Author: Mezie Ethelbert

Reading Time: 3 minutes Building orientation can be defined as the way a building is positioned in relation to the prevailing wind direction and path of the sun’s direction. Sunrise and Sunset The earth is made up of four cardinal directions: North, South, East, and West. Usually, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west regardless of country or continent. The distance from the equator and the path of the sun determines not only the time of sunrise and sunset. The farther a country is from the equator, the more oblique the sun’s path is to the horizon and this causes…

Reading Time: 5 minutes The aim of every client is to save as much more money as possible on a project. For this reason, clients have a proposed amount for a given project and sometimes when the estimated cost exceeds this amount, the client can decide not to proceed with the project or hire another service provider for his project who can give good service at a lower cost. It is possible to save as much money on construction as possible. This is not a call to cut corners but to do quality work with significant savings. Though a tight budget does not give…

Reading Time: 6 minutes Water can be moved either by carrying it or pumping it. Water is heavy and unstable substance and this poses great difficulty in carrying it. Hence, water is preferably moved by pumping it through pipes. Though water may be moved by gravity in exceptional cases where relief may permit that i.e where the source is on higher altitude than the destination. In that case, the water moves by gravity; otherwise, the water is moved by pumping using pumps. To select the right type of pump for each pumping operation and to establish the power required to pump, the water engineer…

Reading Time: 3 minutes Building and construction industry is one of the less automated industry in the world. Many activities in building construction from casting of concrete to carpentry works, plastering, plumbing works, block laying etc are usually done manually. The construction industry is also one of the most strength-draining and heavy industry that involves a lot of stress for the workers. This trend has made people to steadily drift away and loose interest in the industry. Except that the industry is needed for human sustenance and growth, the industry may no longer be in existence as it is not palatable. But there is…

Reading Time: 3 minutes Introduction A report is a publication giving a formal or official record, of the activities of a committee or corporate body or of some special investigation or proceedings of a government body or parastatal. The report which generally depends on research often involves pulling data with a computer program or calling many different people, building models or prototypes or conducting focus groups and surveys, or even planning and conducting experiments. The report can give information only (information reports) such as sales reports, quarterly reports, etc. Reports can provide information plus analysis (analytical reports) such as annual reports, audit reports, make-good…

Reading Time: 3 minutes Woodwork, plumbing, finishing and electrical works are integral parts of building and civil engineering construction works. These works require the use of power tools (see Figure 1) to cut, shape, trip materials etc. These tools usually contain shape edges/points and accident with them could lead to severe injury or death. Therefore, safety guidelines are very necessary to ensure they are safely used. The following safety rules should be observed in the use of power tools. The rules can be grouped into general safety rules and particular safety rules. GENERAL SAFETY RULES 1. Keep your tools within easy reach and where…

Reading Time: 2 minutes Concrete are usually cast in forms and they take the shape of the forms into which they are cast. During the casting process, in tight forms such as columns, beams or lintels, only the part of the form through which the concrete is being cast is visible to the mason. It is expected that the concrete should be uniform, consistent and align properly with the surface of the forms across its entire surface. To get this done, the concrete is tamped through the casting surface and the body of the forms also tamped to ensure that the concrete adjust itself…

Reading Time: 3 minutes Plastering is the application of wet mixes of fine cementing material and sand to the internal surfaces of the wall. It is primarily intended to provide a flat even surface to the wall. Rendering on the other hand is the application of wet mixes of fine cementing material and sand on the external surfaces of walls. Rendering is usually more challenging than plastering because of its high degree of exposure that lead to problems such as cracking, inadequate adhesion, bond failures and crazing or hair cracks. Method of application of plastering Plastering should be applied from top downwards. The hawk…