Railing Post Blockout Device for Concrete Slabs

This non-provisional patent application is based on provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/573,005 filed on Apr. 2, 2024.

The present invention relates to a blockout for poured concrete slabs and, more particularly, to a railing post blockout device that allows for precise positioning and adjustment of the height of a polystyrene foam blockout to allow for varying thicknesses of poured concrete slabs, wherein the polystyrene foam blockout provides a void in the formed concrete slab for future installation of a handrail post.

Elevated decks in building structures such as balconies, recreational decks and rooftop decks require safety rails or handrails near the edge to prevent accidental falling from the elevated deck. When pouring an elevated concrete deck, it is necessary to leave openings or voids for future installation of safety rail/handrail posts. Presently, polystyrene foam blockouts are used to create the void needed for installation of the posts. More particularly, an elevated slab, such as a building balcony, is formed of concrete using a plywood form or similar concrete slab forming system. To create the voids for handrails, polystyrene foam blockouts are positioned at the future location of the handrail posts and are typically held in place using duct tape. The concrete can then be poured in the form to form the slab and the polystyrene foam blockout is eventually removed to provide the void necessary for installation of the handrail posts.

Currently used blockout methods for poured concrete slabs, and particularly elevated concrete slabs, have several limitations and shortcomings. The present invention seeks to overcome the problems associated with currently used concrete slab blockout systems. For instance, in currently used systems, the polystyrene foam blockout is “floating” in the concrete and can easily be moved when pouring the concrete in the form. The present invention overcomes this by allowing the device of the present invention to be secured to the plywood deck or other concrete slab forming system.

In currently used rail post blockout systems, there is no way to keep the center of the blockout in a precise position. More particularly, the existing polystyrene foam blockout currently used in conventional systems is duct taped to the plywood deck form and, depending on where it is taped, the center of the blockout is always changing and there is no consistency in placement and positioning. The present invention overcomes this by providing a center point on a base member that is accurately and precisely positioned on the plywood deck or other forming system, and the device is nailed or otherwise fixedly attached to the underlying forming system at the exact location where the future handrail post will be installed.

Depending on the particular slab installation, such as a balcony, recreational deck, rooftop, the concrete deck may have a different slab thickness and different slope requirements. The currently used blockout systems provide for no adjustment in the slab thickness. The present invention overcomes this by providing for an adjustment in the height of the polystyrene foam blockout relative to the underlying plywood deck or other forming system, to thereby allow for varying slab thicknesses.

Currently used blockout systems are limited to only being utilized when the balcony handrails are within less than 8 inches of the edge of the balcony. The present invention can be installed anywhere on the deck and its support of the polystyrene foam blockout is all integrated within itself.

As previously noted, conventional blockout systems are purely free floating with no support or ability for adjustment. When pouring the concrete, the concrete can lift the polystyrene foam blockout and float it out of place. In other instances, a worker may accidentally bump the polystyrene foam blockout and move it out of place. The present invention overcomes these problems by allowing fixed and accurate positioning of the polystyrene foam blockout at the precise location where the future handrail post will be installed. The blockout device of the present invention is fixedly attached to the underlying slab forming deck and the polystyrene foam blockout is prevented from uplifting and/or floating when the concrete is poured.

The present invention is directed to a railing post blockout device for use when pouring a concrete slab that requires future installation of railing posts and handrails. The railing post blockout device includes a base member that has a center alignment indicator to allow for precise positioning of the base member on a concrete slab form. The base member further includes a central, axial opening in the top that has female threads. An elongated dowel has a lower end portion with male threads for cooperating threaded engagement within the female threaded opening to allow for attachment of the dowel to the base member. A washer with a central aperture is received on the dowel and supports the bottom of a polystyrene foam blockout on the device. More particularly, the blockout has a central axial bore for passage of the dowel therethrough, allowing the blockout to be fitted onto the dowel until the blockout is seated on the washer. A nut fastens to the top end of the dowel to secure the polystyrene foam blockout fixed to the base member and concrete form.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring to the several views of the drawings, and initially, the railing post blockout device of the present invention is shown and is generally indicated as 10. The railing post blockout deviceincludes a base member, an elongated dowelthat threadably attaches to the base member, a washerthat is received onto the dowel, a polystyrene foam blockoutthat is received on the dowel, and a female threaded nutthat secures to the top threaded endof the dowelto secure the polystyrene foam blockout at a fixed, adjusted position relative to the base memberand an underlying deck of a concrete slab forming system.

Referring to, the base memberincludes a dowel support structure that has an open top with a female threaded interior surfacefor threaded engagement with a bottom threaded endof the dowel. The base memberfurther includes feet memberswith channelsextending therethrough to allow for passage of a nail fastener through the channelsin order to fixedly secure the base memberto an underlying deck of the concrete slab forming system. A central aperturealigned with the central vertical axis of the open top of the support structure and the attached dowelallows for precise fixed positioning of the base memberon the underlying deck of the concrete slab forming system. As seen in, the dowelincludes a male threaded lower endfor threaded engagement with the female threads in the base member, to thereby allow attachment of the dowelto the base memberso that the dowel extends vertically upward from the base member(see). A top male threaded endof the dowelallows for threaded attachment of the nutseen in.

Referring to, the washerhas a central openingto allow for passage of the bottom portion of the dowelthrough the washer. The washeris sized and configured to rest horizontally on a top of the support structure of the base portion for seated support of the bottom of the polystyrene foam blockoutat a fixed position on the deviceand at a desired height above the underlying deck of the concrete slab forming system.

As seen in, the polystyrene foam blockoutincludes an axial boreextending therethrough from a bottom end to a top end. A concentric enlarged openingat the top end of the boreallows for seated positioning of the nuttherein.

Referring to, the concrete slab forming systemincludes an underlying deck. The railing post blockout deviceof the present invention is installed on the deck, as described above. More specifically, the base memberof each of the railing post blockout devicesis nailed to the deckat the precise position where a future railing post will be installed to the formed concrete slab.

The railing post blockout deviceof the present invention can be used in concrete slab thicknesses from 6 to 8 inches. However, it is contemplated to design the railing post blockout device to be made taller so that it can accommodate slab thicknesses between 9 inches and 12 inches in thickness.

In the one embodiment, as shown in, the polystyrene foam blockouthas a height of 4 inches and a diameter of approximately 4 inches. However, the specific shape and diameter of the polystyrene foam blockout is determined by the type and size railing that will be later installed to the concrete slab. It should be noted that the polystyrene foam blockout can be made any size or shape, as needed. For example,show a second embodiment of the railing post blockout deviceof the present invention wherein the polystyrene foam blockouthas a height of 5 inches and a diameter of approximately 6 inches. In this particular embodiment, as seen in, the base memberis made to be shorter in overall height, as compared to the base memberin the embodiment of. In particular, the centrally positioned dowel support structure is shorter so that the blockoutis seated closer to the underlying deck. Additionally, the bottom threaded endof the dowelis made to be shorter in length than the bottom threaded endof the dowelin the embodiment of. The bottom threaded endof the dowelthreadably engages with the interior threaded surfaceof the support structure on the base member. Similar to the base memberof, the base membershown inincludes feet memberswith channelsextending therethrough to allow for passage of a nail fastener through the channelsin order to fixedly secure the base memberto the underlying deck of the concrete slab forming system. The dowelincludes male threaded endthat is similar to the threaded endof the dowelin the embodiment of. Otherwise, the components and manner of assembly of the railing post blockout deviceare the same as with the embodiment of.

After pouring the concrete in the slab forming system, such as a plywood form, the base member(or) and dowel(or) remain within the concrete. More specifically, the base member,and dowel,are encompassed by the concrete material when the slab is poured. However, it may be desirable to remove the dowel,. The polystyrene foam blockout acts as a placeholder that is subsequently removed to create the void where the future railing post will be installed on the concrete slab.

Since many modifications, variations and changes in detail can be made to the described embodiments of the invention, it is intended that all matters in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.