The invention relates generally to concrete forming apparatus and, more specifically, to apparatus for holding a partial sheet of insulation at a preselected position inside a concrete form.
Concrete forming systems are in wide use in forming concrete structures. One application is in the formation of insulated concrete walls. A common system erects a concrete form on footings wherein a pair of form panels are separated by a gap into which concrete is placed to form a wall. Insulation is often placed in the gap prior to the addition of the concrete so that the wall has improved thermal properties as taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,329,821 and 4,393,635 (both to Long et al.), both of which are herein incorporated by reference. A plurality of spacing elements, usually forming a part of the insulation, maintains the insulation within the gap between the form panels so that a layer of concrete is formed on either side of the insulation. The most common insulation used is lightweight, rigid foam sheets that, most typically, extend the fall height of the concrete form panels. Currently these insulation sheets sit on the same bottom surface that the forms sit on to support the insulation height and to prevent the insulation from being forced downward by the force of placing the plastic concrete to a point that would place the top edge of the foam below the top edge of the form. Additionally, these insulation sheets are buoyant and float upwardly as the plastic concrete is placed in the gap and therefore need to be held down by straps or similar structure placed on top of the form panels. There are times, however, where it is desired to use a foam sheet that is not the full height of the concrete form.
If a partial sheet of insulation is desired, the conventional method of placing the insulation and pouring the concrete requires placement of the concrete up to a certain height and then concrete pouring is interrupted so that the partial height insulation sheet can be placed in position and concrete pouring is resumed. But with this method, the rigid foam insulation floats up as additional concrete is placed adjacent to the insulation due to hydrostatic pressure. The other short coming of this method is that it is very difficult to achieve the correct height for the lower portion of the concrete in which no insulation is present. The present invention overcomes these shortcomings by suspending the less than full height rigid insulation sheets in the concrete formwork with the use of tie sleeves.
The invention consists of concrete forming apparatus used to hold a sheet of rigid insulation in position that is less than the height of a concrete wall being formed. A plurality of tie sleeves are pre-inserted into the insulation sheet at spaced intervals across the area of the sheet. Form ties which extend through the tie sleeves to either side of the insulation sheet. The ends of the form ties are releasably attached to the concrete form panels and hold the insulation sheet in a predetermined position during placement and curing of the plastic concrete. Without the tie sleeves, the form ties will cut through the rigid insulation when the concrete is poured on either side of the rigid insulation.
Illustrated in
Interposed in the gap between the panels 12 and 14 is a section 22 of a rigid sheet of insulation. The sheet 22 is positioned centrally in the gap between the panels 12 and 14 by a plurality of rods 24 and spools 26 that are distributed at regular intervals across the sheet 22 in the conventional manner. As best seen in
The partial sheet 22 does not extend the full height of the form panels 12 and 14. While the rods 24 and spools 26 function to hold the lateral position of the insulation sheet 22, they do not hold the vertical position of the sheet 22. To prevent vertical movement of the partial sheet 22 during placement and curing of the plastic concrete, a plurality of form ties 18 extend through the partial sheet of insulation 22. At each form tie location, a form tie sleeve 28 (shown in detail in
A particular application of the present invention is in the formation of basement walls for residential housing. It is common to form a solid, uninsulated concrete wall below grade and place insulation on the outside of the cured wall prior to backfilling. If, however, the grade is below the top of the wall, foam insulation on the outside of a solid concrete wall will extend above ground. This causes several problems. First, such insulation is subject to damage by accidental contact during further construction of the residence and by normal outdoor activities throughout the life of the residence. Additionally, foam insulation is subject to degradation by UV light and so must be covered if above grade. Or alternatively, the above grade portion of the solid concrete wall is left un-insulated if the exterior insulation is stopped at ground level resulting in an enormous thermal bridge through the wall section. The present invention allows builders to use current practice of installing insulation on the outside of a wall where it will be below grade and also integrally insulate the portion of the wall that is above grade by casting insulation into the wall in the areas that will be above grade, thereby insulating the full vertical height of the wall.
The foregoing description and drawings comprise illustrative embodiments of the present inventions. The foregoing embodiments and the methods described herein may vary based on the ability, experience, and preference of those skilled in the art. Merely listing the steps of the method in a certain order does not constitute any limitation on the order of the steps of the method. The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention, and the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the claims are so limited. Those skilled in the art that have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.
The present application claims priority to the application Ser. No. 61/010,121 filed Jan. 4, 2008, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61010121 | Jan 2008 | US |