AU2006100524A4 - Flooring system - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Invention Title: Flooring system The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: 004874092 2 Flooring system Field of the invention This invention relates to a flooring system, and more particularly, to a flooring system supported on parallel spaced apart joists. The invention has particular application for floors used in buildings where there are adjacent wet and dry areas, but the invention may be used in other applications as well.

Background of the invention A standard way of constructing floors, often at ground level, but particularly in upper floors, is to run a series of joists across the width of the building which are supported at their end by walls or on carrier beams. The joists are generally parallel with each other and have an upper surface, with upper surfaces of the joists all generally lying in the same horizontal plane. Flooring panels of some description are typically laid over the joists and supported on the upper surfaces of the joists to thereby create a horizontal floor surface. That floor surface is reasonably rigid and internal walls and the like may be constructed on this floor surface as required.

Typically, some form of floor covering is laid over the floor surface, and depending on the use to which individual rooms will be placed, different floor coverings are laid in different rooms.

The floor in wet areas, that is, bathrooms, kitchens, laundry and the like, typically has a waste drain at some point in the floor, and the floor must slope downwardly from the periphery of the room to that waste drain in order that water on the floor can flow to the drain without pooling. To achieve the necessary slope, it is standard practice to lay a sand and cement screed on the flooring panels in the wet area, the screed having an upper surface with the necessary downward slope to the drain to thereby achieve the aforementioned drainage configuration. Typically, some form of tiled finish such as ceramic tiles are laid onto the screed in order to finish the floor surface. It is also an Australian requirement that the wet areas are properly waterproofed, and thus, prior to 004874092 3 laying the screed, a waterproof coating is applied to the floor panels and the lower portion of the walls in the wet area to thereby achieve the necessary waterproofing.

That waterproofing layer is typically constructed on-site using glass fibre reinforced resin.

One problem with the aforementioned construction of floors in wet areas is that the laying of screed creates a raised step from the dry area up to the slightly elevated wet area. The screed at the door region of the wet area would typically be approximately high, and a floor tile would be laid on top of that screed. In the dry area, which might for example be carpeted, the floor covering has a thickness which is significantly less than 40mm. Thus, it is found, that in standard domestic buildings and the like, a step of approximately 25mm must be negotiated as a person moves from a dry area to a wet area. That step is a trip hazard to a person moving in either direction and indeed, serious injuries have occurred with persons tripping into the wet area which typically has a hard tiled floor.

It is thus desirable to have a flooring system which can be constructed without significantly altering conventional building practices but will, to a large extent, eliminate or substantially reduce the upward step into wet areas.

Summary of the invention According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method of forming a floor in a building, said method including the steps of: erecting a plurality of parallel joists below an area where said floor is to be formed, said joists each having an upper support surface, the upper support surfaces of the joists lying in substantially the same horizontal plane; forming a support ledge along at least one respective side of at least two side by side joists, said support ledges facing towards each other and stepped a selected distance below said upper support surfaces such that said support ledges lie in substantially the same horizontal plane; and 004874092 4 mounting a generally rectangular board between said side by side joists, such that said board is supported at opposite sides thereof on said support ledges, the board having a thickness substantially the same as said selected distance.

Preferably the step of forming a support ledge on said joists is achieved by attaching an inverted channel shaped support strip to said upper support surface, said support strip having a central upper section adapted to overlie said upper support surface, and a downwardly extending side sections on opposite sides of said central section, and laterally extending flanges connected to said side sections defining said support ledges.

Thus, said support strip may comprise an inverted channel section with laterally and outwardly extending flanges on the free ends of the sides of the channel section, said flanges defining said support ledges in use.

The method may include the step of adhering and optionally further fastening the support strip to the joint. Said further fastening may include the step of screwing or bolting the strip to the joist. The method may also include the step of adhering and optionally further fastening the board to the support ledge.

The method may further include the step of creating a wet area floor above said board or boards, said wet area floor being formed by waterproofing the area above said boards, and then casting a cementitious floor over said waterproofing.

It will be appreciated that a floor formed in accordance with the aforementioned method will define a support surface which is substantially co-planar with the upper support surfaces of the joists.

The invention extends to a channel section adapted to be used to form a floor as above defined, the channel section comprising a central web and parallel sides integrally formed with the web, laterally outwardly extending flanges integrally formed with the free ends of each of the sides, the sides being spaced apart by a distance adapted to accommodate the width of a standard joist, the sides having a depth substantially the same as the thickness of standard flooring panels.

004874092 The channel section is preferably formed of galvanised steel, and may have a thickness of between 1mm and 3mm, preferably between 1.5mm and 2mm.

The invention also extends to a building which incorporates a flooring system for wet areas as previously defined.

These and further features of the invention will be made apparent from the description of two embodiments of the invention given below by way of example. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, but the specific features shown in the drawings should not be construed as limiting on the invention.

Brief description of the drawings Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional side view through a prior art flooring system at the interface between wet and dry areas.

Figure 2 shows a similar view to that of Figure 1, but which incorporate the features of the invention.

Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional side view of the flooring system of the invention at a central location of a wet area within a building.

Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional side view of a galvanised steel section suitable for use with the invention.

Figure 5 shows a plan view of a length of galvanised steel section of the type shown in Figure 4.

Figure 6 shows a plan view of part of a building which incorporates wet and dry areas in accordance with the invention.

Figure 7 shows a detailed section of a floor system at a doorway between wet and dry areas.

004874092 6 Figure 8 shows a cross-sectional side view of an alternative embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of the embodiments Referring initially to Figure 1, a flooring system 10 includes a joist 12 of the I-beam type construction having an upper flange 14 formed of timber and a web section 16 formed of pressed masonite. The joist will also include a lower timber flange (not shown). The joist 12 is of standard construction and, in Australia, such joists are manufactured for example by Tilling Timber and sold under the trademark "Smartframe". Floors constructed using these types of joists are well known and the joists are considered to provide a relatively simple and time efficient method of constructing a floor to applicable building standards. The present invention would typically use identical joists to those used in current standard building practices and such joists need not be discussed herein in any further detail.

The joist 12 has an upper support surface 18 on which a floorboard 20 is supported.

The floorboard 20 would typically have a thickness of approximately 22mm and would conventionally comprise a particleboard type material.

The Figure 1 embodiment shows that part of a building at the interface between wet area 22 and dry area 24. The dry area 24 has a floor covering in the form of a carpet indicated diagrammatically at 26. The wet area 22 has a construction which is somewhat more complex. Firstly, a waterproofing membrane 28 is applied to the entire wet area, as is the requirement of typical standard building codes. The membrane 28 is conventionally formed using glass fibre reinforced resin material, and is formed in situ.

The membrane need not be discussed herein in any greater detail. Once the membrane 28 has dried and cured, a sand and cement screed 30 is laid into the wet area with the necessary slopes formed in the upper surface thereof for the reasons discussed in the background section to this specification. Typically, a floor tile 32 is laid on top of the screed. In practice, an aluminium angle bracket 34 is mounted to the floorboard across the doorway into the wet area and this angle bracket 34 would typically have a height of approximately 40mm. The angle bracket 34 serves to neatly finish off the edge 004874092 7 of the screed 30 and also serve to contain the membrane 28 and screed 30 in position within the wet area during the laying thereof.

It will be noted from Figure 1 of the drawings that this construction technique results in a step up from the dry area 24 to the wet area 22 of approximately 25mm. The step up is indicated by arrow 36. It is the step 36 that is considered to be a hazard and which the present invention seeks to eliminate.

Figure 2 of the drawings shows an alternative approach to the construction of the wet area. In Figure 2, components of the system which are identical to those shown in the prior art are indicated by like numerals. As shown in Figure 2, a "top hat" shaped metal section 40 has been fitted to the joist 12 so that the metal section 40 rests on and is supported by the upper support surface 18 of the joist. The top hat section 40 is described in more detail with reference to Figures 4 and 5 of the drawing but it will be noted that the top hat section 40 is of elongate shape and has a central web section 42, side sections 44, and laterally extending flanges 46. The flanges 46 extend outwardly from opposite sides of the timber flange 14, as shown, so that the flanges 46 define laterally extending ledges or shoulders running along the length of the joist. These laterally extending ledges are thus located a distance of approximately 22mm below the upper surface 48 of the central section 42. Thus, particle board flooring panels supported on the ledges 46 will be co-planar with the upper surface 48 of the central section 42.

It will be noted that, in effect, the top hat section 40 permits a floor to be constructed using flooring panels 50 at an elevation which is approximately 22mm below that of standard flooring. This arrangement allows the floor in wet areas to be dropped by 22mm to thereby substantially reduce or eliminate the hazard step discussed above.

In the Figure 2 embodiment, wet area 52 is shown on the right hand side of the drawing whereas dry area 54 is shown on the left hand side of the drawing. In the dry area 54, floor panel 56 is mounted so as to be supported on the upper surface 18 of the joist 12 in conventional manner. However, at the interface between dry and wet areas, the floor panel 56 is cut off, as indicated at numeral 58 to thereby provide an abutment surface 004874092 8 against which angle bracket 34 can be mounted. In the dry area 52 the floor panel 50 is laid, at a lower elevation, so as to rest on the ledge 46, as shown, whereafter the waterproof membrane 28, screed 30, and tile 32 can be laid in conventional manner.

Thus, it will be noted, that the step 36, has been eliminated. This is because the floor panel 50 is at an elevation which is 22mm below that of floor panel 56.

It will be noted that the interface 58 between wet and dry areas does not need to take place at or over the centre line of the joist, or any other location. All that is required is that the panel 50 extend beyond the interface between wet and dry areas, that is, the upper floor panel 56 must overlie the lower panel 50 at the interface. This is discussed in more detail with reference to Figure 6 of the drawings.

Figures 3, 4 and 5 show the "top hat" section in more detail. It is envisaged that the top hat section will be formed of galvanised steel, approximately 1.8mm thick, and folded into the top hat configuration. That is, the section comprises central web section 42 having a width of approximately 52mm, as shown in Figure 4, sides 44 having a height of approximately 22mm, and laterally extending flanges or ledges 46 having a width of approximately 40mm. Thus, the overall width of the section will be approximately 132mm. Clearly, these are not fixed dimensions, but appropriate dimensions for conventional joists of the type described above. In practice, the boards 50 will be cut so as to fit exactly between the side wall portions 44 of oppositely facing joists so as to rest on the ledges 46 in the manner disclosed in the drawings. Thus, if joists are typically 600mm apart, the boards 50 will be cut approximately at 550mm wide so as to slot neatly between adjacent joists, and rest securely on the ledges 46. It is envisaged that the top hat section 40 will be adhered onto the joist 12 and furthermore, that screw fasteners 60 will secure the section 40 to the joist 12.

It is also envisaged that the panels 50 will be adhered using suitable adhesive to the ledges 46 and screw fasteners 62 used to secure the floor panels 50 to the ledges 46.

The holes through the top hat section will be at approximately 300mm spacing, as shown in Figure 5 of the drawings.

004874092 9 As mentioned above, the lower floor panel 50 will need to extend below the upper floor panel 56 at the interface between wet and dry areas and generally this will be done by extending the lower floor panel 50 to the next joist support which is outside of the wet area. This arrangement is clearly shown in Figure 6 of the drawings where the light, cross hatched area 52 is the wet area and the darker shaded area 54 is the dry area.

The line 64 shows the furthermost extent of the lower floor panel 50, dotted lines 66 indicate the top hat sections located on joists, the centre line of the joists have been shown at numeral 68. The wall between the wet and dry area is indicated at numeral and the interface between wet and dry areas, at the doorway, is shown at numeral 72.

This interface is shown clearly in Figure 7 of the drawings.

Figure 8 shows an alternate arrangement to that of providing a top hat section for fitting to conventional joists in order to create the ledges on opposite sides of the joist. One option is to form the ledges integrally with the upper flange of the joists, as shown in Figure 8, to thereby form an integral ledge 80 in the flange 82. It is envisaged that the integral flange 80 will be approximately 15mm wide. This arrangement is less preferred because it requires either the flange to be machined so as to form the ledge 80 in situ, or the timber flange will need to be formed as a composite section. With this type of joint, builders could choose to either use the top surface 84 or the ledge surface 80, as required, without requiring a special top hat section to be fitted to the joist. It will be appreciated that, in other respects, the construction techniques discussed in Figure 2 and Figure 8 of the drawings are substantially identical. Other arrangements for forming the ledges are possible, including fixing angle brackets or sections onto the edges of the timber flange to form the ledges.

It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined in this specification extends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text or drawings. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the invention.

004874092 D It will also be understood that the term "comprises" (or its grammatical variants) as used t in this specification is equivalent to the term "includes" and should not be taken as excluding the presence of other elements or features.