BUILDING CONSTRUCTION
HANDBOOK




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BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION
HANDBOOK
Eighth edition

R. Chudley
and

R. Greeno

AMSTERDAM . BOSTON . HEIDELBERG . LONDON . NEW YORK . OXFORD
PARIS . SAN DIEGO . SAN FRANCISCO . SINGAPORE . SYDNEY . TOKYO
Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier

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Eighth edition 2010
Copyright ª 1988, 1995, 1996, R. Chudley.
Copyright ª 1998, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, R. Chudley and R. Greeno
Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
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Notices
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CONTENTS
Preface to eighth edition xi
Part One

General

Built environment 2
The structure 5
Primary and secondary elements 12
Component parts and functions 15

Construction activities 19
Construction documents 20
Construction drawings 21
Building survey 28
HIPs/Energy Performance Certificates 32
Method statement and programming 33
Weights and densities of building materials
Imposed floor loads 37
Drawings -- notations 38
Planning application 42
Modular coordination 47
Construction regulations 49
CDM regulations 50
Safety signs and symbols 51
Building Regulations 53
Code for Sustainable Homes 62
British Standards 63
European Standards 64
Product and practice accreditation 66
CPI System of Coding 67
CI/SfB system of coding 68

35

Part Two Site Works

Site survey 70
Site investigations 71
Soil investigation 74
Soil assessment and testing 81

Site layout considerations 88
Site security 91
Site lighting and electrical supply 94
Site office accommodation 98

v



Contents
Materials storage 101
Materials testing 106
Dry and wet rot 121
Protection orders for trees and structures 123
Locating public utility services 124
Setting out 125
Levels and angles 129
Road construction 132
Tubular scaffolding and scaffolding systems 140
Shoring systems 153
Demolition 162
Part Three

Builders Plant

General considerations 168
Bulldozers 171
Scrapers 172
Graders 173
Tractor shovels 174

Excavators 175
Transport vehicles 180
Hoists 183
Rubble chutes and skips 185
Cranes 186
Concreting plant 198
Part Four

Substructure

Foundations -- function, materials and sizing
Foundation beds 215
Short bored pile foundations 221
Foundation types and selection 223
Piled foundations 228
Retaining walls 248
Gabions and mattresses 262
Basement construction 269
Waterproofing basements 272
Excavations 278
Concrete production 284
Cofferdams 290
Caissons 292
Underpinning 294
Ground water control 303
Soil stabilisation and improvement 313
Reclamation of waste land 318
Contaminated sub-soil treatment 319

vi


206




Contents
Part Five Superstructure † 1

Choice of materials 322
Brick and block walls 323
Cavity walls 338
Damp-proof courses and membranes
Gas resistant membranes 351
Calculated brickwork 353
Mortars 356
Arches and openings 359
Windows 366
Glass and glazing 379
Doors 391
Crosswall construction 400
Framed construction 404
Rendering to external walls 408
Cladding to external walls 410
Roofs † basic forms 417
Pitched roofs 420
Double lap tiling 437
Single lap tiling 439
Slating 441
Flat roofs 447

Dormer windows 456
Green roofs 465
Thermal insulation 467
‘U’ values 472
Thermal bridging 488
Access for the disabled 492
Part Six

344

Superstructure † 2

Reinforced concrete slabs 496
Reinforced concrete framed structures 500
Reinforcement types 510
Structural concrete, fire protection 513
Formwork 516
Precast concrete frames 521
Prestressed concrete 525
Structural steelwork sections 532
Structural steelwork connections 537
Structural fire protection 542
Portal frames 549
Composite timber beams 557
Multi-storey structures 560
Roof sheet coverings 564

vii




Contents
Long span roofs 569
Shell roof construction 579
Membrane roofs 588
Rooflights 590
Panel walls 594
Rainscreen cladding 600
Structural glazing 602
Curtain walling 603
Concrete claddings 607
Concrete surface finishes 614
Concrete surface defects 616
Part Seven Internal Construction and Finishes

Internal elements 618
Internal walls 619
Construction joints 624
Internal walls, fire protection 626
Party/separating walls 628
Partitions 629
Strut design 631
Plasters and plastering 636
Dry lining techniques 639
Plasterboard 642
Wall tiling 645
Domestic floors and finishes 647
Large cast in-situ ground floors 654
Concrete floor screeds 656
Timber suspended floors 658

Lateral restraint 661
Timber beam design 664
Timber floors, fire protection 667
Reinforced concrete suspended floors 668
Precast concrete floors 673
Raised access floors 678
Sound insulation 679
Timber, concrete and metal stairs 685
Internal doors 716
Doorsets 718
Fire resisting doors 719
Plasterboard ceilings 725
Suspended ceilings 726
Paints and painting 730
Joinery production 734
Composite boarding 739
Plastics in building 741

viii




Contents
Part Eight

Domestic Services

Drainage effluents 746
Subsoil drainage 747

Surface water removal 749
Road drainage 752
Rainwater installations 754
Drainage systems 758
Drainage-- pipe sizes and gradients 766
Water supply 767
Cold water installations 769
Hot water installations 771
Flow controls 774
Cisterns and cylinders 775
Pipework joints 777
Sanitary fittings 778
Single and ventilated stack systems 781
Hot water heating systems 784
Electrical supply and installation 788
Gas supply and gas fires 797
Open fireplaces and flues 801
Telephone installations 811
Electronic communications installations 812
Index 813

ix



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PREFACE TO EIGHTH EDITION
This edition retains the predominantly illustrative format of earlier editions,
presenting the principles of building construction with comprehensive guidance
to procedures with numerous examples of formulated and empirical design.
Summary notes are supplemented with references to further reading where
appropriate.
The content applies to both current and established UK construction practice.
This includes the building and maintenance of housing and other low-rise
structures and the more advanced techniques applied to medium and high-rise
commercial and large industrial buildings. Many examples from previous
editions are kept as important references and benchmarks for newer applications.
These have evolved in response to material developments and in consideration
for environmental issues, not least with regard to energy conservation measures
and sustainable building.
The UK’s housing stock of about 25 million dwellings includes approximately
2 million units built in the past decade. Therefore, the aftercare of older
buildings is an important part of the construction industry’s economy. In order
to represent this important sector of maintenance, refurbishment, renovation
and remedial work, many established practices are included in the Handbook.
Modern construction processes and associated technology are incorporated in
this new edition, however the content is not extensive, nor is it intended to be
prescriptive. Building design and subsequent construction techniques are varied
and diverse depending on availability of materials and skills. This Handbook
provided guidance to achieving these objectives, but sufficient publishing space
cannot cover every possibility. Therefore, the reader is encouraged to supplement
their study with site observation and practice, with further reading of
professional journals, legislative papers and manufacturer’s catalogues.
Roger Greeno 2010

xi




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1 GENERAL

BUILT ENVIRONMENT
THE STRUCTURE
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY ELEMENTS
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES
CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS
CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS
BUILDING SURVEY
HIPs/EPCs
MATERIAL WEIGHTS AND DENSITIES
IMPOSED FLOOR LOADS
PLANNING APPLICATION
MODULAR COORDINATION
CONSTRUCTION REGULATIONS
CDM REGULATIONS
SAFETY SIGNS AND SYMBOLS
BUILDING REGULATIONS
CODE FOR SUSTAINABLE HOMES
BRITISH STANDARDS
EUROPEAN STANDARDS
CPI SYSTEM OF CODING

CI/SFB SYSTEM OF CODING

1



Built Environment
Environment = surroundings which can be natural, man-made or a
combination of these.
Built Environment = created by man with or without the aid of the
natural environment.

2




Built Environment
Environmental Considerations
1.

Planning requirements.

2.

Building Regulations.

3.

Land restrictions by vendor

or lessor.

4.

Availability of services.

5.

Local amenities including
transport.

6. Subsoil conditions.
7.

Levels and topography of
land.

8.
9.
10.

Adjoining buildings or land.
Use of building.
Daylight and view aspects.

3



Built Environment

Physical considerations
1.

Natural contours of land.

2.

Natural vegetation and trees.

3.

Size of land and/or proposed building.

4.

Shape of land and/or proposed building.

5.

Approach and access roads and footpaths.

6. Services available.
7.

Natural waterways, lakes and ponds.

8.

Restrictions


such

as

rights

of

way;

tree

created

by

surrounding

preservation

and

properties,

land

ancient buildings.
9.

Climatic


conditions

or activities.
10.

4

Proposed future developments.




The Structure---Basic Types

5



The Structure---Basic Types

6




The Structure---Basic Forms

7




The Structure---Basic Forms

8




The Structure---Basic Forms
Shell

Roofs

~

these

are

formed

by

a

structural

curved


skin

covering a given plan shape and area.

9



The Structure---Basic Forms

10




Substructure
Substructure

~

can

be

defined

as

all


structure

below

the

superstructure which in general terms is considered to include all
structure below ground level but including the ground floor bed.

11



Superstructure and Primary Elements
Superstructure

~

can

be

defined

as

all

structure


above

substructure both internally and externally.

Primary Elements ~ basically components of the building carcass
above

the

substructure

excluding

secondary

elements,

finishes,

services and fittings.

12