Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates to a member for use
in building construction.
In frame building construction, particularly frame
house construction, one common method of construction involves
partly embedding the ends of the floor joists in the top of
the concrete foundation wall rather than mounting them on top
of the wall to a plate fixed on the wall. To so embed the joists
in the wall, the joists are normally set up in their desired
final position before pouring the foundation wall. In such final
position, the ends of the joists are supported by the foundation
wall forms. The ends of the joists normally rest on, and can be
attached to, the top edge of the inner foundation wall form
which top edge is slightly below the top edge of the outer
foundation wall form. The space between the joists, above the
top edge of the inner form, is closed with blocking to effecti-
vely extend the height of the inner form to the top of, or above,
the outer form. Concrete is then poured into space between the
forms to the height of the outer form, thus effectively embedding
the ends of the joists within the top of the foundation wall.
ZO To cut, fit and fasten the blocking between the
joists is a labour intensive job, ahd thus expensive. It is the
purpose of the present invention to provide a single member
which replaces a plurality of blocks used for the blocking and
eliminates much of the labour involved, thus reducing costs.
In accordance with the present invention, there is
provided a member for use in the construction of a frame build-
ing in which the ends of an array of equally spaced-apart joists
are embedded in a concrete foundation wall poured between an
inner wall form on which are placed the ends of the joists to
be embedded, and an outer wall form higher than the inner wall
form. This member consists of an integral strip of plastic
material formed with a plurality of equally spaced-apart, pocket-
shaped sections for receiving and positioning the ends of the
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joists, and a plurality of equally spaced-apart, wall-shaped
sections extending between the pocket-shaped sections in align-
ment with the inner wall form in order to extend the top edge
of the same at last to the height of the top edge of the outer
wall form.
Of course, the strip has a wall thickness large enough
to support wet concrete poured above the top edge of the inner
wall form up to the height of the top edge of the outer wall form.
The invention will now be described in detail having
reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
fig. 1 is a schematic detail view of a building under
construction;
fig. 2 is a cross-section view of the formwork shown
in fig. l;
fig. 3 is a cross-section view similar to fig. 2
after the concrete has been poured and the formwork removed;
fig. 4 appearing on the same sheet of d~awings as
fig. 1, is a schematic view of the foundation wall with the
embedded joists; and
fig. 5 is a detail schematic view of the strip member
of the present invention.
The construction device 1 shown in fig. 5, is parti-
cularly adapted for use in the construction of frame buildings
where certain of the frame members are partially embedded in
concrete. In this type of construction, a concrete foundation
wall for a building is poured with the joist members, forming
the floor of the building placed on the foundation wall forms
in such a position as to end up partially embedded in the con-
crete wall to be supported thereby.
As shown, in part, in figs. 1, 2 and 3, inner and
outer forms 3, 5 for the concrete foundation wall "W" are
constructed first. Each form 3, 5 normally comprises boards
or sheets 7 of plywood fastened to vertical spaced-apart supports
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9. The concrete is poured in the space 11 between the smooth
inner surfaces of the form boards 7, The supports 9, on the
outside surfaces of the form boards 7, are fixed to the footings
13 of the building and the supports 9 of one form 3 ar~ j ined
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to the supports 9 of the other form 5 by wire form ties 15
as is well known. The top edge 17 of the inner form 3 is
slightly lower, by several inches, than the top edge 19 of the
outer form 5.
An array 21 of floor joists 23 are assembled on the
forms 3, 5 before the concrete is poured. The floor joists 23
are provided to support the floor of the building. One end 25
of each joist 23 is positioned above the space 11, about midway
between the forms 3, 5, so that the joist is supported on the
top edge 17 of the inner form. Theotherinner end 27 of each
joist 23 can be supported by a central beam 29, as shown in
fig. 4, itself mounted on the inner form wall. The inner end 27
of each joist can be joined to the inner end 27 of an opposing
joist on beam 2~ as is known.
In prior art construction, each space between adjacent
joists 23, above the top edge 17 of inner form 3, would be filled
with a block of wood joined to the joists 23. This blocking serves
to rigidly position the joists and also extends the height of
inner orm 3 to, or above, the top edge 19 of the outer form 5.
Then, when concrete is poured to the height of top edge 19 of
outer form 5, the bottom corners 31 of the joists become
embedded in the concrete wall. As previously mentioned however,
the cutting, fitting, and fastening of the blocking is quite
time consuming and thus expensive in terms of labour.
In accordance with this embodiment of the invention,
the construction device 1 in the form of a strip 35 of material
is employed to replace the blocking. The s~trip 35 of material,
as shown in figs. 1 and 5, has spaced-apart wall sections 37,
each section sized to extend between adjacent joists 23 when
placed the desired distance apart. Sections 39 are provided on
the strip 35, for joining the wall sections 37 together. These
joining sections 39 cooperate with the joists to properly
position the wall sections 37 between the joists. When properly
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positioned, the wall sections 37 are aligned and perpendicular
to the joists 23. In addition, the wall sections 37 rest on the
top edge 17 of inner form 3 to extend the inner form upwardly.
The joining sections 39 consist of a plurality of
spaced-apart, rectilinear pockets 41 formed in the strip between
the wall sections 37 with the bottom wall 43 of each pocket
receiving the end edge 25 of each joist 23. In setting up the
array 21 of joists 23 on the beam 29 and the top edge 17 of inner
form 3 the pocketed strip 35 can be used to space the joists
the proper distance apart and with the ends 25 properly positioned
past inner form 3 so that the joists end up embedded the desired
length. The strip 35 can be attached to each joist 23 with a
nail 45 driven into the end 25 of each joist through the bottom
wall 43 of the pocket. The strip 35 preferably has a height
equal to the depth of the joists being used.
The strip 35 can be moulded from suitable thermoplastic
material, having a wall thickness large enough to support wet
concrete between forms 3, 5 to a height of the top edge 19 of
form 5. The strip can be made in several heights equal to the
standard depths of the joists normally used in construction, and
withthe pockets spaced-apart one of several standard joist
spacings. The strip can also be made in one or more standard
lengths with the lengths easily cut to fit.
After the concrete has been poured forming wall "W",
the inner and outer forms 3, S are removed leaving the corners
of the joists embedded therein as shown in fig. 3. The blocking
strip 35 can be removed as well, or left in place, as desired.
It will be seen that the strip 35 greatly simplifies
the assembly of the joists and the provision of blocking when
the joists are to be embedded.
