Buildings, building walls and other structures
A tough, water-proof building system, and methods of making the system elements and constructing buildings, which provides wall, ceiling, and floor structural panels and corresponding walls, ceilings, and floors. The walls can be designed to have vertical and horizontal strengths sufficient to be used in place of concrete, as an engineered solution, both above grade and below-grade, including in severe weather conditions, such that no concrete need be used except for floor slabs. Panels have inner and outer layers, and structurally reinforcing members. Structurally-reinforcing members extend, typically as a layer and/or stud, the full height of a wall, at spaced locations along the length of the wall. Spaces between the structurally reinforcing members are optionally filled with rigid foam. An optional reinforcing stud is attached to, or overlaid by, the inner layer, and extends inwardly into the building from what is otherwise the inner surface of the building panel.
1. A building, defining an inner space, said building comprising:
(a) a load-bearing foundation, said load-bearing foundation having a bottom thereof, and a top, and comprising
(i) a load-bearing footer, and
(ii) a load-bearing foundation wall, overlying said footer, and interfacing with said footer, and applying a downwardly-directed force on said footer, said foundation wall having a top, a bottom, and a length, and
(b) an above-grade structure supported by said load-bearing foundation,
said load-bearing foundation wall comprising a plurality of upright foundation wall panels connected to each other in side-by-side relationship, a given said foundation wall panel extending upwardly from loci at or adjacent said footer, and having a height defined between a top and a bottom, a length, and a thickness, and comprising
(iii) an outer fiber-reinforced polymeric layer, said outer layer defining an outwardly-facing surface of said foundation wall panel, and
(iv) an inner fiber-reinforced polymeric layer, said inner layer defining an inwardly-facing surface ( 25 ) of said foundation wall panel,
said load-bearing foundation wall further comprising a plurality of studs extending between the top and the bottom of the given said foundation wall panel, and extending, from locations at or proximate said inner layer, away from said foundation wall and away from said inner layer, and channels between said studs, a given said channel having an open side facing away from said inner layer a bottom plate being attached to said foundation wall adjacent the bottoms of said foundation wall panels, said bottom plate extending along the length of said foundation wall, and extending along the thickness of said foundation wall, and further extending inwardly into said building beyond said inner layer and across said channels between respective ones of said studs.
2. A building, comprising one or more load-bearing foundation walls, each having a height defined by a top and a bottom, a length, and a thickness, a respective said one of said one or more load-bearing foundation walls comprising:
(a) an outer fiber-reinforced polymeric layer, said outer layer defining an outwardly-facing surface of said foundation wall;
(b) an inner fiber-reinforced polymeric layer, said inner layer defining an inwardly-facing surface ( 25 ) of said foundation wall;
(c) a resin impregnated substrate layer extending between locations proximate said outer layer and locations proximate said inner layer at crossing locations which are spaced from each other along the length of said foundation wall, said intermediate layer extending proximate and parallel to alternating ones of said inner and outer layers along substantially the full length of the respective said foundation wall.
3. A building as in claim 2 , further comprising one or more reinforcing studs in said foundation wall, and extending, from said inner layer, away from said foundation wall and away from said outer layer.
4. A building as in claim 2 wherein said inner layer and said outer layer comprise polymer-impregnated fiberglass layers.
5. A building as in claim 2 , further comprising a bottom plate, mounted to at least one of said foundation walls.
6. A building as in claim 2 wherein at least one of said inner layer and said outer layer has a nominal thickness of between about 0.03 inch thick and about 0.15 inch thick.
7. A building as in claim 3 , further comprising thermally insulating foam elements comprising closed cell foam having densities of about 1 pound per cubic foot to about 12 pounds per cubic foot, between said inner layer and said outer layer.
8. A building as in claim 5 , said building further comprising a concrete slab floor abutting said foundation wall proximate, and extending above, the bottom of the respective said foundation wall.