GENERAL CONSTRUCTION

CLUSTER 3
Group Members: Kemar Carter
Martin Jarrett
Kristoff Thomas

Instructor: Adrian Mendez

Date: September 1, 2021

 Table of Content

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….2

Blueprint reading…………………………………………………………………………….3

Types of plans and views and function and example of each……………………………......4-10

Six (6) feature typically found on a site plan………………………………………………...11-13

What a Bar Bending Schedule is used for in steel fixing……………………………………14-15

Components typically found in the title block of a bar bending schedule…………………...15

Bar bending shape codes with diagram………………………………………………………16-18

Difference between prestress concrete and reinforce concrete (RCC)……………………….19-20

Explanation of reinforcement terms………………………………………………………….21-22

Mesh/BRC acronyms as it relates to Welded Wire Fabric…………………………………...23-24

Diagram illustrating parts of the transit and automatic levelling instruments………………...25

Function and purpose of the various components of the automatic level……………………..26

How the automatic level is used in setting out a simple structure/building……………….....27-29

Rise and Fall and the Height of Collimation Method………………………………………..30-31

Differentiate between an excavation and a trench…………………………………………....32-34

Protective Systems used to protect workers from cave-ins…………………………………..35-37

Hazards associated with Excavation………………………………………………………….37

Types of shoring……………………………………………………………………………...38-48

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………….49

Reference………………………………………………………………………………………50

1
 Introduction

This project serves to help us the trainees to get a better understanding of reading and interpret
plan. It also equipped us with the knowledge to apply reinforcement schedule. This project will
also educate you the reader on how to carry out basic setting out. In this project you will also
learn to carry out excavation and to install trench support.

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 Read and Interpret Plan

Blueprint reading

A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print

process on light-sensitive sheets.

The term blueprint reading, means interpreting ideas expressed by others on drawings, whether
or not the drawings are actually blueprints. Drawing or sketching is the universal language used
by engineers, technicians, and skilled craftsmen. Drawings need to convey all the necessary
information to the person who will make or assemble the object in the drawing. Blueprints show
the construction details of parts, machines, ships, aircraft, buildings, bridges, roads, and so forth.

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Types of plans and views and function and example of each

A building plan is simply a graphical representation of a building and its different elements. It
contains different types of plans of a building such as site plan, floor plan, structural plan, cross-
sections, elevations, electrical detailing, plumbing, and landscape drawings. The construction is
done followed by such plans and drawings.

 Site plan
 Floor plan
 Cross-sections
 Elevations
 Electrical detailing
 Landscape drawings
 Plumbing
 Structural plan

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Site plan

Site plan is comprehensive detailed drawing of the building or an apartment representing whole
plan of a building. It shows property boundaries and means of access to the site, and nearby
structures if they are relevant to the design. For a construction project, the site plan also needs to
show all the services connections like drainage and sewer lines, water supply, electrical and
communications cables, exterior lighting etc.

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Floor plan

A plan means, top view of any building or object. Floor plan is the most fundamental
architectural diagram, a view from above showing the arrangement of spaces in building in the
same way as a map, but showing the arrangement at a particular level of a building. Floor plan
view is defined as a vertical orthographic projection of an object on to a horizontal plane cutting
through the building. This shows the walls, windows, door and other features such as stairs,
fittings and even furniture too.

3D Floor plan

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Cross-sections

Geometrically, a cross section is a horizontal orthographic projection of a building on to a vertical plane

cutting through the building. Cross section is vertical cut section of any building which shows the details
of dimension, thickness of any component of a building. It also represents the sill height, lintel height,
floor height and other minute details of a structure.

Elevations

An elevation drawing is an orthographic projection drawing that shows one side of the house.

The purpose of an elevation drawing is to show the finished appearance of a given side of the
house and furnish vertical height dimensions.

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 Electrical Detailing

The electrical plan is sometimes called as electrical drawing or wiring diagram. It is a type of
technical drawing that delivers visual representation and describes circuits and electrical systems.
It consists of symbols and lines that showcase the engineer's electrical design to its clients.

Landscape drawings

On landscape plans, you’ll see everything from flowers to sidewalks and lawn decorations to
fountains. It majorly consists of sidewalks, plantations and other decorative features that can enhance
the living area. 

Plumbing

A plumbing floor plan will

typically show the location
and type of plumbing
fixtures, as well as the route

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pipes will be run (overhead or through walls) for potable water, drainage, waste, and
vents. Plumbing drawings are usually numbered beginning with "P," as in P-1, P-2, etc.

Structural plan

Structure planning is a type of spatial planning and is part of urban planning practice in

the United Kingdom and Western Australia. A structure plan in any jurisdiction will
usually consist of a written component, supported by maps, photographs, sketches, tables
and diagrams and a 'plan' component consisting of one or more plans illustrating land use
and infrastructure proposals for the area being planned.

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Six (6) feature typically found on a site plan

1. Property Lines

2. Distance Between Buildings and Property Lines

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 3. Fire Hydrants

4. Landscaped Areas

5. Existing and Proposed Conditions

6. Easements

1. Property Lines

Including the property lines on your development site plan is one of the most important

elements, it sets the stage for your design. You can have the most innovative or beautiful

building, but you can’t encroach on an owner’s adjacent property. If you do, you’ll be in for

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extra time conducting more surveys and more drawings. At worst, you could find yourself with a

lawsuit.

2. Distance Between Buildings and Property Lines

Understanding your site goes beyond staying inside your own property lines. Surrounding
infrastructure and buildings play an important role in shaping your design. Make sure to include
all those dimensions on your plan because issues like the following are determined by what goes

on around the site

 Building height
 Zoning
 Building usage
 Fire hazards

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3. Fire Hydrants

Not only is access to the site important for occupants, but it’s also necessary for emergency

personnel. There are codes governing the distance your building will need to be from fire

hydrants, depending on the type of construction. If you’re doing a renovation, oftentimes this

won’t be needed. However, new construction always needs to have fire hydrants included on the

development site plan that you are submitting to the city. 

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4. Landscaped Areas

Landscaping is not only used for aesthetics, but oftentimes it’s part of a fragile ecosystem that

must be preserved. Or it’s designed to help preserve the surrounding ecosystem. Make sure to

put in existing and proposed landscaping.

5. Existing and Proposed Conditions

For city officials and plan reviewers to grasp the full scope of your design, you’ll want to present

both existing and proposed conditions, including fence lines and especially all utility lines. It also

let you know if other city officials such as inspectors need to be present throughout the

construction of your building.

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6. Easements

Easements are needed anytime you need to cross or maintain an element of your design that will

exist on an adjacent property. For example, if you need a pipe run and it crosses the corner of

another property, you need an easement to have the legal right to cross that corner and maintain

that portion of the pipe. You can show easements graphically or with text, but there needs to be

no question that an easement exists.

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 Apply Reinforcement Schedule

What a Bar Bending Schedule is used for in steel fixing

 Bar bending schedule or schedule of bars is a tabular representation of reinforcement bar.

It is generally represented for each type of R.C.C work.

 With the help of bar bending schedule the requirement of different length and sizes of
bars may be known and can be arranged and bent-up during the time of construction.

 Bar bending schedule generally describes the particulars of bars, shape of bending with
sketches and total length and weight of the bars along with their numbers.

 Bar bending schedule is generally prepared while estimating a R.C.C work or structure.

 Quantities of steel reinforcement of different diameter and different grades are calculated
easily.

 Ideas of different sizes of bars, bend and length of bars can be easily acquired through
schedule of bars.

 During the auditing of reinforcement on construction site, bar bending schedule becomes
very much helpful.

 Moreover, it helps to avoid confusion on the construction site.

 It provides the exact quantity of steel required for work due to which optimization of
reinforcement can be done in case of cost overrun.

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  Bar bending schedule makes it easy for site engineers to check and verify the cutting
length and bar bending while inspection on the site.

 At the end of the entire work the construction bills can be easily created with the help of
these schedules of bars.

Components typically found in the title block of a bar bending schedule

 Diameter
 Shape of bending
 Length of each bent and straight portions
 Angles of bending
 Total length of each bar
 Number of each type of bar

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Bar bending shape codes with diagram:

Shape code 00

Shape code 11

Shape code 13

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Shape code 51

Shape code 75

Shape code 98

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Shape code 47

Shape code 21

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Difference between prestress concrete and reinforce concrete (RCC)

What is Reinforced Concrete?

Reinforced concrete is one of the most widely used composite materials in construction. It’s
easily workable, it’s strong, and it’s available just about everywhere. When using reinforced
concrete, steel bars are placed into the formwork ahead of time. Concrete is poured over the
formwork, and vibrations remove air pockets while evenly distributing the materials. Because the
concrete is poured into a customized form, it allows the builder to choose both conventional and
unconventional shapes – which can really open up your architectural options. Some of the most
common uses of reinforced concrete include:

– Columns

– Beams

– Foundations

– Dams

– Bridges

– Highway paving

– Sidewalks

What is Restressed Concrete?

While reinforced concrete is formed at rest, restressed concrete is formed under stress. Steel bars
are placed in a form and stretched at both ends as the concrete is poured in. This gives the final
product a greater degree of tensile strength, which makes it a common choice for large-scale
projects like highway overpasses and commercial buildings. Prestressed concrete also falls into
numerous subcategories that you might recognize, including:

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– Pre-Tensioned Concrete: Tendons are tensioned before the concrete is cast.

– Bonded Post-Tensioned Concrete: Tendons are bonded after tendon tensioning.

– Unbonded Post-Tensioned Concrete: Tendons retain free movement relative to the concrete,
moving inside a plastic coating with lithium-based lubrication.

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Explanation of reinforcement terms

Deformed bars

Deformed reinforcing steel bar is one kind of reinforcing steel bars. Commonly, its surface has
ribs which has three kinds of shape: spiral shape, herringbone shape and crescent shape.
Deformed reinforcing steel bar with high strength can be directly used in the reinforced concrete
structure and also can be used as prestressed reinforcing bar after cold drawing. Because of its
great flexibility, it is widely used in many fields as construction material.

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Plain bars

Plain Round Bars are basically thread less circular rods in fixed lengths. Plain Round Bars are
frequently utilized for separation of mesh within concrete slabs. Applications include industrial,
infrastructure and commercial uses. What is Plain Round Bar used for? Common uses include
footings, beams, walls, partition panels, ties and lifting, slabs, columns, precast products and
concrete piers.

Welded Wire Fabric

Welded wire fabric is a series of parallel longitudinal wires welded to cross wires by electric
fusion method with accurate spacing. The welding work is done by machinery which ensures the
precise dimensions and results in considerable savings in time, labour and money.

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Mesh/BRC acronyms as it relates to Welded Wire Fabric

Rectangle Ligatures (FL) – These are rectangular stirrups, they are mainly used to tied to top
and bottom of trench meshes or reinforcing rods, which can form a cage or column to enhance
the compressive strength of concrete footings and beams.

Square Ligatures (SL) - These are square stirrups.

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Trench Mess (TM) – This is one of a kind reinforcing meshes which can be typically used in
residential and industrial construction to reinforce footings and beams. It can be used in narrow
places for footing beams like trenches, walls or paths.

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 Carry out Basic Setting Out

Diagram illustrating the various parts and components of the transit and
automatic levelling instruments

An automatic level, also known as a self –leveling level or builder’s auto level, it is a
professional tool that can establish or verify points in the same horizontal plane. Builders,
contractors, engineers and land surveyors use these optical levels to plan structures and
developments and ensure structural soundness.

Picture of automatic level mounted on tripod

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Function and purpose of the various components of the automatic level.

• Telescope - holds lenses that magnify objects in the sight.

• Focusing Knob - can be turned to make objects appear crisp and clear.

• Objective Lens - catches the object being sighted and magnifies the object.

• Graduated Horizontal Circle - marked by degrees, used for setting and reading horizontal
angles.

• Leveling Screws - allows adjustments to be made to ensure the instrument is level.

• Base Plate - area that the automatic level attaches to on the tripod.

• Horizontal Tangent Screw - can be adjusted to make the instrument move left or right on the
horizontal plate.

• Circular Level - mounted on the automatic level, this ensures that the instrument is at a true
level point.

• Eyepiece - located at the viewing end of the telescope, it can be turned to bring the crosshairs
into focus.

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How the automatic level is used in setting out a simple structure/building

Mount the Automatic Level:

Firstly, the automatic level needs to be mounted on the tripod. For that purpose, the instrument is
placed on the head of the tripod carefully such that the nuts under the instrument perfectly
aligning with the bolts present on the head of the tripod and then the bolts are tightened with the
nuts completing the mounting process.

Level the Automatic Level:

Once the auto level is properly mounted on the tripod it then needs to be leveled before taking
measurements as unleveled instrument gives blunderous readings. In order to level the automatic
level a very simple but efficient enough instrument called “Circular Level” is used. Circular
Level is actually a very basic and cost-effective leveling tool; it contains a small bubble floating
inside a small circular glass which indicates the state of leveling of a horizontal surface or in this
case an instrument on the surface. So to level, the instrument one needs to take that small bubble
in the middle of the circular level by adjusting the legs of the Tripod and by moving the leveling
screws carefully. When the bubble comes in the middle of the circle the automatic level will then
be considered as leveled and ready to take measurements.

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Focus the Automatic Level:

After setting up the automatic level, the next step is focusing the automatic level. Firstly, the
telescope is aimed at the target and is roughly aligned with the target by means of “Alidade”.
When seen through the eyepiece the target may look blurry but turning the focusing knob either
left or right should make the object appear clearer.

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Making a Reference Line:

After careful setup of the level, the height of the crosshair is determined by either sighting from a
known benchmark with the known height determined by a previous survey or an arbitrary point
with an assumed height is used.

Sighting is done with an assistant surveyor who holds a graduated staff vertical at the point under
measurement. The surveyor rotates the telescope until the graduated staff is in the crosshairs and
records the reading. This is repeated for all sightings from that datum. The instrument should be
moved to another position within sighting distance, it is re-leveled, and a sighting taken of a
known level in the previous survey.

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Rise and Fall and the Height of Collimation Method

There are two Methods of Levelling:

1. Height of collimation system

2. Rise and fall system

Height of collimation system

1. It is rapid as it involves few Calculation.

2. There is no check on the RL of the intermediate sight.

3. Errors in the intermediate RLs cannot be detected.

4. There are two checks on the accuracy of RL calculation.

5. This system is suitable for longitudinal leveling where number of intermediate sights.

Rise and fall system

1. It is laborious involving several calculations.

2. There is a check on the RL of the intermediate points.

3. Errors in the intermediate RLs can be detected as all the points are correlated

4. There are three checks on the accuracy of RL calculation

5. This system is suitable for fly there are a leveling where there are no intermediate sights

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Differences between height of collimation method and rise and fall metho

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 Carry out Excavation and install Trench Support

Differentiate between an excavation and a trench

What is an Excavation

Excavation is the act or process of digging, especially when something specific is being removed
from the ground with the use of tools, equipment or explosives. Archaeologists use excavation to
find artifacts and fossils. There are many types of excavation, but they all involve digging holes
in the earth. Mining for coal, gold, or diamonds all require excavation, and before buildings and
houses can be built, there is often some excavation that's done before a foundation can be poured.
Excavation serves multiple purposes, such as earthwork, trenching, wall shafts, and tunneling. 

Construction Excavation

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Archaeologists Excavation

What is Trench

A trench is a type of excavation or long depression in the ground which is deeper than it is wide,
with a width which is significantly smaller than its length. Trenches may be constructed
artificially for a variety of purposes, and they also occur naturally. Essentially, a trench is an
oversized ditch, with some trenches having some extra features. In civil engineering, trenches are
often created to install underground utilities such as gas, water, power and communication.

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Trench dug in order to accommodate utility line.

Trench dug in order to accommodate water pipe line.

Excavation vs Trench
Excavation involves creating a cavity in the earth’s surface via human action. This means an
excavation can be any size and shape. By contrast, a trench is a specialized part of excavation
that involves creating a narrow space surface cavity. Excavation is a cavity in the surface of the
ground created by deliberate human action that removes earth. An excavation can be of any size
or shape. A trench is a specific type of excavation, a human-made narrow surface cavity that is
deeper than it is wide and is less than 15 feet wide. A trench, therefore, is an excavation, but an
excavation is not necessarily a trench. The term trench normally is applied to long, narrow
surface cavities such as those dug to install underground utility lines, plumbing or foundation
footings. Excavating is the act of digging a hole in the ground while trenching is the act of
digging an elongated narrow excavation.

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Protective Systems used to protect workers from cave-ins.

 Shoring
 Shielding
 Sloping or Benching of the Soil

Shoring

Shoring is the practice of building a temporary structure to support an unsafe structure on construction
and excavation sites. Professionals use shoring to fix unstable walls, demolish structures, change
existing walls, construct new walls and repair cracked or broken walls or foundations. When deciding
which type of shoring to use, professionals take several variables into consideration, like the soil located
on the site, the proximity of the site to other structures and the environment of their worksite, like if it's
wet, dry or near a body of water.

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Shielding

Unlike shoring, shielding is not designed to prevent a collapse of the trench walls. Instead,
shielding protects workers from cave-ins in a specific area of the trench where they are working.

Sloping or Benching of the Soil

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The simplest method of protecting workers is to slope or bench the walls of the excavation. The
maximum angle of the soil slope will vary depending on the soil type. If the excavated walls are
composed of stable rock, then the trench can be dug with a vertical slope. As the soil type or
stability reduces, so too does the slope angle.

Sloping

Benching

Hazards associated with Excavation

 the collapse of the sides;

 materials falling on workers in the excavation;

 falls of people and/or vehicles into the excavation;

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 workers being struck by the plant;

 specialist equipment such as pneumatic drills;

 hazardous substances, particularly near the site of current or former industrial processes;

 the influx of ground or surface water and entrapment in silt or mud; proximity of stored
materials, waste materials or plant;

 the proximity to adjacent buildings or structures and their stability;

 contact with underground services;

 access and egress to the excavation;

 fumes, lack of oxygen and other health hazards (such as Weil’s disease).

Types of shoring

 H or I-Beam Shoring
 Secant Pile Shoring
 Contiguous Pile Shoring
 Sheet Piles
 Diaphragm Walls
 Raking shoring
 Hydraulic shoring
 Soil nail shoring
 Timber shoring
 Dead shoring
 Flying shoring
 Pneumatic shoring

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H or I-Beam Shoring
Another name for this shoring type is soldier pile walls. Depending on the soil type, you can
either drive prefabricated steel I or H sections into the ground by first drilling the soil or vibrate
directly into the ground without having to drill the soil first. To construct the complete shoring
wall, concrete panels are pre-cast and installed between the steel beams already in the soil.

Uses

The use of this type of shoring ranges from supporting excavation with a depth between 1.2
meters to that of a depth of 5 meters. However, it can exceed 5 meters, as long as it’s design
accounts for the surcharge load along its perimeter.

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Secant Pile Shoring
 Its construction involves the intersection of two piles combination, a “reinforced” or
“secondary” and an “un-reinforced” or “primary” pile. Forming a continuous wall by
interlocking each other.

Uses

For cases where there are no rooms for open excavation, secant pile shoring is the best option.
Additionally, the absence of space maybe because of the proximity of an existing structure.  The
secant pile shoring type is usually used for this case. However, the design must take into
consideration the surcharge load due to the structure of close proximity.

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Contiguous Pile Shoring

The Contiguous Pile shoring, also known as Tangent Pile shoring is a very useful shoring type. It
consists of piles, tightly spaced, and the name tangent pile shoring comes from the fact that the
piles lie tangent to each other.

Uses

For clay soils or areas where water is not so important or areas of very minimal water pressure,
Contiguous Pile shoring is usually recommended. As it can help retain dry granular material.
However, in water-bearing granular soil, this type of shoring will allow water seepage through
the gap in the piles.

Grouting the gaps in the pile, forming a watertight wall, can prevent the water seepage.
Additionally, Contiguous Pile shoring is not suited for a high groundwater table, especially
without dewatering works.

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Sheet Piles
Sheet Piles construction is similar to that of soldier piles. A Vibro hammer is used to drive a
prefabricated steel section (Z or U) into the ground. The complete wall results from the
connection of the sheet piles.

Uses

44
In addition to retaining soil to soil excavation, this shoring type serves as a good option when
there is a need for excavation isolation from a water body (creek. Pond or sea-side). It is a
common fit in the construction of ports and harbors.

Diaphragm Walls

Diaphragm walls come into play when the above mentioned shoring types do not fit for the
excavation depth. Its construction is reinforced concrete. Diaphragm walls are flexible as its
design takes into consideration the load that needs to be resisted.

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Uses
Basically, for deep excavations like basements and tunnels, this is a good option.

Raking shoring

This type of shoring is constructed by placing timber beams against the structure being
supported, then digging the beams into the ground. Typically, the beams, also called rakers,
should be at an angle of 60 to 70 degrees, which can optimize the use of the rakers to support the

46
structure. Professionals can use steel wall plates to increase the support of the structure and
ensure none of the rakers fall down or break.

Hydraulic shoring

This type of shoring is used when they need to finish an excavation job quickly, since hydraulic
shoring is a faster and easier type of shoring. They typically use other shoring methods for longer
excavation jobs, though hydraulic shoring is ideal for short-term excavations, since the

47
equipment used in this type of shoring is easier to manage. To operate hydraulic shoring,
professionals use hydraulic pistons, which are cylinders that water pushes through at a high
speed. They pump the hydraulic pistons outward until they're hitting the walls that require
support. Typically, professionals place steel plates against the walls as a target for the pistons.

Soil nail shoring

Soil nail shoring strengthens soil slops and walls by installing reinforcement elements, like steel
bars or nails. Professionals drill a hole in the soil, then place the reinforcement material next to
the unstable structure. They put the material at a downward angle to offer more stability and
better protection against any natural threats, like wind.

Timber shoring

This type of shoring is used for a large variety of situations, like they cannot use other shoring
options or when accessing small excavation areas. Timber shoring is when professionals use

48
shoring materials to support structures that run horizontally along trenches. The materials help
professionals gain access into smaller spaces, which can help them dig deeper into trenches.

Dead shoring

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This shoring is used to support dead loads, which is the total weight of a structure. It involves
using vertical beams with some kind of material that offers extra support, like steel plates.
Typically, two beams connect with another beam on top of them that can hold the dead weight of
a structure. Professionals decide to use this type of shoring when most of the structure they're
working on has significant damage, since dead shoring can hold lots of weight while maintaining
whatever is left of the damaged structure. The use of beams also strengthens the foundation of
the structure.

Uses

This type of Shore is used in rebuilding or deepening of foundations, or for removing lower part
of defective walls.

Flying shoring

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Professionals use flying shoring to provide support to two walls that are parallel to each other
that may otherwise collapse without support. The flying shoring type involves using steel plates,
horizontal beams, struts and staining pieces. It requires professionals to build a scaffolding that
they can wedge between the two walls to keep them upright.

Pneumatic shoring

Pneumatic shoring uses air pressure to keep structures upright using air compressors. The air
compressor converts power, using electric energy or gasoline, into energy that can pressurize air
and use high pressure force to keep structures from falling.

Conclusion

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In conclusion, this project has help us the trainees to get a better understanding of reading and
interpret plan. It has also equipped us with the knowledge to apply reinforcement schedule. This
project also educates you the reader on how to carry out basic setting out. In this project you
have also learn to carry out excavation and to install trench support.

Reference

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https://civilengineeringnotes.com/bar-bending-schedule/

https://theconstructor.org/practical-guide/preparation-of-bar-bending-schedule/

https://www.brickkicker.com/reinforced-concrete-vs-prestressed-concrete/

https://www.pcwirestrand.com/pcwirestrand/deformed-steel-bar.html

https://www.reozone.com.au/reinforcing-bar/plain-round-bars/

https://theconstructor.org/concrete/welded-wire-fabric-concrete/30421/

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