METHOD OF STRAIGHTENING AND REINFORCING A BLOCK WALL

Abstract

A method of straightening a block wall having an inwardly bowed shape in a central region between an upper end and a lower end includes mounting a tensile member between the upper end and the lower end of the block wall. A tension force is applied on the tensile member to apply a compression force on the bowed block wall for a period of time until the bow in the block wall is straightened to a desired amount. Once the bowed block wall is straightened by a desired amount, a reinforcement member is applied to the straightened block wall.

Description

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a method of straightening and reinforcing a bowed block wall.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.

A variety of walls and other structural elements are known to be generally capable of supporting residential and light commercial structures. Over time, however, such walls and structural elements can crack, tilt, bow, or otherwise deform due to inherent weaknesses attributable to particular structural characteristics thereof.

For example, walls constructed of concrete blocks have excellent compressive strength to support structures placed upon them. However, these walls are inherently weak with respect to lateral loads and are particularly susceptible to cracking from water pressure, as the mortar joints at which these walls are connected are weak in tension and tend to separate relatively easily when subjected to tensile forces.

Deformation, such as cracking, tilting, and bowing, if left untreated, can become progressively greater and eventually facilitate collapse of an entire structural element with resultant damage to the structure supported thereon. Several methods are known for treating such deformation. In particular, it is known to adhere a carbon fiber reinforcement material to a structural element that is bowed or cracked. A problem with reinforcing a bowed block wall that is caused by water pressure is that the ground water can dissipate seasonally and release the tensile force on the wall allowing the wall to straighten to some extent on its own. For cracked or bowed walls that are reinforced with an adhered reinforcement member, the subsequent straightening of the wall places the reinforcement member in compression where the reinforcement member can pull away from the wall, thus requiring further repair.

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a method of first straightening and then subsequently reinforcing a block wall having an inwardly bowed shape in a central region between an upper end and a lower end that includes mounting a tensile member between the upper end and the lower end of the block wall. A tension force is applied on the tensile member to apply a compression force on the bowed block wall for a period of time until the bow in the block wall is straightened to a desired amount. Once the bowed block wall is straightened by a desired amount, a reinforcement member is applied to the straightened block wall.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a bowed block wall having a straightening system according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a spring mechanism for applying a tension force to a tensile member according to the principles of the present disclosure as illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a reinforced block wall according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a bowed block wall having an alternative straightening system according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of an alternative spring mechanism for applying a tension force to a tensile member according to the principles of the present disclosure as illustrated in FIG. 4.

Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.

When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

With reference to FIG. 1, a block wall 10 is shown including a bottom end 10a that is laterally supported on an inward side by a concrete floor 12 and an upper end 10b that is laterally supported on an inward side by a sill plate 14, floor joists 16 and a rim joist 18 that are anchored to the top of the block wall 10. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a center region 10c of the block wall 10 is shown bowed inward in a manner that typically occurs when a large tensile force is exerted against a block wall due to ground water pressure “P”.

A wall straightening system 30 is shown for assisting in straightening the bowed wall 10 and for applying a temporary reinforcement thereof. The wall straightening system 30 includes a tensile member 32 that is mounted to the lower end 10a of the wall 10 and to the upper end 10b of the wall 10. The tensile member can be, for example, in the form of a strap, sheet, rope, cable, rod or plate or a combination thereof. One end 32a of the tensile member 32 can be attached to a tensioning device 40 that applies a tension force on the tensile member 32.The tensioning device 40 can be anchored to the sill plate 14 (as shown in FIG. 1), the rim joist 18 (as shown in FIG. 4), a floor joist 16, the wall 10, the concrete floor 12 or other adjacent structure. A second end 32b of the tensile member 32 can be anchored to the wall 10 or other adjacent structure such as the concrete floor, the sill plate, the rim joist or a floor joist.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the tensioning device 40 can include a base 42 that can be secured, for example, to the sill plate 14. A cantilevered arm 44 has an aperture 46 for receiving a threaded rod 48 there through. The threaded rod 48 is attached to the upper end of the tensile member 32 and has a second end that receives a spring 50, a washer 52 and a nut 54 that can be tightened on the threaded rod 48 for loading the spring 50 to apply a tension force on the tensile member 32.

With the wall straightening system 30 applied to the bowed wall 10, the method according to the present disclosure includes maintaining the strap under tension “T” for a period of time to allow the tensile member to apply a compression force “A” vertically downwardly against the bowed wall 10 to tend to cause the tilted blocks to level out with respect to one another and assist the wall 10 in straightening. According to one aspect of the method, measures can be employed to divert ground water away from the exterior of the wall 10 to aid in drying the soil to reduce the water pressure “P” on the exterior side of the wall 10 or an installer can leave the straightening system 30 on the wall 10 to reinforce the wall 10 until the ground dries due to seasonal change and the wall 10 is allowed to straighten out as the exterior water pressure is reduced.

Once the wall 10 has straightened out to a desired amount, a wall reinforcement member such as a carbon fiber reinforcement grid 70 or other reinforcement member can be applied to the wall 10 to reinforce and maintain the wall in the straightened state, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 an alternative tensioning device 140 is shown mounted to a rim joist 18. The tensioning device 140 can include a base 142 that can be secured, for example, to the rim joist 18 by a pair of threaded rods 144. The pair of threaded rods 144 support a pair of springs 146 with a washer shaped spring seat 148 and a nut 150 that are capable of loading the springs 146 to apply a tension force “T” on the tensile member 32 that is mounted to an arm 152. It should be understood that the tensioning device 40/140 can take on alternative forms of applying a tensioning force on the tensile member 32.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

1. A method of straightening a block wall having an inwardly bowed shape in a central region between an upper end and a lower end, comprising:

mounting a strap member between the upper end and the lower end of the block wall with an upper end of the strap member being a surface of the upper end of the block wall and with a lower end of the strap member being generally flush with a surface of the lower end of the block wall;

applying a tension force on the strap member with an adjustable spring mechanism to apply a compression force against the bowed block wall for a period of time until the bow in the block wall is straightened to a desired amount; and

applying a reinforcement member to the straightened block wall.

2. (canceled)

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the spring mechanism includes a threaded rod and nut that load a spring to apply the tension force to the tensile member.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the spring mechanism is mounted to a sill plate on a top of the block wall.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcement member is adhered to the straightened block wall.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the reinforcement member is a carbon fiber mesh grid.

7. (canceled)