INTRODUCTION

Building techniques is the process of adding structure to

real property that involves different practical skills to
perform it.
 1. FOUNDATIONS
Foundations is also known as the sub structure is the
lower portion of the building located below ground level
which transmit the load of the super structure to the sub
soil. The basic function of the foundation is to transmit the
dead load, super imposed loads and wind loads from a
building to a soil.

1.1 FUNCTIONS OF A FOUNDATION

1. Reduction of load intensity.

2. Equal distribution of load.
3. Provision of level surface
4. Lateral stability
5. Safety against undermining
6. Protection against soil movements

1.2 ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD

FOUNDATION

1. Foundation based should be rigid so that differential

settlement are minimized.
2. Foundations should be taken sufficiently deep to
guard the building against damaged and distressed
caused by soiling or shrinkage of the sub soil.
3. Foundations should be so located that is performance
may not be affected due to any unexpected future
influence.
 1.3 TYPES OF FOUNDATIONS

A. SHALLOW FOUNDATIONS

Shallow foundations ay be from the following types:

a. Spread footings
Spread footings are those which spread the super
imposed load of wall or columns over a larger area.
Spread footings can be following kinds:
i. Single footings: The base is generally made from
concrete. Its shows the loaded area small(b*b) of
the column has been spread to the size(B*B)
through a single spread.
ii. Stepped footings: It shows the step footings for a
heavily loaded column which requires greater
spread.
iii. Slopped footings: It is the case in which the
concrete based does not have uniform thickness
but is made sloped with greater thickness in
junction.

Fig 1. Spread footings for columns.

 iv. Wall footings without step: It shows the spread
footing for a wall.
v. Stepped footing for a wall: Masonry walls have
stepped footings.

Fig 2. Spread footings for walls.

b. Combined footings
A spread footing which supports two or more
columns is termed as combined footings.
i. Rectangular combined footings: The combined
footings for columns will be rectangular in shape
if they carry equal load.
ii. Trapezoidal combined footing: If the columns
carry unequal load, the footing is of trapezoidal
shape.
Fig 3. Combined footings for columns.

iii. Combined column wall footing: It may be

required to provide a combined footing for
columns and walls.

Fig 4. Combined footings for columns and walls.

c. Strap footings
If the independent footings up two columns are
connected by a beam, it is called strap footings. It is
used where the distance between the columns is so
great that a combine trapezoidal footing becomes
quiet narrow with high bending moment. The strap
beam does not remain in contact in soil and thus
does not transfer any pressure to the soil.

Fig 5. Strap footings.

B.DEEP FOUNDATIONS
A deep foundations transfers building loads to the earth
farther down from the surface than a shallow
foundations.
Deep foundations maybe the following types:
i. Pile foundations: A pile foundations can be defined
as a cylinder column or long cylinder made up
material such as concrete and steel to support the
structure and transfer the load at desired depth
either by end bearing or skin fraction. A
foundations is described as piled when its depth is
more than 3 times its breadth.

Fig 6. Pile foundation.

ii. Pier foundations: A pier foundations consist of a

cylindrical column of large diameter to support and
transfer large super imposed loads to the forms
strata below. It is preferred in a location where the
top strata consist of decomposed rock overlying a
strata of sound rock. The size and spacing of a pier
depends upon a depth of hard bed, nature of
overlying soil and superimposed load.

Fig 7. Pier foundations.

2. WALLS
A wall is the essential component of a building
whose function is to enclosed or divide space of a
building to make it more functional and useful. They
provide security, privacy, and give protection from
natural forms.
They should be therefore designed to have
provision of adequate.
a. Strength and stability.
b. Weather resistance.
c. Durability.
d. Fire resistance.
e. Thermal insulation.
f. Sound insulation.
The walls are may divided into two kinds.

i. Load bearing wall

Load bearing wall is a wall that is an active
strucutural element of a building which holds the
weight of the element by conducting its weight to a
foundation structure below it. It is the earliest form
of construction.
Advantages of load bearing walls:
a. The construction of the load bearing wall is highly
solid and durable.
b. They poses high resistance fire.
c. In the different colors and textures, the masonry
units are available and provide freedom of
creativity to the user.
d. For masonry construction tools and equipments
are simple and cheap.

Disadvantages of load bearing walls:

a. During the action of earthquake, load bearing
wall structure perform badly.
b. The construction of the load bearing walls is
slow.
c. They are very poor thermal insulation properties.

Fig 8. Load bearing walls.

ii. Cavity walls
Cavity walls is constructed with two separate
walls for single wall purpose with some space
or cavity between them.
The separate walls are called as leaves of
cavity wall. The inner wall is called internal
leaves.

Fig 9. Cavity walls.

Construction method:
The two leaves are constructed like normal
masonry. The cavity size should be in between
4-10 cm. The internal and external wall have at
least 10mm. thickness. The cavity maybe filled
with lean concrete with some slope at top up to
few cm above ground as shown in figure.
 Fig 10. Cavity walls.

Advantages of cavity walls:

a. It gives better thermal insulation than solid walls.
b. They also act as good sound insulators.
c. Outer efflorescence is also prevented.

iii. Partition walls

A partition wall is a thin internal wall which is
constructed to divide the space within the building
into rooms or areas. It may either be load bearing
or non-load bearing. A load bearing partition wall is
called an internal walls.
3. FLOORS ( GROUND AND UPPER)
The purpose of a floor is to provide a level surface
capable of supporting the occupants of a building,
furniture, equipment and sometimes, internal
partitions. A floor must satisfy the following
requirements to perform the good functions and the
situation.
i. Adequate strength and stability.
ii. Adequate fire resistance.
iii. Sound insulation.
iv. Damp resistance.
v. Thermal insulation.
The floor resting directly on the ground surface are
known as ground floors while the other floors of each
storey, situated above the ground level is known as
upper floors.

COMPONENTS OF A FLOOR:
A floor is composed of two essentials components:
i. Sub-floor base course or floor base.
ii. Floor covering, or simply, flooring.
The floor base is structural component, which
supports the floor covering. For the ground floors,
the object of the floor base is to give proper
support to the covering so that it does not settle
and to provide damp resistance and thermal
insulations.
 Fig 11. Suspended timber ground floor.

MATERIALS FOR CONSTRUCTION:

Material used for construction of ground floor base are:
i. Cement concrete.
ii. Lime concrete.
iii. Stone.
iv. Bricks.
v. Wooden blocks (for wooden flooring only).

The materials used for the floor finish or floor covering

or flooring are as follows:
i. Mud and Muram.
ii. Bricks.
iii. Flag stones.
iv. Concrete.
v. Terrazzo.
vi. Mosaic.
vii. Tiles.
viii. Marbles.
ix. Granolithic finish.
x. Wood or timber.
xi. Asphalt.
xii. Rubber.
xiii. Linoleum flooring.
xiv. Cork.
xv. Glass.
xvi. Plastic or PVC.
 4. LINTELS AND ARCHES.
A. LINTELS.

Lintels as well as arches are structural members designed to

support the load. Of the portion of the wall situated above
openings and then transmit the load to the adjacent wall
portions over which this are supported.
The bearing of lintels should be the minimum of the following:
i. 10 cm
ii. Height of lintels.
iii. 1/10th to 1/12th of the span of the lintels.

CLASSIFICATION OF LINTELS
Lintels are classified into the following types, according
to the materials of their construction:
i. Timber lintels: Timber lintels are oldest type of
lintels, thought they are not commonly used
nowadays, except hilly areas.

Fig 12. Wooden lintel.

ii. Stone lintels: A stone lintel consist of a simple
stone slab of greater thickness. The depth of stone
lintel is kept = 10 cm per meter of span, with a
minimum of 15 cm. They are used upto span of 2m.

Fig 13. Stone lintels.

iii. Brick lintel: brick lintel are not structurally strong,

and they are used only when the opening is small,
less than 1 m and loads are light, the depth of brick
lintel varies from 10 to 20 cm.

Fig 14. Brick lintels.

iv. Steel lintel: it consist of rolled steel joints or

channel section either used singly or in
combination of 2 or 3 unit.
 Fig 15. Steel lintels.

v. Reinforced cement concrete lintel: It have replaced

partically all other type of lintel because of their
strength, rigidity, economy.fire resistance and ease
in construction.

Fig 16. R.C.C. lintel

B. ARCHES.
An arch is a structure constructed of wedge-shaped units
(bricks or stone), joined together with mortar and
spanning and opening to support the weight of the wall in
above it along with other super imposed load. Arches are
constructed where loads are heavy , span is more, strong
 abutment are available and special architectural
appearance is required.

Fig 17. Elements of sefmental arch.

CLASSIFICATION OF ARCHES:
An arch can be classified according to
i. Shape.

Fig 18. Types of arches.

 ii. Number of centers.

Fig 19. Bull’s eye arch. fig 20. Three-centred arch.

Fig 21. Four-centred arch. fig 22. Five-centred arch.

iii. Classification based on material and workmanship.
On the basis of material of construction and
workmanship, arches maybe classified as follows:
a. Stone arches
i. Rubble arch.
ii. Ashlar arch.
b. Brick arches.
i. Rough arch.
ii. Axed or rough-cut arch.
iii. Gauged arch.
iv. Purpose made brick arch.
c. Concrete arches.
i. Concrete block-unit arch.
ii. Monolithic arch.
Those types are being described in the subsequent
articles.