Construction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Construction - Essay Example 2. b) Majority of the pitched roofs used in modern day construction use concrete tiles or fibre cement slates. For the use of tiles, they can be laid either in single lap fashion or double lap. Single lap tiles are made such that each tile overlaps the edge of its adjacent tile and is fixed with one nail per tile. They are fixed at pitches of 45 degrees. Double lap tiles are fixed with two nails per tile at pitches over 60 degrees. The following figure shows single and double lap tile fixing. 2. c) In context of pitched roofs, eaves is the term used to describe the lowest level tiles and also the timber used for supporting them. The eaves can be open or closed depending upon requirements or choice. Open eaves are those where the underside of rafters is exposed whereas for closed eaves edge rafters are made to project out in order to cover the underside of it. This is done by putting boards. Both kinds of roofs can be seen in the diagram below: left is open eaves and right is closed eaves. 3.a) For fixing a timer window frame into a cavity wall, we need to make sure the timber is hardened and dried so as to fix on both sides of a cavity wall. The general structure of a timber window frame is illustrated below. The number of rails shown here are not mandatory. It depends on the desired design of the window. However, the fitting and grip on the wall can be seen in the figure. Since the frame is made of timber, precaution needs to be taken that wood is not loose so that the fixing is permanent. Due to the cavity, the sill of the frame has to be made broader. The outside look of a timber frame when fitted to a cavity wall can be seen in the figure on the right. On the other hand, PVC window frames are made of PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) which is a synthetic plastic made of oil or gas. The fitting of PVC frame is more expensive. A PVC frame can be seen in the picture below: The advantages of double glazing window