Prefabricated modules for wood frame building construction
Modules providing structural platforms for floors, ceilings, walls, and a roof of a wood frame building are shown and described. Once installed, modules receive suitable finishing materials providing continuous, flat surfaces, with exceptions for penetrations. Each module may include a wood perimeter, upper joist boards or roof rafters, coupled to the wood perimeter at relatively high positions thereon, and lower joist boards or roof rafters coupled to the bounded wood perimeter at relatively low positions thereon. Within each module, each upper joist board or upper roof rafter has a lowermost edge above a level of an uppermost edge of each said lower joist board or lower roof rafter. A gap between the lowermost edge and every lower joist board or roof rafter accommodates ducts, wiring, and plumbing. Each upper joist board or roof rafter is staggered in plan view relative to the lower joist boards or roof rafters.
1 . A module for constructing a frame of a floor, a ceiling, or a roof of a wood frame building structure, the module comprising
a bounded wood perimeter comprising a top board, a bottom board, a pair of opposed end boards, each board having pairs of opposed faces, opposed edges, and opposed ends, wherein the faces, edges, and ends define planes which are disposed perpendicularly to each other, wherein each of the opposed faces has greater two-dimensional area than each of the opposed edges, and each of the opposed edges has greater two-dimensional area than each of the opposed ends, a longitudinal axis running perpendicular to the faces of each of the opposed end boards and traversing a longitudinal measurement defined by the distance between the opposed end boards, the longitudinal measurement greater than the distance between the top board and bottom board, which latter distance is greater than a width of the bounded wood perimeter, upper joist boards or upper roof rafters coupled to the bounded wood perimeter at relatively high positions on the latter, and lower joist boards or lower roof rafters coupled to the bounded wood perimeter at relatively low positions on the latter, wherein within each said module,
each of the upper joist boards or upper roof rafters, and lower joist boards or lower roof rafters have pairs of opposed faces, opposed edges, and opposed ends, the opposed edges comprising an uppermost edge and a lowermost edge, wherein the faces, edges, and ends define planes which are disposed perpendicularly to each other, wherein each of the opposed faces has greater two-dimensional area than
each of the opposed edges, and each of the opposed edges has greater two-dimensional area than each of the opposed ends;
each said lowermost edge of said upper joist board or upper roof rafter is above a level of said uppermost edge of each said lower joist board or lower roof rafter, with a gap existing between the lowermost edge and every lower joist board or lower roof rafter,
each said upper joist board or upper roof rafter is staggered in plan view relative to the lower joist boards or lower roof rafters; and
each face of said upper joist board or upper roof rafter and each face of said lower joist board or lower roof rafter defines a plane which is parallel to a plane defined by the face of each of said opposed end boards;
wherein each face represents the widest surface of each joist board, each roof rafter, and each end board and such widest surface is oriented normal to the longitudinal axis of the bounded wood perimeter.
2 . The module of claim 1 , wherein said module is rectangular in plan view.
3 . The module of claim 1 , further comprising at least one ledger board.
4 . The module of claim 1 , further comprising at least one extension extending outside the bounded wood perimeter.