AN AFFORDABLE SUBSTITUTE FOR THE PLUMB DEVICE

By kosi Emmanuel chukwujindu

Architect: How to make your own Range device

As Architects and project supervisors we often require perfectly level/flat surfaces for floors, walls, lintels e.t.c. To achieve this, the practice is to make use of a device called the plumb. It is a horizontal steel pipe with a liquid trapped in a clear glass such that when the pipe is placed on a level surface, the air space is exactly at the center. This will indicate to the Architect or supervisor that the given job is okay. 

The challenge however is that for large  construction projects that have a lot of edges/surfaces to be confirmed, it may be quite expensive to procure the plumb device in large numbers. Moreso if there is no guarantee that they will all be returned after use. It becomes very wasteful to provide one plumb for each worker. In such case, about 2-3 workers can be assigned a plumb device while an alternative instrument -the range, is shared among all.

The range is similar to the plumb in shape. It is also a steel pipe which is about 6ft. Long x 1" wide. But it does not have the liquid trapped in clear glass. It is usually made of heavier metal than the plumb. It is especially useful in verifying how level a surface is. It can be used in the vertical or horixontal positions. And it is far cheaper than the plumb. It can be easily found at building materials markets or stores, but it is cheaper to make your own. 

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN RANGE DEVICE IN PLACE OF THE PLUMB.

STEP 1:

Visit your local welder or steel pipes vendor,and ask for the 2" x 1" x 24' hollow steel pipe. In Enugu state, This sells for about N900. 

Step 2: 

Ask him to cut same into three pieces each  of 6' lenght. (Nb: you may vary this according to how much length you require). 

Step 3:

Ask him to weld some scrap metal over the two open ends of each pipe to prevent sand and other debris from entering the pipes while in use at the site. 
Once this is done, congratulations you have your self made range device ready for site work!

AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING THE CONCRETE FASCIA

posted by
Kosi Emmanuel Chukwujindu

Concrete fascia detail sketch by Arc Jude Uche; M.D /C.E.O Geometrix Consultants

Conventional Nigerian builders will construct a wooden/metal formwork to the shape of the desired fascia right about the roof edge/building wall, install the reinforcement bars and cast the whole volume with concrete. well this is the 'text-book' thing to do, right?

Unfortunately, The problem with this method is that it typically consumes much more materials (steel, concrete and woodwork) and when the building(s) is a large one or are numerous, it becomes simply impractical and time consuming.

Goodnews is; the Architects at Geometrix have over the years through experience under the leadership of the meticulous Arc. Jude Uche, developed an alternative method of constructing the concrete fascia. This method (as in sketch above) involves a pre-cast moulding of the fascia and a systematic fastening on exposed reinforcemnet bars sticking out from already existing roof beam using 6mm binding wires.

step 1: ROOF-BEAM:  the traditional roof beam which is done right around on top of the last course of block, is done, but the 4- reinforcement bars are not completely covered with concrete yet, the top two are exposed in order to receive the binding wire that will be used to fasten the pre-cast fascia.

step 2: PRODUCTION: moulders are vigrously moulding the concrete fascia on site using only cement and sand. (NB: this eliminates the need for reinforcement bars in the curved concrete fascia (CCF). they are allowed to cure and set, on the ground before cutting and lifting to avoid breakages. the final product is quite heavy. tiny openings are provided at intervals to allow for passing of binding wires.

step3: CUTTING TO SHAPE: once the concrete fascia has set (usually 36 hours after molding) it can then be cut into desired lengths according to the building corners. a typical piece would be 4' - 6' long. The cutting is done with a concrete sawing machine. the same type used to saw through block walls.

step4: INSTALLATION: After the cutting, two workers lift up piece by piece, insert the binding wires and with the help of in-situ scaffolding, climb and actually fasten the wires on the

two top exposed bars in the already made roof beam.

step 5: STRAIGHTENING & FINAL CASTING:

the straightening is done externally using a long plumb device and then held in place by wooden supports along the body of the wall. The binding wire that has been passed through openings on the pre cast concrete fascia is tied onto the top exposed bars tightly and is then covered with a second layer of concrete to hold it in place forever. 

step 6: JOINT TREATMENT: 

The final step is to 'tack' the joints properly with same binding wires and short pieces of wood which help prevent the different piecs from shifting until the final casting is done. they will be removed once the concrete sets. the thin openings at these joints will be covered with neat mortar and painted.

ADVANTAGES OF PRE-CAST CONCRETE FASCIA:

i). reduced volume of concrete.

ii). elimination of reinforcement bars in the fascia.

iii). reduction in overall weight of the fascia.

iv). same result as in-situ cast, sometimes even better!

v). If production begins early enough, Its installation takes less time.

vi). reduced cost of production due to elimination of materials such as reinforcement bars and wooden form work.

LIMITATIONS OF PRE-CAST CONCRETE FASCIA

i). shortage of trained staff, may delay work

ii). curing time may delay work where production is not started early enough.

ARCHITECTS PROPOSE TWIN SKYSCRAPERS THAT CASTS NO SHADOWS

originally posted by
cnnnews.com

CNN) - An architecture firm is shedding new light on building skyscrapers, literally.

A concept for a "No Shadow Tower" was recently put forward by the London branch of NBBJ architects. The ambitious structure would be built to reflect light between two high-rises to ensure more sunlight can reach ground level.

It works by using an algorithm in the design phase to calculate which panels on a building will be in view of the sun at certain hours of the day depending on its location, shape and the time of year.

These panels can then be strategically placed during construction to bounce light down into public spaces at the foot of the buildings.

"You can't remove the shadow from one building," said Christian Coop, design director of NBBJ London.

"(But) if you have two buildings, one to the north and one to the south, you could form the building to the north to act like a mirror that would reflect the light in complete sequence to track the shadow from the south."

Promotional literature from the architects says this technique can help reduce shadows by about 60%.

NBBJ submitted the concept for a recent competition run by New London Architecture (NLA) think-tank that aimed to discover how skyscrapers could benefit public spaces.

go here to read the skyscraper story on cnn

 

ARCHITECT: HOW TO MERGE SEVERAL .PDF FILES INTO A SINGLE .PDF FILE WITH MANY PAGES

by Kosi Emmanuel Chukwujindu

Architects in dealing with distant clients are often requested to send and receive drawings through or over the internet. these drawings may be pictures, .dwg or .pdf files. pdiles are however the most widely used formats for several reasons. This is due to its light weight, versatility, non-edit-ability (in some cases). Compared to the .dwg, .jpeg or any other file formats,  the .pdf file format has come to be known as the business file format.

This post is dedicated to teach the Architect how to convert a CAD drawing (.dwg) file into a  .pdf file as well as how to merge these .pdf files into one in case this is required.

Lesson 1: How to save a drawing from AutoCad as .pdf

Step 1: Open the drawing file on your AutoCad workspace.

Step 2: go to file - print - under plotter select .dwg to .pdf plotter (How to install PDF plotter) if its not found in your list of plotters.

Step 3: select desired paper size iI.e a4, a 3 or other.

Step 4: using the window tool marquee the drawing from your model workspace and cluck preview to see how it is positioned on paper.

Step 5: click OK and set save folder for the new .PDF file. You may repeat the process to create several sheets of your drawing eg floorplan, elevation, sections e.t.c.

LESSON 2: HOW TO MERGE MULTIPLE .PDF FILES INTO ONE WITH MANY PAGES

Once you have finished saving those different drawings as different .PDF files, you can either send them individually or merge them into one .PDF file. This has the advantage that the mail you will be sending to your client will be compact and scrollable as against the open- view-close, open - view - close .....method of viewing single .pdf files.

Step1: (dont laugh) please dont bother touring the web scavenging for apps that promise the whole world and deliver nothing. Just download an app called "PDF merger" (from playstore) on your android phone. You may also find it under the name "PDF Utils"

Step 2: once you have this simple but very efficient app installed on your desktop you can copy all the  pdf files to your phone using your usb cable.

Step 3: open the app interface and add the files which you need to merge and click merge.

Step 4: specify the file name and save location.

Step 5: you are done!

PROJECT ARCHITECT - RESOLVING STAFF CONFLICTS ON SITE

by Kosi Emmanuel Chukwujindu

SAT. 21-02-15

Today there was a fight at the site. An Ibo worker fell out with an Hausa worker. The Ibo worker was working on the site for the first time after a long while. He was brought in by the site foreman. He was asked to construct the form work for one roof beam in the fourth line because our resident carpenter was absent on that day.  The Hausa worker was a mason; one of our most loyal. He would do whatever he was asked to do with smiles and never complained about anything other than wage related issues.

He was rounding off his block work, when the counting supervisor came to record his work. The Ibo man who had finished his roof-beam, and so was feeling good about himself came over and joined in counting the blocks. Jos, as the Hausa guy was popularly called, asked him to please not count his blocks as it was not his duty. He had no right to count blocks, there was a designated supervisor who handled that. The Ibo man, failed to listen and in fact insisted on doing the same. This led to a rough exchange of abuses, and ignited a bloody fight between the two.