Exam 1 Study Guide Flashcards
What is sustainability in building?
Proving energy efficient, resource conserving, healthy buildings.
What are the goals of sustainable building?
Reduce the depletion of fossil fuels, minimize materials consumption and waste, protect forests and forest ecosystems, protect water resources, minimize air pollution.
What should be considered when selecting sustainable building materials?
Check if manufacturers depend on nonrenewable resources, if materials are made from recycled or rapidly renewable materials, and if they contain toxic ingredients or generate unhealthy emissions.
What is the material life cycle in sustainable building?
Sustainable building construction must address all phases of the life of a building material, from cradle to grave.
What does ‘cradle to grave’ encompass?
Origin, manufacturing, and transportation; construction; use and maintenance; demolition, and reuse or disposal.
What is LEED?
An internationally recognized green building certification system sponsored by the United States Green Building Council.
What are construction documents?
Submitted to local government building authorities for conformance with codes and regulations before a permit is issued.
What is a zoning ordinance?
A law that specifies how land within a jurisdiction may be used.
What are building codes?
A set of regulations intended to ensure a minimum standard of health and safety in buildings.
What does IBC stand for?
International Building Code, a U.S. model building code for all building types except those covered by the IRC.
What does IRC stand for?
International Residential Code, covering one- and two-family homes, townhomes, and buildings up to 3 stories.
What is a fire resistance rating?
Determines the level of fire resistance required for a building, with Type I being most resistant (1-3 hours) and Type V being least resistant (0-1 hours).
What are bearing walls?
Walls that carry structural loads from floors, roofs, or walls above.
What are nonbearing walls?
Walls that do not carry a structural load.
What is the ADA?
Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal regulation establishing equal access for persons with disabilities.
What is OSHA?
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which controls workspace design to minimize health and safety hazards.
What does UL stand for?
Underwriters Laboratories, providing expertise and services to solve critical business challenges.
What does ASTM stand for?
American Society for Testing and Materials, a consensus organization for material and methods standards.
What is ANSI?
American National Standards Institute, which develops and certifies standards for various products and systems.
What does NIST stand for?
National Institute of Standards and Technology, sponsoring research and establishing standards for building products and systems.
What is CSI?
Construction Specification Institute, used to organize construction cost data with 50 major divisions identified by 6-digit codes.
What is Master Format?
Organizes building systems information primarily according to work product, focusing on discrete building trades.
What is ACI?
American Concrete Institute, forming minimum qualifications for personnel in the concrete construction industry.
What does USGBC stand for?
U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit organization supporting healthy and resilient communities through built environment transformation.
What is design-bid-build?
A method where the owner separately hires the design team and construction team, providing checks and balances.
What is design-build?
A method where the owner hires one entity that serves as both design and construction team, allowing collaboration but lacking independent design advocacy.
What is a fixed fee (lump sum)?
An agreed, fixed amount paid for work, where the general contractor assumes most risk for unexpected costs.
What is cost plus?
The owner pays general contractors’ costs plus a fee, assuming more cost risk and savings reward potential.
What is a percent fee?
A fee paid to a consultant based on a negotiated percentage of the resultant construction contract.
What is a bid bond?
Assures competitive pricing for construction services, with the contractor assuming most risk for unanticipated costs.
What does payment (labor & materials) assure?
Full payment to suppliers and subcontractors.
What does performance assure?
Completion of the construction.
What are sequential schedules?
Scheduling where each major phase of design and construction is completed before the next phase begins.
What are fast track schedules?
Scheduling where design and construction overlap in time.
What is the critical path method?
Analyzes task dependencies to determine the sequence of tasks that dictates the least amount of time for project completion.
What is lean construction?
Methods of construction and management emphasizing efficiency, waste elimination, and continuous quality improvement.
What is BIM?
Building Information Modeling, a digital, three-dimensional modeling of building systems linked to a database of properties and relationships.
What is the purpose of a foundation?
To prevent building collapse.
What is dead load?
Permanent loads on a building, including the weight of the building itself and any permanently attached equipment.
What is live load?
Nonpermanent loads on a building caused by the weights of people, furnishings, machines, vehicles, and goods.
What is rain and snow load?
Loads that act primarily downward on building roofs.
What is seismic load?
A force on a structure caused by movement of the earth during an earthquake.
What is differential subsidence?
Subsidence of various foundation elements at differing rates.
What is uniform subsidence?
Subsidence of foundation elements at the same rate, resulting in no distress to the structure.
What are boulders?
Too big to lift with one hand.
What are cobbles?
Can be lifted in one hand.
What is gravel?
Individual particles can be lifted between thumb and forefinger.
What is silt?
Roughly spherical in shape.
What is clay?
Very small, plate-shaped particles.
What is fine-grained soil?
Individual particles are too small to see with the naked eye.
What are coarse-grained soils?
Consist of relatively large mineral particles with little or no attractive or repulsive forces between them.
What is cohesionless soil?
Soil that relies primarily on friction for its strength.
What is cohesive soil?
Soil whose particles adhere to one another through cohesive and adhesive forces.
What are poorly graded soils?
Soil with less than a full range of particle sizes.
What are well graded soils?
Coarse-grained soil with a full range of particle sizes.
What is a geotechnical report?
Includes recommendations for allowable bearing loads, foundation settlement, soil drainage, and waterproofing.
What are excavation types?
Necessary for basement construction, trenching for utilities, and removing contaminated or weak soils.
What is the maximum allowable slope/angle of repose?
Can be steep for cohesive soils like stiff clays or shallower for frictional soils like sand and gravel.
What is excavation support?
Sloped or benched excavation is less expensive than sheeted excavation but requires a site without nearby limits.
What is soldier beam and lagging?
Vertical beams driven into the earth at intervals around an excavation site, with planks placed between them to retain earth.
What is sheet piling?
A stiff material used to retain soil around an excavation, often in thin, flexible sheets.
What is soil mixing?
Strengthens excavation sides by blending Portland cement and water with existing soil.
What is a slurry wall?
A watery mixture of insoluble material with a high concentration of suspended solids.
What is a raker?
A sloping brace for supporting sheeting around an excavation.
What is cross lot?
Horizontal compression members running from one side of an excavation to the other, used to support sheeting.
What are tie backs?
A tie anchored in the ground to support sheeting around an excavation.
What is dewatering?
The extraction of water from an excavation or its surrounding soil.
What is a superstructure?
The above-ground portion of a building.
What is a substructure?
The occupied below-ground portion of a building.
What are spread footings?
Take concentrated loads from above and spread them across a large area of soil to avoid exceeding safe soil pressure.
What are strip footings?
A continuous strip of concrete serving the same function for a load-bearing wall.
What is engineered fill?
Higher-strength, stable soil material brought from offsite.
What is a mat foundation?
A single concrete footing equal in area to the ground covered by the building.
What are caissons?
Cylindrical site cast concrete foundation units that penetrate through incompetent soil to rest on satisfactory soil.
What are piles?
Long, slender pieces of material driven into the ground as part of a foundation.
What are pile caps?
A thick slab of reinforced concrete poured across the top of a pile cluster to support a column or grade beam.
What is seismic base isolation?
In areas with strong earthquakes, large buildings may be placed on base isolators.
What is underpinning?
The strengthening and stabilizing of an existing foundation.
What is damp proofing?
A coating intended to resist water passage, commonly applied to basement walls.
What is waterproofing?
Material acting as a barrier to water flow, capable of withstanding hydrostatic pressure.
What is liquid applied waterproofing?
Applied as viscous liquids that cure in place.
What is sheet membrane waterproofing?
Manufactured in the factory, consistent in quality but more difficult to apply around complex shapes.
What are water stops?
Materials that block water passage at vulnerable locations in concrete construction.
What is synthetic waterproofing?
Used to seal against water penetration at joints in concrete construction.
What is bentonite?
Adhered to a concrete footing prior to casting the concrete wall above.
Retaining Walls
holds back soil where an abrupt change in ground elevation occurs
controlled low strength materials
a manufactured full material made from Portland cement and/ or fly ash, sand, and water
softwoods
from cone-bearing trees
- relatively simple cell structure
- generally soft, easily worked
what is soft wood used for?
structural wood, finish trim, shingles, and siding
types of soft wood?
top: pine
bottom: fir
hardwoods
- from broadleafed trees
- more complex cell structure
What is hard wood used for?
fine trim, paneling. flooring, fine cabinet work, furniture
types of hard wood
top: walnut
bottom: red oak
heartwood
the dead wood cells in the center region of a tree trunk
sapwood
the living wood in the outer region of a tree trunk of branch
bark
outermost protective layer
flat sawing (plain sawn)
- growth rings roughly parallel to wider face of broad
- cut in half and then sawn so you see the rungs
- greater distortion during drying
- less costly
quarter sawn (edge sawn)
- growth rings close to perpendicular to wider face of broad
- cut in quarters and then sawn so you don’t see the rings
- less distortion during drying
- more costly
ECM (equilibrium moisture content)
- wood eventually dries to equilibrium with the surrounding air
- for exterior: 15% - 19%
- for interior: 5% - 11%
MC (mill and control of wood shrinkage)
as wood dries below approximately 30% moisture content, it shrinks, mostly in cross section, and only slightly in length
seasoning distortions in lumber
most lumber is seasoned at the sawmill, as the lighter wright of dried lumber makes it less expensive to ship
shrinkage and swell of lumber
- moisture shrinkage along the length of the log
- shrinkage in the radial direction is many times larger by comparison, and shrinkage around the circumference of the log is larger again by half or more
- if the entire log is seasoned before sawing, it will shrink very little along its length, but it will grow noticeable smaller in diameter, and the difference between the tangential and radial shrinkage will cause it to check, that is, to split open along its length
Structural
framing lumber pieces are graded and stamped for structural strength and stiffness. higher structural grades have fewer defects, and when left exposed, are generally also more attractive
Appearance
finish lumber is graded for the extent of detects, such as knots, and other appearance characteristics
nominal dimension
1/2” smaller than normal dimension
an approximate dimension assigned to a piece of material as a convenience in describing its size. 2” x 4”
Actual dimension
the true dimension of a material. 1 1/2” x 3 1/2”
finger joined
a glued end connection between two piece of wood, using an interlocking pattern of deeply cut “fingers”. creates a large surface for the glue bond, to allow it to develop the full tensile strength of the wood it connects
scarf joined
A glued end connection between two piece of wood using a sloping cut to create a large surface for the glue bond to allow it to develop the full tensile strength of the wood that it connects
what are the advantages of Engineered lumber products?
- more size and shapes
- fewer defects
- more consistent quality
- more efficient use of wood materials
- some cases, stronger and stiffer than solid wood members
glulam or glued laminated lumber
- beams made from glued, solid lumber pieces
- readily available in large size, stronger and stiffer, than solid wood
- can be curved
I-joist
a manufactured wood framing member whose cross-section shape resembles the letter I
truss
a triangulated arrangement of structural members that reduces nonaxial external forces to a set of axial forces in its members
LVL (laminated veneer lumber)
- glued, full-depth veneers
- grains of the veneers run parallel to each other
OSB (oriented strand board)
glued, shredded strands, like LSL
plywood
- thin layers of wood veneer glued together
- grains of the veneers run perpendicular or each other
particle board
glued particles, smaller than OSB strands
MDF (Medium density fiberboard)
- most common used form of fiber board
- used in the production of cabinets, furniture, moldings, paneling, and many other manufactured products
nails
- inexpensive, fast and easy to install
- sized in pennies
- many shapes from different uses
- may be driven by hand or nail gum
screws
- greater holding power than nails
- more expensive and time-consuming to install
- some screws require pilot holes, some are self-drilling
- greater variety of shapes, sizes, head styles, driver shapes
bolts
- require pre-drilled holes
- mainly for structural connections in heavy timber framing and in wood light framing for fastening ledgers, beams, or other heavy
adhesives
form bonds that are at least as strong, stiff, and durable as the member they connect. Rated for full exterior exposure are capable of repeated, long-term soaking and drying without degradation of the wood bond
gang nails
a multipronged fastener made from stamped sheet metal used to join members of a lightwood truss
mechanical supports Joist hangers
a sheet metal device used to create a structural connection where a joist is framed into a header or a ledger
board measure/board foot
a unit of lumber volume, nominally 12 square inches in cross-sectional area and 1 foot long
How is lumber graded?
- based off a letter grade
- grade A face offers the most attractive appearance
- grade D face offers more knots and knotholes
preservative-treated wood
impregnated with chemical that are toxic to the biological organisms that attack the wood
acetylated wood
exposed to the chemical acetic anhydride, causing changes in the cell walls of the wood that make the wood less absorptive of water and thereby resistant to insect attack and deay
fire-retardant treatment
pressure impregnating wood with chemical salts that reduce wood combustibility
prefabricated panels
Can act structurally, or be attached to a structural frame
What is roof underlayment?
applied starting from the low point of the roof. working upward and overlapping in shingle fashion so that water running down cannot flow underneath. may be traditional building felt or newer synthetic fabrics
eave
the horizontal edge at the low side of a sloping roof
rake
a sloping brace for supporting sheeting around an excavation
fly rafter
a rafter in a rake overhang
lookout
a short rafter, running perpendicular to the other rafters in the roof that supports a rake overhang
drip edge
a discontinuity formed into the underside of a windowsill or wall component to force adhering drops of water to fall free of the face of the building rather than to move farther toward the interior
vapor barrier
a vapor retarder with a very vapor permeability
discuss what an ice dam is and how to prevent it
an obstruction along the eave of a roof, caused the refreezing of water emanating from melting snow on the roof surface above. solution is to put heating system under the roof tiles, create ventilation in the roof or just remove the eave of the house
how does an unventilated roof function compared to a ventilated roof?
with a ventilated roof, it continuously passes outside air through the vents and moves the air in the attic outwards. Unventilated roods can keep the heat in the attic and heats the top of the roof but not the eave. this can cause the ice or snow of the roof to melt but the ice or snow on the eave does not. this can create an ice damn
discuss how board siding is attached to the exterior and why?
- horizontally applies
- made of solid wood, wood composition board or fiber-cement, is usually nailed through the wall sheathing, into the studs ensuring secure attachment
stucco
a strong, durable, economical fire-resistant cladding material/ normally applied in three coats over wire lath. either applied by hand or by sprat apparatus. is a porous material
EIFS
a cladding system that consists of a reinforced stucco applied directly to the surface of an insulating foam broad
balloon frame
Wall studs are continuous the full height of the frame.
platform frame
Construction technique in which each floor of a building provides support for the floor above it. relies on shorter length framing members that are easier to produce, handle, and erect
rough sill
The lower framing member attached to the top of the lower cripple studs to form the base of a rough opening for a window.
cripples
Short boards that run vertically below and/or above windows and doors.
header
wood that run directly above an opening, adding support. letter A
jack stud
a shortened stud that carries a header above a wall opening (trimmer stud)
king stud
a full length stud nailed alongside a jack stud
sole plate
The plate placed at the bottom of a wall. letter D
Top plate (double top plate)
A horizontal structural member located on top of the studs used to hold the wall together. number 3
header height
the height from the header down to the bottom of the sole plate
components of a residential plumbing system
water enters the house through a buried line and branches into two parallel sets of distribution lines. one is for cold water. The other passes through the water heater and supplies hot water.
wastewater system in residential
all fixtures drain to the building drain through sloping or vertical branch lines
components of a residential HVAC systems
system needed for introducing minimum quantities of fresh outside air into the building interior and for providing dedicated exhausts at bathrooms and kitchens
describe how a radiant heating system functions
water moves through plastic pipes embedded in floors. these heated surfaces then radiate heat into the building spaces. ventilation air must be provided by some other system
