LESSON 2: TYPES OF BUILDING (PART TWO) AND BUILDING MATERIALS
Types Of Building (Part Two)
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Building types could also be identified by their construction design i.e. outlines and method of the arrangement of the walls and the height of the building. They are bungalows, duplex, detached, semi-detached, huts, high rise and skyscrapers.
a) Hut
This is a small unit of ancient design built with mud, usually round in shape and usually covered with thatch. A conglomeration of these usually forms a village with one of them being fairly larger, rectangular or square shaped which is occupied by the village head. Largely due to their unique and beautiful round shape, huts find their ways at strategic positions in modern hotels, such as suya spots and lots more. Although still covered with thatch, they are are constructed with other additional materials like timber and even metals.
b) Bungalows
These are buildings that are only occupying the ground floor. A flat design can accommodate a single family unit and a multi-room design can accommodate more than one family unit.
c) Duplex
This is a compact storey building usually roofed at the first floor and only designed to accommodate a single family unit. The general design is to locate the sitting room, the dining room, the kitchen and the guest room with their conveniences at the ground floor while the bedrooms and at times a private sitting room and their conveniences are located at the first floor.
d) Detached Buildings
These are built and designed to occupy a single plot of land. These are in most cases residential apartments. They could be in the form of bungalows or duplexes.
e) Semi-detached Buildings
These are two or more housing units built with a common wall boundary to mark the extent of each building on a plot of land. This could be a bungalow or a duplex design.
f) High Rise Buildings
These are fairly tall buildings of modern design with all the modern amenities like water supply and electricity. In European countries, where they are very common, they also have other infrastructures like gas and telephone lines. In most cases, they are designed for residential purposes.
g) Skyscrapers
They are very tall buildings of at least forty-five storeys. These are public buildings, designed specifically as offices and for governmental activities. They are wonderfully designed to provide all the required infrastructure and amenities.
Common Building Materials
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1. Sand
This is the commonest building material. Two Types of sand are used in building construction. They are:
a) Soft sand
b) Sharp sand
The two must be devoid of chemicals or minerals which could render them useless for building construction. Minerals and chemicals reduce the strength of sand mixture and cause them to fail when loaded.
2. Gravel
This is a constituent of concrete which is used in building construction. Gravel particles are larger than sand particles. Gravel is derived from the weathering and erosion of rocks.
There are two main types of gravel:
a) Pebbles: These are small stones excavated from pits or river banks.
b) Granite chippings: These are small chippings of blasted granite stones generally collected in graded sizes.
3. Cement
This is a finely powdered, manufactured substance consisting of gypsum plaster or Portland cement, that hardens and adheres after being mixed with water. It is an essential material in building construction.
4. Wood
Wood is a natural product that forms the trunk of trees which is used as a material for building construction. They are used to produce wooden doors and windows and also used as roof and ceiling structures.
5. Leaves and Grasses
They are not commonly used nowadays but were good roof covering materials in the past.
6. Glass
A factory produced building material fairly hard in texture but breaks easily. It is transparent and mostly used on windows doors.
7. Plastics and Ceramics
These are also factory produced and are generally used as sewage pipes for draining waste.
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Building types could also be identified by their construction design i.e. outlines and method of the arrangement of the walls and the height of the building. They are bungalows, duplex, detached, semi-detached, huts, high rise and skyscrapers.
a) Hut
This is a small unit of ancient design built with mud, usually round in shape and usually covered with thatch. A conglomeration of these usually forms a village with one of them being fairly larger, rectangular or square shaped which is occupied by the village head. Largely due to their unique and beautiful round shape, huts find their ways at strategic positions in modern hotels, such as suya spots and lots more. Although still covered with thatch, they are are constructed with other additional materials like timber and even metals.
b) Bungalows
These are buildings that are only occupying the ground floor. A flat design can accommodate a single family unit and a multi-room design can accommodate more than one family unit.
c) Duplex
This is a compact storey building usually roofed at the first floor and only designed to accommodate a single family unit. The general design is to locate the sitting room, the dining room, the kitchen and the guest room with their conveniences at the ground floor while the bedrooms and at times a private sitting room and their conveniences are located at the first floor.
d) Detached Buildings
These are built and designed to occupy a single plot of land. These are in most cases residential apartments. They could be in the form of bungalows or duplexes.
e) Semi-detached Buildings
These are two or more housing units built with a common wall boundary to mark the extent of each building on a plot of land. This could be a bungalow or a duplex design.
f) High Rise Buildings
These are fairly tall buildings of modern design with all the modern amenities like water supply and electricity. In European countries, where they are very common, they also have other infrastructures like gas and telephone lines. In most cases, they are designed for residential purposes.
g) Skyscrapers
They are very tall buildings of at least forty-five storeys. These are public buildings, designed specifically as offices and for governmental activities. They are wonderfully designed to provide all the required infrastructure and amenities.
Common Building Materials
```````````````````````````````````
1. Sand
This is the commonest building material. Two Types of sand are used in building construction. They are:
a) Soft sand
b) Sharp sand
The two must be devoid of chemicals or minerals which could render them useless for building construction. Minerals and chemicals reduce the strength of sand mixture and cause them to fail when loaded.
2. Gravel
This is a constituent of concrete which is used in building construction. Gravel particles are larger than sand particles. Gravel is derived from the weathering and erosion of rocks.
There are two main types of gravel:
a) Pebbles: These are small stones excavated from pits or river banks.
b) Granite chippings: These are small chippings of blasted granite stones generally collected in graded sizes.
3. Cement
This is a finely powdered, manufactured substance consisting of gypsum plaster or Portland cement, that hardens and adheres after being mixed with water. It is an essential material in building construction.
4. Wood
Wood is a natural product that forms the trunk of trees which is used as a material for building construction. They are used to produce wooden doors and windows and also used as roof and ceiling structures.
5. Leaves and Grasses
They are not commonly used nowadays but were good roof covering materials in the past.
6. Glass
A factory produced building material fairly hard in texture but breaks easily. It is transparent and mostly used on windows doors.
7. Plastics and Ceramics
These are also factory produced and are generally used as sewage pipes for draining waste.
Please, do the activity below (5 Marks)
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