Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02812445 2013-04-11
INSERT FOR INSULATED CONCRETE FORMS
BACKGROUND
[0001] This invention relates to an insert for an insulated concrete form
(ICE)
and to an ICE with an insert.
[0002] ICFs are used in the construction of buildings. An ICF typically
has a
pair of opposed expanded foam panels joined by ties, where each tie terminates
at
either end in a head embedded in one of the panels. The top and bottom walls
of the
opposed panels of an ICF may have features that allow the ICF to be
interlocked with
ICFs above and below it. In use, ICFs are stacked to form walls. Concrete may
then
be poured into the cavity between the opposed panels of the stacked ICFs. An
exterior finish may be applied directly to the outer face of the wall and
drywall, or
another wall finishing material, may be joined to the inner face of the wall.
In this
regard, the embedded heads of the ties of the ICFs may be configured so that
they
give a purchase to fasteners used to join the wall finishing material to the
ICFs.
[0003] It may be apparent that ICFs save considerable labour in
constructing a
building as compared with a more traditional approach of setting up a wall
form,
pouring concrete into the form, removing the form, constructing a frame for
the
resulting concrete wall, adding insulation and affixing wall finishings to the
frame.
[0004] Despite these advantages, because ICFs are mass produced, they may
not be suited to all climates. Further, with ICFs, it may be costly to provide
for
drainage. In this regard, when applying a stucco finish on a wall formed of
ICFs, it is
known to first adhere a layer of rectangular foam blocks to the exterior of
the ICF wall
which blocks have grooves or channels along their back face to provide
drainage. The
stucco is applied to the front face of these blocks. This approach is time
consuming
and adds significantly to the cost of the construction project. Therefore,
there is a
need for improvements.
- 1 -
CA 02812445 2013-04-11
SUMMARY
[0005] An insert is provided for an ICF which increases the insulation
provided
by the ICF. This adapts the ICF for use in buildings subject to harsher
environments.
The insert may have a face with low relief protuberances and this face may
abut an
inner face of one of the ICF panels. The protuberances may be configured to
assist in
channeling water penetrating the wall of ICFs down and out of the wall.
[0006] According to an embodiment, there is provided an insert for an
insulated
concrete form, comprising an expanded foam panel having a plurality of
parallel slots
extending from a bottom wall of said panel toward a top wall of said panel,
each slot
extending to a front face of said panel and to a back face of said panel, each
slot
extending a majority of a distance between said bottom wall and said top wall
of said
panel, said slots spaced and sized to receive ties between opposed panels of
an
insulated concrete form such that said panel may be inserted between said
opposed
panels.
[0007] In another aspect, there is provided an insulated concrete form
comprising an expanded foam first panel; an expanded foam second panel
opposite
said first panel; a plurality of ties extending between said first panel and
said second
panel, each tie having a first head embedded in said first panel and a second
head
embedded in said second panel; an expanded foam insert panel having a
plurality of
parallel slots extending from a bottom wall of said insert panel toward a top
wall of said
insert panel, each slot extending to a front face of said insert panel and to
a back face
of said insert panel, each slot extending a majority of a distance between
said bottom
wall and said top wall of said insert panel, said insert panel inserted
between said first
panel and said second panel with each slot of said insert panel receiving one
of said
ties and a front face of said insert panel lying adjacent an inside face of
said first
panel.
- 2 -
CA 02812445 2013-04-11
[0008] Other features and advantages will become apparent from the
following
description in conjunction with the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] In the drawings which illustrate example embodiments,
[0010] FIG. 1 is a partially cut away perspective view of a known ICF,
[0011] FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of an example insert for an
ICF, such
as the ICF of FIG. 1,
[0012] FIG. 3 is a front view of the insert of FIG. 2,
[0013] FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the insert of FIG. 2,
[0014] FIG. 5 is a partially cut away rear perspective view of the insert
of FIG. 2
installed in the ICF of FIG. 1,
[0015] FIG. 6 is a partially cut away front perspective view of FIG. 5,
[0016] FIGs. 7A and 7B are each a schematic view of a portion of a wall
of ICFs
constructed using the inserts of FIG. 2,
[0017] FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of another example insert for
an ICF,
[0018] FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view of the insert of FIG. 9,
[0019] FIG. 10 is a front view of the insert of FIG. 8,
[0020] FIG. 11 is a front perspective view of another example an insert
for an
ICF,
[0021] FIG. 12 is a rear perspective view of the insert of FIG. 11, and
[0022] FIG. 13 is a front view of the insert of FIG. 11.
- 3 -
CA 02812445 2013-04-11
DESCRIPTION
[0023] Turning to FIG. 1, an ICF 50 has a first expanded foam panel 52
and a
second expanded foam panel 54 joined in spaced relation by ties 56. Panel 52
has an
inside wall 57. Each tie 56 has a central web portion 58 and terminates at
either end
in a head 60. The head 60 at one end of each tie is embedded in the first
panel 52
and the head 60 at the opposite end of each tie is embedded in the second
panel 54.
A plurality of buttons 62 project above the top wall 61 of the panels 52, 54.
Buttons 62
can interlock with recesses (not shown) of a like ICF stacked on ICF 50.
[0024] Turning to FIGs. 2 and 3, an insert panel 100 that may be used
with ICF
50 is fabricated of expanded foam and has a plurality of parallel slots 110
extending
from a bottom wall 112 of the panel toward a top wall 114 of the panel. Each
slot
extends completely through the panel: from the front face 116 of the panel to
the back
face 118 of the panel. Each slot has a lengthwise extent, L, which extends the
majority of the distance, D, between the bottom and top walls of the panel.
[0025] The top wall 114 of the panel has a chamfered edge 115 at the
front face
116 of the panel.
[0026] The front face 116 of the panel has a series of low relief
protuberances
120 that extend from the bottom wall 112 to the top wall 114 of the insert
panel 100.
Each slot 110 extends along one protuberance 120 partially bisecting the
protuberance. Each protuberance is shaped as an upper substantially circular
portion
122 extending from top wall 114 and a lower substantially circular portion 124
extending from bottom wall 112, joined by a narrow neck 126. In view of the
shape of
the protuberances, it will be apparent that each protuberance, proximate top
wall 114,
is radiused.
[0027] The length and width of the insert panel 100 is chosen to match
the
length and width of the panels of the ICF with which the insert is designed to
be used.
The width of the slots 110 is chosen so that the slots will fit over the webs
of the ties of
- 4 -
CA 02812445 2013-04-11
the ICF with which the insert is designed to be used. The insert panel 100 may
have a
thickness at the protuberances of about 2" (about 5 cm), with the
protuberances 120
standing proud of the balance of the front face 116 of the insert panel by
about 0.4"
(about 1 cm), although other dimensions may be chosen as required.
[0028] With reference to FIG. 4, the back face 118 of insert 100 is free
of
protuberances and, indeed, apart from slots 110, is featureless.
[0029] In use, referencing FIGs. 5 and 6, insert 100 is inserted between
the
panels 52, 54 of the ICF 50 against the inside face 57 (FIG. 1) of panel 52 of
the ICF
so that the slots 110 of the insert receive the webs 58 of the ties 56 of the
ICF. The
insert is pushed down until its top wall 112 aligns with the top wall 61 of
panel 62, as
shown in FIG. 5. In this regard, the length of the slots 110 of the insert 100
is chosen
so as to allow the insert to be pushed down to this extent.
[0030] Because of the protuberances 120 on the front face 116 of the
insert,
with the insert against the inside face 57 of panel 52, the non-protuberanced
portions
of the front face 116 of the insert stand off from the inside face 57 of the
ICF panel 52.
[0031] ICFs 50 with inserts 100 may be used in constructing a building in
substantially the same manner as with known ICFs. However, the ICFs with
inserts
should be oriented so that panel 52 of each ICF, against which the insert 100
lies, is
the outside panel of the ICF. With this orientation, as will be explained, the
ICFs with
inserts can reduce the prospect of water damage.
[0032] ICFs 50 with insert panels 100 may be stacked to form a wall 130.
FIG.
7A illustrates an example wall 130 with a window frame 132 and insert panels
100a,
100b, and 100c. Even once wall 130 is finished, this frame provides a point of
ingress
for water from the outside. However, should water penetrate below the window
frame
132 past the outer panel of the ICF containing insert 100a, as illustrated by
water path
W, this water will be channeled downwardly in the spaces formed between the
protuberances 120 of the insert 100a of the ICE to the insert 100b of the ICF
directly
below, and so on, to the bottom of the wall where a gap may be provided to
allow the
- 5 -
CA 02812445 2013-04-11
water to leave the wall. In this regard, the chamfered edge 115 of the top
wall of each
insert panel 100 assists in ensuring water does not become trapped in the
joints
between panels. To further assist in this regard, optionally, the bottom wall
of each
insert panel may also have a chamfered edge (not shown).
[0033] There may be situations where the protuberances of one course of
the
wall are not aligned with the protuberances of the next course of the wall.
However,
because the protuberances, proximate the top wall of each insert, are
radiused, even
with mis-aligned protuberances, the inserts will channel water to the bottom
of the wall.
This is illustrated in FIG. 7B where water from window frame 132' of wall 130'
is
channeled along path W' down insert 100d and insert 100e, despite the mis-
alignment
of the protuberances between these two inserts.
[0034] By channeling water out of the ICF, the inserts reduce the
prospect of
water being retained within the wall and possibly damaging the wall through
repeated
freezing and melting cycles.
[0035] FIGs. 8 to 10 illustrate a second embodiment for the inserts.
Turning to
FIGs. 8 to 10, like insert 100 of FIGs. 2 to 4, insert 200 has a plurality of
parallel slots
210 extending from a bottom wall 212 of the panel toward a top wall 214 of the
panel.
However, the protuberances 220 on the front face 216 of insert 200 have a
different
shape: they are long narrow rectangles extending from the bottom wall 212 to
the top
wall 214 of the insert panel 200. As with insert panel 100, each slot 110
extends along
one protuberance 220 partially bisecting the protuberance. The back face 218
of
insert 200 is indistinguishable from the back face of insert 100.
[0036] Insert 200 functions in the same manner as insert 100. Thus, a
wall of
ICFs with inserts 200 will channel water that penetrates the ICFs down and out
of the
wall. Because the protuberances 220 are narrow, if there is misalignment of
the
protuberances between courses of the wall, it is unlikely the misalignments
will result
in any water being retained in the wall at the top of the protuberances.
- 6 -
CA 02812445 2013-04-11
[0037] FIGs. 11 to 13 illustrate a third embodiment for the inserts.
Turning to
FIGs. 11 to 13, like insert 200 of FIGs. 8 to 10, insert 300 has a plurality
of parallel
slots 310 extending from a bottom wall 312 of the panel toward a top wall 314
of the
panel and a plurality of protuberances 320 which are rectangular in shape and
extend
from the bottom wall 312 to the top wall 314 of the insert panel 300. Also as
with
insert panel 200, with insert panel 300, each slot 310 extends along one
protuberance
320 partially bisecting the protuberance. The back face 318 of insert 300 is
indistinguishable from the back face of insert 200. However, the protuberances
320 of
inserts 300 are wider than those of inserts 200. Nevertheless, insert 300
functions in
substantially the same manner as insert 200.
[0038] Because the back faces of the inserts lack protuberances, concrete
poured into a wall formed of the ICFs with inserts will tightly pack against
the back
faces of the inserts with less risk of lacunae formation.
[0039] In each of the example inserts, the slots are located within the
protuberances, where the panel is thickest. This results in a stronger panel
than one
where the slots are spaced from the protuberances. Further, by locating the
slots
within the protuberances, water is not channeled into the slots where there
may be a
risk some water could be trapped by the ties. Nevertheless, inserts where the
slots
are partially within the protuberances, or spaced from the protuberances, may
still
assist in reducing the prospect of water damage.
[0040] The inserts, in addition to channeling water out of the wall,
increase the
insulation provided by the wall (i.e., they increase the R-value of the wall).
Notably,
even if the front face of the inserts lacked protuberances, the inserts would
provide a
manner of increasing the insulation provided by the wall. Thus, in some
embodiments,
inserts could be provided with front faces that lack protuberances and are
therefore
the same as the back face of inserts 100, 200, and 300.
[0041] The dimensions of the inserts can be adjusted to adapt the inserts
for
use with different ICFs.
- 7 -
CA 02812445 2013-04-11
[0042] Although three different shaped protuberances have been described,
it
will be apparent that insert panels may be provided with other protuberance
shapes,
sizes, and patterns and still assist in channeling water out from ICFs
provided with
such insert panels.
[0043] The described insert panels can be formed by blow molding foam
beads
into an appropriately shaped mold with steam to fuse the beads. Alternatively,
the
inserts may be formed by wire cutting rectangular foam blocks.
[0044] Other features and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in
the art
and, therefore, the invention is defined in the claims.
- 8 -
