Construction Management Report: Building Foundation and Walls Analysis

This report provides a detailed analysis of ground floor construction, addressing various aspects from foundation design to material selection. The report begins with a discussion on foundation types, considering site classification as Class M according to AS2870, and recommends pier or beam footings. It then presents a construction sequence, starting from excavation and concrete pouring for piers and strip foundations, followed by steel reinforcement placement and beam construction, culminating in external wall construction. The report further explores structural elements, including the layout of structural columns and beams, with a focus on a rectangular grid lattice for efficient construction. Concrete beams and square columns are recommended, along with strip pad footings for load distribution. The report also explains concrete grade selection and provides a comparison of internal wall options, listing the advantages and disadvantages of brick walls, block work, framed structures, timber walls, rammed earth walls, and straw bales. Finally, the report includes a comprehensive list of references.

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Q1: Foundation type
The design of the foundation footing is normally based on the stability of the soil, type,
topography of the site as well as any other local requirements as outlined during design. The site
is classified as class M by the Residential and Footing Code AS2870. The site is classified as M.
Class M sites are moderately reactive silt or clay sites. Most of these site experiences ground
movements that are moderates as a results of the conditions of the soil and changes in the
moisture (Brodsky and Yankelevsky 2017).
The most adequate foundation footings for the site is and pier or beam footings. The footing
beams for brick veneer and brick cottages that are on reactive soils often need piering to the
stable grounds. Piering is often needed in cases where the footing is under the influence of
adjacent drainage or even water board sewer mains (Massone et al. 2017). Sites that are
composed of highly reactive grounds or even uncontrolled filling need piering for the footings
for every construction type.
Q2: Section through X-X

Q3: Construction sequence
Excavation of the pier hole- the spacing, number as well as location of the holes will be indicated
by the engineer’s drawings on the design
 Pouring of the concrete in the piers- The concrete is put at about 500mm beneath the
NGL or FGL and does not require any reinforcement
 Excavation of the strip foundation-strip foundation is excavated between the piers after
three days. The concrete beams would be excavated around the whole perimeter of the
house
 Position of the steel reinforcement for beam: This is done as determined by the structural
calculations that aid in the determination of the spacing as well as the sizes of the bars to
be used
 Pouring the beam: The beam is made of reinforced concrete that has been adequately
mixed

 Construction of the external wall on the surface of the beam. The external walls are
constructed using the recommended material which is masonry bricks or concrete
depending on the prevailing conditions of the site and the intended use of the structure to
be constructed
Q4: Layout of structural columns and beams
b) The layout of the structural for the beams and columns has been settled on depending on the
form of the building on which a structural grid is to be laid. The architectural layout of the
building is more of repetitive and regular and hence the patterns of the layout of the structure are
in the form of a rectangular grid lattice. This would ensure quick and accurate lying of the grids
as just the span of the columns and the depth of the beams will need to be calculated to find the
adequate spacing.
Q5: Beams
a) The cross section of beams recommended for this building would concrete beam.

b) Concrete as a construction material has adequate strength and hence resistant to axial and
compressional forces. It will thus be able to adequately support the load of the members used in
the construction and result in effective transmission of the load (Nicola et al. 2015).
Q6: Structural columns
a) A square column is the recommended column section for the building. The main function of a
column in a building is structural meaning it is intended to be load bearing and transferring load
from the super structure to substructure.
b) Columns with square cross sections have a higher resistance to deflection or bending in
comparison with the rectangular cross section columns (Lu et al. 2016). Still, the load needed to
buckle a column that has a square cross section is equivalent to the perimeter yet for a column
having a cross section that is rectangular may undergo bending at any of the axes.
Q7: Pad footings
a) Strip pad footings will be ideal for the building around columns that would need to be about
700*700 mm
b) Strip footings are adequate in the transfer as well as distribution of load beneath the ground.
Along the strips, the load is uniformly distributed on the ground resulting in an enhanced
stability of the house. Strip footing as well provide a very large surface area over which load is
transmitted hence ensuring there are no chances of point load on any point of the building which
would result in shear or compression of the point (Shen et al. 2017).
Q8: General explanation on selecting concrete grades

A grade defines the minimum strength that concrete must have after 4 weeks of construction
with adequate quality control. Selection of concrete grade is dependent on the requirement of
structural design. Grades of concreter are often understood in measurements of MPa in which M
denotes the mix and MPa denotes the overall strength. (Kolozvari, Kristijan and Wallace 2016)
Table 1: Various grades of concrete, mix ratio, compressive strength & psi respectively
Q9: A list of advantages and disadvantages of the various options for the internal walls
Advantages of brick walls
 Uniformity in size and shape
 Ease of formation of openings
 Ease of handling since pieces are of lightweight
 Able to use any type of mortar
 Reduces construction costs since mortar joints are thin
 Easily available

Disadvantages
 Low aesthetic appeals
 Weaker compared to stone
 Not durable in comparison with stone
 Requires plastering that may lead to increased costs
 Water absorbing resulting in dampness and distortion over time
Advantages of block work
 Ideal in areas that are moist
 Can withstand high storms and winds
 Energy saving and eco-friendly
Disadvantages
 High cost of construction
 Inaccessibility of mechanical or electrical installations in case of fault (Gautam et al.
2016)
Advantages of framed structures
 Quick to construct
 Ease of constructions
 Come in economical designs
Disadvantages
The length of spans is restricted
Advantages of timber walls

 Timber structures tend to be attractive
 Timber as a material is elastic (Barbosa et al. 2017)
 Offers excellent circulation
 Disadvantages
 Susceptible to abiotic factors
 Vulnerable to attacks by pests
 Shrinks and swells
Rammed earth walls
Advantages
 Excellent thermal qualities
 Excellent soundproofing
 Economic viability
 Energy efficient
 Relatively fireproof
Disadvantages
 Need protection from heavy rains
 Does not provide good insulation
Straw bales
Advantages
 Made out of waste products
 Excellent insulation

 Better aesthetics due to the thickness
 Low embodied energy
Disadvantages
 May have approval challenges in case it is not part of the local codes
 Not ideal for extreme humidity and rain areas
 Must be kept dry as moisture is harmful to it
Q10

References
Barbosa, Andre R., Larry A. Fahnestock, Damon R. Fick, Dipendra Gautam, Rajendra Soti,
Richard Wood, Babak Moaveni, Andreas Stavridis, Michael J. Olsen, and Hugo Rodrigues.
"Performance of medium-to-high rise reinforced concrete frame buildings with masonry infill in
the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake." Earthquake Spectra 33, no. S1 (2017): S197-S218
Brodsky, A., and D. Z. Yankelevsky. "Resistance of reinforced concrete frames with masonry
infill walls to in-plane gravity loading due to loss of a supporting column." Engineering
Structures 140 (2017): 134-150
Gautam, Dipendra, Hugo Rodrigues, Krishna Kumar Bhetwal, Pramod Neupane, and Yashusi
Sanada. "Common structural and construction deficiencies of Nepalese buildings." Innovative
Infrastructure Solutions 1, no. 1 (2016): 1
Kolozvari, Kristijan, and John W. Wallace. "Practical nonlinear modeling of reinforced concrete
structural walls." Journal of Structural Engineering 142, no. 12 (2016): G4016001

Lu, Zhao-Hui, Yi-Bin Ou, Yan-Gang Zhao, and Chun-Qing Li. "Investigation of corrosion of
steel stirrups in reinforced concrete structures." Construction and Building Materials 127 (2016):
293-305
Massone, Leonardo M., Brian L. Sayre, and John W. Wallace. "Load–Deformation responses of
slender structural steel reinforced concrete walls." Engineering Structures 140 (2017): 77-88
Nicola, Tarque, Candido Leandro, Camata Guido, and Spacone Enrico. "Masonry infilled frame
structures: state-of-the-art review of numerical modelling." Earthquakes and structures 8, no. 3
(2015): 731-757
Shen, Dejian, Qun Yang, Yang Jiao, Zhenghua Cui, and Jinyang Zhang. "Experimental
investigations on reinforced concrete shear walls strengthened with basalt fiber-reinforced
polymers under cyclic load." Construction and Building Materials 136 (2017): 217-229
Yao, Jialiang, Zhigang Zhou, and Hongzhuan Zhou. "Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete."
In Highway Engineering Composite Material and Its Application, pp. 51-80. Springer,
Singapore, 2019