GB2246148A

GB2246148A - Thermally insulating flooring system

Info

Publication number: GB2246148A
Application number: GB9015172A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Christopher Nigel Hampton
Original assignee: RICHARD LEES Ltd
Current assignee: RICHARD LEES Ltd
Priority date: 1990-07-10
Filing date: 1990-07-10
Publication date: 1992-01-22
Anticipated expiration: 2010-07-10
Also published as: GB2246148B; GB9015172D0

Abstract

A flooring system which includes a plurality of spaced-apart concrete beams 1 to which are secured load-supporting panels 5 formed of relatively rigid synthetic plastics foam. Extending beneath the panels and between the concrete beams are thermally insulating blocks 7 formed of a relatively less rigid synthetic plastics foam. Overlying the load-supporting panels is a finish or topping layer 9. e.g. of concrete which may have reinforcing mesh 11; a slip-sheet of polyethylene or building paper may be interposed. <IMAGE>

Description

FLOORING SYSTEM This invention relates to flooring systems. Traditional flooring systems included wooden joists having floorboards fastened to their upper surfaces. In recent years, there has been increased use of flooring systems in which the wooden joists are replaced by concrete beams. In one such system, described in GB2156874A, panels are secured to the upper surfaces of the concrete beams, the panels being formed of a lower synthetic plastics foam layer and an upper chipboard or other wood-based layer. Such a flooring system avoids the use of expensive timber, may be installed relatively qui-kly and provides increased thermal insulation compared with traditional timber floors.

The composite load-supporting panels of the flooring system described in GB2156874A are quite expensive, even though they provide an upper flooring surface which does not require a top finishing layer of concrete screed or other material. It has now been surprisingly discovered that a flooring system, being formed of relatively cheap components and providing greatly enhanced thermal insulation, can be provided using a loadsupporting layer formed solely of a synthetic plastics foam material and without the need for an upper chipboard or other wood-based layer. The thermal insulating properties of the system are provided by the combination of the load-supporting plastics foam layer and a lower further plastics foam layer which extends between the concrete beams.

According to the present invention, there is provided a flooring system comprising a plurality of spaced-apart, substantially parallel concrete beams defining substantially flat upper abutment surfaces to which surfaces are secured a plurality of load-supporting panels, each panel being formed of relatively rigid synthetic plastics foam and bridging the gap between a pair of adjacent concrete beams, a plurality of insulating blocks, each extending beneath a panel and between opposed edge regions of a pair of adjacent concrete beams, said insulating blocks being formed of a relatively less rigid synthetic plastics foam, and, overlying the load-supporting panels, a finish or topping layer.

Preferably, each concrete beam has lower shoulders extending laterally beyond the edges of the upper abutment surfaces. The insulating blocks sit on these lower shoulders and their less rigid or more compressible nature, compared with the upper loadbearing panels, ensures that the two-layer structure (the upper load-bearing panels and the insulating blocks) will remain firmly in position on the concrete beams with minimal movement while the upper finish layer is being provided.

Preferably, the load-supporting panels and the insulating blocks are bonded together, either before or after placement with respect to the concrete beams.

Preferably, there is provided a separating layer between the load-supporting panels and the finish layer, for instance, a slip-sheet of polyethylene or building paper.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Fig. 1 is a vertical section through part of a flooring system in accordance with the present invention; and - Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the flooring section in Fig. 1 and showing the arrangement of the system adjacent a load-bearing wall.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, a flooring system in accordance with the present invention includes a plurality of spaced-apart, substantially parallel concrete beams 1 which, in this case, are Richard Lees Blockspan Joists in Grade C60 prestressed concrete as a principal structural component. These beams span up to 5.2m and are spaced at 520mm or 295mm centres.

Extending between each pair of adjacent concrete beams 1 is a composite structure formed by an upper load-bearing panel 5 and, bonded thereto, a lower insulating block 7. As can be seen in Fig. 1, this composite structure 3 is supported by the beams between which it extends, the support surfaces being the upper abutment surfaces of the beams which engage edge portions of panels 5 and the bottom flange shoulders of the beams which engage lower edge portions of block 7. Each load-supporting panel 5 is formed of relatively rigid 25mm thick polystyrene foam, in this case a material known as Styrofoam IB, which is a rigid closed-cell foam having a compressive strength of 250kN/sqm. The lower insulating block 7, of thickness lOOmm, is also formed of polystyrene foam but which is less rigid or more compressible than that of the panels 5.The particular material used in this instance is HD Grade Expanded Closed Cell Polystyrene having a compressive strength of llOkN/sqm.

Overlying the supporting panels 5 is a slip-sheet of polyethylene or building paper (not shown).

A finish or topping layer 9 is provided by a minimum 65mm thick concrete screed which is reinforced at mid-depth by an A98 wire mesh 11.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, it is possible to substitute standard flooring-grade building blocks 13 for the insulated block 7 where it is necessary to build in to load-bearing walls 15.

These blocks 13 may then be overlaid with 25mm thick Styrofoam boards 17 to maintain the effective thermal insulation performance of the overall floor.

It has been found that a flooring system as described above may provide insulation which more than satisfies even the most demanding requirements, for instance, an insulation figure of U < 0.45 w/sqm at ground-floor level making use of a screed finish.

The use of the load-bearing plastics foam panels to lap over the concrete beam is a simple solution to the problem of eliminating the "cold bridge" which is otherwise provided by the concrete beams and which is present in many commercially available systems. Such a lapping arrangement greatly simplifies installation procedures and provides a uniform working platform during floor construction.

In another embodiment in accordance with the present invention, the above-described concrete screed is replaced by another finish or topping layer such as a chipboard or other wooden layer.

Claims

1. A flooring system comprising a plurality of spaced-apart, substantially parallel concrete beams defining substantially flat upper abutment surfaces to which surfaces are secured a plurality of load-supporting panels, each panel being formed of relatively rigid synthetic plastics foam and the system also including a plurality of insulating blocks, each block extending beneath a panel and between opposed edge regions of a pair of adjacent concrete beams, said insulating blocks being formed of a relatively less rigid synthetic plastics foam and, overlying the load-supporting panels, a finish or topping layer.

2. A flooring system according to Claim 1 in which each concrete beam has lower shoulders extending laterally beyond the edges of the upper abutment surfaces.

3. A flooring system according to Claim 2 in which the insulating blocks sit on said lower shoulders.

4. A flooring system according to any of the preceding claims in which the load-supporting panels and insulating blocks are bonded together, either before or after placement with respect to the concrete beams.

5. A flooring system according to any of the preceding claims in which there is further provided a separating layer between the load-supporting panels and the finish layer.

6. A flooring system according to Claim 5 in which the finish layer is provided by a slip-sheet of polyethylene or building paper.

7. A flooring system according to Claim 1 and substantially as herein described.

8. A flooring system substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.