METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION

Abstract: Method of construction in relation to attachment of a building panel or framework to a base support such as a concrete slab. The invention includes the steps of locating or attaching an intermediate support member (11) to the base support (10) and subsequently lowering the building panel or framework (12) from above the intermediate support member (11) until the panel or framework (12) is located adjacent to or bears against the intermediate support member (11). Subsequently the building panel or framework (12) is attached to the intermediate support member (11). Preferably the intermediate support member (11) is supported by chocks or spacers (29) prior to attachment of the building panel or framework (12).

Description: METHOD 0? CONSTRUCTION THIS INVENTION relates to a method of construct¬ ion and in particular to a method of attachment of frameworks or panels to a base support. Hitherto the attachment of frameworks such as wall frameworks to base supports such as concrete slabs has been relatively complicated and time consuming when the concrete slab possessed a relatively uneven or sloping orientation to the horizontal. If the concrete slab occupied a horizontal plane which was perfectly normal to the desired vertical of the framework then attachment of the framework to the slab was a relatively simple operation. However such was not the case if the concrete slab sloped from the desired horizontal plane or it had a top surface that was uneven or possessing a plurality of hills or valleys. In the latter situation it was usually necessary to adjust the wall framework comprising top plate, bottom plate and interconnecting studs so that the studs occupied their necessary vertical orientation. This usually necessitated adjustment of the external bracing. Because of this problem it was usually not possible to sheet both sides or even one side of the wall framework prior to attach¬ ment to the slab. Also if a rigid engineered framework which was sheeted on both sides was attached to a concrete slab which was relatively uneven then this caused the framework to achieve an orientation in situ which was out of its desired vertical plane. In such cases difficulty was usually experienced in obtaining access to the bottom plate to fasten the bottom plate to the slab to overcome uplift and racking forces. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method of construction which alleviates the above- mentioned problems. The method of the invention includes the followin steps: -1- (i) locating or attaching an intermediate .support member on a base support? (ii) lowering a building panel or framework from above the intermediate support member until said panel or framework is located adjacent to or bears against the intermediate support member; and (iii) attaching the building panel or framework to the intermediate support member. Preferably the intermediate support member is attached to the base support prior to or after step (ii) . Also, if desired step (ii) may be repeated wherein one or more panels or frameworks may be attached to " the intermediate support member adjacent the first mentioned panel or framework. Preferably the base support member is a concrete slab. However, it will be appreciated that any other appropriate base support member could be utilized such as a metal or wooden block or sheet. The intermediate support member is elongate and may comprise either a plate like member or rail member. Suitably the intermediate support member is formed from wood although it may be formed from plastics, metal, concrete or any other suitable material. In step (i) of the abovementioned method the intermediate member may be considered to be a "tracking" rail and thus support a plurality of wall frameworks. The inter¬ mediate member may be bolted or attached to the concrete slab in any suitable manner. Preferably, however, the intermediate member is attached to the concrete slab by expanding bolts inserted through aligned apertures in the intermediate member. Usually the expanding bolts may be applied by an appropriate triggering mechanism or gum. It will also be appreciated that the intermediate member may be supported by chocks, spacers or suitable packing as is known in the art if the concrete slab is uneven so that a top surface of the intermediate member may be relatively even or substantially planar. The intermediate member in a preferred embodi¬ ment of the invention may be provided with a plurality of attachment cavities which are located suitably in the top surface of the intermediate member. The cavities may be formed in any suitable manner such as by routing or punching. Preferably the cavities are rectangular although this is not essential. If desired each cavity may be surrounded by a shallower recess or groove so as to allow installation of a fixing plate (usually although not essent¬ ially formed from metal) for a reason as hereinafter described There also may be provided locating means between the intermediate support rail and the building framework. In one form the intermediate rail may include a plurality of upwardly projecting locating members or bolts which may locate in corresponding apertures or recesses in the bottom frame member of the building framework when the framework is suitabl brought into engagement with the intermediate member in ;Step (ii) . Usually in this embodiment the building framework may be lowered manually but more effectively by crane so that the bottom frame member thereof bears against the intermediate rail and is located therein by the above described locating means. The building or wall framework suitably comprises a bottom frame member or "bottom plate", top frame member or "top plate" and interconnecting studs as is known in the art. However, it will be appreciated that a rigid panel may also be utilized as well as or in preference to a wall framework in accordance with the method of the invention In this context the "bottom frame member" would mean a bottom wall or appropriate lower portion of the rigid panel. Preferably however the bottom frame member of the wall framework is provided with a plurality of downwardly extending attachment bolts which engage in the above described attachment cavities of the intermediate member. Suitably the -3- OMFI lower end of each attachment bolt is threaded and he nut suitably of hexagonal shape loosely attached thereto. The abovementioned fixing plate may include a central aperture of complementary shape to the nut although this is not necessary and usually the central aperture is circular and longer than the widest dimension of the nut. The fixing plate may also have one or more apertures located adjacent the central aperture which register with aligned apertures passing through the intermediate member for inserting therethrough of the abovementioned expansion bolts which attach the intermediate member to the concrete slab. There also may be provided locking means for maintaining the attachment bolts of the bottom frame member of the wall framework in a locked position in their respective attachment cavities. The locking means is usually chosen so as to prevent disengagement between the attachment bolts and the attachment cavities due to uplift or racking (e.g. lateral) forces. With this end in view there may be provided one or more locking shims or bifurcated members or other suitable locking members which are attached to the lower end of the attachment bolt before fastening of the nut. Usually the locking shims are U shaped members which are attached to the attachment bolt in different orientations - i.e. one locking shim is located about the bolt so that the arms of the U are substantially parallel to the plane of the bottom frame member of the framework (i.e. substantially horizontal) . The other locking shim may then be attached to the attachment bolt so that the arms of U are normal to the arms of the first mentioned locking shim. Re erence may now be made to a preferred embodi¬ ment of the invention as shown in the accompanying drawings wherein: FIG 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the building or wall framework being lowered into position so as to be attached to the intermediate member or tracking plate; FIG 2 is a detailed view of the attachment means between wall framework and intermediate member; and FIG 3 is a top plan view of the attachment .5 means shown in FIG 2 through line 3-3; FIG 4 is a top plan view of one of the locking members used in the attachment means shown in FIG 2; and FIG 5 is a top plan view of the other of the locking members used in the attachment means shown in FIG 2. 10 In the drawings there is shown wall framework 12 having bottom frame member 13 which is sheeted on both sides by sheets 14. Bottom frame member 13 has attachment members or bolts 20 projecting downwardly therefrom with bolts 20 having nuts 21 mounted thereon. 15 Intermediate member 11 is attached to concrete slab 10 by expanding bolts 18. When frame member 13 is lowered by a crane (not shown) the bottom surface of frame member 13 bears against the top surface of member 11. Locating bolts 16 engage in locating recesses 15 in frame member 13 20 and bolts 20 locate in attachment cavities 19 of member 11. Member 11 may be attached to slab 10 by expans¬ ion bolts 18 passing through apertures 25 in fixing plate 17, passages 30 in rail 11 and aligned recesses 27 in slab 10. Plate 17 is located in opposed grooves 28 of surrounding cavity 25 19. There is also shown U shaped locking members 22 and 23 interposed between nut 21 of bolt 20 and fixing plate 17. Hitherto before the advent of the present invent ion even butting of adjacent but separate wall panels 12 was not possible on an uneven support surface because of a gap 0 occuring between the panels at their respective lower side edge even though they may butt at their respective top side edges. Thus there was a requirement prior to this invention to level the respective bottom surfaces of the adjacent panels. Previously prefabricated panels on an uneven support surface 5 were left unsheeted and unbraced and the studs were adjusted **5*" to a vertical orientation, so that they align and butt evenly with adjoining panels. After this is achieved bracing and sheeting is possible. It will also be appreciated in relation to the prior art that with panels being sheeted on both sides a second problem of fastening or holding panels down to the support surface arose. In this context the difficulty was gaining access to the bottom plate 13 of the prefabricated " wall panel 12 which was already sheeted to fasten it to the supporting surface 10. In any system that was devised to overcome the abovementioned problem the relevant forces that had to be considered were vertical or uplift forces and lateral or racking forces. The first problem as described above was over¬ come or minimized by the placement on the supporting surface of an intermediate support member 11 which supported the bottom plate 13 of the prefabricated wall panel 12 so that it was level. Once this was done the perfectly square pre- fabricated wall panels are lowered onto the tracking plate or intermediate support member 11 and adjoining edges will butt evenl . The abovementioned second problem of access to the bottom plate 13 of the prefabricated wall panel 12 to fasten it to the supporting surface and at the same time provide against vertical and lateral forces is also overcome by the method of the invention which in its most preferred form comprises the following detailed steps. Step 1. Before sheeting and bracing prefabricate wall panel 12 holes were drilled in bottom plate 13 and bolts 20 were inserted at spaced intervals in bottom plate 13. The panel 12 was aligned with its tracking member 11 and holes were drilled in both at the same time to take location bolts 16 which were inserted at a later stage. ' Step" 2. The intermediate support member or tracking plate 11 was placed on an uneven support slab 10 . and chocks 29 placed hereunder so as to ensure that the top surface of support member 11 was even or level. * ' Step ' 3. At intervals predetermined by protruding bolts 20 from bottom plate 13 of wall panel 12 cavities 19 were cut out or routed in support member 11. Step 4. Fixing plates 17 were located on opposed grooves 28 of cavities 19. ' Step 5. Locating bolts 16 were positioned in support member 11. The tracking plate II was fastened to support surface 10 through pre-drilled holes 25 of fixing plate 17 and using expansion bolt 18. ' Step 6. The pre-sheeted wall panel 12 was lowered locating bolts 16 in tracking plate 17 within accommo ating recesses 15. Locating bolts 16 then centralized pro- truding attachment bolts 20 over an associated large diameter centralized hole 26 in fixing plate 17. The hole or aperture 26 is made so that it has a larger diameter than nut 21. ' Step 7. When panel 12 is rested on tracking plate 17 U shaped locking shims 22 and 23 whose respective op ends were of slightly larger diameter than the shank of bolts 20 but smaller than nut 21 were inserted between nut 21 and fixing plate 17 in opposed orientations (eg. at right angles as shown in the drawings) . Nut 21 was subsequently tightened. This method of attachment provided security against uplift or racking forces when imparted to the building construction so formed. Locating bolts 16 also provided security against lateral or racking forces. Subsequent panels 12A could then be attached to tracking plate 11 in a similar manner and butted against panel 12.

Claims: The claims defining the invention are as follows: 1. A method of construction including the steps of: (.i) locating or attaching an intermediate support member on a base support; Cii) lowering a building panel or framework from above the intermediate support member until said panel or framework is located adjacent to or bears against the intermediate support member; and (iii) attaching the building panel or framework to the intermediate support member. 2. A method of construction as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the intermediate support member is attached to the base support prior to or after step (iii) . 3. A method of construction as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein in step (i) the intermediate support member is supported by chocks or spacers placed on the base support so that a top surface of the intermediate support member is substantiarly planar or relatively even. 4. A method of construction as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the intermediate support member is provided with one or more upstanding locating members for engagement with the building panel or framework so as to locate the panel or framework relative to the intermediate support member in step (ii) . 5. A method of construction as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the intermediate support member is provided with a plurality of attachment cavities in a top surface thereof to receive a fixing plate for engagement with a respective fastener associated with the building panel or framework in step (iii) . 6. A method of construction as claimed in claim 5 wherein th attachment cavities are .bounded by relatively shallow opposed grooves which accommodate the fixing plate and the fastener is a threaded bolt having a nut attached thereto which passes through a primary aperture in the fixing plate and there are provided one or more locking members which are attached to the lower end of each threaded bolt prior to tightening of the nut to attach the building panel or framework to the intermediate support member. 7. A method of construction as claimed in claim 6 wherein at least two locking members are attached to an associat¬ ed threaded bolt and each locking member is substantially U shaped with the arms of the U of each locking member being aligned in different orientations before tighten¬ ing of the nut to inhibit disengagement between each attachment bolt and an associated attachment cavity due to uplift or racking forces. 8. A method of construction as claimed in claim 6 or 7 wherein the fixing plate is provided with auxiliary apertures located which are located adjacent to said relatively shallow peripheral groove and fastening members are passed through each auxiliary aperture to fasten the intermediate support member to the base support. 9. A method of construction as claimed in any preceding claim wherein step (ii) is repeated wherein a further building panel or framework is attached to the inter¬ mediate support member adjacent to said first mentioned building panel or framework. 10. A building construction including: a building panel or framework; a base support; and an intermediate support member interposed between the building panel and framework which is rigidly attached to the base support; and connection means between the building panel or framework and the intermediate support member.

Inventors: CLAYTON EDWARD MICHAEL, CLAYTON, EDWARD, MICHAEL
Applicants: CLAYTON EDWARD MICHAEL, CLAYTON, EDWARD, MICHAEL
Application year: 1983
Main classification: E04B2
IPC codes: E04B2