FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to building construction materials and methods, and more particularly to a composite board useful for insulating poured concrete walls.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] To reduce energy consumption for heating purposes, especially in those areas that typically experience prolonged cold weather, it is common to employ insulation on basement and other exterior walls. Poured concrete walls can be formed more quickly and at a lower cost than comparable alternative wall structures, while providing excellent durability, structural integrity, and other desirable aesthetic and functional characteristics. Accordingly, it has become increasingly desirable to integrate insulation panels into a poured concrete wall during construction of the wall.

[0003] Conventional techniques of integrating insulation panels to a poured concrete wall during construction of the wall have generally involved locating and retaining insulation panels between wall forms, pouring concrete into a space defined between the wall forms, and removing the wall forms after the concrete has cured. Various systems and methods utilizing wall ties and retaining strips have been employed for holding the insulation panels in place during construction and for securing the insulation panel to or within the wall.

[0004] Insulation panels, such as plastic foam insulation panels, can be embedded within the wall, on the exterior side of the wall, or on the interior side of the wall. However, embedding the insulation panels within the concrete wall, i.e., between an interior concrete layer and an exterior concrete layer, can be difficult. Generally, a more complex retaining system is needed to hold the insulation panels in the proper position during pouring of the concrete layers of the wall, and care must be taken to balance forces on opposite sides of the insulation panels during pouring of the concrete to prevent rupturing of the insulation panels due to excessive differential hydrostatic pressure on the opposite sides of the insulation panels. A problem with positioning the insulation panels on the exterior side of the concrete wall is that termites can tunnel from a lower end of the insulation panel through to an upper end of the insulation panel unless the lower ends are capped with a material that is tough enough to resist termite penetration. It is also undesirable to expose the insulation panels on the exterior side of the concrete wall for aesthetic reasons. Accordingly, it is generally preferred to position the insulation panels on the interior side of a poured concrete wall.

[0005] Many systems and methods for securing insulation panels to the interior side of a poured concrete wall during construction of the wall require fabrication of a framework adjacent the insulation panels in order to facilitate installation of cabinets, drywall or other interior wall coverings. The remaining systems and methods for securing insulation panels to the interior side of a poured concrete wall during construction of the wall provide only a relatively limited ability to mount objects over the insulation panels. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,917 B2 discloses a poured concrete wall system incorporating elongated retaining strips constructed of wood or plastic, or any other building material which would accommodate screws, nails or other fasteners, so that the retaining strips may function as a device for attaching drywall or the like. However, the retaining strips are relatively insubstantial and are not capable of supporting relatively heavy objects, such as wall-mounted cabinets, bookcases or the like. Further, the retaining strips are relatively narrow, and are spaced apart both vertically and horizontally. As a result, great care and effort must be expended to insure that nails, screws or other fasteners are properly located to penetrate the relatively narrow retainer strips when mounting drywall or the like to the insulated wall.

[0006] Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an insulation panel for a poured concrete wall, and a method of constructing a poured concrete wall to which the insulation panel is secured, that eliminates the need for constructing a framework to facilitate installation of drywall or the like, and which allows drywall, cabinets and the like to be easily fastened to an insulated poured concrete wall without regard to fastener position relative to the insulation panels. It would also be desirable to provide an insulation panel for a poured concrete wall, and a method of constructing an insulated poured concrete wall that utilizes a sturdier construction that allows relatively heavy objects to be fastened directly to the insulated wall without requiring construction of a framework adjacent the wall, and without regard to the position of the fasteners relative to the insulation panels.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The invention provides an insulation panel for a poured concrete wall, a method of constructing an insulated concrete wall, and the resulting insulated poured concrete wall, which overcome the above-noted problems with conventional insulation panels, and systems and methods for constructing a poured concrete wall. In particular, the invention provides a pre-finished concrete wall that is ready for drywall installation and/or direct mounting of heavy objects such as cabinets and the like. Further, the invention eliminates the need for framing, such as with lumber, prior to installation of drywall, cabinets and the like. Another important advantage is that the invention allows drywall, cabinets and the like to be mounted directly to an insulation panel without any concern relating to the position of fasteners relative to the insulation panel, i.e., fastener locations can be based on the most desirable location with respect to the drywall, cabinet or other object being mounted to the wall, substantially without regard to the features of the underlying insulation panels.

[0008] In an aspect of the invention, an insulation panel for a poured concrete wall includes a rigid structural substrate sheet having opposite sides, a sheet of insulation material having opposite sides, a first side of the sheet of insulation material secured to a first side of the substrate sheet in substantially overlapping relationship; and a plurality of anchor members projecting from a second side of the sheet of insulation material, the anchor members being configured to be securely anchored in a poured concrete wall.

[0009] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, insulated poured concrete wall is constructed by a method including steps of arranging wall forms in spaced relationship to form opposing wall surfaces defining a cavity; arranging insulation panels adjacent one of the opposing wall surfaces, each of the insulation panels comprising a rigid structural substrate sheet having opposite sides, a sheet of insulation material having opposite sides, a first side of the sheet of insulation material secured to a first side of the substrate sheet in substantially overlapping relationship, and a plurality of anchor members projecting from a second side of the sheet of insulation material, the anchor members being configured to be securely anchored in a poured concrete wall; pouring concrete into the cavity, whereby each of the projecting anchor members is surrounded by the poured concrete; and allowing the concrete to cure, whereby the projecting anchor members are embedded within the concrete.

[0010] In another aspect of the invention, an insulated poured concrete wall comprises a concrete wall layer having opposing wall surfaces; and a plurality of insulation panels arranged adjacent at least one of the opposing wall surfaces, each of the insulation panels including a rigid structural substrate sheet having opposing sides, a sheet of insulation material having opposite sides, a first side of the sheet of insulation material secured to a first side of the substrate sheet in substantially overlapping relationship, and a plurality of anchor members projecting from a second side of the sheet of insulation material, wherein the anchor members are configured so that they are securely anchored in the concrete wall layer.

[0011] These and other features, advantages and objects of the present invention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following specification, claims and appended drawings.