Method of erecting a modular building

Abstract: A method of erecting a tall modular building including the steps of transporting components from which the building is to be erected to an erection site in the form of at least one collapsed pack having a roof structure (20) comprising a pair of roof beams (21) by which a roof panel (22) is supported to extend therebetween and a plurality of wall structures (30a, 30b) each comprising a pair of columns (31) by which a wall panel (32) is supported to extend therebetween and, at the site, erecting the wall structures (30a, 30b) and connecting the columns (31) thereof to the roof beams (21) so that the roof structure is supported by the wall structures (30a, 30b).

Description: This invention relates to a modular building which is relatively tall such as a factory, workshop or warehouse. By tall we mean having an external height dimension between 5 and 8 metres and, typically, having an internal height dimension between floor and ceiling of 4.5 to 7.5 metres. Traditionally, such buildings have been built from a large number of relatively small basic components such as bricks, steel reinforcement, steel columns, roof beams and roof covering members such as tiles and panels or the like. These basic components have all been transported to the site individually and the buildings have been erected from the basic components on site in conventional manner. This technique has the disadvantages normally associated with conventional building techniques such as reliance upon weather conditions and the limitations upon speed of erection imposed by the techniques, together with the fact that the building once erected, is not movable to a different location. There has been proposed in GB-A-2164678 a method of overcoming conventional techniques for relatively tall buildings by transporting to a site a volumetric building component comprising a rigid roof part and rigidly attached thereto to depend downwardly therefrom first upright members carrying wall panels and to the lower ends of which are hingedly connected second upright members which are transported to site in a collapsed condition and which, on site, are connected together so that the first and second upright members together comprise a column upon which the roof part is supported. Thus, there is transported to site a hollow rectangular box structure which is relatively heavy to handle both for loading and off loading purposes and for positioning on the foundations on site as well as to lift to the desired final height so that the second upright members can be pivoted to their erected position. A building is known in accordance with the prior art portion of Claim 1 (U.S. 3755976) in which a modular building is shown which has a pitched roof, the walls and roof of the building comprising individual panels spacing apart and connecting together parallel columns. FR-A-1523458 describes a temporary cabin of normal height assembled from roof and wall panels made of glass reinforced plastics material. The invention as claimed and charaterized by the characterising part of Claim 1 is intended to remedy these drawbacks. It solves or reduces the problem of how to provide a tall modular building and which has a flat roof. The invention is also characterized by a method of erecting on site a modular building, according to any one, of the claims 1 to 9, and according to the characterizing part of claim 10. Consequently, it is necessary to handle only relatively small and light components, during loading, transport and off-loading as well as during erection on site. The or each roof structure comprises said pair of spaced parallel roof beams interconnected solely by said roof panel, the or each roof panel comprising said insulated structural sandwich having said inner and outer skins and having therebetween said insulating infill and at least one transverse reinforcing member disposed intermediate the ends of the panel. By "transverse reinforcing member" we mean a reinforcing member which strengthens the roof panel in a direction perpendicular to the roof beams. The or each roof panel may comprise a pair of spaced parallel side members and the reinforcing member or members extending between and being connected to the side members. The or each roof panel may comprise a pair of spaced parallel end members. Each side member and/or each transverse reinforcing member may be connected to an associated roof beam preferably by a fastener engaged with the side member and/or each transverse reinforcing member and the associated roof beam. The inner skin may comprise a steel sheet and the steel sheet may be provided with a suitable surface finish, such as a coloured plastic coating. The outer skin may comprise a steel sheet and the steel sheet may be provided with a suitable surface finish, such as a coloured plastic coating. The infilling may comprise polyurethane foam. The inner and outer skins and infilling may be bonded together. The or each transverse reinforcing member preferably comprises a steel section and the section is preferably a channel section with the web of the channel extending generally perpendicular to and between the inner and outer skins and one limb of the channel extending generally parallel to and adjacent the outer skin and being of greater length than the other limb, which is disposed closer to the inner skin and generally parallel thereto. The one limb may have an inturned flange at its free end. The one limb may project lengthwise of the reinforcing member beyond the web and overlie a portion of the side member at each end of the reinforcing member. The projecting portion of the limb may be fastened to the associated side member and/or the associated roof member. The or each panel may also comprise at least one transverse divider to divide the or each panel into a plurality of sections, each of which is filled with said infilling during manufacture. A divider may be provided adjacent each transverse reinforcing member. The or each divider may comprise a base part of relatively rigid material such as plywood and a top part, which may be of less rigid material such as polyurethane foam, of a configuration to conform with the configuration of the internal surface of the outer skin. The or each panel may comprise a plurality of discrete spacer blocks disposed between the inner and outer skins to maintain the skins in spaced relationship during manufacture and in particular during filling with the insulating infill material. The or each roof panel is secured to the roof beams so as to be disposed below the roof beams. The or each roof panel may be secured to the roof beams so as to be disposed below the roof beams at a distance which increases from one end of the roof structure to the other. To provide said variation in distance, spacer members may be provided between the roof beams and the/or each roof panel the spacer members being of increasing height from said one end of the roof structure towards the other. The top limb of the reinforcing member, the steel outer skin and the side members of the or each roof panel are preferably all directly connected to the roof beam, for example by bolts or other suitable fasteners, to ensure structural continuity but with the provision of spacer members, as appropriate, to provide the roof panels with a desired slope. Preferably, insulating infilling is provided between the inner skin and the reinforcing member and may be, additionally, provided between the outer skin and the reinforcing member. The provision of insulating infilling between the reinforcing member and the inner skin eliminates "cold bridging" through the reinforcing member from the exterior of the roof to the interior of the module. The hereinbefore mentioned bonding of the infilling to the inner and outer skins ensures good structural continuity of the roof panels. Any tendency to sag in the roof beams may be compensated for by providing spacer members of appropriate length to eliminate any downward deflection of the or each roof panel. The slope of the roof panels may lie in the range 1 in 120 to 1 in 60. Each wall panel may comprise a structural sandwich comprising an outer metal skin and an inner skin sandwiching therebetween an insulating infilling. The outer metal skin may comprise a steel sheet which may be profiled and/or be plastics coated. The inner skin may comprise a metal skin and may comprise a steel sheet which may be profiled and/or be plastics coated. The inner skin may also comprise gypsum or the like board bonded to the steel inner skin. The infilling may be bonded to the inner and outer skins and may be a rigid foam or expanded plastics material. The or each wall panel may comprise a timber framework to which the inner and outer skins are secured. The inner and/or outer skins may comprise a plurality of sheets of skin material which are joined along lines which, in the erected building, are horizontal. The sheets may be joined together by being crimped together. The columns may comprise channel or hollow section steel columns although other constructions are possible. The wall panels may be connected to the columns by fasteners extending through the panels and engaged with the columns. In the erected building the columns may be disposed externally of the wall panel. The upper ends of the columns may be each abutted against a side of a roof beam and secured thereto in any suitable manner, for example, by means of an angle bracket welded, bolted or otherwise fastened to an outwardly presented face of the roof beam and bolted, welded or otherwise fastened to a side of the column orthogonal to the outwardly presented face of the roof beam. The columns of adjacent wall structures may be disposed in side by side relationship and may be connected together, for example, by suitable fasteners which may connect brackets secured to the columns. A plurality of roof structures may be disposed side by side with a roof beam of one roof structure disposed side by side with a roof beam of an adjacent roof structure, the roof structure being supported by appropriate wall structures. Where two roof structures are disposed side by side with a roof beam of each structure disposed in side by side relationship these roof beams may be unsupported by wall structures intermediate their ends. The roof panel or panels provide sufficient strength to hold the roof beams rigidly apart at their upper ends by virtue of the provision of the reinforcing members. For example, where the reinforcing members are of the channel configuration described hereinbefore, then when a load is applied to the roof deck, for example a snow load, the relatively long one limb of the reinforcing members resists the compressive forces imposed upon the panel whilst the other limb, together with the inner skin, which is preferably made of steel, resists tensile forces. Because of the relatively long one limb, the outer skin is not called upon to contribute to resist the compressive forces and thus the outer skin may be made of any desired material without regard to its ability to resist compressive forces. This permits the use of plastics coated steel sheet provided with corrugations in the longitudinal direction, which skin has little ability to resist compressive force in the transverse direction of the roof structure. The floor structure may comprise a decking supported by a plurality of cross members which extend between and are carried by floor beams connected to the columns. Thermal insulation may be provided below such cross members, such as a foil-faced thermal layer or other similar material fastened to the underside of the cross members. Preferably, the decking, which may be of plywood, chipboard or the like, extends across the upper faces of the floor beams whilst the cross members extend between and are secured to the inner faces of the floor beams. Conveniently, the roof beams and the floor beams each comprise channel section steel beams arranged with the webs thereof extending vertically and the limbs extending horizontally with the open mouth of the channel facing inwardly of the module, although other types of beams may, alternatively, be utilised. The floor, roof and wall panels of the unit are disposed entirely within the metal frame, so that the interior of the unit is free substantially from inwardly protruding beams, and thus alleviating "cold bridging" which otherwise establishes a heat loss path between the interior of the unit and the metal frame through these structures. If desired, instead of a suspended floor as described hereinbefore a solid floor such as a concrete floor may be provided. The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: FIGURE 1 is an end elevation of a building erected utilising a method embodying the invention, FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the building of Figure 1, FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the building of Figure 1 with parts omitted to show the structural members of the building, FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal cross-sectional view to an enlarged scale, in a vertical plane through the building of Figure 1; FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary transverse cross-sectional view, to an enlarged scale, in a vertical plane through the building of Figure 1; FIGURE 6 is a plan view of a roof panel of the building of Figure 1 with part of the outer skin omitted; FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary, broken away, perspective view illustrating the connection between a roof panel and a roof beam of the building of Figure 1; FIGURE 8 is a section, to an enlarged scale, on the line 8-8 of Figure 6; FIGURE 9 is a section, to an enlarged scale, on the line 9-9 of Figure 6; FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary perspective view showing part of a pack in which roof structures of the building of Figures 1 to 9 are transported to site, and FIGURE 11 is a side elevation of another pack in which wall structures of the building of Figures 1 to 9 are transported to site, Referring to the drawings, a tall building which, in the present example has an overall height of 7.7 to 5 meters and a maximum floor to ceiling height of 7.016 meters is illustrated in completed form in Figures 1 and 2. The building comprises a plurality of sub units 10 a - 10 e . In end elevation, shown in Figure 1, the overall width of each sub unit and hence of the building is 12.8 meters and the internal width is 12. meters. In side elevation, shown in Figure 2, the building may be of any desired length, which is a multiple of the "length" of the individual sub units. In the present example, the building comprises 6 sub units of which only four complete sub units and part of a fifth sub unit are shown in Figure 2. The sixth sub unit is similar to the sub unit 10 a shown in Figure 2. The two end sub units have an overall "length" of 3.3 meters whilst the intermediate sub units have an overall "length" of 2.942 meters whilst the internal "length" of each sub unit is 2.936 meters. In Figure 3 three of the sub units are illustrated at 10 a -10 c . Each sub unit comprises a roof structure 20 and a pair of opposed side wall structures, 30 a -30 b , whilst the end sub units have, in addition, further end wall structures 30 c - e . Each roof structure 20 comprises a pair of spaced parallel roof beams 21 which support a roof panel 22 extending therebetween. The roof beams 21 of the intermediate sub units 10 b , 10 c lie parallel to an adjacent roof beam of an adjacent end or intermediate sub unit. Each roof beam 21 is of channel configuration with the web of the channel lying in a vertical plane and the open mouth of the channel facing inwardly of the sub unit. The webs of adjacent roof beams 21 are bolted together by a suitable screw threaded fasteners. The roof structures 20 are supported at the ends of the roof beams 21 on the pair of opposed side wall structures 30 a , 30 b whilst the roof structures of the end sub units have the end roof beam 21 a additionally supported by the end wall structures 30 c -30 e . Each wall structure 30 a -30e comprises a pair of spaced vertical columns 31 which support wall panels 32 extending therebetween. The columns 31 of the wall structures 30 c -30 e on the end wall of the building shown in Figure 1 are connected, at their upper ends, to the roof beam 21 a by means of angle brackets 33, one limb 34 of which is welded to a side surface 35 of each column 31 and the other limb 36 of which is bolted to the roof beam 21 a . At their lower ends the columns 31 are welded to feet 37. The intermediate wall structure 30 d has a web part 38 of each foot 37 bolted to a corresponding web part 38 of the foot 37 of the adjacent column of the adjacent end wall structures 30 c , 30 e . At their upper ends the columns 31 of the intermediate structure 30 d have one limb of angle brackets 39 welded to an outwardly facing surface of the columns 31 and the other limbs of the angle bracket 39 are bolted to a corresponding angle bracket provided on the adjacent column 31 of the end wall structures 30 c -30 e . The columns 31 of the wall structures 30 a , 30 b along the longitudinally extending side of the building shown in Figure 2 are connected at their upper ends to the roof beams 21 by angle brackets 40 which are bolted to the inwardly facing surface 41 of the columns 31 and the inwardly facing surface 42 of the web of the roof beams 21. The columns 31 of each such intermediate sub unit are provided with angle bracket 39 which is bolted to an angle bracket of the adjacent intermediate sections or an angle bracket provided on the adjacent column of each end sub unit. These columns 31 at, their lower ends, are provided with feet 37 as described hereinbefore and adjacent feet of adjacent columns are interconnected as described hereinbefore. In the present example, the columns 31 are of rectangular box section but may be of other section if desired. The end wall structures at the corners of the building are provided with wind bracing 50 as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. As best shown in Figures 4 and 5, adjacent their lower ends each column 31 on the end elevation has an angle bracket 45 welded to the inwardly facing surface of the column and a horizontally extending limb 46 thereof has bolted thereto one flange 47 of a lower wall beam 48 of channel section, the free ends of the limbs having inturned lips. Further, similar, lower wall beams are similarly connected to the brackets 45 and extend transversely of each sub unit. The lower ends of the wall panel 32 are secured by self tapping screws or other fastener means to the lower wall beams 48, 49. A concrete slab floor is provided, or if desired a suspended floor may be provided. The suspended floor may comprise floor beams and transversely extending joists which support a sheet of plywood or other suitable materials such as chipboard. A foil faced thermal blanket may underdraw the floor joists and be secured. A foil faced film or blanket underdraws the floor joists and is secured to the bottom flange of each joist by pneumatically driven nails and galvanised washers, or self-drilling screws or other suitable fasteners. The foil facings of the thermal blanket act in combination with the air gap created under the floor deck provided by the plywood to reflect radiated heat from the floor back into the building. Since the natural direction of convected heat flows upwards, this gives a warm layer of air just below the floor deck. The thermal blanket is in one piece with no gaps and thus prevents draughts. Possible cold-bridging is avoided as the thermal blanket covers the bottom of the floor joists. The thermal blanket has a Class 1 surface spread of flame, which assures a safe fire performance and has a life in excess of forty years and is not affected by moisture. Each roof structure 20 comprises a roof panel 22 which extends between and is secured to the roof beams 21 therebelow by attachment to the lower flanges 51 thereof. The roof panel 22 comprises an inner skin 52 of plastics coated steel, an outer skin 53 also of plastics coated steel, a timber perimeter framework, part of which is shown at T, with the space between them being filled by a foamed plastics material 54, which, in the present example, is polyurethane foam. The inner skin 52 comprises a plurality of planar plastics coated steel sheets 52 a e.g. seven. In the present example, the plastic coating is that commonly known as a "low gloss Dolomite architectural polyester". The seven sheets are disposed side-by-side longitudinally of the roof panel and each sheet extends across the whole of the transverse extent of the roof panel. The adjacent edges of the sheets are crimped together, as shown at 55 in Figures 7 and 8. The outer skin 53 comprises three profiled plastic coated steel sheets 53 a , the plastic coating in the present example providing a silk grey plastisol coating. Each sheet extends throughout the longitudinal extent of the roof panel and the sheets are disposed in side-by-side relation across the transverse extent of the roof panel with adjacent side portions in overlapping relationship so that the adjacent end two corrugations partially overlap as shown at 56 a , 56 b in Figure 9. A sealing strip is provided at the apex of the outer pair of overlapping corrugations as shown at 57. The roof panel is manufactured by assembling the sheets 52 a of the lower skin 52 in crimped relationship in a jig, positioning spacer blocks 58 of diamond configuration at the locations shown in Figure 6, assembling the peripheral frame T, the members of which are secured together by corrugated plates, on top of the sheets of the lower skin, and positioning dividers 60 adjacent the crimped together seams 55. Each divider 60 comprising a base part 60 a of plywood and an upper part 60 b of expanded polyurethane foam material, the upper surface of which has a configuration corresponding to the configuration of the profile of the sheets 53 a of the upper skin 53. These dividers 60 serve to divide the roof panel into sections which are filled, after assembly of the sheets 53 a of the upper skin 53 on top of the previously described components through injection grooves 61 provided on the upper surface of one longitudinally extending member of the frame T. Also assembled in the jig adjacent each divider 60 is a transversely extending reinforcing member 62 made of steel and of assymetric channel configuration comprising a web 63 disposed vertically so as to extend normal to the general plane of the inner and outer skins 52, 53, a lower limb 64 of relatively narrow extent and an upper limb 65 of relatively wider extent, in the present example approximately twice as wide as the limb 64. The limbs 64, 65 are disposed so as to extend perpendicular to the web part 63. At each end, the limb 65 projects longitudinally outwardly of the web part 63 and lower limb 64 so as to overlie the longitudinally extending members of the frame T to be received in a rebate 66 formed therein, so that the upper surface of the limb 65 is flush with the upper surface of the longitudinally extending frame member. The lower limb 64 is spaced above the skin 52 so that when foam insulating material, in the present example polyurethane foam, is injected into the sections through the grooves 61, insulating material enters the space between the undersurface of the limb 64 and the upwardly facing surface of the skin 52, so as to avoid cold bridging between the inner and outer skins through the transverse reinforcing members 62. The sheets 53 a of the upper skin 53 stop short of the longitudinally extending members of the frame T and a steel strip 68 is arranged in overlapping relationship with the edge of the sheets 53 a adjacent the associated frame member T with a sealant 69 therebetween, whilst the other end of the strip 68 is nailed to the frame member T. The transversely extending ends of the sheets 53 a are nailed in the valleys to the transversely extending members of the frame T where the three sheets overlap so that the bottom roof sheet is penetrated by the nail and the nail head covered by the top sheet. The ends of the sheet which is to provide the upper end of the roof panel, in use, are bent upwardly through 90 ° , whilst at the other end, the sheet is bent downwardly through an angle of approximately 20 ° so that water cannot flow from the valleys at the upper end because of the upturn and the downturn facilitates flow therefrom. A weatherproof membrane e.g. Hypalon sheet is nailed below the valleys of the bottom sheet at the lower end of the roof member T to provide a discharge path for water. The plywood base part 60 a of the dividers 60 project longitudinally outwardly beyond the upper part 60 b and are received in a slot 69 formed in the longitudinal frame members T. The roof sheets are positioned below the lower flanges 51 of the roof beams with spacers 70 therebetween. The spacers 70 increase in height from one end of the roof panel to the other so that the roof panel is inclined downwardly as the spacers 70 increase in height relative to the roof beams 21 so that water is discharged from the lower end of the roof panel. The angle of inclination is 1 in 60 but may lie in the range 1 in 120 to 1 in 60 depending upon the application of the building. A suitable trim fitting 72 is provided between the roof beams 21 and the roof panel with a suitable sealant therebetween. The connection between the roof panel and the beams 21 comprises a plurality of bolts 73 which pass through apertures formed in the lower skin 52, longitudinally extending frame members T, projecting part of the upper limb 65 and the flange 51 of the roof beams 21. It has been found, surprisingly, that the roof panel 22 described above provides sufficient strength to hold the roof beams 21 a apart. This is particularly due to the reinforcing members 62. It has further been found that this construction has advantages compared to conventional structures having metal cross members because cold bridging is reduced, because of the thermally insulating foam in the gaps 67 between the reinforcing members 62 and the inner skin 52, as well as the timber of the peripheral frame T being a better insulator than metal. Thus condensation, which can occur in metal framed buildings, is reduced. Another advantage with this construction is that the structure is considerably simplified and costs in producing such building are accordingly reduced. Each wall structure 30 comprises a wall panel 32 which extends between and is secured to the columns 31 by attachment to the inner faces 80 thereof. The panels 32 comprise an outer skin 81 of plastics coated steel, an inner skin 82, of plasterboard bonded to a plastics coated steel sheet 83, secured to a framework of timber members 84 and with foamed plastics insulation material 85 therebetween, which in the present example is polyurethane foam. The inner and outer skins 82, 81 each comprise six planar plastics coated steel sheets. In the present example, the plastic coating is commonly known as a "low gloss Dolomite architechtural polyester". The six sheets are disposed side-by-side along the height of the wall structure so that adjacent edges of the sheets lie horizontally in the erected building. The adjacent edges of the sheets are crimped together in the same way as the sheets 52 a of the inner skin 52 of the roof panel. The wall panels are manufactured in a similar manner to that described hereinbefore for the roof panels in that the sheets 83 of the inner skin are assembled in crimped relationship in a jig, plasterboard is then positioned on top of the sheets 83 and spacer blocks similar to the blocks 58 hereinbefore described are positioned at apporpriate locations and then the timber frame members 84 are assembled, the members of which are secured together by corrugated plates, on top of sheets of the plasterboard and then dividers, similar to the dividers 60 of the roof panels, are positioned adjacent the crimped together seams. The dividers, as in the case of the roof panels, serve to divide the wall panels into sections which are filled, after assembly of the sheets 81 of the upper skin on top of the previously described components, through injection grooves, similar to the grooves 61, provided in the upper surface of one longitudinally extending member of the frame 84. No reinforcing members similar to the members 62 are provided in the wall panels. The wall panels are fastened to their associated pair of columns 31 by suitable self-tapping fasteners which pass through the wall panels and are threadedly engaged in the columns 31. Where the sub-units are linked together, an internal and external trim strip may be provided, if desired, to cover the joint between adjacent columns of wall structures. It will be noted that, in the present example, no columns are provided between the roof beams except along the end and side walls of the building. The building therefore provides an unobstructed open volume within the wall and roof panels. The edges of the side and wall panels are masked by appropriate facia panels and a gutter and drainpipe is positioned at the lower end of the roof panels. The wall panels are provided with all necessary doors, windows and the like and the windows may be single or double glazed as required. If desired, a plurality of roof panels may be provided secured to and below the roof beam instead of a single roof panel. Similarly, if desired, although not preferred, the wall structure may comprise a plurality of wall panels fastened to the columns although in each of the above cases it would be necessary to provide appropriate seals between adjacent roof and/or wall panels. The building is erected on site by initially erecting a side wall structure e.g. 30 a and holding it vertically by a suitable jig or frame. An end side wall structure 30 e is then erected at right angles to the first erected side wall structure so as to define a corner of the building. Further end wall structures 30 d , 30 c are then provided along the end of the building shown in Figure 1 and then the side wall structure 30 b . A roof structure 20 is then lifted by a crane so that the roof beams thereof can be rested upon inturned angles, not shown, provided at the top of the columns of the wall structures 30 a , 30 b . The beams 21 are bolted to the columns using the brackets 40 described hereinbefore. A further side wall structure 30 a , 30 b is then erected at opposite ends of the building and a further roof structure raised and bolted in position. The procedure is repeated until the building is completed and on the last sub unit wall structures corresponds to the end wall structures 30 c -30 e provided. The roof structures 20 are transported to site in a pack illustrated in Figure 10. The pack may comprise as many roof structures as are required and which can be conveniently carried in a given permitted height, for example in the present example approximately 2.7 metres, which permits of transport of four roof structures. The side beams 21 of each roof structure are fastened in stacked relationship by stacking angles 90 at corners of the roof structures, the stacking angles being bolted to the top flange of the roof beam therebelow as shown at 91 and bolted to the angle bracket 40 as shown at 92. Strengthening bars 93 are bolted to the webs of the roof beams at approximately their mid-point and a pair of transversely extending transportation channels 94 are bolted to the bottom roof beams to provide bearers far supporting the pack on the back of a lorry or other transport. Referring now to Figure 11, four wall structures are transported in a pack illustrated generally at 100. The columns 31 of the wall structures are connected together intermediate their ends at a position approximately 2 metres from the foot ends by spanning bars 101. One transportation channel 102 is bolted to the underside of the feet 37 of the lowermost wall structure at one end of the pack whilst a second transportation channel 103 is bolted to the angle brackets 33 at the opposite end of the lowermost wall structure. Thus, a wall structure for an intermediate wall unit must be disposed at the bottom of the pack. Wooden spacer blocks 104 are provided between adjacent columns 31. In the present example, the roof structure pack has a length of 12.23 metres, a width of 3 metres and a height of 2.65 metres overall whilst the wall structure pack has a length of 8 metres, a width of 3.33 metres and a height of 11.1 metres.

Claims: A modular building comprising a plurality of sub-units, each sub unit comprising a roof structure (20) and a pair of spaced, parallel side wall structures (30a, 30b) by which the roof structure is supported, each side wall structure (30a, 30b) comprising a pair of spaced, parallel columns (31) and extending therebetween an insulating panel (32), comprising outer and inner skins (81,82) having therebetween an insulating infill (85) and each roof structure (20) comprising an insulating roof panel (22) comprising inner and outer skins (52,53) having therebetween an insulating infill (54) characterised in that each side wall structure 30 a , 30 b extends over substantially the full height of the building and a lower end thereof is supported on a foundation and the opposite end thereof is connected to the roof structure (20), the overall height of each side wall structure of the building lying in the range 5-8 metres, and in that each roof structure of each sub-unit further comprises a pair of spaced, parallel roof beams (21), fastened to, extending between, and being supported by the columns (31) of said side wall structures of said sub-unit, and extending in a first plane, each insulating roof panel (22) is fastened to said roof beams (21) of a respective sub-unit such that the panel extends therebetween in a second plane below the first plane and the roof and wall panels (22,32) of the unit are disposed entirely within a metal frame provided by the roof beams (21) and columns (31) so that the interior of the unit is free from inwardly protruding beams. A building according to Claim 1 wherein the roof structure (20) comprises said pair of spaced parallel roof beams (21) which are interconnected solely by one or more roof panels (22) the or each roof panel (22) comprising an insulated structural sandwich having said inner and outer skins (52,53) and having therebetween said insulating infills and at least one transverse reinforcing member (62) disposed intermediate the ends of the panel. A building according to Claim 2 wherein the or each transverse reinforcing member (62) comprises a steel channel section with the web (63) of the channel extending generally perpendicular to and between the inner and outer skins (52,53) and one limb (65) of the channel extending generally parallel to and adjacent the outer skin (53) and being of greater length than the other limb (64) which is disposed closer to the inner skin (52) and generally parallel thereto. A building according to Claim 3 wherein the roof panel (22) comprises a pair of spaced parallel side members (T) and the reinforcing member or members (62) extend between and are connected to the side members (62) beyond the web (63) and overlies a portion of the side member (T) at each end of the reinforcing member (62). A building according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the roof panel (22) is secured to the roof beams (21) so as to be disposed below the roof beams (21) at a distance which increases from one end of the roof structure (20) to the other. A building according to Claim 5 wherein the top limb (65) of the reinforcing member (62), the outer skin (53) and the side members (T) of the roof panel (20) are all directly connected to a roof beam (21), to ensure structural continuity but with the provision of spacer members, as appropriate, to provide the roof panels with a desired slope. A building according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each roof beam (21), at opposite ends, is fastened to a column (31) of a wall structure (30 a , 30 b ) by an angle bracket (40) fastened to orthogonally disposed surfaces of the roof beam (21) and column (31). A building according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the wall panel (32) is connected to the column (31) by fasteners extending through the panels (32) and engaged with the columns (31). A modular building according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each insulating panel (22) comprises a structural sandwich having inner (52) and outer (53) skins and having therebetween an insulating infill (54), at least one reinforcing member (62) being disposed between said skins and intermediate the ends of the panel, the outer skin (53) comprising a profiled steel sheet having a plurality of corrugations which extend parallel to the roof beams the or each reinforcing member (62) extending transversely of the corrugations and comprising a metal section disposed between the inner (52) and outer (53) skins and intermediate the ends of the panel (22), the or each reinforcing member (62) being connected, at opposite ends thereof, to an associated roof beam (21) by means of a fastener (73) engaged with the transverse reinforcing member (62) and with an associated roof beam (21). A method of erecting on site, from a plurality of components, a building according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising the steps of transporting components from which the building is to be erected to an erection site in the form of at least one collapsed pack having a roof structure comprising a pair of roof beams by which a roof panel is supported to extend therebetween and a plurality of wall structures each comprising a pair of columns by which a wall panel is supported to extend therebetween and, at the site, erecting the wall structures and connecting the columns thereof to the roof beams so that the roof structure is supported by the wall structures.

Inventors: BODDY GLYN THOMAS HOLLY TREE C, STERICKER STEPHEN WENTWORTH, TINKLER DAVID DANESWELL COURT, BODDY, GLYN THOMAS 4 HOLLY TREE COTTAGE, STERICKER, STEPHEN WENTWORTH, TINKLER, DAVID DANESWELL COURT
Applicants: PORTAKABIN LTD, PORTAKABIN LIMITED
Application year: 1988
Main classification: E04B1
IPC codes: E04B1