Abstract: A prefabricated building construction composed of a plurality of columns and beams adapted to be interconnected to one another to form a rigid load-bearing structural frame and a plurality of inexpensive lightweight non-load-bearing panels spanning the frame components, and each panel being generally of slab form and having a top, bottom and side faces bounding an inside and outside main generally planar face, and said panels comprising a main portion of molded waste material and a resinous binder forming a polymer and the minor portion of open cell material in spaced parallel cylindrical shafts embedded within the main portion of molded waste material with the shafts extending from the top surface to the bottom surface and one of said shafts being adjacent each of the side surfaces, said frame components being substantially concealed within the panels defining waterproof seams wherein the frame components serve as waterproof panel connectors, each frame component along one of the seams comprising a portion e

Abstract: Gutter lengths having a semicircular cross-section and upwardly extending sides, with curled or similarly bent upper edges, and coupling elements having portions adapted for tightly engaging the ends of the gutter lengths, are assembled together to form a gutter structure. At least one of the coupling elements, designed to compensate for the thermal changes in the gutter length, is fitted with a downspout.

Abstract: An elongated tapered enclosure tightly receives a collar attached to the bottom of a post. A plurality of adjustable wedges at the top of the enclosure engage the post and serve to plumb the post and firmly secure it in the enclosure. The enclosure is set in the ground flush with the ground surface. Posts are easily inserted into and removed from the enclosure to provide portable members for supporting traffic signs, walls, partitions, roofs and the like.

Abstract: The invention concerns a process for construction of a thermal insulating wall, and also blocks which are suitable to carry out the process.Each block is in the form of a prism with two grooves which extend its total length, one on one face of the block, the other on the opposite face. At the time of wall construction, insulating strips are lodged in the grooves of the superposed blocks in order to constitute a staggered thermal barrier.The invention can be used for any construction which can benefit from good thermal insulation.

Abstract: T-shaped building blocks are assembled in a wall structure in horizontal courses of blocks, with alternate ones of the blocks in each course facing opposite directions and with the main body sections of each block overlying the main body sections of the next adjacent blocks. The blocks in the first course are placed on a footing, U-shaped clips tie the overlying portions of the main body sections of the blocks together to form rigid wall sections, and the wall sections are leveled by inserting wedges beneath the bottom course of blocks. Mortar is poured into the vertical openings of the bottom course of blocks to rigidly mount the blocks on the footing. As the wall increases in height, vertical tie rods are inserted internally through the course of blocks to tie the blocks in adjacent courses together. Insulation is placed in the vertical openings in the blocks to reduce the passage of heat and moisture through the blocks in the wall structure.

Abstract: Apertures in the cast concrete walls of a swimming pool are lined with tubular inserts entirely received in the apertures in sealing, conforming engagement with the concrete. The length of each insert in the direction of wall thickness is equal to or shorter than the corresponding length of the receiving aperture. The insert essentially consists of a solid mixture of a particulate, rigid, inorganic material, such as quartz sand, and a smaller amount of a more resilient, synthetic organic resin binder. A fastening flange is provided in the bore of the insert for fastening the insert in a form while the wall is being built by pouring fluid concrete mixture into the form. The flange provides a fastening base for later installed fittings, pumps, etc. During construction of the swimming pool, a form bounding a cavity is erected.

Abstract: A wasted spacer member for wall elements consists of cross-shaped and T-shaped members each composed of two elements whose face planes are parallel to each other, and the intersecting point of their arms lies on a common axis perpendicular to the face planes. The two elements of the spacer member are connected to each other by at least one web member of such a length that the distance between the two outer surfaces of the spacer member is less than the thickness of the wall elements and the width or thickness of the arms measured in the planes of the elements corresponds either to the joint width between the individual wall elements or to the joint width plus the sum of the groove depths of two adjacent wall elements.

Abstract: Different sections of frames for windows and the like are made from identical plastic resin tubular bodies which are extruded with a plurality of appendages and shapes each of which serves a specific function in accordance with the intended use thereof, and with the appendages inapplicable to that use being removed therefrom.

Abstract: A simulated exterior surface assembly for creating the appearance of brick, stone, or the like. A sheet of plastic material, preferably vinyl, is provided with a series of simulated brick face sections or the like, defined by lines of weakening, where such sections are separable one from another by ordinary flexing. The sheet is provided with a peel-away self-adhesive allowing the simulated sections to be readily adhered onto a suitable undersurface. An optional arrangement includes the use of a mortar colored vinyl self-adhering backing material which is first placed on the undersurface and thereafter the individual simulated sections are suitably disposed thereon.

Abstract: A self-aligning construction block consisting of a basic double block having two flat vertical sides connected by two flat vertical end surfaces, the sides being twice the length of the ends with compound angled top and bottom surfaces having two hollowed center portions for receiving a reinforcing cement fill. The top and bottom surfaces of the basic blocks complement each other for automatic stacking. In construction of a wall, the top surface of modified top blocks and the bottom surfaces of modified bottom blocks are flat and at right angles to the side and end surfaces. The angular relationships of the basic block's top and bottom surfaces perforated by two hollow wells allow for reinforcement rods to lie in a transverse axis and at right angles thereto across each hollow well in a substantially coplanar relationship. Any odd space at the end of a wall is taken up by a half block which is constructed exactly as one half of the basic double block.

Abstract: A tile, generally used for roofing purposes, made of metal or synthetic material, has two portions, one portion has a convex upper surface and another portion has a concave upper surface. These portions are integral with each other and do not overlap one another. The underfaces of these portions exhibit cavities thereat. The length of one of the portions is greater than the length of the other portion. When laid upon a roof area the ends of the tiles will be made to overlap a predetermined length of the tile to give the appearance of a roof formed with conventional spanish mission tiles. Adjacent or contiguous tiles are interlocked by means of a curled corner of the other portion of the tile.

Abstract: An arrangement for holding cremation ashes in which the apertures into which the ashes are to be placed are preformed and are positioned so as to leave a front decorative face unbroken until needed whereupon the face can be broken so as to gain access to the aperture and very quickly thereafter be covered by a commemorative plaque.

Abstract: The invention provides building elements for making floor or wall panels. Each element has a plurality of upper plates and a plurality of lower plates, the plates being aligned, parallel and staggered, with interconnecting webs between the upper and the lower plates, respectively. Several elements are interwoven and bonded to make a panel having a face comprising the upper plates and a back comprising the lower plates. Posts projecting from the back faces of the upper plates improve the strength of the panel.

Abstract: An architecturally finished concrete structure is a composite of a finished wallboard member, such as plasterboard, plywood, etc., to which is bonded a plurality of elongated hollow void creating devices, with said devices being embedded in a concrete structure that is adhered to said finished wallboard member. In the subject method, one side, or both sides, of the concrete form for casting-in-place the concrete structure is defined by a finished wallboard member to which is adhered a plurality of elongated hollow void creating devices. Concrete is poured in the space defined by the concrete form, and is cured so as to be in intimate contact with, and embed, the void creating devices, and the resulting concrete structure is architecturally finished by having one or both faces thereof formed of said wallboard member.

Abstract: A structural sheeting unit, such as fiberous ceiling tile, is disclosed comprising a panel kerfed around the edge thereof and having an extended edge portion provided on one side of said kerf, thereby protecting the remaining edge portion from damage during handling, said extended edge portion being weakened along a line corresponding to the remaining edge portion thereby enabling the extended portion to be easily broken away for installation.

Abstract: A ply joint bar for casting a seamless ceiling from a hardening material such as plaster or concrete, poured over the surfaces of adjacent molding panels, has a bridge with a lower surface resting on and flush with two such adjacent panels and an upper gable-like portion adapted to be anchored in the hardened casting material, an optional base member with two adjacent coplanar surfaces which grasp the underside of the panels, and a leg frangibly connected at one of its ends to the bridge and permanently connected at its other end to the base member, so as to separate adjacent panels sandwiched between the bridge and base member. After the casting material hardens, the molding panels are removed and the frangible leg separated from the bridge leaving a substantially seamless ceiling surface with the bridge embedded therein and its lower surface flush therewith.

Abstract: A simulated exterior surface assembly for creating the appearance of brick, stone, or the like. A sheet of plastic material, preferably vinyl, is provided with a series of simulated brick face sections or the like, defined by lines of weakening, where such sections are separable one from another by ordinary flexing. The sheet is provided with a peel-away self-adhesive allowing the simulated sections to be readily adhered onto a suitable undersurface. An optical arrangement includes the use of a mortar colored vinyl self-adhering backing material which is first placed on the undersurface and thereafter the individual simulated sections are suitably disposed thereon.

Abstract: The invention relates to a frame produced by a moulding of extrusion process for fixing a skylight on a roof; said frame is made of a mechanically strong and machinable material and has a basic profile which has at its upper portion at least one horizontal groove, for the rim of a skylight sheet, which is adjoined towards the interior of the frame by a collecting zone for water caused by condensation; orifices are provided for discharging water from the collecting zone to the exterior; the general configuration of the frame and the material used permit division of the frame by cutting at a desired level.

Abstract: Method and means for adapting a poured concrete floor above a wire distribution system for installing outlets connecting with said system. A composite block assembly comprising a rupturable block covered by a hold-down plate having an access opening is preset at selected locations in the floor before the concrete is poured. To complete an outlet installation, the concrete above the access opening in an assembly is removed and the material of the block is withdrawn through the access opening, leaving a void in the concrete floor in which the components of an outlet assembly can be installed.

Abstract: A thin semi-rigid preformed elongate strip for disposition at the junctions of adjacent drywall wallboards or between sections of a plaster wall to absorb movement within a wall without detrimental effects therefrom, having two outwardly directed opposed flanges arranged for affixation to the wallboard or the lath outer face along adjacent edges, an adjoining central flexible bent portion arranged to be disposed below the general surface plane of the wall between adjacent edges of boards or sections thereof, and adjoined along its lateral edges to the two flanges, and an upwardly extending screed formed in each flange. In the preferred form, a flat strip extends across the central portion on the face of the strip. This may be of different material and more flexible, and may be formed for rapid removal after completion of the wall construction.

Abstract: A unitary extruded thermoplastic article that may be a concrete joint former having an intermediate tear plane formed from an admixture of a plasticizer or a filler in the amount of 150 to 1500 parts per 100 parts of thermoplastic resin.A process for producing an extruded article having a strippable top and a lower tear strength intermediate portion including extruding one thermoplastic material into separate spaced strips, extruding another thermoplastic material into the space between the strips and then compressing the strips to form a unitary article.An extrusion die apparatus for extruding at least two different thermoplastic compositions. A distributing means including a separating means for dividing the thermoplastic flow within the passageway and dispensing a second composition into the divided flow.