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US 5,577,356 AGranted
Pre-cut building method and structure
AssigneePanabode Cedar Homes, Inc.
InventorsJohn L. Hubbard, Russell T. Barney
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pre-cut building structure and method of erecting the same, wherein there is a plurality of vertical columns, each having vertically aligned grooves to receive end portions of related timbers. The columns are located, and the wall sections are formed by stacking the timbers in aligned slots of pairs of columns. The timbers are bonded to one another and to the columns to form the building structure, and loads on the building structure that would tend to deform the wall structure in a plane parallel to the length of the timbers are resisted by the bonded connections between the timbers.
Claims20
A method of providing pre-cut building components and assembling these components at a building site to erect a wood timber structure, said method comprising:
- a. providing a building design that comprise a floor plan designating column locations and wall locations, said wall locations comprising at least first and second wall locations, each of which has first and second ends, the first ends of each of said first and second wall locations being adjacent to one another and angled at an acute wall angle relative to one another at a corner location, said design having a first column location at said corner location, and two second column locations at, respectively, the two second ends of the wall locations;
- b. providing at said site a plurality of wood columns, each having in cross section at least one vertical slot of a predetermined width and depth extending along the length of that column, and some of said columns having at least two of said slots, said columns comprising at least one corner column member which has two vertical slots, each facing outwardly from the first column at an acute slot angle equal to said acute angle, and two second column members at said two second column locations, respectively;
- c. providing at said site a plurality of wood wall timbers, each having side, upper, lower and end surfaces, each of said timbers having at least one end portion with a width dimension matching the width of a related slot of a related column so as to be able to fit within said related slot, and some of said timbers having two such end portions, each of said timbers having a predetermined lengthwise dimension, said timbers comprising first and second sets of timbers sized and configured to be placed at said first and second wall locations, respectively;
- d. providing a base structure defining an upwardly facing base surface;
- e. locating on said base structure said column locations, including said first and second column locations, and positioning each of said columns, including said first and second columns, vertically at related column locations and securing said columns to said base structure, with at least some of said columns comprising pairs of columns defining end location portions of a related wall location and with the columns of each pair having aligned slots facing each other at said end locations;
- f. selecting sets of timbers sized and designated for each of said related wall locations, including said first and second sets of timbers, positioning each of said sets of timbers in said slots, and placing said timbers in said aligned slots one on top of the other to form wall sections of the timbers, comprising first and second wall sections made from said first and second sets of timbers;
- g. securing each of said columns to said base structure;
- h. securing the timbers of each set to said columns of said pair in a manner that portions of the timbers positioned within related slots are fixedly connected to their related columns to resist vertical and angular relative movement between the timbers in each set and the columns attached thereto;
- and
- i. securing said timbers to one another in a manner that relative movement of adjacent timbers in a direction parallel to the length of the timbers is resisted
- whereby lateral forces on said structure that are directed perpendicularly against said first wall section are transmitted at least partially into said first corner column, into said second wall section and into the second column of the second wall section, with angular movement of said corner column tending to move the timbers of the second wall section relative to one another along a line parallel to lengthwise axes of the timbers of the second wall section is resisted by:
- i) connections between the corner column and the timber end portions adjacent thereto;
- ii) connections between the timbers of the second wall section;
- iii) connections between the second column of the second wall section and the end portions of the timbers connected thereto.
11 more elements
A building structure made from pre-cut wood building components assembled at a building site, said structure comprising:
- a. a base structure having column locations and wall locations, said wall locations comprising at least first and second wall locations, each of which has first and second ends, the first ends of each of said first and second wall locations being adjacent to one another and angled at an acute wall angle relative to one another at a corner location, said base structure having a first column location at said corner location, and two second column locations at, respectively, the two second ends of the wall locations;
- b. a plurality of wood columns, each having in cross section at least one vertical slot of a predetermined width and depth extending along the length of that column, and some of said columns having at least two of said slots, said columns comprising at least one corner column member which has two vertical slots, each facing outwardly from the first column at an acute slot angle equal to said acute angle, and two second column members at said two second column locations, respectively, said columns being vertically positioned at related column locations and secured to said base structure, with at least some of said columns comprising pairs of columns defining end location portions of related wall locations and with the columns of each of said pair having aligned slots facing each other at said end locations;
- c. a plurality of wood wall timbers, each having side, upper, lower and end surfaces, each of said timbers having at least one end portion with a width dimension matching the width of a related slot of a related column so as to fit within said related slot, and some of said timbers having two such end portions, fitting within related slots of two related columns, each of said timbers having a predetermined lengthwise dimension, a plurality of groups of said timbers, being sized and designated each for a related wall location, the timbers of each group being positioned in said slots of their related pair of columns with the timbers in each group being stacked one on top of the other to form the related wall section of said structure, said timbers comprising first and second sets of timbers sized and configured to be placed at said first and second wall locations, respectively;
- d. the timbers of each group being fixedly connected to the related columns and fixedly connected to one another at lengthwise locations along the length of each timber in a manner to resist vertical and angular relative movement between the timbers in each set and the columns attached thereto, and so that relative movement of adjacent timbers in a direction parallel to the length of the timbers is resisted,
- whereby lateral forces on said structure that are directed perpendicularly against said first wall section are transmitted at least partially into said first corner column, into said second wall section and into the second column of the second wall section, with angular movement of said corner column tending to move the timbers of the second wall section relative to one another along a line parallel to lengthwise axes of the timbers of the second wall section is resisted by:
- i) connections between the corner column and the timber end portions adjacent thereto;
- ii) connections between the timbers of the second wall section;
- iii) connections between the second column of the second wall section and the end portions of the timbers connected thereto.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.