WO1992005323A1

WO1992005323A1 - Set of elements for erecting the walls of a house

Info

Publication number: WO1992005323A1
Application number: PCT/EP1991/001844
Authority: WO
Inventors: Virgile Serge Taddei
Original assignee: E.T.- Earth Technology Limited
Priority date: 1990-09-24
Filing date: 1991-09-20
Publication date: 1992-04-02
Also published as: DZ1531A1; AU8622291A; ZA917567B; BE1004988A4

Abstract

A set of elements for erecting the walls without exposed joints of a house comprising hollow nesting blocks of a first (2) and a second (3) dimension, made of cold stabilized earth, each block being provided with at least one hole (10, 11, 12) destined to pour mortar therein, said set comprising also corner blocks (14) provided with another hole (15) destined to pour mortar therein. The set includes a first number of blocks (A) which is predetermined by a guide plan indicating the way of assembling said walls, each of said blocks of the set being marked in said plan. In this way, a house is obtained in the form of a kit.

Description

"Set of elements for erecting the walls of a house"

The present invention relates to a set of elements for erecting the walls without exposed joints of a house comprising hollow nesting blocks of a first and a second dimension, made of cold stabilized earth, the second dimension of which is substantially equal to half of the first dimension, each block being provided with at least one hole which extends over its entire height and which is destined to pour mortar therein, said set comprising also corner blocks provided with another hole destined to pour mortar therein.

Such a set is disclosed in Belgian Patent No. 902233. The known set is used for constructing the walls of a house. Due to the use of hollow nesting blocks, it is possible to construct walls without exposed joints, which makes the construction easier and less expensive. In order to make the wall rigid, mortar is poured into the holes after the blocks have been positioned. The mortar will spread itself then from hole to hole and will form in this way a structu¬ re within the wall which will make the wall more rigid. The corner blocks are positioned in such a manner that the other holes follow one another each time and compose in this way a channel. This channel is then filled up with mortar so that a column will be formed which will rigidify the wall.

A problem of the traditional construction is that it requires skilled labour, which makes it expensive and therefore inacessible to those who cannot afford it. In particular, in the Third World the housing problem is gigantic due to the lack of means of the majority of the population. Indeed, the whole construction of the house is based on techniques which require qualified personnel who know how to construct houses which meet the standards fixed by the legislator.

An object of the invention is to present means which allow each somewhat handy person to build a house without having to call in qualified personnel.

To this end, a set according to the invention is characterized in that the set includes a first number of blocks which is predetermined by a guide plan, which plan is comprised within the set and indicates the way of assembling said walls, each of said blocks of the set being marked in said plan. Thanks to the use of the guide plan and to the predetermined number of blocks, the person who wants to build a house will simply buy said set and will follow the indications of the guide plan. The marking of the blocks on the guide plan will allow him to assemble his house simply by positioning the blocks in the way as they are marked in the guide plan. The guide plan serves therefore as manual to the person who is going to assemble his house and who will have assembled his house with less costs and without calling in skilled labour by following the guide plan. The invention is therefore based onto a completely different construction concept of a house. Instead of delivering the bricks and other important stocks of construction materials in bulk and to build then a house, a well determined parcel of blocks is delivered and in order to assemble the house, the guide plan is followed instead of calling in skilled labour for constructing it.

A first preferred embodiment of a set according to the invention is characterized in that the blocks of a same dimension have a mutual tolerance smaller than 2 %. Thanks to this, there is practically no difference between the blocks of a same dimension which allows a correct assembling and therefore a correct alignment of the blocks.

A second preferred embodiment of a set according to the invention is characterized in that each tie block comprises at least one recess extending over the whole length of the block, the number of tie blocks being predetermined by said guide plan. Thanks to the use of recesses, the positioning of the tie casing blocks becomes more easily.

A third preferred embodiment of a set according to the invention is characterized in that said tie casing blocks are provided to form a formwork when applying the tie beams. This makes the formation of the tie beams easier.

A fourth preferred embodiment of a set according to the invention is characterized in that said tie casing blocks include a third number of mitred tie casing blocks, which third number is predetermined by said guide plan. This allows to finish the tie beams appropriately in the corners of the walls.

Preferably, the corner blocks are provided for forming the opening jambs. This allows not only to finish the jambs well but also to reinforce the structure of the house since the second hole of the corner blocks can be filled with mortar.

Preferably, the corner blocks are provided for forming the attachment of an inner wall into an outer wall. This allows a good anchorage of the inner walls and a supplementary rigidifying of the outer walls.

A fifth preferred embodiment of a set according to the invention is characterized in that it includes a ninth number of foundation blocks which are made of cold stabilized earth, said ninth number being predetermined by the guide plan. A sixth preferred embodiment of a set according to the invention is characterized in that it includes a tenth number of hollow pots which are made of cold stabilized earth, said tenth number being predetermined by the guide plan. This allows also to assemble a more floors house or to cover it with a roof and to obtain in this way an entire house without calling in semi-skilled labour.

The invention will now be described more into details by means of an example shown in the drawings wherein :

Figure 1 illustrates a house under assembling, using the set according to the invention as well as an extract of the guide plan.

Figure 2 shows a detail of a corner wall of said house.

Figure 3 illustrates the mounting of a lintel.

Figure - illustrates the anchorage of the inner walls. - * -

Figures 5 and 6 show a detail of this anchorage. Figure 7 illustrates the way wherein the mortar is spread within the different holes.

Figure 8 shows the foundations as well as the carrier slab and a portion of the wall.

Figure 9 illustrates the mounting of an upper slab. Figure 10 illustrates the anchorage of the upper slab into the tie beams.

In the different figures, a same reference is given to the same elements or to analogous elements.

In the traditional house construction the architect draws a plan and the contractor builds the house drawn by the architect.

The contractor let then deliver an important stock of construction materials, such as bricks, gravel, sand, etc. on the site. Due to the fact that the contractor estimates generally the quantity of materials that he will need and that he takes therefor a security marge, the contractor consequently over-estimates the required materials which leads to a waste of materials. Moreover, the traditional construction requires skilled labour since not only the building of the walls has to be done carefully but also all of the other casing and shoring works as well as the finishing steps such as dressing the walls, rough-casting the latter and others. The finishing works of a traditional construction represent themselves 70 % of the global costs of the construction.

All this makes the traditional construction very expensive and inacces- sible to those who cannot afford it.

The present invention proposes a totally different approach of the construction which leads to clearly less expensive costs and allows in this way a larger portion of the population to build a construction. The basic idea of the present invention is not to let his house build anymore but to prepare previously the elements which allow a somewhat handy person to assemble his own house.

Figure 1 illustrates a house according to the invention under assembling. In order to assemble his house, the person buys a set of elements, in other words a kit, comprising blocks, mortar, if necessary reinforcement elements such as iron bars and a guide plan. The guide plan is integrally included in the set and forms a kind of mounting manual of the house. As illustrated in figure 1, the guide plan includes marks (A, B, C, D, E and F) which indicate the way wherein the blocks have to be assembled, these marks can be numerals, numbers, colours or any other identification form of the different types of blocks. The person who has bought the set has therefore only to follow the guide plan in order to assemble his house.

The blocks included in the set are hollow nesting blocks made of cold stabilized earth. The advantage of using blocks of cold stabilized earth is that they can be manufactured on the site with a minimum of costs. Indeed, in most of the cases it is sufficient to take earth, present on the site, to mix it with water and with cement and to press then blocks therefrom by means of a press. The use of nesting blocks offers the advantage that they can be assembled easily and that they do not require the use of mortar between two successive blocks. Moreover, the person who mounts his house does not have to worry whether the blocks are suitably aligned since nesting the blocks will cause itself automatically a correct alignment. To this end, the blocks are provided with at least one male projection 8 applied on one flank and with a female recess 9 applied on the opposite flank. Preferably the female recess extends over the whole length of the block.

The set comprises blocks of a first 2 and a second 3 dimension. The blocks of the first dimension are for example blocks of (height x thickness x length) 10 x 20 x 0 cm while the blocks of the second dimension measure for example 10 x 20 x 20 cm. The second dimension is consequently substantially equal to half of the first. Said blocks of a same dimension have a mutual tolerance lower than 2 %, which is important for allowing an appropriate assembling of the different blocks. A tolerance larger than 2 % would soon lead to a bad alignement of the different blocks and to a disformation of the wall.

The blocks comprise also a first 11 and a second 12 hole situated on the lateral flanks of the blocks and extending over the whole height of the block. This hole is for example 2 cm deep. The holes 11, 12 are destined to pour mortar therein. Preferably, the blocks of the first dimension comprise also a third hole 10 which extends also over the whole height- of the block and which is also destined to pour mortar therein. This third hole is preferably situated in the middle of the block which has as an advantage that when a block of the second dimension is positioned onto a block of the first dimension, the first or the second hole of the block of the second dimension will be situated above the third hole. The third hole has preferably a diameter of cm.

The block includes also oblong openings 13 . extending also over the whole height of the block and which provide an insulation by the vertical air columns and form a heat screen over the whole surface of the walls. The oblong openings make laying the water, electricity and gas supplies easier. Preferably, the two longitudinal and vertical edges of the front side are chamfered so as to create an architectural relief.

In order to enable the construction of corners, the set according to the invention includes also corner blocks 14 such as illustrated in figure 2. These corner blocks are marked off from the other blocks by the fact that they include a fourth hole 15 also destined to pour mortar therein. The dimensions of the fourth hole are substantially greater than those of the holes 10, 11 and 12. The dimensions of this fourth hole, which extends over the whole height of the block, are for example 12 x 12 cm. The corner blocks are also marked off by the fact that they do not possess a second hole since one lateral flank is visible in the wall. The corner blocks have the same dimensions as the ones of said blocks of the first dimension and include also at least one oblong opening 13. The corner blocks are not only used to construct the corners of the walls but a o to form the opening jambs of doors or windows and to attach an inner wall in an outer wall as it will be explained hereinafter. The corner blocks are, as all of the other blocks, made of cold stabilized earth.

In order to be able to tie the walls, the set according to the invention include tie blocks 16 also made of cold stabilized earth, the tie block has the same dimensions as those of said blocks of the first or the second dimension and includes on one face a first recess 17 which extends over the whole length of the block and which allows to position lintels 18 therein. In another embodiment, the tie block includes two recesses disposed at both sides on a same face.

The tie block comprises also a first 11, a second 12 and possibly a third 13 hole. The tie block is also provided with oblong openings.

The tie beams are completed by means of tie casing blocks 18 also made of cold stabilized earth. The tie casing blocks have the same dimensions as the blocks of the first and the second dimension. Preferably, the tie casing blocks are provided with . a second recess 19 which extends over the whole length of the block and which is situated along the face destined to come into contact with the tie beam 20. This second recess offers a better anchoring of the casing block to the tie beam and facilitates applying the casing blocks when use is made of prefabricated tie beams. In order to finish the corners of the tie beams appropriately, mitred tie casing blocks 30 are provided. The set comprises also tie casing blocks 32 of a smaller dimension which are destined to be positioned at the places where the girders for supporting a voided floor slab will be located.

For the foundations of the house, the set provides foundation blocks also made of cold stabilized earth. Figure 8 repre¬ sents two foundation blocks 21 which are positioned side by side in a trench 22. The foundation block includes a preferably U-shaped recess 23. In another embodiment, the foundation block can also include more recesses.

The voided floor slab is also made of cold stabilized earth and is composed of blocks 2-% (figure 9) having for example a dimension of 10 x 20 x 0 cm. The blocks of the voided floor slab are provided with recesses 25 disposed at both sides of a same surface and destined to be positioned onto girders 26 extending between the walls. The blocks of the voided floor slab are provided with oblong openings 27 extending over the whole length of the block.

Finally, the floor tiles 7 are also made of cold stabili- zed earth et have preferably a dimension comparable to the one of the tie casing blocks.

The person who wants now to assemble his own house will purchase a set or a kit according to the invention. This kit may contain all the necessary elements for assembling the house, including the elements for making the foundations and the upper slabs, but the set may possibly contain only the elements for constructing the walls and the voided floor slab and not the elements for making the foundations and/or the pavement. It is clear that within this context different alternatives can be considered. When the person has purchased his said or his kit, he will take the guide plan and he will simply follow the instructions and the guidelines mentioned in the guide plan.

If the set includes the foundation blocks, the guide plan will indicate that the trenches 22 are to be dug and that, when they have been dug, the bottom of the trenches are to be covered with a raft foundation 28. Onto the raft foundation a layer 29 of so-called blinding concrete with 150 kg cement per m³ has to be poured. This concrete is preferably a concrete made on the basis of earth. Preferably, a foil of a plastic material, which prevents the humidity from rising up, is positioned under the blinding concrete layer and rises along the walls of the trench upto under the carrier slab.

The guide plan will indicate then that, when the blinding concrete layer has hardened, i.e. after a certain time, one can start with positioning the foundation blocks 21. As the foundation blocks are carefully marked in the guide plan, the person will recognize them easily amongst the different blocks of the set and he has only to position them onto the blinding concrete layer while following the guide plan. Possibly, the different block types can be packed separately in order to allow to identify them easier. When the foundation blocks have been positioned, the guide plan will indicate that reinforcements, in particular iron bars, are to be positioned into the recesses 23. However, this is optional and depends on the resistance and consistance of the bottom and of the type of the house to be constructed. The recesses and a portion which extends above these recesses are filled up then with concrete, preferably earth concrete dosed at 350 kg cement per m³, so as to form the carrier slab 30. Preferably, this carrier slab extends at both sides of the trench 22 in order to form in this way a border at both sides of the wall to be assembled. After hardening of the carrier slab, the guide plan will indicate that the construction of the walls can be started and that the blocks of the first 2 and the second 3 dimensions as well as the corner blocks 14 have now to be taken. The person follows then accurately the guidelines of the plan and nests the different blocks so as to form in this way the walls. The guide plan indicates exactly which block is to be positioned so that the person cannot make a mistake. The guide plan will thus indicate that the corner blocks are to be positioned in such a manner that the fourth holes

15 coincide and that of two successive corner blocks, one has to be directed towards one of the walls and the second towards the other wall. The guide plan indicates also the use of corner blocks for the jambs of the doors and possibly of the windows. However, it would also be possible to use blocks of the first or the second dimension for the jambs. These latter blocks can possibly be provided with' a lateral flat face enabling to finish the jamb.

The guide plan indicates also clearly the position of the blocks of the first and second dimension in the walls to be constructed (reference A and B) which makes the task of the person who assembles his house easier. Therefore, the assembling of the walls does not require the intervention of an architect or of a contractor since all the instructions are mentioned in the guide plan and the nesting of the different blocks enables a mounting without any complica¬ tions and resulting in an appropriate alignment of the walls. The fact that the corner blocks are also nesting blocks allows to connect two walls easily without intervention of skilled labour.

In order to form crossbeams above the openings of the doors and the windows, girders, preferably in earth concrete, are provided in the set and the guide plan will indicate how to prefabri¬ cate and to position these girders and how to cover them with tie casing blocks in order to give a finishing touch to the house. The tie casing blocks serve as a formwork for the fabrication of the girders. In this way, the girder as well as the tie casing blocks are mounted in one and the same operation.

In order to anchor the inner walls into the outer walls, the guide plan will prescribe that corner blocks have to be used and this in the way illustrated in figures 5 and 6. A first corner block will for example be directed to the right (figure 5) in the outer wall whereas a second block, positioned onto said first, will be directed into the direction of the inner wall (figure 6) while care is taken that the fourth holes coincide. A third corner block, positioned on said second corner block, will be directed to the left while taking always care that the fourth holes coincide. A fourth corner block positioned on said third, will be directed again into the direction of the inner wall and its fourth hole will coincide with the one of said third corner block. In this way, a good anchorage of the inner wall into the outer wall is obtained and this over the whole height of the wall.

Before positioning the tie blocks and after having reached the height of the wall at which the tie blocks have to be positioned, the guide plan will indicate that mortar, preferably on the basis of earth, is to be prepared and is to be injected into the first, second and third holes. The mortar will spread itself then within these holes and will not only flow vertically but will also extend horizon¬ tally into the female recess 9 forming in this way a mesh-work, such as illustrated in figure 7, within the wall, making the latter more rigid.

After having injected the mortar, the guide plan indicates that the oblong openings 13 on the block situated just under the tie block to be positioned, have to be covered, this in order to prevent the oblong openings from being filled up by the preferably earth concrete destined to form the tie beam.

In order to form the tie beam, the guide plan will indicate to use tie blocks 16 which are also nesting blocks. After having positioned the tie blocks, the guide plan will indicate that the tie casing blocks 18 are to be mounted onto the recesses 17. The tie casing blocks are now going to serve as a formwork for receiving

SUBSTITUTE SHEET the tie concrete. In order to form the corners of the tie beams, the guide plan indicates that mitred tie casing blocks have to be used. The guide plan provides also anchorage points for the girders for support¬ ing the voided floor slabs and/or the framework. At these anchorage points, the guide plan provides to position, at the inside of the house, tie casing blocks 32 of a smaller dimension. The set provides reserva¬ tion elements destined to be positioned onto the places destined to the anchorage points. Before pouring the concrete into the formwork, other reservation elements 33 providing a possible way through for different ducts will be put into place. According to the guide plan, these reservation elements will be positioned at the oblong openings which are predetermined by the guide plan. Preferably, the guide plan provides to apply reinforcement elements 28 and 29 respectively into the formwork and respectively into the channel formed by the fourth holes of the corner blocks. By pouring concrete into the formwork and into the channel, a structure will be formed which is going to make the house more rigid. The guide plan indicates that the concrete composing the tie beam has to be poured continuously and in one operation into the formwork in order to obtain a rigid and homogenous tie beam. In another embodiment, the tie beams are only casted after having positioned the voided floor slab which allow to cast the tie beam and the upper carrier slab 34 in one and the same operation as illustrated in figure 11.

Then, the guide plan will indicate that the assembling of the roof frame or of an upper carrier slab can be started. To this end, the guide plan indicates that girders 26, for example of wood, steel or precasted concrete, are to be positioned into the anchorage points. These girders are also included into the kit according to the invention. When the girders have been positioned, there can be started with putting the hollow pots 24 into their place and this while still following the guide plan.

In order to finish the house, the guide plan provides further to apply window sills and a pavement onto the carrier slab. Preferably, the same blocks are used for the pavement as for the

SUBSTITUTE SHEET tie casings.

The person who has assembled his house obtains in this way a house which meets the construction standards imposed by the legislation which is in force and which house is appropriately braced thanks to the use of tie beams which are anchored into the concrete columns casted in the fourth holes of the corner blocks. Moreover, the use of corner blocks for anchoring the inner walls and for making the jambs, allows also to cast at these places concrete columns which will further reinforce the house. The mesh-work obtained by pouring mortar into the first, second and third holes provides an excellent rigidity to the house as well as a supplementary resistance and protection against possible earth tremors.

The house is assembled by following the guide plan which enables each somewhat handy person to assemble with a minimum of costs a house which meets the construction standards. Moreover, thanks to the use of blocks made of cold stabilized earth and to the use of mortar and concrete which is preferably made on the basis of earth, a house is assembled, the walls of which are made on the basis of earth, without supplying other materials.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET

Claims

1. A set of elements for erecting the walls without exposed joints of a house comprising hollow nesting blocks of a first and a second dimension, made of cold stabilized earth, the second dimension of which is substantially equal to half of the first dimension, each block being provided with at least one hole which extends over its entire height and which is destined to pour mortar therein, said set comprising also corner blocks provided with another hole destined to pour mortar therein, characterized in that the set includes a first number of blocks which is predetermined by a guide plan, which plan is comprised within the set and indicates the way of assembling said walls, each of said blocks of the set being marked in said plan.

2. A set according to claim 1, characterized in that the blocks of a same dimension have a mutual tolerance smaller than 2 %.

3. A set according to claim 1 or 2, comprising tie blocks, characterized in that each tie block comprises at least one recess extending over the whole length of the block, the number of tie blocks being predetermined by said guide plan.

4. A set according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that it comprises a second number of tie casing blocks, which second number is predetermined by said guide plan.

5. A set according to claim 4, characterized in that said tie casing blocks are provided to form a formwork when applying the tie beams.

6. A set according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that said tie casing blocks include a third number of mitred tie casing blocks, which third number is predetermined by said guide plan.

7. A set according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that said tie casing blocks include a fourth number of tie casing blocks provided for being positioned near a girder destined to support a voided floor slab, said fourth number being predetermined by said guide plan.

8. A set according to anyone of the claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it includes first and second reinforcement elements destined to be placed respectively into the second holes and into the tie beams.

9. A set according to claim 1, characterized in that a fifth number of corner blocks is provided for forming the opening jambs.

10. A set according to claim 1, characterized in that a sixth number of corner blocks is provided for forming the attachment of an inner wall into an outer wall.

11. A set according to anyone of the claims 1 to 10, characterized in that it includes a seventh number of girders serving as crossbeams, which seventh number is predetermined by the guide plan and said girders being made of cold stabilized earth concrete.

12. A set according to anyone of the claims 1 to

11, characterized in that it includes an eighth number of window sills which are made of cold stabilized earth, said eighth number being predetermined by the guide plan.

13. A set according to anyone of the claims 1 to

12, characterized in that it includes a ninth number of foundation blocks which are made of cold stabilized earth, said ninth number being predetermined by the guide plan.

14. A set according to anyone of the claims 1 to

13, characterized in that it includes a tenth number of hollow pots which are made of cold stabilized earth, said tenth number being predetermined by the guide plan.

15. A set according to anyone of the claims 1 to

14, characterized in that it includes an eleventh number of floor tiles which are made of cold stabilized earth, said eleventh number being predetermined by the guide plan.

16. A block to be used in a set according to anyone of the claims 1 to 15.

17. A guide plan to be used in a set according to anyone of the claims 1 to 15.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET