Stabilizing brace for a window buck
A system and method for a stabilizing brace for securing a window or door buck to a concrete form. The system and method tightly secures one panel of a window or door buck to a concrete form, so as to maintain the dimensions of an opening defined by the window or door buck when pouring concrete into the form.
1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stabilizing brace and method for stabilizing a window buck or block out in a structure wall such as a concrete form.
2. The Relevant Technology
When constructing a building, it is frequently desirable to position a window, door, garage door, or other opening, in a structure wall such as a poured concrete wall or in a wall made from concrete using a concrete form such as an insulated concrete form. Typically, a window buck or block out (e.g., See U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,293) or door buck or block out is positioned between the sides of the form after which the concrete is poured into the form and about the frame. Therefore, the desired opening is defined in the wall when the concrete hardens or cures. Thereafter, a window structure/unit is placed into the window opening or a door structure/unit is placed in a door opening.
A problem arises when concrete is poured into a concrete form like an insulated concrete form. The weight of the concrete against the window or door buck may cause its shape to twist and contort, thereby changing the plumb and alignment of the opening so that the window or door to be inserted will not fit properly. Braces inside the opening defined by the window buck may be used to stabilize the window buck and to keep it in plumb. However, even then, alignment relative to the concrete form may vary. Further such braces are not flexible but fixed requiring fasteners to hold them in place and in some cases requiring braces to be cut using precise measurements. Multiple workers may be involved with one to hold the buck in alignment while the other installs braces.
In order to increase accuracy and use less labor, it would be desirable to provide a stabilizing brace for a window buck to maintain the dimensions of the opening created by the buck in a wall framing structure and to maintain its alignment relative to the wall or form into which it is being installed such as a concrete form. The brace should be easy to install and be operable by one person to cut down the amount of time and labor required for the installation of the brace and in turn the buck.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is a brace for securing a window or door buck to a wall forming structure. The term window buck is intended to include any form or type of block out structure that has sides put into a form. In various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the stabilizing brace secures one panel of the window or door buck to a form to maintain the desired dimensions of an opening defined by the buck when pouring concrete into the form.
A system and method for a stabilizing brace is provided. The brace includes an anchoring device having an anchoring end and a coupling end. The anchoring end is configured for attaching to the wall forming structure. The brace also has an extension having a first end, a second end and a length between said first end and said second end. The second end is configured to couple to the coupling end of the anchoring device. The brace also includes a fastener that is configured to attach to the length of the extension at a selected position.
The fastener attaches to the shaft member for holding the panel in tension against the wall forming structure, thus keeping the window buck in alignment with the concrete form to maintain the plumb and alignment of the opening. The anchoring device of the present invention is manufactured to facilitate the attachment to the structure of the wall forming structure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSTo further clarify the above and other advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred and alternate embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Insulating concrete forms (“ICF's”) are forms for poured-in-place reinforced concrete walls. In most cases, the forms are left in place permanently to serve as thermal and acoustic insulation and as backing for gypsum boards on the inside and stucco, brick, or other siding on the outside. Concrete form 100 comprises two longitudinally-extending side panels 104, 105 and concrete reinforcement stabilizing bars 110, 115 disposed between each of the side panels 104, 105. Side panels 104, 105 are spaced relative to one another to create the inner concrete core. Concrete is poured between the side panels 104, 105 and about reinforcement bars 110, 115. The concrete cures or dries therein to form the wall. Typically, ICF's have inner concrete cores of 4″, 6″, 8″, 10″, 12″, 14″ or 16″, however, any suitable inner concrete core for the desired wall thickness may be used with the present invention.
A panel section 120 of a window buck is shown secured to concrete form 100. Generally, a window buck creates an opening in a concrete form having specific dimensions for a window, door, etc. Several examples of a window buck and a buck used for a door are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,996,293 and 6,070,375, the disclosure of which are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes. Panel section 120 illustrated in
When concrete is poured into the space created between side panels 104, 105, the weight of the concrete may cause the window buck to shift, contort, bend or flex, thus changing the plumb and alignment of the opening. Typically, a window buck or block-out is sized so that a window, door, etc. will fit snuggly into the opening with little finish work. If a window buck shifts or bends during a framing operation, the desired opening is no longer in plumb or aligned so that the window or door unit will not fit in the opening.
Brace 125 holds the buck panel 120 tightly against insulating concrete form 100 to maintain the alignment and plumb of the opening. In operation, a tension is applied to brace 125 to urge the buck 120 against the concrete form 100 to hold it in alignment or plumb. Shims, spacers, or other means may be used to establish desired alignment and plumb. That is, the opening in the form may be off in plum or even in size. In turn, the buck when installed needs to be stable so that it correctly positioned and dimensionally correct to receive the window unit or door unit later. When concrete is poured into the form, panel 120 is held firmly against the form 100 (as adjusted by any necessary shims, spacers or the like) so that the requisite dimensions of the opening formed by the window buck or door buck are maintained.
Referring now to
Anchoring device 160 is adapted to connect extension 140 to a structure of the wall or the wall to be formed such as the concrete form 100. It may attach to reinforcement bar 110 shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, anchoring device 160 is a single piece of solid material having a first leg 164 and a second leg 165. First leg 164 and second leg 165 are unitarily formed and bent at an angle 166 to be “v” shaped. The angle 166 may be any suitable angle to effect desired spacing between anchoring ends 161 and 162. While the angle may vary between about 5 degrees and about 170 degrees and angle from about 70 degrees to about 110 degrees is preferred with an angle of about 90 degrees being the most preferred.
Anchoring ends 161 and 162 are show formed to attach to the reinforcement bar 110. It may also be formed to attach to others kinds of cross braces. Further, the angle 166 and length of legs 164 and 165 may be selected so that the anchoring ends 161 and 162 engage the form such as the concrete form 100. The anchoring device 160 may be formed of a metal or wire and dimensioned to that the anchoring ends 161 and 162 are spaced apart a distance 167 that is more than the distance 102 between the sides 104 and 105 of the wall 100. Thus the anchoring ends 161 and 162 must be deflected toward each other to place the anchoring device 150 in between the walls 104 and 105. The anchoring ends 161 and 162 are thereupon released and are urged outwardly into the walls 104 and 105 of the form 100 to retain them in a desired location.
Coupling end 163 of the anchoring device 160 is formed of a material that may be plastic, wire, rope, metal ware or the like all selected to resist twisting, bending or warping of legs 164, 165 when a tensional force is applied to end 163. While Anchoring device 160 is typically manufactured of a metal wire, any suitable material may be used that provides a sufficient tensile strength to resist deformation when a tensional force is applied to coupling end 163. Other designs of anchoring device 160 may be used depending upon the particular shape and structure of the particular wall framing structure.
Referring now to
As illustrated in
Referring now to
In the illustrated embodiment, second end 142 is substantially flat with an aperture 143 disposed therein. Typically, aperture 143 couples extension 140 to the anchoring device 160. Extension 140 has a plurality of teeth 144, 145, 146, 147 that prevent shaft member fastener 130 from moving in a direction towards first end 141 once fastener 130 has been slidably engaged and moved in a direction of movement along the length 140A and towards second end 142.
Fastener 225 is coupled to anchoring device 230 in a similar manner as securing a fastener to an aperture in a window buck panel as previously described with respect to
A brace is provided that includes a shaft member 515, a fastener 510 and an anchoring device 520. The shaft member 515 is threaded over the anchoring device 520. The shaft member is urged through the aperture 507 to extend away toward the interior of the window buck. Anchoring device 520 is then positioned in the form 500 by preferably hooking to one of the concrete reinforcement bars 501, 502 of the concrete form 500. The end of shaft member 515 not coupled to anchoring device 520 is extending outward from the panel 505. The user puts the fastener 510 onto the shaft 515. The user then desirably checks plumb and alignment using shims and spacers to achieve the desired alignment. The user then pushes the fastener along the shaft 515 until it is in contact with the panel 505 and until the panel 505 is tensionally until snuggly against the form 500. Fastener 510 locks shaft member 515 into place resulting in window buck panel 505 pressing tightly against concrete form 500.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. Multiple braces may be used on one panel of a window buck or door buck. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
Claims
1. A brace for holding one panel of a window buck against a wall forming structure, said brace comprising:
- an anchoring device having an anchoring end and a coupling end, said anchoring end configured for attaching to said wall forming structure;
- an extension having a first end, a second end and a length between said first end and said second end, said second end being configured to couple to said coupling end; and
- a fastener configured to attach to said length at a selected position.
2. The brace of claim 1, wherein said fastener slidably engages said extension at a plurality of positions along said extension to provide a tensional force on said extension.
3. The brace of claim 2, wherein said fastener has an opening for receiving said extension and a rib disposed about the opening to lock said fastener in one of a plurality of positions along said extension.
4. The brace of claim 1, wherein said fastener is coupled to an aperture in said panel and said extension slidably engages said fastener.
5. The brace of claim 4, wherein said extension has a plurality of teeth and said fastener has a lip, said extension slides relative to said fastener in a first direction, wherein said lip and said teeth are configured to impede the movement of said extension relative to said fastener in a second direction.
6. The brace of claim 1, wherein said extension is a substantially rigid member.
7. The brace of claim 6, wherein said extension is manufactured of a nylon polymer.
8. The brace of claim 1, wherein said extension has a plurality of teeth disposed on the surface.
9. The brace of claim 8, wherein said plurality of teeth allow said fastener to slide in a direction of movement parallel to said shaft member from said first end to said second end, while impeding movement in a direction opposed to said direction of movement.
10. The brace of claim 9, wherein said fastener has a lip disposed on an end that engages said extension, wherein said plurality of teeth are configured to allow said lip to pass over a tooth a first time without allowing said lip to pass over said tooth a second time.
11. The brace of claim 8, wherein said extension is a cross-shaped member and said plurality of teeth are disposed on the surface of each L-shaped section.
12. The brace of claim 11, wherein said plurality of teeth are triangle-shaped, angled toward said direction of movement, and said fastener further comprises a cross-shaped lip disposed where said fastener receives said extension, said lip configured to impede movement of said fastener in a direction opposed to said direction of movement when said lip engages a tooth.
13. The brace of claim 1, wherein said fastener is configured to fit into an aperture created in said panel.
14. The brace of claim 13, wherein said fastener has a plurality of ribs that lock said fastener in place within said aperture.
15. The brace of claim 13, wherein said extension slidably engages said fastener and moves in a first direction relative to said fastener, wherein said first direction provides a tensional force on said extension and holds said panel against said wall forming structure.
16. The brace of claim 1, wherein said anchoring device is configured to couple to a reinforcing concrete bar of a concrete form.
17. The brace of claim 1, wherein said anchoring device is a solid member having two lengths, wherein said anchoring end comprises a portion of each length bent at an angle relative to said length to form a hook.
18. The brace of claim 17, wherein said solid member is a metal member.
19. The brace of claim 18, wherein said metal member is a wire member.
20. The brace of claim 17, wherein said anchoring device is a solid member and said solid member bends at said coupling end at an angle sufficient to resist deformation of said two lengths when a tensional force is applied to said coupling end.
21. The brace of claim 1, wherein said anchoring device is a solid member having a hook member on each end.
22. The brace of claim 1, wherein said anchoring device is manufactured of a material of sufficient tensile strength to resist deformation when a tensional force is applied to said coupling end.
23. A brace for holding one panel of a window buck against a wall forming structure comprising:
- an extension having a first end and a second end;
- a means for coupling said first end of said shaft member to said panel;
- a means for coupling said second end of said shaft member to said wall forming structure; and
- a means for providing a tensional force to said shaft member for holding said panel against said wall forming structure.
24. A brace for holding one panel of a window buck against a concrete form, said brace comprising:
- an anchoring device having an anchoring end and a coupling end, said anchoring end configured for attaching to said concrete form;
- an extension having a first end, a second end and a length between said first end and said second end, said second end being configured to couple to said coupling end; and
- a fastener coupled to said panel, configured to attach to said length at a selected position.
25. The brace of claim 24, said extension slides relative to said fastener in a first direction, wherein said extension has a plurality of teeth and said fastener has a lip, wherein said lip and said teeth are configured to impede the movement of said extension relative to said fastener in a second direction.
26. A method for securing one panel of a window buck to wall framing structure for maintaining the plumb and alignment of the opening created by said window buck during the pouring of concrete into said wall framing structure, the method comprising:
- coupling an anchoring device having an anchoring end and a coupling end to said wall framing structure;
- coupling an extension having a first end, a second end and a length between said first end and said second end to said coupling end;
- attaching a fastener to said length at a selected position.
27. The method of claim 26, further comprising connecting the fastener to said panel.
28. The method of claim 26, further comprising creating an aperture in said panel and affixing said fastener within said aperture.
29. The method of claim 26, wherein said connecting said fastener further comprises slidably engaging said first end of said extension with said fastener, wherein said fastener moves relative to said extension in a direction of movement parallel to said extension while preventing said fastener from moving relative to said extension in a direction opposed to said direction of movement.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 11, 2005
Publication Date: Aug 10, 2006
Inventors: Audrey Anderson (Logan, UT), Bruce Anderson (Logan, UT), Justin Anderson (Logan, UT), Thayne Anderson (Logan, UT)
Application Number: 11/032,729
International Classification: E04C 2/54 (20060101);