Building or housing is the most basic needs of humanity. It gives us refuge. When we see or hear the word “House” we picture a house being large and having a roof, walls, spaces, etc. Nevertheless, the concept of a building is structurally functional in a broader sense, centered on bricks, sands, cement forms, soil, mortar, metal, etc.
Table of Contents
What is Building?
Construction is a category of construction that is built of materials like pillars, plinths, walls, floors, roofs, chimneys, plumbing, and building services, fixed platforms, verandas, balconies, cornice or projection, a portion of a building or anything affixed to it or any wall enclosing or designed to enclose some ground or area and signage and exterior show structures.
A building’s aim is to provide shelter alongside protection. Certain uses such as buildings serve many societal needs primarily as protection from the wind, defense, living space, anonymity, storing possessions, providing energy, and living and working comfortably.
Types of Buildings
Structures may be structures with masonry bearings, buildings with an RCC or construction built in concrete. There are many specific Buildings styles.
- Residential houses,
- Factories, Workshops,
- Mosques, Churches, Temples,
- Hospitals,
- Malls etc.
- Schools, Colleges & Universities,
Essential Materials & Parts of Buildings
Construction elements or sections are basic building materials. All buildings are constructed with the same components as foundations, walls, floors, rooms, and roofs. Buildings need to be painted or revamped and finish correctly with colors, plasters, utilities supplied and fittings for doors and windows, fences and other outdoor services. All those works have been called Building Service.
Three Basic Components and Specifications.
- Plinth
- Foundation
- Superstructure
Below is a brief description of those basic parts of a house.
Plinth
The plinth is that portion of instantly the above ground of a building with the ground surface and floor space. Plinth prevents inside the house the intrusion of rainwater and insects. Height at the general plinth is 45, 60, 75, 90, 120 cm.
Foundation
The base is the most important building work. A lot of buildings rely on the base which is structural energy. It’s just one form of the substructure. It is important to classify foundations into two groups, such as Shallow and Deep Foundations.
The words shallow and deep indicate as the basis depth in the soil. Shallow foundations used for small and light structures, e.g. small or medium-sized homes, small shopping centers, etc., and thick foundations used for large and heavy buildings, e.g. massive buildings, huge shopping malls, large schools, colleges, etc. In general, shallow foundations can be made at depths as low as 3 ft (1 m) and deep foundations at depths as low as 60-200 ft (20-65 m).
Building construction contains various types of foundations.
- Strip Foundation (shallow foundations)
- Footing Foundation (shallow foundations)
- Pile Foundation (deep foundations)
- Pad Foundation (shallow foundations)
- Grillage Foundation (shallow foundations)
- Pier Foundation (deep foundations)
- Cassion Foundation (deep foundations)
- Raft Foundation (shallow foundations)
All of these foundations are working towards making columns, walls, rooms and living spaces. Workers use different amounts of building materials, depending on different types of foundations, for example in beam work, they make pile foundations.
Functions of Foundations:
- Reduction of load intensity
- Load distribution
- Provide firm and level surface
- Protection against soil movement
- Reduction of differential settlement
- Safety against sliding and overturning
- Safety against undermining
Superstructure
The Superstructure designed above the underground level. The position above ground level and underground are known as the plinth. Walls and rooms are built in this framework, and loads are moved from the upper part to the substructure. One building has the following components in this part:
Floor Structures
It is a significant building element. It is situated on a room’s lower level surface. Floors can be decorated in different ways. There are floors to move around here, for example, walking from room to room.
Roof Structures
It stands on a room’s upper-level surface. Blue roof, cold roof, collar roof, fabric roof, a domestic roof, fiber cement, flat roof, green roof, pitched roof, warm roof, shell roof, metal roof, roof tiles, skillion roof, etc. depending on the weather. Flat roofs, residential roofs, and cement fiber roofs are mostly used in building constructions.
Lintel, Sunshade & Parapet
Lintel boards are given close openings to display the load coming from above the door or windows over the superstructure. Lintels can be lintels of steel, strengthened lintels of concrete, stone lintels, lintels of timber, the, the etc sunshade is a kind of slab, made on top of windows and doors. It protects the windows and doors from rain and heavy sunlight. Sunshades may be Internal, External, and Inter-pane based on their position. External Sun-shading defends from solar radiation and matches the beneficial quality of daylight; for example- curtains and Venetian blinds, roller blinds, placed blinds, blackout chains, etc. Internal lighting may be systems of horizontal, vertical, or egg-crate. Internal sunshades are considered better for shielding the structure from changes in the weather or atmosphere. Sunshades maintain a comfortable indoor temperature and minimize the weather’s solar radiation and coolness which dramatically affects the performance of building energy.
The parapet is a low wall built above the roofline that typically extends around a building’s circumference. A parapet wall can be built along with balconies or on the fringes of terraces and stairs.
For More Details: Civil engineering
Door & Windows
Doors provide a linking link between spaces, facilitating free movement from room to room. Windows allows for opening in walls. Doors and windows provide outdoor lighting, smooth sound, and ventilation. Needless to say, all offer security and privacy. Different buildings have different door sizes; for example -the doors of the residential area are entirely different from the doors of the industrial buildings.
Considering Material Used
- UPVC Door
- Wooden Door
- Metal Door
Taking into account the mechanism & use
- Folding Door
- Swinging Door
- Revolving Door
- Composite Door
- Sliding Door
There are various window styles, too, such as:
- Sash
- Louvered
- Fixed
- Pivoted
- Double Hung
- Sliding
- Casement
- Corner window
- Dormer window
- Gable window
- Lantern
- Skylight
- Metal
- Bay
Walls & Columns
The walls form brick or stone blocks. We split the building space into different space slabs serving it into separate beams and spaces. They securely relay loads from beams and slabs to the base that fall upon them. We provide anonymity and security from winds of sun, cold, fog, noise, and dust. Walls can be walls made of Brick masonry and walls made of stone. Columns are structural components that are protected by beams and slab /roof.
Building Finishes Works
The conclusion of a building’s appearance depends upon such works. Analogous to:
- Painting walls
- Oiling & painting grillwork & metal-work.
- Plastering and pointing
- Kitchen setup
- Positioning & maintenance of lifts & stairs works
- Furnishing wooded doors & woodwork
Building Services
There are other after-construction infrastructure facilities, which are also listed as building construction elements. Such as water supply, electricity supply, irrigation, and sewage supply, the services provided by the internal closets and cupboards.