Temporary adjustable support brace

Abstract

A system and method for securing an insulated concrete wall to keep the wall straight and plumb during construction, independent of any other bracing structure or scaffolding frame. The system uses the lower previously constructed section of the wall as a secure anchoring base for the continued construction of the wall. The system uses a member that is vertically placed and attached against the insulated form wall with at least one securing extension that passes thru the foam panel and into the cavity of the wall before concrete is placed within the wall cavity. After concrete is placed in the lower section and additional rows of insulated forms are placed on top of the lower wall, a vertical brace is attached to the lower vertical member so that it extends above the lower poured section of the wall. A vertical upper member is then attached to the upper section of the insulated form wall in proper alignment with the vertical brace. A securing adjustment device is attached to the upper member and the brace allowing for the upper section of the formed wall to be properly aligned and plumbed. This system and method is now repeated with the upper section of the formed wall to become the lower section of the formed wall. The system is repeated until the final desired wall height is reached.

Description

BACKGROUND[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]This invention relates generally to insulated concrete form (ICF) wall bracing, and more particularly to a system and method for bracing and aligning an insulated concrete wall form.[0003]2. Prior Art[0004]Conventional building construction utilizes concrete walls that are normally produced by constructing form walls, pouring concrete into the space between the walls and, upon setting of the concrete, removing the form walls. A conventional concrete form wall is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,289 to Strickland. The form wall includes a pair of spaced opposed panels made from plywood and defining therebetween a space into which fluid concrete is poured in forming the wall. Horizontally spaced vertical stiffeners or strongbacks are provided outwardly of each plywood panel to provide major strengthening for the panel support structure. Elongated beams or walers are also provided to extend horizontally along the outer side of each panel. ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]The invention solves the problems and avoids the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a system and method that eliminates the need for scaffolding and allows the use of man lifts, such as scissor lifts and boom lifts during construction. The system provides adequate structure to temporarily support and align the ICF form wall during construction. The use of man lifts greatly increases the speed of construction and provides a much safer working platform.

Problems solved by technology

Existing bracing systems used in ICF tall wall construction become much more labor intensive as the height of the wall increases {such as when the ICF is used to construct a wall of greater than 12 feet in height).

The disadvantages of this type of alignment system for tall walls include height limitations imposed by the length of the channel 120, and the loads of both scaffold planking and construction crew are part of the formed wall structure.

As shown in FIG. 3, this system does solve the height limitations of other systems, however it is a very slow and labor intensive system and method for tall wall construction.

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