Construction Technology & Environmental Services Flashcards

1
Q

What impact do the Building Regulations and British Standards have on the design, construction and refurbishment of buildings?

A
  • The building regulations help ensure that new buildings, conversions, renovations and extensions (domestic or commercial) are going to be safe, healthy and high-performing.
  • BSI defines a standard as ‘something that is generally accepted’. British Standard (BS) publications are technical specifications or practices that can be used as guidance for the production of a product, carrying out a process or providing a service.
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2
Q

Can you explain some of the recent regulatory changes to the Building Regulations or British Standards?

A
  • Updates to Part F and Part L in June 2022.
  • Part F – Increased ventilation (to balance changes to Part L).
  • Part L – Uplift in U-values, requirement for continuous insulation (no gaps).
  • Part O – Overheating (limiting solar gains and ability to quickly remove excess heat).
  • Part S – Infrastructure for charging electric vehicles.
  • Part T – Toilets.
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3
Q

What are G-values?

A
  • A measure of the amount of heat let into a building through its windows.
  • Measured between 0 and 1 (0 is nothing, 1 is everything).
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4
Q

What are U-values?

A

U-values measure the amount of heat loss / gain through a building element.

U-value = 1 / the sum of all R-values (thermal resistance) of the individual layers making up a building element (a lower U-value means greater resistance).

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5
Q

What are R-values?

A

R-values measure thermal resistance (a higher R-value means greater resistance).

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6
Q

What are L-values?

A

L-values measure how airtight windows are (the lower the better).

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7
Q

What standards are you aware of that influence the ways in which buildings are constructed?

A
  • BS 8102:22 Code of Practice for Protection of Below Ground Structures Against Water Ingress.
  • BS 9999 (fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings).
  • BS 8215 (installation of damp proof courses in masonry construction).
  • BS 3921 (compressive strength of bricks).
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8
Q

Can you give some examples of different types of construction?

A
  • Foundations – strip, raft, pad, pile.
  • Floors – suspended timber, suspended concrete, block and beam, ground bearing concrete slab
  • Walls – solid, cavity, framed.
  • Roofs – flat (warm/cold/inverted), pitched (dual/mono pitch, hipped).
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9
Q

What are the different types of foundations commonly used?

A
  • Strip foundations – low-rise residential buildings.
  • Pad foundations – heavy concentrated loads (columns sit on top of pad).
  • Raft foundations – poor soils, used to spread load where individual column loads are heavy in poor soil conditions.
  • Piled foundations – Low bearing capacity sub-soils – requirement to transmit load to low level in ground. Typically used for large or high-rise buildings.
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10
Q

What are the different types of piling and when would you use them?

A

Bored Piles (Replacement Piles)

  • A hole is bored in the ground using a piling rig with flight auger. The void is then filled with reinforcement if required and concrete (either pre-cast or in-situ).
  • Used in cohesive soils such as clay and where vibration and noise are to be kept to a minimum.

Precast Piles (Displacement Piles)

  • Precast concrete piles are driven into the ground using a piling rig with a drop hammer, displacing the subsoil.
  • Used in non-cohesive (sandy) soils and where vibration and noise is not an issue.

Secant Piles

  • A permanent structural wall is formed of interlocking bored piles.
  • Primarily female piles are bored and cast with spaces in between for the boring and casting of secondary male piles.

Sheet Piling

  • Sheet piling can be used as temporary support in excavations but also to form permanent retaining walls.
  • The sheet piles have interlocking joints and are available in a range of sizes and strengths, up to a typical maximum length of 18m.
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11
Q

How would you establish the load bearing walls within a property?

A
  • Check to see if wall is solid masonry or lightweight partitioning.
  • Check direction of joists (if perpendicular to walls, likely to be load beading).
  • Check to see if there is contact between the tops of walls and ceiling joists.
  • Central / spine walls are likely to be load bearing.
  • Check positioning of walls in relation to upper floor walls and roof timbers e.g. struts that may be supported by load bearing walls.
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12
Q

What are the potential implications of using two different (abutting) floor constructions?

A
  • Reduced ventilation to suspended timber floors if concrete floor is added.
  • Increased likelihood of condensation within sub floor and subsequent rotting of timbers.
  • Ducting should be provided within concrete floor to maintain cross ventilation.
  • Using a combination of suspended concrete and timber floors would maintain provision for cross ventilation.
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13
Q

Can you explain the build-up to the external render system specified for 86 Victoria Street?

A

3no. coat system (NHL 3.5)

  • Scratch coat (applied up to 10mm, flattened and keyed/scratched)
  • Float coat (rubbed up with a normal float and finished with a devil float to provide a key for the top coat)
  • Top / finishing coat
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14
Q

Was there any requirement for upgrading of the thermal performance of the external walls when re-rendering?

A
  • Alterations were made internally to external walls to meet a minimum U-value of 0.26.
  • Required when over 25% of the surface area of the external building envelope is renovated – classed as a major renovation.
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15
Q

What are the benefits of a silicone render and when would use specify its use?

A
  • Highly durable.
  • Low maintenance.
  • Provides a level of breathability.
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16
Q

What are the different types of lime and when would you use them?

A
  • Hydraulic lime – for use in exposed locations – sets fast, durable, less flexible and permeable than non-hydraulic lime.
  • Non-hydraulic lime – for use in less exposed locations – sets slowly, less durable and more flexible and permeable than hydraulic lime.
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17
Q

What are the different grades of natural hydraulic lime (NHL)?

A
  • NHL 2 – Internal plastering or pointing up soft masonry.
  • NHL 3.5 – General bedding and pointing mortars.
  • NHL 5 – Limecrete floors and exposed areas.
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18
Q

What is a castellated beam and when would you use one?

A
  • A castellated beam is a beam that has a regular and repeating pattern of hexagonal or circular holes.
  • The provide a high strength to weight ratio – deeper beams using less steel.
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19
Q

How is lateral restraint provided within roofs?

A
  • Installing metal straps across rafters (minimum 3), hooked over internal blockwork leaf. Provides lateral restraint to gable walls.
  • Ensure ceiling joists / rafter ties (resists roof spread) are fixed to rafter ends and collar ties (resists rafter separation) are installed, spanning between rafters.
20
Q

What are the telltale signs of roof spread to a traditional purlin and rafter roof and what are the general causes?

A
  • Sagging of the ridge.
  • Pushing out of brickwork and wallplate to the top of external walls.
  • Separation of inner walls from external walls.
  • Generally caused by poor design / triangulation of roof structure or overloading of the roof (e.g. replacing slates with concrete tiles)
21
Q

What was the roof structure construction of the house 21 The Horseshoe, York?

A

Timber purlin and rafter construction with a slate finish.

22
Q

Can you explain the differences between a kingpost and queen post truss roof?

A

Queen post uses two supporting posts and can span longer distances than king post (one central supporting post)

23
Q

Can you advise of the implications of having 2 different ground floor types in the same building?

A

Reduced provision for ventilation (potentially cutting off cross ventilation).

24
Q

How can cross ventilation to suspended floors be maintained when solid floors are introduced?

A

Ensure ducting is included within new concrete floors, providing a clear passage from the front to rear of the property.

25
Q

What are the requirements for sub-floor ventilation?

A

NHBC requirement of air bricks within 450mm of each end of a wall at no more than 2m centres.

A minimum void of 150mm should be provided below suspended timber or concrete walls.

26
Q

How do you maintain solid walls to preclude damp?

A
  • Regular maintenance of pointing / render.
  • Regular pruning of nearby vegetation to prevent contact with walls.
  • Ensure ground levels are a minimum of 150mm below DPC.
  • Avoid using impervious (cementitious materials).
27
Q

Can you explain the key features of a 1930s house please?

A
  • Often semi-detached.
  • Hipped roof with gable projection or flat roof to front bay.
  • Bay windows (often at GF and FF).
  • Archway to front entrance, with door set back.
28
Q

How did you establish the imposed loads on the walls?

A

Took measurements of walls and multiplied the areas by the loads of different materials.

29
Q

How would you identify a solid wall?

A
  • Use of headers within brick bonds.
  • Thickness of wall (typically 9 inches for solid brick walls).
30
Q

Name some bonds of brickwork use for solid walls.

A
  • Flemish bond.
  • English bond.
  • Garden wall bond.
  • English garden wall bond.
  • Rat trap bond.
31
Q

How would you identify a cavity wall?

A
  • Stretcher bond brickwork.
  • Features within walls such as weep holes.
  • Snapped headers sometimes used to give a more traditional look.
32
Q

What are the nominal sizes of a brick and block?

A
  • Brick – 215 x 102.5 x 65mm
  • Block – 215 x 100 x 440mm
33
Q

Can you describe the construction of a typical steel portal frame?

A
  • Columns fixed to pad with base plate
  • Rafters
  • Purlins
  • Eaves and ridge/apex haunch
  • Longitudinal and diagonal bracing
  • Cladding to walls and roof
34
Q

Can you describe the construction of a typical internal stud partition wall?

A
  • Timber top plate and sole plate
  • Timber studs with noggins in between
  • Insulation as required between studs
  • Plasterboard
  • Skim finish
35
Q

Can you describe the construction of a typical suspended timber ground floor?

A
  • Oversite.
  • Sleeper walls.
  • Wall plate to the top of sleeper walls with a DPC between the wall plate and brickwork.
  • Floor joist.
  • Floorboards / covering.
36
Q

Why did you recommend that collar ties be installed within the top one third of the rafters at 21 The Horseshoe?

A

The lower the height of the ties, the less restraint to the top of the rafters.

37
Q

At what position should rafter ties be installed?

A

Within the bottom third of a roof structure to ensure adequate restraint to spreading of rafters.

38
Q

Can you please explain the different between built-up and composite roofing systems?

A
  • Built-up or double skin systems are assembled on site and are made up of a number of components, including liner sheet, vapour control layer, insulation and top sheet. Spacer bars are installed at regular intervals, which the top sheets are mechanically fixed to.
  • Composite roofing systems are pre-assembled and consist of two metal skins bonded to an insulating core.
39
Q

How can you ascertain whether a metal roofing or cladding system is built-up or composite?

A
  • By looking to the underside of top sheets to see if the insulation is a rigid or a wool type material.
  • Reviewing any identification markings on panels.
  • By tapping or pressing on the panels – hollow sound and some ‘give’ to ridges indicates a built-up system.
  • Gaps between ridge of sheet and insulation if built-up system.
  • Reviewing any specifications.
40
Q

Can you describe where 30min and 1hr fire resistance may be required within a building?

A
  • 60 minutes between individual dwellings
  • 30 minutes to means of escape routes
41
Q

What are the nominal wall tie spacings?

A
  • 450mm vertically.
  • 900mm horizontally.
  • Within 225mm horizontally of an opening.
  • Within 225mm horizontally (parallel to the top of a wall).
  • No more than 300 vertically to the top of gable walls.
  • No more than 300 vertically around openings.
42
Q

What are the nominal spacings for lintels and weep holes?

A

At least two weep holes per opening, not more than 450mm apart.

43
Q

At 5 Calcaria Court you recommended that the existing coping stones were replaced. Why did you recommend that larger stones were provided and what is the purpose of a drip detail?

A
  • The existing coping stones did not project by a sufficient amount. NHBC standards recommend a minimum projection of 45mm for copings to parapet walls to balconies.
  • The projection can be less for metal or GRP copings with performed drip details, provided the coping drains away from the wall.
  • A drip detail prevents water backtracking underneath the coping stones and should also be provided no less than 30mm away from the external face of the wall.
44
Q

What is the difference between copings and cappings?

A
  • Coping - Construction that protects the top of a wall, balustrade, or parapet and sheds rainwater clear of the surfaces beneath.
  • Capping - Construction that protects the top of a wall, but does not shed rainwater clear of the surfaces of the wall beneath.
45
Q

What are some of the common failures of coping installations?

A
  • No damp proof course (DPC) provided below copings
  • DPCs that are provided are unsupported and/or insufficient width to cover across the whole parapet
  • Cavity trays beneath coping non-existent or poorly installed
  • No weep holes
  • Poor pointing between coping
  • Pressed metal copings used, with over-reliance on mastic or fixings with no gaskets. Often installed without any DPC below
  • Non-proprietary systems being used without third party accreditation