U.S. patent application number 10/495523 was filed with the patent office on 2005-01-20 for foundation structure.
Invention is credited to Mard, Ake.
Application Number | 20050011149 10/495523 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26655627 |
Filed Date | 2005-01-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050011149 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Mard, Ake |
January 20, 2005 |
Foundation structure
Abstract
A building foundation structure has a supporting and heat and
moisture insulating layer (17, 18, 40), preferably of foam glass.
The layer rests on a flat and horizontal surface (51) of a ground
layer (50). A metallic foil (111) covers the horizontal area of the
foundation structure in order to prevent moisture and smell from
propagating upwardly through the supporting and heat and moisture
insulating layer (17, 18, 40).
Inventors: |
Mard, Ake; (Kvissleby,
SE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Rolf Fasth
Fasth Law Offices
629 E Boca Raton
Phoenix
AZ
85022
US
|
Family ID: |
26655627 |
Appl. No.: |
10/495523 |
Filed: |
May 13, 2004 |
PCT Filed: |
December 13, 2002 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/SE02/02318 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/292 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E02D 27/01 20130101;
E02D 31/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/292 |
International
Class: |
E02D 027/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 17, 2001 |
SE |
0104256-3 |
Mar 7, 2002 |
SE |
0200679-9 |
Claims
1. A building foundation structure comprising a heat and moisture
insulating layer encompassed by a frame that surrounds said layer
resting on additional layers of heat and moisture insulating
material together with a foil of metallic material parts of the
frame together with parts of the heat and moisture insulating layer
are integrated in respective prefabricated building box units which
when placed on the underlying foundation form a building foundation
structure.
2. A foundation structure according to claim 1, wherein the
insulating layer consists of foam-glass.
3. A foundation structure according to claim 1 wherein the foil is
located between the layer and layer.
4. A foundation structure according to claim 1 wherein the foil
rests directly on said surface and the surface is comprised of a
capillarity barrier layer.
5. A foundation structure according to claim 1 wherein the foil is
an aluminum foil with a thickness of at least 0.1 mm.
6. A foundation structure according to claim 1, wherein the layer
includes at least two courses of insulating material and the
metallic foil is sandwiched between two vertically adjacent
insulating courses.
7. A foundation structure according to claim 6 wherein the foil has
a thickness of at least 0.01 mm.
8. A foundation structure according to claim 6, wherein in cach the
layers is formed by mutually joined sheets of insulating material,
one main surface of each sheet is covered with a piece of foil, the
layers carry said foil pieces on their mutually facing sides, a
strip of said foil material, sealingly joins together the foil
coverings or cladding on adjacent sheets in at least one of the
layers, and so that the joints between the sheets in respective
layers are offset relative to each other.
9. A foundation structure according to claim 1, wherein the strips
are formed by edge portions of the sheet-covering foil that
protrude beyond the edge portions of respective sheets along two
adjacent edges thereof, wherewith the outwardly projecting edge
portions of said foil coverings are caused to overlap an adjacent
edge portion of the foil coverings of adjacent sheets.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a building foundation
structure of the kind defined in the preamble of claim 1.
[0002] More particularly, the invention relates to a
ground-supported foundation structure. Normally, the ground is
drained and a capillarity breaking layer of material, e.g. crushed
stone, is strewn over a flat and horizontal upper surface of the
ground, said material having a particle size of 2-4 mm.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] It is well known, not least from the experience gained over
a long period of foundation work, that ground-supported foundations
run the risk of allowing moisture to migrate through the foundation
structure and into the building erected on the foundation. Smells
are also liable to penetrate through the foundations. It has been
found in particular that the ground's own smell "jusmine" odour, is
liable to percolate through known foundation structures.
[0004] In addition to being impervious to smell/odours, it is
necessary that a foundation structure can established quickly and
at low cost, and that the imperviousness of the structure will
satisfy the requirements of being well integrated with the
foundation structure.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
[0005] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to
provide a generally smell/odour impervious foundation structure
that can be readily constructed in desired sizes from lightweight
elements.
[0006] Foil that is impervious to jusmin odours and that retains
for a very long time in the environment in which it is placed, for
example a time period in the order of one hundred to several
hundred years, is placed on a supporting surface, suitably a
levelled layer, over the ground area. The foil is often exposed to
ground moisture and moisture of condensation in an environment
which will relatively often be acid or contain aggressive
substances. Consequently, it is particularly suitable to choose a
metallic foil material that can withstand such an environment over
a long time while still retaining its imperviousness to jusmin
odour.
[0007] When the metallic foil, for instance Al-foil, shall be laid
essentially directly on the ground levelling layer, so that it will
lie in direct contact with the granular material in said layer, the
foil will preferably have a relatively large thickness, e.g. a
thickness in the order of 0.1-1 mm, so as to ensure that the foil
will not be penetrated when subjected, in time, to the load exerted
by a building construction, via the foundation, and brought into
intimate contact with the levelling layer. At such thickness, the
metal foil can be obtained/delivered in roll form and unwound from
the roll at the site of the foundation structure and laid over the
foundation area. The foil will also have a good tear strength,
therewith minimising the risk of damaging the foil as it is laid
out. If, for practical reasons, the width of the foil is smaller
than the width of the foundation structure, foil lengths can be
lain adjacent one another with a join therebetween, e.g. an overlap
join, so as to ensure the imperviousness of the foil layout to
smell/odours. The overlap foil may have a width which is adapted in
this respect and may include a strip or layer of glue, adhesive
tape or some readily deformable foil, preferably springy foil, that
has substantial width in the breadth direction of the overlap foil
and therwith ensure that impermeability to smell and odours is
achieved over a wide area in the air leakage direction. A single
overlap joint between mutually adjacent strips of Al-foil will
normally suffice, since such joints are usually pressurised along
the whole of their length. The levelling surface may, of course, be
covered with plastic foil prior to laying out the metallic foil,
for instance in order to prevent the ingress of sand/grains into a
possible overlap joint between adjacent strips of Al-foil. In one
embodiment of the invention, the Al-foil may be laminated with
plastic foil if so desired, for instance from handling aspect,
although the relatively thick and odour proof foil, preferably
aluminum foil, used in accordance with the invention is able to
retain its integrity for a very long tome in its environment, which
is often aggressive. The majority of plastic foils would lose their
integrity in said environment over the same time of period.
[0008] In another embodiment of the invention, the odour-proof
foil, e.g. Al-foil, may, of course, be placed between two layers of
heat insulating material included in the foundation structure, in
which case the Al-foil may be thinner, because the insulating
material defines a smooth and even support surface onto which the
foil can be rolled out.
[0009] The object of the invention is achieved. The invention is
defined in the accompanying independent Claim while further
embodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent
Claims.
[0010] I the case of particularly preferred embodiment of the
invention the surface of the ground is first prepared by draining
the ground and then laying on the surface a layer of capillarity
breaking material. For instance crushed stone, habing a particle
size of 2-4 mm. anf thereafter smoothing the layer to obtain a flat
and horizontal surface.
[0011] Prefabricated standard size sheets or sheets, e.g.
rectangular sheets, of cellular insulating material, such as
foamglas.RTM. having a thickness of 50 mm for instance are laid
tightly against each other in a first layer on the crushed stone. A
further layer of such sheets may optionally be lain in mutual tight
abutment on the first layer, wherewith the joins between adjacent
sheets of the second layer will be offset in relation to the joins
in the first layer.
[0012] It is endeavoured to achieve a liquid tight joining sheets
together. The cellular insulating material is preferably
foamglas.RTM. or some other material that provides an absolute
minimum of water adsorption or absorption and this is also highly
pressure resistance and safe against vermin and that is effectively
heat insulating and diffusion tight.
[0013] The insulating layers are conventionally surrounded by a
frame, whose members may consist of sheet metal U-beams, wherein
the concave side of respective beams faces toward the interior of
the foundation element. The area within the frame is filled with
pressure-strong heat insulating material, for instance two
superposed layers of cellular insulation (2.times.100 mm foamglas).
The frame of the foundation element can be stabilised, by mounting
sheet-metal I-beams in said frame parallel with one of the frame
U-beams. The sheet-metal beams of the foundation element are joined
mechanically in a manner to stabilise the element. The foundation
element may have a thickness of 200 mm for example. The use of
U-beams and I-beams in respect of the foundation element means that
the cellular insulating sheets can be shape-bounded to the beams by
inserting those sheet portions adjacent the beams into the concave
parts thereof Moreover, the upper horizontal flanges of the beams
will provide anchorage points for wall construction of the building
erected on the foundation structure. The building structure may be
of the kind that has the form of a prefabricated box, which usually
produced in a factory situated at some distance from the foundation
structure. Alternatively, the foundation element may be placed
separately on the foundation structure and anchored to its
sheet-metal flanges.
[0014] Because we have found that even in the case of sealing foil,
that has a low smell transmission capacity, the foil will allow
smells and odours to wander therethrough in practice, we prefer to
use a sealing layer that is comprised of a metal alloy or a
metal.
[0015] So far as we are aware, aluminum foil provides desired
imperviousness to odours, even at thickness as small as 0.01
mm--although thicker foils will, of course, provide greater
security in this respect and will also facilitate construction of
the foundation structure, since foils of the type in question can
be delivered in rolls from which foil strips can be unwound and
flattened and then laid on the foundation structure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The invention will now be described by way of example with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
[0017] FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical view of an invention
foundation structure;
[0018] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of an overlap join
between two strips of foil consisting of odour-impervious
material;
[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates a variant of the subject of FIG. 1;
[0020] FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the subject of FIG.
1;
[0021] FIG. 5,6 and 7 are respective views of frame elements in a
frame construction that can be included in the foundation
structure; and
[0022] FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a sheet to which sealing
has been pre-fitted.
MODES TO CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0023] Referring to FIG. 1, it will be seen that at the site of the
foundation structure there is a drained ground layer 50 which may
consist of or be covered with a capillarity barrier, preferably a
layer of crushed or broken stone, wherein the upper surface 51 of
the barrier 50 essentially flat or horizontal.
[0024] Placed on the surface 51 is an aluminum foil or metal
sheeting 111 which has preferred thickness of at least 0.1 mm, and
more preferably a thickness of 0.3-0.5 mm. Established on the foil
111 is a layer of heat insulating material, preferably foamglas.
Sheets of foamglas 40 are joined together and placed over the foil
111. The sheets 40 are stabilised with the aid of the frame 31
which surrounds at least the mutually joined sheets 40.
[0025] When the foil 111 is obtained in the form of strips whose
width is smaller than the width of the foundation structure, the
foil strips may be placed with an overlap join 112. A sealing
layer, e.g. time-durable adhesive, may be applied across the width
of the join to minimise the danger of smells being transmitted
through the mutually joined foils 111. Alternatively, a sealed join
can be established with the aid of welds, adhesive tape or there
technical correspondence.
[0026] FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment in which a layer 17 of heat
insulating material, e.g. mutually joined sheets 10 of foamglas, is
placed on the surface 51 of the capillarity barrier, wherewith
Al-foil is placed on the layer 17, prior to placing the foundation
layer, established by sheets 40 and the frame 31, on the foil
111.
[0027] FIG. 4 illustrates a variant in which a further layer 18 of
sheets 10, mutually joined at their respective edges, is placed on
the foil 111 before the frame with sheets 40 is placed on the layer
18.
[0028] The frame 31 surrounds the foundation layer established by
the sheets 40 so as hold the foundation structure in the horizontal
plane, said frame also providing anchorage points for the building
to be supported by the foundation structure. According to one
embodiment of the invention, the exposed parts of the edges of the
sheets 40 may be recessed to receive the legs of a generally
U-shaped frame member 32 (FIG. 5). In the embodiment according to
FIG. 6, the frame member 32 has roughly the same height as the
sheets 40 although the top and bottom surfaces of said sheets are
slightly recessed to enable them to receive the legs of the frame
members 32. FIG. 6 shows that I-beams 37 may be arranged in the
joins between adjacent sheets 40, said sheets in the join regions
recesses that receive the flanges of the I-beams can also have the
same height as the sheets 40. However, it is preferred at the
present distance of the frame members between said flanges
corresponds to the thickness of the sheets of insulating material.
The flanges on the frame members have only a small thickness e.g.
thickness of 1 mm, and their position above the main surfaces of
the sheets normally causes no trouble. The frame 31 normally
rectangular in shape and comprises straight, U-shaped sheet metal
profiles which are joined together (FIG. 7) at the corner regions
of the frame by means of rivets, screw joints, glue joints or
corresponding fastener means between overlapping leg portions of
sheet metal profiles, which have essentially the same web
measurements and a small material thickness, e.g. thickness of 1
mm.
[0029] It will be seen from FIG. 6 that rods 43 may be extended
between the members of the frame 31 as to hold the frame members
together in the horizontal plane.
[0030] It will be understood that the frame 31 with associated
sheets 40 can form an integral part of a prefabricated box unit, so
that the foundation structure and supplementing any parts of the
foundation that may been earlier mounted on the site of the
foundation structure, wherewith prefabricated box units may be
joined together to form the body of a building on the foundation
structure.
[0031] Naturally, the foundation structure can be established in
the manner shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, wherein the framework of a
building can be erected in accordance with loose timber techniques
or block techniques and anchored to the frame structure.
[0032] By way of a modification of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3
and 4, there may be included an additional frame which grips all
other heat insulating layers and possible intermediate or outwardly
lying foils/metal sheets 111.
[0033] One of the heat insulating layers (17, 18) may be formed by
preferably rectangular heat insulating elements 10 that are
mutually joined along their edges. One main surface of respective
elements 1 may be covered with a piece of metal foil 11, preferably
aluminum foil. The pieces of metal foil 11 on the elements 10 can
be sealingly connected with overlap joints, e.g. by overlapping
strips 12 of said metal foil on the foil side of mutually adjacent
elements along their respective joins. Alternatively, the foil
covering on respective elements 10 may have an edge portion 12 that
projects out beyond the edges of two mutually adjacent edges and
overlaps the foil covering at the edges of said adjacent
elements.
[0034] Both of the layers 17, 18 may be built up by joining such
prefabricated sheets 10 provided with a foil covering 11. The
sheets 10 of said two layers may conveniently be orientated so that
their foil cladding 11 will be in mutual contact, whereby the
insulating sheets 10 of the layers 17, 18 will be separated by two
mutually bordering layers of foil material. The foil cladding o
covering 11 on the sheets has an equivalent composition to that of
the aforedescribed foil 111.
[0035] Preferably, the joins between the sheets 10 in respective
layers 17, 18 will be offset in relation to one another.
* * * * *