HNC Construction technology B 247474 - Assignment Example

HNC Construction technology B Assignment - 247474 Scenario: A seven storey service office and conference centre is to be built on inner site. The superstructure and cladding is as yet undecided. There is minimum space on site for storage of materials and access is limited due to a main road surrounding the site. A high level of fittings and finishes are required. Various methods can be used for this, bearing in mind the following : build-ability, the suitability, and the health and safety. Task 1 The construction of a seven storey service office in the inner city has its problems. The super structure and the claddings has yet to be resolved. The building is likely to occupy a 237.00 square meter lot or a 13.5 meters by 17.5 meters dimension. It is to be constructed in a lot that has buildings of both sides. Thus the left and right side of the proposed building is just touching the buildings beside it. A great deal of planning the space for the delivery of the construction materials is a problem in itself. Cladding the construction area is also a big problem. There would be no open space of the sides of the building. Its positioning may be a problem to deal with, but that does not mean that these reasons should affect the construction of the structure. The structure can be insulated, steel aided, glass tinted building with base insulators. Steel can be chosen for this building alongside a timber and concrete work. Steele doesn't rust fast and it is immune to creatures as insects and termites, therefore there is less need for insecticides and pesticides. Steel is not combustible or we can safely say that it is fireproof. Steel can withstand natural turbulence such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes. We can also safely conclude that steel has much earthing protection from lightning strike. There would be less fear of the load bearing in placing interior walls because steel allows greater design in flexibility. In modern structures, the combination of steel and timber is a good choice. Steel framed buildings with glass panels and wood or timber would make a good combination to the conditions sited. Buildability A building, especially, an office building which lies in the center of an urban area is designed in a manner that the whole area is converted into a useable place. Due to limited space the contractor finds a way to make every space for the use of the construction materials. Starting with the construction of a building in a highly urbanized area is really something. First, is the excavation for the setting of the foundation of the building. How will the contractor transport the excavated soil where will they dump the soil Next at the start of the foundation layout, where will they place the construction materials being delivered like gravel, sand and cement plus the reinforcing bars to be used in the footings of the foundation. After these problems are settled, and the foundation of the building being set in place, the next problem arises. Base isolators would have top be used, as this is the standard, aside from providing safety to the structure in case of seismic actions. In setting up the building attention must be paid to such areas as entrances, ramps and stairways, with regards to the base isolators. The concrete columns comes next. The columns are being prepared for the concrete pouring of the columns. Next is the slab pouring of the ground floor. After that, the preparation of the next storey columns is being done. Then concrete is being poured in the prepared columns. Then the slab pouring of the second floor comes next. At this point, the ground floor can now be used as the temporary place for the construction materials being delivered. The slab pouring and the column erection will be alternately done until the seventh floor is reached. As the skeleton or frame of the building rises the, the building is being secured by rising the perimeter fence (usually a net is used for the protection of the people crossing the area) This is to avoid accidental debris falling down and might accidentally hit a person or a working in the area). As the building skeleton rises, the work on finishing at the ground floor begins. Light-frame construction and a great deal of aluminum and steel would have to be made use of. Insulating concrete with the use of foam forms filled with concretes and structural insulated, foam panels faced with oriented strand board or (a good alternative) fiber cement, can both be used; as well as light gauge steel framing and the more detailed heavy- gauge steel framing. Because of the location, brick and block construction are options. Large glass panels are best for the front and rear side of the structure. Cladding of the building starts. In the case of this building, a very good material for cladding is wood or timber. To cover the beams, the pipelines and the electrical wirings which are normally seen under each flooring of a building, A beautiful reflected ceiling is usually done. Naturally stained wood panels or danarra plywood is a good material. It is a very light material and it is beautiful when properly set. It adds beauty to the interior of the building specially that the front and the rear side of the building is glass paneled. A plus factor to the beauty of the interior of this building is the color of the wood for the cladding. Suitability The place is most likely to be very suitable for commercial area and office spaces. The ground floor of the building can be converted into commercial spaces. The office spaces can occupy the second floor up to the seventh floor. A fire escape is to be located at the both ends of the building aside from a stairs that is to be build inside the building. The design of the stairs is one that goes around the elevator which is to be situated in the middle of the building. The front and back of the building will be covered with large glass panels. This is view if the aesthetic look of the building. A separated comfort room for the male and female users are to be installed in every storey of the building. There is going to be a roof deck, part of which will be covered with glass panel and a small pantry so that small conferences can be done in the glass paneled roof deck. Health and Safety Building construction in the heart of the city is very complex. The City building code in any country, requires the safety measures to be adapted in all buildings being constructed inside the city. Before a contractor can secure a building permit, the city engineer's office would look at the building plan before they would permit the contractor to build a structure. The analysis of the proposed structure is to undergo several offices before the final approval. Safety measures is one that is being looked into. Seismic analysis is another. Sanitary permit is also a factor. In some cases, as a building skeleton starts to rise, a safety engineer from the office of the city engineer inspects the construction from time to time making sure that the building follows the written specifications submitted to the City Engineers Office. Task 2 In the construction of the upper floor, the partitions of offices to be made would depend on the need of future occupants. If a particular structure pattern is to chosen then the others would follow. This would be very important to maintain sufficient lateral restrain to the structure at all sides of the building. In the construction of the upper floors, the contractor always follow safety measures. Taking details from the working drawings of any building construction, after the first floor has been laid, the next step is the setting of the concrete columns. After that, the setting of the reinforcing bars for the second floor slab and the beams that will carry the load of the floor slab, and up to the succeeding floors of the building. A very close study and computation of loads to be carried by the building is done before and during the drafting of the design of working drawings and specifications. In order to achieve an adequate lateral restrain to the structure, the engineer and the architech who designed the building normally computes the maximum live loads, the dead loads, the wind loads and the seismic analysis are being included in the study and computations of the of the loads which a building can carry or sustain. Task 3 a)The building, having been designed to have a flat roof, a concrete roof is necessary to cover the whole structure. It must be layered with a roof membrane, an insulation, low aired and vapor permeability barrier and a roof deck. The deck itself can be converted into a function area, The future occupants of the building can use this area for functions for small celebrations. The deck will be provided with a covered area, meaning half of the deck will be enclosed with glass panel and the other half will be an open area. Flat roofs a membrane over insulation. Sometimes this includes a vapor barrier at the deck level that supports it. This should be used in the construction of the structure. Types of roofing membranes that can be used are BUR, SBS, or a single rubber ply. Any of the mentioned materials would be fine. A raised gable, forming part of the attached extension as the entrance must be aesthetic. Glass tiles, well set and covering the slope of the gable, would allow and control direct penetration of sunlight beside adding to the beauty of the structure. Water control structures can be placed at the end of the gable slopes to direct rain water away to a pipe set at the sides of the junction where the entrance is attached to the building. The water control structure should be set very near the main roof. It must be placed very close to the walls. Aluminum would be the best form for cladding the system. Sound proof aluminum must be used in order to eliminate or reduce annoying sound of clattering rainfall on it. b) The cladding could be done for the gable and glass as well as the other parts of the structure such as ceiling and inner walls. A traditional cladding of the wall assembly that is not easily penetrated is required to be drained and vented. Incidental water, such as thawed snow can have an outlet. However, the disadvantage is that, this type of roof assembly depends on the complete sealing of the inside as well as the outside, having only the assembly through which to make connections so it can stay in place. Task 4 Active protection is the standard of active measures for fire extingquishment and control. In the design of the building, there must be facilities to assist the fire service. Staff training in fire safety and fire routines must be implemented. The continuing control under different legislation in order to maintain and test the fire safety measures are to be checked and tested on a regular routine. There must also nbe management on fire safety. The building shall be designed and constructed so that there are appropriate provisions for the early warning of fire, and appropriate means of escape in case of fire from the building to a place outside the building that is safe. Smoke alarms are required in buildings under a legislation and a building regulation. The alarms must be automatic as people would be alert upon hearing them. There must be appropriate means of escape that when faced with a fire, people can turn away from it and make a safe escape. Passive protection is the adequacy of the structure to resist the effects of a fire. When building elements are exposed to fire, they lose some of their strength. In the event of fire, the building must allow adequate means of escape. High rise structures such as those in the urban area normally are inspected for the kind of materials that are used and that includes the fire proofing of the structure. Specifications of the materials are scrutinized by the governing body of the area. In the design of this building, fire escapes are conveniently located in areas where the occupants can easily go to in case of emergencies. The use of compartmental system in a building is implemented to reduce the spread of fire. The use of compartments in building is beneficial in preventing the spread of fire from one area to another. The building is divided into a number of fireproof boxes in effect, and dif a fire starts in one of the boxes, it must be contained. This system reduces the damage from fire, and ensures the occupants to have plenty of time to vacate the building. Wall boards, plastic board such as gypsum board provide good fire resistance. When exposed to fire, the gypsum takes in large amount of heat as its water content is removed. These are used in areas where there is wood construction, especially the ceiling, joints and walls. Fire rated floors are built with joist, a ceiling and a sub floor for multi-storey buildings. However there is a little sense of using a 15.9 gypsum board panels. This is because the greater weight causes them to fall off during fire. In the attachment of the ceiling the use of blocking or bridging between the joists, that is along the centerline of a floor will aid in minimizing the displacement or twisting of the joists during a fire. In that case, the gypsum board is secure and the things attached to it. Task 5 Specification of both suspended ceiling and access floors for use must be included in the design. Criteria or specifications would include the following. Service accommodation which require the depth, how much access and how often it is required. Sound insulation is required vertically and along the ceiling void. Sound absorption because the tile or board which need to satisfy the criteria that had been determined as necessary. Great care must be taken to ensure that damage does not occur in the maintenance of fire resistance and precautions. The ceiling finish will depend on the quality required by the client. Prestigious development will require quality finish. Access floor must be supported with a series of adjustable pedestals that would allow a level surface to be created at a varying heights. Outlets such as plug telecommunication sucket from the cables are to be provided in the floor to allow for easy connections. Position of a plug or a computer network sucket needs to be moved to another position if the floors are raised. To ensure maximum accessibility, the floor finish must be supplied with the same modular size as the floor, so carpet or vinyl tiles are to be used. Since wood is to be used in the suspended ceiling, allow a space for the easy access to overhead pipes, ducts and mechanical system such as air conditioners and heating systems. This forms a good sound barrier A good option for this would be wood panels. The edges would easily fit for this type of a suspended ceiling. Grounds, including basements are the best places to install them. They would also look good in bathrooms, and kitchens, because in the case of water leakage in the plumbing, they can easily be replaced. The same would go for the access floors. The second floor up to the seventh floor, having a typical plan can have a parapet wall and roof. Cladding of the interior walls and reflected ceiling can be made artistic as wood panels are to be used in the cladding. For reasons of convenience, wood panels and danarra plywood can be a good material to be used in the cladding. Provide a reflected ceiling with beautiful lighting fixtures to be embedded in the wood cladding. Make a reflected ceiling design that would make the ceiling look expensive and cool to the naked eye. In the parapet wall, instead of painting the wall, a special vinyl can be installed (there are vinyl that can be bought in rolls, and this is kind of vinyl that are being used in interior walls. This will save the building owner from repainting the interior walls of the building every two years. And the colors of vinyl is just amazing. The mentioned cladding is very appropriate for this kind of building because, as mentioned, stained wood add contrast to the vinyl walls plus the fact that these are light materials. Stained wood when properly installed as a reflected ceiling looks more beautiful and expensive. It adds aesthetic value to the building. Included in this report is the detail of one cross-section of a beam, roof and wall junction. The inclusion of the details mentioned will at least present or satisfy the curiosity of the reader. Read More