FR2595392A1 - Cellular construction blocks, construction method using such blocks, substructure walls thus obtained - Google Patents

Abstract

For the construction of substructure walls, for platforms or for ventilation spaces, cellular blocks of generally parallelepipedal shape are used which comprise an external vertical face 12 and contain vertical through-cells 241, 242, 243. A flat channel 32 is made over part of the height of the block, approximately parallel to the external vertical face 12 between the latter and the cells 241, 242, 243, this channel communicating with the cells, which makes it possible to install a facing-forming material in the channel, the wall 36, lying between the vertical face 12 and the channel 32, being capable of then being removed in order to clear the facing.

Description

Cellular building blocks, construction method using such blocks, basement walls thus obtained.

The invention relates to the building and, more particularly, the construction of basement or foundation walls.

In addition to basement foundations, there are two other main types of foundations for house construction: foundations on median and foundations on crawlspace.

To make a foundation on a median, a trench or "dig" is dug in the ground around the entire perimeter where the base wall must be erected. At the bottom of this trench, concrete is poured to form a foundation, on which there are then two or three superimposed rows of agglomerated concrete blocks, so as to constitute a wall having a height of the order of 60 to 80 centimeters.

On the area limited by the perimeter of the wall, the soil is compacted, an embankment is then placed on the compacted ground, then a reinforced concrete slab is poured intended to form the floor of the lower level of the house to be built.

The foundation on crawl space is similar to the foundation on median, in that it involves the construction of a wall of low height, of the same type as that used for the construction on median.

In this type of foundation, however, the floor does not rest directly on the floor, but is separated from it by an air space. The floor is obtained here by pouring a concrete slab on a set of beams and slabs, the ends of which rest on the foundation wall.

For these two types of foundation, the construction of the base wall is relatively long and therefore expensive, because it involves the installation of several superimposed rows of blocks which must be perfectly aligned.

In both cases, it is also necessary to carry out thermal insulation of the floor.

This thermal insulation can be done by placing an insulating material vertically on the internal face of the base wall or else horizontally under the peripheral part of the floor.

This thermal insulation can also be done by placing an insulating material under the entire surface of the floor.

Also for both types of foundation, a coating must be applied to the external face of the base wall.

The coating usually consists of a mortar or the like which is applied with a trowel to the external face of the blocks constituting the base wall.

All these operations therefore entail a relatively high cost of building the foundation.

Furthermore, for the construction of walls outside the base, it has been proposed to use honeycomb blocks made of a thermally insulating material, such as expanded polystyrene. These blocks, of generally parallelepiped shape, are obtained by extrusion and comprise a certain number of cells which pass through them vertically right through.

After these blocks have been put in place, a filling material is poured, such as concrete, which fills the cells of the blocks and ensures, after setting, the cohesion of the wall thus obtained.

These honeycomb blocks therefore serve first of all as formwork for the construction of the wall and then as thermal insulation on both the interior and exterior sides of the wall.

But since these honeycomb blocks are formed from a synthetic material, of the expanded polystyrene type, the installation of a coating suitable for forming an external facing must use a complex technique and, consequently, costly, and this because of the difficulty in achieving a solid bond between the material of the block and the coating.

This is one of the reasons why these blocks are used for the construction of walls above ground level, the basement walls being constituted by rows of agglomerated blocks, according to the traditional method.

It is one of the objects of the invention to provide a building block, of a new type, suitable for being used for the construction of basement walls, such as median walls or crawl space. .

It is another object of the invention to provide such a block which allows the easy installation of an external or external facing on a wall made from such blocks.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a block which in itself has thermal insulation properties and which thus makes it possible to carry out the insulation directly, during the construction of a foundation on the median or on crawlspace.

The invention therefore provides a honeycomb block, of a new type, specially designed for the construction of such basement walls.

This building block, of generally parallelepipedal shape, has an anterior rectangular vertical face, or external vertical face, as well as vertical through cells formed inside the block.

According to a characteristic of the invention, said building block comprises, over part of its height, a flat corridor or gap substantially parallel to said external vertical face, between the latter and the vertical through cells, said corridor being in communication with said cells and opening onto the vertical faces of the block perpendicular to said external vertical face.

The wall between said corridor and said external vertical face is capable of being removed after a facing material has been introduced into said corridor.

The invention relates to a method of constructing a base wall from such building blocks.

According to this process, the blocks are placed in a row on a concrete block so that the large face of each block is located on the outside of the wall, we then place a facing material in the corridor of the blocks and we a filling material flows into the cells of the blocks, which makes it possible to establish a connection between the facing material and the filling material, then, after taking this filling material, the wall of each block is removed, which clear the facing of the wall.

In one embodiment of the invention, the facing material is a plate-shaped material which is slid vertically into the flat groove of the blocks before pouring the filling material into the cells.

In another embodiment of the invention, the facing material consists of the filling material itself.

In the following description, given only by way of example, reference is made to the appended drawings, in which - FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a building block according to the invention; - Figure 2 is a top view of the building block of Figure 1; - Figure 3 is a sectional view along line III-III of Figure 2; - Figure 4 is a sectional view similar to that of Figure 3 showing the establishment of a material forming facing and a filling material in one embodiment of the invention; - Figure 5 is a view similar to that of Figure 4 in another embodiment of the invention; - Figure 6 is a sectional view, similar to that of Figure 3, of another building block having an additional recess for the chaining ;; - Figure 7 is a partial sectional view of a terreplein constructed with building blocks according to the invention, during a phase of construction; - Figure 8 is a view similar to that of Figure 7, in a later phase of construction; - Figure 9 is a partial sectional view of a crawl space constructed from building blocks according to the invention, during a phase of construction; and - Figure 10 is a view similar to that of Figure 9, during a later phase of construction.

The building block 10, shown in Figures 1 to 3, of generally rectangular shape, is made from a synthetic material, having thermal insulation properties, for example expanded polystyrene.

The block 10 comprises a large face 12 which, when building a base wall, must be arranged vertically and on the outside of this wall. On the side opposite to the face 12, there is a face 14 suitable for being located on the inside of the base wall.

The block 10 is also limited by a lower face 16, an upper face 18 and two end faces 20 and 22 constituting the vertical edges of the block in its position of use.

Although the faces 20 and 22 are shown as planar faces, it is also part of the invention to shape said faces so that they have assembly means, such as ribs, grooves, tongues , etc.

The block comprises several cells, in the example three cells 241, 242 and 243 which pass vertically, and right through, the block 10. These cells which, in the example, have a cylindrical section, open at their upper end in the upper face 18 and by their lower end in the lower face 16. The axis of symmetry of each cell, for example the axis 261 of the cell 241, is located closer to the internal face 14 than to the face external 12 (Figure 3). As a result, the minimum thickness E of the wall 28 between each cell and the external face 12 is greater than the minimum thickness e of the wall 30 between each cell and the internal face 14.

The block 10 comprises, over part of its height, a flat corridor or gap 32, placed parallel to the external vertical face 12, between the latter and the cells. Said corridor 32, of generally rectangular section, is limited by two parallel faces 31 and 33 and by a bottom 35 (FIG. 3). This corridor extends over a height h less than the height H of the block. For example, the height h of the corridor can be equal to approximately half the height H of the block. The corridor 32 opens, by its upper horizontal part, on the upper face 18 of the block, at its two ends, respectively in the end faces 20 and 22 of the block.

Passages 341 342 and 343 arranged vertically respectively ensure communication between the cells 241, 242, and 243, on the one hand, and the corridor 32, on the other hand. Each communication passage, for example the passage 341 extends over a height corresponding to that of the corridor 32 (FIG. 3).

Due to the presence of the corridor 32, the block 10 comprises a wall or partition 36 formed between the corridor 32 and the external face 12. This wall 36, which extends over the entire height of the corridor 32, can be eliminated and therefore separated from the rest of the block by breaking around a plane 38. This separation can be easily exercised taking into account the material used - and the small thickness of the wall 36. This separation can be done by breaking using, if necessary , a knife or the like suitable for cutting the material along plane 38.

In some cases, it will even be possible to detach not only the wall 36 but its vertical extension 40 (FIG. 3), provided that the material of the block is cut along the plane 41 which extends the face 31 of the corridor 32 vertically downwards.

The. block 10 can be made with different dimensions and with different types of cells and grooves.

For example, such a block can be made with a total height H of the order of 60 to 100 centimeters, which allows the use of a single row of blocks to form a base wall for a foundation on earth or on crawlspace. Under these conditions, the height h of the corridor 32 can be between approximately 20 and 40 centimeters.

The total thickness of the block is chosen according to the desired thermal insulation coefficient K. For example, this thickness can be of the order of 25 to 30 centimeters. The thickness of the corridor 32 is chosen according to the type of facing material to be used.

For example, this thickness can vary from 5 to 50 millimeters.

In the embodiment of Figure 4, a block 10 is placed vertically on a concrete block 42. Such a block 10 is part of a row of identical or similar blocks which are arranged along the perimeter of the base wall to be formed, the large face 12 of each block being directed towards the outside of the wall. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, a plate 44 is slid vertically in the corridor 32 intended to form a facing, this plate having a height substantially equal to the height of the corridor 32 and a thickness substantially less than the thickness of the corridor 32. Such a plate can be, for example, an asbestos-cement plate, or else a concrete plate.

After placing the plate 44, a filling material 46, such as concrete, is poured inside each block 10, which fills the cells 241, 242 and 243 as well as the communication passages 341 342 and 343 of each block, ensuring, in this way, a mechanical connection with the plate 44.

Given the small thickness of the wall 36, which is of the order of a few millimeters or a few tens of millimeters, it is preferable, to avoid any accidental separation of this wall 36, to use clean retaining pieces 48 to maintain the spacing between the faces 12 and 14. Such a holding part 48 advantageously has the general shape of a
C, comprising two wings 50 and 52 and a core 54 which connects these two wings. This retaining part is produced in such a way that the distance between the internal faces of the branches 50 and 52 is equal to the total thickness of the block 10. Maintaining parts 48 are put in place to cover each block 10 so as to maintain constant the spacing between the faces 12 and 14 of the block, during the period of introduction and setting of the filling material, the positioning of the holding pieces being carried out either before or just after the positioning of the plate 44 .

When the filling material is taken, the retaining pieces 48 are removed and the partition 36 and possibly its extension 40 are eliminated so as to release the facing.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the facing material consists of the filling material 46. After or before fitting the holding pieces 48, the filling material is poured into the cells 241, 242, and 243 of block 10 and this material fills the communication passages 341 342 and 343 and the corridor 32.

After setting and hardening of the filling material 46, the retaining pieces 48 are removed and the wall 36 and possibly its extension 40 are removed to expose the facing, here constituted by the filling material. An external coating is thus obtained which forms a body with the filling material and which in no way poses the bonding problems encountered in the case where a coating must be added to a synthetic, thermally insulating material, of the expanded polystyrene type or the like. .

In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the block 10 further comprises a recess 56 of U-section, placed between the external vertical face 12 and the opposite face 14. This recess opens onto the upper face 18 of the block and communicates , by its flat bottom 57, with the corridor 32 and the cells 241, 242 and 243. This recess 56 crosses the entire block horizontally and opens, at its ends, respectively on the end faces 20 and 22 of the block. This recess extends over a height less than that of the corridor. I1 is intended to allow horizontal connection by "chaining" of the block with the adjacent block (s) of the same row. This allows for chaining, that is to say a concrete belt around the entire upper periphery of the base wall.

The partition 58 formed between the recess 56 and the internal face 14 can, for certain applications, be separated from the rest of the block by breaking along the plane 60 arranged in the extension of the bottom 57 (FIG. 6).

To make a foundation on a median, one digs in the ground 62 (figure 7), over the entire perimeter of the base, a trench or "excavation" 64. In the bottom of this trench, there is an embankment 66 of small thickness onto which a solid foundation 68 of concrete is poured. On the upper horizontal face 70 of the block 68, there is a row of blocks 10 arranged one after the other over the entire perimeter delimited by the trench 64. Each block 10 is placed in such a way that its face 12 is oriented towards the outside and that its face 14 is oriented inward.

The blocks 10 being correctly aligned and wedged, on.

sets up the facing material and the filling material either by using a facing plate 44 and a filling material 46 (Figure 4), or by using the same material 46 to form the facing and the filling (Figure 5). The filling material also fills the recess 56 of each block to achieve, in the upper part of the base wall, a "chaining" around the entire perimeter of the latter.

At this stage of construction, it is not necessary to eliminate the wall 36 of the block 10, the latter advantageously ensuring the protection of the facing.

In the area 72 circumscribed inside the perimeter of the blocks 10, the soil is packed and then backfilled until a horizontal surface 74 of the embankment is obtained which is located at a level lower than that of the upper horizontal face 18 of the blocks 10. This difference in level corresponds to the thickness of the reinforced concrete slab 76 which is then poured onto the surface 74.

This slab 76 which is intended to form the floor of the house to be built, is leveled so as to form a horizontal upper surface 78 which is located at the same level as the upper face 18 of the blocks 10.

On the median thus obtained, one can then mount a wall by any type of existing process. In the example shown, a wall 80 formed from concrete blocks 82 having a thickness less than that of blocks 10 is erected from the level of the median. The concrete blocks 82 are arranged in such a way that their external face 84 is located in the vertical alignment of the external face of the facing 44 of the blocks 10.

Plates 86 of a composite material comprising a thermal insulation material 88, such as expanded polystyrene, and a material 90 forming internal facing, such as a plasterboard, are placed on the internal face of the blocks 82. The plate 86 is itself fixed to the concrete blocks 82 by means of connections 92 to the mortar.

During a subsequent phase of construction, the wall 36 of each block is separated as well as its lower extension 40, so that the external face of the facing is exposed. The external face of the facing can remain in the state or receive an additional coating as shown in FIG. 8. In this example, the same coating 94 is applied to cover the external face of the facing 44 and the external face of the concrete blocks 82 , thus ensuring continuity between the plaster of the base wall and the plaster of the front wall. After placing this coating, the trench 64 can be completely filled from the outside, the inside side of the trench having already been filled in during a previous phase of construction.

For the construction of a crawl space, from honeycombed blocks according to the invention, a trench or "excavation" 64 is produced, as above, into the bottom of which a solid mass 68 is poured onto a backfill 66 of small thickness (figure 9). On the upper surface 70 of the block 68, the blocks 10 are arranged in the same manner as for the construction of a median. However, in this particular case, the partition 58 (Figure 6) is separated, and this before pouring the filling material. In an alternative embodiment, the blocks 10 can be supplied without this partition 58.

Inside the perimeter delimited by the blocks 10, the ground is leveled so as to present a horizontal surface 96 which is situated at a level lower than that of the ground surface 98, on the outside of the basement wall. This surface 96 is also located below the rupture plane 60 of the partition 58, which is itself located at the bottom of the chaining 56 of the block 10. The distance between the surface 96 and the plane 60 is of the order of 20 30 centimeters to provide a crawlspace 100.

Beams 102 are then placed in reinforced or prestressed concrete so that the respective ends 104 of the beams bear on the bearing surfaces of the block situated in the plane 60. Taking into account the relatively large weight of each beam 102 and the deformation possible of the material of the blocks 10, it is desirable to fill the cells beforehand with the filling material until the latter is flush with the plane 60 and thus provides, after its hardening, a strong support for the ends 104 of the beams 102. Between two adjacent beams 102 is usually disposed a slab which, thanks to the invention, is not necessarily made of insulating material.

After placing the joists and the slabs, a filling material, of the concrete type, is poured to completely fill the interior of the blocks 10 and at the same time form the floor slab 108, the concrete being leveled to form the horizontal surface. 110 of said floor. The pouring of the filling material ensures at the same time the chaining of the blocks together by filling the recess 56. As in the case of construction in embankment, the facing 44 can be constituted by a plate slid in the groove 32 or by the same filling material.

On the slab thus formed, a wall 80 similar to that described above with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 is then erected.

During a subsequent phase of construction, the partition 36 is separated from each block, as well as its lower extension 40, and the same coating 94 is then applied to the external face of the facing 44 and to the external face of the concrete blocks 82 .

The use of honeycombed blocks according to the invention is particularly advantageous for the construction of base walls for median or for crawlspace, since these blocks make it possible to achieve thermal insulation along the inner vertical periphery of the base wall , without the need to subsequently apply an insulator. In addition, these blocks have the advantage of making it possible to obtain an external facing directly, without it being necessary to put such facing during a subsequent phase of construction.

Because these blocks can be made with a sufficient height to allow the construction of a base wall with a single row of blocks, the construction of the base walls is all the faster.

The building blocks of the invention can be produced with different types of cells, in particular cylindrical cells as described above, these cells being able to be aligned or else staggered, for example in staggered rows.

Claims (13)

Claims. 1.- Building block, of generally parallelepipedal shape, comprising an external vertical face (12), and inside which are arranged vertical through cells (241, 242, 243), characterized in that it comprises, on part of its height (H), a flat corridor (32) substantially parallel to said vertical face (12) between the latter and the cells (241, 242, 243), said corridor (32) being in communication with the cells and opening onto the vertical faces (20,22) of the block perpendicular to said external vertical face (12), the wall (36) between said passage (32) and said external vertical face (12) being able to be removed after a facing material (44) has been introduced into said corridor (32). 2. A building block according to claim 1, characterized in that it is made of a synthetic material, having thermal insulation properties, for example of expanded polystyrene, and in that said wall (36) can be eliminated. by rupture. 3.- Building block according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said corridor (32) has a rectangular cross section. 4. A building block according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the communication between the corridor (32) and the cells (241, 242, 243) is ensured by passages (341, 342 343), which ensures a connection between the facing material and a filling material t46) poured into the cells (241, 242, 243). 5.- Building block according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the corridor (32) extends over at least half the height of the block, from the upper face (18) of this latest. 6. A building block according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it further comprises a recess (56) of U-section, placed between said external vertical face (12), the opposite internal vertical face. (14), said recess opening on the upper face (18) of the block and communicating with the passage (32) and the cells (241, 242, 243), said recess (56) passing entirely through the block horizontally, which makes it possible to make the horizontal connection by chaining the block with the adjacent block or blocks of the same row. 7.- Building block according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it has a sufficient height for the realization of a base wall formed from a single row of blocks. 8.- Building block according to one of claims 1 to 7, as obtained after elimination of said wall (36) 9.- Method of constructing a basement wall from building blocks according to one claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the blocks (10) are arranged in a single row on a concrete block (42, 68), so that the external vertical face (12) of each block is located on the outside of the wall, a facing material (44) is then placed in the passage (32) and a filling material (46) is poured into the cells (241, 242, 243), which ensures a connection between said facing material and said filling material, then after setting of the filling material, the wall (36) of each block is eliminated, which releases said facing. 10.- Method according to claim 9, characterized in that the facing material (44) is a plate-shaped material which is slid vertically in the corridor (32) of the blocks (10) and in that the material filling (46) is poured into the cells (241, 242, 243) after fitting the facing. 11.- Method according to claim 9, characterized in that the facing material (44) consists of the filling material (46). 12.- Method according to one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that holding pieces (48) are used to maintain the spacing between the external vertical face (12) and the opposite internal vertical face (14), during the positioning of the facing material (44) and the filling material (46). 12.- Method according to one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that holding pieces (48) are used to maintain the spacing between the external vertical face (12) and the opposite internal vertical face (14) , during the positioning of the facing material (44) and the filling material (46). 13. Basement wall obtained from building blocks according to one of claims 1 to 8 or by the implementation of a construction method according to one of claims 9 to 12.