Framework-free building system and method of construction

Abstract

An easily constructed and highly durable structure, and method of making the same. The structure is constructed of lightweight foam panels assembled into walls and a roof, and therefore requires no framework. The entire structure is then sprayed with a cementitious coating. The cementitious coating is applied directly to the foam panels, and dries with sufficient strength and durability to make the structure load-bearing.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A framework-free building system comprised of: 
 a concrete foundation;    a plurality of foam panels, said foam panels juxtaposed to create a plurality of walls and a roof; and    a cementitious coating applied to said walls and roof to form a load-bearing shell.    
     
     
         2 . The framework-free building system of  claim 1  wherein said cementitious coating is sprayed on.  
     
     
         3 . The framework-free building system of  claim 1  wherein the foam panels are comprised of expanded polystyrene.  
     
     
         4 . The framework-free building system of  claim 1  wherein the foam panels are comprised of modified expanded polystyrene with a pound density in the range of about 1.0 to about 2.0.  
     
     
         5 . The framework-free building system of  claim 1  wherein the foam panels are comprised of polyurethane.  
     
     
         6 . The framework-free building system of  claim 1  wherein the foam panels have a thickness in the range of about 3 inches to about 6 inches.  
     
     
         7 . The framework-free building system of  claim 1  further comprising a temporary connector between the foam panels.  
     
     
         8 . The framework-free building system of  claim 7  wherein the temporary connector is selected from a group consisting of an adhesive, tape, toothpicks, screws, and wood skewers.  
     
     
         9 . The framework-free building system of  claim 1  wherein the roof pitch has a range from flat to steep.  
     
     
         10 . The framework-free building system of  claim 1  wherein the foam panels of a front wall and a back wall have a slanted top edge to match approximately the pitch of the roof, and the foam panels of a side wall are beveled on the top edge to about the same angle as the pitch of the roof.  
     
     
         11 . The framework-free building system of  claim 1  wherein the foam panels of the roof have a thickness in the range of about 6 inches to about 12 inches.  
     
     
         12 . The framework-free building system of  claim 1  wherein the roof extends out over the exterior walls to create an overhang.  
     
     
         13 . The framework-free building system of  claim 1  further comprising a notch in an underside of the roof to correspond to the walls, wherein the notch receives the top edge of the walls.  
     
     
         14 . The framework-free building system of  claim 1  wherein a top side of the roof has outer roof notches to receive hurricane straps that connect to the foundation.  
     
     
         15 . The framework-free building system of  claim 14  wherein outer roof ribs are placed in the outer roof notches.  
     
     
         16 . The framework-free building system of  claim 1  wherein the foam panels are connected side by side thereby creating vertical joints.  
     
     
         17 . The framework-free building system of  claim 16  wherein the foam panels are joined at their vertical joints with foam splines.  
     
     
         18 . The framework-free building system of  claim 17  wherein said splines extend most of the length of the foam panels.  
     
     
         19 . The framework-free building system of  claim 1  wherein the foundation has a bottom track attached to a perimeter of said foundation to receive a bottom edge of the walls.  
     
     
         20 . The framework-free building system of  claim 1  wherein the cementitious material is comprised of water, sand, lime, marble particles, Portland cement, fibers, and an adhesive additive.  
     
     
         21 . The framework-free building system of  claim 1  further comprising a wood ledge attached to one or more sides of the foundation wherein the wood ledge forms a barrier above which the cementitious material is sprayed.  
     
     
         22 . A method of constructing a framework-free building comprising the steps of: 
 constructing a concrete foundation;    juxtaposing foam panels to form walls and a roof; and    applying a cementitious coating onto the walls and roof to form a load-bearing shell around the house.    
     
     
         23 . The method of constructing a framework-free building of  claim 22  further comprising the steps of pre-cutting and numbering consecutively the foam panels for assembly at the construction site.  
     
     
         24 . The method of constructing the framework-free building of  claim 22  further comprising the steps of placing a bottom track on the foundation along the perimeter of the house and placing the walls into the bottom track.  
     
     
         25 . The method of constructing a framework-free building of  claim 22  wherein the step of applying the cementitious material is by spraying.  
     
     
         26 . The method of constructing a framework-free building of  claim 22  further comprising the step of etching decorative patterns into the cementitious coating before it dries.  
     
     
         27 . The method of constructing the framework-free building of  claim 22  further comprising the step of adding powdered dyes to the cementitious coating while it is being mixed.  
     
     
         28 . The method of constructing the framework-free building of  claim 22  further comprising the step of temporarily connecting the juxtaposed foam panels.  
     
     
         29 . A framework-free building system comprising: 
 a foundation;    a plurality of foam panels, said foam panels juxtaposed to create a plurality of exterior walls and interior walls and a roof; and    a foam connector between the foam panels, said foam connector being selected from the group consisting of a foam adhesive, a foam spline, a foam spline combined with an adhesive, and a spline combined with a foam adhesive.    wherein said interior walls comprise foam panels pre-cut to a length to match the distance, from the foundation to the roof at a position where the interior walls are placed.    
     
     
         30 . The framework-free building system of  claim 29 , wherein the foam panels comprise expanded polystyrene.  
     
     
         31 . The framework-free building system of  claim 29 , wherein the foam panels comprise polystyrene or polyurethane.  
     
     
         32 . The framework-free building system of  claim 29 , wherein the foam adhesive is a polyurethane foam adhesive.  
     
     
         33 . The framework-free building system of  claim 29 , wherein the foam panels of a front or a back wall have a slanted top edge to match approximately the pitch of the roof.  
     
     
         34 . The framework-free building system of  claim 29 , wherein the foam panels of a side wall are beveled on the top edge to about the same angle as the pitch of the roof.  
     
     
         35 . The framework-free building system of  claim 29 , wherein the roof extends out over the exterior walls to create an overhang.  
     
     
         36 . The framework-free building system of  claim 29 , further comprising a notch in an underside of the roof panels to correspond to the walls, wherein the notch receives two sides of the walls on their top edge and the roof panels are glued to the wall panels.  
     
     
         37 . The framework-free building system of  claim 29 , wherein a top side of the roof has outer roof notches to receive hurricane straps that connect to the foundation.  
     
     
         38 . The framework-free building system of  claim 37 , wherein outer roof ribs are placed in the outer roof notches.  
     
     
         39 . The framework-free building system of  claim 29 , wherein the foam panels are connected side-by-side, thereby creating vertical joints glued together.  
     
     
         40 . The framework-free building system of  claim 39 , wherein the foam panels are joined at their vertical joints with foam splines and glued together.  
     
     
         41 . The framework-free building system of  claim 29 , wherein the foundation has a bottom track attached to the perimeter of said foundation to receive a bottom edge of the wall panels, wherein the wall panels are polystyrene.  
     
     
         42 . The framework-free building system of  claim 29 , wherein an interior wall is positioned under the roof at an apex of the roof and the roof panels forming said apex contain a notch that receives the top edge of said interior wall.  
     
     
         43 . The framework-free building system of  claim 29 , wherein roof panels further comprise an apex roof notch along their top edge, and an apex roof rib is placed into the roof notch and runs along the length of the apex of the roof.  
     
     
         44 . A framework-free building system, comprising: 
 a foundation having a bottom track on the foundation to receive the bottom edge of a foam panel wall; and    a plurality of foam panels, said foam panels juxtaposed to create a plurality of walls at least comprising exterior walls and a roof, the roof comprising a notch in an underside of the roof panels to correspond to the walls,    wherein the notch receives the top edge of the walls and the roof panels are glued to the wall panels.    
     
     
         45 . The framework-free building system of  claim 44 , wherein said foam panels are made of polystyrene.  
     
     
         46 . The framework-free building system of  claim 44 , further comprising interior walls which comprise foam panels pre-cut to a length to match the distance from the foundation to the roof of the structure at a position where the interior walls are placed.  
     
     
         47 . A framework-free building system, comprising: 
 a foundation; and    a plurality of foam panels, said foam panels juxtaposed and connected via a foam connector to create a plurality of walls and a roof,    wherein the foundation has a bottom track attached on said foundation to receive a bottom edge of the wall panels, wherein the bottom track is a C-shaped, flat track having vertical edges on each side.    
     
     
         48 . The framework-free building system of  claim 47 , wherein the foam connector is selected from the group consisting of a foam adhesive, a foam spline and a foam spline combined with an adhesive.  
     
     
         49 . A method of constructing a framework-free building, comprising: 
 constructing a foundation;    juxtaposing foam panels to form a structure having walls and a roof; and placing a bottom track on the foundation along the perimeter of the foundation and gluing the walls into the bottom track.