GB2577306A

GB2577306A - Building shell and method of building construction

Info

Publication number: GB2577306A
Application number: GB1815404.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: George Ibberson William
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2018-09-21
Filing date: 2018-09-21
Publication date: 2020-03-25
Anticipated expiration: 2038-09-21
Also published as: GB2577306B; GB201815404D0

Abstract

The building shell comprises a number of support bodies 110 which have pre made walls 120 located upon them. The walls define an interior building space 130. A structural floor 140 is cast comprising a central portion 142 and an outer portion 144 the outer portion extending underneath the wall and carries the wall. A central portion extends to create a floor 145. Also claimed is a method of making a building construction using the shell. The shell may include a reinforcement member 124 which couples the wall and floor together. A layer of thermal insulation may cover the wall and floor to form a continuous insulation envelope. The support bodies may be pile caps.

Description

BUILDING SHELL AND METHOD OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

FIELD

[1] The present disclosure relates to a building shell and a method of building construction. BACKGROUND [2] The provision of ample and affordable domestic housing may be a challenge in many territories, resulting in a shortage of accommodation. Traditional construction processes employed by builders of new homes may add inefficiencies which result in slower and more expensive builds.

[3] An exemplary traditional construction process may largely rely on bespoke labour carried out at a building site. For example, a brick wall may be built by a bricklayer on-site as part of a particular stage of the construction process. Moreover, certain stages of the construction process may need to be carried out in sequence. This requires that the work of an earlier stage is completed before the work of a following stage can be started. Thus it may become necessary to wait for a concrete floor to acquire sufficient hardness before brickwork can be built thereon. The time required for the concrete to cure between its pouring and the subsequent erecting of the brick wall may be a week or more. Building construction would therefore come to a halt, delaying the completion of the construction process and increasing the cost involved.

[4] Pre-fabricated houses and house components are known, i.e. houses or house components that are manufactured off-site and then located or assembled on-site. In particular, pre-fabricated components may be used to supplement building construction. For example, by erecting a pre-fabricated wall it becomes possible to reduce the delay as a result of time-consuming brickwork being carried out. Nevertheless, the pre-fabricated wall is erected only once the concrete has acquired sufficient hardness. This has the result that even when using pre-fabricated components there may still be major delays in the construction process.

[5] Therefore, a method of constructing domestic housing which may reduce the delays experienced with certain traditional construction processes is highly desirable.

SUMMARY

[6] According to the present disclosure there are provided an apparatus and method as set forth in the appended claims. Other features of the invention will be apparent from the dependent claims, and the description filed.

[7] Accordingly there may be provided an exemplary building shell for a domestic house, the building shell comprising: a plurality of spaced-apart support bodies; a plurality of pre-made walls located on the support bodies, the pre-made walls bounding an interior space; a structural floor cast forming a monolithic structure, the structural floor cast comprising a central portion and outer portions extending from the central portion, each outer portion extending under and configured to carry a pre-made wall of the plurality of pre-made walls, and the central portion extending across the interior space and defining a floor.

[8] According to some examples, at least one pre-made wall comprises a reinforcement member projecting into the structural floor cast to structurally connect the at least one pre-made wall to the structural floor cast.

[9] According to some examples, the building shell comprises a cover of thermal insulation material on the pre-made walls and the structural floor cast to define a continuous insulating envelope.

[10] According to some examples, the support bodies are concrete blocks.

[11] According to some examples, the support bodies are pile caps.

[12] There may also be provided an exemplary method of building construction, the method comprising: locating a plurality of support bodies partially in the ground of a site for a domestic house so that the support bodies are spaced apart and an upper face of the support bodies is raised from the ground; locating a plurality of pre-made walls on the plurality of support bodies, each pre-made wall forming a gap between an underside of the pre-made wall and the ground, and the plurality of pre-made walls defining an interior space therebetween; providing concrete to form a structural floor cast extending across the interior space and into the gaps.

[13] According to some examples, locating the support bodies comprises locating the support bodies in a trench in the ground; and the gap is formed between the underside of the pre-made wall and a bottom of the trench.

[14] According to some examples, providing concrete comprises encasing a reinforcement member projecting from at least one of the plurality of pre-made walls to thereby structurally connect the at least one pre-made wall and the structural floor cast.

[15] According to some examples, locating a plurality of pre-made walls comprises locating first-storey pre-made walls on the support bodies and second-storey pre-made walls on the first-storey pre-made walls.

[16] According to some examples, the method comprises placing a roof on the plurality of pre-made walls before flooding the interior space with concrete.

[17] According to some examples, the method comprises locating a plurality of piles in the ground and providing the support bodies onto the tops of the piles, wherein the support bodies are provided as pile caps.

[18] According to some examples, the method comprises covering the pre-made walls and the structural floor cast with thermal insulation material to define a continuous insulating envelope.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[19] For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how example embodiments may be carried into effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which: [20] Fig. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of an exemplary building shell in a first configuration; and [21] Fig. 2 shows a partial cross-sectional view of the exemplary building shell in a second configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[22] The present disclosure relates to a building shell of a domestic building and a method of building construction.

[23] Fig. 1 shows a partial cross-section of a building shell 100 according to the present disclosure.

[24] The building shell 100 is located on a substrate 200, i.e. ground 200, of a construction site, for example for the construction of domestic housing. The building shell 100 defines the basic structure of a house, comprising structural features such as a floor, walls, and roof [25] The building shell 100 comprises a plurality of support bodies 110. The support bodies 110 are spaced apart from each other in the ground 200. Any suitable number of support bodies 110 may be provided. According to the present example, there are provided four support bodies 110. The support bodies 110 are located in suitable locations for at least temporarily supporting a wall structure placed thereon. According to the present example, the support bodies 110 are located to define the corners of a rectangle. That is to say, each of the support bodies is located in a corner of the building shell 100.

[26] The building shell 100 comprises a plurality of pre-made walls 120 (or 'pre-fabricated walls') located on the support bodies 110. An upper face 112 of the support body 110 is in abutment with a lower face 122 of the pre-made wall 120, such that the pre-made wall is supported, at least in part, by the support body 110.

[27] The pre-made walls 120 may comprise structural features found in domestic housing, such as an opening for a door or a window.

[28] The pre-made walls 120 arranged relative to one another to define an interior space 130 therebetween. That is to say, the plurality of pre-made walls 120 bounds a region, i.e. the interior space 130, along at least three directions. According to the present example, there are provided four pre-made walls 120 arranged to bound the interior space 130 along four directions. The interior space 130 is not necessarily bounded from above by, e.g., a roof.

[29] The building shell 100 comprises a structural floor cast 140. The structural floor cast 140 is a monolithic (i.e. unitary) structure of a suitable material, such as concrete.

[30] The structural floor cast 140 may comprise a central portion 142 (or 'main body') and a plurality of outer portions 144 (or 'outer bodies'). Each outer portion 144 extends under a pre-made wall 120 of the plurality of pre-made walls 120 and is configured to carry said pre-made wall 120. The central portion 142 extends across the interior space 130 and defines a floor 145. That is to say, the central portion 142 covers the ground enclosed by the plurality of pre-made walls 120.

[31] The pre-made wall 120 comprises a reinforcement member 124. The reinforcement member 124 projects into the structural floor cast 140 to structurally connect the pre-made wall 120 and the structural floor cast 140.

[32] The building shell 100 comprises a cover 150 of (thermally) insulating material in the interior space 130. The insulating material has a heat transfer coefficient which is lower than the heat transfer coefficient of the floor cast and/or the pre-made walls, to thereby insulate the interior space against the outside. Suitably, the cover 150 extends across the pre-made walls 120 and the structural floor cast 140 to define a continuous insulating envelope. The cover 150 (or 'insulating cover') comprises any suitable insulation material. According to the present example, the cover 150 comprises a plurality of individual insulation sheets fitted together.

[33] There is also provided an exemplary method of building construction.

[34] The method comprises forming a trench 220 in the ground 200. The trench 220 is prepared using any suitable means, such as digging machinery. The trench 220 comprises a trench bottom 222, which bounds the trench 220 from below. The trench 220 is bounded on a first side by a first wall 224 and, opposite thereto, on a second side by a second wall 226. According to the present example, the first wall 224 has a steep slope while the second wall 226 defines a gentle slope. According to other examples, the first wall 224 may be generally vertical, while the other wall may be at an angle thereto.

[35] The method comprises locating the plurality of support bodies 110 in the ground 200 of the construction site for domestic housing. The support bodies 110 are spaced apart on the site and arranged to so that the upper face 122 of the support bodies 110 is exposed. That is to say, the upper face 122 is above the ground 200, i.e. elevated from the ground 200. The support bodies 110 are partly located in the ground 200 so that an upper portion thereof extends from the ground 200. More particularly, according to the present example the support bodies 110 are located in the bottom of the trench 220 so that the upper face 122 of the support body 110 is elevated from the trench bottom 222.

[36] The method comprises locating a plurality of pre-made walls 120 on the plurality of support bodies 110. By locating a pre-made wall 120 on a support body 110, the pre-made wall 120 defines a gap 128 with respect to the ground 200. In particular, the gap 128 (or 'cavity') is formed between the underside 122 of the pre-made wall 120 and a structure located underneath, i.e. the trench bottom 222 according to the present example. The trench bottom 222 and the underside 122 may delimit the height of the gap 128, while a pair of adjacent support bodies 110 may delimit the length of the gap 128.

[37] According to the present example, the pre-made walls 120 comprise first-storey walls and second-storey walls 126. The first-and second-storey walls may be provided as a single unit or the second-storey walls 126 may be located on and suitably secured to the first-storey walls subsequently. A pre-made floor cassette 160 is added to provide a second-storey floor.

[38] The plurality of pre-made walls bounds the interior space 130. That is to say, a volume of space is defined which may be filled with a cementitious mixture/concrete.

[39] According to the present example, the method further comprises locating a roof 170 on the pre-made walls 120.

[40] The method comprises providing (or 'flooding') the interior space 130 with concrete to form a structural floor cast 140 extending across the interior space 130 and into the gaps 128 formed between the pre-made walls 120 and the ground 200. Thus the central portion 142, which is located in the interior space 130, and the outer portions 144, which are formed in the gaps 128, are formed.

[41] According to the present example, the interior space 130 is flooded so that that reinforcement members 124 provided in and projecting from the pre-made walls 120 into the interior space 130 are also flooded. The reinforcement members 124 therefore form a structural connection between the pre-made walls 120 and the structural floor cast 140.

[42] The method comprises adding a cover 150 of insulating material to the pre-made walls and the structural floor cast 140 to define a continuous insulating envelope.

[43] The support bodies 110 are configured to at least temporarily carry, and thus locate, the pre-made walls and any roof that may be carried thereon. The support element 200 may be made from any suitably load-bearing material, and may be provided in any suitable shape and size. According to the present example, the support element 200 is a concrete block.

[44] According to some examples, the support bodies 110 are pile caps provided on piles to provide structural support on poor ground, i.e. ground with limited load-bearing properties.

[45] The pre-made wall 120 may be any suitable pre-made (or 'pre-fabricated') wall as is available. For example, the pre-made wall may comprise a reinforced concrete core and a decorative outer skin. The outer skin may incorporate, for example, brickwork, flint, slate, or stone.

[46] The reinforcement members 124 of the pre-made walls 120 may be any suitable means for providing a structural connection between a wall 120 and the structural floor cast 140. For example, the reinforcement member 124 may be a tie bar extending between the concrete core of the pre-made wall 120 and the structural floor cast 140.

[47] The exemplary method of building construction provides for a method according to which a floor, i.e. the structural floor cast 140, is added to the building shell after the walls 120 and the roof 170 have been put in place. Accordingly, there is no interruption of the construction process as a result of the floor cast 140 curing before walls 120 can be placed or built thereon. This method results in the exemplary building shell 100.

[48] The construction work may be carried out by unskilled labour and no scaffold is needed, as opposed to certain traditional construction processes. This may result in major cost savings.

[49] Moreover, it may be possible to erect a domestic house for fit out ready within a day. Thus the timescale for building domestic housing may be greatly improved over certain traditional construction processes.

[50] The support bodies 110 are configured to elevate the pre-made walls 120 so that the structural floor cast resulting from flooding concrete into the interior space 130 extends underneath the walls 120, so that the structural floor cast supports the walls 120. The structural floor cast 140 is configured to bear the weight of the other components of the building shell 100 and, ultimately, of a complete building.

[51] Where the building site possesses poor bearing conditions, the structural floor cast may act as a raft supporting the building thereon. The exemplary method is applicable even for use in low ground bearing situations where piles are used to support the building, by providing a plurality of piles and providing the support bodies as pile caps.

[52] In summary, exemplary embodiments of a building shell and a method of building construction have been described. The described exemplary embodiments provide for an improved building shell and a method of building construction. Additionally, the described exemplary embodiments are convenient to manufacture and straightforward to use.

[53] The building shell may be manufactured industrially, for instance using the described exemplary method of building construction. An industrial application of the example embodiments will be clear from the discussion herein.

[54] Although preferred embodiment(s) of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A building shell for a domestic house, the building shell comprising: a plurality of spaced-apart support bodies; a plurality of pre-made walls located on the support bodies, the pre-made walls bounding an interior space; a structural floor cast forming a monolithic structure, the structural floor cast comprising a central portion and outer portions extending from the central portion, each outer portion extending under and configured to carry a pre-made wall of the plurality of pre-made walls, and the central portion extending across the interior space and defining a floor.
2. The building shell according to claim 1, at least one pre-made wall comprising a reinforcement member projecting into the structural floor cast to structurally connect the at least one pre-made wall to the structural floor cast.
3. The building shell according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a cover of thermal insulation material on the pre-made walls and the structural floor cast to define a continuous insulating envelope.
4. The building shell according to any previous claim, wherein the support bodies are concrete blocks.
5. The building shell according to any previous claim, wherein the support bodies are pile caps.
6. A method of building construction, the method comprising: locating a plurality of support bodies partially in the ground of a site for a domestic house so that the support bodies are spaced apart and an upper face of the support bodies is raised from the ground; locating a plurality of pre-made walls on the plurality of support bodies, each pre-made wall forming a gap between an underside of the pre-made wall and the ground, and the plurality of pre-made walls defining an interior space therebetween; providing concrete to form a structural floor cast extending across the interior space and into the gaps.
7. The method according to claim 6, wherein locating the support bodies comprises locating the support bodies in a trench in the ground; and the gap is formed between the underside of the pre-made wall and a bottom of the trench.
8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein providing concrete comprises encasing a reinforcement member projecting from at least one of the plurality of pre-made walls to thereby structurally connect the at least one pre-made wall and the structural floor cast.
9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein locating a plurality of pre-made walls comprises locating first-storey pre-made walls on the support bodies and second-storey pre-made walls on the first-storey pre-made walls.
10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, comprising placing a roof on the plurality of pre-made walls before flooding the interior space with concrete.
11. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 10, comprising locating a plurality of piles in the ground and providing the support bodies onto the tops of the piles, wherein the support bodies are provided as pile caps.
12. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 11, comprising covering the pre-made walls and the structural floor cast with thermal insulation material to define a continuous insulating envelope.