Unit II

Components of Residential Buildings

Basic Components of a Building or a Structure

A Building is any structure that is constructed to meet the needs and purpose of users.
Residential / commercial / institution / educational / Assembly / Industrial / Storage
etc. are some of types of building which are designed by an Architect / Structural
designer and executed or constructed by Civil Engineer.

A building is combination of various components. A Civil Engineer should have good

knowledge of execution of each and every component with respect to design layouts
given by Architect.

The basic Components of a Building Structure are the Footing,

Foundation and plinth

Earth Filling (process)

Wall

DPC

Sill level

Column and beam

Lintel

Sunshade

Doors,
 Windows,

Slab,

Parapet Wall, etc.

The above parts of the building serve the purpose of supporting, enclosing, and
protecting the building structure.

1. Foundation

A Foundation is the lowest part of the building structure rested on soil below ground
level. All loads of building transferred to foundation through–beam and column
arrangement.

Its main function is to distribute the load evenly and safely to the ground.

In framed structures, Footings are generally used as foundations to support the

structural load of the building.
Following are various types of foundations and footings used in construction:

Shallow foundation

Individual footing or isolated footing

Combined footing

Strip foundation

Raft or mat foundation

Deep Foundation

Pile foundation

Drilled Shafts or caissons

Standard Dimensions

Foundation size and depth totally depend on the structural and site ground
condition. So, there are no standard dimension recommendations for it.

But, For small structures like row houses depth of foundation should be at
least 1.5 m from ground level.

Plinth Level

The plinth is that part between the surrounding ground surface and floor space
immediately above the ground of a building.

Plinth is the border which separates the substructure and superstructure. Simply, the
Plinth belongs to the bottom section of superstructure and located upper from the
ground level.

Plinth resists entry of rainwater and insects inside the building.

For water logging prone and important buildings, the minimum plinth height is 600
mm. With greater plinth height, the building gets a majestic appearance.

Standard Dimensions

The plinth height of any building must be at least 45 cm or 1.5 feet from the
ground level.
Earth Filling

An Earth Filling or Soil Filling is done between the plinth wall. It is essential to fill the
open space left between the ground level to the plinth level.

Earth filling must be very well compacted so that the flooring gets a sufficiently hard
surface base.

Standard Dimensions:

Earth must be filled to the top of the plinth level. Different materials can utilize
as earth fills like soil, coarse aggregate, waste materials, Brick Bat, etc.

Wall

Walls are the vertical component of any structure. It can be constructed using stones,
bricks, concrete blocks, etc. The different types of bonds are used for constructing walls.

Bricks walls are essential to enclose the inside area and protect against wind, sunshine,
rain, etc. Doors and Windows are provided in the walls for ventilation and access to the
building.

Standard Dimensions

Walls may be made of single brick walls or double brick walls. The one brick wall
has a thickness of 230mm.

DPC (Damp Proof Course)

DPC is a layer of waterproofing material such as asphalt or waterproof cement at the

plinth level.

The superstructure walls are constructed above the DPC layer so that no dampness
rises from the ground surface into the walls.
In short, DPC prevents the rise of water to superstructures.

If dampness rises in the wall of the superstore it reduces the strength of the walls and
creates unhealthy living conditions.

Also, it created many defects in paint and plaster and ultimately increases maintenance
costs.

In the case of Plinth, beams are provided above ground level DPC is not required.
Because the plinth Beam itself performs as a DPC layer to restrict the entry of
dampness.

Standard Dimensions

Generally, DPC is laid on brick masonry construction up to the plinth level. So the
width of DPC is the same as the width of the Brick wall and thickness may vary
from 2.5cm to 5cm.

Sill Level

It is the base point of any window in the house or it is a level where windows are placed.
The Sill level is very important to ensure evenness in all window levels.

A sill is a height which is ensuring that the proper amount of light enters the house. It
also provides easy habitat to look outside through the window without any discomfort.
It provides a solid base for window installment.

Standard Dimensions:

The sill level of any house should be around 3 ft or 900 mm.

Lintel

Lintels are constructed from reinforced cement concrete. It is provided above the wall
openings like doors, windows, etc. The Lintel actually takes the load coming on window
and door openings.

In Sort, lintel safeguards the door and window from excess load coming from above. In
residential buildings, lintel can be constructed from concrete or brick masonry.

• Cut lintel
• continuous lintel

Standard Dimension

Generally, the lintel width is as same as the width of the wall, and thickness is
between 4” to 6”
Sunshade/ Chhajjas

Sunshade/Chhajjas is also called Weather shed. This is a structure that is constructed

above the window projected outside from the window face.

The main function of the weather shed is to restrict the direct entry of rainwater and
sunlight. Chhajjas are constructed from reinforced cement concrete.

Standard Dimensions

Length of Chhajjas = Width of Window + 0.15m Bearing on both Side

Width of Chhajjas = 0.45 m to 0.60 m.

Roof or RCC Slab

The roof is an essential structural component of a building for any structure, which
provides protection again environmental factors like sun, wind, and rain.

Generally, All roof rests on sidewalls and required anchoring so that wind and another
mechanical impact cannot destroy them.

Roofs may have different shapes, but flat and sloped roofs are more popular. Typically
most roofs are constructed from RCC, stone slabs, tiles, etc.

Standard Dimension

Generally, RCC Slab Thickness can have a minimum dimension of 4” to 6” as

per requirement.
Ceiling

The ceiling is not a separate part but is the bottom face of any slab. The ceiling is the
most important part of any room because it can be decorated to increase the aesthetic
appearance. POP (Plaster of Paris) is a material used for making false ceilings.

It is a location where we can hang decorative items, fans, etc to increase the
architectural view of the room.

Standard Dimension

Ceiling height is kept from 9’ 6” to 10’ 6”. (it can be more or less as per
requirement)

For commercial and educational building the ceiling height will be 11’ to 12’.

Parapet Wall

It is a low–height wall built along the edge of the roof, terrace, walkway, balcony, etc.

Parapet walls can be constructed using different materials like reinforced cement
concrete, steel, aluminum, glass, etc. It is generally constructed with a single brick wall.

• To provide an aesthetic look to the structure.

• To provide safety for humans when they are on the rooftop and in case of bridges
to prevent vehicles from falling off.
 Standard Dimensions:

Parapet wall height is 3 ft or 0.90 m.

Flooring

Flooring is an important component of the home. It is one that provided an attractive

and pleasant look to the house. Flooring is made by laying tile on it.

There are different types of flooring designs and materials are available,

Timber Flooring

Laminate Flooring

Vinyl Flooring

Porcelain or Ceramic Tile Flooring

Natural Stone Flooring – Marble, Granite, etc.

Standard Dimensions

Flooring is provided above earth filling with a base made of cement concrete
(1:2:4). The flooring material should have sufficient thickness and strength.

Windows

Windows are one of the essential components of any house or building. It is one that
allows fresh air and light to enter the house. Without the window, the house becomes a
darkroom or jail.

Windows are provided at sill level and their height is extended up to lintel level. There
are various types of windows used in houses like

Single Hung and double hung windows

Arched Windows

Bay Windows
Casement Windows

Garden Windows
Round Circle Windows

Sliding Windows
Transom Windows

Sky light window

Standard Dimension

Window opening width may change depending on requirement but its height is
generally kept between 1.2 to 1.4m from sill level or up to the bottom of the
lintel.

Doors

Doors are the main entry and exit point of any house. Without doors, there will be no
security in the house. They are one which separate the one room from others.

Doors have a lock-key facility, so we can lock the house by locking the door and going
out freely. They are made of strong materials like steel, wood, and iron. Therefore, they
are not easily breakable.

There are different types of doors used in the house,

Hinged Doors

Dutch Doors
Roller Doors

Sliding Doors
Pivot Doors

French Doors
Panel Doors

Flush Doors

Standard Dimension

The main door of the drawing–room, bedroom, the kitchen may have a width up
to 2’6” to 3’6” and other rooms like bath, W/C is 2’ to 3’. The height of Doors is
almost 7’ every time or up to lintel level.
RCC Column

Columns are vertical members constructed to support any structural frame. Load
Coming from the Slab, Beam transferred to column and column transfer load to the
footing safely. Building structures may have two types of columns.
Architectural columns and structural columns. Architectural columns primly used to
increase the aesthetic appearance of a building while a structural column takes the load
coming from the slab above and transfers it safely to the foundation.

Standard Dimensions

Columns may have various sizes as per the structural load requirements. But, for
minimum dimension for any structural column is restricted to 9” x 9” or
225mmx225mm.

RCC Beam

RCC Beam is an important component in any frame structure. The beam is a horizontal
member which connects columns on both sides.

Its main function is to take the load from the upper structure and transfer it to the
column.

Generally, the column to beam connection is called direct support while the beam to
beam connection is called indirect support.

In most cases, the beam is supported by two columns, and the most rarely used is the
cantilever beam.

Standard Dimension

Beam minimum dimension is 9” x 9” (Thumb Rule)

Waterproofing on Terrace

The damp proof course is the protective layer to restrict the movement of moisture, and
water through the roof slab.

For DPC on the roof flexible materials are used which provide a lesser number of joints
like mastic, asphalt, bitumen felts, plastic sheets, etc.

Bitumen and acrylic based waterproofing materials are among the most preferred and
widely used waterproofing materials in the construction industry. This material is
highly preferred for roof insulation with its ease of use, price/performance advantage.
Surkhi mortar

Surkhi mortar is a mixture of lime, surkhi and water. It is lime morta in which sand has
been substituted by surkhi for economy and strength.

Note:- Surkhi is finely powdered burnt clay and genarally made from slightly under
burnt bricks.

It also makes the concrete resistant to acids and solutions containing salt. Although the
addition of surkhi may show slight reduction of strength but after long period of time it
regains full strength.

To enhance the thermal comfort of the building.

Standard Dimension

Thickness of the surkhi will be in the range of 6” to 9”.

Plastering

Plastering is the process of covering rough walls and uneven surfaces in the
construction of houses and other structures with a plastic material, called plaster, which
is a mixture of lime or cement concrete and sand along with the required quantity of
water.

During your home's construction, plastering makes the rough surfaces of the walls
smooth. Plastering covers rough edges and uneven surfaces, thus increasing durability
and strengthening walls. Plastering also gives a good finish to the walls of your house
and this will make your home look appealing.

Standard Dimension

6 MM thickness of cement plaster and cement mortar 1:3 or 1:4 is recommended

for cement plastering on RCC surfaces, on the RCC walls, Fascia etc. or as directed
by the Engineer,

6 MM to 10 MM thickness of cement plaster and cement mortar in 1:3 or 1:4

ratios is recommended for underside of RCC slabs.

12 MM thick cement mortar in 1:6 ratios is recommended on the walls where

smooth side exists.

12 MM to 20MM thick cement mortar in 1:4 ratios is recommended on the walls

where rough side exists.
Staircases

The following minimum width shall be provided for staircases for respective
occupancies,

• Residential- 1.00 to 1.25 m

• Residential hotel- 1.50 m
• Assembly- 2.00 m
• Educational- 1.50 m
• Institutional- 2.00 m
• All other occupancies- 1.50 m
Tread or Going

The minimum width of tread without nosing shall be 300 mm. However, for one or two-
family dwellings, it may be reduced to not less than 250 mm.

Going – 275 mm to 350 mm for public buildings.

Maximum riser

The maximum height of the riser shall be 150 mm. However, for one or two-family
dwellings, it may be increased to not more than 190 mm. The number of risers shall be
limited to 12 per flight.

Rise in residential building = 130 mm to 190 mm.

Rise in office building = 125 mm to 150 mm.

Headroom

The minimum clear headroom in any staircase or passage under the landing of a
staircase shall be 2.2 m.
 Requirements of different rooms and their grouping

Requirements of different rooms in residential building

1. Veranda

veranda, in architecture, most frequently, an open-walled, roofed porch attached to the

exterior of a domestic structure and usually surrounded by a railing.

The best location for verandah is south and west. If the frontage of the building is east
then they are located in east also. The verandah also serves the purpose of a waiting
room. It segregates the private apartment from the entrance area. The veranda should
shade the walls of the building during greater part of the day.

Veranda provided shades to the house walls during the time and it will be proveided
south and west. If the home in east facing, it can be provided in east as well.
2. Foyer/Entrance Hall

Some people do not consider entry halls to be among the most vital rooms in a home.
How could they not be? They are the first rooms you see when you come inside a house!
And, because the foyer is directly between the outside world and your personal
sanctum, you should take extra care with what you put in it.

An entry hall or entryway is a place where you may hang your outerwear just when you
open the front door. It’s also where guests enter your home when they arrive. It must
have enough space to greet people.

3. Drawing or Living Room:

Drawing room or living room is a common, comfortable and attractive place for sitting
of family members and to receive friends and guests. Sometime it is used as reception
room and dining room and special occasions. Drawing room should be located in the
middle of the building and should be connected to the front verandah and dining place.
It should be well-lighted and ventilated.
Generally, drawing or living room is the biggest room of the building so that it can be
utilized for some ceremonial function in the house. Size of the drawing room should be
determined by type of furniture to be used.

4. Bedrooms

The master bedroom is, without a doubt, the most significant room in any residence.
After all, the homeowners will be spending their evenings there. It must be both
relaxing and fashionable. Even yet, the room itself shouldn’t be too unlike the others.

Bedrooms should be so located that they are well ventilated and at the same time
provide privacy. Generally, they should be located on the sides of the building so that at
least one wall is exposed for good ventilation and lighting. The bedroom should be
located on the side of the direction of prevailing wind. The location should be such that
the bedroom receives sunlight during morning hours. The minimum window area
should be 1:10th of the floor area. In bedrooms 9.5 cubic meter per adult and 5.5cubic
meter per child space should be available and suitable allowance should be made for
furniture.
5. Kitchen:

The kitchen should be provided in rear corner of the building but NE corner is the best.
It should be connected with dining room and should have one approach from outside
also. If possible, the kitchen should be so located that sun light should come in the
morning hours, when it is used most. It should have windows for good ventilation and
chimney for smoke escape. The window space should be min. of 15% of floor area. Sink
should be provided for washing and sufficient number of shelves should also be
provided. Sometimes storeroom and kitchen are combined together, if less space is
available.
6. Dining Room:

Generally, the dining room should be provided in rear of the drawing or living room and
near the kitchen. In modern houses drawing room and dining room are combined to
have a big room for special occasions. For orthodox families dining room is kept
separate.

7. Bathroom and WC

Now-a-days it has become common practice to provide attached bathroom and water
closets with each bedroom. This is preferable only when good drainage and water
supply is available. It is not attached to the bedrooms, bath and WC should be provided
in rear of the building separately so that the two can be used at a time. Good ventilation
should be provided for bath and WC. There should be two windows in a bathroom. One
for ventilation at a height of 2000mm above outside ground level and another at usual
low level with frosted glass shutters for admitting light and maintaining privacy.
Sometimes ceiling height is kept low (2100mm or 7ft) and upper space is used for
storage purpose.

8. Office Room:

Office rooms should be on one side of front verandah, disconnected from other rooms.
Sometimes an office room serves the purpose of guest room and vice versa.
9. Guest Room

If any bedrooms remain vacant after each family member has claimed one, they are
frequently converted into guest bedrooms.

Guest rooms are often sparsely furnished, with only a bed, couch or futon and a few
basic utilities. While the family’s rooms are filled with personality, the guest rooms are
frequently left empty because they are spare bedrooms. They might also contain some
neutral and unobtrusive ornamental features.

These rooms are frequently left unoccupied between overnight visitors, to the point that
the family does not enter unless it is cleaned. This guarantees that the room is clean and
ready for the next guest.
10. Storage Room

Extraneous rooms are common in large homes and are used to store various objects. If
you have such a room in your house, it is most often utilized to keep cleaning supplies
or ironed linen. You’d probably call it a broom or a linen closet in that instance.

Even though such a space was not intended to be included in the house design, it may
occur spontaneously. When a youngster goes away to college, this is more likely to
occur. Their room gradually transforms into a multi-purpose storage space.
11. Pantry:

Pantry is a small room adjacent to dining room for keeping cooked food. It should have
sufficient numbers of cup-boards and shelves. For ordinary building, kitchen serves the
purpose of pantry.

On shelves and in various containers, these rooms usually include a little bit of
everything. They’re typically used to store items that wouldn’t fit in the kitchen. It’ll
house all of your spices, extra-large oven dishes, pickled foods, and preserves.

12. Garage

The garage can be a distinct construction from the home or it can be connected to the
house via an inside entrance. However, the primary garage door opens toward the
driveway. Most families have at least two parking spaces: one in the garage and one on
the short length of tarmac going up to it.
In addition to its primary duty, the garage can sometimes serve other purposes. It can,
for example, be used to store various tools that are required for house maintenance. If
there is a separate shed in the garden, however, the garage might just be a storage area
for automobiles and automotive components.

Grouping

Grouping in building planning means setting different rooms of a building according to

their inter-relationship of invitation and transition. The rooms arranged in the layout in
a proper correlation of their functions and in due proximity with each other.

Grouping In Residential Building Plan

1. The dining room should be close to the kitchen.

2. The kitchen should be kept away from the main living room.
3. Main bedrooms should have independent and separate access from each room
towards the sanitary units.
4. In an office building, hospitals, etc. the administrative department should be
located centrally for convenience and economy of services.
https://www.civillead.com/standard-room-sizes/

https://foyr.com/learn/types-of-rooms-in-a-house/

https://theconstructor.org/building/size-room-location-building/13269/
 Characteristics of various types of residential buildings

Beauty, utility, durability – these are the immanent features of good architecture and
should also be the distinguishing qualities of every residential building. But do beauty
and utility remain along with the passing of time? Do the performance characteristics
pass?

To achieve the above three important fundamental requirements, a building should

satisfy the following characteristics in its design and construction:

1. Comfort and convenience

2. Durability

3. Heat or thermal insulation

4. Moisture or damp prevention

5. Sound insulation

6. Strength and stability

7. Fire protection

8. Light and ventilation

9. Security against robbery

10. Economy

1. Comfort and convenience:

This is can of the basic requirements of the planning of a building. The following points
should be kept in mind to achieve these requirements:

• A building should be provided with enough light during day or night with an
effect of glare.
• A building should be oriented in such a manner to get maximum benefit of
natural air and light.
• Grouping of the rooms should be so planned as to ensure better circulation
proper utilization of space and maximum efficiency in a building,

2. Durability:

Period of time up to which the building remains habitable is called its durability. The
durability of a building depends upon the following factors:

• Degree of maintenance
• Method of construction adopted;
• Types of materials used in buildings.
• Exposure conditions to weathering which is determined by the climate,
 • Effect of frost action on exposed building materials
• Crystallization of salts by groundwater movements,
• Effect of sunlight on paints, plastics, glass, asphalt, rubber, ste

To increase and maintain the durability, of a building following steps should be taken:

(i) Proper features like projecting eaves, copings, sunshades, cornices, parapets, sill
should be provided in the building to prevent rainfall, might moisture, and other
exposures to weather.

(ii) Proper care is to be taken in designing a building in the maintenance of building in

routine of materials and in the protection of a building against weathering effects.

3. Heat or thermal Insulation:

Properly insulated building cuts down the cunt of electric burring in summer as well as
in winter. To achieve heat insulation requirements for different types of buildings, one
or more of the following means should be adopted:

• Exterior walls should be thicker which imparts strength to the building and also
provide insulation against heat and cold.
• The best insulating material is used to construct cavity walls as external walls,
which can prevent the heat and cold to follow the space between the wall.
• In the construction of walls, roofs, floors etc. to fill air spaces in construction
materials, heat insulating materials like slag wool, light weight concrete, mock
wool, quilts, mais, foamed slag aggregates should be used.
• The building should be provided with chajjas, canopy, weather sheds, verandah,
courtyards, trees, garden etc. to achieve heat insulation.
• Top terrace of the building should be insulated against heat economically by
using special flooring method (surkhi).

4. Moisture or damp prevention:

One of the basic requirements in the case of all the buildings is that the structure should
remain dry as far as possible. The presence of moisture in any building deteriorates the
strength of materials and results in a reduction in the durability, which results in the
failure of the structure. In order to prevent the entry of dampness into a building, damp
proof courses are provided at various levels.

The provision of damp-proof courses prevents the entry of moisture from walls, floors,
and the basement of a building.

The moisture ingression in to the building is normally due to faulty construction, use of
poor quality materials, and poor workmanship. The moisture gets in a building due to
water penetration through Tool or external walls which are called mater leakage. The
water leakage in the buildings is the most common problem and is concentrated on the
terrace roofs and in the toilets.
5. Sound Insulation:

It is necessary to give attention to the sound insulation of buildings because of various

factors such as an increase in population, change in habits of the community, increase in
noise pollution, improvement in building construction practices, etc.

Sound insulation reduces the sound passing through it. Generally, hard materials are
used for sound-insulating material construction.

Following methods are used for sound insulation in the building:

• Construction of cavity walls, provision of air tight windows, thick external walls
with hard reflecting surface, hollow floors over structural floors, floors with
suspended ceilings, etc improve sound insulation in the building
• Construction of inner walls using the non-homogeneous structure, hollow walls,
insulating materials, use of sound absorbent materials like fiber boards, mineral
wool, air tight doors, etc. reduces sound transmissions through wall partitions.
• Construction of floors using sound insulating materials, massive and rigid floors
construction, insulated and suspended ceilings etc. reduces the sound
• using sound insulating materials like cork slabs, bitumen, asbestos, compressed
straw slabs, fibre boards, mineral wool etc.
• To achieve acceptable noise level in a building it should be planned against
indoor and outdoor noises laid down by the standards or as per the sing
regulations.

6. Strength and stability:

The structure should be stable to resist all the loads like dead loads, live loads, and wind
loads along with all compressive and tensile stresses coming over it. The stresses for the
materials should be modified by considering plastic deformations and the effects of
moisture and thermal changes. To achieve strength and stability of the building. proper
load factor should be applied while designing the structure.

7. Fire Protection:

To protect the building against fire, composite and non-combustible materials should be
used in the construction of walls, columns, beams. etc. Also, standards of fire safety or
fire extinguishers as specified in the building code should be provided with sufficient
and quick-fire exit. The chances of a fire can be reduced through adequate planning of
buildings in horizontal and vertical directions.
8. Light and ventilation:

In every building position, the number and sizes of doors and windows should be in
such a way that sufficient day height is free from glare from the right direction.

Sufficient daylight should reach each and every room of the building, to create a
pleasing environment to work and to live in. The design should also keep in mind the
lighting requirements with hem insulation of the building.

Ventilation in a building means the free passage of clean air in Ventilation is essential in
every building because of the following reasons:

If the room is not properly ventilated, there will be excessive quantity of carbon dioxide
in the air. The more carbon dioxide cause difficulty in breathing. It is observed that
breathing is difficult when the amount of carbon dioxide by volume is about fi per cent
and a man loser consciousness when it reacher about 10 % or so. For comfortable in
breathing and working, the carbon dioxide content should be less than about 0.6% by
volume.

The ventilation is required to control dust and other impurites in the air Thos to the
main cause of insting proper ventilation in the industrial buildings.

The ventilation is also required to suppress odours, smoke, concentration of bacteria,

ete.

9. Security against burglary:

Enough strong external walls make building safer. Also, window openings should be
protected with M.S. Grill or concrete fail or by any other means. In important buildings
where high security is required, automatic alarm systems are also provided.

10. Economy:

At every stage of functional planning, designing, construction. maintenance and

operation of a building economics aspect should be considered simultaneously The
building should be functionally and structurally sound As well as should not cost much
higher than usual.

https://cementconcrete.org/building-construction/functional-components-building-
structure/3246/