Building

Construction I

LECT. AR. PRADIP POKHAREL

LECTURE: 2 SITE WORKS AND SETTING OUT

 Site work

Site is a piece of land on which building is

to be constructed.
Site may be small, large or too large as per
dimensions of its boundary
It has certain shape which may be regular
or irregular.
The location of site must be clear and then
site visit should be done and work.
Site work
May have approach or not, which should be a
legal point entry or exist.
Has dimension and topography which are
measured by engineering survey. And find out
NORTH direction.
Topography of site must be studied and level and
counter lines of land which is decided from MSL
(Main Sea Level) or any known permanent
reference Benchmark (BM).
To write and observe the surrounding site, like
that- building, drains, river, nature
sources/surface, electrical poles, pond, landfills
trees etc.
To check and confirm the land of ownership, land
record (Lalpurja),legal matter related to site.
The designer should design any building
regarding the type and nature of soil
available at different depth at site. That is
why, for design following operation should
be taken:-

1. Site investigation
2. Site Preparation
3. Setting out plan of Foundation
 Site Investigation
Site Investigation is the process of collecting
information, assessment of the data and
reporting potential hazards beneath
a site which are unknown.
It is the initial and very important procedure to
be carried out before construction and design
work. It gives us the brief knowledge of the
surrounding and built environment of the site.
They can be categorized as :-
1. Sub- Surface features
a) Geology: - bed rock, land structure
b) Hydrology:- Water table, underground water
level
c) Soil-natural: - deposition of soil, strata of
soil, hardness, softness, study of S.B.C. of soil.
2. Naturals features :-
a) Climate :- precipitation of rainfall, humidity,
solar orientation and shading angle.
b) Vegetation: - presence of plants, forests,
bushes etc.
c) Wildlife: - animal life around the site
d) Hydrology: - rivers, lakes, pond
e) Slope: - counter of land, facing of slope and
direction
3. Man made features:-
a)utilities:-water, drainage, electricity,
telephone lines, etc.
b) Circulation: - the distance of road from the
site.
c) Transit: - junction of roads or pavements.
d)Environment:- surrounding area and
neighborhood.
e) Culture: - neighboring ethics and culture
f) Aesthetics: - presences of symbolic icons,
land trademarks, view from the site.
 Site investigation and Purpose
Is the first step, prior to the design and
construction of a structure
Means to collect systematically and record all
the necessary data.
Is specially related to the study of all
neighboring quarries, existing structures,
drainages, streams, well, old pits and nature of
soil at different level/depth and so on.
The purpose of a site investigation is to
identify the ground conditions which might
affect the proposed development. It enables
better understanding of the site and
immediate surroundings, which will enable
safe and economic developments.
Site investigations can be required for both
geotechnical and geo-environmental purposes
and for many projects it would be
advantageous to combine the investigations
with resulting economics in cost, time and site
disruption.
 Objectives of Site Investigation
The objective of the site investigation is to
characterize the ground conditions sufficiently
to allow safe and economic design to be
developed and to reduce, as far as possible,
the occurrence and impact of unforeseen
conditions.

To assess the general suitability of the site

with the proposed works

To help produce a design which is adequate

and economic

To help overcome possible difficulties & delays

that may arise during construction period due
to ground and other local conditions

To predict possible changes that may

occur/cause of all changes in site condition
To maximize potential of the site
 Site Preparation
Site preparation involves the demolition or
wrecking of buildings and other structures,
clearing of building sites and sale of materials
from demolished structures.
Site preparation also entails blasting, test
drilling, landfill, leveling, earth-moving,
excavating, land drainage and other land
preparation.
So some points are as follow:-
Site approach consideration: - must be needed
for entry or exist to site. So that easy
transporting all the building materials for
proposed works.
Storage consideration: - where as stored the
materials security, weather protection etc.
Accommodation consideration: - where as site
staff to be accommodated, sitting workers and
making temporary spaces used for during
construction period.
 Site Preparation
Hording and Fencing: - to be erecting structure
of wire/wall/wood or to make enclosing site
for secure.
Decide the location of materials in proper
places: - like that cement, fine aggregate,
coarse aggregate, formworks, timber storage,
excavation earth, filling materials, scaffold
storage, bricks, water, etc.
Land or level should be clearing: - the
obstruction and rubbish should be cleared off
before doing any work on the site.

Step of Site Preparation

Site clearing
Site surveying
Soil testing
Site excavation and earth work
Underground utility mapping
Site plan design
 Setting out Plan of Foundation
It is the process of developing the physical
positions of corners and walls of a building, and
it’s done by transferring dimensions from the
layout plan (also called as setting out plan,
demarcation plan) to the ground.
The setting out clearly defines the outline of the
excavations and the centre line of the walls, so
that the construction can be carried out
according to the plan.

Setting out is done on the principle of whole to

part. According to this principle the largest
possible rectangle of the building is found and
set out. The rectangle is further partitioned into
small parts (internal rooms).
The first thing we need to establish is a
parallel/ reference/ base line, to which all other
lines can be related. This can be taken along an
existing building close to the proposed new
structure/ boundary wall
Setting out Plan of Foundation
 Procedure for Setting Out Building
Foundation
In this procedure following materials are required
(for residential building):-
1. Wooden pegs
2. Nails
3. Hammer
4. Thread (String)
5. Measuring Tape (30 M.)
6. Trench plan of foundation
7. White lime
8. Profile Boards
9. Workers
First check the land and trench plan drawing.
To find out proper position of any one center
point of trench plan of wall or foundation
To fix the first one center point by driven
wooden peg and fix the Profile Board at least
1m. far from corner point of center line.
To mark center line as per-long and short wall
Dimension of center line be given
cumulatively(sum of length) or separately
To make the center line of wall by stretching a
string between wooden pegs driven at its end
and nail fixed on the peg by used of Hammer.
To make the center line by white lime of all the
wall of the bld.
The center line should be perpendicular or not,
which is checked by setting up builder’s
Square OR by using 3-4-5 Triangle method
(Theorem of Pythagoras)
Which is measured by Measuring Tape
The alternative method of setting out, Right
Angle is by used of Theodolite
The diagonal(Hypotenuse) from the opposite
corners should be checked which dimension
must be similar with the given dimension of the
drawing paper
After setting out process is completed
excavation for foundation is started
Nepalese Customary Units of Measurement

Unit Divisions In square metres In square feet

1.99 square 21.39 square
Dam
metres feet
7.95 square 85.56 square
Paisa 4 Dam
metres feet
31.80 square 342.25 square
Ana 4 Paisa
metres feet
508.74 square
Ropani 16 Aana 5476 square feet
metres

1 ropani = 74 feet × 74 feet

1 bigha = 13 Ropani 5 Anna
1 kattha = 442 square yards or 338 square meters

Unit Divisions In square metres In square feet

16.93 square 182.25 square

Dhur
metres feet

338.62 square 3,645 square

Katha 20 Dhur
metres feet

6772.41 square 72,900 square

Bigha 20 Katha
metres feet