Building and method of constructing same

Abstract

The present invention provides a house or light commercial building built on a building site including a foundation system having a foundation and a sill plate; a wall system attached to the foundation system, the wall system having a plurality of studs, an exterior sheathing, and a top plate for each story of the building; a floor system attached to the foundation system and the wall system, the floor system having a plurality of floor joists and a sub-floor for each story of the building; and a roof system attached to the wall system of the top story, the roof system having a plurality of roof rafters and a roof sheathing. The present invention also provides a house or light commercial building construction method including pouring a foundation, securing a sill plate onto the foundation, installing a plurality of studs, securing the plurality of studs to the sill plate, installing a plurality of floor joists, securing the plurality of floor joists to the sill plate, attaching the plurality of studs to the plurality of floor joists, securing a sub-floor, installing an exterior sheathing, and installing a top plate for each story of the house or light commercial building; and installing a plurality of roof rafters and a roof sheathing onto the top story of the building.

1 . A building comprising: 
 a foundation system including a foundation and a sill plate;    a wall system attached to the foundation system, the wall system including a plurality of studs, an exterior sheathing, and a top plate for each story of the building;    a floor system attached to the foundation system and the wall system, the floor system including a plurality of floor joists and a sub-floor for each story of the building; and    a roof system attached to the wall system of a top story, the roof system including a plurality of roof rafters and a roof sheathing.    
     
     
         2 . The building of  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of foundation rods connecting the foundation system to the wall system.  
     
     
         3 . The building of  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of floor joist rods connecting the wall system and the floor system.  
     
     
         4 . The building of  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of roof rafter rods connecting the wall system to the roof system.  
     
     
         5 . The building of  claim 1  wherein the foundation is fabricated prior to transport to a building site.  
     
     
         6 . The building of  claim 1  wherein the building has a continuous load path wherein the plurality of studs, the plurality of floor joists and the plurality of rafters are centered and aligned.  
     
     
         7 . The building of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of studs extend continuously from the foundation to the top plate.  
     
     
         8 . A building comprising: 
 a foundation including a sill plate;    a plurality of foundation rods embedded in the foundation, the upper end of each foundation rod passing through a sill plate hole and secured to the sill plate by a connection means;    a plurality of studs, each stud having a bottom end connected to the upper end of a foundation rod;    a plurality of floor joists, each floor joist having a bottom end connected to the sill plate;    a plurality of floor joist rods, each floor joist rod connected to a stud and a top end of a floor joist;    a sub-floor attached to the plurality of floor joists;    an exterior sheathing attached to the plurality of studs;    a plurality of roof rafters;    a top plate including a plurality of holes;    a plurality of roof rafter rods, each roof rafter rod having a bottom end connected to a top end of a stud and a top end passing through a top plate hole, the top end of each roof rafter rod connected to a bottom side of a roof rafter; and    a roof sheathing connected to a top side of the plurality of roof rafters.    
     
     
         9 . The building of  claim 8  wherein each of the studs comprises a stud hole for receiving the upper end of a foundation rod.  
     
     
         10 . The building of  claim 8  wherein a top end of each floor joist comprises a floor joist hole for receiving a floor joist rod.  
     
     
         11 . The building of  claim 8  wherein a bottom end of each floor joist comprises a floor joist wedge.  
     
     
         12 . The building of  claim 11  wherein the sill plate comprises a plurality of wedge slots for receiving the plurality of floor joist wedges.  
     
     
         13 . The building of  claim 12  wherein the plurality of floor joist wedges is inserted into the plurality of wedge slots forming a dual wedge.  
     
     
         14 . The building of  claim 12  wherein the plurality of floor joist wedges and the plurality of wedge slots each comprise sides angled at about 14 degrees.  
     
     
         15 . The building of  claim 8  wherein a side of each stud comprises a floor joist hole for receiving a floor joist rod inserted into the top end of a floor joist.  
     
     
         16 . The building of  claim 8  wherein the sub-floor comprises notches for receiving and aligning the plurality of studs.  
     
     
         17 . The building of  claim 8  wherein each stud comprises a hole in a top end for receiving a bottom end of a roof rafter rod.  
     
     
         18 . The building of  claim 8  wherein a bottom side of each roof rafter comprises a roof rafter hole for receiving the top end of a roof rafter rod inserted through a hole in the top plate.  
     
     
         19 . The building of  claim 8  wherein at least two studs comprise insulation attached prior to transport to a building site.  
     
     
         20 . A building construction method comprising the steps of: 
 pouring a foundation;    securing a sill plate onto the foundation;    installing and securing a plurality of studs to the sill plate;    installing and securing a plurality of floor joists to the sill plate;    attaching the plurality of studs to the plurality of floor joists;    securing a sub-floor;    installing an exterior sheathing;    installing a top plate for each story of the building; and    installing a plurality of roof rafters and a roof sheathing onto a top story of the building.    
     
     
         21 . The building construction method of  claim 20 , wherein the foundation is poured prior to transport to a building site.  
     
     
         22 . The building construction method of  claim 21  wherein securing the sill plate onto the foundation comprises drilling sill plate holes for receiving upper ends of a plurality of foundation rods prior to arriving at the building site.  
     
     
         23 . The building construction method of  claim 20  wherein securing the sill plate onto the foundation comprises bending lower ends of a plurality of foundation rods and embedding the lower ends into the foundation before it is set.  
     
     
         24 . The building construction method of  claim 23  wherein the lower ends of the plurality of foundation rods are bent at a 45 degree angle.  
     
     
         25 . The building construction method of  claim 20  further comprising drilling stud holes in a bottom end of each stud for receiving an upper end of a foundation rod prior to arriving at a building site.  
     
     
         26 . The building construction method of  claim 25  wherein the stud holes are drilled at a 45 degree angle.  
     
     
         27 . The building construction method of  claim 20  further comprising taking measurements and transmitting the measurements to a manufacturing facility.  
     
     
         28 . The building construction method of  claim 20  wherein securing the plurality of floor joists to the sill plate comprises inserting a floor joist wedge attached to a bottom end of a floor joist into a sill plate wedge slot to form a dual wedge.  
     
     
         29 . The building construction method of  claim 20  wherein securing the sub-floor comprises attaching the sub-floor to a center of the plurality of floor joists using nails.  
     
     
         30 . The building construction method of  claim 20  wherein attaching the plurality of studs to the plurality of floor joists and securing a sub-floor comprises securing the sub-floor over a top side of the plurality of floor joists and around sides of the plurality of studs creating a seal to prevent the spread of fire.  
     
     
         31 . The building construction method of  claim 20  wherein installing the top plate comprises inserting a bottom end of a roof rafter rod into a top end of a stud and inserting the top end of the roof rafter rod through a hole in the top plate.  
     
     
         32 . The building construction method of  claim 31  wherein installing the plurality of roof rafters comprises inserting the top end of the roof rafter rod into a hole in a bottom side of each roof rafter.  
     
     
         33 . The building construction method of  claim 32  wherein installing the roof sheathing comprises securing the plurality of roof rafters to the roof sheathing by placing a washer and a locking nut onto the top end of each roof rafter rod adjacent the top side of each roof rafter.  
     
     
         34 . The building construction method of  claim 20  further comprising pre-processing the plurality of floor joists, the sub-floor, and the exterior sheathing prior to transport to a building site to form openings for receiving fixtures, mechanical systems or combinations thereof.  
     
     
         35 . The building construction method of  claim 34  wherein the openings are configured to receive windows, doors, stairs, fireplaces, plumbing, HVAC, electrical systems or combinations thereof.  
     
     
         36 . The building construction method of  claim 20  wherein attaching the plurality of studs to the plurality of floor joists comprises using opposing forces to connect the plurality of floor joists and the plurality of studs.  
     
     
         37 . The building construction method of  claim 20  wherein installing and securing the plurality of floor joists to the sill plate, securing the sub-floor, installing the exterior sheathing or combinations thereof comprises using markings to identify the placement of the plurality of floor joists, the sub-floor, and an exterior siding.