Insulating skirt

A foundation insulating skirt comprising a sheet of insulating material to be placed in contact with the outside perimeter of a foundation, and an outer protective shield for the panel. The protective shield is configured so as to cover the top edge and the outside surface of the sheet. The invention has utility as an insulating skirt for the outside of the footings of floating slab constructions and the like. An embodiment of the invention may be employed as the outer pouring form for said footings thereafter the form is left in place, as an integral part of the footing. The insulating skirt is at least in part held in place by the earth which is back filled against the footing and which bears against and supports the lower portion of the insulating skirt.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
It has long been known that in floating slab constructions and the like 
there are appreciable heat losses due to conduction of heat through the 
footings to the surrounding soil and air. Efforts to insulate the outside 
perimeters of such footings have been frustrated by the fact that in 
conventional constructions a part of the footings is above ground and a 
part is below ground. A successful insulator for the outside perimeter of 
such footings must be substantially a permanent installation which is 
capable of withstanding a wide range of destructive forces over a long 
period of time. A brief listing of such destructive forces would include 
solar degradation, thermal forces above and below ground, chemical agents 
above and below ground, a variety of mechanical forces both intermittent 
and continuous, attack by bioagents and invasion by worms, grubs, roots 
and the like. The successful insulator must also be economical to 
manufacture and convenient and economical to install. 
It therefore is an object of this invention to provide a panel for an 
insulating skirt for the outside perimeter of foundations and footings and 
the like which becomes substantially a permanent part of the structure to 
which it is applied. 
It is further an object of this invention to provide a panel for an 
insulating skirt as described above which will withstand the destructive 
forces to which it will be exposed for very long periods of time without 
appreciable degradation. 
It is further an object of this invention to provide a panel for an 
insulating skirt as described above wherein the panel is composed of a 
sheet of substantially rigid insulating material and a tough and durable 
outer protective shield. 
It is still further an object of the invention to provide a panel as 
described above wherein the top portion of the panel is attachable to the 
structure and the bottom part of the panel is held in place and supported 
by the earth which is backfilled against the lower portion of the panel. 
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a panel as described 
above which is very low cost to manufacture and economical, convenient and 
versatile in its many uses. 
DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART 
The insulation of the outer perimeter of footings and foundations is not 
new in the art. Present practice involves the steps of; sealing the 
footing or foundation, applying insulation to the outside perimeter of the 
footing or foundation by the use of mastic or the like, and then providing 
an outer protective coating to the insulation. These multiple steps are 
time consuming and frequently do not produce satisfactory results. Many of 
the problems associated with this method of providing exterior insulation 
to foundations and footings are found to arise due to the different 
conditions found below grade as compared to those found above grade. 
U.S. Pat. No. 979,310 to Kammerer teaches the direct application of an 
insulating panel having an outer protective means to an exterior wall. Mr. 
Kammerer's invention makes known the concept of applying to an outer wall 
a panel comprising a sheet of substantially rigid insulating material 
having a protective outer coating. U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,693 to Todorovic 
teaches improvements in that concept. 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,038,967 to Strong teaches the use of a sheet of 
substantially rigid insulating material which is insertible in a mating 
protective form thereby in 1936, making available to the construction 
industry the concept of a sheet of substantially rigid insulating material 
being provided with a mating protective shield. U.S. Pat. No. 3,209,503 to 
Mustuller shows a more recent adoption of this concept to a curtain wall 
assembly. 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,978,840 to Tatch teaches the incorporation of sheets of 
substantially rigid insulating materials directly into the concrete 
structure to become an integral part of the finished structure, thereby in 
1961, providing this concept to the art. 
While some of the concepts embodied in the present invention are found in 
the prior art and the problems to be solved by this invention are well 
known in the art, the application of said concepts to the solution of said 
problems in the manner taught by the present invention is not found in the 
prior art. In particular this prior art does not provide a means for 
satisfactorily dealing with the problems of providing outer wall 
protection continuously both above and below ground. Nor does the prior 
art provide a foundation wall insulating means which is simple in 
construction, economical to fabricate, convenient, and economical to 
install, and durable in use. The specific means by which this invention 
provides the above discussed novelty is described in detail hereinafter. 
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
The invention in its simplest form comprises a sheet of substantially rigid 
insulation material which is liquid impervious such as expanded 
polystyrene, (Styrofoam R) or the like, and an outer protective shield of 
a tough and durable material such as a reinforced thermosetting plastic 
(fiberglass). 
The sheet of insulation is joined with the shield. The sheet of insulation 
may be simply adhered to the shield by using an appropriate adhesive or in 
a more sophisticated embodiment the shield is fabricated so as to provide 
a receiving channel for the sheet of insulation. 
The assembled panel is placed in position and may be adhered to the outside 
wall of the structure by using mastic or the like. The top of the panel 
may be secured to the footing or foundation by simply toenailing the top 
of the panel to a plate or soffit or other suitably available member. In 
one embodiment of the invention the panel is used as the pouring form and 
a downward directed lip which projects into the poured concrete serves to 
join the top of the panel to the top of the footing or foundation. 
Back filling against the insulated foundation or footing serves to further 
press the panel against the wall and to support and hold the panel in 
place. The protective shield is configured so that the lower portion of 
the shield is at least several inches below grade when back filling is 
completed. The shield thereby protects the insulating sheet from solar 
degradation and mechanical damage and direct exposure to the elements 
above ground and from mechanical damage and the like below ground 
particularly in the first few inches below ground where most mechanical 
damage is likely to occur. The lower portion of the sheet of insulation 
need not be provided with a shield in that it has been found that 
insulating materials such as expanded polystyrene and the like are very 
durable when they are shielded from solar radiation and mechanical damage 
as they would be when buried at least several inches below the ground 
against a foundation wall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring now to FIG. 1. Basement wall 10 is provided with insulating sheet 
20 having shield 21. Sheet 20 is a sheet of conventional expanded 
polystyrene insulation or the like. Expanded polystyrene sheets have shown 
thereselves to be durable and reliable when buried below ground far enough 
to shield them from solar rays and mechanical damage. Shield 21 as shown 
in FIG. 1 is coextensive with the exposed above ground surfaces of sheet 
20 and to extend at least 4 inches below grade. Shield 21 serves to 
protect insulating sheet 20 from solar rays and from mechanical damage. 
Shield 21 is preferably of pultruded fiberglass construction. Pultruding 
is a continuous process of forming profiles of reinforced fiberglass. As 
such it permits the continuous forming of a shield of any desired length. 
Such continuity is, of course, highly desirable in barriers or shields 
such as shield 21. The fiberglass and expanded polystyrene panel may be 
readily cut to permit the fitting of the panel around pipes, vents and 
other protrusions or irregularities in the footing or foundation. 
Fiberglass shields may be conveniently seamed or patched in place which 
are additional merits which accrue to a shield formed from a pultruded 
fiberglass profile. 
Top portion 23 of panel 25 which comprises sheet 20 and shield 21 is 
attached to plate 26 by means of nails 27. The securement of the top of 
panel 25 to the structure may be by any suitable and convenient means. 
Sheet 20 may be adhesively joined to shield 21 to form panel 25. Said 
joining may be done at the time of manufacture or at the construction 
site. Earth 29 is back filled against the insulated wall so as to cover at 
least the bottom 4 inches of shield 21 thereby further securing panel 25 
in place. 
Panel 25 will serve new and existing constructions. The economy of 
pultruded shield 21 and expanded polystyrene sheet 20 and the simplicity 
of manufacture and use of panel 25 make this embodiment of the invention a 
preferred embodiment. 
Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3. The embodiment of the invention as 
illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 is intended for use in constructions in 
general and for the pouring and insulating of footings for floating slab 
constructions in particular. 
Panel 50 while possessing the properties and benefits of panel 25 of FIG. 1 
provides the additional novelty of serving both as pouring form and 
insulating skirt and thereby providing benefits to both the builder and 
the owner of the construction. 
In conventional constructions of this sort, the footings are formed, then 
poured, the forms are then removed and the footing is insulated as 
described earlier in this specification. By using the panel of this 
invention as the form for pouring the steps of removing the forms and 
insulating the footings are eliminated. Substantial savings in labor and 
time are thus realized in addition to eliminating the costs of buying, 
maintaining, and storing reusable forms. 
FIG. 2 shows panel 50 in position as a pouring form for a footing in a 
floating slab construction. Shield 41 has a vertical face 60 a bottom 
horizontal flange 61 having an upward directed lip 62 and a top horizontal 
flange 63 which is longer than bottom horizontal flange 61 and top 
horizontal flange 63 has a downward directed lip 64 which is opposite of 
lip 62 and horizontal flange 63 is terminated by a second downward 
directed lip 65 which has an enlarged end portion 66. Face 60, horizontal 
flanges 61 and 63, and lips 62 and 64 form the perimeter of a channel 
which slidably receives and retains insulating sheet 51 which is similar 
to sheet 20 of FIG. 1. 
When serving as a pouring form panel 50 rests upon an insulating sheet 71, 
not a part of this invention. Panel 50 is supported by stakes 72 and brace 
73 placed at intervals along the perimeter of the form. 
FIG. 3 illustrates the finished construction with stakes 72 and braces 73 
removed and earth 75 backfilled against panel 50. It should be noted that 
lip 65 is embedded in cement 95 and secured there by enlarged tip 66 and 
panel 50 is thereby made an integral part of the poured construction. 
Referring now to FIG. 4. Panel 80 has shield 81 having vertical face 90, 
bottom horizontal flange 91 and top horizontal flange 92 having a downward 
directed lip 93, and an insulating sheet 100 which is coextensive with 
vertical face 90. Sheet 100 may be tacked adhesively to vertical face 90 
prior to pouring for the purpose of maintaining sheet 100 in position 
during the preparation of the forms for pouring. After pouring, panel 80 
becomes an integral part of the footing. The profile of shield 81 lends 
itself to the pultruding process as described above. 
While two preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in 
detail herein there are many variants of the invention which will be made 
obvious to one skilled in the art by this disclosure and which have not 
been discussed herein. Full treatment of the variants would cause the 
specifications, drawings, and claims to become prolix. Therefore it should 
be understood that the scope of the invention should be limited only by 
the appended claims and all equivalents thereto which would become obvious 
to one skilled in the art.