Field of the Invention

The invention relates to space elements used in buildings, such as e.g. to bathroom elements.

Prior art

Space elements are building elements that can be used to build finished spaces, such as bathrooms or finished rooms or entities of several rooms.

Prior art implementations of bathroom floor slab structures use, for example, shaft- mounted bathroom elements in which the floor slab is a massive and load-bearing concrete slab. A shaft is defined as overlapping openings formed in the

intermediate floor structures of a building during construction of a frame, and a base slab is attached to said openings as a part of the intermediate floor structure. In prior art implementations is also used bathroom elements mounted on a load- bearing and compartmenting structure, and the base slab of said bathroom elements a is not a load-bearing part and does not integrate into the building frame structure. A common feature of said implementations is that they are suitable for installation only in certain structures suitable for them. In other words, a bathroom element designed for shaft installation cannot or should not be used on a load- bearing structure because its structure height is generally too high and the mass too high. On the other hand, a bathroom element mounted on a load-bearing structure cannot be installed in an opening in the intermediate floor (shaft mounting) because its base slab is not designed to act as a load-bearing and fire or sound compartmenting structure part.

Brief Description of the Invention It is an object of the invention to provide a base structure for a space element, for example a bathroom element, which is suitable for attachment to various installation sites. This is achieved by a base structure arrangement of the space element for attaching the base structures to the building site. The base structure comprises a load-bearing and compartmenting modular separate fitting structure for attachment to the frame of the building, and the modular fitting structure comprising at least one fitting part dimensioned to the selected building site for attaching the structures finished for the attachment to one another, and the base structure comprises a floor structure of the space element, and the base structure arrangement of the space element comprises the base structures to be attached to the frame of the building site after construction of the frame.

The invention also relates to a method for attaching base structures of a space element to a building site. The method comprises attaching to a building site a separate load-bearing and compartmenting modular fitting structure for attaching to a frame of the building site, which is dimensioned to fit the selected building site to attach structures finished for the attachment to one other, and in the method, the floor structure of the base structure located above the fitting structure is attached to the fitting structure, and the base structures are attached to the frame of the building site after the frame construction.

The various exemplary embodiments of the invention are characterized by what is disclosed in the dependent claims. The invention is based on a load-bearing and compartmenting modular fitting structure of a base structure of a space element which fitting structure is fitted to its chosen attachment site with suitable dimensions.

An advantage of the invention is that the base structure according to the invention enables connection to the frame structures of various building sites without a need to make changes to the base structure of the space element. In other words, the invention provides a modular base structure made up of standardized base structures. For this reason, the manufacture and installation of the base structure according to the invention is simple and inexpensive.

Brief description of the figures

The following will illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and their operation and advantages with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 presents the prior art mounting of a base slab in a recess formed in the intermediate base slab, i.e. a so-called hole slab assembly.

Figure 2 presents the prior art mounting of a base slab in an opening formed in the intermediate floor, i.e. a so-called shaft mounting.

Figure 3 presents installation of a base structure according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention in an opening in the intermediate floor.

Figure 4 presents a floor structure according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention, in which a space structure is formed between the fitting structure and the floor structure of the space element, which may include, for example, technical building installations, sound damping structures or supporting structures.

Figure 5 presents an exemplary embodiment of the invention in which a fitting slab is mounted on its side through an opening.

Figure 6 presents an installation of a base structure according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention in an opening in the intermediate floor.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Fig. 1 presents a prior art installation of a bathroom base 202 slab 204 in a recess formed in a floor slab 200, i.e. a so-called hole slab installation. The structure requires the bathroom 202 to be installed in place prior to installing the slabs of next floor’s intermediate base or top base. In the prior art structure, especially when using hollow-core slabs, it is not possible to install ready-made fire damper inlets for ventilation ducts, drains, flow pipes or electrical installations, but must be made in the openings left in the slab 200 on the site. The slabs 200 may be, for example, cavity slabs.

Fig. 2 presents a prior art installation of a bathroom base slab 204 in an opening formed in the intermediate floor 200, a so-called shaft mounting.

The embodiments of the invention may be implemented with a base structure made of, for example, two or more layer structures of a space element, which can be adapted to various frame structures with slight modifications, and which can be mounted either as a shaft installation or on a load-bearing and compartmenting structure. Figure 3 presents an exemplary base structure according to the invention. Embodiments of the invention provide, for example, a bathroom element base structure that enables the bathroom element to be fitted and installed on various intermediate floor structures 102, such as on hollow core slab intermediate base, massive slab structures, on-site molded floor structures, steel structures, wooden structures and installation floor structures.

The base structure 100 of the space element according to the invention may consist of two or more layers. The lower layer acts as a load-bearing and compartmenting (e.g., sound and / or fire compartmentation) structural part 104 and may have openings or prefabricated lead-through members for passing water, heat, drain, electrical and communication cables and/or ventilation ducts through the structure. The lowest layer 104 may be a reinforced concrete slab in a concrete frame building, but in a wood or steel frame building, its material may be other material more suitable for the frame system.

The top layer is a bathroom floor slab structure 105, which may be, for example, reinforced concrete, fiber concrete, reinforced plastic or composite material, or other suitable material or a combination thereof. Floor drains may be formed on the upper surface of the surface slab structure to conduct water to one or more floor drains. The slab may have electric and/or water circulation floor heating. The surface slab structure 105 may be of a waterproof material, thereby acting as a waterproofing material for a wet room (bathroom or similar) floor. The surface slab structure 105 may, as such, form a finished floor surface or act as a substrate for fixing a surface material (e.g., ceramic tiling). The edge portion of the surface slab structure may be shaped as a platform on which the wall of the bathroom element rests and which portion prevents moisture from entering the interface between the wall structure and the floor. The lower surface of the surface slab structure may have raised portions or structures to support the surface slab structure with the lower load-bearing structures.

Above the load-bearing structure, there may be a space with building technology installations such as drainage pipes and parts, water and/or heat pipes, underfloor heating system components, absorbers for sound conducting or sound absorbing materials, and pipe and building technology installation brackets. In addition, there may be structures transmitting forces, such as sills or bearing or supporting structures of the above structures.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lower load-bearing and

compartmenting structure 104 (e.g. a reinforced concrete slab) can be fixed via an opening left in the intermediate floor structure when for example a bathroom element used as a space element is installed. This allows the intermediate floor structure 102 not to have reserve openings for the lead throughs of the building technology installation, but they can be made as pre-fabricated to the lowest structure of the base structure of the bathroom element, whereby good

dimensional accuracy and a high degree of prefabrication can be achieved. The base structure according to the invention enables the installation of bathroom elements through shafts at the end of the frame phase, whereby the finished elements from inside do not have to be kept at the mercy of the weather throughout the construction of the frame phase. Fire-safe shaft installation in tall buildings will also be possible. Stepwise shaft installation can be carried out so that the elements can be quickly protected from rain. After the element has been installed, the load-bearing slab of the next layer can be mounted immediately on the surrounding structures, effectively protecting the lower element and acting as a fire-separating structure between the layers.

The implementation of the invention achieves easy interchangeability of pipe installations or other building technology. There is no need to break load-bearing structures when replacing, for example, sewer pipes or other pipes in the installation space of the base structure. In the embodiment of the invention, the complex structure can be formed from simple structural components which can be easily modified for different mounting applications. This also means a simplification of the factory production process of the base structure.

In the following is presented with reference to Figures 3-5, some preferred embodiments of the invention for connecting a base structure 100 of a space element, such as a bathroom element, to a building site 102, which is an

intermediate base structure 102 or a bottom base structure of the building. The base structure 100 comprises a load-bearing and compartmenting modular separate fitting structure 104 comprising at least one fitting part 1 16 dimensioned to fit the selected building 102. The base structure 100 also comprises a floor structure 105 of the space element. The load-bearing and compartmenting separate fitting structure is attached to the building frame and the base structure of the space element is connected to the fitting structure. In one embodiment of the invention, the fitting structure 104 may comprise at least one fitting part 1 16 permanently located therein. In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the fitting structure 104 may comprise at least one fitting member 1 16 attached thereto. The fitting part 1 16 can also be attached to the edge of the opening.

The load-bearing and compartmenting structure may, for example, be a reinforced concrete slab 104. The load-bearing and compartmenting structure 104 may be used to form, for example, fire compartmentation and sound compartmentation of a building. In addition, the load-bearing and compartmenting structure 104 may comprise a structure 106 for leading through the load-bearing and compartmenting structure 104 e.g. water pipe, heat pipe, sewer pipe, electric cable, communication cable and ventilation duct or several of them.

Figure 4 presents a base structure 100 according to another exemplary

embodiment of the invention, wherein a space structure 1 10 is formed between the fitting structure and the floor structure of the space element, which space structure may consist, for example, building technology installations which may be drainage, water pipe, heat cable, floor heating system pipe, absorbers for sound conducting or sound absorbing materials, support structure or more of the above. The base structure of a bathroom element according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 4 also comprises a bathroom floor structure 105 located above the space structure 110, which may serve as a floor surface of the surface slab structure. In one embodiment of the invention, the floor structure 105 may serve as a mounting surface for the floor surface material.

In the embodiments of the invention, said bathroom is a broad concept that can refer to all kinds of wet rooms in buildings. The space element can also be a non wet space.

Figure 5 presents an exemplary embodiment of the invention, wherein a fitting structure 104 is installed on its side and by turning through an opening in floor to mounting locations formed to a wall by setting to the mounting location, for example, by at least one fitting part 116. The fitting structure 104 may also be installed in the edges of the fitting opening using, for example, a heel piece 1 16 as shown in Figure 5 when installing the right side of the fitting structure 104. The heel piece 1 16 may also be a height adjusting part on basis of its height on which the fitting structure 104 is laid down to a height adjusted.

In the embodiments of the invention, at least one fitting part 1 16 of the fitting structure 104 dimensioned for the selected building site enables modularity of the base structure 100, i.e. no changes or adaptations of the space element are required every time to the building site, since the fitting structure 104 is modifiable to the selected building site. The dimensioned fitting parts 1 16 may be, for example, fasteners 1 16, such as those shown in Figures 3 and 4, a solid fastening bar extending to both mounting sides, a heel piece 1 16 shown in Fig. 5, or another embodiment for a dimensioned fitting.

Figure 6 presents mounting of a base structure according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention into an opening in the intermediate base, wherein as the fitting part 1 16 is a claw-like fastening structure fixedly located in the fitting structure 104.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention and its embodiments are not limited to the exemplary embodiments described above. The expressions of the existence of technical characteristics claimed by the claims are transparent so that the presentation of the technical features does not exclude and does not require the existence of other technical features not disclosed in the claims.