GB1068172A - Improvements in or relating to prefabricated buildings - Google Patents

Abstract

1,068,172. Multi-storey buildings. ELCON A. G. Jan. 24, 1964 [Jan. 24, 1963; Oct. 10, 1963], Nos. 3020/63 and 39914/63. Heading E1A. In or for a transportable, prefabricated building element which can be mounted with other like elements to form a storey, a building unit, comprises a floor panel 11 (Figs. 1 and 3) of reinforced prestressed concrete and vertical opposed load bearing end structures 12 of reinforced concrete comprising spaced apart columns 21a, 21b, the panel 11 and the structures 12 being initially constructed separately and the reinforcement of each structure 12 being rigidly connected at the base of each column to the reinforcement of the panel 11 at the adjacent end. The upper ends of the members 12 may be connected by tie rods 27 (Fig. 3) on which is hung a ceiling 28. Each end member 12 preferably comprises two vertical load-bearing columns or struts 21a, 21b, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and has inside it wall panels 30, which may be plain or may include windows or doors 31. Along the upper and lower corners of the floor-panel ends are angle members 15, 16 welded respectively to the angle members 25, 26 in the ends 12. Members 15, 16 are welded respectively to reinforcement rods and pre-stressing cable in the panel 11, and members 25, 26 are welded to the reinforcement of end member 12. In a modified construction curtain wall panels are mounted outside the members 12 by means of anchor bolts, the roof still comprising a panel 11 and over it an insulating layer 40 and weather proofing 41, 33 being a roof vent for the plumbing. In Fig. 8a floor panel 45 of a unit is attached at each of its two ends to a member 46, and has solid transverse members 47 having a reinforcement 48 and connected by ribs 49, the upper ones containing reinforcement bars and the lower ones pre-stressing cables. The reinforcement 54 of each column 52 is joined, e.g. by welding, to a metal plate 56, similarly joined to a plate 50 at the outer face of each member 47 or by bolts 57. A locked joint is thus produced. The panel 45 is prestressed so as to have a tendency to bow upwardly, the members 46 rigidly united to it being connected at their upper ends by tie rods 58 which pull them towards one another and thus counteract wholly or in part the said tendency, support the ceiling 28 and serve to adjust the distance between the members 46 so that vertical room elements are in register, e.g. on spigots 34 (Fig. 3). In another form of locked joint the plates 50, 56 are united face to face by an epoxy resin joint 61 and bolts 57. Such a resin joint may be between the lower surface of each column and the upper surface of the panel 45. In the modified construction of Fig. 12 in addition to an epoxy resin joint 63 the panel 45 has a metal member 64a welded to the reinforcement 54 and a lip 65a. An identical member 64b on the panel 45, welded to the reinforcement 48 thereof, has a lip 65b. Wedges are in the space between lips 65a, 65b to give a joint ultimately in tension, the height of the members 52 being adjusted by shims 67. The joint is covered by fire proofing material 68. To hang the ceiling 28 from the tie rods 27 or 58, a lip 28' (Fig. 13) on the ceiling rests thereon with an interposed rubber pad 69, the rods being prevented from sagging between the end members by support from a rubber pad 70 in a support device 71 which may depend from the floor panel above it and be adjustable vertically. In the form shown in Fig. 14 a floor panel 73 of pre-stressed construction is connected to the end member 76 by metal connecting elements 77, 78 in which are engaged pre-stressed metal skin members 79, 80. The member 76 has a tension element 81 to hook under element 78, and a compression element 82 between which and member 77 insulation 83 is inserted. Members 77, 82 are connected by a clamp 84. End member 76 may be of concrete with reinforcement, to which the members 81, 82 may be welded.