METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A BUILDING USING CONCRETE COLUMNS

METHODE D'ASSEMBLAGE D'UN BATIMENT AU MOYEN DE COLONNES DE BETON

English Abstract

A concrete and steel insulated building is constructed by forming excavated holes and inserting into each hole a 3-dimensional reinforcing bar cage having a length so as to define reinforcement for a pile and to stand upwardly of the hole to a height above the hole to provide reinforcement for a column having a height of the building wall. The pile is formed by casting concrete into each hole around the cage and setting the material so as to define an upper surface of the pile at or above the ground. With the pile set, a formwork is defined by a series of stacked openable form components standing upwardly and a further body of concrete is cast into the formwork to form the column which is integrated with the pile by the cage. A roof and insulated walls are applied on the building supported by the columns.

French Abstract

Un bâtiment isolé en béton et en acier est construit en formant des trous excavés et en insérant dans chaque trou une cage de barres de renfort tridimensionnelle de longueur pour définir le renfort dune pile et se tenir debout vers le haut du trou jusquà une hauteur au-dessus du trou pour fournir le renfort dune colonne ayant une hauteur de la paroi du bâtiment. La pile est formée par coulée de béton dans chaque trou autour de la cage et mise en place du matériau de manière à définir une surface supérieure de la pile au niveau ou au-dessus du sol. Une fois la pile formée, un coffrage est défini à laide dune série déléments de coffrage empilés et pouvant souvrir placés debout vers le haut. Un autre corps de béton est coulé dans le coffrage, dans le but de former la colonne intégrée à la pile, à laide de la cage. Un toit et des murs isolés soutenus par les colonnes sont appliqués sur le bâtiment.

Claims

13
CLAIMS:
1. A method for constructing a building comprising:
forming a plurality of excavated holes at spaced locations across an area of
ground onto which the building is to be placed;
inserting into each hole a 3-dimensional reinforcing bar cage formed of
connected individual bars with the cage having a length so as to extend into
the hole and
so as to stand upwardly of the hole to a height above the hole;
casting into each hole a settable material to form a pile around the cage and
setting the material so as to define an upper surface of the pile at or above
the ground
and so as to support the cage standing upward from the ground;
with the material set, providing around the upstanding cage a formwork
standing upwardly from the upper surface to a position at or adjacent a top of
the cage;
and casting into the formwork and onto the upper surface a sellable material
to form a column containing the cage and standing upwardly from the upper
surface of
the pile;
providing a roof on the building supported by the columns;
and providing a wall of the building by attaching supporting members to the
columns and attaching reinforcing boards so as to span between the columns and

attaching insulation sheet materials to the supporting members.
2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the roof is supported from
the ground only by the columns.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the roof is located at
a top of the columns so that the columns define a height of the roof from the
ground.
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14
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein a beam is
located on top of and spans between the columns so as to be carried thereby
and extends
along a side wall of the building.
5. The method according to claim 4 wherein the beam is metal.
6. The method according to claim 4 or 5 wherein the roof is carried on
the beam.
7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the pile is
cast within a form surrounding the cage.
8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the pile is
cylindrical and the column is rectangular with a base of the column sitting on
the upper
surface of the cylindrical pile.
9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the pile
includes additional reinforcing bars surrounding the cage.
10. The method according to claim 9 wherein the additional reinforcing
bars are formed as a common structure with the cage for insertion as a common
body
into the excavated hole.
11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 wherein the
supporting members are attached to the columns on an exterior surface of the
columns
so that the insulation sheet materials cover the exterior surface.
12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein the
supporting members are attached to the columns so that the insulation sheet
materials
are located between the columns with the exterior surface of the columns
remaining
exposed.
Date recue/Date received 2023-06-12

15
13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein a cast
floor is poured for the building up to a stop surface defined at the wall.
14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 wherein the
formwork is supplied as a plurality of tubular form components which are
stacked one on
top of the next to create an elongate tubular form surrounding the cage.
15. The method according to claim 14 wherein each tubular form
component can be opened to wrap around the cage before being connected to the
next.
Date recue/Date received 2023-06-12

Description

METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A BUILDING USING CONCRETE COLUMNS
This invention relates to a method for assembling a building using
concrete columns where the building uses conventional structure used in steel
buildings to complete the insulated structure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Steel buildings are typically constructed using concrete piles onto
which is mounted a structure formed of assembled steel columns, a roof
structure
defined by spanning roof trusses and insulated wall panels attached to the
columns.
This is a very simple and widely used structure
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved building
structure which allows simple erection procedures while creating a structure
highly
resistant to side loads.
According to the invention there is provided a method for constructing
a building comprising:
forming a plurality of excavated holes at spaced locations across an
area of ground onto which the building is to be placed;
inserting into each hole a 3-dimensional reinforcing bar cage formed of
connected individual bars with the cage having a length so as to extend into
the hole
and so as to stand upwardly of the hole to a height above the hole;
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-09

2
casting into each hole a settable material to form a pile around the
cage and setting the material so as to define an upper surface of the pile at
or above
the ground and so as to support the cage standing upward from the ground;
with the material set, providing around the upstanding cage a formwork
standing upwardly from the upper surface to a position at or adjacent a top of
the
cage;
and casting into the formwork and onto the upper surface a settable
material to form a column containing the cage and standing upwardly from the
upper
surface of the pile;
providing a roof on the building supported by the columns;
and providing a wall of the building by attaching supporting members
to the columns and attaching insulating wall panels so as to span between the
columns and attaching insulation sheet materials to the supporting members.
The cage thus formed is defined by a series of reinforcing bars
including longitudinal bars and transverse bars welded or connected together
to form
an integral structure where the structure has a length sufficient to form both
the pile
and at least a main part of the column. The transverse bars which connect to
the
longitudinal bars to provide the 3-diemsnional structure ae arranged to
provide the
required transverse strength for the pile and the column.
In this structure when completed the roof is preferably supported from
the ground only by the columns.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-09

3
In this structure when completed the roof is preferably located at a top
of the columns so that the columns define a height of the roof from the
ground.
Preferably a metal beam is located on top of and spans between the
columns so as to be carried thereby and extends along a side wall of the
building.
The pile may be cast within a form such as a cardboard tube
surrounding the cage.
Piles are typically poured into hole without a form.
Sometimes a steel casing is required temporarily to prevent hole from caving
in if
there is high ground water or sand.
Preferably the pile is cylindrical and the column is rectangular with a
base of the column sitting on the upper surface of the cylindrical pile.
Preferably the pile includes additional transverse reinforcing bars
surrounding the cage so that the cage forms a common central portion extending

along the full length and additional transverse and longitudinal components to

increase the transverse dimension of the cage in the pile section. Thus the
additional
reinforcing bars are formed as a common structure with the cage for insertion
as a
common body into the excavated hole.
In some cases the supporting members for the wall panels are
attached to the columns on an exterior surface of the columns so that the wall

panels forming insulation sheet materials cover the exterior surface.
In other cases, the supporting members are attached to the columns
so that the wall panels are located between the columns with the exterior
surface of
the columns remaining exposed.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-09

4
Preferably a cast floor is poured for the building up to a stop surface
defined at the wall.
In one preferred arrangement, the formwork for the columns is
supplied as a plurality of tubular form components which are stacked one on
top of
the next to create an elongated tubular form surrounding the cage.
In this arrangement preferably each tubular form component can be
opened along one edge to wrap around the cage and reconnected when wrapped
before being connected to the next. In this way the requirement to feed the
separate
form components over the top of the cage which can be 20 feet high is avoided.
The vertical walls can form the pile section drilled into the ground to a
depth and diameter as determined by the ground structure and building
requirements. At the surface of the ground the column is cast in place at a
reduced,
transverse dimension as needed by design. The column is cast using reusable
forms
defined by metal walls.
The walls are preferably formed by stringing and fastening C-girls or Z-
girts which form supporting channel girls and then attaching conventional
exterior
metal cladding panels of an insulating material. The height of the wall can
then be
formed using the panels up to a height of whatever it needs or wants to be.
Typically
single storey buildings having a wall height of 10 feet can be used or in some
cases
the wall height can be much higher with a height of 20 feet being common.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-09

5
Conventional roofing systems can be used where the eave and base
wall are sealed with optional urethane and insulation add on as required. This
can
be done at the side walls and also at the gable ends.
The floor is typically a cast concrete floor applied over a gravel layer
with floor elevation selected in accordance with the wall location to place
and finish
the floor with floor drains, heating conduits etc.
The building structure can be completed by a steel W Beam laid on the
top of the on which steel rafters or steel joists can be set and attached. The

attachment can be made by welding or by use of suitable anchors. To form the
insulated wall structure, Z channels can be used to create a cavity for the
insulation.
Purlins for the roof may be required. The roof panels can then use
conventional
metal roofing with a standing seam clip which is then zip shut as typically
used in a
standing seam roof.
The methods described herein provide a building that we can sell that
where a majority of the materials can be manufactured off site and when
completed
is extremely well built with steel and concrete that compete against
commercial steel
buildings and concrete precast systems. It is believed to provide a system
that will
be cheaper than both and better than a commercial steel building.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings in which:
Date recue/Date received 2023-03-31

6
Figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a first step in a method of
manufacture of a building with concrete columns according to the present
invention.
Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a second step in the
method of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a third step in the method
of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is plan view of the building at the base of the column and
showing the wall panels attached.
Figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the building at a position
offset from the column including a wall structure and roof structure applied
to the
columns formed by the method of Figure 1.
Figure 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the building at a position
aligned with the column including a roof structure applied to the columns and
a floor
poured at a base of the columns formed by the method of Figure 1.
Figure 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view through a first embodiment of
form work for casting the columns in the method of Figure 1.
Figure 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view through a second
embodiment of form work for casting the columns in the method of Figure 1.
Figure 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view through the form work of
Figure 7 showing the individual components in separate position prior to
assembly
for casting the columns in the method of Figure 1.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-09

7
Figure 10 is a top plan view of the form work of for use in forming the
rectangular column shown in Figure 4.
Figure 11 is a top plan view of the form work of for use in forming the a
square column.
Figure 12 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of one side wall part of
the form work shown in Figure 9.
In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding
parts in the different figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The method shown in the drawings for constructing a building includes
the steps shown in Figure 1 to 3 for forming an array of columns to define
side and
end walls of the building. The columns are formed by initially drilling an
array of
excavated holes at spaced locations across an area of ground onto which the
building is to be placed. The holes are drilled to a required depth depending
on loads
and soil conditions so as to define a cylindrical shape for the hole to
receive cast
concrete.
A 3-dimensional reinforcing bar cage 12 is formed of connected
individual reinforcing bars including longitudinal bars 121 and 122 and
transverse
bars 123. The longitudinal bars extend from a top end 124 of the cage to the
bottom
end 125. Preferably the longitudinal bars are continuous along the full length
but
they can also be connected end to end by welding. The transverse bars can
include
hoops 126 which surround external ones of the longitudinal bars to hold the
structure
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-09

8
as an integral 3 dimensional structure. The transverse bars can also include
inner
hoops which wrap around inner ones of the bars. Simple straight
interconnecting
transvers bars can also be included to provide additional strength if
required. The
integrated cage thus formed has a length so as to extend into the hole 10 and
so as
to stand upwardly of the hole to a height above the hole sufficient to define
the
reinforcement for the length of the column to be formed. Typical lengths
therefore
can be 20 feet even up to 50 feet where the pile section might be 20 feet and
the
column section might be between 10 and 30 feet depending on requirements for
the
building.
The reinforcing bars in the column section thus form a rectangular
cage as best shown in Figure 4 where the longitudinal bars are arranged around
the
edges of a rectangle having longer sides 127 and shorter sides 128 to form a
rectangular column. The use of a rectangular column with the longer sides
transverse to the walls of the building provides increased strength in the
transverse
direction. However the cage and the column thus formed can be square or can be

circular or even other shapes such as elliptical. The reinforcing bars in the
rectangular shape formed for the column which define a main body of the cage
also
extend into the pile section and are surrounded by additional longitudinal
bars 125
and 126 which are attached to the main body of the cage by additional
transverse
bars. The additional bars in the pile section form a cylindrical cage portion
surrounding the inner main body of the cage so as to define reinforcements
which
are located at the periphery of the pile when cast.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-09

9
The additional reinforcing bars located in the pile section thus are
formed as a common structure with the cage for insertion as a common body into

the excavated hole.
In a second step of the method, a settable material typically concrete is
cast into each hole to form a pile around the cage. The concrete is formed
into a
cylindrical body surrounding the reinforcing bars within the hole and the
material is
allowed to set with the material filled and levelled to the top of the tube so
as to
define an upper surface of the pile at or above the ground. The cast material
acts to
support the cage standing upward from the ground. During installation and
casting,
the cage is typically supported by suitable supports to hold it vertical such
as
formwork or a suspension system such as a crane.
With the material in the pile section set, a formwork is created around
the upstanding cage standing upwardly from the upper surface to a position at
or
adjacent a top of the cage. A further body of concrete is cast into the
formwork and
onto the upper surface to form the column containing the cage and standing
upwardly from the upper surface of the pile.
The pile is thus cylindrical and the column is rectangular with a base of
the cast column sitting on the upper surface of the cylindrical pile. The
structure is
integrated and reinforced by the integral cage which extends through both part
of the
structure.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-09

10
The structure thus formed is shown in Figure 5 including the pile
shown at 30 and the column shown at 40. The pile has a top surface 31 on which
he
lower end of the column sits.
The building can then be finished as described above using
conventional roofing and wall techniques. As shown, a top steel W beam 42 is
located at the upper end 41 of the column 40 and is cast into a top concrete
cap 43
of the column so as to span from each column to the next. This provides a top
flat
pad 44 of the W beam along each side of the building onto which roof trusses
50 can
be applied. Thus each roof truss has a top chord 51, a bottom chord 52 and
intervening webs 53. The top chord 51 has a lower abutment 55 which sits on
the
top pad of the beam 42.
On top of the chord 51 is applied an insulation layer 56 and a
conventional covering 57 typically of seamed steel panels. The roof is thus
supported from the ground only by the columns and is located at a top of the
columns so that the columns define a height of the roof from the ground. The
beam
42 is located on top of and spans between the columns so as to be carried
thereby
and extends along a side wall of the building.
A wall structure 60 is provided by insulation 61 and a cladding layer 62.
The panels 62 are carried on the columns by Z-girts fastened to the columns
onto
which the panels are mounted. A metal liner panel is attached to the Z girts
to form
the interior wall surface.
Date recue/Date received 2023-03-31

11
In some cases the supporting members for the wall panels are
attached to the columns on an exterior surface of the columns so that the
insulation
sheet materials cover the exterior surface. In other cases the supporting
members
are attached to the columns so that the insulation sheet materials are located

between the columns with the exterior surface of the columns remaining
exposed. In
Figures 4 and 5, the cladding covers the columns the but the insulation panels
are
located between the columns.
As shown in Figure 6 a cast concrete floor is poured for the building up
to a sheet metal stop surface 65 defined at the wall and located on the top
surface
31 of the column 30. The height of the bottom of the wall is arranged relative
to the
top of the pile so as to provide sufficient space to receive a gravel layer 66
onto
which the concrete floor 67 is poured and levelled to the bottom of the wall.
As shown in Figures 7 to 12, the formwork 70 for the column is
supplied as a plurality of tubular form components 71 which are stacked one on
top
of the next to create an elongate tubular form surrounding the cage.
As shown in Figure 11, each form component 71 is defined by four
sides 72 fabricated from tubular support frame elements 73 and a liner layer
74 to
enclose the concrete. The four sides are connected together at corners by pins
75
which engage into receiving sleeves 76 to lock each side to its neighbour. The

removal of the pin at one corner allows each tubular form component to be
opened
to wrap around the cage before being connected to the next rather than to be
passed over the top of the cage. Each form component has a lower edge which
sits
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-09

12
on top of the next adjacent component with the pins extending into sleeves on
each
component so as to bridge the junction between the two components and hold
them
aligned. As shown in Figures 8 and 10 the sides of the components can be
formed
from separate pieces connected together at junctions or connectors 78 so as to

allow forms of a required dimension to be fabricated
Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein
above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made

within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit
and
scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying
specification shall
be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-06-09

Representative Drawing