Patent Publication Number: US-2005120665-A1

Title: Structure and bolt protection apparatus

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention relates generally to construction and more particularly to a method for building a structure, a structure, and a bolt protection apparatus for use with treated lumber.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Treated lumber is used in various ways when building homes and other structures. In addition, treated lumber is often used for outdoor applications where ordinary lumber would otherwise be susceptible to damage or destruction by insects. For many years, treated lumber has included arsenic as one of the chemicals used to treat lumber.  
      Recently, because of concerns over the potential health effects of arsenic in treated lumber, federal regulations have limited the use of arsenic. For example, treated lumber containing arsenic generally may not be used for residential applications. Because the sill plate attached to the foundation of a home is often chosen to be, or required to be, treated lumber, the regulation of lumber treated with arsenic has caused the need for new types of treated lumber to be used.  
      While a new type of treated lumber has been developed, the chemicals currently proposed for use with the treated lumber are corrosive to steel and some other metals. The corrosiveness of the chemicals in new types of treated lumber presents problems for the construction industry where there is frequently pressure to reduce costs. While it is believed that stainless steel anchor bolts, nuts, washers, and other hardware may be used in construction applications using the new type of treated lumber, such hardware is much more expensive than traditional steel hardware.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      One aspect of the invention is a bolt protection apparatus for use with a bolt inserted into an opening in a piece of lumber. The bolt protection apparatus comprises a first means for preventing at least a portion of the bolt from contacting the sidewall of the opening. The bolt protection apparatus further comprises a second means for assisting in fixing the position of a portion of the first means in the opening.  
      The invention has several important technical advantages. Various embodiments of the invention may have none, one, some, or all of these advantages without departing from the scope of the invention. The invention provides a cost-effective way to prevent metal bolts, washers, and/or nuts from contacting treated lumber that may contain chemicals corrosive to such bolts, washers and/or nuts. The invention may be especially useful in residential construction applications where a treated lumber sill plate may be affixed to a slab foundation, pier and beam foundation, or other type of foundation using bolts. In such an application, the invention may allow traditional steel hardware to be used for affixing the sill plate to the foundation using a bolt protection apparatus that is inexpensive and easy for construction workers to attach.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      For a more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:  
       FIG. 1  illustrates pieces of a structure that may be created in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  illustrates a portion of a structure that may be created in accordance with the present invention; and  
       FIG. 3  illustrates an alternative embodiment of a protective sleeve that may be used with the present invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      The preferred embodiment of the present invention and its advantages are best understood by referring to  FIGS. 1 through 3  of the drawings, like numerals being used for like and corresponding parts of the various drawings.  
       FIG. 1  illustrates a portion of a structure  10  constructed in accordance with the invention. Structure  10  comprises foundation  12 , anchor bolts  14 , sill plate  16 , protective sleeve  18 , washer  22 , washer  24 , and nut  26 . Other components may be added to structure  10  or some of the above components omitted without departing from the scope of the invention.  
       FIG. 1  illustrates one application of the use of a protective sleeve  18  in the context of the building of a structure. Specifically, protective sleeve  18  may be used to protect anchor bolt  14  from corrosion caused by chemicals in sill plate  16 . Here, anchor bolts  14  are used to secure sill plate  16  to foundation  12 . Foundation  12  may comprise a concrete slab, a plurality of cinder blocks, a plurality of bricks, a plurality of concrete blocks, a plurality of foam blocks, a pier and beam foundation, and/or any other type of foundation.  
      Anchor bolts  14  may be affixed to foundation  12  in any suitable manner. In this embodiment, anchor bolts  14  were inserted into foundation  12  (which is a concrete foundation) before the concrete had fully set. Similarly, in foundations that employ blocks, those blocks typically have openings therein which are filled with concrete to provide support to the foundation. Pier and beam foundations may include beams constructed from blocks or concrete forms. In any of these examples, anchor bolts  14  may be inserted into foundation  12  before the relevant concrete has fully set. Alternatively, in some applications, anchor bolts  14  may be placed into foundation  12  after the concrete has set. In such applications, a hole will typically be drilled in foundation  12  to insert the bolt and the bolt may be held in place, for example, using epoxy or by mechanical means. For the avoidance of doubt, the term “foundation” is meant to include basements that may be created, for example, out of cinder blocks with concrete poured into openings therein.  
      While in this embodiment, the protective sleeve  18  is used with anchor bolts  14 , protective sleeve  18  could be used to protect any type of bolt from corrosive chemicals used to treat a piece of lumber such as sill plate  16 . Moreover, bolts other than anchor bolts  14  could be used to attach sill plate  16  to foundation  12  without departing from the scope of the invention.  
      Protective sleeve  18  comprises a generally tubular first portion  19  which may prevent at least a portion of anchor bolt  14  from contacting the side wall of opening  20  in sill plate  16 . In this embodiment, opening  20  has a generally circular shape but any shaped opening  20  may be used without departing from the scope of the invention. The illustrated circular opening  20  has one continuous sidewall, but openings of a different shaped cross-section may have multiple sidewalls. In this patent, the term “sidewall” is broadly intended to include all sidewalls of any shaped opening  20  where the opening has more than one sidewall.  
      In this embodiment, protective sleeve  18  further comprises a second portion  21  which may resist movement of first portion  19  in a direction substantially perpendicular to opening  20  when protective sleeve  18  is inserted through opening  20 . Thus, second portion  21  may assist in fixing the position of a portion of the protective sleeve  18  (here a portion of first portion  19 ) in the opening  20  when the protective sleeve  18  is inserted therein. For example, second portion  21  may resist upward movement of protective sleeve  18  in opening  20  when inserted as shown in  FIG. 1 . As discussed below, second portion  21  may also resist downward movement relative to opening  20  especially when bonded to another object using an adhesive. In this embodiment, second portion  21  of protective sleeve  18  is integrally formed with first portion  19 . However, second portion  21  may be a separate piece without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, when second portion  21  of protective sleeve  18  is a separate piece, it could be bonded to first portion  19  or simply placed in contact therewith. In this embodiment, second portion  21  comprises a square washer with a width W of two inches. The inside diameter D of first portion  19  of protective sleeve  18  as well as the inner diameter of an opening in second portion  21  is one half inch. In this embodiment, the length L of protective sleeve  18  is three and a quarter inches. This length may be desirable for use with a 2×4 used for sill plate  16 . A 2×4 is only one and one half inches thick typically. Sill plate  16  may be of any dimensions without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, 2×6&#39;s and 2×10&#39;s are sometimes used in construction applications for sill plate  16 .  
      While specific dimensions have been provided, protective sleeves  18  with different dimensions may also be used without departing from the scope of the invention. While second portion  21  of protective sleeve  18  comprises a square washer, a circular washer or any other shape of washer may be used without departing from the scope of the invention. In some embodiments, second portion  21  may be omitted from protective sleeve  18  and not used therewith.  
      In this embodiment, first portion  19  of protective sleeve  18  is cylindrical with a generally circular cross section. However, while first portion  19  of protective sleeve  18  will generally be tubular, the cross section does not necessarily need to be circular and any shaped cross section may be used without departing from the scope of the invention.  
      In this embodiment, protective sleeve  18  is made of plastic but could be made of rubber or some other suitable material. Preferably, protective sleeve  18  either does not corrode due to contact with chemicals used to treat sill plate  16  or corrodes very slowly due to contact with such materials. When placed over bolt  14 , protective sleeve  18  may prevent at least a portion of bolt  14  from contacting the side wall of opening  20  in sill plate  16 . Protective sleeve  18  may also prevent the entire portion of anchor bolt  14  which is surrounded by opening  20  from contacting the sidewall of opening  20 . Thus, protective sleeve  18  may retard or prevent the corrosion of bolt  14  by preventing bolt  14  from directly contacting sill plate  16 .  
      In this embodiment, a washer  22  may be placed over bolt  14  and protective sleeve  18 . In some embodiments, washer  22  may rest on the top of protective sleeve  18 . Washer  22  may be plastic, rubber, or another suitable material which either does not corrode or corrodes very slowly in response to contact with chemicals used to treat sill plate  16 . A metal washer  24  and metal nut  26  may then be used to more tightly affix sill plate  16  to foundation  12  using anchor bolt  14 . Washer  22  may prevent contact between washer  24  and/or nut  26  and sill plate  16  to retard or prevent corrosion of washer  24  and/or nut  26 . In some embodiments, washer  24  and/or nut  26  may be made of items other than metal.  
      In some embodiments, either washer  22 , washer  24 , and/or nut  26  may press down upon and compress the top surface of protective sleeve  18 . Such compression may cause a seal to be created such that the interior of protective sleeve  18  is substantially sealed off at the top. When installed on bolt  14 , second portion  21  of protective sleeve  18  may be affixed to foundation  12  and/or to bolt  14  using a suitable adhesive. This may substantially seal the bottom portion of protective sleeve  18 . It may also prevent movement of protective sleeve  18  relative to opening  20 . However, affixing second portion  21  is not necessary for this purpose.  
      In this embodiment, washer  22  comprises a square washer. However, any shaped washer may be used without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, one or both of washers  22  and  24  may be omitted without departing from the scope of the invention. Additional washers may also be used.  
      In this embodiment, protective sleeve  18  is substantially rigid. However, protective sleeve  18  may be flexible without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, first portion  19  of protective sleeve  18  is illustrated as a single tubular member in  FIG. 1 , but could be comprised of multiple tubular sections without departing from the scope of the invention. In such embodiments, multiple tubular sections may prevent at least portion of bolt  14  from contacting the sidewall of opening  20  and sill plate  16 .  
      While  FIG. 1  illustrates the use of a protective sleeve  18  in connection with the affixing of a sill plate  16  to the foundation  12  of a building, the invention may be used in other applications. Specifically, a protective sleeve  18  may be used to shield a bolt used to connect a piece of lumber to any other object. For example, the sleeve  18  may be used to protect a bolt that connects multiple pieces of lumber together. In such an embodiment, protective sleeve  18  may have a length L sufficient that the protective sleeve may pass through an opening in multiple pieces of lumber. Alternatively, multiple protective sleeves  18  could be used, with a different protective sleeve protecting the bolt in an opening in each piece of lumber respectively. Where multiple protective sleeves are used in joining together two pieces of treated lumber, it may also be desirable to include a corrosion resistant or corrosion preventive washer in between the two pieces of lumber at the point where the protective sleeves come together. Such a washer may be affixed to one or both of the protective sleeves using an adhesive and/or may be integrally formed with one or both tubular members.  
      Thus, the protective sleeve  18  of the present invention may be used in any application where it is desirable to attach a piece of treated lumber to another object using a bolt.  
      To build a structure  10  using the invention, the following steps may be performed. First, one or more bolts  14  may be affixed to foundation  12 . While protective sleeve may be placed on bolts  14  before or after affixing bolts  14  to foundation  12 , protective sleeves  18  will more commonly be placed over bolts  14  after bolts  14  have been affixed to foundation  12 .  
      Protective sleeve  18  may by placed over the protruding end of bolt  14 . The protruding end is the end rising out of foundation  12 . Where desired, an adhesive may be used to affix protective sleeve  18  to bolt  14  and/or foundation  12 . In some embodiments which contain second portion  21  of protective sleeve  18 , second portion  21  may be affixed to bolt  14  and/or foundation  12  to accomplish affixation of protective sleeve  18  to bolt  14  and/or foundation  12 .  
      Next, sill plate  16  may be placed on foundation  12  with a combination of one or more bolts  14  and protective sleeves  18  passing through one or more openings  20  in sill plate  16 . In this embodiment, two bolts each with protective sleeves  18  are used to affix sill plate  16  to foundation  12 . The combination of the bolts  14  and protective sleeves  18  pass through openings  20  in sill plate  16 . While two bolts  14  and protective sleeves  18  are used in this embodiment, more or less bolts  14  may be used without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, a protective sleeve  18  may be used with some or all of the bolts  14  without departing from the scope of the invention.  
      Next, washers  22  and  24  may be placed over the protruding end of bolt  14  and/or the protruding end of protective sleeve  18 . Next, a nut  26  may be attached to the protruding end of bolt  14  and tightened to securely affix sill plate  16  foundation  12 .  
       FIG. 2  illustrates a portion of a structure  10  constructed in accordance with the invention. In  FIG. 2 , sill plate  16  has been affixed to slab  12  using bolts  14  protected by protective sleeves  18 . Washer  22 , washer  24  and nut  26  have been attached to the protruding end of bolt  14  to affix sill plate  16  securely in place. A plurality of studs  28  have been attached to sill plate  16 . The portion of structure  10  illustrated in  FIG. 2  may form a portion of the wall of a building or other structure.  
       FIG. 3  illustrates an alternative embodiment of a protective sleeve  30  that may be used with the present invention. In this embodiment, protective sleeve  30  comprises a generally tubular structure with a plurality of fins  32 .  
      Protective sleeve  30  again, has a circular cross section. However, any shaped cross section may be used without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, while the illustrated embodiment of protective sleeve  30  comprises a single tubular member, multiple tubular members may be used to create protective sleeve  30  without departing from the scope of the invention. Where multiple tubular members  30  are used, such tubular members may be affixed to one another with an adhesive or simply placed against one another without departing from the scope of the invention.  
      Protective sleeve  30  comprises a plurality of fins  32 . Fins  32  may be omitted without departing from the scope of the invention. In this embodiment, protective sleeve  30  may be used with a foundation  12  that is constructed of concrete. The use of protective sleeve  30  in such an embodiment may be accomplished by sinking the end of protective sleeve  30  into the concrete in foundation  12  before the concrete has set. In such an embodiment, after bolts  14  have been placed in the concrete  12 , protective sleeve  30  may pass over the protruding end of the bolt  14  and protective sleeve  30  may itself be sunk into the concrete. Fins  32  (where included) may provide added stability to protective sleeve  30  and may facilitate insertion of protective sleeve  30  into the concrete of foundation  12 .  
      Although the present invention has been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the sphere and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.  
      To aid the patent office, and any readers of any patent issued on this application in interpreting the claims appended hereto, applicants wish to note that they do not intend any of the appended claims to invoke paragraph 6 of 35 U.S.C. §112 as it exists on the date of filing hereof unless “means for” or “step for” are used in the particular claim.