Inspection Of A Residential Building Assignment Sample

Introduction Building Inspection Report: Structure, Materials, and Defects

Building inspections are done in order to highlight the different aspects of the building taken into consideration. For this reason, it is required to carry out the inspection properly. At the time of inspection, the main thing that is done is to look for the condition of the building and its orientation. The required data in the inspection is recorded by taking pictures of the building from both inside & outside. In this project, several aspects of the inspection of a building were found. Also, the benefits that can be obtained by doing the inspection of a building are also established here in this project. The building that was chosen here is situated in London. This is a residential building that is mainly used for living purposes. In this project, the details of the building were presented. This included the map of the location where the building is situated. Moreover, the address of the building is also presented here. Furthermore, the description of the facade of the external wall is also presented here in this project. The description of the structural items of the building is also present in this report.

In addition to this, there is also a description of the substructure of the building. In this, the details of the type of foundation present in the building are present in the report. Also, the description of the construction method along with the materials used in constructing the substructure is presented in the project. Furthermore, the description of the elements in the superstructure of the building is present in this report. It can be seen that there are different “non-structural” elements present in the building that are present in this project. It can be seen that there exist some defects in the building. The description of these defects was presented in this report.

Discussion

Building Identification

It is to be noted that there are different criteria are used for the identification of a building. In this project also, there are some criteria were used for the identification of the selected building. The building that was selected for this project was the “”Parker Street, WC2B”, London building. The things that were considered here for the identification of the building are as follows.

Location

Figure 1: Location Map

(Source: Taken by author)

This provides the details of the location where the selected building is present. It shows the building on the map of the UK as it is situated in the UK.

Postcode

The postcode of the area is WC2B

Facade

Figure 2: Main Facade

(Source: Taken by author)

It can be seen that the external facade of the building which is the “external wall” of the building is made of brick.

Date of building

The building was prepared 10 years ago. The life span of the building is 30 years.

Building Type

There are different uses of a building in actual practice. The main use of the building is mainly dependent on the type of building. The building that was selected here in this project is a residential building. This is used mainly for living.

The design of this building was done as per the design of a residential building. It can be seen that different buildings are designed differently as per the purpose of the building (Khanna et al. 2021). In this project, the project that was chosen is a residential building. For this reason, the space of the building was divided into areas that are useful for the purpose of living.

It is to be noted that there are different methods employed for making buildings. These are selected as per the time & material available. Moreover, it is also dependent on the purpose of the building. It can be seen that in this building there is a shallow foundation available. Also, the breadth of the foundation is more than the depth of the foundation.

It is to be noted that there are different materials used for the preparation of buildings. The main thing that decides this is the availability of material (Brekke et al. 2020). Moreover, the condition of the weather around the location of the building is also necessary for this selection. It can be seen that the external wall of the building is made of brick. Moreover, the building has a sloped roof for draining out water efficiently.

Structural Elements: Substructure

This is the most important section of a building. It is because this decides the transfer of load to the ground. In other words, it can be said that this is the mechanism by which the building transfers the load to the ground. In this building, there is a shallow foundation (Poza et al. 2020). It is to be noted that this is a foundation that is used where the load coming on the building is less. The details of the foundation present in this building are as follows.

Type of foundation

There are different types of foundations used in buildings. There are some criteria that decide this. The main criteria that decide this is the amount of load acting because of the building. Moreover, the type of soil present in that location is also the deciding factor of the type of foundation.

Construction Method

Depending on the kind of foundation, there are several ways of foundation building. The isolated base can be found in the structure in this situation. The earth is dug initially to prepare for this sort of foundation. Excavation is carried out in the areas where the footings and tie beams are going to be installed. Following the placement of this formwork for the build-up of the footing (Dai et al. 2021). The column is built on the footing. Following that, the column will be set up all the way to the ground. This creates the building's foundations.

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Materials used

The building's base is made from a variety of materials. This is mostly determined by the kind of foundation, how much load is placed on the base, and the materials accessible. Based on these factors, it is clear that specific materials were employed to construct the base of the structure chosen for this project. The building's footing is composed of brick (Au et al. 2019). The building's column is likewise composed of brick. The entire footing can be seen to be built over pieces of PCC.

Structural Elements: Superstructure

A building's superstructure refers to the sections of the structure that are above ground level. It includes all goods that are located above ground level. As a result, the majority of the elements and locations used by the inhabitants fall into this group. Various components of the chosen building may be observed in this project. The endless walls are the first visible component of the structure (Kontogiannis et al. 2021). This component shields the interior of the structure from the many natural forces of the environment. The doors and windows are an additional part of the superstructure seen here. These are the elements that are utilized for entering and exiting the house. This is also utilized to get entry to other rooms across the house. The house's roof can also be regarded component of the superstructure. The building's roof is adorned with chimneys. These are installed to exhaust the smoke produced within the home.

Different materials were employed to construct the various components of the home. The main façade of the structure, which serves as the building's exterior wall, is composed of brick. Cement mortar is used to hold the bricks together. Furthermore, the building's doors and windows are built of wood (Serrano et al. 2019). Furthermore, the top portion of the structure is a tracing roof. This is a tiled roof with a slanted pitch. There is also the supply of asbestos pipes for rainfall collecting and dumping into the drainage channel. Furthermore, the internal partition of the building's interior area is formed of plywood (Cozza et al. 2020). The ground level of the structure is built of marble stone tiles. Furthermore, many types of fittings can be noticed for the purpose of recognizing the electrical connections for the various equipment.

Walls

Figure 3: Walls

(Source: Taken by author)

In the building, there are two distinct sorts of walls. These are both exterior and interior structures. The outside structure is built of brick. This shields the building's interior from outside influences. This is produced by gluing clay bricks together in cement mortar (Liu et al. 2021). Furthermore, there are internal walls that serve to divide the building's interior area into distinct rooms. These walls are constructed of plywood.

Floors

Figure 4: Floor Details

(Source: Taken by author)

This is the element where the house's interior operations take place. In simple terms, this is the foundation upon which the objects in the structure are built. It can be observed that in this structure, marble stone tiles were utilized to make the floors (Davis et al. 2019). Furthermore, finishings equal to a height of “200mm” are given to protect the interior walls from the effects of the various goods put inside the structure.

Roof

Sloped if present in this building

Non-structural elements & materials

Floor Finishing

All of the furniture and belongings that are installed in a building are supported by the floor. Also, due to the presence of various types of materials and their effects, different types of damage to the flooring may be observed. Keeping this in mind, it is attempted to ensure the floor is sturdy enough to withstand the impact pressures from the various things. It is also tested to ensure that no liquid or water soaks through the floor. Taking all of this into account, a specific material was employed in the construction of this building's floor.

Figure 5: Details of floor finishing

(Source: Taken by author)

Marble was employed in the construction of the building's floor. When manufacturing the marble floor, little particles of marble as well as dust of marble stone are established. The environment is harmed as a result of this (Klimina et al. 2019). Because marble has a lower thermal conductivity, there is less heat movement between the exterior and inside spaces of the structure.

Staircase

The staircase is an architectural feature that is used to access the building's areas that are located at different altitudes. This building has two levels, as depicted in the photo. In this building, a staircase is employed to link these two stories. There is a "dog-legged stair" in this structure.

Figure 6: Stair Details

(Source: Taken by author)

Wood is used as the material for making the windows of the building. There are no such environmental issues regarding the wood. The windows of the building are quite strong enough to bear variable loads as they are made up of wood (Rosti et al. 2020). The wood used for the buildings acts as a good insulator.

Windows

Figure 7: Window Details

(Source: Taken by author)

This is an element that allows the outside world to interact with the building's interior area. Accessibility criteria are also met with the aid of this. Lintels are provided above the windows in this structure. These are supplied in order to transmit the weight to the surrounding walls in order to avoid a weakness caused by the window opening creating a hollow part.

Ceiling

Figure 8: Ceiling Details

(Source: Taken by author)

The ceiling of a building refers to the top of the building that separates different floors of the building. RCC is used for making the ceiling of the building. The biggest disadvantage of this particular kind of ceiling is that it creates a lot of trash and dust during the preparation process. This is considered one of among the most durable building materials used in the world. This building's ceiling is composed of RCC and has high heat conduction properties (Zolina & Kupchikova, 2019). As a result, effective heat movement between floors is possible.

Interior Finishing

Figure 9: Details of Interior Finishing

(Source: Taken by author)

The building's interior is composed of ply. Plywood is utilized to divide the building's various areas. Interior finishing is done with plywood. Interior finishing is done with plywood. There are no environmental concerns associated with the use of plywood. Plywood creates a robust barrier. This substance is an excellent thermal insulator.

Material Behavior

Defects

There can be different defects in the building. These are the ones that are degrading the life of the building. It is to be noted that defects are the results of the natural forces acting on the building. Because of these factors, there can be devastating effects on the building. The description of the defects that are present in the building is as follows.

Formation of moss on the external wall

The first defect that can be identified for the inspection of the building is the formation of moss on the external wall of the building. It can be seen that some parts of the frontal wall of the building are affected by the growth of moss but the main growth of moss can be seen in the back side external wall of the building (Lionardo et al. 2020). Because of this, there can be seen a layer of greenish patch covering the external wall of the building.

There are different causes of this defect that can be assumed. In general, the main reason that causes the growth of moss is the absence of sunlight. It can be seen that the rear part of the building gets very little sunlight during the day (Gurran et al. 2021). So, this creates the best environment for the moss to grow on the wall surface. In addition to this, another reason for this is that, the leakage of the sewer or drainage water accumulated at the bottom portion of the wall. This enables a heavy growth of moss at the bottom area of the wall.

Some approaches can be used for the mitigation of this risk. These are as follows. The first thing that can be done is to use different tools to clean the wall surface regularly. Also, the sheds that are covering the rear wall of the building from the sunlight need to be removed (Shirazi & Ashuri, 2020). Furthermore, the chemicals that kill moss can also be used. Another effective solution that can be used here for killing moss is the “water & vinegar” solution.

Crack on the concrete slabs

There is another defect that can be observed in the building that was selected for this project. It is to be noted that cracks in the concrete are one of the most critical defects for a building. This is because the cracks are the signs of the reduction of the strength of concrete. Moreover, it also signifies that the different forms of cracks are developed in concrete because of which the cracks are developed in the slabs.

There are different reasons for which cracks can be developed in the concrete of the building. Considering the locations, and other factors of the building, it can be said that the main reason for the formation of cracks on the lintel slab of the building is not considering sufficient live load while designing this slab (Otrosh et al. 2019). Live load is the load that can be acted on the concrete slab at any instance because of loading other than the self-weight. Because of this, it can be seen cracks on the upper portion of the lintel slab.

There are some methods that can be applied to remove this defect. The main approach that can be applied here is to use epoxy resin. It is to be noted that this is a filler material that is used for filling the cracks. With the use of this, the cracks that have developed on the concrete slabs can be filled. Another thing that can be applied is the sealing materials. These are the materials that are used for sealing the cracked portions of concrete. With the help of this, moisture cannot enter into the concrete, and rusting of the reinforcement can be prevented. In addition to this another thing that can be used here is the method of grouting (Preethi et al. 2019). This refers to filling the crack with the use of cement mortar. In this method, a rich mix of cement mortar is placed inside the cracks. This results in sealing the concrete cracks.

Conclusion

This project was about doing an inspection of the building. For doing the inspection, one residential building was chosen for this project. The building is situated in London, This is a building that is mainly used for residential purposes. The different characteristics of this building were found with the help of this inspection. The first thing that was placed in this report was the location of the building. This was shown with the use of the map of the area. Moreover, the address of the place was also described here. In addition to this, the description of the type of building along with the method used for the construction of the building was also included here in this report. The details of the foundation present in this building are found here. It was found that this building has a shallow foundation that is prepared in the form of isolated footings. The characteristics of this type of foundation are presented here. Moreover, the construction method along with the materials that were used in making this foundation are also present in this report. In addition to this, the details of the elements present in the superstructure are also present in this report. The system & material details of these elements were elaborated here. Furthermore, the details of the “non-structural” elements are also present here. This consists of the details of the items like “floor finishing”, “staircase”, “windows”, “celling”, and “interior finishing”. In this project, the different defects that are present in this building were presented. Along with this, the possible reasons causing these defects along with their solutions were explained here.

References

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Floor Details