Patent Publication Number: US-2023155359-A1

Title: Stub-up providing combination wireway and electrical box

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit under 35 USC § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/279,827, filed Nov. 16, 2021. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention generally relates to the electrical field and the trade term “stubbing up” as known by electrical contractors. 
     It is conventional practice to install electrical conduit raceways within a body of a concrete slab, for instance, forming a floor within a building. The raceways typically terminate near the top of the slab to enable the in-slab conduit to be coupled to additional conduit providing a further extension of the raceway. The section of the conduit extending above the slab elevation is commonly referred to as a “conduit stub-up”. 
     Accordingly, “stubbing up” is a process of installing pipe or conduit connected to and extending from embedded conduit within a concrete slab so as to extend the raceway to a desired location, such as a separately installed electrical box within a wall, such as a masonry or studded wall. This typically involves the use of one or more pieces of conduit needing to be bent, cut, and installed in a relatively laborious process. 
     SUMMARY 
     A stub-up for being anchored to concrete slab flooring in which conduit is embedded and through which electrical wiring may be extended, is provided in the form of a one-piece hollow body having an upper end providing an electrical box and a lower end providing a base permitting the hollow body to be anchored to and supported in an upstanding position on am underlying concrete slab. The hollow body provides a wireway for electrical wiring from the slab to the electrical box. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, a building structure is provided. The building structure includes a concrete slab floor in which a conduit is embedded for the passage of electrical wiring therethrough. The in-slab conduit has a bell end adjacent an upper surface of the concrete slab floor. The building structure includes a wall formed on the concrete slab floor such that the bell end of the in-slab conduit is located within the wall. A stub-up is anchored to the concrete slab floor within the wall over the bell end of the in-slab conduit. The stub-up is provided in the form of a one-piece hollow body having an upper end providing an integral electrical box and a lower end providing a base anchored to the upper surface of the concrete slab floor such that the stub-up is in an upstanding position with the wall. The hollow body provides a wireway for electrical wiring from the bell end of the in-slab conduit to the electrical box of the stub-up. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of installing a conduit stub-up is provided. A one-piece hollow body having an upper end providing an electrical box and a lower end providing a base is used to provide a wireway for electrical wiring from an underlying concrete slab to the electrical box. The hollow body is positioned on and anchored to a surface of a concrete slab over an exposed bell end of conduit embedded in the concrete slab for the passage of electrical wiring therethrough to the electrical box. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a front elevational view of a pre-made stub-up including a raceway and integral electrical box in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  2    is a perspective view as viewed from a front of the pre-made stub-up of  FIG.  1    with a tile ring attached to the front of the electrical box. 
         FIG.  3    is view of the electrical box of the pre-made stub-up of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  4    is a perspective view as viewed from a rear of the pre-made stub-up of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  5    is a perspective view as viewed from a side of the pre-made stub-up of  FIG.  1    with a tile ring attached to the front of the electrical box. 
         FIG.  6    is a perspective view of a base track for a wall installed on a concrete slab with a part of the base track cut-away to expose an end of the in-slab electrical raceway. 
         FIG.  7    is a front perspective view of wall studs as installed on the concrete slab. 
         FIG.  8    is a perspective view of the wall studs of  FIG.  7    at a location where cuts have been made to the studs so that the end of the in-slab electrical raceway remains exposed. 
         FIGS.  9 - 12    are perspective views of the wall studs of  FIG.  7    in which the stub-up of  FIG.  1    is installed in accordance to an embodiment. 
         FIG.  13    is a perspective views of a tile ring being installed on the electrical box of the sub-up of  FIG.  1    with the wall studs of  FIG.  7    in accordance to an embodiment. 
         FIGS.  14  and  15    are front views of the wall of  FIG.  7    on which sheathing has been installed and through which electrical wire has been pulled in accordance to an embodiment. 
         FIG.  16    is a front view of the wall of  FIGS.  14  and  15    with an electrical socket installed. 
         FIG.  17    shows a perspective view of a tile ring connected to the sub-up. 
         FIG.  18    is a view showing first and second courses of concrete masonry units (CMUs) of a masonry wall installed about the stub-up shown in  FIG.  17   . 
         FIGS.  19  and  20    show the electrical box and electrical outlet as installed on the wall of  FIG.  18   . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     According to an embodiment, a pre-made, one-piece stub up is provided with an integral electrical box and wireway combination all in one. For example, as shown in  FIG.  1   , the stub-up  10  includes an electrical box  12  integrally formed or secured at an upper end  16  of a wireway  14 . The stub-up includes a lower end  18  that is adapted to be secured to a concrete slab such that the stub-up  10 , as installed, is secured in an upstanding position. In this manner, the electrical box  12  may be located at a desired height above finished floor (AFF). 
     According to an embodiment, the lower end  18  of the wireway  14  is wider than the upper end  16  (i.e., the upper end  16  may have the same width as the electrical box  12 , whereas the lower end  18  may have a wider footprint than that of the upper end  16  and electrical box  12 ). The lower end  18  forms a base of the wireway  14  which is to be secured to a concrete slab. Thus, the base may have oppositely extending flanges or wings  20  or the like that extend laterally outward to a greater extent than the upper end  16  of the wireway  14 . Each of the flanges  20  may include a mounting hole  26  which allows the use of anchors to secure the base to the concrete slab. In addition, the relatively larger base allows the positioning of the stub-up  10  to be adjusted to the tight or the left of the location where the in-slab conduit is located on the slab. The adjustment of position of the stub-up within the wall permits the electrical box  12  to be at a desired location within a wall, even if the desired location is not directly above the in-slab conduit. 
     According to an embodiment, the electrical box  12  may include a string ring  22  or hook or the like to which string may be attached. For instance, see  FIG.  3   . The string is used during installation of the floor and wall so that electrical wire may ultimately be pulled through the raceway to the electrical box  12 . 
     In addition, a separate tile ring  24  of a desired size/depth can be secured to the front of the electrical box  12  so that the front edge of the tile ring lies flush with the exterior surface of the wall in which the electrical box  12  is positioned. 
     Use of the stub-up  10  enables a reduction of man hours required by an electrical contractor when stubbing up from a concrete floor to a location of an electrical box within a wall. For example, the conventional painstaking process requires conduit to be bent and cut so that it extends at a desired place within a wall and this activity is eliminated and replaced with a process of installing the stub up  10  which is provided as a pre-made, one-piece electrical box and wireway combination. 
     The electrical box  12  may be provided in the form of a standard so-called 1900 box or the like and may be designed for use with tile rings of different sizes. The electrical box  12  may be welded to the wireway  14  or made integral therewith. The upper end  16  of the wireway  14  may be of trade standard dimensions, and the lower end  18  of the wireway may include a pair of mounting holes  26  on oppositely extending flanges or wings  20  for use in fastening the stub-up  10  to concrete slab flooring. The stub-up  10  is self-standing and can be securely anchored to an underlying concrete slab. After the stub-up  10  is anchored, no further support of the stub-up relative to the wall, studs, etc. is required. 
     The stub-up  10  may be pre-made at a standard height. For instance, the stub-up  10  may be sized to locate the electrical box 18 inches AFF. For non-standard heights, the stub-up  10  may be produced of different sizes or may include couplings and/or trough sections for extending the height. Alternatively, the wireway  14  of the stub-up may be expandable or collapsible enabling ready field adjustment when needed for non-standard box elevations. 
     By way of example, and not by way of limitation, the stub up  10  may be provided to provide electrical box elevations of 18″, 24″, 40″, 42″, or 48″, to the center of box AFF. If demand for other heights is needed, the stub up  10  may be provided in other heights. Couplings and or trough pieces may be provided for electrical box heights that are out of the ordinary. 
     The stub-up  10  is designed such that it may be placed over the exposed bell end of embedded conduit (i.e., the bell end of the conduit may be flush with concrete slab or close to being flush with the slab). In addition, the design of the lower end  18  or base of the stub-up  10  enables the position of the stub-up  10  to be adjusted left or right within the wall to a desired lateral location. By way of example, the stub-up  10  may be designed so that it can be position at least 5 inches in in either direction (right or left within the wall) relative to the position of the exposed bell end of the embedded conduit due to its expanded-size lower end  18 . In this manner, obstacles, such as studs or the like, may be readily avoided and desired positioning of the electrical box  12  may be readily provided. 
     During installation, it is not only highly recommended but very much a necessity to have strings extending through all conduits, raceways, wireways, etc. prior to installation of the stub up  10 . Thus, before placing the stub up  10  at a desired location, strings or the like are fished from the in-slab conduit to and through the wireway  14  and into the electrical box  12 . The strings are then tied to the hook or string ring  22  extending within the electrical box  12 . After the strings are tied to the hook or string ring  22 , the stub-up  10  is positioned at a desired location with lateral adjustment permitted as discussed above and fastened to the concrete slab with any type of masonry anchor extended through the provided holes  26  on the mounting flanges  20  of the stub-up  10 . 
     For final adjustment of the electrical box to the face of a wall, the electrician may attach a desired size of tile ring  24  to the front of the electrical box  12  of the stub-up  10 . The stub-up  10  may include a variety of knockouts on the back, sides, or top of the electrical box  12  so that additional above ground conduit work may be connected thereto, as needed for a particular project. 
     For purposes of providing examples of the use of the stub-up  10  within a wall of a building, two examples showing an installation process are provided with reference to  FIGS.  6 - 16    (studded wall construction) and  FIGS.  17 - 20    (masonry wall construction). 
     A concrete slab  30  is shown in  FIG.  6   . Raceway conduit through which electrical wire may be extended is embedded with the slab  30 . Bell ends  32  of two such conduits extend through top surface of the slab  30 . A carpenter or the like may snap a wall line  34  which extends adjacent the bell ends  32  so that electrical wire may be extended into and within a wall to be constructed. 
     A base track  36  of a studded wall is secured to the slab  30  along the wall line  34 . The base track  36  includes a section  38  that is cut-away to expose the bell ends  32  of the embedded conduit. See  FIG.  6   . Studs  40  are then secured to the base track  36  as shown in  FIG.  7   . As best shown in  FIG.  8   , since the bell ends  32  of the embedded conduit are near one of the studs  40 , this may require the carpenter to cut away a portion  42  of the studs that may directly land on the bell ends  32 . 
     As best shown in  FIG.  9   , a stub-up  10  may be positioned over the bell ends  32 . As shown in  FIG.  10   , the laterally extending flanges  20  of the lower end  18  of the wireway  14  of the stub-up  10  can extend through the cut away portion  42  of the stud so that the bell ends  32  are located underneath the stub-up  10  and so that the electrical box  12  is positioned latterly of the studs  40  and does not interfere with the studs  40 . See  FIGS.  10  and  11   . The stub-up  10  may be positioned on either side of the stud  40  to the right or the left as desired. 
     The electrician or the like fishes the strings extended to the bell ends  32  of the embedded conduit through the open lower end  18  of the hollow wireway  14  of the stub-up  10  to the electrical box  12 . There, the strings are tied off to the string ring  22  located within the electrical box  12 . See  FIG.  9   . Thereafter, the location of the stub-up  10  may be adjusted and anchors may be applied to the lower end  18  of the stub-up  10  to secure the stub-up  10  to the concrete slab  30 . See  FIG.  12   . 
     As shown in  FIG.  13   , an appropriate sized tile ring  24  may be selected and installed on the front of the electrical box  12  of the stub-up  10 . Solely for purposes of providing an example, a 1.25-inch tile ring may be selected and installed so that the tile ring  24  will be flush with the front surface of the wall, for instance, as shown in  FIG.  14    after the carpenter sheaths the wall with wall panels  44 . The tied off strings may then be used to pull electrical wires  46  through the stub-up  10  as shown in  FIG.  15   . Thereafter, an electrician may install an electrical outlet  48  or the like in the tile ring  22 /electrical box  12 . See  FIG.  16   . 
     Referring to the second example as shown in  FIGS.  17 - 20   , conduit turn ups are positioned within an area in which concrete is to be poured such that the bell ends of the conduits will be substantially flush with an upper surface of a concrete slab. The bell ends may have pull strings therein and may be covered with tape or the like. Thereafter, concrete may be poured to form the slab  54 . 
     Wall lines may be snapped onto the slab  54  and a mason may lay out wall bond where concrete masonry units (CMUs) or the like are to by laid. Also, a desired center of the location of the electrical box  12  may be labeled on the slab  54 . As shown in  FIG.  17   , the stub-up  10  may be positioned over the bell ends such that the center of the electrical box  12  may be positioned as desired. The string may be pulled through the stub-up  10  and tied off to the string ring  22  in the electrical box  12 . The electrician may then plumb up the center of the electrical box as labeled and desired with the actual center of the electrical box  12  of the stub-up  10 . As state above, the stub-up  10  may be designed to permit at least  5  inches of adjustment to the right or left relative to the location of the bell ends to permit desired positioning of the stub-up  10  and integral electrical box  12 . Once the position is properly selected, masonry anchors may be used to anchor the stub-up  10  to the slab  54 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  17   , a location of a front surface of a wall to be constructed is compared to the located of the electrical box  12  and an appropriate tile ring  24 , such as a 2-inch tile ring, is selected and installed. Tile rings may be provided in a wide variety of sizes, for instance, in ⅛ th  increments. 
     As shown in  FIG.  18   , the mason lays first and second courses of CMUs  58  or the like. Necessary cuts are made to the CMUs  58  such that they accommodate the stub-up  10  extending therein. A third course of CMUs  58  is shown in  FIG.  19    and includes a cut-away second to expose the tile ring  24  and electrical box  12 . This location, for instance, may be 18 inches to center AFF. The electrician may use the tied off strings to pull electrical wire through the stub up  10 . The string may be, for instance, so-called mule tape/nylon flat rope. The electrician may then install an electrical outlet  60  within the tile ring  22 /electrical box  12  as shown in  FIG.  20   . 
     By way of example, and not by way of limitation, the stub-up  10  may be made of metal, plastic or like material. 
     The foregoing description and specific embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles thereof, and various modifications and additions may be made to the stub-up by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.