What is Roominess? The effect produced by deriving the maximum benefit from the minimum dimensions of a room is termed as roominess. Roominess is hence the accomplishment of economy of space without cramping of the plan. Particularly in case of residential buildings where considerable storage space is needed for various purposes, adequate provision for wall … Read more
Foundations are the mainstay of house construction as the stability and the performance of the structure above is dependent on it. The main design parameters for consideration in this respect are the depth and width of the foundation. Whereas depth of foundation is a function of the ‘Safe Bearing Capacity’ (SBC) of soil at a … Read more
Site selection has an important bearing on planning and designing of buildings. Generally, therefore, an architect has either to make a choice of suitable site or to plan his building structure to suit the available site. Factors to Consider During Selection of Building Site Natural defects of a site will involve considerable expenditure on construction … Read more
Types of Doors Based on Material of Manufacture There are large varieties of doors and windows which can either be manufactured or are available in the market for ready fixing. Based on the material of manufacture, some of their types along with their main feature, advantages and disadvantages are given here to facilitate easy selection … Read more
Types of Flooring Tiles Flooring Tiles in India have over the years gained popularity over the cemented and concrete flooring Tiles are available in different patterns, designs and utility options. Usually they are costlier than the cement concrete flooring and its cost depends upon the type of tile being used. Various types of flooring tiles … Read more
Walls are built to partition living area into different parts. They impart privacy and protection against temperature, rain and theft. Depending upon their functions, Walls may be classified into the following two primary classes Load bearing walls Partition walls. 1. Load Bearing Walls If beams and columns are not used, load from roof and floors … Read more
Repair of Ceiling Plaster There are many cases where the steel reinforcements corrode due to various causes such as lack of cover, leakage of roofs, etc. As steel rust occupies very much larger volume (more than 10 times) than steel, the surrounding concrete cracks and tends to get separated from steel and finally it falls … Read more
The below mentioned terminologies are used to express different forms of cut bricks used in brick masonry construction. 1. Closer It is the portion of the brick cut along the length in such a way as one long face remains intact. 2. Queen Closer When a brick is cut along its length, making it two … Read more
What is a Shear Wall Building? Reinforced concrete (RC) buildings often have vertical plate-like RC walls called Shear Walls (Figure 1) in addition to slabs, beams and columns. These walls generally start at foundation level and are continuous throughout the building height. Their thickness can be as low as 150mm, or as high as 400mm … Read more
The primary function of wall is to enclosure or divide the space. Basically wall is an essential component of the building. These walls may be built of different materials such as solid brick or stone masonry, plain monolithic concrete, reinforced masonry, hollow concrete blocks etc. Building walls can primarily be of two types, such as … Read more