Deck construction
A deck construction including a plurality of supports for anchoring deck construction elements to a building site. The supports include a body (which may be an integrally molded concrete pier) having upper and lower portions. The upper portion includes at least one slot for seating a horizontally oriented construction member. The slot includes a center socket portion having four extended comers for seating the bottom end of a vertically oriented construction member. The slot and center socket are defined by connecting wall portions which may be integral to the body or may be of plastic or metal and suitable secured to the body. In some cases, two mutually perpendicular slots are provided.
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This is a continuation application from Ser. No. 10/458,393, filed Jun. 10, 2003 which is a divisional application from Ser. No. 08/888,630, filed Jun. 21, 2001, which is a divisional application from Ser. No. 09/360,372, filed Apr. 28, 1999, Pat. No. 6,550,201, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/716,507, filed Sep. 17, 1996, Pat. No. 5,953,874 which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/364,659, filed Dec. 27, 1994 (abandoned), which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/976,611, filed Nov. 16, 1992, Pat. No. 5,392,575, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/745,995, filed Aug. 9, 1991 (abandoned), which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/292,742, filed Jan. 3, 1989 (abandoned), and a continuation of Ser. No. 07/763,870, filed Sep. 19, 1991, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/507,002, filed Apr. 10, 1990 (abandoned), which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/319,852, filed Mar. 3, 1989 (abandoned), which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/101,832, filed Sep. 28, 1987 (abandoned), which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 06/926,291, filed Nov. 3, 1986, Pat. No. 4,724,642.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to outdoor residential constructions, and is particularly concerned with support devices for use in deck construction.
Various types of devices have heretofore been used for supporting and/or connecting building elements, such as horizontal beams, joists, stringers, posts and pillars, to a base slab, footing, foundation or block member. For example, such devices include anchor studs, metal brackets, or other supports or devices which are permanently embedded in the concrete in the manufacturing process of the blocks and which are required to make them functional. Such devices or additional components are used to provide vertical and lateral mechanical connection of building elements to a base or as components to other elements but do not have an individual identity or non-mechanical application which facilitates the inexpensive and convenient construction of a simple deck, such as a deck that may be built by the average home owner on unprepared and unleveled ground typical to a residential backyard.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to the present invention and forming a primary objective thereof, a deck construction is provided including a novel construction support device, which amounts to an improvement over prior structures.
A more particular object of the invention is to provide a construction support device of the type described having a novel arrangement of recesses, walls, and sockets for receiving horizontal beams and the like, and also capable of receiving vertical pillars or posts, all in a variety of selected support connections not heretofore available.
Another object of the invention is to provide an embodiment of the invention comprising a plurality of integrated wall portions disposed in a zig zag pattern and forming one or more full width slots for receiving horizontal beams and the like and also forming a rectangular central socket for receiving a vertical pillar or post.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pier block of the type described having a novel arrangement of recesses and central socket for receiving horizontal two-inch thick (1½-inch nominal) surface supports, and also capable of receiving vertical wood posts without mechanical connections or additional components, all in a variety of selected support configurations not heretofore available.
In carrying out these objectives, a construction support device is provided for anchoring a beam or other element to the ground or other building site. The device includes a body having upper and lower portions. The lower portion rests on the building site, and the upper portion includes an open slot for holding a beam edgewise. The slot is formed by spaced-apart side walls. The side walls themselves include connected wall portions, which are integrally joined at right angles.
The slot includes a center socket portion that is adapted for securely holding the bottom end of a vertically oriented post. The center socket portion is formed by the side walls extending at right angles away from each other to form corner sections. The corner sections are spaces apart substantially further than the width of the open slot to provide substantial corner support to the post.
In some cases, the side walls which define the slot are part of spaced-apart projections which extend from the upper portion of the body. These projections can be integrally molded with the body to form a single-cast, one-piece block or pier. Alternatively, they may be formed of plastic or metal and suitably attached to a base.
The invention may be practiced with a pair of recesses emanating from the central socket portion to form a single slot which extends unobstructed across the entire breadth of the body. Alternatively, a second pair of recesses may be employed to form a total of two mutually perpendicular slots.
Support devices in accordance with the invention are particularly suited to the construction of residential decks. Horizontal, coplanar deck support members may be carried by a plurality of the foregoing support devices arranged in rows and columns. The horizontal deck support members are securely seated in the slots defined by the spaced apart side walls.
Where the deck is to be built on uneven ground, the horizontal members can be supported in a level attitude by a plurality of vertical support pillars. The bottom ends of the vertical support pillars are securely seated in one of the center socket portion, while their respective top ends bear the horizontal members in supporting engagement. The height of the vertical support pillars can vary to span the vertical distance between the uneven ground and the desired plane in which the horizontal support members reside.
In one embodiment, the construction support device of the invention comprises a body member having a lower surface which serves as a support on a base such as a slab, footing, or pier block. The body member has one or more recess means arranged to receive horizontal beams and the like. The body member also has a central socket for receiving a vertical pillar or post. The recess means are disposed on each of four sides of the body member at 90 degrees apart and communicate with the central socket and the exterior, the pairs of recesses opposite from each other being aligned whereby construction beams or the like can be laid therein in edge and/or end relation. Also, in such embodiment, the construction device has fastener-receiving means therein for attaching a beam or beams and a pillar together, and also for attaching the assembly to the base. In another embodiment, side edges of the body member at the recess openings have downturned projections shaped on a rear portion thereof to frictionally fit on top of pier blocks for anchoring the body member against lateral shifting.
In another embodiment, the construction support device of the invention is a single cast, one-piece pier block which comprises a body member serving as a capable support on unprepared and unleveled building sites, having localized dips, slopes and random level areas therein. The body member has a single recess means molded into the top surface capable of receiving horizontal deck surface support members and also capable of receiving the bottom end of a vertical wood post or pillar. The recess means can have particular dimensions for using conventional, existing lumber sizes and also such dimensions are such that the required integral strength of the block is maintained due to the manufacturing process and application without the necessity of using reinforcing bar steel or additional integral components. All of these features combine in a structural arrangement which automates and standardizes the manufacture and facilitates marketing, at a lower unit and resale cost, a deck that can be preplanned and pre-cut. Such a deck is simplified and inexpensive, and capable of construction by the average do-it-yourself homeowner who desires a deck on the unprepared and unleveled ground of a typical backyard.
The invention will be better understood and additional objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
According to the present invention, a construction support device is provided which conveniently provides anchoring of a building element to a building site. As illustrated herein, the invention may be practiced in accordance with a first embodiment of
Alternatively, the invention may be practiced in accordance with other embodiments, such as shown in
With reference first to
Each of the panel sections 18a has one or more apertures 24 therein provided to receive fasteners, to be seen hereinafter, for securement of building elements to the device 14. As seen in
Referring to
With reference to
The combination of slots and sockets allows a support in accordance with the invention to accommodate both vertical and horizontal beams, and is particularly well-suited for constructing decks on unprepared and unleveled building sites, two examples of those being shown in
The deck shown in
The deck shown in
The particular structure of the manufactured pier blocks 50 and 50′ makes it possible to construct an extremely simplified deck and one which can be pre-planned and pre-cut if desired. That is, such lumber as 2-inch thick deck support members 30 and vertical wood pillars 34 which can be used therewith comprise conventional existing material, namely, the two-inch thick deck support number 30 can comprise 2×6s or 2×4's and pillars 34 can comprise 4×4's.
The two equal narrower recesses 20′ can be 2 inches deep and have a width of 1¾ inches. This latter dimension would receive conventional finished 2×6's (1½ inches thick) and 2×4's (also 1½ inches thick). 2×6's and 2×4's have finished height dimensions of 5½ and 3½ inches, respectively, whereby the deck support members, whether 2×6's or 2×4's, project to a minimum necessary height above the top surface of the blocks 50 when seated in the recess for supporting the decking thereon.
The central socket portion 22′ can be 2 inches deep, similar to the recess portion 20′. Such socket is square, and can have dimensions of 3¾ inches for receiving a conventional finished 4×4 (3½ inches square) lumber support pillar. The vertical pillar becomes sufficiently fixed in socket portion 22′ in the block for deck construction purposes, as does the deck horizontal support member in the two narrower portions 20′, also being within the central socket portion 22′ when the member 34 is not in the block 50, for lateral stability.
Pier blocks 50 and 50′ are designed to provide support to a deck on unleveled or unprepared building sites with no additional components required. For this purpose, the blocks 50 and 50′ are tapered to a larger dimension toward the bottom. The top and bottom surfaces are flat and square. The enlarged bottom surface allows the block to serve as its own footing. When two of such recesses 20′ are provided, they are standardly aligned across the block. Furthermore, the width of these recesses is less than one-third the width of the block at the top, thus maintaining lateral integral strength of the block. This arrangement maintains a strong concrete block without the necessity of re-bar reinforcement and thus contributes to manufacture of a pier block and deck structure in a pre-planned and pre-cut unit which is also sufficiently simplified in its use, standardized in its manufacture, and sufficiently inexpensive for deck construction by the average do-it-yourself homeowner.
Since the recess can be two inches deep, the recesses of the pier blocks 50 and 50′ of
It is to be understood that the forms of our invention herein shown and described are to be taken as preferred examples of the same and that other changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of our invention or the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1-31. (canceled).
32. A concrete block for anchoring an exterior deck construction to a building site, said block being capable of supporting one or more construction members;
- said block comprising a single-cast unitary block having an upper end surface, a lower surface adapted for supporting engagement with the building site, and a generally polygonal exterior peripheral surface;
- said upper end surface having a first open slot formed therein defined by laterally spaced-apart sidewall surfaces intersecting said upper end surface and intersecting said external peripheral surface at generally diametrically opposite positions, said slot having a base surface and being configured to freely vertically receive and releasably support at least one horizontally oriented deck construction member without mechanical connections; and
- said upper end surface having an enlarged open center socket intersecting said upper end surface and being contiguous with said open slot, said socket being defined by said sidewall surfaces intersecting said upper end surface and extending at right angles away from each other to generally mutually opposed right-angle corners spaced apart substantially farther than the width of said open slot, said socket having a base surface intermediate said upper and lower end surfaces capable of receiving and releasably supporting the bottom end of a generally vertically oriented post member with said right-angle corners providing substantially the sole corner support to said post member without mechanical connections; and
- said center socket extending into said block from said upper end surface a distance less than one-half the height of said concrete block.
33. The concrete block of claim 32 wherein said first open slot is free of reinforcing bars so that a horizontally oriented construction element can freely extend through said slot and said socket fully across the entire breadth of said upper end surface of said block.
34. A kit for assembling a deck on a building site, comprising: a decking surface structure; a plurality of support members, each of said support members having a lower edge and an upper edge, said support members being adapted to support said decking surface structure when said support members are disposed in a generally horizontal orientation; and a plurality of pier blocks each including a concrete body having upper and lower end surfaces and a peripheral side surface, said lower end surface being adapted for supporting engagement with a building site, said upper end surface including an open slot extending fully across said upper end surface and defined by wall surfaces spaced apart for frictionally receiving at least one generally horizontally oriented support member in edge relation, and an enlarged open center socket formed in said upper end surface contiguous with said open slot and defined by said wall surfaces extending at right angles away from each other to generally right-angle corners spaced apart substantially farther than the width of the open slot, said center socket being adapted to receive the bottom end of a generally upstanding pillar member with said comers providing substantial corner engagement with said pillar member.
35. A construction device for anchoring or connecting construction elements to a base comprising:
- a concrete body member having upper and lower ends and external sides,
- said lower end serving as a support of the body member on a base,
- and recess means in the upper end of said body member forming an anchor seat for a construction element,
- said recess means comprising a recess extending fully from one side of said body member to the other, said recess being defined by laterally opposite spaced apart internal wall surfaces disposed generally normal to said lower end so that one or more construction elements can be laid therein in frictional seated edge relation,
- said recess means also including an enlarged socket disposed in a central portion of said body member, said socket having oppositely aligned inverse corners spaced apart farther than said wall surfaces defining said recess so as to receive the external comers of the bottom end of an upright construction element in supported engagement therewith, said recess and socket extending into said body member from said upper end a distance less than one-half the height of said body member.
36. A concrete block in combination with a lumber construction element;
- said lumber construction element comprising an elongated post of generally rectangular transverse cross-sectional configuration,
- said block comprising a one-piece concrete body structure having a generally polygonal external peripheral surface and a lower end surface adapted for supporting engagement with a building site,
- said block including an upper end surface having at least two open aligned recesses formed therein with each recess intersecting a centrally disposed enlarged open socket formed in said upper end surface,
- said recesses each being defined by laterally spaced-apart sidewall surfaces and a base surface and intersecting said external peripheral surface at diametrically opposite positions, said enlarged open center socket being defined by a central base surface and by socket sidewall surfaces forming four mutually opposed right angle comers spaced apart farther than said spaced-apart sidewalls forming said recesses, said block directly receiving an end of said post in said socket, said post being directly supported in upstanding relation exclusively by said sidewall surfaces forming said right angle comers and said central base surface.
37. A construction device for anchoring or connecting construction elements to a base comprising:
- concrete body member having upper and lower ends and external sides,
- said lower end serving as a support of the body member on a base,
- and recess means in the upper end of said body member forming an anchor seat for a construction element,
- said recess means comprising first and second recesses extending fully from one side of said body member to the other, said first and second recesses being disposed in substantially mutually perpendicular relation to each other, said recesses being defined by laterally opposite spaced apart internal wall surfaces disposed generally normal to said lower end so that one or more construction elements can be laid therein in frictional seated edge relation,
- said recess means also including an enlarged socket disposed in a central portion of said body member, said socket having oppositely aligned inverse comers spaced apart further than said wall surfaces defining said recesses so as to receive the external comers of the bottom end of an upright construction element in supported engagement therewith, said recesses and socket extending into said body member from said upper end.
38. A construction device as defined in claim 37 wherein said recesses and said enlarged socket have flat floor surfaces
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 3, 2004
Publication Date: Apr 7, 2005
Applicant: Pro Shop Plans Co., Inc. (Alvadore, OR)
Inventors: Paul Hoffman (Alvadore, OR), Sam Bright (Eugene, OR)
Application Number: 10/980,733