and one for cold water, could be received within the conduit space 58 even though this is not shown. 25 As shown in the drawings, the wall assembly 10 includes a cover strip that is a fascia board 74 that is mounted over the upper region of the external wall face 16. The fascia board 74 extends from the external faces 24 of the panels 22 on the outside of the house 50 up to the roof assembly 54 mounted on the top plate 20. Thus the fascia 30 board 74 covers over the water pipe 70 running along the conduit space provided by the top plate 20. The water pipe 70 is directed out of the horizontal conduit space 58 and turned downward through about ninety degrees into another selected one of the vertically 17 extending conduit spaces 76 formed by the channels 34 in the sides 30, 32 of adjacent panels 22. Thus the water pipe 70 is directed into a vertically extending conduit space 76 that is just like the conduit space 67 within which the electrical cable 66 is received. Importantly the water pipe 70 is received within the conduit space 76 which is different 5 to the vertical conduit space 67: the two conduit spaces 67, 76 are spaced apart from each other by a distance that is at least approximately the width of one panel 22 because the spaced apart channels 34 are formed where the sides 30, 32 of adjacent panels 22 abut against each other. 10 The water pipe 70 is used to conduit or direct water from a water service entry point at which the water main enters the house 50 to a water service provision point at a plumbing fitting within the house 50. The plumbing fitting could be a tap in a bathroom, kitchen or laundry or it could be a water supply point for an appliance such as a washing machine or a dishwasher. 15 Accordingly the water pipe 70 is passed down through the wall body 12 to a height at which it is required to be coupled to a plumbing fitting. It is then passed through a water pipe outlet 78 in the wall body 12 and into the living space of the house 50 where it is operatively coupled to a plumbing fitting, 20 The description above and the associated drawings thus show how an electrical service conduit is directed along the upper edge of the wall body 12 and then down through the wall body 12 to an electrical service delivery point. It also shows how a water conduit or water pipe can be used to conduit water along the upper edge of the 25 wall body 12 and down through the wall panels 22 of the wall body 12 to a water service delivery point. In use when a house 50 is built, the slab 52 is poured first and then the wall assembly 10 is built on the slab 52. The roof 54 is then built on top of the wall assembly 10 and 30 additional components such as doors and walls are mounted on the wall assembly 10. The house 50 reaches a lock up stage of construction when it can be physically closed and locked up.

18 Once the lock up stage has been reached, the plumbers and electricians typically commence the electrical and plumbing work on the house 50. They do this by laying out the electrical cables 66, conduit 60, and water pipe 70 to provide these services at distributed service provision points within the house 50. The electrical conduits 60 are 5 laid out in on the conduit space 56 running horizontally along the top plate 20 on the inside of the wall assembly 10, and the water pipes 70 are laid out in the other conduit space 58 running horizontally long the top plate 20. The conduit spaces 56, 58 are configured to provide suitable spaces within which to run the conduit 60 and water pipe 70 respectively. 10 Further the selected vertical conduit spaces 67 and 76 formed by the combined channels 34 between certain adjacent panels provide convenient conduit spaces travelling in a vertical extending direction. The plumbers and electricians can then route the water pipes and electrical cables through the channels 34 formed in the wall 15 panels 22 of the wall body 12. Thereafter the cables and water pipes are passed out of the wall body 12 through outlets, in the form of outlet holes, into the living space of the house 50, in the positions in which they are required. The provision of electrical and water services is then finished in the usual way with the usual electrical and plumbing fittings within the living space by operatively connecting the cables and/or 20 conduits to the fittings. If maintenance is required to be performed on the electrical cables 66 laid out in the house 50, the cover strip(s) 64, 65 can simply be removed to provide access to the interior of the electrical conduit 60 and the electrical cable/s 66 within the conduit 60. 25 Accordingly no invasive procedures need to be carried out on the permanently fixed components of the wall assembly 10. Consequently afterwards no repairs to the walls and wall finishes are required. If a cable 66 that is received within a combined conduit space within the wall body 12 is 30 required to be withdrawn, either for inspection or maintenance, it can simply be lifted up out of the channel 34 by accessing the cable 66 from the conduit 60 on the top plate 20 and pulling it out.

19 The water conduit or pipe 70 running along the operatively upper edge 18 of the wall body 12 in the outside conduit space 58 can be accessed by removing the fascia 74 on the outside face 16 of the wall body 12. Similarly the water pipe 74 can be lifted out, or pulled out, of a combined conduit space 76 formed by channels 34 within the wall 5 panels 22 in a similar way to the electrical cable/s 66 described above. Fig 7 shows al room within a house indicated generally by reference numeral 80 and an internal surface of one wall 81 of the room 80 which is an external wall of the house 50. 10 The room 80 has a laundry tub 82 therein mounted up against the wall 81. The room 80 also has an electrical cable 66 leading to a light switch 84 and an electrical power point 86 about midway up the height of the wall 81 on one side of the laundry tub 82. The room 80 also has a data cable leading to a data point 88 spaced away from the 15 laundry tub 82 and the light switch 84 and electrical power point 86. The electrical cables 66 run along one horizontally extending conduit space defined by the top plate at the top of the wall 81 and then through a cable opening in the top plate 20 and down a selected vertically extending conduit space 90 defined between the 20 channels between two adjacent panels. The water pipe runs along the other horizontally extending conduit space defined by the top plate and then through a water pipe opening in the top plate and down a different vertically extending conduit space 92 formed by a channel between different 25 panels that is spaced away from the channel carrying the electrical cables. The water pipe is passed through a water pipe outlet opening in the wall and is operatively coupled to a tap that delivers water through a mixer into the tub 82. The data cables are contained in the same horizontally extending conduit space at the 30 top of the wall 81 as the electrical cables and are passed through another cable opening in the top plate into yet another vertically extending conduit space 94 formed by the channels between a different pair of adjacent panels.

20 Further there is also another power point 95 in the room that is electrically connected to an electrical cable that travels along the top of the wall in the same horizontal conduit space as the other electrical cables and that is passed down yet another conduit space 96 defined by the channels in yet different panels again, 5 An advantage of the building structure that is a house described above with reference to the drawings is that a structure is provided that can be efficiently built and that also has makes provision for running service conduits including electrical cables and water pipes through the house and particularly the wall assembly thereof, in an efficient 10 manner and in a way that makes the services easy to maintain after they have been installed, In particular an advantage of the building structure is that the body wall includes wall panels that define channels therein that form vertical conduit spaces that can be used for receiving service cables including electrical cables, data cables, and also water pipes therein. 15 Yet another advantage of the building structure is that the top plate is configured to define at least one horizontal conduit space suitable for receiving an electrical conduit along its top plate. In a preferred form the top plate is configured to define two horizontal conduit spaces running along the top of the wall body that are physically 20 separated from each other. One service conduit is positioned on one side of the top cap portion of the top plate and the other service conduit is positioned on the other side of the top cap portion. Typically an electrical conduit containing electrical cables can run along the top plate in one of the conduit spaces and another electrical conduit or a water pipe can run along the top plate in the other conduit space. This feature of 25 designing the top plate to have space to receive the services considerably eases the construction process and saves time and money by providing suitable conduit spaces ready made on the wall assembly, It also provides a reproducible and standardised way of arranging the service cables and conduits within the structure which helps to raise building standards and simplifies maintenance procedures because all buildings 30 are done in the same way. Yet further the removable cover strip enables access to be provided to the service conduit for maintenance and the like. Yet further the removable cover strip provides a neat aesthetic finish between the ceiling and the wall assembly on an inside of the 35 building much like a cornice. The cover strip can therefore also function as a cornice 21 and obviates the need and cost of mounting an additional cornice on the wall assembly, It will readily be appreciated that more ornate cover strips could be provided than those illustrated to create an additional aesthetic effect like different cornices. 5 A further advantage of the wall assembly and building structure described above with reference to the drawings is that some building structures such as houses do not have roof spaces between a ceiling and a roof. The roof space has traditionally been used to run electrical cables horizontally around the house and then to drop them down into 10 the wall cavities at points where they are required. However some houses particularly some new designs of houses have panel roofs that do not have a roof space between the roof member and the ceiling. Instead there is only a sandwich panel on the roof with an outer roof layer and an inner ceiling layer. With such house designs clearly an alternative methodology is required for running the electrical cables and water pipes 15 horizontally to different locations in the house where services have to be provided. The top plate with the two horizontally extending conduit spaces formed thereon which are physically separated from each other provides this facility in a simple and elegant fashion. 20 A further advantage is that the wall panel comprises an insulating core positioned between two metal skins or outer layers. Accordingly when the channel is formed in the insulating core the surrounding material already functions like an electrical conduit of enclosing non-conducting material and a separate additional electrical conduit is not required to receive the electrical cables. 25 It will of course be realized that the above has been given only by way of illustrative example of the invention and that all such modifications and variations thereto, as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art, are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as is herein set forth. 30

Claims

2. A wall assembly according to claim 1, wherein the wall body comprises a 15 plurality of panels arranged in a line along the length of the wall body, and wherein each panel has an operatively upper edge and an operatively lower edge, and two sides extending between the operatively upper and lower edges.
3. A wall assembly according to claim 2, wherein each panel defines at least one 20 substantially vertically extending channel therein, and wherein each vertically extending conduit space is formed by a said channel.
4. A wall assembly according to claim 3, wherein said at least one substantially vertically extending channel is formed in one of the sides of each panel and opens 25 onto the side of the panel, and wherein the channel extends the full height of the panel.
5. A wall assembly according to claim 4, wherein each panel has a substantially vertically extending channel on each side thereof, and wherein the channels are located on the sides of the panels such that the channels on abutting sides of adjacent 30 panels open into each other to form a combined channel. 23 6, A wall assembly according to claim 5, wherein each panel comprises an insulating core positioned between outer layers, wherein each channel is formed in the insulating core of a panel, and wherein each channel is positioned substantially centrally with respect to the thickness of the panel whereby the channels on abutting 5 sides of adjacent panels open into each other to form a combined channel of increased size.
7. A wall assembly according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the top plate comprises a top cap portion adapted for mounting of at least part of a roof thereon, 10 support of at least part of a roof thereby, and wherein the top cap portion is adapted for receipt of fastening elements that can be passed through at least part of the roof and into the top cap portion.
8. A wall assembly according to any of claims 5 to 7, wherein the top plate 15 comprises a wall mounting portion that is mounted over the operatively upper end of the wall panels, and a top cap portion that projects up above the wall mounting portion.
9. A wall assembly according to claim 8, wherein the wall mounting portion includes a horizontally extending bridge section extending across the operatively upper 20 edge of the wall body, and a skirt section on each side of the bridge section that extends downward over upper parts of the wall faces of the wall body.
10. A wall assembly according to claim 9, wherein the top cap portion has two wall sections extending up from the bridge section of the wall mounting portion spaced in 25 from the skirt sections, and a top section that extends between the two wall sections and connects the two wall sections to each other.
11. A wall assembly according to claim 10, wherein the top cap portion is positioned on the wall mounting portion so that the wail mounting portion has an 30 exposed area of the bridge section on at least one side of the top cap portion, and wherein the adjacent wall section of the top cap portion extends substantially vertically up from the exposed area of the bridge section, so that an area of the bridge section and an adjacent part of the wall section of the top cap provide two adjacent surfaces that at least partially define said substantially horizontally extending conduit space. 24
12. A wall assembly according to claim 11, wherein the wall mounting portion has an exposed area of the bridge section on each side of the top cap portion, and wherein both wall sections of the top cap portion extend substantially vertically up from the 5 exposed area of the bridge section on each side of the top cap, to define two substantially mutually orthogonal surfaces on each side of the top cap portion, so that each arrangement of two substantially mutually orthogonal surfaces at least partially defines a said substantially horizontally extending conduit space. 10 13. A wall assembly according to claim 12, further including a top plate conduit suitable for receiving cables therein within one of the substantially horizontally extending conduit spaces extending along the top plate. 14, A wall assembly according to claim 13, wherein the top plate conduit has a 15 substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration, and wherein the top plate conduit comprises a conduit body having three walls forming three sides of the rectangular cross sectional configuration and that is open on the fourth side defining a conduit opening, and a conduit cover strip that is removeably mounted to the conduit body over the conduit opening. 20
15. A wall assembly according to claim 14, wherein the conduit body has engagement formations and the cover strip has complementary snap fitting engagement formations thereon, and wherein the cover strip is mounted on the conduit body by engagement of said one and further complementary engagement formations. 25
16. A wall assembly according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the top plate defines a cable opening therein positioned adjacent to a vertically extending conduit space selected to accommodate said cable, so that electrical cables and/or data cables can be passed through the opening in the top plate and into the selected 30 vertically extending conduit space. 25
17. A wall assembly according to any one of claims 13 to 16, further including a panel conduit received within the selected vertically extending conduit space, and the electrical cables and/or data cables, are received within the panel conduit. 5 18. A wall assembly according to any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein the top plate conduit has one or more electrical cables and/or data cables received therein.
19. A wall assembly according to claim 18, wherein said one or more electrical cables and/or data cables pass out of the top plate conduit and into the selected 10 vertically extending conduit. 20, A wall assembly according to any one of claims 13 to 19, including a cable opening defined in at least one of the panels, that is positioned at a selected height spaced beneath the operatively upper edge of the wall body, and wherein electrical 15 cables and/or data cables pass out of the wall panel through the cable opening.
21. A wall assembly according to claim 20, wherein the electrical cables and/or data cables that pass out of the wall panel are electrically connected to an electrical fitting such as a power point or an electrical switch or a data fitting such as a data jack 20 or a data port.
22. A wall assembly according to any one of claims 13 to 21, further including at least one water supply conduit in the other substantially horizontally extending conduit space extending along the top plate. 25 23, A wall assembly according to claim 22 wherein said at least one water supply conduit is a single water pipe.
24. A wall assembly according to either of claims 22 or 23, wherein the top plate 30 defines a water pipe opening therein positioned adjacent to a vertically extending conduit space selected to accommodate said water pipe, and wherein a water pipe is passed out of said other substantially horizontally extending conduit space of the top 26 plate, through the water pipe opening, and into the selected vertically extending conduit space, and wherein the water pipe travels down the wall through the vertically extending conduit space. 5 25. A wall assembly according to any of claims 22 to 24, wherein a water pipe passes out of said other substantially horizontally extending conduit space, and into a vertically extending conduit space selected to accommodate said water pipe, that is different to a vertically extending conduit space selected to receive electrical and/or data cables. 10
26. A wall assembly according to either of claims 24 or 25, wherein at least one of the panels has a water pipe outlet defined therein, positioned at a selected height spaced beneath the operatively upper edge of the wall body, providing a path between the vertically extending conduit space selected to accommodate said water pipe and a 15 face of said at least one panel, and wherein the water pipe is passed out of the wall panel through the water pipe outlet.
27. A wall assembly according to claim 26, wherein the water pipe that is passed out of the wall panel is operatively connected to a water supply fitting such as a tap, 20
28. A building structure comprising a structural, roof-supporting, wall assembly wall assembly of a building according to any one of claims I to 27, wherein the wall assembly provides an external wall of the building which at least partially supports a roof of the building. 25
29. A building structure according to claim 28, further including a support on which the wall assembly is mounted, and including a roof mounted on the top plate running along the operatively upper edge of the wall body, wherein the roof is mounted on the wall assembly by means of fastening elements, provided at spaced intervals along the 30 length of the wall assembly, that are passed through the roof and into the top plate. 27
30. A building structure according to claim 29, further including a cover board extending between the operatively upper edge of the wall body and the roof along one face of the wall body. 5 31. A panel for the structural, roof-supporting, wall assembly of a building according to any of claims I to 27, the panel having sufficient structural strength to allow support of a roof by wall assemblies comprising a plurality of such panels, the wail panel comprising an insulating core positioned between outer layers, wherein the panel has first and second side edges which in an operational position of the panel 10 each extend substantially vertically between a panel bottom edge and a panel top edge, and wherein each of the first and second side edges provides a channel formed in the insulating core, such that when said side edge is placed in operational abutment with a side edge of a substantially identical panel the channels of the side edge of said panel and the side edge of the substantially identical panel together provide a 15 combined conduit channel for accommodating a substantially vertically extending service conduit.
32. A panel according to claim 31 wherein the channels are provided substantially centrally in thickness direction of the panel. 20
33. A panel according to either of claims 31 or 32 wherein on each side of each channel the insulating core provides an abutment surface, for abutment with a corresponding abutment surface of a substantially identical panel, in use. 25 34. A panel according to claim 33, wherein each abutment surface is substantially planar and the plane of each abutment surface is substantially perpendicular to main faces of the panel.
35. A wall assembly substantially as herein described in the detailed description of 30 the invention with reference to the drawings.