CA1192414A - Insulated wall component - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A building brick or block has at least one facing of e.g. glass fiber-bonded cementitious material bonded to an insulating intermediate body of foamed plastic insulating material which projects beyond one end and one longitudinal edge of the facing and is correspondingly recessed at an opposite end and an opposite longitudinal edge of the facing, to permit juxtapositioning of the brick or block with like bricks or blocks in end-to-end and superimposed interengaged relationship. The bricks or blocks are lightweight, self adjusting when laid and provide a wall which combines structural strength, heat insulation and a finished appearance without additional components.

Description

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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to building components and, more particularly, is concerned with building components such as blocks and bricks which can be assembled to-constitute a S wall having good heat insulating properties.
- BACKGROUND OE' THE INVENTION
In recent times, increasing energy costs have resulted in an increasing amount of attention being paid to the heat insulating properties of residenti~l, commercial and industrial buildings.
Various types of conventional residential wall construction are presently employed to provide a greater or lesser amount of heat insulation. ~or example, it is becoming increasingly common to employ in wood frame structures, and instead of the more normal studs of 4" x 6" dimension, studs having a width dimension of 2" x 6" in order to accommodate a correspondingly thicker glass fiber insulating batt between adjacent pairs of studs, such walls then being finished, on the exterior, with a suitable form of siding, for example vinyl siding. This type of wall provides an R value of approximately 21.3. If the siding is replaced by a conventional brick veneer, which is often desired for aesthetic reasons, then the R value may be increased but the cost of the wall is also very substantially increased.
Various forms of block wall construction and combination brick and block wall construction have a considerably lower R value unless also combined with glass fiber

- 2 -bat~s or other forms of insulation. However, conventional concrete building blocks and conventional bricks are not only ~elatively expensive to manufacture but are also heavy and therefore expensive to ~ransport and handle.
Therefore, there exists a need for a building block ~ which is relatively light, inexpensive to manufacture and has good heat insulating properties and which, in addition, can if required be made so as to provide, at least at one side of a wall constructed from some such blocks~ the appearance of a brick wall.
DESCRIPTION O~ ~HE PRIOR ART
Various proposals have previously been made to provide building blocks having good heat insulating properties. For example, United States Patent 2,683/980, issued July ~0, 1954 to Walter Xrause discloses a building block made of insulating material, for example, a mineral material such as glass wool, which is formed on each of its four edge faces with grooves extending continuously around the perimeter of the block. A
wall can then be assembled from such blocks by inserting ~0 structural members of wood, metal or other material into the registering grooves of the blocks, which are laid in courses and united by an adhesive. A suitable wall finish is then applied, e.g. by providing a wire lath or mesh attached by clips to the walls surfaces and applying the wall finish to the wire lath or mesh. The wall made in this way, however, has an external appearance which is determined not by the blocks t-hemselves but by the wall finish, and any loads supported by the wall must be transmitted through ~he insulation material itself~
United States Patent 3,782,049, issued January 1, 1974 to Mel~in D. Sachs di~closes wall forming blocks made of foamed plastic material having vertical openings and upwardly opening channels extending along the upper edges and formed with ~ pre-formed rigid sheets, e.g. cardboard, particle board, composition boardl plywood, etc., bonded to their opposite faces, with furring strips secured to ~he inner faces of the sheets and embedded within the plastic. These blocks are stacked in courses to form a wall, with their vertical openings aligned and their channels covered by the blocks next above them, and concrete slurry is then poured into the openings and channels to form a concrete supporting grid within the wall.
Suitable wall finishes are then applied to the surfaces of the wall. Such a wall relies on the concrete grid to provide adequate strength, and the load bearing properties of the wall are, therefore, not provided by the blocks themselves. Such walls are labor-intensive and expensive to instruct. Also, the concrete grid must necessarily reduce the insulating properties of such a wall, as compared to a wall having a core of insulating material and has bases.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF rrHE INVENTION
The present invention, in contrast, provides a building component which has at least one facing of cementitious or ceramic material. By providing a mortar between the facings of adjacent or juxtaposed blocks in a wall, the facings can be used for load-supporting purposes.

Moreover, the facings can be made to imitate the sides of bricks, so that the finished wall has the appearance of a brick wall, without any need to add a brick veneer to the wall~
More particularly, according to the present invention there is provided a building component comprising a facing of - cementitious or ceramic material, the facing having a rectangular periphery, a body of heat insulating foamed plastic material having one side thereo bonded to one side of the ~acing, the foamed plastic material body projecting beyond one end edge and one longitudinal edge of the facing and being correspondin~ly recessed at an opposite end edge and an opposite longitudinal edge of the facing to permit ~uxtapositioning of the component with like components in end-to-end and superimposed interengaged relationship.
In a wall constructed from such components, the projection portions of the foamed plastic material body can overlap gaps between the facings of juxtaposed components to provide good insulation between such facings. In use, a suitable mortar is provided between the facings of juxtaposed components, and, if the facings are made as imitations of the sides of bricks, the finished wall const.ructed from such components bears a close visual resemblance to a brick wall.
Alternatively, the facings may be formed with ribs or decorative features.
Preferably, at least one of each of the faces of the foamed plastio material bodies which abut one another within the wall is formed with projections distributed over the faces, the projections being formed in one piece with the foamed plastic material bodies . These projections are compressible to accommodate differential thermal expansion of the foamed plastic material bodies and the facings in the wall in response to varying ambient atmospheric temperatures.
~ According to a further aspect of the present inv~ntion, there is provided a building componen~ which comprises a pair of parallel facings of cementitious or ~eramic material, the facings having rectangular peripheries~ an intermediate body of heating insulating foamed plastic material disposed between the fa~ings and ha~ing opposite sides thereof bonded to opposed sides of the facings, the intermediate body projecting beyond one end edge and one longitudinal edge of each of the facings and being correspondingly recessed at an opposite end edge and an opposite longitudinal edge of each of the facings to permit juxtapositioning of the component with like components in end-to-end and superimposed interengaged relationship.
The block may be strengthened by ties extending between and embedded in the facings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The invention will be more readily understood from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof given, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure l shows a view in perspective of a first building .component embodying the present inventio~;
Figures 2 and 3 show a plan view and a side elevational view, respectively, of the component of Figure l;
Figure 4 shows a view taken in cross-section along the line IV-IV of Figure 2;
~ igure 5 shows a view in perspective of a-modification of the component of Figure l;
Figure 6 shows a view~ corresponding to that of Figure 4, taken in cross-section through the component of Figure 5;
Figure 7 shows a view in perspective of a veneer brick provided with a facing on one side only;
Figures 8, 9 and 10 show an end elevation, a plan view and a side elevation, respectively~ of the veneer brick of Figure 7;
Figure 11 shows a view in perspective of a decorative building block; and Figures 12, 13 and 14 show an end view, a plan view and a side elevation, respectively, of the decorative building block of Figure 11.
The component shown in Figures 1 to 4 is a brick dimensioned similarly to a conventional brick and has a pair of spaced, parallel facings indicated generally by references numerals 10 and 12 and an intermediate body of foamed plastic material, indicated generally by reference numeral 14, interposed between the facings 10 and 12 and bonded to opposed sides of the facin~s 10 and 12.
The facings 10 and 12 both have a rectangular periphery and identical peripheral dimensions and are each made of a suitable load bearing cementitious material, for example conventional mortar, latex modified mortar, fiber reinforced mortar or fiber reinforced latex ~odified mortar having th2 following compositions:
TYPICAL COMPOSITIO~S OF CEMENTITIOUS-FACINGS
~Expressed as a percentage of Total Mix by Weight) Latex Fibre Fibre Reinforced Conventional Modified Reinforced Latex Modified 10 Material Mortar Mortar MortarMortar Water 9.0 6.0 16.3 7.3 Latex -- 6.0 -- 8.0 Portland Cement 20.0 22.0 41.0 56.0 Mortar Sand 71.0 66.0 41.0 56O0 Glass Fibres -- -- 1.7 0.7 TOTALS 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Latex: Dow 460 Latex, available from Dow Chemical-Canada Inc~, Ontario~

The latex sh~uld be premixed with 1.0% by weight of an anti-foamer such as AF #fi0, available from Canadian General Electric Company Ltd., Toronto, Ontario.
Glass Fibres: chopped alkali resistant ~AR) glass strand, 0.5 in. long, available from Owen Corning Fiberglasr Toledo, Ohio.
Alternatively, the facings may be made o ceramic material, e.g. in the form of conventional clay brick or clay tile material.
In the case of facings made of the conventional mortar, fiber reinforced mortar or ceramic material, the facings may be bonded to the insulating body 14 by mechanical fasteners, e.g.
ties 22 and 23, or glue, whereas the other above-mentioned facing materials are bonded to the intermediate body 14 by latex acting as a bonding agent.
The intermediate body 14 is preferably made of expanded polystyrene beadboard but may alternatively comprise, for example, expanded urethane or polystyrene foam or rigid fiberglass insulation board. For high temperature applications, for example for furnace linings, expanded phenolic foam may be utilized.
The facing 12 is formed with a pair of vertical end ribs 16 and 17 at opposite ends thereo~ and a vertical intermediate rib 18 located midway between the end ribs 16 and ~5 17, and one side of the intermediate body 14 is bonded to flat faces 19 of the ribs 16, 17 and 18. The ribs 16, 17 and 18 serve to improve the load-bearing ~apacity of the facing 12, and _ g _ ~g~

openings 20 are formed between the intermediate body 14, the opposite side vf the facing 12 and the ribs 16, 17 and 18 to economize the heating insulating plastic material and simplify the shape of the intermediate body 14.
The facing 10 has opposite vertical end edges lOa and - lOb and opposite horizontal longitudinal edges lOc and lOd, and the facing 12 has opposite vertical end edges 12a and 12b and opposite horizontal longitudinal edges 12c and 12d~
The intermediate body 14 has opposite rectangular end faces 14a and 14b, a rectangular top face 14c, a rectangular bottom face 14d and opposite rectangular side faces 14e and 14f. A pair of the ties 22 and 23 of 10 gauge galvanized wire are embedded in the facings 10 and 12 to about half the thickness of the facings and extend between the facings 10 and 12 through vertical slots 25 and 26 formed in the intermediate body 14.
The end face 14b and the underside 14d of the intermediate body 14 are formed with channels or recesses 13 forming thebetween projections 15, which projections occupy no more than ~0% of the areas of the faces 14b and 14d and which are compressible, in response to therma:L expansion in a wall of such bricks~ to accommodate differential expansion of the facings and the insulation, the projections 15 having fl~t outer faces.
As indicated in Figure 2, the end face 14b of the intermediate body 14 projects beyond the end edges lOb and 12b of the facings 10 and 12 by a distance dl, while the opposite end face 14a of the intermediate body 14 is recessed from the end edges lOa and 12a of the facings 10 and 12 by a distance d2 Likewise, as shown in Figure 3, the top face 14c of the intermediate body 14 projects upwardly beyond the longitudinal top edge lOc of the facing 10 (and above the corresponding edge - 12c of the facing 12, which is at the same level, as shown in Figure 4) by the distance dl, whereas the bottom surface 14d of the intermediate body 14 is recessed upwardly from the lower edges lOd and l~d of the facings 10 and 12 by the distance d2 Thus, as viewed in Figure 3/ the brick has a projection at its left hand end, and a projection at its top, these projections extending beyond the facings and being formed by the intermediate body, and a recess at its right hand end and a further recess at its underside.
When the brick is laid in a wall with like blocks, these projections will extend into the corresponding recesses of juxtaposed blocks.
Parallel vertical drainage bores 27 extend through the intermediate body 14 at a small spacing i.nwardly from the outer facing 10 to avoid moisture build-up in t:he wall, the bores 27 beins large enough to avoid capilliary action and extending the entire height of the intermediate body 14.
In Figure 3, reference numerals 10-1 and 10-2 indicate the facings of an overlying brick and a horizontally adjacent brick, respectively, which are shown in broken lines, the facings 10-1 and 10-2 being similar to the facing lOo The distance dl by which the intermediate body 14 projects beyond the edges of the facings is greater than the distance d~ by which the intermediate body 14 is recessed from the corresponding edges of the facings, so as to provide a gap d3 = dl - d2 be~ween the corresponding facings 10, 10-1 and 10-2 of juxtaposed bri~ks.
- The brick is dimensioned so that the spacing d3 provides an appropriately sized gap for mortar between the facings of juxtaposed blocks.
Furthermore, the facing 10 is formed as an imitation of the side of a conventional brick and has the same peripheral dimensions as the brick side, so that a wall constructed from the present bricks has an appearance which closely resembles that of a conventional brick wall.
The brick shown in Figures 5 and 6 is similar in all respects to that shown in Figures 1 to 4 and described above except that, in the case of the brick shown in Figures 5 and 5~
- 11 -the intermediate body of foamed plastic material has, at on e end thereof, a tongue 14e which is spaced, transversely of the block, from the facings 10 and 12 by shoulders 14f which are flush with the end edges lOb and 12b and, at the top of the intermediate body, a longitudinal tongue 14g which is likewise spaced from the facings 10 and 12 by shoulders 14h which are flush with the longitudinal edge surfaces lOc and 12c. Also~
the intermediate body in thîs case has a recess in the form of a groove 14i in the underside of the intermediate ~ody, which is otherwise flush with the longitudinal edges lOd and 12d and a groove 14g in the opposite end of the intermediate body 14, which is otherwise flush with the opposit end edges of the Eacings. The widths of the grooves 14i and 14j, transversely of the brick, correspond to those of the tongues 14e and 149, to allow interlocking of juxtaposed bricks by tongue-and-groove connections. Also, the distances by which the tongues 14e and - 149 project beyond the facing end edges lOb and 12b and the facing longitudinal edges lOc and 12c, respectively, are equal to dl, while the depths of the grooves 49 and 14j are equal to d2, so that the facings of adjacent blocks are once again spaced rom one another by a spacing d3.
Figure 7 to 10 illustrate a veneer brick which is similar to the brick of Figure 1 except that it has the facing 12 omitted. The same reference numerals have therefore been used in Figures 7 to 10 as in Figures 1 to 4 to indicate similar parts. As will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, the veneer brick of Figures 7 to 10 is intended to provide an insulated veneer having the appearance of a conventional brick wall in front of a stud wall or other wall.
Figures 11 to 14 show a building block which is similar to, but bigger than, the brick of Figure 1 and which has formed on its ~ront facing, which is indicated generally by reference numeral 110, a plurality of vertlcal ribs 111 for the purpose of decoration. While the facing 10 of Figure 1 is intended to imitate a conventional brick and~thus has the peripheral dimensions ~f a conventional brick, i~e. a length of approximately 8 inches and a height o approximately 2 1/4 inches, the facing 110 of the decorative block shown in Figure 11 has, for example, a length of 16 inches and a height of 7 1/2 inches. Also, ~he block of Fiyure 11 has four drainage channels 20.
Also, instead of only three ribs 16, 17 and 18, the facing 112 is formed with five ribs 116 through 120 to which the - intermediate body 114 is bonded and which define four channels Otherwise, the construction of the block of Figure 11 is the same as that of the brick of Figure 1 and, accordingly, components of the block sho~n in Figures 11 to 14 which correspond to those shown in Figures 1 to 4 have been indicated by like reference numerals increased by 100.
In addition, however, the intermediate body 114 as shown in Figures 12 and 13 is formed with three hollow spaces 130, open at the top and the bottom o the intermediate body 14, to save weight and material costs.
It is a particular advantage of the above described blocks that they are relatively light in comparison to conventional bricks and building blocks of comparable dimensions. There~ore, the present building components exert a lower dead load in structures, and can be used for example as interior partitions on wood 100r structures and require lighter and therefore less expensive support structures, and can be more easily handled by tradesmen, than conventional bricks or buildiny blocks to provide a saving in labour costs. Moreover, the light weight of the present components allows full-volume truck load shipping, thus lowering transportation c05ts.

The extent to which the present components interengage one another is limited by abut~ent of the intermediate bodies to provide the facing spacings d3, as described above, so that when the components are laid with mortar therebetween the thickness of the mortar between the facings is self-adjusting -- and the components are automatically aligned, which facilitates laying of the components by less skilled labour and thus reduces labour costs. The mortar is provided only between the facings, so that a full depth mortar bed is eliminated, which reduces mortar costs.
The ribbed facings 12 and 112 are load bearing, the facings 10 and 110 serving for stabilization and the insulating material not supporting any substantial load.
Since the facings may be made as imitations of conventional bricks or building blocks, a wall made from the present components has a conventional appearance, so that new product resistance on aesthetic yrounds is avoided~ Also, the present components, without further additions, enable walls to be constructed which provide sufficient structural s~rength, exterior finish, interior finish and integrated insulation; thus providing finished and insulated walls for approxima~ely the cost of a conventional masonry wall.
The facings provide a durable finish which is highly resistant to freezing and thawing and to air pollu~ion and which may be maintenance frPe.
These facings may be manufactured using casting techniques to provide a wide variety of surface treatments and colour ranges.

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Claims (4)

The embodiments the invention in which an exclu-sive property or privilege is claimed, are defined as follows:

1. A building component comprising a pair of parallel facings of cementious or ceramic material, and an inter-mediate body of heat insulating foamed plastic material disposed between and secured to the facings said inter-mediate body having projecting portions projecting a pre-determined amount beyond one end edge and one longitudinal edge of each facing and recessed portions recessed a lesser amount at an opposite longitudinal edge to enable a like component to be juxtaposed with intermediate bodies in engage-ment and with a resultant predetermined spacing between the facings of the two components, said intermediate body being thick in width compared to the facings and having upper and lower faces engageable with lower and upper faces of an upper or lower component respectively at positions which are widely spaced compared to the thickness of the facings to enable one component to be mounted on a lower component with-out likelihood of the upper component rocking laterally on the lower component.

2. A building component in accordance with claim 1 wherein said intermediate body also has flush portions on opposite sides of each projecting portion and recessed por-tion, each flush portion being flush with an adjacent edge of a facing.

3. A building component according to claim 1 wherein the intermediate body has at least one drainage channel extend-ing from an upper face to a lower face.

4. A building component according to claim 1 wherein the intermediate body is secured to the facings by ties extending through the intermediate body and embedded in the facings.