Construction Works

The first houses were built for the purpose of protecting their owners from the weather and, therefore, were very simple—a roof to keep off the rain or snow, and walls to keep out the wind.

The building erected now can be divided into two broad classifi­cations: they are either for housing or for industrial purpose.

As far as the material is concerned, the building can be divided into stone (or brick), wood and concrete types. The brick is an artificial material made of clay then burnt to harden it. The natural stone (rubble masonry) is used for footing and foundations for external walls carrying the load. The buildings made of stone or brick are durable, fire-proof and have poor heat conductivity.

The tiers or levels which divide a building into stages or stories are called floors. These may be of timber but in stone buildings they are made of ferro-concrete details in great and small sizes.

The coverings or upper parts of buildings constructed over to keep 6ut rain and wind and to preserve the interior from exposure to the weather, are called roofs. These should tie the walls and give strength and firmness to the construction.

Every building must be beautiful in appearance and proportion­al in various parts. The interior should be planned to suit the require­ments of the occupants while the exterior must be simple without any excesses.

Any building should be provided with water, electricity, ventila­tion and heating system.

Getting water into the house is called plumbing. The plumbers have also to get the water out after it has been used. The first part of this problem is called water supply and the second one is called drainage or sewerage.

II

Almost everybody saw the construction of a building and *followed its progress with interest1. First the excavation is dug for the basement, then the foundation walls below ground level are con­structed; after this the framework is erected and clothed with various finishing materials and protected by several coats of paint.

The part upon which the stability of the structure depends is the framework. It is intended for safety carrying the loads imposed. The floors, walls, roofs and other parts of the building must be carefully designed and proportioned.

The architect or designer must decide, what the size of the walls, the floors, the beams, the girders and the parts, which make up the framework, will be and how they will be placed and arranged.

Here are the main parts of a building and their functions.

Foundations serve to keep the walls and floors from contact with the soil, to guard them against the action of frost, to prevent them from sinking and settling which cause cracks in walls and uneven floors.

Floors divide the building into stories. They may be either of tim­ber or may be constructed of a fire-resisting material. Walls are built to enclose areas and carry the weight of floors and roofs. The walls may be solid or hollow. The materials used for the walls construction can be brick, stone, concrete and other natural or artificial materials.

Roofs cover the building and protect it from exposure to the weath­er. They tie the walls and give strength and firmness to the structure.

III

Turnkey construction is the type of assistance in building differ­ent facilities. In this case the employer engages the contractor to design, manufacture, test, deliver, install, complete and commission a certain project and the contractor undertakes full responsibility for the project construction and commissioning.

The contractor then undertakes endeavors to conduct a survey and design work, as well as to work out *basic and detailed engineering and supply equipment. As a rule, the contractor's highly qualified specialists are made responsible for doing part or full con­struction works, carrying out installation, *start-up and adjustment operations.

After the construction is completed the precommissioning starts, that is testing, checking and meeting other requirements, which are specified in the technical handbooks.

As soon as all works in respect of the precommissioning are completed and the project is ready for the commissioning, the contractor notifies the engineer (Project manager) with the message. The contractor begins the commissioning immediately after the engineer does the issue of the Completion Certificate.

The contractor carries out the guarantee test during the commis­sioning to make sure that the project will reach the designed performance.

Operational acceptance of the project takes place when the guar­antee test has been successfully completed and the guarantees met. As a rule the contractor supplies spare parts so that the project could normally operate during the maintenance guarantee period.

Turnkey contracts are always long-term undertakings involving several parties, among them foreign and local subcontractors. They are usually won as a result of tenders where the bidders compete for the contract on the terms most favourable for the customer.

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