US2372187A - Building construction - Google Patents

Description

March 27, 1945; R. L. DAVISON BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 3, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet} INVENTOR oberT RIN March 27, 1945. n. DAVISON v BUILDING GONS'I1JCTI0N 2 Sheet s-S heet 2 Filed Sept. 3} 1942 F 1.3.3.

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Patented 2v, 1945' r as'zzasv amnma oons'muc'non Robert L. Davison, may York, N; Y., asaignor it John B. Pierce Foundation, New York, N. Y a

corporation of New York Application September 8, 1942 Serial No. 457,158

4 Claims. '(ci. zo-zy This invention relates to improved building construction.

n P icular, the invention relates to improvements in building construction pursuant to which structures capable of comfortably housing troops,

- campers, or the like, may be readily erected, un-

der adverse or hazardous conditions, from standardized panel units made from materials which, under present circumstances, are not of a so-, termed critical nature.

It is an object of the invention to provide means for quickly and readily assembling a building suitable for accommodating a group of persons under conditions to provide for maximum comfort, or to provide forstorage of equipment which must be protected from the weather.

It is an object of the invention to provide a building which departs from conventional construction in that there is no'break or distinction between the side walls and roof which are formed of continuouselongate sheets of material; erected at the site of installation by arching said sheets into a substantially semi-cylindrical structure suitably supported and secured at its lower margi naledgestoabaseirame. It is an object of the invention toprovide a building in which the side walls and roof are a continuous structure formed or relatively light weight panels of laminated-'pulp-board having desired thermal insulation properties. said ,pan-

els. incorporating- .as. an integral part thereof,

finish resistant to dampness of condensation.

' It is an object-of the invention to provide a building in which the-flooring material may be the same as the material forming the side-wall- I roof structure, whereby to eliminate the necessity building which, because of its contour, does not 'oi supplyingiandlorstocking' different types of material for the respective purposes.

It is an object ofthe inve ,tion to provide a building which has. adequate facilities for ventilation, and which may be appropriately treated to provide a camouflage eflect.

It is an object ofthe invention to provide a cast deep shadows, thereby rendering such building or a group of buildings relatively inconspicubuilding which is devoid of longitudinal eaves, 5

one from the air.

i It'is an object of the invention-to providea' buildingad quately protected against infiltration 5 suitable exterior weather-proofing and interior ,of'theunder panel is placed againsttheground of'rain or wind-driven water or spray, whereby gutters, downspouts, or the like,are unneces- 'It is an object of the invention to provide a thereby eliminating the necessity of providing against the erosive action of water dripping therefrom. 1

My improved building construction is particularly adaptable for the accommodation of units of soldiers or the like who must be quickly pro-- vided with adequatehousing of a semi-perma- -nent .character.

Acco d g to a preferred form of the invention, thebuilding construction comprises the employment of suitable panels of composition board,

;for example, laminated pulp board; shipped to the site of installation in flat panel form, Preferably, the outer or weather surface of each said panel may have a lamination'or coating :of

suitable water-proof material, such as slate-sur face asphalt roofing or equivalent, bonded to thepanel to make it an integral part thereof It has been found, in practice, that panels of 8"width', and of such length as to provide a substantially semi-cylindrical structure having an 8' .radius as measured from the finished floor line are readily handled by the erection crew.

In erecting the structure, a framework of timbers may be constructed and laid upon the leveled ground; desirably, the marginal timbers are of 4" x 4" cross sectional dimension, and intermediate timbers or "floor joists" of conventional '2" x 4" stock.

The side-wall-roof panels are suitably bent over temporary. forms and overlap the marginal framing timbers along the sides of the structure.

A clamping timber confines the side-wall panels against the side timbers of the base, with an intermediate flashing of water-proofroofing material' carried below the finished grade'and sloping away from the sides of the structure to afford suitable protection against infiltration of water. Said side-roof panels are-made-secure by means such. as lag screws, nails, or the like,

"driven through clamping timber andthe' panels into the base timbers; I A floor, also of the asphalt roofing provided panel material, is laid directly upon the ground and secured to the marginal timbersand the floor joists: by employing a double thickness of such flooring material, the water-proof -surface to protect against moisture, whereas the asphalt surfacing material orthe upper floor panel profloor surfacing.

.vides a highly wear-resistant and water-proof Such building may be inadeas long as is neces- I by erecting a succession of such panels, butt-1 jointed, with exterior and interior battens at the purpose.

windows, and ventilating louvres, are erected from the pulp-board material. A roof overhang, irregularly contoured, improves the'camouflage effect.

Further features and advantages. are hereinafter described. a t

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a. perspective, partly cut away to show interior construction, of a building embodying the present invention and method of construction.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional elevation of a porticn of the-building.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a base frame suitable for the building. Pig. 4 is a detail, in sectional elevation, showing the building constructlon'at the lower side margins thereof.

Fig. 5 is similar .to Fig. 4, showing a second form of floor construction, in which the'flooring is laid upon transverse joists.

Referring to the drawings for a more detailed description of the invention, a base frame l0, Fig. 3, may first be erected and laiddirectly upon previously leveled ground, being secured thereatby suitable stake anchors. Said frame may com.-

. d A suitable water shed the building is providedby a sheet 2| of asphalt found satisfactory. This surface coating, designated ii for the outer lamination i1 and lid for the inner lamination Ha provides awaterproof exterior and an interior which is proof against condensation of moisture on the inner walls of the structure. If desired, however, the interior surface ila' of lamination "a may be of water-proof paint or wax impregnation, according to choice.

As illustrated, particularly in'Fig. 2, the respective pulp board sheets I! and Na .are staggered, there being suitable overlap between the edges of the respective pulp board laminae.

. The pulp board sheets I], H, as shown in Fig. 4, suitably overlap the side marginal timbers Ii, and are secured thereto bya longitudinal stringer or timber l8 between which andthe timbers ii, the panels may be securely clamped as by lag screws 20, nails, or other fastenings, spacedas required.

along the side walls of roofing or equivalent, inserted between the longitudinal member i8 and the outermost panel 11,

prise side and end marginal timbers H, II, re-

spectively. It has been found that timbers 4" x 4" in cross section are adequate for the tened to the side margin timbers It, so that the upper surfaces of the respective elements are in alignment, are any desired pluralityof transverse members it, which may be of conventional 2" x 4 stock. Depending upon the total length of the building, or inthe furth'er circumstance that interior partitions are provided in the structure, one or more intermediate 4" x 4" transverse timbers l5 may be employed. At the respective corners of such base frame, suitable timber stake anchors it maybe provided, said stake anchors projecting into the ground for suchdistanceas is required or permitted by the nature of the soil.

The frame timbers and cross members may be laid upon the surface of ground suitably levelled, following which the spaces between the end timbers and the intermediate transverse timbers may be filled with tamped earth.

There is no delineation between and roof of the structure; a double thickness, of laminatedv pulp board, each thickness of board being approxima one-half inch to render said boards capable of being readily bent into semicircular formation over suitable temporaryframes (not shown) forms a. continuous side-wall and roof. The length of the pulp board panels is suitable to provide a semi-cylindrical structure having a maximum height of preferably not less than 8 feet and a 16 foot width. 7

The respective pulp board sheets," designated II for theouter lamination'and no for the inner lamination, may have bonded to one surface. a weather and wear resistant material; conventional mineral surface asphalt roofing hasbeen Laid transversely, and suitably i'as-' the side walls and carried downwardly and away from the base structure for a suitable distance to form a flashing to preclude the seepage of water into the ground beneath the base frame.

.At the overlapping joints of sheets l'l, Ho, and at each end of the structure it is preferred to use double battens; an outer rib 22 which may be of pulp board material, is completely encased in suitable water-proof material 22'. Interiorly of the structure,,and complementing each exterior rib 22, it is preferable to use a hard wood rib 23 of suitable dimension. A hardwood rib of 4 width and thickness will readily conform to the curvature of the wall-roof forming panels.

At suitable intervals around the periphery of said double batte'ns, they may be mutually secured by means such as the illustrated bolts 24. The double battens provide stiflenin'g members sufficiently strong to make unnecessary the use of interior framing except atlocations where unusually high winds are encountered.

The floor 25 is constructed from similar pulp board materials having the indicated outer laminations of water-proof material. The floor panels may be fastened to the marginal timbers ll 62 andto the transverse beams is by screws or nails, .as desired. As appears in Fig. 2, the floor panels are staggered with respect .to each other, to form a broken joint to prevent dampness or moisture from working into the interior of the building.

Asshown in Fig. 4, the double panels forming the floor 25 are placed back-to-back, so that the exterior surface of each door panel is of the waterproof material. Mineral-surfaced asphalt roofing,

when employed as the exterior surface, provides an excellent wear-resisting surface for the floor,

as well as proof against the penetration of dampness into the lamination which is in contact with the ground. a

Where floor panels having a width equal to the maximum width of the structure are to be used, as

is frequently desirable, it isobvious that said floor panels should be fastened to the foundationframe prior to the erection ofthe walls.

The end walls 26 of the-building are constructed of similar pulp board material of suitable thickness, and in single or double panel, as desired, and are provided with windows 21 and a 'door a suitably framed and supported. Above each of the windows and the door are louvers 30, for ventilawater-proofing may be accomplished by sheets-32' of asphalted sheet or roofing material, suitably carried up over the floor as shown in Fig. 2 and underneath the transverse floor plate 33. A sill 34 may be suitably secured to the transverse frame, member l2, and may aiford. step or threshold at the door. After the building has been erected, the ground surrounding the'same may be graded.

The sheets 2| at the sides, and 32 at the ends, of water-proof material together completely encompass the building, and serve adequately to divert rain water, rendering it unnecessary to trencharound the building or to provide gutters, leaders, or other conventional means for conveying rain water to a point of collection remote from the building.

In installations where sand or other unstable ground conditions make it impossible or undesirable to erect the buildingdirectly upon the ground, an alternate foundation construction, il-

lustrated in Fig. 5, may be employed. Pursuant to such construction, the side and end marginal framing may comprise members 40, 2" x 10" in cross sectional area, or other dimension as required, supported upon, and secured to, piers t3. Secured to the lower marginal edges of the sideframing members 40, are 2 x 4's ll, forming a step upon which to support floor joists l2, preferably 2" x 6", spaced 12" on centers, to which the floor 25 is attached. Other structural details. may be as previously set forth, with side wall panels secured to the framing members II by means similar to the clamping member-lag screw construction; and flashing 2| at side walls and 32,

at end walls likewise employed.

The smooth surfaces of the structure and semi- ,cylindrical form, make camouiiaging particularly 'eflective. Deep shadows are cast only when the.

sun is very low in the sky, and are quickly. obliterated by the dusk of evening or the rising sun of morning. To enhance the camouflage effect, the outer lamination I'I may be carried forward over the end walls, and cut irregularly.

The clean, water-proof interior wall and floor surfaces make it possibleto quickly and completely fumigate or decontaminate the structures, a feature of great importance in consideration of the transient occupation to be expected in connection with the normal use of the buildings.

Whereas I have described my invention by reference to specific forms thereof, it will be understood that many changes and modifications may initially flat status and secured to side marginal elements of said'foundation frame, said layers of sheet material beingofiset with respect to their lateral edges, each said layer of sheet material having at least one water-proof surface, a second plurality of layers of said sheet material similarly bent and secured, and arranged with their lateral edges in abutting relation with corresponding layers of said first-named sheet material, whereby the offset relation of the respective sheets provides a broken joint, a batten disposed in contact with the external sheets and covering the joint therebetween, a complementary batten in contact with an internal sheet beneath the external batten, said battens being secured to said sheets and to each other to maintain the semi=circular form thereof, end walls, and end wallscompleting the closure of the structure.

2. A building, including, a rectangular foundation frame, a combined wall-roof structure; lormed of a plurality of layers of'pulp-board sheet material bent at the site of erection into substantially semi-circular form from initially flat status and secured to side marginal elements of saidfoundation frame, said layers of sheet material being offset with respect to their lateral edges to form a discontinuous joint, a second plurality of layers of said sheet material similarly bent and secured and arranged with their lateral edges in abutting relation with the corresponding layers of said first named sheet material, battens arranged externally of said layers of sheet material at the juncture of successive external sheets, complementary battens disposed internally of the structure, said battens being secured to each other and to said sheet material to support the same in semi-circular formation, and a floor of sheet material substantially identical with said first-named material secured to said foundation frame.

3. A building, comprising a rectangular foundation frame, a .combined side-wall-ceiling structure including a wide, initially flat, panel of flexible material bowed at the site of installation into substantially semi-cylindrical form and secured at its ends to opposite sides of the foundation upon said foundation .frame by bowinginitially flat panels into semi-circular form and securing 1 their ends to marginal members of said foundabe made provided they do not depart from the scope of the claims.

I claim:

l. A building, including a foundation irame, a. combined wall-proof structure formed from.

superimposed: layers oi continuous sheet material bent into substantially semi-circular. form from tion frame, bending initially flat battens to coniorm to the semi-cylindrical shape assumed by said panels and securing said battens'to the underside of said panels, applying flooring directly to said foundation frame. and enclosing said structure'by means of end walls. a

. ROBERTLDAVIBON;

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