AU2016201125B2 - Wall Panel Installation - Google Patents

Abstract

A partition wall includes soffit c channel sections; floor J channel sections which have one side wall higher than the other and at least one longitudinal upstanding rib 5 in the base section; and lightweight autoclaved cement extrusion(ace) panels in which the panels incorporate a tongue in one end edge and a mating groove in the opposite end edge and a recess in at least one face of the panel adjacent the said tongue and groove to facilitate setting the panel joints. This invention addresses the problem of labour and lifting times and costs in installing walls in high rise buildings. 10 The ACE panels are modified to provide a recess adjacent the tongue and groove joints of two end abutting panels. This recess accommodates the sealant joining compound to provide a paintable finished surface. The panels are installed into the soffit and floor channel tracks that require no other fastening apart from sealing. The floor and ceiling tracks are installed first. The floor tracks include at least one rib 15 which supports the panels to allow them to be slid above the track fastening s and to absorb building movement and reduce stress on the panel joints.

Description

1 2016201125 23 Feb 2016

WALL PANEL INSTALLATION

This invention relates to an improved method of installing internal partition walls in multi storey buildings. 5 Background to the invention.

Prefabricated internal walls for buildings particularly high rise buildings with multiple floors have been proposed and USA patents 3683575, 3708607 and 3911636 are early examples.

Australian patent 2004203553 discloses a method of manipulating and installing ίο external wall panels using a cart. WO 2009086617 conceptually discloses a building method that utilises prefabricated panel and all the components are focussed on the objective of prefabrication and energy saving.

Existing methods of installing internal partition walls are labour intensive and the 15 time and cost of delivering the panels and installation equipment can be high. In many cases cranes must be used because the building lifts are inadequate and the floor space required can interfere with other building activities. The actual installation into floor and ceiling tracks and the fitting of the panels and the surface finishing also consumes installation time. Other aspects of conventional installation 20 procedures which cause concern is the dust created from cutting the panels to size. Another issue with partition walls is their ability to withstand impacts. Building movement can also structurally affect installed partition walls. Most prior art internal partition walls do not have surfaces that are suitable as external walls.

It is an object of this invention to ameliorate some or all of these shortcomings. 25

Brief description of the invention

To this end the present invention provides a method of installing partition walls in high rise buildings having building lifts, which includes the steps of Installing top channel sections 30 Installing floor J channel sections which have one side wall higher than the other and at least one longitudinal upstanding rib in the base section utilising lightweight autoclaved cement extrusion (ace) panels in which the panels incorporate a tongue in one end edge and a mating groove in the opposite end edge 2 2016201125 23 Feb 2016 and a recess in at least one face of the panel adjacent the said tongue and groove to facilitate setting the panel joints providing fork liftable pallets of said ACE panels utilising building lifts to lift the pallets and floor and ceiling channels 5 sliding the panels into the floor and ceiling channels and mating the tongue and groove edges finishing the wall by setting the joints and sealing and insulating around the panels in the ceiling and floor channels. ίο This invention addresses the problem of labour and lifting times and costs in installing walls in high rise buildings. The ACE panels are modified to provide a recess adjacent the tongue and groove joints of two end abutting panels. This recess accommodates the sealant joining compound to provide a paintable finished surface. The panels are installed into the soffit channels in the slab above and floor is channel tracks that require no other fastening apart from sealing. The floor and soffit tracks are installed first. The floor tracks include at least one rib which supports the panels to allow them to be slid above the track fastening s and to absorb building movement and reduce stress on the panel joints.

The method and panels increase labour productivity and the panels can be lifted in 20 the building lifts rather than by crane. Because the panels are thinner and lighter more panels fit onto a pallet and this reduces the number of lifts required to install a given wall area. Compared to plaster board the number of lifts required would be more than halved.

The use of ACE panels does away with the need for conventional noggins to fit 25 cupboards and vanity units.

In another aspect, this invention provides a partition wall which includes top channel sections floor J channel sections which have one side wall higher than the other and at least one longitudinal upstanding rib in the base section 30 lightweight autoclaved cement extrusion (ace) panels in which the panels incorporate a tongue in one end edge and a mating groove in the opposite end edge and a recess in at least one face of the panel adjacent the said tongue and groove to facilitate setting the panel joints. 3 2016201125 23 Feb 2016

The partition wall may contain a second ACE panel or to conserve costs a plasterboard may be used and insulation inserted between the ACE panel and the plasterboard. The details of the panel additional component will vary according to the purpose such as corridor partition, inter-tenanacy partition, wet area partition 5 and the need for fire rating and sound insulation.

Detailed description of the invention A preferred embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings in which ίο Figure 1 is to view of a panel of this invention;

Figure 2 is an end view of the soffit c channel;

Figure 3 is an end view of the floor J channel;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the floor channel of figure 3;

Figure 5 illustrates the forks used in lifting the panels; 15 Figure 6 depicts the panel trolley;

Figure 7 depicts a side view of an alternative soffit channel;

Figure 8 depicts a corner adaptor to join two double walled panels;

Figure 9 depicts an alternative construction of a corridor or intertenancy wall. 20 The panels 10 have internal hollows 11 and faces 14 and 16. The end edges have a tongue 12 at one end and a groove 13 at the other end. Adjacent to the ends the surface 14 is tapered toward the end to create a recess 15 adjacent the panel joints. The soffit C channel 20, has fixing holes 21 for fasteners. The floor J channel 30 has a longer side wall 31 and a shorter side wall 33 and a base 32. The base 32 has a 25 rib 35. Preferably only one rib is used. The fastener hole 36 in the base is offset from the rib35. The rib 35 allows the panel to be pushed when installed in both the head and base tracks by having the bottom of the panel 4mm higher than the shot pins head. This rib after installation then becomes the movement joint for the panels to move with the building taking stress from the panel joints. The floor and soffit 30 tracks are shot fixed to the concrete slab.

In a preferred embodiment as shown in figure 7, the Soffit track has an inspection opening, which may be a series of spaced rectangular openings, on one side only to view the panel height inside the track. 4 2016201125 23 Feb 2016

Preferably a heavy duty film of plastic is inserted in both the floor and ceiling tracks to reduce the friction between the panel and the track when the slab deflects through the life of the building. 5 10 15 20 25 30

The installation steps are a. Panels 10 arrive to site on pallets with 15 panels per pallet, b. the pallets are lifted from the delivery truck and taken to the work area. c. Each panel is lifted using panel lifting forks as shown in figure 5 inserted into adjacent hollows 11 of the panel 10and lifted to the panel trolley depicted in figure 6. d. The panel on the trolley of figure 6 is then cut to the correct length, preferably using vacuum manifolds and a cyclonic vacuum system attached to the saw to reduce dust and facilitate an easy clean up e. the panels are wheeled from the cutting area to the work area. The trolley used to carry the panels is shown in figure 6. The trolley has an open frame with longitudinal panel supports 42 at the top of a frame which has forward wheels 43 and support base 45 at the end. The forward portion includes the inclined struts 44 which make it easier to tilt the loaded trolley. When the trolley has conveyed the panels to the location of the installation tracks, it is then tilted upwards to lower the panel onto the concrete slab only inches from the base track; the panel preferably sits on the lip of a foot dolly which is preferably 19mm off the ground and has a wheeled base; the based track front lip 33 is 17.5mm; the panel is then moved into position with the head of the panel sliding into the top track and the foot dolly is pushed hard against the base track where the panel falls into the base track. f. The panels are then slid into position to abut adjacent in-place panel. g. The joints are set h. The panels 10 are sealed and insulated in the soffit 20 and floor 30 channels. At no times are screws used in the head or base tracks. The panels 10 have a high impact prefinished surface for both internal and external applications. After setting the joints and sealing around the panels in the channels the panels 10 are ready to be painted. The panels 10 are able to withstand impacts from chairs and strollers. 2016201125 23 Feb 2016 5

The jointing compound is preferably a hybrid acrylic based material and incorporates a reinforcing tape to increase the strength of the joint Polyester or other suitable insulation may be used and preferably a fire and acoustic rated sealant is used for sealing around the panels in the floor and soffit tracks. 5 Figure 8 illustrates an adaptor 50 used to join two double walled panels at a corner. The adaptor has 3 grooves 53 to accept the tongues 12 of three of the four panels 10. The fourth panel abuts the side of one of the panels 10 in the adjoining wall.

The panels may be used in hybrid walls made up of one ACE panel joined to a plasterboard panel with insulation between. Such an embodiment is shown in figure ίο 9 where the ACE panel is shown installed in the C and J channels with a plasterboard 62 forming the outer face on one side of a corridor wall. Insulation 61 is held between the plasterboard 62 and the ACE panel 10.fasteners 63 fix the trim surrounding the insulation and plaster board to the floor and upper slab. Screws 64 secure the plasterboard to the insulation. The installed walls are sealed and fire 15 proofed in the conventional way.

The system of this invention enables an increase in productivity. A 2 man team can install the tracks and panels and because the panels are completely finished once the panels are set and sealed, the panels do not require any cleaning or other finishing prior to painting. A 2 man team may install 60 square metres per day as no 20 ladders are needed and no screws are used.

Those skilled in the art will realise that this invention provides a significant improvement is productivity and cost saving compared to conventional plasterboard walls.

Those skilled in the art will also realise that this invention may be implemented in 25 embodiments other than those described without departing from the core teachings of this invention.

Claims (7)

1. A method of installing partition walls in high rise buildings having building lifts, which includes the steps of: installing top channel sections; installing floor J channel sections which have one side wall higher than the other and at least one longitudinal upstanding rib in the base section to allow them to be slid above the track fastenings and to absorb building movement and reduce stress on the panel joints; utilising autoclaved cement extrusion(ACE) panels in which the panels incorporate a tongue in one end edge and a mating groove in the opposite end edge and a recess in at least one face of the panel to provide a recess adjacent the tongue and groove joints of two end abutting panels and to accommodate the sealant joining compound to provide a paintable finished surface after setting the panel joints; providing fork liftable pallets of said ACE panels; utilising building lifts to lift the pallets and floor and ceiling channels; sliding the panels into the floor and ceiling channels and mating the tongue and groove edges; finishing the wall by setting the joints and sealing and insulating around the panels in the ceiling and floor channels.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which a foot dolly is used to manoeuvre the panels into position for sliding into the ceiling and floor channels.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2 in which a tiltable trolley is used to carry the ACE panels to the installation position and tilted to place one end of the panel onto said foot dolly.

4. A partition wall which includes: top channel sections; floor J channel sections which have one side wall higher than the other and at least one longitudinal upstanding rib in the base section to allow them to be slid above the track fastenings and to absorb building movement and reduce stress on the panel joints; lightweight autoclaved cement extrusion(ace) panels in which the panels incorporate a tongue in one end edge and a mating groove in the opposite end edge and a recess in at least one face of the panel to provide a recess adjacent the tongue and groove joints of two end abutting panels which accommodates the sealant joining compound to provide a paintable finished surface after setting the panel joints.

5. A partition wall as claimed in claim 4 in which the top channel sections include a panel opening on one side to allow viewing of the panel height inside the track.

6. A partition wall as claimed in claim 4 or 5 which incorporates a heavy duty film of plastic inserted in both the floor and ceiling tracks to reduce the friction between the panel and the track.

7. A partition wall as claimed in claim 4 which includes one ACE panel as one face and a plasterboard panel as the second face and insulation is disposed between the two faces.