Building Components and Types - Assignment Example

Part 1 - Building Components and types Identify and discuss the members of a typical building team and their respective roles. Describe the design process from start to finish and the main principle requirements of a project. The Building Team Building is a team work process where each member has a vital role to play. The following 12 are important members of a building team. Building owner – This is the client and is the organization or person who take care of the financial needs of the project and commissions the project. The building owner will employ all the other people involved in the project either directly or indirectly. Architect – The building owner will choose the preferred architect whose responsibility will be designing of the building and give advice where necessary so as to ensure that the building is according to the design and that the entire project is kept within cost. Consulting engineers – This are involved in the project so as to give advise and offer design services on specialised installations like fire, structural, security and services. Principal or main contractor – They are expected to administer the construction work under the direction of the architect either through competitive tendering or by nomination. Contract’s manager or site agent – He is usually present in large project he acts as site representative of the main contractor and he is charged with the responsibility of making sure that that there is efficiency and effectiveness at work. Surveyor – He is employed by the main contractor is charged with the responsibility of assisting the quantity surveyor in preparing interim valuations for final accounts and stage payments. Estimator – Prepares unit rates for the pricing of tenders, and carries out pre-tender investigations into the cost aspects of the proposed contract Buyer – The buyer has the responsibility of ordering for materials and obtaining quotations for the supply of materials and services. Accountant – The accountant has the responsibility or preparing and submitting accounts to clients and making payments to suppliers and subcontractors. Administrator – Is charged with the responsibility of organizing the various clerical duties in the contractors office including preparing of contract documents, salary payment, suppliers’ and subcontractors’ invoices, insurances and all other necessary correspondence. Assistant contract manager – This post is usually occupied by trainee who is yet to complete professional exams and has the responsibility of assisting in administering site proceedings. Nominated subcontractor – He is contracted for specialized construction and may be engaged by ether the architect or the client. Step 1: Defining Your Wish list and Dreams The first step of a design is the definition of dreams or wishes. This involves analysis of the needs , listing the requirements such as style, number of storey, room sizes and other important conditions. After the listing of wishes a priority list will be made. The list is taken for review by the architect so as to ascertain that everything is feasible. Step 2: Initial Space Design The second step is where dreams are put into feasible space design where it is confirmed if everything can fit the property space. Environmental condition including climate, terrain and orientation is likely to have effect on room positioning. It is important to the circulation through the space. Step 3: Creating Real Floor Plans After the arrangement of the floor space requirement, the development of floor plan elevation can begin. At the start the plan elevation may not have many details. Step 4: Construction Plans Development There is addition of more details in the construction plans including electrical outlets, plumbing, HVAC, ceiling and heights of walls and all other design elements are sorted out. The budget will also be made at this stage. Step 5: this involve the approval of the budget Step 6: Selection of Design Elements. At this stage the specific materials are chosen including the flooring options, paint colours, fixtures and all other touches. Foundations Identify the most common types of shallow and deep foundations in use. What is the nature of the most common type of foundation failure? What measures are taken to prevent its occurrence? Draw the common alternative shallow foundations and describe the circumstances in which each is appropriate. Draw the common alternative deep foundations and describe the circumstances in which each is appropriate. Type of foundations The two broad classifications of foundations are shallow and deep foundation. The division is not made only on the basis of level of the subsurface horizon or the bearing strata, but also has something to do with the supporting mechanism used so as to achieve the bearing. Slab-on-grade, ribbon and pad are examples of shallow foundations which find application in small buildings, in situations where there is broad distribution loads and in buildings whose location is on soils with strong bearing capacities. Pad foundation: This consist of isolated columns that does not support loads or large magnitude on a pad (Fig.1). The pad size is based on the quantity of applied load in comparison to the bearing capacity of the soil on which it is resting. Fig. 1 Pad foundation Strip and ribbon foundations Strip foundations find application where there is a very shallow bedrock making it possible for the stem wall to be in direct contact with the bedrock where the footer which is a very narrow strip acts as the interface between the bedrock and the stem wall (Fig. 2). Fig 2: Strip foundation Ribbon foundation is another type of shallow foundation and it finds application in situation where a ribbon or a wide strip footing is necessary where the bedrock is deep. The principle at work is that when the load is high and the soil weak this will translate to a wider ribbon being required. Fig. 3 Ribbon foundation Source: class notes (foundations Deep foundations. When dealing with soils which expand or compressible deep foundations will be required. Deep foundations find application in large building with concentrated loads. Pile and pier foundations are the most common deep foundations. When the bedrock is very deep it is recommended to use strike friction piles instead of using bearing loads. Fig. 4 Pile foundation Piers involve drilling or excavation while piles are driven usually driven into the ground. Both the piles and piers may completely be passing through the overburden into a socket in the bedrock. Sometimes the shaft inherent shear friction may be supplemented by having a base with a bell shape. Fig. 5 Pier foundation Ventilation With regards to the appropriate approved document discuss the purpose of ventilation and the different types of ventilation. Building Regulations: Approved Document F – Gives the details of ventilation requirements with F1addressing issues of ventilation means where it is required that dwellings be constructed in away so as to make it possible for occupants to benefit from sufficient ventilation. F2 discusses condensation in roofs where it is a requirement that roof voids to be protected so as to ensure that timber does not rot because of excessive rotting. Part 2 – Loads and Forces on Buildings Discuss the different types of loads and forces which act on a building throughout its life cycle. Describe compression and tension; give examples of where these can be found acting on structures. Loads exerted on a building are classified broadly as live loads, dead loads and superimposed. Dead loads are characterized by being constant and are attributed to the weight of the building structure itself while live loads can be moved and therefore may fluctuate. Super-imposed loads are as a result of forces that are exerted onto the building due to the prevailing climatic conditions. Describe compression and tension and give examples of where these can be found in structures. Components in buildings like pillars are under compression while the regions below the axis in beams will be in tension. Part 3- Failure Modes Briefly discuss the main aspects of behaviour of plastics, steel, concrete and wood in fire conditions. Plastics and timber Plastics will start softening, contracting and then melting when exposed to temperatures of 100 degrees and above. When the temperatures are high there will be formation of gaseous combustible products as the molten material decomposes. The gases can be ignited by a flame or spark depending of the level of temperature, time duration of exposure to heat and air flow in the material vicinity. Timber will turn brown from the temperature of 120 to 150 C at from the temperature of 200 to 250 C it will turn to black while there will be emission of combustible vapours at temperatures of 400 to 450 C. above the temperature of 400 there will be ignition of the surface of the timber and the timber will char at a steady rate. Steel and concrete When steel is exposed to fire its strength will decrease as well as its ability to withstand deformation. There is change to other properties when steel is exposed to fire for a prolonged period of exposure. Concrete will also be affected when exposed to fire and there will be lose in its strength and stiffness as the temperature. There can also be spalling in concrete which results in a loss of concrete materials. Identify and discuss the different types of failure modes that can occur within structures. Part 5 - Failure modes Identify and discuss the different types of failure modes that can occur within structures. What is the function of failure mode and effect analysis? Buckling In buckling there will be a sudden failure of a structural member that which is under intense compressive stresses but the actual compressive stress at the point of failure is usually well below the ultimate compressive stresses which the material can withstand. Failure due to elastic instability is the other description given to this mode of failure. Creep Creep involves solid materials deforming permanently due to the influence of stresses. Its occurrence is due to exposing a member to stresses that are below yield strength for a considerably long period. Fatigue Fatigue is described as being a progressive and localized structural damage that will occur when there is subjection of materials to cyclic loading. The maximum stress have values which are less than the ultimate tensile stress limit which may also be lower than yield stress limit of the material. Brittle Fracture In brittle fracture, no apparent plastic deformation takes place before fracture. In brittle crystalline materials, fracture can occur by cleavageas the result of tensile stress acting normal to crystallographic planes with low bonding (cleavage planes). In amorphous solids, by contrast, the lack of a crystalline structure results in a concordat fracture, with cracks proceeding normal to the applied tension. Impact In mechanics, an impact is a high force or shock applied over a short time period when two or more bodies collide. Such a force or acceleration usually has a greater effect than a lower force applied over a proportionally longer time period of time. The effect depends critically on the relative velocity of the bodies to one another. What is the function of failure mode and effect analysis? This is a procedure involving product development, engineering systems and operations management and involves analysis of inherent failure modes within the system so as to make classification on basis likelihood of the failure occurring. Discuss the signs of collapse and collapse hazards of different types of construction. Some of the signs for collapse of a building are include structural members fire loads, existence of cracks and bulges in walls and unusual noise from the building There are different types of collapse hazards. These include weakened columns, walls, and beams which does not have the ability to support the structure. Freestanding walls and loose chimneys may easily fall due to lack of support or wind load. Overhead hazards include loose debris, sections of concrete that could be hanging precariously on reinforcing bars. Part 4– Legislation Discuss the importance of the Building Regulations, identifying the different Approved documents and highlight the main points of guidance given in each. Part 4 – Legislation What are the Building Regulations? What are the requirements of the Building Regulations? Discuss why buildings should comply with the Building Regulations. What do the Building Regulations cover? What building and building works are exempt from the Building Regulations? The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994 Gives a clear direction on the responsibility of the designer, the builder and the client regarding the health and safety on the people involved in site work during the entire period of project. It is the responsibility of the client to appoint the project coordinator who is usually an architect by profession and the principal contractor (main contractor) and to ensure that the have all the necessary resources, are competent and are highly informed in issues relating to development. For the building to be safe for occupation it is necessary for it to comply with the building regulations. The regulations are important in ensuring that environmental concerns are addressed. REFERENCES Akintunde E.O., 2008 Engineering Properties of Locally Manufactured Burnt Brick Pavers forAgrarian and Rural Earth Roads. American Journal of Applied Sciences 5 (10): 1348-1351, 2008 Available at: http://www.scipub.org/fulltext/ajas/ajas5101348-1351.pdf Accessed 1, May 2012 Consultation paper (2009) Removal of restrictions on the self-certification of the installation of combustion appliances: Helmenstine, A. M., 2010. Portland cement. Cement and Concrete Basics Available at: http://www.cement.org/basics/concretebasics_aggregate.asp Accessed 1, May 2012 Planning, building and the environment: Building Regulations Available at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/planningandbuilding/buildingregulations/ Accessed 1, May 2012 Read More