Essay about My House

For the past decade, the technique used in houses has considerably improved in quality. This is seen throughout this report including ways in which the foundation of the house is the most vital component to keeping a well-formed structure. The way in which this is conveyed is by specifically explaining each of the elements, materials, and products of the foundation and the role they play. Through the use of sketches, I have gone from the route into the house and more to explain the importance of gas and the measures in place to ensure it is safe through building regulations and standards. Furthermore, on the subject of sustainability, in this report, there is a perspective of the house having existing sustainable features and ways in which this can be improved to help reduce C02 emissions and also the occupier’s money. In contrast, this section on health and safety is all about preventative measures to do with safety of the people working on the dwelling if it was to undergo an extension or remedial works. Throughout this report, there are many numerous photographs and pictures used to help convey the techniques and products discussed in this report. 4 scale drawings are used in this report to give an understanding to the reader of what I am explaining. There is a drawing of the front elevation of the house, a floor plan, section through both the foundation and the roof.

Description of the foundation and the roof

Firstly, the foundation that is going to be spoken about in this report is a strip foundation, this foundation has many advantages as it is a fairly shallow foundation meaning there is no need for a huge amount of digging. It is normally reinforced with steel rebar throughout the strip. It has a mass concrete foundation of roughly 500mm deep with a grade of C20/25. I would assume that this mass concrete foundation would have penetrated at least 150mm of soil that has not been dug up before, the bearing strata (the soil that will take the load of the dwelling), this would allow for even more reinforcement. Following on from this is a 100mm wide 7.3Newton block that would consist of the inner leaf of the house. The cavity from the concrete foundation to the ground level would be filled with concrete. In addition, externally my house is formed of a 100mm red clay-facing brick. The first-floor layer of my foundation is a pre-stressed 150mm deep beam and medium-density block floor, these blocks bear onto load-bearing walls. 150mm above the finished floor level is where you will find the DPC (damp proof course) this will ensure that any rising moisture from the foundation will be forced away from the habitable part of the house preventing dampness and moisture in the dwelling.

The roof pitch of my house is a 51-degree angle that has a 65mm overhang this, therefore, means it requires a soffit that is 115mm so that it can be fixed to the external brickwork so that it neatens up the rafters that are sticking out of the side of the house. The 150mm cavity rock wool insulation follows all the way into the roof detail so that heat is kept in the house and cold is kept out. Throughout this roof structure, there are 140mm roof struts that will stabilize and ensure the roof keeps its form. All the way from the foundation to the roof structure there will be the same 100mm internal block and internal facing brick, which would follow with a 100mm x50mm wall plate which will have a higher bearing capacity to allow for the roof frame to sit. This allows for reduced damage or distortion of the bricks and blocks.

Elements

As mentioned in the foundation section each of the walls in my dwelling consist of an outer brick skin secluded from an inner block wall by a channeled air space called a cavity. This specific wall is important to a house as it adds to its thermal value. The walls that are in this house will have better water resistance and thermal rating compared to a historic domestic building that would be constructed from solid brick or block. The blocks that are used on my dwelling will be Thermalite insulated blocks meaning they will have a greater U-value than a conventional block, this is because it doesn’t allow as much heat lost.

The element that I will be discussing in more detail is the reinforcement in the concrete and the rebar. The way in which this is achieved is that it “spreads the loads evenly over the footing and avoids that the horizontal forces tear the foundation apart” (Gian Luca Brunetti, 2016). This is very important as the whole purpose of the foundation is to spread the load of the house and its weight. Having this rebar to reinforce the foundation is a positive as it then helps provide greater strength due to extra loads such as imposed, environmental, and wind loads that all get passed down into the foundation. The foundation is the most important part of the house, as it is the trunk of a tree. The foundation is the same it is the trunk of the rest of the house above it, this, therefore, means that there is increased strength through using this rebar in the strip. Each corner below the angle of 180 degrees of the strip foundation will have separate bars in addition that are not continuous to allow for more strength to combat the horizontal force.

Materials

When using concrete for the foundation it needs to be cured in the correct manner so concrete can achieve its designed strength. The way in which this is performed is a process called hydration, this is when the chemical reaction of cement and water is controlled carefully to ensure it will set appropriately to the environment, in my example the foundation on which my house sits. The problem with just letting the concrete in the foundations set normally is that the hydration in the concrete forms rapid shrinking, then generating the deformations and cracks observed in some construction works such as dwellings like the one in this report. In addition, there are ways in which to improve the form of this hydration as this is through pozzolans in the cement. “The use of pozzolans in cement reduces the heat released during hydration” (M.I. Sánchez de Rojas Gómez, M. Frías Rojas,2013). Although I don’t know this for a fact I can assume that pozzolans would have been in the cement of the strip foundations of my dwelling so that it would ensure a stronger and more effective concrete solution supporting my dwelling.

Products

Concrete beams and blocks use the technique of placing concrete blocks 100mm between 50mm ‘T’ beams to sum a total floor depth of 150mm between the void, soil below, and the insulation/screed above. The reason why this is such a benefit to most modern houses constructed is that it can save both time and money. The way in which this is achieved is that the beam and block are not bespoke to each site or house, it is the same in each of the developments meaning it saves time having to cut and shape to suit. Beam and block flooring is elevated meaning it doesn’t have to be excavated in order to install, this will not just save time but a lot of money as soil can be very expensive to distribute. Most of the beam and block flooring that is installed follow robust details that will follow British standards regarding fire resistance and acoustic properties. This strength is achieved by a means of a ‘counter brace for supporting the beam and providing structural strength’ (). This is therefore very important that this counter brace is included on this beam and block flooring as it provides a self-supporting technique to the flooring that means less design and groundwork required, saving money and time.

Description of gas using sketches

Internal services installations

The boiler that has been installed into my dwelling is a combination boiler, this boiler will need servicing every 12 months to ensure it will work at its peak. The reason why these boilers are so good is that they provide instantaneous hot water to the dwelling. It is handy when the dwelling has limited space in lofts and areas around the houses as it does not require cisterns or cylinders. Some of the radiators in the house have thermostatic valves and some won’t due to some of the main rooms having thermostats to control the overall temperature of the house. The system has an in line scale inhibitor on the mains water, likewise with the mains water the heating system will have an inhibitor. This is so important as it provides protection against corrosion build-up in the pipes prolonging the life of the heating system.

External services installations

My house has a gas meter fitted just above the first 4 courses of plinth brick, this meter will have an earth wire that runs out of the meter box into the ground as a protective measure. When the external gas pipes pass through into the house it is important that they do not touch the brickwork or pass under the foundations. This is all because of movement, movement is always expected to happen in the house under the foundations this is because of the imposed loads above it. The foundations can survive this but pipes will not. These pipes will therefore be passed through a duct out of sight from any cavities in the house, making sure that all cavities in the house are sealed keeping the house regulated. Another positive of these pipes running through a duct is the fact that it makes the route easy when installing them without damaging the floor or the ducts saving greater problems later on down the line. There are three suitable materials that the pipes should be made out of for any external services, copper, steel and polyethylene (which is normally used underground instead of above ground).

Sustainability

The house that I live in I would say is sustainable, the reason I say this is because it has an MVHR system that automatically ventilates the house. This is therefore very sustainable due to the fact that the system will monitor the amount of moisture in the house and adapts its performance to maintain the correct environment. When you look at the deterioration of houses internally it is normally down to a lack of dampness and moisture control that will eventually eat into the elements of the house.

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Moreover, my house is a new build that was completed in December 2018. This, therefore, means that the energy and the predicted energy rating are both very positive, as seen by the certificate above. If I was to improve the sustainability of my house I would look to bring in the use of solar panels. These solar panels can be expensive like every other sustainable method used to improve energy ratings, this method is practically sustainable as they reduce the carbon footprint of the home. ‘40 minutes the amount of energy contained in the light of the sun that reaches the Earth is equivalent to the amount of electrical energy used on the planet in a year's time. This statement shows how there is more than enough solar panel research for homes to install these as a mandatory item. The photo voltaic rays are always expected as the sun is sticking around for another billion years, meaning the efficiency will always be sustainable in providing cheaper and less carbon energy. The only thing that isn’t sufficient so far about this process of sustainability is the price, until further research is introduced to lower the price many houses will still suffer with low levels of sustainability.

The other factor which makes solar panels so effective in this subject of sustainability is that they do not create any noise, sound, or hazardous products. There is even further research regarding solar panels that not only sit in a fixed position but will follow the sun's movement to try and utilize as much of the sun's energy as possible. With all these positives also come some negatives including the fact that the materials that the solar panels are made from are non-renewable materials. This technique is such a positive as it can be used directly to provide warm water and general electricity in a dwelling, this is the main reason why I have chosen to speak about solar panels as I feel like it is the most suited system for households. The solar panels would be situated on top of the roof meaning that they wouldn’t take up any unnecessary space in the household.

Health and Safety

CDM (construction Design and management) regulation is the first go-to Health and safety factor as it provides a key governing foundation for a project of any size and caliber. The reason why I think this is such a key part of the health and safety of construction projects is that it doesn’t just involve the developers or builders, it involves all parties involved in the process of construction; such as client, designer, principal developer, and subcontractors.

If my house was to undergo renovation works, then I as a client would allocate a professional contractor or project coordinator that would have a prepared disciplined construction phase plan for the conduct of work. This would therefore provide the relevant presentation of health and safety at all times. Furthermore, a professional contractor would safeguard a working building site with the addition of RAMS (Risk Assessment Method Statement) from each Subcontractor with a pre-tender analysis of their scope of work and the possible risks involved. Having a pre-tender meeting would mean liaison and therefore a reduced risk of misunderstanding between the two parties.

Visible, Coherent, and comprehensible. Health and safety signs advise an individual swiftly through a series of colors and meanings for example; red-prohibition, yellow –Hazard-, Blue – Mandatory, and green – safe condition. In addition, it is compulsory for employers to provide pictorial symbols, fire/emergency escape signs, and marking of hazardous areas. These are vital to a construction cycle as it provides rapid responses from individual triggering a switched-on mindset to the dangers and jeopardy around them.

As Seen by the graph above it shows the importance of using PPE, as the main injuries are caused by hand and arm, foot, eye, and face protection, and lastly general PPE all not worn. A lot of these the contractors and sub-contractors will have the basic PPE that will limit the chances of these injuries; hand – gloves, feet – steel toe caps and hard hat and protective goggles/glasses. Along with these mandatory items that are given out to workers there are regulations that are used to help protect workers and people.

The two regulations that I am going to talk about in this example are RIDDOR(reporting of injuries, diseases, and dangerous occurrences regulations) and COSHH (Control of substances hazardous to health). Firstly, COSHH is a control measure against hazardous substances, especially in a form of a fact sheet which allows for guidance. With this type of measure comes two sheets, one that is direct advice and the other being a generic control. RIDDOR is guidance that assists employees and people that are in control of work premises to report injuries that are obtained in a workplace. Furthermore, this can also help with diseases and near misses. These two regulations are very important to a workplace such as my dwelling if it was to become a place of work as they ensure a control measure throughout and a guide if something does go wrong.

Reflection

The information that has been correlated from this report shows the extent to which houses have been improved dramatically over the years. This includes the in-depth design of foundations in the case of this report a complex strip foundation reinforced with rebar’s through adding to its strength properties. In addition, the form of concrete and ways in which to improve its function shows the thought that goes into most modern dwellings in the age we live in compared to a century ago.

The sustainability of dwellings is forever improving by the minute through various building regulations and legislations such as air test targets, u values, thermal properties in windows, etc. In the example of this report, the way in which research has helped my house become sustainable is with the introduction of the MVHR system (Mechanical ventilation and heat recovery). This has aided the house in numerous ways which will reduce dampness and moisture meaning the quality standard of the dwelling will be maintained. Furthermore, it will help reduce costs as heat will not escape the house as easily saving the consumers money.

In the last 30 years, health and safety have had a huge boost with many regulations coming into action that maintain the welfare of many workers and innocent everyday people that encounter live building works. It is always important that companies and people understand the importance of these rules and regulations, this ensures that if dwellings like the one in this report ever undergo works the appropriate measures are taken to maintain safety.