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Research Design and Methods 1
Research Design and Methods
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Research Design and Methods 2
Table of Contents
REPORT..........................................................................................................................................2
CLIENTS BRIEF AND SPECIFICATIONS..............................................................................2
DOCUMENTATION AND CONSTRUCTION.............................................................................3
ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE BUILDING SITE................................3
CLEARING OF SITE, TREE PROTECTION AND TOP SOIL EXISTING SERVICES........4
CLEARING OF SITE..............................................................................................................4
TREE PROTECTION.............................................................................................................4
TOPSOIL EXISTING SERVICES..........................................................................................4
TEMPORARY SERVICES.....................................................................................................5
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.........................................................................................5
SEDIMENTATION CONTROL.............................................................................................5
SITE SAFETY AND AMENITIES.........................................................................................6
CONSTRUCTION..........................................................................................................................6
CUT AND FILL TO THE SITE AND BUILDING PLATFORM.............................................6
CONCRETE SLAB AND FOOTING TYPE..............................................................................7
EXTERNAL WALL CONSTRUCTION....................................................................................8
ROOF FRAMING...................................................................................................................8
EXTERNAL WORKS READY FOR HANDOVER OF THE HOUSE.................................9
BUILDING MATERIALS..............................................................................................................9

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TIMBER WALL FRAMING......................................................................................................9
LUMBER SIZE.......................................................................................................................9
ALLOWABLE DEFLECTION LIMIT.................................................................................10
TERMITE RESISTANCE.....................................................................................................10
ROOF SHEETING, GUTTER AND METAL FASCIA...........................................................11
ROOF SHEETING................................................................................................................11
GUTTER AND METAL FASCIA........................................................................................12
FLOOR FINISHING.............................................................................................................13
ESTIMATE OF COST..................................................................................................................14
Building Contract Sum..............................................................................................................14
Project Cost................................................................................................................................16
DOCUMENTATION AND CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM......................................................16
ENERGY SAVING INITIATIVES..............................................................................................17
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................19

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REPORT
This is a client brief report which aims at giving the client all the necessary design aspects
overview, the contractual matters, documentation as well as the construction of the “Retirement
Home.”
CLIENTS BRIEF AND SPECIFICATIONS
The overall budget for the entire project is about $275,000 and this is considered as adequate for
all the specifications and the works to be conducted in the construction. The project will begin
with site survey preparations which have already been done and this survey depicts that the site
slopes down from the rear alignment to the front alignment. Also, there are there are favorable
views taken on the north and hence, as site plan attached gives all the detailed information on it.
On the other hand, a Geotechnical Report has also been arranged and thus, classifying the site as
M – Moderately Reactive." The client would like as many existing trees as possible to be
retained. The client has also requested that the trees proposed to be maintained and protected
during construction.
DOCUMENTATION AND CONSTRUCTION
The following are some of the aspects which are carried out under the construction and
documentation in line with the clients brief above
ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE BUILDING SITE
The maintenance of the construction site during the building involves a number of critical
elements, and these elements may include:

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First, all the risks associated with the erection of the panels must be identified in the
building site, and necessary precaution is taken to deal with them. In fact, the pre-cast and the
tilt-up construction and that is a code of practice on a ground slope and the overall conditions
must be considered under the "Tilt-up and Pre-cast Construction Code of Practice 2003, 12.5.”
Secondly, the machine used in lifting all the construction loads and the suspended
elements must conform to the risk related work license. In fact, the plant machine and the
operator of the plant must be conducted by the work health act 2011 s.81 to ensure that the health
safety is not compromised in the process.
Thirdly, all the hazardous risks associated with fire breakout, water pollution, noise, air
pollution as well as injuries in the site must be considered and proper channel of controlling them
be put in place. For instance, the use of fire extinguishers, treating water, labeling of the
equipment, storing of hazardous materials well, and have users manuals in the site such as the
drawings to direct the workers.
CLEARING OF SITE, TREE PROTECTION, AND TOP SOIL EXISTING SERVICES
This section mainly subdivided into three classes as discussed as follows:
CLEARING OF SITE
There should be an erection and maintenance of temporary fencing mostly on the tree
protection zone, and this needs to be done before the commencement of clearing the site. This
fence also needs to be removed once the construction is completed.
TREE PROTECTION
Some of the activities which need to be avoided around the tree protection zone include
storing of the construction materials, debris, permitting vehicles into the area, erecting foot

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traffic as well allowing equipment in the fenced area. There should be a proper channel of
ensuring that the area is free from any trash and weeds. Moreover, excavation should not be
carried out with the protected area and also, replacing and repairing of vegetation and trees
which were approved by the Architect to remain.
TOPSOIL EXISTING SERVICES
First, it is essential to remove the grass and sod before the commencement of stripping
the topsoil. The process of stripping the topsoil must conduct at the appropriate depth and, in a
manner that the overall process does not interfere with the underlying subsoil as well as trigger
waster materials.
Additionally, all the subsoil, as well as the non-soil materials such as the debris, weeds,
roots, and trash along with waste materials, must be removed. However, stockpiling must be
done at the excavation edge to avoid intermixing of the topsoil and the subsoil.
Furthermore, it is essential to grade as well as shape the stockpile in order to drain all the
surface water available in the construction site and cover it to avoid any windblown dust.
Notably, precaution needs to be taken of ensuring that stockpiling of the topsoil is not done
within the tree protection zone.
TEMPORARY SERVICES
The temporary security, support housing, and protection should be put in place to assist if need in
the construction site.

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
The environmental protection practices in the construction site are broadly classified into two
group the sedimentation and the storm water disposal. These elements mainly discussed as
follows:
SEDIMENTATION CONTROL
The first control measure is to design a mechanism for controlling the sedimentation
resulting from the soil-bearing water discharged from the runoff and avoid overall soil erosion in
the area.
Also, the airborne dust comes from the adjacent properties and walkways must be
controlled according to the overall sediment along with Erosion control drawings. Furthermore,
inspection and repairing of all the areas affected by soil erosion and sedimentation must be
carried out. This process has to continue until the permanent vegetation cover has developed in
the area.
Other the other hand, stabilization of the area must also be carried out alongside
sedimentation control in due course while at the same tile removing erosion in the site.
STORMWATER
Proper drain system must be put in place to drain the storm water without causing any
sedimentation or soil erosion in the construction site. Also, the small temporary dam can be
constructed to store this stormwater and later be used in the construction process.
SITE SAFETY AND AMENITIES
It is essential to identify, locate as well as seal off all the utilities and amenities which
have been approved to be removed during the construction. Also, all the existing services and

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facilities which have not been marked should be identified and protected from damages and
destructions during the building process. Labeling and sealing off of caps should be done as a
mechanism for safeguarding the site under the safety act.
CONSTRUCTION
The critical issues to be addressed under this chapter mainly discussed in the following sub-
classes:
CUT AND FILL TO THE SITE AND BUILDING PLATFORM
It involves the overall process of cutting one side of the uphill side slope as well as placing the
fill materials on the other side of the hill that is a downhill slope. Therefore, this will result in a
bench finish formation. In this context, it is applicable since one side of the hill where the
foundation will be constructed is on the higher elevation compared to the other hand.
Furthermore, the process involves the use of materials in order to build a walking track (Watts
and Charles, 2015). However; the construction process doesn't require any benchmark in line. The
analysis can be depicted as shown in the figure below

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CONCRETE SLAB AND FOOTING TYPE
The footing type and the concrete slab for this retirement house can be done as shown in the
diagram below and base on the concrete and slab standards in line with the foundation and
footings. In order to build the concrete slab and a footing type, start by making a perfect and
robust slab, then straighten the edges and pack it. In the concrete slab and footing, the following
are some of the consideration which is put into the account. The slab is established with the
ground lines which show both the existing and finished foundation. Secondly, the building has a
makeable platform with both the moisture barrier and the compacted fill. Furthermore, there is
depth raft slab of about 300mm wide minimum by 400 mm minimum, and this must penetrate
the footing at approximately 300mm minimum in line with the natural ground. Moreover, the
reinforced slab used in the process also must have a thickness of about 100mm with reference to
the concrete floor slab. Both the external and the internal wall are a sheet with skirting board to
give the floor a smooth finishing. On the other hand, the walls are framed with the skating and
insulations to avoid lateral penetration of moisture and form a buffer zone for heat. After that,
fill and level it with concrete trust and then flatten the footing as shown in the diagram.

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Figure 1: showing the Concrete and Slab form
EXTERNAL WALL CONSTRUCTION
ROOF FRAMING
The rooftop for this house is the hip type which has a relative dimension of about 75mm
overhang system. In essence, the roofing is designed in such a way that the roof has an overhang
of about 750mm in size. Furthermore, there should be an outer wall which has residence broken
lines (outer wall of the house to be shown in broken lines. At the overhanging roof is where the
rainwater downpipes and gutters will be built. The type of the overhanging roof can be depicted
as shown in the diagram below. The roof framing for this house can take shape shown in the
chart below

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EXTERNAL WORKS READY FOR HANDOVER OF THE HOUSE
The final stage involved in any construction is the handover activity, and it is in this stage that
the certificate of completion is awarded to the engineer and the client is also given the go-ahead
to use the utility. However, a number of activities such as the installation of the shower screens,
furnishing of the room, planting of trees, fencing among other activities are carried. In essence,
the constructor customer care always will call the client at this moment to inform him or her that
the building is ready and a pre-handover is then conducted.
BUILDING MATERIALS
The materials which have been selected for this design construction are mainly discussed as
follows
TIMBER WALL FRAMING
LUMBER SIZE
The designer may use the lumber size which has broads of about 2 inches in line with the
thickness. The preferred dimension for the lumber to be used should have at least 2 inches thick
and a width of at least 2 inches. The beams and the stringers for the material to be used should be
at least 5 inches in terms of thickness and must be 2 inches greater than the thickness dimension

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used. The decking which will be used in the construction needs to be at 2 to 4 inches in line with
the thickness, and this must be loaded on the weak axis as far as the bending of the floor, the roof
as well as the wall surface is concerned.
ALLOWABLE DEFLECTION LIMIT
In timber framing and walling, the table may be used to guide in the selection of the permissible
deflection limits which will be considered in the process. The analysis for the process is
summarized in the table below
TERMITE RESISTANCE
The analysis of the termite resistance for the timber to be used is based on the standard values for
the wood, and this can be shown in the table below

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ROOF SHEETING, GUTTER, AND METAL FASCIA
ROOF SHEETING
Sheet tolerances primarily have the following dimensions with of about±5mm, length of
+10mm as well as tighter tolerances of about +3mm and 0mm. Therefore, the analysis for the
roof sheeting to be used can be summarized in the below table as follows

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The figure above shows the analysis for the sheet tolerances which can be used in evaluating the
type of the finishing which can be adopted as far as the specifications for the roofing is
concerned (Staines, 2001 p.12).
GUTTER AND METAL FASCIA
The roofing sheet must be continuous in terms of the length as from the ridge to the gutter. The
ridge designed should be used to accommodate the transportation of the stormwater as well
assisting in the thermal movement. Moreover, the sheet ends should only end at the flashing, and
from that point, the gutter should be lipped to them. Notably, all the flashings need to have a
thickness and the pre-painted elements, and this applies to all the hip and ridge materials. If the
Dura clad is used in the roofing the all the flashings including the hip and ridge must make of the
aluminum material and have decisive paint which suits the system. All the materials used in the
roofing must be compatible with each other. Also, it is important to reduce all the fastening used
in the roofing to a minimum of eight. Additionally, the primary fasteners used in the design
should be nine. Thus, the diagram below shows some of the gutter and metal fasciae which will
be used in the roofing system

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FLOOR FINISHING
There are different floor finishing which can be adopted to complete the floors for different
rooms in the domestic building construction. The choice for the finishing selection is mainly
based on the quality, availability as well as the durability of the item. Therefore, the table below
shows different floor finishing types in line with tiles as well as the possible manufacturing
companies in India (Staines, 2001 p.12).
Different
Flooring
Types manufacturer Description
Ceramic Lavish most popular finishes available are matte, embossed, glazed

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Tile
Ceramics -
Tile and textured ones for anti-slip
Hardwoo
d Flooring
Asian
Flooring India
Private
Limited
Maple, Pecan, Beech, Cherry, Oak, Pine, Birch, Walnut,
Hickory
Laminate
Flooring
Inovar Floors
India
strong, durable surface that can resist burns, scratches, and
chips
Marble
Flooring
Royal White
Marmo,
Indian
Marble,
Exporter,
Supplier,
Manufacturer
Udaipur
Rajasthan
India most durable and versatile tiles to
ESTIMATE OF COST
Building Contract Sum
The building contract sum is based on the bill of quantity for the construction and, therefore, it is
based on the international standards since some of the items are likely to import from other
countries if need be in the process. The summary of the building cost which contains both the
external works as well as the overall provisional sum for the relative installation mainly depicted
as shown in the table below
No. Item Quantity Amount ($)
1. lightweight construction brickwork and block work

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2. Site Clearance Trees cutting, fencing of the
protected zone
3. concrete slab Grounding the house on the
concrete slab
4. metal roof Color-bond finish
5. concrete vehicular driveway and crossover in reference
to the Local
6. Authority Requirements Certifications and inspections
7. Pathing and turfing Pathing to allow access to the site
8. solar panels Installation and purchasing of the
item
9. existing trees Maintenance of the existing trees
Roofing and ceiling Roof shape under the client
approved floor plan
10. storage of materials Storage of the construction
materials and the damaged goods
11. Labor Payments for the employees, the
geotechnical, the surveyors, the
constructor, engineer, workers and
security personnel among others
11. All the necessary
building materials
Tiles, sand, cement, steel, concrete
blocks, fittings
12. Excavation cost The cost of excavating the site

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13 All costs related the
surveying
The field trip, pre-study, actual
study and analysis
14. Environmental Protection Environmental protection including
site access and sediment control
Temporary storm water disposal
Project Budget of $275,000
Project Cost
The overall project cost for the entire work with all the relevant data on the allowable
contingency of about 5% and professional fee of about 7½%, mainly based on the total cost
which has been approved by the contractor in the Bill of Quantity above (Staines, 2001 p.12).
DOCUMENTATION AND CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM
The below is a simple bar chart which show the overall flow of work which will take place in
line with project construction of this Retirement House for the client. In fact, the bar shows the
overall depiction and the activities which will be carried out as far as this construction project is
concerned. The below data is used to develop simple bar chart
Project Activity Days
Contract Documentation 4
Estimate of Cost based on Contract
Documentation 8
Client Approval 10
Building Code of Australia assessment 16
Construction 40

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Hence, the below bar chart is obtained from the above data
Contract Documentation
Estimate of Cost based on Contract
Documentation
Client Approval
Building Code of Australia assessment
Construction
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Project Activity
Days
ENERGY SAVING INITIATIVES
In this building construction, the contractor needs to follow all the legislative requirements which
are contained in the Australia Building Code as well as the code on the Queensland Development
Code MP 4.1. These two acts give the overall guidelines on the Energy Efficiency and the
utilization of power in a sustainable manner. Moreover, the under the act on chapter six (6) of the
legislation also gives a provision on how the energy rating and requirements should be carried
out in line with houses built in the Sunshine Coast of the Climate Zone. In this design work, the
provision is mainly made for the roof, and its overall performance is checked as far as the
roofing is concerned (Staines, 2001 p.12). This is illustrated as per the analysis in the figure
below

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