Building Construction Flashcards
Single family homes built in the 1920s were provided with ___ amp electrical service; ___ amp service is typical.
30, 200
The useful life span of a building can range from ___ to ___ years or more.
25 to 100
The ___ of a building is not in itself a hazard, but age is often an indication of potential hazards.
age
The process of restoring rundown or deteriorated properties by more affluent people, often displacing poorer residents:
Gentrification
An ____, especially an automatic sprinkler system, is the first line of defense in a building.
automatic fire protection system
The ____ of a building often affects the ways in which building components behave under fire conditions.
occupancy
Amount of fuel present expressed quantitatively in terms of weight of fuel per unit area:
Fule loading
Nothing is more fundamental to building than the materials from which it is constructed.
True
The traditional construction classifications were as follows:
- Fire Resistive
- Noncombustible
- Masonry or Ordinary
- Heavy Timber
- Wood Frame
Contemporary building codes use numerical designations for construction types as follows:
Type I - Fire Resistive Type II - Noncombustible Type III - Exterior Protected Type IV - Heavy Timber Type V - Wood Frame
The ____ of a building refers to its general shape or layout.
configuration
An ____ building is a building threatened by fire.
exposed
___ occurred when fires communicated from building to building.
Conflagrations
Transfer of heat by the movement of heated fluids or gases, usually in a upward direction:
Convection
Communication of fire from building to building occurs by ____ or ____.
convection or radiation
Fire spread is often the result of ____ heat.
radiant
This law states that the intensity of thermal radiation is a function of the fourth power of the absolute temperature of the thermal radiation source:
Stefan-Blotzman
Thermal radiation is a function of the 4th power of the absolute temperature.
True
NFPA 80A, Recommended Practice for Protection from Exterior Fire Exposures, describes three levels of exposure:
- Light
- Moderate
- Severe
The levels of severity for exposures are based on the ____ load and the ____ spread rating of the wall and ceiling finishes of the exposing building.
fire, flame
Potential sources of building failure under fire conditions can include some or all of the following:
- Structural interigrity
- Building systems
- Design deficiencies
____ materials possess the ability to maintain structural integrity.
Fire-resistive
One very basic aspect of building safety is the provision of an adequate number of _____.
exists
Which architect called buildings “machines for living”:
Frank Lloyd Wright
Which architect stated “form follows function”:
Louis A. Sullivan
That does not mean that ___ and ___ are the most prominent design considerations when owners and designers plan their projects:
Fire and life safety
The ___ of a building often conveys its intended use:
appearance
Branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste:
Aesthetics
Currently the most widely used model building code in the US is the _______.
International Building Code (IBC)
The building code and fire codes complement each other and are intended to be used together.
True
___ can create a negative pressure on the roof and downwind side of the building
Wind
Three earlier model building codes:
- Uniform Building Code (UBC)
- Standard Building Code
- BOCA National Building Code
The following impairments qualify as disabilities under the ADA:
- Vision impairments
- Hearing impairments
- Learning
- Speech
- Neuromuscular impairments
- Mental illness
To provide accessibility for persons with impairments, the ADA requires the removal of _____.
architectural barriers
Manual fire alarm stations must be not more the ___ feet and not less than ____ feet above the floor level so they can be reached from a wheelchair.
4 1/2 , 3 1/2
Areas of refuge may not be required in buildings equipped with an ______ sprinkler system.
automatic
Availability of ____ is a basic consideration in the design of fire protection systems.
water
Soil strength, strain resistance, and stability are properties of importance in ______.
foundation design
The major technical specialties and their functions include the following:
- Civil Engineering
- Structural Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Fire Protection Engineering
- Architecture
Functions of Civil Engineering are as follows:
- Water supply
- Sanitary sewers
- Surveying
- Site preparation and excavation
- Roadways
- Storm water drainage
The finishing touch in the design process is _____.
landscaping
Group of people, usually five to seven, with experience in fire prevention, building construction, and/or code enforcement legally constituted to arbitrate differences of opinion between fire inspectors and building officials, property owners, occupants or builders:
Board of Appeals
One method of managing a construction project is a technique known as _____.
fast tracking
In a ____ project, the design and construction phases overlap.
fast track
Building construction is a dynamic process.
True
The ____ is usually involved in the testing of the fire protection systems in new construction.
Fire Department
The primary role of the _____ is to ensure proper installation and operation of the fire protection systems.
fire inspector
It should be noted that the role of the fire inspector is to _____ system tests, NOT to actually perform the tests.
witness
Documentation of fire protection system test results should be maintained by the _____.
fire prevention bureau
____ is a valuable tool in accomplishing control of emergencies in individual buildings.
Preincident planning
The act of preparing to handle an incident at a particular location or a particular type of incident before the an incident occurs:
Preincident Planning
All building codes classify buildings by construction type.
True
The building classifications are based on two attributes of building construction:
- Fire resistance
2. Combustability
____ buildings also provide an increased degree of occupant safety.
Fire-resistive
From a fire protection standpoint, one of the most basic properties of building materials is their degree of ____.
fire resistance
The fire resistance of structural components can be evaluated quantitatively and is known as the ______.
fire resistance rating
Fire resistance ratings are expressed in ____ and fractions of hours.
hours
A building code will typically require that columns supporting the floors in a fire-resistive building have a fire resistance rating of ____ hours.
3
The walls enclosing an exit stairwell typically have a fire resistive rating of ___ or ___ hours to protect the stairwell.
1 or 2
The most commonly used method of determining fire resistance is by _____ test.
laboratory
A temperature of 1,000 F is reached at ____ minutes.
5
A temperature of 1,550 F is reached after ___ minutes.
30
At one hour the temperature is ____ F.
1,700
The earliest know fire tests on building materials were conducted in ____ in 1884-86.
Germany
The ____ test is the only method currently universally accepted by building codes.
E-119
The primary points of failure for the fire resistance test are as follows:
- Failure to support an applied load
- Temp increase on the unexposed side of wall, floor, and roof assemblies of 250 F above ambient temperatures
- Passage of heat or flame through the assembly sufficient to ignite cotton waste
- Excess temperature on steel members
The test furnace used by Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) for the testing beams, floor, and roof assemblies has approximate plan dimensions of __ x __ feet.
14 x 17
Joint systems for floor-to-wall and wall-to-wall connections are tested in accordance with UL Standard 2079.
True
Probably the best known of the laboratories is the ___.
Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL)
Fire walls need to be kept ____ if they are to serve as a barrier.
intact
Directory that lists building assemblies that have been tested and given fire-resistive ratings:
Fire Resistance Directory
Fire resistance ratings for test specimens, are expressed in standard intervals such as:
15 min 30 min 45 min 1 hour 1 1/2 hours 2 hours 3 hours 4 hours
Basic Building Classifications:
Type I - Fire Resistive Type II - Noncombustible or protected combustible Type III - Exterior Protected (masonry) Type IV - Heavy Timber Type V - Wood frame
With the exception of ______ the major classification are further divided into two or three subclassifications:
Type IV - Heavy Timber
Designated by a three digit number code, Type I construction can either be ___ or ___.
4-4-2 or 3-3-2
The first digit refers to the fire resistance rating (in hours) of _____.
exterior bearing walls
The second digit refers to the fire resistance rating of _____ or columns and girders that support loads of more then one floor.
structural frames
The third digit refers to the fire resistance rating of the ____ construction.
floor
The highest requirements for fire resistance are for Type ___ construction, with lesser requirements for other types of construction.
I
Type I construction is divided into two subclassifications:
I-A
I-B
Some building codes contain a provision to omit the fire-resistive rating for a roof construction for some occupancies when the roof is more than ___ feet above the floor.
20
Generally, bearing walls, columns, and beams are required to have a fire resistance of ___ to ___ hours.
2 to 4
Floor construction is required to have a fire resistance of ___ to ___ hours.
two to three
The roof deck construction supporting the roof must have a fire resistance of ___ to ___ hours.
one to two
Interior partitions enclosing stairwells and corridors are required to be fire-resistive usually ___ or ___ hours.
one or two
The two most common methods of construction Type I buildings are by using ____ or a ____.
reinforced concrete or protected steel frame
In a Type ___ structure, firefighters are able to launch an interior attack with greater confidence than they are in a building that is not of fire-resistive construction:
I
Type II construction (noncombustible) can be either ____ or ____.
protected or unprotected
In II-A construction the structural components are required to have ___ hour fire resistance.
one
The use of _____ steel is the most common characteristic of unprotected, noncombustible construction.
unprotected
The point at which unprotected members will fail, depends on the following factors:
- Ceiling height of the building
- Size of the unprotected steel members
- Intensity and duration of the exposing fire
Type ___ construction has been commonly referred to as “ordinary construction.”
III
A fundamental fire concern with Type ____ construction is the combustible concealed spaces that are created between floor and ceiling joists and between studs in partition walls when they are covered with interior finish materials.
III
Type III construction has two subclassifications:
Type III A
Type III B
In Type III construction it would not be uncommon to use nominal __ x __ inch joists for floor construction.
2 x 10
In Type IV construction, the minimum dimensions would be nominal __ x __ inch for floor construction.
6 x 10
In Type ___ construction concealed spaces are not permuted between structural members.
IV
Type __ is commonly known as heavy-timer or “mill” construction.
IV
There are two important distinctions between Type III and Type IV construction:
- In Type IV, the beams, columns, floors, and roofs are made of solid or laminated wood with dimensions greater than in Type III.
- Concealed spaces are NOT permitted between structural members in Type IV.
The primary fire hazard associated with Type IV construction is the massive amount of ___ presented by the large structural members in addition to the building contents.
fuel
Many Type V structures are required to have a ___ hour fire resistance for the structural members. This is typically accomplished by protecting the combustible frame members with ____ or fire rated ____.
1
plaster or fire rated gypsum board
In some jurisdictions, it is permissible to have Type V construction over Type I construction up to a heigh of ___ feet.
70
The fire load is typically expressed in terms of pounds per square foot.
True
Building codes classify buildings according to their occupancy as well as their ______.
construction type
The International Building Code (IBC) contains a total of ___ subgroups within the 10 major occupancy.
26
The IBC contains ten major occupancy classifications:
- Assembly - Group A
- Business - Group B
- Educational - Group E
- Factories - Group F
- High Hazard - Group H
- Institutional - Group I
- Mercantile - Group M
- Residential - Group R
- Storage - Group S
- Utility and Miscellaneous - Group U
R-1 are occupancies with primarily TRANSIENT occupants including hotels and motels.
True
R-2 are occupancies with primarily PERMANENT occupants and more than two dwelling units.
True
R-3 occupancies are with primarily PERMANENT occupants and NOT MORE than two dwelling units.
True
R-4 occupancies used as assisted living facilities with 5 to 16 occupants.
True
A ___ is defined as any effect (or force) that a structure must resist.
load
Gravity creates a force on a building through the weight of the building components and all of its contents.
True
When air is in motion it possess ____ energy.
kinetic
Wind exerts the following basic forces on a building:
- Direct pressure
- Aerodynamic drag
- Negative pressure
Secondary effects that may be produced by wind are the following:
- Rocking effects
- Vibration
- Clean-off effect
The ____ effect is of particular concern where a building has projections such as canopies and parapets.
“clean-off effect”
Hurricane force winds of 100 mph can exert ____ lbs of force against a two-story wall.
30,720
In regards to earthquakes, the vibrational motion of the surface subjects buildings to forces known as ____ forces that can be very destructive.
seismic
____ forces are some of the most complex forces exerted on a building.
Seismic
____ forces are produced in a structural member when it is twisted.
Torsional
____ forces are movements of relatively large amplitude resulting from a small force applied at the natural frequency of a structure.
Resonant
Although the movement of the ground beneath a building can be three dimensional, the _____ motion is the most significant force.
horizontal
The tendency of a body to remain in motion or at rest until it is acted upon by force:
Inertia
Buildings with geometric irregularities are inherently more susceptible to damage from earthquakes than buildings having a symmetrical design.
True
Increasing the ____ of a building reduces its susceptibility to ground motions that have a relatively long (meaning slow) vibrational period.
stiffness
In a structure with REDUNDANT structural members, more members would have to fail for collapse to occur.
True
The basic concept of base isolation is to isolate the building from the ____ movement of the earth’s surface.
horizontal
Soil exerts a ____ pressure against a foundation.
horizontal
Structural element designed to control vibration:
Damping Mechanism
Two methods of base isolation:
- Elastomeric bearings
2. Sliding Systems
The pressure exerted by the soil against the foundation is known as the _____ soil pressure.
active
The force of the foundation against the soil is know as the ____ soil pressure.
passive
The forces on a building from gravity are classified into two types:
- Dead loads
2. Live loads
A ____ load is any load that is not fixed or permanent.
live
Force pulled upon a structure by the addition of people, objects, or weather:
Live load
A ____ load is one that is applied at one point or over a small area.
concentrated
The snow load, can vary visually none is southern states to ___ lbs per square foot in some areas.
60
Frequently, the snow load calculated for a roof may be on the order of ___ or ___ pounds per square foot.
20 or 30
A stream of water discharging 250 gpm introduces ____ pounds of water per minute.
2, 082 lbs
A water depth of 3 inches will impose a load of ___ pounds per square foot.
20.8
Loads that involve motion are:
dynamic loads
Dynamic loads also have the ability to cause failure after repeated cycles.
True
Condition in which the support provided by a structural system is equal to the applied loads:
Equilibrium
___ beams are often used to support balconies.
Cantilever
Those vertical or horizontal forces that tend to pull things apart:
Tension
The interior forces are classified according to the direction in which they occur in the material. They are:
- Tension
- Compression
- Shear (slide one plane past an adjacent plane)
The magnitude of the interior forces that occur in structural members is evaluated b a quantity known as ___.
stress
____ is a measurement of force intensity and is expressed as force units divided by the area over which the force is applied.
Stress
Point at which material ceases to perform satisfactorily.
Failure Point
An ____ load is a load applied to the center of the cross-section of a structural member and perpendicular to that cross section.
axial
An ____ load is a load that is perpendicular to the cross section of the structural member but does not pass through the center of the cross section.
eccentric
A ____ load is offset from the center of the cross section of the structural member and at an angle to or in the same plane as the cross section.
torsoinal
A ____ is a structural member that can carry loads perpendicular to its longitudinal dimension.
beam
A _____ beam is supported at each end and is free to rotate at the ends.
simply supported
Beams can be continuous across several supports or restrained at both ends.
True
The maximum compression and tension stresses in a beam occur in the ____ and ____ of the beam.
top and bottom
____ are structural members designed to support an axial compressive load.
Columns
The stresses created within a column are primarily compressive.
True
Arches produce inclined forces at their ____ supports.
end
A cable used to support loads over a distance will assume the shape of a ____.
parabola
The stresses in a cable are ____ stresses.
tension
_____ are framed structural units made up of a group of triangles in one plane.
Trusses
A true truss is made only of straight members.
True
See Figure 3.43 Common roof trusses. PG 96
Do it
The top members of a truss are called _____ and the bottom members are called ____.
top chords
bottom chords
Typical truss shapes are available to span distances of 22 to 70 feet but in todays construction truss spans in excess of ___ feet are not uncommon.
100
____ frames are truss structures that are developed in three dimension.
Space
Failure of a connector will result in failure of the truss.
True
_____ walls provide lateral support to the structure along the direction of the wall.
Bearing
Types of structural frame construction are:
- Steel stud wall framing
- Post and beam construction
- Rigid frames
- Truss frams
- Slab and column frames
Historically, stud wall frame construction has been associated with the use of ____ inch wood studs.
2 x 4
The most easily recognized rigid-frame structure is the _______ building.
single story, gabled-roof and rigid frame
When the joists between a column and a beam are reinforced so bending stresses can be transmitted through the joints, the structural system is known as a ____ frame.
rigid
The intersection between the slab and column is a region of high stress and usually is reinforced by additional material in the form or a ____ or a ____ panel.
capital or drop panel
Building codes typically address membrane structures with a life of ___ days or more.
180
Fire codes address those membrane structures to be used for less than ___ days.
180
Fabric roofs weigh only about ___ pounds per square foot.
2
Rigid, three dimensional structure having an outer “skin” thickness that is small compared to other dimensions:
Shell Structure
Stairs that are not part of the means of egress are often referred to as ___ stairs.
convenience
Stairs that usually connect two floors in a multistory building:
convenience
In buildings ____ or more stories in height, one stairway is generally required to extend to the roof unless the slope of the roof is especially steep.
4
Vertical distance between the treads of a stariway or the height of the entire stairway:
Rise
The horizontal measurement of a stair tread or the distacne of the entire stair length:
Run
The six basic types of stairs:
- Straight-Run
- Return
- Scissor
- Ciruclar
- Folding
- Spiral
____ stairs extend in a straight line for their entire length.
Straight run
___ stairs have an intermediate landing between floors and reverse direction at that point.
Return
