Building services

What is elevator
The elevator or lift is a type of vertical transport equipment that
efficiently moves people or goods between floors (levels, decks) of a
building, vessel or other structure.
Elevators are generally powered by electric motors that either drive
traction cables or counterweight systems like a hoist, or pump hydraulic
fluid to raise a cylindrical piston like a jack.
Components of elevator
• An elevator is essentially a platform that is either pulled or pushed up by a
mechanical means.
• A modern day elevator consists of a cab (also called a "cage" or "car")
mounted on a platform within an enclosed space called a shaft or
sometimes a "hoistway".
• In the past, elevator drive mechanisms were powered by steam and water
hydraulic pistons or by hand.
• In a "traction" elevator, cars are pulled up by means of rolling steel ropes
over a deeply grooved pulleys, commonly called a sheave in the industry.
The weight of the car is balanced by a counterweight.
• Sometimes two elevators are built so that their cars always move
synchronously in opposite directions, and are each other's counterweight.
Elevators
• Mandatory for buildings above 4 storeyed (G+3) buildings
• Types:
• Hydraulic for limited floors, equipment
• Winches for equipment (Hydro electric station)
• Components:
• Car/cab
• Hoist wire ropes
• Driving machine (electric motor with spool)
• Control equipment
• Annunciator
• Shock absorbers/safety springs/buffer and bumper
• Lift well with guides
• Counter weights
• Lift room (usually on top floor)
Escalators
• Powered stairs
• Continuous operation or passenger activated
• Safety of operation important
• Components:
• Steel trussed framework
• Motor driven sprockets with endless roller chain with steps
• Reversible
• 30-40 m/min
• Slope 30 deg
Escalators
• Operate in pairs – one down and another up
• In malls they are strategically separated to attract foot falls for interior
shops
• Needs periodic maintenance to remove hair, dust and routine
inspection
• Needs special firefighting system:
• Sprinkler vent
• Spray nozzle
• Rolling shutter
• Partial enclosure
Fire protection
How fire starts & spreads
• For a fire to occur, three things are necessary:
• HEAT, for example a spark. This must be hot enough to cause ignition;
• OXYGEN, which is in ample supply all around us, in the air we
breathe;
• FUEL, which can be a solid, a liquid or a gas.
Once there is a heat source to cause ignition and a sufficient amount of
fuel and oxygen present, the fire will continue to burn. As the fire
burns, large amounts of heat is produced. Heat always flows from
regions of high temperature to regions of low temperature. This
transfer of heat causes the fire to grow and to spread to other areas.
Contd…
Fire spreads through:
• Openings in walls & floors
• Transmit heat to other parts through conduction and ignition
• Strong draught created by fire with staircase & lift wells acting as flues
• Before fire reaches, toxic gases spread and endanger lives
• More material, longer the fire continues
• Material called ‘fire load’. Weights of all combustible materials X
calorific value / floor area
Fire protection
• Proper planning in compliance with fire protection codes/standards
applicable to the usage
• Preventive measures:
• Planning
• Fire retardant materials (with correct rating)
• Fire rated doors for stopping spread
• Materials to withstand till escape of occupants
• Provision of adequate means of escape
Range of fire protection provisions
• Degree of fire resistance as per usage
• For offices, fire resisting materials & construction adopted with
required means of escape. Fire protection measures are integrated in
the design.
• For high occupancy facilities like schools, cinema house, town hall,
multi storeyed office, etc., higher level of fire protection is needed.
Fire detection and fire fighting equipment is integrated in the design.
• For warehouse, godowns with inflammable materials, petroleum
products, etc., fire proof structures are required.
Fire resisting materials
• Non combustible materials are those which if decomposed by heat
will do so endothermically, i.e., with absorption of heat, or, if they
oxidise, do so with negligible heat.
• The above materials do not contribute to fire but damaged when the
high temperature is reached and loose strength. Thus such structures
when used may not maintain the structural integrity. Ex: metal, stone,
glass, concrete, clay, gypsum and asbestos products.
Combustible material
• Combustible materials are those when exposed to high temperature in
the event of fire, will combine exothermically with oxygen, i.e.,
generates fire or glow.
• Such materials not only burn themselves but also contribute to the
fire and its spread. Ex: wood, animal products, fibre board, straw
board, etc.
Reaction of typical building materials during
fire
• Stone crumbles when heated And suddenly cooled.
• Granite crumbles, cracks under heat often with small explosions
• Limestone calcinates
• Sandstone relatively better but crumbles after a time
• Bricks in generally and refractory bricks in particular are fire proof
• Terracotta is fire resistant
• Cast iron breaks up when cooled suddenly
• Wrought iron twists and bends and looses tensile/compressive
strength
Contd.
• Aluminium: Poor performance
• Glass: good when reinforced with steel wire netting
• Plaster or mortar: Cement better than lime mortar
• Asbestos cement: Used for fire resistant partitions, roofs, etc. Poor
conductor and non combustible. The material however tends to crack
explosively under fire in building
Fire protection in green buildings
• detecting a fire quickly and accurately
• providing early warning notification,
• fire-detection system can limit the emission of toxic products created
by combustion, as well as global-warming gases produced by the fire
itself.
• Aspirating smoke-detection systems, which can detect the early
stages of combustion, are 1,000 times more sensitive than
conventional smoke detectors, giving early warning to building
occupants and owners. Early warning allows emergency responses to
occur well before a fire causes serious damage.
Contd..
• Halon effective but halogen depleting agent
• Clean agents. Clean agents include fluorinated ketone, halocarbons,
and inert gases
• Water-mist systems are green by definition because they use water as
a suppression media and have zero global-warming or ozone-
depletion potential. The application of fine water drops, or mist,
utilizes water's maximum fire-extinguishing capabilities while
conserving the quantity used
Ideal fire resisting materials
• Should not disintegrate
• Expansion during fire to be minimal
• Contraction during hot to cold state to be gradual to prevent
breakage.
No material satisfies all the above requirement. Effort is to use
material that prolongs the structural safety till occupants escape.
Fire resistant construction-
Walls & columns:

• Thicker if load bearing to resist fire for longer period

• Bricks preferred to stones
• If framed structure, RCC preferred to steel
• If steel members, to be insulated
• Light weight concrete walls preferred
• Boundary walls to be raised to protect adjacent buildings
• Partition walls to be fire resistant such as RCC,
Contd…
Floors & roofs

• Concrete, ceramic tiles and brick most suitable

• Terrazoo, marble and slate also suitable
• In case of wooden joists, spacing to be increased
Contd..
Combustible material
• Wooden joists to be spaced to deflect fire
• Fire stops/barriers to be used in wooden floors
• Cast iron, wrought iron, carpets, etc should be covered with insulation
material like ceramic tiles, plaster, terracotta, bricks, etc.
Contd…
roofs
• Flat roof preferred over sloping roofs and precautions for floors
applies to roofs also
• For sloping roofs, rcc or protected steel with ac cover prteferred
• In case of false ceiling, the material should be ac, metal lath, gypsum,
etc.
Contd…
walls
• Openings in walls to be minimum as fire could spread through them
• Openings to be protected as they also serve as means of escape
• Doors & windows to be of steel. Window glass to be wire meshed
• If timber doors are used, thickness to be minimum 4 cm
• Communication ducts to be double fireproof doors
• Fireproof doors to be with minimum 6 mm thk steel sheet
Contd…
• Window exposed to roof of other structure to be with fireproof
shutters
• If a structure is separated by less than 6 m, the doors & windows to
be fireproof
• All escape doors to have free access from lobbies, corridors and of fire
proof material
• Windows if extending floor to floor to have barrier.
Fire escape elements
• All fire escape elements to be separated from the rest of building
• Doors to staircase & lifts to be fire proof
• Fire escape Staircase to be to outer wall and accessible
• Fire proof doors to be openable from inside
• In case of single story building, fire proof window to be provided
• Fire escape staircase in multi-storeyed bldg. as per standards
Staircase
• Single flight not preferred
• Riser 15 cm & Tread 20cm min
• Flight width 0.75 m min
• No. of risers to be 16 max
• Ramps to be of gradient 1 in 10 max
• Hand rail to be provided for stairs and ramps
• Spiral to be avoided
Alarm systems
Manual
• Operated manually
• Alarms provided near main entrance, lobbies
• Distinct sound
Automatic
• Fire or smoke detected electronically and alarm sounds
• Fire detecting system may be activated automatically
Fire extinguishing systems
Manual
• Portable extinguishers like co2
• Foam
• Discharge about 10-120 seconds
• Sand buckets
• Asbestos blankiets
Automatic sprinklers
• Common in modern public buildings, factories, etc.
• Overhead grid of pipes through which water is spreayed through jets
spaced 3m c/c
Contd…
• Fire hydrants outside building (street) at 90-100 m
• One hydrant for 4000 to 10000 sqm
• To be provided at every street crossings
• Fire hydrants may be pillor type or flush with road with cover
Electrical wiring
Contd…
Contd…
Contd…
Wiring installations-terms
Conduit System - A closed wiring system consisting of conduits and
conduit fittings for the protection and management of insulated
conductors and/or cables in electrical or communication installations,
allowing them to be drawn in and/or replaced, but not inserted
laterally
Contd…
Distribution Board - A unit comprising one or more protective devices
against over current and ensuring the distribution of electrical energy
to the circuits
Distribution board system
Contd…
• Busbar: two copper strips (busbars) fixed in a distribution board of hard wood or
metal or other nonmetal insulating case are connected to the "supply mains"
through a linked switch with fuse or linked circuit breaker on each live conductor,
so that the installation can be switched off as whole from both poles of the
supply, if required.
• A fuse or MCB is inserted in the phase pole of each circuit, so that each circuit is
connected up through its own particular fuse or MCB.
• The lamps, fans, socket outlets for other domestic appliances consisting each
circuit need not necessarily be in the same room or even on the same floor in
case of a small building and simply allocated to each circuit in such a way that the
raceways or runs for connecting them is most convenient and economical. The
distribution board has 4 ways for four circuits but the number of ways and the
circuits can be more, provided the cable feeding the board is large enough to
carry the total load current.
Contd…
• The practice in residential and similar commercial buildings is to restrict
the maximum number of points of lights, fans and socket outlets in a final
circuit. In order to ensure safety, in case more points are required to be
connected to the supply, then it is to be done by having more than one
final circuits.
• Hierarchy of Boards
a) Main Distribution board
b) sub-main circuits (also called distribution circuits) from main distribution
board to sub-distribution boards also called branch distribution boards or
final circuit distribution boards.
c) final circuits/subcircuits to loads, are decided as per the number of
points to be wires and load to be connected per circuit and total load to
be connected to the supply system.
House wiring circuit
Exercises
Telephone
Phone system basics
• Another electric line with low voltage; power comes from the phone
company
• The company installs line up to a point called “phone demarcation
block”
• From the box, lines are run to each “modular jack” or “phone jack”
• If phones are required in multiple rooms, the lines run from the
demarcation box to jacks in multiple rooms to which hand sets are
connected.
Network interface box
Conections:
Line 1: inside pair Red & Green
Line2 : Outside pair-Yellow & Black
RJ – 14 Jack
Daisy chain method of wiring:
Disadvantage: one jack fails all in the line affected
contd…
Star system
All connections from ‘junction box’
More wire needed but reliable
Contd…
Jacks-box type
Flush type
Telephone + Modem
Cat 5 cable
• Modern wiring uses this system
• Category 5 cable
• 4 twisted pairs, colour coded, plastic shield
• All pairs may not be used.
• Adopts to data port
• Cable runs to each room with an outlet in the form of wall plate or
flush mounted jack
Connection from distribution box to various
rooms
Separation with other services
Plumbing
Abbrevations
Symbols
Contd… Symbol Description Application
Draw-off tap

Shower head

Sprinkler head

Float-operated valve

Float switch (Hydraulic type)

Float switch (Magnetic type)

Filter or screen

Supply stopvalve (SV)

Servicing valve (SV)

Water meter
Impurities in water
• Water is never available in pure form. Rain water while dropping
absorbs dust, and gases from atmosphere. It is further exposed to
organic matter on the surface and by the time it reaches source of
water supply it is found to contain various other impurities. For
classification, impurities are:
• Physical impurities
• Chemical impurities
• Bacteriological impurities
Sources & Quality
• NBC recommends 135 LPCD capita
• The pH scale measures how acidic or basic a substance is. The pH
scale ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is neutral. A pH less than 7 is
acidic. A pH greater than 7 is basic.
• pH value
• <7 acidic
• >7 alkaline
• =7 chemically pure
• 7 to 8.5 acceptable
Source/process Typical pollutant microbe
count per liter
• River 41 000
• Impounding reservoir 1500
• Primary filter 500
• Secondary filter 50
• Chlorination 0
• Service reservoir 0
• Distribution main 0
Forms of underground sources
• Infiltration galleries
• Infiltration wells
• Jack wells
• Ranney well
Water distribution
Direct Water Supply System

In districts where the mains supply is

capable of delivering adequate
quantities of water at good pressure,
the Water Authority may permit a
direct system of supply to all
buildings.
Direct Water Supply System

• Advantages:
 (The cold water cistern is required solely to feed the hot water cylinder, and for this reason need only have the same
capacity )
 There is a suitable saving in pipework especially in multi-storey buildings. This is due to the rising main supplying all
the fittings, and a cold water distribution pipe from the cistern being omitted
 Drinking water may be obtained at the wash hand basin taps which in hotels is an advantage

Disadvantages:
 There is a danger of foul water from the sanitary fittings being siphoned back into the main water
 There is a tendency to have more trouble with water hammer due to points being connected directly to the main
 During peak periods there is a tendency for the lowering of pressure and with buildings on higher ground a possible
temporary loss of supply. If there is a mains burst there is no store of water
Indirect Water Supply System

In some areas the cold water supply

is provided by use of the indirect
system. This means that the service
pipe rinses through the building to
the cold water storage cistern and
only one draw off point for drinking
purposes is permitted.
Indirect Water Supply System
• Advantages:
There is no risk of back siphonage with this system
There is no tendency of water hammer due to the low pressure in the
pipework
Should there be an interruption in the mains supply there is an adequate
store of cold water
Disadvantages:
Longer pipe runs are required
A larger storage cistern is necessary
Drinking water is only available at the kitchen sink
Water for domestic use
• Clear, odorless
• Free from disease producing bacteria
• Tasty
• Attractive
• Not cause corrosion
Types of water supply
• Civic
• Trade/business
• Industrial use
Impurities of water
• Physical (color, odor, taste, odor, temp, turbidity)
• Chemical (chlorides, dissolved gases, hardness,
Hydrogen ion concentration(ph-7 to 8.5 desirable),
metals, nitrogen & compounds, total solids)
• Bacteriological (salmonella typhi, salmonella para typhi,
shigella dysenterial, Vibrio cholera)
Treatment of water
• Sedimentation tanks: Designed to give complete rest to the flowing water
or water is allowed to flow at a very low velocity. Removes 60% suspended
matter, 75% bacteria.
• Coagulation: The purpose of coagulation is to make particles bigger in size
by adding certain chemicals known as coagulants to water. Coagulation is
to be adopted when turbidity exceeds 40 p.p.m.
• Filtration: It usually consists of allowing water to pass through a thick layer
of sand. During filtration, following occurs:
• Suspended & colloidal impurities present in water removed
• Chemical characteristics altered
• Bacteria reduced.
Types of filtration
• Mechanical straining
• Sedimentation
• Biological metabolism
• Electrolytic charge
• Slow filters, rapid sand filters
Valves
• Valves and Taps

• Valves and taps are devices designed to regulate, open or close the flow of liquid or
gas in a pipeline.
• Some of the more common valves and taps and their uses are as follows:

Stopcock - Used on incoming high pressure water mains.

Gate valve - Used on low pressure pipework.
Drain off cock - Used to drain pipework.
Bib tap - A well mounted tap primarily used over sinks.
Pillar tap - Used on sinks, wash hand basins and baths.
Mixer taps - A tap which hot and cold water are delivered through a common
spout. Used in sinks
Stopcock
Gate valve
Drain off cock
Bib cock
Pillar tap
Ball Valves

• A ball valve is simply a control activated by a lever arm and a float which closes off
the water supply when a predetermined level of water has been reached.
• Ball valves, in term of the definition above, should be called ‘Float-Operated Valves’.
• Ball valves are classified as:
 High pressure ball valves

 Medium pressure ball valves

 Low pressure ball valves

Ball valve
Water Hammer
Water hammer is a hammering noise which occurs in high pressures water
pipes caused by surges of pressure

This is not only undesirable from the point of view of noise; it can also
cause damage to plumbing systems

Water hammer usually occurs when a high pressure flow of water is

suddenly arrested, as in the case of a ball valve closing too quickly, possibly
due to an incorrectly sized orifice
Furring
Furring can occur on the wetted moving parts of ball valves, i.e. the piston,
the split pin and the lever arm

It only happens in districts where the water has a fairly high degree of
temporary hardness

Water evaporates from the wetted parts, leaving behind minute particles of
rock-like lime, which build up into layers that prevent the piston and lever
from working smoothly
Cavitation

Cavitation is a form of erosion, brought about by the mechanical wearing

away of the ball valve orifice at its seating

The orifice seating becomes pitted or scored as it is gouged away by

countless air bubbles which form in the water as it rushes along at high
speed, and explode with sharp impingement as they leave the orifice tip
Drainage
• Sullage - Waste from household sinks, showers, and baths—but not
toilets; it also figuratively means filth or refuse.
• Greywater, or sullage, is wastewater generated from domestic activities
such as laundry, dishwashing, and bathing, which can be recycled on-site
for uses such as landscape irrigation and constructed wetlands. Greywater
differs from water from the toilets which is designated sewage or black
water to indicate it contains human waste.
• Sewage (night soil, excreta) is water-carried waste, in solution or
suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known
as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized
by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the
bacteriological organisms that it contains.
Drain-waste-vent
• Is a system that removes sewage and greywater from a building and
regulates air pressure in the waste-system pipes, facilitating flow.
• Waste is produced at fixtures such as toilets, sinks and showers, and
exits the fixtures through a trap, a dipped section of pipe that always
contains water.
• All fixtures must contain traps to prevent sewer gases from leaking
into the house. Through traps, all fixtures are connected to waste
lines, which in turn take the waste to a soil stack, or soil vent pipe
• Contd…
Contd…
Different Systems of Plumbing
• Two pipe system
• One pipe system
• Single stack system
• Partially ventilated single stack system.
Two pipe system
• This is the best and most improved system of plumbing.
• Two sets of vertical pipes, one for excreta (night soil) as soil
pipe and another for sullage as waste pipe.
• The soil pipes as well as waste pipes are separately
ventilated, by providing, separate vent pipe or anti-siphon
age pipe.
• This system has four vertical pipes.
One pipe system
• Instead of using two separate pipes for
excreta/sewage and sullage, only one vertical main
pipe is provided, which collects both night soil and
sullage water.
• The main pipe is ventilated at the top, in addition, a
separate vent pipe is also provided.
• This system has two vertical pipes
One pipe system
Single stack system
• This system is having a single pipe for soil, waste and
vent without any separate ventilation pipe.
• It uses only one pipe, which carries night soil as well
as sullage and the same pipe is extended up to 2 m
above roof level with a cowl to act as vent pipe for
removal of gases
Single stack system
Contd…
Partially Ventilated Single Stack System
• This is an improved form of single stack system, where
the traps of the water closets are ventilated, by a
separate vent pipe, called relief vent pipe.
• This system uses two pipes as in single pipe system.
The single soil and waste pipe is connected to vent
pipe and thus cost is reduced.
2 stack
2 stack
ANTI-SIPHON AGE PIPES
• Water seals of traps in multi storied building may some times get broken
due to siphonic action. When wastewater is suddenly discharged from a
sanitary fixture on the upper floor, it moves rapidly through the soil (waste)
pipe, it may suck some air from the lateral pipe connecting the soil pipe
with fixtures at lower floor. This sucked air causes siphonic action, resulting
in the flow of water from the trap of the fixture to the soil pipe and thus
breaking its water seal.
• To overcome this difficulty, a separate pipe of smaller diameter is attached
to the traps, which connects the trap to the vent pipe. This pipe is known
as anti-siphonage pipe and it supplies air to the short branch pipe of the
lower fixture, at the time of suction, otherwise it acts as a vent pipe of the
lower fixtures. This pipe normally serve as vent pipe and as anti-siphonage
pipe in case suction takes place.
Traps
Traps may be defined as fittings placed at the ends of the soil pipes or
waste (sullage) pipes to prevent passage of foul gases from the pipes to
the outside. The traps maintain water seal which is a standing water
between the pipe and the outside to facilitate this. The water seal does
not allow gases to escape to the outside of the pipe. The efficiency of a
trap will depend on the depth of water seal. Greater the depth of water
seal will be more effective. The depth of water seal generally varies
from 20 mm to 75 mm.
Contd…
Contd…
Requirement of a Good Trap
• It should provide sufficient water seal.
• Its interior should be smooth, so as not to obstruct
the flow, and thus the trap should be self- cleansing.
• It should be provided with an access door for
cleaning.
• It should be made of some non-absorbent material
Types of Traps:
• The three types of traps are P-trap, Q-trap and S-trap as shown in
next slide.
• A trap essentially consists of U-tube, which retains water, acting as a
seal between the foul gases (inside the pipe) and outside
atmosphere.
• They are largely used for baths, sinks and laboratories.
• In all such needs, they are made with enlarged mouth, so that the
waste pipe may be thoroughly flushed out.
Contd…
Floor traps
• These traps are generally used to admit sullage from
floors of kitchen and bathrooms.
• These are invariably provided with CI or GI stainless
steel gratings at the top so as to prevent the entry of
solid matter into drainpipe. Next slide shows the
features of floor trap.
• Contd…
Contd…floor trap
Gully traps
• A gully trap is often provided at the junction of a room or a roof drain
and other drain coming from bath, kitchen etc.
• The foul sullage from bath will enter through side inlet and the non-
foul washings from room or rainwater from roof will enter from top
and discharging into drains.
• Gully trap may either have a S-trap or P-trap.
• Next slide shows the features of gully trap
Contd…gully trap
Intercepting traps
• An intercepting trap is often provided at the junction of a house
sewer and a municipal sewer, so as to prevent entry of foul gases
from of the municipal sewer into the house drainage system.
• It has a high water seal of 100 mm depth.
• Next slide shows the intercepting trap.
• Contd…
Contd…interception trap