U.S. patent application number 10/326656 was filed with the patent office on 2004-06-24 for composite board for insulated concrete walls.
Invention is credited to Shidler, Edward C..
Application Number | 20040118063 10/326656 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32594075 |
Filed Date | 2004-06-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040118063 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Shidler, Edward C. |
June 24, 2004 |
Composite board for insulated concrete walls
Abstract
An insulation panel for a poured concrete wall and a method of
constructing an insulated concrete wall provide a pre-finished
concrete wall structure that is ready for drywall installation
and/or direct mounting of heavy objects such as cabinets or the
like. The insulation panel includes a rigid structural substrate
sheet, an insulation sheet secured to the rigid substrate sheet in
substantially overlapping relationship, and a plurality of anchor
members projecting from the insulation sheet, the anchor members
being configured to be securely anchored in a poured concrete
wall.
Inventors: |
Shidler, Edward C.;
(Saugatuck, MI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PRICE HENEVELD COOPER DEWITT & LITTON, LLP
695 KENMOOR, S.E.
P O BOX 2567
GRAND RAPIDS
MI
49501
US
|
Family ID: |
32594075 |
Appl. No.: |
10/326656 |
Filed: |
December 19, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/309.11 ;
52/309.12; 52/794.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04C 2/296 20130101;
E04C 2/246 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/309.11 ;
052/309.12; 052/794.1 |
International
Class: |
E04C 001/00; E04C
002/34 |
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. An insulation panel for a poured concrete wall, comprising: a
rigid structural substrate sheet having opposite sides; a sheet of
insulation material having opposite sides, a first side of the
sheet of insulation material secured to a first side of the
substrate sheet in substantially overlapping relationship; and a
plurality of anchor members projecting from a second side of the
insulation material, each anchor member being configured to be
securely anchored in a poured concrete wall.
2. The insulation panel of claim 1, wherein the sheet of insulation
material has grooves in its opposite vertical edges for receipt of
a retainer.
3. The insulation panel of claim 1, wherein the rigid structural
substrate sheet comprises lumber, plywood, pressboard, strand
board, wood laminate, particle board, or fiberboard.
4. The insulation panel of claim 1, wherein the rigid structural
substrate has a thickness for about {fraction (7/16)} inch to about
1/2 inch.
5. The insulation panel of claim 1, wherein the sheet of insulation
material comprises an expanded plastic material.
6. The insulation panel of claim 1, wherein the sheet of insulation
material comprises expanded polystyrene or expanded
polyurethane.
7. The insulation panel of claim 1, wherein the thickness of the
sheet of insulation material is from about 11/2 inches to about
21/2 inches.
8. The insulation panel of claim 1, wherein each anchor member is
position within a recess defined in the surface of the sheet of
insulation material.
9. The insulation panel of claim 1, wherein the anchor member is
configured so that it has an enlarged head portion, a tapered neck
portion, or both an enlarged head portion and a tapered neck
portion.
10. A method of constructing an insulated poured concrete wall
comprising: arranging wall forms in spaced relationship to form
opposing wall surfaces defining a cavity; arranging insulation
panels adjacent at least one of the opposing wall surfaces, each of
the insulation panels comprising a rigid structural substrate sheet
having opposite sides, a sheet of insulation material having
opposite sides, a first side of the sheet of insulation material
secured to a first side of the substrate sheet in substantially
overlapping relationship, and a plurality of anchor members
projecting from a second side of the sheet of insulation material,
the anchor members being configured to be securely anchored in a
poured concrete wall; pouring concrete into the cavity, whereby
each of the projecting anchor members is surrounded by the poured
concrete; and allowing the concrete to cure, whereby the projecting
anchor members are embedding within the concrete.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the sheet of insulation
material has grooves in its opposite vertical edges for receipt of
a retainer.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein the rigid structural substrate
sheet comprises lumber, plywood, pressboard, strand board, wood
laminate, particle board, or fiberboard.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein the rigid structural substrate
has a thickness for about {fraction (7/16)} inch to about 1/2
inch.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein the sheet of insulation
material comprises an expanded plastic material.
15. The method of claim 10, wherein the sheet of insulation
material comprises expanded polystyrene or expanded
polyurethane.
16. The method of claim 10, wherein the thickness of the sheet of
insulation material is from about 11/2 inches to about 21/2
inches.
17. The method of claim 10, wherein each anchor member is position
within a recess defined in the surface of the sheet of insulation
material.
18. The method of claim 10, wherein the anchor member is configured
so that it has an enlarged head portion, a tapered neck portion, or
both an enlarged head portion and a tapered neck portion.
19. An insulated poured concrete wall, comprising: a concrete wall
layer having opposing wall surfaces; and a plurality of insulation
panels arranged adjacent at least one of the opposing wall
surfaces, each of the insulation panels including a rigid
structural substrate sheet having opposite sides, a sheet of
insulation material having opposite sides, a first side of the
sheet of insulation material secured to a first side of the
substrate sheet in substantially overlapping relationship, and a
plurality of anchor members projecting from a second side of the
sheet of insulation material, wherein the anchor members are
configured so that they are securely anchored in the concrete wall
layer.
20. The wall of claim 19, wherein the sheet of insulation material
has grooves in its opposite vertical edges for receipt of a
retainer.
21. The wall of claim 19, wherein the rigid structural substrate
sheet comprises lumber, plywood, pressboard, strand board, wood
laminate, particle board, or fiberboard.
22. The wall of claim 19, wherein the rigid structural substrate
has a thickness for about {fraction (7/16)} inch to about 1/2
inch.
23. The wall of claim 19, wherein the sheet of insulation material
comprises an expanded plastic material.
24. The wall of claim 19, wherein the sheet of insulation material
comprises expanded polystyrene or expanded polyurethane.
25. The wall of claim 19, wherein the thickness of the sheet of
insulation material is from about 11/2 inches to about 21/2
inches.
26. The wall of claim 19, wherein each anchor member is position
within a recess defined in the surface of the sheet of insulation
material.
27. The wall of claim 19, wherein the anchor member is configured
so that it has an enlarged head portion, a tapered neck portion, or
both an enlarged head portion and a tapered neck portion.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to building construction materials
and methods, and more particularly to a composite board useful for
insulating poured concrete walls.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] To reduce energy consumption for heating purposes,
especially in those areas that typically experience prolonged cold
weather, it is common to employ insulation on basement and other
exterior walls. Poured concrete walls can be formed more quickly
and at a lower cost than comparable alternative wall structures,
while providing excellent durability, structural integrity, and
other desirable aesthetic and functional characteristics.
Accordingly, it has become increasingly desirable to integrate
insulation panels into a poured concrete wall during construction
of the wall.
[0003] Conventional techniques of integrating insulation panels to
a poured concrete wall during construction of the wall have
generally involved locating and retaining insulation panels between
wall forms, pouring concrete into a space defined between the wall
forms, and removing the wall forms after the concrete has cured.
Various systems and methods utilizing wall ties and retaining
strips have been employed for holding the insulation panels in
place during construction and for securing the insulation panel to
or within the wall.
[0004] Insulation panels, such as plastic foam insulation panels,
can be embedded within the wall, on the exterior side of the wall,
or on the interior side of the wall. However, embedding the
insulation panels within the concrete wall, i.e., between an
interior concrete layer and an exterior concrete layer, can be
difficult. Generally, a more complex retaining system is needed to
hold the insulation panels in the proper position during pouring of
the concrete layers of the wall, and care must be taken to balance
forces on opposite sides of the insulation panels during pouring of
the concrete to prevent rupturing of the insulation panels due to
excessive differential hydrostatic pressure on the opposite sides
of the insulation panels. A problem with positioning the insulation
panels on the exterior side of the concrete wall is that termites
can tunnel from a lower end of the insulation panel through to an
upper end of the insulation panel unless the lower ends are capped
with a material that is tough enough to resist termite penetration.
It is also undesirable to expose the insulation panels on the
exterior side of the concrete wall for aesthetic reasons.
Accordingly, it is generally preferred to position the insulation
panels on the interior side of a poured concrete wall.
[0005] Many systems and methods for securing insulation panels to
the interior side of a poured concrete wall during construction of
the wall require fabrication of a framework adjacent the insulation
panels in order to facilitate installation of cabinets, drywall or
other interior wall coverings. The remaining systems and methods
for securing insulation panels to the interior side of a poured
concrete wall during construction of the wall provide only a
relatively limited ability to mount objects over the insulation
panels. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,917 B2 discloses a poured
concrete wall system incorporating elongated retaining strips
constructed of wood or plastic, or any other building material
which would accommodate screws, nails or other fasteners, so that
the retaining strips may function as a device for attaching drywall
or the like. However, the retaining strips are relatively
insubstantial and are not capable of supporting relatively heavy
objects, such as wall-mounted cabinets, bookcases or the like.
Further, the retaining strips are relatively narrow, and are spaced
apart both vertically and horizontally. As a result, great care and
effort must be expended to insure that nails, screws or other
fasteners are properly located to penetrate the relatively narrow
retainer strips when mounting drywall or the like to the insulated
wall.
[0006] Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an insulation
panel for a poured concrete wall, and a method of constructing a
poured concrete wall to which the insulation panel is secured, that
eliminates the need for constructing a framework to facilitate
installation of drywall or the like, and which allows drywall,
cabinets and the like to be easily fastened to an insulated poured
concrete wall without regard to fastener position relative to the
insulation panels. It would also be desirable to provide an
insulation panel for a poured concrete wall, and a method of
constructing an insulated poured concrete wall that utilizes a
sturdier construction that allows relatively heavy objects to be
fastened directly to the insulated wall without requiring
construction of a framework adjacent the wall, and without regard
to the position of the fasteners relative to the insulation
panels.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The invention provides an insulation panel for a poured
concrete wall, a method of constructing an insulated concrete wall,
and the resulting insulated poured concrete wall, which overcome
the above-noted problems with conventional insulation panels, and
systems and methods for constructing a poured concrete wall. In
particular, the invention provides a pre-finished concrete wall
that is ready for drywall installation and/or direct mounting of
heavy objects such as cabinets and the like. Further, the invention
eliminates the need for framing, such as with lumber, prior to
installation of drywall, cabinets and the like. Another important
advantage is that the invention allows drywall, cabinets and the
like to be mounted directly to an insulation panel without any
concern relating to the position of fasteners relative to the
insulation panel, i.e., fastener locations can be based on the most
desirable location with respect to the drywall, cabinet or other
object being mounted to the wall, substantially without regard to
the features of the underlying insulation panels.
[0008] In an aspect of the invention, an insulation panel for a
poured concrete wall includes a rigid structural substrate sheet
having opposite sides, a sheet of insulation material having
opposite sides, a first side of the sheet of insulation material
secured to a first side of the substrate sheet in substantially
overlapping relationship; and a plurality of anchor members
projecting from a second side of the sheet of insulation material,
the anchor members being configured to be securely anchored in a
poured concrete wall.
[0009] In accordance with another aspect of the invention,
insulated poured concrete wall is constructed by a method including
steps of arranging wall forms in spaced relationship to form
opposing wall surfaces defining a cavity; arranging insulation
panels adjacent one of the opposing wall surfaces, each of the
insulation panels comprising a rigid structural substrate sheet
having opposite sides, a sheet of insulation material having
opposite sides, a first side of the sheet of insulation material
secured to a first side of the substrate sheet in substantially
overlapping relationship, and a plurality of anchor members
projecting from a second side of the sheet of insulation material,
the anchor members being configured to be securely anchored in a
poured concrete wall; pouring concrete into the cavity, whereby
each of the projecting anchor members is surrounded by the poured
concrete; and allowing the concrete to cure, whereby the projecting
anchor members are embedded within the concrete.
[0010] In another aspect of the invention, an insulated poured
concrete wall comprises a concrete wall layer having opposing wall
surfaces; and a plurality of insulation panels arranged adjacent at
least one of the opposing wall surfaces, each of the insulation
panels including a rigid structural substrate sheet having opposing
sides, a sheet of insulation material having opposite sides, a
first side of the sheet of insulation material secured to a first
side of the substrate sheet in substantially overlapping
relationship, and a plurality of anchor members projecting from a
second side of the sheet of insulation material, wherein the anchor
members are configured so that they are securely anchored in the
concrete wall layer.
[0011] These and other features, advantages and objects of the
present invention will be further understood and appreciated by
those skilled in the art by reference to the following
specification, claims and appended drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an insulated concrete wall
system in accordance with the methods and features of the
invention.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an insulation panel for a
poured concrete wall in accordance with the invention.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view of an insulated
poured concrete wall in accordance with the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0015] In FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of a portion of
a poured wall forming system 10. The system includes a plurality of
wall forms 12 which are arranged to form two series of coplanar
wall forms held in opposing spaced-apart, parallel relationship.
Spaced apart wall forms 12 are held in a coplanar relationship by
connecting pins 14, and the two series of coplanar wall forms are
held in opposing spaced-apart parallel relationship by wall ties
16. Wall forms 12 may be constructed of wood, aluminum, iron,
steel, or various other materials or combinations thereof.
[0016] Forms 12 are typically from about 2 to 6 feet wide and from
about 2 to about 10 feet high. Connecting pins 14 are well known in
the art. Insulating panels 18 are positioned adjacent the interior
surfaces of at least one of the series of wall forms 12. Grooves 20
are formed in opposing vertical edges of insulating panel 18. A
long edge 28 of a T-shaped retaining strip 22 is received in groove
20. Insulating panels 18 are held in place at their edges between
laterally spaced-apart retaining strips 22. As shown in FIG. 2,
rather than extending between vertically spaced-apart ties 16,
retainer 22 may extend the full height of the poured wall,
typically 8 or 9 feet. This is achieved by providing a series of
vertically spaced-apart notches 24 through which ties 16 pass.
Thus, in the illustrated poured concrete wall construction system,
retaining strips 22 extend uninterrupted past wall tie 16. However,
alternative retainer strip configurations may be used. For example,
several short retainer strips may be used instead of a single
retainer strip having notches. As another alternative, flat
retainer strips may be used rather than the illustrated T-shaped
retainer strips.
[0017] Retainer strips 22 are temporarily held in place by
engagement of notches 24 with notches in edges of wall tie 16 until
the concrete has been poured and cured. This reduces the number of
retaining strips needed, thus simplifying installation and reducing
construction costs.
[0018] The illustrated forms and retainers used for holding
insulation panel 18 immediately adjacent form 12 merely represent a
means for defining a cavity for a poured concrete wall and for
retaining insulation panels at the desired position within the
cavity. However, alternative forms or means for defining the cavity
and for retaining the insulation panels in a desired position
within the cavity may be employed without departing from the
principles of the invention.
[0019] Shown in FIG. 2 is a perspective view of insulation panel
18, illustrating details thereof. Insulation panel 18 includes a
rigid structural substrate sheet 30 having opposite sides. A sheet
31 of insulation material is secured to a first side of substrate
sheet 30 in substantially overlapping relationship. A plurality of
anchor members 38 project from a side or surface of the sheet of
insulation material that is opposite of the side of the insulation
material that is secured to substrate sheet 30. Each of the anchor
members is configured to be securely anchored in a poured concrete
wall. More specifically, as shown in greater detail in FIG. 3, the
portion of the anchor member 38 which projects away from the
surface of the sheet 31 of insulation material includes an enlarged
head portion 46 and/or a tapered neck portion 44 located between
the head portion 46 and the surface of insulation sheet 30. This
allows concrete to get behind surfaces of head portion 46 that face
toward insulation sheet 30, thereby securely anchoring member 38 in
the concrete, and in turn securely holding panel 18 against
concrete wall layer 40.
[0020] As shown in FIG. 3, insulation sheet 31 may be provided with
recesses 35, whereby the portion of anchor member 38 projecting
from a surface of insulation sheet 31 need not extend beyond the
overall thickness of insulation panel 18. This feature has the
advantage of allowing insulation panels 18 to be stacked directly
on top of each other during shipment and storage, whereby less
space is needed for shipment and storage, and the need for spacers
between stacked sheets is eliminated. Further, the risk of damage
to anchor member 38, and the risk of damaging an adjacent panel
surface by contacting the panel surface with head portion 46 of
anchor member 38, are significantly reduced or eliminated by
confining the projecting portion of anchor member 38 within recess
38 defined in the surface of insulation sheet 31.
[0021] Rigid structural substrate sheet 30 should be sufficiently
rigid to facilitate receipt of a fastener, such as a nail or screw,
and transfer a load, such as drywall, cabinets or the like, from
the fastener to anchor member 38 without any significant
distortion. Examples of suitable rigid structural substrate sheets
include relatively rigid construction materials such as sheets made
of lumber, plywood, pressboard, strand board, oriented strand
board, wood laminates, particle board, fiberboard, and the like. A
suitable thickness for rigid structural substrate sheet 30 is about
{fraction (7/16)} inch to about 1/2 inch, although thicker or
thinner substrate sheets may be used.
[0022] Insulation sheet 31 may be generally any sheet material
commonly employed for thermal insulation purposes. Suitable
insulation materials include various expanded or foam plastic
materials, such as expanded polystyrene and expanded polyurethane.
The thickness of insulation sheet 31 will depend on the desired
insulation value for panel 18, the insulation value of substrate
30, and the particular material selected for insulation sheet 31.
However, suitable thicknesses for expanded polystyrene or expanded
polyurethane insulation sheets 31 are about 11/2 inches to about
21/2 inches, with a typical value being about 2 inches.
[0023] Anchor member 38 may be made of any material suitable for
firmly securing insulation panel 18 to concrete wall layer 40.
Examples of suitable materials include metals such as steel, and
plastics such as fiber-reinforced or particle-reinforced nylon. As
shown in FIG. 3, anchor member 38 extends through both substrate
sheet 30 and insulation sheet 31. This facilitates assembly of
insulation panels 18. Loads may be transferred through substrate
sheet to anchor member 38 and through anchor member 38 to concrete
wall layer 40. In addition to having an enlarged head portion 46
and/or reduced diameter neck portion 44, which present surfaces
having a component that faces the surface of insulation sheet 31
whereby anchor member 38 may be securely anchored in concrete wall
layer 40, anchor member 38 also includes an enlarged or flared foot
portion 42 having surfaces with a component that faces toward
concrete wall layer 40.
[0024] Anchor member 38 may be secured to insulation panel 18 by a
compression fit, interference fit, or other frictional engagement
of surfaces of anchor member 38 with substrate sheet 30.
Alternatively, or in addition, anchor member 38 may be at least
partially threaded, and/or adhesives may be employed.
[0025] Rigid structural substrate sheet 30 may be secured to
insulation sheet 31 using a variety of commercially available or
otherwise known adhesive formulations.
[0026] The above description is considered that of the preferred
embodiments only. Modifications of the invention will occur to
those skilled in the art and to those who make or use the
invention. Therefore, it is understood that the embodiments shown
in the drawings and described above are merely for illustrative
purposes and not intended to limit the scope of the invention,
which is defined by the following claims as interpreted according
to the principles of patent law, including the doctrine of
equivalents.
* * * * *