Building system and method

Abstract

A building system comprising insulating formers manufactured from an insulating material, for example polystyrene foam. Each former has at least one internal wall defining a rebated portion in which concrete can be cast, forming a reinforcing rib. The rebated portion typically has a dove-tail profile to reduce the likelihood of the cast concrete rib falling out. Each former has locating formations or engagement means configured for complementary engagement with at least one other former, allowing the formers to be arranged in register with one another. Also disclosed is a method of building which includes the steps of: shaping formers from insulating material, for example polystyrene foam, in such a way that the formers each define a rebated portion and engagement means configured for complementary engagement with at least one other former; casting reinforced concrete ribs in the rebated portions; and arranging the formers in abutment with one another.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A building system which includes a plurality of insulating formers, each former comprising:
 a body portion manufactured from an insulating material and having at least one internal wall which defines a rebated portion in which concrete can be set, thereby to form a reinforcing rib; and   engagement means configured for complementary engagement with at least one other former, thereby to facilitate alignment of the formers in register with one another, in use.   
     
     
         2 . The building system as claimed in  claim 1 , in which the insulating material comprises a polymer foam. 
     
     
         3 . The building system as claimed in  claim 2  in which the polymer foam is selected from the group consisting of polystyrene foam and polyurethane foam. 
     
     
         4 . The building system as claimed in  claim 1 , in which the at least one internal wall defining the rebated portion of the, or each, former further defines a mouth which opens into the rebated portion; and
 each former is preconfigured so that the shortest distance from one side of the mouth to the other is shorter than at least one parallel dimension of the rebated portion.   
     
     
         5 . The building system as claimed in  claim 1 , which further includes at least one concrete rib set in the rebated portion of at least one of the formers. 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . A building constructed using the building system as claimed in  claim 1 . 
     
     
         8 . An insulating former for use in a system of building, the insulating former comprising:
 a body portion manufactured from an insulating material and having at least one internal wall which defines a rebated portion in which concrete can be set, thereby to form a reinforcing concrete rib; and   engagement means configured for complementary engagement with at least one other former, thereby to facilitate alignment of the formers in register with one another, in use.   
     
     
         9 . A structural unit which includes the insulating former as claimed in  claim 8 , and a concrete rib cast in its rebated portion. 
     
     
         10 . The structural unit as claimed in  claim 9 , which is selected from the group consisting of wall panels, infill wall panels, cladding panels, roof panels, suspended slab panels, floor panels, lintels, posts, beams, columns, staircases and doors. 
     
     
         11 . A building which includes a plurality of structural units as claimed in  claim 9 , each aligned in abutment with at least one other of the structural units. 
     
     
         12 . The building as claimed in  claim 11 , in which a plurality of the structural units share a common reinforcement member cast into the concrete of each of said units. 
     
     
         13 . The building as claimed in  claim 11  which includes at least one wall having at least one lintel supported thereon, said lintel comprising at least one insulating former and a continuous reinforced concrete rib cast into the former and extending substantially the full length of the wall. 
     
     
         14 . The building as claimed in  claim 13 , in which the lintel defines sloping upper edges and has the general configuration of a gable. 
     
     
         15 . The building as claimed in  claim 13 , which includes a plurality of lintels arranged non-linearly and connected to one another by the continuous concrete rib, at least one of the formers defining mitred engagement means for engagement with at least one abutting lintel. 
     
     
         16 . The building as claimed in  claim 11 , which includes at least one bed mounted on the concrete ribs of a plurality of the structural units. 
     
     
         17 . The building as claimed in  claim 11 , which includes a roof comprising a plurality of structural units serving as roof panels, the concrete ribs of the roof panels being reinforced with lattice reinforcement. 
     
     
         18 . The building as claimed in  claim 17 , in which the roof panels are supported by at least one suspended reinforced concrete support beam cast in situ during casting of the concrete ribs of the roof panels, and continuous with such concrete ribs. 
     
     
         19 . The building as claimed in  claim 17 , in which the roof is a pitched roof and in which a plurality of the roof panels are inclined from the horizontal at an angle in the range from 8° to 16° inclusive. 
     
     
         20 . The building as claimed in  claim 11 , which includes a roof reservoir comprising a plurality of roof panels, a concrete topping cast thereon, and at least one end wall comprising a polymer foam coping. 
     
     
         21 - 22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . A pre-fabricated structure having a roof and floor connected by walls; the roof, floor and walls each including a plurality of structural units as claimed in  claim 9  and said structure being loosely mounted on the ground in a manner permitting tool-free movement of said structure. 
     
     
         24 - 28 . (canceled) 
     
     
         29 . A method of building which includes the steps of:
 shaping an insulating material to define a plurality of insulating formers, each former defining a rebated portion and engagement means for engagement with at least one other former;   laying reinforcement into the rebated portion defined by each former;   placing concrete into said rebated portions and allowing it to set, thereby to manufacture a structural unit from each said former; and   arranging at least two of the structural units so manufactured in abutment with each other.   
     
     
         30 . A method of building which includes the steps of:
 shaping an insulating material to define a plurality of insulating formers, each former defining a rebated portion and engagement means for engagement with at least one other former;   arranging at least two of said insulating formers in abutment with each other;   laying reinforcement into the rebated portion of each former; and   placing concrete into the rebated portions of the formers and allowing it to set, thereby to form abutting structural units.   
     
     
         31 . The method of building as claimed in  claim 29 , in which the insulating material is a polymer foam. 
     
     
         32 . The method of building as claimed in  claim 29 , in which the step of shaping the insulating material to define the formers includes shaping a mouth which opens into the rebated portion and dimensioning the mouth such that the shortest distance from one side of the mouth to the other is shorter than at least one parallel dimension of the rebated portion. 
     
     
         33 . The method of building as claimed in  claim 29 , which includes at least one additional step selected from the group consisting of:
 manufacturing a concrete footing by placing at least one elongate slot-former above a concrete base and casting concrete on either side of it, removing the slot-former to define a slotted footing and inserting structural units into said slotted footing;   projecting reinforcement from the structural units and connecting at least two of the structural units by means of the reinforcement;   projecting reinforcement from the structural units and casting a concrete slab around said reinforcement;   placing concrete over the formers to a depth sufficient to form a concrete layer above the formers; and   fastening at least one fixture to at least one of the structural units.   
     
     
         34 . (canceled) 
     
     
         35 . The method of building as claimed in  claim 33 , in which the additional step is the step of projecting reinforcement from the structural units and casting a concrete slab around said reinforcement, and in which the reinforcement is projected operatively generally horizontally from wall panels above and below a proposed suspended floor slab, and cast into said slab. 
     
     
         36 . (canceled) 
     
     
         37 . The method of building as claimed in  claim 23 , which includes the steps of:
 providing a frame structure;   erecting the structural units between parts of the concrete frame structure; and   fastening the structural units to the frame structure.   
     
     
         38 - 39 . (canceled) 
     
     
         40 . The method of building as claimed in  claim 30 , which includes the following steps for constructing a pitched roof:
 supporting a plurality of the insulating formers at a pitched angle to the horizontal, each abutting at least one other of the formers;   during the step of laying reinforcement into the rebated portion of each former, laying lattice reinforcement into said portions; and   during the step of placing concrete into the rebated portions of the formers, placing the concrete over the formers to a depth sufficient to form a concrete layer above the formers.   
     
     
         41 . (canceled) 
     
     
         42 . The method of building as claimed in  claim 40 , in which the formers are supported on a reinforced concrete beam cast in situ during the placing of the concrete over the formers. 
     
     
         43 - 57 . (canceled)