Analysis of Family House Design - Essay Example

HOUSE DESIGN INTRODUCTION The essay analyses a one story Residential house which was built to provide comfort to a family of five during their time off the office duties. The design took the following into consideration: i) amount of money available; ii) The zoning rules in respect to the location of the building put in place by the local government; iii) The size of the family; iv) the preferred building material for the building construction; and v) the technological level as at that time. Therefore the building in consideration is a 3 bedroom house that has dining room, store, family room, lounge and kitchen. The building is built on a relatively stable ground and therefore it foundation was a shallow type of foundation. The foundation is concrete mixed poured on a steel reinforcement to an averagely thick slab. The wall was constructed from locally prepared bricks that were arranged in interlocking configuration. The second slap separate the ground floor from the first floor and is concrete reinforced. The roof is joined to the 300mm thick ring beam through metallic straps. Roof is made from iron sheets joined onto the wooden struts through iron sheet nails. The roof has provision left that could be used in the future to introduce tiles. The paper therefore look into the design considerations in coming up with up with the said building using the right material and incorporating the right technical knowledge. SECTION 1 These sections look into the foundation and the wall. It tries to analyze how the foundation might have been built in terms of the material used and the design concept followed. Foundation According to Shlash (2001) the design of the foundation takes into the consideration the amount of floors the building will have, the land alignment (topography) and the type of soil. The weight of the foundation is normally taken by the soil underneath where the load is spread. Therefore the total load is transmitted to the footing where it is spread and is expected to be carried by the land surface underneath. Therefore they must have had excavated the foundation to a point where the basement rock started to get the right bearing capacity so that the overall load doesn’t have a large displacement. Apart from the natural soil stability, they had to find the right building material for the foundation which could carry the large amount of load. They had to make sure the ring needs to be able to carry the required amount of load and must: Must have no shear failure Must experience no shear failure In this project the material used is concrete hence it must have the recommended thickness and strength to transfer the load top the bottom surface and the reinforcement must be properly placed to give the right construction stability and positioning (Shlash, 2001). The building is located on a soft surface of sandy soil hence explain its seeming deep and seemingly the foundation will be relatively expensive. This is because the foundation had to dag deep to undergo deeper excavation. Sandy soil areas normally have a low load carrying capacity, at the same time they settle excessively because they get wet and loose hence the use of retainer walls. In most cases sand had to be compacted to reduce the settlement problem that could arise due to constructed slab densities. Combination of compacting and deep foundation can help improve the overall load bearing capacity of the building. The settlement of sand is quite fast just as compared to other type of soil (Moore & Darragh, 1998).There are three types of load that had to be considered: i) dead load which is the weight of the static weight in the floor, walls and roof; ii) the live load which is also called the imposed load and is as a result of the furniture, the people considered movable: and iii) Wind loads which are neither dead or alive and may require more specification. Fig 1: Reinforcement steel alignment Source (https://www.google.co.ke/?gws_rd=ssl#safe=active&q=foundation+reinforcement+design) The engineering drawing was followed in putting up the twisted steel reinforcement similar to the above pictorial view. The steel reinforcement is placed at 200mm apart and have central reinforcement to make them keep in shape, retain width and thus produced the desired thickness and right stability. Wall The wall of the house was contracted from the local material bricks that are locally made from loam soil. The materials that were used on the wall were bricks, cement and sand. The bricks are made from mixing loam soil and water before compacting by either using machine or manually. The dimensions are determined by the size of producing component shape. Bricks are made from mixing and after they are manufactured through curing process. The wall is constructed along the external edge of the slab and provision was always left to accommodate the corners and partitioning points for the reinforcement. The arrangement of the wall was based on brick interlock to make the arrangement stronger and reduce chances of failure. The layer between the brick and the other is joined by a layer of a composite of cement and sand that is used to strengthen the joints. The walls have to be strong as they transfer the load to the foundation and carry the weight of the roof. The design considerations for the wall construction were: the weight of the roof The type of material used for wall construction. The temperature of the area it is located How tall the building will be after completion The weight of the roof The load bearing capacity of the material The joints have to have the same thickness as shown below and the interlocking helped the joint to be stronger. The ratio of the cement and sand must follow the right construction specification to give out the right standards expected. Fig 2: A picture of a brick wall Source (https://www.google.co.ke/?gws_rd=ssl#safe=active&q=design+consideration+for+brick+wall+drawings) They had to ensure the following human errors were avoided during the wall construction: : i) Ensure all the joints are filled; ii) make sure the bed joints are of the right thickness; iii) Achieve proper vertical alignment: iv) Ensure the wall is protected from adverse weather condition after laying; v) Leave the suction of the bricks without adjusting; and vi) poor, incorrect proportion of the mortar mixture (Hendry, Davies & Sinha, 2004). The foreman had to ensure that all the work was done according to BS 5628 and BS 5390. The wall design left provision for the standard door which is 900 mmx2100mm and the windows have a width of 1500mm and have its base begin from 800mm above the floor. The ring beams begin at 2100mm above the ground and are 300mm thick as required by standard and is reinforced with steel just like the foundation. Some windows are bigger than the required standards and that is common with the sitting room windows and doors which are larger in size. In some situations the thickness of the window and the door may varying and follow personal design specification. Concrete is then poured onto the space left after it is reinforced using form work. However the strength of the beam depends on the ratio of concrete mixture. SECTION 2 The electricity is supplied from the government main grid line stepped down to 60 mili-amphere. The source of the electricity is from the nearby hydro-electric power unit that is relatively reliable. Various factors have to be considered before distributing power in a house. For example i) the amount of money available; ii) the type of appliance in that it will supply; iii) the source of power; and iv) The size and location of rooms. The design of the electrical connections was be according to BS 7671 of the wire regulation and in line with the National House Building Council (NHBC). Therefore the power was distributed as follows: 1. Kitchen-it has utility source which are two in number and other 13A outlets hence a total of six outlets. 2. Utility-Any room with power connection for utilization must have at least three outlet sources. 3. Living room: The living room must have at least four outlets and should be near TV Arial 4. Bedroom: The main bedroom must have at least3 outlets while other smaller bedrooms can do with the two outputs. 5. Lighting-every room should have at least one lighting point. Fig 3: Power distribution in a building Source: The electrical connections should follow regulation:- 1. The sockets and wall switches plus other similar accessories were provided through a reasonable height that ranges between 450 to 1200mm from the floor level. 2. If a socket outlet is rated not exceeding 20A and is just located in the ordinary rooms then it must be given additional protection of 30mA RCD. 3. There should never be a 230V socket except when the position is indicated according to BS EN61558-2 and if it’s a shaver socket. 4. Any 230V socket outlet must be located at least 3m away from the boundaries of zone 1 and should be provided with the 30mA RCD protections (Jalali, 2014). SECTION 3 The house was built without factors such as environmental friendliness in mind and very many things can be done to improve it for example: 1. Introduction of Energy calculator: this will calculate how each gadget in the compound consumes energy. This will help you follow up on your expenditure on electrical energy and I that make it easy to improve on usage. 2. Introduction of Insulation: this is common in the cold area and they are very important and are important in reducing the expenditure of the energy. The energy that would have been used 3. Use of low wattage bulb: We need to save energy and used it with a lot of care and concern. By using the power saving bulbs everyday in every room, we 4. can save a lot of energy and leave a healthy life. 5. Use of motion detectors at the floor and the window so that the lighting in those rooms are taken into consideration. This will ensure that the bulbs are only on when they are required to go on hence make the move credit. 6. Upgrading on the appliance: The energy conservation technique show that as machines get older, their energy consumption rate increases. Therefore it is a bitter way of saving energy and cost cutting/reducing. 7. Alternative source of energy: Rather than the current overdependence on the hydro electricity, we can install solar energy that is a clean sole source of energy. 8. Low flow toilet mechanism: this can help in reduction of the quantity of water spent on unnecessary water pumps and pipe and reduce the water usage. 9. Installation of the skylight: This will ensure that we access free light that can also spread to other rooms that would have been in the dark can now access proper’s sales knowledge. 10. Buy furniture from recycled materials: This will help reduce deforestation in the name of making new furniture hence the world become a better place. 11. Use locally sourced building materials: use the materials that are available around your place just like bricks instead of using stones that are removed from quarry elsewhere and resulted to land degradation. 12. Used water based paints: These unlike oil based paints are made from natural pigment hence more energy efficient. 13. Buy eco-kettle: Most kettles consume excess energy in the form of electricity hence use of eco-kettle can help reduce the bills. 14. Fill the wall cavity with insulation: This save great deal of energy 15. install under floor heating: This can also be installed on old building efficiently SECTION 4 Conservation of fuel and a power are measure we take to make sure we stay away from unnecessary energy use. Several ways or method was adopted in our building structures to help as achieve that. For example we can improve this building through: 1. We can renovate the thermal layer through cladding or introducing a dry lining in the internal surface of the wall or the floor. An alternative is replacing or introducing a water proof membrane on the roof. 2. Introduction of a double layer insulation between the roof rafters 3. Insulation or creation of a double wall with insulation in the middle. 4. replacing the windows and the doors to bring in a more thermal insulations 5. that the building is design according to the right standards 6. There is proper fire and safety standards 7. there is proper ventilation 8. No toxic materials used as a material for building 9. The site is free from contaminants and moisture. 10. We are protected from the menace. 11. there is proper drainage and standard waste disposal procedure 12. That there is proper sanitation facilities and water is efficiently used. SECTION 5 Building is a wonderful process that has its challenges and difficulties and can change lives in different ways. The first time we do it, can be a learning step in our life’s and if we have to improve or refurbish the building, we can correct the few mistakes we did before especially in the less talked about safety concerns. Therefore to meet the safety concerns during a period of extension of a house, I would do the following to meet the safety concerns: 1. Hire experienced designer: people who have experienced have easier time facing the new challenging. Such a person has a lot of tips on the best site practices, the best procedure. 2. Ensure the building surrounding is clear and free of debris: Properly planned workspace reduces chances of accident compared to a poorly arranged place where every place or part is a hazard waiting to happen. 3. Provision of scaffolding and building platforms: These are safe working conditions that let the workers access the working position with ease and comfort. Raised working surfaces are normally dangerous and workers should never accept to work on such levels without the right tools. 4. Training: The foreman or any person with the right technical knowledge can guide the rest of the group on the best ways to behave and work on the site. 5. Proper personal protective equipment: Depending on the type of job we do on site, different type of clothing are needed to work in such an environment that call for safety to begin with us. Therefore all the time we do jobs on site, we have to buy the right boots, have an overall, helmet and other PPE as may be required by the law through the safety officers.PPE are not site punishment but an avenue to protect our body from harmful materials and objects. CONCLUSION The house in question is a good piece of architectural work but unfortunately it has failed in area of safety, environment considerations and power distribution. All this can be improved to make the building modern and efficient and appealing to the normal people leaving in it. The power source from the grid line is unstable and need an alternative like powered solar system. The foundation is thick and must have taken a lot of concrete work to make it achieve that Therefore a house start with a dream, a choice of material and a design we make in our mind, in this case the owner. The owner then approaches the right architect to come up with the sketches and complete drawing having visited the site. Other engineers get involved especially in the ventilation and structural design. Complete communications come from the engineers put in drawing and can be interpreted by the foremen who put the work on paper to reality. But first quantity surveyor is needed to interpret the right amount of material need to accomplish the project. The procurement unit which may be the owner coordinates with the project manager to know the schedule and the immediate need of the project. Basically this was an opportunity to see the reality behind building, learn the details and the concept in a more realistic approach. References Jalali, H.H.S (2014).Electrical design project of three bedrooms. Energy and Power http://electrical-engineering-portal.com/electrical-design-project-of-a-three-bed-room-house-part-1 Hendry, A.W, Davies, S.R & Sinha, B.P (2004).Load bearing brick design. University of Edinburgh. L1B, 2013. Building regulation for the conservation of fuel and power. England-Existing Dwellings.2013 EDITION Retrieved [7th Dec, 2014.] www.kingspaninsulation.co.uk/.../ADL1B-2013-1st-Issue-Apr-14.aspx Moore, W.W & Darragh, R.D (1998).Some consideration in the design of foundations for Earthquakes. Design of building Foundation www.iitk.ac.in/nicee/wcee/article/1_28-1 Retrieved [7th Dec, 2014] Shlash, T.K (2001).Shallow foundation. Structural design www.nibs.org/resource/resmgr/BSSC/p751_ch5. Retrieved [7th Dec, 2014] Read More