UNIT-I

Unit I
Building Materials & Construction Stones, bricks, cement, lime, timber-types, properties, test
& uses, laboratory tests concrete and mortar Materials: Workability, Strength properties of
Concrete, Nominal proportion of Concrete preparation of concrete, compaction, curing.
Elements of Building Construction, Foundations conventional spread footings, RCC footings,
brick masonry walls, plastering and pointing, floors, roofs, Doors, windows, lintels, staircases
– types and their suitability

STONES, BRICKS AND AGGREGATES

INTRODUCTION:
Building materials have an important role to play in this modern age of technology. Although
their most important use is in construction activities, no field of engineering is conceivable
without their use. Also, the building materials industry is an important contributor in our
national economy as its output governs both the rate and the quality of construction work. There
are certain general factors which affect the choice of materials for a particular scheme. Perhaps
the most important of these is the climatic background. Obviously, different materials and
forms of construction have developed in different parts of the world as a result of climatic
differences. Another factor is the economic aspect of the choice of materials. The rapid advance
of constructional methods, the increasing introduction of mechanical tools and plants, and
changes in the organization of the building industry may appreciably influence the choice of
materials.

Due to the great diversity in the usage of buildings and installations and the various processes
of production, a great variety of requirements are placed upon building materials calling for a
very wide range of their properties: strength at low and high temperatures, resistance to
ordinary water and sea water, acids and alkalis etc. Also, materials for interior decoration of
residential and public buildings, gardens and parks, etc. should be, by their very purpose,
pleasant to the eye, durable and strong. Specific properties of building materials serve as a basis
for subdividing them into separate groups. For example, mineral binding materials are
subdivided into air and hydraulic-setting varieties. The principal properties of building
materials predetermine their applications. Only a comprehensive knowledge of the properties
of materials allows a rational choice of materials for specific service conditions.

PRINCIPAL PROPERTIES OF BUILDING MATERIALS:

For a material to be considered as building material, it should have required engineering
properties suitable for construction works.This property of building a material is responsible
for its quality and capacity and helps to decide applications of these materials.

Such properties of building materials are categorized as follows.

1. Physical properties
2. Mechanical properties
3. Chemical properties
4. Electrical properties
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 5. Magnetic properties
6. Thermal properties

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES:
Bulk Density
Bulk density is the ratio of mass to the volume of the material in its natural state that is including
voids and pores. It is expressed in kg/m3. Bulk density influences the mechanical properties of
materials like strength, heat and conductivity etc.
bulk density values of some of the engineering materials are given below.

Building material Bulk density (kg/m3)

Brick 1600-1800
Sand 1450 – 1650
Steel 7850
Heavy concrete 1800 – 2500
Light concrete 500 – 1800
Granite 2500 – 2700

Porosity
Porosity gives the volume of the material occupied by pores. It is the ratio of volume of pores
to the volume of material.

Porosity influences many properties like thermal conductivity, strength, bulk density,
durability etc.

Durability
The property of a material to withstand against the combined action of atmospheric and other
factors is known as durability of material.

If the material is more durable, it will be useful for longer life. Maintenance cost of material
is dependent of durability.

Density
Density is the ratio of mass of the material to its volume in homogeneous state.

Almost all the physical properties of materials are influenced by its density values. Density
values of some building materials are given below.

Material Density (kg/m3)

Steel 7800 – 7900
Brick 2500 -2800
Granite 2600 – 2900
Wood 1500

Bulk density
Bulk density is another important property of building materials. The bulk density is

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measured in its natural states. So they have the influence of pores and voids.

Bulk density is the mass occupied per unit volume in its natural state.

Specific Gravity
Specific gravity is the ratio of mass of given substance to the mass of water at 4oC for the equal
volumes. Specific gravity of some materials is listed below.

Material Specific gravity

Steel 7.82
Cast iron 7.20
Aluminum 2.72

Fire Resistance
The ability to withstand against fire without changing its shape and other properties. Fire
resistance of a material is tested by the combined actions of water and fire. Fireproof materials
should provide more safety in case of fire.

Frost Resistance
The ability of a material to resist freezing or thawing is called frost resistance. It is depends
upon the density and bulk density of material. Denser materials will have more frost resistance.
Moist materials have low frost resistance and they lose their strength in freezing and become
brittle.

Weathering Resistance
The property of a material to withstand against all atmospheric actions without losing its
strength and shape. Weathering effects the durability of material. For example corrosion occurs
in iron due to weathering. To resist this paint layer is provided.

Spalling Resistance
The ability of a material to undergo certain number of cycles of sharp temperature variations
without failing is known as spalling resistance. It is the dependent of coefficient of linear
expansion.

Water Absorption
The capacity of a material to absorb and retain water in it is known as water absorption. It is
expressed in % of weight of dry material. It depends up on the size, shape and number of pores
of material.

Water Permeability
The ability of a material to permit water through it is called water permeability. Dense materials
like glass metals etc. are called impervious materials which cannot allow water through it.

Refractoriness
The property of a material which cannot melts or lose its shape at prolonged high
temperatures (1580oC or more).
Example: fire clay is high refractory material.

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MECHANICAL PROPERTIES:
Mechanical properties of the materials are find out by applying external forces on them. These
are very important properties which are responsible for behavior of a material in its job. The
mechanical properties are,

Strength
The capacity of a material to resist failure caused by loads acting on it is called as strength. The
load may be compressive, tensile or bending. It is determined by dividing the ultimate load
taken by the material with its cross sectional area. Strength is an important property for any
construction materials. So, to provide maximum safety in strength, factor of safety is provided
for materials and it is selected depending on nature of work, quality of material, economic
conditions etc.

Hardness
The property of materials to resist scratching by a herder body. MOHS scale is used to
determine the hardness of materials. Hardness is most important to decide the usage of
particular aggregate. It also influences the workability.

Elasticity
The capacity of a material to regain its initial shape and size after removal of load is known as
elasticity and the material is called as elastic material. Ideally elastic materials obey Hooke’s
law in which stress is directly proportional to strain. This gives modulus of elasticity as the
ratio of unit stress to unit deformation. Higher the values of modulus of elasticity lower the
deformations.

Plasticity
When the load is applied on the material, if it will undergo permanent deformation without
cracking and retain this shape after the removal of load then it is said to be plastic material and
this property is called as plasticity. They give resistance against bending, impact etc.
Examples: steel, hot bitumen etc.

Brittleness
When the material is subjected to load, if it fails suddenly without causing any deformation
then it is called brittle material and this property is called as brittleness.
Examples: concrete, cast-iron etc.

Fatigue
If a material is subjected to repeated loads, then the failure occurs at some point which is
lower than the failure point caused by steady loads. This behavior is known as fatigue.

Impact strength
If a material is subjected to sudden loads and it will undergo some deformation without
causing rupture is known as its impact strength. It designates the toughness of material.

Abrasion Resistance
The loss of material due to rubbing of particles while working is called abrasion. The
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abrasion resistance for a material makes it durable and provided long life.
Creep
Creep the deformation caused by constant loads for long periods. It is time dependent and
occurs at very slow rate. It is almost negligible in normal conditions. But at high temperature
conditions creep occur rapidly.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD BUILDING STONES

Appearance
For the face work of buildings this property is of extreme importance. From architectural point
of view color of the stone should be such as to go well with the surroundings. Lighter shades
should be preferred to the darker ones as the latter are less durable, Red and the brown shades
of sedimentary rocks are due to the presence of oxide of iron-which, if present in excess, is
liable to disfigure the stone with rust stains and to disintegrate it. Stones should be of uniform
colour and free from clay holes, bands or spots of color whatsoever.

Structure
Stone, when broken in a direction other than that of cleavage (if it exists), should not give dull
appearance. It should show uniformity of texture. It must be either crystalline in structure of
homogeneous and close-grained. It should be free from cavities, cracks or patches of soft or
loose material. For ornamental carvings it should be fine grained. Stratification (found in
sedimen-tary rocks) should not be visible to naked eye except by difference in color. These can
be easily split along their planes of stratification known as planes of cleavage, and are,
therefore, useful for use in paving’s, flooring’s and roofing’s etc.

Weight
Heavier varieties of stones are more compact, less porous and have greater specific gravities.
For constructions in water, like weirs, barrages, dams, docks, harbours and for retaining walls
the heavier varieties of stones are to be preferred. For construction of domes and for roof
coverings and similar other usages the lighter varieties have to be used.

Strength
In usual constructions the stones used are generally quite strong to withstand the forces likely
to be encountered yet in case of construction where unusually bigger forces are likely
to come the stone to be used should be tested for its strength. Stones of igneous class are
generally stronger than those of the sedimentary class. Stones with compact fine crystalline
texture are stronger.

Hardness
It is the resistance of stone to abrasive forces caused by much wear and friction as in
floors, pavements and aprons of bridges and weirs in rivers. Stones to be used at such places
should be hard.

Toughness
It is a measure of the impact that a stone can with stand. Stones used at places subject to
vibrations of machinery and to moving loads should be tough. Stones used in the construction
of roads should be hard and tough.
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Workability
The ease with which the stone can be worked upon i.e., cut, dressed, carved and moulded
etc., is an important consideration from economy point of view. But this property is opposed
to strength, durability and hardness.

Porosity and absorption

More porous building stones are unsuitable for use in construction especially for exposed
surfaces of structures. Rain water while coming down carries some acidic gases forming light
acids which lodge on the surface of stones and soak in them. Very often it is driven in the pores
of stones by the prevailing winds. Acids react with the constituents of stones causing them to
crumble. In cold regions water freezes in the pores of stones. This water causes the
disintegration of stones because of its increase in volume on freezing.
Stones should as such be tested for porosity and care should be taken to use more porous stones
only at places where they are not likely to encounter frost, rain or moisture in any other form.

Seasoning
All freshly quarried stones contain a certain amount of moisture known as quarry sap, which
makes them soft and easier to work upon. As such all work such as dressing, carving and
moulding etc, should be done as early after quarrying as possible. Stones become considerably
harder on seasoning. After quarrying, when all the work has been done upon stones, they should
be left to season under sheds having no walls so as to permit free circulation of air. Sheds
protect them from rains. A period of 6-12 months is generally enough for proper seasoning.
Dressed faces should not be disturbed after seasoning as the crystalline film left by the quarry
sap on evaporation weathers much better than the actual face of stone left after removal of that
film.

Weathering
It is the extent to which the face of a stone resists the action of weather. The best way of
knowing the weathering properties of a particular stone is to inspect ancient buildings made
with the same quality of stone possibly in the nearby place or at a place having similar
atmospheric conditions. Inspection of an old face of some quarry could also be informative. If
sharp edges and corners are preserved on an old building particularly on the faces exposed to
rains and prevailing winds and on which sunlight does not play and if the chisel marks on such
faces are distinctly visible then that variety of stone has good weathering qualities. Stones with
good weathering properties only should be used in the construction of important buildings.

Resistance to fire.
To be fire-resistant stones should be free from calcium carbonate and oxide of iron and be not
composed of minerals with differing co-efficient of thermal expansion.

Specific gravity
The specific gravity of most of the stones lies between 2.3 to 2.5.

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CLASSIFICATION OF STONES:
The rocks may be classified on the basis of their geological formation, physical
characteristics and chemical composition.

Rocks

Geological Physical Chemical

i. Igneous rocks i. Stratified rocks i. Argillaceous rocks
ii. Sedimentary rocks ii. Unstratified rocks ii. Silicious rocks
iii. Metamorphic rocks iii. Foliated Rocks iii. Calcareous rocks

GEOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION
Based on their origin of formation stones are classified into three main groups—Igneous,
sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.

(i) Igneous Rocks: These rocks are formed by cooling and solidifying of the rock masses from
their molten magmatic condition of the material of the earth. Generally igneous rocks are
strong and durable. Granite, trap and basalt are the rocks belonging to this category,
Granites are formed by slow cooling of the lava under thick cover on the top. Hence they
have crystalline surface. The cooling of lava at the top surface of earth results into non-
crystalline and glassy texture. Trap and basalt belong to this category.

(ii) Sedimentary Rocks: Due to weathering action of water, wind and frost existing rocks
disintegrates. The disintegrated material is carried by wind and water; the water being most
powerful medium. Flowing water deposits its suspended materials at some points of
obstacles to its flow. These deposited layers of materials get consolidated under pressure
and by heat. Chemical agents also contribute to the cementing of the deposits. The rocks
thus formed are more uniform, fine grained and compact in their nature. They represent a
bedded or stratified structure in general. Sand stones, lime stones, mud stones etc. belong
to this class of rock.

(iii) Metamorphic Rocks: Previously formed igneous and sedimentary rocks undergo changes
due to metamorphic action of pressure and internal heat. For example due to metamorphic
action granite becomes gneisses, trap and basalt change to schist and laterite, lime stone
changes to marble, sand stone becomes quartzite and mud stone becomes slate.

PHYSICAL CLASSIFICATION
Based on the structure, the rocks may be classified as:

(i) Stratified rocks

(ii) Unstratified rocks
(iii) Foliated rocks

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(i) Stratified Rocks:These rocks are having layered structure. They possess planes of
Stratification or cleavage. They can be easily split along these planes. Sand stones, lime
stones, slate etc. are the examples of this class of stones.
(ii) Unstratified Rocks:These rocks are not stratified. They possess crystalline and compact
grains. They cannot be split in to thin slab. Granite, trap, marble etc. are the examples of
this type of rocks.
(iii) Foliated Rocks:These rocks have a tendency to split along a definite direction only. The
direction need not be parallel to each other as in case of stratified rocks. This type of
structure is very common in case of metamorphic rocks.

CHEMICAL CLASSIFICATION
On the basis of their chemical composition engineers prefer to classify rocks as:

(i) Silicious rocks

(ii) Argillaceous rocks and
(iii) Calcareous rocks

(i) Silicious rocks: The main content of these rocks is silica. They are hard and durable.
Examples of such rocks are granite, trap, sand stones etc.

(ii) Argillaceous rocks: The main constituent of these rocks is clay(Al2O3 i.e., clay. These stones
are hard and durable but they are brittle. They cannot withstand shock. Slates and laterites
are examples of this type of rocks.

(iii) Calcareous rocks: The main constituent of these rocks is calcium carbonate(Lime).
Limestone is a calcareous rock of sedimentary origin while marble is a calcareous rock of
metamorphic origin.

STONE QUARRYING
Definition:Stones occur in the form of natural rock masses or layers on the surface. The process
of extraction of suitable stones from their natural rock beds or layers is commonly called
Quarrying of Stones.

SITE SELECTION FOR QUARRYING OF STONES

The quarry should be selected based on some conditions as follows.

1 The site should be near to human living areas where labor and tools are always
available, required materials also should be available.
2 At least one of type transportation facilities (road or railway or port or all) should be
available.
3 Clean water source should be available near the quarry site.
4 Good quality and quantity of stone should be available.
5 The site should be far from permanent structures like bridges, dams etc. because the
vibrations due to blasting in the site may cause harm to them.
6 Non-living area should be available to dump the refuse obtained in quarrying.
7 Proper drainage facility should be available.

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 8 Geological information of site should be read.

METHODS OF QUARRYING OF STONES

Quarrying can be done by three methods as follows:

1. Hand tools
2. Machine quarrying
3. Blasting

Quarrying of Stones using Hand Tools

In case of soft stones or for smaller works, quarrying is done by using hand tools. There are
various ways to quarry using hand tools and they are:

i. Excavating
ii. Heating
iii. Wedging

Excavating
Excavating is preferred in case of soft stone surfaces. Hammers, pick axes, shovels are used
to excavate the stones.

Heating
The top surface of rock is heated by placing wood with fuel on it. The fire will be allowed for
some hours and the top surface gets heated and separates from the rock. This separated portion
is removed by pick axes, crowbars etc.

The stones obtained by heating will be in good shape if the rock formation contains horizontal
layers at shallow depth. So, the stone obtained will be directly used for masonry works.

Wedging
This method is applicable when the rock contains cracks or joints in it. Steel wedges or steel
points are put in these cracks or fissures and hit them with hammer.

Then the rock portion separates from parent rock. If natural cracks are there, then artificial
holes are drilled in the rock and wedging is done.

Machine Quarrying of Stones

Machine quarrying is done by using channelling machines in the site. This type of machine is
driven by steam, compressed air or electricity.

A groove is made using this machine around the rock and the horizontal holes are drilled
underneath the block. Hence, the block gets separated from its bed.

A large groove of 24-meter length and 50 to 75 mm width and with a depth about 2 to 3.7
meter can be made using channelling machine. So, larger blocks of stones can be obtained
using this method.

Marbles, lime stones, etc. are quarried using machine quarrying.

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Blasting for Quarrying of Stones
In this method explosives are used to separate the stones from parent rock. This process is
applied in case of hard stone or hard rock which does not contain any cracks or fissures.

The holes are drilled in the rock and explosives are arranged in the holes and blasted with
proper safety measures. The stones obtained through this process are not larger in size.

So, the main purpose of blasting is to obtain small stones which are used as ballast for
railway works, aggregate in concrete works etc.

PRECAUTIONS IN BLASTING:
Accidents may take place during blasting. Following are some of the points which should be
taken note of:
1. Blasting should not be carried out in late evening or early morning hours. The blasting
hours should be made public and a siren should warn the workmen and nearby public
timely to retire to a safe distance.
2. The danger zone, an area of about 200 m radius, should be marked with red flags.
3. First aid should be available.
4. The number of charges fired, the number of charges exploded and the misfires should
be recorded.
4. Explosives should be stored and handled carefully.
5. Detonators and explosives should not be kept together.
6. Cartridges should be handled with rubber or polythene gloves.
7. A maximum of 10 bore holes are exploded at a time and that also successively and not
simultaneously.

DRESSING OF STONE
Stones obtained from quarrying do not contain required shapes and sizes. So, they are cut into
required sizes and shapes with suitable surfaces. This process is called dressing of stones.

Objectives:
a. To reduce the size of the big blocks of stones so that they are converted to easily lift-
able pieces. This reduction in size is generally carried out at the quarry itself because
that saves a lot of transportation cost.
b. To give a proper shape to the stone. It is known that stones can be used at different
places in the building, e.g., in foundations, in walls, in arches or for flooring, each
situation will require a proper shape.
This can be given at the quarry and also at the site of construction.
c. To obtain an appealing finish. In a residential building, stones are used not only
because of their extra strength, hardness, and durability but also because of their
aesthetic value.

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COMPOSITION OF GOOD BRICK EARTH
Bricks are the most commonly used construction material. Bricks are prepared by moulding
clay in rectangular blocks of uniform size and then drying and burning these blocks. In order
to get a good quality brick, the brick earth should contain the following constituents.

(a) Silica(50-6-%)
(b) Alumina (20-30%)
(c) Lime (10%)
(d) Iron oxide (<7%)
(e) Magnesia (<1%)
(f) Alkalis (<10%)

Silica
Brick earth should contain about 50 to % of silica.
1. It is responsible for preventing cracking, shrinking and warping of raw bricks.
2. It also affects the durability of bricks.
3. If present in excess, then it destroys the cohesion between particles and the brick
becomes brittle.

Alumina
1. Good brick earth should contain about 20% to 30% of alumina.
2. It is responsible for plasticity characteristic of earth, which is important in moulding
operation.
3. If present in excess, then the raw brick shrink and warp during drying.

Lime
1. The percentage of lime should be in the range of 5% to 10% in a good brick earth.
2. It prevents shrinkage of bricks on drying.
3. It causes silica in clay to melt on burning and thus helps to bind it.
4. Excess of lime causes the brick to melt and brick looses its shape.

Iron oxide
1. A good brick earth should contain about 5% to 7% of iron oxide.
2. It gives red colour to the bricks.
3. It improves impermeability and durability.
4. It gives strength and hardness.
5. If present in excess, then the colour of brick becomes dark blue or blakish.
6. If the quantity of iron oxide is comparatively less, the brick becomes yellowish in
colour.

Magnesia
1. Good brick earth should contain less a small quantity of magnesia about1%)
2. Magnesium in brick earth imparts yellow tint to the brick.
3. It is responsible for reducing shrinkage
4. Excess of magnesia leads to the decay of bricks.

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MANUFACTURING PROCESS OF BRICKS
There are four different operations are involved in the process of manufacturing of bricks:

1. Preparation of clay
2. Molding
3. Drying
4. Burning

Preparation of clay for brick manufacturing:

Preparation of clay for bricks manufacturing is done in six steps:
Unsoiling of claywe need pure clay for the preparation of bricks. The top layer of soil may
contains impurities, so the clay in top layer of soil about 200mm depth is thrown away. This is
called unsoiling.
Digging After the removal of top layer, the clay is dug out from the ground and spread on the
plain ground.
Cleaning In this stage, the clay is cleaned of stones, vegetable matter etc. if large quantity of
particulate matter is present, then the clay is washed and screened. The lumps of clay are
converted into powder with earth crushing rollers.
Weathering The cleaned clay is exposed to atmosphere for softening. The period of weathering may
be 3 to 4 weeks or a full rainy season. Generally, the clay is dug out just before the rainy season for
larger projects.
Blending If we want to add any ingredient to the clay, it is to be added in this stage by making the
clay loose and spread the ingredient over it. Then take small portion of clay into the hands and tuning
it up and down in vertical direction. This process is called blending of clay.
Tempering In this stage, water is added to clay and pressed or mixed. The pressing will be done by
cattle or with feet of men for small scale projects, pug mill is used as grinder for large scale projects.
So, the clay obtains the plastic nature and now it is suitable for molding.

Molding of clay for brick manufacturing

In the molding process, prepared clay is mold into brick shape (generally rectangular). This
process can be done in two ways according to scale of project.

1. Hand molding ( for small scale)

2. Machine molding ( for large scale)

Hand molding of bricks

If manufacturing of bricks is on a small scale and manpower is also cheap then we can go for
hand molding. The molds are in rectangular shape made of wood or steel which are opened at
the top and bottom. The longer sides of molds are projected out of the box to serve it as
handles. If we take durability in consideration steel molds are better than wooden molds. In
hand molding again there are two types and they are

1. Ground molded bricks

2. Table-molded bricks

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Ground molded bricks
• In this process of ground molding, first level the ground and sand or ash is sprinkled over
it.
• Now place the wet mold in the ground and filled it with tempered clay and press hard to
fill all corners of the mold. Extra clay is removed with metal strike or wood strike or with
wire.
• The mold is then lifted up and we have raw brick in the ground. And again wet the mold
by dipping it in water and repeat the same process. The process of dipping mold every
time to make bricks is called slop molding.
• Sometimes, the inside surface of mold is sprinkled with sand or ash instead of dipping in
water this is called sand molding
• Frog mark of bricks are made by using a pair of pallet boards. Frog mark means the mark
of depth which is placed on raw brick while molding. The depth may be 10mm to 20mm.
• Frog mark stats the trademark of manufacturing company and also it is useful to store
mortar in it when the bricks is placed over it.

Table molded bricks

• This process is similar to ground molding process, but here the bricks on molded on the
table of size 2m x 1m.
• Ground molding is economical when compared to table molding.

Machine molding of bricks

The bricks required are in large quantity, then machine molding is economical and also saves
more time. Here also we are having two types of machines,

• Plastic clay machines

• Dry clay machines

Plastic clay machines This machines contain an opening in rectangular shape and when we
place the tempered clay in to this machine it will come out through this opening. Now, the
rectangular strips coming out the opening are cut by wires to get required thickness of brick.
So, these are also called wire cut bricks. Now these raw bricks are ready for the drying process.
Dry clay machines Dry clay machines are more time saving machines. We can put the blended
clay into these machines directly without tempering. Means tempering is also done in this
machine by adding some water. When the required stiffness is obtained the clay is placed in
mold and pressed hard and well-shaped bricks are delivered. These are called pressed bricks
and these do not require drying they may directly sent to burning process.

Drying of raw bricks

• After molding process the bricks contain some amount of moisture in it. So, drying is
to be done otherwise they may cracked while burning. The drying of raw bricks is done
by natural process.

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 • The bricks are laid in stacks. A stack consists 8 to 10 stairs. The bricks in these stacks
should be arranged in such a way that circulation of air in between the bricks is free.
• The period of drying may be 3 to 10 days. It also depends upon the weather
conditions.
• The drying yards are also prepared on higher level than the normal ground for the
prevention of bricks from rain water.
• In Some situations artificial drying is adopted under special dryers or hot gases.

Burning of bricks
• In the process of burning, the dried bricks are burned either in clamps (small scale) or
kilns (large scale) up to certain degree temperature. In this stage, the bricks will gain
hardness and strength so it is important stage in manufacturing of bricks.
• The temperature required for burning is about 1100oC. If they burnt beyond this limit
they will be brittle and easy to break. If they burnt under this limit, they will not gain
full strength and there is a chance to absorb moisture from the atmosphere.
• Hence burning should be done properly to meet the requirements of good brick.
Clamp burning:
A typical clamp is shown in Fig. The bricks and fuel are placed in alternate layers. The amount
of fuel is reduced successively in the top layers. Each brick tier consists of 4–5 layers of bricks.
Some space is left between bricks for free circulation of hot gasses. After 30 per cent loading
of the clamp, the fuel in the lowest layer is fired and the remaining loading of bricks and fuel
is carried out hurriedly. The top and sides of the clamp are plastered with mud. Then a coat of
cow dung is given, which prevents the escape of heat. The production of bricks is 2–3 lacs and
the process is completed in six months. This process yields about 60 per cent first class bricks.

Kiln Burning

Intermittent Kiln:
The example of this type of an over ground, rectangular kiln is shown in Fig. After loading
the kiln, it is fired, cooled and unloaded and then the next loading is done.
Since the walls and sides get cooled during reloading and are to be heated again during next
firing, there is wastage of fuel.

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Continuous Kiln:
The examples of continuous kiln are Hoffman’s kiln and Bull’s trench kiln .In a continuous
kiln, bricks are stacked in various chambers wherein the bricks undergo different treatments at
the same time. When the brick in one of the chambers are fired, the bricks in the next set of
chambers are dried and preheated while bricks in the other set of chambers are loaded and in
the last are cooled.

AGGREGATES
Aggregates are the important constituents of the concrete which give body to the concrete and
also reduce shrinkage. Aggregates occupy 70 to 80 % of total volume of concrete.

Classification of Aggregates Based on Shape

We know that aggregate is derived from naturally occurring rocks by blasting or crushing etc.,
so, it is difficult to attain required shape of aggregate. But, the shape of aggregate will affect
the workability of concrete. So, we should take care about the shape of aggregate. This care is
not only applicable to parent rock but also to the crushing machine used.

Aggregates are classified according to shape into the following types

1. Rounded aggregates
2. Irregular or partly rounded aggregates
3. Angular aggregates

4. Flaky aggregates
5. Elongated aggregates
6. Flaky and elongated aggregates
Rounded Aggregate
The rounded aggregates are completely shaped by attrition and available in the form of seashore
gravel. Rounded aggregates result the minimum percentage of voids (32 – 33%) hence gives
more workability. They require lesser amount of water-cement ratio. They are not considered
for high strength concrete because of poor interlocking behavior and weak bond strength.

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Irregular Aggregates
The irregular or partly rounded aggregates are partly shaped by attrition and these are available
in the form of pit sands and gravel. Irregular aggregates may result 35- 37% of voids. These
will give lesser workability when compared to rounded aggregates. The bond strength is
slightly higher than rounded aggregates but not as required for high strength concrete.

Angular Aggregates
16 | P a g e
The angular aggregates consist well defined edges formed at the intersection of roughly planar
surfaces and these are obtained by crushing the rocks. Angular aggregates result maximum
percentage of voids (38-45%) hence gives less workability. They give 10-20% more
compressive strength due to development of stronger aggregate-mortar bond. So, these are
useful in high strength concrete manufacturing.

Flaky Aggregates
When the aggregate thickness is small when compared with width and length of that aggregate
it is said to be flaky aggregate. Or in the other, when the least dimension of aggregate is less
than the 60% of its mean dimension then it is said to be flaky aggregate.

Elongated Aggregates
When the length of aggregate is larger than the other two dimensions then it is called elongated
aggregate or the length of aggregate is greater than 180% of its mean dimension.

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Flaky and Elongated Aggregates
When the aggregate length is larger than its width and width is larger than its thickness then it
is said to be flaky and elongated aggregates. The above 3 types of aggregates are not suitable
for concrete mixing. These are generally obtained from the poorly crushed rocks.

Classification of Aggregates Based on Size

Aggregates are available in nature in different sizes. The size of aggregate used may be related
to the mix proportions, type of work etc. the size distribution of aggregates is called grading of
aggregates.

Following are the classification of aggregates based on size:

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Aggregates are classified into 2 types according to size

1. Fine aggregate
2. Coarse aggregate

Fine Aggregate
When the aggregate is sieved through 4.75mm sieve, the aggregate passed through it called as
fine aggregate. Natural sand is generally used as fine aggregate, silt and clay are also come
under this category. The soft deposit consisting of sand, silt and clay is termed as loam. The
purpose of the fine aggregate is to fill the voids in the coarse aggregate and to act as a
workability agent.

Coarse Aggregate
When the aggregate is sieved through 4.75mm sieve, the aggregate retained is called coarse
aggregate. Gravel, cobble and boulders come under this category. The maximum size aggregate
used may be dependent upon some conditions. In general, 40mm size aggregate used for normal
strengths and 20mm size is used for high strength concrete. the size range of various coarse
aggregates given below.

Grading of Aggregates
Grading is the particle-size distribution of an aggregate as determined by a sieve analysis using wire
mesh sieves with square openings. As per IS:2386(Part-1)
Fine aggregate―6 standard sieves with openings from 150 µm to 4.75 mm.
Coarse aggregate―5 sieves with openings from 4.75mm to 80 mm.
19 | P a g e
Gradation (grain size analysis)
Grain size distribution for concrete mixes that will provide a dense strong mixture. Ensure that
the voids between the larger particles are filled with medium particles. The remaining voids
are filled with still smaller particles until the smallest voids are filled with a small amount of
fines.
Ensure maximum density and strength using a maximum density curve

Good Gradation:
Concrete with good gradation will have fewer voids to be filled with cement paste (economical
mix) Concrete with good gradation will have fewer voids for water to permeate (durability)

Particle size distribution affects:

1. Workability
2. Mixproportioning

Fine Aggregate effect on concrete:

1. Over sanded (More than requiredsand)

• Over cohesivemix.
• Water reducers may be lesseffective.
• Air entrainment may be moreeffective.
2. Under sanded (deficit ofsand)
• Prone to bleed andsegregation.
• May get high levels of waterreduction.
• Air entrainers may be lesseffective.

Shape and surface texture of aggregates:

• The shape of aggregate is an important characteristic since it affects the workability of
concrete.
• It is difficult to measure the shape of irregular shaped aggregates. Not only the type of
parent rock but also the type of crusher used also affects the shape of the aggregate
produced.
• Good Granite rocks found near Bangalore will yield cuboidal aggregates. Many rocks
contain planes of jointing which is characteristics of its formation and hence tend to
yield more flaky aggregates.
• The shape of the aggregates produced is also dependent on type of crusher and the
reduction ratio of the crusher.
• Quartzite which does not possess cleavage planes tend to produce cubical shape
aggregates.
• From the standpoint of economy in cement requirement for a given water cement ratio
rounded aggregates are preferable to angular aggregates.
• On the other hand, the additional cement required for angular aggregates is offset to
some extent by the higher strengths and some times greater durability as a result of
greater Interlocking texture of the hardened concrete.
• Flat particles in concrete will have objectionable influence on the workability of
concrete, cement requirement, strength and durability.
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• In general excessively flaky aggregates make poor concrete.
• While discussing the shape of the aggregates, the texture of the aggregate also enters
the discussion because of its close association with the shape.

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• Generally round aggregates are smooth textured and angular aggregates are rough
textured. Therefore some engineers argue against round aggregates from the point of
bond strength between aggregates and cement.
• But the angular aggregates are superior to rounded aggregates from the following two
points:
• Angular aggregates exhibit a better interlocking effect in concrete, which property
makes it superior in concrete used for road and pavements.
• The total surface area of rough textured angular aggregate is more than smooth rounded
aggregates for the given volume.
• By having greater surface area, the angular aggregates may show higher bond strength
than rounded aggregates.
• The shape of the aggregates becomes all the more important in case of high strength
and high performance concrete where very low water/cement ratio is required to be
used . In such cases cubical aggregates are required for better workability.
• Surface texture is the property, the measure of which depends upon the relative degree
to which particle surface are polished or dull, smooth or rough.
• Surface texture depends upon hardness, grain size, pore structure, structure of the rock
and the degree to which the forces acting on it have smoothened the surface or
roughened.
• Experience and laboratory experiments have shown that the adhesion between cement
paste and the aggregate is influenced by several complex factors in

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Bricks

Bricks are one of the oldest and most popular building materials. The reasons for bricks being
very popular
and widely used construction material are,
• They are cheap
• They are durable
• They are easy to handle and work with
Brick can be defined as,
―Bricks are blocks of tampered clay moulded to suitable shapes and sizes while it is still in
plastic condition, dried in the sun and burnt, if desired so as to make them more strong, hard
and durable.‖
Brick is normally rectangular in shape and size is set so as to make it easy for workers to
handle it and is usually available made up of three different materials

• Burnt clay (Most common type in Pakistan)

• Mixture of sand and lime
• Portland cement concrete

The bricks made up of the last two types are usually called blocks and are available in sizes
of following proportions,
Length of brick = 2 × width of brick + thickness of mortar
Height of brick = width of brick
Commonly available size is,19 × 9 × 9 cm and 19 × 9 × 4 cm.

Classification of Bricks
First Class Bricks:
• These are thoroughly burnt and are of deep red, cherry or copper colour.
• The surface should be smooth and rectangular, with parallel, sharp and straight edges and
square corners.
• These should be free from flaws, cracks and stones.
• These should have uniform texture.
• No impression should be left on the brick when a scratch is made by a finger nail.

• The fractured surface of the brick should not show lumps of lime.
• A metallic or ringing sound should come when two bricks are struck against each other.
• Water absorption should be 12–15% of its dry weight when immersed in cold water for
24 hours.

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• The crushing strength of the brick should not be less than 10 N/mm2. This limit varies
with different Government organisations around the country.

Uses: First class bricks are recommended for pointing, exposed face work in masonry
structures, flooring and reinforced brick work.

b. Second Class Bricks:

These are supposed to have the same requirements as the first class ones except that
• Small cracks and distortions are permitted.
• A little higher water absorption of about 16–20% of its dry weight is allowed.
• The crushing strength should not be less than 7.0 N/mm2.
Uses: Second class are recommended for all important or unimportant hidden masonry works
and centring of reinforced brick and reinforced cement concrete (RCC) structures.

C. Third Class Bricks:

• These bricks are under burnt.
• They are soft and light-colored.
• They produce a dull sound when struck against each other.
• Water absorption is about 25 per cent of dry weight.

Uses: It is used for building temporary structures.

d. Fourth Class Bricks:

• These bricks are over burnt.
• Badly distorted in size and shape.
• Brittle in nature.

Uses: The ballast of such bricks is used for foundation and floors in lime concrete and road
metal.

ON STRENGTH:
On the basis of strength they have been subdivided into the following categories (IS 1077).

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ON THE BASIS OF USE:
On the basis of use they have been classified into the following three types,

a. Common Bricks:
This is a general multi-purpose unit manufactured economically without special reference
to appearance. These may vary greatly in strength and durability and are used for filling,
backing and in walls where appearance is of no consequence.

b. Facing Bricks:
These are made primarily with a view to have good appearance, either of colour or texture
or both. These are durable under severe exposure and are used in fronts of building walls
for which a pleasing appearance is desired.

c. Engineering Bricks:
These are strong, impermeable, smooth, table moulded, hard and conform to defined
limits of absorption and strength. These are used for all load bearing structures.

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 CEMENT & ADMIXTURES
Babylonians were perhaps the first to use clay as cementing material. In ancient times stones
have been invariably used as a construction material with lime as the binder for construction
of forts and defense structures. Egyptians have used lime and gypsum as cementing materials
in the famous Pyramids. The calcareous rocks used by the Romans were either composed of
limestone’s burned in Kilns or mixtures of limestone and puzzolanic materials (volcanic ash,
tuff) combining into a hard concrete. The natural cement is obtained by burning and crushing
the stones containing clay, carbonate of lime (CaCO3) and a little quantity of magnesia
(CaMgCO3)2. The natural cement is brown in color and is also known as Roman cement.

Oxide /
Ingredient % Range Function
composition
Controls strength and soundness.
Lime CaO 62 60 – 65 Its deficiency reduces strength &
setting time
Imparts strength. Excess cause slo
Silica SiO2 22 17 – 25
setting

Responsible for quick setting, if in

Alumina Al2O3 5 3–8
excess it lowers the strength /
weakness the cement
A small amount of sulphuris
usefulin
Calcium making sound cement. If it is in
CaSO4 4 3–4
sulphate excess ,
it causes cement to become
unsound.
Gives colour, hardness & strength
Iron oxide Fe2O3 3 0.5 – 6 to the
cement
Gives color, hardness. If in
Magnesia MgO 2 0.5 – 4 excess, it
causes cracks in mortar.
These are residues and if in excess
Alkalies (Na2O+K2O) 1 0.1 – 0.4
cause efflorescence and cracking

26 | P a g e
USES OF CEMENT
Cement is widely used in construction of various engineering structures. Following are
various possible uses of cement:

• Cement mortar for masonryworks

• Cement Concrete for laying floors, roofs, lintels, beams, stairs, pillarsetc
• Construction of important engineering structures such as Bridges, Culverts, Dams, Tunnels,
storage Reservoirs; Docksetc
• Making CementPipes
• Manufacture of precast pipes, dust bins, fencing postsetc..

MANUFACTURE OF CEMENT:
Calcareous (limestone, marl, chalk, marine shell)and argillaceous (clay, shale, slate etc)
materials are used in the manufacture of Ordinary or Portland cement. From these materials,
like silica, iron-oxide, and small quantities of other chemicals such as Na, K, S are obtained
during the process of manufacturing of cement. Cement can be manufactured either by dry
process or wet process.

DRY PROCESS :
This process is adopted when the raw materials are quite hard. The raw materials of limestone
and clay are first reduced in size of about 25 mm in crushers. A dry air is then passed over

27 | P a g e
these materials. These dried materials are then pulverized into fine powder separately in the
ballmills.

Ball mill is a key equipment to grind the crushed materials, and the ball mill is widelyused in
powder-making production All these materials are stored in hoppers / bins / silos and they are
then mixed in correct proportions.

The clinker is cooled rapidly to preserve the metastable compounds and then ground in Tube
Mills where 2 – 3 % of gypsum is added. The purpose of adding gypsum is to retard the setting
of cement. Generally, cement is stored in bags of 50 kg. The dry process has been modernized
and it is widely used at present because of competition in production; lesser consumption of
power; automatic proper temperature; computerization and quality.

Flow diagram of manufacturing of cement

WET PROCESS
Wet process was used for the manufacture of cement started from 1913 onwards and till early
1980. The operations involved in the wet process of cement manufacture are mixing; burning
and grinding.

28 | P a g e
The crushed raw materials are fed into ball mill and a little water is added to make thick paste.
This paste, usually contain about 14% of moisture is dried and made ready for the feed of rotary
kiln where it loses moisture and forms into lumps or nodules.. These are finally burned at 1500
– 1600oC where the nodules change to clinker at this temperature. Clinker is cooled and then
ground in tube mills. While grinding the clinker, about 3% of gypsum is added. The cement is
then stored in silos from where it is supplied. During the operation of ball mill; the steel balls
in it pulverize the raw materials which form a slurry with water. This slurry is passed to silos
(storage tanks), where the proportioning of the compounds is adjusted to ensure desired
chemical composition.

Why gypsum is to be added during the manufacture of cement?

The gypsum is the hydrated sulphate of calcium and its chemical composition is CaSO4 2H2O.
It contains 79.1% calcium sulphate and 20.9% water. When gypsum is added to 205oC, its
specific gravity increases from 2.3 to 2.95 due to loss of water. As a binding material, the
gypsum quickly sets and hardens. It is soluble in HCl but insoluble inH2SO4.

Gypsum has a number of valuable properties like bulk density, incombustibility, good
absorbing capacity, good fire resistance, rapid drying etc. Because of all these properties,
gypsum is used in the manufacture of cement to increase its setting time.

PLASTER OF PARIS:
Plaster of Paris is a calcium sulfate hemi-hydrate (CaSO4, ½ H2O) derived from gypsum by
firing this mineral at relatively low temperature of 160 – 170oC and then reducing it to
powder In ancient times, in Paris, all the walls of wooden houses were covered with plaster as
protection against fire. Since then the plaster was named as Plaster of Paris.

POP powder is mixed with water to form a paste which releases heat and then hardens once
dried under normal temperature. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after
drying, and can be easily rubbed or scratched with metal tools or even sandpaper. On heating,
further upto a temperature of about 20oC, the entire water is driven off and the resulting product
is known asthe Gypsum Anhydrite.

FIELD TESTS & LAB TESTS FOR CEMENT:

In engineering construction, the main qualifications of a cement are permanency of structure;
strength and a rate of setting. To determine these qualifications, both physical and chemical
tests are made, the former on account of importance more often than the other. However,
following field tests are to be carried out to ascertain the quality of cement:

The cement should feel smooth when touched in between fingers.

• If it is felt rough, it indicates adulteration withsand.

• If hand is inserted in a bag of cement, one should feel cool and notwarm.
• If a small quantity of cement is thrown in a bucket of water, it should sink and should
not float on the surface.

29 | P a g e
 • The color of cement should be uniform and the typical cement color isgrey.
• The cement should be free from any hard lumps. Such lumps are formed by the
absorption of moisture from theatmosphere.

As a result of long experience the physical tests which have come into general use in
determining the acceptability of cement are:

• Soundness
• Strength:
• Consistency Testand
• Fineness.

SOUNDNESS
Soundness refers to the ability of a hardened cement paste to retain its volume after setting
without delayed destructive expansion. This destructive expansion is caused by excessive
amount of CaO or MgO. In other words, the purpose of this test is to detect the presence of
uncombined lime in cement. This may happen due to over burning of ingredients of cement in
kilns. So it is an important test to assure the quality of cement since an unsound cement
produces cracks, disintegration and leading to failure finally.
Soundness of cement may be tested by Le-Chatelier method or by authoclave method.

STRENGTH:
Cement is tested for Compressive and Tensile strength because the cement hydrates when water
is added to it. So, the strength of mortar and concrete depends upon the type and nature of
cement.

30 | P a g e
Hydration of cement: The chemical reaction bet cement and water is known as hydration of
cement

Conditions affecting strength:

• Cement is very strong at early stages if a high lime or high alumina content ispresent.
• Gypsum and Plaster of Paris in small percentages also tend to increase the strength
slightly but when present in quantities more than 3%, these substances provide
variableeffects.
• The strength of cement is greatly also influenced by the degree of burning, the fineness
ofgrinding.
• An under burnt cement is likely to be deficient instrength.

Compressive Strength.:
Compressive Strength is the basic data required for mix design. By this test, the quality and
quantity of concrete can be controlled and the degree of adulteration is checked.
The compressive strength at the end of 3 days, 7 days and 28 days are given in table and the
results are expressed in N/mm2

Tensile Strength:
Tensile Strength may be determined by Briquette Test method or by Split Tensile Strength
Test. The Tensile strength of cement affords quicker indications of defects in the cement.
However, the test is also used for the determination of rapid hardening cement. The tensile
strength at the end of 3 days and 7 days for OPC is 2.0 N / mm2 and 2.5 N/ mm2 respectively.
( 2.0 N / mm2 = 20 kg / cm2 ) ( 2.5 N/ mm2 = 25 Kg / cm2 )

consistency Test
This is a test to estimate the quantity of mixing water to form a paste of normal consistency.

Vicat apparatusis used to determine the consistency test.300 gms of cement is mixed with
25% water. The paste is filled in the mould of Vicat’s apparatus and the surface of the filled
paste is smoothened and leveled. A square needle 10 mm x 10 mm attached to the plunger is
then lowered gently over the cement paste surface and is released quickly. The plunger

31 | P a g e
pierces the cement paste. The reading on the attached scale is recorded. When the reading is 5
– 7 mm from the bottom of the mould, the amount of water added is considered to be the correct
percentage of water for normal consistency

ADMIXTURES
Admixture is defined as a material, other than water, aggregates, cement, that is added to the
concrete immediately before or during mixing. Admixtures change properties of the concrete
in colour, curing time, temperature range and setting time.

Concrete is being used for wide varieties of purposes to make it suitable in different conditions.
Ordinary concrete may fail to exhibit the required quality performance or durability under
different conditions. In such cases, admixture is used to modify the properties of ordinary
concrete so as to make it more suitable for any situation.

Classification of admixtures as given by MR Rixom is:

• Plasticizers (WaterReducers)
• Super plasticizers (High Range WaterReducers)
• Retarders
• Accelerators
• Air entrainingAdmixtures
• Mineral Admixtures / PuzzolanicAdmixtures
• ChemicalAdmixtures

Plasticizers and Super plasticizers specifically developed in Japan and Germany around 1950
and later on they were made popular in USA, Europe and Middle East. Unfortunately, the use
of plasticizers and Super plasticizers have not become popular in India till recently ( 1985).

Plasticizers (Water Reducers):

Concrete in different situations requires different degree of workability. A high degree of
workability is required in case of beams, columns, beam junctions, pumping of concrete for
considerable distances. One must remember that addition of excess water, will only improve
the fluidity or the consistency but not the workability ofconcrete.

The easy method generally followed at the site in most of the conditions is to use extra water
to overcome different situations which is un engineering practice. Today, the use of plasticizers
helps the difficult conditions obtaining higher workability without using excess ofwater.

Super plasticizers (High Range Water Reducers ):

Super plasticizers constitute a relatively new category and improved version of plasticizer, the
use of which was developed in Japan and Germany during 1960 and 1970 respectively.

Use of Super plasticizers permits the reduction of water to the extent up to 30% without
reducing the workability. The use of super plasticizer is practiced for the production of high
strength and high performance concrete. Super plasticizers can produce same w/c (water
cement ratio); same workability; increased strength, homogeneous character etc.

32 | P a g e
Retarders:
A retarder is an admixture that slows down the chemical process of hydration so that concrete
remains plasticity and workable for a longer time. The retarders are used in casting purposes.
These are also used in grouting oil wells. Oil wells are sometimes taken upto a depth of about
6000 meter deep where the temperature may be about 200oC.The spacing between the steel
tube and the wall of the well are to be sealed with cement grout and to prevent the entry of gas
or oil into other rock formations. For all these works cement grout is required to be in mobile
condition for about 3 to 4 hours even at that high temperature without gettingset.

Accelerators:
These admixtures are added to increase the rate of strength of concrete and to reduce there required
period of curing. In the past one of the commonly used materials as an accelerator was calcium chloride.
The recent studies have shown that calcium chloride is harmful for reinforce concrete.

Air entraining Admixtures:

Air entrained concrete is made by mixing a small quantity of air entraining agents. These agents modify
the properties of concrete regarding workability, segregation, finishing quality of concrete. Air
entraining admixture is used to prevent frost scaling in concrete.

The following types of air entraining agents are used for making concrete:

• Natural woodresins
• Animal or vegetable fats and oils such as olive oil, stearic acid; oleicacid.
• Various wetting agents such as alkalisalts
Miscellaneous materials such as the sodium salts of petroleum sulphonic acids, hydrogen
peroxide and aluminiumpowder

The common air entraining agents are Vinsol resin, Darex, Airalon, Orvus, Teepol, Petrosan,
Cheecol etc.. Air entrained concrete was used in the construction of Hirakud dam, Koyna
dam, etc.

Chemical admixtures:
Chemical admixtures are added to concrete in very small amounts mainly for reduction of
water content or control of setting time.

Mineral admixtures:
Mineral admixtures (puzzolanic materials) are usually added to concrete in larger amounts to
enhance the workability of fresh concrete; to improve resistance of concrete.

The term Puzzolana is derived from Pozzuoli, a town in Italy. The sand (volcanic dust) around
this town, when mixed with hydrated lime was found to possess cementious properties.
Puzzolanic materials can be divided into two groups such as:

Natural Puzzolanasviz clay, shales, cherts, volcanic tuff which needs further grinding and
sometimes needs calcining to activate them to show puzzolanic properties. Artificial
Puzzolanas include Fly ash, Blast Furnace Slag, Silica fumes.

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USES: A proper use of admixtures offers certain beneficial effects to concrete, including
improved quality, acceleration or retardation of setting time, enhanced frost and sulphate
resistance, control of strength development, improved workability, and enhanced finish ability.

Blast Furnace Slag consisting essentially of silicates and aluminates of calcium. The
granulated material when further ground to less than 45 microns will have specific surface of
about 400-600 m2/kg. The chemical con of BFS is similar to that of cement clinker.

Concrete
Concrete is a construction material composed of cement, fine aggregates (sand) and coarse
aggregates mixed with water which hardens with time. Portland cement is the commonly used
type of cement for production of concrete.

In a building construction, concrete is used for the construction of foundations, columns,

beams, slabs and other load bearing elements.

There are different types of binding material is used other than cement such as lime for lime
concrete and bitumen for asphalt concrete which is used for road construction.

Various types of cements are used for concrete works which have different properties and
applications. Some of the type of cement are Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC), rapid
hardening cement, Sulphate resistant cement etc.

34 | P a g e
Materials are mixed in specific proportions to obtain the required strength. Strength of mix is
specified as M5, M10, M15, M20, M25, M30 etc, where M signifies Mix and 5, 10, 15 etc. as
their strength in kN/m2.

Water cement ratio plays an important role which influences various properties such
as workability, strength and durability. Adequate water cement ratio is required for production
of workable concrete.

Concrete can be casted in any shape. Since it is a plastic material in fresh state, various shapes
and sizes of forms or formworks are used to provide different shapes such as rectangular,
circular etc.

Various structural members such as beams, slabs, footings, columns, lintels etc. are constructed
with concrete.

There are different types of admixtures which are used to provide certain properties.
Admixtures or additives such as pozzolanas or super plasticizers are included in the mixture to
improve the physical properties of the wet mix or the finished material.

Various types of concrete are manufactured these days for construction of buildings and
structures. These have special properties and features which improve quality of construction as
per requirement.

Tests on concrete
Tests on Fresh Concrete

WorkabilityTests
Workability of concrete mixture is measured by, Vee-bee consistometer test, Compaction
factor Test, and Slump test.

1. Concrete Slump Test

This test is performed to check the consistency of freshly made concrete. The slump test is
done to make sure a concrete mix is workable. The measured slump must be within a set range,
or tolerance, from the target slump.
Workability of concrete is mainly affected by consistency i.e. wetter mixes will be more
workable than drier mixes, but concrete of the same consistency may vary in workability. It
can also be defined as the relative plasticity of freshly mixed concrete as indicative of its
workability.

2. Aircontent
Air content measures the total air content in a sample of fresh concrete but does not indicate
what the final in-place air content is, because a certain amount of air is lost in transportation
Consolidating, placement, and finishing.

35 | P a g e
3. Setting Time
The action of changing mixed cement from a fluid state to a solid state is called ―Setting of
Cement‖.

Initial Setting Time is defined as the period elapsing between the time when water is added
to the cement and the time at which the needle of 1 mm square section fails to pierce the test
block to a depth of about 5 mm from the bottom of the mold.
Final Setting Time is defined as the period elapsing between the time when water is added to
cement and the time at which the needle of 1 mm square section with 5 mm diameter attachment
makes an impression on the test block.

Other tests conducted on fresh concrete are:

1. Segregation resistance
2. Unit weight
3. Wet analysis
4. Temperature
5. Heat generation
6. Bleeding

Tests on Hardened Concrete

Compressive strength
The compressive strength of concrete cube test provides an idea about all the characteristics
of concrete

Tensile strength
The tensile strength of concrete is one of the basic and important properties which greatly affect
the extent and size of cracking in structures. Moreover, the concrete is very weak in tension
due to its brittle nature. Hence.it is not expected to resist the direct tension. So, concrete
develops cracks when tensile forces exceed its tensile strength. Therefore, it is necessary to
determine the tensile strength of concrete to determine the load at which the concrete members
may crack.

Modulus of elasticity
Modulus of elasticity of concrete is the ratio of stress to the strain of the concrete under the
application of loads.

Permeability Tests on Concrete

When concrete is permeable it can cause corrosion in reinforcement in presence of oxygen,
moisture, CO2, SO3- and Cl– etc. This formation of rust due to corrosion becomes nearly 6 times
the volume of steel oxide layer, due to which cracking develops in reinforced concrete and
spalling of concrete starts.

36 | P a g e
In situ test on concrete
There are various in-situ test conducted on hardened concrete, both destructive and non-
destructive. Some of them are concrete pull out tests, Break off tests, Schmidt Hammer test.

Other quality tests are conducted to test the following

1. Modulus of rupture
2. Density
3. Shrinkage
4. Creep
5. Freeze/thaw resistance
6. Resistance to aggressive chemicals
7. Resistance to abrasion
8. Bond to reinforcement
9. Absorption

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 BUILDING COMPONENTS AND FOUNDATIONS

Lintel
A lintel is a beam placed across the openings like doors, windows etc. in buildings to support
the load from the structure above. The width of lintel beam is equal to the width of wall, and
the ends of it are built into the wall. Lintels are classified based on their material of construction.

Bearing of Lintel
The bearing provided should be the minimum of following 3 cases.

i. 10 cm
ii. Height of beam
iii. 1/10th to 1/12th of span of the lintel.

Types of Lintel used in Building Construction

Lintels are classified based on the material of construction as:

1. Timber Lintel
In olden days of construction, Timber lintels were mostly used. But now a days they are
replaced by several modern techniques, however in hilly areas these are using. The main
disadvantages with timber are more cost and less durable and vulnerable to fire.

If the length of opening is more, then it is provided by joining multiple number of wooden
pieces with the help of steel bolts In case of wider walls, it is composed of two wooden pieces
kept at a distance with the help of packing pieces made of wood. Sometimes, these are
strengthened by the provision of mild steel plates at their top and bottom, called as flitched
lintels.

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Stone Lintel
These are the most common type, especially where stone is abundantly available. The thickness
of these are most important factor of its design. These are also provided over the openings in
brick walls. Stone lintel is provided in the form of either one single piece or more than one
piece.

The depth of this type is kept equal to 10 cm / meter of span, with a minimum value of 15 cm.
They are used up to spans of 2 meters. In the structure is subjected to vibratory loads, cracks
are formed in the stone lintel because of its weak tensile nature. Hence caution is needed.

Brick Lintel
These are used when the opening is less than 1m and lesser loads are acting. Its depth varies
from 10 cm to 20 cm, depending up on the span. Bricks with frogs are more suitable than
normal bricks because frogs when filled with mortar gives more shear resistance of end joints
which is known as joggled brick lintel.

Reinforced Brick Lintel

These are used when loads are heavy and span is greater than 1m. The depth of reinforced brick
lintel should be equal to 10 cm or 15 cm or multiple of 10 cm. the bricks are so arranged that
2 to 3 cm wide space is left length wise between adjacent bricks for the insertion of mild steel
bars as reinforcement. 1:3 cement mortar is used to fill up the gaps.

Vertical stirrups of 6 mm diameter are provided in every 3rd vertical joint. Main reinforcement
is provided at the bottom consists 8 to 10 mm diameter bars, which are cranked up at the ends.
Steel Lintel
These are used when the superimposed loads are heavy and openings are large. These consist
of channel sections or rolled steel joists. We can use one single section or in combinations
depending up on the requirement.

When used singly, the steel joist is either embedded in concrete or cladded with stone facing
to keep the width same as width of wall. When more than one units are placed side by side,
they are kept in position by tube separators.

Reinforced Cement Concrete Lintel

At present, the lintel made of reinforced concrete are widely used to span the openings for
doors, windows, etc. in a structure because of their strength, rigidity, fire resistance, economy
and ease in construction. These are suitable for all the loads and for any span. The width is
equal to width of wall and depth depends on length of span and magnitude of loading.

Main reinforcement is provided at the bottom and half of these bars are cranked at the ends.
Shear stirrups are provided to resist transverse shear as shown in fig.

ARCH
An arch is a structure constructed in curved shape with wedge shaped units (either bricks or
stones), which are jointed together with mortar, and provided at openings to support the weight
of the wall above it along with other superimposed loads.

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Because of its shape the loads from above gets distributed to supports (pier or abutment).

Different Components of an Arch

The following are the different components of arches and terms used in arch construction:

Intrados
The curve which bounds the lower edge of the arch OR The inner curve of an arch is called
as intrados.

The distinction between soffit and intrados is that the intrados is a line, while the soffit is a
surface.

Extrados
The outer curve of an arch is termed as extrados.

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Crown
The apex of the arch's extrados. In symmetrical arches, the crown is at the mid span.

Keystone
The wedge shaped unit which is fixed at the crown of the arch is called keystone.

Spandrel in an Arch
If two arches are constructed side by side, then a curved triangular space is formed between the
extrados with the base as horizontal line through the crown. This space is called as spandrel.

Skew Back
The surface on which the arch joins the supporting abutment.

The upper surface of an abutment or pier from which an arch springs; its face is on a line
radiating from the center of the arch.

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Springing Points
The imaginary points which are responsible for the springing of curve of an arch are
called as springing points.

Springing Line
The imaginary line joining the springing points of either ends is called as springing line.

Springer in Arches
The first voussoir at springing level which is immediately adjacent to the skewback is called
as springer.

Haunch
The lower half of the arch between the crown and skewback is called haunch. Highlighted
area in the below fig is haunch.

Span of an Arch
The clear horizontal distance between the supports or abutments or piers is termed as span of
an arch.

Rise of an Arch
The clear vertical distance between the highest point on the intrados and the springing line is
called as rise.

Pier and Abutment of an Arch

The intermediate support of an arch is called as pier. The end support of an arch is called as
abutment.

Muram or Mud Floors:

The ground floor having its topping consisting of muram or mud is called Muram or Mud
Floors

These floors are easily and cheaply repairable Method of Construction:

• The surface of earth filling is properly consolidated

• 20cm thick layer of rubble or broken bats is laid, hand packed, wet and rammed

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 • 15cm thick layer of muram or good earth is laid
• 2.5cm thick layer of powdery variety of muram earth is uniformly spread
• The whole surface is well watered and rammed until the cream of muram earth rises
to the earth surface
• After 12 hours the surface is again rammed for three days.
• The surface is smeared with a thick paste of cow-dung and rammed for two days
• Thin coat of mixture of 4 parts of cow-dung and 1 part of Portland cement is evenly
applied The surface is wiped clean by hand.
• For maintaining this type of floor properly, gobri leaping is done once a week

Suitability: These floors are generally used for unimportant building in rural areas

Cement Concrete Floor:

The floor having its topping consisting of cement concrete is called Cement Concrete Floor
or Conglomerate Floor Types of Cement Concrete Floor:

According to the method of finishing the topping, Cement Concrete Floor can be classified
into the following two types

1. Non-monolithic or bonded floor finish concrete floor

2. Monolithic floor finish concrete floor

Non-monolithic or bonded floor finish concrete floor:

The type of Cement Concrete Floor in which the topping is not laid monolithically with the
base concrete is known as Non-monolithic or bonded floor finish concrete floor.

Method of Construction:
1. The earth is consolidated.
2. 10cm thick layer of clean sand is spread.
3. 10cm thick Lime Concrete (1:4:8) or Lean Cement Concrete (1:8:16) is laid thus
forming base concrete
4. The topping {4cm thick Cement Concrete (1:2:4)} is laid on the third day of laying
base cement concrete, thus forming Non-monolithic construction.

This type of construction is mostly adopted in the field

The topping is laid by two methods:

I- Topping laid in single layer:

The topping consists of single layer of Cement Concrete (1:2:4), having its thickness 4cm

II- Topping laid two layers:

The topping consists of 1.5cm thick Cement Concrete (1:2:3), which is laid monolithically
over 2.5cm thick Cement Concrete (1:3:6)

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Monolithic Floor Finish Concrete Floor:
The Cement Concrete Floor in which the topping consisting of 2cm thick Cement Concrete
(1:2:4) is laid monolithically with the Base Concrete is known as Monolithic Floor Finish
Concrete Floor.

Method of Construction:
1. The surface of muram or earth filling is leveled, well watered and rammed
2. 10cm layer of clean and dry sand is spread over
3. When the sub soil conditions are not favorable and monolithic construction is desired,
then, 5cm to 10cm thick hard core of dry brick or rubble filling is laid.
4. 10cm thick layer of Base Concrete consisting of Cement Concrete (1:4:8) or Lean
Cement Concrete (1:8:16) is laid.
5. The topping {2cm thick layer of Cement Concrete(1:2:4)} is laid after 45 minutes to 4
hours of laying Base Concrete.

Tile Floor: The floor having its topping consisting of tiles is called tile floor. Method of
Construction:

1. The muram or earth filling is properly consolidated.

2. 10cm thick layer of dry clean sand is evenly laid
3. 10cm thick layer of Lime Concrete (1:4:8) or Lean Cement Concrete (1:8:16) is laid,
compacted and cured to form a base concrete.
4. A thin layer of lime or cement mortar is spread with the help of screed battens.
5. Then the screed battens are properly leveled and fixed at the correct height.
6. When the surface mortar is harden sufficiently, 6mm thick bed of wet cement (1:5) is
laid and then over this the specified tiles are laid.
7. The surplus mortar which comes out of the joints is cleaned off.
8. After 3 days, the joints are well rubbed with a corborundum stone to chip off all the
projecting edges.
9. Rubbing should not be done in case of glazed tiles.
10. The surface is polished by rubbing with a softer variety of a corborundum or a pumice
stone.
11. The surface is finally washed with soap.

Suitability: This type of floor is suitable for courtyard of buildings. Glazed tiles are used in
modern buildings where a high class finish is desired.

Mosaic Floors:

The floors having its topping consisting of mosaic tiles or small regular cubes, square or
hexagons, embedded into a cementing mixture is known as Mosaic Floors
Method of Construction:

1. The earth is consolidated.

2. 10cm thick layer of clean sand is spread.

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 3. 10cm thick Lime Concrete (1:4:8) or Lean Cement Concrete (1:8:16) is laid thus
forming base concrete.
4. Over this base course 5cm thick Lime Mortar or Cement Mortar or Lime and Surkhi
mortar (1:2) is laid.
5. The mortar is laid in small area so that the mortar may not get dried before finishing
the wearing course.
6. 3mm thick cementing mixture is spread.
7. The cementing mixture consists of one part of pozzolana, one part of marble chips
and two parts of slacked lime.
8. After nearing 4 hours, patterns are formed on the top of the cementing material.
9. Now the tiles of regular shaped marble cubes are hammered in the mortar along the
outline of the pattern.
10. The inner spaces are then filled with colored pieces of marble.
11. A roller 30cm in diameter and 50cm in length is passed gently over the surface.
12. Water is sprinkled to work up the mortar between the marble pieces.
13. The surface is then rubbed with pumice stone fixed to a wooden handle about 1.5m
long.
14. The surface is then allowed to dry up for 2 weeks.

Double Flag Stone floor

Two layer of flagstones are used to build this type of floor, this is why it is called double flag
stone floor.

Materials used to build this type of floor are –

• Flagstone (about 40 mm thickness)

• Rolled steel joist
• Rolled Steel beam (for span above 4 meter)

Procedure:
For span above 4 meter, a framework is built consist of rolled steel beam and rolled steel joist.
To make formwork, beam are place at 10 feet centre to centre distance then joists are placed at
right angle to the beam. And then two layers of flagstone are fixed with the joist. One layer is
at top flanged of joist and another layer is at bottom flanged of joist. The gap between the two
layers of flagstone is filled with earth or concrete before fixing the top layer of flagstone.

Jack arch floor

You’ll find the following components/materials in this type of floor –
• Arch (brick arch or concrete arch)
• Rolled steel joist
• Rolled steel beam
• Wall
• Tie rod

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Mechanism
Joists are placed on wall or beam and tied together with the tie rod. And then concrete arches
or brick arches are constructed and rest on lower flanged of Joists.

Non-Composite Floor
Non composite type of floors are those which are built using one material only. Mostly used
material for non-composite floor is timber.

Timber floor can further be divided into 3 types

• Single joist floor
• Double joist floor
• Tripple joist floor,

Floor board: Floor board are fixed at the top of bridging joist. It acts as the wearing of the top
surface of the floor.
Floor ceiling: To make the bottom of the floor flat and increasing the aesthetic look floor
ceiling is provided. For this purpose plaster board or sheet of asbestors or some other suitable
materials are used. Floor ceiling rests on bridging joist. To make the ceiling more durable and
strong ceiling joist may be provided at the right angle to the bridging joist.

Single joist floor

In this type of floor single joist is placed below floor board. This joist is supported by wall-
plate at both end.

Double joist floor

In this type of floor binders are provided to support the bridging joist. Binders are then rest on
the walls at both end.

Triple joist floor

Triple joist floor is also called framed timber floor. In this type of floor another member is
added that is girder, which we didn’t use in double joist floor.
These girders are placed on the wall to support the binders. And then joist are placed on the
binders.
In this post, I did not include floors which are built on ground as a type of floor. Because, I
think, it does not need serious mechanism to build a floor on ground. Because there is a ground
itself to support the floor.

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FOUNDATIONS
Foundations are classified as shallow and deep foundations. Types of foundations under
shallow and deep foundations for building construction and their uses are discussed.

Types of Foundation and their Uses

Following are different types of foundations used in construction:

1. Shallow foundation
i. Individual footing or isolated footing
ii. Combined footing
iii. Strip foundation
iv. Raft or mat foundation

2. Deep Foundation
i. Pile foundation
ii. Drilled Shafts or caissons

TypesofShallowFoundations

i. Individual Footing or Isolated Footing

Individual footing or an isolated footing is the most common type of foundation used for
building construction.
This foundation is constructed for single column and also called as pad foundation.
The shape of individual footing is square or rectangle and is used when loads from structure
is carried by the columns.
Size is calculated based on the load on the column and safe bearing capacity of soil.

Rectangular isolated footing is selected when the foundation experiences moments due to
eccentricity of loads or due to horizontal forces.

For example, Consider a column with vertical load of 200 kN and safe bearing capacity of 100
kN/m2 then the area of the footing required will be 200/100 = 2m2. So, for a square footing,
length and width of footing will be 1.414 m x 1.414 m.
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2. Combined Footing
Combined footing is constructed when two or more columns are close enough and their isolated
footings overlap each other. It is a combination of isolated footings, but their structural design
differs.

The shape of this footing is rectangle and is used when loads from structure is carried by the
columns.

3. Spread footings or Strip footings and Wall footings

Spread footings are those whose base is more wider than a typical load bearing wall
foundations. The wider base of this footing type spreads the weight from the building structure
over more area and provides better stability.

Spread footings and wall footings are used for individual columns, walls and bridge piers where
the bearing soil layer is within 3m (10 feet) from the ground surface. Soil bearing capacity must
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be sufficient to support the weight of the structure over the base area of the structure.

These should not be used on soils where there is any possibility of ground flow of water above
bearing layer of soil which may result in scour or liquefaction.

4. Raft or Mat Foundations

Raft or mat foundations are the types of foundation which are spread across the entire area of
the building to support heavy structural loads from columns and walls.

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 The use of mat foundation is for columns and walls foundations where the loads from
structure on columns and walls are very high. This is used to prevent differential settlement
of individual footings, thus designed as a single mat (or combined footing) of all the load
bearing elements of the structure.

It is suitable for expansive soils whose bearing capacity is less for suitability of spread footings
and wall footings. Raft foundation is economical when one-half area of the structure is covered
with individual footings and wall footings are provided.

These foundations should not be used where the groundwater table is above the bearing surface
of the soil. Use of foundation in such conditions may lead to scour and liquefaction.

Types of Deep Foundation

Pile Foundations
Pile foundation is a type of deep foundation which is used to transfer heavy loads from the
structure to a hard rock strata much deep below the ground level.

Pile foundations are used to transfer heavy loads of structures through columns to hard soil
strata which is much below ground level where shallow foundations such as spread footings
and mat footings cannot be used.

This is also used to prevent uplift of structure due to lateral loads such as earthquake and wind
forces.

Pile foundations are generally used for soils where soil conditions near the ground surface is
not suitable for heavy loads. The depth of hard rock strata may be 5m to 50m (15 feet to 150
feet) deep from the ground surface.

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Pile foundation resists the loads from structure by skin friction and by end bearing. Use of
pile foundations also prevents differential settlement of foundations.

Drilled Shafts or Caisson Foundation

Drilled shafts, also called as caissons, is a type of deep foundation and has action similar to
pile foundations discussed above, but are high capacity cast-in-situ foundations.

It resists loads from structure through shaft resistance, toe resistance and / or combination of
both of these. The construction of drilled shafts or caissons are done using an auger.

Drilled shafts can transfer column loads larger than pile foundations. It is used where depth of
hard strata below ground level is location within 10m to 100m (25 feet to 300 feet).

Drilled shafts or caisson foundation is not suitable when deep deposits of soft clays and loose,
water-bearing granular soils exist.
It is also not suitable for soils where caving formations are difficult to stabilize, soils made up
of boulders, artesian aquifer exists.

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52 | P a g e
 WOOD, ALUMINUM AND GLASS

Wood
Wood is one of the most used natural building materials in the world. A number of valuable
properties such as low heat conductivity, small bulk density, relatively high strength,
amenability to mechanical working etc. makes wood as famous building material.

Types of Trees

The trees are classified into following types based on their mode of growth.

1. Exogenous

2. Endogenous

1. Exogenous
Exogenous trees are outward growing trees. Horizontal section of such tree contains several
rings which are nothing but annual rings. These rings can be used to predict the age of tree.
Most of the exogenous trees are useful for many engineering purposes.

Exogenous trees are sub classified into following types.

• Conifers

• Deciduous

Conifers
Conifers are nothing but soft wood producing trees which are also called as ever green trees.
The timber of these trees is light colored, light in weight, low dense and poor against fire.

Examples: Pine, Fir, redwood, spruce, deodar, cedar etc.

Deciduous
Deciduous trees are hard wood producing trees. The leaves of this type of trees are generally
broad in size and they fall in autumn and grow in spring. Deciduous trees are most suitable for
constructional purposes. Timber of deciduous trees is dark colored, dense, heaviest and good
against fire.

Examples: Maple, Mahogany, Oak, teak, walnut, babul etc.

2. Endogenous
Endogenous trees are inward growing trees which contains fibrous mass in their longitudinal
section. The timber from these trees is useful in some limited engineering purposes.

Examples: bamboo, palm, cane etc.

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Structure of a Tree
The structure of tree can be divided in to two categories as follows

1. Macrostructure

2. Microstructure

1. Macrostructure
The structure of a tree which is visible to the naked eye is called macro structure of tree.
Macrostructure of tree contains following components

• Pith

• Heart wood

• Sap wood

• Cambium Layer

• Inner bark

• Outer bark

• Medullary rays

Pith
The core part or innermost part of the tree is called as pith. It contains cellulose tissues which
are helpful for the growth of plant during its young age.

Heart wood
Heart wood is the portion around the pith which is dark in color and contain some annual rings
in it. It is very hard and provides rigidity to the tree. Heart wood is used for several engineering
purposes because of its strength and durability.

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Sap wood
Sap wood contain outer annual rings. This indicates the recent growth of tree and is light in
color. It contains sap which helps in the growth of tress.

Cambium Layer
Cambium layer contains sap which will turn into sap wood after some time. It should not
exposed to atmosphere otherwise the tree may dead.

Inner bark
The protecting layer of cambium layer is known as inner bark.

Outer bark
The outermost layer of the tree section is called outer bark or cortex. It contains cells of wood
fiber.

Medullary rays
The rays extending from pith to cambium layer are known as medullary rays. These rays hold
the annual rings of sap wood and heart wood together.

Characteristics of good timber

The principal characteristics of timber of concern are strength, durability and finished
appearance.
1. Narrow annual rings, closer the rings greater is the strength.
2. Compact medullary rays.
3. Dark colour.
4. Uniform texture.
5. Sweet smell and a shining fresh cut surface.
6. When struck sonorous sound is produced.
7. Free from the defects in timber.
8. Heavy weight.
9. No woolliness at fresh cut surface.

Seasoning of timber
Seasoning of timber is the process by which moisture content in the timber is reduced to
required level. By reducing moisture content, the strength, elasticity and durability properties
are developed. A well-seasoned timber has 15% moisture content in it.

Methods of Seasoning of Timber

There are two methods of Seasoning of timber which are explained below

1. Natural seasoning

2. Artificial seasoning

Natural or air Seasoning of Timber

Natural seasoning is the process in which timber is seasoned by subjecting it to the natural
elements such as air or water. Natural seasoning may be water seasoning or air seasoning.

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Natural or Air Seasoning
In the process of air seasoning timber logs are arranged in layers in a shed. The arrangement is
done by maintaining some gap with the ground. So, platform is built on ground at 300mm
height from ground. The logs are arranged in such a way that air is circulated freely between
logs. By the movement of air, the moisture content in timber slowly reduces and seasoning
occurs. Even though it is a slow process it will produce well-seasoned timber.

Artificial Seasoning of Timber

Natural seasoning gives good results but takes more time. By artificial seasoning, timber is
seasoned with in 4-5 days. Here also different methods of artificial seasoning are there and they
are as follows.

• Water Seasoning

• Seasoning by Boiling

• Chemical seasoning

• Kiln seasoning

• Electrical seasoning

Water Seasoning
Water seasoning is the process in which timber is immersed in water flow which helps to
remove the sap present in the timber. It will take 2 to 4 weeks of time and after that the timber
is allowed to dry.

Seasoning by Boiling
Seasoning of timber is also achieved by boiling it in water for 3 to 4 hours. After boiling timber
is allowed to drying. For large quantity of timber boiling is difficult so, sometimes hot steam
is passed through timber logs in enclosed room. It also gives good results. The boiling or
steaming process develops the strength and elasticity of timber but economically it is of heavier
cost.

Chemical Seasoning
In case of chemical seasoning, timber is stored in suitable salt solution for some time. The salt
solution used has the tendency to absorb water from the timber. So, the moisture content is
removed and then timber is allowed to drying. It affects the strength of the timber.

Kiln Seasoning
In this method timber is subjected to hot air in air tight chamber. The hot air circulates in
between the timber logs and reduces the moisture content. The temperature inside the chamber
is raised with the help of heating coils. When the required temperature is obtained moisture
content and relative humidity gets reduced and timber gets seasoned. Even though it is costly
process it will give good results strength wise.

Electrical Seasoning
In the method of electrical seasoning timber is subjected to high frequency alternating currents.
The resistance of timber against electricity is measured at every interval of time.

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When the required resistance is reached seasoning, process is stopped because resistance of
timber increases by reducing moisture content in it. It is also called as rapid seasoning and it is
uneconomical.

Kiln seasoning
In this method, the drying of timber is carried out inside airtight chambers or even, The process
is as follows

1. The timber is arranged inside the chamber, such that spaces are left in free circulation of air.

2. The air saturated with moisture and heated to a temperature of about 35 ° C to 38 ° C is then
forced into the chamber by suitable arrangements

3. This forced air is allowed to circulate round the timber pieces. as air is Fully saturated with
moisture, the evaporation from the surfaces of timber pieces is prevented, The heat
Gradually reaches inside timber pieces.

4. The relative humidity is now gradually reduced. Then the temperature is raised and
maintained till the desired degree of moisture content is attained,

Depending upon mode of construction and operation, the kilns are of two types.

They are

1. Stationary Kilns and

2. Progressive Kilns.

1. Stationary kiln

It is also known as a compartment kiln. In it the process of seasoning is carried in single

compartment only. In it the drying operations are adjusted as drying proceeds. This kiln is
adopted for seasoning of timber which required a close control of humidity and
temperature. It gives better result.

2. progressive kiln

In it, the carriage with timber sections travels slowly from one end to other end of kiln. In
doing so, it gets seasoned. The hot air is supplied from the discharging end, so that the
temperature is less at the charging end and it increases at towards the discharging end. It is
used for seasoning timber on a large scale. If it is not properly attended, the drying in the
kiln prove to be unsatisfactory.

Note; The kiln seasoning though costly gives well seasoned timber as it controls,
circulation of air, temperature and relative humidity.

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Classification of timber

On the basic of its Postion

Standing timber implies a living tree.

Rough timber forms a part of the felled tree.

Converted timber or Lumber are long of timber sawn into planks,posts,etc.

On the Basic of Grading (IS :6534)

All grading specifications are clearly distinguished between structural or stress grading, and
commercial or utility grading based on Indian Standard classification.

Structural grading is also known as stress grading. However, there is a small distinction
between the two. Structural grading refers to the principle by which the material is graded on
the basic of visible defects which have known effects on the strength properties of the material.
Stress grading refers to the principle by which the material is graded by consideration of
structural grading is further divided as:

1. Grading based on known effect of defect and estimating accumulative value.

2. Machine grading.

Commercial grading also known as yard grading or utility grading refers to the principle by
which the material is graded by consideration of usefulness of the material and price factors.

Commercial grading is further divided in the following classes:

Grade A:This classification is based on dimensions and general appearance. The dimensions
of lengths, widths and thicknesses of converted materials are measured. This system is
prevalent is Kerala and Mysore.

Grade B:This classification is based on the best ultimate use of the material. Such a system is
mostly in Andhra Pradesh and some parts of Tamil Nadu.Here,each grade is further divided
into A,B and C classes to indicate occurrence of defect. Only two lengths are recognized,
long(L) which is 5m and above, and short(S) that is under 5m.Each log is stamped such as
BAL(Beam,A-class,long),PBS(Plank,B-class,short),etc.Some times another letter is also added
indicating the species e.g. for teak.

Grade C:This classification is based on qualitative evaluation of defects and rough estimate
of out-turn of utilizable material. It is prevalent in Madhya Pradesh.

Grade D:This classification is based on evaluation of units of defect and fixing the permissible
number of standard volume of area or the material in each grade. This system is prevalent in
number of standard volume of area or the material in each grade. This system is prevalent in
Bombay region and is increasingly adopted in Indian Standards and is recognized
internationally.

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based on durability
The Forest Research Institute of India conducts durability tests on specimens of size 600 × 50
× 50 mm by burying them in the ground upto half their length and observing them over
several
years.
On the basis of durability it classifies trees into the following three classes:

1. High durability: If the average life is more than 10 years.

2. Moderate durability: If the average life is 5-10 years.
3. Low durability: If the average life is less than 5 years.

Classification Based on Grading

Based on permissible stresses, defects and so on, IS:12326-1976 classifies timber into three
grades: Special Grade, Grade-I and Grade-II.

Classification Based on Availability

Based on availability, IS: 339-1963 classifies timber as:
X – Most common, 1415 m3 or more per year.
Y – Common, 335 m3 to 1415 m3 per years.
Z – Less common, less than 335 m3 per year.

DEFECTS IN TIMBER:

There are various types of defects in timber as a construction material. These defects in
timber can be due to natural forces, fungi, insects and during seasoning and conversion.
Types of these defects in timber is discussed in detail.

Shakes in Timber
Shakes are nothing but cracks which separates the wood fibers partly or completely. Different
shakes are formed in different conditions as follows:

• Cup shakes are formed due to non-uniform growth of a tree or excessive bending by
cyclones or winds. In this case, the shake develop between annual rings and separates
them partly.
• Heart shakes, the other type of shakes which develop in maturity approaching trees
whose inner part is under shrinkage. The shake spread from pith to sap wood following
the directions of medullary rays.
• Ring shakes are similar to cup shakes, but they completely separate the annual rings.
• Star shakes are formed due to extreme heat or severe frost action. They develop wider
cracks on the outside of timber from bark to the sap wood.
• Radial shakes are developed radially from pith to the bark.

Twisted Fibers in Timbers

When the tree in its younger age is exposed to high speed winds, the fibers of wood gets
twisted. This type of wood is not suitable for sawing. So, this can be used for making poles,
posts etc.

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Upsets
Upsets, a defect of timber in which the fibers of wood are crushed and compressed by fast
blowing winds or inappropriate chopping of tree.

Rind Galls
Rind galls are curved swellings of trees which are formed at a point where a branch of the
tress is improperly removed or fell down.

Knots in Timber
The central part or stem of a tree is majorly used in the conversion of timber. Branches from
the stem are removed and whole rounded stem is taken. But the base of branches forms a
mark on the stem which results dark colored stains on the surface after conversion. These
dark colored stains are due to the continuity of wood fibers. These dark colored rings are
known as knots.

Glass

Glass is an inorganic product of fusion, which has been cooled to a solid state condition
without crystallizing.

slow cooling process leads to formation of crystal nuclei and crystallization takes place.

If the cooling rate is fast, leaving no time to the formation of crystal nuclei, structure of super
cooled liquid state turns to rigid and forms a glass.

Properties

1. Hard and brittle

2. appearance

3. glass can absorb, refracts or transmits light.

4. Glass transmits up to 80% of available natural day light in both directions

5. The glass is fully weather resistance

6. Melting point 1400 to 1500 degree c.

Classification

1. Soda-lime glass.

2. Potash-lime glass.

3. Potash – Lead glass.

4. Common glass.

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Uses

1. Soda lime glass: It is used in the manufacture of glass tubes, laboratory apparatus,
plate glass, window glass etc.

2. Potash lime glass: It is used in the manufacture of glass articles, which have to with
stand high temperatures.

3. Potash – Lead glass: It is used in the manufacture of artificial gems, electric bulbs,
lenses, prisms etc.

4. Common Glass: It is mainly used in the manufacture of medicine bottles.

Commercial forms or special types of glass

• Fibre glass

• Float glass

• Ground glass

• Laminated glass

• Wired glass

• Optical glass

Manufacture of glass

1. Batching of fret mixing

2. Furnace melting

a. Initial stage

b. Second stage

c. Third stage

3. Drawing

4. Annealing

5. Cutting

Stone Masonry and brick stone masonry:

Definition:
The art of building a structure in stone with any suitable masonry is called stone masonry.
Basic Types of Stone Masonry
There are two types of stone masonry namely

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 1. Ashlar Masonry
2. Rubble Masonry

Ashlar Masonry
Ashlar are those stones that are finely dressed in a square or rectangular shape i.e. free from
any irregularity or defects. Care must be taken while dressing the stone so their sizes and
dimensions must be in accordance with the thickness of wall and a height of course.

The joints in this type of masonry are finely made with thickness of around 3 mm or so. In
most of the cases the ashlar masonry is carried out in cement mortar or in some cases lime
mortar.

This type of stone masonry is costly and time taking as it involves extensive dressing work and
only expert masons having experience of ashlar masonry must be hired. So for most of the
cases we can find the application of Ashlar Masonry only in building that are large and
important like fortresses, palaces etc.

Types of Ashlar Masonry

When naming any type of ashlar masonry, it is related to the quality or specification of the face
finish of the stones used.

Ashlar Rough Tooled

Keeping in view of the above stated rule, we can relate that ashlar rough tooled is that type of
ashlar masonry in which the face of the stones is rough tooled. So Ashlar rough tooled types of
ashlar masonry is the one in which sides and the bed is dressed properly with fine chisel tool
thereby drafting all the corners. The height of the stones in each course may not be kept same
but it is selected keeping in view the symmetry along with structural integrity of the wall.

It had a well-made joint with reasonable thickness i.e. usually less than 6 mm. The corners of
the stone around the periphery are finely dressed by drafting.

Ashlar fine Masonry

In Ashlar fine type of stone masonry, unlike the ashlar rough masonry, the faces along with the
bed and joints are also dressed finely true to the requirement of finish. One other difference of
ashlar fine type from ashlar rough tooled is that the courses in the earlier one are well formed
with uniform height of around 30 cm or so. This is the most expensive type of stone masonry
and it involves a lot of wastage in material while dressing.

The bond between each stone is well formed with uniform thickness of joint. One last thing, in
this type of stone masonry, the stones are laid alternatively as header and stretcher in the course.

AshlarChamfered
As the name suggests, in this type the faces, that are obviously finely dressed, are chamfered
or beveled at the periphery edges at an angle of 45 degrees with the help of chisel. The depth
of chamfered strip is about a depth of 1 inch.

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Ashlar Rock Quarry Faced
It is also known by the name rustic faced ashlar masonry. In this type of stone masonry, the
face of the stone is only chiseled around the periphery making a projection of about 3 inches
or less while the remaining face of the stone is left as it is received from the quarry.

So you might be thinking that this type is similar to that of rough tooled ashlar masonry, but
there is a difference between the two. In rough tooled, the space between finely dressed strip
around periphery is not left untouched but it is roughly dressed but in case of rock or rustic
faced the area between the finely dressed strip is left untouched.

Ashlar Facing
I have already explained that ashlar masonry is very expensive and is only recommended in
areas of importance. But it is always a good idea to build only the facing of the masonry with
ashlar while fill in the rubble or other type in the core of the wall. Such a composite type of
ashlar masonry is named as ashlar facing masonry. The backing of such a wall can be concrete
or brick whatever recommended but the facing stones should not be less than 20 cm.

Ashlar Block in Course

Ashlar block in course type of masonry is same as that of roughly tooled ashlar masonry with
only difference that in this case the height of the course is much less but not less than 20 cm.

Rubble Masonry
Unlike ashlar masonry, this types of stone masonry involves laying of rough undressed stones
irregularly i.e. the courses in rubble masonry are not defined and the size of shape is also not
uniform.

This type of stone masonry is very cheap and is useful for areas of low income for constructing
traditional huts and mud houses especially in villages. But sometimes, the architect, in order to
render some traditional look of the building, prefer to use rubble wall look.

Although the sizes of stones are not defined, but even than it must be considered that the width
of the stone face must not be less than the height. And in addition to that, the orientation for
placement of stone should be such that the mortar joints should not be excessively wide. The
rubble masonry stones can be laid in cement mortar or lime mortar as per the specification of
the project.

Types of Rubble Masonry

Following are the types of rubble masonry :

Dry Rubble Masonry

Dry Rubble Masonry is the most common type of rubble masonry in which the rough undressed
stones are laid in irregular horizontal courses without mortar hence named dry. You might
have seen this type of masonry on the slopes of canals for erosion protection. This type is also
used in villages for construction of retaining walls or as stone pitching of earthen dams.

These are used to render non-load bearing walls with height less than 6 meters and are the
cheapest of all the types.

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Un-coursed Rubble Masonry
The stones taken from the quarry are used as it is without any dressing or cutting in irregular
courses. The orientation of stone is decided to allow maximum load distribution and thickness
of mortar joint should be less than 13 mm. While lying the stones, there must be intermediate
stones on the line of vertical joints to avoid long vertical joints.

Un-coursed Random Rubble Masonry

This type of stone masonry is slightly superior than the previous one in the manner that soft
corners and edges are dressed with a hand hammer but the shape of the stone is still irregular
and undefined. In this type the face of the stone to be used must be of uniform color and
orientation must be in similar fashion. In between the bigger stones, boulders and small stones
must be used to ensure efficient packing inside and on the face of the wall.

Un-coursed Squared Rubble Masonry

In this type, the stones obtained from quarry are dressed from all edges to obtain a regular
square shape but their orientation are such that they are not placed in well-defined courses
although the thickness of joints is uniform.

Coursed Random Rubble

In all the coursed rubble masonry this the cheapest of all, it involves slightly dressed irregular
shape and size stones placed in well-defined courses where height is uniformly adjusted.

Brick masonry
Types of bonds
Types of bonds in brick masonry wall construction are classified based on laying and bonding
style of bricks in walls. The bonds in brick masonry is developed by the mortar filling between
layers of bricks and in grooves when bricks are laid adjacent to each other and in layers in
walls.

Mostly used material for bonds in brick masonry is cement mortar. Lime mortar and
mud mortar are also used.

Types of Bonds in Brick Masonry

1. Stretcher bond

2. Header bond

3. English bond and

4. Flemish bond

Other Types of bonds are:

1. Facing bond

2. Dutch bond

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 3. English cross bond

4. Brick on edge bond

5. Raking bond

6. Zigzag bond

7. Garden wall bond

1. Stretcher bond
Longer narrow face of the brick is called as stretcher as shown in the elevation of figure below.
Stretcher bond, also called as running bond, is created when bricks are laid with only their
stretchers showing, overlapping midway with the courses of bricks below and above.

Stretcher bond in the brick is the simplest repeating pattern. But the limitation of stretcher bond
is that it cannot make effective bonding with adjacent bricks in full width thick brick walls.
They are suitably used only for one-half brick thick walls such as for the construction half brick
thick partition wall.

Walls constructed with stretcher bonds are not stable enough to stand alone in case of longer
span and height. Thus they Then need supporting structure such as brick masonry columns at
regular intervals.

Stretcher bonds are commonly used in the steel or reinforced concrete framed structures as the
outer facing. These are also used as the outer facing of cavity walls. Other common applications
of such walls are the boundary walls, gardens etc.

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2. Header bond
Header is the shorter square face of the brick which measures 9cm x 9cm. Header bond is also
known as heading bond. In header bonds, all bricks in each course are placed as headers on the
faces of the walls. While Stretcher bond is used for the construction of walls of half brick
thickness whereas header bond is used for the construction of walls with full brick thickness
which measures 18cm. In header bonds, the overlap is kept equal to half width of the brick. To
achieve this, three quarter brick bats are used in alternate courses as quoins.

3. English Bond
English bond in brick masonry has one course of stretcher only and a course of header above
it, i.e. it has two alternating courses of stretchers and headers. Headers are laid centered on the
stretchers in course below and each alternate row is vertically aligned.

To break the continuity of vertical joints, quoin closer is used in the beginning and end of a
wall after first header. A quoin close is a brick cut lengthwise into two halves and used at
corners in brick walls.

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4. Flemish Bond
For the breaking of vertical joints in the successive courses, closers are inserted in alternate
courses next to the quoin header. In walls having their thickness equal to odd number of half
bricks, bats are essentially used to achieve the bond.

Flemish bond, also known as Dutch bond, is created by laying alternate headers and stretchers
in a single course. The next course of brick is laid such that header lies in the middle of the
stretcher in the course below, i.e. the alternate headers of each course are centered on the
stretcher of course below. Every alternate course of Flemish bond starts with header at the
corner.

The thickness of Flemish bond is minimum one full brick. The disadvantage of using Flemish
bond is that construction of Flemish bond is difficult and requires greater skill to lay it properly
as all vertical mortar joints need to be aligned vertically for best effects. For the breaking of
vertical joints in the successive courses, closers are inserted in alternate courses next to the
quoin header. In walls having their thickness equal to odd number of half bricks, bats are used
to achieve the bond.

Flemish bonds have better appearance but are weaker than English bonds for load bearing wall
construction. Thus, if the pointing has to be done for brick masonry walls, then Flemish

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bond may be used for better aesthetic view. If the walls have to be plastered, then it is better to
use English bond.

Flemish bonds are classified as:

• Single Flemish Bond

• Double Flemish Bond

Single Flemish bond is a combination of English bond and Flemish bond. In this type of
construction, the front exposed surface of wall consists of Flemish bond and the back surface
of the wall consists of English bond in each course. Minimum thickness required for single
Flemish bond is one and a half brick thickness. The main purpose of using single Flemish bond
is to provide greater aesthetic appearance on the front surface with required strength in the
brickwork with English bond.

Double Flemish Bond has the same appearance both in the front and back elevations, i.e. each
course consists of alternate header and stretcher. This type of bonding is comparatively weaker
than English bond.

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 STAIRS AND STAIR CASES

Terminology:
Step
This is a portion of stair which permits ascending or descending from one floor to another. It
is composed of a tread and a riser. A stair is composed of a set of steps.

Tread
It is the upper horizontal portion of a step upon which the foot is placed while ascending or
descending a stairway.

Flight
The steps between levels including landings.

Landing
An area at the top or part way up the stair that either acts as a resting place, a change of
direction or is the end of the stair.

Nosing
The front edge of the step or tread that hangs over the riser.

Going
The measured horizontal distance between nosings.

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Riser
The distance between each step. I.e. the vertical space between each step.

Rise
The actual or measured distance between treads.

Total Rise
The total vertical distance from floor to floor.

Total Going
The total horizontal distance of the stair.

PitchLine
An imagined line that stretches from nosing to nosing for the length of the stair.

Pitch
The angle that the flight of stairs is built at.

Headroom
This is the distance from the pitch line to the next surface above it. E.g. the ceiling or soffit
above. The normal minimum is two metres.

String
The angled beam or member at each side of the stair that supports the treads.

REQUIREMENTS OF GOOD STAIRS

1. Location
It should preferably be located centrally, ensuring sufficient light and ventilation.

2. Width of Stair
The width of stairs must be uniform.

3. Length
The flight of the stairs should be restricted to a maximum of 12 and minimum of 3 steps.

4. Pitch of Stair
The pitch of long stairs should be made flatter by introducing landing. The slope should
not exceed 40 degrees and should not be less than 25 degrees.

5. Head Room
The distance between the tread and soffit of the flight immediately above it, should not be
less than 2.14 to 2.3 m..

6. Materials
Stairs should be constructed using fire resisting materials. Materials also should have
sufficient strength to resist any impact.

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Classification of stairs

Straight flight stairs

In this stair, all the steps are arranged continuously along in one direction. One flight may be
split into one or more than one flight by interposing a landing. This stair can be used where
narrow and long space is available for a staircase such as entrance, porch etc.

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Quarter turn stairs
A quarter turn stair is the one which changes its direction either to the right or to the left but
where the turn being affected either by introducing a quarter space landing or by providing
winders. In these type of stairs the flight of stair turns 90 degrees art landing as it rises to
connect two different levels. So it is also called as L-stair. Again these quarter turn stairs are
two types.

Half turn stairs

Half turn stairs are those which reverse direction
or change direction to 180°.

1. Dogged-legged Stair
2. Open well Stair

Dogged-legged Stair
Dog-legged or newel half turn stairs the name is

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due to its sectional appearance. The newel posts are provided at the beginning and end of
each flight.

Dog-legged stair

Open well stair

This type of stair consists of two or more flights arranging a well or opening between the
backward and forward flights. When all the steps are difficult to arrange in two flights, a short
third flight of 3 to 6 steps may be provided along the direction perpendicular to the hall. Open
newel stair is mostly adopted in the lift.

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Open well stair

Geometrical stair
This is another type of open newel stair where the open well between the forward and the
backward flight is curved. This stair may contain different geometrical shape. Here the change
in direction is achieved by using winders.

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Bifurcated stair
This type of stair is provided in modern public buildings as well as residential buildings. In this stair,
the flight is so arranged that there is a wide flight at the start which is sub-divided into narrow flights
at the mid-landing. The narrow flights start from either side of the mid landing.

PRINCIPLES OF BUILDING PLANNING

When we first start to plan a new building construction work to begin we definitely need to
remember some basic principles of building planning. Some of the basic principles of planning
of a building construction are given below.

1. An engineer or architect should prepare the building plan according to the demand,
economic status & taste of the owner and also the purpose of the building is to be built
whether residential, commercial etc.
2. The design of the building should be compatible with the surrounding structures & the
weather.
3. Sufficient air and sunlight should be allowed to the building for healthy building
environment.
4. Privacy must be maintained especially in residential buildingplanning.
5. Proper security system should be introduced for safety and reliability.
6. Fire safety alarm and fire fighting materials should be provided within the range of the
inhabitants of the proposed building structure.
7. The value of the structure should be maintained in building plans.
8. Follow the associated building codes closely for proper building construction. Example:
Civil Engineering Codes.

SELECTION OF SITE
Following factors should be kept in view while making the selection of site for a building:-

• The site should be preferably be situated on an elevated and leveled ground. It should
not be located in a flood-prone area.
• The soil at site should not be of black cotton soil and should have good value of bearing
capacity.
• The water table of ground at the site should not be high.

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 • The site should not be irregular in shape or have sharp corners. The site should preferably
be rectangular or a square in shape.
• The site should be in a developed area having facilities like shopping, educational
institutions, recreation, hospital, telegraph, telephone, police station, fire station, transport,
and utility service like water supply, drainage system, gas supply, electricity etc.
• The site should be located away from quarries, kilns, industrial plants/buildings emitting
smoke, steam, noise or other similar environmental pollutants.
• The site should have unobstructed natural light and air and the building on the proposed
site should not get overshadowed from adjacent buildings.
• The site should have clear status of the present ownership of the title of the property.

Some important factors to consider for building planning are as follows.

• Aspect
• prospect
• Furniture requirements
• Roominess
• Grouping
• Circulation
• Privacy
• Sanitation
• Elegance
• Economy
• Flexibility
• Practical considerations.

1. Aspect
• Aspect means the peculiarity of the arrangement of doors and windows in the external
walls of a building which permits the occupants to enjoy the gifts of nature viz sun,
breeze, outside scenery etc. Aspects gains special significance in case of residential
buildings.
• This provision is necessary to ensure proper comfort conditions in the room and it also
helps in providing hygienic conditions in the room as the sun rays destroy the insects
and also impart cheerful living conditions in the room. A room which receives light and
air from particular side is termed to have aspect of that direction. Needles to emphasize
that different rooms/areas in the dwelling need particular aspect.

2. Prospect
• Prospect is the term used to highlight the architectural treatment given to a building so
as to make it aesthetically pleasing from outside and arranging external doors and
windows in such a manner that the occupants are able to enjoy the desired outside views
from certain rooms.
• Prospect is basically governed by the peculiarities of the selected site. Hence like aspect,
prospect of a building also require the deposition of external doors and windows in a
building at particular places and in particular manner so as to expose the notable and
pleasant features of the openings in the external facade of the building and concealing
the undesirable views in a given site. Hence, both aspects as well as

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 prospect demand proper disposition of doors and windows in the external walls at
particular places and in particular manner.

3. Grouping
• We know that every apartment in a building has got a definite function and there is
some inter-relationship of sequence in between them. Grouping consists in arranging
various rooms in the layout plan of the building in such a manner that all the rooms
are placed in proper co-relation to their functions and in proximity with each other.
• The basic aim of grouping of the apartments is to maintain the sequence of their
function according to their inter-relationship with least interference. For instance in a
residential building dinning room should be close to the kitchen. The kitchen on the
other hand, should be kept away from drawing room or living room to avoid smoke or
smell from kitchen spreading in these rooms.
• The water closet should be located away from the kitchen. Main bedrooms should be
so located that there is independent and separate access from each room towards the
water closet directly or through other un-important rooms. In case of office buildings,
hospitals etc., administrative department should be located centrally for convenience
and economy in the cost of providing services. Thus the concept of grouping plays a
very important role in planning of buildings of all types.

4. Privacy
• Privacy is considered to be one of the most important principle of planning in all
buildings specially in residential buildings. Privacy may be one part to another part of
the same building or it may be the privacy of all parts of the building from neighboring
buildings, public streets or bye ways etc.
• The extent of privacy of a building from the street, bye ways or neighboring buildings
depends mainly upon the functions performed in the building. Many a time privacy of
only a part of building is necessary from exterior whereas the remaining building as a
whole may be required to be exposed to view. This is achieved by proper layout of
streets, approach roads, entrances, provision of trees, creepers etc.
• The privacy within the building means screening interior of one room from other rooms.
Screening of all the apartments or some of them from entrance, corridors etc., gets
covered under the term privacy of part of building from exterior. In case of residential
buildings, privacy can be achieved by judicious planning of the building with respect
to grouping, disposition of doors and windows, mode of hanging of doors, location of
entrance pathways, drives etc.
• Some times, provision of lobbies, corridors, screens. curtains etc., is also made to
achieve internal privacy. Importance of privacy requires special consideration in case
of bedrooms, toilets, lavatories, water closet, urinals etc. All these services should have
an independent access from every bedroom without disturbing the others. Doors with
single shutter are desirable for such rooms.

5. Furniture Requirements
• The furniture requirements of a room or an important depends upon the functions
required to be performed there in. The furniture requirements of a living rooms in a
dwelling will be different from that of a class room in a school or an operation theater
in a nursing home/hospital.

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 • There are no rigid rules which govern the furniture requirements of a particular room
in a dwelling. It should be sufficient to accommodate the normal needs of maximum
number of persons who can use the room without over crowing. In case of buildings,
other than residential, it should be adequate to meet the requirements of the particular
functions.
• The space requirements of non-residential building is planned paying regard to the
furniture, equipment and other fittings or fixtures which are essential to meet the need
of the particular functions required to be performed in the building. In case of residential
buildings, normally not much through is given to the furniture requirements.
• It is however, desirable to prepare a sketch plan indicating required furniture as well as
its located in different rooms (Viz drawing room, bedroom,kitchen etc.). So as to ensure
that doors, windows, cupboards and circulation spaces do not prevent the placement of
required number of furniture items in the room.

6. Roominess
• The effect produced by deriving the maximum benefit from the minimum dimensions
of a room is termed as roominess. Roominess is the accomplishment of economy of
space without cramping of the plan. Particularly in case of residential buildings where
considerable storage space is needed for various purpose, adequate provision of wall
cupboards, lofts wooden/R.C.C shelves etc., should be made to make maximum use of
every nook and corner of the building.
• Following points should be kept in view for creating desirable impression regarding
roominess:
(a) A room square in plan appears relatively smaller than a rectangular room of same
area. It is also considered relatively smaller from utility point of view as compared with
rectangular room of the same area. Length of beam proportion for a good room is taken
as 1.2 to 1.5. If the ratio of length to breadth exceed 1.5 it creates an undesirable effect.
A small room having its length more than 2 times its width is objectionable, as it creates
tunnel effect.
(b) A small room with high walls appears relatively smaller than its actual size and as
such small rooms should have the maximum permissible height as per bye-laws.
(c) The location of doors, windows and built in cupboard etc., should be such that they
permit easy approach -ability and do not obstruct the placement of furniture etc.
(d) It requires skill and serious thinking in making best use of the accommodation
provided by suitable, arrangement of rooms, by locating doors and passages in such a
way that the livability, utility, privacy and exterior appearance are not adversely
affected.
(e) The design of the building should be evolved in such a manner that its floors, walls
and ceiling creates a sense of uninterrupted surfaces carried consistently through.

7. Circulation
Circulation means internal through fares or access providing in a room or between
rooms on the same floor. Passage, halls and lobbies perform the function of circulation
on the same floor. Such provisions are termed as horizontal circulation. On the other
hand, stairs, lifts, ramps etc., which serves the purpose of providing means of access
between different floors get covered under the category of the term vertical circulation.

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 Following aspects should be kept in view to achieve good circulation:
(a) For comfort and convenience, all passages, corridors, halls etc., on each floor
should be short, straight, well ventilated and sufficiently lighted.
(b) The location of entrance passages and staircase which serve as link between various
rooms and floors, need careful consideration right at the initial stage of planning.
(c) In a multi-storeyed building, the staircase, which perhaps serve the only unfailing
means of vertical circulation, should be planned paying due regard to the size of tread
and riser, width of stair and landing, light and ventilation etc. Staircase should be also
located that they do not intro-due upon privacy of any room or cause disturbances in
the horizontal circulation.
(d) Toilets, should be planned near the staircase block for easy accessibility.

8. Sanitation
• The term sanitation covers not only sanitary convenience like water closet, urinals, bath
rooms, wash basins etc., but also proper and adequate lightning ventilation and facilities
for general cleaning of the building. From hygienic considerations, all parts of the
building should be well ventilated and lighted.
• The lighting of the interior of the building may be done by natural lighting, assisted
natural lighting or by artificial lighting. Uniform distribution of light in necessary,
specially in offices, schools, factories and other similar buildings where number of
persons work in the same premises and each individual has to work at specified place.
• For ensuring sun light for greater length of time it is desirable to provide vertical
windows. For proper lighting the area of windows in a room should not be less than
1/10th of the floor area which may be increased to 1/5th for buildings like schools,
offices, workshops, factories etc.

9. Elegance
• Elegance is the term used to express the effect produced by the elevation and general
layout of the building. Hence for a building to be elegant. It is necessary that its
elevation should be evolved that it should be aesthetically pleasing and its layout should
fit in well in relation to the site and its environment.

10. Flexibility
• Flexibility means designing certain rooms required for specific purpose in such a
manner that they may be used for overlapping functions as and when desired. This
concept is particularly important for designing houses where area’scan not be increased
from consideration of cost yet the provision of additional facilities is desired during
functions or other occasions of social gatherings.
• It is therefore desirable to plan drawing room and dinning room with a removal partition
wall or screen in between them so that a large room can be obtained by removing the
partition screen to accommodate large gathering.
• 11. Economy
• Economy is one of the very important factor which is required to be kept in view while
involving any scheme. Every unit of the built up area is a function of cost and as such
the architect has to make sure that the building planned by him can be completed within
the funds available for the project. Many a times it becomes necessary to carry out
number of alteration in the plans to keep the proposal within the limitation of funds.

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Classification of Buildings
The purpose of use or occupancy of a building is a fundamental consideration for the building
code. Clients generally share their brainstorming ideas and facility needed and then architect
gives shape to reality and grouped the building which is assigned under the code. Buildings are
classified into two categories such as based on the occupancy and the type of construction
methods.

Building Occupancy Classifications

Every building or portion of land can be classified according to its use or the character of its
occupancy as a building of occupancy. They are categorized into the following types.

1. Agricultural buildings
2. Residential buildings
3. Commercial buildings
4. Educational buildings
5. Industrial buildings
6. Government buildings
7. Military buildings
8. Religious buildings
9. Transport buildings
10. Power plants

The classification of buildings by types of construction

Based on the type of construction buildings are classified into five categories.

1. Fire resistive buildings (Type 1A, 1B)

2. Non-Combustible buildings (Type 2A, 2B)
3. Ordinary Buildings (Type 3A, 3B)
4. Heavy timber buildings (Type 4)
5. Wood framed buildings (Type 5A, 5 B)

RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS:
These buildings include one or two private dwellings, apartment houses (flats), hotels,
dormitories etc.

EDUCATIONAL BUILDINGS:
These buildings include any building used for school, college or day care purposes
involving assembly for instruction, education or recreation.

INSTITUTIONAL BUILDINGS:
These buildings include any building or part which is used for medical treatment etc.
Such as Hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, sanatoria, jails, prisons, mental hospitals
etc.

ASSEMBLY BUILDINGS:
These buildings may include any building or part of a building where a group of people
gathers for recreation, amusement, social, religious or such types of purposes such as

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 theaters, assembly halls, exhibition halls, restaurants, museum, club rooms, auditoria
etc.

BUSINESS BUILDINGS:
These shall include any building or part of a building which is used for business
transactions, keeping records of accounts, town halls, city halls, court houses etc.

Building bye laws:

The rules and regulation framed by town planning authorities covering the requirements
of building, ensuring safety of the public through open spaces, minimum size of rooms
and height and area limitation, are known as building bye-laws.

Rules and regulations which largely regulate the building activity should be formulated
to get disciplined growth of building and the better planned development of towns and
cities

Objective of building bye-laws

i. pre-planning of building activity.
ii. allow orderly growth and prevent haphazard development.
iii. Provisions of by-laws usually afford safety against fire, noise, health hazard and
structure failure.
iv. Provide proper utilization of space to achieved maximum efficiency in planning.
v. They provide health, safety and comfort to the people who live in building.
vi. Due to these bye-laws, each building will have proper approaches, light, air and
ventilation.

Scope of building bye-laws

Aspects of different type of building in building bye-laws:

1. Building frontage line

2. Minimum plot size
3. Built up area of building
4. Height of building
5. Provision of safety, water supply, drainage, proper light and ventilation
6. Requirement for off street parking space
7. Size of structural element

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