Building construction handbook

BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION
HANDBOOK
Sixth edition

R. Chudley
MCIOB

and

R. Greeno
BA (Hons) FCIOB FIPHE FRSA

AMSTERDAM  BOSTON  HEIDELBERG  LONDON  NEW YORK  OXFORD
PARIS  SAN DIEGO  SAN FRANCISCO  SINGAPORE  SYDNEY  TOKYO
Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier


Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier
Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP
30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA
First edition 1998
Second edition 1995
Third edition 1998
Reprinted 1999, 2000
Fourth edition 2001
Fifth edition 2004
Sixth edition 2006
Copyright ß 1988, 1995, 1996, R. Chudley
Copyright ß 1998, 2001, 2004, 2006, R. Chudley and R. Greeno. All rights reserved

Illustrations by the authors
The right of R. Chudley and R. Greeno to be identified as the authors of this work has been
asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in
any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise
without the prior written permission of the publisher. Permissions may be sought directly
from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone (+44) (0)
1865 843830; fax (+44) (0) 1865 853333; email: Alternatively
you can submit your request online by visiting the Elsevier web site at />locate/permissions, and selecting Obtaining permission to use Elsevier material
Notice
No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or
property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or
operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Control Number: 2005938728
ISBN-13: 978-0-7506-6822-4
ISBN-10: 0-7506-6822-9
For information on all Butterworth-Heinemann publications
visit our web site at
Typeset by Keyword Typesetting Services Ltd
Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Cornwall
06 07 08 09 10

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1


CONTENTS
Preface vii
Part One General

Built environment 2
The structure 5
Primary and secondary elements 12
Component parts and functions 15
Construction activities 18
Construction documents 19
Construction drawings 20
Building surveys 27
Method statement and programming 31
Weights and densities of building materials 33
Drawings – notations 35
Planning application 39
Modular coordination 44
Construction regulations 46
CDM regulations 47
Safety signs and symbols 48
Building Regulations 50
British Standards 56
European Standards 57
CPI System of Coding 59
CI/SfB system of coding 60
Part Two

Site Works

Site survey 63
Site investigations 64
Soil investigation 66
Soil assessment and testing 73

Site layout considerations 80
Site security 83
Site lighting and electrical supply 86
Site office accommodation 90
Materials storage 93
Materials testing 98
Protection orders for trees and structures 105
Locating public utility services 106
Setting out 107


Contents
Levels and angles 111
Road construction 114
Tubular scaffolding and scaffolding systems 122
Shoring systems 134
Part Three

Builders Plant

General considerations 144
Bulldozers 147
Scrapers 148
Graders 149
Tractor shovels 150
Excavators 151
Transport vehicles 156
Hoists 159
Rubble chutes and skips 161
Cranes 162

Concreting plant 174
Part Four Substructure

Foundations – function, materials and sizing 183
Foundation beds 192
Short bored pile foundations 198
Foundation types and selection 200
Piled foundations 205
Retaining walls 223
Basement construction 242
Waterproofing basements 245
Excavations 251
Concrete production 257
Cofferdams 263
Caissons 265
Underpinning 267
Ground water control 278
Soil stabilisation and improvement 286
Reclamation of waste land 291
Contaminated sub-soil treatment 292
Part Five Superstructure

Choice of materials 296
Brick and block walls 297
Damp-proof courses and membranes 317
Gas resistant membranes 324
Calculated brickwork 326
Mortars 329
Arches and openings 332

Contents
Windows, glass and glazing 339
Domestic and industrial doors 361
Crosswall construction 370
Timber frame construction 372
Steel frame construction 374
Reinforced concrete framed structures 386
Reinforcement types 390
Formwork 393
Precast concrete frames 398
Structural steelwork 409
Portal frames 422
Composite timber beams 430
Multi-storey structures 432
Roofs – basic forms 434
Pitched and flat roofs 438
Plain tiling 445
Single lap tiling 451
Slating 453
Dormer windows 462
Dry and wet rot 471
Long span roofs 479
Shell roof construction 485
Rooflights 494
Cladding to external walls 498
Panel walls 501
Rainscreen cladding 505
Structural glazing 507
Curtain walling 508

Concrete claddings 512
Thermal insulation 517
Thermal bridging 536
Access for the disabled 540
Part Six Internal Construction and Finishes

Internal elements 545
Internal walls 546
Construction joints 551
Partitions 552
Plasters and plastering 557
Dry lining techniques 559
Wall tiling 563
Domestic floors and finishes 565
Large cast insitu ground floors 571
Concrete floor screeds 573
Timber suspended floors 575
Lateral restraint 578


Contents
Timber beam design 581
Reinforced concrete suspended floors 583
Precast concrete floors 588
Raised access floors 591
Sound insulation 592
Timber, concrete and metal stairs 597
Internal doors 620
Doorsets 623
Fire resisting doors 624

Plasterboard ceilings 629
Suspended ceilings 630
Paints and painting 634
Joinery production 638
Composite boarding 643
Plastics in building 645
Part Seven Domestic Services

Drainage effluents 648
Subsoil drainage 649
Surface water removal 651
Road drainage 654
Rainwater installations 658
Drainage systems 660
Drainage pipe sizes and gradients 668
Water supply 669
Cold water installations 671
Hot water installations 673
Flow controls 676
Cisterns and cylinders 677
Pipework joints 679
Sanitary fittings 680
Single and ventilated stack systems 683
Domestic hot water heating systems 686
Electrical supply and installation 690
Gas supply and gas fires 699
Services–fire stops and seals 703
Open fireplaces and flues 704
Telephone installations 713
Electronic communications installations 714

Index

715


PREFACE
This book presents the basic concepts of techniques of building construction,
mainly by means of drawings illustrating typical construction details, processes
and concepts. I have chosen this method because it reflects the primary means of
communication on site between building designer and building contractor – the
construction drawing or detail. It must be stressed that the drawings used here
represent typical details, chosen to illustrate particular points of building
construction or technology; they do not constitute the alpha and omega of any
buildings design, detail or process. The principles they illustrate must therefore, in
reality, be applied to the data of the particular problem or situation encountered.
This new edition has been revised by Roger Greeno, in line with current building
regulations.
Readers who want to pursue to greater depth any of the topics treated here will
find many useful sources of information in specialist textbooks, research reports,
manufacturer’s literature, codes of practice and similar publications. One such
subject is building services, which are dealt with here only in so far as they are
applicable to domestic dwellings. A comparable but much wider treatment of
services is given in Building Services Handbook by F. Hall and R. Greeno, also
published by Butterworth-Heinemann.
In conclusion, I hope that this book will not only itself prove useful and helpful
to the reader, but will act as a stimulus to the observation of actual buildings and
the study of works in progress. In this way the understanding gained here will be
continually broadened and deepened by experience.
R.C.

PREFACE TO SIXTH EDITION
This new edition enlarges and updates the previous edition. It includes numerous
revisions, amendments and additions in line with ongoing practice and legislative
changes. Notwithstanding the progressive changes, traditional techniques are
retained in support of established construction methods, as much of today’s
construction is related to restoration and repair of our heritage.
Included are features of construction that are designed to economise and
manage the use of fuel energy in buildings and limit the effect on atmospheric
pollution. This incorporates high efficiency heating equipment (see also the
companion volume Building Services Handbook), thermal envelope, air-tightness
of structure and reference to carbon emissions. Some coverage of human rights
issues with regard to the less able is also included, with respect to access into
buildings and the use of facilities therein.
Construction is a diverse industry, therefore the book’s content is by no means
extensive nor is it intended to be prescriptive, as there are many practical solutions
to achieving design objectives. By definition this publication is a Handbook, and as
such it provides guidance through simple illustrations and comprehensive text.
Further reading is encouraged and, where appropriate, subjects are provided with
supplementary reference sources.
R.G.



1 GEN ER AL

BUILT ENVIRONMENT
THE STRUCTURE
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY ELEMENTS
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES
CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS

CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS
BUILDING SURVEY
CDM REGULATIONS
SAFETY SIGNS AND SYMBOLS
PLANNING APPLICATION
MODULAR COORDINATION
CONSTRUCTION REGULATIONS
BUILDING REGULATIONS
BRITISH STANDARDS
EUROPEAN STANDARDS
CPI SYSTEM OF CODING
CI/SFB SYSTEM OF CODING

1


Built Environment
Environment = surroundings which can be natural, man-made or a
combination of these.
Built Environment = created by man with or without the aid of the
natural environment.

2


Built Environment
Environmental Considerations
1. Planning requirements.
2. Building Regulations.
3. Land restrictions by vendor

or lessor.
4. Availability of services.
5. Local amenities including
transport.
6. Subsoil conditions.
7. Levels and topography
of land.
8. Adjoining buildings or land.
9. Use of building.
10. Daylight and view aspects.

3


Built Environment
Physical considerations
1. Natural contours of land.
2. Natural vegetation and trees.
3. Size of land and/or proposed building.
4. Shape of land and/or proposed building.
5. Approach and access roads and footpaths.
6. Services available.
7. Natural waterways, lakes and ponds.
8. Restrictions

such

as

rights

of

way;

tree

preservation

and

ancient buildings.
9. Climatic conditions created by surrounding properties, land or
activities.
10. Proposed future developments.

4


The Structure—Basic Types

5


The Structure—Basic Types

6


The Structure—Basic Forms

7


The Structure—Basic Forms

8


The Structure—Basic Forms
Shell

Roofs

~

these

are

formed

by

a

structural

curved

skin

covering a given plan shape and area.

9


The Structure—Basic Forms

10


Substructure
Substructure

~

can

be

defined

as

all

structure

below

the

superstructure which in general terms is considered to include all
structure below ground level but including the ground floor bed.

11


Superstructure and Primary Elements
Superstructure

~

can

be

defined

as

all

structure

above

substructure both internally and externally.
Primary Elements ~ basically components of the building carcass

above the substructure excluding secondary elements, finishes, services and fittings.

12


Secondary Elements
Secondary

Elements

~

completion

of

the

structure

including

completion around and within openings in primary elements.

13


Finishes
Finish

~

the

final

surface

which

can

be

self

finished

as

with

trowelled concrete surface or an applied finish such as floor tiles.

14

a


Structure—Component Parts and Functions

15


Structure—Component Parts and Functions

16