NZ541343A - Building element and wall - Google Patents

Abstract

A building element 10 for construction of a wall 30 which includes two or more vertically stacked courses of building elements 10. The building element 10 includes a nesting arrangement operable so that the upper end 14 nests and locates with a lower end 15 of another building element 10 in a stacked condition to assist to properly align the building elements vertically. The nesting arrangement includes at least one inclined surface 16, 17, 20, 21 at each of the upper and lower ends 14, 15, with an inclined surface of the upper end 14 being inclined at an angle complementary to the inclined surface of the lower end 15 so that in a stacked condition, the inclined surface 14 of a first building element nests against the inclined surface 15 of a second building element. The nesting arrangement further includes a projection 25 extending from one of the upper and lower ends 14, 15 and a cooperating surface 24 of the other of the upper and lower ends. The projection 25 and the cooperating surface 25 being arranged such that in a stacked condition, a projection of a first building element 10 cooperates with a cooperating surface of a second building element 10.

Description

*1343 Patent Form No. 5 NEW ZEALAND Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION TITLE: BUILDING ELEMENT AND WALL We Island Block & Paving Pty Ltd, an Australian company, of Main Road, Breadalbane, Tasmania, 7258, Australia, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: 4003q INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE CF N.Z. 2 0 JUL. 2005 RECEIVED 1A BUILDING ELEMENT AND WALL The present invention relates to a building element and to a wall formed from such a building element. The building element can be one which is known as a 5 block or a brick and which is formed of composite masonry for use in the construction of outdoor walls, including barrier walls. While the invention principally has been developed for this use, it will be appreciated that a building element according to the invention could be made from other materials and for the construction of other types of walls, partitions or fences. Thus, the invention 10 is not restricted to the use to which the following description applies, and the term "wall" is to be understood as including within its scope other possible constructions, such as partitions and fences.

It is a necessity of walls in general, that they be stable against collapse. Walls 15 made of unit-type building elements, such as bricks, blocks or stones, therefore employ various means to securely connect the building elements together. Mortar cements commonly are interposed between building elements, typically between layers or courses of such elements, while additionally or alternatively, the building elements may be configured so that they interlock with each other.

Moreover, the construction of a wall often involves substantial skill to ensure that the elements used to build the wall are properly aligned. Clay brick walls for example can require substantial skill to ensure that the front faces of the bricks accurately form a planar surface. Thus, the process of constructing such 25 a wall can be time consuming and expensive.

The present invention has been developed with the aim to provide building elements which reduce the skill level needed for properly laying the elements to construct a wall and which can be laid in a manner to construct a wall having 30 appropriate stability and strength.

According to the present invention there is provided a building element for construction of a wall which includes two or more vertically stacked courses of said building elements, said building element being of generally square or rectangular cross-section and having front and rear faces, a pair of side walls extending between said front and rear faces, and upper and lower ends extending between said front and rear faces and said side walls, said building 5 element including a nesting arrangement operable so that said upper end of said building element nests and locates with a lower end of another said element in a stacked condition to assist to properly align said building elements vertically and wherein said nesting arrangement includes at least one inclined surface at each of said upper and lower ends, with said inclined surface of said 10 upper end being inclined at an angle complementary to said inclined surface of said lower end so that in a stacked condition, said inclined surface of said upper end of a first said building element nests against said inclined surface of said lower end of a second said building element, said nesting arrangement further including a projection extending from one of said upper and lower ends and a 15 cooperating surface of the other of said upper and lower ends, said projection and said cooperating surface being arranged such that in a stacked condition, a projection of a first said building element cooperates with a cooperating surface of a second said building element.

The present invention also provides a wall including two or more vertically stacked courses of building elements, each building element being of generally square or rectangular cross-section and having front and rear faces, a pair of side walls extending between said front and rear faces, and upper and lower ends extending between said front and rear faces and said side walls, a nesting 25 arrangement operable so that an upper end of one building element nests and locates with the lower end of a vertically adjacent building element, said nesting arrangement including at least one inclined surface at each of said upper and lower ends, with said inclined surface of said upper end being inclined at an angle complementary to said inclined surface of said lower end such that said 30 inclined surface of said upper end of a first building element nests against said inclined surface of said lower end of a second building element, said nesting arrangement further including a projection extending from one of said upper and lower ends and a cooperating surface of the other of said upper and lower ends, 3 said projection and said cooperating surface being arranged such that a projection of a first building element cooperates with a cooperating surface of a second building element.

The arrangement of the invention is such that when a first building element is laid on top of a second building element, the inclined surfaces of the respective building elements will nest and in the event of planar misalignment of the elements from the plane of the wall being constructed, the inclined surfaces will guide, or can be used to guide, the elements toward the planar stacked 10 condition. Additionally in the stacked condition, the projection engages the cooperating surface to restrain the elements from movement to a misaligned position.

The reference above that the building element has a generally square or 15 rectangular cross-section, requires that this include within its scope, the inclined surfaces at each of the upper and lower ends. Moreover, that reference must also include provision for the nesting arrangement, which can include projections extending from one or more surfaces of the upper and/or lower ends. Moreover, the reference to upper and lower ends of the building element 20 is made with an in-use orientation of the element in mind. Thus, in a wall comprising two or more stacked courses of bricks, each element will have an upper and lower end.

The nesting arrangement can include a single inclined surface on one building 25 element, which is arranged for surface nesting engagement with a single inclined surface of another building element, and the arrangement is such as to guide the building elements to shift to a position of proper nesting location. In the preferred arrangement however, a pair of inclined surfaces are provided at each of the upper and lower ends of the building element and preferably at the 30 upper end, the inclined surfaces taper outwardly and away from the upper end. In this arrangement, the inclined surfaces preferably are formed on the upper and lower ends towards or adjacent the front and rear faces of the building element, although they can be formed away from those faces as required. In 4 this arrangement, each building element includes a pair of inclined surfaces at or adjacent the lower end thereof and these are positioned for matching alignment with the inclined surfaces of the upper end in the stacked condition. In this arrangement, the pairs of inclined surfaces act in a wedging manner so 5 that the lower end of a first building element is wedged into position relative to the upper end of a second building element. The wedging effect can be structural, and is preferred for properly positioning the building elements in planar alignment as they are stacked to form a wall.

Preferably each of the upper and lower ends of a building element includes a bearing surface which supports building elements vertically. Such a bearing surface can extend between the inclined surfaces of each end. Thus, the inclined surfaces may terminate at one or more bridging surfaces that bridges between the inclined surfaces and which provides bearing support for building 15 elements stacked above it, so that the inclined surfaces are not required to support major load, although they can provide some support and also they can stiffen the wall. In one arrangement, a bearing surface is provided in the form of a lip which extends lengthwise of the upper end of the building element at the bottom or internal extent of each of the inclined surfaces. The lip can have a 20 relatively shallow depth, while one or more bearing surfaces can bridge the gap between the respective lip sections. To reduce the weight and material of the building element, the building element can include one or more hollow sections between the front and rear faces and the side walls. The hollow sections preferably extend fully through the building element through the upper and 25 lower ends. If necessary, the hollow sections can be concrete filled and the building elements steel reinforced for strength and stiffness purposes. Thus, the blocks can be manufactured with hollow sections provided, that can either be left hollow, or filled as required.

In one arrangement the projection extends from the upper end of the building element for receipt within a hollow section of the lower end of another building element. This arrangement can of course be reversed, so that the projection extends from the lower end, for receipt within a hollow section formed in the upper end of another building element. The projection preferably is positioned at or adjacent the opposite side walls of the building element. The hollow section can be formed for weight reduction and material conservation, or it may be formed specifically to receive a projection or projections. The use of 5 projections of the above kind beneficially has a stiffening effect on the formed wall because the cooperation between the projection and the cooperating surface is such as to limit relative movement of stacked building elements.

It will be appreciated that a wall formed of building elements according to the 10 invention typically will require an upper building element to bridge the junction between two lower building elements. Thus, because in the stacked condition, opposite side walls of an upper building element are usually positioned to overlie generally central regions of a pair of horizontally adjacent lower building elements, a projection as above described can be arranged to be received 15 within a cavity formed generally centrally of a lower building element. The nesting arrangement need only locate the building element against pivoting movement, about the inclined surface nesting engagement, and is not for example required to prevent shifting movement lengthwise of the wall, or vertical movement away from the stacked condition. Shifting movement 20 lengthwise of the wall is prevented simply by each building element being in abutment with a horizontally adjacent building element, while the weight of the building elements prevents vertical lifting, although the building elements may also be secured together such as by adhesive or mortar cement.

The inclined surface or surfaces of the lower end may have a depth greater than the inclined surface or surfaces of the upper end, so that when an upper building element is laid in nesting engagement with a lower building element with the inclined surfaces formed at or adjacent the front and/or rear faces of the building elements, the junction between the upper and lower ends of the 30 adjacent building elements creates a horizontal Vee-groove between them. This produces an aesthetically pleasing wall face. Preferably it is the inclined surface of the lower end which has a greater depth than the inclined surface of 6 the upper end, and preferably one of the surfaces is about half the depth of the other.

Moreover, the edge regions of each side wall adjacent the front and/or rear 5 faces of the building element, can be inclined, rearwardly from each side wall, again, so that at the junction between the two horizontally adjacent building elements, a vertical Vee-groove is created.

Alternatively, one side wall of a building element can define a recess, while the 10 other side wall can be arranged to nest within the recess of a horizontally adjacent building element.

A building element according to the invention preferably is arranged so that a portion of each side wall can be removed, along with any intervening part of the 15 building element sufficient to accommodate a reinforcing bar which is laid along a course of building elements. In one embodiment, this can be achieved by casting or moulding each building element to include a pair of spaced apart slits or channels through the lengthwise thickness of each side wall, that extend for a portion of the depth of each side wall so that if necessary, that portion of the 20 side wall is weakened and can be removed, preferably such as by a hammer blow. In this embodiment, any webs or other structure intervening between the side walls, should also include means to allow removal thereof for accommodating a reinforcing bar. Typically reinforcement of this kind is required only in the lowest or bottom two layers of a wall, but, the existence of 25 slits of the kind described in the upper courses which do not receive a reinforcing bar does not detract from those building elements because the slits do not affect load bearing capacity and are not visible in a formed wall.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how it may be 30 performed, embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. 7 Figure 1 is a perspective view of a composite masonry block according to one embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 shows a plurality of the blocks 10 of Figure 1 in a partially erected wall.

Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view of a plurality of blocks stacked one above the other.

Figure 4 is a plan view of ends of a pair of blocks which are nested together.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of a moulding prior to splitting to form two separate blocks.

Figure 1 illustrates a building element in the form of a composite masonry block 15 10. The masonry block 10 includes opposite front and rear faces, with only the front face 11 being visible in Figure 1 and with the front and rear faces being generally parallel. Side walls extend between the front and rear faces, and in Figure 1, only the first of the side walls 12 is visible. The side walls also extend generally parallel to one another and generally perpendicular to the front face 20 11 and the rear face.

The block 10 is formed of a masonry composite, and typically is cast in a suitable mould which can include moulding in a continuous concrete block moulding machine. In order to save both weight and materials, the block 10 can 25 include one or more hollow sections 13, which extend through the block 10, preferably fully between the top 14 and the bottom 15, so as to be open through each of the top and bottom 14,15.

The top and bottom 14 and 15 of the block 10 are configured for nesting 30 engagement with identical blocks 10 laid vertically on top of each other. Thus, the bottom 15 of an identical block 10 is nestable within the top 14 of the block 10 illustrated. The block 10 includes two mechanisms for proper nesting location between vertically adjacent blocks. 8 The block 10 first includes a pair of mutually inclined surfaces 16 and 17 which incline upwardly and outwardly from bearing surfaces 18 of the top 14. As shown in Figure 1, the inclined surfaces 16 and 17 extend to an apex 19 defined between the inclined surfaces 16 and 17 and oppositely inclined 5 surfaces 20 and 21. The inclined surfaces 20 and 21 are provided in the embodiment illustrated, for aesthetic appearances as will be described later, and do not form part of the nesting arrangement of this embodiment.

The inclined surfaces 16 and 17 have an angle of inclination relative to the 10 bearing surfaces 18, complementary to the angle of inclination of inclined surfaces 22 and 23. Moreover, the depth D of the inclined surfaces 22 and 23 is approximately twice the depth d of the inclined surfaces 16 and 17. Again, for reasons that will be explained later, the difference in depth between D and d, is for aesthetic purposes.

Accordingly, it is the case that when two identical blocks 10 are laid one on top of the other, the inclined surfaces 22 and 23 will nest against the inclined surfaces 16 and 17. Advantageously, this arrangement directs the bottom 15 of one block to correctly align with the top 14 of an adjacent block. Thus, in a wall 20 formed of blocks 10, the front faces 11 of a plurality of vertically stacked blocks, can be aligned co-planar without requiring particularly highly skilled labour.

It will be appreciated that alignment of one block on top of the other, is achieved partly by nesting engagement between the respective inclined surfaces 16, 17 25 and 22 and 23. Also, the weight of an upper block bears against and is supported principally by bearing surfaces, including the bearing surfaces 18, on which the bottom 15 of the block 10 rests. However, adjacent courses of blocks would also typically be adhered together, by suitable adhesive or mortar, so that actual touching engagement between the inclined surfaces 16, 17, 22, 23 and 30 the bearing surfaces 18 and 15 does not occur. Thus, the alignment effect provided by the nesting engagement of one block over the other might not necessarily provide the absolute accuracy required. It is possible for example, that while the bottom 15 of one block 10 is located within the top 14 of an 9 immediately adjacent block 10, that the respective front faces 11 of the blocks may not be co-planar. In order to prevent this misalignment, the block 10 can include one or more locating projections 25 for receipt within suitable openings formed in the bottom 15 of another block 10. The opening can be an extension 5 of the hollow section 13 that opens into the bottom 15 of the block 10. Location of one block relative to another is then achieved by side wall engagement between the walls 26 of the locating projections 25 and the internal wall of the opening or cavity into which the locating projections extend. The relevant cavity for the block 10 shown in Figure 1, could be the intermediate hollow cavity 13 of 10 the three illustrated, given that blocks 10 usually are stacked with one block bridging the abutting connection between two adjacent blocks. The manner of stacking is shown in Figure 2, in which it can be seen that the block 100 bridges the junction between the immediately adjacent blocks 101 and 102.

Thus, with the projections 25 disposed within the hollow section 13, shifting movement of an upper block relative to a lower block to cause respective front faces 11 to shift out of alignment, is resisted. Upon initiation of such movement, the projections 25 will engage either of the opposed internal surfaces 24 of the hollow section 13, depending on which way the upper block is shifted.

The block 10 further includes inclined surfaces 27 and 28 which extend between the side wall 12 and the front face 11 and the rear face (not shown). A similar arrangement also exists at the opposite end of the block 10 between the other side wall and each of the front and rear faces. The arrangement provides 25 for nesting between facing side walls of horizontally adjacent blocks and also provides an aesthetically pleasing look.

With reference to Figure 2, a partially constructed wall 30 is illustrated, being constructed from a plurality of blocks which are substantially the same as that 30 illustrated in Figure 1. As discussed earlier, the blocks of one course are laid over the junction of the blocks of the course immediately below so that a central region of an upper block overlies the abutting side walls of two vertically lower blocks. The wall 30 of Figure 2, includes a pier 40 at one end thereof which is comprised of a plurality of pier blocks 41 stacked one on top of the other. The pier blocks 41 are connected together by suitable adhesive or mortar cement and a reinforcing bar 42 extends through the pier 40. It is intended, that the pier 40 is embedded in a suitable footing and the very bottom of the pier 40 may be 5 concreted in place.

The reinforcing bar 42 extends for the full height of the pier 40, and typically the cavity 43 which extends through the pier 40 and which accommodates the bar 42 is filled with concrete, so that the pier 40 becomes a reinforced structural 10 post, which can support one end of the wall 30.

It can be seen that the pier blocks 41 are formed from front and rear sections 44 spaced apart by perpendicular webs 45. The sections 44 and the webs 45 define the cavity 43, while the end extensions of the sections 44 beyond the 15 webs 45 define a recess 46 into which one end of the stacked blocks 50 can be received. That receipt can be snug, but with sufficient clearance between the facing surfaces of the block and the recess 46 for a suitable adhesive or mortar cement to be inserted therein. It will be appreciated that a pier 40 would be provided at each end of a wall 30, so that reinforced support was provided at 20 each end of that wall.

It will be further seen from Figure 2, that the bottom two block courses 110 and 120 have sections removed through the side walls 12 thereof and through the webs 52 which bridge between the front and rear faces of the block 25 intermediate the side walls 12, to accommodate the reinforcing bar 47. The reinforcing bar 47 can be of identical construction to the bar 42, although the length of the respective bars can be customised to suit the respective height and length of the wall 30 being formed. The section of the side walls 12 and the webs 52 which is removed in the blocks of the courses 110 and 120, can easily 30 be removed if the blocks include weakened areas to facilitate removal. Referring back to Figure 1, the weakened areas can be in the form of slits 48 formed in the block 10 when the block is cast or moulded, and advantageously, the inclusion of the slits 48 does not affect the stacking strength of the block 10, 11 but easily allows removal of the material between the slits, such as by a hammer blow or the like. Thus, personnel laying blocks to form a wall can easily remove the block material between the slits 48 for the number of blocks required to receive the reinforcing bars 47. As shown in Figure 2, only the first two courses 110 and 120 receive the reinforcing bar 47, so that the next vertically adjacent course does not require removal of the block material between the slits 48. As shown in Figure 2, by removal of the block material between the slits 48, a void 49 is created within which the reinforcing bar 42 can be laid.

The different depths D and d, between the inclined surfaces 16 and 17 and 22 and 23, is provided for aesthetic reasons only, to create the appearance in side view in Figure 3. As shown in Figure 3, nesting engagement between the inclined surfaces 17 and 23 occurs for only half the depth D of the surface 23 so 15 that the visual effect of the front wall surface of the wall 30, is to provide a Vee-groove effect between adjacent courses of blocks. This effect can additionally be created at the junction between adjacent blocks in each course, by the provision of the inclined surfaces 27 and 28. With reference to Figure 4, the inclined surfaces 27 and 28 are shown in nesting engagement with the inclined 20 surfaces 31 and 32 of an adjacent block. By this arrangement, the adjacent blocks can nest together, while a Vee-groove 51 is created between the inclined surfaces 27 and 28, and 33 and 34. Thus, Vee-grooves 50 and 51 (see Figure 2) can be created both horizontally and vertically across the front face of the wall 30.

The appearance of the front face of the wall 30 can further be improved, by providing a roughened effect to the front face 11 of each block 10, while such a roughened face and the Vee-grooves provide a sound deadening effect. Roughening that face can be created in any suitable manner, although in one 30 method, a pair of blocks 10 can be moulded together in a single mould cavity, and split at the front face 11 to form a pair of blocks 10 in which the face through which the blocks are split is the front face 11 of each block. With reference to Figure 5, a pair of blocks 10 of the kind illustrated in Figure 1, are 12 shown in cross-section joined together at the junction 55. The junction is shown for illustrative purposes only, however in practice, the two blocks 10 form a single composite block 60 and the junction 55 extends between the bottom apexes of the upper and lower pairs of inclined surfaces 21 and 23. Those 5 apexes form a point of concentration at which a load may be applied and if properly applied, the composite block 60 will split at the junction 55, forming front faces 11 of two separate blocks 10. Advantageously, the splitting function can be achieved in a relatively continuous manner, by conveying successive composite blocks 60 over a lengthwise sharp edge, which enters either of the 10 Vee-grooves formed by the inclined surfaces 21 or 23, and a load is applied to the opposite face of the composite block 60 so that the block 60 parts above the sharp edge. Once parted, the separate blocks 10 continue on along the conveyor for further treatment, packaging or storage.

It will be appreciated that a building element according to the invention, and a wall formed of such building elements can be easily and properly laid by unskilled labour. Moreover, bottom courses of such a wall can be properly bedded, by the application of reinforcing bars after side wall sections and any intermediate webs of the building element have been easily removed. The 20 footing typically will comprise fine crushed rock, and any further sand or gravel mediums that desirably might be required, and preferably about 60% of the bottom course of a wall is embedded below the ground. Tbe footing is provided to support the blocks against movement, while the pier arrangement applied at each end of a wall, provides the major structural strength.

The invention described herein is susceptible to variations, modifications and/or additions other than those specifically described and it is to be understood that the invention includes all such variations, modifications and/or additions which fall within the spirit and scope of the above description.

Claims (29)

% 13 THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A building element for construction of a wall which includes two or more vertically stacked courses of building elements, said building element being of 5 generally square or rectangular cross-section and having front and rear faces, a pair of side walls extending between said front and rear faces, and upper and lower ends extending between said front and rear faces and said side walls, said building element including a nesting arrangement operable so that said upper end of said building element nests and locates with a lower end of 10 another said building element in a stacked condition to assist to properly align said building elements vertically and wherein said nesting arrangement includes at least one inclined surface at each of said upper and lower ends, with said inclined surface of said upper end being inclined at an angle complementary to said inclined surface of said lower end so that in a stacked condition, said 15 inclined surface of said upper end of a first said building element nests against said inclined surface of said lower end of a second said building element, said nesting arrangement further including a projection extending from one of said upper and lower ends and a cooperating surface of the other of said upper and lower ends, said projection and said cooperating surface being arranged such 20 that in a stacked condition, a projection of a first said building element cooperates with a cooperating surface of a second said building element.

2. A building element according to claim 1, said nesting arrangement including a pair of said inclined surfaces at each of said upper and lower ends. 25

3. A building element according to claim 2, wherein respective inclined surfaces of said pairs of inclined surfaces are provided respectively towards or adjacent said front and rear surfaces of said building element. 30

4. A building element according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said upper and lower ends includes a bearing surface between said inclined surfaces of each said pair of inclined surfaces which is arranged for bearing engagement in a 14 10 stacked condition of said building elements with a complementary bearing surface of a vertically adjacent building element.

5. A building element according to claim 4, wherein a said bearing surface extends inwardly from each inclined surface of each said pair of inclined surfaces.

6. A building element according to claim 5, wherein each said bearing surface extends substantially fully between said pair of side walls.

7. A building element according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein a said bearing surface bridges between said inclined surfaces of a said pair of inclined surfaces. 15

8. A building element according to claim 1, wherein each of said upper and lower ends includes a bearing surface which is arranged for bearing engagement in a stacked condition of said building elements with a complementary bearing surface of a vertically adjacent building element. 20

9. A building element according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein said building element includes a hollow section between said front and rear faces.

10. A building element according to claim 9, wherein said hollow section is provided between said front and rear faces and said side walls. 25

11. A building element according to claim 9 or 10, wherein said hollow section extends through each of said upper and lower ends. 30

12. A building element according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein said cooperating surface is a surface of an opening into which said projection extends. 15

13. A building element according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein said nesting arrangement includes a pair of projections and a pair of cooperating surfaces, each of which is arranged so that in a stacked condition, said pair of projections of a first said building element cooperate respectively with 5 cooperating surfaces of a pair of horizontally adjacent building elements.

14. A building element according to claim 13, wherein said pair of projections are respectively located at or adjacent said side walls of said building element. 10 15. A building element according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein said inclined surfaces of said upper and lower ends are formed at or adjacent said front face of said building element, and wherein the depth of said inclined surface of said upper end, measured in the direction of the general plane of said front face, is less than the depth of said inclined surface of said lower end.

15

16. A building element according to claim 15, wherein said depth of said inclined surface of said upper end is about half said depth of said inclined surface of said lower end. 20

17. A building element according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein said side walls of said building element are arranged so that side walls of horizontally adjacent building elements nest together.

18. A building element according to claim 17, wherein one side wall of said 25 building element defines a recess and the other side wall is configured to nest within a complementary recess of a side wall of a horizontally adjacent building element.

19. A building element according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein said 30 side walls include a section of weakness to enable a portion thereof to be removed. 16

20. A building element according to claim 19, wherein said section of weakness is defined by a pair of spaced apart slots formed in each side wall, said portion of said side wall which can be removed being that portion which is between said slots.

21. A building element according to claim 20, wherein said slots extend from said upper end and extend toward said lower end.

22. A wall formed substantially of building elements according to any one of 10 claims 1 to 21.

23. A wall including two or more vertically stacked courses of building elements, each building element being of generally square or rectangular cross-section and having front and rear faces, a pair of side walls extending between 15 said front and rear faces, and upper and lower ends extending between said front and rear faces and said side walls, a nesting arrangement operable so that an upper end of one building element nests and locates with the lower end of a vertically adjacent building element, said nesting arrangement including at least one inclined surface at each of said upper and lower ends, with said inclined 20 surface of said upper end being inclined at an angle complementary to said inclined surface of said lower end such that said inclined surface of said upper end of a first building element nests with said inclined surface of said lower end of a second building element, said nesting arrangement further including a projection extending from one of said upper and lower ends and a cooperating 25 surface of the other of said upper and lower ends, said projection and said cooperating surface being arranged such that a projection of a first building element cooperates with a cooperating surface of a second building element.

24. A wall according to claim 23, wherein at least the lowermost course of 30 building elements includes a reinforcing bar extending through said course and being cemented into said course. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF NZ 3 0 AUG 2005 RECEIVED 17

25. A wall according to claim 24, wherein each building element of said lowermost course of building elements includes a hollow section between said front and rear faces and said side walls, and a portion removed through each of said side walls, said reinforcing bar extending through said hollow section and 5 the space created by said removed portions and said cement filling said hollow portions to cover said reinforcing bar.

26. A wall according to any one of claims 23 to 25, said wall extending to a vertical support which supports said wall against movement laterally to the 10 general plane of the wall, said support defining a recess which accepts a vertical edge of the wall.

27. A wall according to claim 26, said support extending to generally the height of said wall. 15

28. A wall according to claim 26 or 27, said support being vertically hollow and a reinforcing bar extending through said hollow and being cemented therein. 20

29. A wall according to any one of claims 26 to 28, said support being constructed from a plurality of vertically stackable support elements. DATED: 19 July, 2005 25 PHILLIPS ORMONDE & FITZPATRICK Attorneys for: ISLAND BLOCK & PAVING PTY LTD IWLUfci lu/lL PROPERTYofpEF N.Z 2 0 JUL 2005 H fcr C S V f: r-j