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Claims  |
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We claim:
1. A method of erecting a house comprising the steps of
constructing a transportable concrete first slab having a lower surface at
a factory site,
constructing a superstructure upon said first slab, preparing a mating site
for said first slab on a lot remote from said factory site, said mating
site having an upper surface,
transporting said first slab and superstructure to said mating site, and
mating said lower surface of said first slab with said upper surface of
said mating site such that there are no substantial air gaps between said
lower surface of said first slab and said upper surface of said mating
site and such that said first slab becomes substantially integrated with
said mating site.
2. A method of erecting a house according to claim 1 wherein the steps of
constructing a first slab and constructing a superstructure thereon are
carried out at said factory site within an enclosed structure.
3. A method of erecting a house according to claim 1 wherein the steps of
transporting said first slab and superstructure is accomplished by
air-cushion transport using a flexible skirt attached to the periphery of
said first slab.
4. A method of erecting a house wherein air-cushion transport of said first
slab and superstructure comprising the steps of
constructing a transportable concrete first slab at a factory site,
constructing a superstructure upon said first slab,
preparing a mating site for said slab on a lot remote from said factory
site,
transporting said first slab and superstructure to said mating site by
releasably attaching an air-impermeable, flexible skirt to the periphery
of said first slab in a substantially air tight manner, injecting air
within the confines of said skirt whereby air is forced beneath said first
slab causing it to rise on an air-cushion, and towing the air-cushion
supporting first slab and superstructure, and
mating said first slab with said mating site.
5. A method of erecting a house according to claim 4 wherein the steps of
attaching an air-impermeable, flexible skirt to the periphery of the first
slab includes the steps of
forming a plurality of bolt holes about the periphery of said first slab,
inserting a threaded bolt anchor into each said bolt hole,
bolting said skirt to said first slab by inserting a bolt through each of a
plurality of apertures in the upper edge of said skirt and threading the
bolt into one of said bolt anchors.
6. A method of erecting a house according to claim 5 wherein the step of
mating said first slab to said mating site includes removing said
air-impermeable skirt by unthreading each said bolt from said bolt anchor.
7. A method of erecting a house according to claim 6 wherein the step of
preparing a mating site includes constructing a fixed concrete slab on
said remote lot, and
wherein the step of mating said first slab to said mating site further
includes resting said first slab on said second slab.
8. A method of erecting a house according to claim 6 wherein the step of
preparing a mating site includes constructing a fixed concrete second slab
on said remote lot, and
wherein the step of mating said first slab to said mating site further
includes spreading a chemical bonding agent upon the upper surface of the
mating site and then resting said first slab on said second slab.
9. A method of erecting a house according to claim 4 wherein the steps of
constructing a first slab and constructing a super structure thereon are
carried out at said factory site entirely within an enclosed structure.
10. A method of erecting a house according to claim 9 wherein the steps of
constructing a first slab and constructing a superstructure thereon are
carried out in assembly-line fashion by physically moving the uncompleted
first slab and superstructure through a sequence of construction phases.
11. A method of erecting a house according to claim 1 wherein the step of
constructing a first slab includes erecting a mold for said first slab on
a movable frame.
12. A method of erecting a house according to claim 1 wherein the step of
preparing the mating site includes erecting substructure utility
connections,
the step of constructing a first slab includes providing said slab with
duct access means for accommodating said substructure utility connections,
and
the step of mating said lower surface of said first slab with the upper
surface of said mating site includes inserting said substructure utility
connections through said duct access means by lowering said first slab
onto said mating site.
13. A method of erecting a house comprising the steps of
constructing a transportable concrete first slab at a factory site,
including erecting a first slab mold, pouring concrete into said mold,
removing sides of said mold, disposing a skirt attachment means about the
periphery of said first slab formed in said mold, and attaching a
flexible, air-impermeable skirt to said first slab using said skirt
attachment means,
constructing a superstructure upon said first slab,
preparing a mating site for said slab on a lot remote from said factory
site,
transporting said first slab and superstructure to said mating site, and
mating said first slab with said mating site.
14. A method of erecting a house according to claim 1 wherein the step of
preparing a mating site includes clearing a portion of the remote lot to
the bedrock, forming concrete piers in the bedrock, erecting concrete
beams above the bedrock such that the upper surface of the beams are
level, filling the space between the beams with sand such that a flat
surface is formed within the periphery of the beams by the beams and sand,
said beams and flat surface forming the upper surface of said mating site.
15. A method of erecting a house according to claim 14 wherein the step of
mating said first slab with said mating site includes resting said first
slab on the flat surface formed by the beams and sand and securing the
first slab to the outer beams of the mating site.
16. A method of erecting a house comprising the steps of
constructing a transportable concrete first slab at a factory site by
erecting a first slab mold, placing passageway mold cylinders in said slab
mold, and pouring concrete into said mold whereby passageways are formed
in said first slab,
constructing a superstructure upon said first slab,
preparing a mating site for said slab on a lot remote from said factory
site, including clearing a portion of said remote lot and constructing a
concrete slab form thereon, running utility ducts beneath said form such
that ducts to be attached to fixtures within the house extend vertically
upwardly and above the top of said form, and pouring concrete into said
slab form so as to make a second slab,
transporting said first slab and superstructure including temporarily
sealing said passageways, attaching an air-impermeable flexible skirt to
the periphery of said first slab, injecting air within the confines of
said skirt whereby air is forced beneath said first slab causing it to
rise on an air-cushion, and towing the first slab and superstructure to
said remote lot, and
mating said first slab with said second slab including aligning said
passageways in said first slab directly above said vertically extending
utility ducts in said second slab while air-cushion is still in effect and
gradually releasing said air-cushion until said first slab rests on said
second slab.
17. A method of erecting a house comprising,
clearing and levelling an area of land,
erecting a concrete foundation including slab support means on said area of
land, and
pouring a concrete slab at a fabrication site remote to said area of land,
erecting a wooden-frame house on said slab, and
releasably attaching an air-impermeable flexible skirt to the perimeter of
said slab,
blowing air into the area bounded by said skirt until an air cushion
sufficient to lift said slab off the ground is established,
towing the air-cushion supported slab and house by tractor means to said
area of land and while continuously introducing additional compressed air
beneath said slab to substitute for any compressed air that may escape
during transport,
positioning said air-cushion supported slab and building over said slab
support means, releasing said compressed air from beneath the slab so that
said slab is lowered onto said slab support means, and
removing said skirt.
18. A method of erecting a house according to claim 17 where said
fabrication site is indoors.
19. A method of erecting houses comprising the steps of
subdividing an area of land into a plurality of lots,
clearing and levelling a portion of each of said lots and erecting concrete
foundations including slab support means on each said portion,
erecting house superstructures with concrete slab foundations in an indoor
fabrication site substantially central to said area of land,
transporting completed said house superstructures off-highway from said
fabrication site to said lots,
placing said slab foundation of said houses on said slab support means.
20. A method of erecting houses comprising the steps of
clearing and levelling a plurality of mating sites,
erecting a concrete foundation including slab support means on each mating
site,
pouring a first concrete slab at a first location in an indoor fabrication
site remote to said mating sites,
allowing said first concrete slab to cure,
transporting said first concrete slab to a second location in said indoor
fabrication site,
pouring a second concrete slab at said first location,
erecting a first house on said first concrete slab,
transporting said first concrete slab and first house to a first mating
site by air-cushion transport using a flexible skirt attached to said
concrete slab,
mating said first concrete slab and first house with the slab support means
corresponding to said first mating site,
allowing said second concrete slab to cure,
transporting said second concrete slab to said second location,
erecting a second house on said second concrete slab.
21. Method of erecting houses comprising the steps of
selecting a tract of unimproved land accessible to a highway and suitable
to receive a large number of homes in the order of several hundred at
least,
surveying the tract to divide it up into lots to receive the homes,
erecting a covered house structure factory on the tract adjacent the
highway,
building house structures in the factory,
preparing house structure sites on the lots,
transporting the house structures off-highway from the factory to the lots
by air-cushion transport using flexible skirts attached to the house
structures, and
mating the house structures with the sites.
22. A transportable concrete slab comprising
a generally flat upper surface,
a generally flat lower surface,
a flexible skirt disposed about the outer periphery of the slab,
means releasably attaching said skirt to said slab in a substantially air
tight manner,
said skirt and said slab being impermeable to air.
23. A transportable concrete slab according to claim 22 wherein said lower
surface includes a ridge extending about the periphery of said lower
surface for reinforcing the periphery of said slab.
24. A transportable concrete slab according to claim 22 wherein said means
releasably attaching said skirt includes a plurality of
internally-threaded anchors disposed in the periphery of said slab with a
plurality of bolts inserted through said skirt and threadingly received by
one of said anchors.
25. A transportable concrete slab comprising
a generally flat upper surface,
a generally flat lower surface,
a plurality of utility duct passageways therethrough,
said passageways being made air impermeable by releasable seal means
disposed within said passageways,
a flexible skirt disposed about the outer periphery of the slab,
means releaseably attaching said skirt to said slab in a substantially air
tight manner,
said skirt and said slab being impermeable to air.
26. A transportable house comprising an air-impermeable concrete slab
adapted to be received in a mating site, a
house superstructure constructed thereon,
a flexible, air-impermeable skirt disposed about the outer periphery of
said slab, and
means releasably attaching the upper part of said skirt to said slab to
hold said upper part to said slab against the force of air pressure inside
said skirt when pressurized air is introduced therewithin and thereby to
prevent unrestricted flow of such pressurized air through any leakage path
between said upper part of the skirt and said slab.
27. A transportable house according to claim 26 wherein said slab has a
lower surface with ridges thereon whereby the slab has areas of increased
thickness reinforcing against the weight of items within said
superstructure.
28. A transportable house according to claim 26 wherein said means
releasably attaching said skirt includes a plurality of
internally-threaded anchors disposed in the periphery of said slab with a
plurality of bolts each inserted through said skirt and threadingly
received by one of said anchors.
29. A transportable house comprising
an air-permeable concrete slab adapted to be received in a mating site,
said slab having a lower surface with a ridge about the periphery of said
lower surface providing the slab an area of increased thickness
reinforcing against the weight of the exterior wall, said ridge extending
a distance from the periphery of said slab that is greater than the
thickness of said wall,
a house superstructure constructed on said slab,
a flexible, air-impermeable skirt disposed about the outer periphery of
said slab, and
means releaseably attaching the upper part of said skirt to said slab to
hold said upper part to said slab against the force of air pressure inside
said skirt when pressurized air is introduced therewithin and thereby to
prevent unrestricted flow of such pressurized air through any leakage path
between said upper part of the skirt and said slab.
30. A transportable house comprising
an air-impermeable concrete slab adapted to be received in a mating site,
a house superstructure constructed on said slab,
a flexible, air-impermeable skirt disposed about the outer periphery of
said slab, and
means releasably attaching the upper part of said skirt to said slab to
hold said upper part to said slab against the force of air pressure inside
said skirt when pressurized air is introduced therewithin and thereby to
prevent unrestricted flow of such pressurized air through any leakage path
between said upper part of the skirt and said slab,
said superstructure having a fireplace, said fireplace resting on said
slab,
said slab having increased thickness at the point where said fireplace
rests, said area of increased thickness being greater than the area of
contact between said fireplace and said slab.
31. A transportable house comprising
an air-impermeable concrete slab adapted to be received in a mating site,
said slab having a plurality of utility duct passageways extending
therethrough,
said passageways being made air impermeable by releaseable seal means
disposed within said passageways,
a house superstructure constructed on said slab,
a flexible, air-impermeable skirt disposed about the outer periphery of
said slab, and
means releaseably attaching the upper part of said skirt to said slab to
hold said upper part to said slab against the force of air pressure inside
said skirt when pressurized air is introduced therewithin and thereby to
prevent unrestricted flow of such pressurized air through any leakage path
between said upper part of the skirt and said slab.
32. A house comprising
a concrete slab foundation including an upper portion having a generally
flat lower surface and a lower portion having a generally flat upper
surface, said lower surface of said upper portion meshing with said upper
surface of said lower portion such that said upper portion and said lower
portion form a substantially integrated unit,
said upper portion being rigidly secured to said lower portion, and
a house superstucture on the upper surface of said upper portion,
said lower surface of said upper portion having a plurality of downwardly
extending ridges and said upper surface of said lower portion having a
plurality of recesses in which said ridges are received.
33. A method of erecting a house comprising the steps of
constructing a transportable concrete slab at a factory site,
constructing a superstructure upon said slab,
preparing a mating site for said slab on a lot remote from said factory
site,
lifting said slab by exerting a force that produces negligible bending
moment upon said first slab,
transporting said slab and building to said mating site, and
mating said first slab with said mating site, such that said first slab and
said mating site become an integral unit.
34. A method of developing remote areas of land comprising:
subdividing a first area of land into a plurality of lots,
clearing and levelling a portion of each of said lots,
erecting concrete foundations on the cleared and levelled portions of said
lots,
assembling an enclosed factory upon said first area of land,
erecting house superstructures with concrete slab foundations in said
factory,
transporting completed said house superstructures from said factory to said
lots,
disassembling said factory,
transporting the disassembled said factory to a second area of land, and
assembling said factory upon said second area of land. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a form of house construction and
more particularly to a procedure for single-builder development of a large
tract of land by mass producing houses of such construction at a plant,
preferably within an enclosed factory and then transporting the completed
houses by air cushion to their ultimate site.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In an effort to reduce the ever-increasing cost of building houses, members
of the home construction industry often turn to factory-built homes. For
present purposes, a home may be considered to be any form of dwelling of
some degree of permanence such as mobile homes, quonset huts, and
including also more conventional structures known as houses. Factory
building of homes using production line procedures within the confines of
a partially or fully-enclosed structure offers numerous cost-reducing
advantages over traditional on-site construction. Losses due to
weather-created delays and damages, vandalism, and theft are substantially
reduced if not eliminated altogether. Equipment and labor can be
concentrated in a small area resulting in more efficient allocation of
such equipment and manpower. Production line techniques allow for simpler,
more straight-forward methods of construction as well as for delegation of
specialized duties for laborers.
In addition to such expense-saving features, the quality of
factory-constructed homes is better assured. For instance, the homes still
in process of construction are not exposed to inclement weather conditions
resulting in accelerated decay and warping of wooden frame. Also,
production line techniques assure better supervision of construction
workers and improved quality control.
Examples of techniques of constructing factory-built homes are shown by
U.S. Pat. No. 3,571,993, issued to Potter on Mar. 23, 1971; U.S. Pat. No.
3,796,162, issued to Burdick, et al, on June 28, 1972; and U.S. Pat. No.
3,757,931, issued to Baker et al., on June 9, 1971. The Burdick and Baker
references disclose a method of moving mobile homes through an assembly
line by way of a form of air bearing transport. Potter discloses an
assembly line prefabricated building structure and means for moving such a
structure to its ultimate site by way of a crane. Potter further discloses
advance preparation of the ultimate site by pouring a set of four or more
concrete piers to which the prefabricated structure is attached. Another
form of factory constructed home taught by the prior art is the mobile
home. After being pulled to a lot, a mobile home is generally attached to
the lot by such means as guy-wires or hurricane straps. In many instances,
a concrete block foundation is constructed beneath the mobile home and the
wheels then are removed.
Acceptance of such factory-built homes has been far from unanimous for
three reasons. First, such homes are often regarded as unsafe because of
their light construction and because they are poorly secured to the lot
itself. High winds often cause severe damage to mobile homes and similar
modular homes while homes of conventional construction are unscathed.
Second, lightweight construction, steel beams and trusses detract from
both the interior and exterior appearance of the home. Most of the
factory-built homes in the prior art have a box-like appearance with a
simplified floor plan that does not appeal to most home purchasers. Third,
factory-built homes do not offer many of the desired features of the
conventional house including slab foundation, picture windows, sliding
glass doors, brick exteriors, fireplaces, high-trussed roofs, staircases,
porches, attached garages, two-story floor plans and basements.
The foregoing deficiencies arise in large part because many of the prior
art factory built homes are intended to be transported over public
highways or on railroads, which imposes design limitations relating to
weight and shape.
These problems might be limitedly corrected by onsite finishing of the
home. Such finishing reintroduces the problems of conventional
construction that factory construction seeks to eliminate thus defeating
the advantages of factory-built homes.
Potter, supra, seeks to solve these problems by means of a special house
structure. The actual structure described in Potter is substantially
different from that used in conventional construction thus resulting in a
home that is different from conventional houses both in appearance and in
features. Furthermore, a stated purpose of Potter is a house having a
minimum weight. Such a limitation automatically eliminates such heavy
structural items as fireplaces, attached garages and brick exteriors.
Thus, the problem remains of providing a factory-built home that offers the
safety, appearance and features of the conventional house. A technique is
required that will allow for transport from factory to site of a completed
home having any construction, including brittle features such as slab,
picture window, high-truss roof, sheetrock walls, brick exteriors,
fireplaces, staircases and the like, e.g. a conventional house.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a house having a split-slab foundation, and a
method of building and transporting such a house whereby it is susceptible
to mass production in an on-tract enclosed factory structure resulting in
rapid, economical development of a large tract of land. The split-slab has
an upper portion upon which a house of any composition and design is
built. The upper portion is of substantially uniform thickness, but may be
reinforced by areas of increased thickness at points where the weight of
the house structure at those points is substantial, such as points upon
which a brick wall or fireplace is constructed. The lower portion is
prepared on a home site and has an upper surface designed to mate with the
lower surface of the upper portion. Thus, recesses in the upper surface of
the lower portion are provided where the upper portion is reinforced by
areas of increased thickness. The lower portion is appropriately designed
to the soil conditions in the area and may include beams and bell-bottom
piers. The lower portion and upper portion may be correlatively designed
to accomodate utility connections, especially drainage pipes installed
through or within the foundation.
The method involves selecting a multi-lot tract of land, building on the
tract a factory wherein a plurality of house structures are built to be
placed on the lots, and building an on-tract enclosed factory,
constructing the major portion of each house within the enclosed factory
by pouring the upper portion of the foundation, allowing it to cure, and
by means of a production line, constructing the complete house
superstructure on the upper portion while it remains indoors. When
construction of the house is completed, the house is towed to the
home-site by air-cushion transport which is defined herein as attaching a
flexible, air impermeable skirt to the periphery of the upper portion and
forcing air beneath the upper portion by a blower such that the air is
trapped within the confines of the skirt and beneath the slab. The upper
portion of the house, together with the house super-structure constructed
thereon, is thus lifted upon an air-cushion allowing it to be pulled along
the ground by tractor or other means. Although the house may be extremely
brittle, the house may be towed over the tract which may be rough,
unprepared terrain or new streets not yet in general use. At the
home-site, the air-cushion supported house is placed over a prepared lower
portion adapted to receive the upper portion and the house is lowered
until the upper portion meshes with and rests upon the lower portion.
By virtue of the present invention, a home of any construction, especially
of conventional house construction, may be factory-assembled and installed
on a house-site. The only on-site construction involved is preparation of
a portion of the foundation and connection of utilities, such as gas,
water, power and sewage. Also, factory construction of upper portion of
the foundation and the house superstructure need not vary from one
geographical region to another. Only construction of the lower portion of
the foundation must be varied according to soil conditions.
The method of the invention can be used to develop a large tract of land by
subdividing the tract, erecting the enclosed plant, constructing the upper
portion of the foundations and house superstructures within the plant,
transporting them to and mating them with their respective lots,
disassembling the plant and moving the equipment to a second tract of land
to be developed.
Air-transport of large, heavy objects across rough terrain is not claimed
generally as the invention. Such apparatus and methods are described in
the prior art by such publications as U.S. Pat. No. 3,693,729 issued to
Blurton, et al., on Sept. 26, 1972 (transport of oil well drilling rig);
U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,089 issued to Allison on Oct. 8, 1974 (modular
air-cushion platform); U.S. Pat. No. 3,520,381 issued to Pinder on July
14, 1970 (transport of storage tank); and U.S. Pat. No. Re. 28,101 issued
to Knorr on Aug. 6, 1974 (transport of oil well drilling rig). These
references, however, do not disclose use of the air-cushion technique with
a structure having an irregular shape which may result in internal corners
nor do they disclose that such a technique will work for brittle objects.
Furthermore, the air-cushion transport disclosed by these references does
not teach mating an upper portion of a foundation with a lower portion of
the foundation or running utility connections, including plumbing, through
the floated object, nor the development of a tract by building a factory
thereon and air transporting a house structure off-highway to a lot on the
tract.
Nor is air transport of houses broadly claimed as invention. U.S. Pat. No.
3,796,162 issued to Burdick, et al, on June 28, 1972, and U.S. Pat. No.
3,757,931 issued to Baker, et al., on June 9, 1971 teach use of air
bearings in transporting houses along assembly lines. The air-bearing
methods disclosed in Burdick and Baker, however, as distinguished from
air-cushion transport, are not suited for transporting a house from the
factory to the mating site for several reasons. First, the air-bearing
methods require a smooth, level path of transport thus negating use on
rough terrain. Second, the height to which th object can be elevated above
the ground is very small. Thus, the object cannot be guided over utility
connections installed in the mating site. Third, because the "lift" of the
air bearing occurs over a small surface area, the air pressure required to
lift an entire conventionally built house is very high and, essentially,
prohibitive. Fourth, the air bearing methods use a platform on which the
house rests thus requiring the additional steps of either removing the
platform or removing the house from the platform prior to mating with the
site. Finally, Burdick and Baker involve the use of rails which are not
feasible for transporting a house from factory to ultimate site.
Comparatively, air-cushion transport may be used over rough terrain, on
inclines and declines, may be used to lift a house to heights of several
feet, requires air-pressure in the order of only two pounds per square
inch, and requires no rails.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
For a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention,
reference will be made to the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a section taken of a pictorial view of the mold used to form the
upper portion of the foundation of a preferred embodiment of the invention
placed on top of a portable frame;
FIG. 2 is a section taken of a pictorial view of the upper portion of the
foundation of said preferred embodiment of the invention prior to
construction of a house super-structure thereon;
FIG. 3 is a section taken of a pictorial view of the upper portion of the
foundation of said preferred embodiment with the house superstructure
constructed thereon lifted upon an air cushion;
FIG. 4 is a section taken of a pictorial view of the lower portion of the
foundation of said preferred embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a detailed section of the mated upper and lower portions of the
foundation showing the edge recesses;
FIG. 6 is a section taken of a pictorial view of said preferred embodiment
immediately prior to mating of upper portion with lower portion;
FIG. 7 is a section taken of a pictorial view of said preferred embodiment
upon completion;
FIG. 8 is a sectional detail of the upper portion of the foundation of said
preferred embodiment;
FIG. 9 is a sectional detail of the upper portion of the foundation of said
preferred embodiment;
FIG. 10 is a sectional detail of a preferred method of attaching the skirt
to the upper portion;
FIG. 11 is a section taken of a pictorial view of an alternative method of
transporting the upper portion of the foundation through the assembly
line;
FIG. 12 is a section taken of a pictorial view of the upper portion of the
foundation of an alternative embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 13 is a section taken of a pictorial view of the lower portion of the
foundation of an alternative embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 14 is a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the lower
portion; and
FIG. 15 is a plan view illustrating the method of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The method of building houses taught by the present invention and
illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 10, and 15 of the drawings includes
building an enclosed factory on a tract of land to be developed, surveying
the tract to divide it up into housesites, preparing the housesites, and
the steps performed within the enclosed factory of pouring the upper
portion 11 of a concrete slab foundation 13 and erecting a house
superstructure 15 upon the upper portion, and outside the enclosed factory
preparing a mating site which includes the lower portion 17 of the
foundation 13, transporting the upper portion 11 with house superstructure
15 thereon from the enclosed factory to the mating site by means of
air-cushion transport, and mating the upper portion 11 to the lower
portion 17.
In performing the method of the invention in the preferred manner, the
enclosed factory or plant is erected upon a tract of land to be developed
as medium density residential property. The plant should be large enough
to house several houses at a single time as well as house supplies and
equipment used to construct such houses. The plant should have doors large
enough to allow a completed house of substantial size to move through
them. The nature and design of the plant or factory itself should be such
that it can be quickly disassembled and later re-erected central to a
second tract of land to be developed.
After the plant is erected, construction of the upper portion and lower
portion of the foundation is commenced simultaneously within the enclosed
structure and at the mating site, respectively. Upper portion 11 is formed
within mold 101. As shown in FIG. 1, mold 101, having base 103, side walls
109, offsets 104 and 106 and a plurality of hole molds 108 attached to
side walls 109, is placed on mobile frame 100 which has supports 110 and
wheels 102. Frame 100 is large enough to support all of mold 101 with no
overhang. Both mold 101 and frame 100 are constructed of rigid metal such
as steel.
The upper portion of the foundation, as formed in its corresponding mold,
has a configuration that varies according to the floor plan and general
nature of the house superstructure to be constructed thereon. Basically,
upper portion 11, as shown in FIG. 2, and as formed by mold 101 of FIG. 1,
is a steel-reinforced concrete slab having generally flat upper surface
21. If house superstructure 15 is to have a brick, brick veneer, adobe
block, or similar exterior surface, upper surface 21 of upper portion 11
has perimeter recess 22 extending about its perimeter to accomodate the
bricks or blocks 23 of exterior wall 24 as shown in FIG. 3. Upper surface
21 may additionally have interior recesses 25, as seen in FIG. 2, to allow
for "sunken" rooms. Recesses 22 and 25 are formed as necessary using
techniques known in the art, such as by using offsets 104 and 106.
Lower surface 27 of upper portion 11, as shown in FIG. 2 and as formed in
the mold of FIG. 1, is generally flat and is parallel to upper surface 21,
but has ridges 29 and 31 where reinforcement of the upper portion is
required because objects of substantial weight, such as brick or block
wall 24 and fireplace 33, as shown in FIG. 3, will be constructed on upper
portion 11. Ridges 29 and 31 are located directly beneath the
corresponding objects of substantial weight and extend beyond the area of
contact between the objects and upper surface 21. Thus, as shown in detail
in FIG. 8, ridge 31 corresponding to fireplace 33 is located directly
beneath fireplace 33 as seen by dotted lines 35 and 37 and has a width W
which extends beyond depth D of fireplace 33 by a distance X in either
direction. By extending beyond the area of contact by a distance X, ridge
31 reinforces not only against increased weight of fireplace 33, but also
against the shear force created along lines 35 and 37 by the difference in
downward force on either side of each of lines 35 and 37. Similarly, as
shown in detail in FIG. 9, ridge 29 has a width Y that extends beyond
thickness T of wall 24 by a distance Z. Base 103 of mold 101 has recessed
areas 105 and 107 which result in formation of ridges 29 and 31.
As seen in FIG. 2, upper portion 11 further has a plurality of drainage
pipe passageways 39 extending therethrough. Each drainage pipe passageway
39 is perpendicular to the plane of upper surface 21. Passageways 39 are
designed to accomodate the drainage pipes which will connect to the
plumbing fixtures in house superstructure 15. Passageways 39 are generally
cylindrical and have a cross-sectional area corresponding closely to the
cross-sectional area of the pipe to be accomodated. Location of
passageways 39 will vary according to the floor plan of house 15 and the
location of the plumbing fixtures therein. Passageways 39 are constructed
by inserting passageway molds 112 into mold 101 as seen in FIG. 1.
Perimeter edge 40 of upper portion 11, as shown in FIG. 2 and as formed in
mold 101 of FIG. 1, has a plurality of skirt attachment holes 42 formed
therein by hole molds 108 attached to side walls 109 of mold 101. Skirt
attachment holes 42 are cylindrical in shape and have axes perpendicular
to the corresponding perimeter edge 40. As shown in detail in FIG. 5,
perimeter edge 40 also has upper edge recess 48 at the junction of lower
surface 27 and perimeter edge 40.
When mold 101 is properly constructed to form desired configuration of
upper portion 11, steel reinforcing rods 114 are positioned within mold
101 and concrete is poured. When concrete of upper portion 11 has cured
sufficiently within mold 101, side walls 109 of mold 101 are removed.
Utility passageway molds 112 are removed leaving utility passageways 39.
House superstructure 15 is then erected upon upper portion 11.
Construction of the house superstructure may include erection of any kind
of wall, including gypsum board, wood panel, ceramic material, and brick,
separating the rooms. The ceiling may be of any construction, including
gypsum board and tile. The roof may have a high peak or it may be flat;
numerous gables can be included. The roof may be covered with any surface
covering. Sliding glass doors, Florida rooms, screened porches, attached
garages, built-in appliances, fireplaces, picture and bay windows and
stairways may be included. Floors may be wood, tile, or fully carpeted.
The exterior might be of any type including, e.g., stone, brick, brick
veneer, wood frame and adobe brick. The house may have more than one
story. In-wall pipes, plumbing fixtures, electrical wiring, and light
fixtures may be included.
As shown in FIG. 3, house superstructure 15 has utility connections such as
water pipe 62 and electrical power duct 61 for ultimate connection of
water supply and electricity (with meter), respectively. In similar
fashion, superstructure 15 may be provided with natural gas connection.
Construction of the house superstructure may be accomplished as steps in an
assembly line by moving upper portion 11 along the floor of the plant
while mounted in frame 100. Except for final external connection of
utilities and sewer, every phase of construction of house 15 is completed
prior to removal of house superstructure 15 and upper portion 11 from the
interior of the plant.
When such construction is completed, an internally-threaded skirt anchor
44, as seen in FIG. 10, is inserted into each skirt attachment hole 42
until annular collar 46 of skirt anchor 44 rests against perimeter edge
40. Flexible air-cusion skirt 111, having a plurality of apertures 113 and
shown in FIGS. 3 and 10 is attached to perimeter edge 40 by aligning each
aperture 113 over a corresponding skirt attachment hole 42 and threading a
bolt 73 through each aperture 113 and into a skirt anchor 44. While upper
portion 11 rests on frame 100, skirt 111 drapes to floor surface of the
plant.
As seen in FIG. 3, one end of hose 119 is inser | | |
