Construction Technology (Master) Flashcards
Please explain how pre-cast concrete panels works?
- Pre-cast concrete panels are made up of precast concrete faced with bricks
- Glazing assemblies (windows) are incorporated off site to create a story high modular cladding panel.
- Each cladding panel is dead loaded at it base to the concrete slab and fixed to the slab above
- Fire stops are installed at slab edge
- Pre-cast panels overlap to hide vertical joints that retain brick aesthetics
Elements (looking from the face of slab/structural column): Vapour control panel, mineral wool insulation, fire stopping (fixed to the structural column, Precast concrete panel, double glazed unit, brick facing
Please explain how the glazing curtain wall works?
- Glazing curtain wall is made of aluminium frame with double glazed unit.
- Glazing clips are used to restrain the glass on vertical edge and structural silicone is used on the horizontal edge
- Mullions are incorporated into the panel to dived unit in half as per design
- External shading louvres are fixed back to mullions via stainless stell support brackets
- Fire stops at the edge of the slab
Elements: aluminium frame, double glazed unit, shedding louvres, mullions.
Please explain what Aluminium rainscreen is made of?
- Aluminium rainscreen is fabricated from aluminium sheeting panel that are fixed to the vertical support rial in the lower joint between panel.
- Air cavity/ Ventilation zone is created between the cladding panel and concrete backing wall.
- Insulation layer (mineral wool insulation and water proof membrane) is installed between the concrete backing wall and air cavity/ventilation zone.
Elements (from concrete backing walls): water proof membrane mineral wool insulation, Vertical aluminium support rail, Air cavity/ ventilation zone, aluminium cladding panel.
What is a roof lantern?
- Roof lantern is made of several glasses fixed together to create a £D shape; can be pyramid or box that raises above the roof.
- This is a daylighting architectural element, which is normally part of a larger roof allowing natural light into the space/room
What are the Roof lights?
Rooflights (sometimes described as ‘roof lights’ or ‘skylights’) are windows built into the roof of a building.
What is the difference between the roof light and roof lantern?
- shape: roof light is flat (2D dimension) whereas roof later is of the 3D pyramid or box shape
- design: due to 3D shape roof lantern provide more natural lights or ventilations
- Installation: roof lantern installation is more difficult and impact on overall cost.
- cost: Roof lantern are more expensive than roof lights due to the shape, glazing area and difficulties in installation (nearly 300% cost increase at PW)
What are the advantages and disadvantages of roof lantern?
Advantages:
- Design: They add a visually attractive element to the building
- Lighting: Providing natural light
- Size: Lanterns can be built bigger overall since you have smaller pieces of glass that are connected with plastic or aluminium frames
Disadvantages:
- Solar natural warmth can lead to an increase in room temperature and additional cooling may be required
- Difficult to maintain – cleaning is difficult
- Higher cost material and installation cost when compared to flat roof lights due to size and difficulty of installation
How did you advice the Client about roof lights element on PW?
- During Stage 4 Design, I took part in monthly design meeting where the Design Team introduced the new design changing the roof light to roof lantern.
- I reviewed the Client’s briefing and scope documents to ensure that the proposed solution is in line with Client’s requirements
- I reviewed previous drawings and BIM model and identify Stage 3 Cost Plan allowances (30
- I reviewed new drawings, measured the rooflights and priced the new design.
- I produced short report summarising the change and its implication.
- I attended meeting with the Client where we discussed the change its aesthetics and I explained the cost difference.
What is a lift car?
Lift car is a cabin which transport passages or goods between the levels of building.
Can you name any regulations related to Lifts?
- The Lifts Regulations 2016 – obligations of installers, manufactures, distributes etc.
- The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) - provide guidance on lifts used by workers in workplaces. It requires lifts to be thoroughly examined by a competent person at least every six months or, in the case of goods-only lifts, every 12 months.
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER)
- Approved Document M - Access to and use of buildings
- The Equality Act 2010, requires that buildings must be accessible to people with disabilities. BS 8300 recommends that multi-storey buildings provide at least one accessible lift for wheelchair users.
- There are a number of British Standards that apply to lifts:
- BS EN 81, Safety rules for construction and installation of lifts.
- BS 5588, Fire precautions in the design, construction and use of buildings.
What are the main components of lift?
- Lift car cabin
- The Sheave and Motor
- Control unit
- Cable/Rope
- The counter weight
- Hoistway
What types of lifts are you awere of?
- Platform lifts
- Passenger lifts
- Service lifts
- Disable access lifts
How lifts works?
- Lift car/cabin is connected by metal robe/cable into sheeve/pulley wheel
- The sheeve/pulley wheel allow the lift car to be move up and down and it’s powered by lift motor with counter weight used to balance the car lift weight.
How did you advice the Client regarding lift car finishes options on NCA Project?
- I reviewed the Client’s brief for a change
- I discussed potential options with the Design Manager to proposed best option
- I measured relevant quantities (GIFA for floor and lift wall area) and provided a budget estimate for each option.
- I provide a report summarising two options in terms of key features and cost differences
- I presented information to the client advising on differences of both options (vinyl and laminated wood panels) in comparation with stainless steel design currently in the scope.
What are the differences between laminated wooden, vinyl and stainless steel materials?
1. Vinyl
- Budget friendly (average £20 to £50/m2)
- Durability 15 to 20 years
- Water and stain resistant
- Difficult to repair
2. Laminated Wooden
- Average costs £30 to £60/m2
- Durability 10 to 30 years
- Environmentally-friendly construction material
- High strength to weight ratio
- water and stain resistance
- improved aesthetics
3. Stainless steel
- Average cost £20 to £40
- Durability 15 to 25 years
- water resistance
- easy to maintain
- design flexibility
What type of wood was used for finishes on NCA?
laminated oak panels.
What does it mean to wood is laminated?
A wood laminate is a thin sheet of material used to cover the core of a wood project in order to change the appearance of the material.
What do you need to consider when design a lift finishes?
- Fire resistance
- Weight of materials
- Feasibility and accessibility
- if there is CCTV/phone/speakers required
- relevant regulations and standards (BS)
What is an average cost of lift?
- depending on the design specifics, most of the lift’s are bespoken as they may be design for different heigh and capacity as well as type of lift.
- On NCA Project the cost was £100k per 13 people lift, £90k for 8 people lift and £15k for platform lift.
What is mullion?
Mulion is a a vertical bar between the panes of glass in a window that dividing the window.
What is a A Vapour Control Layer?
A Vapour Control Layer is a plastic layer that restricts the movement of warm, moist air from inside a property into the fabric of the building
What are the External shading louvres?
The external louvres are blinds or shutters with horizontal slats that limit a solar exposure, but still allow light.
What are ground investigation?
Ground investigations are a means of determining the condition of the ground, ideally before beginning construction works. They focus specifically on intrusive geotechnical work such as trial pits and boreholes
What is a site investigation?
- Site Investigation is the process of collecting information, assessment of the data and reporting potential hazards about the site which are unknown.
- tend to involve the collation of general information from the client, from desk studies, walkover surveys, and so on.
What can be determinated by a ground investigation?
- Detailed information about soil and ground samples
- Water table level
- Contaminations
- Obstructions (e.g old foundation)
- archaeological fundings
What information were included in Factual Site Investigation Report?
- General project information’s
- Project descriptions and scope of works including drawing
- Site investigation methodology and locations (percussion boring, rotary drilling, trenches, PAS 128 Survey, Drainage CCTV survey, Archaeological) including detailed information of sampling methods
- Percussion boring and rotary drilling log (depth of the borehole, detailed progress with dates ad hole depth), strata information with soil description, samples and tests.
- Description of Archaeological desk top study – analysis of previous site uses,
- Photographs
- PAS 128 results in form of map with marked up utility services.
- Laboratory tests results
What is CCTV drainage?
A CCTV drainage survey is a process for examining the condition of drainage systems remotely with a camera system that records video footage and captures other useful data
What is PAS 128?
British Standards Institution (BSI) PAS 128 is the current specification for underground utility detection, verification and location
For level of investigation include:
- Level A - Instrusive inspection
- Level B - Detection using GPR and other geophisical techniques.
- Level C - Validation of existing record
- Level D - Desktop locating services
How did you assess progress of ground investigation works?
- On site visit and visual assessment of location of the boreholes
- Analysis of weekly ground investigation report where completed works were analysed by geotechnical engender
- Analysis of contractor site diary and progress made.
- The measurement included within CE for this work was based on UK Specification for Ground Investigation published by ICE (Institution of Civil Engineering) and in line with Section Class B therefore my assessment was based of the depth of the borehole in addition to time related assessment of the time spend by the team
- I measured each element based on time and work progress.
- I issued my assessment to the PM for their comment
- I advised the Client on costs associated with work completed and included the calculation when issuing the Payment Notice with basis of my afp assessment.
On the Project Winchester, what were the key considerations on
the assessment of the differing façade treatment?
- Quality – diverse façade improved quality of the design as different styles was incorporated (e.g pre-cast concrete and glazing wall)
- Cost – implementation of different facade treatment allowed to incorporate cheaper type of façade (aluminium rainscreen) to clad utility areas of the building which are less visible to the public.
- Time – incorporation of pre-cast concrete panel façade had positive programme implications as they were made off site.
What is percussion boring?
- Percussion boring is method of ground investigation, where percussion drill repeatedly raises and drops a large hammer bit onto hollow tube.
- The hollow tube then accumulate soil for sampling. Then the sample hollow tube is lifted by the cabling system and the sample is being tested
- A single day drilling can excavate up to 15m (typically 7-15m)
- Standard penetrometer test (SPT) and vane test can be carried out in the borehole as the drilling and excavation process progress.
What is rotary drilling?
- Rotary drilling uses a sharp rotating drill rig and downward pressure to cut through the surface.
- The drill bit/auger is then removed to allow for sampling (hollow tube is placed in the hole).
- The hollow tube is then twisted into the ground to collect the sample.
- The process is repeated gain at different ground level if any further testing is required.
What are trenches?
- Trenches or Trial pits is an excavation of an area of ground in order to study or sample the composition and structure of subsurface.
- use to determine the geology and the water table of the ground.
What types of ground investigation tests and sampling were carried out on PW?
- Moisture content
- pH value test - is done to see how acidic or alkaline your soil is
- Permeability testing
- Contamination testing
- CBR test (California Bearing test) - The CBR test is performed by measuring the pressure required to penetrate a soil sample with a plunger of standard area.
What is a listed building?
A building is listed when it is of special architectural or historic interest considered to be of national importance and therefore worth protecting.
What are the different type of building being listed?
- Grade I: This means the property is of ‘exceptional interest’. Only around 2.5% of listed buildings are Grade 1 listed.
- Grade II*: This means the property is important and considered of more than special interest. Around 5.8% of listed buildings fall into this category.
- Grade II: This means the building is of special interest. The vast majority of listed buildings (around 92%) fall into this category.
What are the consequences of building being listed?
- You will need our consent to demolish a listed building and for any alteration or extension which would affect its character as a building of architectural or historic interest.
- The need for listed building consent is different from planning permission but the process is very similar.
- It is a criminal offence not to seek consent when it is require
- An application for listed building consent is made to, and determined by, the local planning authority
How rainscreen cladding works?
Rainscreen cladding work by creating a ventilated cavity zone/gap between the reveres of the cladding panel and the outer face of the building,
This enables constant air circulation, forcing any moisture that penetrates the joints of the cladding panels out, before it reaches the building structure.
In addition, the waterproof membrane is normally installed into the backing wall to increase the water resistance.
What are the types of rainscreen?
- Drained and ventilated rainscreen cladding systems allow any penetrating moisture to drain or evaporate and vent to the outside.
- Pressure-equalised (PE) rainscreen cladding systems allow the movement of air between the inside and outside of the rainscreen. This equalises the pressure across the rainscreen so that water is not driven, or sucked through the joints.
What are the key stages of the RIBA plan of work?
0. Strategic Definition – confirmation of Client’s Requirement
1. Preparation and Brief – Project Brief is approved by the Client and confirmed that it can be accommodated on site
2. Concept Design – Architectural Concept approved by the Client and aligned to the Project Brief
3. Spatial Coordination – Architectural and engineering information Spatially Coordinated.
4. Technical Design – all designed information required to manufacture and construct the project completed
5. Manufacturing and Construction – manufacturing, construction and commissioning completed
6. Handover – building handed over, aftercare initiated, and Building Contract concluded
7. Use – building used, operated and maintained effectively.
What was included in the 2020 update?
- Some stages re-named (Stage 1 was Preparation and Brief but has been renamed Preparation and Briefing; Stage 3 was Developed Design – it’s now Spatial Coordination; Stage 5 was Construction and is now Manufacturing and Construction; Stage 6 was Handover and Close Out and is now just Handover; and Stage 7 was gone from In Use to Use.
- Stage 5’s new name reflects the increasing popularity of modular and prefabricated construction.
- The importance of sustainability is highlighted - For the first time the RIBA Plan of Work includes a Sustainability Project Strategy
- and different approaches to the timing of planning applications and procurement.
How did the Grenfell tower’s facade contribute to the spread of the fire in 2017?
The ACM (aluminium composite material) rainscreen cladding fitted retrospectively to the original concrete facade had a gap between which allowed a chimney effect for the fire to spread. The celotex insulation and cladding were both found to be flammable.
What RIBA stands for?
The Royal Institute of British Architects
What is RIBA Plan of Works?
The RIBA Plan of Work organises the process of briefing, designing, constructing and operating building projects into eight stages and explains the stage outcomes, core tasks and information exchanges required at each stage.
What are the alternative to RIBA?
- The BIM Task Group Digital Plan of Work (0- Strategy, 1- Brief, 2- Concept, 3-Definition, 4-Design, 5- Build and commission, 6- Handover and close out, 7- Operation and end of life)
- The Construction Industry Council (CIC) – Stage 1 – Preparation, Stage 2 – Concept, Stage 3- Design Development, 4 – Production Information, Stage 5 - Manufacture, Installation & Construction Information, Stage 6 – Post Practical Completion
- The Construction Playbook: Preparation and planning, Publication. Selection. Evaluation and award. Contract implementation.
What is RIBA Stage 0?
Stage 0 – Strategic Definition is about determining the best methods of achieving the client’s requirements.
Strategic in nature, defining the Business Case and Client Requirements.
What is RIBA Stage 1?
Stage 1 (Preparation and Briefing )is about developing the detail of the brief and making sure that everything needed for the design process is in place before Stage 2. This includes ensuring that the brief can be accommodated on the site.
- Feasibility Studies
What is RIBA Stage 2?
Stage 2 (Concept Design) is about getting the design concept right and making sure that the look and feel of the building is proceeding in line with the client’s vision, brief and budget.
What is RIBA Stage 3?
The purpose of Stage 3 (Spatial Coordination)is to spatially coordinate the design.
- Undertake Design Studies, Engineering Analysis and Cost Exercises to test Architectural Concept resulting in Spatially Coordinated design aligned to updated Cost Plan, Project Strategies and Outline Specification
- Initiate Change Control Procedures
- Prepare stage Design Programme
What is RIBA Stage 4?
During Stage 4 (Technical Design) stage - All design information required to manufacture and construct the project completed
- Develop architectural and engineering technical design
- Prepare and coordinate design team Building Systems information
- Prepare and integrate specialist subcontractor Building Systems information
- Prepare stage Design Programme
What is RIBA Stage 5?
Stage 5 is Manufacturing and Construction where all on-site works are being completed.
- Finalise Site Logistics
- Manufacture Building Systems and construct a building
- Monitor progress against Construction Programme
- Inspect Construction Quality
- Resolve Site Queries as required
- Undertake Commissioning of building
- Prepare Building Manual
