WALL AND

ROOF
Subtitle
 Commercial Wall Systems
Load Bearing Walls
Low Rise
Cast-in-Place Concrete
Tilt-up Concrete
Concrete Masonry Units
Non-Load Bearing Walls
Curtain Walls
 Load Bearing Wall
Supports vertical loads other than its own weight
Often supports floors or roof above
Non-Load Bearing
Supports only it own weight
Typically used as
Partition walls to separate interior spaces
Protection from the elements
 Load Bearing Walls
Common Construction Materials
Low-rise commercial construction (three stories
or less) may be similar to residential construction

Wood Precast Concrete Light Gauge Steel

Other common commercial wall materials
Cast-in-Place concrete
Tilt-up Concrete
Concrete Masonry Units (CMU)
Concrete
 Pictures courtesy construction photography

Advantages
Strength (especially in
compression)
Durable
Fire Resistant Concrete is mixed at a plant . . .

Pest Resistant
Rot/Rust Resistant
Low Maintenance
Energy Efficient Thermal mass
stores heat energy . . . and transported to the site of the pour.
LEED credits earned for
Using materials extracted, harvested, or Green Concrete?
recovered within a 500 mile radius from
the site
Using recycled aggregate
Improved energy efficiency by taking
advantage of thermal mass of concrete
Reduced VOCs using concrete compared
to other construction materials
www.usgbc.org
Generating less construction waste than
wood or steel
 Cast-in-Place Concrete
Concrete walls are formed,
reinforced, and poured in
place.
Concrete is reinforced with iStockphoto.com

steel bars to improve

tensile and bending
strength.

iStockphoto.com
 Cast-in-Place Concrete
Typical Construction

WEEP
HOLE

Image Courtesy masonrysystems.org

 Cast-in-Place Concrete Wall
with Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF)

Concrete forms consist of insulating foam that stays in place as a

permanent part of the wall assembly.

Courtesy TexAZ Commercial Properties

CAST-IN-PLACE CONCRETE
EXAMPLES

Courtesy Portland Cement Association

Burj Dubai
United Arab Emirates
Tilt-up Concrete
Concrete wall sections (with
reinforcing) are poured
horizontally on site, tilted
vertically, and then anchored.
Courtesy TCA

Courtesy Greg Thiel Courtesy TCA

Tilt-up Concrete
Can be formed into a variety of shapes and
sizes
Different surface treatments and form
inserts can be used to create a wide variety
of surface textures
Relatively quick design and construction
time Courtesy Tilt-up Concrete Association

Courtesy Tilt-up Concrete Association

Courtesy Tilt-up Concrete Association Courtesy Greg Thiel
Thin bricks are set in the form before
the concrete is cast
Form inserts give relief to the panels
Typical Tilt-up Concrete Wall Section
 Austin Research Center for the Homeless, Bright House Networks,
Austin, TX St. Petersburg, FL
TILT-UP CONSTRUCTION

Boca Village Corporate Center

Boca Raton, FL
EXAMPLES

San Diego Childrens Museum,

San Diego, California
All images courtesy Tilt-Up Concrete Association
 Concrete Masonry Units (CMU)
Concrete is cast into hollow blocks that can be stacked and grouted
to form walls.
CMU load bearing walls are reinforced with steel bars to improve
tensile and bending strength.
 Courtesy Isle of Palms Recreation Center
MASONRY WALL

Isle of Palms Recreation Center, SC

EXAMPLES

Courtesy Tilt-up Concrete Association

Tilt-up and CMU construction

Courtesy Constructionphotographs.com
RS+K Advertising
Madison, WI
Commercial building under
construction
 Non-Load Bearing Wall
Supports only its own weight
Typically used as
Partition walls to separate interior
spaces
Protection from the elements
Materials
Wood framing
Light gauge steel framing
Concrete masonry units
Curtain walls
 Curtain Walls
Courtesy Lawrence C. Novak,

Non-load bearing wall attached to the Portland Cement Association

exterior of a building
Often composed of glass and metal
Provides visual appeal, daylight, and
protection from the elements
Courtesy Tilt-up Concrete Association

Trump Tower

Wikipedia.com
Courtesy Tilt-up Concrete Association
 Load Bearing Walls
Low Rise
Green Concrete?
Cast-in-Place Concrete
Tilt-up Concrete
Concrete Masonry Units
Non-Load Bearing Walls
Curtain Walls
 Stone walls
The development of wall structures
Traditional walls of dwellings and Industrial
buildings were constructed from stone
which were found locally.
If you look carefully at the picture shown
above you will see that the larger stones
were built in courses with small stones inter
spaced. The walls were usually very thick at
about 400 to 700mm in width. Most had no
damp proof course included.
Lime mortar was used to bind these stones
together.
Some of these stone walls were built with
lime or more recently with sand and
cement.
 One brick thick walls were commonly One brick walls
used to build rows of red brick terrace
houses in close proximity to mills.
Header course
These houses were constructed cheaply
by mill owners from brick which were
usually made locally.
These bricks were often constructed in
English Bond creating a solid wall. Stretcher
course
The solid wall allowed moisture to travel
from the outside of the wall to the inside
causing damp patches on the wall inside
the house.
Damp proof
Damp proof courses were included in
some of the one brick walls. course
 The first development to Cavity walls in block construction
prevent the spread of damp into
the inside of buildings was the
cavity wall.
These walls were constructed Wall ties
from two skins of brick or block spaced at
450mm
joined together by twisted vertically
galvanized steel wall ties.
The twist was constructed into
the wall ties so that any
moisture which tried to move
across the cavity would drop off. D.P.C.
 Cavity walls in brick construction
with insulation
This wall is similar in construction to
the first cavity wall, the only exception 60mm thick insulation
being the inclusion of insulation.
Wall ties are now manufactured from
stainless steel.
When cavity walls are used as part of a
cellular structure they provide
buildings which are structurally sound.
Some of their other advantages are
the prevention of damp penetrating to
the inside of the building, fairly good
thermal insulation properties and a
cost efficient method of construction.
Plaster
 Timber framed walls differ Timber frame walls
from those constructed of
traditional brick and block
work because the structural
frame members are
fabricated from wood. They
transmit their loads onto the
foundation through a
common sole or base plate.
Timber frame structures
must comply with the
building regulations in every
aspect including resistance
to fire.
 The photograph shows curtain walling
Curtain wall for Industrial
and commercial structures
which is cladding a leisure centre.
Transom

Composite panels Glass curtain walling Mullion

for curtain walling
 Curtain wall structures
Curtain wall structures are a Glass infill panels represented in green
composite of mullion,
transoms and infill panels
which may be glass or an
opaque material.
Curtain walling is often used
with rectangular framed
structures.
There is often an inner skin of
block work.

Opaque infill panels

represented in blue
 Cladding
Claddings can be considered under the following
headings :
Panel walls
Concrete
Light infill panels
Curtain walling
Timber cladding
Shakes and shingle.
 All types of
Claddings must fulfill the following functions.
Be self supporting between the framing members.
Having resistance to rain penetration.
Capable of resisting wind pressures
Provide necessary resistance to wind penetration
Give the required degree of thermal insulation
Provide required degree of sound insulation
Give the required degree of fire resistance
Provide sufficient openings for the admittance of natural daylight and ventilation
Constructed to a suitable size.
 Concrete Cladding Panels
1.0 Concrete Cladding Panels

Usually made of pre-cast concrete.

Concrete cladding panels comprised of a dense concrete mix and
steel reinforcement.
Lifting lugs, positions or holes to be incorporated into the design
o ensure that the panels are hoisted in the correct manner.
 Concrete Cladding Panels (Contd)
The precast concrete manufacturer designs
the cladding based on the following factors :
Specified loads,
Erection loads,
Connection details,
Weatherproofing,
performance and durability.
 One of the major problems
facing by the designer of
concrete panels is one of Concrete Cladding Panels (Contd)
jointing to allow for structural
and thermal movements.
Thermal insulation can be
achieved when using precast
concrete panels by creating a
cavity.
 Infill Panels
Infill panels are lightweight and usually glazed to give good
internal natural daylighting conditions.
A wide variety of materials or combinations of materials
can be employed such as timber, steel, aluminium and
plastic.
The panels used must provide the necessary resistance to
fire, heat loss, sound penetration and interstitial
condensation.
 Thejointing problem with infill panels occurs mainly
at its junction with the structural frame and
allowance for moisture or thermal movement is
usually achieved by using a suitable mastic or
sealant.
The maintenance problems with infill panels is the
cleaning of the faade and in particular the glazing.
Access for cleaning glazed areas can be external or
internal.
Infill Panels
 Jointing
Joints should be designed so that they fulfill the following
requirements.
Allow for structural, thermal and moisture movement.

Good durability

Easily maintaned

Maintainthe thermal and sound insulation properties of the

surrounding cladding
Jointing can be classified as follow :
Filled joints
Drained joints
 Filled joints (Contd)
Filled joints :
Filled
joints are generally suitable if the cladding panel
module is small.
Filled joints can crack and allow water to penetrate.
The failure is due to either the filling materials being
incapable of accommodating movement or a breakdown
of adhesion between the filling material and the panel
 Drained joints
Drainedjoints :
Thesejoints have been designed and developed to
overcome the disadvantages of the Filled joint by :
i. Designing the joint to have a drainage zone
ii. Providing an air-tight seal at the rear of the
joint
 Filled joint

Drained joint
 Curtain Walling
Curtain walls are a form of external lightweight cladding attached to a
framed structure forming a complete envelope or sheath around the
structural frame.
Why used curtain walling :
i. Provide an enclosure to the structure which will give the necessary
protection against the elements.
ii. Make use of dry construction methods.
iii. Impose onto the structural frame the minimum load in the form of
claddings.
iv. Express an architectural feature.
 Curtain Walling (contd)
Curtain walls to have the following requirements :
i. Resistance to the elements
ii. Assist in maintaining the designed internal temperatures.
iii. Adequate strength
iv. Provide required degree of fire resistance
v. Easy to assemble and fix.
vi. Provide required degree of sound insulation
vii. Provide for thermal and structural movements.
 Curtain walls to have the following requirements :
i. Resistance to the elements
ii. Assist in maintaining the designed internal temperatures.
iii. Adequate strength
iv. Provide required degree of fire resistance
v. Easy to assemble and fix.
vi. Provide required degree of sound insulation
vii. Provide for thermal and structural movements.
 Most curtain wall systems consist of
vertical mullions which span from slab to
slab, and horizontal rails which span from
mullion to mullion. Within the grid thus
created, glass panels are inserted,
although other materials can also be used
within such a grid (especially at the
"spandrel" condition). The typical mullion
or rail section has the following
characteristics:

Recommended aluminum curtain wall mullion

(Insulated Glass Manufacturers of Canada, Ontario,
Canada, 1986)
The mullions and rails are typically extruded aluminum sections

Typical aluminum extrusions and fastening strategies

When assembled on site, they are known as "stick construction;" when
pre-assembled into rectangular panels, they are known as "unitized
construction."
Structural glazing
The idea that certain glazing systems are "structural" while
others are not is misleading. Even so, the name, "structural
glazing" has been assigned to certain systems that avoid or
minimize the use of mullions and rails. The most "primitive" of
such systems uses silicone sealant as a "glue" to attach glass
lites to internal mullions.
A more sophisticated system, pioneered by Pilkington, supports
each glass panel only at the corners, using special stainless
steel fittings which are then held in place by some independent
structural system. Glass "mullions" can also be used to transmit
the loads of (and on) the glazing to the building structure.
Joints between the glass panels are filled with silicone sealant.
RAINSCREEN CURTAINWALL DESIGN
A rainscreen is an exterior wall detail where
the siding (wall cladding) stands off from
the moisture-resistant surface of an air barrier
applied to the sheathing (sheeting) to create a
capillary break and to allow drainage and
evaporation. The rain screen is the siding
itself but the term rainscreen implies a system of
building. Ideally the rain screen prevents the wall
air/moisture barrier on sheathing from getting
wet. In some cases a rainscreen wall is called
a pressure-equalized rainscreen wall where the
ventilation openings are large enough for the air
pressure to nearly equalize on both sides of the
rain screen, but this name has been criticized as
being redundant and is only useful to scientists
and engineers.
All rain screens include the following
elements:

Vented or porous exterior cladding

Air cavity (a few inches of depth is
sufficient)
Drainage layer on support wall
Rigid, water-resistant, airtight,
support wall
ADVANTAGES OF A RAIN SCREEN ASSEMBLY:
Energy Efficiency:
Provides a passive insulation cavity that helps save energy. When it is hot outside, this buffer zone behind the
rain screen allows the hot air outside to cool off, shielding the interior of the home or structure from the
thermal impact. Likewise, in colder climates or when there is cooler weather in any climate, this air space
behind the rain screen provides the same buffer zone to prevent the transmission of heat gain or loss which
creates a more energy efficient design.

Moisture Management:
Air space between exterior cladding and drainage plane helps drainage and facilitates drying. Moving air within
the air gap diffuses water vapor and prevents condensation and moisture from forming within the panels.

Solar Protection:
The thermal comfort is improved inside the building, preventing overheating in summer, as it facilitates the
transpiration of the faade and reduces the amount of thermal energy that reaches the inside of the
building. The internal structure is protected from direct radiation and from the elements.

Acoustic Insulation:
As a compound system with several layers, including an air gap, a greater noise absorption is created.
LARGE SPAN
BUILDING
OVERVIEW AND TYPES
 Location of site
Elevated access
Safety
Assembly and Storage Areas
Weather
Site obstructions

GENERAL CONSIDERATION
 Large span roofs are often used in stadiums, halls,
factories and other building where people can
assemble in large numbers.
Theconstruction of industrial buildings is ordinary
and hardly attracts attention.
Othersare prestigious in nature such as football
stadiums, trade exhibition halls and places of
worship (e.g. mosques and churches).

LOCATION OF SITE
 Some buildings are located in built up areas where the original
buildings on the site had been demolished for the new building.
Such sites will face the same problems associated with high-rise
buildings in congested sites. There will be logistic problems,
restriction on the working times, problems of trespass on
neighboring properties etc. Therefore, the project team has to
be creative in solving these problems.
Furthermore, if the building is a large prestigious construction,
then it is likely that severe cost penalties will hit the contractor if
its completion is delayed because of problems that had not been
preempted
LOCATION OF SITE
 Large span roofs have high ELEVATED ACCESS
headroom from 10m to 50
m high.

Whether the roof is

assembled complete or in
portions at ground level and
then lifted to its final
position, workers will to
work on the roof at its
elevated final position.
 Elevated access such as
ladder scaffolds and hoists ELEVATED ACCESS
have to be erected. Mobile
scissor lift platforms have to
be used for workers to have
access to the underside of
the roof. Cranes have to be
used to lift materials to the
roof level.
 In the case of suspension
structures, the workers have to ELEVATED ACCESS
pull themselves up to the roof
and abseil down. Hoists will be
impractical because of the large
numbers of cables to be installed
and the wide area to be covered.
They will have to balance
themselves on those cables that
have already been installed so
that other cables may be installed
too.
Mountain climbing skills are
useful for such roof installation
work. Some builders install
temporary catwalks on the cables
so that workers can safely move
between cables.
 Working at heights is dangerous. Thus, safety measures have
to be taken to prevent accidents and deaths due to falling
objects and workers falling off the roof.
Nets and workers safety cables have to be installed at the
roof. Heavy machinery especially cranes have to be used
properly and within their safe operating capabilities.
Safety policy has to be implemented at site. This includes the
use of safety officers to manage the safety at site.

SAFETY
 Depending on the type of roof structure, the production of the
structure is either insitu or prefabricated. Reinforced concrete large
span roofs are still being used especially for elevated water reservoir
roofs. However they are no longer popular for roofs of stadiums or
halls.
Roof coverings have to be inspected after installation. This means
workers walking on the roof covering. Roofs with curved surfaces are
difficult to walk on especially those made of fabric. Workers safety
lines must be tied to a suitable structural element such as the support
posts.

ASSEMBLY AND STORAGE AREAS

 There are two possible approaches to erecting prefabricated roofs.
Firstly, the roof structure could be assembled completely at ground
level and then lifted up by crane or jacks or winched to its final
position. Thus the roof structure has to be assembled at ground level
directly below the final position.

The second approach involves assembling the roof in portions. Each

completed portion is lifted to its final position by crane and
temporarily supported by scaffolding, support towers or guys. Thus the
roof portion could either be on the ground directly below or on the
ground not far from the final position.

ASSEMBLY AND STORAGE AREAS

 The components of the assembled roof must be able to be transported from
the factory or port by road. Thus there is a limit to the size of the
components. These components will have to be first stored for inspection
and making good defects. Thus a large storage area on site is needed to hold
these components temporarily. Hard standing has to be provided for these
components.

The roof contractor will also have to provide a suitable assembly area.
Sometimes other elements of the structure below the roof (eg. spectators r.c.
seating terraces) have been constructed first. This may prevent the assembly
area to be directly beneath the final position.

ASSEMBLY AND STORAGE AREAS

Stadium roof Temporary
structure support
towers for
roof

Temporary support towers for new Wembley stadiums space

truss roof structure
 Rain,wind and lightning can affect the rate of progress of
erecting the large span roof.
Rain would soften the ground and may prevent the
transport of the components to their respective lift off
areas.
Rain softened ground would increase the risk of the crane
falling down because the soil is too soft to support the
loads exerted by the crane to the ground.

WEATHER
 Wind, rain and lightning will prevent the use of the
crane and endanger workers located at the roof
levels.
The roof structure is also vulnerable to collapse
during its construction stage during high winds. The
roof contractor has to consider using temporary
structures that provide support against such high
winds.
WEATHER
 As mentioned earlier, a restricted site will create
problems in terms of logistics, providing space for
assembly and storage.
It must be remembered that the crane must be tall
enough so that a lifted roof component may be
able to clear the parts of the roof or superstructure
that are already erected.

SITE OBSTRUCTIONS
 Proposed
Spectator
playing
terraces
field area
structure

Arsenal Football Clubs new stadium under construction. Note the cranes inside the
proposed field that are surrounded by already-constructed spectator terraces
SPECIAL
BUILDING
STRUCTURE
DOME CONSTRUCTION -
TYPES AND CONSTRUCTION
 The arch is the basis of the dome system. The arch was
widely used in the ancient times to create a large span
roof.
The roof covering was placed over a row of arches to
create a large span roof. A dome can be considered a
three-dimension arch form.
Thus it is the second oldest method of providing a roof
that has a great span. Many old buildings such as the Blue
Mosque, the Sistine Chapel and the Pantheon use the
dome as the roof. The largest dome span is 260 metres
across.
Introduction
Year introduced Type of structural system used for dome Status

Ancient times Masonry dome No longer used for large

buildings
1928 Reinforced concrete dome (no major buildings by 1980s)

1965 Steel dome (major buildings in 2000s)

1975 Air Inflated Dome (no new major buildings since

1990)
1983 Glue Laminated Dome (no major buildings since 1995)

1990 Suspension Structure Dome (major buildings in 2000s)

Introduction (contd)
Blue Mosque In Turkey
 Several structural methods are used to create the
dome roof. The figure below show types of dome
construction
DOMES

Shell
Ribbed
Grid Lamella Geodesic
 The ribbed dome structure consists of arrangement of rib
members on a ring beam support that converges on
either a crown connector or crown compression ring. The
ring beam support is needed to prevent splaying of the rib
members. Columns or load bearing walls support the ring
beam.
The rib members are constructed of hot rolled steel
sections or cold rolled steel or aluminum sections.

Ribbed Dome
 The framework of the rib members must be braced
to provide rigidity and thus resist wind loads acting
on the finished dome.
Purlins are installed on the ribs to support the roof
cover.
A membrane ( steel sheet, geotextiles, fiberglass
polyester, ceramic panels) is attached to purlins on
the ribs.
 The membrane provides the weather proof
roof cover to the dome. A false dome ceiling is
then attached to underside of the framework
for aesthetic and acoustic reasons. An example
of a rib dome pretending to be a shell dome is
the dome of the Capitol building in
Washington, U.S.A.
Example of Ribbed Dome
Construction
 This dome type is innovated from the flat grid roof types. The
grid framework is curved to provide the dome shape. A ring
beam is provided at the base of the dome for transfer the loads
of the beam to supporting columns, walls or the foundations.
The dome can either be a single layer or double layer grid
structure.
The type of grid can be either a lattice grid or a space grid. A roof
cover membrane (steel sheet, geotextiles, fiberglass polyesther,
ceramic panels) is attached to either purlins fixed on the grid
members or tied to directly to grid.

Grid Domes
Grid Domes

Detail of Pin
Joint Grid
Domes
 The lamella dome is a type of grid roof. At first sight, the
lamella dome structure looks like a grid dome. However
grid dome systems will use connector components for
assembling the longitudinal grid components together.
The lamella longitudinal members are joined together
without using connector components. Its connections
are generally pin jointed. The grid network has a
diamond or rhombus or triangular grid pattern.

Lamella Domes
Construction of small scale dome lamella dome
Lamella domes have been built for very large indoor
stadiums such as the Astrodome of Houston, U.S.A.
 This is a grid roof. It looks like lamella and grid domes but the
difference lies in the configuration of the grid lines. The grid lines
follow the pattern of points of the intersecting geodesic lines on the
dome.
A geodesic line is defined as a line that circumvents the surface of a
sphere. The points where geodesic lines crisscross each other are
called geodesic points. The members of geodesic frame are not
geodesic but the positions of their connections are geodesic. The grid
members are either double or single layered.
The members in a geodesic dome are joined together without using
connector components. The connections are generally pin jointed.

Geodesic Dome
Detailing of Geodesic Dome
Geodesic Dome under construction and completed US Pavilion Expo 66
 This dome type is the oldest among these groups of domes. The
structural principle is that of a stressed membrane due to its shape.
Masonry was the first used to create the membrane. The use of
reinforced concrete and then reinforced cement (ferro cement)
allowed even larger spans. A tension ring beam is located at the base
of the dome to counteract the thrusting forces of the dome.
The thickness of the dome usually reduces as it approaches the
crown of the dome. To reduce the weight of the dome, the crown may
be a windowed hole that is lined by a compression ring beam or the
sides can be perforated strategically to house windows. These
windows allow light to come in. This type of dome is less used
together as it is not as economical as the other types of domes.

Shell Domes
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION