GB2286610A - Floor assembly adapted for services - Google Patents

Abstract

There is disclosed a floor assembly comprising a plurality of metal floor joists (10), each joist (10) carrying a spacer (12), each spacer (12) having at least one recess (18) extending transverse to the length of the joist and aligned with the recesses of the spacers of adjacent joists, and a floor (16) carried by the spacers and closing the open face of each recess, whereby the aligned recesses define a service run or duct below floor level. <IMAGE>

Description

FLOOR ASSEMBLY This invention relates to a floor assembly, and particularly to a suspended floor assembly for use in a steel framed building.

A known floor assembly used in steel framed buildings comprises steel joists extending between two opposite supporting walls of the building, and a wooden floor provided directly upon the upper surface of the joists. The floor may take the form of conventional tongue and groove (T & G) wooden floorboards, arranged to extend transverse to the lengths of the joists, or a plurality of panels of chip-board or other board arranged to abut one another with a T & G interengagement if desired.

It is common to provide services in the form of gas or water pipes and/or electrical cables in the space below a suspended floor.9VVhere the pipes/cables extend transverse to the length of the joists, it is necessary to provide apertures or grooves in the joists to allow the pipes/cables to pass therethrough. The provision of a cut-out in the upper or lower surface of the joist to allow pipes/cables to extend therethrough weakens the joist. Where apertures are provided in the web connecting the upper and lower surfaces of the joist, the provision of services, particularly long lengths of relatively stiff pipework, is still not possible or at least is rendered difficult as the cable/pipe has to be threaded through apertures in each of the joists.

It is an object of the invention to reduce the problems mentioned above.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a floor assembly comprising a plurality of metal floor joists, each joist carrying a spacer, each spacer having at least one recess extending transverse to the length of the joist, and aligned with the recesses of the spacers of adjacent joists and a floor carried by the spacers and closing the open face of each recess.

The aligned recesses in the spacers provides a service run or duct for receiving cables and/or pipes, below the suspended floor, the cables/pipes extending transverse to the length of the joists by passing through the recesses provided in the spacers. Since the recesses are provided in spacers rather than in the joists, the joists are not weakened by the provision of the recesses.

Preferably the spacers are defined by timber battens on the upper surfaces of the joists.

Conveniently the recesses are defined by gaps between the adjacent ends of aligned lengths of batten.

Each spacer preferably sits upon the upper surface of the respective joist, the spacer being secured to the joist. Each spacer is preferably secured to the respective joist by means of screws, preferably self-tapping screws.

The floor may comprise floorboards or panels.

The floor is preferably secured to the joists by means of screws, each screw being arranged to extend through the floor and the spacer and into the joist.

The recesses provided in the spacers of adjacent joist are preferably arranged to align with each other to provide a rectilinear service run extending across the floor. Preferably, the floor includes an elongate removable portion overlying the service run to permit access thereto.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a metal floor joist provided with a spacer arranged to support a floor, the upper surface of the spacer, in use, being provided with at least one recess extending transverse to the length of the joist.

Preferably the spacer is formed in at least two longitudinally aligned parts and said recess extends through the thickness of the spacer, being defined by a gap between adjacent ends of said aligned parts.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a building comprising a metal framed support structure, a plurality of metal floor joists supported by the support structure, each joist carrying a spacer, the upper surface of each spacer, in use, being provided with at least one recess extending transverse to the length of the joist, and a floor carried by the spacer.

The invention will further be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is cross sectional view through part of a floor assembly; and Figure 2 is side view of the floor assembly of Figure 1.

The accompanying drawings illustrate part of a suspended floor assembly for use in a metal framed building, the floor assembly comprising a plurality of metal floor joists 10 arranged in spaced, parallel relationship and extending between two opposite supporting walls of the metal framed building. The floor joists 10 comprise cold-rolled steel members, preferably of galvanised mild steel sheet, of flanged channel or rectangular C-shaped cross section, although joists of other cross-sections, for example I-, or Z-shaped or other cross-sections having parallel upper and lower walls joined by a web, may be used.

To the upper wall 10a of each floor joist 10 is mounted a wooden spacer 12 in the form of timber battens. The spacer 12 extends substantially the complete length of the joist 10, the width of the spacer 12 being approximately 50 mm (substantially equal to the width of the joist) and the spacer having a thickness of approximately 38 mm. Each spacer 12 is fixed to its respective joist 10 by means of self-tapping screws 14, for example "Buildex" screws. As shown in Figure 2, the screws 14 have counter-sink heads and are arranged to extend completely through the spacer 12 and into the upper wall 10a of the joist 10. The provision of the screws 14 with counter-sink heads enables the heads to lie flush with the upper surface of the spacer 12.

A floor 16 comprising a plurality of panels of chip-board or like material is supported by the joists 10, the floor 16 being spaced from the upper surfaces of the joists 10 by the spacers 12. It will be recognised that other floor materials, for example conventional floorboards may be used instead of chip-board.

In order to allow services in the form of electrical cables and or pipes for carrying water or gas to be provided in the space below the suspended floor, the spacers 12 are provided with recesses 18 extending in a direction transverse to the length of the joist 10, the recesses 18 being provided in the upper surfaces of the spacers 12. The recesses 18 may be defined by gaps between adjacent ends of aligned battens so as to extend completely from the upper surface of the spacer 12 to its lower surface, or, as indicated by the broken line 20 in Figure 2, the recesses 18 may be formed by cutting away material from a batten so as to extend from the upper surfaces of the spacers 12 to a position spaced from the lower surface thereof.The depth of the recesses 18 is chosen in order to allow all of the desired cables/pipes to fit into the recesses 18 without projecting beyond the upper surfaces of the spacers 12, and an advantage of using recesses which do not extend completely through the spacer is that services, notably copper pipes, are held spaced from the galvanised steel joists thereby avoiding the risks of electrolytic action between the pipes and the joists.

The recesses 18 are arranged to align with the recesses 18 provided in the spacers 12 of adjacent joists 10 so as to provide a generally straight service run extending past a plurality of joists 10. The provision of a straight service run accessible from above is particularly desirable where a long length of relatively stiff pipework is to be installed. Where the metal framed building is being constructed from preformed parts, the spacers 12 may be mounted upon the joists 10 before delivery to the site, the recesses 18 being provided in predetermined positions which, when the building is constructed, will align with one another.There may be occasions where it is desirable to mount the spacers 12 upon the joists 10 once the joists 10 have been secured to the supporting walls of the metal framed building, in which case the recesses 18 can be appropriately positioned before securing the spacers 12 to the joists 10.

Where a generally straight service run is provided, it is desirable to arrange the floor 16 so that a long detachable strip 22 of floor material covers the run, the strip 22 alone having to be removed in order to provide access to the pipes/cables housed within that service run.

In order to secure the floor 16 in position, a plurality of self tapping screws 24, for example "builder'' screws, are used, the screws 24 being arranged to extend through the floor 16, the spacer 12 and into the upper wall 10a of the floor joist 10. Where a strip 22 is provided to allow access to a service run, it is desirable for the strip to be supported by the spacers 12 adjacent the recesses 18. It may be desirable for the strip 22 not to be secured to the joist 10 in order to allow easy access to the pipes/cables housed below the strip 22.

Depending upon the intended use of the building, it may be desirable to provide a plurality of recesses 18 in each spacer 12 so as to provide a plurality of service runs below the suspended floor.

Although the spacers described above comprise appropriately sized timber battens, it is envisaged that other materials could be used for the spacers, and that the spacers may be secured to the joists other than by using screws.

Claims (18)

1. A floor assembly comprising a plurality of metal floor joists, each joist carrying a spacer, each spacer having at least one recess extending transverse to the length of the joist, and aligned with the recesses of the spacers of adjacent joists to provide a service run or duct, and a floor carried by the spacers and closing the open face of each recess.

2. An assembly as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the spacers are defined by timber battens on the upper surfaces of the joists.

3. An assembly as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the recesses are defined by gaps between the adjacent ends of aligned lengths of batten.

4. An assembly as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein each spacer is secured to its respective joist.

5. An assembly as claimed in Claim 4, wherein each spacer is secured to the respective joist by means of self-tapping screws.

6. An assembly as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the floor is secured to the joists by means of screws, each screw being arranged to extend through the floor and the spacer and into the joist.

7. An assembly as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein said recesses in the spacers of adjacent joists are arranged to align with each other to provide a rectilinear service run extending across the floor.

8. An assembly as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the floor includes an elongate removable portion overlying the service run to permit access thereto.

9. A metal floor joist provided with a spacer arranged to support a floor, the upper surface of the spacer, in use, being provided with at least one recess extending transverse to the length of the joist.

10. A joist as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the spacer is formed in at least two longitudinally aligned parts and said recess extends through the thickness of the spacer, being defined by a gap between adjacent ends of said aligned parts.

11. A joist as claimed in Claim 9 or Claim 10, wherein said spacer is defined by a timber batten.

12. A building comprising a metal framed support structure, a plurality of metal floor joists supported by the support structure, each joist carrying a spacer, the upper surface of each spacer, in use, being provided with at least one recess extending transverse to the length of the joist, and a floor carried by the spacer, and recesses defining a service run or duct beneath the floor.

13. A building as claimed in Claim 12, wherein the alignment of recesses in the spacers of adjacent joists is rectilinear.

14. A building as claimed in Claim 13, wherein the floor includes a removable portion overlying said recesses to provide access to the service run.

15. A building as claimed in any one of Claims 12 to 14, wherein said spacers are defined by timber battens.

16. A floor assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

17. A metal joist substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

18. A building substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.