NAME: CHARLES BANDA

SIN: 1412355438

COURSE: BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING SERVICES

PROGRAM: BED – DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

QUESTION : DISCUSS THE SETTING OUT OF A BUILDING; THE TYPES OF FOUNDATIONS, FINISHES AND FITTINGS.

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etting out of a building is a fairly quick exercise in the scale of

things, but obviously it has to be done with great care. A few of

the things that will be mentioned below must be taken seriously,

mistakes made in the setting out can come Back to haunt the

builder.

First checks, before starting

Relevant permits to build should be obtained before work

starts

You should have an accurate block plan, with the lengths

and angles of all the boundaries marked on it. Use it to

check every fence line.

A qualified surveyor should do the levelling ground work

Preliminary site works.

Tidy up the site, remove all trees that are in the way. We all love

trees on our blocks, but saving some that are just too close to the

new building, would be an absolute pain to work around with

scaffolds etc. and they usually have to go in the end anyway.

On the drawing there is always one point and one line, or two

reference lines that cross one another, given to start the set out.

Go around with a few steel pegs and push them in near enough

at the corners of the proposed slab, then mark out roughly the

area of the building.

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first layout

1. Go around again and put in pegs for the corners more

accurately this time.

2. At this stage your pegs can be short wooden things that

you can tap a nail into, steel rods, even screwdrivers or

just besser blocks placed on the ground.

3. As you do this do good checks with for building square.

4. At this stage, if the job is small and you are getting

machinery in for excavation work, you may put string

lines between the pegs, and mark out the lines of

trenches, or pier holes with lime.

5. You could then get the excavation work done first, before

going on to the next stage.

Profiles, batter boards or hurdles.

Setting out - A plan of a concrete slab showing the

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profile positions.

Profiles consist of pegs, stakes or pickets, driven into the ground, with

cross piece of timber attached to them.

Like formwork they are only temporary and as such they don't

always look too neat, made up of all sorts of odds and ends and

yet they have to contain quite a lot of information, even on a

simple house extension.

Setting out - A 3D view showing the use of profiles on the above slab.

They are used to transform the original pegs in the ground to

something that is a semi-permanent but accurate reference of the

important sizes, measurements and offsets etc for a particular

stage of a job. In the case above, when the concrete slab is

poured the profiles can then be removed, because further

measurements can be made from the actual concrete.

For the slab drawn, you may have marked on the profiles, before

the excavator starts work: -

1. The position of all the foundations, for external and

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internal walls.

2. The wall positions to let the plumber accurately to

position his sewerage pipes and floor wastes. To let the

concreter place wall starter bars in the slab or column HD

bolts.

3. Possibly underground power supply and entry point.

Quite often a profile may consist of a board nailed to an

existing boundary fence. There is no absolute rule, just

something that can be marked out, take a nail or a screw and is

fairly robust so it cannot get moved out of position easily.

Setting out - A hurdle or profile used for setting out.

In most cases the guy on the job, say the plumber setting a floor

waste or the carpenter fixing the perimeter formwork, will use a

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spirit level to plumb down from the string line to his job.

Many times, in sloping ground or when working in an

excavation where it is hard to use a level, then the plumb bob

can be very effective. I have used it in basement type situations

where I simply hang the plumb line off the profile lines. I use a

tie wire hook through a slip knotted loop to adjust the length of

the plumb line.

A lot more convenient than straight edges and spirit levels.

Getting it square.

In the opening paragraph It was mentioned that mistakes in

setting out can come back to haunt you. One of the classic

mistakes is getting the floor plan out of square. It has

repercussions for the roofer, but worse still is when you have the

floor tiler in towards the end of the job and you can't escape the

fact that the width of the tiles varies from one end of a wall to

the other. Far easier to get it right in the setting out, right in

the concrete and right when laying out the internal walls.

We mainly work with rectangles in building work. A rectangle

has the following attributes which help us in setting out building

work.

1. Each of the four angles is 90 degrees, or square as we

call it.

Great, this means that if we have a base line side set up,

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and then get a second line set up off it at the right spot, at

90 degrees to the first we have two of our side done.

2. The opposite sides are parallel, that is, they are the

same distance apart.

That is it! Measure the correct length from one end of the

first side and the same length from the other end and we

have our third side fixed. Do the same again and we have

our fourth side. That could be it - finished.

3. The diagonals are equal lengths. That is the length

from one set of opposite corners is the same or equal to

the length from the other set. This means that if we have

got a touch out with either of the first two steps (as you

do:-), we have an excellent way of checking our set out

Diagonal measures work well when they are at a reasonable

angle. When the rectangle is long and narrow then the angle is

flatter this way is a less reliable way of checking.

Setting out - Using a 3,4,5

triangle

Look at the sketch here. Let's say it is a plan of a house slab that

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you have to form up.

You should first have an idea of which will be the most

important side that the rest are made square and parallel to it.

Split it into rectangles and check the diagonals for equal. The

dotted red lines.

Also on this plan I have incorporated a right angle triangle

known to builder's the world over as a three four five triangle.

In our setting out of the rectangles in the sketch you can clearly

see that each rectangle could be also seen as two triangles.

One a similar vein, sometimes when you have to get machinery

into a job, rather than just pull out the profiles that are in his

way, first set up some offset or recovery profiles. Say you set the

recovery profile 6M away from the real one, then it is a case of a

simple 6M measurement offset to get back to the original set out,

and reinstate the original profiles, rather than starting from

scratch again, squaring etc.

TYPES OF FOUNDATIONS

The common types of foundations in buildings are divided into

two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations. The

words shallow and deep refer to the depth of soil in which the

foundation is made. Shallow foundations can be made in depths

of as little as 3ft (1m), while deep foundations can be made at

depths of 60 - 200ft (20 - 65m). Shallow foundations are used

for small, light buildings, while deep ones are for large, heavy

buildings.

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SHALLOW FOUNDATIONS

Shallow foundations are also called spread footings or open

footings. The 'open' refers to the fact that the foundations are

made by first excavating all the earth till the bottom of the

footing, and then constructing the footing. During the early

stages of work, the entire footing is visible to the eye, and is

therefore called an open foundation. The idea is that each footing

takes the concentrated load of the column and spreads it out over

a large area, so that the actual weight on the soil does not exceed

the safe bearing capacity of the soil.

There are several kinds of shallow footings: individual footings,

strip footings and raft foundations.

In cold climates, shallow foundations must be protected from

freezing. This is because water in the soil around the foundation

can freeze and expand, thereby damaging the foundation. These

foundations should be built below the frost line, which is the

level in the ground above which freezing occurs. If they cannot

be built below the frost line, they should be protected by

insulation: normally a little heat from the building will permeate

into the soil and prevent freezing.

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INDIVIDUAL FOOTINGS

.

Individual footings awaiting concreting of the footing column.

Individual footings are one of the most simple and common

types of foundations. These are used when the load of the

building is carried by columns. Usually, each column will have

its own footing. The footing is just a square or rectangular pad of

concrete on which the column sits. To get a very rough idea of

the size of the footing, the engineer will take the total load on the

column and divide it by the safe bearing capacity (SBC) of the

soil. For example, if a column has a vertical load of 10T, and the

SBC of the soil is 10T/m2, then the area of the footing will be

1m2. In practice, the designer will look at many other factors

before preparing a construction design for the footing.

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Individual footings connected by a plinth beam. Note that the

footings have been cast on top of beds of plain cement concrete

(PCC), which has been done to create a level, firm base for the

footing.

Individual footings are usually connected by a plinth beam, a

horizontal beam that is built at ground or below ground level.

STRIP FOOTINGS

Strip footings are commonly found in load-bearing masonry

construction, and act as a long strip that supports the weight of

an entire wall. These are used where the building loads are

carried by entire walls rather than isolated columns, such as in

older buildings made of masonry.

FOOTINGS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS: STEPPED

FOOTINGS.

When the existing ground is sloping and a wall is to be founded

over it, it becomes highly uneconomical to provide the base of

the footing at the same level all along the length of the wall. In

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such a circumstance, stepped foundation, such as the one shown

in Fig. 3.34 may be provided. The foundation trench is

excavated in steps.

The height of steps should preferably be not more than the depth

of the concrete block and each step should be a multiple of the

thickness of brick or stone course. The overlap between toll

layers of foundation concrete should be less than the vertical

thickness of concrete.

Another problem of footing at two different levels is illustrated

in Fig. 3.35 where a wall footing at the ground floot adjoining a

basement wall. It is common practice to lower the ground floor

footings in gradual steps, down to the basement footing as

shown.

By doing so, the natural state of the subsoil is considered

unaltered.

Painting new plaster

1. The steps to follow

2. If it goes wrong

Plaster can fill cracks and smooth surfaces, but it isn’t nice to

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look at. Follow these steps to paint your plaster.

Things you will need

A dust sheet

Water-based paint and water

(or) Oil-based paint (including bathroom or kitchen paint) and

PVA adhesive

A bucket

A paint stirrer

Paint brushes or rollers

Paint trays

The steps to follow

First, you have to make sure the plaster is dry. When the plaster

has turned from bright pink to a very soft pink and is uniform in

colour, the wall is totally dry. It can take anywhere from three

weeks in a heated room to several months if the wall has been

fully plastered, with two or three coats of plaster. Usually, it

takes about six weeks.

To paint a dry plaster wall

1. Clean all dust and debris off the plaster, and lay down

dust sheets to protect the floor

2. The porousness of the wall means you have to seal the

surface first. Create a sealant by combining four parts

water-based paint with water, or by mixing four parts of

an oil-based emulsion with a PVA adhesive. If you are

painting a bathroom or a kitchen, use an oil-based paint

or one specially formulated for bathrooms or kitchens.

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Don’t be tempted to skip this step. Plaster is so porous

that it will suck the moisture out of your paint, causing

the paint to dry out and flake off

3. Mix the liquid thoroughly.

4. Paint this mixture on the walls as you would normally

paint a wall. This thinned paint will fill in the pores in the

wall, and if you listen closely, you can sometimes hear

the wall sucking up the liquid.

5. You can apply another coat when the first is dry if you

want, but it is rarely necessary.

6. If you want to paint the plaster before it has fully dried,

use a microporous paint, which is designed to have tiny

pores that allow the plaster to dry properly. Though this

paint will cover the look of the plaster, it is usually

recommended that you coat the microporous paint with

regular emulsion once the plaster has fully dried.

7. Paint the wall as usual.

If it goes wrong

The most common problem with this type of project is painting

before the plaster is completely dry, and this can be a costly

mistake. The paint forms a skin over the plaster, which means

the moisture can’t evaporate properly. The moisture will retreat

back into the wall, which results in one of two outcomes: it

either develops mould or it reacts with the salts in the wall to

form efflorescence.

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Getting rid of mould in walls usually involves tearing out

sections of the wall which are mouldy, letting the wall dry out

and then repairing the wall – which will inevitably require you to

paint over plaster again.

Efflorescence occurs when the salts in the wall dissolve in water

and then, as the water evaporates, forms a deposit on the wall. It

discolours the paint on a painted surface, and it can’t be painted

over, as it prevents the paint from sticking to the wall. Luckily,

efflorescence can usually be brushed off, but unluckily, you will

have to wait to make sure the wall is completely dried out and

any subsequent efflorescence has been removed before

attempting to paint again.

RAFT OR MAT FOUNDATIONS

Raft Foundations, also called Mat Foundations, are most often

used when basements are to be constructed. In a raft, the entire

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basement floor slab acts as the foundation; the weight of the

building is spread evenly over the entire footprint of the

building. It is called a raft because the building is like a vessel

that 'floats' in a sea of soil.

Mat Foundations are used where the soil is week, and therefore

building loads have to be spread over a large area, or where

columns are closely spaced, which means that if individual

footings were used, they would touch each other.

DEEP FOUNDATION

PILE FOUNDATIONS

A pile is basically a long cylinder of a strong material such as

concrete that is pushed into the ground so that structures can be

supported on top of it.

Pile foundations are used in the following situations:

1. When there is a layer of weak soil at the surface. This

layer cannot support the weight of the building, so the loads of

the building have to bypass this layer and be transferred to the

layer of stronger soil or rock that is below the weak layer.

2. When a building has very heavy, concentrated loads,

such as in a high rise structure.Pile foundations are capable of

taking higher loads than spread footings.There are two types of

pile foundations, each of which works in its own way.

End Bearing Piles

In end bearing piles, the bottom end of the pile rests on a layer of

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especially strong soil or rock. The load of the building is

transferred through the pile onto the strong layer. In a sense, this

pile acts like a column. The key principle is that the bottom end

rests on the surface which is the intersection of a weak and

strong layer. The load therefore bypasses the weak layer and is

safely transferred to the strong layer.

Friction Piles

Friction piles work on a different principle. The pile transfers the

load of the building to the soil across the full height of the pile,

by friction. In other words, the entire surface of the pile, which is

cylindrical in shape, works to transfer the forces to the soil.

To visualize how this works, imagine you are pushing a solid

metal rod of say 4mm diameter into a tub of frozen ice cream.

Once you have pushed it in, it is strong enough to support some

load. The greater the embedment depth in the ice cream, the

more load it can support. This is very similar to how a friction

pile works. In a friction pile, the amount of load a pile can

support is directly proportionate to its length.

Another component of building construction is fittings. Fittings

are the finishing last minute additions to a building, some may

be for decorative purposes and some for security purposes.

These may range from plumbing to doors and windows.

Double hung –The window consists of two sashes that move up

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and down. Only half of the window can be open at one time.

1. Casement – Another common window, casement

windows are hinged vertically to swing in and out like a

door and operated with a crank.

2. Awning – Awning windows are similar to casement

windows but are hinged horizontally.

3. Jalousie – Jalousie windows are horizontally placed

narrow strips of glass, lowered by crank. Out of favor

today, they were very popular in the mid-century.

4. Sliding – Sliding windows move on top and bottom

tracks. They are very common and can be inexpensive.

5. Paladian– A paladian window consists of group of three

windows with an arch over the center. These windows

have become very popular in the last decade. They

provide visual interest and drama to a home.

6. Picture – Picture windows are especially popular in

ranch-style homes. They are large fixed windows flanked

b y 2 casements or double-hung windows.

1. Clerestory – Clerestory windows were especially

popular in Craftsman homes. They consist of a strip of

small horizontal panes set high on a wall.

2. Elliptical or Arched – Elliptical or arched windows

often placed above double hung or fixed windows in

today’s new homes.

The right windows can make the world of difference to the look

of your home. You are now equipped to talk with your local

home improvement store in the language of windows.

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Types of doors

SecurityDoors

From the humble hinged door to the modern stackers, choosing

the right type of door will affect how your home looks, feels and

operates. Doors are the gateways not just into your house but all

the individual rooms as well and getting the choice right can

have a dramatic effect on the aesthetics of your environment.

Learn what’s possible with the space you have available and let

your imagination get involved to come up with a creative door

solution that not only looks great but is practical too.

Hinged doors

When you think of a door, the basic hinged door is almost

certainly the type that comes to mind. Find out how they work,

what options are available and where they are and aren't suitable.

Bi-fold doors

By offering a small concertina-like effect, bi-fold doors allow

both excellent, careful use of available space, and the means

with which to create a large entry into a space.

.French doors

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Popular for their ability to 'open up' a space and create a big

entry or exit, French doors vary significantly both in their size,

and in the materials they're constructed from.

Dutch doors or stable doors

Dutch doors are a convenient solution in a number of different

scenarios - for controlling pets or small children, for instance, or

for providing a serving area in a kitchen.

Stacker doors

Stacker doors allow massive openings in homes, letting you

effectively open up an entire wall onto either a different part of

the house, or onto a yard area.

Sliding doors

Sliding doors make excellent use of space, and allow

significantly larger entryways than conventional hinged doors.

'Pocketed' sliding doors even allow you to conceal doors inside

wall cavities.

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Tilt doors

Hinged tilt doors are commonly used for garages and sheds, and

offer a simple and cost-effective way to create a large, accessible

opening.

Roller doors

Roller doors, like tilt doors, are used almost exclusively as

garage doors. Because of the way they operate, roller doors

generally take up less space than tilt doors, and are often

automated.

Security screen doors

Security screen doors offer both a way to add an extra layer of

security to the front door of your house, and to provide extra

ventilation and sunlight when it's needed.

Concrete Flooring - Interior Floor Finish Options

Finish options for concrete floors:

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Garage floor coatings

For many homeowners and designers, the chief advantage of

concrete floors is the tremendous design versatility they offer.

Not only can concrete floors be colored or stained to match any

hue, you can opt for finishes that resemble tile, slate, or marble.

You can also enhance concrete floors with decorative stenciled

borders, medallions and other custom graphics. No other

flooring material gives you this unlimited array of design options

and opportunities to create custom one-of-a-kind looks.

In additional to the more traditional decorative finishes for

concrete floors, advances in materials and finishing techniques

have resulted in new cutting-edge looks. Two of the trendiest

finishes today are polishing and metallic epoxy coatings.

Concrete polishing results in a floor with a smooth, high-luster

finish that resembles polished stone, yet never requires waxing.

Metallic epoxies contain real metallic powders or special

reflective pigments to give concrete floors the look of copper,

silver, aged bronze, nickel, and other shimmery patinas. They are

especially popular in settings where a modern, upscale look is

desired.

Many floor finishes -- including staining, dyeing, polishing and

decorative coatings -- can be applied to existing concrete as well

as new concrete. This gives you the flexibility to expose concrete

floor slabs hidden by other floor coverings, such as carpet or

vinyl tile, or dress up bare concrete floors in basements and rec

rooms.

There are even special decorative coatings for garage floors that

not only help to protect the floor from grease, oil stains and tire

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marks, but also impart color and texture. These heavy-duty

epoxy-based systems are available in many color choices and

can be enhanced by decorative quartz or color chips.

In addition to their decorative merits, all concrete floor finishes

are easy to maintain when applied to properly prepared floor

surfaces. They can endure heavy foot traffic, they are stain and

moisture resistant, and they won’t harbor mold, mildew,

allergens, or dust mites.

Floor finish is a big part of how an entire room appears and can

make or break the look of your home's interior. Since different

materials require different maintenance, it's good to know what

type of process will keep your floor finish looking its very best.

Hardwood Floor Finish

Wood is at the top of the list when it comes to maintenance. A

hardwood floor finish is beautiful when properly maintained, but

it takes a fair amount of attention to do it right. Hardwood floor

care is highly dependent on how the floor is sealed; some

products will do more harm than good when applied to the

wrong surface.

Some hardwood floors have a wax seal. These floors should

never be wet mopped or even damp mopped. Scratches in a wax

hardwood floor finish can usually be lightly sanded, then re-

waxed and buffed. Stains can often be removed in a similar

fashion. Wax on a floor, like wax on a car, can be buffed to a

very attractive shine.

Many wood floors have a very tough, very attractive

polyurethane topcoat. These floors need to be vacuumed or

swept frequently to make sure that grit doesn't get embedded in

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the finish. A polyurethane topcoat can be mopped when

something particularly sticky falls on it, but it's never a good

idea to expose wood to excessive amounts of water. Though

high traffic areas might need to be refinished after a few years of

wear, this type of coating does a very good job of keeping a

shine for long periods of time. Wax should never be used on a

floor with a polyurethane finish.

Concrete or Stone Floor Finish

These much harder materials require very little care to look their

best. Once they are initially installed and polished, they are

usually waxed or sealed, then buffed to a high gloss. After that,

they generally retain their shine with no more than normal

sweeping or mopping. In commercial settings, where high traffic

is an issue, a concrete or stone floor might need to be refinished

with moderate regularity. In a residence, however, they are

nearly maintenance free aside from a periodic polish or wax.

Tile and Linoleum Finishes

Tile comes in a few different forms and, therefore, encompasses

a few different floor finishes. Ceramic tile can be flat or glossy

to begin with. Either way, if it is swept and mopped regularly,

the finish should hold up in much the same way as that of stone

or concrete. Special attention may need to be paid to the grout in

between the tiles, however. Grout, as long as it is cleaned often

and scoured periodically from the time it is installed, should be

able to maintain a satisfactory appearance.

Synthetic tile is quite low maintenance. It is sealed when it is

installed and shouldn't require more than weekly cleaning and

immediate cleaning of spills. Use a damp mop rather than a wet

one: Though synthetic tile is water resistant, it is susceptible to

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damage from pooling water.

Linoleum, a natural material, requires the same types of care that

hardwood does, though not quite as frequently. Make sure that it

is polished multiple times after it is installed or after it is

stripped, and you can truly have a floor that will maintain its

looks for up to (or even over) 40 years!

REFERENCES

Frederick, S. Merit et al. (2001) Building Design and Construction Handbook, Sixth Edition,

New York: McGraw Hill.

Vincent, M. Altamuro et al. (2005) Building Construction and Equipment.

Building Engineering Booklet (2012) Delft University of Technology, Lisborn, Portugal.

Philip Garrison (2005) Basic Structures for Engineersand Architects, Blckwell Publishing Ltd.

Oxford OX42DQ,UK.

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www.concretenetwork.com (electronic source)

www.buildersengineer.com (electronic source)

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