BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

HANDBOOK
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BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION
HANDBOOK
Eighth edition

R. Chudley
and
R. Greeno

AMSTERDAM . BOSTON . HEIDELBERG . LONDON . NEW YORK . OXFORD

PARIS . SAN DIEGO . SAN FRANCISCO . SINGAPORE . SYDNEY . TOKYO
Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier
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Eighth edition 2010
Copyright ª 1988, 1995, 1996, R. Chudley.
Copyright ª 1998, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, R. Chudley and R. Greeno
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CONTENTS
Preface to eighth edition xi

Part One General

Built environment 2
The structure 5
Primary and secondary elements 12
Component parts and functions 15
Construction activities 19
Construction documents 20
Construction drawings 21
Building survey 28
HIPs/Energy Performance Certificates 32
Method statement and programming 33
Weights and densities of building materials 35
Imposed floor loads 37
Drawings -- notations 38
Planning application 42
Modular coordination 47
Construction regulations 49
CDM regulations 50
Safety signs and symbols 51
Building Regulations 53
Code for Sustainable Homes 62
British Standards 63
European Standards 64
Product and practice accreditation 66
CPI System of Coding 67
CI/SfB system of coding 68

Part Two Site Works

Site survey 70
Site investigations 71
Soil investigation 74
Soil assessment and testing 81
Site layout considerations 88
Site security 91
Site lighting and electrical supply 94
Site office accommodation 98

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Contents

Materials storage 101

Materials testing 106
Dry and wet rot 121
Protection orders for trees and structures 123
Locating public utility services 124
Setting out 125
Levels and angles 129
Road construction 132
Tubular scaffolding and scaffolding systems 140
Shoring systems 153
Demolition 162

Part Three Builders Plant

General considerations 168

Bulldozers 171
Scrapers 172
Graders 173
Tractor shovels 174
Excavators 175
Transport vehicles 180
Hoists 183
Rubble chutes and skips 185
Cranes 186
Concreting plant 198

Part Four Substructure

Foundations -- function, materials and sizing 206

Foundation beds 215
Short bored pile foundations 221
Foundation types and selection 223
Piled foundations 228
Retaining walls 248
Gabions and mattresses 262
Basement construction 269
Waterproofing basements 272
Excavations 278
Concrete production 284
Cofferdams 290
Caissons 292
Underpinning 294
Ground water control 303
Soil stabilisation and improvement 313
Reclamation of waste land 318
Contaminated sub-soil treatment 319

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 Contents

Part Five Superstructure † 1

Choice of materials 322

Brick and block walls 323
Cavity walls 338
Damp-proof courses and membranes 344
Gas resistant membranes 351
Calculated brickwork 353
Mortars 356
Arches and openings 359
Windows 366
Glass and glazing 379
Doors 391
Crosswall construction 400
Framed construction 404
Rendering to external walls 408
Cladding to external walls 410
Roofs † basic forms 417
Pitched roofs 420
Double lap tiling 437
Single lap tiling 439
Slating 441
Flat roofs 447
Dormer windows 456
Green roofs 465
Thermal insulation 467
‘U’ values 472
Thermal bridging 488
Access for the disabled 492

Part Six Superstructure † 2

Reinforced concrete slabs 496

Reinforced concrete framed structures 500
Reinforcement types 510
Structural concrete, fire protection 513
Formwork 516
Precast concrete frames 521
Prestressed concrete 525
Structural steelwork sections 532
Structural steelwork connections 537
Structural fire protection 542
Portal frames 549
Composite timber beams 557
Multi-storey structures 560
Roof sheet coverings 564

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Contents

Long span roofs 569

Shell roof construction 579
Membrane roofs 588
Rooflights 590
Panel walls 594
Rainscreen cladding 600
Structural glazing 602
Curtain walling 603
Concrete claddings 607
Concrete surface finishes 614
Concrete surface defects 616

Part Seven Internal Construction and Finishes

Internal elements 618
Internal walls 619
Construction joints 624
Internal walls, fire protection 626
Party/separating walls 628
Partitions 629
Strut design 631
Plasters and plastering 636
Dry lining techniques 639
Plasterboard 642
Wall tiling 645
Domestic floors and finishes 647
Large cast in-situ ground floors 654
Concrete floor screeds 656
Timber suspended floors 658
Lateral restraint 661
Timber beam design 664
Timber floors, fire protection 667
Reinforced concrete suspended floors 668
Precast concrete floors 673
Raised access floors 678
Sound insulation 679
Timber, concrete and metal stairs 685
Internal doors 716
Doorsets 718
Fire resisting doors 719
Plasterboard ceilings 725
Suspended ceilings 726
Paints and painting 730
Joinery production 734
Composite boarding 739
Plastics in building 741

viii
 Contents

Part Eight Domestic Services

Drainage effluents 746

Subsoil drainage 747
Surface water removal 749
Road drainage 752
Rainwater installations 754
Drainage systems 758
Drainage-- pipe sizes and gradients 766
Water supply 767
Cold water installations 769
Hot water installations 771
Flow controls 774
Cisterns and cylinders 775
Pipework joints 777
Sanitary fittings 778
Single and ventilated stack systems 781
Hot water heating systems 784
Electrical supply and installation 788
Gas supply and gas fires 797
Open fireplaces and flues 801
Telephone installations 811
Electronic communications installations 812

Index 813

ix