Site-Assembled Pool and Method of Assembly
OwnerRichard Vultaggioinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A site-assembled enclosure of the present invention includes a plurality of upstanding staves arranged side-by-side and held together by top and bottom rails. The enclosure is preferably a pool including a coping extending entirely around and in releasably secured relation to the rails that fasten the upper ends of the staves together and a flexible liner and cover releasably secured to the coping. The wooden staves include opposing vertical edges interconnecting the two staves. The leveling gauge for leveling a construction area preferably includes a threaded rod, a pivot bracket rotatably mounted on the threaded rod, a board extending from the pivot bracket, and a level mounted on the board. A method of assembling an enclosure is also described.
Claims19
A site-assembled enclosure comprising:
- a plurality of panels, each panel comprising:
- a plurality of staves arranged side-by-side, each stave having upper and lower ends, inwardly and outwardly facing side major surfaces, and first and second opposing side edges extending between the major surfaces;
- a top rail comprising a top stave-retaining portion that maintains the upper ends of the staves, a first top projecting portion extending from a first end of the panel, and a second top projecting portion extending from a second end of the panel opposite the first end;
- and
- a bottom rail comprising a bottom stave-retaining portion that supports the lower ends of the staves, a first bottom projecting portion extending from the first end of the panel, and a second bottom projecting portion extending from the second end of the panel;
- a plurality of top fasteners, the top fasteners connecting top projecting portions of neighboring panels;
- and
- a plurality of bottom fasteners, the bottom fasteners connecting bottom projecting portions of neighboring panels;
- wherein each panel is fastened to two neighboring panels at predetermined angles to form the enclosure.
A leveling gauge for leveling a construction area, the leveling gauge comprising:
- a threaded rod;
- a pivot bracket comprising a center portion, an upper portion extending outward from a first side of the center portion at an upper end, and a lower portion extending outward from the first side of the center portion at a lower end, the lower portion having at least one fastener hole for receiving a fastener and a round hole sized to fit slidingly over the threaded rod, the upper portion having at least one fastener hole for receiving a fastener and an oval hole having a short dimension sized to fit slidingly over the threaded rod;
- and
- at least one nut adjustably threadable on the threaded rod for supporting the lower portion of the pivot bracket on the threaded rod such that the pivot bracket is pivotable around the threaded rod.
A method of construction comprising the steps of:
- a) using a leveling gauge comprising a threaded rod mounted vertically in the ground, a pivot bracket rotatably mounted on the threaded rod, a horizontal board mounted in the pivot bracket, and a level mounted on a top planar surface of the horizontal board to measure a dig radius of an area to be leveled;
- and
- b) marking the ground at a dig radius distance from the threaded rod as measured using the horizontal board.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.