US 7,926,233 B2 · Buildings, building walls and other structures

Abstract

A tough, water-proof building system, and methods of making the system elements and constructing buildings, which provides wall, ceiling, and floor structural panels and corresponding walls, ceilings, and floors. The walls can be designed to have vertical and horizontal strengths sufficient to be used in place of concrete, as an engineered solution, both above grade and below-grade, including in severe weather conditions, such that no concrete need be used except for floor slabs. Panels have inner and outer layers, and structurally reinforcing members. Structurally-reinforcing members extend, typically as a layer and/or stud, the full height of a wall, at spaced locations along the length of the wall. Spaces between the structurally reinforcing members are optionally filled with rigid foam. An optional reinforcing stud is attached to, or overlaid by, the inner layer, and extends inwardly into the building from what is otherwise the inner surface of the building panel.

Claims69

Dependent claims

A building, comprising:

(a) a load-bearing foundation, said load-bearing foundation having a bottom and a top, and comprising
(i) a load-bearing footer, and
(ii) a load-bearing foundation wall, overlying said footer, and extending upwardly from loci at or adjacent said footer, said foundation wall having a height defined between a top of said wall and a bottom of said wall, a wall length, and a wall thickness, and comprising
(A) an outermost fiber-reinforced polymeric layer,
(B) an innermost fiber-reinforced polymeric layer, and
(C) a plurality of studs spaced from each other along the length of said foundation and protruding from said foundation wall, including extending away from one of said innermost layer and said outermost layer, and defining a plurality of channels between said studs, said channels being open inwardly of said studs;
and
(b) an overlying building structure applying a structural building load to said load-bearing foundation.

5 more elements

A building, comprising:

(a) a load-bearing foundation, said load-bearing foundation having a bottom, and a top, and comprising
(i) a load-bearing footer comprising one or more fabricated fiber-reinforced polymeric footer pads,
(ii) a load-bearing foundation wall, overlying said footer and applying a downwardly-directed overlying load on said footer, the projected area of said one or more footer pads, at bottoms of said pads, as part of said footer, being large enough that said footer pads spread a respective portion of such overlying load over enough of a natural underlying support that such natural underlying support can support such overlying load over a generally indefinite period of time.

A building fabricated without structural use of concrete other than as floor slabs, said building comprising a load-bearing foundation and an overlying supported load:

(a) said load-bearing foundation having a bottom thereof, and a top, and comprising
(i) a load-bearing fabricated footer devoid of structural use of concrete, said fabricated footer spreading the overlying load over enough of the natural base that the natural base can support the overlying load over a generally indefinite period of time,
(ii) a load-bearing wall, overlying said footer, and applying downwardly-directed force on said footer, said load-bearing wall being devoid of structural use of concrete and having a first height defined between a top and a bottom of said wall, a wall length, and a wall thickness, and being devoid of structural use of concrete, said load-bearing wall comprising one or more load-bearing upright building panels, connected to each other, a given said building panel extending upwardly from loci at or adjacent said footer and having a second height defined between a second top and a second bottom of said building panel, and a second thickness of said building panel, and comprising
(A) an outermost fiber-reinforced polymeric layer, said outermost layer defining an outwardly-facing surface of said building panel, and
(B) an innermost fiber-reinforced polymeric layer, said innermost layer defining an inwardly-facing surface (57) of said building panel;
and
(b) integral with said load-bearing wall, a plurality of structurally reinforcing studs spaced from each other along the length of said foundation and protruding from said foundation wall, including extending away from one of said innermost layer and said outermost layer and defining a plurality of channels between said studs, the channels being open inwardly of said studs.

4 more elements

A building foundation, comprising one or more load-bearing foundation walls, each having a height defined by a top and a bottom, a length, and a thickness, a respective said one of said one or more load-bearing foundation walls comprising a plurality of upright building panels connected to each other, a given said building panel extending upwardly from loci at the bottom of said foundation wall and having a height defined between a top and a bottom of said building panel, a length, and a thickness, and comprising:

(a) an outermost fiber-reinforced polymeric layer;
(b) an innermost fiber-reinforced polymeric layer, said innermost layer being spaced from said outermost layer;
(c) a plurality of foam blocks, one or more layers of fibrous reinforcement material being wrapped about a given said foam block, said foam blocks being disposed in side-by-side relationship to each other between said innermost layer and said outermost layer of the given said building panel, such that a first said fibrous layer wrapping a first said foam block is disposed against a second said fibrous layer wrapping a second said foam block, each such pair of said first and second fibrous wrapping layers, where so disposed against each other, so defining a structurally reinforcing member;
and
(d) a plurality of structurally reinforcing fiber-reinforced studs spaced from each other along the length of said building panel and protruding from said foundation wall, including extending away from said innermost layer.

2 more elements

A building, comprising:

(a) a load-bearing foundation, said load-bearing foundation having a bottom and a top, and comprising
(i) a load-bearing footer, and
(ii) a load-bearing foundation wall, comprising a plurality of building panels, overlying said footer, and extending upwardly from loci at or adjacent said footer, said foundation wall having a height defined between a top of said wall and a bottom of said wall, a wall length, and a wall thickness, and comprising
(A) an outermost fiber-reinforced polymeric layer,
(B) an innermost fiber-reinforced polymeric layer;
and
(b) a building structure applying a structural building load to said load-bearing foundation,
first and second ones of said foundation building panels collectively defining adjoining portions of said foundation wall, said first and second foundation building panels being connected to each other at a joint where said first and second foundation building panels meet in edge-to-edge relationship,
said innermost layers of said first and second building panels having first thicknesses and said outermost layers of said first and second building panels having second thicknesses, said first and second building panels meeting at respective first and second edges of said first and second building panels, the first and second edges being cooperatively configured to be joined with each other to form the joint, the edge of said first building panel at the joint, starting from the inwardly-facing surface (25), comprising a first step disposed toward said outermost layer and corresponding generally in height to the thickness of said innermost layer of said second building panel, and a second step disposed toward said outermost layer and corresponding generally in height to the thickness of said building panel between said innermost layer and said outermost layer.

6 more elements

A building, comprising a footer, and one or more load-bearing foundation walls overlying said footer, each said foundation wall having a height defined by a top and a bottom, a length, and a thickness, a respective said one of said one or more load-bearing foundation walls comprising a plurality of upright foundation building panels connected to each other, a given said foundation building panel extending upwardly from loci at the bottom of said foundation wall and having a height defined between a top and a bottom of said building panel, a length, and a thickness, and comprising:

(a) an outermost fiber-reinforced polymeric layer;
and
(b) an opposing innermost fiber-reinforced polymeric layer, said innermost layer being spaced from said outermost layer,
wherein said innermost polymeric layers of first and second ones of said building panels have end regions and meet at respective first and second ends thereof thus to form the joint, and wherein a stud on said first buildinq panel overlies the respective first and second end regions,
the respective said one of said load-bearing foundation walls being devoid of concrete and having a maximum horizontal point load bending moment resistance capacity corresponding to at least 2000 pounds per square foot,
said innermost polymeric layers of first and second ones of said plurality of building panels having first thicknesses and said outermost layers of the respective said first and second building panels having second thicknesses, the first and second ends being cooperatively configured to be joined with each other to form the joint, and wherein the end of said first building panel at the joint, starting from the inwardly-facing surface (25), comprises a first step disposed toward said outermost layer and corresponding generally in height to the thickness of said innermost layer of said second building panel, and a second step disposed toward said first outermost layer and corresponding generally in height to the thickness of said building panel between said innermost layer and said outermost layer.

3 more elements

A building system, said building system comprising:

(a) a load-bearing building foundation on a natural base, and a first overlying supported load, said load-bearing building foundation having a bottom and a top, and comprising
(i) a first load-bearing building footer, said building footer generally defining outer boundaries of the building, said first footer spreading the overlying supported load over enough of the natural base that the natural base can support the overlying support load over a generally indefinite period of time,
(ii) said overlying supported load comprising an overlying load-bearing building wall, overlying said building footer and applying a downwardly-directed load on said building footer, said load-bearing wall having a first height defined between a first top and a first bottom thereof, a first wall length, and a first wall thickness, and being devoid of structural use of concrete,
said load-bearing building wall comprising one or more load-bearing upright building panels, connected to each other, a given said building panel extending upwardly from loci at or adjacent said building footer, and having a second height defined between a second top and a second bottom of said building panel, and having a second building panel length, and a second building panel thickness, and comprising
(A) a first outermost fiber-reinforced polymeric layer, and
(B) a second outermost fiber-reinforced polymeric layer;
(b) a second load-bearing footer, displaced from said first building footer,
at least one of said first and second footers comprising a fiber-reinforced polymeric footer;
and
(c) a building structure extending upwardly from at or adjacent said second footer, and applying a second overlying load to said second footer, said first and second footers, as part of the building foundation, spreading the overlying supported loads over enough of the natural base that the natural base can support the overlying loads over the expected use life of said building system.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Buildings, building walls and other structures

Life of this patent

Buildings, building walls and other structures

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims69