US2063309A - Building wall construction unit - Google Patents

Description

INVENTQR :fiusseZZ C. 631266 3 Sheets-Sheet l R. c. GRAEF BU ILDING WALL CONSTRUCTION UNIT Filed June 11,

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ATTORNEY Dec. 8, 1936. R. c. GRAEF BUILDING WALL CONSTRUCTION UNIT Filed June 1]., 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNVENTOR ZzusseZZ C mefi ATTORNEY 1936- R. c. GRAEF BUILDING WALL CONSTRUCTION UNIT Filed June 11, 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 iZyIZ a a .BIILLIll-Ell INVENTCR TTORNEY I BY. g

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Patented Dec. 8; 1936 I n V v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Russell 0. Gr'aef, Westfleltl, N. I. Application June 11, 1935, Serial No. 25,987

Claim!- (CL 72-45) This invention relates, generally, to building Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showconstruction, and theinvention has reference ing a building employing one arrangement of the more particularly to a novel building wall connovel wall construction of this invention. struction unit for use in the construction of resi- Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional s dences, industrial buildings, and other structures. view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking 5 Heretofore, in the construction of buildings'it in the direction of the arrows.

has been generally necessary to employ co'nsider- Fig. 3 is aperspective view of one of the wall able labor in placing first the outside wall strucconstruction units employed in Figs. 1 and 2. ture in place, whether this be masonry or wood, Fig. 41s an enlarged fragmentary sectional view In and then installing or adding the interior wall taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 1 looking in the diconstruction. This excessive labor cost greatly rectionof the arrows.

increases the investment in the building or other Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an interior parstructure. tition wall used in Fig. 1. 4 The principal object of' the present invention Fig. 6 is a diagrammatical sectional view illus- II is to provide a novel building wall construction trating the manner of casting the outside wall unit that is adapted to be produced at afactory layer. and then shipped to the place of use, the said Fig. '7 is-a view similar to Fig. 6 and shows the construction unit not only providing an outside manner of attaching the intermediate insulating wall for the building or other structure in which wall portion or layer. it is to be used, but also providing the inner wall Fig. 8 is a view 'similarto 7, but illustrates of such building, the said building unit having the manner--01 forming the inside wall slab or insulating means incorporated therein for prelayer. venting the transmission of moisture, noise or Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 and illustrates heat through the construction unit. one manner of removing the casting forms.

5 Another object of the present invention lies in Fig. 10 is a sectional view of the completed conthe provision of a novel construction unit comstruction unit.

prising an intermediate layer of moisture, heat Fig. 11 is a vertical sectional view of abuilding and sound insulating material, and exterior layers employing a slightly modified construction of of reenforced cementitious material, together building wall unit, the said view also illustrating with fastening means interconnecting the reenthe construction of floors employing the features forcement of said exterior layers, said fastening of the present invention. means extending through said intermediate layer. Fig. 12 is an elevational view of one of the wall and servingto retain said several layers in a units usedin Fig. 11. I

. unitary whole. Fig. 13 is a sectional view taken along the line Still another object of the present invention is l3-l3 of Fig. 12 looking in the direction of the 35 to provide a novel wall construction unit that arrows. v is adapted to extend vertically the full height Fig. 14 is a fragmentary perspective view illusof a single floor so that when the said unit is set trating the manner of placing the top plate or in place in use it is not necessary to add addilintel upon the assembled wall units, and

4o .tional superimposedv units to complete the wall Fig. 15 is a view of the wire fastene u in 40 of such floor, the said construction unit thereby fabricating the wall of Fig. 11. requiring the use of but little labor in its installa- Similar characters of reference are employed tion, which labor may be of the unskilled type. in said views, to indicate corresponding parts. Still another .object of the present invention Referring now to Figs. 1 to 10 of the said drawlies in the provision of the wall construction unit ings, the reference numeral I designates a build- 45 of the above character that is of simple,- sturdy ing employing the novel wall construction units and strong construction and which is easily manof this invention. As especially illustrated in uiactured and conveniently and expeditiously Fig. 3, the outside wall construction unit, desighandled in use. I nated as a whole by the reference numeral 2,

Other objects of this invention, not at this comprises an outside slab for wall layer 3 that is 50 time more particularly enumerated, will be clearly adapted to extend the full height of a floor of. understood from the following detailed descrip-' the building, i. e. the full height of a room.

tion of the same. inwardly of the slab 3 there is provided an inter- The invention is clearly illustrated in the acmediate slab or layer 4 of insulating material,

5 eompanying drawings, in which; such ascork, fibre board, rock fibres, etc. ln-

vided an inner wall layer or slab which constiwet cement or a cement sand mixture.

tutes the inner wall of the building, the said inner wall layer being illustrated in Fig. 3 as formed with an integral coving 6 adjoining its top and a base-board molding I adjacent its bottom.

The manner oi! forming the wall construction unit 2 is especially illustrated in Figs. 6 to 9 and comprises the use of a suitable mold, such as the mold illustrated in dash lines in these figures. This mold is shown as having a bottom plate 8, endplates and similar opposite side plates 9 provided with intermediate projections Ill. To produce the construction unit, the outside wall finish is first formed by placing in the bottom of the mold a thin layer II of thedesired finishing material which may be crushed rock, flaked limestone, or any other suitable buildingmaterial either mixed or unmixed with The upper surface of the mold bottom plate 8 is shown as provided with mutually spaced, longitudinally extending molding strips I 2 that serve to form Ornamental flutes or grooves in the finished outside wall surface of the unit. It will be apparent that the molding strips l2 may have any desired shape or size depending upon the wishes of the particular user, or these molding strips may be omitted altogether, if a plain, flat exterior wall surface is desired.

Upon the thin layer ll there is poured a'backing I 3 of a concrete mixture, preferably employ- ,ing gravel or cinders as the large aggregate.

The backing I3 is adapted to extend in the mold as high as the projections Ill, and these pro-- jections may be removable, if desired, to enable the ready pouring of the backing IS. The thin finishing layer H together with its backing ll constitute the outside slab 3 of the wall unit. Immediately after pouring the backing I3, and

before the same has had a chance to harden, the intermediate insulating layer 4 is overlaid upon the backing i3. This intermediate layer 4 carries a reenforcing rod l4 that is supported from the layer 4 by means or wire staples II which are driven through the intermediate layer 4, thebights it of these staples l4 serving to support the reenforcing rod l4. As the intermediate layer 4 is placed upon the soft backing II, the bights 18 of the staples l5 and the reentorcing rods l4 settle or sink down into the body of the backing l3, as shown in Fig. 6, thereby serving to reenforce this concrete backing IS. The intermediate layer 4 is of such width as to fill the space between the projections III of the mold,

the upper surface of the layer 4 being flush with v the upper surfaces of projections l0.

Transverse reenforcing bars or rods I l are now laid so as to extend crosswise of the mold, as shown in Fig. 8, and the free ends of the wire staples I 5 are twisted, as shown at l8, around these rods I1, thereby firmly tying the rods I! to the rod-i4. The inside wall or slab 5 is now cast or poured into the mold, the said slab being formed either 01' concrete, plaster or a suitable cement mixture.

If a coving, such as the coving 6 of Fig. 3 is.

to be provided on the inner surface of slab 5,

this coving is cast simultaneously with the slab,

and the same is true of the base-board molding 1. After the-inside and outside slabs! and 3 harden, the mold side plates 9 may be removed,

as shown in Fig. 9, thereby producing the completed wall'construction unit I, as shown n H8- ing complete rooms, as shown in Fig. l.

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10. The spaces or grooves IO formed in the edges of the now integral construction unit, provide rabbets for receiving blocks 20 (see especially Fig. 2) of insulating material such as cork, which blocks are adapted to project into the 5 spaces IQ of adjoining construction units.

' In use, the foundation wall II of the building I may be provided with a depression or groove 22 (see Fig. 1) in its upper surface for confomiably receiving the lower ends of the construction units 2. In assembling these units to form the buildingwall, it is merely necessary to set the lower ends of the same into the depression or groove 22, the outside wall slab 3 facing the exterior of the building. The units 2 are preferably of such width as to enablethe same to be carried by a couple of men and manually set into place on the foundation wall 2|. After setting one of these units in place a block 20 of insulating material, such as' cork ofthe same width as the intermediate insulating layer 4, is inserted into the rabbet or groove 19 of the unit, whereupon another building unit is placed in abutting relation to the first laid building unit, the block 20 also projecting into the rabbet I 9 of such building unit, thereby forming a continuous side wall, as shown in Fig. 2.

If desired, the vertical cracks or lines of juncture of adjoining building units 2 can be pointed up with cement or other binder such as a suitable mastic. The building units used at the comers are especially shown in Fig. 2, the said units comprising an outside wall slab 3' of angle shape in cross section, and an inside wall 5' also of angle shape. The inside and outside wall slab re'eniorcements are interconnected by the staples l5, as previously described. The intermediate insulating slab or layer 4 of the corner building unitis shown as made up of two pieces of insulating material such as cork arranged at right angles. The vertical lines of juncture of the inside slabs} may also be pointed up with a plaster, cement or a mastic, if desired.

The reenforcing rods l4 of the exterior slabs 3 preferably project somewhat above the tops of the slabs, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, to aiiord means for securing the building plates 24 upon the tops 01' the units 2, as especially shown in Fig. 1, the said upper projecting ends of rods H extending through apertures in plates 24 and being bent over or headed at l4 (see Fig. 1), thereby securing the plates 24 to the units 2.

An interior partition wall, designated 25 in the drawings, (seeespecially Fig. 5) comprises two inner wall slabs i spaced apart by an interme- 5 diate insulating slab 4. The manner-of casting this intermediate partition wall unit 25 will be apparent after the description already given inconnection with the casting of unit 2. As shown in,

Fig. 5, the inner wall slabs 5 may be formed with cpvings Sand base-boards 1, although either or 7 both of these ornamental features may be omitted. The interior wall partition units 25 are assembled-or installed in the building in the same manner as the construction units 2, thereby form- When the rooms of one floor are complete, it is merely necessary to lay a :floor on the tops of the walls thus provided, preparatory to setting up the construction units for forming another floor of the building, the horizontal lines of juncture of the successive floors of building units being closed, if desired, with cement or other material.

The building thus produced is not only exceedingly strong, but is moisture proof, sound prooi', 15

and will hold heatbetter than most forms of building construction. The outside layer or slab 3 with its reenforcement gives great strength to the building and the inside slab 6 also possesses great strength owing to its unitary and reenforced nature, whereas the intermediate layer or slab l of insulating material positively prevents passage of moisture, heat and sound between the inner and outer layers. The blocks 20 of insulating material completely block or seal the joints between adjoining construction units, thereby providing a tight wall throughout.

In Figs. 11 to 15 a slightly modified construction of the wall unit is disclosedythe said unit being designated by the reference numeral 26. The construction unit of these figures comprises an outside wall slab 21 made up in the same manner as the exterior wall slab 3, only the wall slab 21 is shown as having additional reenforcement in the form-of metal mesh 28 which is preferably interlaced with the reenforcing rod 14. The units 26 are also shown as'having two of the reenforcing rods ll instead of one. In these figures instead of using staples for interconnecting the reenforcement of the outside slab to the inside slab, wire fasteners 29 are used, although it will be apparent that staples could be used, if desired. The wire fasteners have their outer hooked ends 30 engaging the reenforcing rods l4 and their inner ends twisted around the reenforcing 3| of the inner layer or slab 32. This reenforcing 3| is illustrated in these figures as also comprising wire mesh. The intermediate layer 33 is of insulating material, such as cork, just as in the case of the intermediate layer of unit 2. The exterior surface of outside slabs 21 are shown as provided with'a single ornamental depression 34 instead of a plurality of grooves.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 11 to 15 the interior wall coving 6' is shown as formed as a separate unit and comprlsesa part of the building plate, designated by the reference numeral 35. This building plate is shown as formed of concrete and is rabbeted at 36 for receiving a wood block 31 to which rafters 36 may be nailed; suitable fasteners 39 being employed to secure the blocks 3'! to the plate'35. These plates 35 are provided with vertical apertures 40 into which the free upper ends of reenforcing rods 14 are adapted to project. After mounting the plates 35 upon the building units 26, the apertures 40 are filled with cement, thereby securing these building plates in place upon the units 26.

In these figures, the reenforcing rods ll are also shown as extending downwardly below the lower ends of slabs 21 for projecting into holes ll provided in the foundation wall 42 which is illus-- trated as having a flat top and is not necessarily provided with a groove for receiving the wall units 26. The lower depending ends of rods 14 serve to anchor the unit 26 upon the wall 42. To facilitate the assembly of the units 26, their upper ends are illustrated as provided with recesses 43 for receiving staples M which serve to tie the upper ends of adjoining units together, as shown in Fig. 14. These staples may also be provided at the bottoms of units 26, if desired.

In Fig. 11 I have also disclosed floors made up in accordance with the principles of this invention. These floors comprise upper and lower exterior slabs 45 and 46, respectively, which may be made of a concrete mixture reenforced with wire mesh l6, and reenforcing rods 8 similar to rods H. Rods 48 are interconnected by wire fasteners 29 which extend through the intermediate insulating layer 49, just as in theprevious units 2 and 26. Insulating blocks 20' also serve in the door construction for sealing the Joints of the adjacent floor units 50. These units 50 are adapted to be hand laid upon the supportin foundation and assembled in the same manner as the units 2 and ,26.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, as defined by the following claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in .a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A building wall construction unit having finished inner and outer wall surfaces comprising, an intermediate layer of insulating material and adjoining exterior layers of cementitious material, said exterior layers having reenforcement therein, and tie links extending completely through said intermediate layer with their end portions engaged around the reenforcement of said exterior layers in anchored relation thereto, to thereby secure said intermediate and exterior layers in united relation, the side edges of said intermediate layer. terminating inwardly of the side edges of said exterior layers to provide key receiving recesses, and separable key blocks of insulating material for reception in the opposed key receiving recesses of adjoining building construction units for interconnecting the same and for sealing the joints between said units thereby forming a substantially continuous insulation layer coextensive with the entire wall areaformed by said interconnected units.

2. A building wall construction unit, as defined in claim 1, wherein said intermediate layer of insulating material and said key-blocks comprise cork slabs.

3. A building wall construction unit, as defined in claim 1, wherein a portion of the reenforcement of at least-one of said exterior layers includes a vertically disposed metallic rod having its upper end portion projecting beyond the upper end of the unit for penetration and retention of a building plate imposed upon the latter.

4. A building wall construction unit, as defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the exterior layers includes a transverse base molding integral therewith.

5. A building wall construction unit, as defined in claim 1, wherein the reenforcement of one exterior layer comprises vertically disposed metallic rods and the reenforcement of the other exterior layer comprises horizontally disposed metallic rods.

RUSSELL C. GRAEI

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