SUPERSTRUCTURE.

We had attended the site visit to a unit of shop house at Taman Kriastal Parit Raja.
During the site visit, we had observe several type of superstructure which consist of beam,
column, wall and finishes.

BEAM DESIGN.

Reinforced concrete beams are designed to act together with longitudinal and web
reinforcement in resisting applied forces. Cast-in place concrete beam are almost always
formed and placed along with the slab they support. Because a portion of the slab acts as an
integral part of the beam, the depth of the beam is measured to the top of the slab.

The structural precast column is reinforced and can be used as a part of a total precast
concrete structure. A variation of finishes can be applied according to the building type once
the beams and column are done. Beam are commonly used as ledges for other forms of
precast flooring to rest on, but can also be used as a flooring option on their own. They are
manufactured to suit each particular building design. Some of beam included are Tee-Beams,
Rectangular Beam, U-Beams and Beam shells.

There are two type method of concrete beam in manufacture. One of that is by
commonly construction or we call in-situ method and other one is by new technology that is
pre-cast concrete beam. Both of that is different method between in-situ and pre-cast.
However, the most common method of constructing beam and columns are through in situ
cast concrete. This method is used in the construction at Taman Kristal Shop house. The insitu concrete structure mostly contains steel reinforcement for stronger support. The steel
reinforcement is placed in between the concrete during casting.

Beams are rigid structural member designed to carry and transfer loads across space to
supporting elements. The non-concurrent pattern of forces subjects a beam to bending and
deflection, which must be resisted by the internal strength of the material. We noticed that the
beam, column and slab that are on our site are constructed together.

Figure 1: Finished first floor Beam

Ground beam are sometimes casted together with the slab, but in According to Mr. Ah
Hong, they casted the beam before they casted the slab. As the second floor, we found out that
the beam and slab are cast together because it is not possible to cast the beam first then the
slab later.

The construction concrete beam is started by fixing the reinforcement bar of the beam.
Alternately, formwork is prepared first. Then the reinforcement is completely assembled on
top of the formwork and is later lowered into its final position inside the forms. If there a joint
of two crossing beam and column at the ground level, we must make sure that the
reinforcement clear each other and adequate space must remain proper consolidates of
concrete. Then fix the wooden formwork for the concrete beam and pour the concrete. After
that dry it up and remove the formwork.

COLUMN.

Column in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that acts as a

support of building, transmitting load from higher platform towards foundation level. The
column that is applied in our site is concrete column. Columns are rigid, relatively slender
structural member designed primarily to support axial compressive loads applied to the ends
of the members. According to Mr. Ah Hong the concrete column that is built in our site was
built along with the concrete beam and slab. It composes of concrete and reinforce
steel(rebar). It work in the way were reinforced steel is placed at where there is tensile force
and let concrete resist corrosion.
There are several types of column which is steel column, wood/timber column, and
concrete column. Column is function to support building which carries compressive loads.

WALL.
Figure 2 Column can be seen at site.

Walls are often used to support loads, to insulate the building and to work as a climate
enclosure, protecting the building from sun, wind and rain. Walls can be load bearing,
supporting the floor and roofs or non-load bearing. However, they always separate a place
from another, working like filters in spaces; their qualities affect the space they create.

They are different types of walls, made from different materials, according to
requirements of the context and the clients wished. A wall can be a solid wall that carries its
load in compression thought out its length and so it requires supporting beams or a continuous
foundation.
On the site visit we managed to catch several different types of wall and different
material used. According to Mr. Ah Hong the site supervisor, there are 2 different types of
brick that we can find at our sites:
a) Concrete Brick.
- It is beauty in its natural state.
- It is much economy in term of saving materials, labours, time and costing.

b) Common burnt clay bricks.

- It does not have attractive appearance thus it requires plastering or rendering.
- It has the maximum fire resistance among the bricks.
- It is expensive because of the time consuming.

MASONRY WALL.

Masonry wall are made up of piled up modular block, usually made of clay, stone,
cement, or concrete. They are various ways a masonry wall can be stacked and they create
different patterns. Usually they are hold together with the help of mortar that is made of sand,
cement and water.

Concrete Brick

Made from solid concrete which is a combination of Portland

cement, aggregates and water.

Clay Brick

Made from a mixture of clay and water then pressed into forms
and fired in a kiln.

Mortar

=
mortar is a workable paste consist of cement or lime, or a combination of both with

sand and water. It is used as a bonding agent in masonry construction. A standard mortar mix
for new brickwork would be 1:1:6 (cement: lime: sand) or 1:4 (Portland: cement: sand)

BRICK

ON-SITE:

Parti wall is a dividing between 2 Figure 3: Parti wall on site

adjoining building (unit) that is shared by the tenants of each residence or business. It also
serve as the fire wall by restrict the spread of fire from one unit to another. As the built on site
of Taman Kristal are doing shop house construction, parti wall are the type wall that we can
saw used there. According to the internet source, the materials and masonry building are used
due to its unique features against fire. The common burnt clay brick are used because of its
high fire resistance. The thickness of parti wall is formed by two headers or one stretcher face
of brick. A parti wall not only separates two different unit, it also plays an important roles in
fire stopping.

A firewall also has sufficient structural stability during a building fire to allow collapse
of the construction on either side without collapsing. At the site, the types of wall arrangement
are using the Flemish bond type. Flemish bond has alternating header and stretchers in each
course, each header being centered above and below a stretcher. By placing the brick in this
arrangement, its benefit both economic and structural aspect as it able to form a thick wall by
using minimum amount of bricks.

Figure 4:

Flemish Bond

PROCEDURES OF CONSTRUCTING CONCRETE BRICK WALL.

Step 1 :

Measure the length of wall.

Start by putting a brick down at each end of the wall. Measure from the outer edge of
the brick at one end to the outer edge of the brick at the other end to get the length of the wall.

Step 2 :

Measure the brick.

Measure the brick and mark at 10 inch intervals, add about 3/8 of an inch onto the
length of the brick to compensate for the mortar in between the brick which is a joint.

Step 3 :

Consistency.

Keep the height of all the same by using a spirit level.

Step 4 :

Set up the line.

Hook a line at both ends so it lines up with the very top of two bricks. Then fill up the
middle.

Step 5 :

Continue on the next level.

Always start at each end then fill in the middle until the destined height. Remember to
adjust the hook line on every level.

Step 6
piping.

Wiring

and

After constructing the brick until the top, get all kinds of piping ready such as wire, air
conditioner, water and etc. Then, craft a cylindrical-like space on the wall vertically or
horizontally depending on the piping system. After that, start setting up the pipes.
Step 7 :

Plaster and skim coat.

Apply the plaster in smooth layer over the brick wall and let it dry before applying a
second coating which should be thinner than the first layer. Smooth over the wall with the
skim coat of mud applied with a special squeegee.

Next, we also can saw the way of the site strategy to strengthen the wall which is by:
a) Brick bonding.
- The brick are arranged in overlapping to prevent the whole wall from sinking.

b) Wire mesh.
- Wire mesh are primarily used as anti- cracking reinforcement of brick and
block masonry.

The problems that we detected at the site are the mortar work is not neat as some parts
the can drooling out. While the brick work is roughly been done with some brick is popping
out. Excess mortar isnt removed as plastering wall will be done later onto brick wall,
avoiding any unwanted sight of brick wall. There also a hole between the brick which we
secretly being told that it we use to support the scaffolding. But the problem is the hole after
that is not again fill with brick but it just being cover with the plastering.
FINISHES.
PLASTERING AND SKIM COAT.
Plastering.
Plastering is the process to produce
an acceptable final wall or ceiling by using
plaster. The most common type of plaster
used is gypsum plaster which made up of
mixing calcimed gypsum with water, fine
sand or lightweight aggregate and various
additives.
From our site, plastering is applied by hand and it is done by two very simple tools, a
hawk in one hand to hold a small quantity of plaster ready for use and a trowel on other hand
to lift the plaster from the hawk. Apply to surface and smooth it into place.

Mr. Ah Hong said that there were two-coat plaster is applied at our site. First coat is
brown coat which it is roughly finishes, leveling coat of plaster. Second is the finish coat. It is
the final coat of plaster, serving either as a finished surface or as a base of decoration.
Last process are normally wall tiling. Using sand paper to smoothen out the wall and
vacuum away the dust.

Process of plastering at site.