Wall racks, tracks, and roller for making prefabricated wall panels

Abstract

A system for finishing a prefabricated wall panel includes a rack wall, three tracks, and a roller. The rack wall includes columns that can insert into molds in the prefabricated wall panel. The columns are rotatable from a vertical position to a horizontal position. Two lateral tracks each include a channel and bolts along a length of the track. The two lateral tracks are mounted to two ends of the wall rack and spaced apart about the width of the prefabricated wall panel. A top track includes bolts along a length of the track. The top track is located parallel to the wall rack at a distance about the height of the prefabricated wall panel. The roller has wheels that travel in the channels of the two lateral tracks so the roller is can roll over mortar on the surface of the prefabricated wall panel.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A system for finishing a prefabricated wall panel with molds for casting reinforced concrete columns, the system comprising:
 a rack wall comprising columns rotatable from a vertical position to a horizontal position, the columns having dimensions and spacing similar to the reinforced concrete columns;   two lateral track each comprising a channel and a plurality of bolts along a length of the lateral track, the two lateral track being mounted to two ends of the wall rack, the two lateral tracks being spaced apart about a width of the prefabricated wall panel, wherein the columns are between the first and the second lateral tracks;   a top track comprising another plurality of bolts along a length of the top track, the top track being parallel to the wall rack, the top track being located away from the wall rack at a distance about a height of the prefabricated wall panel; and   a smoothener having interface portions received in the channels of the two lateral tracks.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the rack wall comprises:
 base L-brackets, each column being mounted to a pair of parallel base L-brackets; and   rotatable supports, each pair of the base L-brackets being mounted to a pair of the rotatable supports.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the base L-brackets include mounting holes for adjusting mounting points to the columns and the rotatable supports. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the rotatable supports each comprises a mounting plate for receiving a pair of base L-brackets, a base plate fixed to ground, and a rotatable joint coupling the mounting plate and the base plate. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein each column comprises parallel column L-brackets along a length of the column and rectangular brackets that connect the column L-brackets. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the rotatable supports are mounted on extension columns to elevate at least some of the columns by a length of one of two sections of a corner prefabricated wall panel. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein an additional rotatable support at one end of the wall rack has an L-shaped mounting plate, wherein one or more additional columns are mounted to the L-shaped mounting plate to match the one of two sections of the corner prefabricated wall panel. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each track includes at least one support having a height adjustment screw. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each track includes a C-channel for receiving the bolts at adjustable positions along the C-channel. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising strings tied between corresponding bolts in the two lateral tracks. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the smoothener comprises an oval roller having wheels received in the channels of the two lateral tracks. 
     
     
         12 . A method for finishing a prefabricated wall panel with molds for casting reinforced concrete columns, the method comprising:
 fitting the prefabricated wall panel onto a wall rack, wherein the molds of the prefabricated wall panel fits onto columns of the wall rack;   placing a wire mesh on the prefabricated wall panel;   securing two lateral sides of the wire mesh to bolts on two lateral tracks mounted to the wall rack;   securing a top side of the wire mesh to bolts on a top track fixed parallel to the wall rack, the wire being under tension from securing the lateral and top sides to the bolts; and   applying a smoothener over mortar on the wire mesh to provide a smooth and even finish, the mortar fixing the wire mesh to the prefabricated wall panel, the smoothener having interface portion in the two lateral tracks.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 running strings between the bolts on the two lateral tracks at corresponding locations as guides; and   applying an exterior wall finish on the mortar using the guides.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 adjusting spacing of the bolts on the two lateral track based on the exterior wall finish.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 adjusting a number of the columns in the wall rack to match a number of the molds in the prefabricated wall panel; and   adjusting spacing between the columns in the wall rack to match spacing of the molds in the prefabricated wall panel.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the smoothener is a roller with wheels, the method further comprising:
 selecting the wheels for the roller based on a desired height of the mortar.