4.

3 Construction detail of wall

The walls build in this project consist of bricks, and there also gypsum board used in this
project. Type of brick use are common clay brick with the size of 225mm x 115mm x 95mm
and also 230mm thick also been use. The use of clay brick for this project is not only for
aesthetic appeal but also for the fire resistance purpose in order to resist a fully developed
fire for about more than two hours. It would give more time to the occupant to run outside the
building. Clay also has a better thermal insulation than common brick that would generally
help in cost efficiency in running the building operation in term of usage of air-conditioning
thus moisture hold by the clay brick can help to keep a constant temperature inside the
building. They also can insulate sound or noise from the outside cause it is denser than the
other material which actually help considering the location of this project is in a high-density
population. Clay brick also can be use as loadbearing structures which suitable for a
massive industrial building, it could save materials, time, and labour.

The sequence of building clay brick wall is the same as the other type they also use mortar
to tie them all together. Allowance for 10mm mortar and wastage that need to be count up to
5%.

First and foremost, lay out the bricks where the pillar starts but this process only can be
done after foundations have been prepared. String or we call ‘line and pins’ is needed to
make a guideline at brick height, or we call course. To set the string, two wooden boards or
posts are needed and mark the board to know how height each course which should be also
include the mortar lines. It is important so the post can be freestanding.

Diagram 1: Line and Pins tool

Next, mixing mortar with five shovels of sand with one of cement on old board and not to
forget the ratio of mortar to cement is 3:1. Shovels need to be turn mixing both ingredients to
get a consistent colour. It would naturally form a central hollow, pour in water, and mix again.
Repeat the step till get a creamy texture but not too loose.

Before putting any brick on the floor, 1-2cm mortar need to be laid along the string line using
a brick jointer. On one end, lay the first brick and ‘bed in’ but make sure its in the line marked
at the board. Then, place a small amount of mortar on the top of the first bricks and place
another brick on top of it, but in a downwards angle. On the solid foundation for wall, lay a
bed of mortar. Using the measuring tape would ensure a correct distance apart and flat.

In order to lay the next course of bricks, move the string line up to the top of the next course
will be then lays a bed of mortar on the first course, it would look like a triangle shape. Next,
take a slab of mortar and coat the end of the brick that will be pushed up against the first
brick. After that, use a trowel to smooth through it to create an air pocket for laying the bricks
on. Mark level is significant in this process to make sure they are perfectly aligned and then
the excess mortar needs to be scraped away. Then, place mortar on the side of the bricks
and lay them next to each other. Repeat this step until the height is as what described in the
drawing.

Lastly, finishing this off with cement plastering. 20mm thick cement plastering on both sides
inside and outside cover with column panel cladding system in grey colour. The purpose of
plastering is to ensure the wall surface is damp-proof and is ready to receive finishes like
paint or panel. 20mm thick has been done in two coats. Before plastering, the wall needs to
be clean and free from dust that probably from laying the mortar. Sprinkling water all over
the surface would help the plaster adhere better. Using a trowel, strokes the excess mortar
onto the wall then can start to distribute the plaster slowly from the bottom. Do not push the
plaster too deep just do it lightly. Repeat the same step until the wall is fully covered and the
corner is the last should be covered. To speed up the dry process, opening need to be open
if its is closed such as door and windows.

Diagram 2 : Panel cladding system in grey

Wall finishes on the exterior side of the wall use panel cladding system in grey colour which
it would be attached to the wall thus form a weatherproof skin to the building which a good
thing for this building as it is a public building that can maintain the aesthetic appeal longer
than expected. It also can be attached to column. The paint use for exterior is acrylic paint in
few colours including in brown copper colour.
 Diagram 3: Exterior of the building was painted with 2 coats of acrylic paint on the

For partition wall, gypsum board is used in this project. There are 2 type which 1500mm high
and half brick wall height. It is easy for installation, fire resistance and a good sound
insulation. Thickness for partition is 12.5mm which suitable for internal wall partition but as it
is ready made with 1200mm wide and 2400mm length, the board need to be cut and follow
the specification for 1500mm high and half brick wall.

To install gypsum board, marking need to be done on the floor and ceiling with a pencil but
in this case, it did not reach a full brick wall height. U profiles and C profiles are cut into
desired length and sound insulation tape was placed under the profiles before the fixation.
U-profiles are mounted to the floor and ceiling with the help of dowels, screws and washer
using a drill. Installation of electrical wiring is done before placing the panels. Screw the
board along the edges using drill or hammer and the gap is not more than 30cm. Finishing
the board by patching or fill the cracks in the corner and for cleaning, all-purpose ready mix
joint compound needs to be done in two layers. Time to dry vary between 12 and 24 hours
then after that painting can be done.

4.4 Construction Detail for roof

Metal deck roofing has been selected to reduce the load bearing as metal roofing is known
as significantly lightweight compared to the concrete tiles for roofing. It is also can be easily
and time efficient material in installation. Metal deck is also fireproof and durable which could
last up to 50 years but for material like zinc and copper, it can go to more than 100 years if
there are no corrosion spotted.
Metal deck formed from cold forming structural grade steel coils into a pattern of corrugation
and gauge. Profiles which consist of pattern of flutes and ribs in various shapes need to be
specified by engineers for specific design requirement which in this project, 20mm gauge
with 2mm thick flashing for N deck profiles weight around 2 kg/m2. It is then got painted on
both sides with grey acrylic primer over the bare steel. N type of metal deck suitable for a
long span beam.

Diagram 4: N- type of metal deck

Installation of metal roof deck can be done after structure underneath such as steel framing
has been completed. Once the bundles of the metal deck are hoisted to the roof level, begin
by spreading the sheet manually by labour to obtain it permanent place or position. Installing
the metal roof deck usually started once the steel framing for roof has complete and it must
be with the edges first. With female and male leg respectively on both side for interlocking
purpose, it is important to lay the first sheet with male leg facing closest to the centre of the
building then the female side will easily be interlock with the male side. After that, use
fastening tool to attach the metal deck to steel frame underneath at few different spots. It
would hold down the metal deck temporarily from moving as workers tend to walk on it, wind
or probably contraction or expansion due to the weather.

While laying down process continues, other worker can start permanently fastening down
the metal decking sheets at all connection points by using 38mm screw which also known as
self-drilling screw with 12-24 Impax fastener that will be drilled into the steel beam as the
thickness of the metal purlins use is 20mm gauge. Next, attaching the side laps of each
metal roof deck by using button punch method which considered a the most time efficient but
using its tool to attach sheet together. Move the jaws of the tool between button punches
and the spread the arms of the tool. Repeat the process until the area being covered with
metal deck. 2mm thick metal flashing is used to direct away water from the roof opening
installed along with metal roof deck. Roofing cement is used to seal the flashing onto the
metal deck thus it is waterproof material which help it stick better.
This building also has reinforced concrete flat roof with water proofing membrane construct
with 115mm thick parapet wall to be painted white with 20mm thick cement plaster on both
sides. Flat roof is widely use in industrial building despite using a less aesthetic but more
durable material, it would not affect the aesthetic value as flat roofing is not visible from the
ground floor. Flat roof also helps in optimizing the usage of space probably can be use for
storage, house ventilation and HVAC systems. Blockage issue for rainwater and gutter
system also can be considered issue free as the installation of the removal system is really
efficient and not to forget, it is also long lasting and durable to leakage and could guarantee
over 30 to 50 years of service before doing a replacement on the waterproof membrane.

First step is framing the roof. Even though the name is “flat” it is not totally flat as slight
inclination around 0.72’ is needed to remove the rainwater build up and some flat roofs do
have several direction slopes. Reinforced concrete (RC) roof is exactly like a solid slab of
concrete built on the top of the building, referring to the construction method of floor above. It
started with framework that can be remove or stay-in-place insulating concrete forms, which
became the part of the finished roof. Then, the concrete mixture of Grade 20 can be poured,
spread all over the frame and reinforced with main bars, ties that act as skeleton to all
structure that use concrete and the slab is mark using string180mm thick. The finishes for
the RC flat roof are cement and sand screed with 1:4 mix ratio and the thick is 40mm using
the trowel while covering for waterproofing use for this building is bituminous felt.

Installing the waterproof membrane, it must be clean from any dirt, dry and laid the
membrane in a proper alignment with no wrinkles. Next, torch fire should be applied
uniformly and slow over the roll while laying. While torching the membrane, there would be
around 1-inch chemical from the bitumen would flow out to fill the gaps but if they are more
than 1-inch it indicates to overheating. After ensuring a perfect joint between two sheets,
check all the edges of joints to make sure it adheres sufficiently at end laps of membrane
and there should not have any air gaps. If there was any air gap, the membrane needs to be
torched and resealed. At the end of the process, the end of sheet must be heated properly
so laps are bonded properly. The overlapped is set to 3 inches at sides and 6 inches at the
ends for proper grip and waterproof joint and avoid water seepage. The end laps must be 18
inches apart so that no adjacent end laps intercept.
 Diagram 5: The bitumen membrane is being torched by the labour

Parapet wall is a short wall that extends the external wall higher than the roof as it act as a
protective barrier and safety instrument for the occupant thus, give an aesthetic look on the
building. It uses the same width which is 115mm thick parapet wall and the height of parapet
wall is 1000mm which is more than the required height around 3 feet. A continuous exposure
to sunlight can cause the wall to crack if there is no element to carry the tensile stress due to
the restrain from the wall. For finishes, cement plaster for 20mm thick and white acrylic paint
has been applied.