Method for making a reinforced wall or foundation

A method of erecting a building which comprises installing internal, panel-like forms; mounting a metallic reinforcing mesh spaced from said walls and thereafter spraying a concrete or other settable mass onto said formwork and reinforcing mesh to incorporate the form and mesh into a wall with the concrete. In the building of a house, the formwork and reinforcement can be erected as, for example, a foundation or other lower level and thereafter the walls and floors of the upper levels may be disposed upon that form. Only subsequently need the spraying of the concrete onto the reinforcing mesh be completed.

It is previously known a large number of proposals for making reinforced 
walls or foundations by means of suitable formworks and concrete castings 
which are preferably reinforced. Similarly it has been proposed to use 
suitable block elements, possibly in combination with panels on one or 
both sides. From Norwegian patent application No. 75.3720 it is known a 
method where a formwork made from a plate material forming the inner panel 
of the foundation is erected and supported. At the outside of said 
formwork and adjacent thereto a wall of suitable blocks is erected, said 
blocks being positioned to form vertical columns having mutual spaces 
there between in order to form vertical free channels between said 
columns, in which columns thereafter a suitable reinforcing is introduced, 
and said channels are thereafter filled with concrete or its equivalent to 
form vertical supports. The blocks used may be of light weight concrete 
material or its equivalent, and the casting material is suitably concrete, 
and the inner formwork is made from unitary plates of porous plastic 
material having a panelling made from gypsum. Over the top of the array of 
columns reinforcing elements are positioned and which elements are 
embedded into a continuous horizontal concrete beam which is integral with 
the vertical columns. The blocks are erected on a basis of reinforced 
concrete, preferably integral with the concrete in said columns and said 
beam, and the reinforcings in said basis, said columns and said top beam 
are mutually connected. 
Building of houses by means of self supporting plates is inter alia known 
from Norwegian Pat. No. 129 211. It may however with such houses be 
necessary to have a high foundation due to the environment or terrain 
around the house and/or a simultaneous wish to have a large cellar under 
the house. It has previously been common practice to cast such foundations 
by means of double faced formworks before the remaining portion of the 
house is build or put into position, alternatively to build the foundation 
from blocks of concrete or the like. 
The present invention has as its object to simplify the building of such 
foundations in such a manner that it is independent of the remaining 
building work on the house. The invention has as a further object to 
provide a new and advantageous method for making a reinforced wall or 
foundation, whereby it is possible in a quick and simple manner to provide 
a structure having both the required insulating capacity and strength, so 
that the structure may support substantial stresses both in vertical and 
horizontal directions.

In the process of making the structure of FIG. 1 plate elements are erected 
and supported, and said plate elements may be of the type having a core 1 
of porous plastic material which on both sides is limited by gypsum or 
gypsum plates 2, 2'. Said plates are forming the inner panel of the 
structure. The plate elements are on their outer side, i.e. on the outside 
of the gypsum board 2' provided with plate shaped elements 3 e.g. made 
from rigid foamed plastic material, said plates 3 being fixed to the 
gypsum board 2' by adhesive or other means. The plates 3 preferably have a 
dimension in the height direction which is somewhat less than that of said 
plate element 1, 2, 2'. Said plates 3 are fixed at even intervals in the 
longitudenal direction of said plate element, as will appear from FIG. 1. 
Thus openings are formed between adjacent plates 3 and likewise there is 
formed horizontal spaces at both the upper and lower edge of said plates 
as will appear from FIG. 1. Said spaces and openings form guides for steel 
reinforcements 4, as will appear from FIG. 1. 
Outside the exposed surface of the plate 3 a reinforcing network 5 is 
positioned, as will appear from FIG. 1. Said reinforcing network should 
preferably lie at a certain distance from said plates 3. 
Concrete 6 is then sprayed onto the wall or the foundation and will enter 
said guides and enclose both said steel reinforcements 4 as well as said 
reinforcing network 5, as will appear from FIG. 2. 
FIG. 3 illustrates a completed house made from self supporting plate 
elements where at the lower end there has been made a low base 11 of e.g. 
concrete blocks or the like or casted. From FIG. 4 it is seen that a 
vertical self supporting element is positioned upon the base 11, said 
element forming an inner formwork for the foundation and simultaneously 
having sufficient strenght to support the overlying stresses from the 
house and further providing a thermal insulation of the room inside the 
foundation. At the upper edge of the element 14 there is arranged a 
horizontally positioned self supporting element 13 and a vertically 
standing self supporting element 12, where the element 13 forms e.g. a 
floor in the house and the element 12 a wall in said house. The element 12 
is as will appear from FIG. 4 staggered relative to the element 14, the 
portion not resting on the upper edge of said element 14 being intended to 
rest on the foundation 15 when casted, as will be described below. A 
reinforcement 15' made from iron network or netting or the like is 
arranged at a certain distance from the outer side of the element 14, 
whereafter concrete 15" is sprayed onto said reinforcement and said 
element 14 to provide a reinforced foundation 15 made from concrete. After 
the concrete has hardened the foundation will have full supporting 
capacity. 
With the method according to the invention it is used a quick drying 
sprayable concrete which makes it simple for inter alia self constructors 
to make a reinforced wall or in particular a foundation which may sustain 
both high vertical and horizontal stresses e.g. from earth masses on the 
outside of said foundation. 
It is of course possible to arrange, before spraying on the concrete, 
openings in said foundation to provide for windows, doors and ventilation 
ducts. 
The said self supporting elements can be of e.g. the type consisting of two 
gypsum plates or the like between which a layer of insulating material, 
e.g. polyurethane foam has been provided. 
As will appear from the description above the house consisting of the self 
supporting plates is mounted directly on the foundation base whereafter 
the casting of the foundation can be made simultaneously with or after 
that other craft man's work, e.g. electrical or painting work, on the 
house has been carried out. Thus the invention yields a substantial time 
saving and rationalization in house building, which naturally yields a 
lower over-all price on the house. 
With the present invention there is thus no demand for any outer formwork. 
With the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 there is also achieved a structure 
which is easy to make and where the consumption of concrete is reduced 
relative to normal foundations, since the guides for the steel 
reinforcements 4 form beams and columns respectively in and otherwise 
unitary structure. 
It will be understood that the example shown in the drawings and described 
above of a reinforced wall or foundation according to the invention may be 
modified in many ways within the frame of the invention. Thus other plate 
elements than the said described gypsum plates having intermediate there 
between porous plastics may be used as inner formwork and panel. Thus the 
choice of material is free as regards the plates 3 in FIG. 1. Further it 
will be understood that the invention is not restricted to the making of 
reinforced walls and foundations, but may also be used for making 
reinforced ceilings and floors.