Construction Management Assignment Report

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CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
By Name
Course
Instructor
Institution
Location
Date

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Contents
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... 2
First Technology in lightweight construction: Use of wood......................................3
Cost of installation............................................................................................... 3
Merits................................................................................................................... 4
Demerits.............................................................................................................. 4
Effects on wood on the environment....................................................................4
Second Technology: Use of metals as lightweight roof construction.......................4
Cost of installation............................................................................................... 5
Merits................................................................................................................... 5
Demerits.............................................................................................................. 5
Effects on the environment.................................................................................. 5
Third Technology: Use of Felt as a lightweight material for roofing........................6
Cost of installation............................................................................................... 6
Merits................................................................................................................... 6
Demerits.............................................................................................................. 6
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................. 7
REFERENCES.............................................................................................................. 9
INTRODUCTION
Australian government has been promoting the use of modern techniques of constructions. Most
of these techniques usually allow for the construction processes to be carried out off the site.

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This is not only done in a standardized manner but also speedily. Any sector of the construction
industry has been demanding for energy. All the construction professionals have been advocating
for the use of building materials with lower carbon emission as well as being efficient in the
conservation of the energy. In order to survive in the environment-sensitive construction sector,
engineers are already considering abandoning the traditional building and construction material
like blocks and bricks which have been used for a long time in the roof construction (Torkaman,
Ashori and Momtazi 2014). A lot of attention is shifting to other materials which are regarded to
be lightweight like timber as well as the steel frame. This move is necessitated by the fact that all
the modern buildings or structures already have their thermal performance requirement limit.
Although engineers have considered using lightweight materials as alternatives to conventional
construction materials, there are concerns about their impacts on the internal conditions of the
buildings. It has been discovered that the majority of the materials which are used in the
lightweight construction cannot store energy in the form of hea t(Khowaiter 2015). It is for this
reason that the temperature range within the room or the building keeps varying with a bigger
margin. Scientists too have predicted the temperatures to increase in the next 30 years due to the
effects of global warming and changes in the climate. Summers are expected to be hotter as well
as drier than it has been in the past. This has further raised more concern on the suitability of
these materials. It is a clear indication that buildings may not benefit much from the initiatives of
reduced heat consumptions incorporated in the air conditioning units (Miqueleiz et al.2013).
Technologists are in dilemma as to which option should be used. The first option is the addition
of more mass so that the thermal property of the roofing materials can be improved. The next
option is to employ engineering techniques which consider environmental conservation
measures. It has been considered to be the basis of using phase change materials which can store

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a large amount of thermal energy for every unit mass. Such properties are missing in the
traditional materials for the construction. The phase change materials efficiently store energy
thermally in the form of heat latent, unlike others which emit sensible heat from their surfaces
due to the radiation effects (Kaczmarczyk, Baryła and Bus 2014).
The roofing process using lightweight has been considered helpful in very many situations. The
replacement of the roofs made from glass so that low pitched roofing can be used is just one of
them. Also, similar replacements can be done by the use of timber in the houses which were
initially under other materials so that lightweight structures can be obtained (Hernández et
al.2014). The latest technology is worth being appreciated since it has managed to effectively
include the traditional materials in the lightweight construction (Laborel et al.2014). These
materials include:
First Technology in lightweight construction: Use of wood
Wood has been used in the building and construction industry for a very long time. It is because
of the admirable properties that make it functionally preferred in various aspects particularly
roofing.
Cost of installation
Australia has plenty of wood that is harvested both from natural and planted vegetation. This is
the reason why the cost of the installation is relatively low when compared to other materials like
steel sheets that have been used in the lightweight construction in the past. It is approximated
that the cost maybe $200 for every 800m2.
Merits
It is regarded as one of the cheapest options available locally
There is no addition of weight to the building since the material is light