HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY

HARAMAYA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTEMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION
For
Graduate Students
April 2024
(Dawit A. and Dagmawi H.)
CONTENTS
 Introduction
 General
 Building Classifications
 Classification based on occupancies
 Classification based on types of construction

 Components of a Building
 Design and performance requirements

 Project life cycle of a building

 Participants in building project

 The main considerations in architectural design of buildings for all
purpose are:
Climate and its effect
People and their requirements
Materials for construction and method of construction
Regulations and building codes

 Requirements which must be satisfied for the construction of a

modern house are:
 A plot of land
 Permission from local authorities
 Materials for building
 Skilled labourers for the erection
 Finance
 Professionals, such as architects and engineers

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Building: is an assemblage that is firmly attached to the ground and
that provides total or nearly total shelter for machines, processing
equipment, performance of human activities, storage of human
possessions, or any combination of these.
Building design: is the process of providing all information
necessary for construction of a building that will meet its owner’s
requirements and also satisfy public health, welfare, and safety
requirements.
Building Construction: is the process of assembling materials to
form a building based on the building design.

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 Buildings can be generally classified in different groups depending
upon their occupancy of use or types of construction.

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1. Residential buildings: include houses occupied by
persons where living accommodations are
provided.
Ex. private residences, apartments, dormitories,
hotels, etc.

2. Educational buildings: include any building used

for educational instructions.
Ex. Schools

3. Assembly buildings: include any building where

group of people gather for amusement, recreation,
social, political, religious and similar purposes.
Ex. theatres, halls, places of worship, etc.

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4. Business buildings: any building which is used
for the transaction of business, for professional
services and for keeping accounts & records for
similar purpose.
Ex. Garages, barbershops, city halls, courthouses,
libraries, etc.
5. Mercantile buildings: any building which is used
as shops, stores, market, and for display and sale
of merchandise.
Ex. Shopping malls
6. Industrial buildings: any building or structure in
which products or materials of all kinds are
fabricated, assembled, finished or processed.
Ex. Assembly plants

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7. Institutional buildings: any building which is used
for purposes such as medical or other treatment or
care or for penal or correctional detention.
Ex. hospitals, prisons, etc

8. Storage buildings: any building which is used for

storage or sheltering of goods, merchandise,
agricultural products, raw materials etc.
Ex. ware houses, barns, etc

9. Hazardous buildings: any building used for

storage, handling, manufacturing or processing of
highly inflammable, combustible or explosive
materials.
Ex. explosive storage

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 Buildings are classified on the basis of resistance to fire of the
elements of the buildings.

Type-1 Fire-resisting construction:

 Type of construction in which the elements of the building, which

include the floors, walls, columns and the roof itself, are non-
combustible.
 The building is sufficiently fire resistance that it with stands the

effect of fire and prevents its spread to other rooms.

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Type-2 Non-combustible construction:
 Construction in which the walls, partitions, structural elements etc. are non-combustible

with less fire resistance than Type 1.

Type-3 Heavy timber construction:
 Exterior walls are out of masonry or other non combustible material.

 Interior structural members, floors and roofs are constructed out of timber either in solid

or laminated forms.
Type-4 Ordinary construction:
 Exterior walls are out of masonry or other non combustible material.

 Interior structural members could be partially or wholly out of wood of relatively smaller

sections unlike Type 3.

Type-5 Wood frame construction:
 Type of construction in which practically the whole of the building is out of wood or

other combustible materials.

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 A building has two basic parts:
Sub-structure
Super structure

Sub-structure: is the lower portion of the building, usually located

below the ground level, which transmits the loads of the super-
structure to the supporting soil.
Super-structure: is that part of the structure which is above the
ground level, and which serves the purpose of its intended use.
 The basic component of a building include:
♦ Foundations ♦ Walls ♦ floor
♦ structures ♦ Roof structures ♦ Building finishes
♦ Doors, windows and other openings♦ Vertical transportation

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Sub-structure

Super-structure and sub-structure 12

3D-model

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 A building structure should satisfy the following basic design and
performance requirements
A. The structure should have adequate margin of safety (factor
of safety) in addition to that necessary to support its normal
loading.

B. It must have sufficient stiffness so that its distortion does not

offend the eye or reduce the efficiency of the structure for its
normal purpose.

C. The building should be planned to provide sufficient comfort

and convenience to the occupants of the building.

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 To accommodate the basic functional requirements, a building
should satisfy the following requirements in its design and
construction works:
1. Strength and stability
 Any structural component of a building should be strong
enough to carry or support all possible types of loads to which
it is likely to be subjected.
 The Loads in a building are commonly classified as: dead
loads, super imposed or live loads and wind loads.
Dead loads: are static loads due to the weight of the respective
structural members, i.e. The wall partitions, roofs, slabs and
all other permanent fixtures in the building.

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 Live loads: also called as super-imposed loads, consist of moving
or variable loads, due to people or occupants, their furniture,
temporary stores, machinery, etc.

Wind loads: are loads, which can cause uplift on a building and
reduce the pressure on the foundation on the windward side
and increase pressure on the leeward side. The effect of wind
pressure increases with the height of the building.
2. Dimensional stability
 Refers to the resistance to dimensional changes in building
materials and structures caused due to:
 elastic and plastic deformations as a result of applied loads
 expansion and contraction due to changes in temperature
and moisture content.

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3. Comfort and convenience
 Should be satisfied by proper planning of the buildings and its
units.
 Optimum utilization of space
 Lighting considerations
 Orientation
4. Resistance to moisture penetration
 The presence of moisture in any building structure
deteriorates the materials strength, reduces durability and
could cause partial or total failure of the structure.
5. Fire protection
 A building structure should not ignite easily
 A building should provide means of fire escape
 A building should be designed to reduce the spread of fire

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6. Heat insulation
 The building should be designed in such a way to maintain
fairly constant temperature of the internal environment
independently of the varying climatic conditions externally.
7. Day light and ventilation
 Day lighting is essential to promote the activities carried in
the building and to create pleasant inside environment.
 Ventilation is essential to prevent undue concentration of
odours, fumes, dust, etc and maintain suitable condition for
the user of the building.
8. Sound insulation
 The insulation of noise is a very important requirement for
buildings such as hospitals, educational institutions, offices
and residential building located in noisy areas.

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9. Durability
 The durability of a building is defined as the time over which
a building remains serviceable and depends mainly on
 Type of building materials
 Environmental exposure
 Quality of workmanship
 Degree of maintenance, etc
10. Security
 Due considerations should be given in designing and
constructing external walls and openings to protect a building
against burglary or theft
11. Economy
 The designer must exercise economy at every stage of
planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation.

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 CONTENTS:
 Introduction
 Drawing for building construction
 Working drawings

 Hatching, symbols and notations

Floor plan drawings (cont…)

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Construction drawings are prepared so that designers can communicate their
requirements to the contractor in a clear,
clear concise and unambiguous manner.
They are also used:
to prepare bill of quantities
 as part of contract document

Building construction drawings:

 Shouldn’t be unnecessarily congested or complicated
 Clarity is most important
 Written descriptions should be as brief as possible
 Should be Consistent with completeness
 Should be well dimensioned and should be drawn to scale
 The lettering used should be clear
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 Construction drawings can be prepared:
 By hand assisted by various templates or
 Computer software programs ( Ex. AutoCAD)

 The use of computer programs in building drawing:

 Enables users to produce any type of drawings quickly,
quickly precisely,
precisely
and efficiently
 Enables editing,
editing adding or deleting texts to drawings
 Enables printing to required sizes and color
 It can easily be communicated via networks and e-mails and
integrated with other programs
 Enables to reduce contract time and eases communication between
parties in construction.
 Minimizes the need for storage space

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 Standard size of drawing papers
 Generally it is advisable to use international standard-size papers in

drawings to facilitate filling of drawings.

Format A Series B Series C Series
0 841 x 1189 1000 x 1414 917 x 1297
1 594 x 841 707 x 1000 648 x 917
2 420 x 594
3 297 x 420
4 210 x 297
5 148 x 210
6 105 x 148
7 74 x 105
8 52 x 74

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 Drawing for building construction shall include:
 Site plan
 Sketch drawings
 Working drawings
 Detailed drawings
 Construction drawings and
 Installation drawings

SITE PLAN
 A site is a parcel of land which is made up of one, two or more

plots.
 A site plan is a drawing showing various properties in terms of their

owners, locations, elevations, states of development and features

such as roads, utility supply lines, etc.

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 The scales used in drawing a site plan are:
 For small sites: Scales of 1:100, 1;200
 For large sites: Scales of 1:500, 1:1000, 1:2500

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Detailed drawings
 They are prepared to the extent necessary and depending on the

complexity of the building.

 They can be prepared to a scale of 1:1, 1:5, 1:10, or 1:20.

 They usually show specific details, such as in stair cases, gutter to

down pipe connections, wall to foundation connection, metal and

wood joineries, etc.

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Construction drawings
 They are prepared mainly for the foundation work, for construction

in steel, concrete, roofing and wood works.

 They provide important information for the resident engineer and

foremen in the execution of their day-to-day activities.

Installation drawings
 Installation drawings comprise of drawings for water and drainage

pipes, electrical installation as well as mechanical installation.

 For residential building a scale of 1:50 is normally preferred.

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Working drawings
 They are prepared in greater detail with all dimensions given to

avoid the need for taking measurements from scale.

 They comprise of all plans and elevations as well as an adequate

number of cross-sections.
 The materials to be used for the various parts of the building should

be indicated in different symbols.

 They are the most important components of building drawings since

they provide detail information on the internal as well as the

external view of a building.
 They are usually prepared using a scale of 1:50.

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Floor plan drawings
 The floor plan is a drawing of the outline and partitions of a

building that would be seen when the building was cut horizontally
about 1.2m above the floor level.
 It provides more specific information about the design of the

building than any other plan.

 It is used as the base for the projection of other drawings.

 The major steps in floor plan drawings preparation are:

 Laying center line of walls,

 Marking window and door openings,
 Marking wall thickness,
 Locating furniture positions,
 Indicating material type,
 Adding measurements and other details.

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Elevation drawings
 Elevation drawings are orthographic drawings of the exterior of a

building.
 They are prepared to show the design materials, dimensions, and

final appearance of the exterior of a building.

 Elevation drawings are projected from the floor plan of an

architectural drawing.
 The major steps in projecting elevations are:

 Projecting vertical lines

 Projecting horizontal lines
 Locating roof lines
 Adding elevation symbols
 Providing elevation dimensions
 Description of material used and finishing type

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Sectional drawings
 Sectional drawings reveal the internal construction of an object.

 Architectural section drawings are prepared

 For the entire structure (full sections) or

 For a specific part(s) of a building (detail sections)
 The cutting plane is an imaginary plane, which passes through the
building and divides it into sections.
 Longitudinal section
 Transverse section
 Offset section
 Removed sections are frequently drawn for areas such as footings,
window sill, cornice, gutter line and ridge sections.

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Hatchings, Symbols and Notations
 The main objective is to differentiate between the materials being

used thus enabling rapid recognition and location.

 They must be used consistently throughout the whole set of

drawings.
 In large areas it is not always necessary to hatch the whole area.

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 The purpose of a floor is to provide a level surface capable of
supporting:
 The occupants of a building,
 Furniture,
 Equipment, and
 Sometimes the internal partition.
 Primary functions of a floor:
i. Provide a level surface with sufficient strength to support the
imposed loads of people and furniture.
ii. Exclude the passage of water and water vapor to the interior of the
building.
iii. Provide resistance to unacceptable heat loss through the floor.
iv. Provide the correct type of surface to receive the chosen finish.

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 To perform its function a floor must satisfy the following
requirements:
i. Adequate strength and stability,
ii. Adequate fire resistance,
iii. Sound insulation,
iv. Damp resistance, and
v. Thermal insulation.
 In the traditional floor construction, a floor is needed to have a
clean,
clean smooth,
smooth impervious,
impervious level and durable surface.
surface
 Floors are classified as Ground floor and Upper floor.
floor
 The floors resting directly on the ground surface are known as
Ground floors.
floors
 While the other floors of each storey, situated above the ground
level are known as Upper floors.
floors
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 A floor is composed of two essential components:
 Sub-floor, base course or floor base
 Floor covering or simply, flooring
 The floor base is a structural component, which supports the floor
covering.

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GROUND FLOOR are further subdivided into solid floors,
floors suspended floors
and basement floors.
floors
Solid floors
The floors supported directly on the ground are known as solid floors. (It
has Hard Core, Damp Proof Membrane and Concrete Bed.)
Suspended floors
These are floors supported above the ground level. (When soil is in bad

condition or high ground water level)

When Sites are sloppy and soil contains aggressive chemicals
Basement floors
These are floors resting at the lowest/basement level.

Resistance to moisture ingress is one of the main criteria in the design of

basement floors.

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3.2 FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT OF GROUND FLOORS
 For good performance of a ground floor, it should be able to

perform the following:

1. Support with out failure the loads imposed on it.
2. Prevent dampness inside the building by providing a damp proof
membrane in or below the floor.
3. Prevent the growth of matter and other living organisms.
4. Be reasonably durable so as to require minimum maintenance or
replacement work.
5. Provide a surface finish with a standard of appearance, comfort,
cleanliness, and heat retention.

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An UPPER FLOOR is basically a principal structural element, and
the general structural design of a building greatly influence the choice
of type of floor.
Upper floors are supported either on the walls or on columns; they
have therefore the major problems of strength and stability.
The structural design of the of upper floors has to be such as to
support:
 The loads set up by the use of the building,
 Self weight of the floor,
 Weight of partitions, etc.
An upper floor can be constructed either from timber or concrete
(Cast in situ and precast concrete).

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An upper floor should:
1. Sustain its own weight and any other weights imposed on it.
2. Offer fire resistance especially in very tall buildings.
3. Minimise noise transfer from upper floor to the lower floor.
4. Be reasonably durable – minimum maintenance and
replacement.
5. Provide an acceptable surface finish which is safe,
comfortable, clean and of good appearance.
6. prevent dampness.

R.C.C floors can be Cast in situ or Prefabricated.

Cast in situ concrete floors: give the maximum freedom in design since
they can take up any shape dictated by the plan.

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Cast in situ concrete floors: Based on the design requirements cast
in situ concrete can be;
Beam and slab flooring
Flat slab flooring
Drop slab floor
Ribbed or hollow tiled flooring
RIBBED SLAB FLOORING
Advantages of ribbed slab:
They are light in weight.
They provide better thermal insulation.
They have better sound proofing qualities.
They have better fire resistance.
Convenient installation of electrical and plumbing.

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FLAT SLAB FLOORING
The slab is of uniform thickness
throughout with out down stand
beams and with the reinforcement
more closely spaced.
 The flat slab transfers the load
directly to the supporting columns
 Used in case of large span and
heavy loads

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FLAT SLAB FLOORING
The slab is of uniform thickness throughout with out down stand
beams and with the reinforcement more closely spaced.
 The flat slab transfers the load directly to the supporting columns
 Used in case of large span and heavy loads
The following are the factors that affect the choice of flooring materials:
1. Initial cost :
2. Appearance and Cleanliness:
Cleanliness
3. Durability:
Durability
4. Damp resistance:
resistance
5. Thermal and Sound insulation:
insulation
6. Fire resistance:.
resistance
7. Smoothness:
Smoothness

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The primary function of wall is:
 To enclose or divide space of a building to
make it more functional and useful
 To provide privacy and afford security
 Give protection against heat, cold, sun and
rain
 Also to provide support to floors and roofs.

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Internal walls:
 Internal walls are basically required to separate rooms.
 They should have sufficient sound and heat insulating
capacity and should be water repellent.
Load bearing walls:
The strength must be sufficient to carry the loads placed on
it.
 The loads are calculated from the live and dead loads on
the structure supported by the wall.
Foundation walls
The function of foundation wall is to transmit loads coming from
the super structure.
Basement walls
The function of basement wall is to Support vertical loads (if load
bearing) and Resist lateral loads
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3. EXTERNAL WALLS
3.1 MATERIALS FOR EXTERNAL WALLS
 Different materials are employed for the construction of external

walls such as: brick, stone, HCB, RCC, glass, metals and plastics,
“chika”, etc.
 The materials employed depend on several factors such as:

 Local availability of the material

 The standard of the house planned
 Climatic conditions
 Cost of the material
 Aesthetic requirements
 Skilled labour availability
 Function of the wall to be constructed
 Fire resistance requirement

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BRICK WALLS
 Brick masonry is sometimes preferred over other types of masonry

for the following reasons:

 Bricks are of uniform size and shape, and hence they can be
laid in any definite pattern.
 Bricks are light in weight and small in size. Hence they can
be easily handled.
 Brick do not need any dressing.
 The art of brick laying can be understood easily.
 Ornamental works can be easily done with bricks.
 Light partition walls can be easily constructed in brick
masonry.

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Rules for bonding
 For getting good bond, the following rules should be observed:

i. The brick should be of uniform size. The length of the brick

should be twice its width plus one joint.
ii. The amount of lap should be minimum ¼ brick along the
length of the wall and ½ brick across the thickness of the wall.
iii. Use of brick bats should be discouraged, except in special
locations.
iv. In alternate courses, the center line of header should coincide
with the center line of the stretcher, in the course below or
above it.
v. The vertical joints in the alternate courses should be along the
same perpend.
vi. It is preferable to provide every sixth course as header course
on both sides of the wall.

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i. Stretcher bond
 Is the one in which all the bricks are laid as stretchers on the

faces of the wall.

ii. Header bond

 Is the one in which all the bricks are laid as headers on the faces

of walls. The width of the brick is along the direction of the wall.

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 Header bond…

iii. English bond

 This is the most commonly used bond, for all wall thickness.
And it is considered to be the strongest.

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iv. Flemish bond
 Each course is comprised of alternate headers and stretchers

V. Zigzag bond

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1. INTRODUCTION
 A roof is defined as the upper most part of the building, provided as

a structural covering, to protect the building from weather.

 A roof consists of structural elements, which support roof

coverings. The structural elements may be trusses, beams, slabs,

shells or domes.
 The roof coverings may be corrugated metal sheets, RC slabs,

tiles, etc.
Requirements of a roof
 The requirements of a good roof are summarised as follow:

i. It should have adequate strength and stability to carry the super-

imposed dead and live loads.
ii. It should effectively protect the building against rain, sun, wind,
etc and it should be durable against the adverse effects of these
agencies.
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1. INTRODUCTION
Requirements of a roof
iii. It should be water proof and should have efficient drainage
arrangements.
iv. It should provide adequate thermal insulation.
v. It should be fire resistant.
vi. It should provide adequate insulation against sound.
2. TYPES OF ROOFS
 The general types of roofs are:
 Pitched or Slopping roofs,
 Flat roofs or terraced roofs, and
 Curved roofs.

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1. INTRODUCTION
Requirements of a roof
iii. It should be water proof and should have efficient drainage
arrangements.
iv. It should provide adequate thermal insulation.
v. It should be fire resistant.
vi. It should provide adequate insulation against sound.
2. TYPES OF ROOFS
 The general types of roofs are:
 Pitched or Slopping roofs,
 Flat roofs or terraced roofs, and
 Curved roofs.

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2. TYPES OF ROOFS
 The selection of the type of roof depends upon:
 Shape or plan of the building,
 Climatic conditions of the area,
 Type of construction materials available.
 Pitched roofs:
roofs
 Have slopping top surfaces and used to cover satisfactorily those
buildings with limited width and simple shape
 Are suitable in those areas where rainfall/snow fall is very heavy
 Most common form of roof and is generally regarded as the cheapest
alternative
 In pitched roofs a slope of less than l in 3 is generally not considered
satisfactory from drainage point of view but in areas of heavy snowfall,
steeper slopes( 1:1.5 or 1:1) are provided``

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 Flat roofs:
roofs
 Considered suitable for buildings in plains or in hot regions where
rainfall is moderate and snow fall is not there.
 Are equally applicable to buildings of any shape and size.
 Curved roofs:
roofs
 Have their top surface curved.
 Such roofs are provided to give architectural effects.
 Such roofs include cylindrical and parabolic shells and domes
Forms of Sloping Roofs:
Roofs
Gable roof

Shed roof

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THANK YOU!

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