The Construction Sequence of a Simple One-storey House

Hello all readers! This is my third blog assignment for Construction and Technology. Previously, I had to conduct a case study on the direction of my home, and how to build an (awesome) arch. Through blogging, I learnt to reflect and document what I learn in class better. I hope this blog post is up to par, as the previous ones, I feel could have been improved a bit more. By categorizing things, my information is more organized and exciting to read (in terms of self-criticism.)

For this assignment, we had to replicate and document the construction sequence and materials used in making a simple building, in groups of 3-5. My team members were Josephin and Joharris.

The objectives were:

• Understand the construction sequence of a simple building
• Understand the terminologies/types of methods of construction (what are the footings used? What walls are used? What are the major and minor steps taken?)
• Explore and identify which 'material' works best for construction
• Work together as a group efficiently and effectively

Instruction:

We used plasticine to represent concrete, and rolled papers to represent steel bars, as the plasticine did not possess very good tensile strength. The rest was up to our imagination.

Our material!

Sequence:

Before diving head first into the assignment, we sketched out what we planned to do to give ourselves clarity, and also so we could delegate different tasks between each other depending on our own capabilities. I was the 'head architect' giving out instructions and making the design, Josephin was the metalworks guy, and Joharris was the concrete guy.

An artist's diagram of what the structural part of a building can look like.
I referred to diagrams like these for my design.

Architect's instruction: The sketch of the sequence for my team members to refer to.

Building any structure always begins with the foundation. We used strap beam footings for this structure as it was meant to represent a single floor house, so we did not necessarily require matted footings. Padded footings using this material was too weak, so we reinforced it with steel bars. We also added starter bars to reinforce the columns. But before adding the columns, we created the flooring first.

We initially intended to 'weld' using clay and tape the foundation to the floor;
 but Miss Sharon said it was not the best idea.
It would be better to use masking tape to weld.

Strapped footing!

Cement flooring + starter bars to adhere to the column.

Then, we added the paper columns. The starter bars could fit inside the cavity and gave it more adhesion and stability.

The steel columns, welded to the starter bars at this point.

The columns have been casted and filled with concrete,
and the concrete is now cured!

After that, we had to cast the columns and fill it with concrete to protect the beams from ‘rusting’ and to add more compressive strength to the column. To replicate that step, we wrapped the columns in plasticine. (since we didn’t have time, just imagine the ‘concrete’ immediately cures, and the cast is removed.)

Our first beam, we were told to reinforce in better by welding one more.

After the new one was welded.

A bit of the column was exposed so we could weld the roofing beams to the exposed steel. We used 5 beams instead of a square of 4 beams to make the roofing more stable, and increase its tensile strength.

Adding the finishing touches:
1. The non-load bearing walls
2. The roofing (supposedly pre-cast concrete in this case)
3. Decorations (purely aesthetic)

Our tiny house was then ready for the walls. We had a non-load bearing glass wall, and three non load bearing walls with a door. If we had used mounting board, the walls would actually be load bearing, but we only had card around, which could be used to represent drywall, and the plastic to represent glass.

We then added the roof which represents pre-cast concrete slab. Due to the beam’s and column’s structure, it could handle the load of the roofing. And thanks to this, when our structure solidified a little, it could actually handle the weight of a few phones added on to it.

We then decorated the house with a signboard and garden furnishings, and the tiny clay human was ready to live in it.

Best of all, the structure was sturdy when we applied some pressure to it!

Reflection:

The turnout of this assignment was much better than the very first assignment we did and I was happy. Thanks to my team member’s cooperation, and the guidance given by Miss Sharon, we managed to make this house a success in one try. Of course, given more time and resources, and from the lessons we learnt, we could have made a better one by changing a few factors:

1. Excavating land for the foundation (perhaps working on a hollowed out styrofoam lined with plasticine)
2. Welding more beams for the strapped footing
3. Actually adding a proper cast for the columns
4. Using wire as starter bars
5. Using mounting board so the walls were load bearing
6. Using card for the roofing so it is less stressful on the walls, however, the columns and beams helped reinforce the structure a whole lot
7. Better overall craftsmanship (but aesthetics wasn’t a main issue here, just nit picking.)