Test One Review : Construction Methods and Materials

What is the difference between a product disclosure and an ecolabel?

Product Disclosure- description of material, product, properties and guidelines for use Ecolabel- 3rd party environmental ratings, develops sustainability standards and certifications [Unlike ecolabels , product disclosures do not rate the sustainability of the product - it remains up to the user to interpret the information provided for this purpose. ]

SECTION C

TEXBOOK QUESTIONS

Who does have the primary responsibility for selecting construction means and methods and has overall responsibility for safety on a construction site?

The Contractor

What are the main constraints under which the designers must choose building systems ?

- Physical Limitations: include available land , soil bearing capacity, structural span limitations, building material performance - Code and legal restrictions - Budget.

why do information systems matter ?

- complexity of information and need of digital modeling - sharing info between various teams - allowing data availability extensions beyond the construction phase

what are the main strategies for minimizing the environmental impacts of building materials?

-Reuse existing structures -Reduce material use -Use materials created from renewable resources -Reuse building components -Use recyclable and recycled- content materials -Use locally produced materials

9. LEED is a building sustainability rating system, which originated in the United States and is applied to evaluate buildings and neighborhoods worldwide. a. True b. False

. True

What are the four main types of construction projects? Explain the main characteristics of each type.

1. Heavy construction and infrastructure: Primarily made up of highways, hemming weighs, dart stations , ect ; essentially transportation systems 2. Residential: can include single or multi level family homes; private and low capital also hotels 3. Commercial: Public spaces like schools, hospitals, and malls or private company offices/ buildings 4. Industrial: mostly constructed by high construction firms , may include factories/warehouses and power plants.

What are the main design phases of construction projects? hint SD-DD-CD List in order + explain each.

1. Schematic Design Stage ( SD) - overall design concept - design documentation primarily for the owner - emphasis on design 2.Design Development (DD) Stage - Schematic design developed to bigger detail considering constructability , cost , ect - Design documentation primarily for design team members - Emphasis on finalizing design decisions >> Approval of DD docs by owner to move to CD stage 3. Construction Document (CD) Stage: - Design finalized to nut and bolt level and construction documents are prepared - Design documentation primarily for construction team - Emphasis on collaboration between design team members >> approval of CD docs by owner to move to preconstruction phase

Adding fire sprinklers to a building allows a ---- percent increase in allowable area for a 1-story building. Or a ---- percent increase in allowable area for buildings greater than 1 story in height

400 ;300

Who are the three principal team members involved in the creation of a new building? What are their respective roles?

Architect- organize ideas Engineer- works at the concepts of and foundation details Contractor- oversee the completion of the building and work with the subcontractors to finish the building

What is a building code occupancy and what is a construction type? How are they related in a building code?

Building Code Occupancy- to identify different degrees of lif, safety hazard in buildings Construction Type- buildings that say what the building and occupants will be Relation- IBC matches the two stating which occupants may be housed in which types of construction

What is sustainable building? Why is it important?

Building that meets the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their needs. Decrease the use of electricity, safe energy, use natural resources to help environment Sustainable building means that what is constructed and operated , must use less energy , consume fewer resources, cause less pollution of the air, water, and soil,reduce waste, discourage wasteful landfill land development practices , and contribute to the protection of natural environments /ecosystems. It is important to follow this method of building to ensure that future generation's own needs are not compromised by the development.

What are construction documents? What two items are they composed of?

Construction Documents- drawings and specifications to describe how the building will be made and of what

List the three common project delivery methods, and compare and contrast them. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

Design/Bid/Build Owner separately hires design team and construction team • Advantages: Separate design and construction entities provide useful checks and balances ADVANTAGES Easy to understand organization scheme , well established legal precedents, and relative simplicity of managements Checks and balances within the relationship Owner goes into project knowing the cost of things and overall budget of the project Differences • Disadvantages: Difficult to integrate construction expertise into design Design/Build Owner hires one entity that provides both design and construction services • Pros: Allows fuller collaboration between design and construction teams • Cons: Lack of independent advocate for design; fewer built in checks and balances In a Construction Management project delivery, the construction manager participates in the project prior to the onset of construction, introducing construction expertise during the design stage. A construction manager at fee provides management services to the owner and assists the owner in contracting directly for construction services with one or more construction entities. advanvantage: single liability / source of construction details disadvantages: ?

24. Explain the Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)

EPD's describe the full, life-cycle environmental impacts of building materials and products. Example: Western Red Cedar Decking Product Declaration - describes this product's material characteristics and quantifies environmental impacts throughout its life.

Explain embodied energy in a building.

Embodied energy refers to the sum total of energy consumed during the life-cycle. (the lower the embodied energy, the better for the environment)

23. What does acronym EPD stand for?

Environmental Product Declarations

What is fast track construction, and what types of contracts and fee compensation is it most commonly associated with?

Fast track construction- aims to reduce the time required to complete a project by overlapping the design and construction of various project parts Associated with design/build and construction management project delivery methods, where the early participation of the construction entity provides resources that are helpful in managing the coordination of overlapping design and construction activities

In what units is fire resistance measured? How is the fire resistance of a building assembly determined?

Fire resistance is measured in hours All parts are determined in hours, comes from IBC, catalogs and manufactures tells them

What is a life-cycle analysis? What are the major life-cycle stages in such an analysis?

Life-cycle- most comprehensive methods for quantifying the environmental impacts associated with materials and buildings Extraction, manufacturing or processing, transportation, installation, use and maintenance, disposal or recycling

What is the difference between lump-sum and cost plus a fee compensation?

Lump sum/ fixed fee : is a a fixed price by the contractor to the owner for the ENTIRE job. Cost plus a fee: the contractor receives reimbursements for the costs, PLUS an additional fee on top. the difference is that with lump sum there is a fixed fee for the overall construction versus for cost plus fee , the owner pays for everything whatever the cost may be.

SECTION B

MULTIPLE CHOICE

What is Master Format? What is it used for?

Master Format- organize information about construction materials and systems They are used to organize construction cost data and it forms the basis on which trade associations and manufacturer's technical literature is cataloged

Explain what MasterFormat is.

Masterformat is a masterlist of numbers and subject titles classifying by work result or construction practices to organize information about their requirements, products and activities, into a standard sequence. numbering system for the org. of con. materials and systems developed by CSI and CSC 50 subdivisions ; 2 groups; 5 sbgroups

22. Explain the Health Product Declarations (HPDs)

May be prepared by the product manufacturer or an independent agency HPD's provide reliable and consistent information about material ingredients and associated human and environmental health hazards. They list the material contents of the product being reported and indicate associated hazards HPD's are not a certification or rating tool, however, they provide important information in a standard format that can be used to make health-related comparisons.

Renewability and recyclability are two main material attributes associated with the sustainability of materials. Explain what the difference between renewability and recyclability of material is?

Renewability means that the resource being used can be generated again with minimal effort. Recyclability means that the same material is repurposed into something else.

What are the two common types of surety bonds? What are they used for?

Safety Bonds- another form of legal instruments used to manage financial risk of construction, most frequently with publicly financed or very large projects Payment bonds- assure full payment to suppliers and subcontractors

SECTION A

Short Answer

You are designing a three-story office building (Occupancy B) with 19,000 square feet per floor. What types of construction will you be permitted to use under the IBC if you do not install sprinklers? How does the situation change if you install sprinklers? In the second, sprinklered case, what is the least fire-resistant construction type permitted? With this construction type, what level of fire resistance is required for the structural frame of the building?

Sprinklers are provided in a high rise building to resist and it is provide in a building when the floor area exceeds the allowable permissible area of that building mentioned in IBC. Given, for designing a five story building (occupancy group B) with 20,000 SF per floor, if we can see in the IBC for Type 3 B allowable area 19,000 and for Type 3 B allowable area 23,000. If we design the building by Type 3 B construction, the sprinklers, then the type of construction will be Type 2 B under IBC. If sprinklers are installed then the allowable building height and the story increase due to the automatic sprinkler system installation, the Type 2 construction allow the building structures to be made of non-combustible materials like steel, concrete and masonry. The level of fire-resistance for structural frame of the building for this type of construction is zero level

What is an embodied energy of a material?

Sum of total energy consumed during a material life cycle

9. Explain what sustainable building is, from a design standpoint and consideration of material and construction process—state at least two items for each where the designers and contractors contribute toward a sustainable building

Sustainable buildings protect resources, promote environment quality, healthful for their occupants, and provide the broadest social benefit Design standpoint- Lesser use of of construction materials in structure and building envelope Design for spatial flexibility, efficient use of floor area Selection of construction materials- local availability recycled content renewability potential Material Construction Process- Protect water resources Minimize use of land Reduce construction waste Reduce environmental pollution

What is OmniClass Construction Classification System (OCCS)?

The OmniClass Construction Classification System is an overarching scheme that attempts to incorporate multiple existing building information organizational systems, including MasterFormat, UniFormat, and others, into one system.

Who has the main responsibility for selecting materials and finishes for a project ?

The architect/ designer primarily with input from the owner and contractor. ( The owner will input the appearance and or performance , and the contractor will provide cost, availability & constructability details )

18. Explain what the Building Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is?

The building life cycle analysis focuses on the 4 main stages of the building through the life cycles of materials -origin/ideas or concept, construction progress, use and maintenance of the building and demolition of the building.

17. Explain what the building life cycle is?

The building life-cycle is the view of the building over the course of its entire life (from cradle to grave).

What is the critical path? Why is it important to construction scheduling?

The critical path is the sequence of activities that determine the least amount of time in which a project can be completed.T he critical path method is a technique that analyzes the collections of activities and optimizes the project schedule to minimize the duration and cost of a project.

Explain what occupancy groups and construction types are based on the International Building Code IBC

The occupancy types are determined by the activities that happen within the building , which then reflect the occupancy group it pertains to which reflects the relate safety concerns. The IBC classifies buildings into 10 occupancy groups including .. A/Assembly B/ Building E/ Educational F/ Factory H/ High Hazard I- Institutional M- Mercantile R- Residential S-Storage U- Utility There are 5 construction types 1 being the most resistant and 5 the least resistant; types 1/2 using noncombustible materials , 2/3 a combination of combust/non , and 5 fully combustible. Occupancy groups and construction types are used together to determine MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE BUILDING SIZE therefore Occupancies with greater hazards = smaller buildings Construction types that are higher like type 5 are less resistant to fires and therefore require smaller buildings.

10. All sustainability rating systems, including USGBC's rating system is voluntary, consensus based, and provides a third-party, independent measure of a building's sustainability. a. True b. False

True

Explain what zoning ordinance is and what subjects they cover, which organization produces it ?

Zoning ordinances control land use , and is imposed by local authorities majorly. It refers to regulations that pertain mainly to the use of land within the city and includes the zoning text and map of the city - Subjects covered are: property use, types of activities, setbacks, land covered, distance to property lines, building height and size, access & parking, and construction activities. planning dept

What type of subjects are covered by zoning ordinances? By building codes?

Zoning ordinances- buildings most comply with land use regulations, what kind of activities, property lines, how many parking spots Building Codes- public health and safety by setting minimum standards for construction quality, structural integrity, durability, livability and especially fire safety

4. Among the following Assembly occupancy g4. Among the following Assembly occupancy groups by international building code—A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4,and A-5—which one is the most hazardous occupancy, and which is the least hazardous occupancy? a. most hazardous: A5 least hazardous: A1 b. most hazardous: A1 least hazardous: A5 c. most hazardous: A1 & A5 least hazardous: A2, A3, A4 d. none of the above.

a.

7. The environmental impact category in LEED BD+C to which the greatest number of points have been assigned is a. Energy and Atmosphere b. Water Efficiency c. Materials and Resources d. Indoor Environmental Quality

a. Energy and Atmosphere

a. What is the model building code? b. What are the Two main Model Building Codes?

a. The model building codes are standardized codes , adopted and put into legal effect by local authorities. b. The two main model building codes in the US are the International Residential Code which include one / two family homes/ townhomes with 3 stories max, and the International Building Codes, IBC which cover all other buildings not listed on the IRC.

1. The building code requirements for the means of egress from a building are primarily a. fire safety issues. b. life safety issues. e. property protection issues. c. structural safety issues. d. health and welfare issues.

a. fire safety issues.

a. What is the primary purpose of building codes ? b. what types of subjects are covered by building codes?

a. provides minimal construction standards for the protection of life, health, and welfare of the public b. subjects include the issues of .. - fire safety, emergency egress, construction quality, structural integrity , and others including.... energy conservation, accessibility for the handicapped and sustainability.

2. The total number of occupancies (excluding the divisions) as specified in the International Building Code is a. 6. b. 8. c. 10 d. 12. e. none of the above.

c. 10

5. Adding fire sprinklers to a building allows a ----- percent increase in allowable area for a 1-story building. Or a ------- percent increase in allowable area for buildings greater than 1 story in height. a. 300 percent; 400 percent b. 10 percent; 50 percent c. 400 percent; 300 percent d. none of the above.

c. 400 percent; 300 percent

3. MasterFormat consists of a. 10 divisions. b. 30 divisions. c. 50 divisions. d. 8 divisions. e. none of the above.

c. 50 divisions.

6. One of the major U.S. organizations that deals with sustainable building is a. USEBC. b. USFBC. c. USGBC. d. USHBC. e. none of the above.

c. USGBC.

8. What are the levels of LEED certification? a. Gold, Silver, and Bronze b. Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Certified c. Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze d. Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum e. Gold, Silver, and Certified

d. Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum

Among the following Assembly occupancy groups by international building code—A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4, andA-5—which one is the most hazardous occupancy and which is the least hazardous occupancy?

the least hazardous group is A1 '; most hazardous group is A5