Metal-framed, factory-assembled, and road-transportable building having no floor, and the method of transporting the same

The method of constructing a permanently installed building at a given site, comprising the steps of:

• a) fabricating at a first site a building shell with a roof connected thereto, and the building shell having multiple exterior walls that are connected together to define the periphery of the building, and the building shell having no floor while it is still at the first site;
• b) creating at a second site a foundation, said foundation being shaped and sized in order to subsequently rest under the peripheral walls of the building that is to be constructed;
• c) preparing the building for transportation to the second site by temporarily attaching a rigid carrying structure to the multiple walls of the building, said attaching step being accomplished interiorly of the building shell, and subsequently elevating the building shell by lifting it while it is still at the first site;
• d) transporting the building shell to the second site and positioning it above the foundation;
• e) adjusting the relative position of the building shell with respect to the foundation before the building shell is lowered to the foundation, and said adjusting is accomplished by moving the building shell horizontally with respect to the foundation on a wheel-supported structure, said moving including necessary changes in position that include forward and backward and to the right and to the left, and wherein the relative position of the building shell with respect to the foundation is accomplished by manually pushing on the building shell in a horizontal direction while the building shell is supported on wheels that can rotate 360 degrees around a vertical axis;
• f) subsequently lowering the building shell until it makes contact with the foundation after the desired position has been achieved;
• and
• g) lastly providing a floor for the building, said floor being sized and shaped to rest under the roof.

A combination including a factory-built building that is adapted to be moved from the factory where it is built to an installation site where it can be permanently installed, comprising:

• a) a building shell including a set of peripheral walls arranged in an edge-to-edge manner so as to define what will be the length and width of the building while the shell is still in the factory, and the walls having a plurality of vertical studs, and wherein the walls have interior and exterior surfaces, and wherein the walls' exterior surfaces are covered with a permanent weather-proof material but the walls' interior surfaces are not covered while the building shell is in the factory, whereby the vertical studs in the walls remain internally exposed while the building shell is in the factory;
• b) a roof rigidly connected to the building shell at the factory, such that the walls will be secured against relative movement when the building shell is to be moved from the factory to the installation site;
• c) a plurality of lifting points that are accessible from the interior of the shell, said lifting points being rigidly connected to the building shell in order that the entire building shell may be selectively lifted by applying a vertical force on each of the lifting points, and wherein the lifting points include horizontal holes that are provided in certain of the steel studs in a prescribed pattern, and said prescribed pattern matching a hole pattern in ends of a plurality of horizontal beams that can subsequently be connected to a transportation apparatus;
• d) a plurality of horizontal beams, each having a length that is sufficient to extend across the width of the building shell, and said beams having ends with holes in a prescribed pattern, and the beams also being selectively connectable to a transportation apparatus for transporting the building shell over a public road;
• e) a plurality of threaded fasteners that are sized and shaped to selectively engage the lifting points and connect them in a load-bearing relationship to the plurality of horizontal beams and a transportation apparatus;
• f) means independent of the transportation apparatus for raising and lowering the horizontal beams when the horizontal beams are connected to the steel studs in the building shell, whereby the building shell may be raised and lowered when the transportation apparatus is absent;
• and
• g) the building shell having no floor while the shell is still in the factory, such that a transportation apparatus may be temporarily rolled into the building shell and rigidly connected to the horizontal beams and hence to the lifting points without creating any spatial interference between the transportation apparatus and parts of the building shell.