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US 4,843,786 AGranted
Enclosure conditioned housing system
OwnerDouglas S. Walkinshaw, Stuart R. Walkinshawinventors
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OwnerDouglas S. Walkinshaw, Stuart R. Walkinshawinventors
Estimating the term…
A continuous building basement wall and floor cavity, formed by the foundation wall and floor enclosure on the outside, and an attached inner air and vapor barrier structure, insulated as appropriate, is drained and ventilated to inhibit and prevent soil moisture and gases, such as radon and methane, from entering the basement living space. The air exhausted from the cavity can be drawn from the basement living space, as well as from the surrounding soil and the outdoors. This ventilation of the cavity serves to thermally condition the basement enclosure structure and, coincidentally, to beneficially augment the ventilation rate of the living space. Cavity exhaust air can be used for combustion air supply and heat recovery pruposes. Such a cavity can be economically constructed, using novel modifications to current construction practices, in both new and existing building structures. Introduction of this ventilated cavity in building basements serves to create basement living space of a thermal and environmental quality which is comparable to that of above-ground space.
A building basement construction comprising outer walls and an outer base, inner walls supported in space relation to the outer walls, an inner floor supported in spaced relation to the outer base, a substantially continuous vapor barrier at the inner walls and the inner floor and the juncture of the inner walls and inner floor, the vapor barrier extending between the inner and outer walls, near their top, and a continuous, sealed cavity completely around the inner walls and floor, the cavity having an inner limit defined by the vapor barrier and an outer limit defined by the outer walls and outer base, whereby the vapor barrier inhibits or prevents ingress of vapor and gaseous pollutants from the cavity, and means for ventilating pollutants and water vapor from the cavity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.