GB2084511A

GB2084511A - Building material

Info

Publication number: GB2084511A
Application number: GB8128087A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1980-09-23
Filing date: 1981-09-17
Publication date: 1982-04-15

Abstract

A building material is in the form of a panel 10 comprising a core of insulating material and a shell enclosing the core and provides at least one waterproof and wear- resistant face of the panel 10. The edges of the panel 10 can be shaped to provide projecting lips 15, 16 on one side and corresponding recesses 13, 14 to enable a plurality of panels 10 to be assembled to form a wall, roof or the like. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Building material This invention relates to a building material and it is an object of the invention to provide a building material in the form of a panel which can conveniently be used to form a roof or wall of a building.

Accordingly the invention provides a building material in the form of a panel comprising a core of insulating material and a shell enclosing the core and providing at least one face of the panel which is waterproof and resistant to wear.

Preferably the shell is of fire-resistant material.

The shell preferably entirely surrounds the core.

Alternatively, an inside face, say of the panel can be bonded to or constituted by a lining material suitable for the interior face of a wall or roof. For an internal partition wall the panel can have two decorative faces.

Advantageously the shell is of a resin mixed with an inert non-porous filler such as sand. The resin can be a polyester resin, an epoxy resin, acrylic resin or urethane-based resin and the shell can additionally include glass fibre reinforcement.

Carbon fibre and/or metal mesh, bars or rods can also be used as reinforcement.

Edges of the panel can be shaped to enable a plurality of panels to be assembled in edge-toedge relationship to form a roof or wall. Panels can also be used for flooring, reinforced, if necessary by external lower ribs or internal structure.

Conveniently the panels are rectangular and at least two edges thereof are stepped to provide a projecting lip at one edge and a complementary rebate at the other edge. The edges can have fastening means whereby the panels can be secured together and/or to supporting structure.

The one face of the panel can have a surface or a covering which is decorative or functional, for example a non-slip surface for a roof or floor panel and a pebble-dash or imitation brick or stone pattern for a wall panel.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred building material of the invention in the form of a roofing panel; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged, fragmentary edge view of the panel of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section through a wall panel conforming to the invention; Fig. 4 is a horizontal cross-section showing a joint in a wall made of panels in accordance with Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a variation of the structure shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 but showing a possible modification; and Fig. 7 is a view similar to that of Fig. 6 showing a further possible modification.

A preferred embodiment of building material of the invention is in the form of a rectangular panel 10 which can be 3 m long by 0.6 m wide. Each edge of the panel 10 is stepped so that one longer side 11 and one shorter side 1 2 have respective lower protruding lips 13, 14 and the other longer side 1 5 and the other shorter side 1 6 have respective upper protruding lips 17, 1 8.

The panel 10 is of core-shell construction having a core 1 9 (Fig. 2) of rigid close-cell foamed urethane and a shell 20 of a material consisting of a resin mixed with an inert non-porous filler and reinforced with glass fibres. The resin can be polyester resin, the filler sand, the glass fibres in the form of a matt. The thickness of the core 19 can be from 2.5-1 5 cm and the thickness of the shell 20 can be from 2-10 mm.The periphery of the upper face of each panel 10 is bevelled as at 21,and the upper lips 17, 18 can be some 5-10 mm narrower than lower lips 13, 14 so that when two panels 10 abut a groove 29 is formed in the form of a slot which is V-shaped at the top and which can be filled with a flexible sealant compound such as bitumen, polysulphide or HYPOLAN (Registered Trade Mark). The shell material is resistant to water, acid and attack by acids and other common atmospheric pollutants and so needs little or no further protection or maintenance. Should the outer layer be punctured, there is no ingress of water to the building and the core does not become waterlogged because it is of closed-cell construction.

A plurality of panels 10 can be laid by supporting a first panel 10 on a support structure such as steel trusses spaced about 3 m apart and securing the lower lip 13 by fasteners indicated at 41 in Fig. 1. A further panel 10 can then be laid with its upper lip 1 7 overlying lip 13 and secured thereto by fasteners passing through apertures 22 (Fig. 2). A whole series of panels 10 can thus be rapidly and simply laid to form a roof and only the filling of the V-shaped grooves is necessary to complete the roof. No painting with bitumen or laying of roofing felt is necessary. The roof is loadbearing, i.e. can be walked upon quite safely, and this is important for maintenance in that it obviates the need for roof ladders and the like.

Instead of the described method of securing the lips to trusses and to each other the overlapping lips can be secured, as by fasteners passing through aligned holes 22 in both lips, to trusses or The panels 10 can, of course, be used equally well on pitched roofs as on flat roofs. By appropriate choice of the edge formation it may be possible to eliminate the need for sealant between the individual panels 10. The bevels 21 can be omitted with little if any detriment to the creation of an efficient seal.

Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate how a wall 27 can be built from panels 23. Panels 23 are similar in most respects to panels 10 save that they have inner and outer lips 24, 25 only on vertical edges thereof. In each lower edge they have a central groove 26 which may or may not be lined with shell material. The central groove or slot 26 serves, in the construction of the wall 27, to engage and be fastened to an inverted T-section floor plate 32 which can be laid on a base such as a floor 28, on top of a damp-proof course, and serve to show any irregularities therein and accurately to locate the line of the wall 27. The outer face 29 of the panels 23 is not bevelled and a butt joint will usually be sufficient for sealing purposes, although a sealant between the panels 23 may be advisable.Joints between the panels 23 (Fig. 4) may be by woodscrews or other screwtype fasteners through apertures 31 in inner lips 24 engaging plugs 30 set in outer lips 25. The plugs 30 can be of plastics material and be sized to allow some movement in the wall 27 and some misalignment between the panels 23. The plugs 30 can also be used for securing end panels to wall plates.

Fig. 5 shows a variation of the structure of Fig. 3. The edge portions of the panel is solid and a damp-proof course 33 is provided.

The invention is not limited to the precise details of the foregoing and variations can be made thereto. For example, the inner faces of the panels 10, 23 can be of board or similar interiorquality material, for example providing a decorative surface. The outside faces can be patterned or treated for grip, in the case of roof panels 10, or for decorative purposes for wall panels 23. Examples of such decorative finishes are pebble-dash or imitation brick or stone markings. For the shell material a lighter aggregate than sand can be used. The urethane foam used is that sold by Coolag Limited under their Registered Trade Mark NILFLAM. Many other foams can be used, however.

The panels can be of various colours for various purposes. They can have recesses to form ducts for services and have integrally formed skirtings and/or covings. Openings for doors and windows can be provided and for ventilation grills and the like. The panels can have drillable or engageable inserts for affixing articles or structures, such as shelves, thereto.

The panels of the invention have good insulation properties, having a U-value of 0.326 which compares favourably with a U-value of 0.25 for expanded polystyrene foam alone, and 0.7 for an 11" cavity, brick wall.

Fig. 6 illustrates a possible variation which can be employed when panels 35 are provided which are of considerable length, e.g. 5 to 6 m. Here a panel 35 has a skin 36 and filling 37 as in the previous embodiments. However, adjacent the lip 38 along each of the longer sides a vertically disposed metal plate 39 is embedded in the skin material 36 to provide rigidity and resistance against bending when the panel 35 is subjected to loads whilst acting as a roofing panel. In a modification of this arrangement (not illustrated) the plate 39 can be replaced by a wire extending along the panel 35 near its lower face and arranged to resist tension, thereby increasing the beam strength of the panel.

Fig. 7 shows a variation which is an alternative to the screw-receiving plugs 30 shown in Fig. 4.

Here a panel 40 has in each of its four lips 41 a formation extending over substantially the whole length thereof and consisting of a screw-receiving strip 42 and a foam strip 43. Strip 42 can be of wood, plastics or other screw-receiving material enabling securing screws to be inserted at any position. Strip 43 reduces the amount of skin material used in lips 41 and reduces weight and forms a thermal barrier.

Claims

1. A building material in the form of a panel comprising a core of insulating material and a shell enclosing the core and providing at least one face of the panel which is waterproof and resistant to wear.

2. A material as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shell is of fire-resistant material.

3. A material as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the shell entirely surrounds the core.

4. A material as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein an inside face, say, of the panel is bonded to or constituted by a lining material suitable for the interior face of a wall or roof.

5. A material as claimed in claim 4 and for an internal partition wall, the panel having two decorative faces.

6. A material as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the shell is of a resin mixed with an inert non-porous filler.

7. A material as claimed in claim 6, wherein the filler is sand.

8. A material as claimed in claim 6 or 7 wherein the resin is a polyester resin, an epoxy resin, an acrylic resin or a urethane-based resin.

9. A material as claimed in claim 6, 7 or 8 wherein the shell additionally includes glass fibre reinforcement.

10. A material as claimed in claim 6, 7 or 8 wherein the shell includes carbon fibre and/or metal mesh, bars or rods as reinforcement.

11. A material as claimed in any preceding claim wherein edges of the panel are shaped to enable a plurality of panels to be assembled in edge-to-edge relationship to form a roof or wall.

12. A material as claimed in any of claims 1 to 10 and for use as flooring, being reinforced by external lower ribs or internal structure.

13. A material as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the panel is rectangular and at least two edges thereof are stepped to provide a projecting lip at one edge and a complementary rebate at the other edge.

14. A material as claimed in claim 13 wherein the edges have fastening means whereby the panels can be secured together and/or to supporting structure.

1 5. A material as claimed in any preceding claim wherein one face of the panel has a surface or a covering which is decorative or functional.

16. A material as claimed in claim 15 wherein said surface is a non-slip surface for a roof or floor panel and a pebble-dash or imitation brick or stone pattern for a wall panel.

17. A building material substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

1 8. A building structure comprising a plurality of panels of the material claimed in any preceding claim arranged in edge-to-edge relationship and secured together.