ConTech Flat Cvr.qxd 1/8/04 5:16 pm Page 1 If you’ve never set foot on a Construction Construction building site but need to know Technology what works and what doesn’t, an illustrated introduction this book is for you! Construction T echnology Eric Fleming is former lecturer in This primer on construction technology is aimed at people construction economics and building who have no background in construction or who have just joined the industry from college. It gives a construction at Heriot-Watt University comprehensive introduction to every aspect of low-rise Technology construction and will be indispensable on all courses where construction technology is taught.The author demonstrates good practice and common faults using introduction an illustrated an illustrated introduction detailed drawings paired with clear photos and brief explanations of all the elements of the building process. The book follows the sequence of construction: ● foundations ● stairs ● walls ● roofs ● floors ● plumbing ● doors and windows ● electrical The front cover illustrates a solid blockwork wall and brick/block and illustrates the most common technical problems that cavity wall as a substructure for a timber frame panel construction. you will meet on site. A set of simple solutions is given for each.These are sound, tried-and-tested solutions; they will meet the current Building Regulations across the UK. • Site visits have become rare (due to Health & Safety and Eric Fleming insurance considerations) and newcomers to the industry face the difficulty of interpreting a 2-D representation of very 3-D realities.The book addresses this problem of visualisation of construction scenarios and helps students Eric Fleming relate the detail drawings to the actual construction by supporting as many of the drawings as possible with photographs of the pieces of work – both in a part- finished state and as the completed work. Cover design by Garth Stewart P1: FMK BY019-FM BY019-Fleming-v6.cls September 14, 2004 20:45 Construction Technology i P1: FMK BY019-FM BY019-Fleming-v6.cls September 14, 2004 20:45 ii P1: FMK BY019-FM BY019-Fleming-v6.cls September 14, 2004 20:45 Construction Technology: an illustrated introduction Eric Fleming Former Lecturer Construction Economics and Building Construction Department of Building Engineering and Surveying Heriot-Watt University iii P1: FMK BY019-FM BY019-Fleming-v6.cls September 14, 2004 20:45 c 2005 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd Editorial offices: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK Tel: +44 (0)1865 776868 Blackwell Publishing Inc., 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA Tel: +1 781 388 8250 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd, 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia Tel: +61 (0)3 8359 1011 The right of the Author to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. First published 2005 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fleming, Eric. Construction technology / Eric Fleming. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 1-4051-0210-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Building. I. Title. TH146 .F58 2004 690–dc22 2004008229 ISBN 1-4051-0210-1 A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library Set in 10/12 pt Palatino by TechBooks Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt. Ltd., Kundli The publisher’s policy is to use permanent paper from mills that operate a sustainable forestry policy, and which has been manufactured from pulp processed using acid-free and elementary chlorine-free practices. Furthermore, the publisher ensures that the text paper and cover board used have met acceptable environmental accreditation standards. For further information on Blackwell Publishing, visit our website: www.thatconstructionsite.com iv P1: FMK BY019-FM BY019-Fleming-v6.cls September 14, 2004 20:45 Contents Introduction xi Acknowledgements and Dedication xiii Abbreviations xiv 1 Masonry Construction in Bricks and Blocks 1 Bricks and blocks standards and dimensions 2 Bricks 2 Terminology 2 Brick sizes 2 Nominal sizing 3 Durability of bricks 3 Mortar joints 3 Coordinating sizes 3 Types of brick by shape 4 Kinds of brick by function 4 Brick materials 5 Testing of bricks 5 The bonding of bricks to form walls 5 Convention on thicknesses of walls 8 Types of bond 9 Vertical alignment 14 Honeycomb brickwork 16 Quoins – an alternative definition 16 Half brick thick walls 16 Frog up or frog down 17 ‘Tipping’ 17 Common and facing brickwork 18 Facing brickwork 18 Pointing and jointing 19 General principles of bonding 21 Blocks 22 Block materials 22 Concrete blocks 22 Dense and lightweight concretes 23 Autoclaved aerated concrete 23 Dimensions of standard metric block 23 Whys and wherefores of mortar 25 Cement 25 Lime 26 Sand 27 Water 27 Which mortar mix? 27 ‘Fat’ mixes 28 General rules for selection of mortar 29 v P1: FMK BY019-FM BY019-Fleming-v6.cls September 14, 2004 20:45 vi Contents Mortar additives 30 Mixing in additives 30 Mixing mortar 31 Good or bad weather 32 2 Substructures 34 Excavation generally 34 Topsoil 35 Subsoils 36 General categorisation of subsoils and their loadbearing capacities 37 Foundations 37 The principal considerations 38 Simple foundation calculations 39 The mass of buildings 39 Mass, load and bearing capacity 40 Foundation width and thickness 41 Reinforced concrete foundations 44 Failure of wide, thin, strip foundations 44 Trench fill foundations 45 Critical levels and depths 46 Level 46 Finished ground level 47 Bearing strata 48 Depths and levels 48 Step in foundation 49 Setting out 49 The site plan 49 Where do we put the building? 49 Equipment required for basic setting out 49 Setting out procedure 50 Excavation 53 Marking out the excavation 53 Excavation for and placing concrete foundations – and not wasting money doing it 53 Building masonry walls from foundation up to DPC level 57 Ground floor construction 59 Detail drawings 59 Wall–floor interfaces generally 62 Precautions 62 Solid concrete floors 62 Single and double layer concrete floors with hollow masonry wall 62 Hung floors 64 Hung timber floors 64 Hung timber floor alternatives 66 Hung concrete floors 67 Blockwork substructure 71 3 Walls and Partitions 73 General 73 Requirements 74 Walls – environmental control 75 Heat loss and thermal capacity 75 P1: FMK BY019-FM BY019-Fleming-v6.cls September 14, 2004 20:45 Contents vii Resistance to weather – precipitation 75 Air infiltration 77 Noise control 79 Fire 79 Dimensional stability 79 Walls of brick and blockwork 81 Insulation of external walls 84 Timber frame construction 88 Traditional timber frame 88 Modern timber frame construction 91 Loadbearing and non-loadbearing internal partitions 96 Expansion joints 99 4 Timber Upper Floors 103 Upper floor joists 103 Linear and point loadings on upper floors 112 Openings in upper floors 113 For pipes 113 For flues 114 For stairs 116 Alternative materials for joisting 118 Sound proofing 120 Modern sound and fire proofing 121 Support of masonry walls 123 Floor finishes 124 Ceiling finishes 124 5 Openings in Masonry Walls 126 For small pipes and cables 126 For larger pipes and ventilators 127 Large openings in masonry walls 127 Alternative sill arrangements 136 Threshold arrangements 137 Partitions of masonry 139 Openings in timber frame walls 141 6 Roof Structure 148 Roof classifications 148 Prefabrication 149 Trussed roofs 150 The trussed rafter 153 Verges meet eaves 159 Roof bracing 160 Flat roofs in timber 162 Insulation, vapour control layers and voids and ventilation 164 Traditional roofs 167 Roof insulation 169 7 Roof Coverings 171 Tile and slate materials 171 Slates 175 P1: FMK BY019-FM BY019-Fleming-v6.cls September 14, 2004 20:45 viii Contents Plain tiles 175 Interlocking tiles 176 Timber shingles 176 Bituminous shingles 176 Pantiles 177 Spanish and Roman tiles 177 Edges and abutments 178 8 Doors 182 Functions of doors and windows – obvious and not so obvious 182 Types of door 184 Ledged and braced doors 185 Bound lining doors 185 Flush panel doors 187 Panelled doors 188 Pressed panel doors 189 15 pane doors 190 Hanging a door 190 Fire resistant doors 193 Smoke seals 195 Glazing 196 Ironmongery 196 9 Windows 204 Timber casement windows 205 Depth and height of glazing rebates 206 Timber for casement windows 206 Draught stripping materials 206 Hanging the casements 207 Joining the frame and casement members 209 Timber sash and case windows 211 The case 212 The sashes and case together 214 Vertical sliding sash windows 214 Glazing 218 For ordinary glazing work 218 10 Stairs 221 Landings 222 Steps 222 Balustrades 223 Measurements 224 Joining steps to stringer 225 Winders 227 11 Mutual Walls 228 Transmission of sound 228 Calculation of surface density 228 Wall types 229 Fire resistance 231 P1: FMK BY019-FM BY019-Fleming-v6.cls September 14, 2004 20:45 Contents ix 12 Plumbing and Heating 233 Pipework 233 Pipe fittings – couplings and connections 234 Range of fittings 239 Valves and cocks 241 Services generally 243 Hot and cold water services 243 Soil and ventilation stacks 246 Overflows 246 Water supply from the main 246 Equipment 247 Cold water storage cisterns 248 Hot water storage cylinders 248 Feed and