Fracture-inducing lid for isolation pocket form

Abstract

An isolation pocket form is placed on around a footing for a support column, and then covered with a lid which has a sharp peripheral rim extending upwardly. Concrete is then poured around and over the form and lid, forming an initially continuous concrete floor which can be used as a casting bed for making wall slabs. The sharp-bottomed grooves produced in the concrete by the rim are preferential fracture sites, so that, after the wall slabs have been removed, the concrete portion overlying the isolation pocket can easily and cleanly be broken out.

Description

[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10 / 235,836, filed Sep. 6, 2002.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates generally to the construction of large buildings of the type in which the structure of the building is supported atop vertical columns embedded in and extending upwardly from a concrete floor slab. More specifically, the invention relates to methods of creating isolation pockets about the bases of such support columns as the surrounding subgrade and concrete floor is formed to allow for adjustment of the columns and concrete encasement of the column bases. [0003] Many large buildings, such as warehouses, shopping malls, and the like, are constructed with a super-structure that is supported at predetermined intervals atop vertical columns that are embedded at their bases within and extend upwardly from the concrete floor slab of the building. When constructing such buildings, concrete footings are generally cast in the grou...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] An object of this invention is to provide a lid for an isolation pocket form that enables a contractor to form a temporary 2″ concrete cover over the isolation pocket to make the slab surface smooth and continuous so that it can be used as a uniform casting bed.

[0010] Another object is to produce fracturing-inducing grooves in a concrete floor around the periphery of the isolation pocket form so that the temporary concrete cover can be easily and cleanly broken out, permitting removal of the form lid and subsequent placement of the support column on the footing.

[0011] The form lid according to this invention has a substantial peripheral rim extending upward. The rim produces a groove which creates straight cleavage planes when pressure is applied to the concrete covering the lid. After this perimetral crack has been induced, the 2″ of concrete is easily lifted out and then disposed of. Finally, the lid itself is removed with the aid of a lid removal tool which may be supplied with the lid. Now there is no more work to be done prior to placing the column. The contractor is left with a straight and uniform edge around his isolation pocket. He saves considerable time and labor while eliminating numerous safety hazards, and also obtains a nice appearance and perfect function.

Problems solved by technology

This made such floors less useful for new “tilt-up” construction techniques in which wall slabs are cast right on the floor surface.

There were numerous problems with this prior method.

First, removing the 2″ concrete cover requires one to accurately locate and cut out the exact shape and position of the actual isolation pocket.

Cutting out the cover this way is expensive and dangerous.

Thirdly, removal of the temporary wooden forms is difficult because the forms are confined, and have been in the ground long enough to have been swollen by soil moisture.

Removal of styrofoam causes problems as well, because oncrete and styrofoam foam a tenacious bond.

Gasoline and styrofoam react to form napalm, creating a serious safety hazard.

After these items have been removed, the contractor is left with a haphazard isolation pocket, usually with chipped and non-uniform edges and a large quantity of material that has no significant value for reuse, and therefore must be properly disposed of.

The wasted concrete has very little potential as recycled concrete, because it is contaminated with soil, sand or gravel.

If naturally occurring soil was utilized as a fill material, there is a great possibility of it causing discoloration of the slab.

In addition, the wooden form contains nails, which cause numerous safety hazards whether left alone or discarded.

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