Construction
Building Basements
Feb 17th
Home improvements and extending property has always been a popular way of increasing the value of domestic property. From something a simple as giving a room a coat of paint to major renovations and construction work there are levels of home improvement for all skills level and budgets. If space is a premium and you are not able to extend upwards or outwards then how about creating a basement? By creating a living space below your current residence you could greatly increase your living area and also the value of your house. The main problem with this is supporting the existing structure during the construction process and having a substructure that is capable of taking these loads. Many construction companies are now using precast concrete retaining walls to construct basement walls, which not only have excellent structural properties, but they also help to speed up the construction process.
Falmer Stadium
Feb 7th
Brighton and Hove Albion are due to have a new home in Flamer, near Brighton for the 20011-2012 season. The Falmer Stadium, which will be known as the American Express Community Stadium, is being built near the village of Falmer, next to the Birghton and Sussex Universities. The 22,500 all-seater stadium is being costructed by the Buckingham Group who began preparation work on the site in December 2008. The stadium required extensive excavation and aproximately 138,000 cubic metres of chalk was removed before construction could begin. Precast concrete retaining walls can be an excellent method of retaining earth after excavation has taken place.
Precast Concrete Products
Jan 25th
With the construction and house building industries fighting for survival in the UK and Ireland due to the recession, it is important that all aspects of construction are analysed to ensure they are as efficient as possible. The days of huge profits and open ended contracts are over and now companies need to be as competitive as possible and ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget. One way of saving time and money is to use precast concrete products instead of traditional insitu concrete pouring, this helps reduce the labour costs on site and also reduces build time as there is no drying time.
Newhaven Incinerator
Oct 22nd
The controversial new Incinerator in Newhaven is starting to take shape and the final magnitude of the structure is now apparent. Construction of the new Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) began in 2008 despite fierce opposition from various groups including the friends of the earth, and over 15,000 letters have been received the council by local residents and public authorities concerned about its environmental impact.
Newhaven Energy Recovery Facility (ERF)
The Newhaven incinerator as part of a joint contract between East Sussex County Council, Brighton and Hove City Council and the waste management company Veolia. The project is being designed and constructed by HOCHTIEF and the Swiss process engineering company – von Roll Inova. Construction is due to be completed in late 2011.
The Energy Recovery Facility is expected to handle in the region of 210,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste each year, which will be incinerated in two conventional moving grate incinerators. The heat generated by this process will be harnessed in two vertical boilers, which will intern generate steam to drive a turbine. The incinerator is expected to generate approximately 16.5MW of electricity to the National Grid.
Flood Defences
Oct 20th
With around 7,760 miles of coastline and thousands of miles of inland waterways, the UK faces an ever increasing risk of flooding especially with the effects of global warming. England and Wales has over 24,000 miles in total of flood defences currently in place and the environment agency estimates it will be spending £270 million creating additional defences.
One of the most common materials for creating flood defences is concrete, which is better than steel and other products as it is weatherproof and won’t rust. Reinforced concrete blocks and precast concrete retaining walls are an excellent solution for constructing breakwaters and flood defence walls.
The government is also keen to preserve the aesthetics of our coastal land and is trying find and expand more environmentally friendly and natural flood defence systems. The main example of this is by utilising salt-marshes and mudflats which allows seawater to flood these flatland areas without effecting populated areas.
There are many types of structures and physical barriers that can be used for flood defence which include; river embankments, concrete retaining walls, sluice gates, breakwaters and weirs. One of the most famous and iconic flood defence units is the Thames Barrier in London, which is an adjustable flood barrier that can be quickly altered to protect London in case of a flood.
Building Cladding
Oct 18th
Steel frame buildings are a fast and efficient way of constructing new industrial, commercial and agricultural buildings. By using a steel frame covered with cladding, or panels is faster to erect and install compared to a conventional brick built building.
Once the steel frame is in place, the client then has various options for roofing and wall coverings. The roof coverings are typically made from steel which is then Galvanised, covered with PVC Plastisol or Polyester painted. The sheets can be corrugated steel, box profile or composite insulated sheets.
The walling for the buildings will vary depending on the intended use of the building. Agricultural buildings, such as agricultural livestock housings will usually have wooden ‘Yorkshire boarding’ around the top of the walls and prestressed concrete panels around the bottom of the walls. Storage buildings, like grain barns will require load baring concrete panels or concrete retaining wall units, which can be up to 7 meters high depending on how much material needs to be retained. Industrial buildings will usually have corrugated steel, box profile or composite insulated sheets depending on whether the walls need to be insulated or not.
Steel Frame Buildings
Oct 8th
A Steel frame for a building generally refers to the building technique with a frame of vertical steel H-columns and horizontal I-beams, which is constructed in a rectangular grid, to support floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame. Using this technique it is possible made buildings a big as a skyscraper.
The rolled steel joists or RSJ’s as there are sometimes referred to look like the letter H if you look at a cross section of the steel. The two flanges of the vertical steel column are thicker and wider than the flanges of a horizontal beam, to enable the RSJ to withstand the compressive stresses that the structure will put on it. Steel beams and columns are connected using threaded bolts and nuts.
The steel frame needs to be protected from fire as steel softens at high temperatures and this could cause the building to collapse. Steel columns can be protected by encasing it in some form of fire resistant material such as masonry, concrete, plasterboard, or paint.
The exterior shell or skin of a building can be attached to the steel frame using a variety of construction techniques and a variety of architectural styles. Bricks, stone, precast concrete, architectural glass, sheet metal, fibre cement boards, box profile sheeting, or paint can been used to cover the frame to protect the steel from the elements.
2010 Commonwealth Games
Sep 28th
The future of the 2010 Commonwealth Games which are being held in Delhi are still in doubt, despite being only days away from the opening ceremony.
Several teams from participating nations are complaining about the condition of the accommodation in the athletes’ village with some team members refusing to attend due to the poor conditions and potential security fears.
The construction for the games has been plagued with problems and the preparations have also been affected by failures in the construction of venues and structures. Last week a bridge at the Jawaharlal Nehru complex, which is the centrepiece for the Games collapsed, resulting in more than 20 people being injured. A section of the ceiling in the weightlifting arena also fell down later in the week.
Despite repeated requests from the CGF’s coordination commission earlier in the year to step up the construction, it was clear that there was still a huge amount of work to be done to complete the construction projects. The CGF’s coordination commission stated in its press release following a visit in May, that a main concern and the major issue was the readiness of the buildings especially in the Games village.
Members of the England camp will spend their first night in the Games village tonight. A group of approximately 20 support staff will stay in the accommodation to ensure conditions are suitable for athletes. All of the England team are scheduled to be in the accommodation by next Tuesday.