GB2232174A

GB2232174A - Concrete flooring base

Info

Publication number: GB2232174A
Application number: GB9010512A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Yoshimasa Tanaka
Original assignee: Tanaka Homes Co Ltd
Current assignee: Tanaka Homes Co Ltd
Priority date: 1989-05-16
Filing date: 1990-05-10
Publication date: 1990-12-05
Anticipated expiration: 2010-05-10
Also published as: DE4015474A1; GB2232174B; KR940008307B1; CN1049888A; KR900018484A; JPH02304150A; GB9010512D0; CA2016552A1

Description

:2:2,3 --- 1L -,,- Q- CONCRETE FLOORING BASE AND CONSTRUCTION THEREOF The

present invention relates to a flooring base for an edifice such as a wooden building and a method for constructing the same, and more particularly to a concrete flooring base and a construction method thereof.

In recent years floor heating methods have been adopted wherein hot water pipes are distributed beneath a flooring surface to heat a building from that floor surface. In this case, concrete is poured over the entire floor surface to form a concrete flooring base, and,a plurality of heating members such as hot water pipes and electric heaters are positioned on or within the flooring base.

Conventionally, the concrete flooring base has been formed by the following method. First, the external periphery and the main section of the edifice are excavated. Then the concrete for the foundation footings is poured, and after this concrete has hardened, a temporary frame is erected on its surface, concrete is poured into this frame and the foundation wall is formed. After the temporary frame is removed a backfilling operation is performed, the part enclosed by the foundation wall is banked and tamped, after which concrete is poured to form a surface.

However, with this construction method the banking and tamping processes are very troublesome and tend to increase construction costs. In particular, when an existing wooden structure is being renovated and a concrete flooring base is formed, the earth used for banking-must be carried through the house, thus soiling the interior. The preliminary arrangements for preventing such soiling are very troublesome and are a major problem.

In addition, although the load of the structure itself is supported by the foundation footings, the load from heavy articles set on the floor is transmitted directly to the concrete flooring base. There is therefore some concern that subsidence will occur in the weak sections of the banking and the like. As a countermeasure, the concrete flooring base is linked to the foundation wall so that the weight of the flooring is supported by the foundation footings. However, with this type of structure heat escapes from the concrete floor base through the foundation wall and is lost to the outdoors. This decrease in insulating properties is a problem. This problem is particularly serious when floor heating is used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a first object of the present invention is to provide a concrete flooring base, from which the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks have been removed, which has superior strength and is suitable as a floor for floor heating because of the ease of providing an insulated structure.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a floor construction method for the above concrete flooring base.

The first object of the present invention is achieved by a concrete flooring base comprising:

(a) underground concrete foundation footings supporting foundation walls thereon, which foundation walls support a building thereon, (b) a plurality of tubular bodies which are arranged separately from each other in the section enclosed by the foundation walls; and (c) a concrete flooring base portion which is cast integrally with the external peripheries of the tubular bodies.

The second object of the present invention is achieved by a method for constructing a concrete flooring base, comprising the steps of pouring the concrete over the - 3 excavated external periphery and main sections of a building to form the foundation footings which support the load of the building, forming foundation walls on the foundation footings, providing a plurality of tubular bodies, with these tubular bodies arranged in the section enclosed by the foundation walls, preferably in parallel over the entire surface of the section, and positioned so that each tubular body is slightly separated from the adjacent tubular body, and pouring concrete around the peripheries of the tubular bodies to form a concrete flooring base.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG.1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG.2 is a sectional view showing another example of the implementation of a concrete flooring base according to the present invention, and FIG.3 is a sectional view showing one part of a concrete flooring base according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, the present invention will be explained in detail.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in the figure, the concrete flooring base according to the present invention comprises (a) underground concrete foundation footings 11 supporting foundation walls 13 thereon, which foundation walls 13 support a building thereon, (b) a plurality of tubular bodies 21 which are arranged separately from each other in the section enclosed by the foundation walls 13; and (c) a concrete flooring base portion 25 which is cast integrally with the external peripheries of the tubular bodies 21. The tubular bodies 21 may suitably have a diameter of from 20 to 50 cm although, as will be appreciated, the diameter will depend upon the under-floor space to be filled.

In constructing the concrete flooring base according to the present invention, the external periphery and main sections of a building are first excavated, then concrete is poured to form a plurality of foundation footings 11. A plurality of temporary frames (omitted from the drawing) is erected on the footings 11, and concrete is poured inot these frames to form a plurality of foundation walls 13 in which a plurality of reinforcing steel rods 15 has been previously positioned for reinforcement. After the concrete in the foundation walls has hardened the temporary frames are removed and dirt is backfilled into the excavated sections around the foundation walls. Next, a plurality of cylindrical tubular bodies 21 is provided. These tubular bodies 21 are arranged in parallel over the entire surface of the section enclosed by the foundation walls, positioned so that each tubular body 21 is slightly separated from the adjacent tubular body 21. These tabular bodies may be arranged superimposedly with a space therebetween when necessary. At this time a plurality of small blocks (omitted from the drawing) is provided, with these blocks positioned individually over a ground level surface GL to raise the tubular bodies 21 a slight distance from the ground level surface GL so that the poured concrete is able to penetrate to the undersides of the tubular bodies 21. When conventional methods are used this portion would then be banked, but with the method of the present invention this step is unnecessary.

Next, an insulating member 23 is provided against the inside of the foundation wall 15 and concrete is poured around the tubular bodies 21 to form a concrete flooring base 25. Following this step any desired type of flooring may be formed over the concrete base 25. FIG.1 illustrates the case where floor heating is used. An insulating member 31 is laid, then a plurality of hot water pipes 33 for floor heating is distributed on the insulating m-ember 31 and the pipes 33 are overlaid by a regenerative member 35 covered by a floor surface member 37 such as a matting or the like. For convenience, floor joists and the like have been omitted from the drawing. Concrete can be readily poured into the space under the floor using a pipe, thus lowering construction costs. In particular, even in the case where an existing wooden structure is being renovated and a concrete floor base is to be formed, the floor boards can be removed, the tubular bodies arranged in the space under the floor, and concrete can be poured over the tubular bodies through a pipe, making this operation very simple. In addition, the tubular bodies 21, which provide for construction of the flooring base with a very small amount of concrete, are arranged side by side, covering almost the entire surface of the space beneath the floor. Use of large diameter tubular bodies reduces the permitted range of the spacing required for strength. The tubular bodies do not have to be cylindrical. For example, a square cross section is also acceptable.

Use of the tubular bodies 21 allows the flooring base to be formed with a small amount of concrete and to maintain its shape satisfactorily until the concrete has set. The tubular bodies are not required to have the strength of 1 structural members. Accordingly, if cost is a consideration, paper tubing can be used.

As shown in FIG.2, by burying a mesh sheet 27 of metal netting or the like in the top and bottom, or on one side or the other of the concrete flooring base 25, the bonding strength of the concrete is increased. The overall strength is therefore increased making it possible to reduce the thickness of the concrete in that section.

As illustrated in FIG.3, when the concrete flooring base 25 is viewed in section it is seen to have an I-shaped structure. The entire concrete flooring base 25 can be considered as a continuous I-shaped structure which provides a high degree of strength. Also, because no banking is necessary under the concrete flooring base 25, a flush ground level surface is provided. As a result, the concrete flooring base 25 is very strong in itself so there is no concern about subsidence occurring. Therefore, a floor constructed by the method of the present invention can not only be used for ordinary dwellings and stores but is also suitable for floors in factories which bear heavy loads, gymnastic halls, and the like. Because there is no worry about subsidence it is not necessary to secure the concrete flooring base 25 to the foundation walls 13. Therefore, the insulating member 23 can be provided to the full height of z the foundation wall 13, as shown in FIG.1, so that the flooring is completely insulated from the outdoors. Accordingly, heat cannot escape from the structure through the concrete flooring base 25 and the foundation walls 13, and moisture is also Prevented from entering from the outside, so that a floor constructed by the method of the present invention is highly desirable for floor heating.

In the method of the present invention, tubular bodies are arranged in parallel in the section enclosed by the foundation walls of a structure and concrete is poured around the periphery of the tubular bodies to provide superior operability, wherein complicated operations such as banking, tamping, and the like are unnecessary, and a strong, solid concrete flooring base can be formed with very little concrete. Because strength is not required in the tubular bodies, even paper tubes can be adopted so that their use does not increase costs.

In addition, problems such as subsidence associated with conventional methods are eliminated so that an insulated structure is possible and a superior insulating effect is obtained.

M&C FOLIO: 230P61164

Claims

CLAIMS:

WANGDOC: 1029i 1. A concrete flooring base comprising:

(a) underground concrete foundation footings supporting foundation walls thereon, which foundation walls support a building thereon, (b) a plurality of tubular bodies which are arranged separately from each other in the section enclosed by the foundation walls; and (c) a concrete flooring base portion which is cast integrally with the external peripheries of the tubular bodies.
2. A concrete flooring base as claimed in Claim 1, in which the tubular bodies are arranged in parallel in the section enclosed by the foundation walls.
3. A concrete flooring base as claimed in Claim 1, in which the tubular bodies are arranged in parallel over the entire surface of the section enclosed by the foundation walls.
4. A concrete flooring base as claimed in claim 1 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

j A
5. A method of constructing a concrete flooring base, comprising the steps of:

(1) pouring concrete over the excavated external periphery and main sections of a building to form foundation footings to support the load of the building; (2) forming foundation walls on the foundation footings; (3) providing a plurality of tubular bodies in the section enclosed by the foundation walls and positioned so that each tubular body is separated from adjacent tubular bodies; and (4) pouring concrete around the peripheries of the tubular bodies to form a concrete flooring base.
6. A method as claimed in claim 5, in which the tubular bodies are arranged in parallel over the entire surface of the section enclosed by the foundation walls.
7. A method as claimed in claim 5 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Published 1990 at The Patent Office. State House. 56 71 High Holborn. London V6TCIR4TP Further copies nay be obtained from The Patent Office Sales Branch, St Mary Cray, Orpington, Kent BR5 3RD. Printed by Multiplex techniques Itd, St Mary Cray. Kent, Con. 1/87