Steady strength for years to come…
Photo: N. Sridharan
Plan perfectly: Once the owner decides to initiate construction work, he needs to plan out the requirement, functional needs in terms size, number of rooms, facilities required. –
Construction of any structure (Building) requires proper planning. Once the owner decides to initiate construction work, he needs to plan out the requirement, functional needs in terms size, number of rooms, facilities required etc.
The total construction time depends upon the requirements. A normal house with a plot size of 2,400 sft (40 x 60 feet) has a built up area of 1,200 sft to 1,500 sft. It should take nine months to 12 months for completion.
At planning stage itself one should weigh out various options available. Today in computer one can see 3D of the house and how it looks once it is completed. Whatever changes are required, the same should be made and finalised at this stage and not give any scope for further changes.
The various stages in construction are: Foundation, Plinth, Super structure columns and beams, Slab, Brickwork and plaster, Waterproofing, Plumbing and water lines and Finishing works At each stage, we should give proper time for its complete gaining of strength. Say in case of making of floor concrete, proper compaction (ramming) of earth to be done otherwise settlement may take place leading to cracks in the flooring.
The RCC columns once casted needs to be properly water cured. The hacking (making rough markings on column, beams to take up the plaster) of RCC should not be done at least for 10 to 12 days after casting.
Generally the contractors do this immediately after removal of shuttering with the intention of saving on labour. We should allow the RCC to gain sufficient strength before we hammer for marking.
The hammering leads to micro cracks and leads to deterioration of RCC members. We should take care of slab. It needs to be properly cured for 28 days. Because of time constraint (at times because of water shortage), contractors tend to neglect curing period.
In construction of buildings most neglected part is the curing. Also in today’s scenario the cement is of high strength. The curing requirement is more at early stage.
We need to start curing after three hours to four hours of concreting. Proper curing is required for all RCC, brickwork, plaster and floorings.
For durability of structures we need to do proper protection in terms of suitable waterproofing system. Mainly for the plinth as plinth protection (DPC-Damp Proof Course), for wet areas (toilet and bathrooms), walls and terraces.
Lastly once the structure is ready we need to have proper maintenance plan like routine cleaning of terraces especially outlets, exteriors by way of waterproofing coatings once in four years etc.
Murgesh Bhustali, Head Training,
Dr.Fixit Institute
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Property Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
