GB2440936A

GB2440936A - Composite floor and ceiling assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2440936A
Application number: GB0616369A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter De-Lacy Staunton; Peter Mccaughey
Original assignee: Maca R & D Ltd
Current assignee: Maca R & D Ltd
Priority date: 2006-08-17
Filing date: 2006-08-17
Publication date: 2008-02-20
Anticipated expiration: 2026-08-17
Also published as: GB2440936B; GB0616369D0

Abstract

The composite floor and ceiling assembly 1 comprises a number of parallel upper joists 2 that abut a pair of outer perimeter floor edge joists and a top decking panel 6 mounted on the upper joists. A number of lower joists, which abut outer perimeter ceiling joists, are spaced apart from the upper joists and support a ceiling panel 12 with there being no physical contact between the upper and lower portions of the assembly. The upper and lower joists preferably project between and overlap one another with the adjacent perimeter floor edge and ceiling edge joists preferably being formed from one joist. Sound insulation 15 is preferably laid across the lower joists and ceiling panel so that it is spaced from the upper joists and top decking panel. An interconnect formed from a metal joist is provided to connect adjacent panels.

Description

"A composite floor and ceiling assembly

introduction

The present invention relates to a composite floor and ceiling assembly.

It is known to produce preformed timber floor panels which can be used in a modular fashion to provide flooring systems in buildings. Essentially, each timber floor panel comprises a plurality of parallel joists including a pair of outer edge joists and intermediate joists, a top decking panel covering the joists and then a plurality of infill transverse supports or bridging joists between each joist. A bottom ceiling panel may be fixed to the undersides of the joists. A typical example is described and claimed in our UK Patent GB 2,345,497 which comprises a plurality of parallel joists, including a pair of outer edge joists and intermediate joists, a top decking panel covering the joists and rigidly secured thereto and a plurality of parallel cross-members secured underneath and across the joists for reception of a ceiling in spaced-apart relation with the joists. This is a particularly useful construction of such a composite floor and ceiling assembly.

One of the problems with such composite floor and ceiling assemblies is the flexibility of the composite floor and ceiling assembly as it bends under load. Our UK Patent GB 2,399,100B describes and claims an interconnector for use with such composite floor and ceiling assemblies, which interconnector provides added rigidity to the assembly.

There are, however, as have been mentioned, various problems and one of the major problems with such composite floor and ceiling assemblies, and indeed with all timber flooring is the transmission of noise to a lower floor, particularly when people walk across the floor of a room which effectively also forms the ceiling of a lower room.

This is not often a major problem in single dwelling houses but becomes a major problem in multiple dwelling houses or in high rise buildings, whether they be dwelling houses or commercial buildings. Various building regulations cover this. This transmission of noise is also exacerbated by the flexing of the floors under load. It is an object of the present invention to provide a composite floor and ceiling assembly which overcomes at least some of the difficulties associated with known types of wooden floors, and in particular, to providing a composite floor and ceiling assembly which mjnjmises the noise transmission from the floor of a building through the ceiling into the room below.

Statements of Invention

According a composite floor and ceiling assembly comprising: a plurality of parallel upper joists abutting a pair of outer perimeter floor edge joists; a top decking panel covering the upper joists and secured thereto; a plurality of lower joists abutting a pair of outer perimeter ceiling edge joists adjacent the outer perimeter floor edge joists and spaced-apart from the top decking panel and the upper joists; and a ceiling panel beneath the lower joists and secured thereto.

The advantage of this is that the ceiling, namely the ceiling panel of the room below, no longer has any physical contact between it and the floor above except at the perimeter of the room. Further, a fully factory manufactured assembly can be provided.

In one embodiment of the invention, the assembly is arranged so that the upper portions of the lower joists project between and overlap the upper joists. This provides a relatively compact floor and ceiling assembly, again without the ceiling and floor having any physical contacts except around its periphery.

In one embodiment of the invention, the adjacent perimeter floor edge joists and the ceiling edge joists are formed from the one joist. This is a relatively suitable construction and there is no great advantage in not having the perimeter floor edge joist formed from the one floor joist as it adds to the rigidity of the structure without increasing appreciably noise transmission.

In another embodiment of the invention, a Sound insulation material is laid across the lower joists and ceiling panel and spaced-apart from the upper joists and top decking panel. This further improves the reduction in the transmission of noise from the floor above through to the room below.

In another embodiment of the invention, the outermost pairs of parallel upper and lower joists are secured together. Again, this does not increase the noise transmission appreciably, however, it does provide a very composite and easily handled assembly, alt of which can be manufactured and made off site.

In another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a unitary floor panel interconnector is provided for connecting adjacent outer perimeter floor edge joists of a pair of assemblies together, the interconnector comprising: a metal joist having a spacer section and a horizontal-in-use support section, the spacer section being positioned intermediate the outer perimeter floor edge joist of one assembly and the outer perimeter floor edge joist of the other assembly thereby preventing direct contact between the pair of floor edge joists, the horizontal support section further comprising a pair of support flanges extending outwardly in opposite directions from the lower end of the spacer section, each support flange being located underneath the floor edge joist of one of the pair of adjacent assemblies so that the floor edge joist rests thereon.

The advantage of this is that it allows greater runs of floor panels to be mounted in a building while at the same time preventing undue flexure. Also, because the floor panels are not connected directly together, noise transmission will be minimised.

In this latter embodiment the spacer section and the assemblies are dimensioned so that when the assemblies and the metal joist are connected together, a groove is defined in the floor above the spacer section between the adjacent assemblies. The advantage of this groove is that it allows services, etc. to be provided easily in a floor.

In another embodiment of the invention, the ceiling panel comprises a composite panel assembly comprising a pair of spaced-apart panels connected together by a plurality of parallel battens. This particular construction provides for even greater noise reduction as well as the housing of services.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of some embodiments thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the arrangement of joists used in forming the composite floor and ceiling assembly, Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view along the lines Il-Il of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a sectional view along the lines Ill-Ill of Fig. 1, Figs. 4 to 7 are perspective views showing stages in the manufacture of the assembly, Fig. 8 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2 of another construction of assembly in situ, Fig. 9 is a sectional view, similar to Fig. 3, of the assembly of Fig. 8, Fig. 10 is an exploded view illustrating a unitary floor panel interconnector according to the invention, and Fig. 11 is a sectional view showing the interconnector in position.

Referring to the drawings and initially to Figs. 1 to 7 thereof, there is illustrated a composite floor and ceiling assembly 1 comprising a plurality of parallel upper joists 2 abutting a pair of outer perimeter floor edge joists 3. The floor edge joists 3 are mounted above a perimeter packer 4 above which is mounted a further perimeter packer 5. A top decking panel 6 is mounted on and covers the upper joists 2.

Lower joists 10 are also abutted and fixed to the outer perimeter floor edge joists 3 but could equally well be fitted to separate ceiling edge joists which are not illustrated.

Fitted against the lower joists 10 is a plurality of service battens 11 to which is fitted a ceiling panel 12. An acoustic mat 15 of glass wool fibre is laid on the ceiling panel 12 and across the lower joist 10 and underneath the upper joists 2. As shown in the illustration in Fig. 2, the acoustic mat 15 contacts the upper joists 2 and flooring panel 6, however, in use, either the depth of the panel would be less than illustrated or it would gradually settle down in use so that it was spaced-apart from both the flooring panel 6 and the upper joists 2.

Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 illustrate sequentially the general makeup of the floor and ceiling assembly 1 which is finished off by an outer sheet 16. There is no need for any further description as the assembly 1 is manufactured in conventional manner.

Referring now to Figs. 8 and 9, which are views similar to Figs. 2 and 3 respectively of an alternative construction of composite floor and ceiling assembly, indicated generally by the reference numeral 20, in which parts similar to those described with reference to the previous drawings are identified by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the composite floor and ceiling assembly 20 is illustrated mounted on walls 21. As will be appreciated intermediate supports may be used. The walls 21 are not described in detail but do include a skirting board 22 and mount plasterboard 23. The top decking panel is a chipboard panel 24 mounted above a rock wool slab in turn mounted on a floor decking 26 forming a sandwich construction. Many constructions of floating floor can be provided. The ceiling panel is now a composite ceiling panel comprising a plasterboard panel 30 and a fire resistant panel 31 to which the service battens 11 are fitted. Beneath the service battens 11 is more plasterboard sheeting 23.

Referring now to Figs. 10 and 11, there is illustrated a unitary floor panel interconnector indicated generally by the reference numeral 40, similar to that described in our UK Patent GB 2,399,100, all the disclosure of which is included herein by way of direct reference. Thus, it is not the intention to describe the various types of interconnector that may be used. The interconnector illustrated is essentially an inverted T-section comprising a spacer section 41 and a horizontal support section 42 formed from a pair of flanges. Again, the assembly does not require any description. A groove 43 is formed between adjacent composite floor and ceiling panel assemblies 20 to which services may be located.

It is envisaged that the top decking panel maybe of many constructions. Additional structural rigidity may be provided using additional battens such as battens fitted to the underside of the ceiling joists to stabilise the ceiling and inhibit twisting. Further, for example, in multi-occupancy dwelling a sacrificial layer may then be used to form a service void.

It will be appreciated that because, in the present invention, the ceiling is effectively separated from the floor, although at the same time forms with the ceiling a composite assembly, all the advantages of having a composite assembly without the disadvantage of noise transference between a floor panel and a ceiling panel is achieved.

In the specification the terms "comprise, comprises, comprised and comprising" or any variation thereof and the terms "include, includes, included and including" or any variation thereof are considered to be totally interchangeable and they should all be afforded the widest possible interpretation.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described, but may be varied in both construction and detail within the scope of the claims.

Claims

CLAIMS

1. A composite floor and ceiling assembly comprising: a plurality of parallel upper joists abutting a pair of outer perimeter floor edge joists; a top decking panel covering the upper joists and secured thereto; a plurality of lower joists abutting a pair of outer perimeter ceiling edge joists adjacent the outer perimeter floor edge joists and spaced-apart from the top decking panel and the upper joists; and a ceiling panel beneath the lower joists and secured thereto.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the upper portions of the lower joists project between and overlap the upper joists.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 2, in which the adjacent perimeter floor edge joists and the ceiling edge joists are formed from the one joist.

4. An assembly as claimed in claim 3, in which a sound insulation material is laid across the lower joists and ceiling panel and spaced-apart from the upper joists and top decking panel.

5. An assembly as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the outermost pairs of parallel upper and lower joists are secured together.

6. An assembly as claimed in any preceding claim, in which a unitary floor panel inter connector is provided for connecting adjacent outer perimeter floor edge joists of a pair of assemblies together, the interconnector comprising: a metal joist having a spacer section and a horizontal-in-use support section, the spacer section being positioned intermediate the outer perimeter floor edge joist of one assembly and the outer perimeter floor edge joist of the other assembly thereby preventing direct contact between the pair of floor edge joists, the horizontal support section further comprising a pair of support flanges extending outwardly in opposite directions from the lower end of the spacer section, each support flange being located underneath the floor edge joist of one of the pair of adjacent assemblies so that the floor edge joist rests thereon.

7. An assembly as claimed in claim 6, in which the spacer section and the assemblies are dimensioned so that when the assemblies and the metal joist are connected together, a groove is defined in the floor above the spacer section between the adjacent assemblies.

8. An assembly as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the ceiling panel comprises a composite panel assembly comprising a pair of spaced-apart panels connected together by a plurality of parallel battens.

9. An assembly substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.