EP0750709A1

EP0750709A1 - Floor, method for making same and building comprising at least one such floor

Info

Publication number: EP0750709A1
Application number: EP95912097A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jacques Wybauw
Original assignee: REBUILD WORLD SA
Current assignee: Rebuild World RBW SA
Priority date: 1994-03-18
Filing date: 1995-03-17
Publication date: 1997-01-02
Also published as: WO1995025861A1; US5845457A; AU1943095A; BE1008118A3; BR9507132A

Abstract

A floor for buildings is disclosed. The floor comprises a prefabricated reinforced concrete slab (1) with a smooth flat top surface (15), said slab (1) having been cast upside-down in a mould with a smooth flat bottom (2). Said slab (1) is supported on a base (11) arranged beneath the slab (1) with the weight of the slab (1) uniformly distributed thereover. A method for making said floor is also disclosed.

Description

Floor ,, process for its manufacture and building comprising at least one such floor.

The invention relates to a floor and a method for manufacturing this floor.

In the building sector, the floor is a structure which constitutes a horizontal platform at the lower level of the building, or a separation between two floors.

For the production of floors, many techniques have been proposed and implemented and various materials have been used. Among the most ancient floors known, there is in particular the rustic floor formed of boards nailed on joists.

In many cases, it is preferred to make floors of non-combustible materials. We know in particular the floors consisting of reinforced concrete slabs poured in place and integral with the walls or the frame of the building. Also known are floors formed of beams or beams (concrete or metal) between which are placed concrete slabs as filling. Such floors composed of slabs, like those which consist of concrete slabs poured in place, should however rather be considered as constituting the structural work of floors. It is therefore a rule to cover such floors with a screed which is generally made with a hydraulic setting material consisting essentially of a wet mixture of cement and sand.

The realization of such a floor screed involves all the known drawbacks specific to wet sites. Placing materials with hydraulic grip is a messy operation during which other trades must stay away. In addition, the setting and hardening of the setting material hydraulics takes a long time (a few weeks), which complicates and slows down the work schedule.

In any case, the production of such a floor screed requires skilled labor and, despite this, the surface of the screed is never free from defects and its mechanical strength and its hydrophobicity are not optimal. In general, such a screed is still covered with a finishing coating such as tiling, plain carpet, linoleum, etc. According to certain known techniques, a layer of thermal insulation is interposed between the structural work of the floor and the floor screed.

It is also known to drown in the mass of the floor screed heating elements which are sometimes electrical resistances but more commonly coils which are connected to a supply circuit and in which a heat transfer fluid can be circulated. When heating elements are embedded in the mass of the screed, it is obviously very particularly advantageous to interpose a thermal insulator between this screed and the structural work of the floor.

It is also well known to interpose an anti-vibration mattress between the structural work of the floor and the screed of this floor, thus ensuring acoustic insulation between the floors and in particular reducing the transmission of footsteps to the lower floor. Such screeds which are usually called "floating screeds" or "floating slabs" may possibly be provided with heating elements embedded in their mass. Patent application DE-A-29 30 895 describes a floor comprising a screed which rests on its support by means of a heat-insulating layer and a layer of acoustic insulation. The screed itself is poured in place "wet" and heating pipes are embedded in its mass.

All of these known techniques for making floors which include the pouring of screeds on site, inevitably entail the drawbacks which have been mentioned above.

There is a known method of making a floating screed according to which successive layers of plasterboard are laid on a mattress of anti-vibration material. When laying these plasterboards, care is taken to offset the joints between the plates of one layer with the joints between the plates of the neighboring layers. Such a floating screed is therefore produced dry and fairly cleanly, but its mechanical strength and its resistance to water are insufficient for certain applications. In any case, such a floating screed must necessarily be covered with a finishing coating.

The anti-vibration mattresses used for making floating screeds are quite fragile and therefore vulnerable. We have seen that with the techniques currently used, these mattresses are easily degraded by the workers who make the screed. There is therefore too high a risk of creating "phonic bridges" which practically cancel the sound insulation properties of the floating screed.

In conclusion, it can be seen that the techniques for producing floors currently used all have fairly significant drawbacks concerning the problems and constraints which they cause and / or concerning the characteristics of the floors produced. These problems and constraints which these techniques entail are felt in particular (but not exclusively) when rapid construction methods are used for buildings using prefabricated elements, assembled on site. With such construction methods, it is very advantageous to be able to realize the building in "dry site". The pouring in place of floors or screeds is therefore very poorly suited to these methods. Of more, one of the very important advantages of the construction of buildings by assembly of prefabricated elements consists in the speed of execution; a significant part of this advantage is lost if the floors or screeds are poured in place (and then have to set, harden and dry for weeks).

We therefore sought to implement a method for quickly producing floors with good physical characteristics. The invention also aims to implement such a method which allows, if desired, to achieve a floor ensuring good sound insulation between floors.

Another object of the invention is to implement such a method which makes it possible, if desired, to produce a floor provided with incorporated heat exchangers.

The invention also aims to provide such floors with a very satisfactory degree of finish allowing, if desired, not to cover them with an additional coating.

The subject of the present invention is a method for producing a floor for a building, this method comprising the following operations: - providing a mold for reinforced concrete slab, this mold comprising a mold base with a flat and smooth surface and a frame against which the edges of the slab will form, this frame being detachably fixed to the bottom of the mold, - place this mold in a horizontal plane, the flat and smooth surface of the bottom of the mold being turned upwards, place in this mold a concrete reinforcement, - set up in this mold removable fastening means able to secure the bottom of the mold and the concrete slab when it is there molded, pour concrete into the mold and allow the slab thus formed to harden, make a support on which the concrete slab can be placed and on which the weight of this slab will be distributed in a substantially regular manner, transport the concrete slab, contained in its mold, towards said support, remove the frame from the mold, - turn upside down the assembly formed by the mold base and the concrete slab and place this assembly on said support, separate the concrete slab from the mold base and remove the bottom of the mold. The concrete slab used in the process according to the invention will advantageously be produced in the workshop, in a factory for molding concrete building elements.

With regard to the production and installation of said support, several variants of the method according to the invention can be applied.

According to a first of these variants, said support is separately placed in the building under construction and the concrete slab (produced in the workshop) is transported (contained in its mold) to the building construction site where it is then placed. place on its support.

According to another variant of the method, said support and the concrete slab are both made in the workshop and it is also in the workshop that said slab is placed on its support, the assembly consisting of the slab and the support on which it rests. then being transported to the construction site where this assembly is installed in the building. This second variant of the process can be particularly advantageous in the case where the support itself is a building element prefabricated or part of a prefabricated constriction unit.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the mold base is provided with stiffening means mounted against its face which is opposite to its said flat and smooth surface (that is to say, against its face which, during of the molding operation, is turned down). This stiffening is generally necessary because the slabs to be molded which are thin and large in area must be able to be transported and handled, fixed to the bottom of the mold.

The mold base is advantageously provided with hooking means capable of facilitating its handling by cranes or other lifting means. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, an anti-vibration mattress is interposed between the concrete slab and its support. A floating slab floor is thus obtained.

The floor tiles produced according to the invention are thin tiles but in general of large area.

In most cases, the floor of a room in the building can be made with a single prefabricated slab according to the invention. For large building parts, it may be necessary or advantageous to produce the floor by juxtaposing two or more slabs according to the invention. It is important, in fact, that the size of these slabs does not prevent their handling and transport. The upper surface of the tiles installed is in any case perfectly flat and smooth, which has the result that for many applications it is useless to cover them with a coating.

The appearance of the upper face of the floor slab can be further improved by implementing a particular embodiment of the invention, according to which, before pouring the concrete into the mold, is first poured into it a layer of mortar added with filler materials or pigments capable of giving the upper face of the slab a decorative appearance. When molding the concrete slab, it is advantageous to vibrate the concrete as it is commonly done.

According to a particular embodiment of the method according to the invention, a coil capable of conveying a heat transfer fluid is placed in the mold prior to the pouring of the concrete. This coil is arranged in such a way that its ends exit by a lateral edge of the slab.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the method according to the invention, the mold is of a shape such that a rebate is formed along the edge of the face of the concrete slab which is in contact with the bottom of the mold.

The subject of the invention is also a floor for a building comprising a continuous, coherent and hardened layer of material with hydraulic setting and a support situated under said layer and on which the weight of this layer is distributed in a substantially regular manner. ^* In the floor according to the invention, said layer consists of a reinforced concrete precast slab which this upper face, a smooth flat surface, this panel having been molded upside down in a mold the bottom of which has a flat surface and smooth.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the floor comprises, between said support and the concrete slab, an intermediate layer.

This intermediate layer may possibly be thin (a few millimeters) and consist, for example, of a rot-proof felt capable of compensating for the small inequalities which the upper face of the support and the lower face of the slab present, so as to distribute the weight of the slab as evenly as possible on the support.

The intermediate layer will advantageously consist of an anti-vibration mattress so that the concrete slab is a floating slab thus ensuring good acoustic insulation between floors and dampen, in particular, the transmission of footsteps to the lower floor.

The intermediate layer can also be made of a thermal insulation material.

When an anti-vibration mattress is interposed between the support and the concrete slab, this anti-vibration mattress already provides a fairly good thermal insulation but it may be desirable to interpose between the anti-vibration mattress and the concrete slab a layer made of a material ensuring good thermal insulation.

The thermal insulation of the concrete slab from its support is obviously particularly important when heating elements (or, more generally, heat exchangers) are embedded in the mass of the concrete slab.

The concrete slabs used to make the floors according to the invention are, as a general rule, thin and large in area.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the concrete slabs used have an area of at least

3 m ² and preferably at least 6 m ² . The thickness of these slabs is advantageously between 3 and 7 cm and, preferably between 4 and 6 cm.

For the production of floors according to the invention, a wide variety of supports can be used.

The support for the precast concrete slab according to the invention may in particular consist of a continuous concrete slab poured in place (but whose upper surface is therefore not perfectly flat and smooth).

The support for the concrete slab according to the invention can also consist of a series of beams or beams (made of metal or concrete). As it is desirable for the concrete slabs to be thin, the spacing between the supporting beams or beams must be adapted accordingly. In most cases this spacing will be less than 40 cm.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the support consists of a profiled sheet such as a trapezoidal sheet.

The concrete slab of the floor according to the invention may comprise, embedded in its mass, at least one coil capable of conveying a heat transfer fluid and connection means for connecting this coil to a supply circuit.

According to a particular embodiment, the concrete slab has a substantially rectangular shape with cut corners. When such a slab is provided with a coil, the connection means of this coil are advantageously located in the cut corners of the slab.

According to a particular embodiment, the concrete slab has a rebate along the edges of its upper face, this rebate being able to cooperate with a joint disposed between two neighboring slabs.

When two neighboring slabs are provided with such a rebate, a profiled joint preferably having a T-section is preferably inserted between them, the dimensions of each rebate corresponding to those of one of the branches of the T-section.

The invention also relates to a building which comprises at least one floor according to the invention or produced according to the method according to the invention. One of the important advantages of the technique according to the invention consists in the fact that it allows the very fast and dry production of floors with good characteristics. The concrete slabs can be molded in the workshop, away from the site, several weeks before these slabs must be installed in the building under construction.

This process for producing floors can be used for buildings of very different types.

The economic advantage of the process is particularly noticeable when a fairly large number of slabs must be produced for a site or for a set of sites.

It is understood that it is advantageous to be able to produce, as far as possible, slabs in a reduced number of formats. It is in particular for this reason that the advantages of the method according to the invention are particularly significant when it is applied to the production of floors in modular buildings and in particular in buildings produced by assembling prefabricated construction units of standardized dimensions. .

Other features and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description below of a particular embodiment of the invention, applied here more particularly to buildings produced by the assembly of modular construction units, reference being made in the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a slab according to the invention, at the manufacturing stage; Fig. 2 is a sectional view along a vertical plane II-II of a detail of the slab in FIG. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a slab after its installation on the lower horizontal element of a modular construction unit; Fig. 4 is a sectional view along the vertical plane IVIV of FIG. 3; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a slab comprising heating elements embedded in its mass; Fig. 6 is a perspective view, with cutaway, of a slab with heating elements, placed on the lower horizontal element of a modular construction unit.

The floating slab according to the invention, unlike a conventional "floating screed" is not made on site but in a mold, with the desired dimensions.

Slab 1, made of reinforced concrete, is shown in FIG. 1, resting on the bottom 2 of the mold in which it was made. The other parts of the mold, which are intended to form the edges 3 of the slab 1, and which do not have any particular characteristics, have not been shown.

The slab 1 is secured to the bottom of the mold 2 by removable fasteners 4 which can be seen in more detail in FIG. 2. Thanks to these fixings 4, it is possible to manipulate and simply turn over the slab 1 with its mold base 2, without the risk of breaking or cracking this thin slab (thickness 5 cm).

Fig. 2 shows on a larger scale the slab 1 in section at the location of one of these removable fasteners 4.

The attachment 4 shown essentially comprises a tubular element 5 intended to be embedded in the mass of the slab 1. This tubular element 5 is internally threaded and cooperates with a bolt 6 which holds it in place relative to the mold base 2. A l 'end of this tubular element 5 is fixed a flange 7 intended to distribute the stresses exerted on the fixing 4 in the slab 1 after the setting of the concrete which composes it. There is shown in FIG. 2, in section, of the elements of a light reinforcement 8 embedded in the mass of the dal le 1.

The flange 7 is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 flush with the surface 9 of the slab; this in no way detracts from the appearance of the slab 1, this surface 9 being intended to form the underside of the slab 1 once it has been turned over and put in place.

To separate the slab 1 from the bottom of the mold 2 after the hardened slab 1 has been put in place, it suffices to unscrew the bolt 6, the head of which is accessible. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that it is possible to use multiple variants of this attachment 4 for the same function without departing from the scope of the invention.

The mold base 2 further comprises stiffeners 10. The presence of these stiffeners 10 is explained by the small thickness of the slab 1 and by its large dimensions, which correspond substantially to those of the lower horizontal element 11 of a prefabricated building unit 12, as can be seen in FIG. 3. The corners 13 of the slab 1 are cut so as to adapt to the particular shape of this modular construction unit 12, which essentially consists of a lower horizontal element 11 in the form of a box and of columns 14 of section in V able to be erected at each corner of this lower element 11. The V-shape of these columns 14 makes it possible to pass in their corner electrical circuits and pipes serving the lower or upper levels of the building (not shown) in which the construction unit 12 is intended to be integrated. The cut corners 13 of the slab 1 give easy access allowing the passage of these circuits and pipes, as explained below.

The face of the mold base 2 which faces the slab 1 has a high quality of finish, which gives the corresponding face 15 of the slab 1 an immediately smooth and neat appearance. It is precisely this face 15 with a neat appearance which is used as the upper face of the floating slab 1, after turning and demolding.

As we are therefore not limited by the characteristics of a mixture which lends itself to smoothing (fluidity, setting time etc.), we have the possibility of using any type of concrete to make the slab 1 according to the invention to obtain a reinforced concrete slab 1 having the mechanical or physical characteristics (hydrophobia etc.) desired.

The slab 1 according to the invention, intended to be put in place as a floating slab, can be manufactured in the workshop. Thanks to this prefabrication in the workshop, the organization and construction program of a building are therefore not hampered or slowed down by the duration of setting and drying of the floating slab.

It is understood that under these conditions, one can dispose of an anti-vibration mattress 16 with much more care and with less danger of damaging it than on a traditional site.

We can even carry out a quality control directly after installation, with almost instantaneous localization of one or the other (improbable) defect and remedy it on the spot. The slab 1 shown in FIG. 3 was cast to standard dimensions corresponding to those of the lower horizontal element 11 of a construction unit 12, which can represent around twenty square meters. For reasons of ease of handling, it is possible optionally to produce such a floating slab 1 from several parts 17 which are smaller and therefore more manageable (of + 6 m ² for example).

These parts 17 (delimited by broken lines, in Fig. 3) are assembled by conventional methods for the assembly of reinforced concrete plates, once placed on the lower horizontal element 11 of the modular building unit 12.

Fig. 4 shows in more detail a connection between two floating slabs 1 according to the invention each disposed on the lower horizontal element 11 of juxtaposed construction units 12, as shown in FIG. 3.

As these floating tiles 1 have a smooth and well finished appearance, they make the presence of an additional decorative coating superfluous. The absence of such a coating however makes it necessary that the joints between two adjacent tiles 1 have a particularly clear appearance.

To this end, a rabbet 18 is formed during molding on the periphery of the upper face 15 of each floating slab 1.

A joint 19 in the form of a T-shaped section profile is inserted at the joint of two floating slabs 1.

The thickness of the bar of the T corresponds to the depth of the rabbets 18 so that the top of the joint 19 comes just at the level of the upper surface of the two floating slabs 1, avoiding any apparent discontinuity.

The seal 19 is preferably made of an elastic material with low thermal conductivity (such as a plastic), so as to avoid the creation of a sound bridge between two neighboring tiles 1.

The installation of such a seal 19 requires that the rebates 18 have very rigorous dimensions, which cannot be obtained with a conventional floating screed, but is very easily achieved thanks to the molding process adopted for this slab 1.

Fig. 5 shows an advantageous embodiment of a floating slab 1 according to the invention, which comprises heating elements 20 embedded in the mass of the slab 1. The underfloor heating ^is known to cause some problems since the installation was performed correctly. In the case of the present floating slab 1, the heating engineers can work in optimal conditions, since they can proceed with the installation of the heating elements 20 in a particular workshop, that is to say outside of all the constraints of time and bad weather. imposed by the work on site. According to the needs, one can even envisage the installation of several heating elements 20 of different powers, the only technical constraint being being able to connect the heating elements 20 after the slab 1 has been put in place. When installing the heating elements 20, it is advantageous that the connection means (connections, etc.) of these heating elements 20 are arranged in the cut corners 13 of the floating slab 1, so that they can be easily connected to the circuits arranged in the corners of the columns 14.

Fig. 6 shows in perspective a section with cutaway, of a floating slab 1, placed on the lower horizontal element 11 of a construction unit 12. We see in particular on this section the remaining parts 5, 7 of the fasteners 4 having used to maintain, before its installation, the slab 1 on the mold base 2.

The mold base 2 having been removed, there remain on the upper face of the slab 1 small orifices which, once closed, become almost invisible.

The tearing also allows the reinforcement elements 8, embedded in the slab 1, to be seen.

The upper face 15 of the slab 1 has all the qualities of a finished coating (hardness, resistance to water and humidity). To improve its aesthetic qualities, it is possible, during molding, to extend and spread on the bottom of the mold 2 a layer of a mortar mixture added with a filler (dyes, decorative granules, etc.) giving the surface 15 of the molded slab 1 a decorative appearance, of the granito type for example, which makes an unnecessary additional coating.

Claims

1.- A method for producing a building floor, characterized in that it comprises the following operations: providing a mold for reinforced concrete slab (1), this mold comprising a mold base (2) with a flat surface and smooth and a frame against which the edges (3) of the slab (1) will form, this frame being detachably fixed to the mold base (2), place this mold in a horizontal plane, the flat and smooth surface of the bottom of mold (2) being turned upwards, place in this mold a concrete reinforcement (8), - put in place in this mold fastening means (4) removable capable of fastening the bottom (2) of the mold and the concrete slab (1) when it is molded there, pour concrete into the mold and allow the slab (1) thus formed to harden, make a support (11) on which the concrete slab (1) can be placed and on which the weight of this slab (1) will be distributed in a substantially regular manner, transport the slab of concrete (1) contained in its mold, towards said support, remove the frame from the mold, turn upside down the assembly formed by the mold base (2) and the concrete slab (1) and place this assembly on said support (11), - separate the concrete slab (1) from the mold base (2) and remove this mold base (2).

2.- Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the mold base (2) is provided with stiffening means (10) mounted against its face which is opposite to its said flat and smooth surface.

3.- Method according to any one of previous claims, characterized in that the mold base (2) is provided with hooking means capable of facilitating its handling by cranes or other lifting means.

4.- Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises the following operation, prior to the establishment of the concrete slab (1) on its support

(11): - place an anti-vibration mattress (16) on the upper face of said support (11).

5.- Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises, before the pouring of the concrete into the mold, the following operation: pour in the bottom (2) of the mold a layer of mortar added with filler materials capable of giving the upper face (15) of the slab (1) a decorative appearance.

6.- Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the concrete of the slab (1) is vibrated.

7.- Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it also comprises the following operation:

- Place in the mold, prior to the pouring of the concrete, at least one coil (20) capable of conveying a heat transfer fluid, the ends of this coil (20) leaving by a lateral edge (3) of the slab (1).

8.- Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said mold is of a shape such that a rebate (18) is formed along the edges of the face (15) of the concrete slab (1) in contact with the bottom (2) of the mold.

9.- Floor for building comprising a continuous, coherent and hardened layer of setting material hydraulic and a support located under said layer and on which the weight of this layer is distributed in a substantially regular manner, characterized in that said layer consists of a prefabricated slab (1) of reinforced concrete, the upper face (15) of which has a surface flat and smooth, this slab (1) having been molded upside down, in a mold whose bottom (2) has a flat and smooth surface.

10.- Floor according to claim 9, characterized in that it comprises, between said support (11) and the concrete slab (1), an intermediate layer (16).

11.- Floor according to claim 10, characterized in that the intermediate layer (16) is an anti-vibration mattress (16).

12.- Floor according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that said slab (1) has an area of at least 3 m ² .

13 '.- Floor according to any one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that said slab (1) has an area of at least 6 m ² .

14: - Floor according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that said slab (1) has a thickness between 3 and 7 cm.

15.- Floor according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that said slab

(I) has a thickness of between 4 and 6 cm.

16.- Floor according to any one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that said support

(II) consists of a trapezoidal sheet.

17. Floor according to any one of claims 9 to 16, characterized in that the concrete slab (1) comprises, embedded in its mass, at least one coil (20) capable of conveying a heat transfer fluid, and means connection to connect this coil (20) to a supply circuit.

18.- Floor according to any one of Claims 9 to 17, characterized in that the concrete slab (1) has a substantially rectangular shape with cut corners (13).

19. Floor according to claim 18, characterized in that the concrete slab (1) comprises at least one coil (20) capable of conveying a heat transfer fluid, and connection means for connecting this coil (20) to a circuit supply, the coil connection means (20) being located in the cut corners (13) of the concrete slab (1).

20. Floor according to any one of claims 9 to 19, characterized in that the concrete slab (1) has a rebate (18) along the edges of its upper face (15), said rebate (18) being able to cooperate with a joint (19) disposed between two adjacent slabs (1).

21. Floor according to claim 13, characterized in that the joints (19) disposed between the adjacent concrete slabs (1) have the shape of a T-section profile, the dimensions of the rebate (18) corresponding to those of one of the branches of the T-section.

22.- Building characterized in that it comprises at least one floor according to any one of claims 9 to 21.