Internally Braced Insulated Wall and Method of Constructing Same

Abstract

A high thermal resistant vertical wall on a base foundation in which stacked ICFs define an interior wall space that is filled with foam and concrete membranes coat the exteriors of the ICFs.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A high thermal resistant vertical wall supported on a base foundation having a length comprising:
 a plurality of ICFs on the base foundation each comprising generally parallel spaced apart panel members wherein each said panel member has an interior surface and an exterior surface with the space between the said interior surfaces defining an interior wall space;   foam disposed in said interior wall space and   a concrete membrane adjacent to said exterior surface of said panel members.   
     
     
         2 . The high thermal resistant vertical wall of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a plurality of bracing ladders supported at spaced apart locations on the base foundation within said interior wall space and surrounded by said foam. 
 
     
     
         3 . The high thermal resistant vertical wall of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a plurality of spar members spanning said interior wall space and having ends that are disposed outside of said interior wall space adjacent said exterior panel surfaces in a said concrete membrane and surrounded by said foam. 
 
     
     
         4 . The high thermal resistant vertical wall of  claim 2  further comprising:
 a plurality of spar members sets spanning said interior wall space and having ends that are disposed outside of said interior wall space adjacent said exterior panel surfaces in a said concrete membrane and surrounded by said foam wherein a spar member set comprises a plurality of spar members. 
 
     
     
         5 . The high thermal resistant vertical wall of  claim 3  wherein said spar members are made of fiberglass. 
     
     
         6 . The high thermal resistant vertical wall of  claim 1  wherein said foam is a rigid polyurethane closed cell foam. 
     
     
         7 . The high thermal resistant vertical wall of  claim 6  wherein said foam is high density. 
     
     
         8 . The high thermal resistant vertical wall of  claim 6  wherein said foam is low density. 
     
     
         9 . The high thermal resistant vertical wall of  claim 1  wherein said foam is formed by a combination of liquids that expand when exposed to the air. 
     
     
         10 . The high thermal resistant vertical wall of  claim 1  wherein said ICFs are stacked on the foundation in a running bond. 
     
     
         11 . The high thermal resistant vertical wall of  claim 4  further comprising vertical connecting rods disposed adjacent to the exterior surfaces of said panel members and affixed to said spar member ends and encapsulated in a said concrete membrane. 
     
     
         12 . The high thermal resistant vertical wall of  claim 4  wherein said spar member sets are disposed at spaced apart locations along the base foundation with only two spar sets at any given location where said spar member sets are in vertical alignment. 
     
     
         13 . The high thermal resistant vertical wall of  claim 4  wherein said spar member sets comprise two cross spar members each spanning said interior wall space at an angle to the vertical and each having end members generally that are vertical and parallel to said panel surfaces and disposed adjacent to a said exterior surface and two U-shaped spar members that span said interior wall space at generally right angles to said panel member surfaces and have end members that are generally horizontal and parallel to said panel exterior surfaces wherein said cross spar member end member lie between a said U-shaped spar member end members by which they are restrained. 
     
     
         14 . A method of constructing a high thermal resistance wall having a top and a bottom onto a base foundation having a length comprising:
 (a) stacking a base run of ICFs onto the base foundation wherein said ICFs comprise spaced apart panel members having interior and exterior surfaces with said interior surfaces defining an interior wall space;   (b) disposing a plurality of bracing ladders supported at spaced apart locations on the base foundation within said interior wall space extending to the top of the wall;   (c) disposing in said base run of ICFs at spaced apart locations along the length of the base foundation a lower spar set comprising a plurality of spar members spanning said interior wall space and having spar ends that are disposed outside of said interior wall space adjacent said exterior panel surfaces; and   (d) injecting close cell polyurethane foam forming liquids into said interior wall space in which said foam forming liquids expand to fill the space between said ICF panels and surround said bracing ladders and portions of said spar sets within said interior wall space with close cell polyurethane foam.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein said panels have a height and further comprising:
 (e) stacking onto the base run of ICFs an additional run of ICFs to a height of several said panels wherein said additional run ICFs comprise spaced apart panel members having interior and exterior surfaces with said interior surfaces defining an interior wall space and; 
 (f) injecting close cell polyurethane foam forming liquids into said additional run interior wall space in which said foam forming liquids expand to fill the space between said additional run ICF panels and surround said bracing ladders with close cell polyurethane foam before stacking another additional run of said ICFs on to the previous said run of ICFs; 
 (g) stacking onto the previous additional run of ICFs additional runs of ICFs each said additional run to a height of several said panels wherein said additional run ICFs comprise spaced apart panel members having interior and exterior surfaces with said interior surfaces defining an interior wall space and; 
 (h) repeating steps (f) and (g) until an uppermost additional said run of ICFs reaches within several panel heights of the top of said wall. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising:
 (i) stacking onto said uppermost said additional run of ICFs a top run of ICFs to a height of several said panels wherein said top run of ICFs comprise spaced apart panel members having interior and exterior surfaces with said interior surfaces defining an interior wall space; 
 (j) disposing in said top run of ICFs at spaced apart locations along the length of the base foundation an upper spar set comprising spars having end sections wherein said spars span said interior wall space and penetrate through said top run ICF panels locating said spar end sections outside of said interior wall space and adjacent a said panel exterior surface; 
 (k) injecting close cell polyurethane foam forming liquids into the interior wall space of said top run of ICFs in which said foam forming liquids expand to fill the space between said top run ICF panels and surrounds said upper spar sets and said bracing ladders with close cell polyurethane foam. 
 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the foundation includes embedded spaced apart anchor dowels at spaced apart locations along the foundation extending above the foundation to a height of several said ICF panels further comprising:
 (l) disposing adjacent each anchor dowel a connecting rod that extends vertically to a height that places it adjacent said spar ends of said upper spar set and adjacent said spar ends of said lower spar set; 
 (m) securing said end sections of said spars of said lower spar set and said end sections of said spars of said upper spar set to a said connecting rod; and 
 (n) applying a concrete membrane to said exterior surfaces of said ICF panels that comprise said base run, said additional runs and said top run to a thickness that encapsulates said anchor dowels, said connecting rods and said spar set end sections. 
 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein said concrete membrane is applied under pressure.