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WC RICS > Construction Technology > Flashcards

Construction Technology Flashcards

1
Q

What is the substructure of a building?

A

The structural components of building below ground level which supports the superstructure. Includes: foundations basements and retaining walls.

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2
Q

What is the purpose of a foundation?

A

To support the superstructure by either spreading the load or redistributing it to a more stable part of the ground in order to avoid ground settlement.

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3
Q

What should be considered when selecting the type and size of a foundation?

A

1) Ground conditions
2) Load bearing capacity of the ground
3) Building type
4) Building load
5) Cost

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4
Q

What are the different types of foundations?

A

1) Pad foundations
2) Raft foundations
3) Pile foundations
4) Strip foundations

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5
Q

What is a pad foundation? When would it be used?

A

1) Support individual or multiple columns in order to spread the building load, square/rectangular, reinforced or non reinforced
2) When the shallow ground has good load bearing capabilities

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6
Q

What is a raft foundation? When would it be used?

A

1) Large continuous slab over the entire floor area of a building
2) When soil conditions are week, thus, stress needs to be reduced

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7
Q

What is a strip foundation? When would it be used?

A

1) Support perimeter of the building to spread the building load, rectangular, reinforced or non reinforced
2) When soil conditions are good, for low rise domestic buildings

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8
Q

What is a pile foundation? When would it be used?

A

1) A column that extends deep into the ground to extend the load from the superstructure to a level where the soil conditions are stronger.
2) Heavy buildings such as high rise, underlying soil is weak or water heavy, where settlement issues are common

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9
Q

What are the different types of piles?

A

1) End bearing piles - end of the pile rests on the strong soil
2) Friction piles - Transferred by the friction of surrounding soil

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10
Q

What are the different construction methods of piling?

A

1) Bored piling - Manufactured in-situ
2) Driven piling - Manufactured off-site

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11
Q

What is ground settlement?

A

The vertical movement of the ground following excavation which can result in damage to the future structure.

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12
Q

How can ground settlement be reduced?

A

Through compaction of the soil which is a process of using mechanical plant to make soil more dense and robust.

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13
Q

What is an advantage and disadvantage of driven piles?

A

+ Compacts the soil when driven in
- Requires heavy equipment for delivery and set up (expensive)

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14
Q

What is an advantage and disadvantage of bored piles?

A

+ Any shape or size can be made
- Extracts additional spoils which needs to be handled

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15
Q

What is ground heave?

A

1) The expansion of clay in soil when the ground is wet
2) Cannot expand downward or upwards so is expands upwards

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16
Q

Name 3 techniques for ground improvement?

A

1) Dynamic compaction - pounding soil
2) Soil mixing - dry with wet
3) Vibro stone columns - made from gravel

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17
Q

Can you name 3 different forms of excavation?

A

1) Cut and fill - using excavated topsoil for other nearby works
2) Stripping top soil
3) Excavation for foundations

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18
Q

What is the superstructure?

A

The structural components of a building above ground level which is usually everything above damp-proof course.

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19
Q

What is the envelope of a building?

A

The boundary between the interior and exterior of a building, components within this space may be brickwork, cladding, curtain walls etc.

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20
Q

What is a retained facade?

A

When the façade of a building is reserved whilst the rest of the building is remodeled/rebuilt. It usually occurs when a building is listed.

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21
Q

Can you name two types of brick bond?

A

1) English bond - alternating courses of headers and stretchers
2) Stretcher bond - most common, vertical joint staggered by a half brick

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22
Q

What is a movement joint and when would it be used?

A

A metal component which is used to absorb the expansion and contraction of construction materials. An example of this is for the laying of screed to avoid cracks.

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23
Q

What is precast?

A

A method of manufacturing concrete construction products such as cladding panels, staircases or columns in a controlled environment offsite.

24
Q

Give two advantages and disadvantages of precast concrete?

A

+ Faster install time, no curing offsite etc
+ Better quality, controlled environment

  • Pay a premium + cranage costs
  • Less flexibility
25
Q

Can you explain the precast concrete process?

A

1) Concrete poured in mold with wire mesh or rebar
2) Cured in a controlled environment
3) Transported to site
4) Craned into position
5) Connected to existing structure with bolts or dowels

26
Q

What are the 8 RIBA stages of work?

A

0) Strategic Definition
1) Preparation and brief
2) Concept Design
3) Spatial coordination
4) Technical Design
5) Manufacture & Construction
6) Handover
7) In use

27
Q

Can you briefly explain what happens in Stage 0 of the RIBA stages of work?

A

Strategic definition - Prepare clients objectives, feasibility studies & risk reviews.

28
Q

Can you briefly explain what happens in Stage 1 of the RIBA stages of work?

A

Preparation & brief - Perpetration of clients brief including quality sustainability requirements. Preparation of desired budget and programme.

29
Q

Can you briefly explain what happens in Stage 2 of the RIBA stages of work?

A

Concept Design - Carry out early design reviews, shapes an initial view of what the client is looking to achieve and gives early indications of costs, requirements and Programme.

30
Q

Can you briefly explain what happens in Stage 3 of the RIBA stages of work?

A

Spatial Coordination - This is when the concept design is tested before the detailed information at stage 4 is needed. Used to be known as developed design.

31
Q

Can you briefly explain what happens in Stage 4 of the RIBA stages of work?

A

Technical design - This is when the design is developed with sufficient detail to complete the works. It is also the point in which specialist contractors can provide specialist designs.

32
Q

In a traditional procurement route, what stage of the RIBA stage of works would an employer appoint a contractor?

A

Towards the end of stage 4 (technical design)

33
Q

In a design & build procurement route, what stage of the RIBA stage of works would an employer appoint a contractor?

A

Towards the end of stage 1 (preparation and brief)

34
Q

What is the relevance of procurement route choice with the RIBA stages of work?

A

Dependent on the procurement route, the contractor would be involved at varying stages of the RIBA stage of works.

35
Q

Can you please explain in your own words the purpose of drylining?

A

Drylining is a form of internal cladding to separate rooms and prepare the room for painting and covering.

36
Q

What key factors would you consider when designing internal partitions?

A

1) Fire resistance
2) Acoustic ratings
3) Thermal properties
4) Robustness
5) Door & window requirements
6) Penetrations

37
Q

What are the common types of plasterboard?

A

1) Standard boards (white/lightgrey)
2) Fire Boards (Pink)
3) Acoustic boards (Blue)
4) Moisture resistant boards (green)

38
Q

What is gross internal floor area?

A

GIA - The floor area of usable space within a building, it covers from the internal side of the external wall inwards but excludes all internal walls

39
Q

What is the gross external floor area?

A

GEA - The floor area of the entire building including all areas covered by walls or chimneys and also includes external parts of the building such as balconies or canopies.

40
Q

What is a combustible material? Give me to examples?

A

A material that burns when subject to flames which ultimately contributes to a fire. An example of this would be wooden products such as plywood or rubber

41
Q

What is a flexible conduit and when would it be used?

A

A durable tube which can flex in different positions and angles and protects electrical cables. It is made out of plastic which is combustible.

42
Q

Tell me about the events that led to the need for draw wires in lieu of flexible conduits?

A

Grenfell 2017 - Widespread fire in residential building which killed residents, one of the main contributors to deaths was the combustible cladding which contribute to the spread
Building safety Act 2022 - Set a duty for duyholders to comply with latest building regulations
Updated building regulations 2022 - Approved document B put a ban on combustible materials to external walls, ensured safe means of escape, use of sprinklers required, use of EAS.

43
Q

What are building regulations?

A

A set of regulations to ensure that new buildings are going to be safe, healthy and high performing. They cover a range of different topics referring to several approved documents including fire safety, structural integrity and accessibility.

44
Q

What are approved documents A - D?

A

A - Structural Integrity
B - Fire Safety
C (compartmentalise)- Site preparation
D (dangerous) - Toxic substance

45
Q

What are approved documents E - H?

A

E (Ecoustic) - Sound Resistance
F (Fans) - Ventilation
G (Gents toilets) - Sanitation, hot water safety/efficiency
H (Hatches) - Drainage & waste disposal

46
Q

What are approved documents J - M?

A

J - (Juice fuel) - Combustion appliances and fuel storage
K - (K-guard) - Protection from falling, collision & impact
L - (Limiting) - Conservation of fuel and power
M - (MEWP) - Access to and use of buildings

47
Q

What are approved documents O - S?

A

O - Overheating
P - (Power) - Electrical safety
Q - (Queue) - Safety in dwellings
R - (Rapid) - High speed electronic communications networks
S - (Solar) - Infrastructure for charging electronic vehicles

48
Q

What is approved document 7?

A

An approved document for materials and workmanship

49
Q

What are remedial works? Can you give an example?

A

Any works which take place to fix an issue or remedy an effect. An example of this

50
Q

What are remedial works?

A

Any works which take place to fix an issue or remedy an effect. An example of this could be fixing damage due to water ingress.

51
Q

Can you explain why structural steel loses its mechanical strength during a fire?

A

Heat creates energy which causes the atoms to take up more space or in other words expand, expansion causes strength reductions.

52
Q

At what temperature does structural steelwork begin losing mechanical strength?

A

Begins at 300 degrees celcius

53
Q

Why is a building compromised when the structural steel loses strength?

A

Once structural steelwork loses its strength, the building will begin to collapse.

54
Q

When would you use a concrete frame over a steel frame? Please give 3

A

1) When cladding is being fixed to the frame
2) When you’d like to fully avoid the need to fire protect the frame
3) When you have inflation risk and want to avoid cost increases to steel
4) When you want a flexibility with the design
5) When programme is tight and you want to avoid lead times

55
Q

Can you explain how encasement to steelwork works?

A

Fire resistance boards surround the steel to block flames or smoke from affecting the steelwork

56
Q

Outside of your write ups, please can you provide another example of when you have demonstrated good construction technology skills?

A

1) During my case study
2) Required in-situ method to adequately protect structural steelwork
3) Liaised with technical and operational team
4) Carried out cost review (short term and long term)
5) Advised the best all round solution was intumescent paint

WC RICS (21 decks)

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