Visit to a construction site

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Building Site Report 1st Semester Civil Engineering 2013, UET Lahore

Construction Site Visit

Introduction: An assignment was given to us to visit a construction site and write a

report. Following were its objectives.

Objectives: To get an understanding how the theoretical knowledge is fitted in practice.

To gain experience in building material science

To develop our report writing skills.

Building Site: The building we chose for visiting was a mosque being constructed. We

went there thrice, Observed the work there and asked different questions there.

Name: Masjid Anwar-e-Madina

Type of building: A double story Masjid

Location : Dry Port, chungi number 3, Lahore Pakistan

Site Engineer : Muhammad Azeem

Contractor : Muhammad Shahid

Reason for choosing this site: The main reason for choosing this site for

observation process and to see the theoretical knowledge being fitted in

practice is that this construction site was implementing all that theory

we have gone through at this stage. E.g Use of bricks, use of different

ratio mortar and cement, use of different aggregates and concretes like

PCC, RCC etc.

Date of start : 12 January 2013

Completion date : August 2014

Dates of visits: 15 January 2014

18 January 2014 19 January 2014

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Observations and Questions

As this was our first visit to any construction site as to learn something.

Though We have seen many buildings being constructed but to Observe

something as a Civil Engineer was a different experience. We observed things and

asked questions to the workers and relevant person present there. Staring from

basic construction unit i.e Bricks

Bricks: Bricks are the basic construction material widely used in almost all the

buildings. Bricks are of different types i.e. 1st class bricks, 2nd class bricks, 3rd class

bricks. The bricks being used in construction at the site was 1st class bricks with

red cheery color, sharp and straight edges.

Mark on bricks: 5.12

Experiment/Test on bricks:

I took two bricks and struck them together, a ringing metallic sound was

heard, which confirmed the good quality of bricks.

Question: what is the cost of the bricks in the market?

Answer by site engineer: There are different rates of bricks in

the market e.g Rs 8000 per 1000 bricks, Rs 8500 per 1000 bricks,

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Rs 8300 per 1000 bricks . These bricks are of good quality of Rs.

8500.

Mortars: Mortar may be defined as a paste formed by mixing binding material, fine

aggregate and water in specific proportions. This paste hardens on drying and

binds the bricks, stones or concrete blocks together.Mortar being used at the

construction site was cement mortar.

Question : what are different ratios of cement-sand in mortars and

why they are different?

Answer by workers: There are different types of mortars depending upon

the c/s ratio. The more the cement, the more will be the strength so that’s

why different mortars are used.

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Following are the different ratios for different purposes.

*Ratios here are in volume.

Purpose c/s ratio *

For 9’’ brickwork 1:6

For 4.5’’ brick work 1:4

For plastering 1:4 For roof plaster 1:3

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Cement: Cement is a bonding agent used to bind various construction materials like

bricks, stones, concrete blocks, etc. cement is mixed with water and corse and

fine aggregate as needed. Cement used at the sight was norml Portland cement.

Name of company: Maple leaf

Type: Normal Portland cement

Weight/bag : 50 kg

Strength: 1000 psi

Cost/bag: Rs.510

Reason for choosing OPC: As the conditions there were normal,general

construction works with no special properties of the other types were

required e.g high early strength, low heat of hydration, sulphur hazards

w/c ratio: 22.5 litres water per 50 kg bag

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Aggregate: Aggregates are the inert materials mixed with binding material like cement,

lime or mud in the preparation of mortar or concrete. At the site we observed

different types of aggregate e.g coarse aggregate, sand and fine aggregate.

Question : which corse aggregate it is?

Answer: it is margalla crush.

Question : what is the difference between Sargodha and

Margalla Crush? Which one is better?

Answer: margalla crush is better than Sargodha crush. We usually use

margalla crush. Margalla crush requires less water as compared to

Sargodha crush.

Question : What is the ratio of aggregate in concrete?

Answer: The ratio of concrete mix is 1:2:4.

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Concrete: Concrete is the mixture of cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and

water in specific ratios.

At the site we observed different concrete being placed. The PCC and RCC were

being used. RCC was being used in minarets of the Mosque. We asked about the

ratios and setting time of concrete and collected following information.

Ratio of concrete mix: 1:2:3

Type: Plain cement concrete, reinforced cement concrete

Setting time: 6-8 days for roof and 8-12 days for reinforced concrete. Setting time depends upon weather condition too.

curing: The roof is completely dipped with water for 10 days for concrete curing.

Wood shattering: Wood shattering of roof is removed after 15 days when concrete gets strength.

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Following are the photos taken at the site of concrete.

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Efflorescence on bricks:

We noticed the efflorescence on the brick work. The reason of this efflorescence was salt

presence in the bricks. We asked about this. The worker and engineer told us that this is for the first time only. We have been watering the wall

and after watering it happens. When we will water it again

for plastering there would be no efflorescence.

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Final look of building:

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Conclusion

My Personal experience of this report and the visits to the building site is very good. We learned a lot by seeing the building being built and how it is made in real life. I have saw the construction of building But now I saw it in different view, like some Civil engineer which is checking out buildings. During the visits to the building site we were taking pictures of different parts of the building. Also we asked some questions about the construction. During these visits to the building site we were trying to notice as much as we can.

Visit to a construction site

Education

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