Construction technology and environmental services Flashcards
(140 cards)
Building Safety Act 2022 recent updates
- amendments to the Building Regulations, which will apply to all
applications for building control consent from 1 October 2023. - Government has formed a new regulatory body within the Health and Safety Executive
(HSE) called the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). - Approved Inspectors will need to become Registered Building Control Approvers (RBCA) which
requires registration with the BSR.
*Building control is to become a regulated profession, meaning that the job title ‘Building Inspector’ will
be protected in law. They must have certain qualifications or experience and register with the BSR. - All RBIs will have their competence third party validated against the Building Inspector Competency
Framework for the class of registration they are applying for.
2022 updates to Building Regs
2022 updates to Building Regs
The updated regulations include amendments to
- Part F (Ventilation)
- Part L (Conservation of fuel and power)
Release of a new Approved Document
* Overheating (Part O)
* Infrastructure for charging electric vehicles (Part S).
- Building control regulations
A – Structure
B – Fire safety
C - Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture
D – Toxic substances
E – Resistance to the passage of sound
F – Ventilation
G – Sanitation
H – Drainage and waste disposal
J – Combustion appliances and fuel storage systems
K – Protection from falling collision and impact
L – Conservation of Fuel and power
M - Access and use of buildings
P – Electrical safety – dwellings
Q – Security dwellings
O - Overheating
S - Infrastructure for Electric vehicle charging
- Can you name some building frames
Timber, CLT, steel, concrete
- Advantages Steel frame?
- High strength – Highest strength to weight ratio of any building material
- Relatively low weight
- Ability to span large distances.
- Ease of installation
- Off site fabrication, allowing high quality.
- Mass production of repeating units.
- Availability of a wide range of ready-made structural sections.
- Ability to resist dynamic forces such as wind and earthquakes.
- Adaptability to any kind of shape.
- Ability to be clad with a wide variety of materials.
- Suitability to a wide range of joining methods.
- Non combustible
- Disadvantages Steel frame?
- Needs fire protection:
- Will not burn but components will fails before a similar wood component
- Parts may need replacing
- Advantages timber frame?
- Speed of installation:
- A prefabricated timber frame can be erected on site faster than a comparable brick and block construction. This enables interior trades such as plastering and electrical wiring to begin work earlier in the build programme, as the interior will be exposed to weather for less time
- Good delivery of an airtight envelope
- Little waste
- No additional finishes required
- Quality:
- Off site fabrication can allow higher quality to be achieved than in the less controlled conditions of a construction site.
- Thermal performance:
- Timber frame structures can typically achieve a better thermal performance than masonry structures. Their low thermal mass allows spaces enclosed by timber frames to heat up more quickly than masonry construction, however they will also tend to cool more quickly.
- Sustainable as long as the balance of replacing trees used is maintained
- Requires less CO2 to process and produce than steel
- Disadvantages timber frame?
- May not achieve the same level of sound insulation as concrete or masonry without performance enhancements i.e. use of two separate wall leaves with a structural break between them, filling with mineral wool.
- Needs protecting against excessive moisture
- Cannot be used to get the same height as other frames
- Can be vulnerable to termites / fungi
- High embodied carbon if delivered from afar
- Needs absolutely flat foundations
- Disadvantages of a concrete frame?
- Time consuming to construct
- Takes effort to get a consistent finish
- Steel reinforcement required leaves it vulnerable to fluctuating steel prices
- Heavy so required a big foundation
- Can be restricted by weight and therefore spans are less
- Concrete frame advantages?
- Good fire protections
- Low maintenance
- Cladding can be fixed and replaced easily
- Provides good sound and heat insulation
- Can use recycled materials
- Can use pre cast
- Disadvantages of CLT?
- Can be costly
- Requires accurately set out groundworks
- Requires completed designs ahead of start on site, to allow for offsite manufacture
- Requires external cladding or render to provide weatherproof envelope
- Use limited to above damp-proof course or equivalent level
- Considerable design coordination before work starts on site, as all openings for windows, doors and services should be factory-formed. Cutting on site is possible, although not desirable, due to lower-quality finished edges and a possible subsequent need for structural checks
- Advantages of CLT frame?
- Simple and fast onsite construction process
- Suitable for non-visible as well as exposed finishes
- Vapour-permeable wall construction
- Robust finished wall will take sundry fixings
- Need for robust upfront design may improve overall design and efficiency
- Light weight reduces load on foundations so less need for materials with high embodied energy (eg concrete)
- Greater load distribution can reduce thickness of transfer slabs
- Good delivery of airtight envelope
- Environmental / sustainability: Provided the timber is sustainably sourced, there are environmental advantages in the use of CLT. The embodied carbon of timber products is low relative to many other construction materials. As with all plant- based materials, carbon is stored during tree growth and continues to be stored through its use as a building material. At the end of its life, carbon is released
- Construction on site doesn’t last more than a few days. It is a quick and dry process, with very little waste generation.
- Greater quality control: Generally, panels made of CLT are assembled and cut in their production, already foreseeing the joints, openings, and drills specified in the design
- Broadly dimensionally stable and shrinks less than standard solid timber construction.
- Either through natural decomposition, returning other nutrients to the soil, or through the generation of heat/ energy by burning it as a fuel, either way providing a comparatively highly efficient end-of-life treatment.
- Imperfections in the original timber, such as knots, can be removed in the factory to reduce variability and enhance structural performance. CLT differs from glulam in that it is formed into panels rather than beams, hence the layers of timber (lamellas) are bonded perpendicularly to one another, resulting in structural strength across two dimensions, and improving structural integrity and dimensional stability
- It’s a sustainable material because it’s composed of wood, a renewable resource (usually from reforestation), and doesn’t require the burning of fossil fuels during its production.
- Since it is a solid panel composed of a single material, the structure requires no cladding, which reduces the need for labour and materials for its final appearance.
- What is value engineering?
The substitution of materials and methods with less expensive alternatives, without sacrificing functionality.
- How PV panels work
Solar photovoltaic (also known as solar PV) systems convert energy from the sun into electricity. Solar panels are made of a thin layer of semi-conducting material sandwiched between a sheet of glass and a polymer resin. When exposed to daylight, the semi-conducting material becomes ‘energised’ and this produces electricity.
The electricity goes through a inductor, converting it from Direct current to alternating current to make it usable electricity within the home, or it can be sold back to the national grid.
- What are the differences between DREAM & BREAM?
The DREAM tools were developed by MOD to specifically address the unique nature of MOD
buildings and to offer an alternative to the industry equivalent BREEAM.
DREAM - environmental assessment tool for New Building and Refurbishment projects on the Defence Estate. Defence Related Environmental Assessment Methodology, specific to assess the environmental performance of buildings specific to the Defence Estate.
- DREAM
- Defence Related Environmental Assessment Methodology
- DREAM - environmental assessment tool for New Building and Refurbishment projects on the Defence Estate.
- designed DREAM to specifically assess the environmental performance of construction projects on the MOD estate.
- DREAM consists of fourteen modules that cover eight building types each designed to cover a range of MOD buildings ( Hangars & workshops, living accommodation, Mediterranean living spaces, commercial spaces, kitchen & dining facilities)
- A DREAM assessment is divided into four DREAM Stages; Survey, Design, Construction and
- Operation.
- How to achieve DREAM credits
To complete a DREAM assessment, an assessor is required to answer questions in order to gain
‘credits’ within each stage under the following categories:
* Biodiversity and Environmental Protection
* External Environmental Quality
* Energy
* Internal Environmental Quality
* Procurement
* Travel
* Water
* Waste
Credits are awarded under the above headings, it could include, consulting utility and water companies, undertaking a NZC assessment, providing a transport assessment, providing a preliminary ecology appraisal.
New build. - excellent
Returb - very good
- What are U-Values?
U-values are a measurement for heat transfer applied to how building components conduct or transfer heat. A U-value is calculated from the rate of energy transfer through one square meter of structure divided by the difference in temperature at either side of the structure.
- Are you aware of what SDG’s are?
The 17 Sustainable development goals sit at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.
1 – No Poverty
2 – Zero Hunger
3 – Good health & wellbeing
4 – Quality education
5 – Gender equality
6 – Clean water and sanitation
7 – Affordable and clean energy
8 – Decent work and economic growth
9 – Industry, innovation & infrastructure
10 – Reduced inequalities
11 – Sustainable cities and communities
12 – Responsible consumption and production
13 -Climate action
14 – Life below water
15 – Life on land
16 – Peace, justice and strong institutions
17 – Partnerships for the goals
- What environmental assessment methods are you aware of?
BREAM
Passivehaus Trust
SKA
DREAM
CIRAM
LEAD
Living Building Challenge
- Passivehaus trust – Looks at energy efficiency and reducing the colling and heating and consumption through focusing on high levels of insulation air tightness and ventilation. If followed can reduce it up to 90%. Improves indoor air quality and reduces carbon emissions, available for all building types.
- Lead – Global scheme providing a framework looking at energy efficiencies and green buildings, design and construction operation and maintenance focused. Created by the US by the Green building council, looks at the integrated process including location, transport links, how sustainable the site is for efficiency, energy in the atmosphere, materials usesd, innovation, regional priorities – Gold, silver & platinum award.
- BREAM – developed in the UK in the 90’s, a widely used certification scheme covering all building types including new build, refurb and in use. Assesses buildings across 10 categories. Different ratings can be awarded, and receipt of BREAM can help with attracting and retaining lenders and investors.
- Living building challenge – focused on not just making the building better, but how you are making the environment around it better. The building is NZC, in energy and water avoids harmful materials in the construction.
- What are British Standards?
The specification of recommended procedure, quality of output, terminology, and other details, in a particular field, drawn up and published by the British Standards Institution, created by industry experts, with vast knowledge and experience in their fields. The role of BSI is to facilitate bringing these people together, to agree on best practice and to create standards.
- What are deleterious materials?
Deleterious materials (also known as prohibited materials) are materials that are prohibited for use in a project as they are It is a material that could “cause damage or harm to the individual, the environment or to the buildings and infrastructure . This could be for a variety of reasons including:
* reliability
* health and safety
* structural stability/performance/physical integrity/life-expectancy of a project
* non-compliance with regulations
* susceptibility to change/deterioration
Within the UK government’s guidance note to the Building Regulations 2010, entitled “Materials and Workmanship – approved document 7”, there are a number of suggested approaches to establish the suitability of materials.
- Can you give an example of some deleterious materials?
- Asbestos
- PUL
- High Alumina cement or concrete
- Woodwool slab
- MMMF
- Black ash mortar
- Tropical rainforest hard woods
- Lead or any materials containing led
- What is a Section 106 agreement?
Planning obligations also known as a S106 agreement based on the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 are a legal agreement which is implemented known as planning obligations, which are legal obligations entered into to mitigate the impacts of a development proposal