Patent Abstract:
A moisture barrier device and method for providing a moisture barrier around a stub-up protruding through a concrete slab.

Full Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/240,324, filed Sep. 8, 2009, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTIONS 
       [0002]    The inventions relate to a moisture barrier device and method for providing a moisture barrier around a stub-up protruding through a concrete slab. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    As shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2B  [Prior Art], building codes across the country for most cast in place concrete slabs  40  require a vapor/moisture barrier sheet  20  be provided between the concrete slabs  40  and the sub grade or existing ground  18 . Examples of conventional moisture barrier sheets  20  are plastic sheeting such as commercially available Visqueen or Moisturebloc. The moisture barrier sheet  20  protects the slab  40  from ground moisture that can cause problems with the slab  40  or concrete foundation over time. The moisture barrier sheet  20  is commercially available in rolled up sheets which are applied to the existing ground  18 . The typical thickness of concrete slabs  40  used for floors is about 4 to about 6 inches. 
         [0004]    Any concrete slab  40  that requires electric, plumbing, central vacuums, or other connections (hereinafter referred to generically as “plumbing”) will have protrusions in the slab  40 , otherwise known as “stub-ups”  30 , where the plumbing protrudes through the slab  40 . These stub-ups  30  penetrate the moisture barrier sheet  20  since the plumbing is run through the existing ground  18  first before application of the moisture barrier sheet  20 . Typical plumbing and stub-ups  30  are formed of any suitable pipe, such as PVC, copper, steel, or any other desired material or size as desired for the particular application which provides an open passageway  34 . 
         [0005]    Current practice to accommodate these stub-ups  30  pertaining to the moisture barrier sheet  20  is cutting of the sheet  20 , gathering the sheet  20  around the stub-up, shown at  22 , and applying duct tape  24  around the sheet  20  and stub-up  30 . This method breaches the seal and provides a poor fix at best, while also being time consuming, costly, and inefficient. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    An objective of the inventions is to provide an improved and more cost effective device and method for providing a moisture barrier around a stub-up protruding through a concrete slab. 
         [0007]    These objectives and other objectives are obtained by a moisture barrier device for providing a moisture barrier between ground and a concrete slab having at least one stub-up protruding through the concrete slab, the moisture barrier device comprising:
       a cover sized to surround and cover a stub-up to a height of at least four inches; and   a base connected to the cover, the base having a lap portion that completely surrounds a bottom portion of the cover, the lap having a width of at least three inches, the lap is constructed and arranged to provide a moisture proof seal with a moisture barrier sheet when a weight of concrete is pressed against the lap and the moisture barrier sheet, and the moisture barrier device being formed from a moisture barrier material.       
 
         [0010]    The above objectives and other objectives are also obtained by a method of providing a moisture barrier between ground and a concrete slab having at least one stub-up penetrating the concrete slab, the method comprising:
       applying a moisture barrier device over a stub-up, the moisture barrier device comprising a base connected to a cover, the base having a lap that completely surrounds a bottom portion of the cover, and the moisture barrier device being formed from a moisture barrier material;   applying a moisture barrier sheet over ground and cutting at least one hole in the moisture barrier sheet so that at least one stub-up protrudes through the moisture barrier sheet, the moisture barrier sheet contacting the lap; and   pouring concrete over the moisture barrier and the lap up to a desired height, a weight of the concrete pressing against the moisture barrier sheet and lap to provide a moisture-proof seal between a top surface of the lap and the moisture barrier sheet that completely surrounds the stub-up, the cover surrounding and covering sides of the stub-up to at least the height of the concrete so that the moisture barrier device is disposed between the stub-up and the concrete.       
 
         [0014]    These objectives and other objectives are further obtained by a method of providing a moisture barrier between ground and a concrete slab having at least one stub-up penetrating the concrete slab, the method comprising:
       applying a moisture barrier sheet over ground and cutting at least one hole in the moisture barrier sheet so that at least one stub-up protrudes through the moisture barrier sheet;   applying a moisture barrier device over the stub-up, the moisture barrier device comprising a base connected to a cover, the base having a lap that completely surrounds a bottom portion of the cover and a bottom surface that contacts the moisture barrier sheet, and the moisture barrier device being formed from a moisture barrier material; and   pouring concrete over the moisture barrier and lap up to a desired height, the weight of the concrete pressing against the lap which presses the bottom surface against the moisture barrier sheet to provide a moisture-proof seal between the bottom surface and the moisture barrier sheet that completely surrounds the stub-up, the cover surrounding and covering sides of the stub-up to at least the height of the concrete so that the moisture barrier device is disposed between the stub-up and the concrete.       
 
         [0018]    The moisture barrier device described herein provides a complete moisture barrier between the concrete and ground, as well as between the stub-up and the concrete. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]      FIG. 1A  illustrates a top view of a preferred moisture barrier device according to the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 1B  illustrates a side sectional view of the preferred moisture barrier device shown in  FIG. 1A ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 2A  illustrates a prior art moisture barrier sheet and stub-up; 
           [0022]      FIG. 2B  illustrates a prior art moisture barrier sheet, stub-up and concrete slab; 
           [0023]      FIG. 3A  illustrates a step in a process of providing a moisture barrier around a stub-up protruding through a concrete slab; 
           [0024]      FIG. 3B  illustrates a step in a process of providing a moisture barrier around a stub-up protruding through a concrete slab; 
           [0025]      FIG. 3C  illustrates a step in a process of providing a moisture barrier around a stub-up protruding through a concrete slab; 
           [0026]      FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary alternative structure for the moisture barrier device; and 
           [0027]      FIG. 5  illustrates an alternative process of providing a moisture barrier around a stub-up protruding through a concrete slab. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0028]    The inventions will now be explained with reference to the following non-limiting Figs. 
         [0029]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrate a preferred moisture barrier device  1  having a base  2  and a cover  4 . The base  2  has a portion that protrudes from a bottom portion of the cover  4  that is referred to as a lap  3 . The lap  3  completely surrounds the bottom portion of the cover  4 , as shown in  FIG. 1A . The lap  3  has a bottom surface  16  and a top surface  5 . While a square base  2  is shown in  FIG. 1A , the base  2  can have any shape, such as a circle, with the proviso that the base  2  provide a lap  3  that completely surrounds the bottom of the cover  4 . The lap  3  should have a width  14  sufficient to provide a continuous moisture barrier between either the bottom surface  16  or the top surface  5  and a moisture barrier sheet  20 , as shown in  FIG. 3C  or  FIG. 5 . Examples of suitable widths  14  are at least 3 inches, preferably from about 4 to about 30 inches, and more preferably about 6 to about 24 inches. 
         [0030]    The cover  4  defines an interior space  15 . The cover  4  should be sized in height  10  and interior width  12  so that the moisture barrier device  1  fits easily over the stub-up  30  so that the bottom surface  16  contacts the moisture barrier  20  and at least the sides of the stub-up  30  are surrounded and covered up to a height of the concrete  40 , as shown in  FIG. 3C . The interior space  15  can be easily sized as desired for the particular application. If a cone shape is used, the interior width  12  can be for example from about 4 to about 20 inches, preferably about 6 to about 12 inches, and most preferably about 8 inches, and the height  10  can be for example about 4 to about 30 inches, preferably about 10 to about 26 inches. The top 6 of the preferred cone shape is shown in  FIG. 1B . 
         [0031]    While a preferred cone shaped cover  4  is shown in  FIG. 1B , the cover  4  can be any desired shape, such as shown in  FIG. 4 . Preferably, the cover  4  is enclosed as shown in  FIG. 1B  so that when concrete is poured over the cover  4  concrete does not penetrate into the interior space  15 . However, if desired, while not preferred, the cover  4  can have an opening as shown in the cut position in  FIG. 3C . The cone shaped cover  4  is preferred since the top of the cone can be cut at different positions to provide different size holes to match the diameter of the pipe to be surrounded. 
         [0032]    The moisture barrier device  1  is formed of a moisture barrier material that provides a moisture barrier. Examples of suitable materials include metals, composites, and plastics. A preferred example is polyethylene. Most preferably, the moisture barrier device  1  is formed of the same material as the moisture barrier sheet  20 . 
         [0033]    The lap  3  is constructed and arranged so that when the weight of the concrete  40  is applied to the lap  3  and the moisture barrier sheet  20 , the moisture barrier sheet  20  is pressed against the top surface  5  or the bottom surface  16  is pressed against the moisture barrier sheet  20  to provide a moisture proof seal between the lap  3  and the moisture barrier sheet  20  that completely surrounds the stub-up  30 . 
         [0034]      FIGS. 3A-3C  illustrate a preferred method of how the moisture barrier device  1  can be used. First, the plumbing and stub-ups  30  are buried in the existing ground  18 . Then the moisture barrier device  1  is then laid over the stub-up  30  so that bottom surface  16  contacts the ground  18  or whatever the sub-layer is. Thus, the term ground includes the existing ground and any grade materials or other materials laid down first before the concrete is poured. The moisture barrier device  1  also surrounds and covers at least the sides of the stub-up  30  to the height the concrete  40  will be poured. Optionally, the sides the moisture barrier device  1  are cinched into the sides of the stub-up using tape, ties, string or any other device as shown at  7 . Then a moisture barrier sheet  20  is applied over the existing ground  18 , and where the stub-ups  30  are located the moisture barrier sheet  20  is cut to provide and opening for the stub-ups  30 . 
         [0035]    An alternative less preferred method is shown in  FIG. 5 , in which a moisture barrier sheet  20  is first applied over the existing ground  18 , and where the stub-ups  30  are located the moisture barrier sheet  20  is cut to provide and opening for the stub-ups  30 . Then the moisture barrier device  1  is then laid over the stub-up  30  so that bottom surface  16  contacts the moisture barrier sheet  20  surrounding the stub-up  30 . The cover  4  surrounds and covers the sides of the stub-up  30  to at least the height the concrete  40  will be poured. 
         [0036]    Preferably, the moisture barrier device  1  is constructed and arranged such that the weight of the concrete  40  collapses the cover  4  against the stub up, as shown in  FIGS. 3C and 5 . 
         [0037]    Concrete  40  is then poured over the moisture barrier sheet  20  and the lap  3  to the desired height. The moisture barrier device  1  is disposed between the stub-up  30  and the poured concrete  40  to at least the height of the poured concrete  40 , as shown in the  FIG. 3C . The weight of the concrete  40  presses against the lap  3  and the moisture barrier sheet  20  to provide a moisture proof seal between the lap  3  and the moisture barrier sheet  20  that completely surrounds the stub-up  30 . Once the concrete  40  dries, the top of the moisture barrier device  1 , if present, can be cut at  38  to provide an opening for the stub-up  30 . 
         [0038]    While the claimed invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the claimed invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

Technology Classification (CPC): 4