AU715421B2 - Vertical termite barrier - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT TT, ij 1, v Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: T MrVe_ e- P4 L4 Terry John TRAPNEhLL Terry John TRAPNELL CULLEN CO., Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, 240 Queen Street, Brisbane, Qld. 4000, Australia.

Vertical Termite Barrier Invention Title: Details of Associated Provisional Applications: Nos. P00238 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us 2 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION THIS invention relates to the protection of buildings from subterranean termites and is particularly concerned with physical termite barriers for incorporating into the vertical perimeter regions of split-level concrete slab on-ground buildings during their construction. The barriers can also be used as horizontal barriers between brick or block courses and a concrete slab, after the slab has been poured.

The perimeter barrier has been primarily developed for bridging between two concrete slab levels and is particularly suitable for use with the slab perimeter barrier which is the subject of my co-pending patent application no. 64411/96, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

In the specification of my aforementioned patent application I disclosed a physical termite barrier for incorporating into the perimeter of a concrete slab in a masonry veneer wall building during the construction 20 of the slab. The barrier comprises a continuous sheet of termite resistant material having a substantially rightangled Z-shaped profile with curved regions connecting the three planes of the sheet for the purpose of resisting shear fracture. Such a barrier cannot, 25 however, be used at the juncture of two slabs in split level buildings.

Furthermore, the aforementioned barrier must be set in situ before the concrete slab is poured which limits its usefulness wherein it is required to install a termite barrier once the slab has set.

S. OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a termite barrier which can be used with my aforementioned slab perimeter barrier, at the juncture of split-level slabs.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a termite barrier which can be installed after a concrete slab has set.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided a physical termite barrier comprising a continuous strip of flexible rigid material having a plurality of concrete-keying formations in it and a longitudinally extending expansion joint in the form of a channel depression having a substantially V-shaped cross-sectional configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The termite barrier can be fabricated out of any material which has corrosion and termite resisting properties, such as plastics and metal materials. The most common materials are stainless steels and galvanized irons.

The preferred material is 0.5mm sheet aluminium. The sheet will preferably be produced in preset lengths having approximately 200mm widths.

The longitudinally extending expansion joint formed in the termite barrier is suitably produced in the strip material by pressing or roll forming the metal strip.

The V-shaped cross-sectional configuration is preferably of the order of 5 to 7mm in depth, most preferably about 6mm.

o o The channel depression is ideally located about "15-35mm, preferably about 25mm, from a longitudinal edge of the continuous strip, and the strip has a width, depending upon the width of the brick or block course or courses, of somewhere in the order of 60 to 400mm. Typically the strip width is either 75mm or 375mm.

The concrete keying formations are preferably 30 longitudinally extending furrows which likewise have Vor S"shaped cross-sectional configurations. The depth of such S• furrows is suitably 1-3mm, preferably about 2mm, and they are separated from one another by 35 to 40mm, preferably about 37mm. One furrow is ideally located on a longitudinal edge of the strip, between the channel depression and the edge.

In use, the barrier can be adhesive welded to the perimeter barriers of both the lower level and upper level _slabs, so as to extend in a substantially vertical direction. The brick or blockwork at the insertion of the slabs is provided with a vertical cavity to accommodate the barrier.

When used as a horizontal barrier, the termite barrier is laid over the foundation brick or block course, onto the rebated edge of the concrete slab to which it is adhered.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a top elevational view of a termite barrier according to one aspect of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional side elevation of a split level slab incorporating the termite barrier depicted in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a plan view of the arrangement depicted in Figure 2, Figure 4 is a cross sectional end elevation of the arrangement depicted in Figure 2, and Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of a horizontally placed termite barrier according to another 20 aspect of the present invention.

o o ~DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS .".Preferred embodiments of the invention will now S. be described with reference to the drawings.

In all of the drawings, like reference numerals 25 refer to like parts.

Referring firstly to Figure 1, the termite barrier 10 comprises a continuous strip 11 of 0.5mm sheet aluminium havin4 a width of 200mm. V-shaped concrete [[keying formations 12 extend longitudinally in the barrier and a large V-shaped channel depression 13 constitutes .the expansion joint. The concrete keying formations 12 are approximately 2mm deep and the channel depression 13 is approximately 6mm deep.

The termite barrier 10 can be located vertically or horizontally relative to a concrete slab.

Such arrangements are shown respectively in Figures 2-4, and Figure 5. The former of these arrangements will be described first.

Figure 2 illustrates where the termite barrier is located in a split level slab. The building foundations are indicated at 15 with the lower slab level shown by reference numeral 16 and the upper slab level shown by reference numeral 17. Reference numerals 16 and 17 also indicate the edges of the perimeter termite barriers for the respective slabs. These termite barriers have the right-angled Z-shaped profiles as described in aforementioned Australian patent application no. 64411/96.

The termite barrier 10 according to the present invention is located in the upper portion of a construction joint 18 between the two slab levels 16, 17 within a concrete filled end block of a retaining wall 19 (see dotted outline). The termite barrier 10 has a vertical orientation and is soldered at its upper and lower ends to the respective upper (17) and lower (16) perimeter termite barriers. As an alternative fixing method, the termite barrier 10 can be fixed in situ using 20 plastics connector elements which have been specifically developed for this purpose. These are the subject of pending design applications.

S. Reference is now made to Figures 3 and 4 which clearly show the retaining wall 19 which supports the 25 upper concrete slab and which separates the two slabs from one another. Reference numeral 20 indicates the brickwork to the upper concrete slab and reference number 21 indicates the brickwork to the lower concrete slab.

*The dotted region 22 shows the position of the perimeter termite barrier with respect to the upper slab and the ,o heavily shaded region 23 in Figure 3 is the termite barrier to the lower slab.

The termite barrier 10 is shown to extend vertically in the end concrete blocks 24 of the block wall and it is cast into those blocks. The blocks from which the block wall is constructed are "H-blocks" which are all concrete filled and reinforced to meet building regulations.

In Figure 4 the termite barrier 10 is the heavily shaded region extending between the slab. It is soldered to the upper perimeter termite barrier at 25 and to the lower perimeter termite barrier at 26.

Alternatively the termite barrier 10 can be fixed by the use of moulded plastics connecting elements as previously mentioned.

The termite barrier 10 has been shown to be one hundred percent effective in excluding termites at the location between slabs of split level buildings.

Figure 5 refers to an alternative construction in which the termite barrier can be used. This construction comprises a preformed brick perimeter wall 34 and a rebated and reinforced (37) concrete slab 36. A building framework 38 may or may not be in place. The termite barrier 30 has the same configuration as previously described, viz. a plurality of V-shaped concrete keying formations 31 and a V-shaped expansion joint 32. Note the location of the expansion joint 20 relative to the brickwork 34 and the concrete slab 36.

The termite barrier 30 is held in position at 900mm maximum spacings by temporary rivets during installation and an adhesive seal 35 along the inner longitudinal edge of the barrier prevents penetration of i' 25 termites at that region. The termite barrier 30 is .placed flush with the face of the brickwork so as to form a visible inspection strip to detect any termite *infestation.

Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative example of the invention, many modifications S- and variation may be made thereto by persons skilled in the art without departing from the broad scope and ambit of the invention as herein set forth.

Claims (5)

1. A physical termite barrier comprising a continuous strip of flexibly rigid material having a plurality of concrete-keying formations in it and a longitudinally extending expansion joint in the form of a channel depression having a substantially V-shaped cross- sectional configuration.

2. A physical termite barrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein the channel depression is approximately

5-7mm in depth. 3. A physical termite barrier as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the channel depression is located approximately 15-35mm from a longitudinal edge of the continuous strip, which strip has a width in the range of approximately 60-400mm. 4. A physical termite barrier as claimed in any 20 one of the preceding claims, wherein the concrete keying formations have the form of longitudinally extending furrows 5. A physical termite barrier as claimed in claim S: 25 4, wherein the furrows have substantially V-shaped cross- sectional configurations.

6. A physical termite barrier as claimed in claim 4, wherein the furrows are approximately 1-3mm in depth. S7. A physical termite barrier as claimed in any one of claims 4-6, wherein the furrows are separated from one another (eg. approximately

35-40mm). 8. A physical termite barrier as claimed in any one of claims 4-6, when appended to claim 3, wherein one furrow is located on a longitudinal edge of the strip, between the channel depression and the edge. 8 9. A physical termite barrier as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, which is fabricated from sheet aluminium. A physical termite barrier as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, which is roll formed from 200mm wide sheet metal. 11. A physical termite barrier as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in association with means for retaining the barrier in situ in either a horizontal or vertical location relative to a concrete slab. 12. A physical termite barrier substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 1 9 th day of November 1999 20 TERMITE TITE PTY LTD By their Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO. *D S 0* oo *o* ooo *o o* *o