ALL PROCESSES AND STEPS NEEDED IN CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW HOME

ALL PROCESSES AND STEPS NEEDED IN CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW HOME (RESIDENTIAL HOUSE)

In building a new HOME or Construction of residential building the following preliminary paper works are needed before commencing or embarking on the actual construction.

These processes/steps include;

·         PREPARATION OF WORKING DRAWINGS as required by the client (End user or Direct owner).

Working drawings cover the plot layout, floor and roof plans, elevations or views, sections, kitchen/toilet detailing, etc. An Architect is responsible for the drawings.

Also, structural drawings are prepared by a Civil Engineer if necessary, especially when the proposed HOME/building is more than one floor, or to be sited in a poor soil. Please consult a Structural Engineer for a proper design. HOMES should be safe.

·         BUILDING COST ESTIMATION. Estimation of material cost, labor cost and unforeseen contingencies comes next. This is professionally carried out by a Quantity Surveyor (Q.S) using a current and standard format of BOQ or BEME because cost of materials and labor varies with time and location. Proper estimate should be provided to the client so as to know how financially buoyant he/she is to fund the project execute. Cost should be affordable.

·         APPROVAL OF DRAWINGS AND COST ESTIMATES FROM CLIENT. The client must go through the documents (drawings and bills) submitted by the contractor and make an approval if it’s ok by him/her without any corrections or adjustment.

·         DRAWING APPROVALS FROM TOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY. This is very necessary when building a new HOME in the urban locations with a master plan, It is important because both residential and commercial building drawings must meet up the authority’s slated regulation. The Physical Planning units, Building Control Agencies, etc review the submitted drawings and issue out an approval number.

·         COMMENCE CONSTRUCTION WORK. You can either go through contractor or hire labor on daily basis. Whichever suits your budgets and depending on the complexity of the HOME project. I always advice for a competent, professional and qualified personnel to handle building projects. It costs more correcting an error rather than avoiding it. Don’t be too smart.

·         BARRICADING AND MARKING OF PLOT PERIMETER BOUNDARIES. The site has to be protected from people coming in, safe for workers thus it has to be barricaded for safety. Mark out boundaries to know extent of clearing.

·         CLEANING OF SITE. Every construction site should be cleared out of trees, shrubs, grasses, unwanted and harmful materials and debris before commencing activities or construction phases.

·         SETTING OUT/PREPARATION OF SITE LAYOUT AS SHOWN IN THE DRAWING PLANS. Here, the ground floor or basement floor plan is transferred to the gound via setting out or pegging. Accuracy is needed at this level to get the correct positioning, measurements, angles squared or curvatures.

After the completion of this, the actual construction on plot begins via the following procedures;

A.    EXCAVATION/EARTH WORK

Depending on the type of foundation to be dug, it could be manually or mechanically aided. Generally excavation is carried out for the construction of wall foundations. Excavation should be carried out as per the drawings defined lengths & widths. After excavation, layout the foundation and backfill the remaining excavated area around foundation with soil.

Floor levels of residential buildings are higher than the natural ground level. Fill the area with soil up to floor levels and compact the soil. Now earth work of residential building is finished.

B.     CONCRETE WORK IN FOUNDATION

Level the foundation base to same level. It is very necessary to check the levels of foundation before concrete work to avoid using concrete to fill up excess volume which will cost much. There are patches where excavated depth slightly exceeds and vice versa. Now pour the concrete as per drawing specs. Generally concrete of ratio 1:4:8 is used for foundation. Sometimes it is even 1:5:10 etc.

Here 1:4:8 means;

1 part cement per cubic

4 parts of sand per cubic

8 parts of coarse aggregates

Depth of foundation varies from 9” to 18” and normally for most of the cases it is considered as 12’’ depth. Keep foundation width equals to its depth.

C.     DAMP PROOF COARSE.

To protect walls from moisture, a layer of damp proof coarse material is laid down at floor level. Thickness of this concrete layer is 0f 1 inch. Material of damp proof coarse layer consists of concrete ratio 1:1.5:3 with a mixture of water proof material 1kg/bag.

D.    MASONRY WORK

Masonry work is carried out with cement mortar. Cement mortar is a mixture of cement & sand. Ratio of cement mortar varies from 1:4 to 1:6. Here (1:6) mean, 1 part cement and 6 parts of sand. Dampen about 25 bricks with a hose pipe and clean away all loose dirt from the top of footing and moisten about a meter of surface at one end of the foundation with the hose pipe. Throw a mortar line just behind the threaded level line and lay bricks on the mortar bed. Make sure bricks exactly follow the threaded horizontal level line

E.     LINTEL

Masonry work of buildings is carried out in one go till roof. Openings for windows & doors are left during masonry works. Reinforced cement concrete beams are laid down on the top of openings. So, those loads of structure above openings not directly come on to the door frames.

F.      PARAPET/ROOFING

Parapet are formed by carpenters and cast reinforced before casting with concrete. Roof slab of building is poured after completion of masonry works. Now a days, roofing is of reinforced cement concrete slab. Slab thickness & reinforcement details should be according to approved drawings.

G.    DOORS & WINDOWS

Traditionally, doors and windows of woods are used. But, steel & aluminum is also not a bad choice. In case of wooden doors & windows, frames are fixed in walls during masonry work. Panels are then fixed with hinges after plaster work. Steel and aluminum doors are fixed after completion of paint work.

H.    M & E SERVICES

These are Electricity supply, gas supply, water supply, sanitary etc. Conduits for electric supply are fixed in walls before plastering. Every conduit pipes, both mechanical and electrical must be standard. For hot water pipes, no substandard is allowed. Similarly water supply and sanitary lines are also laid before pouring of building floor. Services are very important for every single house. Different types of services are provided during construction.

 Note: Gas lines are not fixed in walls or slabs. Gas line remains open in air

I.       PLASTERING & PaINTING

Form work is removed after 21 to 28 days of slab pouring. Now plaster work begins. Good plaster sand must be used and a thorough mortar mix to avoid cracks on plastered walls. Mortar for plaster work is generally of 1:3 or 1:4 is used. Thickness of plaster layer should not be more than 0.75inch. Cure the surface about 7 days. So that, plaster gain proper strength.

Generally, internal walls of buildings are covered with plastered layer and external walls with pointing. It is better plaster the external walls rather than pointing

J.       FLOOR AND CEILING FINISH. (TILING & POP)

Depending on the type of floor and ceiling finish the client wants. Floor could be screeding, tiling, carpeting, marble, terrazzo, etc. ceiling finish could be POP, PVC, Asbestos, suspended ceiling, etc.

K.    FURNITURE, INSTALLATIONS AND FITTINGS ARE DONE.