FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to buildings and structures made from blocks and joists.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There is a need in the United States of America and abroad for low cost housing. Traditionally, permanent housing is of stick and frame construction involving the use of lumber, such as 2×4's, to make the walls and larger lumber boards for joists and roofing. This type of construction requires a relatively high level of skill in carpentry and also expensive construction materials.
As an alternative to such construction, concrete or cement block construction has been explored. Cement blocks are relatively low cost and can be made in molds. While previous efforts to use cement blocks have made progress, costs could further be reduced, particularly in constructing horizontal structures such as roofs and floors.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A building has at least two parallel walls made of stacked blocks. The blocks have cavities therein, which cavities are aligned vertically. The building has a horizontal roof or floor. Joists span between the two walls, with each joist made from a vertical plate with an upper end portion and at least one angle piece coupled to the upper end portion. Each joist has two ends and a longitudinal direction between the two ends. The angle piece extends laterally from the vertical plate. Each joist has a width which comprises the thickness of the vertical plate and a lateral extension of the angle piece. Each end has a horizontal end plate coupled thereto and extends longitudinally from the respective end. The end plate has a width that is wider than the width of the combined angle piece and the vertical plate. The end plates have at least one pin extending vertically down. The pin is located in a block cavity in the wall. The end plates are located on the respective walls. Horizontal blocks are located on top of the joists, forming a top surface.
In one aspect, the end plate of a first joist on one of the walls abuts the end plate of an adjacent second joist on the one wall.
In another aspect, the at least one angle piece is a first angle piece, further comprising a second angle piece coupled to the vertical plate on each joist extending opposite of the first angle piece.
In another aspect, the joist is shaped like a “T” in transverse cross-section.
In another aspect, the end plates have at least one pin extending vertically up.
In another aspect, the end plates are rectangular.
In another aspect, at least some of the end plates are interior end plates, with each interior end plate having a protrusion and a recess for fitting into another interior end plate with a protrusion and a recess.
In another aspect, the horizontal blocks have cavities therein, with the cavities aligned horizontally.
In another aspect, a bond beam is located along a third wall that is perpendicular to the two walls. The bond beam comprises a horizontal plate located on and extending along the length of the wall. An angle piece is coupled beneath the horizontal plate and pins depending from the horizontal plate and into the cavities of blocks in the third wall. The angle piece is located along an inside of the third wall.
In another aspect, a bond beam is located along a fourth wall that is perpendicular to the two walls. The bond beam comprises a horizontal plate located on and extending along a length of the wall, with pins depending from the horizontal plate into cavities of blocks in the fourth wall. The horizontal plate has two side edges. The angle piece is coupled to an underside of the horizontal plate in proximity to the side edges, with an angle piece located on each side of the fourth wall.
In another aspect, the end plate of a first joist on one of the walls abuts the end plate of an adjacent second joist on the one wall. The at least one angle piece is a first angle piece, further comprising a second angle piece coupled to the vertical plate on each joist extending opposite of the first angle piece. The end plates have at least one pin extending vertically up. The end plates are rectangular. The joist is shaped like a “T” in transverse cross-section.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an interior corner of a building showing block joist arrangements, in accordance with a preferred embodiment, forming the building floor and roof.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of one end of a side bond beam for use on an exterior wall.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of one end of a block joist.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of one end of a block joist pair of end plates used on interior walls, in accordance with another embodiment.
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of part of an intermediate bond beam for use on an interior wall.
FIG. 6 is an assembled perspective view of the side bond beam of FIG. 2, with a supporting wall shown in dashed lines.
FIG. 7 is an assembled perspective view of the block joist of FIG. 3, with a supporting wall shown in dashed lines.
FIG. 8 is an assembled perspective view of the pair of block joists of FIG. 4, with a supporting wall shown in dashed lines.
FIG. 9 is an assembled perspective view of the intermediate bond beam of FIG. 5, with a supporting arm shown in dashed lines.
FIG. 10 is a top plan view of a building portion showing a layout of joists and bond beams on walls.
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a roof formed by block joists, loaded with blocks, taken along lines XI-XI of FIG. 1.
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a floor formed by block joists, loaded with blocks, taken through lines XII-XII of FIG. 1.
FIG. 13 is a top plan view of the end of a joist on a wall.
FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a wall and a side bond beam.
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a wall and an intermediate bond beam.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In FIG. 1, part of a building 11 is shown. The building has a foundation 13, walls 15, a floor 17 and a roof 19. The interior of the building can have one or more rooms. The walls 15 have doorways 21 and window openings 23. The walls 15 and foundation 13 are formed from concrete or cement blocks 25. Such blocks 25 are typically rectangular with holes or cavities 27 (see FIG. 11) therethrough. When building the walls 15 with the blocks, the cavities 27 are vertically oriented so that the cavities of one block align with the cavities located above and below adjacent blocks. Typically vertical bars 26 are inserted into the walls so as to extend into the cavities of plural rows of blocks. The blocks 25 can be the type that are conventional and commercially available, which blocks can be mortared together to build the walls. Alternatively, the blocks 25 could be mortarless as described in my previous patent application Publication No. 2008/0060313, the complete disclosure which is incorporated herein by reference. The foundation is shown as footings for the walls and made of blocks 25 on a concrete base. The foundation could be poured concrete. As an alternative, the foundation could be a concrete slab or other configuration. However, the use of blocks for the foundation is thought to reduce the cost and skill level in constructing the building in most locales.
The building can be used for any purpose, such as residential, a place of work, a storage building, etc. In the description herein, like reference numbers indicate like components.
Joists 31 and blocks 25 are used in the floors and roofs, which roofs also serve as ceilings. The joists, which are simple to make, are made from metal plates and angle pieces. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 7, each joist 31 has a plate 33 with a length equal to the inside distance between the walls the joist will span. Each upper corner has a shallow notch 35 that receives an end plate 37; the notch depth equals the end plate thickness. Angle pieces 39 have a length equal to the length of the vertical plate 33. The angle pieces 39 have end notches 41 for receiving the end plate 37. The angle pieces 39 are coupled to the vertical plate 33 such as by welding, so as to form a “T” when the joist is viewed from the end (see FIG. 11). The end plate 37 is fitted into the notches 35, 41 and coupled to the remainder of the joist such as by welding. When coupled, the top of the end plate 37 is flush with the top of the angle pieces 39, which in turn are flush with the top of the plate 33. The end plate 37 is sized to extend horizontally from the notch a distant to overlay the width of the blocks 25 in the supporting wall (see FIG. 7). The end plate extends laterally beyond the angle pieces. The main body of the joist has a width “W”, which includes the angle pieces 39 and the thickness of the plate 33. The end plate width “Wp” is greater than the width “W”. For example, if the angles are 3″ by 3″, the width “W” of the top of the joist is about 6″; the width “Wp” of the end plate is greater, for example 12″.
Vertical pins 43 are coupled to the end plates 39. At least one pin 43 is coupled to the end plate 37. The pin 43 depends down from the end plate so as to engage the support wall, but in the preferred embodiment, the pin extends in both directions from the end plate, namely up and down. In the preferred embodiment, a hole is cut in the end plate and a length of rebar is inserted into the hole partway through and welded in place. As an alternative, a pin could extend up from the end plate with a separate pin extending down. The pins are spaced apart so as to be received by cavities 27 in the cement blocks 25.
The joist 31 of FIGS. 3 and 7 is used when spanning from wall 15 to wall 15. The walls could be exterior walls. When spanning to an interior wall 15A (see FIGS. 8 and 10), the joist 31A is provided with an end plate 37A arrangement shown in FIGS. 4 and 8. The end plate 37, instead of being rectangular, fits with another end plate, the combination of which forms a rectangle. Each end plate 37A has a protrusion 45 and a recess 47, where the protrusion 45 of one end plate is received by the recess 47 of the matching or paired end plate. As shown in FIG. 8, one joist extends from one side of the interior wall 15A, while another joist extends from the other side of the wall. The protrusion 45 of one end plate is received by the recess 47 of the other end plate. Each end plate has one or more pins 43 extending down. In the preferred embodiment, the pins only extend down so as not to interfere with the laying of blocks across the wall 15A, which blocks are turned so the cavities are horizontal. Each joist 31, 31A has an end plate 37, 37A at each end. An individual joist can have the same type of end plate on each end, whether for an exterior wall or an interior wall, or could have an external wall end plate 37 on one end and an interior wall end plate 37A at the other end or could have an interior wall end plate 37A on both ends.
In addition to the joist 31, bond beams are provided. On exterior walls, the bond beam 51 of FIGS. 2 and 6 is used. The beam 51 has a horizontal plate 53 that bears on a row of blocks forming the outer wall. Pins 43 extend up and down from the plate. An angle piece 39 is coupled beneath the plate along most, if not all of its length. The angle piece is located so that the plate overlies the width of the wall and forms a ledge protruding out from the wall.
Another bond beam 51A is shown in FIGS. 5 and 9 used for interior walls. The intermediate beam is a plate 55 extending along the length of the interior wall 15B. The plate 55 is wider than the wall 15B so as to form ledges 57 on each side, which ledges extend horizontally from the wall. Pins 43 extend down from the plate. Angle pieces 39 extend along much of the length of the plate and are coupled beneath the plate so as to be adjacent to the wall. The bond beam 51A can be provided with end plates 37, 37A and pins 43 on the ends.
In use, the building is built block 25 by block. When the top row of blocks is put on the walls, the roof can now be added. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 10, exterior wall bond beams 51 are located on top of two of the exterior walls, which exterior walls are parallel and on opposite sides of the building. The angle pieces 39 are located on the inside of the building (see FIG. 11) so as to form a lip along the inside edge. The pins 43 are inserted into cavities 27 in the wall blocks 25. Working from one wall with the bond beam towards the opposite wall, a joist 31 is positioned parallel to the beam 51 and spans across the two opposing and parallel walls, which walls are perpendicular to the bond beam walls. In FIG. 10, one end plate 37 of the joist is placed on an exterior wall and the other end plate 37A is plated on an interior load bearing wall. The end plates 37, 37A abut the side bond beam 51. The pins 43 on the end plates are received by the block cavities 27 (see FIGS. 11-12 and 14-15). Joists 31, 31A are added in this manner, with the end plates 37, 37A on the walls abutting with the end plates 37, 37A, on the walls abutting adjacent end plates. Joists can span from an exterior wall to another exterior wall, from an exterior wall to an interior wall or between interior walls. Bond beams 51A are used on interior walls.
The ends of the plates 53 of the bond beams 51 can be unnotched, as shown in FIG. 6, wherein the plate 53 is of uniform width for the entire length. Alternatively, the ends of the plates 53 can be notched, as shown in FIG. 10. For example, where the width of the plate 53 is eight inches, to cover the wall 15 and the angle piece 39, for most of its length, at the notched ends, the plate width is six inches. Reducing the width of the plate ends allows the ends of the adjacent joist plates 37 to align flush with the inside surface of the wall bearing the bond beam 51.
Before laying up the beams and joists, mortar can be added to the cavities 27 of the blocks. The pins 43 are then set into wet mortar, which mortar hardens.
Thus, when the bond beams and joists are all laid up, the joists and bond beams are parallel to one another. The bond beams 51, 51A overlay the parallel walls. The non-parallel, or perpendicular walls, are overlaid by the plates 37, 37A.
While the end plates 37, 37A contact one another, the joists and beams are separated from each other by gaps (see FIGS. 1 and 11). For example, there is a gap between adjacent joists and a gap between a joist and an adjacent bond beam. The gaps are small enough to be spanned by the horizontal blocks.
To lay the roof, a row of blocks 61 (see FIGS. 1 and 11) is laid on top of the plates, with the block cavities receiving the upstanding pins 43. Mortar is then added to the cavities to secure the pins. Horizontal blocks 63 are then laid perpendicularly across the beams and joists. The horizontal blocks 63 can be the same blocks used to the build the walls, with the blocks laid on their sides (so that the cavities are horizontal). When viewed in a plan view, the blocks are laid in rows, with the blocks of one row offset from the blocks of the adjacent rows, minimizing gaps between the blocks, just as the wall was built. Thus, some blocks span between two supports, which support is a beam or joist, while other blocks are supported exclusively by a joist. The blocks not only span the joists, but also the interior walls 15A, 15B. The horizontal blocks 63 can be other types of blocks and can be thinner. For example, the horizontal blocks need not have cavities.
In the same manner that the roof is built, the floor can be laid by putting blocks on top of the joists. The foundation is made such that there is an interior row of blocks along the floor level, which blocks are used to support the bond beams 51 and end plates 37.
Once the blocks are laid down, a waterproof layer is applied to the roofing blocks. For example, rolled roof covering can be applied. The roof is now complete. The horizontal structures of the roof and even the floor need not be truly horizontal. For example, the roof can have some pitch to shed water. Inside the building, the ceiling is the underside of the roof. If desired, a suspended ceiling can be built.
Thus, the joists and beams provide a simple low cost way to roof and floor a building. No special carpentry skills are needed, particularly with the joists and beams already cut to length and welded. Also, mortar between the blocks is not required, further simplifying construction. The use of the pin anchors in the ends of the joists and beams and the walls form a sturdy structure.
The foregoing disclosure and showings made in the drawings are merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and are not to be interpreted in a limiting sense.
Patent Application
20140174010
