Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FIBERBOARD COUNTER FLOOR
BACKGROUND
In the building construction industry it is desirable to provide a certain
degree of soundproofing,
or acoustic insulation, in the floors of buildings. This can be achieved by
using a fiberboard
counter floor between the subfloor and the flooring.
The use of fiberboard counter floors is known, especially in Europe, and prior
art counter floors
have been found satisfactory to a certain degree. However, there remains room
for
improvement, including improvements to the soundproofing capacity of
fiberboard counter
floors.
SUMMARY
In accordance with one aspect, there is provided a fiberboard counter floor
for installation
between a subfloor and a flooring, the fiberboard counter floor comprising: a
plurality of
insulating panels each having a panel body made of a construction-grade low-
density
fiberboard, and having a top face, a bottom face, and two opposite mating
sides; a plurality of
fastener-receiving boards for use between adjacent ones of the insulating
panels, each fastener-
receiving board having a board body made of a construction-grade medium-
density fiberboard,
the board body having a top face and a bottom face, and two opposite mating
sides, each one of
the opposite mating sides of the board body being shaped to matingly engage a
respective one
of the opposite mating sides of one of the insulating panels, the fastener-
receiving boards
having a thickness inferior to the thickness of the insulating panels and the
mating sides thereof
being configured and adapted for the bottom face of the board body to be
spaced apart from the
subfloor when a fastener-receiving board is matingly engaged between two
adjacent insulating
panels.
In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a fastener-receiving
board for use between
insulating floor panels having a top face and a bottom face, and two opposite
mating sides, in an
acoustic fiberboard counter floor, each fastener-receiving board having a
board body made of a
construction-grade medium-density fiberboard, the board body having a top face
and a bottom
face, and two opposite mating sides, each one of the opposite mating sides of
the board body
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being shaped to matingly engage a respective one of the opposite mating sides
of the insulating
panels, the fastener-receiving boards having a thickness inferior to the
thickness of the
insulating panels and the mating sides thereof being configured and adapted
for the bottom face
of the board body to be spaced apart from the subfloor when the fastener-
receiving board is
matingly engaged between two adjacent insulating panels.
In accordance with another aspect, there is provided an insulating panel
having a panel body
made of a construction-grade low-density fiberboard and having a top face, a
bottom face, and
two opposite mating sides, one of the two sides having a flared tab and the
other mating side
having a flared groove shaped to snappingly receive the flared tab of an
identical other
insulating panel.
In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a kit of parts for
assembling a fiberboard
counter floor on a subfloor, the kit of parts comprising: a plurality of
insulating panels each
having a panel body made of a construction-grade low-density fiberboard, and
having a top
face, a bottom face, and two opposite mating sides; and a plurality of
fastener-receiving boards
for use between adjacent ones of the insulating panels, each fastener-
receiving board having a
board body made of a construction-grade medium-density fiberboard, the board
body having a
top face and a bottom face, and two opposite mating sides, each one of the
opposite mating
sides of the board body being shaped to matingly engage a corresponding one of
the opposite
mating sides of one of the insulating panels.
In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a fiberboard counter
floor for installation
between a subfloor and a flooring, the fiberboard counter floor comprising: a
plurality of
insulating panels each having a panel body made of a construction-grade low-
density
fiberboard, and having a top face, a bottom face, and two opposite sides; and
a plurality of
fastener-receiving boards for use between adjacent ones of the insulating
panels, each fastener-
receiving board having a board body made of a construction-grade medium-
density fiberboard,
the board body having a top face and a bottom face, and two opposite sides;
the fiberboard
counter floor being CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the two opposite sides of each panel
body
and the two opposite sides of each board body are specifically and
correspondingly shaped,
configured and adapted in a manner that each one of the two opposite sides of
each board body
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is matingly engeagable with a corresponding one of the two opposite sides of
any one of the
panel bodies; the fastener-receiving boards having a thickness inferior to the
thickness of the
insulating panels and the mating sides thereof being further configured and
adapted for the
bottom face of the board body to be spaced apart from the subfloor when a
fastener-receiving
board is matingly engaged with and between two adjacent insulating panels.
In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a kit of parts for
assembling a fiberboard
counter floor, the kit of parts comprising: a plurality of insulating panels
each having a panel
body made of a construction-grade low-density fiberboard, and having a top
face, a bottom face,
and two opposite sides; and a plurality of fastener-receiving boards for use
between adjacent
ones of the insulating panels, each fastener-receiving board having a board
body made of a
construction-grade medium-density fiberboard, the board body having a top face
and a bottom
face, and two opposite sides; the kit of parts being CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the
two
opposite sides of each panel body and the two opposite sides of each board
body are specifically
and correspondingly shaped, configured and adapted in a manner that each one
of the two
opposite sides of each board body is matingly engeagable with a corresponding
one of the two
opposite sides of any one of the panel bodies; the fastener-receiving boards
having a thickness
inferior to the thickness of the insulating panels and the mating sides
thereof being further
configured and adapted for the bottom face of the board body to be spaced
apart from the
subfloor when a fastener-receiving board is matingly engaged with and between
two adjacent
insulating panels.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
Further features and advantages of the present improvements will become
apparent from the
following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended
figures, in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view, partly sectioned, of an embodiment of an
improved fiberboard
counter floor;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an insulating panel used in the counter floor
of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the fastener-receiving board used in the
counter floor of Fig. 1;
and
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Fig. 4 is a perspective view of another example of an improved counter floor.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Fig. 1 shows an example of an improved fiberboard counter floor 10. The
fiberboard counter
floor 10 includes a plurality of insulating panels 12 separated from one
another by fastener-
receiving boards 14. The fiberboard counter floor 10 is positioned on a
subfloor 16, and a
flooring 18 is assembled onto the fiberboard counter floor 10 by fasteners 19.
In this case, the
subfloor 16 is a cement screed 16a, and the flooring 18 is made of floorboards
18a. A foam
element 20 is provided underneath the fastener-receiving board 14.
The fiberboard counter floor 10 acts as a sound barrier by providing
soundproofing, or acoustic
insulation. In this embodiment, the fiberboard counter floor 10 offers
insulation to both impact
sounds and airborne sounds. It will be noted that the fiberboard counter floor
10 also offers
thermal insulation. The thermal insulation characteristics of the fiberboard
counter floor 10 can
be further exploited in alternate embodiments.
Fig. 2 shows one of the insulating panels 12 in greater detail. The insulating
panel 12 has a
panel body 22 having a top face 24 and a bottom face 26 relative to its
position when installed.
The insulating panel 12 also has two opposite mating sides, a first mating
side 28 and a second
mating side 30. In this case, the first mating side 28 has a groove 32 defined
longitudinally
along it, whereas the second mating side 30 has a tongue 34 which is adapted
to mate with the
groove 32 of another insulating panel 12. The panel body 22 is made of a
construction-grade
low-density fiberboard (LDF).
Fig. 3 shows a fastener-receiving board 14 in greater detail. The fastener-
receiving board 14 has
a board body 36 having a top face 38 and a bottom face 40, and two opposite
mating sides 42,
44. The first mating side 42 has a groove 46 whereas the second mating side 44
has a tongue 48.
The thickness of the fastener-receiving board 14 is less than the thickness of
the insulating
panels 12. A foam strip 20a is adhered to the bottom face 40 of the board body
36. The foam
strip 20a fills the space left between the bottom face 40 of the board body 36
and the subfloor
16 when the fastener-receiving board 14 is installed, as shown in Fig. 1. The
combined
thickness of the board body 36 and the foam strip 20a is approximately equal
to the thickness of
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the panel body 22 of the insulating panels 12. The board body 36 is made of a
construction-
grade medium-density fiberboard (MDF) adapted to receive the fasteners used
with the flooring.
In the illustrated example, the tongues 34, 48 and grooves 32, 46 of the
insulating panel 12 and
of the fastener-receiving board 14 are flared to offer a snapping engagement.
The snapping
engagement takes advantage of the natural resilience characteristics of the
low-density
fiberboard. A snapping engagement is advantageous because it helps prevent the
fastener-
receiving boards 14 from becoming disassembled from the insulating panels 12
when the
flooring 18 is assembled.
It will be noted here that the groove 32 and the tongue 34 of the insulating
panel 12 (Fig. 2) are
off-center relative to the thickness of the panel body 22 and are positioned
closer toward the top
face 24 than the bottom face 26. In the case of the board body 36 (Fig. 3),
the tongue 48 and
groove 46 are centered. Therefore, when the board body 36 is engaged between
two adjacent
insulating panels 12, a space is left between the bottom face 40 of the board
body 36 and the
subfloor 16 (Fig. 1). In this example, this space is filled by the foam strip
20a.
When the flooring 18 is installed on the counter floor 10, the floor boards
18a can be tacked into
the fastener-receiving boards 14. The insulating panels 12 offer a relatively
high degree of
acoustic insulation, however, they do not offer much structure to receive
fasteners. The
fastener-receiving boards 14 have a sufficient density and structure to
receive fasteners.
Experiments have shown that some sound can be transmitted to the subfloor
through the
fastener-receiving boards if the fastener-receiving boards are in contact with
the subfloor. A
greater degree of acoustic insulation is achieved by leaving a space between
the bottom face 40
of the board body 36 and the subfloor 16. An even greater degree of acoustic
insulation is
achieved by filling this space with a foam element 20. Providing the foam
element 20 as a foam
strip 20a adhered to the board body 36 can simplify installation of the
fiberboard counter floor
10 when compared to using a foam element which is installed independently from
the fastener
receiving boards 14.
Some specific characteristics of the illustrated example will now be given,
for illustrative
purposes only.
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In the insulating panel 12, the thickness is of 2.5 cm (1 inch). In alternate
configurations,
insulating panels having a thickness between 1.3 cm (1/2 of an inch) and 5.1
cm (2 inches) can
be used, but insulating panels having a thickness of between 1.9 cm (3/4 of an
inch) and 3.8 cm
(1.5 inches) are preferred. The panel body 22 of the insulating panel 12 is
made of a
construction-grade low-density fiberboard (LDF) satisfying the norm CAN/ULS-
S706 Type I,
Category 1 or 2. Low-density fiberboards having a density between 150 and 290
kg per cubic
meter are typically available, but densities ranging between 230 and 260 kg
per cubic meter are
preferred for this application. The density used in the specific example is of
approximately 240
kg per cubic meter. In alternate embodiments, the insulating panel can
additionally include a
layer of aluminum sheeting adhered to the bottom face thereof.
In the fastener-receiving board 14, the thickness of the board body 36 is less
than the thickness
of the insulating panel 12, to leave a space between the bottom face 40 of the
board body 14 and
the subfloor 16. Board bodies having a thickness of 1.9 cm (3/4 inches) and
2.2 cm (7/8 inches)
can be used with the insulating panels having a thickness of 1 inch, for
example. The board
body 36 used in the illustrated embodiment is made of a construction-grade
medium-density
fiberboard having a density of about 720 kg per cubic meter manufactured.
Medium-density
fiberboards having a density between 640 and 800 kg per cubic meter are
commonly available.
A density offering satisfactory fastener-receiving characteristics can be
selected.
Using medium-density fiberboard as the material for the board body is
advantageous when
compared to a wood board. Medium-density fiberboard can be less prone to
warping and
splitting than wood boards while offering satisfactory fastener-receiving
characteristics. Price is
also a factor in the selection of medium-density fiberboard.
In the illustrated example, the insulating panels 12 have a width of 26.0 cm
(10 1/4 inches)
including the tongue 34. The fastener-receiving boards 14 have a width of 6.0
cm (2 3/8 inches)
including the tongue 48. The tongues 34, 48 have 0.8 cm (5/16 inches). A
combined engaged
insulating panel 12 and fastener-receiving board 14 thus totals 30.5 cm (12
inches) of width,
excluding the exposed tongue, once assembled. Having a combined width of 12
inches is
advantageous during installation of the flooring because the fastener-
receiving boards will be
spaced apart by 12 inches from one another, which is a standard length of
which many flooring
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materials are a multiple thereof. Increasing the width of the fastener-
receiving boards relatively
to the insulating panels typically results in decreasing the overall acoustic
insulation of the
counter floor, whereas decreasing the width of the fastener-receiving boards
typically results in
reducing the fastenerreceiving capacity of the fiberboard counter floor.
Therefore, fastener-
receiving boards having a width of between 3.8 cm (1 1/2 inches) and 6.4 cm (2
1/2 inches) can
also be used, however, a width of between 4.1 cm (1 5/8 inches) and 5.7 cm (2
1/4 inches) is
preferred. The structural integrity and maneuverability of the insulating
panels 12 during
installation is also a factor to consider when selecting the width of the
insulating panels 12.
Typically, insulating panels having a length of 1.219 m (4 feet) are used,
whereas fastener-
receiving boards having a length of 2.438 m (8 feet) are used.
Still for illustrative purposes, for a 1.9 cm (3/4 inch) thick fastener-
receiving board, a 0.8 cm
(5/16 inch) tongue can be used both for the insulating panel 12 and the
fastener-receiving board
14, with grooves having a depth of 1 cm (3/8 inches). The tongue thickness can
be of 1 cm (3/8
inches) at the root and of 1.1 cm (7/16 inches) at the flared end. This
configuration can be used
with the type of low-density fiberboard used in this example. The
compressibility of the
medium-density fiberboard is negligible when compared to the compressibility,
or resilience, of
the low-density fiberboard.
Providing a foam strip 20a adhered to the bottom face 40 of the board body 36
of the fastener-
receiving board 14 can advantageously ease the maneuverability and the
installation of the
fastener-receiving boards 14. Nevertheless, the foam strip 20a can alternately
be provided
separately from the fastener-receiving board 14, or another foam element can
be used instead. In
the illustrated example, a non-reticulated flexible polyester polyurethane
foam is used as the
material for the foam strip 20a. The foam element can be entirely omitted in
certain
applications.
As shown in Fig. 1, the illustrated example of fiberboard counter floor 10 is
shown installed
between a cement screed subfloor 16a and the floorboard flooring 18a. However,
it will be
understood that the fiberboard counter floor 10 can be used on other types of
subfloors than
cement subfloors, such as wood subfloors for example. Wood subfloors are
typically more
common in buildings having 3 floors or less, but cement subfloors are more
common in
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buildings having 4 floors or more. Whatever the type of subfloor used, the
subfloor will often
be coated with a sheet of polyethylene to increase its resistance to water.
It will also be understood that the fiberboard counter floor 10 can be used
with other types of
flooring than floorboards 18a. Wooden flooring can be used, but other types of
flooring such as
ceramic tile can also be used. If used with ceramic tile, a veneer can be used
to cover the
counter floor and the tiles can be installed onto the veneer. Using this
arrangement is
advantageous in the case where floorboards and ceramic tiles are used
respectively in adjacent
rooms because using an appropriately chosen thickness of veneer will result in
the ceramic tiles
having the same elevation as the floorboards so as to communicate between
rooms.
Fig. 4 shows an alternate example of a counter floor 110. This counter floor
110 also has
insulating panels 112 and fastener-receiving boards 114, but the foam element
is omitted. The
tongues 134, 148 and grooves 132, 146 are not flared. The tongue 134 and
groove 146 of the
insulating panels 112 are centered, whereas the tongue 146 and groove 148 of
the fastener-
receiving board 114 are off-centered toward the bottom face to create a space
or gap between
the bottom face of the board body 136 and the subfloor when the fastener-
receiving board is
installed. This example can also be satisfactory in certain applications.
Alternate embodiments of the fastener-receiving boards and insulating panels
can have other
types of mating means than the tongue and groove assembly.
During installation, it will often be found advantageous to use a perimeter
insulation foam tape
surrounding the area to be covered by the fiberboard counter floor.
As can be seen therefore, the examples described above and illustrated are
intended to be
exemplary only. The scope of the invention(s) is intended to be determined
solely by the
appended claims.
