Parts of a Building

They are as follows:

1. Foundation,

2. Plinth,

3. Walls and columns,

4. Floors,

5. Lintels and chajjas,

6. Roof,

7. Doors and windows,

8. Stairs and lifts,

9. Finishing work (plastering and painting),

10. Building services,

11. Fencing and external works.,



A building can be divided into substructure (foundation) and superstructure, the plinth level being the dividing line between them.


In building construction, we study how the civil works are carried out in the field after they have been planned by an architect and structurally designed by an engineer.

We should be aware that many aspects are involved in the preliminary planning and design of buildings.

For example, an architect specializes in the following works:

1. Planning the orientation, layout, and dimension of the rooms of the building

2. The preparation of the features to make the building attractive.

Work of this nature for small buildings may be taken by non-architects also.

However, the construction of a building should always be carried out under the supervision of a qualified person.

We will now briefly examine the construction of the different components of a building.
1. Foundation.

Foundation is a very important part of a building.

All the loads of superstructure are transmitted to the foundation.

A foundation engineer should know how to examine the soil profile and arrive at a suitable foundation.

The following are some of the different types of foundation generally used:

1. Strip foundation (shallow foundations)

2. Footing foundation (shallow foundations)

3. Raft foundation (shallow foundations)

4. Pile foundation (deep foundations)


5. Pier foundation (deep foundations).

In framed construction, we use footings as the foundation for the column and the brickwork for walls starts from grade beams connecting columns.

(Grade beams on under-reamed piles are also called capping beams).
Read Also: Unit Weight of Building Materials [A Complete List].
2. Plinth

The plinth is a dividing line between the substructure and superstructure.

Thus, the projecting part of the wall above the ground level to the floor level is the plinth.

The plinth is usually kept at least 45 cm (1.5 ft) above the general ground level of the building.
3. Plinth Beam.

It is capped by a beam called plinth beam.

The provision of a plinth beam and damp-proof course at plinth level are very important in building construction.
4. Damp Proof Course (D.P.C).

The damp proof course is a layer provided in building to prevent the entering of dampness from the ground to the building components.
5. Walls and Columns.

Walls are mostly made of masonry.

It may be of brick, block-work, stonework, etc.

Buildings may also be constructed as a framed structure with columns and footings and
then Walled.

Most of the flats and high-rise buildings are built this way.

In many places in the masonry, we use arches and lintels.
6.Floors.

Floor is an important part of a building.

It is the place where the inhabitants perform their most activities.

It is constructed on the filling and laid over the plinth level.

Floors are usually made from different types of materials, such as, timber, brick, R.C.C.

Top floors are nowadays usually made of reinforced concrete.
Read Also: Fineness Test of Cement; Its Apparatus, Procedure.
7. Roof.

A roof is an important part of all buildings.

The most important item in housing is to have a “roof over one’s head.”

A roof is a layer which covers the structure from the top.

It also prevents the building and inhabitants from the ill effects of the environment.

Depending on the finances available and also the climatic conditions, we can have different kinds of roofs.

Roofs can be sloped or flat.

Many types of roofs and roofing materials are available nowadays.
Watch the video below for better understanding.




8. Fabrication of Doors and Windows.

Openings are necessary in buildings for passages inside and outside the buildings.

We also need windows for lighting and ventilation.

A detailed study of doors and windows is an important part of building construction as the expenditure on this item alone can go up to 15 to 20 percent of the total cost of civil works.

Traditionally, doors and windows were made of wood and hence, this work is sometimes referred to as woodwork in buildings.

Other woodworks like provision of cupboards are also important, but it comes under the subject of interior decoration.
Read Also: Construction Specifications; Its Types, Importance.
9. Stairs and Lifts.

Nowadays most buildings are made more than one storey high.

Which means there should be a way to go from one storey of the building to another.

Knowledge of various elements of a staircase and the construction of a simple staircase is essential to all those involved in building construction.

Study of the layout and design of ornamental staircases is a special subject.

Usually, vertical transportation devices like electric lifts are to be provided in buildings having more than four floors including the ground floor.

We must also be familiar with these devices.
10. Building Finishes.

The final appearance of a building depends very much on its finishing.

We have to deal with the following:

1. Plastering and pointing

2. Painting of walls, woodwork, grillwork, etc.

It is essential that we have a knowledge of the finishing to be used on the various materials of construction such as plaster, wood, metals, etc.
11. Building Services.

Water supply, drainage, sanitation, electric supply lifts, external works, construction of cupboard, etc. are considered as items outside of civil works and are called building services.
Water supply, drainage, and sanitation (building service).

These works are considered separate from civil works and are also estimated separately.

Design and details of these will be studied in public health engineering under building services.

However, an elementary treatment of the subject is always included in basic building construction.

Fluid and its type

Fluids undergo continuous deformation, i.e. fluids always keep flowing. To define fluid, it is a substance that does not possess a definite shape and easily yields to external pressure. Fluid is any liquid or gas or any material that is unable to withstand a shearing or tangential force, when at rest. When the said forces are applied to the fluid, it goes through a continuous change in shape. Fluids are substances with zero shear modulus, i.e they cannot resist the shear force applied to them.

In our day-to-today life, we would have heard the dehydrated patient advised to consume more fluids to compensate for the water loss. Fluids help in the digestion of food, hence we need to take more fluids.

Classification of Fluids

Fluids are classified into four types depending on its flow, they are:Steady or unsteady

Compressible or incompressible

Viscous or non-viscous

Rotational or irrotational

Steady fluid: It is the fluid whose density remains constant at each and every point while flowing.

Unsteady fluid: It is the fluid whose velocity differs between any two points while flowing.

Compressible fluid and incompressible fluids: These are classified based on the mach number. The incompressible fluid has mach number<0.3 and the compressible fluid has mach number between 0.3 and 1.

Viscous or Non-viscous

Fluids with more thickness or viscosity are known as viscous fluids, they are generally very gloppy fluids. Examples: shampoo and motor oil.

Fluids with comparatively less thickness or viscosity are known as non-viscous fluids. These are the fluids with no resistance or negligible resistance to internal friction. Non-viscous fluids flow without any loss of kinetic energy.

Example: Superfluid liquid helium

 

SOIL FORMATION 

                                            by Mr.Bright Brabin Winsley J

Soils differ from one part of the world to another, even from one part of a backyard to another. They differ because of where and how they formed. Climate, organisms, relief (landscape), parent material and time are five major factors of interaction creating different types of soils.

Climate: Temperature and moisture influence the speed of chemical reactions, which in turn help control how fast rocks weather and dead organisms decompose. Soils develop faster in warm, moist climates and slowest in cold or arid ones.

Rainfall is one of the most important climate factors in soil formation.

Organisms: Plants root, animals burrow, and bacteria eat – these and other organisms speed up the breakdown of large soil particles into smaller ones. For instance, roots produce carbon dioxide that mixes with water and forms an acid that wears away rock.

Termites can generate mounds in the soil that are three stories tall!!!

Relief (landscape): The shape of the land and the direction it faces make a difference in how much sunlight the soils gets and how much water it keeps. Deeper soils form at the bottom of a hill because gravity and water move soil particles down the slope.

Soils are different depending on the location in the slope that they are located.

Parent material: Every soil “inherits” traits from the parent material from which it formed. For example, soils that form from limestone are rich in calcium and soils that form from materials at the bottom of lakes are high in clay. Every soil formed from parent material deposited at the Earth's surface. The material could have been bedrock that weathered in place or smaller materials carried by flooding rivers, moving glaciers, or blowing winds. Parent material is changed through biological, chemical and environmental processes, such as weathering and erosion.

These are soils forming in real time from the side of the volcano. They form into rock first, then weather into fertile soil.

Time: All of these factors work together over time. Older soils differ from younger soils because they have had longer to develop. As soil ages, it starts to look different from its parent material. That is because soil is dynamic. Its components—minerals, water, air, organic matter, and organisms—constantly change. Components are added and lost. Some move from place to place within the soil. And some components are totally changed, or transformed.

 

       Smart Building by Abishek G L

Buildings of the future are designed to make human lives easier with the help of complex, smart technology.

Often described as smart buildings or intelligent buildings, buildings of the future are any structures that use integrated processes, smart engineering or creative design to self-regulate the building’s environment and operations.

A human-centred approach to design is at the core of buildings of the future. From the moment people step inside until the moment they leave, a building of the future will have the capability to determine the percentage of the workforce inside the building at any given time and automatically adjust the settings of its facilities according to their feedback and needs – from WiFi connections, lighting, electricity, heat, ventilation and air conditioning, buildings of the future place people at the centre.

Although they are often described as intelligent or smart, buildings of the future are not simply about the use of integrated technology to create reactive environments – they are about people, and how people will use these structures now and in the future.