MODULE III

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND

BUILDING SERVICES
(PPT-I)
Building
The word ‘building’ commonly refers to an enclosed structure within which people can perform activities.

A building structure is a man-made structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one
place, such as a house, apartments.

In General, Buildings classified is based on three categories.

• Based on the occupancy.

• Based on the type of construction

• Based on design and height?

(a) Based on occupancy and use (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, India, The
International Building Code (IBC 2018) and Uniform Building Code (UBC))
• Assembly Buildings: Used public gatherings, meetings, congregated with the intent of amusement,
recreation, social, religious, patriotic, civil, travel or other similar purposes.

• Business Buildings: Building or a part of it is primarily used for keeping records of business transactions,
maintaining accounts, bookkeeping purposes or managing other types of records.

• Educational Buildings: Used by educational institutions such as schools or colleges which are affiliated
and recognized by an appropriate board, university or any similar affiliation authority.

• Factory and Industrial Buildings: Buildings used to manufacture, assemble or process products or
materials are termed as industrial buildings.

• Hazardous Buildings: Buildings used for the manufacture, processing, handling or storage of substances
which are hazardous in nature or processing of product is hazardous.
• Institutional Buildings: buildings that are constructed by the government, semi-government organizations
or registered trusts for specific purposes.

• Mercantile Building: Entire building or a part of it is used for housing shops, stores or showrooms where
display and sale of wholesale goods, retail goods or merchandise is carried out.

• Residential Buildings: used for normal residential purposes and facilitate activities such as sleeping, living
and cooking. The building must include one or more family residencies, apartments, flats and private
garages.

• Storage Buildings: Entire building or a part of it is used for the storage of commodities, goods,
merchandise, etc.

• Mixed Land Use Buildings: buildings used for both residential purposes as well as for carrying out non-
residential activities.

• Utility and Miscellaneous Buildings:

(b) Buildings are classified into 5 categories based on the type of construction:
• Fire resistive Buildings (Type 1A , 1B)

• Non–Combustible Buildings (Type 2A, 2B)

• Ordinary Buildings (Type 3A, 3B)

• Heavy timber Buildings (Type 4)

• Wood framed Buildings (Type 5A, 5B)

(c) Based on design and height

Detached Buildings: A building comprising roofs and walls which is detached from any other building and has
open spaces within its boundaries is termed as a detached building.

Semi-Detached Buildings: These are buildings which are detached from any other building on three sides and
have open spaces on all those sides. (Open spaces have been defined as integral parts of the site which are left
open to the sky.)

Low-rise Building: As per the Indian Building Code norms for fire safety, all buildings up to the height of 15 m
from the first access point for a fire engine, are considered low-rise constructions.

Multi-Storey or High Rise Buildings: All buildings comprising more than 4 stories and/or buildings with height
more than 15 meters (without stilt) or 17.5 meters (with stilt) above the average level of the front road have
been categorized as high rise buildings.
Basic components & parts of buildings
A building has three basic requirements and components. They are -

a) Foundation/Substructure: A part of building below plinth level, which used to support the loads of
superstructure and other loads on superstructure.

b) Plinth: The level at which substructure ends and superstructure starts is called Plinth level. A plinth is a
base or platform that's used to support something else above the ground. The plinth is generally
network of tie beams which supports the walls. These are lowest most beams. Plinth beam is generally
an RCC member

c) Superstructure: Part of building above the plinth is called superstructure. It might be above or below
the ground level.
(a) Foundation/Substructure
The function of foundation is the transfer of loads from the superstructure to the underlying soil.

• It distribute building load uniformly on soil

• Reduces differential settlement of building

• Provide safety against sliding and overturning

• Provide a level surface for the construction of substructure

• Resistance against Scouring and the undermining

b) Plinth:
The plinth height is in between 300mm – 450 mm from ground level. It is recommended that the minimum plinth
height of 150 mm is adopted from the top of the road.

• Plinth beam is provided to prevent the extension or propagation of cracks from the foundation into the wall
above when the foundation suffers from settlement.

• Plinth beams distributes the load of the wall over the foundation either directly or through columns .

• To Control/Avoid Differential Settlement

(c) Super Structures
The portion of structure above the plinth level is called superstructure. It is generally, a portion of building
above the ground surface. It includes walls, columns, beams, floors, roofs, doors, windows, lintels, staircases,
parapet, mumty etc.
Type of superstructure based on load transfer mechanism
• Load-bearing structure: load-bearing members are walls, the load is directly transfers to foundation from walls.

• Framed structure: load-bearing members are beams and columns. The load are transfer to foundation through
the network of columns and beams.
Function of superstructure components:
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.

Floor: It is the place where the inhabitants perform their most activities. Provide leveled surface. It should safely
support the loads placed on it, together with its own weight. (weight of people using the building, plus their
belongings such as furniture, equipment, or machinery).

Walls: Walls are usually of two types:

(a) Load bearing walls; (b)Partition walls

May transfer the loads either directly to foundation or indirectly through beams and columns.

Walls in buildings support roofs, floors and ceilings; to enclose a space as part of the building envelope along with a
roof to give buildings form; and to provide shelter and security.

The wall may house various types of utilities such as electrical wiring or plumbing. Resistance to heat passage; Sound
resistance
Beams: Beams are horizontal member and are used to
support the weight of floors, ceilings and roofs of a
building and to transfer the load to columns.

Columns: Columns are vertical structural elements

where the load is transferred parallel to the
longitudinal axis as compression, and sometimes as
tension. Columns transmit the load of beams and all
above them.

Beams and columns, together creates a safe load path

to transfer the weight and forces on a structure to the
foundations and into the ground.
Slab: A slab is a structural element, made of concrete, and supported by beams. It is used to create flat
horizontal surfaces such as floors, roof decks and ceilings. To Provide a flat surface. Act as Sound, heat and fire
insulator. The upper slab becomes the ceiling for the storey beneath it. Space between slab and ceiling can be
used for placing building utilities.

Roof: It is the top covering of a building. The basic purpose of any roof is to provide protection to persons inside
a building from mother nature and theft (thief, sunshine; weather change, rain, snow, sleet, hail and high winds).
Arches and Lintels: Arch and lintel are provided above doors,
windows, passages and any opening. The function of an arch and a
lintel is to carry the weight of the structure above the opening.

It is a structural horizontal support used to span an opening in a wall

or between two vertical supports. Lintels are generally a beam, used
for load-bearing purposes, but they can also be decorative.
Stairs (stairway, staircase, stairwell, flight of stairs, or simply stairs): It is a
construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into
smaller vertical distances. Step' refers to the individual parts of a staircase.

Parapet wall: Parapet wall is an extension of the wall at the edge of the roof
that creates a barrier. It is constructed above the roofline that usually spans
around the perimeter of a building.

Chhajja: A chhajja is the projecting or overhanging eaves or cover of a roof,

usually supported on large carved brackets. They are mainly used for
protection the window and doors from forces like the sun and rain.
Types of loads
The types of loads acting on structures for buildings and other structures
can be broadly classified based on two criteria:

(a) Based on the direction: vertical loads (gravity load), horizontal loads
(wind load) and inclined load.

(b) Based on the source/origin: Wind load, earthquake load, self weight,
live load, blast load, temperature stress, etc.

(c) Based on time-variation: Static, dynamic, impulse, pseudo-static, etc.

(d) Based on the mode of action/analysis point-of-view: Concentrated or

point load, distributed load, moment, pressure etc.
Loads acting on a structure:

Dead loads: These are permanent or stationary loads which are

transferred to structure throughout the life span. Dead load is
predominantly due to self weight of structural members (beams,
columns, roofs etc.), permanent partition walls, fixed or
permanent things and weight of different materials. It majorly
consists of the weight of roofs, beams, walls and column etc.
which are otherwise the permanent parts of the building.

Imposed Loads or Live Loads: Loads, whose magnitude changes

from time to time. These loads are to be suitably assumed by the
designer. These are either movable or moving loads.
Wind loads: Wind load is mostly horizontal load caused by
the wind. Wind load becomes critical with an increase in
height of building.

Snow loads: Snow loads is due to snow deposits in the

building. But these loads are considered only in the snow fall
places. Direction of snow load depends on direction of roofs.

Earthquake loads: Earthquake forces acts both on vertical

and horizontal direction. The total vibration caused by
earthquake may be resolved into three mutually
perpendicular directions, usually taken as vertical and two
horizontal directions.

Special loads: Foundation movement, Vibration, Soil and

fluid pressure
Thermal Loads Settlement Loads
Lateral Soil and Hydro-static Loads
Brick Bonds
Brick masonry is built with bricks that are bonded together with mortar. Mud mortar can be used for temporary
sheds, but for all permanent buildings, lime or cement mortars are used.

The different types of bonds that are generally used in brick masonry are

• Stretcher bond

• Header bond

• English bond and

• Flemish bond

• Stack Bond

• Facing Bond

• Diagonal Bond
Faces of a bricks
There are 6 possible faces of brick:
(a) Stretcher; (b) Header; (c) Sailor; (d) Soldier; (e) Rowlock; (f) Rowlock

However, there two face which are mostly used in brick masonry.
Common cut brick shapes.

(HALF BAT)
(a) Stretcher Bond
• A stretcher is the longer face of the brick as seen in the elevation.

• The average size of the brick is 9cmx9cmx18cm.

• Stretcher bond is used when walls of half brick thickness (9cm )are to be constructed.

• The bond will fail if the thickness of the walls is more than half of the length of the brick.
(b) Header Bond
The square face of the brick which measures (9cm x 9cm x 9cm) is called as “header”.

When all the bricks are placed as headers on the faces of the walls, the bond formed is called “Header Bond”.

Header bond is used for the construction of walls with full brick thickness which measures 18cm.

Header bond is also known as heading bond.

The overlap is kept equal to half width of the brick. To achieve this, three quarter brick bats are used in
alternate courses at the start.
(c) English Bond
It consist of alternate courses of headers and stretchers.

It is considered as strongest bond. Hence it is commonly used bond for the walls of all thicknesses.

To break continuity of vertical joints a brick is cut lengthwise into two halves (queen closer) and used in the

beginning and end of a wall after first header.

Flemish bond
In this type of bond each course comprises of alternate header and stretcher. Alternate courses start with
stretcher and header.

To break the vertical joints queen closers are required, if a course starts with header.

Every header is centrally supported on the stretcher below it.

Flemish bonds may be further classified as: (a) Single Flemish bond; (b) Double Flemish bond.

(a) Single Flemish bond is a combination of English bond and Flemish bond. In this work the facing of the wall
consists of Flemish bond and the backing consists of English bond in each course. This type of bonding cannot
be adopted in walls less than one and a half brick in thickness.

(b) In Double Flemish Bond, each course presents the same appearance both in the front and back elevations.
Every course consists of headers and stretchers laid alternately. This type of bond is best suited from
considerations of economy and appearance.