Blog Archives

BASIC MASONRY TOOLS

Posted by on 17/ 11/ 15

Most of the tools listed in this section are hand tools. Chapter 3 describes impact drills, rotary hammers, and other useful power tools. Important: Wear goggles and a respirator mask when striking, grinding, or cutting masonry. Errant chunks of masonry can blind you, and masonry dust is not stuff you want to breathe.

Trowels are indispensable masonry tools. If you have no other tool, a trowel can cut brick, scoop and throw mortar, tap masonry units into place,

THE Point OF IT ALL

When you see the term pointing in masonry texts, someone is doing something to mortar joints—usually shaping or compressing them so they weather better...

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Movement of Non Aqueous Phase Fluids

Posted by on 17/ 11/ 15

Non-aqueous liquids, such as petroleum-based fluids, are not, in general, soluble in water so their movement must be considered separately. Although some of the liquid may be soluble or miscible in groundwater to such an extent that it is, thereby, subject to advection, diffusion and dispersion processes as described above, much may remain separate due to its different density and chemistry. These are termed non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs). Such fluids with densities less than that of wa­ter (light NAPLs) will float on top of groundwater in unconfined situations and their movement will, therefore, be controlled by the gradient of the top of the ground­water – which will act as the stimulus for movement – and the non-hydraulic per­meability coefficient for that fluid and soil combination...

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Wood Treatment

Posted by on 17/ 11/ 15

Wood surfaces and edges exposed to the weather will usually be surface treated to make them more weather resistant. Wood that is not naturally rot resistant and that will come in contact with moisture must be treated for rot and mold resistance. Creosote and penta­chlorophenol are two commonly used wood preservatives that are quite toxic. Creosote is a dark-colored, oily tar that will outgas harmful vapors long after it has been applied.

Pentachlorophenol has been shown to cause liver damage in adults and fetal death and has been banned in some European countries. These substances should be prohibited for use in a healthy home. The wood treatment prod­ucts discussed below do not contain these harmful ingredients.

Wood Treatment to Prevent Insect and Mold Infestation

• BioShield: Wood pre...

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Masonry

Posted by on 17/ 11/ 15
Подпись: Masonry needn't always be straight lines. Here, clinker bricks, fieldstones, and tile playfully conceal a drab concrete retaining wall. (For more on this technique, see “Dressing Up a Concrete Wall," on p. 199.)
image374

Modern masonry

materials, including stone, brick, tile, concrete, and other minerals that become strong and durable when used in combination. The craft of masonry is ancient. The oldest surviving build­ings are stone, but stone is heavy and difficult to work with. Brick, on the other hand, is less durable than stone but lighter and easier to lay up. And clay, the basic component of brick, is found almost everywhere.

Technologically, the switch from stone to brick was a great leap in several respects. First, masons began with a plastic medium (mud and straw) that they shaped into hard and durable building units of uniform size. Second, brick­making is one of the earliest examples of mass production...

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ROOF DRAIN SIZING METHOD

Posted by on 17/ 11/ 15

B101 Sizing Example

The following example gives one method of sizing the primary drain system and sizing the scuppers in the parapet walls. This method converts the roof area to an equivalent roof area for a 4-inch rate of rainfall so that Fig. 6.9 can be used as printed.

B101.1 Problem: Given the roof plan in Fig. 6.13 and the site location in Birming­ham, Alabama, size the primary roof drain system and size the scuppers, denoting the required head of water above the scupper for the structural engineer.

Note: For the purposes of this appendix the following metric conversions are appli­cable:

1 in = 25.4 mm 1 ft = 305 mm 1 ft2 = 0.0929 m2

 

1001-O’

ROOF DRAIN SIZING METHOD

 

FIGURE 6.13 ■ Example of a roof plan. (Courtesy of Standard Plumbing Code)

 

B101.2 Solution:

Step 1...

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Retardation and Enhancement

Posted by on 17/ 11/ 15

In most saturated soils, advection and diffusion/dispersion do not transport contam­inants as fast as might be expected from a consideration only of these processes. Of­ten, there is a movement of contaminant from the liquid phase to the solid phase due
to various physio-chemical processes (see Section 6.3.2). Together, these processes act to retard the contaminant flux. Where the soil solids are, in effect, clean with respect to the contaminant prior to the contaminant’s arrival, this retardation may be expressed using a very simple equation:

fR = 1 + Pdkd

where fR is the retardation factor (no units), kd (almost invariably expressed in units of l/kg = mL/g) is the partition factor which is discussed in the next paragraph and pd is the dry density of the soil (for which units of Mg/m3 ...

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Subtractive Design

Posted by on 17/ 11/ 15

A well-designed little house is like an oversized house with the unusable parts removed. Such refinement is achieved through subtractive design — the systematic elimination of all that does not contribute to the intended func­tion of a composition. In the case of residential architecture, everything not enhancing the quality of life within a dwelling must go. Anything not working to this end works against it. Extra bathrooms, bedrooms, gables and extra space require extra money, time and energy from the occupant(s). Super­fluous luxury items are a burden. A simple home, unfettered by extraneous gadgets, is the most effective labor-saving device there is.

Subtractive design is used in disciplines ranging from industrial design to civil engineering...

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Floor system

Posted by on 17/ 11/ 15

Floor system

support has been determined by tests and incorporated into building codes.

All you need to do is check your plans to see what type and size of joists you’ll use.

Joist size is usually determined by the distance they have to span. So the larger the span, the larger the joist. When you are joisting over a basement with a sin­gle center support, you often use 2x12s. If you are joisting over a crawl space with girders every б ft. or so, you can usually use 2x6s. Now with I-joists, you can span from sill plate to sill plate with­out any support in the middle. Floor joists on the first floor may be a different size than those used on the second floor.

Whatever size or type of joist you use, nailing them in place is more or less the same for big or little.

Layout

Once the sill plates are secu...

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BRIDGE WIDENING AND REHABILITATION

Posted by on 17/ 11/ 15

Shoulders were not always provided on bridges in the past. This in itself can be a reason for widening an existing bridge. More frequently, widening is necessitated by the addition of lanes to the highway, at which time a full shoulder can be provided.

The design and preparation of plans for bridge widening usually require all the same elements as the preparation of the original plans for the structure, plus details and notes for partial removal of the existing bridge, rebar splice details, and notes on sequence of construction and maintenance of traffic. Therefore, it is a mistake to think of such a design project as “just a widening job” when estimating the hours required to design and prepare plans, or when reviewing such estimates for agency approval.

Bridges are generally widened ...

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A WINDOW/DOOR ROUGH-OPENING WRAP

Posted by on 17/ 11/ 15

Подпись:Подпись:Подпись:A WINDOW/DOOR ROUGH-OPENING WRAPПодпись:A WINDOW/DOOR ROUGH-OPENING WRAPplastic or sheet-metal sill PAN provides alternative moisture protection in severe conditions. fasten pan only through sides and face flanges and lap sides with peel-and-stick flashing.

WINDOW/DOOR ROUGH-OPENING WRAP

Alternative Details for Severe Exposure to Rain

A WINDOW/DOOR ROUGH-OPENING WRAP
Подпись: THICKNESS.

Modern windows derive from the traditional wooden window shown above. Older windows have a wooden sash that holds the glass, which is usually divided into small panes by muntin bars. This sash is hinged or slides within a wooden frame that is fixed to an opening in the wall. At the bottom of the frame is a wood sill, sloped to shed water. The sides and top of the frame are called jambs.

A WINDOW/DOOR ROUGH-OPENING WRAPПодпись:These components and their terminology have been handed down to the modern window, but modern win­dows are better insulated and bett...

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