building-construction-en-blog

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Bay window

A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. More details Android, Windows

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Grout

For other uses, see Grout (disambiguation). Smoothing grout between tiles with a rubber grout float. Grout is a particularly fluid form of concrete used to fill gaps. It is used in construction to embed rebars in masonry walls, connect sections of pre-cast concrete, fill voids, and seal joints such as those between tiles. Grout is generally a mixture of water, cement, sand, often color tint, and sometimes fine gravel (if it is being used to fill large spaces such as the cores of concrete blocks).[citation needed] Unlike other structural pastes such as plaster or joint compound, correctly-mixed and -applied grout forms a waterproof seal.[citation needed] Although both are applied as a thick emulsion and harden over time, grout is distinguished from its close relative mortar by its viscosity; grout is thin so it flows readily into gaps, while mortar is thick enough to support not only its own weight, but also that of masonry placed on top of it. More details Android, Windows

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Structural channel

Various structural steel shapes The structural channel, also known as a C-beam, is a type of (usually structural steel) beam, used primarily in building construction and civil engineering. Its cross section consists of a wide "web", usually but not always oriented vertically, and two "flanges" at the top and bottom of the web, only sticking out on one side of the web. It is distinguished from I-beam or H-beam or W-beam type steel cross sections in that those have flanges on both sides of the web. More details Android, Windows

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Semi-basement

Belton House. Externally the windows of the servant's semi-basement are visible at ground level. Internally they are too close to the ceiling to have a view. Semi-basement is the architectural term for a floor of a building that is half below ground, rather than entirely such as a true basement or cellar. Traditionally semi-basements were designed in larger houses where staff was housed. A semi-basement usually contained kitchens and domestic offices. The advantage over a basement is that a semi-basement is lighter as it can have windows, albeit interior windows that are often too high to enjoy a view. Historically this was an advantage as the servants, who traditionally inhabited such a floor, would not have the opportunity to waste time by looking out of the window. The feature also has the aesthetic value of raising the ground floor, containing the building's reception rooms higher from the ground in order that they could enjoy better views, and be more free from the damp problems which always arose before the days of modern technology. Today, London estate agents when selling former servant's rooms as modern apartments often refer to the semi-basement as the "garden floor". More details Android, Windows

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Cyclopean masonry

Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and no use of mortar. The boulders typically seem unworked, but some may have been worked roughly with a hammer and the gaps between boulders filled in with smaller chunks of limestone. The most famous examples of Cyclopean masonry are found in the walls of Mycenae and Tiryns, and the style is characteristic of Mycenaean fortifications. Similar styles of stonework are found in other cultures and the term has come to be used to describe typical stonework of this sort. The term comes from the belief of classical Greeks that only the mythical Cyclopes had the strength to move the enormous boulders that made up the walls of Mycenae and Tiryns. Pliny's Natural History reported the tradition attributed to Aristotle, that the Cyclopes were the inventors of masonry towers, giving rise to the designation Cyclopean. More details Android, Windows

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Foundation

Shallow foundations of a house versus the deep foundations of a skyscraper. A foundation (or, more commonly, foundations) is the element of an architectural structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads from the structure to the ground. Foundations are generally considered either shallow or deep. Foundation engineering is the application of soil mechanics and rock mechanics (Geotechnical engineering) in the design of foundation elements of structures. More details Android, Windows

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Truss

For other uses, see Truss (disambiguation). In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assemblage as a whole behaves as a single object". A "two-force member" is a structural component where force is applied to only two points. Although this rigorous definition allows the members to have any shape connected in any stable configuration, trusses typically comprise five or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. In this typical context, external forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in forces in the members that are either tensile or compressive. For straight members, moments (torques) are explicitly excluded because, and only because, all the joints in a truss are treated as revolutes, as is necessary for the links to be two-force members. A planar truss is one where all members and nodes lie within a two dimensional plane, while a space truss has members and nodes that extend into three dimensions. The top beams in a truss are called top chords and are typically in compression, the bottom beams are called bottom chords, and are typically in tension. The interior beams are called webs, and the areas inside the webs are called panels. Truss bridge for a single-track railway, converted to pedestrian use and pipeline support An Egyptian ship with a rope truss, the oldest known use of trusses. Trusses did not come into common use until the Roman era. More details Android, Windows

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Raised floor

A suction-cup tile lifter has been used to remove a tile. A raised floor (also raised flooring, access floor(ing), or raised access computer floor) provides an elevated structural floor above a solid substrate (often a concrete slab) to create a hidden void for the passage of mechanical and electrical services. Raised floors are widely used in modern office buildings, and in specialized areas such as command centers, IT data centers and computer rooms, where there is a requirement to route mechanical services and cables, wiring, and electrical supply. Such flooring can be installed at varying heights from 2 inches (51 mm) to heights above 4 feet (1,200 mm) to suit services that may be accommodated beneath. Additional structural support and lighting are often provided when a floor is raised enough for a person to crawl or even walk beneath. In the U.S., underfloor air distribution is becoming a more common way to cool a building by using the void below the raised floor as a plenum chamber to distribute conditioned air, which has been done in Europe since the 1970s. In data centers, isolated air-conditioning zones are often associated with raised floors. Perforated tiles are traditionally placed beneath computer systems to direct conditioned air directly to them. In turn, the computing equipment is often designed to draw cooling air from below and exhaust into the room. An air conditioning unit then draws air from the room, cools it, and forces it beneath the raised floor, completing the cycle. More details Android, Windows

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Triforium

This article is about the architectural term. For the public artwork in Los Angeles, see Triforium (Los Angeles). A triforium is a shallow arched gallery within the thickness of an inner wall, above the nave of a church or cathedral. It may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be located as a separate level below the clerestory. It may itself have an outer wall of glass rather than stone. Triforia are sometimes referred to, erroneously, as tribunes. Also called a "blind-storey", the triforium looks like a row of window frames without window openings. More details Android, Windows

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Screed

Screed has three meanings in building construction. 1) a flat board (screed board, floating screed) or a purpose-made aluminium tool used to smooth and true materials like concrete, stucco and plaster after it has been placed on a surface or to assist in flattening; 2) a strip of plaster or wood applied to a surface to act as a guide for a screed tool (screed rail, screed strip, screed batten); 3) the material itself which has been flattened with a screed (screed coat). In the UK, screed has also come to describe a thin, top layer of material (traditionally sand and cement), poured in site on top of the structural concrete or insulation, on top of which other finishing materials can be applied, or it can be left bare to achieve a raw effect. It is becoming more common to use "self-leveling" poured screeds which use materials other than cement as their binder. More details Android, Windows

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Rafter

This article is about the structural beam. For other uses, see Rafter (disambiguation). Common rafters without collar beams form most of this roof. There is not always a ridge board or beam where the rafter tops meet. Under the midsections of the rafters are purlins which support the common rafters and are supported by principal rafters. This roof ends in an octagonal hip. A double roof (using a Norman truss), common rafters supported by principal rafters (top chords in this case) and an unusual extra layer of common rafters on the lower half to form a gallerie. Note how the rafter poles for the gallerie tie-in. The Bequet-Ribault House was built c. 1793 near Ste. Geneviève, Missouri. It is one of five poteaux-en-terre buildings that survive in the US. Rafter and tie-beam joints (Carpentry and Joinery, 1925) Coyau or sprocket. Labeled A A rafter is one of a series of sloped structural members (beams) that extend from the ridge or hip to the wall plate, downslope perimeter or eave, and that are designed to support the roof deck and its associated loads. A pair of rafters is a couple. More details Android, Windows

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Scaffolding

This article is about the temporary framework. For other uses of scaffold and scaffolding, see scaffold (disambiguation). Temporary steel scaffold-constructed platform and stairway (with wooden platform flooring) in use at New York City's Grasmere railway station during 2012-2014 station rehabilitation project. Bamboo scaffolding used for the construction of the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man made structures. Scaffolding is also used in adapted forms for formwork and shoring, grandstand seating, concert stages, access/viewing towers, exhibition stands, ski ramps, half pipes and art projects. There are four main types of scaffolding used worldwide today. These are Tube and Coupler (fitting) components, prefabricated modular system scaffold components, H-frame / facade modular system scaffolds, and timber scaffolds. Each type is made from several components which often include: A base jack or plate which is a load bearing base for the scaffold. The standard which is the upright component with connector joins. The ledger (horizontal brace). The transom which is a horizontal cross section load bearing component which holds the batten, board or decking unit. Brace diagonal and/or cross section bracing component. Batten or board decking component used to make the working platform. Coupler a fitting used to join components together. Scaffold tie used to tie in the scaffold to structures. Brackets used to extend the width of working platforms. Specialized components used to aid in their use as a temporary structure often include heavy duty load bearing transoms, ladders or stairway units for the ingress and egress of the scaffold, beams ladder/unit types used to span obstacles and rubbish chutes used to remove unwanted materials from the scaffold or construction project. More details Android, Windows

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Log cabin

For other uses, see Log cabin (disambiguation). Log cabins in the open air Norwegian Museum of Cultural History in Bygdøy, Oslo. A log cabin in the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Ruins of log cabin at Rocky Mountain National Park on Colorado River Trail in Colorado. A log cabin is a dwelling constructed of logs, especially a less finished or architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers. More details Android, Windows

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Sima

In classical architecture, a sima is the upturned edge of a roof which acts as a gutter. Sima comes from the Greek simos, meaning bent upwards. More details Android, Windows

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Gridshell

The steel gridshell by Vladimir Shukhov (during construction), Vyksa near Nizhny Novgorod, 1897 Multihalle in Mannheim, a wooden gridshell structure designed by Frei Otto Interior of the gridshell Savill Building A gridshell is a structure which derives its strength from its double curvature (in a similar way that a fabric structure derives strength from double curvature), but is constructed of a grid or lattice. The grid can be made of any material, but is most often wood (similar to garden trellis) or steel. Gridshells were pioneered in the 1896 by Russian engineer Vladimir Shukhov in constructions of exhibition pavilions of the All-Russia industrial and art exhibition 1896 in Nizhny Novgorod. Large span timber gridshells are commonly constructed by initially laying out the main lath members flat in a regular square or rectangular lattice, and subsequently deforming this into the desired doubly curved form. This can be achieved by pushing the members up from the ground, as in the Mannheim Multihalle. More recent projects such as the Savill Garden gridshell were constructed by laying the laths on top of a sizeable temporary scaffolding structure which is removed in phases to let the laths settle into the desired curvature. More details Android, Windows

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Vault

For other uses, see Vault (disambiguation). Gothic rib-vault ceiling of the Saint-Séverin church in Paris Vault (French voûte, from Italian volta) is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that requires a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required. However, when the vault is built above ground, various replacements are employed to supply the needed resistance. An example is the thicker walls used in the case of barrel or continuous vaults. Buttresses are used to supply resistance when intersecting vaults are employed. The simplest kind of vault is the barrel vault (also called a wagon or tunnel vault) which is generally semicircular in shape. The barrel vault is a continuous arch, the length being greater than its diameter. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while rings of voussoirs are constructed and the rings placed in position. Until the topmost voussoir, the keystone, is positioned, the vault is not self-supporting. Where timber is easily obtained, this temporary support is provided by centering consisting of a framed truss with a semicircular or segmental head, which supports the voussoirs until the ring of the whole arch is completed. With a barrel vault, the centering can then be shifted on to support the next rings. More details Android, Windows

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Crib pier

A crib pier under construction in Russia A crib pier is a type of pier built with the supporting columns made of 'cribs'. Typically a crib is made from wood, but it could be made from any long cylindrical material. Pairs of logs are laid parallel, then others laid over them to make a square, and this continues upwards in a style of building similar to a log cabin's construction. Each crib can be either empty or filled with a material such as rocks, gravel, concrete blocks, etc. This material can serve to provide additional stability in the event of high winds if the crib is very tall. Advantages of crib construction include its simplicity and strength. Logs need only be cut and notched for stability, then lain crosswise until a certain height is reached. As each layer of wood is only used as a compressive layer, the wood need not be strong. Since there are few load-bearing fasteners in the lower levels, reasonable strength is possible. Disadvantages include very heavy construction, relying on much more material than a bridge of more advanced design. More details Android, Windows