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Laying of Cement Concrete

Machine mixed concreete is poured into the formwork containing the reinforcing
steel bar to fill it accordingly. The concrete hardens and dries in a span of 2 weeks.

Curing
After the duration of curing up to a minimum of 2 weeks, formwork is removed and beam is
completed.

On site: Beams revealed after formwork is removed

On site: Completed Beams

Type of Beams on Site

On site: Continuous beams

The type of beams widely used in the sites are continuous beam. They are supported
by more than two columns, providing extra support in between the two corner columns.

Site Sketch: Front elevation

Beam is supported by many columns to create a corridor area and later support the slab.

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4. Slabs
A slab is a flat piece of concrete constructed to provide surfaces, usually
horizontal, in building floors, roofs, bridges, and other types of structures. The
slab may be supported by walls, by reinforced concrete beams usually cast
monolithically with the slab, by structural steel beams, by columns, or by the
ground.
On site: Slabs

Construction Process of Slabs

According to work arrangement, the construction of slabs are done in 4 stages, from the
formwork, to the bending and binding of steel bars, to the spacing of the steel bars and finally
the laying of concrete.

Formwork
Formwork acts as a mold to retain concrete. Centering and shuttering is required to provide
support to the wet concrete until it gained sufficient strength to be self supporting.
On site: Forwork for slabs
Bending and Binding of Steel Bars

Reinforcing steel bars are bent binded to be later added into the slab to strengthen the concrete
from tensile stress and to increase durability.

On site: Reinforcing Bar

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Spacing of Steel Bars
Reinforcing steel bars' diameter and spacing in RCC slabs are calculated according to load and
span of the slab. Generally, 12mm, 10mm and 8mm in diameter steel bars are used, with
spacing of 4.5% to 6 in the main bars and 6 to 8 in distribution bars.

On site: Spacing of Rebars

Pouring of Concrete

Concrete is poured into the form work with the rebars and cured for a minimum of 2-4
weeks until it dries completely. The formwork is then removed and slab construction is
complete.

On site: Concrete Poured into Formwork

Type of Slab on Site

On site: Conventional Slabs

The slabs on sites are conventional two-way slabs. They are supported by beam and columns,
whereby the thickness of slabs is small compared to the larger depth of beams.

The slab is supported by beams

on all the four sides and the
loads are carried by the supports
along both directions. The
weight of load is transferred
throughout both directions to the
four supporting beams and
columns side, highlighting
distribution of weight in
two-ways.

Site sketch: Two way Slab

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Staircase
A staircase or stairway is considered as one or more flights of stairs leading from one to
another, and includes supports, frameworks, handrails and additional parts. In building
construction, stairs is a term applied to a complete flight of steps between two floors and
designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called
steps.

Function of stairs
● Provide an access from one floor to another.
● Provide a safe means of travel between floor.
● Provides a suitable mean of escape in case of fire.
● Provides a mean of conveying fittings and furniture between floor levels.

On site: staircase towards the stage.

On site: staircase towards the stage.

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Staircase Installation
Step 1: Calculate the dimension of stairs
Before start building concrete steps, you, first calculate the dimension for each step required
based on difference in floor height, the length of the stairway and
the number of risers to have; to prevent ending up with a concrete staircase consisting of
uneven steps.

After measured the differences between both floors, you need to determine the overall size of
the concrete
stairs.

Then, measure the distance from the landing or top platform of the steps. This measurement is
the total rise of the stairs. After figure the amount of risers
needed then follow by the run. Each treads should be at least 11 inches deep for a rise of 6 - 8
inches. The top tread or landing should be wide enough to
comfortably stand on if the steps lead to an enty.

Step 2: Preparing the base

The general idea of ground prepping is to ensure that the ground to build your staircase upon is
very compact to prevent any sinking in during cement pouring.

After figure the rise and run of the concrete steps and then decide on a width. The width should
be at least 6
inches wider than the doorway on each side. Level all the ground in front of the door at least 6
inches wider than the size of the concrete stairs. Dig down and
remove any grass or topsoil to a depth of at least 6 inches. After removed the topsoil and
leveled the area, fill the area with gravel or crushed rock. Compact the newly filled material with
a hand tamper
to give you a solid base to begin with.

Step 3: Dimension of foundation

The dimension of the stair's foundation are the total length of run and width of staircase as
measured in step 1.

Step 4: Constructing the form

Use either plywood or framing lumber to build the form that help maintain the shape of the steps
while the concrete is being poured in. Then remove the excess form according to the thread and
riser
measurement.

Step 5: Pouring the concrete

Before pouring in mortar grease the inner surface area of the panel with form oil or diesel fuel to
make it easier to release the panels once the cement has set.

Then, use portable cement mixer to produce well-mixed mortar and start pouring the concrete
into the bottom step first; continue this process with
each step, leveling with the top of the forms, until the forms filled to the top. Lastly, use the
spade to remove trapped air bubble.

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Step 6: Adding finishing touches
The best method to get a perfect finish for each step is to repeat the troweling process several
times for each
step to smoothen the surface of the step and remove any bumps.

Step 7: Drying process

Once the concrete has reasonably hardened, apply trowel and edger to remove additional
imperfections.
Finally, dip a concrete broom into water and lightly pull said broom across the concrete the
achieve desired finish.

Once a further 24 hours has passed, remove the form board panels and then lightly spray the
surface of the concrete steps with water. Next, cover the
entire stairs with plastic to prevent evaporation and allow the curing process to run for at least a
whole week. Lastly, remove the plastic and allow the steps to air dry for a further seven days
before use.

Staircase Material
Concrete Stairs
Concrete staircases are especially popular as it lasts longer relative to wooden staircases and is
cheaper than installing staircases constructed from metallic materials. When designed correctly,
a concrete staircase is not only functional but can also add aesthetic value to the
overall design of the building.

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Wall
A wall is a structure that defines an area, carries a load, or provides shelter or security.
Function of wall
•Sound proofing
• Fire protection
• Load bearing
•Thermal protection
• Moisture protection
• Aesthetics and privacy
• Separate interior spaces

Construction of wall
Walls constructed on site: Clay bricks masonry wall

Masonry wall
Masonry is the building of structures from individual unit laid in and bound
together with mortar.
Features:
• Load bearing or non-load bearing
• One of the most common materials for wall construction in Malaysia
• Durable
• Good sound insulation, fire insulation and thermal insulation
• Offers great flexibility in form and appearance

Bricks bond used on site: Stretcher bond (Running bond)

Features:
• Most common bond
•Easy to build
•Produce very little waste

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Step 1:
Start by putting a brick down at each end of where you want the wall to go.
Measure the size of your brick because bricks come in variety of sizes: long,
short, wide, etc.

When the brick is 9% inches long, we need to leave some space for the mortar,
so mark 10 inches intervals for each bricks.

Step 2:
Hook a line at both end so it lines up with the top of both bricks at the ends, fill up
the gap between with bricks.

Step 3:
Cement mortar are applied on the header and stretcher.

Step 4:
Bricks are placed firmly.

Step 5:
The bricks are hit to improve bonding between bricks.

Step 6:
Normal-sized bricks are hammered and cut into queen-size bricks (half of the
normal size) with a chisel.

Step 7: Queen-sized bricks are cut accordingly to the structural arrangement

of the brick bonding.

Step 8:
Pegs are used to ensure the right angle and spirit level for correct levelling.

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Finishes of Wall
Cement plastered Finish

It is prepared in the form of mortar with cement, sand and water in proper
proportions and applied on masonry manually to achieve a smooth finish or sand faced finish.

On site, for the exterior, they used

rough surface and for interior they used
smooth surface.

Step 1:
Avoid working in direct sun or drying wind. Plaster needs to retain as moisture as
long as possible.

Step 2:
Load hawk with plaster mix and scoop it onto the steel trowel.

Step 3:
Plaster small areas at once, A whole wall should be complete in one operation.

Step 4:
Level the surface by pulling a straight edge over the plaster with swing motion,
once the plaster start to sitten.

Step 5:
Wet the leveled plaster with water, then use a float to smoothen the surface.

Step 6:
Keep the plaster area damp up to 7 days.

Metal brackets are installed to ensure straight edges when walls are being plastered. Thickness
of plasters are also marked to ensure even
plastering work.

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Summary
References
1. Site Safety
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction site_safety
https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3252/3252.html

2. Preliminaries work
https://www.wastedisposalhub.com/site-clearance.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auger (drill)
https://www.thebalance.com/must-have earth-moving-construction-heavy-equipment-844586
https://theconstructor.org/tips/setting-out-a-building-plan-on-ground/58971

3. Building Foundation
http://www.kellerholding.com/bored-piles.html
http://www.understandconstruction.com/types-of-foundations.html

4. Building Structure
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/ ground-beam
http://www.basiccivilengineering.com/2015/03/column-and-beam-system-in-construction.html
https://civilread.com/16-different-types-slabs-construction
https://www.slideshare.net/NabeelRajpoot 1/construction processcolumnbeamslab
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete slab

5. Staircase
http://www.everything-about-concrete.com/building-concrete-steps.html
http://www.idscontractors.com/articles/building-concrete-stairs/ https://www.wikihow.com/Build-
Concrete-Steps
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/how-to/a2145/4224738/

6.Walls
https://www.slideshare.net/mohitishere/types-of-masonry-walls
https://www.slideshare.net/Zelkhan/plastering process
http://www.cement.org/learn/materials-applications/stucco/stucco-installation-standards
http://www.architecture-student.com/architecture various-types-of-wall-finishes-interior-design-
and-architecture!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall