1. Basic Building Construction
Week 4
Basic Building Construction

2. Objective
This chapter discusses basic building construction; building components, how they go together, terminology, and the drawings that show them

3. Introduction
The ability to interpret plumbing or mechanical systems drawings will enable you to check
If the fixtures and appliances you have specified have been acknowledged
If all is in place to receive them
Communication with tradespersons will be facilitated if the designer has a working knowledge of construction vocabulary and building parts

4. Introduction (cont’d.)
A building consists of
Substructure: everything below grade, or ground
Superstructure: everything above grade
Structural engineers
Design the foundation
Determine the size of and distance between all structural components needed to support the building’s stresses and loads

5. The Foundation The base upon which a building is placed
Provides a level surface to build on
Forms the basement walls, carries the building’s loads, or weights, and keeps moisture-sensitive materials off the ground to prevent rot and insect infestation
Foundation plan: shows walls, footings, grade beams, and pilasters
Basement plan: shows these elements plus interior

6. The Foundation (cont’d.)
Figure 7-3 Basement plan. It shows the same information as a foundation plan plus interior spaces.

7. Foundation Terms
Concrete: mixture of cement, water, aggregate, and possibly admixtures
Aggregate: blend of sand, rock, crushed gravel, and cinder ash
Admixture: chemical that makes concrete stronger or more workable
Footing: widened bottom of a foundation wall, pier, or column

8. Foundation Terms (cont’d.)
Structural member: carries the weight of other components
Beam: horizontal structural member
Grade beam: portion of a slab that is thicker than the rest
Pier: short post found under buildings, as in crawlspaces or porches

9. Foundation Terms (cont’d.)
Post: vertical, structural member outside a wall that supports beams
Column: vertical, structural member outside a wall that supports beams
Pilaster: post or column attached to a wall
Strengthens the wall where heavy beams will rest

10. Foundation Types
Slab-on-grade (monolithic foundation): concrete slab on the ground
T (spread footing or perimeter foundation): wall built on top of a footing, which is a wide base
Piers and columns: vertical structural members on square footings that support beams
Other types: stepped footings, piles, wood, brick, and stone

11. Foundation Types (cont’d.)
Figure 7-8 Pictorial showing grade beam, post, pier, column, foundation wall, and footing.

12. Foundation Materials
Cast or poured concrete and concrete block are the materials most commonly used to make foundations
Concrete masonry units (CMU): precast item
Concrete block: available in different shapes, sizes and weights
Typically manufactured in lengths of 16", heights of 8" and widths of 4", 6", 8", 10", and 12”

13. Foundation Materials (cont’d.)
Figure A concrete block wall. It is strengthened with reinforcing bar (rebar) and a bond beam, which is a course of bond blocks.

14. Wood Construction
Figure Components of a wood skeleton–framed house

15. Wood Construction Terms
Dimensional lumber: wood used for framing
Engineered wood products (EWP): wood veneers and fibers that have been laminated to produce longer-spanning, load-bearing
Oriented strand board: wood product made of layers of wood and glue pressed together to create 4' 8' panels

16. Wood Construction Terms (cont’d.)
Beam: umbrella term for a horizontal load-bearing member of wood, steel, and/or concrete
Girder: large beam that supports smaller beams
Rafter: inclined beam at the roof
Joist: horizontal beam in ceilings and floors
Lintel: beam over a door or window

17. Wood Construction Terms (cont’d.)
Trussed rafter: fabricated member placed at the roof, consisting of an upper chord, a lower chord, and a web
Trussed joist: fabricated member with parallel upper and lower chords
Stud: vertical load-bearing member inside a wall
Cripples: short studs placed above or below a wall opening

18. Wood Construction Terms (cont’d.)
Figure D and 3-D views of a wood-framed wall.

19. Wood Construction Terms (cont’d.)
Plate: horizontal board
Bottom plates evenly distribute loads placed on them
Top plates tie studs together
Sheathing: vertical covering of boards on exterior walls that goes under the final finish
Decking: horizontal covering of boards on the roof or floor

20. Wood Frame Types Post-and-beam Skeleton
Timber framing: oldest framing method and was the method of wood building used throughout the world for 2,000 years
Skeleton
Balloon
Platform

21. Masonry Bond: arrangement of brick or blocks in a wall
Mortar: mixture of cement, sand, and water that hardens used as binding agent
Wythe: continuous vertical section of a masonry wall, one unit in thickness

22. Masonry
Veneer: non-load bearing, aesthetic masonry facing attached to, and supported by, a structural backing
Brick: rectangular mass of clay hardened by heat

23. Masonry (cont’d.)
Figure Brick laid in walls. Cavity walls enable the positioning of header bricks.

24. Masonry (cont’d.) Stone: rock or hard mineral matter Glass block
Acrylic block
Structural clay tile
Terra-cotta
Four masonry wall construction types
Solid, cavity, faced, and veneer

25. Steel Terms Arch: bent truss
Rigid frame: consists of two columns and a beam or truss
Prefabricated components: made into units and assembled at a factory
Two types of steel construction
Steel skeleton and large-span construction

26. Construction Drawings
Title page or cover sheet
Survey
Structural discipline drawings
Architectural discipline drawings
Heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, ventilation (HVAC) and plumbing discipline drawings

27. Summary Buildings are made of wood, steel, and concrete
Components are made on site or fabricated in standardized sizes in factories
Techniques and systems have evolved throughout the years in step with technology advancements
Understanding buildings’ basic construction is necessary to competently draft drawings that describe them