Introduction
The report aims to present the anatomy of the domestic building design in order to present the viability of the steel and timber and brick works. It contains a detailed and researched analysis of the various material usage, sustainable practices and the stakeholder involvement in the construction of a domestic building. Moreover, the report accounts of the various provisions also that has been made in the National Construction Code, Building Code of Australia and the other applicable standards. By doing so the report is meant to present an optimistic vision towards decision making of the company coping with its expansion. Thus, the report provides the detailed guidelines of the construction process, material use, project management involvement etc. in the anatomy of the domestic building.
Regulatory Requirements
The regulatory frameworks are the mandatory follow-ups that provide the minimum standards for the material usage and the combinations. Specifically, the regulatory provisions are the articulated control of the legislative bodies over the control, implementation and the direction of the infrastructures.
The National Construction code or NCC sets the minimum requirement for the specifications of the building construction, demolition and the expansion process throughout Australia. Together with the provision of the construction and the design consideration NCC also contains the drainage and the plumbing requirements. More specifically, the National construction code is divided into three volumes. The three-volume correspond to the following
However, the NCC accounts of the variances according to the climatic, geological and the geographic conditions. The various specifications and the provisions corresponding to the relevant sections are thoroughly discussed in the report.
Figure 1: Specifications of the National Construction Code
Planning, Building Permits and Building Control
The planning permit is required in the order to modify/ develop a piece of land. The planning permit is issued by the local council. However, the construction of the domestic building requires the building permit. The building permits can be obtained from the private building surveyors or the local council. The municipal building surveyors are regulated by the corresponding municipal council while the privately registered building surveyors are independent and self-governed. Additionally, the building permits that are issued by the private surveyors requires further compilation to the building commission. While, in the case of municipal surveyors, the building permits are automatically compiled against the Building Regulations 2006, The Building Regulations Act 1993, Building Code of Australia and the other Australian standards.
Project Stakeholders
The Stakeholders are the persons, groups or organizations that are either affected by the project or affect the project. Specifically, these effects account of the various activities, perceptions and the decisions that are taken either by the project or the stakeholders. The stakeholder involvement in a project is completely based on their own interest. It may correspond to the monetary benefit, etc (Board, 2015). The Stakeholders are classified into two categories those correspond to the following:
Primary Stakeholders
The primary stakeholders are classified as those organizations, groups or the individuals that may affect the project directly or can get affected by the project directly. For a construction project, the primary stakeholders correspond to the following:
Secondary Stakeholders
The secondary stakeholders are classified as those organization, group and the individuals that are affected either indirectly by the project or affect the project indirectly. The Secondary stakeholders correspond to the following in a construction project.
The relationship among the Stakeholders
The relationship between the various stakeholders of the construction projects are as follows
Figure 2: Relationship among the Stakeholders
Design
Approval process
The design approval process corresponds to the various stages of the development of a domestic building. The various phase extends from the planning assessment to the handover phase in domestic buildings (Wen, Siong, and Noor, 2015). The various phase that is involved in between the mentioned extent involves the design or the planning phase, the development phase, the implementation or the constructional phase and the final handover phase.
Planning phase
The planning phase involves the architectural planning of the domestic building. In the planning phase, the various proposals are created in order to get approval. The plan consists of a key plan drawn to a scale of 1: 10000, floor plans were drawn to a scale of 1:100 to 1:500 and the sectional elevation plans drawn to a scale of 1: 200 to 1:500. The planning is sent further for approval (Dixon, et. al., 2017). Additionally, there are provisions for the electrical planning, plumbing plan etc. for domestic buildings.
Development Phase
Prior moving to the development phase, the building permits are needed. The development phase involves the planning and scheduling of the payments, insurance etc. Further, the development phase corresponds to the hiring of the project managers, surveyors etc. in the order to develop the planning for the implementation of the prepared planning. Moreover, the development phase is the most important phase in the domestic construction. The guidelines are properly set in the development phase according to the provisions made by the concerned authorities. The development phase involves the surveying and estimate preparation of the proposed construction.
Contracting
Before the implementation of the proposed development, there is a requirement of the preparation of the contracts between the owner/ Architect and the contracting companies/ contractors. The contracts are the legal documents that provide the security of payment to the contractors and the security of completion of work for the Owners/ Architects. Additionally, the contracting phase involves the exchange of the plans, elevations, structural design specifications and the cost estimation between the contractors and the clients.
Implementation or the Construction Stage
The implementation or the construction stage corresponds to the implementation of the planning on the ground. The erection of the domestic building as per the developed planning is done in this phase. The implementation or the construction phase’s tenure is generally the longest period. The construction phase involves the hiring of the workmen, site in charges, site supervisors etc. in the order to construct a domestic building. Moreover, the construction phase involves the finishing works also.
Hand over stage
After the construction and the finishing of the residential buildings, the building is handed to the owner of the project. The handover phase involves the final inspection of the domestic building. After the final inspection of the building, the building surveyor issues an occupancy certificate. Thus, after the issue of the occupancy certificate, the fully finalized building is handed over to the client to occupy the building premises.
Subsystems of Domestic Structure
Construction of the Footings
The substructure portion consists of the structural components that generally lies below the plinth level. The construction of the domestic building up to the ground floor level is considered in general. The construction up to the ground floor level involves the site levelling works to be done prior to any construction. The levelling involves in the excavation and the filling of the soil from the higher grades to the lower grades. After the levelling work is finished on the site, the layout or the setting out is carried which is a process of marking the ground floor plan on the ground. Further, it is required to prepare trenches to construct the footings and the foundations. The trenches are prepared with a certain clear cover so that it becomes easier to construct the footings. The construction of the footing, the reinforcement bars are tied in the shape of nets that acts as the base leaving the accurate spacing for the anchorage. Further, the anchorage length is used to complete the footing structure as desired cube shape again leaving the anchorage length. After creating the reinforcement framework for the construction of the footing, the concrete is filled. To remove any impurity, and the trapped air, the vibratos are used while pouring the concrete.
Footings
As per AS 2870-2011 and the NCC Vol 2 Part 3.2, the footing is the part of the substructural system of the residential buildings which functions are to transfer the overall dead load of a residential structure on the soil. There are many types of the footings that can be used in the residential buildings on the basis of the bearing ratio of the soil (Islam, Jollands and Setunge, 2015). The factors that are considered in choosing between the types of the footing lies on the various factors like the type of the building, dead load of the building, site classification. Moreover, the settlement in the soil is also considered while choosing the foundation type (Moon, et. al., 2016). The two types of the settlement that are considered while deciding the foundation type are a minute settlement and the consistent settlement.
Types of the footings
Generally, there are two types of footings that are being used in the domestic constructions. Both the footing lies in the shallow foundation's category. The footings that are used in the domestic construction correspond to the following:
Plumbing systems: The space in between the floor slab and the foundations are generally utilized in the plumbing services. The plumbing services correspond to the plumbing needs of the domestic buildings.
Construction of the Flooring sub-system
The regulatory requirements that provide the specifications for the flooring subsystems are mentioned under AS/NZS 1860.1:2002 for the domestic house and AS/NZS 2455 for the textile flooring installation. The construction of the flooring system consists of the attaching the bottom plate to the footing (Lawania and Biswas, 2018). Further, at desired places, the joist are fixed to join the nails and the bracings. After the fixation, the construction of the flooring system involves the placing of the noggins in between the joists. Further, there is a requirement to provide the adequate space for the ventilation so that the moisture can be avoided from the soil beneath the ground. After making the mentioned arrangements the boards are placed.
Components of the flooring sub-systems
Further, the other administrative services like the electrical, mechanical etc. are provided adequate spaces as per design requirements. The void space between the flooring subsystems and the ground and the boards are used for these administrative services.
Figure 3: Dwelling components
Source: Home.com
Construction of the Wall Framings
Under the AS 1684.1-1999- provision for the timber-framed construction, NCC 2016 BCA Vol 2 Part 3.4 for the framing regulation and AS 4256.1:2006 for the general requirement of wall claddings the wall framing is regulated. The timber wall frame construction consists of the development of the driver edges. In order to develop the driver edges, the top plate and the base plate it is mandatory to provide. The corner of the regular stud is used for the connection of the top plate and the bottom plate (Hasan, 2016). An equal opening is provided with the lintels, sill plates, trimmers and the jack studs. Afterwards, the noggins are used so that the adequate stability and restrictions for the movement. Further, the top plate is installed over the mentioned frameworks. Additionally, provisions are made for the insulation, cladding and the weatherboards. For finishing, final paint is applied.
Components of the wall framing
Construction of the Roof framing Sub-System
The roof frames construction involves the fixation of the bottom chords over the top of the wall frame. Further, the nail plates are used to tie the bottom chord to the bottom tie (Zhou, et. al., 2015). The steel bracings, nails are used over the bottom chords to erect the web and the tie. Further, after the completion of the framework, the rafters are laid. The rafters are joined using the steel bracing and the nail plates to the web members and the studs. Finally, roof cladding is provided in order to protect the dwelling.
The regulatory requirements that are provided are as follows
Components of the roofing Sub-system
Overall Loads and the load paths
The overall loads that are applied to the domestic structures are as follows
The dead load is the weight of the structure and the mandatory or the fixed appliances or the furniture’s that are kept permanently in the dwellings. Generally eh dead load is calculated by the product of the volume and the unit weight for each component.
The live load is the variable load that is applied over the structure. The live load consists of the things that can move. The weight so of the humans, the lightweight furniture are considered in the Live load.
The seismic load is a parameter that is considered in those areas where it is probably an earthquake zone. The calculation of the seismic load in the design parameters is done to secure the house from the chances of the occurring of earthquakes. In other words, the consideration of the seismic load accounts of earthquake resistant designs
The wind load is taken into account in the design consideration of a residential building when the flow velocity of the wind crosses a certain limit. In Australia, it is a major factor that is the biggest reason for the collapse of a building.
The snow load accounts of the designing of the roof and the structural system as per the required in the order to bear the snow loads. During snowfall, the snow generally gets trapped over the roof of a domestic structure which is a major load to the roof. Thus, the design specification should be provided according to the specifications necessary to resist the snow load.
Load Paths
Generally, all the loads that are driven by the gravity, thus the load paths are generally downwards. However, the wind blows horizontal but still, the structural failure is calculated to happen in the same direction due to the self-weight of the members (Kibert, 2016). If the structural system is stable enough to hold the structure on its position, the load is identified to be transferred from the roof to the wall, then to the floor and then finally to the ground.
Occupational Health & Safety
The Occupational health and safety are mandatory to follow because of the involved risk in site operations. Since there are a lot of the dangers involved in the case of the site works. There is a need for using the precautions on the site (Schmidt, 2018). To take the desired precautions, the problems that arise on the site need to be focused. The problems that arise on the site correspond to the following:
Thus, there is a need to protect our self and protect other also from such miseries. Taking precautions such as, wearing the safety helmet, safety suits, safety gloves can save ourselves and the others also that are involved in any kind of work on the site (Biswas, 2014). Thus, recommendations are made to take on the following during a site visit
Moreover, for additional safety, there is a need to provide additional attention to the safety.
Site Suitability
The site suitability enquires the proposed construction site for the suitability of the construction practices that are proposed to be carried out. The various site suitability factors are as follows
Access
The access remains the most important factor for a site selection for the construction practices. It accounts for the reach and the connectivity to the site that is proposed for constructions. A better site is said when it is having three side connectivity.
Geographic
The geographic location of the site determines the value of the selected site. For a good geographic location, the site should be located near a residential community with a good city traffic.
Demographic
The demographic conditions also affect the site suitability. A construction site which is situated in an area where the population is middle-aged or younger and fascinated are considered to be a good site of the residential house construction.
Structural & Cladding Material
The usage of the cladding is to prevent the domestic dwelling from the various external and the natural agencies. Moreover, the cladding system provides additional beauty to the interior of the dwellings. Additionally, the cladding system works as an insulator in the case of any fire (Shou, ey. al., 2015). Generally, the materials that are used as structural and the cladding material are as follows
The fibre cement is considered to be providing high sustainability in the households. Generally, the fibre cement is prepared in the factories. They can be easily found in the market in the form of the thin sheets, weatherboards and the plank boards.
The timber is generally used in the building due to availability and the low prices factors. Additionally, the timber is the natural materials that are also considered to be providing adequate resistance from the weather conditions.
The weatherboards are the used in the wall framing systems. The weatherboards provide adequate fire resistance and heat insulations as structural and the cladding systems
The bricks are the most preferred structural and the cladding material that is used in the domestic constructions. The resistance provided by the bricks is measured to be very high on the heat dissipation and the fire resistant but they are also liable for the seismic failure.
The use of the aluminium as the cladding material offers very exciting workability due to the flexibility. The usage of the aluminium panels can be widely seen as the boards
The plywood is the next most common materials that are used in the structural system. Due to the hardness and the easy availability the plywood also offers a great durability while used as a cladding and structural material.
Design & Aesthetics
The design remains an important factor for the residential house as it includes the design of takes care of the orientation of the building to the forces and the distances of eth rivets and the clamps being installed. A well designed residential house is responsible for the long service life of a residential structure.
Cost efficiencies
The cost efficiency remains one of the basic factors that should be focused on the design consideration. The cost efficiency is not liable of the cost reduction at each place, but the cost efficiency is a measure to get the maximum profit of the available resources (Pacheco-Torgal, et. al., 2014). The cost efficiency can be certainly kept to be at an unvaried proportion by properly managing a project. Moreover, the architects, structural engineers and the project managers already remain aware of the term but still, there is the additional provision of the savings in each project. Thus, the cost efficiency should be considered for the aesthetic design of the buildings
Current trend and the materials
As a current practice, it is observed that the timber wall framing is currently on the trends. However, the innovation and the creativity in the design and the aesthetic consideration has been enquired to arouse at a different level. In the context of the architects, there are no materials that they cannot use as a structural system (Sandanayake, et.al. 2016). But, in the context of the structural engineers, the usage of the materials that are being used already is the best material for the structural components. Generally, it is observed that the steel is focused as the structural component while the other components can be used for the other considerations (Weir, 2017). Additionally, the domestic construction has come to a stage where the material available in the consideration of the variety is abundant. The designers and the structural engineers just need to find the appropriate and the suitable use of the materials. Thus, the innovation in the next years can see the usage of the innovative materials as the structural members in the domestic constructions
References
Biswas, W.K., 2014. Carbon footprint and embodied energy consumption assessment of building construction works in Western Australia. International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment, 3(2), pp.179-186.
Board, A.B.C., 2015. National Construction Code. ABCB.
Board, A.B.C., 2016. National Construction Code 2016 Volume Two Building Code of Australia Class 1 and Class 10 Buildings.
Dixon, R., Sieverts, L., Alston, J. and Barber, D., 2017. A methodology for quantifying fire resistance level of buildings containing exposed structural timber elements. In Fire Safety Engineering Stream Conference: Quantification of Fire Safety: Fire Australia 2017 (p. 44). Engineers Australia.
Hasan, M.M., 2016. The role of energy efficient, cost-effective and sustainable building fabrics in structures of commercial retail buildings' in Australia: Opportunities and barriers. In Australasian Structural Engineering Conference: ASEC 2016(p. 280). Engineers Australia.
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Schmidt, A.T., 2018. Preventing Australia from becoming a dumping ground for non-conforming construction steels as a result of US tariffs. Construction Engineering Australia, 4(1), p.2.
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