1

UNESCO-NIGERIA TECHNICAL &

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
REVITALISATION PROJECT-PHASE II

NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN
BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

YEAR I- SE MESTER I
THEORY/PRACTICAL
Version 1: December 2008

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION I
COURSE CODE: BLD103
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

WEEK 1: BUILDING COMPONENTS

(1.1) Building components
(1.2) Major building components
(a) Foundation
(b) Floor
(c) Wall
(d) Door
(e) Windows
(f) Roof

WEEK2: PRELIMINARY SITE ACTIVITIES

(2.1) Site activities that precede Actual building construction
(2.2) Provision of facilities of on site

WEEK3: SITE ORGANISATION AND LAYOUT

(2.3) Site layout and organization

WEEKK4: SETTING OUT OF BUILDING

(2.4) Setting out of building

WEEK5: EXCAVATION
(3.1) Method of Excavation
(3.2) Tools used in manual Excavation
(3.3) Equipment used in mechanical Excavation

WEEK6: EARTHWORK SUPPORT

(3.4) Method of Earth
(3.5) Foundation

WEEK7: FOUNDATION
(3.6) Importance of foundation to building
(3.7) Types of foundation soil
(3.8) Simple calculation of the area of concrete foundation

WEEK 8: TYPES OF FOUNDATION

(3.9) Types of foundation and their application

WEEK 9: TYPES OF FOUNDATION (CONTINUED)

WEEK10: METHODS OF REINFORCEMENT IN SUBSTRUCTURES

(3.10) Methods of reinforcement in Substructures

WEEK11: CONSTRUCTION OF FOUNDATION

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(3.11) Method of construction of foundation

WEEK12: DAMP PROOFING

(4.1) Rising damp and seepage of ground water in building
(4.2) Damp proof course (DPC) and damp proof membrane (DPM)
(4.3) Function of damp proof courses

WEEK13: MATERIALS USED FOR DAMP PROOF COURSE

(4.6) Materials used for damp proof course

WEEK14: BASEMENT TANKING

(4.4) Tanking in basement work

WEEK15: HARDCORE
(4.7) Hardcore layer
(4.8) Blinding
(4.9) Termite Treatment
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WEEK 1: BUILDING COMPONENTS

(1.1) Building Components

A building acts as an enclosure for the activities that of on within, it building will protect the
occupants, equipment or goods housed within from the various of he external climate (rain,
wind, sun etc). For a building to act as enclosure, it must have external walls and be covered by a
roof. The roof will normally rest on the walls and be support by them. The walls in turn, will
need a firm base or foundation to be built upon, which will transfer their weight and that of the
roof to the ground beneath.
To make the building usable, the internal space enclosed by the external walls and roof may need
to be sub-divided into room by the introduction of horizontal dividers between storey’s, the
floors, and vertical dividers between rooms, the internal walls. Stairs or lift can provide access
between storeys. Doors can provide access to the building and to each room within the building.
Daylight and ventilation can be introduced into the building by the provision of windows in the
external walls or roof. All these part of the building are referred to as building component or
elements

(1.2) Major Building Components

The major building components are as listed below.
• Foundation
• Floor
• Wall
• Door
• Window
• Fenestration (Other openings)
• Roof
• Ceiling

Foundation
The function of the foundation is to transmit the load from the building finally to the soil. This, it
must do without excessive settlement and compression of the supporting soil layer.
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Functional Requirements of Foundation

• Ability to carry loads with a minimum movement
• Adequate width to safely transmit the loads on it to the supporting soil layer

Functions of Foundations
• Foundation provides suitable support and stability for building
• Transmits to the ground all the loads that come on the building over a sufficient area of
subsoil
• Prevents the failure of the building or uneven settlement.

The selection of foundation types is influenced by

• The type of building
• The nature of the loading
• The site condition
Foundations are of many types but the more common ones include
• Strip foundation
• Pad foundation
• Pile foundation
• Raft foundation

Fig.1.1.Strip foundation
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Floor
Floor can be defined as the horizontal structure which carries imposed and live loads in a
building and divides a building into storeys. It plays an important role in a building.

The most common material used for the construction of floors that will meet the requirement of
building regulations and local bye-laws are concrete and wood.

Functional Requirements of Floor

• Adequate strength and stability to support the loads that comes on it.
• Resistance to sound penetration
• Resistance to moisture penetration
• Thermal resistance
• Fire resistance
• Durability
• Hard wearing

Wall
This is usually the vertical continuous part of a building which encloses or protects the building
or divides the building into rooms and compartments. It is made up of blocks, concrete, mortar,
stones, metals etc. types of walls include: Internal, External, Buttress, Sleeper, party, parapet
partition and cavity walls.
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Fig 1.2 Internal and external walls

Functional Requirements of Walls

• Openings for daylight and ventilation
• Fire resistance to provide security and stability in the event of fire
• Adequate strength to resist being crushed by the loads from floors and roofs they support
• Durability to withstand the condition under which it will function
• Adequate stability to resist other forces such as wind pressure and roof loads.

Door
A door is a movable barrier placed across an opening in a building that provides access into the
building or between spaces within the building.

Functional Requirements of Door

• Weather resistance
• Durability
• Fire resistance
• It must be easy to slide open and close
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Fig 1.3 Example of a Paneled door

Windows
Windows provide natural light and ventilation to the interior of a building while excluding rain
and insects.
Windows are usually made of timber, steel. But other materials such as plastics (uPVC) and
aluminium are also popular. Each material has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Functional Requirements of Window

• The minimum area of window in a habitable room should be 10 percent of the floor area
• The minimum opening area of the window in a habitable room should be 5 percent of the
floor area.
• Adequate security against intruders

• Adequate resistance to external weather elements

• Provide privacy.
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Fig. 1.4 Parts of a window

Roof
This is the topmost covering in a building. It is done during the finishing of a building. It
prevents a lot of sound (minimizing incoming sound), dust, wind and rain and also it helps the
occupants cover their privacy.

Fig. 1.5 The main parts of the structure of a pitched roof.

Functional Requirements of Roof

Strength: of roof depends on the characteristics of the materials from which it is constructed and
the way in which they are put together in the form of a flat or some form of triangular frame.
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Stability: a roof is constructed to support the dead load of the roof structure and its covering,
insulation and internal finishes, snow loads and pressure of suction due to wind without undue
deflection or distortion. The dead load can be calculated from the unit weight of materials with
which it is covered, varying from the continuous impermeable layer of asphalt covering that can
be laid horizontal to exclude rain, to the small units of clay tiles that are laid overlapping down
slopes so that rain runs rapidly to the covers.

Weather Resistance: A roof excludes rain through the materials with which it is covered;
varying from the continuous impermeable layer of asphalt converging that can be horizontal to
exclude rain to the small units of clay titles that are laid overlapping down slop so that rain runs
rapidly to the covers.

Durability: The durability of a roof is dependant largely on the ability of the roof covering to
exclude rain and snow. Persistent penetration of water into the roof structure may cause or
encourage decay of timber, corrosion of steel or disintegration of concrete.

Fire Safety: The requirements for control of spread of fire in schedule of the building
regulations for dwelling houses limit roof construction relative to the proximity of boundaries of
the site of the building by reference to the materials of roof covering.

Thermal Resistance: The materials of roof structures and roof covering are generally poor
insulators against the transfer of heat. It is usually necessary to use some materials which are
good insulator. Examples of such materials include light weight boards, mats or loose materials.
This is to provide insulation requirements to meet the building regulation for the insulation of
roofs of dwellings is a standard value of 0.25 where the SAP ceiling is over 60.

Sound Insulation: The resistance of a roof to the penetration of airborne sound is not generally
considered unless the building is close to a busy airport. The mass of the materials of a roof is the
main constructions in the reduction of airborne sound.

Test Questions
i. List the basic building components.
ii. State the functional requirements of four building components.
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WEEK 2: PRELIMINARY SITE ACTIVITIES

When a builder takes possession of a building site, he it usually provided with a site lay-out plan
and the drainages necessary for the erection of the building. Having taken over the site, the task
of preparing for and setting out the building can be started. Taking over the site includes having
the providing access road to the site to allow the movement men, machines and materials to the
site.

(2.1) Site Activities that Precede Actual Building Construction

The following activities precede actual building construction on site
• Provision of access road
• Site clearance
• Provision of site offices and storage facilities
• Provision of site services

Site Clearance
The preliminary works on a construction project site usually begin after the sit facilities have
been set up. Clearing the site is essential. First, the vegetation such as bushes and shrubs should
be removed. The roots of trees and bushes must be dug out and cleared away.
Site clearance also may involve the demolition of existing buildings . demolition is a skilled
occupation and should be tackled by experts in that area.
The top soil should also be removed up to a depth of at least 150mm to remove any plant life and
decaying vegetable. The presence of vegetation and decaying materials means that the top soil is
easily compressible and cannot support building foundation. Top soil is however valuable as a
top dressing for gardens and may be disposed of in this manner

The site needs to be cleared of rocks and boulders in the area where the building will be set out.
If they are too large, then the boulders or rocks must be broken into smaller pieces and taken
away.

Site clearance is done by a combination of manual and mechanical means. The method adopted
will be determined by the overall economics which may be influenced by the scale of
development ant consideration for any adjacent buildings.
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(2.2) Provision of Facilities on Site

A well managed site should have facilities and services which will make the site functional and
convenient. On a building construction site, the following facilities and services should be
provided.

Temporary services: These include the provision of such services as water supply and,
electricity supply. Water is required on construction site for drinking and for the works. Where
the site is close to the public water mains, the water can be connected directly from the public
water mains to the site. The stand pipe should be located close to where the mixing of concrete
and mortar will take place. Where the site is far from the public water mains, water can be
supplied to the site with use of water tankers. The water can be stored in reservoir provided on
the site for such a purpose especially for the works.

An electrical supply for power tools, electricity can be supplied from the mains or a petrol
generator.

A telephone line should be provided which is secured so that it can only be used for official or
authorized calls.

Temporary access road: This should be provided to the site for the purpose of providing access
to vehicular traffic that will be bringing men and materials to the site. The access should be
constructed so that vehicles can enter the site in all weather. The access road can become part of
the permanent site services in the final design.

Site accommodation
A site should have an office and sheds for the workers on site to change their clothes and to take
rest on site during breaks from work and also have their meals.
Site accommodation and similar facilities provided on a site depends on the number of people
that are working on the site.

Units of accommodation come usually in two forms

• Sectional timber huts
• Mobile caravans or cabins
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Sectional timber huts are prefabricated for ease of dismantling and assembly to facilitate the re-
use on other sites. Huts of this nature should be designed, constructed and maintained with the
same care as permanent buildings to ensure their use for many years on a number of different
construction site. A well designed sectional hut should permit the addition of more bays to
increase the modular size by length and/or width. The anticipated use of each hut will govern the
construction and facilities required. Offices need to be weatherproof, provided with artificial
lighting, equipped with furniture that might be required on the site. Similar basic construction
can be used for other units of accommodation such as meal rooms, and toilets should be provided
and equipped with the basic facilities.

Caravan and mobile cabins are available in a wide variety of sizes, styles, and application. The
construction is most times of a plywood clad timber frame suitably insulated and decorated.
They are usually made of modular system so that by using special connection unit any
reasonable plan size and shape is possible. The caravan and cabin are fully equipped with all the
necessary furniture light and heating units. The toilets can be connected to site services or be self
contained.

Material Storage: The type of storage facilities required on a construction site for any material
depends on the following factors
• Durability ie whether it will need protection from the elements
• Vulnerability to damage
• Vulnerability to theft

Cement, plaster and lime supplied in bags form require a dry store free from draughts which can
introduce moist air and cause air set of the material. These materials should not be stored on the
site for long period of time on site; therefore provision should be made for rotational use so that
the material being used comes from older stock.

Aggregates such as sand and gravels require a clean firm base to ensure that foreign matter is not
included when extracting materials from the base of the stock pile. Different materials and
grades should be kept separated so that the ultimate mix batches are consistent in quality and
texture. Care must be taken to ensure that the stock piles are not used as refuse dump. The
moisture content of the aggregates should also be taken into consideration if it is exposed to the
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elements like rain, so as to allow for it in deciding the water cement ratio of the mix.

Bricks and blocks should be stacked in stable piles on a level and well drained surface in a
position where double handling is reduced to a minimum. Facing bricks and other coloured
bricks should be covered with tarpaulin to protect them from being discoloured by the weather
elements. Blocks should be stacked in such a way as to allow for air to flow freely through the
stack.

Timber absorbs water easily. To prevent undue moisture movement it should be stored in such a
manner that its moisture content remains fairly constant. A rack scaffold tubulars with a sheet
roof covering should be used to store timber. The sheet roof protects from rain and the various
sizes allow for free flow of air round the timber.

Ironmongery, hand tools and paints are some of the most vulnerable materials on site. Some
materials such as locks, power tools and cans of paint should be kept in a locked shed or inside
any of the completed rooms in the building under construction.

Test Questions
i. List the activities that precede actual building construction on site.
ii. What are the temporary services needed on construction site?
iii. How is storage provided for the basic materials on construction site?
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WEEK 3: SITE ORGANISATION AND LAYOUT

(2.3) Site Layout and Organisation

The building site can be considered a temporary factory, where the building is produced this
activity to take place the builder requires men, materials and plants. All these have to be
carefully controlled so that the men have the right machine in the most adequate position, the
materials stored so that they are readily available and not interfering with the general site
circulation a building and the total size of the site on which the building is to be erected.
Therefore is no standard size ratio between the free site spaces required considered as a
separation problem in terms of allocating space for men, materials and plant. To obtain
maximum efficiency there is an optimum way of laying out the site and also a correct amount of
expenditure to support the proposed site layout. Any planned layout should be reviewed
periodically and adjusted to suit the changing needs of the site activities. A careful consideration
of planning and control of this aspect of the building construction will reflect in the progress and
profitability of the building project.

Factors to Be Considered in Site Layout

Before any specific considerations and decisions can be made regarding site layout a general
appreciation should be obtained by conducting a thorough site investigation to formulate how the
job will be executed. This will involve the assessment of the plants and equipment that will be
utilized to execute the work. Specifically the considerations include the following:

• Access Consideration: this must be considered for both on and off site access. Routes to and
from the site must be checked as to the suitability for transporting all the requirements for the
proposed work. Access on site for deliveries and general circulation must also be carefully
considered so that vehicles delivering materials to the site will do so without difficulty or
delay. If is anticipated that large vehicles will be operating on the site it will be necessary to
consider the road surface required. If the road and the paved areas will form part of the
permanent work there should be constructed earlier in the work. If the anticipated traffic at
the end of the work is lighter than the one expected during construction enough protection
should be given to the road against the effect of the heavy traffic load.

• Storage Considerations: the amount and types of material to be stored, security and weather
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protection requirements, allocation of adequate areas for storing materials and allocating adequate
working space around storage areas required, siting of storage areas to reduce double
handling to a minimum without impeding the general site circulation and/or works in
progress.

• Accommodation Consideration: number and type of site staff anticipated, calculate size
and select units of accommodation and check to ensure compliance with the minimum
requirements of the relevant construction regulations. Select siting for offices to give easy
and quick access for visitors and at the same time giving a reasonable view of the site. Select
site for resting sheds and toilets to reduce walking time to a minimum without impeding the
general site circulation.

• Temporary Services Considerations: what, when and where are they required? Possibility
of having permanent services installed at an early stage and making temporary connections
for site use during the construction period. Coordination with the various service providers is
essential.

• Plants Considerations: the type and nature of plants and where they will be required on the
site are important. Whether the plants will be static or mobile. If static the most appropriate
position should be selected and hard standing should be provided. If mobile the circulation
routes should be checked for optimum efficiency and stability. Provision of space and hard
surface for plant maintenance should also be considered.

• Fencing and Hoarding Considerations: distinction should be made between what is

mandatory and what is desirable. These will depend on vandalism record in the area, type of
fence or hoarding required possibility of using fencing which will form part of the permanent
work by erecting it at the early stage of the work.

• Safety and Health Considerations: it should be ensured that all the above considerations
comply with the relevant construction safety regulations.

On taking over the site one of the first jobs is to layout the site boundaries as they are marked out
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on the drawings. The security fence should be set up around the site so as to control the
movement of people and materials. The boundary fence should have only one access so that
someone can check people in and out of the site. The site office should be located close to the
entrance into the site together with the site sheds where meals will be taken. The toilet on the site
should be located at one corner away from where it will constitute a nuisance and to also
enhance privacy.

The aggregates should be stored close to where the mixing will take place which in turn should
be located close to where provision has been made for water storage. Generally materials should
be stored to close to where they will be put to use.

The site should be laid out in such a way that there will be free movement of vehicles around the
site in case it will become necessary to move materials using vehicles around the site.

Lay out of Construction Site

The layout of every site could be divided into
• Administrative areas
• Construction areas

Administrative area: this will be the location of offices, stores, sub-contractors huts, canteen
and similar accommodation.

Construction area: this is the actual site of the building to be constructed, and it will be located
close to the consumable stores adjacent to the various buildings and equipment required for the
construction purpose. The layout of both these areas form an essential part of the early planning
in every construction work, the neglect of which will lead to delay in the initial progress of the
job leading to extra wastage of resources on the
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Fig 3.1 A typical site layout

Test Question
i. Discuss the factors considered in a construction site layout.
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WEEK 4: SETTING OUT OF BUILDING

(2.4) Setting out of Building

This is the transfer of information on the building drawing to the ground with high degree of
accuracy. When the site clearance is completed the setting out of the work may begin. It is
necessary to have a good knowledge of geometry in order to ensure accurate work. The first
tasked in setting out a building is to establish a base line from which the whole of the building
can be set out. The position of this line must be marks on site so that it can be re-established at
any time. The building line is frequently determined by the highway authority and in urban areas
it is often 8m from the back of the public foot path. If other buildings have been erected at the
area the building line can be determined from these existing buildings.

After the base line has been established, marked and checked the main lines of the building can
be set out, each corner being marked with stout peg. A check should then be made of the setting
out lines for right angles and correct lengths. The method of establishing of the right angle is
what the setting out sets out to establish in addition to the correct length.

Setting out Equipment

Measuring tape: before setting out any work the tape would be carefully checked for accuracy.
Metallic lines tapes tend to stretch after they have been in use for sometime. The tape is to mark
the measurement on the profiles. It should be ensured that each measurement is taken from the
extended ring at the end of the tape.

Profiles: When setting out a building, it is an advantage if the line can be secured so that they are
well clear of the building line. The trenches can then be dug without interfering with the lines.
Timber profiles erected for this purpose consist of pegs driven into the ground and boards nailed
across them. The lines can then be stretched above the ground level well clear of any obstruction
and may easily be checked for accuracy.

Datum Pegs: Before starting the actual setting out of the building, it is essential to establish a
level on the site to which references pertaining to the levels of elements of work may be made in
the course of executing the work.
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In planned cities and town ordinance bench marks are established where a bench mark is far
from the proposed site, a levelling instrument such as covering, level can be used to transfer the
datum level to the site from where it can be distributed around the proposed site,
Datum pegs must be located where it would not be disturbed by the operation on the site.

Methods of Setting out a Building

There are three methods of setting out on small building sites. These are
• Using 3,4,5 method
• Using the builder’s square
• Using the theodolite

Setting Out Using the 3,4,5 Method

1. Mark out the building line from the road by measuring the required distance or by
stretching a line along the existing buildings to the proposed site. The building line is
then represented by the line shown as the ranging line, GG1 (in figure above).
2. Mark out the over all length of the building by driving in pegs at A and B along the
ranging line.
3. Produce two steel tapes measured and mark out four equal distances on the ranging line
starting from the corner peg at B (4m).
4. Pull a tape measure from point B to C and ask an assistance to hold it ready with a
hammer and peg.
5. Pull the second tape from the fourth mark at D on the ranging to point E on the first tape.
6. The distance 5m on tape DE should coincide with point 3m to tape BEC to prove that the
angle B is 90O (from Pythagoras theorem).
7. Repeat the same procedure to obtain the right angle from BAF, and mark out the overall
width of the building.
8. Establish corner pegs and erect profiles.
9. Mark the position or partition walls on the profile with either nails or saw cuts. Ranging
lines are stretched through these nails and the corner peg to establish the ground to
indicate the line of excavation for the foundation trenches.
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Fig. 4.1 Setting out of a building using the 3,4,5 method

Setting out a building using the builder’s square method

1. Find out the distance from the site boundary to the building line on the working drawings.
Use the tape measure to measure the same distance from the site boundary to the location
of the building line on the ground. Select a corner on the ground to be corner A.
2. Place a peg in the ground at corner A and hammer a nail into the top of the peg.
3. Repeat these steps to place a peg in the ground for corner B
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4. Tie the string between pegs A and B. Measure the distance between A and B. Check that
the distance on the ground is the same measurement as the distance on the drawing.
5. Repeat these steps for corners C and D
6. Measure the diagonals A-D and B-C (the two diagonals should be equal)
7. Use the builder’s square to check that the corners are at right angles.

Fig.4.2. Setting out using the builder’s square

Test Questions
1. List the three methods of setting out a building
2. List the equipment used in setting out a building
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WEEK 5: EXCAVATION

(3.1) Methods of Excavation

Excavation is done to receive the foundation that will be constructed for a building. This is done
after the setting out and marking out. Excavation can be done using two methods:
• Manual method and
• Mechanical method
The choice of the method of excavation depends on the size of work. In small construction, it is
more economical to use the manual method, while large works will be economical to be executed
using the mechanical method of excavation.

(3.2) Tools Used in Manual Method of Excavation

The manual method of excavation involves the use of the following tools
• pick-axes used to dig up the soil
• shovels to remove the dug up soil
• spades to level the bottom of the excavation and to load into the wheelbarrow,
• Wheelbarrows to convey the excavated soil away from the excavation area.

(3.3) Equipment Used in Mechanical Excavation

The mechanical method of excavation involves the use of mechanical plants which are capable
of doing more than one task. Examples of these are as follows:

• Bulldozer: This is used to push the soil layer by layer to one side and pile it up nearby. A
bulldozer does not dig out or lift out the soil.
• Backacter: This equipment digs down with a bucket on a jointed boom and scoops the soil
towards itself. Since the bucket is narrow it is useful for forming trenches. It can also
deposit soil on trucks or Dumpers.
• Mechanical Auger: This digs pile holes. It is a large piece of equipment which has a large
drill mounted on a platform. The auger drills a hole in the ground and lifts out a column of
soil.
• Dump Truck: Used for the movement of soil over short distances. The body of the dump
truck tips forward and deposits the soil in the required position.
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• Tipper Truck: This is a road vehicle used to remove large amounts of excavated materials
to locations away from the site. The body of the tipper truck tips up and empties the soil at
the back of the vehicle.

Fig 5.1 Plants used in mechanical excavation

Test Questions
1. What are the factors that determine selection of excavation method.
2. State the uses of two mechanical excavating plant.
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WEEK 6: EARTHWORK SUPPORT

(3.4) Methods of Earthwork Support

It is important to access how long an excavation can safely remain open without support for the
sides. If the weather is very dry then the lack of moisture may cause the soil to shrink, crack and
fall in. Generally the looser the soil the more it needs to be supported.

If the soil is very wet then the sides of the excavation may become unstable. In both cases it is
better to provide temporary supports to the sides of the excavation. Excavation on a confined site
may also need support in case heavy loads are placed or driven too close to the edges of the
excavation. Earthworks supports retain the size of excavation collapsed during the time the
excavation will remain open. The process of providing temporary support to the sides of an
excavation is referred to as timbering. It is sometime planking and strutting.
Timbering is to:
• Protect the operatives while working in excavation
• Keep the excavation open by acting as a retaining wall to the sides of the trend.
• Prevent drainage to adjacent structures that could be caused by excavation
• Enable work to proceed within the excavation without interruption.

Components of Timbering
Timbering is made up of the following parts:
• Polings: These are vertical planks supporting the soil. In sand or gravel, they should be
placed close enough to form a continuous timber wall. Depending on the soil type and
working conditions, they may be placed about 900 mm apart. The purpose of the wailing is to
keep the soil on the sides of the excavation from falling in.
• Wailings: They are horizontal timber strips supporting the polings
• Struts: These are the timbers that span across the trench between the wailings. The struts
hold the opposite walls of the excavation in place.
• Wedges: These are the pieces of timber used to maintain the pressure of the polings against
the soil. If the soil expands or shrinks while the work is carried out, the wedges may need to
be adjusted again.
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Factors to be Considered in Providing Supports to Excavation

• The nature of the soil – Generally non-cohesive soils require more support than cohesive soil
• The depth of the excavation – Shallow excavations need less support than deep excavation
• The width of the excavation – The wide excavation needs to be supported in a different way
than narrow excavation.
• The type of work to be carried out- Operation within the excavation will require working
space the amount required will depend on the operation involved.
• The moisture content of the soil- soils require different amount of support as changes in their
moisture content occur.
• The length of time the excavation will be left open- cohesive soils, in particular may dry out
and star to crumble if the excavation is left open for long periods of dry weather
• The method of excavation – hand excavation will require more support than machine
excavation
• The support system used- different methods of excavation support can be installed before,
during or after the excavation.
• The removal of the support system- different support systems can be removed either before
or after the excavation.
• Moving materials into excavation – the working space will need to consider the materials
being moved into and out of the excavation as well as the operating being carried out within
the excavation
• The proximity use of the land adjacent to the excavation for stacking materials – over loading
of the ground by stacking materials close the excavation can cause stress on soils at the side
of the excavation. Similarly, large vehicle should be prevented from driving too close to the
excavation
• Vibration of soils from construction operation or vehicle using adjacent road- excessive
vibration can cause soils to move, making the sides of excavation potentially less stable.
27

(a) Timbering in hard soils (b) Timbering in firm soil

(c) Timbering in dry loose soils (d) Timbering in loose wet soils
Fig 1.7 Timbering in various types of soil

Another means of retaining the sides of an excavation without support by sloping the sides of the
excavation to the angle of repose of the soil, which is the natural angle at which the soil will
remain stable without additional support. When a soil is tipped into a mound it settles to its
natural angle of repose. This angle will alter according to the type of soil and its moisture
content. Because the angle of repose can rather be shallow, this method of excavation support
does, take up a large amount of space on site and is therefore not frequently adopted. However,
this technique can be use on talk excavation.
28

(3.5) Foundation
The function of any foundation is to safely sustain and transmit to the ground on which it rests
the combined dead, imposed and wind loads in such a manner as not to cause any settlement or
other movement which would impair the stability or cause damage to any part of the building.

Test Questions
1. List 4 consideration for providing earthwork support
2. Draw a typical earthwork support to a loose soil.
29

WEEK 7: FOUNDATION

(3.6) Importance of Foundation to Building

The foundation
• provides anchorage for the building
• carries the load of the building and safely transmits it to soils of better bearing capacity.
• provides a wide surface area to spread the load evenly across soil that can support the load.

(3.7) Types of Foundation Soil

The choice of foundation depends among other factors on the type of soil in which the
foundation is to be constructed.
• Rock – this is a very hard foundation soil. This kind of soil has a high load bearing capacity.
It can support strip foundation for a load bearing wall and a pad foundation for isolated loads
as those transmitted by columns and similar components.
• Gravel and sand – compact; suitable for pad, and strip foundation
• Clay – stiff; suitable for pad and strip foundation. The depth of the foundation should be
taken to a depth where it will not be affected by swelling and shrinkage which sometimes
occur in clay soil.
• Sandy clay – Firm; suitable for strip and pad foundation. The foundation should be made
wide enough taking into consideration the load bearing capacity of the soil.
• Clay and silt – Soft; suitable for raft foundation because of the low load bearing capacity of
the soil.

Soils are also classified into two categories which are

• Cohesive soils in which the particles stick together and examples include silt, clay, clay and
silt
• Non – Cohesive soil in which the particles do not stick together but are loose especially when
they are dry. Examples include rock, gravel and sand

Factors that Influence the Choice of Foundation.

The choice and design of foundation for building for building depends mainly on three factors
• The total load of the building
30

• The nature and beaming capacity of the soil

• The amount of settlement produced by the loading.

The total load on the building

The total on a building is made up of dead load, line load and super imposed load. It is assumed
that a building imposes a uniform loading all around its perimeter. This is not strictly correct as
line load form floors and superimposed loading from the roofs will only be carried by the walls
that support these elements. To reduce the complexity of calculating individual loadings for
section of the external walls, it is easier to take the worst case scenario (i.e. the wall experiencing
the greatest sum of loads) and assume that all other walls are similarly loaded. If the load is
assumed to be uniform, then it is not necessary to add up all the loads for the entire perimeter of
the building. If a representative 1 metre length of the external wall is taken, then need the total
load on that section of wall can be determined and the foundation needed to support that section
of the wall can be determined and the foundation needed to support that section of wall can be
calculated. This design can then be applied to the rest of the foundation for the house.

The nature and bearing capacity of the sub-soil

The nature and bearing capacity of the subsoil ( the soil beneath the top soil) varies with the
types of soil, it is the degree of compressibility and he amount of moisture in the soil. Also,
cohesive soils, clays specification, can be subject to seasoned movement up to a depth of 1metre.
These soils exhibit shrinkage/contraction and swelling/expansion during dry and wet seasons
respectively.

The amount of settlement produced by the loading

Soil is compressible to varying degrees. As load is applied to the foundation the soil beneath the
foundation will be compressed, the water and air in the voids between the soil particles will be
squeezed out and the foundation will settle. This consolidation process will continue until the
forces between the particles are equal to the applied load. The speed of the consolidation is
determined by the speed of the migrating of water and air from between the soil particle.
Foundation built on sand on sand settles relatively rapidly, while foundation built on clay soil
settles more slowly and can last for a number of years.
31

Soils that are close to the surface are likely to be more compressible than those at greater depth,
as deeper soil have been compressed by the weight of the overlaying soil. If the applied load on a
clay soil is reduced due to excavation, water tends to move to the unloaded areas and swelling
the soil will occur.

Peat and other soils containing a lot of organic matter shrink and swell easily as their water
content changes. They are very compressible and settle reality even under light loading. Made up
ground behaves in a similar manner unless the materials is well graded, carefully placed and
properly compacted in thin layers. Shallow foundation should not be used on sites consisting of
made up ground. Slight settlement should not cause problems to the structure of the building.
Excessive settlement may cause shear failure of the soil.

Settlement must also be uniform throughout the building; otherwise damage may result from
different settlement. The amount of different movement between parts of a building must be kept
within acceptable limits.

(3.8) Simple calculations of the area of concrete foundation

The size of foundation depends on two factors namely
• Load being transmitted
• Bearing capacity of the soil under the proposed foundation.
The bearing capacities of soils are obtained from tables or from soil investigation reports.

Bearing Capacity of Strip Foundation

A strip foundation consists of a strip of concrete under a continuous wall that carries a uniformly
distributed load (i.e. the load from the wall to the foundation is uniform throughout the length of
the wall). The load on the foundation is therefore considered as load per metre run of the load
bearing wall.

Width of foundation required = load per metre run of wall (kN/m)

Bearing capacity of soil (kN/m2)

Example 1
Calculate the minimum width of a strip foundation for a house where the total load from the wall
32

is 50 kN/m and the soil bearing capacity is 150 kN/m2.

Solution
Total load from the wall = 50 kN/m
Soil bearing capacity = 150 kN/m2
Minimum width of the strip foundation = load per metre run
Soil bearing capacity

= 50
150
= 0.333m

Bearing capacity for pad foundations

A concentrated load may be supported by a column or free-standing brick pier on a pad
foundation. The size of the foundation should be related to the load carried by the column or pier
and the soil bearing capacity.
Example 2
The load on a brick pier that supports the load from part of the upper floor, wall and roof of a
two-storey building is 70 kN. The soft clay ground has a bearing capacity of 52 kN/m2
Area of foundation in m2 = Bearing pressure in kN
Bearing capacity of soil in kN/m2
= 70/52
= 1.346 m2

Test Questions
1. What are the factors that determine the size of a foundation?
2. Calculate the minimum width of a strip foundation that supports a wall that transmits a load
of 65 kN/m, given that the soil bearing capacity is 120 kN/m2.
3. Calculate the minimum plan area of a pad foundation that carries a column supporting a total
load of 250 kN when the load bearing capacity is 200kN/m2.
33

WEEK 8: TYPES OF FOUNDATION

(3.9) Types of Foundation and Their Application

Foundations are classified into two broad categories:
• Shallow foundations
• Deep foundations

Shallow Foundations
Shallow foundations transfer load of the building to a sub-soil at a level close to the surface.
They are nearly always the cheapest to construct and generally used where sufficient depth of a
strong soil exists near the surface of the ground. The foundation needs to be designed so that the
soil is not overstressed so that the pressure on the subsoil beneath the foundation is equal at all
points in order to avoid unequal settlement. The common types of shallow foundations are
• Strip foundation
• Pad foundation
• Raft foundation.

Strip Foundation
Reinforced concrete strip foundations are used to support and transmit the loads from heavy
walls. The minimum thickness of a strip foundation is 150 mm. This may be of course, greater
where the projection of the edge of the foundation from the base of the wall is greater than 150
mm. A typical strip foundation is as shown in figure 8.1. The width of the strip should be at least
equal to three times the thickness of the wall it supports.
34

Fig. 8.1 Strip foundation

The thickness of the foundation should be at least equal to the projection of the foundation from
the base of the wall so that the load transmitted from the wall will not be dispersed over an area
outside the width of the foundation as illustrated in figure 8.2. This is to prevent the shear failure
of the foundation.

(a) Lines of shear failure on wide and thin foundation (b) design of foundation to prevent shear failure

Fig. 8.2 Design of strip foundation to avoid shear failure

35

The effect of the wall on the relatively thin foundation is to act as a point load and the resultant
ground pressure will induce tension on the underside across the width of the strip. Tensile
reinforcement is therefore required in the lower face of strip with distribution bars in the second
layer running longitudinally especially in soft soils and in wide strip foundation. The
reinforcement arrangement for a wide strip foundation is as shown in figure 8.3

Fig. 8.3 Wide strip foundation

In firm clays the sub-soil is capable of carrying substantial loads and may only require a
foundation to be slightly wider than the wall it is supporting. The foundation still needs to be
deep enough to overcome the problems of seasonal changes in moisture content of the soil. A
deep, narrow foundation, of about 350mm in width and up to 1.50m in depth as shown in figure
8.4 could be constructed.
36

Fig. 8.4 Deep strip foundation

On a sloppy site it is necessary to step the foundation parallel to the slope of the ground. This is
called a stepped foundation. To prevent differential settlement in a stepped foundation, the height
of the step should not exceed the thickness of the foundation. At each step the higher foundation
should overlap the lower foundation for a distance equal to the thickness of the foundation. An
illustration of a stepped foundation is given in figure 9.5

Fig. 8.5 Stepped foundation

37

Test Questions
1. Describe foundation under these headings
a. Shallow foundation
b. Deep foundation
2. Sketch 4 types of foundation
38

WEEK 9: TYPES OF FOUNDATION CONTINUED

Pad foundation
This type of foundation is used to support and transmit the loads from piers and columns. The
most economic plan shape is a square but if the columns are close to the site boundary, it may be
necessary to use a rectangular plan shape of equivalent area. The reaction of the foundation to
the load and ground pressures is to cup, similar to a saucer, and therefore main steel is required
in both directions. A typical example of a reinforced pad foundation is shown in figure 9.5.

Fig. 9.5 Pad foundation

Raft foundation
The principle of any raft foundation is to spread the load over the entire area of the site. This
method is particularly useful where the column loads are heavy and thus requiring large bases or
where the bearing capacity is low, again resulting in the need for large bases. Raft foundation
can be considered under three headings:
• solid slab rafts,
• beam and slab rafts, and
• cellular rafts.
39

(a) Reinforce concrete solid slab raft foundation (b) Cellular raft foundation
Fig 9.5 Types of raft foundation

Pile Foundation
Pile foundation is used to transfer heavy load to a soil layer of adequate strength located far
below the ground surface that it will be uneconomical to carry out excavation to reach such a
depth. This is used where the soil condition is poor close to the earth surface. Pile foundations
could be made using concrete, steel or timber. The concrete could be precast or cast insitu.

Piles are classified by their method of construction into

• Bored or Replacement Piles which are concrete cores poured into holes in the ground at
measured intervals.
• Driven or Displacement Piles which are driven into the ground at spaced intervals.

By the way they carry their loads pile foundations are classified into two types. These are
• End bearing pile, and
• Friction pile

(a) End bearing piles are those piles that are driven down to soil layer of adequate strength in
such a way that the end of the piles actually bear on this particular soil layer.
40

(b) Friction piles are used in situations where the soil layer of adequate strength is located far
below the ground surface such that it becomes uneconomical to produce piles that will go
to such a depth. This type of piles carries their load by the friction that exists between the
shaft of the pile and the surrounding soil particles. The surface of the friction piles are
made rough so that the desired frictional force could be produced as the pile is driven into
the ground.

Test Questions
1. Use drawing to describe a pad foundation
2. State the principle behind raft foundation
41

WEEK 10: METHODS OF REINFORCEMENT IN SUBSTRUCTURES

(3.10) Methods of Reinforcement in Substructure

Reinforcement is provided in concrete structures to enhance its tensile strength. Therefore in all
structural elements, the reinforcement is provided in the region of the element that will be
subjected to tension. Reinforcement details as provided in some sub-structures are illustrated
below. Substructures include the following:
• Foundations
• Ground beams

Pad foundations: The reinforcement in isolated pad foundation is provided as the bottom of the
foundation slab. This is because the point load coming from the column or pier subject the
bottom part of the foundation to tension. The reinforcement detail is as shown in figure 10.1

Fig 10.1 Reinforcement details of some of a pad foundation

Raft foundation: In raft foundation both the top and bottom faces of the slab are subjected to
both tension and compression depending on the position of the columns and other structural
components that are carried by the raft. The reinforcement is therefore provided both at the top
and bottom of the slab as shown in figure 10.2
42

Fig 10.2 Reinforcement details for solid slab raft foundation

Ground beams: Ground beams are provided to support the foundation wall in place of a strip
foundation in poor soil conditions. They are reinforced to enhance their resistance to the loads
that might be coming on them from the wall. There are situations where the ground beams form
component parts of some types of raft foundation. Typical reinforcement arrangement in ground
beams is shown as an integral part of a raft foundation in figure 10.3

Fig 10.3 Reinforcement details for ground beams in a raft foundation

Test Questions
1. What is the main function of reinforcement in foundation
2. State 2 characteristic of a ground beam
43

WEEK 11: CONSTRUCTION OF FOUNDATIONS

(3.11) Method of Construction of Foundation

Strip Foundation
Reinforced concrete strip foundations are used to support and transmit the loads from heavy
walls. The minimum thickness of a strip foundation is 150 mm. This may be of course, greater
where the projection of the edge of the foundation from the base of the wall is greater than 150
mm. A typical strip foundation is as shown in figure 11.1.

The construction entails first of carrying out the excavation of the foundation trench up to a
depth of at least 1m. This depth is to ensure that the foundation is constructed at a depth where it
will not be affected by the seasonal soil movement that will cause its failure. After the
excavation is concluded the concrete is then placed and compacted in the trench usually in one
single layer.

Fig. 11.1 Strip foundation

If the nature of the soil will be such that a wide strip foundation will be used, the reinforcement
44

is placed at the bottom of the exaction and the necessary concrete cover is ensured by the use of
spacers placed below the reinforcement before the concrete is poured. This is as shown in figure
11.2

Fig. 11.2 Wide strip foundation

Pad foundation
The construction of the pad foundation entails the excavation of the foundation pit to the desired
depth. The bottom of the excavation is overlaid with a weak concrete referred to as blinding. The
reinforcement which is placed in both directions is usually tied in a basket form and then placed
inside the pit with the spacers to give the necessary concrete cover to the reinforcement. The
column starter bars are cast together with the foundation. The concrete of the desired quality is
then poured into the pit to form the foundation. A reinforced concrete pad foundation is shown in
figure 11.3
45

Fig. 11.3 Pad foundation

Raft foundation
Because the raft foundation covers the whole area under the building, the excavation has to be
carried out to the desired depth over the whole area the building has to cover. A weak concrete is
placed over the whole area which acts as blinding. The reinforcement is placed with the spacers
to give the desired concrete cover. The reinforcement is placed in both direction and in both
faces. The concrete is then poured and compacted to form the foundation. It might also be
necessary to cast the column starter bars, if necessary. The construction is as shown in figure
11.3.

(b) Reinforce concrete solid slab raft foundation (b) Cellular raft foundation
Fig. 11.3 Types of raft foundation
46

Pile Foundation
Pile foundations are constructed either by being driven into the ground by pile drivers or the
ground is bored, the reinforcement is placed and concrete pored and vibrated to form the pile
foundation. In the first case it is called driven pile. The second type is referred to as replacement
pile.

Test Questions
1. Describe a method used in carrying out strip foundation
47

WEEK 12: DAMP PROOFING

(4.1) Rising Damp and Seepage of Ground Water in Building

The foundation of the building and the foundation walls are usually in direct contact with the
sub-soil. The ground water level rises and drops depending on the season. This ground water
rises through the fabric of the walling materials and passes through to the superstructure. This
rising damp has the adverse effect of damaging fittings and finishes applied to the building. For
this reason precaution should be taken to prevent this dampness from rising.

The process of preventing the passage of moisture to the interior of a building through the walls,
floors, etc. is referred to as damp proofing. Damp proofing is achieved by the use of damp proof
course (DPC) and damp proof membrane (DPM). While the damp proof membrane (DPM) is
defined as an impervious material placed horizontally at the floor level to prevent moisture
penetration into the interior of the building.

(4.2) Damp Poof Course (DPC) and Damp Proof Membrane (DPM)
Damp proof course (D.P.C) simply means an impervious material used to prevent the vertical
rise of moisture through the wall into the interior of the building. The primary function of any
damp-proof course (dpc) or damp membrane (dpm) is to provide an impermeable barrier to the
passage of moisture. However, D.P.C can be used in:
• Reveals of doors and widows opening
• Retaining walls
• Basement walls enclosing laundry

The three basic purposes for which damp-proof courses are used is to:-
• Resist moisture penetration from below (rising damp)
• Resist moisture penetration from above
• Resist moisture penetration from horizontal entry

(4.3) Functions of Damp Proof Courses

• prevents capillary action of water to the super structure of the building.
• prevents the furniture and insulator of the building from moisture.
• provides a good barrier to the passage of water from the ground into the structure.
48

• accommodate pipe, insulator and other electrical fitting of the building in terms of concrete
(D.P.C)
• should be capable of adequate resisting any attack by sulphates or any other deleterious
matter present in the subsoil.

The movement of water or moisture into the building is most times upward through the
foundation of wall from the ground.
Paint laid (D.P.C) should be protected on both sides with bitumen to prevent corrosion of the
laid, as it is in contact with cement mortar.
Care should be taken to ensure a good bonding between slate or brick and the mortar.

The diagram above shows the rise of moisture through material to wall above D. P. C too close
to the ground.

Damp proof membrane (DPM) should be impermeable to water either in liquid or vapour from
the ground. It should be rough enough to withstand possible damage during the laying of screeds,
concrete or floor finishes. It may also be sand witched in or under the concrete slab. Being
impermeable to water, the membrane will delay the drying out of wet concrete to the ground, if it
is under the concrete or screed or it is on top of the concrete. Typical details of the procedure
used in laying DPC and DPM are shown in figure 12.1
49

(a) DPM laid below the floor slab (b) DPM laid above the floor slab

Fig. 12.1 Damp proof course (DPC) & damp proof membrane

Test Questions
1. Discuss the importance of damp proofing
2. State 3 basic purposes for which damp proofing is provided in a foundation
50

WEEK 13 MATERIALS USED FOR DAMP PROOF COURSE

(4.6) Materials Used for Damp Proof Course

Obviously some material must be built into the brick work and ground to prevent any water
being drawn up above a level just above ground. The most convenient way of doing this is to
build into horizontal or vertical joint some material which is non-absorbent or resistant to water
and which is continuous. The materials most commonly used for this are:
Bitumen impregnated felt
Asphalt Hard soil
Bituminous

Lead / Aluminum core

A sheet of copper Fairly firm soil
Polythene sheet

Metal sheet
concrete cement Lose soil

Properties of Damp Proof Course

• Flexibility
• Impervious
• Rigidity
• Durability

Damp proof course maybe horizontal or vertical placed either below the ground level or just
above the ground level is in order prevent water raising up the wall of the building. These below
ground level are provided with the lowest floor in a building.

These consist of both horizontal and vertical D. P. C must be placed at least 150mm above the
ground level and the vertical D.P.C must connect the two D.P.C form a completion barrier to
moisture. Every wall in a building should have a (D. P. C) which is:
51

At least 150mm and above ground level

Above the surface of any oversite concrete
Below the surface member of the timber floor

Moreover the wall should be kept about 25mm away from asphalt and each course flushed up
solidly. The asphalt which is laid on the floor slab should also have a protective screed on top to
prevent any damage by people walking over it. Therefore, reinforcement is to be placed on it or
petrol and oil being spilt from machinery.

Precaution to Be Taken When Laying DPC

• Always keep mortar bed even and ensure that there are no
• Unroll bitumen material carefully; especially in cool weather as coldness tend to make them
brittle and liable to crack badly.
• Bed slates and bricks carefully to ensure that there are no air puddles beneath them.

Procedure for Placing DPC

The D. P. C is placed horizontally below the ground level to prevent water up the wall. The D. P.
C below ground level is provided where the floor in a building is below the ground level and will
consist of both horizontal and vertical DPC the lower DPC is placed below the floor level and an
upper DPC is placed about 150mm above the ground level. The vertical DPC is connected to the
two to form a complete barrier to the moisture rising up to the structure.

As an impermeable membrane, the DPC prevents termites from penetrating through into the
building. This is because it is a hard surface through which termite cannot penetrate.

D. P. C will not allow any under ground tree to penetrate through the ground to the floor.

Test Question
1. State the materials for damp proofing
2. Briefly describe various materials for damp proofing on different types of soil
52

WEEK 14: BASEMENT TANKING

(4.4) Tanking in Basement Work

Waterproofing presents a great problem in basement construction. It is required that such walls
be constructed so that they will not transmit moisture from the ground to the inside of the
building or to any material used in the construction that would be adversely affected by moisture.
A basement can be waterproofed by any of the following basic methods
• Monolithic structures
• Drained cavities
• Membranes (of which asphalt tanking is a detailed example)

Asphalt Tanking
Asphalt is a natural or manufactured mixture of bitumen with a substantial proportion of inert
mineral matter. When heated, asphalt becomes plastic and can be moulded by hand pressure into
any shape. Bitumen has both waterproofing and adhesive properties.

The basic principle of asphalt tanking is to provide a continuous waterproofing membrane to the
base and walls of the basement. Continuity between the vertical and horizontal membranes is of
utmost importance, and since asphalt sets rapidly once removed from the heat source used to
melt the blocks it is applied in layers over small areas. Joints in successive coats should be
staggered by at least 150 mm in horizontal work and at least 75 mm in vertical work.
53

(a)Externally applied mastic asphalt tanking

(b) Internally applied mastic asphalt tanking

Fig 14.1 Basement tanking in mastic asphalt
54

Test Questions
1. List three basic methods of tanking
2. Describe Asphalt taking
3. Draw an basement tanking using mastic asphalt
55

WEEK 15: HARDCORE

(4.7) Hardcore Layer

This is made up of material such as broken stones, rocks and various laterites used to satisfy and
level the uppermost surface of a building area before the ground floor slab is cast upon it.

Functions of Hardcore
• Provides support to the floor slab
• Reduces the amount of moisture penetration into the building
• Used in determining different floor levels in a building wit various floor levels (e.g. dinning
area may be higher than sitting area (living room).
• Used for filling in void before construction. Hardcore is important in the construction of solid
ground floor.
• Used in determining the different levels in a building, in reduced level excavation.
• Provides an even level before slab is cast.
• Helps in reducing undergrowth in penetrating into the floor slab and subsequently into the
building.
• Helps to increase the strength level of a building.

Materials Used for Hardcore

The following materials could be used as hardcore
• Broken bricks
• Demolition wastes
• Broken stones
• Compacted lateritic soil

(4.8) Blinding
A blinding layer 50 to 75mm thick of weak concrete or coarse sand should be placed under all
reinforced concrete foundations. The function of the blinding are to fill in any weak pockets
encountered during excavations and to provide a true level surface from which the reinforcement
can be positioned. If formwork is required for the foundation some contractors prefer to lay the
blinding before assembling the frame work; the alternative is to place the blinding within the
56

frame work and allow this set before positioning the reinforcement and placing the concrete.

Also blinding should be placed on top of the hardcore before the casting of the oversite concrete.
This is to safeguard against the mixture of water, fine aggregates and cement from seeping
through the large voids present in the hardcore layer. It also prevents the rough surface of the
hardcore layer from puncturing the damp proof membrane that may placed on it before the
casting of the floor slab.

(4.9) Termite Treatment

Termites present a danger to buildings because they eat the cellulose in the timber in buildings
where they can not be seen. To remove the danger, the termite nests must be dug out and the
content destroyed. Anti-termite treatment therefore aims to eradicate termites and the consequent
hazard they pose to the building and its components.

The ground around a termite nest is usually treated with toxic chemicals. The chemicals should
be mixed in open air to avoid its health risk to the workers.

Test Questions
1. Define hard core and state site functions
2. State 4 type of materials that can be used for tanking
3. Explain the importance of anti termite treatment
 UNESCO-NIGERIA TECHNICAL &
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
REVITALISATION PROJECT-PHASE II

NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN
BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION II
COURSE CODE: BLD 104

YEAR I- SE MESTER II
THEORY/PRACTICAL
Version 1: December 2008
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

WEEK1: FLOORS
1.1 Functions of floors
1.2 Types of ground floors
1.3/1.4 Method of constructing ground floors

WEEK2: SUSPENDED FLOORS

1.4/1.5 Suspended timber ground floor
1.6 Types of upper floors
• Function of upper floors
1.7 Method of construction of upper floors
• Suspended timber upper floor
• Functions of suspended timber floor

WEEK3: UPPER FLOORS (CONTINUED)

1.8/1.9 Types of concrete upper floors
• Reinforced concrete upper floors
• Hollow pot floor
• Hollow beam floor units
• Precast solid beam floor unit
• Terracotta blocks (red earth) floor

WEEK4: UPPER FLOORS (CONTINUED)

1.8 Types of suspended upper floors

WEEK5: WALLS
• Wall
2.1 Functions of walls
2.2 Wall classification
2.3 Methods of construction walls

WEEK 6: WALLS
2.4 Materials used in wall construction
2.5 Types of block wall construction
o Concrete block , block walls
o Construction of walls
o Bonding in walls

WEEK7: PARTITION WALLS

2.6 Partition wall
2.7 Functions of partition walls
2.8/2.9 Types of partition walls
WEEK8: PARTITION WALLS (CONTINUED)
2.10 Timber stud partition

WEEK 9: STAIRCASE
3.1 Stair case
• Functional requirements of staircase
• Safety layout
• Staircase layout
3.2/3.4 Types of staircase
3.3. Terminologies of a staircase

WEEK10: STAIRCASE (CONTINUED)

3.2/3.4 Types of staircase
3.5 Formula for calculating stair dimension

WEEK11: STAIRCASE (CONTINUED)

Construction of staircase
• Timber stair case
• Reinforce concrete stair case

WEEK 12: ROOF CONSTRUCTION

• Functional requirements of roof
• Classification of roof
Types of roof
• Pitch roof
• Flat roof
• Properties and details of roof covering
• Water system of roof

WEEK 13 ROOF (CONTINUED)

• Steel roofs

• Timber flat roof

• Reinforced concrete roofs

WEEK 14: TYPES OF CEILINGS

Types of ceiling
• Functions of ceilings
• Factors affecting the choice of ceiling construction
Suspended ceiling
Classification of suspended ceiling
Non-suspended ceiling
Disadvantages of ceiling
WEEK15: METHODS OF CEILING CONSTRUCTION
Methods of ceiling construction
• Functional requirements of ceiling finishes
• Factors to be considered when selecting materials for ceiling
• Materials used for ceiling.
WEEK 1: FLOORS

(1.1) Functions of Floors

• Thermal insulation - it should be design to resist heat penetration.
• Resistance to moisture passage - it should be able to resist the passage of moisture into the
building.
• Resistance to sound transmission e.g. by the use of rug or carpet.
• Fire resistance – it should be able to resist the penetration of fire in case of its outbreak for at
least one hour.
• Stability – it should be stable enough to carry its own self weight and live load
• Durability – it should be design durable to achieve the expected life span.

(1.2) Types of Ground Floor

• solid concrete ground floor
• suspended timber ground floor

(1.3)/(1.4) Method of Constructing Ground Floors

Solid Concrete Ground Floor
This is a continuous layer of concrete of at least 150mm thick spread over the sides of all
buildings within the external walls and is known as over site concrete.
The layer of 150mm thick concrete is laid on 100 – 150mm thick of hardcore. The mix for the
concrete is either 1: 2: 4 or 1: 3: 6, i.e. (cement – sand – aggregate).
Depending on the nature of the soil the hardcore ranges between 100mm – 300mm.
The damp proof course is provided to prevent the moisture from penetrating into the walls, and
the Damp proof membrane is laid in between the two halves of the concrete floor, that is it is
sandwiched in the concrete to prevent damp rising and keep the top of the concrete dry.
Fig. 1.1 Solid Concrete Ground Floor

Test Questions
1. Discuss five functions of floors
2. List and discuss two types of ground floor
WEEK 2: SUSPENDED FLOORS

(1.4)/(1.5) Suspended Timber Ground Floor

This is a ground floor that does not lie directly on the ground surface, but spans from wall to
wall. It is constructed by first laying concrete bed of not less than 100mm thick of 1: 3: 6 mix.
A dwarf wall otherwise known as sleeper wall is the constructed in a honey comb manner on the
concrete bed. To provide adequate ventilation, air bricks are inserted in the external walls. The
wall plates are then laid on the sleeper walls.
Floor joist are later crossed on the wall plates, and the floor is finished with floor boards. The
boards are arranged and fixed to one another in a systematic manner to avoid the appearance of
rough surface on the finished floor.
Strutting is used in timber suspended floors to restrict the movement due to twisting and
vibration which could damage ceiling finishes, strutting should be included in construction of
timber floors if the spans of the floor joist exceed 2.50m centres and is positioned on the centre
line of the span.

Fig. 1.2 Suspended timber ground floor

(1.6) Types of Upper Floors
Depending on the materials from which they are made, upper floors can be divided into
• Timber upper floors
• Concrete upper floors.

Floors made from concrete have a better resistance to damage by fire and can safely support
greater amount of super imposed load than timber floor.

Functions of Upper Floors

• To reduce heat loss from lower floors as required
• To provide required degree of sound insulation
• To provide required degree of fire resistance
• It provides a level surface with sufficient strength to support the imposed loads of people and
furniture.
• To provide space for rooms on upper floor
(1.7) Methods of Construction of Upper Floors
Suspended Timber Upper Floor
A timber suspended upper floor consist of a series of beams or joists supported by load bearing
walls which are sized and spaced to carry all the dead and imposed loads. The cost of timber
floor is half the cost of reinforce concrete floor. The resistance to fire is very low hence it is not
much in use today, instead reinforced concrete is used.

The floor is framed with soft timber joist which are usually 50mm thick and 250mm or more in
depth. The depth of the joists depends on the span. The rough method of determining the depth
of joist required is to divide the span by 24 and add 50 to get the depth of the joist. The spacing
of joist ranges between 375mm and 400mm. the maximum economical span of timber joist is
between 3.6 m to 4.0 m for greater spans. It is economical to reduce the span of joist by the use
of steel beams. The typical arrangement of the joists in timber upper floor is as shown in figure
2.1
Fig 2.1 Suspended timber upper floors

Functions of suspended timber floor

• To provide a level surface with sufficient strength to support the imposed loads of people and
furniture.
• To exchange the passage of water and water vapour to the interior of buildings.
• It provides resistance to unacceptable heat loss through the floor.

Test questions
1. State the purposes of constructing suspended timber ground floor
2. List three functions of upper floor
3. Draw a typical timber upper floor and label the parts.
WEEK 3: UPPER FLOORS CONTINUED

(1.8)/(1.9) Types of Concrete Upper Floors

• Reinforced concrete upper floor
• Hollow beam floor unit
• Precast solid beam floor unit
• Solid precast T – Beam
• Terracotta blocks with centering

Reinforced Concrete Upper Floors

These floors have a better resistance to damage by fire and can safely support greater super
imposed loads than timber of similar depth. Monolithic reinforced concrete floor implies to solid
mass of concrete as the thickness ranges from 100 – 300mm cast in situ and are reinforced with
steel reinforcing bars. Temporary centering have to be used to support the concrete while it is
still wet and flexible.
The concrete ends should be built into the block work, with the main reinforcement spanning
across the floor between the walls supporting the floor, and the usual size of bar used is 12mm
bar is used. The spacing ranges between 120mm to 225mm. the components and method of
construction of this type of floor is as shown in figure 3.1.
Fig 3.1 Suspended Reinforced Concrete Upper Floor

Hollow Pot Floor

These are floors with permanent formwork in the form or hollow clay or concrete pots. The main
advantage of this type of cast in situ floor is that it has a flat soffit which is suitable for the direct
application of a plaster.

The hollow ports are arranged on the formwork side by side as shown in figure 3.2. Reinforcing
bars are placed between the hollow pots. The floor construction process is completed by placing
a constructional concrete topping of at least 50 mm. This is to provide a leveled surface for the
floor.
Fig 3.2 Hollow Pot Floor

Hollow beam floor units

This is regular in section and is precast with side indent for key to concrete. The depth of the
beam varies with the super imposed load and span. These beams are not suitable for floors
carrying heavy loads such as floors for ware houses. The method of construction is similar to that
of the hollow pot floor system and is as in figure 3.3.
Fig3.3 Hollow beam floor units

Precast Solid Beam Floor Unit

This system is the same with the hollow beam floor unit, the only difference is that the former
cannot carry heavy load and is lighter than the later. This is constructed by placing precast
reinforced concrete beam side and the space in between filled with precast lightweight blocks
shown in figure 3.4. Because it can carry heavy loads it can be used for a warehouse. The floor
arrangement after construction is as shown in figure 3.5.
Fig. 3.4 Precast solid beam floor units

Fig. 3.5 Precast solid beam floor system

Terracotta Blocks (red earth) Floor
In situ cast reinforced concrete and terracotta or Ackerman blocks are types of floors that need
centering. These floors are built into the block work as in the case of upper floors. The span is up
to 5.0m and the depth of the floor, the size and the number of reinforcing bars depends on super
imposed loads and span. The construction is shown in figure 3.5.

Fig3.4 Terracotta blocks (red earth)

Fig. 3.6 Terracotta blocks floor system

Test Questions
1. List four other methods of upper floor a part from upper timber floor
WEEK 4 UPPER FLOORS (CONTINUED)

(1.8) Types of Suspended Upper Floor

Hollow beam floor units
This is regular in section and is precast with side indent for key to concrete. The depth of the
beam varies with the super imposed load and span. These beams are not suitable for floors
carrying heavy loads such as floors for ware houses. The method of construction is similar to that
of the hollow pot floor system and is as in figure 4.1.

Fig4.1 Hollow beam floor units

Precast Solid Beam Floor Unit

This system is the same with the hollow beam floor unit, the only difference is that the former
cannot carry heavy load and is lighter than the later. This is constructed by placing precast
reinforced concrete beam side and the space in between filled with precast lightweight blocks
shown in figure 3.4. Because it can carry heavy loads it can be used for a warehouse. The floor
arrangement after construction is as shown in figure 3.5.
Fig. 4.2 Precast solid beam floor units

Fig. 4.3 Precast solid beam floor system

Terracotta Blocks (red earth) Floor
In situ cast reinforced concrete and terracotta or Ackerman blocks are types of floors that need
centering. These floors are built into the block work as in the case of upper floors. The span is up
to 5.0m and the depth of the floor, the size and the number of reinforcing bars depends on super
imposed loads and span. The construction is shown in figure 3.5.

Fig3.4 Terracotta blocks (red earth)

Fig. 4.4 Terracotta blocks floor system

Test Questions
1. Draw a typical terracotta floor works.
2. Use drawing to distinguish between tee precast floor and a convention cost –insulin for
monolithic floor
WEEK 5: WALLS

Walls
Walls are any continuous vertical members whose length and height are both much larger than
the thickness. Wall subjected to no loads other than their own weight such as panel or enclosure
walls are called non-load bearing walls. Walls with a primary function of resisting horizontal
loads are called shear walls. They may also serve as bearing walls.

(2.1) Functions of Walls

• It provides necessary resistance to rain penetration
• It is capable of resisting both positive and negative wind pressure
• It gives required degree of thermal insulation
• It provides the required degree of sound insulation to suit the building type
• It provides sufficient openings for the admittance of natural daylight and ventilation

(2.2) Walls Classification

Walls can be classified into the following

• Load-bearing walls
• Non-load-bearing walls

(2.3) Methods of Constructing Walls

Load-bearing external walls: These walls are normally used for domestic buildings or other
small structures that are one or two storeys high. The weight of the roof and any upper floors is
supported by load-bearing masonry of brick, block or stone construction. Load-bearing walls are
constructed to rest on foundations which are usually strip foundations.

Non-load-bearing external walls: These walls are often built from corrugated sheets cladding
that is attached to a framework of steel rails and columns. The cladding sheets, does not support
the structure of the building. Support is provided by the framework. The cladding sheets must be
wind-resistant.
Load-bearing internal walls: Internal walls are load-bearing if additional support is needed for
the roof or floors.

Fig 4.1 Load bearing external wall

Load Bearing and Non-load bearing external wall of a building provide weather resistance and
must be durable, fire resistant even if it not built from load-bearing materials such as brick, block
and stone. Corrugated iron sheet or timber cladding is classified as non-load bearing wall.

Test Question
1. List five functions of walls.
2. Discuss two classification of wall
WEEK 6: WALLS (CONTINUED)

(2.4) Materials Used in Wall Construction

Walls are made from many materials. The most common among them are as follows
• Sandcrete blocks
• Concrete blocks
• Bricks
• Reinforced concrete
• Stones
• Timber

(2.5) Types of Block Wall Construction

Concrete Block Walls

Lightweight concrete blocks reduce the dead weight on suspended floors. Their use makes the
building work quick, easy and relatively low cost. One of the main priorities in the construction
of internal walls is to make them stable. The figure shows you how to place the partitions for
maximum stability. This can be done by:
1. Placing partitions so that they meet at right angles-,
2. Making offsets or recesses for the length of a partition;
3. Attaching the top of the partition to the main structure. This can be done by forcing dry-
mixed mortar into joints between the block work and a concrete .slab.
4. Nailing noggins, which are short limber pieces, to joists and the head of the partition; placing
the partitions .so that they run the same direction us the joists;
6. If the partitions run at right angles to the joists, then building up the gap between the angles.

Construction of Walls
The method of constructing a wall with sandcrete blocks is the same with that used of bricks
masonry. First, the corners or end of the wall are constructed with few courses of blocks, mortar
is applied to the bottom of block, mortar is applied to the bottom of the block on the horizontal
face members,
The straight walls are then constructed using the corner or end block to make a reference line.
Note
• Before used it should be ensured that the block are well cured and dry.
• Blocks of successive coarse should be laid so that vertical joint are staggered.
• The joints should be 5mm thick and should be made uniform.

Bonding in Walls
In building a wall of brick or block, it is used to lay the bricks in some regular pattern such that
each brick or block bears partly upon two or more bricks below itself. The bricks are said to be
bonded, meaning that they bind together by being laid across each other with mortar.
The reason for binding them together is due to its instability when stack high. Brick that over lap
one another by use of mortar are laid to be in bond.
A condition vertical construction in bricks or block is a sign of weakness, while the overlapping
blocks show sign of strong construction.

Types of bonding include:

Stretcher bond: A wall of 102.5mm thick is usually built with brick overlapping or bonded
showing a stretcher face. The bricks are laid on bed with every brick showing a stretcher or the
longer face on each side of the wall, hence we have a stretcher bond. If it happens that we have a
header face showing on the course then it is known as header bond.

Fig 6.1 Stretcher bond

English bond: In English bond the header face is centrally above and below the stretcher face
i.e. the bricks in one coarse or layer shows their header faces in the coarses below or above their
stretcher face.

Fig 6.2English bond

Flemish bond: In Flemish bond every coarse have alternately header and stretcher face as shown
in figure 6.3.
Fig 6.3 Flemish bond

Test Question
1. List other materials for constructing walls apart form clay.
2. Draw the following to illustrate their bonding pattern.
a. English bond
b. Flemish bond
c. Stretcher bond
WEEK 7: PARTITION WALLS

(2.6) Partition wall

It is an internal wall which is constructed to divide the spaces in an enclosed building into rooms
or areas. It can be constructed using bricks, sandcrete blocks, timber, metal, glass or plastics.

(2.7) Functions of Partition Walls

Partition walls perform the following functions

• Divide the inside of a building into rooms and spaces
• Divide a building into separate occupancies
• Separate adjoining properties
• Sometimes help to support loads if it is so designed.

(2.8)/(2.9) Types of Partition Walls

Party walls: is a wall separating adjoining building belonging to different owners or occupied by
different persons.

Separating walls: is a wall separating different occupancies within the same building.

Curtain wall: Is the self supporting wall carrying no other vertical wall load, but subjected to
lateral forces. This type of wall is illustrated in figure 4.3.
Fig4.3 Curtain wall

Test Question
1. Under which wall classification will you classify partition wall?
2. Write brief notes on the following:
a. Partly wall
b. Curtain wall
c. Separating wall
WEEK 8: PARTITION WALLS (CONTINUED)

(2.10) Timber stud partition

Timber stud partitions are used in upper floors of domestic buildings and they are generally
constructed of 100mm x 75mm head and sill with vertical members called stud ranging from
75mm x 38mm, 100 x 50mm frame between them at about 400mm centre to centre
The horizontal member known as Noggin piece are usually inserted between studs to stiffen the
partition plaster board. It is generally nailed to either sides and finished with rose headed
galvanized nails, stud partition of upper floors are usually supported by floor joist.

Fig 6.1Timber stud partitions

Fig 6.2 Method of jointing in Timber stud partitions

Advantages of timber partition walls

• Light weight in construction
• Ease of erection and dismantling
• Ease of alteration of space if need arises

Test Question
1. Use typical sectional elevation drawing to explain partition wall and label the parts
2. State three advantage of inner partition wall
WEEK 9: STAIRCASE
(3.1) Staircase
The most common form of vertical circulation in upstairs and access to the upper floors is the
stairway.
One can define stair as a number of steps leading from one level to another, and its function is to
provide means of movement between floor to floor in storey building, and as well serves, as
means of escape from upper floors in case of fire accident.

Functional requirements of stair case

• Stability
• Fire resistance
• Sound insulation
• Strength

Safety requirements of staircase

• Durability
• Headroom
• Balustrades
• Ventilation and light window
• Handrail
• Uniform steps

Staircase Layout
A straight flight of stairs is the simplest layout. If the flight changes direction between levels,
then you need to provide a landing. The degree of change in direction determines the size of the
landing:
Straight flight of stairs 90° turn with a quarter landing; Tapered stair case with no landing.

(3.2)/(3.4) Types of Staircase

• Straight flight (not more than 15 steps)
This is kind of stair that has only one or more flight in straights order and it has not more
than fifteen steps before landing. This is most suitable where space is limited and can not
 accommodate other types of stairs.

Fig7. 1 Straight flights

• Open well stair (with 2/4 space landing)

This is a kind of stair which has two quarter space of landing and space in between the two
flight.

Two quarter space

Open well
landing

Fig 7.1 Open well stair

• Quarter turn stair case
This is a kind of stair that one needs to turn through a quarter of circle from the first flight to
the second flight.

Quarter space
landing

Figs 7.2 Quarter turn stair case

• Dogleg stair case (with ½ space landing)
This is a kind of stair that has have space landing with no space in between the first and the
second flight, this means one ascending will have to turn half of a circle to be on the second
flight.

Fig 7.3 Dogleg stair case

• Spiral staircase: This is a kind of stair that one ascending will have to turn to complete
circle before he could reach the floor above.
 Fig8.5 Spiral staircase

(3.3)Terminologies of a Staircase
• Balusters: It is a series of some bars or columns between the outer strings of the rail.
• Newel Post: Is the post at the end of the flight that carries the end of handrail and strings
• Carriage Piece: A rough carriage of about 100mm x 75mm spacing floor to landing inserted
under the stair to give support to treads and risers. They may be required to give additional
support to the treads and risers in wide stairs.
• Pitch: This is the angle of a staircase measured between the pitch line and the horizontal
• Balustrades: The individual balustrade Consist of newel post, handrail and timber balusters.
The newel post of half turn landing and that at landing on the floor level are housed and
bolted to trimmers.

Test Question
1. State four functional requirement of a staircase
2. List five safety requirements f a stair case
WEEK 10 STAIRCASE (CONTINUED)

(3.2)/(3.4) Types of Staircase

• Straight flight (not more than 15 steps)
This is kind of stair that has only one or more flight in straights order and it has not more
than fifteen steps before landing. This is most suitable where space is limited and can not
accommodate other types of stairs.

Fig7. 1 Straight flights

• Open well stair (with 2/4 space landing)

This is a kind of stair which has two quarter space of landing and space in between the two
flight.

Two quarter space

Open well
landing

Fig 7.1 Open well stair

• Quarter turn stair case
This is a kind of stair that one needs to turn through a quarter of circle from the first flight to
the second flight.

Quarter space
landing

Figs 7.2 Quarter turn stair case

• Dogleg stair case (with ½ space landing)

This is a kind of stair that has have space landing with no space in between the first and the
second flight, this means one ascending will have to turn half of a circle to be on the second
flight.

Fig 7.3 Dogleg stair case

• Spiral staircase: This is a kind of stair that one ascending will have to turn to complete
circle before he could reach the floor above.

Fig8.5 Spiral staircase

(3.5) Formula for Calculating Stair Dimension

The going plus the height of two times the riser must be:
• Maximum of 700 mm;
• Minimum of 550 mm;
i.e G + 2R ≤ 700 mm or ≥ 550 mm
To ensure that stairs are not steeper than 420 the relationship between riser and the going must be
based on the measurements in table below
Riser (mm) Going (mm)
155-220 245-260
165-200 220-305
Each riser in a flight of stairs must be the same height.
Each tread must be the same length. The total number of riser depends on the vertical height or
rise of each flight.
Test Question
1. Draw the following types of stair case
a. Straight flight
b. Open well
c. Quarter turn
d. Dog leg
WEEK 11 STAIRCASE (CONTINUED)

Construction of timber staircases

Timber staircases are light in weight and easy to construct and maintain. They may be used for
residential buildings, where the fire resistance of the structure does not carry much importance.
Timber stairs can be made sufficiently fire resistant by using hard wood like teak, mahogany and
oak, and also by adopting comparatively thick timber members. Details of timber stair case is as
shown in figure 11.1

Fig 11.1. Details of a Timber Staircase

Fig 11.2 Terms used in timber stairs

Construction of Reinforced Concrete Stairs

Stairs constructed using timber is combustible and can contribute to the spread of fire during a
fire outbreak. Reinforced concrete stairs are non-combustible, strong and hard wearing. They
may be constructed in-situ or precast in sections ready for immediate installation and use when
delivered to site.

The concrete specification should be very strong of 25-30 N/mm2 compressive strength.
Concrete cover the reinforcement should not be less than 15mm or the bar diameter whichever
one is greater. The thickness of the concrete required depends on the loading and the span of the
staircase. This should not be less than 100 mm measured across the waist which is the distance
from the soffit and the intersection of the tread and riser.
Steel is usually provided as the reinforcement, the bars being lapped to starter bars at the ground
floor and taken into the landing or floor support slab. The number, diameter and spacing of the
main and distribution bars must be calculated for each stairway.

Many types of finishes can be applied to the tread of stairs.

Test Question
Describe the construction of a timber stair case
WEEK 12: ROOF COSTRUCTION
The roof is perhaps the most important part of structures. It shed water more quickly without
linking, it beeps out grit and dust, it also provide shade and sometimes light, and insulate against
heat and wise. It may also be used for re-creational purposes and for additional living space.
Roof design involves a number of factors some of which are overhang, wind insulation,
ventilation, and lighting, movement of pest and disposal of water

Functional requirements of roof

• Stability : Support dead load (i.e. roof structure, covering insulation and internal finishes)
live load/snow and wind) without undue deflection or distortion
• Strength: Depends on the characteristic of material and workshop
• Exclusion/ Wind and rain: The roof excludes wind or rain through the material of which it is
covered.
• Durability: Depends largely on the ability of the roof covering material to exclude rain
• Fire resistance: The roof covering and the material should have adequate resistance due to
fire and against spread of flame.
• Thermal properties: Roof structure and covering materials are generally poor insulators.
Pitched roofs are insulated air ceiling level by fixing or laying of some insulation materials
between or across the ceiling joist.
• Vapour Barrier: Insulating material are effective against transfer of heat to the extent that
they maintain stagnant air within fibres, in granules or in minutes spaces. When these
materials absorb water they loose there insulating properties. The vapour barriers take the
form of a sheet of bitumen, polythene or Aluminum, that is in–permeable to moisture.

Classification of roof
Roof can be classified in three ways
• According to plan of outer surface (space)
• According to structural principal on which there design is based
• According to span- if the pitch of a roof is more than 10° is called flat roof.
According to structural principle on which there design is based. 2 dimension
According to span –small-short span up to 70m generally of traditional timber construction with
a flat or pitch profile.
Medium span 7.0m to 24m span except where R.C is used; the usual wood structure for a
medium span in truss or lattice of a standard section large or long span.
Over 24m: These roofs are generally design by specialist using ginger, space deck or vaulting
techniques.

TYPES OF ROOF
Pitch roof
A pitch roof has one or more roof slopes at a pitch or slop of more than 10° to horizontal. The
most common roof shape is the symmetrical pitch roof, pitched to central ridge with equal slope.
A mono pitched roof has only one slope free standing vision lean to roof.
A pitched roof is stable in most weather and its slope disposes of rainwater quickly. The main
supporting structure is timber, which is easy to work and transport.

Pitched roof construction

This can be built in different ways depending on the loads and sizes. Below are the list of
pitched roof that use different methods of construction.

Types of pitch roofs

• Lean-to roof
• Couple roof
• Closed couple roof
• Collar roof
• Trussed rafters roof
Lean-to roof
It is a mono pitched roof that leans on a wall of an existing structure. It can span up to 1-3m. The
slope should be greater than 10°.

Fig 10.1 Lean-to roof

Couple Roof
This is the smallest form of pitched roof. The span or the horizontal distance between wall to
spread and overturn walls
Disadvantage of this type of roof is that is that the load from roof covering tends to spread to the
feet of rafter and overturning to supporting wall. Thus a ties member can be fixed across the feet
of the rafters.

Fig 10.2 Couple Roof

Flat Roof
A flat roof is basically a low-pitched roof and is defined as a pitch of 10° or less to the
horizontal. The angle of pitch is governed by the type of finish which is to be applied to the roof.
Flat roofs can be timber or reinforced concrete and are popular forms of roofing for houses.
Points to consider when constructing a flat roof:
1. It requires a deck or slab
2. it must have some insulation
3. a method of disposing rainwater etc

Properties and fixing details of roof coverings

1. Tile covering
Roof tiles are usually made from clay or concrete that is moulded into suitable shapes.
The tiles are overlapped so that the rainwater flows down the slope of the roof and the
roof structure underneath remains dry.

Fixing details of tile covering

1. fix the battens to the correct gauge position
2. begin laying tiles at the eaves
3. make sure that each tile interlocks with the tile next to it
4. Finish laying the tiles at the ridge.
Figure 12.0 Fixing details of tile covering

2. Roof sheets covering

This is covering the roof with sheeting materials like corrugated fibre cement and
corrugated galvanized steel.

Fixing detail
1. position the first sheet in the bottom corner of the roof framework
2. Drill through a sheet on top of the corrugations.
3. fix it to the purlins with galvanized iron drive screws and supped washers
4. lay the next sheet so that it overlaps the first sheet by one corrugation
5. Fix a special ridge member that is in two parts.

Water proofing system of roof

1. Bituminous felt which is a sheet material with a fibrous base
soaked in bitumen. Felt is usually laid on timber roofs
2. Mastic Asphalt: This is material containing bitumen that is laid as a hot elastic
covering. As it cools it hardens to form a jointless cover that is usually put on
concrete roofs.
Test Question
1. State and discuss five functional requirement of roofs
WEEK 13 ROOF (CONTINUED)

Steel Roofs
A steel roof truss is a plane frame consisting of a series of rigid triangles composed of
compressor and tension members. The compression member are called rafters and struts, while
the tension members are termed tie steel trusses are used mainly for short and medium span
single storey building intended for industrial or recreational purposes.
Standard mild steel angle complying with recommendation of B.S 4 are usually employed as the
structural member, and these are connected together where the centre lines coverage with flat
shape plate called gussets. They can be riveted, bolted or welded together to form a rigid
triangular truss. The internal arrangement of the strut and tie will be governed by the span. The
principal rafter divided into equal division which locates the intersection point for the centre line
of the internal strut or tie.

Fig13.1 Steel Roofs

Timber Flat Roof
The construction of a timber flat roof is just like the construction of timber upper floors. Soft
wood timber joist 38mm-50mm thick and from 75mm-225mm deep are placed on edge from
400mm to 600mm apart with the ends of the joist built into or against bride walls and partition.

If there is a parapet wall around the roof, the end of the roof joist may be built into the wall or
support in metal hangers. The joist can bear on a timber or metal wall plate.
The ends of roof joist built into solid brick walls should be given some protection against
dampness by treating them will a preservative.
Flat roofs most be provided with a fall to remove the rainwater as quickly as possible. The
direction of the fall will be determined by the position of the roof in relation to other building or
by the shape or size. Roof boarding should be 19mm to 25mm thick and be tongued and
grooved, and should if possible be laid with fall. But where thin is not possible, the boarding
should be laid diagonally.
A timber flat roof provides poor insulation used in the construction of modern building is poor
insulation and same materials have to be built into or onto the roof to improve its insulation
against transfer of heat. Insulating materials are manufactured in the form of boards, slabs, quilts
or loose fill and when used with timber roof, the boards and slabs are fixed on the joist under the
boarding or on the underside of the joist.

Fig13.2 Timber flat roof

Reinforced Concrete Roofs
This is the same thing in construction as the construction of reinforced concrete floors, but loads
on roofs are less than floors. Thickness of reinforced concrete roof is less than floor of similar
span. If the surface is to be laid to a fall, the concrete roof will be finished with a screed of cut
and sand with the top surface of the screed finished to the fall required. The least thickness of the
screed will be from 20-25mm. A reinforced concrete roof will usually span the least width
between the external wall or internal load bearing well. A reinforced concrete roof provide poor
insulation against less or gain thermal insulation should be incorporated in the construction of the
roof or a lightweight concrete slab construction be used.
Lightweight aggregate (e.g.-formed slag, pumice and vermiculite) can be used in place of san.
These three minerals are all porous and it is the air trapped in the minutes pores of the materials
which at once make them light in weight and good thermal insulators.

Fig 13.3 Reinforced concrete roofs

Test Question
1. Draw and label the parts of steel roof
2. Draw and label a typical that roof and label the parts
WEEK 14 TYPES OF CEILINGS

TYPES OF CEILINGS
Ceilings are generally classified into two major types i.e. the suspended and the non-suspended
ceiling.

Functions of ceilings
• Define the limit height of the room: the ceiling gives a definite demarcation of the room from
the top.
• Support to fittings: The ceiling provides support to lighting fittings and ceiling fans.
• Housing of services: The ceiling helps conceal services pipes, heating and cooling systems,
which are regarded as unsightly features.
• Fire resistance: The ceiling reduces the amount of heat transmission from the interior of the
building (in case of fire) to the timber and /or steel roof members or suspended slab and
beams.
• Thermal insulation: The void created by the ceiling helps to regulate the transmission of heat
from weather to the interior of the building.
• Dust proof: The ceiling prevents the effect of dust penetrating through roofing sheet laps and
other into the building.
• Sound insulation: Depending on the type of materials used as the final finishing ceiling act as
an insulator for sound in the room.
• Reducing in heating or cooling cost: By defining the limit of the room thus reducing the
volume of air in room, the ceiling helps in reducing the cost of heating or cooling room when
the need so arise.
• Appearance: The ceilings help in adding to the aesthetic of the interior of the room thus
making the room comfortably habitable.
• Rain effect: In case of leakages on roof covering, the ceiling prevents the effect of direct
dropping of rainwater into the room.
Factors affecting the choice of ceiling construction
It is an indisputable fact that the type of ceiling finish affects the construction and the factors that
affect the choice of ceiling construction include the following:
• Activities to be carried out in the building: The activities to be carried out in the building do
affect the choice of ceiling thus affecting the construction. (e.g. a room which is meant to be
used as conference room or music recording studio, where reverberation of sound produce
will be detrimental to the activities being carried out in the room, ceiling with hard surface
such as concrete finished carried out in the room, ceilings with hard surfaces surface such as
concrete finished must be used, acoustic will be advisable). An additional example is the use
asbeatos in rooms that are prone to fire and POP (Plaster Of Paris) for functions same as the,
and beauty.
• Availability of fund: “It is only he that has money that thinks of the procedures of owning on
whether there is available fund to select what ever type which consequently affect the
construction.

Suspended Ceiling
The suspended ceiling can be defined as ceiling fixed to a frame work suspended form the main
structure either by means of timber, aluminium or steel members, thus forming a void between
the tow components. The choice of this type of ceiling depends on the aforementioned factors,
through there are some situations where if ceiling must be constructed to a building, then it has to
be suspended ( i.e. when the frame structure is of timber roof members)

Below are some notes that have to be carefully observed while construction a suspended ceiling
i. They should be easy to construct, repair, maintain and clean.
ii. Should designed in a form that an adequate means of access is provide to the void space
for the maintenance of the suspension system and concealed services
iii. Conform with the minimum requirement set out in the building regulations and in
particular the regulations governing the restriction of spread of flame over surface of
ceilings and the exceptions permitting the use of certain plastic materials.
Classification of suspended ceiling
There is no standard method of classification since some are classified by their function such as
illuminated and acoustic suspended ceiling; others are classified by materials used. However,
classification by method of construction is also very popular. This method is simple since most
suspended ceiling types can be place in one of the following groups:
a. Jointless suspended ceiling
b. Panelled suspended ceiling
c. Decorative and open suspended ceiling

Jointless suspended ceiling

Jointless suspended ceiling are made with plaster of various sorts and sprayed asbestos,
applied to a backing of expanded metal of 6mm size of the short way of the mesh, either
galvanized steel or steel painted with asphalt, example of these materials are as shown of fig.
below

Ceiling finish Abutment wall

Fig14.1. Jointless suspended ceiling

The lathing is wired to a suspended frame work of flat steel bars placed on edge, for example, 40
x 6mm at 600mm centres, span 1.8m, and these are suspended by straps of rods ( 6mm diameter
rods will carry 1.5m2 of ceiling) Plastering is done in three coats, there are several mixes and one
of the best, which is relatively quick, is metal lathing gypsum plaster, the first two coast consist
of 1 volume of plaster to 1 volume of sand and have goat or cow hair with them to the extent of
5kg of hair to 1m3 of mixed plaster. The first coat is well pressed into the mesh to a thickness of
9mm allowed to set and then scratched to form a key for the second coat. The final coat is about
5mm thick and is of neat gypsum. Vermiculite can be used considerable saving of weight.

Panelled suspended ceiling

This can be made with dry materials; consequently they are more quickly completed than the
jointless types. The panels are pre-formed, made of fibreboard, plaster, asbestos materials, metal
trays, cork, wood-wool and strawboard. The board is obtainable in thickness from 5 to 50mm
and in sizes from 305mm square 1.2 x 4.2, panels 610mm square or 610 x 1200mm are
commonly used. Some boards are perforated to within a short distance with small holes to
improve sound absorption. Light gauge rustproof steel or aluminium channels, timber members
or tee sections are used to support the sagging to the ceiling. The sections can be exposed or
concealed and the panels should rest on flanges at least 16mm wide to allow for possible
movement. Tees are often used supports, the main ones at 610mm centres with cross tees
(noggin) at the end of the panel. Ideally 610mm square a panel gives the best result. The finished
ceiling weighs from 10 to 12kg/m2
Fig14.2 Support details for panelled suspended ceiling

Non-Suspended Ceiling
Non suspended ceiling: These are attached or fixed directly to the roof framework eliminating
voids, open spaces and working spaces in the ceiling. The ceiling is fixed directly to the noggins
at specified centre spacing usually ranging from 300- 1200mm as may be required.

The non-suspended ceiling in most cases occurs in concrete suspended slab; in this case the
ceiling could be referred as concrete ceiling. In some cases the construction of such type of
ceiling is simply the process of applying 12mm thick of cement and sand (1:4) to soffit of
suspended slab before any finishing like painting/decoration or paper is applied. Though
suspended ceiling could be structure if so desired by mean of screwing hangers to the soffit.

There are situations where rendering may not be needed i.e. where a steel formwork is used to
cast the suspended slab. In this case one may not be wrong to say the element is bi-functional in
as much as it is acting as both ceiling and suspended slab (either floor roof).

There are other situations where the finishing to soffit for such ceiling are designed to be tiled
facing slips or others, all in the name of achieving an aesthetical goal. In such case the tiles will
be laid face down in the formwork for the suspended slab in a pattern so desired, before the wet
concrete is place. After setting and formwork removed, the tiles will stick to the soffit and the
desired ceiling is achieved.

Disadvantages of Ceiling Generally

Despite the advantages/functions of ceiling there are some attributes of ceiling which could be
regarded as detrimental to the occupants of the building:
• It conceals a gradual or incidental outbreak of fire erupting from electrical fault in the
services so concealed in the ceiling and this may cause lost of lives and property.
• It house rodent, which are likely to damage food items and likely transmit diseases.

Test Question
1. List five function of ceiling
2. Discuss two factors that can affect ceiling
WEEK 15 CEILING FINISHES
Functional requirement of ceiling finishes
• Provide a good thermal insulation
• Provide a good resistance to sound movement
• In suspended ceiling, provide and adequate means of access for maintenance of
concealed services or light fittings
• Accommodate services an also distribute lightning, heating and ventilation.
• It define the limit of the room
• Great awareness in event of roof leakage
• Minimize the effect of direct rainwater in event of roof leakage.
Factors to be considered when selecting materials to be used for ceiling finish
• Appearance (aesthetic)
• Light reflection
• Fire resistance
• Sound absorption
• Maintenance
• Cost of installation
• Ease of installation
• Weather condition
• Function of the building

The various types of materials for ceiling finishes include:

• Fibre board tiles
• Plaster board tile
• Gypsum-base board
• Cellotex ceiling board
• Timber panels
• Perforated asbestos
• Acoustic
• Laminated plastic sheets
• Particle board
• Concreted slab
 • Block board
• Paint

The above materials can be applied on either suspended by or non-suspended. The material
determined the method of application and some methods are applicable to more than material.

Fibre board tiles

These are made from wood and plant tissue mechanically compressed into boards. They are
constructed with tongue and groove and stapling flange for fixing. The thickness ranges from 9.5
to 12mm and size of 300 x 300m.
They are fixed with furring strips attached to the ceiling joist upon which the fibreboard are
stapled. The furrings are placed bat 300mm centres and the fibreboard is connected to each other
by the tongue and groove joints provided. It is fixed on concrete slab by using adhesive. And it is
used only internally. This method is known as stapling method.

The use of fibreboard requires unpacking the tiles at least 24hrs before fixing to allow the tiles
adjust to room temperature and humidity. the fibreboard has the merit of being used for both
new and old ceiling, it is factory finished and ease of installation. And have the demerit of not
durable, relatively expensive and it is mainly used internally.

Gypsum base plaster board finish

This is a rigid made with a core of gypsum sandwiched between facing sheets of strong and
durable papers it comes in standard size of 600 x 600 x 12.5mm thickness. The fixing requires
accurately spaced timber noggins at 600 to 1200mm centres to receive plaster board and joints
are sealed with adhesive metalized tape. The sealing of the joints gives the plasterboard an
attractive out look and also prevents existence to tiny rodents in the ceiling joints, wailings are
provided at 150mm centres it also internally only. This method is known as the cementing
method.

It has the merit of beautiful appearance when view and the demerit of not withstanding external
weather condition and is brittle.
Celotex ceiling board
These are made from cellulose materials of wood and plant compressed into sheets of unfinished
surface that require painting of the surfaces. The sizes of cellotex ceiling board is 2400 x 1200m
and a thickness of 3mm. The method of fixing requires spaced timber noggins at 600, 900 or
1200mm depending on the area required to be covered. Nails are driven in at 150mm centres and
the joints are covered with battens. The ceiling surface requires painting to give the ceiling a neat
and attractive appearance. This method is known as wooden noggin. It is used in auditorium and
studio to prevent external noise it is also used in broadcasting rooms or theater, used both
internal and external ceiling finishes. Celotex ceiling have the merit of being readily available,
relatively cheap and it absorb sound. And has the demerits methods of difficulty in fixing
compared to fibreboard and acoustic, poor fire resistance and requires painting.

Perforated asbestos tile

Perforated Asbestos tile are made up of a mixture of cement, lime mortar and fibre board straws
for strengthening of mixture. The mixture is allowed to solidify on lined with polythene in sizes
of 1200 x 1200mm and a thickness of 3mm with a perforated finished surface. The method of
fixing is the same as that of Celotex board except that the asbestos ceiling sheet requires great
care as little breakage of tiles renders the sheet wastage.
It has the merit of high fire resistance and it comes in finished form. And has the demerit of
difficulty in installation, expensive, not readily available and brittle.

Plain Asbestos
The asbestos is similar to the perforated asbestos. Unlike the perforated it is common and it
comes in an unfinished form. The method of fixing is same as the perforated one.

Timber panel
These are timber materials used for ceiling finish the surfaces are well planed and polished or
spray and they are fixed into metal track systems, which are nailed to old ceiling joist at 300mm
intervals. The track systems use clips to hold the timber panels. The timber panel comes in length
of 3.50meters and width of 450mm with thickness of 12mm it can be used both internally and
externally. This is method is known as the track system.
It has the merits of resisting weather effect and it is very attractive. It has the demerits of poor
resistance to fire and the method of fixing is time consuming.
Plywood ceiling sheet
These are sheet made from three or more numbers of thin layers of wood veneers. It consist of a
back, a face which is usually sprayed after placing and core or center made of veneer with a
lesser density e.g. the 3-ply has a thickness of 3mm and 5 –ply a thickness of 5mm. the sizes are
cut to 2400 x 1200mm and the method of fixing is same as the coletex and asbestos that the
finish for the plywood is by spraying and is used both internally and externally.
It has the merit of resisting weather effect and it is very attractive and demerits of poor fire
resistance and relatively expensive.

Block board or laminated board ceiling sheet

These are built form strips of solid wood compressed together and the thickness ranges from
8mm to 25mm. the sizes usually range from 2600 x 75mm. it is used internal and external
finishes. The method of fixing is same as the celotex.

Particle board
These are composed of flakes of chips of wood glued together most usually 3-20mm thickness
an size of 2400 x 1200mm. the method of fixing is just the same as that of the celotex ceiling
sheet.

Acoustic ceiling board

Acoustic ceiling board comes in finished form and size of 600 x 600 x 12mm thickness with a
perforated finished surface for sound absorption. The method of fixing requires the use of grid
runners. It is mostly used in suspended ceiling. The grid runners are attached to the ceiling joist
and the plastic lining battens are attached or fixed to the grids. The acoustic ceiling tiles are then
tilted and slipped through the framework and lowered into place. It is used only internally.

Decorative laminated plastic sheets.

These are industrially manufactured from layers resin or fibre bonded under heat or pressure
into thin sheets of uniform thickness. They come in sizes of 2400 x 1200mm and a thickness of
3mm. the surface do not require any finish and the method of fixing is the same as that of the
acoustic type it is used for only for internal finishes.
Painting
Painting can generally be used as finishing materials to concrete slab surface after smoothly
rendered. Emulsion pain of 2 coats minimum is required. It can also be used as finish to various
form of ceiling finishes such as Celotex, plain asbestos etc due to the unfinished of these
materials.

Test Question
1. State five functional requirements of ceiling timbering
2. List four factors to be considered when selecting materials for ceiling finish.
 UNESCO-NIGERIA TECHNICAL &
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
REVITALISATION PROJECT-PHASE II

NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN
BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

YEAR II- SE MESTER I

THEORY/PRACTICAL
Version 1: December 2008

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION III

COURSE CODE: BLD 203
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

WEEK 1: SCAFFOLDING
1.1 Principles of Scaffolding
Parts of Scaffolding

WEEK2: SCAFFOLDING (CONTINUED)

1.2/1.3 Types of Scaffold
Putlog Scaffold
Mobile Scaffold
Cantilever Scaffold
Suspended Scaffold
1.4 Use of Formwork in Floor Construction

WEEK3: FENESTRATION IN BUILDING

2.1 Functional Requirements of Openings in Walls
2.2 Treatment to Openings
2.3 lintels
2.3 Arches

WEEK 4: ARCHES

WEEK5: DOOR
2.4 Types of door

WEEK6: DOORS CONTINUED

2.5 construction of doors\

WEEK7: DOOR FRAMES AND LINING

2.7 Doors frames
2.8 Door lining
2.9 methods of fixing door frame and door lining

WEEK8: METAL DOOR

2.10 Types of metal door
2.12 Ironmongery

WEEK9: WINDOW
2.13 Types of window

WEEK10: PARTS OF DOORS AND WINDOWS

2.1 Parts of doors and windows

WEEK 11: FINISHES

3.1 Functions of finishes
3.2 Floors finishes
WEEK 12: FLOOR FINISHES CONTINUED

WEEK13: WALL AND CEILING FINISHES

3.3 Wall finishes

WEEK 14: PAINTING

WEEK 15: PAINTING CONTINUED

WEEK 1: SCAFFOLDING

(1.1) Principles of Scaffolding

Scaffolds are temporary working structures made from poles of wood or metal erected around
the perimeter of a building or a structure to provide a safe working place at a height that cannot
be reached from the ground. They are usually required when the working height or level is 1.500
m or more above the ground level. All scaffolds must comply with the minimum requirements
and objectives of the constructions (Health Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996.

The first use of scaffolding is for the external walls. When the brickwork is about shoulder high,
then the bricklayer needs to be raised up to continue working. Below 2 metres the scaffold
boards can rest on timber trestles. This is a suitable work surface because the bricklayer can step
up and down to get bricks and mortar.

More than 2 metres from the ground, workers need ladders up to the platform, which must be
wide enough to hold materials, plant and people. Platforms should be placed at 2 metre intervals
as the height of the building increases, so that workers can comfortably reach their working area
without hitting their heads as they walk underneath.

Parts of a Scaffold
The basic parts of a scaffold consist of the following and are shown in figure 1.1.
Base boards are timber boards that support the base plate on soft or uneven ground.
Base plates are square metal plates that fit into the bottom of scaffold tubes to spread the load.
Braces are poles fixed diagonally to stiffen the scaffold by forming a triangle.
Standards are the vertical poles that carry the weight of the scaffold to the ground.
Toe boards are the boards along the edges of platforms which prevent materials from falling.
Transoms are cross pieces that rest on the ledgers and support the platform.
Ledgers are longitudinal horizontal components that are fixed to the standards.
Putlogs are transverse horizontal members fixed to the ledger.
Fig 1.1 Components of a scaffold
Fig 1.2 Joints and connectors of scaffold parts

Test Questions
1. Define scaffolding
2. List 5 important parts of scaffold and describe them.
WEEK 2: SCAFFOLD CONTINUED

1.2/1.3 Types of Scaffold

• Putlog scaffold
• Independent scaffold
• Mobile scaffold
• Cantilever Scaffold
• Suspended scaffold

Putlog Scaffolds
These are scaffolds which have an outer row of standards joined together by ledger which in turn
support the transverse putlogs which are built into the bed joints or perpends as the work
proceeds. They are therefore only suitable for new work in bricks
or blocks. A typical putlog scaffold is as shown in fig 1.1

Fig 2.1 Putlog scaffold

Independent scaffolds
These are scaffolds which have two rows of standards each row joined together with ledgers
which in turn support the transverse transoms. The scaffold is erected clear of the existing or
proposed building but is tied to the building or structure at suitable intervals.

2.2 Independent scaffolds

Mobile scaffolds
Mobile scaffolds sometimes called mobile tower scaffolds are constructed to the basic principles
as for independent tubular scaffolds and are used to provide access to restricted or small area and
or where mobility is required.

Fig 2.3 Mobile scaffolds

Cantilever scaffolds
These are a form of independent tied scaffold erected on cantilever beams and used where it is
impracticable undesirable or uneconomic to use a traditional scaffold requires special skills and
should therefore always be carried out by trained and experienced personnel.

Fig 2.4 Cantilever scaffolds

Suspended scaffold
Suspended scaffold, these consist of a working platform in the form of a cradle which is
suspended from cantilever beams or out riggers from the roof of a tall building to give access to
the facade for carrying out light maintenance work and cleaning activities.

The cradle can have manual or power control and be in single units or grouped together to form a
continuous working platform. If grouped together they are connected to one another at their
allotment ends with hinges to form a gap of not more than 25mm wide.

Many high rise building gave a permanent cradle system installed at roof and this is
recommended for all building over 30 m high.

Fig 2 .5 Suspended scaffold

1.4 Use of form work in floor construction

Concrete when first mixed is a fluid and therefore to form any concrete member the wet concrete
must be placed in a suitable mould to retain its shape, size and position as it sets. These moulds
are called formwork. Formwork provides a level platform to support the wet concrete until it
hardens enough to be self-supporting. The formwork is made from timber boards propped up
from the floor below by timber supports. The structure must take account of any beams, lintels
and openings. It should be strong and stable so that it can support the weight of people and plant
as well as the concrete.

Concrete for floor is basically a four sided box with provisions for beams that may be
constructed monolithically with the floor and propped in the correct position and to the desired
level. It is essential that all joints in the formwork are constructed to prevent the escape of grout
which could result in honeycombing and/or feather edging in the slab cast.

Test Questions

1. Distinguish between Putlog and independent scaffold

2. Use drawing to explain the function of and independent scaffold

WEEK 3: FENESTRATION IN BUILDING

Fenestration refers to openings in a building which allow access for air (ventilation), light,
walkways and comfort. These openings are also part of building components. They are namely
doors, windows, chimneys, courtyard, screened walls etc

2.1 Functional requirement of opening in walls

Openings are made in walls to accommodate doors and windows, and also on some are made to
admit light and air into the building. But these openings forms weakness in walls, and if there
happens to be any settlement or shrinkage of materials in the structure, then cracking is most
likely to be seen where these openings are. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that care is taken
when making opening, in bricks work to achieve the greatest amount of strength and stability of
the walling surrounding them.

2.2 Treatment to Openings

An opening consists of a head, jambs and sill. The different methods and treatments which can
be used in their formation are many but are based on the same concepts.
All openings should be treated with anti-termite treatments, and anti rust treatment; BSC most
materials used for doors and windows are either timber or steel.

Doors and windows are the main openings in brick walls. Their locations are shown on the
working drawings together with the head and sill height. These heights should relate to the datum
or over site slab level. If this is not the case, then the heights must be recalculated and decision
taken as to which courses will take the openings. The brick work is finished neatly on each side
of the opening with a stop-end. The method is similar to finishing off at a quoin. Insert a closer
before the last header in alternate courses in English and Flemish board.
The sill does not need special treatment but at the head there are alternative methods to carry the
brickwork across the opening. These are lintels and Arches.
2.3 Lintels and Arches

Lintel
A lintel (figure 3.1) is a beam that spans across a horizontal opening and supports the load just
above the opening. Lintels can be timber or concrete. Timber is fine for short spans but is not
durable. For this reason most lintels are built from reinforced concrete.

The lintel can be covered with skin decorative brickwork which needs support. This is done by:
• Bolting a galvanized steel angle to the concrete lintel.
• building the decorative brickwork on the edge of the angle;
• Tying the brick joints to the lintel with metal ties.

Constructing concrete lintels

Structural engineers design lintels for larger buildings but the following basic guidelines could
be used to construct a lintel for domestic scale construction. Table 3.1 gives some basic
requirements for smaller lintels.

After designing the lintel, it should be cast (or made). Lintels can be in situ or precast. The span
will determine the height of the lintel, which should correspond to the height of full brick
courses.

Table 3.1 Standard dimensions for lintels

Span (mm) Depth (mm) Reinforcement sizes (mm)
900 150 10
1200 150 12
1500 215 12
1800 215 16
The design of the lintel should use these additional requirements:
• one reinforcement bar for each 112mm width of lintel;
• the width must be at least 1/20th of the span;
• the bearing of the lintel must be more than 150mm;
• at least 25mm of concrete must cover the bottom of the reinforcement bar;
• at least 50mm of concrete must cover the ends of the bar.

Fig 3.1 Construction of a concrete lintel

Test Questions
1. What is the meaning of Fenestration in buildings
2. State 3 ways in which a decorative brick work can be used to cover a lintel
3. What is the use of a spacer
WEEK 4 ARCHES
2.3 Arches
Arches can be made from bricks or stones to span openings and support the structure above them
(figure 3.2). An arch depends upon the tension in the structure for its stability. The downward
pressure forces the units of the arch together and increases their resistance as long as the load
does not exceed the strength of the arch building materials.

The advantages of segmental and semicircular arches are:

• They avoid the need for concrete and steel
• They use local stones or bricks
• Their appearance is pleasing in many stones or brick buildings

The disadvantages of these arches are

• Doors and windows will need timber frames to fit the curve snugly.
• The timber centers piece or turning pieces must be made accurately.
• Arches must be formed in situ

Fig 4.1 Construction of a brick arch

Fig 4.2 Types of arch
Test Questions
1. State the function of Arches in a building
2. Use drawing to show 4 types of Arches
WEEK 5: DOORS
2.4 Types of Doors
There are many ways of classifying doors among which are the method of opening; the materials
from which they are made as well as the method of construction.

Classification of doors
Based on the method of construction, doors are classified into the following types
• Paneled doors
• Flush doors
• Match doors
• Framed ledge and braced doors
• Folding doors
• Garage doors

Based on the materials from which they are made they could be classified into:
• Metal doors
• Timber doors
• Glass doors
• Doors from any combinations of the materials above

Performance Standards
A door, depending on the type, should meet certain standards for:
• Weather resistance
• Security
• Fire resistance
• Sound insulation
• Privacy
• Operation
• Durability
Weather resistance
External doors need a minimum gap of 2mm for free movement. This gap should be sealed with
suitable draught and water exclusion materials to make the doors weather resistant. This is
because the external door forms part of the external envelop of a building and should therefore
have a similar level of weather resistance against weather elements like rain, sunlight and driving
wind.

Security
The security of a door depends on the materials used, the quality of the frame and the
ironmongery. Internal doors only need to provide minimal security. For example, a bathroom
door might be fitted with a simple lock. External doors need to be constructed to high
specification and fitted with high security locks.

Fire-resistance
Internal doors that separate spaces are usually made of materials that prevent the rapid spread of
fire. In the event of fire outbreak they should be able to keep the fire in a compartment for a long
enough time for the occupants to have moved from the other spaces before fire will spread
through the door. They are also heavy enough to be self closing in the event of a fire outbreak.

Sound insulation
Doors should be able to reduce the level of sound that passes through it so as to reduce the level
of discomfort that may be due to excessive sound. Heavier doors provide better sound insulation.

Privacy
Solid doors are the most private. If some light is needed while retaining privacy, then obscure
glass should be fitted into the door.

Operation
Doors can swing or slide to open and close. Most doors swing on hinges fixed to door frames.
Spring-loaded latches usually hold doors closed. Doors are normally opened with knobs or
levers.
Durability
Doors are in constant use. Their construction should be strong enough to withstand considerable
activity. A door should not fall off the edge fixed to a frame under its own weight. External doors
should be able to resist climatic extremes which can cause the shape to warp

Test questions
1. List 5 classified doors based on method of construction.
2. List 5 standard requirements a door should conform to.
WEEK 6 DOORS (CONTINUED)
2.5 Construction of Doors
The construction method for any particular type of door depends on the material from which the
door is made. The following are basic examples of methods of construction of some basic door
types.

Flush Doors
Flush doors have no projections or recesses on either surface of the door. These doors are
usually made of large sheets of plywood or hardboard. Flush doors may have glazed panels to
allow in some light. Flush doors are usually made in factories. This ensures a high quality;
durable product if the correct type of door is put in the right location. The plywood facing and
the frames for external flush doors should be fixed with waterproof glue.

Fig 6.1 Construction of flush doors

Panel Doors
Panelled doors are suitable for internal and external use. They are made from solid timber
frames with solid or glazed panels. A panel door consists of the following sections; intermediate
rails which are cross pieces that divide the door into panels horizontally; the muntins are the
central vertical pieces; the bottom rail is the bottom horizontal framing piece; panels are the
filling between the framing pieces which can be thin, solid timber, 6mm plywood; or clear or
obscure glass.

Fig 6.2 Parts of a panelled door

Fig 6.3 Types of panelled doors

Fig 6.4 Matched boarded door

Test Questions
1. Use drawing to distinguish between a floor door and a panel door
2. Draw a typical wooden door frame and label the parts
WEEK 7 DOOR FRAMES AND LINING
DOOR FRAMES AND LINING
The purpose of door frames and linings is to:
• Define openings
• Reduce the gap between a door and wall
• Provide fixings for the hinges and a recess for the lock or latch
• Provide a finish between the door and the wall.

2.7 Door Frames

Door frames are usually made from solid timber with rebate to house the door. The frame is not
related to the thickness of the wall surrounding it. A typical frame for a 50 mm external door
could be 125 X 75 mm with a 12mm rebate.

Fig 7.1 A typical door frame

2.8 Door Linings
Door linings are usually fitted to internal doors where the lining is the full width of the wall. A
timber stop nailed to the lining provides a rebate for the door to close against.

Fig 7.2 Parts of a door lining

2.9 Method of Fixing Door Frames and Lining

The following steps are followed in the fixing of a frame or lining into a place as the wall is
built:
• Brace the frame or lining to keep square
• Paint the back of the frame to prevent the entry of moisture from the masonry
• Screw galvanized metal fastenings to the back the frame or lining which match the masonry
courses
• Stand the structure in position, level and support it with struts.
• Build the fastenings into masonry joints to secure the frame or lining in position permanently
The following steps are followed in fixing frame or lining into the wall after the wall is built
• Leave an opening that is about 3-4 mm bigger than the frame when the wall is built insert
wood plugs into some of the masonry joints that faces the openings during construction
• Put the frame in position after the wall and lintel are built.
• level the frame with small timber pieces
• Drill holes in the frame or lining for screw to go into plugs in the masonry.
• countersink the screws and fill the holes

Test Questions
1. Draw a typical wooden door frame and label the parts.
2. Use drawing to distinguish between door lining and a door frame
WEEK 8 METAL DOORS
2.10 Types of Metal doors
Metal doors as the name implies are made from metals either alone or in combination with other
materials.

Steel doors
An example of metal doors is the purpose made steel door constructed using mild steel as the
major materials for the construction. There are times where it might become necessary to allow
some amount of light to pass through the door into the room. Under such situation the doors are
usually constructed and fitted with glass panels in which case they are called steel panel doors.
Where there is no panel the door is also constructed like the flush door whereby steel skeleton
form the inner core. Steel doors are usually painted both for decoration and protection against
corrosion.

Aluminium doors
Another common type of metal doors are the aluminium doors that are usually constructed using
aluminium frames with either glass panels or panels made using aluminium sheets. Aluminium
doors are usually lighter than steel doors and have higher resistance to corrosion and therefore do
not need any paint coating.

2.12 Ironmongery
The term ironmongery refers to devices or little accessories that are parts of doors and windows
used for locking, securing, fixing and constructing them. The ironmongery includes locks,
latches, bolts, furniture check gear.
Fig 8.1 Examples of ironmongery
Fig 8.2 Examples of ironmongery continued
Fig 8.3 Further examples of ironmongery

Test Questions
1. State the advantage of using Aluminium doors over steel related doors.
2. List and draw 5 types of Ironmongery for door
WEEK 9 WINDOWS
Windows
Windows provide natural lighting and ventilation to the interior part of the building while
excluding rain and insects. The glass in windows must be strong enough to resist wind pressure.
This means the thickness of the glass increases as the size of the glass pane increases.

Windows are usually made of timber or steel, but other materials such as plastic and aluminium
are also popular. Windows also provide point of entry into a building; it may as a result need
locks or burglary bars for security.

A window must be aesthetically acceptable in the context of building design and surrounding
environment. For example, glass and glazing should be suitable for window position and type;
suitable and durable materials required for its framing; suitable and durable materials for the
window itself; thermal and sound insulation properties to be acceptable to client and to be within
building regulations; sizing of openings to meet requirements of building regulation for limiting
heat losses. Windows should also be weather tight.

Windows should be selected or designed to resist wind loadings, be easy to clean and provide
safety and security. They should be sited to provide vision and therefore visual contact with the
world outside the building is important.

2.13 Types of Window

Based on their methods of opening, standard windows can have four different types which are as
follows:
• Side- hung windows have hinges on one side and the fastening catch and handle on the
other.
• Top- hung windows have hinges at the top and a securing stay at the bottom. This window
opens out.
• Bottom- hung windows have hinges at the bottom and a securing catch at the top. This
window opens in and needs a special stay to stop it falling into the room.
• Louvres are individual pieces of glass held in clips and opened by a lever arm which locks
 the louvres in position.

Fig 9.1 Types of windows

Fig 9.2 Ironmongery for windows

Test Questions
1. Draw 5 types of window operating pattern
2. State 4 function requirement of windows
WEEK 10 PARTS OF WINDOWS AND DOORS

2.15 Parts of windows and doors

Parts of a Window
The following are the main parts of windows and frames.
• Bottom rail is the bottom member of a sash or light.
• Head is the top piece of a window, which is fixed to the underside of the masonry.
• Casement is a side-hung opening window.
• Cill is the bottom piece of a window, which is fixed to the bottom of the opening.
• Jamb is the vertical side piece fixed to the surface of the window opening.
• Mullion is a fixed vertical piece in the window framework, which separates the fixed and the
moving parts.
• Opening light is another name for a sash.
• Sash is the whole moving part of a window including the glass.
• Stile is the side member of the sash.
• Top rail is the top member of a sash.
• Transom is the fixed horizontal piece that separates the fixed and moving parts of the
window.
• Ventilator is a small sash, which is often top-hung to provide secure ventilation.

Fig 10.1 Parts of a window

10.2 Parts of a Door
A typical door consists of the following parts.
• Cill is a horizontal member at the base of an external door that separates the internal and
external structure. It should slope so that rainwater flows outside rather than inside.
• Frame is a solid timber or metal structure fixed to a wall. It is constructed so that it forms a
seal when the door closes and supports the door’s weight.
• Head is the horizontal piece at the top of the frame.
• Jamb is the vertical part of the frame that is fixed to the wall.
• Lining the timber framework inserted into an opening in an internal wall.
• Rebate is a recess in the door frame that seals the edges of a door.
• Stile is the outer vertical piece of a door frame.
• Stop is a thin piece of timber fixed to the head and jambs of the lining to form a rebate.
• Threshold is the access point in the doorway where one enters or exits the door. The cill is
also part of the threshold.
• Water bar is a metal bar fitted into the cill of an external door to prevent water flowing
inside.
• Weatherboard is a horizontal piece fixed to the external bottom edge of a door to push
water away from the cill.

Fig 10.2 Parts of a typical door

Test Questions
1. Draw a typical casement window and label the parts.
WEEK 11 FINISHES
3.1 Functions of Finishes
Finishes are the treatments that are put on internal floors, internal and external walls ceilings and
soffits of suspended floors. They serve decorative and practical functions. They improve the
appearance of the structures underneath, and also prolong building life spans.
The treatments called finishes include:
• plastering
• rendering
• painting

Plastering
Plastering is the application of a smooth coat of material to walls and ceilings. The purpose of
plastering is to provide a jointless, hygienic, easily decorated smooth finish to walls. Plaster
covers up the unevenness of bricks, blocks or concrete.

Plaster is mixed with water to make a plastic mixture, which can be spread directly on a surface
in thin layers of about 10 mm thickness. The surface absorbs the water in the mix by a process
called suction. The suction process stiffens the plaster rapidly so that it can be leveled while it
sets and hardens. When the plaster dries it leaves a hard, smooth finish for decoration.

Plaster consists of powdered cement, sand and lime or gypsum. All these materials except sand
are supplied in bags.

Rendering
Rendering refers to the process of applying a cement and sand plaster coat to the outside walls of
a building. Rendering is applied to
• improve the appearance of concrete block walls
• provide a waterproof finish to porous blocks such as landcrete and sandcrete blocks
• provide a base for colour finish.

Rendering is a mixture of cement and sand. Lime is sometimes added to improve its pliability.
Several kinds of finishes and textures are common to external rendering. They improve the
appearance of the cement and sand mix and help to control shrinking and cracking, which affects
the waterproof quality of render.

Painting
Painting is the application of a pigmented liquid that stretches thinly across a surface when the
liquid dries out.

Walls, ceilings, woodwork and metalwork are painted to

• provide a decorative appearance
• protect the surface from moisture penetration
• protect the surface from rusting.

A standard paint consists of

• thinners
• pigments
• binders.

3.2 Floor Finishes

Floor finishes are usually applied to a structural base but may form part of the floor structure as
in the case of floor boards. Most finishes are chosen to fulfill a particular function such as:

Resistance to wear
Some parts of a building receive more use than others or are in closer contact with the dust or
mud outside. The floor finish should match the type of wear that is normal in a specific part of a
building so that it lasts many years without replacement.

Resistance to grease and oil

The floor should not be damaged by grease and oil spills and they should be easily wiped from
the surface. Spills are a particular problem in kitchens
Resistance to water spills
The flooring in bathroom and kitchen needs to withstand water spills from washing or plumbing
leaks.

Ease of cleaning
Surfaces that allow dirt to easily penetrate are harder to keep clean. If ease of cleaning is a
priority then a hard smooth finish is better than a soft open texture.

Warmth or coolness
Hard smooth surfaces are cool to walk on because they conduct heat away. Soft textured finishes
like carpet give a room a warmer feel which may be suitable for cooler climates.

Noise
Hard surfaces do not absorb sound so they are noisier than soft surfaces

Cost
The costs vary enormously for the higher range of finishes. The cheapest finish is a cement
screed. The most expensive are carpet, wood block or special floor tiles.

Test Questions
1. Distinguish between plastering and rending
2. State 3 purposes for which paint is applied to a building
WEEK 12 FINISHES (CONTINUED)
Different types of floor finishes
The following are the most common types of floor finishes.
• Terrazzo tiles
• PVC
• Granolithic screeds
• Cement and sand screed
• Ceramic tiles finish
• Wood floor finish

Terrazzo tiles
The floor is floated once it has been soaked in ebonite (hardened PVC materials that is flexible to
a limit) is laid in modules floor is then cast with thickness of 20 mm and a grinding machine is
then used to grind the surface to finish after about 2-3 days of casting. The floor after grinding
may be 19mm thick. Detergent or washing solvent is used to wash the surface after grinding. The
surface is then polished to finish.

Terrazzo floors are laid by applying a 25 mm cement and sand screed which is followed by the
cement and marble mixture (i.e. terrazzo) while the screed is still fresh.

An important feature of a terrazzo finish is the strip of metal, ebonite or plastic strips which go
through the screed to the subfloor to divide it into bays. The purpose of the strips is to limit the
bays to 1m2. This prevents shrinkage cracks and makes the floor finish particularly decorative if
different colours of terrazzo are used.

Pre-cast terrazzo tiles

This is the one that is prepared in the workshop or factories and brought to site and laid in
position. In the case of ebonite PVC, the gaps are filled with glamn. But we butter the bottom of
the tile with thick cement only.
PVC tiles
The PVC tiles have precise measurements (300 x 300 x 3mm). They must be laid on a perfectly
smooth screed because they are so thin and fixed with adhesive. However, they can be fitted so
closely that they do not have a gap in the joints. PVC tiles are usually resistant to grease and oil,
water proof and durable. Although they come in wide range of colours and textiles, PVC tiles
are one of the cheapest floor finishes that one can buy and lay. They are maintained by applying
a surface coating of wax and then washing with soapy water.

Granolithic screeds
This uses granite chippings in a cement and sand screed in 1:1:3 mixes to improve the wearing
qualities. The granite chips are graded from 5mm to dust. This screed can be laid on fresh
concrete so that it forms a 25mm monolithic bond in bays which are less than 10m2. If the screed
is laid after the concrete is dry, then the thickness of the screed must be 40-50mm. The top of
the granolithic screed must be leveled and compacted. It becomes firm when it sets. In this case
you must smooth it with a steel trowel at least three times in a 6 hour period to produce a hard,
dense surface without an accumulation of fine particles. The screed must be cured for seven
days.

Cement and sand screed

This type of floor finish is laid if the concrete subfloor is not smooth or level enough for a floor
finish. The screed consists of a layer of mortar, which provides a good surface when leveled with
a steel trowel. The thickness of the mortar, which does not give any structural support, varies
from 25 to 60 mm in a 1:3 cement and sand mix depending on the circumstances. As little water
as possible is used to minimize shrinkage.

Ceramic floor tiles

This type of tiles is made from ceramics. This are product from refine natural clays which are
pressed after grinding and tempering into the desired shape before being fire at high
temperature. They are valuable in sizes ranging from 50 x 50 mm to
300 x 300 mm in thickness of 9.5mm to 13mm.They are laid on mortar beds. Some tiles have
wide joints which have to be filled separately, while others are fitted so tightly that no joint
filling is needed.

Fig 12.1 Typical ceramic floor tiles installation

Wood floor finish

The most common wood floor finishes are
• Wood mosaic
• Wood strip

Wood mosaic is a low-cost type of hardwood floor which uses off-cuts of hardwood. The wood
is shaped into pieces 150 x 300 x10 mm and assembled into 300 x 300 x 10 mm panels. The
panels are laid in groups of five in a basket weave pattern on a paper backing which holds them
together while they are transported.

Each panel is laid separately on a completely dry cement and sand screed which is first of all
cleaned of all loose materials. They panels are stuck on the screed with adhesive so that each
panel fits tightly against the next. The installation is completed by removing the paper backing.
Wood strip
Wood strip flooring is made from timber strips in softwood or hardwood fixed to battens on
concrete subfloor. The battens are secured by
• Casting galvanized metal clips into the concrete or screed.
• Casting dovetail battens into the screed so they are anchored as the screed dries.
The process is completed by sanding or polishing to a fine finish.

Fig 12.2 Wood strip flooring

Test questions
1. List 5 five common floor finish frequency in use.
2. Describe 3 of question ‘1’ above
WEEK 13 WALL AND CEILING FINISHES

3.3 Wall finishes

In wall finishes, the following can be applied
• Plastering
• Rendering
• Tiling

Applying a plaster finish

One, two or three coats of plaster may be applied to achieve a smooth finish. Generally, two
coats need to be applied unless plasterboards are being used, in which case only one coat is
needed. Three coats are only used if the surface is extremely uneven. The first coat in a three-
coat finish, called a screed coat, is applied to level the surface and to ensure that the plaster is the
correct thickness.
The background is first all prepared. Any depressions in the surface should be filled with mortar
or neat plaster. A cement and sand mixture (1:3 combined with minimal water) is applied with a
trowel. The sand should be well graded to reduce cracking from shrinkage after the plaster dries.
Before the first coat fully sets, it should be scratched to provide a key for the second coat and
leave to dry. A finishing coat of neat plaster is then applied with a steel float to produce a thick,
smooth finish.

External rendering
Several finishes and textures are common to external rendering such as; Smooth render,
roughcast render, scraped render, pebbledash render, Tyrolean render to improve the appearance
of cement and sand mix and help to control shrinking and cracking, which affects the waterproof
quality of render.

Wall tiling
Tiles are made from clays with special additives. Common sizes for wall tiles are
• 150 x 150 x 5-6 mm
• 100 x100 x4-5 mm
Their shapes and sizes may vary, but the method of fixing and pointing are the same for all tiles.

On an even surface, tiles are fixed using the thin bed method using a special adhesive 1-2 mm
thick to fix thin tiles to a smooth surface such as plaster. It can only be used on smooth surfaces
since the adhesive is the only anchor for the tiles.

On an uneven surface, the thick bed method is used to fix the wall tiles. A 1:4 cement sand
mortar is prepared and spread over a wall as a wet bed to push the tiles into. Battens of the same
thickness as the tiles and mortar bed can be nailed to the wall to act as a guide to the finished
levels.

3.3 Ceiling finishes

The soffit of reinforced concrete slab that forms the ceiling should be level if the formwork was
well built. If the surface is very uneven, then you will need to apply three coats of plaster. The
first coat is the render coat, which creates a level surface with screeds. It should be about 10 mm
thick. The second coat called the float coat should be 6 mm thick, and the ceiling should be
finished off with a final 2 mm coat of neat plaster.

Plasterboards can make good ceilings timber suspended floors or pitched timber roof. The boards
are fixed so that their lengths are at right angles to the floor joist or ceiling joists at 400 mm
centres. The boards are usually large and heavy; about 2400 x 1200 mm and weigh 25 kg.
Boards nailed at 150 mm centres along the lines of the joists. The joints at the ends of the boards
should be under a joist, which may require cutting to fit. The process is finished by binding and
filling the joints before applying a skim coat of plaster.

Painting of ceiling
Ceilings are painted to make it attractive, protect the surface from moisture penetration and rust.
The following steps are taken in the plastering of ceilings.
• Remove all plaster splashes with a scraper
• Fill in and rub down any holes, scratches or grooves
• Remove dust with a soft brush
• Dilute the emulsion with 10 per cent additional water and paint it on as a priming coat.
• Leave it about an hour
• Apply the full-strength emulsion
• Leave it for 2 or 3 hours
• Paint on the final coat of emulsion.

Test Questions
1. Describe how plaster work is carried out
2. Describe painting on ceiling finishes
WEEK 14 PAINTING
3.4 Painting
After walls and ceiling are plastered or rendered smooth it might be necessary to finish the
surface finally with painting.

Composition of paints
The actual composition of any paint can be complex but the basic components are-
• Binder- This is the liquid vehicle or medium which dries to form the surface film and can
be composed of linseed oil, drying oils, synthetic resin and water. The first function of a
paint over the surface and at the same time acting as a binder to the pigment
• Pigment- This provides the body colour, durability and corrosion protection of the paint.
White lead pigments are very durable and moisture resistant but are poisonous and their use
is generally restricted to priming and undercoating paint.
• Solvents and Thinners- These are the material that can be added to paint to alter its
viscosity.

Types of paint
The main types of paints are:
• Emulsion paint
• oil paint (do not contain thinner)
• Hard gloss paint
• Enamel and synthetic paint

Characteristics of the Various Types of Paint

1. Emulsion paint- The typical emulsion paint is a synthetics resin e.g. Polyvinyl Acetate
(P.V.A), emulsified in water, but other emulsified binders are oil. Oil vanishes resin,
rubber and bitumen.
Other ingredients are usually stabilizers which prevent coagulation. The drying action of
this paint is that, their paint film are initial & sometime permanent, permeable which
makes some suitable for decorating new plaster and other damp surface since background
 moisture can be dried out through the paint film.
There hardening film are unstable which prove with age.

2. Water paint- Water paint has a medium composed of a drying oil. Oil varnishes or
synthetic or natural resin emulsified in water usually together with a stabilizer such as
glucine or casine. Water paints are in fact emulsion paints. Although they are not
classified as that commercially. Pigment and Extender are added, and the product is
usually supplied in the paste form. Mixed with water to be thinned by the user to the
texture required for application. They give permeable paint film which is washable when
hard and most are unaffected by alkalis. They are used mainly for interior decoration but
some are suitable for external used.

3. Distempers- This differs from water paint in that they do not contain drying oil on resin.
And they are not emulsified. They consist of a pigment and extenders with a water
soluble binder such as glucine and are applied in mixed powder form or in paste form in
water. Therefore they are prepared for use. Distempers are only used in the interior and
they are also known as non-washable

4. Oil Paint- This have a wheel consisting of drying oil mixed with a thinner, they are
classified by the group base on linseed oil with white spirit which constitute the already
mixed oil based paint but other natural and synthetic oil and thinner are also used. These
are available in priming, undercoat and finishing grades. The later can be obtained in a
wide range of colours and finishes such as matt. Semi-matt, eggshell, satin, gloss and
enamel, polyurethane paints have a good hardness and resistance to water and clearing.
Oil based paint are suitable for most applications if used in conjunction with correct
primer and undercoat.

5. Hard Gloss- They have a vehicle of special treated oil varnish or drying oil (with or
without resin) mixed with a thinner, they are capable of giving a better gloss than
ordinary oils paints & are more rapid in drying. They can be used externally although
their durability can not be compared to that of a good quality oil paint
Functions of Paint
The main functions of paint are to provide
• An economic method of surface protection to building materials and components.
• An economic method of surface decoration to building materials components.

Test Questions.
1. Discuss three composition of paint
2. Describe the following types of paint
i) Emulsion paint
ii) Gloss paint
iii) Enamel paint
WEEK 15 PAINTING (CONTINUED)
Application of paint
Paint can be applied by the following methods-
• Brush- The correct type, size and quality of brush such as those recommended in BS
2992 needs to be selected and used. To achieve a first class finish by means of brush
application required a high degree of skill.
• Spray- as with brush application a high degree of skill is required to achieve a good
finish. Generally compressed air spray or airless sprays are used for building works.
• Rolling- simple and inexpensive method of quickly and cleanly applying a wide range of
paints to flat and textured surfaces. Roller heads vary in size from 50 to 450 mm wide
with various covers such as sheepskin, synthetic pile fibres, mohair and foamed
polystyrene. All paint applicators must be thoroughly cleaned after use.

Painting operation
The main objectives of applying coats of paint to a surface are preservation, protection, and
decoration to give a finish which is easy to clean and maintain. To achieve these objectives the
surface preparation and paint application must be adequate. The preparation of neat and
previously painted surfaces should ensure that prior to painting the surface is smooth, clean, dry
and stable.

Basic Surface Preparation

The basic surface preparation needs to be carried out for painting operation to serve its purpose
well. The preparation depends on the surface to be painted.

Timber: to ensure a good adhesion of the paint film all timber should have a moisture content of
less than 18%. The timber surface should be prepared using an abrasive paper to a smooth
surface brushed and wiped free of dust and any grease removed with a suitable spirit. The
stopping and filling of cracks with putty or appropriate filler should be carried out after the
application of the priming coat. Each coat of paint should be smoothened with fine abrasive
paper after it has hardened before the next coat is applied.
Building boards: most building boards do not require any special treatment except for the
application of a sealer as specified by the manufacturer.

Iron and Steel: the preparation here includes removing all rusts, mill scale, oil, grease and wax.
This can be achieved by wire brushing, using mechanical means such as shot blasting, flame
cleaning and chemical processes and many of these processes are often carried out in the
fabrication works prior to shop applied priming.

Plaster: the essential requirement of the preparation is to ensure that the plaster surface is
perfectly dry, smooth and free of defects before applying any coats of paint especially when
using gloss paints. Plaster which contains lime is alkaline and such surfaces should be treated
with an alkali resistant primer when the surface is dry before applying the final coats of paint.

Paint defects
This may be due to poor and incorrect preparation of the surface; poor application of the paint
and/or chemical reactions. The general remedy is to remove all the affected paint and carryout
the correct preparation of the surface before applying in the correct manner new coats of paint.
Most paint defects are visual and therefore remedial treatment is undertaken.

Typical Paint Defects

• Bleeding- Staining and disruption of the paint surface by chemical action. Usually caused
applying an incorrect paint over another. Remedy is to remove affected paint surface and
repaint with correct type of overcoat paint.
• Blistering- usually cause by poor presentation allowing resin or moisture to be entrapped.
The subsequent expansion causing the defect. Remedy is to move all the coats of paint and to
ensure that the surface is dry before repainting.
• Blooming- mistakes usually on high gloss or varnished surfaces due to the presence of
moisture during application. It can be avoided by not painting under these conditions.
Remedy is to remove affected paint and repaint.
• Chalking- powdering of the paint surface due to natural ageing or the use of poor quality
paint. Remedy is to remove paint if necessary. Prepare surface and repaint
• Cracking and Crazing- usually due to unequal elasticity of successive coats of paint.
 Remedy is to remove affected paint nd repaint with compatible coats of paint.
• Flaking and Peeling- can be due to poor adhesion, presence of moisture. Painting over
unclean areas or poor preparation. Remedy is to remove affected paint, prepare surface and
repaint.
• Grinning- due to poor quality of paint film allowing paint coat below or background to show
through, could be the result of poor application. Incorrect thinning or the use of the wrong
colour. Remedy is to apply further coats of paint to obtain a satisfactory surface.
• Soponification- formation of soap from alkali present in or on surface painted, the paint is
ultimately destroyed and a brown liquid appears on the surface. Remedy is to remove the
paint films and seal the alkaline surface before repainting.

Test Questions
1. Describe three method of paint application
2. List and discuss four types of paint defect
 UNESCO-NIGERIA TECHNICAL & VOCATIONAL
EDUCATION REVITALISATION PROJECT-PHASE II

NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN
BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

YEAR II- SE MESTER II

THEORY/PRACTICAL
Version 1: December 2008

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION VI

COURSE CODE:
1 BLD 204
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
WEEK 1: EXTERNAL WORKS
(1.1) Functions of external works
(1.2) Fencing
(1.3) Function of fencing
(1.4) Factors that influence choice of fence
(1.5) Types of fence

WEEK2: EXTERNAL WORKS CONTINUES

(1.6) Drawing of type of fence

WEEK3: ROAD CONSTRUCTION

(2.1) Estate road design
(2.2) Rigid and Flexible road construction

WEEK 4: ROAD CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES

(2.3) Kerbs
(2.4) Precast concrete paving slab

WEEK 5: FOOTPATH
(2.5) Materials used for footpath construction

WEEK6: SEPTIC TANK/SEWAGE TRANSPARENT PLANT

(3.1) Necessary case in use

WEEKK7: INSPECTION CHAMBER/MANHOLE

(3.2) Inspection chamber details
(3.3) Manhole details
(3.4) Construction process of inspection chamber
(3.5) Types of Drain

WEEK8: BUILDING TEAM

(4.1) Member of the building team
(4.2) Roles of member of the building team

WEEK 9: ROLES OF MEMBERS OF THE BUILDING TEAM (CONTINUED)

WEEK10: ROLES OF MEMBERS OF THE BUILDING TEAM (CONTINUED)

WEEK11: CONTRACT
(5.1) Types of building contract
(5.2) Cost plus contract
(5.3) Target cost
(5.4) Measure and value contract
(5.5) Contracts Based On Drawing and Specification
(5.6) Package Deal Contract

2
WEEK 12: TENDERING PROCEDURE
(6.1) Types of tender
(6.2) Selective tendering
(6.3) Negotiated tendering
WEEK 13: SITE LAYOUT AND ORGANIZATION
(6.4) Planning of site layout

WEEK14: FIRE PREVENT AND PROTECTION

(7.1) Introduction
(7.2) How fire occurs
(7.3) Method of fire extinction
(7.4) Fire prevention and protection
(7.5) Source of heat
(7.6) Fire preventive measure
(7.7) Spark arrestor
WEEK 15: FIRE PREVENTION AND PROTECTION (CONTINUED)
(7.8) Fire extinguishers and fire fighting
(7.9) Classification of fire
(7.10) Fire fighting equipment
(8.1) Burglar proofing
(8.2) Method of production of burglar proofing
(8.3) Fixing methods of grills
(8.4) Fixing method of insect screen

3
WEEK 1 EXTERNAL WORK
EXTERNAL WORK

External works can be defined as a service provided around building to provide conveniences to
the occupiers of the building.

Functions
• To provide drives and access to garage in building
• To provide access to estate
• To provide accommodation for parking of vehicle
• To provide footpath to pedestrian
• To drains surface water efficiently (with a proper shop)
• To provide security to buildings (such as fencing

Fencing
Fencing is used to form boundaries between lands of different occupiers.

Functions of fencing
Fences and hedges are used in building to provide:

• Security as well as
• Excluding the view of the building surrounding from outside
• It limits the accessibility to the building to the specified or accepted entrance
• Fences are used to form boundary land of different occupiers

Factors that influence choice of fence

• Appearance
• Durability
• Maintenance and initial cost
• Effectiveness

4
Types of fence

• Wood palisade fence

• Chain link fence

• Closed boarded fence
• Wooden post & rail fencing

Wood Palisade Fence

These consist of concrete or wooden posts supporting two or three arris or triangular rails,
according to the height of the fence, and vertical pales or palisades. The details are as shown in
figure 1.1.

Fig.1.1 Details of wooden palisade fencing

5
Chain Link Fence

These are widely used as they are economical and form a very effective boundary, although their
appearance is not very attractive. The chain link consists of a diamond-shaped mesh with
average mesh size of 50 mm and average 3 mm diameter finished with a galvanized or plastics
coating or using aluminium wire. The chain link is tied with wire to mild steel line wires of 2.5
to 4.75 mm diameter. Posts may be reinforced concrete, steel or wood. The line wires are pulled
tight with straining fittings at straining posts and intermediate posts are provided at intervals not
exceeding 3 m. The sizes of the posts vary with the height of the fence. The details are shown in
figure 1.2.

Fig. 1.2 Chain link fence

Test Questions

1. List five function of external works in a building premises

2. List four factors influencing choice of fence

6
WEEK 2 EXTERNAL WORKS CONTINUED

Close-Boarded Fence

These are both attractive and effective but have an initial high cost. The posts may be of concrete
or timber. They should be 600 to 750 mm in the ground. The timber used should have weathered
tops and mortices to receive rails. They are normally spaced at 3 m interval. The rails are usually
triangular in section. The boarding usually consists of vertical pales about 100 mm wide. The
pales are nailed to the rails with 50 mm galvanized nails. A horizontal gravel board is often fixed
below the pales to prevent their bottoms from being in contact with the ground with the liability
to decay. The details are as shown in figure 2.1.

Fig. 2.1 Closed boarded fence

7
Wooden Post and Rail Fence

This type of fence consists of posts with pointed bottoms for the purpose of driving as shown in
figure 2.2. The rails are often rectangular in section. This type of fence have reasonable
durability and also attractive and of moderate cost. However, they do not provide effective
division as people, animals and objects can pass through it.

Fig. 2.2 Wooden post & rail fencing

Test Question

1. Draw any three types of wooden fence commonly in use

8
WEEK 3 ROAD CONSTRUCTION
Road construction
Road is the channel serving as a means of communication. It is laid on ground therefore road is
a landed property. There should be proper planning of land in other to achieve economic use.

Estate road design

A normal estate road will have a width of about 4.9m and can be increased to 5.0m where a large
volume of traffic is to be carried. For the principal roads to large housing estate, width of 6.1m or
6.7m will be more appropriate. The other end of the scale, shorter service roads with
development on one side only often have a width of 4.0m, although this is inadequate to
accommodate two wide vehicles along side one another.

Private drives and access to garage may be 2.5m- 3.0m wide. Longitudinal gradient must be kept
within reasonable limits such as 1 in 20 and 1 in 250. If the gradient is too flat it will be difficult
to remove the surface water, and if it is to stiff it becomes difficult to negotiate in snowing and
frosting weather.

Vertical curves must be designed to provide a suitable parabolic curve linking the two gradients,
with the levels normally determined at 6.0m intervals. Roads can be constructed with a chamber
or a cross fall.
The road construction method can be broadly sub divided into two main groups:

• Rigid road – constructed of concrete road slab

• Flexible road – consisting of stone base with a surfacing of tar or bitumen coated
stone.
`Surfacing (optional)
•
`Mesh fabric wire in concrete mix 1:2:4

Sub base

Base

Formation level

Figure 3.1. Section through a rigid road

9
 Surfacing in asphalt (40-75mm)

Sub-Base

Base

Formation level

Figure 3.2 Section through a flexible road

Test Question

1. Use drawing to distinguish between rigid and flexible road

10
WEEK 4 FACTORS AFFECTING ROAD CONSTRUCTION

Factors affecting road construction

• Types of sub grade
• Liability to subsidence (settlement of the soil)
• Initial cost
• Maintenance cost
• Appearance
• Resistance to wear
• Non skid qualities

Other external works include the following:

- Kerbs
- Footpath
- Drainages
- Septic/soak away
- Fencing and hoarding
- Trees, shrubs, grass/hedges
- Parking/garages
- Pavements/interlocks

Kerbs
The main functions of kerbs are to:

• Resist lateral thrust to carriageways

• To define carriage limit
• To direct the flow of surface water
• To support and protect foot path and verges

11
The most common form of kerbs is in pre-cast to B5 3406 and may incorporate Portland,
blast furnace or high aluminium silicate and a natural stone or slag (aggregate) and it may be
coloured.

Manufacturing process includes:

• Cast vibrate
• Hydraulically pressed (HP)
The later (HP) gives the strongest kerbs, which are recognizable with their pattern faces. Less
popular kerbs include granite and sandstone.

Precast- concrete kerbs are 900mm along and in four (4) standard sections.

• Bullnosed (with 15-19mm radius edge)

• Splayed (75mm deep by 75mm wide)
• Half battered (100mm deep)
• Half section (half battered) (HB)
The last two sections are as follows:

Fig.4.1 Precast concrete paving slab

12
The most common sizes are 125 x 250 and radius of kerbs is made to the variety of radii
range from 1-12. Bullnosed as HB kerbs and used extensively for urban roads; where as
splayed kerbs are more often used on dual carriage and rural roads.

Test Questions

1. List five factors affecting road construction in a normal soil condition

2. List four main function of road kerbs

13
WEEK 5 FOOTPATH
Footpath (Pathways)

Footpath and path area can be constructed with variety of materials and the choice will be
determine largely by such factors as:
• Initial cost
• Maintenance cost
• Appearance
• Wearing properties
• Non skid properties

Materials used for footpath construction

• Precast concrete paving slab

Advantage – non-skid, good appearance & hard bearing

Disadvantage- expensive in initial cost and mantle cost; can soon been dangerous
with slight settlement, easily damaged by vehicles mounting kerbs.

• In-situ concrete
Advantage- reasonably cheap, can be coloured, reasonably hard bearing if concrete
of good quality is used and reasonably non skid (slip)

• Bituminous Macadam or Tar Macadam

Advantage – reasonably priced and hardwearing, non-slip, flexible, fairly easily
maintained and lastly reasonable appearance

Disadvantage- periodic surface dressing required, need path edging at back of path

• Asphalt
Advantage- good appearance, hardwearing, reasonably non slip, fairly easily
maintained

Disadvantage-fairly expensive, path edging at back of path.

14
 An examination of competitive schedule above may prove helpful in this connection.
The width of a footpath may vary from 1.35m – 1.8m in housing estate and may
increase to as much as 6.0m in shipping centers. They can normally be made of a
cross fall of about 1:30 towards, the kerbs and there may be gross verge between the
path and kerbs. A tress planted verge improves the appearance of residential
development and this may increase their maintenance cost.

Test Questions

1. Enumerate five factors that can influence footpath construction

2. Discussion materials used for footpath construction

15
WEEK 6 SEPTIC TANK/ SEAWAGE TREATMENT PLANT
A small sewage treatment plant consists of septic tank and filter bed.

The foul water is first drain to the septic tank usually large enough for 48hrs flow in which the
solid organic matters are broken down by the action of anaerobic bacteria and in which the solid
organic matters are broken down by the action of anaerobic bacteria and in which the solid
organic matters settle to the bed of the tank hard water forms on the surface of the liquid as scum
in the septic tank as a subsequence of the bacterial action. This scum is an effective seal between
the liquid and the air in the tank.

In operation a septic tank is like a cesspool, as in both, solid matters settle to the bed of the
chamber. The term septic tank and cesspools are often interchanged. The liquid from the septic
tank drains to the filter bed designed to expose the liquid to as large an area of air as possible,
where the action of anaerobic bacteria breakdown the residual organic compound by oxidation.
The resulting purified liquid is then discharged to a river or stream or to soakaway or nearby
land. For efficient operation this septic tank plant needs regular attention

Fig 6.1 Septic tank

16
Necessary care in use

• The sludge should be collected from the bed of the septic tank in about a six monthly and
carted away or use as fertilizer.
• The filter medium of the filter bed should be washed every year. The treatment plant may
be built of either bricks in concrete bed or of precast concrete.
Functions of septic tank

• Settlement of solid
• Floatation of grease
• Storage of sludge
• Decomposition of effluence
• Discharge of methane and other gasses
• Anaerobic decomposition of accumulated organic matters.

Test Question

1. Use drawing to describe function of septic tank in a small dwelling

2. List five functions of septic tank

17
WEEK 7 INSPECTION CHAMBER (IC) AND MANHOLE
Inspection chamber (IC) and manhole(manhole)

The IC is purposely made for inspecting, testing and clearing of blockage in the underground
drainage.

It is a fabric-lined pit at drain function and change of direction or gradient in a drain line. It is
built where blockage in drain line can be opened by rodding.

The IC provides access to inspect the flow in the drain line and if necessary means of testing
drain lines. The traditional clay drainpipes were liable to blockage due to misalignment of
many joints or fractures of the pipes, and there rigid cement joint, and there was, therefore
advantage in constructing IC at fairly frequent intervals. Today the use of pvc pipes reduces
that problem associated with the traditional; clay pipes.

An IC is a small shallow clause sufficient to clear blockage from above the ground; while a
manhole is a deeper chamber, large enough for man to go into clear blockage. Figures 7.1
and 7.2 show some details of an inspection chamber and a manhole.

18
 Fig. 7.1 Inspection chamber

Fig. 7.2 Manhole details

19
 Construction process of Inspection chamber

An inspection chamber is formed on 150mm concrete base on which brick walls can be laid.
A half round channel or “invert” laid on the bed takes the discharge from the branches drain.
The wall of the chamber are made of dense engineering bricks; if less dense bricks are used,
and then the chamber is rendered to facilitate cleaning, and sometimes rendered outside to
prevent the infiltration of ground water. The IC is completed with cast iron cover or
reinforces concrete Slab cover.

The word ‘invert’ is used to describe the lowest level of the inside of a channel in an I.C or
the lowest point of the inside of drainpipe. The measurement to the invert of a drain is used
to determine the gradient of the drain.

Types of drainages
Separate system
Combine system
Subsoil drainage includes- grid system, fan system, mot system. Etc.

Drains
Drains can be classified using the materials from which they have been made into the following

• Block work drain

• Concrete drain

• Rubble drain
These are represented in figure 7.3.

20
Fig 7.3 Types of drain

21
Test Questions

1. Describe the functions of an inspection chamber

2. Use drawing to describe manhole
3. Use sketch to describe a rubble drain construction

22
WEEK 8 BUILDING TEAM

Members of the building team & their functions

• Client
• Architect
• Quantity surveyor
• Engineer- service & structural
• Builder
• Clerk of works
• General foreman
• Sub-contractor
• Suppliers

Employer or client

The employer or the client is one of the party to any contract, is also refer to as the building
owner. The employer may be the government, an agent of the government, a co-operate body, an
institution, a group of persons or an individual. He is the one who commission the construction
project and pays the cost of the work In other to ensure that his interest are properly safe
guarded, the employer will offer ready or the assistance to various consultant who would act on
his behalf from inception to the completion of the project.

Architect

Traditionally the architect is usually regarded as the leader of the building team since, he is the
one that normally receives the commission to design and supervise the whole of the work of his
client. However, since the whole concept of designing and constructing building project is an
enormous task, the architect would often relay of the assistance of several other members of the
building team to be able to perform his role.

23
 The functions of the architect include the following:

• Interpretation of the client brief or even sometimes helping the client to evolve the
brief
• Preparation of the preliminary and details design
• Supervision of the works during construction this includes ensuring that the work is
carried out in accordance with the contract document
• Arranging the contract, preparation of tender document and obtaining quotation or
tenders from the contractors
• Liaising with the employer, statutory and planning bodies, other consultants and
obtaining planning permission
• Coordinating the activities of everyone involve in the project.

In building contracts which is often named but to which is not a party the architect
wields considerable power and responsibilities example of such powers and or
responsibilities are:

• Certifying payment to the constructor during the contract period

• Issuing variation orders and other instruction as may be necessary
• Directing how professional sums are to be spent
• Nomination of sub-contractors and suppliers

In exercising this task the architect is not only a professional adviser to the client but
also an agent of the client, thus much of the success or failure of a project will largely
depend on the way the architect carries out his functions.

Test Questions

1. List five members of building terms

2. Discuss the roles of the following members of building term
a. Architect
b. Quantity surveyor
c. Clerk of works
d. Nominated of sub-contractor

24
WEEK 9 ROLES OF MEMBERS OF THE BUILDING TEAM
CONTINUED

Consulting Engineers

This includes structural and services engineers who are normally commissioned by the client
through the architect to carry out the design, preparation of the relevant tender documents,
obtaining quotation or tenders and supervision during construction of certain specialized areas of
building projects. For example, structural works, mechanical and engineering installations such
as lifts, air conditioning installation etc, and electrical engineering installations.

The architect knowledge and experience in this area of the works are usually insufficient to cover
this function especially on large and complex building project hence they require the assistance
of such consultant.

Quantity Surveyor:

The quantity surveyor is a member of the building team who by the nature and background of his
professional training performs the following functions.

The quantity surveyor is concerned with the cost and measurement aspects of building contracts.
He advises the architect on the cost implications of design decisions, prepares approximate
estimates and often-cost plans, and later tender particulars. He values the work site, assesses the
effect of variations and finally prepares the final account on the basis of which the architect
certifies final payment.

i. Preparation of bill of quantities

ii. Preparation of approximate estimate
iii. Cost planning
iv. Preparation for tender document
v. Advice on suitable tendering procedures and contract arrangement
vi. Examination of tender document
vii. Valuation of work in progress

25
 viii. Provide advice on financial implication & interpret the contract
ix. Preparation of final accounts
x. Preparation of cost analysis of a completed project
xi. Cost control

Others consultants

These include landscape architect, interior design and decorators, acoustic consultant etc. their
services may be engage in a building project to advise the architect, design and undertake other
responsibilities in their areas of specialization from inception to completion.

Test Questions

1. Discuss the roles of a consulting engineer and a contractor’s engineer

2. List five role of quantity surveyor

26
WEEK 10 CLERK OF WORKS

Clerk of Works

The clerk of works is appointed by the building owner or the architect and acts as an inspector on
behalf of the employer under the direction of the architect he is therefore an agent of the client.
The clerk of work is usually a craft operative with a wide experience and knowledge of building
works, which architect delegates some of his supervisory responsibilities to.

Functions of the Clerk of Works

The functions of the clerk of works include the following

• Inspection and supervision of the work on site to ensure that they comply with the
contract document and the architect

• Recording and agreeing details of the works below ground or these, which may
subsequently covered with the contractors or his site agent. Such details and records will
be useful in the preparation of interim variation and during the measurement and
valuation of variations.
• Signing of labour and material sheets for day works and fluctuation purpose, this will
often signing that the amount of labour and number of hours shown on the labour sheet
and the quantities of materials indicated on the material sheet are correct.
• Carryout other task or responsibility as the architect may require

Main Contractor:

The main contractor is the other party in a building contract who under takes to carryout and
complete the works in accordance with the contract document within an agreed period. In
addition the contractor is responsible for and should co-ordinate all operation on site including
those of sub-contractor.

The contractor is expected to comply with all statutory requirements of building regulation
affecting the works; he is also requiring ensuring the works against fire and other natural

27
disasters and possible injuries to persons to persons and property.

Any person or persons acting, as a main contractor should posses the necessary facilities,
resources and expertise require to carryout construction work.

Sub - Contractors

Sub-contractors are employed in building contract project to undertake specialist works for the
following reasons:

• Where it is felt that a cheaper and higher standard of workmanship could be achieved
• Where the main contractor is not sufficiently capable of carrying out such specialist
Works, examples which include
-piling work,
-mechanical installations,
-plumbing installation,
-electrical installation, and
-erection of structural steel works.
Sub-contractors are usually of two types

- Nominated sub-contractors

- Domestic sub-contractors

Nominated sub-contractors are appointed by nomination through the client or the

architect usually as a result of prime cost sums in a result of prime cost sums in a
building contract. While domestic sub-contractors are employed by the main
contractor on his own initiatives, the nominated sub-contractor is appointed by the
client. Usually a sub-contract will be entered between the main contractor and the
nominated sub-contractor.

Suppliers
Suppliers in any building project are those, firms, manufacturers, person or persons who provide
and deliver building material and component to the site meant for the work but are not

28
responsible for fixing or incorporating them into the work.

Test Questions

1. List the roles of the clerk of works

2. Discuss to explain the functions of the main contractor

29
30
WEEK 11 CONTRACT
Contract
Contract consists of an agreement entered into by two or more parties, whereby one of the parties
undertakes to do something in return for something to be undertaken by the other.

Types of building and civil engineering contract

There are a variety of employer/ contractor relationships and the choice will be influenced
considerably by the particular circumstances. They range from ‘cost reimbursement’ or ‘cost
plus’ contract at one end of the scale to truly lump sum, such as non-variable package deals, at
the other.

The essential difference between the two extremes devolves upon which party is to carry the risk
of making a loss or profit and the incentives, which are built into the contract to encourage the
contractor to provide an efficient and economic service to the employer or client.

Types of building contracts:

• Cost plus or cost reimbursement contract

• Target cost contract
• Measure and value contract
• Contract based on drawing and specification
• Package contract

Cost Plus Contract

These contracts are sometimes described as ‘cost reimbursement’ or ‘prime cost’ contract. In
practice they can take anyone of three quite different forms.
- Cost plus percentage contracts are those in which the contractor is paid the actual
costs of the work plus an agreed percentage of the actual or allowable cost to cover
overheads and profits.
- Cost plus fixed fee contracts are those in which the sum paid to the contractor will be

31
 the actual cost, incurred in carrying out the work plus fixed lump sum, which has
been previously agreed upon and does not fluctuate with the final cost of the work.
- Cost plus fluctuating fee contracts are those in which the contractor is paid the actual
cost of the work plus fee, the amount of the fee being determined by reference to the
allowable cost by some form of sliding scale.

Target Cost Contract

Target cost contracts have been introduced in recent years to encourage contractors to execute
the work as cheaply and efficiently as possible. A basic fee is generally quoted as a percentage of
an agreed target estimate may be adjusted for variations in quantity and design and fluctuation in
the cost in the cost of labour and materials.

Measure and Value Contract

These contracts include those based on schedules of rates, approximate quantities and bills of
quantities. Their great merit lies in the predetermined nature of the mechanism for financial
control provided by the pre-contract agreed rates. The risk of making a profit or loss rests with
the contractor.

Contracts Based On Drawing And Specification

These are often described as ‘lump sum’ contracts although they may be subject to adjustment in
certain instance. They form a useful type of contract where the work is limited in extent and
reasonably certain in its scope and are frequently used for works of alteration and conversion.

Package Deal Contract

These constitute a specialized form of contractual relationship in which responsibility for design
as well as construction is entrusted to the contractor. The less developed the design, the less
detailed the specification and hence the less precise must be the calculation of the price.

32
Test Questions

3. List and describe four types of building contracts

4. Discuss in detail bill of quantities type of contract

33
WEEK 12 TENDERING PROCEDURES
Types of tender

It is commonly believed that tenders can be obtained by three basic methods viz: open, selective,
and negotiated. However, it is necessary to consider the method by which such tender is
obtained. Such methods had increased in various directions these days as variations within the
above types so much so that they can be accurately identified as special method of tendering.

Therefore the following are common practice:

• Open
• Selective
• Negotiated
• Two-tier
• Cost-plus
• Package deal
• Turn-key

Open Tendering

This type of tender is thrown open to all and sundry. The advertisement in the daily newspapers
of radio and television will invite all interested contractors to come forward and collect tender
document, previously described, for the purpose of submitting quotations for a particular
contract. Often times, such advertisement can state the category of contractors expected to
collect such tender documents.

Advantages:

• It gives opportunity for all and sundry to take part

• It gives widest range of selection

34
• It eliminates the possibility of ring formation or collusion
• It makes public accountability possible
• It creates opportunity for unknown contractor to become known especially when he is
successful
• It allows keen competition which may produce cheaper tender figure
• It is an opportunity to get genuine tenderers who are actually interested in the project

Disadvantages:

• It involves excessive paperwork, as so many contractors will tender. The cost of these
lithographic papers will add enormously to the client’s cost of the tender. Though deposit
is received from each tenderer, this only defrays part of the cost and not all. If deposits
are refunded, the situation becomes worse.
• It waste a lot of estimator’s time: since only one tenderer will be chosen. He will have to
be paid and this forms part of the contractor’s overhead charges and will be passed onto
other tenders thus making their overhead charges higher.
• It takes longer time to conclude award procedure as so many tenders have got to be
scrutinized
• There is possibility of many mushroom contractors tendering which constitutes a waste of
time in scrutinizing tenders.

Selective Tendering:

When project is too important to a client, he is most likely to prefer this type of tender. This is
because it will assure him of good performance, which this type offers. The code of procedure
published by the National joint Consultative Committee for Building gives a guide as to the
number of contractors to be invited for tendering and it is graduated based on the contract sum of
the project.

35
Advantage
• There is certainty of performance and good workmanship since known contractors of
good performance are invited to tender.
• Tendering to award of contract period will be short in comparison with open tender
because limited number of documents will have to be examined
• Cost of tender documents is greatly reduced since few contractors are invited
• The contractors will be able to put in adequate profit and submit realistic tender as
opposed to cutthroat of the open tender type. This effect helps in good performance.

Disadvantages:

• There is the possibility of ring formation. This is so because they are few and most likely
to know each other. They may decide to give the contract to agreed contractors among
themselves and rotate it whenever such type comes up.
• The tender sum is most likely to be higher than open tender type. This is so because they
are high caliber contractors with high overheads and high profit margins and knowing
that they are selected, they will take advantage of it.
• It is like a closed shop, since it is not open to all and only privileged few are invited.
• Some uninterested contractors may submit tender in order to keep their names on the list
as such, there is no guarantee of genuine tender.

Negotiated Tendering
This type can take various forms depending on the convenience and wishes of the client as
mentioned in the following:

Advantage:
• It reduces time spent on tendering procedure and thus saves consultants time in terms of
overhead cost
• Work can commence early on site coupled with the possibility of completion on
schedule, which will give early returns on the investment to the client.

36
• There is possibility of best quality work
• There is saving on paperwork and cost of lithography
• Variations will be minimal or eliminated as the works are designed piecemeal.

Disadvantages:
• This type of tender will produce high contract sum, no matter how clever the quantity
surveyors is, because it is negotiated with one contractor, when even the contract sum is
low at the onset, except the contractor abandons the site or poor workmanship prevails,
the final figure is bound to be high
• There is possibility of lesser public accountability as there may be little or no justifiable
evidence to support the agreed sum
• The contractor can take advantage of the client cost wise as he is well known to him. So
also the completion time in the same vein.

Test Questions

5. Discuss three types of building tender

6. State the advantage of open tendering over selective tendering

37
WEEK 13 SITE LAYOUT AND ORGANIZATION

The construction of a building can be considered as the product being produced with a temporary
factory, the building site being the ‘factory’ in which the building contractor will make the
product. To enable this activity to take place the builder require men, materials and plant, all of
which have to be carefully controlled so that the men have the right machine in the most
advantageous position, the materials stored so that they are readily available and not interfering
with the general site circulation, and adequate storage space and site accommodation.

Before any initial planning of the site layout can take place certain preliminary work must be
carried out, preferably at the pre-tender stage. The decision to tender will usually be taken by the
managing director or for small works by the senior estimator up to a contract value laid down by
the managing director. With given design and specifications the best opportunity for the
contractor to prepare a competitive and economic tender is the programming and planning of the
construction activities. A thorough study of the bill of quantities will give an indication of the
amount and quality of the materials required and also of the various labour resources needed to
carry out the contract.

Planning Site Layouts

The following should be considered

• Site activities

• Efficiency

• Movement

• Control

• Accommodation for staff and storage of materials.

38
 Site activities

The time needed for carrying out the principal activities can be estimated from the data
obtained previously for preparing the materials and labour. With repetitive activities estimate
will be required to determine the most economical balance of units which will be allow
simultaneous construction processes; this in turn will help to establish staff numbers, work
area and materials storage requirements. A similar argument can be presented for
overlapping activities.

Efficiency

To achieve maximum efficiency the site layout must aim at maintaining the desired output
of he planned activities throughout the working day and this will depend largely upon the
following factors.

• Avoidance, as far as practicable, of double handling materials

• Proper store-keeping arrangement to ensure that th e material are of the correct type, in
the correct quantity and are available when required.

• Walking distances are kept to a minimum to reduce the non-productive time spent in
covering the distance between working, rest and storage area without interrupting the
general circulation pattern

• Avoidance of loss by the elements by providing time loss and cost of replacing damage
materials.

• Avoidance of loss by theft and vandalism by providing security arrangements in keeping

with the value of the materials being protected and by making the task difficult for the
would-be thief or vandal by having adequate hoarding and fences.

Movement

Apart form the circulation problems mentioned above the biggest problem is one of access.
Vehicle delivery materials to the site should be able to do so without difficulty or delay.

39
Control

This control should form the hub of the activities which logically develops into areas or zones of
control radiating from this hub or center.

Accommodation

As previously stated this must be considered for each individual site but certain factor will be
common to all sites. Accommodation for staff is covered by the construction ( Health and
Welfare) Regulations 1966. This document sets and types of accommodation which must be
legally be provided for the number of persons employed on the site and anticipated duration of
the contract.

Test Question

1. Discuss the importance of site layout for the purpose of enhancing project delivery

40
WEEK 14 FIRE PREVENTION AND PROTECTION

Introduction
Fire constitutes a great hazard both in the industry and at home. It has caused loss of huge sums
of money and numerous irreparable damages to human both physical and mentally. It is therefore
extremely important that we take all necessary measures to prevent fire out breaks.

How fire occurs

Fire or combustion is a process of burning. It is the interaction of a combustible substance in
oxygen at the appropriate temperature, resulting in the production of a flame. Simply put, fire
can be viewed as a reaction involving three elements. The elements are:
Fire- (combustible)
Air- (oxygen)
Heat- (ignite)
The three elements must be present in the proper concentration before fire can occur. This
condition for fire to occur is usually represented by a triangle popularly called the fire triangle.

AIR
(oxygen) FUE
L
FI

HEAT

Fig.14.1 Fire triangle (or triangle of combustion)

Combustible substance or fuel: A combustible (fuel) is any material that burns, solid fuel: e.g.
wood, coal, paper, textiles, rubber etc.

Liquid fuel: e.g. petrol, kerosene, diesel oil, cooking oil, paints, spirits etc.
Gaseous fuel: cooking gas (LPG) Methane Acetylene, Hydrogen, Butane etc.
Oxygen: oxygen is contained in atmospheric air in a proportion of about 21% by volume. If this

41
percentage falls below 16, the fire will go off.

Heat (igniter): heat is needed to raise the temperature of the fuel to its ignition temperature
before it can burn. Since it is the vapour of the fuel that actually burns, heat is needed to produce
the fuel vapour. This is why combustibles which are already gaseous or that vapourize at low
temperatures (e.g. petrol) easily cause fire out breaks.

Methods of fire extinction

All fire-fighting methods utilize one or more of the principles of fire extinguishments. Fire
extinguishments are based on three principles namely:

- Cooling
- Smothering
- Starvation
These three principles can also be presented in a triangle known as Fire Extinction Triangle, the
counter part of FIRE TRIANGLE.

COOLING SMOTHERING
NO
FIRE

STARVATION

Fig.14.2 Fire Extinction triangle

• Cooling:
This is the removal of heat from the fire so that its temperature falls below the ignition
temperature of the fuel concerned. This can be achieved by applying an agent, which absorbs
heat. Water is the most effective absorber of heat that is used in fire fighting.
• Smothering:
This is the removal or limiting of the supply of oxygen to the fire. This can be achieved by:
• Covering the burning area with blanket or metal lid e g Burning fry pan

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 • Throwing chemical powder, sand or dirt on the fire
• Covering fire with foam

OXYGEN FUEL

NO
HEAT

Fig. 15.3 Starvation

• Fire prevention and protection

From what we have discussed above, it is quite clear that we can prevent fire out
breaks if:
- One element is absent
- The three elements are present but not in the appropriate amount
Note that air is always sneered where human being (operators) are to survive

• Sources of heat
- External flames: - Matches, Lighters, Cigarettes, Electrical or Gas rings, Lanterns,
Burners etc.
- Sparks: - static electricity, Ares and Electrical sparks, Mechanical sparks, Friction,
combustion sparks from engines exhaust etc.
- Hot Materials: - Hot metals, Embers, Over-heated bearings, Exhaust pipes, Red-hot
electrical filaments etc.
• Fire preventive measures
Fire preventive measures include the following:
- Sources of ignition should not be near fuels or in an atmosphere that might be
flammable
- NO SMOKING signs should be displayed and enforced in work places where

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 there is danger of fire out-break
- Fuel leaks should not be allowed to fall on hot surfaces
- Vehicles with leaking tanks or leakage along any line should not be operated
they should be repaired before usages.
- Make certain that all workers using or handling flammable are aware of their
properties and hazards
- Ensure that heat indicators in equipment are exposed
- Make sure no electrical wires in equipment are exposed
- Warning signals on vehicles panels should be observed frequently and
complied with
- All job procedures must be strictly complied with
- Permit must be obtained before executing work in a dangerous/ restricted area
- Every vehicle should have fire extinguisher

• Spark Arrestor
Every vehicle going into an area containing flammable atmosphere should be
equipped with spark arrestor

Test Questions

1. Discuss how fire occurs and how it can be extinguish

2. Distinguish between fire prevent and protection

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WEEK 15 FIRE PREVENTION AND PROTECTION (CONTINUED)
Fire extinguisher and fire fighting
Every operator is expected to know how to operate the portable fire extinguisher in his vehicle.
This is important because when fire is attacked at its earliest stage, it will be prevented from
spreading and causing more damage. This is especially true of fire involving petroleum products

Classification of fires
Fire are divided into four categories in the present day classification which is based on the fuel
burning

• Class ‘A’: These are fires of ordinary combustible materials such as wood, paper, textile
and rubbish.
• Class ‘B’: These are fires involving flammable liquids e.g. kerosene, (gasoline)
lubricating oil, chemical liquids etc. and liquefiable solids e.g. grease
• Class ‘C’: These are fires involving gases e.g. methane, butane, propane, acetylene
hydrogen etc.
• Class ‘D’: These fires occur in combustible metals such as magnesium, potassium,
lithium etc.

Fire fighting equipment

• Water
• Dry chemical powder
• Foam
• Carbon dioxide
• Vaporizing liquid (Halons)

- Water: water is the most effective extinguishing for many types of fire due mainly to
its abundance and cooling power. It is the best for class ‘A’: fires. The steam produced
by the heat of the fire provides a considerable amount of smothering action. Water
extinguishers are usually painted RED.

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 - Dry chemical powder: these are suitable for flammable liquid and all types of
combustible materials, but are not particularly effective on class ‘A’ fire which have
become deep seated. Special powders are produced for use on fires involving metals.
Dry chemical powder extinguishers are painted BLUE.

- Foam: this is effective on liquid fires. It forms a blanket of small bubbles over the
burning liquid. It also acts as a cooling medium. Foam extinguishers are painted with
(CREAM whitish yellow) colour.

- Carbon dioxide: it is usually in liquid form in a steel cylinder. It acts by diluting

oxygen content of air at and around the fire, so that the atmosphere will no longer
support combustion. In other words, it smothers. It has no cooling effect. It is
applicable for electrical fires and class ‘B’ fires. Carbon dioxide extinguishers are
painted BLACK.

- Vaporizing liquid (Halons): the halon acts to inhibit chemical reactions within the flame
front. It rapidly knocks down the flame. It can be used on any fire but it has no cooling
effects. Halon extinguishers are GREEN in colour.

• Lesson:
Whenever you notice fire:
- Raise an alarm or shout FIRE!, FIRE!!, FIRE!!!.
- Attempt to extinguish it using a fire extinguisher. But don’t endanger your life
- Get outside to safe place

When fighting a fire, direct the extinguishing materials at the base of the fire. The
five commonly used extinguishers are:
- Water Extinguisher
- Dry chemical powder (DCP) Extinguishers

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 - Carbon Dioxide Extinguishers
- Hal on Extinguishers

Burglary Proof

In most parts of this world security outfits depends or is function of what is to be secured.

Hence, there are burglar alarms; burglar serious, security doors, security windows e.t.c.

Most security doors, and windows depends on the materials used, the quality of the frame and
the iron monger, internal door only; need to provide minimal security. For example a bath room
door might be fitted with simple lock. External doors need to be constructed to high
specifications and fitted with high-security locks.

The ability of an external door and windows to withstand and the activities intruders breaking
into the building can be enhanced by the provision most burglar proofing materials include.

Steel/cast iron

Steel rods

Steel pipes

Barbed wires

Concerting wire

Method of production of burglary proof

• Metal grilles are welded together in pattern to enhance security and beauty to windows and
doors sizes of bars or steel pipes depends on the level of retardation that may be required.
The grilles should have access holes large enough for one to put his hands on, to operate the
window fittings
Typical window and door burglary proof made from steel grills are shown in plates 15.1 and 15.2

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Fixing grilles

Security grilles must have project on each side to slot into the side of the window openings. They
also must be small enough so that the plaster can work on the opening reveals

Fixing Insect Screen

Insect screen can be hinged on frames which are fixed flush with the inside wall so that they fold
back when not in use. Removable screen need safe storage so that mesh in not damaged

Hinge

Locking stile

Frame

Hanging stile

Plate 15.1 Metal burglar proof (Door)

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 Hinge

Locking stile

Frame

Hanging stile

Plate 15.2 Metal burglar proof (Window)

Test Questions

1. Discuss fire classification

2. In fighting fire discuss water and sand as an important vector or extinguishing fire
3. Describe using sketch burglar proofing

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