Patent Application
20100018144
The present invention relates to a wall system employing insulating concrete form construction having an integral channel formed therein and to a method of making such an insulating concrete form wall with an embedded channel.
Insulating concrete forms are used for walls of concrete construction. The insulating forms provide a cavity into which the concrete is poured while the forms themselves remain in place in the finished wall and provide superior insulating qualities over conventional wood frame construction. The resulting wall provides improved strength as well as having built in insulation layers. Such construction techniques provide solid, long lasting construction that resists fire, wind, termites and other common elements that plague wood frame construction. Moreover, insulating concrete forms have advantages over conventional concrete block construction by providing two built in layers of insulation over a thick center poured concrete portion. The resulting structures have greater energy efficiency, are quieter and stronger. Such systems also have lower maintenance.
Concrete walls are typically reinforced with rebar or other members embedded and interconnected in the concrete. The insulated concrete forms typically are polystyrene forms that are configured to remain in place during concrete pouring and define spaces for receiving poured concrete. These blocks are configured for stacking and remaining as a portion of the finished wall. In other configurations, insulating panel type forms are used on each face with ties extending between opposite insulating layers. The blocks and panels may have tongue-in-groove edges or other engagement structures that provide alignment and engagement between the insulating elements.
Although insulating concrete forms have many advantages and benefits, a common difficulty arises from placing wiring, plumbing, cables, central vacuum ducts and other lines through the walls. It is usually necessary to fish the lines through an orifice formed through the insulating form layer. Moreover, this technique is somewhat unsightly and problems are compounded when lines must be placed after sheetrock or other common wall materials have been placed over the insulating concrete form wall.
It can be seen then that a new and improved insulating concrete form system is needed that provides space integrated into the wall for running various types of lines, cables and/or ductwork. Such a system should achieve all the benefits of insulating concrete form wall systems and provide for easy construction at low cost while providing improved access over prior construction techniques. The present invention addresses these as well as other problems associated with channeling for insulating concrete form systems.
The present invention is directed to an insulating concrete form (ICF) system and method of constructing an insulating concrete form wall. The system includes conventional insulating forms that form inner and outer insulating layers. The system also utilizes conventional ties for building block types forms to define a cavity for receiving poured concrete. Channel elements are configured for inserting into the insulating concrete form layer during initial construction and forming an integral part of the insulating layers in the wall system when finished.
The channel element includes sides and a bottom with a T-slot formed at the bottom. Alignment tabs and ribs extend from an outer face of the sides to engage the foam insulation elements. The channel element inserts into the insulating concrete form system during construction as a portion of the insulating layer and remains in place.
To construct the system, the insulating forms are built in an interlocking stacked configuration as in a conventional (ICF) construction method with blocks or panels until a level is reached where it is desired to insert a channel. A channel member (or members) is then placed on the top of the current uppermost insulating layer with the engagement ribs and alignment tab positioning and engaging the foam insulation. The wall continues to be built with blocks or panels above the channel with the insulating forms engaging the ribs at the top of the channel elements and aligned by the upward extending alignment tab. The ties insert into and engage the T-slot and are used in a conventional manner to connect the insulating layers. When the insulating layers have been constructed, to form a center cavity for poured concrete, rebar is inserted and the concrete is poured into the cavity formed between the insulating layers using conventional insulating concrete form construction techniques. Outlets and vacuum access points are inserted into the insulating layers. The concrete flows into and engages the T-slot on the bottom of the channel member and provides greater connection and improved strength. Inner and outer faces are finishing using conventional techniques and material.
These features of novelty and various other advantages that characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming a part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, its advantages, and the objects obtained by its use, reference should be made to the drawings that form a further part hereof, and to the accompanying descriptive matter, in which there is illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention.
Referring to the drawings and in particular to
Intermediate the inner insulating layer 50 and outer insulating layer 52 is a center concrete core layer 26. The concrete 26 generally fills the cavity formed between the inner insulating 50 and outer insulating layer 52. Rebar 29 or other conventional reinforcement members may extend within the concrete layer to provide added strength and support. The inner insulating layer 50 and outer insulating layer 52 are left in place to provide a mounting surface for finishing and attachment of an additional finishing layer such as stucco, paneling stucco, brick or siding on the outer insulating layer 52 and wall board, drywall, paneling or other finishing layers on the inner insulating layer 50.
In addition, at least one channel 30 extends in the insulting layers 50 and/or 52. The channel 30 provides for placement of wiring, plumbing, duct work, cables and other lines with easy access to the open top portion of the channel 30 that faces to the outer faces of the wall system 20. The channel 30 is generally horizontal, but may also include one or more intersecting vertical channel branches and lead to outlets and other line ends or access points 130. Moreover, other horizontal channels 30 may be added as needed in the inner insulating layer and outer insulating layer to accommodate the various lines that are to be installed. The channel element 30 may be made of an extruded plastic material providing light weight and sufficient strength and rigidity at a low cost. The channel element 30 may also be a styrene channel or may be metal, such as cold rolled steel or aluminum that provides suitable strength and is lightweight.
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The resulting insulating concrete form system wall 20 includes integral channels 30 that may receive the various lines, ducts, plumbing, etc. and is ready for the receiving finishing layers. The use of channels 30 avoids having to fish wiring and other lines through the wall and provides a clean finish and easy access. Should lines need to be replaced or added after initial construction, pulling and feeding new lines is easily accomplished through the channels 30.
Although the channels 30 may be cut to length and may come in several sizes, the channel generally comes in common standard lengths, such as 48 inches and may have a common width in sizes complementary to conventional concrete forms 24. Channels are typically made of common plastic extruded material such as PVC and have width dimension of 3½ inches deep by 4⅛ inches wide with ⅝ inch or ¾ inch flanges. It can be understood that the size is sufficient to accommodate a standard electrical outlet box or large diameter plumbing pipes in certain embodiments. The system is also installed during the normal construction and requires no special tools or installation skills, requiring only techniques and tools such as may be needed with conventional systems.
In a second construction method, the inner and outer layers are constructed in panels with integral channels 30 and the entire layers 50 and 52 are then erected and tied together with the ties 28. The concrete is then poured in a conventional manner to form the wall 20 as described above.
The present insulating concrete form system and method is adapted for use with standard building systems and installing electrical and service lines with a professional appearance. The present system is inexpensive and provides for using standard electrical, plumbing and other building components and easy remodeling or upgrades with low impact. The system allows use of lower grade paid labor and eliminates much of the expensive labor in code related technical work. The present system and method also affords significant reduction and reconstruction layout and assembly costs. Moreover, the system is compliant with known building codes and specification.
It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
