Quality Control for Brickwork Bricks should be soaked in water for at least one hour before use for brickwork in cement and lime mortars. The bricks should be sufficiently soaked before use but not excessively so. The absence of bubbling when the soaked brick is immersed in water is the test for through soaking. Also … Read more
Root Pile Construction Root piles are very small diameter piles (generally 60 mm to 135 mm). Length of the root piles generally vary within 4 m to 30 m. The concept of root pile was first introduced by an Italian engineer named F. Lizzi. His primary concern behind root pile development was to do underpinning … Read more
Construction of Low Cost Brick Walkway The primary aim for construction of a walkway is to provide easy access within a garden, awn or yard. Because in rainy season, water collected on the ground surface makes it sloppy or muddy. This causes difficulty in easy access. To avoid this we can build an inexpensive brick … Read more
Repair of Cracks in Reinforced Concrete Beams & Columns The primary cause of corrosion of steel in concrete is due to carbonation or due to chloride. Corrosion is electro-chemical process which results in formation of rust. The volume of rust formed due to steel corrosion is more than the volume of original steel. This increase … Read more
Scaffolding Scaffolding is a temporary rigid structure made of still, bamboo or timber. The primary aim of constructing a scaffold is to create a platform on which mason can work at different heights. Scaffolds also help to lift materials for the immediate uses at different heights. Common Types of Scaffolding The following 4 types of … Read more
The main objective of thermal insulation of heat insulation of a building is to conserve a constant heat or temperature inside building, irrespective of temperature changes outside. Methods of Heat Insulation or Thermal Insulation The heat in a building structure is mainly transmitted through the roofs, exposed walls and exposed wall openings, such as windows, … Read more
What is Shuttering or Formwork? As fresh concrete is in a plastic state, when it is placed for construction purposes, so it becomes necessary to provide some temporary structure to confine and support the concrete, till it gains sufficient strength for self supporting. This temporary structure is called formwork or shuttering. Requirements of Formwork or … Read more
White Washing of Wall Surface The complete process of white washing can be carried out under the following operations. Preparation of white wash Preparation of surface Application of white wash Step-1 [Preparation of White Wash] The white wash is prepared from fresh burnt shell lime or pure stone lime mixed with water. Shell lime is … Read more
Improving Earthquake Resistance of Small Buildings The earthquake resistance of small buildings may be increased by taking some precautions and measures in site selections, building planning and constructions as explained below: 1. Site Selection The building constructions should be avoided on (a) Near unstable embankments (b) On sloping ground with columns of different heights (c) … Read more
Supervision of Brick Work Construction The following points should be kept in mind during supervision of brick work. Before using the bricks in construction it should be checked for its physical properties (such as strength, dimension, water absorption etc). Bricks must conform to the designer’s specification. Prior to use bricks in construction, it should be … Read more