IE84038B1 - Construction industry pods - Google Patents
Construction industry pods Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- IE84038B1 IE84038B1 IE2004/0711A IE20040711A IE84038B1 IE 84038 B1 IE84038 B1 IE 84038B1 IE 2004/0711 A IE2004/0711 A IE 2004/0711A IE 20040711 A IE20040711 A IE 20040711A IE 84038 B1 IE84038 B1 IE 84038B1
- Authority
- IE
- Ireland
- Prior art keywords
- pod
- construction industry
- plate
- floor
- members
- Prior art date
Links
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 title claims description 33
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 9
- 238000003466 welding Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 6
- 239000000853 adhesive Substances 0.000 claims description 10
- 230000001070 adhesive Effects 0.000 claims description 10
- 239000011440 grout Substances 0.000 claims description 8
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 claims description 8
- 230000002093 peripheral Effects 0.000 claims description 8
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 claims description 6
- 239000006260 foam Substances 0.000 claims description 5
- 239000011324 bead Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 claims description 4
- 229910001209 Low-carbon steel Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 3
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 claims description 3
- 229910000831 Steel Inorganic materials 0.000 abstract description 7
- 239000010959 steel Substances 0.000 abstract description 7
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 abstract 1
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 abstract 1
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 238000009428 plumbing Methods 0.000 description 2
- 210000001736 Capillaries Anatomy 0.000 description 1
- 239000004593 Epoxy Substances 0.000 description 1
- 210000001503 Joints Anatomy 0.000 description 1
- 229920000126 Latex Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 210000002268 Wool Anatomy 0.000 description 1
- 230000000996 additive Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000654 additive Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000004568 cement Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005336 cracking Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000005611 electricity Effects 0.000 description 1
- 125000003700 epoxy group Chemical group 0.000 description 1
- 238000011065 in-situ storage Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000009434 installation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000009413 insulation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000004816 latex Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000000149 penetrating Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000011505 plaster Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000011120 plywood Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005086 pumping Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000009416 shuttering Methods 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E04—BUILDING
- E04B—GENERAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONS; WALLS, e.g. PARTITIONS; ROOFS; FLOORS; CEILINGS; INSULATION OR OTHER PROTECTION OF BUILDINGS
- E04B1/00—Constructions in general; Structures which are not restricted either to walls, e.g. partitions, or floors or ceilings or roofs
- E04B1/348—Structures composed of units comprising at least considerable parts of two sides of a room, e.g. box-like or cell-like units closed or in skeleton form
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E04—BUILDING
- E04B—GENERAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONS; WALLS, e.g. PARTITIONS; ROOFS; FLOORS; CEILINGS; INSULATION OR OTHER PROTECTION OF BUILDINGS
- E04B1/00—Constructions in general; Structures which are not restricted either to walls, e.g. partitions, or floors or ceilings or roofs
- E04B1/348—Structures composed of units comprising at least considerable parts of two sides of a room, e.g. box-like or cell-like units closed or in skeleton form
- E04B1/34869—Elements for special technical purposes, e.g. with a sanitary equipment
Abstract
ABSTRACT A pod comprises a box—section steel frame (1) having horizontal structural members (4, 11). A floor is provided by welding a 6mm steel plate (10) to the horizontal structural members (4, 11). The plate (10) has a checkered pattern of 2mm ridges on its lower surface. A combination of inherent stiffness of the plate material, the ridges (50) and welding to both edge (4) and internal (1 l) structural members achieves sufficient stiffness of the floor to allow it to be tiled off-site during manufacture because the floor is thin, there is no need for the builder to provide a recess in the concrete on—site.
Description
“Construction Industry Pods” INTRODUCTION Field of the invention The invention relates to construction industry pods which are self—contained rooms manufactured off—site, lifted into a building, and connected up to building services such as electricity, water, and gas supplies.
Prior Art Discussion Pods have been used mainly for bathrooms, however, they are increasingly being used for other rooms such as kitchens and utility rooms.
The most common form of pod comprises a structural floor of plywood, cement board, and tiles on structural floor beams for example. This arrangement provides high strength and rigidity. This allows the manufacturer to completely furnish the pod with all contents such as basins and tiles at the off-site manufacturing plant. The builder simply inserts the pod in position, hooks up building services, and does not need to open it until the building is complete. At this stage there is little risk of damage to items such as tiles or mirrors. Because the builder only needs to hook up the services to the outside of the pod, on-site labour and management is dramatically reduced.
However, to ensure that the pod floor surface level is the same as that of the adjoining corridor or room it has been necessary to use shuttering when pouring the floor slab to provide a recess for the pod. This can be time-consuming and can lead to difficulties arising from the fact that the exact position of the pod must be detennined at an early stage in a construction project. Another problem is that rainwater often accumulates in the recesses, giving rise to the task of pumping the water out.
These problems have existed for many years, and some architects and builders regard these disadvantages as outweighing the benefits ofusing pods.
The approach to addressing this problem has been to provide a floorless pod, in which the units are secured to vertical walls of the pod’s frame. However, this means that the pod is not a complete module and work such as tiling must be done on-site after installation. This also gives rise to the possibility of damage to fittings such as bathroom sinks as access must be allowed within the pod during construction. Thus, to a large extent this approach defeats the purposes of using pods.
The invention addresses these problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, there is provided a construction industry pod comprising a frame, floor, walls, ceiling, and installed fittings, and connectors for connection to building services, wherein the floor comprises a thin plate for ground contact secured to the underside of the frame, and wherein the frame comprises horizontal structural members comprising peripheral members at edges of the floor and internal members.
In one embodiment, the floor comprises a metal plate secured to the frame.
In another embodiment, the plate is of mild steel.
In a further embodiment, the plate has a thickness in the range of 2mm to 15mm.
In one embodiment, the plate has a thickness of approximately 6mm.
In one embodiment, the internal members are cantilevered to the peripheral members.
In another embodiment, the internal members are welded to the peripheral members.
In a further embodiment, the floor plate is welded to the peripheral and internal structural members.
In one embodiment, the structural members are of box-section configuration.
In another embodiment, the internal members are hidden under units of the pod such as a bath, a shower tray, or a sink unit.
In a further embodiment, the floor further comprises a floor covering over the plate.
In one embodiment, the floor covering comprises tiles secured by adhesive to the plate and separated by grout.
In another embodiment, the adhesive has flexibility.
In a further embodiment, the grout has flexibility.
In one embodiment, the underside surface of the plate is exposed, and comprises protruding formations.
In another embodiment, the formations are ridges In a further embodiment, the ridges are in a checkered pattern.
In one embodiment, the ridges have a depth of approximately a third of the total depth of the plate including the ridges.
In another embodiment, the plate has a total depth of 6mm, of which the ridges have a depth of approximately 2mm.
In another aspect, the invention provides a method of manufacturing a construction industry pod as defined above, the method comprising the steps of fabricating the frame, providing a metal plate, heating the metal plate, and welding the metal plate to the frame to provide the floor plate.
In one embodiment, the plate is heated by a burner.
In another embodiment, the method comprises the further steps of tiling the floor plate with combed application of adhesive in beads of 4mm to 8mm separated by gaps of 8mm to 12mm.
In a further embodiment, the plate comprises a plurality of small plates stitch welded together.
In a further aspect, the invention provides a method of installing a pod as defined above, comprising the step of applying a curable liquid between the pod and the ground so that the liquid fills gaps between the plate and the ground and cures to solidify.
In one embodiment, the liquid is expanding foam.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Brief Description of the Drawings 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. I is a perspective view of a partially-completed pod of the invention; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a floor of a pod; Fig. 3 is an expanded cross-sectional View of part of the pod; and Figs. 4 to 6 inclusive are diagrams illustrating stages of manufacturing the pod.
Referring to Fig. 1 a bathroom pod is manufactured by fabricating a steel frame 1.
The frame 1 comprises box—section structural members including uprights 2, ceiling- level joists 3, horizontal edge members 4 extending around the floor boundary, and internal horizontal members 1 l cantilevered to the edge members 4.
The various structural members form a frame defining a doorway, walls, ceiling and an external space 15 for connection to building plumbing and electrical services.
A floor 10 of thin steel plate is welded to the edge and internal floor-level structural members 4 and 11.
After fabrication of the frame, the floor plate 10 is welded to the members 4 and 11, and the walls and ceiling are completed using conventional construction methods such as use of plaster board and foam or wool insulation. Any units or fittings which can be wall mounted are installed, either before or after tiling according to the architect’s specification. All services are terminated in the space 15 for “hooking up” to the building’s services on-site.
Floor-mounted items such as a shower tray or bath are mounted on the internal floor sub-frame formed by the members 11. The floor is completed by tiling the plate 10, or applying a different floor covering.
Referring to Figs. 2 and 3 a floor 30 for a pod is shown. The floor 30 comprises a steel plate 31 and tiles 32 placed on adhesive 33 and separated by grout 34.
The floor 30 also comprises edge members 37 and a floor-level sub—frame 39 cantilevered from the left hand edge member 37 as viewed in Fig. 2. A shower tray 40 is mounted on the sub-frame 39, the gaps between and above the members of the frame 39 allowing space for plumbing fittings. Fig. 2 also shows an upright 38 extending from the sub—frame 39.
The part of the floor 30 which is tiled is shown in more detail in Fig. 3. The steel plate 31 is of mild steel of 4mm thickness and having a checkered pattern of ridges 50 of 2mm depth on its lower surface. The adhesive 33 is an elastic two-part epoxy applied by combing to provide beads 6mm wide separated by 10mm gaps. These dimensions are more generally in the range of: bead width, 4mm to 8mm, and gap, 8mm to 12mm.
The grout is also flexible, and this may be achieved for example by use of a latex additive.
Because the floor 30 is very thin, there is no need to provide a recess in the ground for the pod to reside in. However the floor is sufficiently strong to allow the floor internal covering to be completed so that the pod can be sealed until construction is complete.
Flexing of the floor during transport is minimised by virtue of the strength provided by the sub-frame 39 cantilevered to the edge frame members 37. Stiffness is also achieved by virtue of the ridges 50 on the underside of the plate 31. The pattern of 2mm deep ridges adds considerably to the plate’s stiffness. Furthermore, any small extent of flexing which does occur is unlikely to result in tiles popping up or cracking due to the flexible nature of the adhesive and grout.
Another advantage which stems from the ridges 50 is that when the pod is in—situ, the problem of water being drawn by capillary action into a very small gap between a flat plate surface and concrete ground is avoided. Furthermore, the builder can apply expanding foam underneath the pod. The foam expands out and fills gaps between the ridges, thus achieving uniform contact with the ground and avoiding hollow sounds when a person walks in the pod in use.
It will thus be appreciated that the invention achieves a complete room which can be sealed off-site and placed on a flat concrete base. This is of enormous benefit to the builder. Also, the risk of excessive flexure of the floor is avoided by the strength of the floor plate itself and support from the tloor—level sub—frame. Risk of damage from any flexing which does occur is minimised because of the adhesive and grout used.
The pattern on the underside of the floor plate provides not only rigidity, but also for excellent uniformity in ground contact, and avoidance of moisture penetrating under the floor.
Referring to Figs. 4 to 6 the manner in which the floor is manufactured is now described. Steel plates 60 and 60 of the type described above are butted together and stitch welded to form a stitch weld joint 62, so that the joint has high strength both at the top and bottom. The joined plates 60 and 61 are then gently and uniformly heated to a temperature in excess of 50°C by a burner 63 to pre—stress them. While they are still heated, the plates 60 and 61 are welded to the underside of the structural frame, using weld joints such as the joint 71 to the structural members 70. The joined plates 60 and 61 then contract slightly, and so buckling of the floor after welding to the frame is avoided. This is another feature to ensure that the floor remains flat. Of course, there is no need to weld plates together if an available plate is large enough to cover the full floor area. In this case, the above steps of heating before welding apply equally.
The invention is not limited to the embodiments described but may be varied in construction and detail. For example, while the plate has a thickness of 6mm, this may be up to 15mm, depending on the application.
Claims (1)
1. Claims A construction industry pod comprising a frame, floor, walls, ceiling, and installed fittings, and connectors for connection to building services, wherein the floor comprises a thin plate for ground contact secured to the underside of the frame, and wherein the frame comprises horizontal structural members comprising peripheral members at edges of the floor and internal members. A construction industry pod as claimed in claim 1, wherein the floor comprises a metal plate secured to the frame. A construction industry pod as claimed in claim 2, wherein the plate is of mild steel. A construction industry pod as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the plate has a thickness in the range of 2m to 15mm. A construction industry pod as claimed in claim 4, wherein the plate has a thickness of approximately 6mm. A construction industry pod as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the internal members are cantilevered to the peripheral members. A construction industry pod as claimed in claim 6, wherein the internal members are welded to the peripheral members. A construction industry pod as claimed in claim 7, wherein the floor plate is welded to the peripheral and internal structural members. A construction industry pod as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the structural members are of box—section configuration. A construction industry pod as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the internal members are hidden under units of the pod such as a bath, a shower tray, or a sink unit. A construction industry pod as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the floor further comprises a floor covering over the plate. A construction industry pod as claimed in claim 11, wherein the floor covering comprises tiles secured by adhesive to the plate and separated by grout. A construction industry pod as claimed in claim 12, wherein the adhesive has flexibility. A construction industry pod as claimed in claims 12 or 13, wherein the grout has flexibility. A construction industry pod as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the underside surface of the plate is exposed, and comprises protruding formations. A construction industry pod as claimed in claim 15, wherein the formations are ridges A construction industry pod as claimed in claim 16, wherein the ridges are in a checkered pattern. A construction industry pod as claimed in any of claims 16 or 17, wherein the ridges have a depth of approximately a third of the total depth of the plate including the ridges. A construction industry pod as claimed in claim 18, wherein the plate has a total depth of 6mm, of which the ridges have a depth of 2mm. A method of manufacturing a construction industry pod as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising the steps of fabricating the frame, providing a metal plate, heating the metal plate, and welding the metal plate to the frame to provide the floor plate. A method of manufacturing a construction industry pod as claimed in claim 20, wherein the plate is heated by a burner. A method of manufacturing a construction industry pod as claimed in claims 20 or 21, comprising the further steps of tiling the floor plate with combed application of adhesive in beads of 4mm to 8mm separated by gaps of 8mm to 12mm. A method of manufacturing a construction industry pod as claimed in any of claims 20 to 22, wherein the plate comprises a plurality of small plates stitch welded together. A method of installing a pod as claimed in any of claims 15 to 19, comprising the step of applying a curable liquid between the pod and the ground so that the liquid fills gaps between the plate and the ground and cures to solidify. A method of installing a pod as claimed in claim 24, wherein the liquid is expanding foam.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
IE2004/0711A IE84038B1 (en) | 2004-10-22 | Construction industry pods |
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
IEIRELAND24/10/20032003/0800 | |||
IE20030800 | 2003-10-24 | ||
IE2004/0711A IE84038B1 (en) | 2004-10-22 | Construction industry pods |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
IE20040711A1 IE20040711A1 (en) | 2005-06-15 |
IE84038B1 true IE84038B1 (en) | 2005-11-02 |
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