Building block

Claim 1

A structural member adapted to be stood upright, side by side, with adjacent identical members on a floor or slab for use in the construction of walls having smooth surfaces on each face and comprising: a base portion of rectangular cross-section in plan and having a predetermined width dimension and a predetermined thickness dimension corresponding to the thickness of the said wall or the like and defining smooth, planar inner and outer sides spaced apart by said predetermined thickness dimension, and left and right hand sides spaced apart by said predetermined width dimension said width dimension being the same across the thickness of said base portion; an inner panel portion formed integrally with said base and extending upwardly therefrom and having a thickness less than said base portion, said inner panel portion defining an inner side and left and right hand sides said inner side of said panel together with said inner side of said base forming the inner surface of said wall and said left and right hand sides forming continuous co-planar extensions of said base left and right hand sides and being spaced apart by the same said predetermined width dimension throughout the full thickness of said inner panel portion, said sides being adapted to abut closely with corresponding sides of adjacent said members when arranged as aforesaid, throughout their full height from said base to the top of said panel portion thereby to establish a smooth uninterrupted inner face for said wall when assembled as aforesaid, constituted by the inner sides of respective said inner panel portions and base portions; an outer panel portion formed integrally with said base and extending upwardly therefrom and having a thickness less than said base, said outer panel portion defining an outer side and left and right hand sides, said outer side of said panel together with said outer side of said base forming the outer surface of said wall, and said left and right hand sides forming continuous co-planar extensions of said base left and right hand sides being spaced apart by the same said predetermined width dimension, throughout the full thickness of said outer panel portion said sides being adapted to abut closely with corresponding sides of adjacent said members when arranged as aforesaid, throughout their full height from said base to the top of said panel portion, thereby to establish a smooth uninterupted outer face foR said wall when assembled as aforesaid, constituted by the outer sides of respective said outer panel portions and base portions; and said inner side of said inner panel portion and said outer side of said outer panel portion tapering in towards one another from the base to the top thereof, and said inner and outer panel portions defining between them a predetermined spacing forming a deep narrow channel, closed at its lower end by said base and open at its upper end said channel being continuous along the length of said wall for reception of a suitable filler material therein; and a stand member formed integrally with said base and located in the centre of the underside thereof, having cross-sectional dimensions in the direction both of the width and thickness of said base, which are less than the width and thickness of said base, and having a flat undersurface whereby the same can function as a stand permitting the structural member to stand erect and supporting the weight of said structural member on said floor slab, and at the same time defining a space all around said stand member between said base and a floor slab for insertion of mortar or the like between said floor slab and said base.