Pre-Engineered/Prefabricated Wall Assembly

Abstract

A pre-engineered / prefabricated wall assembly that has inner and outer sidewall panels of rigid insulation material that acts as both thermal insulation and concrete forms. The inner and outer sidewall panels are connected by connecting rods that secures a metal stud wall frame to the interior of the wall assembly, and a metal stud wall frame to the exterior of the wall assembly. The connecting rods serve to align the inner and outer sidewall panels separate from, and parallel to, each other, thereby providing a space for rebar and concrete to form a reinforced concrete wall. The mortar-less brick / stone veneer is attached to the wall assembly by inserting an attaching rod through the outer and inner sidewall panels, and is secured with a mechanical fastener, thereby securing the mortar-less brick / stone veneer in place until the poured concrete permanently secures the mortar-less brick / stone veneer to the exterior of the wall assembly.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 340,456 filed on Mar. 18, 2010, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 284,169 filed on Dec. 14, 2009, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates to building materials, and particularly to a pre-engineered / prefabricated wall assembly complete with inner and outer sidewall panels that serve as both thermal insulation and forms for the pouring of concrete, with wall studs attached to the inner sidewall panel to form wall framing to which wallboards such as gypsum board and other wall coverings may be attached; and similar wall studs attached to the outer sidewall panel to form wall framing to which exterior sheathing, vinyl siding, wood siding, composite siding, and other exterior sidings may be attached, and to which wall ties may be a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]The subject pre-engineered / prefabricated wall assembly (“wall assembly”) incorporates numerous features into its wall system that reduces the time and cost of constructing a reinforced concrete wall. The wall assembly has the following components: The first components are the inner and outer sidewall panels that serve as forms to provide a space for the placement of rebar and the pouring of concrete. Since these inner and outer sidewall panels are constructed of polystyrene, polyurethane, or other rigid insulation materials, these sidewall panels also serve as thermal insulation that has a far greater “R-Value” than standard wall insulation, greatly conserving energy and reducing heating and cooling costs.

[0012]The wall assembly is pre-engineered in accordance with project drawings and are then prefabricated in various assembly sizes, complete with window and door openings, and window and door headers and footers. The prefabricated wall assembly is prefabricated with inner and outer sidewall panels that serve as both concrete forms and thermal insulation, with metal stud framing attached to the interior side of the wall assembly, with metal stud framing attached to the exterior side of the wall assembly, and is then shipped to the construction site ready to install. Since the wall assembly is both pre-engineered and prefabricated for an exact fit, the wall assembly is very easy to erect by only two workers, greatly reducing the cost of wall construction.

Problems solved by technology

However, workers set the concrete forms (cinder blocks) only eight inches high and sixteen inches wide (approx. one square foot) at a time.

The workers repeat this process over, and over, and then; using this extremely expensive and time consuming method of setting concrete forms, after enough blocks are laid, the cinder block forms are finally ready for the pouring of concrete.

However, once the cinder blocks are laid and the cores filled with concrete, there is still no wall framing in place for the attachment of wall board or other wall coverings and to accommodate the placement of electrical wiring and other utilities; nor is there any thermal insulation in place.

These separate operations are very time consuming and greatly increases construction costs.

In this manner a cinder block wall is constructed; but to achieve a cinder block wall that is both level and plumb, a great deal of skill and time is required.

The time and skill required to construct a cinder block wall raises construction costs.

Another problem with cinder block walls is that in their unfinished state they do not present a very pleasant appearance and therefore require finishing.

The finishing of a cinder block wall requires considerable time and skill and adds substantial costs to wall construction.

Another problem associated with applying exterior finishes to cinder block walls is that it is extremely difficult to attach siding materials such as wood siding, vinyl siding, metal siding, and other sidings to the hard surface of cinder blocks.

The attachment of these siding materials is both time consuming and adds considerable costs to wall construction.

This installation of wall framing is time consuming and also adds to the cost of wall construction.

The placement of rebar and the pouring of concrete into the cores of cinder blocks adds considerable costs to wall construction and in many cases does not accomplish the desired structural effect due to the fact that the concrete often “honey cones” when poured into the cores of the cinder blocks.

Another problem with poured cinder block wall construction is the fact that a wall is as strong as its weakest point and the weakest point of poured cinder block walls are the mortar joints and the webs and end walls of the cinder blocks themselves.

The honey coning and weak mortar joints and webs of poured cinder block wall construction are inherent weaknesses that renders poured cinder block wall construction structurally inferior to traditionally “formed” reinforced concrete wall construction.

Structurally inferior poured cinder block walls are especially susceptible to wind loads from hurricane and tornado force winds when compared to traditionally formed reinforced concrete wall construction.

While this grout may help prevent honey coning and voids in the cinder block cores, it does not solve the problem of the structural weakness of the cinder block mortar joints, webs, and end walls, and does little to improve structural load factors involving hurricane and tornado force winds.

Some have omitted erecting interior framing and elected to “glue” the wall board directly to the interior of the cinder block wall, however, when wall board is glued directly to the cinder blocks there is no space provided between the wall board and cinder blocks for the placement of thermal insulation or the placement of electrical wiring and other utilities.

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