2nd module learning

Starter for the ground floor column: This is the activity carried out after the backfilling of the
excavated soil. A right-angle frame is used to mark the position for placing the starter concrete.

The activities to be carried out for shuttering of ground floor column

1. Cover blocks should be tied to column reinforcement before the shuttering is placed.

2. The cover block used for the ground floor column is 40 mm or sometimes 25 mm, and it is
given from the fire resistance point of view.

3. The structural engineer should make sure that the cover blocks are properly ties, and
shuttering dimensions is checked.

4. The column casting should be done till the beam bottom only.

Ground floor beam bottom arrangement and shuttering: Involves the procedure for putting up
or arranging the ground floor beam bottom, including the beam inner shuttering and the beam
outside shuttering.

Slab centring: This is carried out via the slab centring plates.

Beam reinforcement drawing, applying oil and placing tapes

Oil is spread because while shuttering, it will be easy and concrete will not stick to the
shuttering.

Masking tape is used to fill the gaps between the plates and to see to it that no leakages or
passing of cement is observed.

lacing of beam reinforcement

Primary beam: These are the beams that connect one column to another.

Secondary beam: These are the beams that rest on the primary beams.

The beam reinforcement is made ready before lowering it into the beam, so that, the site
engineer/quality engineer can check the beam reinforcement according to the drawings for the
beams.

The beam and slab centering should be clean and free of debris before pouring the concrete.

One-way slab and its importance

There are two cases that satisfy the use of one-way slabs:

Case 1 – If a slab is supported on two opposite edges (beams/support), then, it is a one-way

slab.

It is called a one-way slab because the bending will occur only in one direction. The bending can
be on the shorter span or longer span of the slab.

Case 2 – If a slab is supported on all the four edges (beams), and if Ly/Lx ratio is greater than 2,
then, it is a one-way slab.

The two-way slab

If a slab is supported on all the four edges (beams) and if the Ly/Lx ratio is less than or equal to
2, then it is a two-way slab.

It is called a two-way slab because the bending of the slab will take place in both Lx and Ly
directions, and the steel provided will be used as the main steel.

Other types of slabs: ● Two-way two supported slabs ● Two-way three supported
slabs
● Three side supported slabs ● Cantilever slabs

Cranking of bar: This simply refers to the process of bending of the rebar used for the
reinforcement in a building construction project by taking into consideration the bending
moment of the slab to be used.

Electrical conduit and MEP works

The skeletal structures of the Mechanical Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) works are fixed before
slab casting. The fan hook will also be fixed before slab casting is done.

The Checks to be done before slab casting include:

1. Check that proper cover blocks and chairs are given for slabs and beams

2. Check that the reinforcements provided for the beam and slabs are according to drawings or
not.

3. Make sure that there are no debris/waste materials like paper, plastics, etc, inside the beams
and slabs.

4. Make sure electrical and mechanical works e.g. electrical conduit, ceiling fan hooks, cut-outs
for plumbing lines, etc, are checked according to drawings.
5. Avoid any hindrance to work at site and delay in material supplies.

6. For big projects, there should be provision for expansion joints for the slabs at every 45-
metre distance.

Cube casting and slump test at the building construction site

Once a transit mixer reaches the construction site, slump test and cube casting (6 cubes of each
sample) is done to know the workability and to get an idea about the strength of the concrete
supplied.

There are three kinds of slumps: ● True slumps ● Shear slumps ●

Collapse slumps

Comprehensive strength test of the concrete cube

The cube will be tested after curing on the 7th day of casting. Seven days are used as a pilot
test. If ≥ 65% is achieved on the 7th day of cube casting, then, the concrete will be certified as
good for use.

The cube will be tested after curing for 28 days for the cubes placed in a curing trunk.

Important tips for young building/structural engineers

1. Slab concreting is the most important part of building construction.

2. The entire load of the above floor will be taken by the slab beneath it.

3. Practically at the site, slab casting will take 4-10 hours depending on the size of the slab to
be cast.

4. Before casting the slab, a proper prior inspection should be done.

5. A carpenter and bar bender must be ready at the site when casting the slab.

6. During casting, engineers should make sure that labourers do not add extra water in the
concrete on the arrival of the transit mixer.

MODULE 4

After completing this module, you will be able to:

  Explain slab centring, beam reinforcements, and beam arrangements in building
technology

 Identify the positive and negative bending moments that act on beam reinforcements

 Describe the processes used in slab reinforcements

 Discuss the systems for staircase placement, shuttering and reinforcements

 Translate electrical drawings and electric conduit installation diagrams

The key points from this module are:

Practical procedure for arranging of beam bottom and slab centring

The slab centring plates, beam bottom and beam sides will be supported by using wooden or
steel props. When a load is placed on the props, the load will be transferred uniformly to the
slab.

The process for placing the slab reinforcements include:

1. First step – Shorter horizontal bars are laid first. Second step – The distribution bars
are laid next.

2. Third step – involves adding the top extra bar Fourth step – Mark the crank
distance

3. Fifth step – Once the crank distance has been marked, a distribution bar will be placed
at the centre portion. The bars in the shorter direction would be laid below the bars
placed in the longer direction.

After placing the slab reinforcements, other activities to be carried out at the site include:

1. Creating the staircase riser and thread. 2. Placing of staircase shuttering and
reinforcement

3. Placing the electrical conduit on the slab 4. Placing of plumbing sleeves in

sunken slab
5. Complete casting of slab and staircase: A sunken slab level is cast lower than the main slab
so that the plumbing lines/fittings can be laid inside the sunken slab. The entire length of the
slab will be cast in one day.

6. Curing of slab at the construction site

7. Deshuttering of beam sides, beam bottom and slab centering – After three days of slab
casting, the slab centering plates can be removed. The props will be put back in their original
position after the slab centering plates are removed. Whereas, the beam bottom will take at
least 7 days before removal. The props will also be put back in their original position after the
beam bottom has been removed.

Beam design (beam data and material grades for beam design)

Single reinforced section – This refers to the practice where reinforcements are provided only
at the tension region. The purpose of providing reinforcement here is to hold the stirrups.

Double reinforced section – If the reinforcement is provided both at the compression and
tension regions, it is called a double reinforced section. This reinforcement will take part in
load carrying and support of stirrups.

The bending moment of a beam: When the shear force is at maximum value, the bending
moment will be zero. Whereas, where the bending moment is zero, the shear force will be at
maximum value.

Module 5

After completing this module, you will be able to:

 Indicate the safety practice from the design and construction points of view

 Relate the importance of the bill of quantities in structural engineering projects

 Discuss the importance and application of the general notes in structural drawings
  Outline the building construction process with practical demonstrations and examples

 The key points from this module are as follows:


 Safety from the construction point of view
 ● For a structural engineer, safety comes before economy. While
working at a site, safety is the first priority.

 ● While working at heights, always wear safety belts.

 ● The safety shoes, reflector, and helmet are a must for a structural
engineer.

 ● Carry out quality checks including worksite information and general
housekeeping, personal protection, etc.
 Examples of safe work practice at the site are as follows:
 ● Shielding the protruded ends of reinforcement at the site.
● Proper zoning of materials at the site.

 ● Safety nets to prevent accidents dues to falling.
Safety from the design point of view will consider:

1. The major failures of buildings occur due to construction failure and not a design failure.

2. We consider enough factors of safety (FOS) for concrete and steel.

3. We overestimate the load coming on the building and underestimate the strength of the
material.

4. Consider the load factor of safety and the material factor of safety.

5. Consideration of the safe bearing capacity of the soil.

6. The consideration of the size of footing, column dimensions, etc.

A building is categorized into substructure and superstructure.

Substructure - The part of the building below ground level, like the PCC, footing and column, up
to the plinth level.

Superstructure - The part of the building that is above ground level e.g., ground floor column,
ground floor roof, first-floor beam, etc.

Module 6

After completing this module, you will be able to:

 Discuss the finishing activities involved in building construction projects

 Identify the brick and block types used for erecting building structures

 Describe the process and procedures involved in bricks making

 List the types and properties of brick bonds used in structural edifices

 Outline the importance of concrete bands and sill concrete in building construction

 Describe the real-world system for fixing frames, ceilings, and plastering a building

 Translate the checklists for building and masonry safety on a

construction site

 The key points from this module are:


 Brickworks and types of Bricks
 The first finishing activity of work in building construction is brickwork.

 Types of bricks
 There are thee popular sizes of these bricks in India:
1. Modular or metric brick size 2. English size
3. Bengal size
  A standard brick size is 230 mm x 115 mm x 75 mm. The mortar to
be used is 10 mm of 1:6 ratios of sand and cement.
 Soaking of bricks in water
 When a brick is soaked in water, the brick will absorb water and
release air. As such, when it is used in masonry works and placed over
wet mortar, it will no longer absorb water from the wet mortar. This
method allows the mortar to gain strength.

 Soaking also helps to remove dirt, dust, sand and soluble salts that
cause efflorescence from the bricks. If bricks are soaked in water for
the required amount of time, then, soluble salts in the bricks will be
leached out, and efflorescence will be reduced.
The types of brick bonds, used in the building industry, include:

 Stretcher bond

 Header bond

 English bond

 Flemish bond

Concrete bands: During earthquakes, there are chances of cracks arising due to lateral loads. To
prevent the propagation of cracks, structural engineers provide concrete bands in the building
structure.

Concrete bands contain two reinforcement bars acting as Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC).
Concrete bands can be provided with 10 mm, 12 mm, or 16 mm diameter longitudinal bars with
horizontal bars or binders with 200 centre-to-centre (c/c) spacing.

Fixing frames and ceilings – windows and door frame fixing

If the window frame is wooden, then, the frame will be fixed before plastering the building. If
the window frame is Unplasticized Polyvinyl Chloride (UPVC), then, the wall plastering will first
be done, while the window will be fixed later.
Ceiling plastering and (inside and outside) Wall plastering

1. Plastering is done with cement + sand in the ratio 1:4, 1:5, and 1:6, of cement and sand.

2. Before plastering, bull marking and hacking of the surfaces will be done to get the proper
level on the rough surfaces.

3. The inside plastering will be 1:6 and the outside plastering will be 1:4

Mesh between brickwork and column

When two different materials are joined, e.g., brick and concrete, there will be gaps between
them. Due to the coefficient of thermal expansion of both materials, they will expand and
contract due to changes in temperature. Changes in temperature can lead to cracks appearing
on the bonded surfaces. To avoid the formation of cracks, wire mesh (e.g., the chicken mesh), is
used for plastering the materials.

Painting

1. Painting is done to make buildings or any other material look pleasant to the eyes. Before
painting is done, wall putty of one coat is applied and allowed for 24 hours.

2. Then a second coat (1.5-2.0 mm thickness is applied).

3. After 3 days, 1 coat of primer will be applied. The primer will allow the paint to flow easily,
and paint consumption will be at the appropriate measurement.

Work checklists

The types of checklists to be done at a construction site are classified into:

1. Pre-checks 2. Process checks 3. Safety checks

Formwork system and components include:

● Props ● Shikanja ● Tie rods ● Cup lock system ● U head jack ●
Runner
● Column box ● Walkway jalli, etc.

Types of scaffolding

● Shoring ● Reinforcement scaffold ● Stair towers ● Work platform

Construction mistakes and how to avoid them:

1. Lapping should be avoided in the tensile zone of construction.

2. Lapping should be staggered and alternate.

3. Also, lapping should begin at the same point because buckling may occur.

4. Due to maximum stress, we cannot lap at the column, beam or slab joints.