Patent Application
20100051779
The present invention relates to wall forming systems utilizing flowable construction materials, such as concrete, to construct walls.
The process of constructing a poured concrete wall has conventionally required concrete forms to be created on site, wherein the concrete forms consist of wood, metal, or wood/metal panels erected and maintained in spaced, parallel relationship with other panels. Fluid concrete is then poured within the concrete forms, which are removed after the concrete has set (i.e. solidified). Problems associated with this process include higher labor costs, lack of uniformity, and expense associated with the removal and disposal of the panels. Various wall forming systems have been developed to overcome the problems found with this process.
One such development has been the use of prefabricated insulated concrete forms (“ICFs”) comprising foam plastic panels wherein the forms become part of the poured concrete wall structure. Problems associated with this system have arisen due to the outside panels being made of a foam plastic, which include penetrability of the foam plastic, insect and water barrier difficulties, and the stigma of previous exterior foam plastic application failures.
Another development has been a wall form structure such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,183 to Kim, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Kim avoids many of the problems found in prior art systems; however, Kim teaches an outer wall separate from the solidified concrete, which requires an exterior layer to be subsequently applied over the outer wall to protect the outer wall as well as to provide a decorative exterior surface.
Accordingly, what is needed, and is not found in the prior art, is a wall forming system utilizing a flowable construction material to construct walls wherein the exterior panels of the wall forming assembly become incorporated within the construction material after it has solidified.
The present invention is a wall forming system utilizing flowable construction materials to construct walls. The wall forming system comprises a wall forming assembly and a method of using the wall forming assembly to form a wall having an exterior surface. As used herein, flowable construction materials are fluid materials used in the construction industry that are capable of being poured, pumped, sprayed, and the like, and which will become set in place after a period of time. Thus, flowable construction materials include cementitious materials, such as concrete, and other materials capable of solidifying to form a substantially rigid structure.
A preferred embodiment of the wall forming assembly comprises an exterior first wall structure made from at least one exterior first panel, wherein each exterior first panel comprises lattice framework having a plurality of openings therethrough. The openings are sized to allow the flowable construction material to flow through the openings such that the flowable construction material extends beyond an external surface of the exterior first panel. The flowable material that extends beyond the external surface of the exterior first panel can be troweled or otherwise shaped to form various surface designs. The wall forming assembly may also include a stencil attached to the external surface of the exterior first panel, wherein the stencil can be removed before the construction material has solidified to provide various relief designs. The wall forming assembly further comprises a second wall structure made from at least one second panel, which may be used for an internal hidden wall or an external exposed wall. If used for an internal hidden wall, the second panel preferably comprises a solid panel. If used for an external exposed wall, the second panel preferably also comprises a lattice framework having a plurality of openings. The first and second panels are spaced apart so that a cavity is formed therebetween for receiving the flowable construction material. The exterior panel(s) and the flowable construction material become a substantially monolithic structure when the flowable construction material is set. The wall forming assembly can be formed with an existing wall or can be a modular unit, which can be attached to an existing wall or set up as a free standing structure. The wall forming assembly may also include additional layers of panels.
A preferred method of forming a wall having an exterior surface comprises the steps of introducing a flowable construction material into a wall forming assembly as described above, allowing some of the flowable construction material to flow through the openings in the exterior panel(s) such that the flowable construction material extends beyond an external surface of the exterior panel(s), shaping the flowable construction material that extends beyond the external surface of the exterior panel(s) to achieve a desired surface appearance, and waiting for the flowable construction material to solidify such that the exterior panel(s) and the flowable construction material become a substantially monolithic structure. If present, a stencil would be removed from the external surface of the exterior panel(s) before the flowable construction material is set. If desired, an exterior coating can be applied to the external surface of the flowable construction material that extends beyond the external surface of the exterior panel(s) to achieve a desired decorative appearance.
These and other features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention.
The present invention is a wall forming system utilizing flowable construction materials to construct walls. The wall forming system comprises a wall forming assembly and a method of using the wall forming assembly to form a wall having an exterior surface.
The preferred embodiments of the wall forming assembly are shown in
The first panel 11 and second panel 12 are preferably secured to each other by a plurality of plastic or metal connecting members 16 that maintain the panels 11, 12 in a spaced, parallel relationship. As noted above, the first panel 11 is an exterior panel. The second panel 12 can be used for an external exposed wall, for example, where the wall forming assembly 10 is designed to form a free standing wall viewable from both sides. Alternately, the second panel 12 can be used for an internal hidden wall. If used for an external exposed wall, the second panel 12 preferably comprises a plastic or metal lattice framework having a plurality of openings similar to first panel 11. If used for an internal hidden wall, the second panel 12 preferably comprises a solid panel made from plastic, metal, sheetrock, concrete, or the like. The wall forming assembly 10 can be a modular unit, which can be attached to an existing wall or set up as a free standing structure. Alternately, the wall forming assembly 10 can be formed with an existing wall or with natural terrain, such as rock or dirt. Accordingly, the “second panel” can include any structure capable of restraining the flowable construction material 15.
The exterior first panel 11 and the flowable construction material 15 become a substantially monolithic structure when the flowable construction material 15 is set. If the second panel 12 is also a panel having a lattice framework, the second panel 12 would also become part of the substantially monolithic structure when the flowable construction material 15 is set. The embedded lattice framework panel(s) provide structural support to the set flowable construction material 15 and help prevent cracking thereof. The wall forming assembly 10 created by the panels 11, 12 would have a closed bottom end 18, such as a concrete slab or dirt, to restrain the flowable construction material 15. Also, the wall form structure created by the wall forming assembly 10 may have isolated ends that would necessarily need to be capped or formed with a solid panel or lattice framework to restrain the flowable construction material 15.
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A preferred method of forming a wall having an exterior surface comprises the steps of introducing a flowable construction material into one or more cavities in a wall forming assembly 10 as described above, allowing some of the flowable construction material to flow through the openings in one or more exterior panels such that the flowable construction material extends beyond an external surface of the exterior panel(s), shaping the flowable construction material that extends beyond the external surface of the exterior panel(s) to achieve a desired surface appearance, and waiting for the flowable construction material to solidify such that the exterior panel(s) and the flowable construction material become a substantially monolithic structure. If present, one or more stencils could be removed from the external surface of the exterior panel(s), preferably before the flowable construction material is set. If desired, an exterior coating can be applied to the external surface of the flowable construction material that extends beyond the external surface of the exterior panel(s) to achieve a desired decorative appearance (e.g. color, texture, etc.).
While the invention has been shown and described in some detail with reference to specific exemplary embodiments, there is no intention that the invention be limited to such detail. On the contrary, the invention is intended to include any alternative or equivalent embodiments that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as described above and as recited in the appended claims. For example, the wall forming system as described and claimed herein also finds application in the formation of sidewalks, driveways, and the like.
