Claims
- 1. A method of making a transportable brick panel, said method comprising the steps of:
- setting out a mold on which a brick panel is to be formed, said mold including a substantially flat bottom surface;
- laying a soft deformable membrane, for preventing contamination by particles of the overall surface areas of rough-surfaced brick faces, over said bottom surface, wherein said membrane restricts particles from passing therethrough and being such as to form a seal around face edges of bricks placed on said membrane to thereby prevent fine cementitious particles in mortar placed between said bricks from contaminating said overall surface areas of said rough-surfaced faces of said bricks and to thereby inhibit movement of bricks placed on said membrane;
- arranging courses of brickwork in said mold on said membrane to have the weights of said bricks supported by said soft deformable membrane so that portions of said brick faces in contact with said membrane exert pressure on said membrane to thereby cause a deformation in deform said membrane due to a sudden release of pressure beyond the edges of said bricks, said deformed membrane rotating around said edges of said bricks in a hinge action so as to stabilize said bricks relative to said mold and to seal the face edges of said bricks with said deformed membrane, individual bricks being substantially evenly spaced apart with spaces between them for receiving liquid mortar in said spaces;
- arranging reinforcing bars to pass through aligned holes in columns of said bricks so as to structurally extend through to the top and bottom courses of said bricks;
- pouring liquid mortar to fill said spaces between said individual bricks and penetrate holes in said bricks;
- allowing said mortar to set thereby forming said brick panel; and
- lifting said brick panel so formed from said mold.
- 2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein prior to arranging courses of brickwork in said mold, said mold is raised from a substantially horizontal position to a position in which said bottom surface is at an angle of between 1.degree. and 15.degree. of vertical and said bricks are placed by hand, each course of brickwork being separated from courses above and below by spacer members.
- 3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said courses of brickwork are arranged in said mold with said bottom surface of said mold in a substantially horizontal position, individual bricks being placed in said mold by machine.
- 4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a sheet of thin flexible material is placed on said membrane.
- 5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said sheet is treated with a soluble cement retardant preparation.
- 6. A method as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein said sheet is of absorbent paper for conforming with the contours and surface irregularities of each brick so as to form a satisfactory seal thereto.
- 7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said membrane is of foam material.
- 8. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein said foam material has a skin on one face.
- 9. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said liquid mortar is introduced directly into said spaces between said bricks by means of mortar troughs, said mortar being sufficiently liquid to fill said holes in said individual bricks through which said reinforcing bars pass.
- 10. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said individual bricks are soaked in water before being placed in said mold.
- 11. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said individual bricks are heated before being placed in said mold.
- 12. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein additional bricks are added over said courses of brickwork to form at least one pier on said panel, reinforcing bars are passed through said additional bricks and, during pouring of said liquid mortar, dewatering of mortar poured between bricks adjacent those forming said pier is carried out to prevent outflow of mortar from between said bricks constituting said pier.
Priority Claims (1)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
| PH5586 |
Apr 1986 |
AUX |
|
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 040,830 filed Apr. 21, 1987, now abandoned.
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing prefabricated brick wall panels.
There are many different methods of manufacturing wall panelling, and within the prefabricated building industry these methods are generally well understood. However, only partial success has been achieved in the market-place, the main reason being the high cost of aesthetically acceptable panels.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a superior, faster, flexible and significantly more economical method of prefabricating brick panel walling suitable for single, multi-storey buildings or other suitable structures.
It is not the intention of this specification to describe different types of brick panel configurations as these will vary from project to project. It is considered that there is already adequate documentation to cover all these variations and this specification concerns itself only with a method of manufacturing a brick panel that is faster and cheaper than has been accomplished before. This method is not restricted to use with clay bricks only and is applicable to cement and silica bricks as well as clay or concrete blocks of varying sizes.
However, panels manufactured for different building types, e.g., industrial, commercial, residential, etc., sometimes require adjustments or additional techniques to the method of manufacture and these are explained below.
While variations in the method of manufacture, where high technology is used to replace some of the more labour intensive ones described in this specification, the basic concept that will enable a superior product to be ecomonically manufactured will not be altered by these variations in technique. The method is flexible enough to enable manufacture of panels up to 10 meters in height or alternatively 10 meters in length. The method is equally suitable for very low capital costing, semi-mobile manufacturing plants and very large capital intensive plants and is limited only by the market size, not by the market type.
By application of the method it is possible to make solid panels, panels with large or small openings, panels with return end projections or piers on the back, panels of varying shape suitable for detailed architectural designs or panels with dampcourse material as an integral part of the panel itself.
A great failure of the prefabrication industry is that it has not been able consistently to compete efficiently and at various levels of basic or sophisticated methodology with the conventional building methods that offer more flexibility with on-site problems and applications.
For a method to be successful it must meet the following economic criteria:
The present invention consists in a method of making a transportable brick panel consisting of the following steps:
It is preferred that the surface in contact with the bricks be treated with a cement release agent which may be water soluble.
It is further preferred that in some circumstances the membrane has a very thin flexible skin that combines with the membrane to further restrict the passage of fine cementitious particles. It is further preferred to arrange horizontal reinforcement in course bed joints as required.
It is also further preferred in some instances where panels require stiffer characteristics that an extra vertical layer of bricks in the form of a pier be moulded on the back of the panel. It is further preferred that when pouring fluid mortar into the spaces between the bricks constituting the brick pier, a water extraction process be used to solidify mortar and prevent the mortar from draining away from and out of the brick pier.
It is preferred, where required, that a moisture resistant dampcourse be moulded into horizontal joints between courses. It is further preferred that seals or a means of sealing be attached to the reinforcing bars where they penetrate the dampcourse to prevent the passage of moisture.
It is also preferred that the bricks be soaked in water for between 10 minutes and 60 minutes prior to panel manufacture and that their moisture content be not less than 2% by weight. It is preferred in some instances, where required, that the water be heated.
It is preferred that during brick positioning, where bricks are positioned by hand, the mould be nearly vertical but leaning slightly back and that the bricks be held vertically apart by rod spacers.
It is also preferred that in some instances the mould be split into more than one part to facilitate easier brick placing.
Where door or window openings are required suitable blockouts are introduced within the brickwork.
US Referenced Citations (26)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
| 1567346 |
May 1980 |
GBX |
| 2089863 |
Jun 1982 |
GBX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (4)
| Entry |
| Engineering News-Record, May 17, 1951, pp. 28-29, vol. 146, Iss. 20, "Titt-up block walls insulate warehouse". |
| Random House College Dictionary Revised Edition, Random House Inc., 1980, p. 168 the Word "Brick". |
| Engineering News Record, May 17, 1951, pp. 28, 29, vol. 146, Issue 20 Class 52/415. |
| American Builder "13 Ways Premolded Membrane Gives Hidden Value Protection", May 1959, pp. 212-213. |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
40830 |
Apr 1987 |
|
Patent Grant
4957685
