GB2407828A

GB2407828A - Prefabricated structural masonry wall panel

Info

Publication number: GB2407828A
Application number: GB0325779A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Donald Gudgeon
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-11-05
Filing date: 2003-11-05
Publication date: 2005-05-11
Anticipated expiration: 2023-11-05
Also published as: AU2004218615A1; CN100432347C; GB2407828B; GB0325779D0; HK1071780A1; AU2004218615B2; CN1614175A

Abstract

A prefabricated structural masonry wall panel includes an array of bricks, each brick having an aperture through it. A reinforcing bar extends across the array and passes through aligned apertures of adjacent bricks. A lifting attachment extends from the reinforcing bar and projects from an edge of the array. Grout is located between adjacent bricks of the array and extends into the apertures. An internal finish is applied to one face of the array.

Description

Prefabricated Structural Masonry Wall Panel

Background of the Invention

The present invention relates to prefabricated wall panels. More particularly, although not exclusively, the invention relates to prefabricated structural masonry wall panels for use in the building industry.

It is known to provide tilt-up cladding panels for use in the building industry. These comprise reinforced concrete panels that are cast at the building site in a horizontal plane and then tilted up after curing for attachment to an existing framework. Such panels provide no structural support.

Brick veneer and double brick domestic buildings are known. In brick veneer houses for example, a timber or steel framework is first erected say on a concrete slab and then bricks are laid individually to form a weather- resistant veneer at the frame exterior. This is a time- consuming and labour intensive procedure requiring skilled framers and bricklayers at the building site.

Double brick buildings are also time-consuming and labour intensive to build, requiring significantly more on-site bricklaying labour than is required in brick veneer construction.

In addition to the on-site labour mentioned above, further tradesmen are needed for the purpose of installing internal cladding such as plasterboard or cement rendering for example.

Object of the Invention

-

It is an object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the above disadvantages and/or more generally to provide a masonry prefabricated structural panel having the external appearance of brickwork for example, and the internal appearance of a finished wall, whilst providing structural support for a building incorporating a plurality of such panels.

Disclosure of the Invention

There is disclosed herein a prefabricated structural masonry wall panel, comprising: an array of bricks, each brick having an aperture therethrough, a reinforcing bar extending across the array and passing through aligned apertures of adjacent said bricks, a lifting attachment extending from the reinforcing bar and projecting from an edge of the array, grout located between adjacent said bricks and extending into said apertures, and an internal finish applied to one face of the array.

Preferably the bricks and grout are treated to be water- impermeable and damp-proof.

Preferably the reinforcing bar extends beyond an edge of the array opposite to said edge at which the lifting attachment projects.

Preferably edge bricks of said array comprise a recess for receiving a seal.

Preferably electrical wiring is encased by the internal finish.

There is further disclosed here in a wall comprising a plurality of prefabricated masonry wall panels as disclosed above, the wall further comprising: an epoxy-type sealant at edges of each panel.

There is still further disclosed herein a wall comprising a plurality of prefabricated masonry wall panels as disclosed above, the wall further comprising: an epoxy-type sealant extending into said recess of =eighbouring edge bricks of each panel.

There is yet further disclosed herein a method of prefabricating a structural masonry wall panel, comprising: placing an array of apertured bricks in intended positions in a form with apertures of adjacent bricks aligned with one another and an intended outer face of each brick facing downward, passing a reinforcing bar through the aligned apertures of at least some of the bricks such that the rod extends across the array, applying grout to spaces between the bricks such that the grout flows into the apertures, and applying an internal finish with installation as required to the upper facing surface of the bricks.

Preferably the method further comprises attaching a lifting attachment to the reinforcing bar.

Preferably the method further comprises laying electrical wiring upon the array of bricks prior to applying the internal finish.

Preferably the method further comprises applying a water- impermeable and damp-proof treatment to the bricks and grout.

Definition As used herein, the term "brick" is intended to encompass full bricks, half bricks and irregularly shaped and/or sized bricks. Half bricks would not have an aperture, but would have a half-aperture at one end. Half bricks would generally be end bricks.

Brief Description of the Drawings

A preferred form of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a schematic illustration showing bricks being laid out in a form, Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of a pair of bricks with each brick custom- made to include a central aperture and a pair of end recesses which co- operate with one another to define an aperture, Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional elevation of an uppermost brick having a lifting attachment connected to the end of a reinforcing bar passing through a brick aperture, Figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional elevation of the base of one prefabricated masonry panel supported by another prefabricated panel, Figure 5 is a schematic cross-sectional illustration of a detachable mould base serving as a temporary support for a prefabricated wall panel as it is transferred to storage, Figure 6 is a schematic elevational view of a prefabricated panel in situ alongside, above and below other such prefabricated panels, Figure 7 is a schematic cross-sectional plan view showing a joint between the endmost bricks of a pair of neighbouring prefabricated panels, Figure 8 is a schematic elevation showing the construction of a multi-storey building with a prefabricated wall panel at each floor, and Figure 9 is a schematic crosssectional end elevation of adjoining prefabricated panels at a building structure finished floor level, showing a structural socket at the top of the panel to receive a dowel from the bottom of a panel thereabove.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment

In Figure l of the accompanying drawings there is depicted schematically a worker W placing exterior bricks 1 in a form or mould table 2. The bricks 1 are placed facing side-down in the form. A space is left between each brick sufficient to receive grout or mortar of the desired thickness. Each brick 1 as shown in Figure 2 has a central aperture 3 and a pair of end recesses 4. The aperture 3 is sized to receive a length of reinforcing bar together with surrounding grout/mortar. Recesses 4 are slightly less than half the size of aperture 3 such that when two bricks are placed at desired spacing, the mutually facing recesses approximate the size and shape of the central aperture thereby allowing a length of reinforcing bar to pass between the bricks at that location with mortar/grout surrounding the reinforcing bar.

The bricks are positioned in a standard brick pattern such that the recesses 4 of one course of bricks is aligned with the apertures 3 in the adjacent course of bricks. Once all of the bricks 1 are so placed in an array defining the desired panel shape, reinforcing bar 5 is passed through the aligned recesses and apertures from one edge of the array to the other. In the finished wall, the reinforcing bar will be vertical.

The grout or mortar mixture is poured into the spaces between the bricks so as to adequately fill the apertures 3 and recesses 4 and thereby encase the reinforcing bar.

It should be noted in this regard that there may be several reinforcing bars extending throughout the array at spaced positions. The reinforcing bars will be both vertical through the apertures and horizontal through the brick coursing. Some or all of the apertures will contain reinforcing bars, and some or all of the brick courses will contain reinforcing bars for structural or shrinkage purposes. A lifting eyelet 6 can be attached to an end of one or more reinforcing bars 5 and one such eyelet is shown in Figure 3 to project beyond an upper edge 7 of the panel. It should be noted in this regard that the reinforcing bar provides a recess to socket from which the eyelet projects.

At the bottom edge of the panel, the reinforcing bar 5 might project slightly as shown at 8 in Figure 4 for receipt within a recess 9 at the top of an uppermost aperture 3 of a lower panel in the mould in the multistorey high-rise construction. An epoxy-type-type seal surrounds the projection 8 in the recess 9. The dry gaps between panels are to be suitably insulated.

There is a steel seat plate 11 positioned between vertically adjacent panels to define the width of a dry joint 12.

An interior wall finish 13 is applied to the upper surface of the array of bricks on the mould table 2.

Finish 13 might be a plaster or a cement-rendered finish for example or might alternatively be a tiled finish or any other finish suitable for the interior of a building.

Such finish might be in the form of an insulating layer.

Electrical wiring 14 might be placed upon the array of bricks prior to application of the interior wall finish.

The bottom projecting extremity of the reinforcing bar 5 - 9 - might be threaded to receive a nut 15 and washer 16 as shown in Figure 5. This may be useful in case the grip between apertures 3 and the reinforcing bar 5 is provided by the grout is insufficient for lifting purposes.

As shown in Figure 7 the endmost bricks of each panel might be provided with a longitudinal recess 16. These recesses face one another to define a space into which a seal strip 17 can fit. A tap-in joint gap seal strip 18 is inserted into the vertical joint at the interior face of the brick panel. There is also integral water/damp proofing in the mortar.

Once the grout or mortar of the array of bricks has set, and the interior finish has also set, the array can be lifted from the mould table by application of hoisting force to the eyelets 6. The face of the brickwork to be presented to the exterior of a building is the face that was presented downwardly to the mould table. The mortar/grout and external face surface of the panel can be treated with a waterproof material such as a silicon- based spray to a form a water-impermeable and damp-proof barrier. The treatment might be absorbed somewhat into the brick work and mortar, or might remain as a surface coating.

A building constructed using the above-disclosed panels can rely on the panels for structural load support.

Moreover, the building need not comprise a separate framework and panels of single brick thickness can provide significant load-bearing capability and resistance to bowing by virtue of the vertically extending reinforcing bars and horizontally placed brick coursing reinforcing bars.

The panels can be delivered to site and tilted up by crane or hoist and lifted/delivered to desired positions.

An epoxy-type cement can be used at the edges of the panels to improve weatherproofing between adjacent panels or where edges of panels meet other structure. Such might be applied to set plates at the building periphery upon which the panels are to be mounted for example.

Further, horizontal gap seals might be provided between the interior finished surface of each panel and structural flooring.

It should be appreciated that modifications and alterations obvious to those skilled in the art are not to be considered as beyond the scope of the present invention. For example, structural brick columns, right angled corner segments, double or triple-thickness brick wall panels or single thickness brick panels having columnar brickwork strengtheners (i. e. internal garage wall brick columns for example) might be fabricated in accordance with the disclosed method. Furthermore, panels having windows or doors therein might also be prefabricated in accordance with the described method. /

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A prefabricated structural masonry wall panel, comprising: an

array of bricks, each brick having an aperture therethrough, a reinforcing bar extending across the array and passing through aligned apertures of adjacent said bricks, a lifting attachment extending from the reinforcing bar and projecting from an edge of the array, grout located between adjacent said bricks and extending into said apertures, and an internal finish applied to one face of the array.
2. The panel of Claim 1 wherein the bricks and grout are treated to be water-impermeable and damp-proof.
3. The panel of Claim 1 wherein the reinforcing bar extends beyond an edge of the array opposite to said edge at which the lifting attachment projects.
4. The panel of Claim 1 wherein edge bricks of said array comprise a recess for receiving a seal.
5. The panel of Claim 1 wherein electrical wiring is encased by the internal finish.
6. A wall comprising a plurality of prefabricated masonry wall panels as claimed in Claim 1, the wall further comprising: an epoxy-type sealant at edges of each panel.
7. A wall comprising a plurality of prefabricated masonry wall panels as claimed in Claim 4, the wall further comprising: an epo-type sealant extending into said recess of neighbouring edge bricks of each panel.
8. A method of prefabricating a structural masonry wall panel, comprising: placing an array of apertured bricks in intended positions in a form with apertures of adjacent bricks aligned with one another and an intended outer face of each brick facing downward, passing a reinforcing bar through the aligned apertures at least some of the bricks such that the rod extends across the array, applying grout to spaces between the bricks such that the grout flows into the apertures, and applying an internal finish to the upper facing surface of the bricks.
9. The method of Claim 8 further comprising attaching a lifting attachment to the reinforcing bar.
10. The method of Claim 8 further comprising laying electrical wiring upon the array of bricks prior to applying the internal finish.
11. The method of Claim 8 further comprising applying a water-impermeable and damp-proof treatment to the bricks and grout.