CONSTRUCTION & MATERIALS

SPEEDY CONSTRUCTIONS

CROSS WALL AND BOX FRAME CONSTRUCTION

WHAT IS A CROSS WALL..
Cross-wall is a generic method of building construction using a series of
division or partition walls which transfer the floor loads through the
building to foundation or transfer slab level.

Applied to buildings in which the walls are at right angles to the principal axis
lateral front and rear external walls are non-load bearing.

It is a box frame structure,

the open end of the boxes being the cladded main external walls.

In contemporary cross wall construction, the external walls are of relatively light cladded construction,
which is resistant to rain transmission and is adequately insulated .
USES
This type of construction is most suited to building types that are upto 5 storeys high.
The spacing of cross walls varies from 3-5.5 m
used at the site where speedy construction is done.

POINTS TO TAKE CARE WHILE CONSTRUCTING CROSS WALL

Care must be taken to ensure that the end of the cross walls are
sealed to prevent the admission of rain.
The facing of external wall can be of terracotta slabs.
The damp proofing of the cross wall is done with a fibrous
asphalt felt or D.P.C.
To prevent the admission of rain through any defective joints in
the terracotta facing, the end of the wall may be given two good
coats of bituminous paint or other water repellent emulsion.
 Precast Housing - Cross Walls, Floors and Cladding Panels
Precast Cross Walls
EXAMPLE OF CROSS
WALL & BOX WALL
CONSTRUCTION
 Advantages of Cross wall Construction:-
Load bearing and non-load bearing components can be standardised and in same cases prefabricated giving
faster construction times.
Fenestration between cross walls unrestricted structurally.
Cross walls although load bearing need not be weather resistant as is the case with external walls.

Disadvantages of Cross wall Construction:-

Limitations of possible plans.
Need for adequate lateral ties between cross walls.
Need to weather adequately projecting
 Crosswall

Crosswall is a modern and effective method of construction that employs factory precast, precision
engineered, concrete components. Each component is custom-designed and manufactured to suit the
specific project. This method of construction was developed to facilitate swift and adaptable
residential buildings such as hotels, student residences, prisons and military barracks.

Benefits
Crosswall buildings are durable, have good acoustic values and are virtually maintenance free. They
are quick to erect, offering the client a rapid room occupancy program. The precast components are
brought to site ready to be placed within the structure.
Acoustics
Acoustic separation and additional finishes are minimized as the floor and wall panels can provide the
required airborne noise separation. To reduce the impact sound through floors, a carpet or resilient
layer is also necessary.

Build
Fast overall project times are possible as, once part of the structure is erected, following trades can
quickly commence work. This is the case because the wall and floor units provide a semi-internal
environment.
 Finishes
Good surface finishes to wall and floor units minimize site works in making good and necessary additional finishes.
It is possible to simply give a skim finish. This has the benefit of fast and cost-effective construction and skim-
finished walls and ceilings need a minimum of ongoing maintenance.

Sustainability
Crosswall fully utilizes the thermal mass that concrete enables through having minimum finishes which allows full
exposure of the concrete surface.

Fire resistance
Concretes inherent fire resistance meets and often surpasses the requirements for structural integrity for
the prescribed fire duration.
CONSTRUCTION & MATERIALS

SPEEDY CONSTRUCTIONS
TYPES OF FLOOR CONSTRUCTION

BEAM AND SLAB

WAFFLE GRID SLAB
DROP BEAM AND SLAB
FLAT SLAB
LIFT SLAB
BEAM AND SLAB
Most ECONOMIC & USUAL form of floor construction for
reinforced concrete frames.
Here COLUMNS, BEAMS & FLOORS are cast and act
MONOLITHICALLY
Can be made to SPAN in ONE or TWO directions.
REINFORCEMENT of 2 types: LONGITUDNAL & TRANSVERSE
TYPES of beam & slab floors

ONE WAY SLAB

Slab spanning in 1 direction such that load also transferred in that

direction
THICK slab as bending & deflection are greater.
GREATER DEPTH OF BEAMS.
COSTLIER
Supported on 2 edges. SIMPLY SUPPORTED & CONTINUOUS
E.g.: RECTANGULAR GRID FLOOR

RECTANGULAR GRID BEAM AND SLAB

FLOOR CONSTRUCTION
BEAM AND SLAB
Most ECONOMIC & USUAL form of floor construction for
reinforced concrete frames.
Here COLUMNS, BEAMS & FLOORS are cast and act
MONOLITHICALLY
Can be made to SPAN in ONE or TWO directions.
REINFORCEMENT of 2 types: LONGITUDNAL &
TRANSVERSE
TYPES of beam & slab floors

TWO WAY SLAB

Slab spanning in 2 directions such that load also transferred in

both directions
THIN slab as bending & deflection are lesser
LESSER DEPTH OF BEAMS.
CHEAPER than one way slab
Supported on 4 edges. RESTRAINED (corners held down) &
UNRESTRAINED (corners not held down)
E.g.: SQUARE GRID FLOOR

Square grid minimum thickness of

floor slab minimum depth of
SQUARE GRID BEAM AND SLAB FLOOR
beam minimum dead weight CONSTRUCTION
 WAFFLE SLAB
Waffle slabs provide a lighter and stiffer slab than an equivalent flat slab, reducing the extend of foundations.
They provide a very good form where slab vibration is an issue, such as laboratories and hospitals for medium
spans(10 m).
Waffle slabs have a thin topping slab and narrow ribs
spanning in both directions between column heads or
band beams.
Standard moulds are 225, 325 and 425 mm deep and
are used with toppings between 50 and 150 mm thick.
The ribs are 125 mm wide on a 900 mm grid.
A waffle slab, giving added strength in both
directions.
These slabs are allowed to be constructed as a series of
ribs cast in situ with left in blocks and top of the ribs
connected by the concrete of lower strength, with the
topping not expected to contribute to the structural
strength.
Thus, certain type of grid slabs can also be considered
as voided slabs or coffered slab.
 WAFFLE SLAB Benefits
Relatively light, therefore less foundation costs and longer
spans are economic
Speed of construction
Fairly slim floor depths
Robustness
Excellent vibration control
Thermal mass
Good for services integration
Durable finishes
Fire resistance
 WAFFLE SLAB Benefits
This type of floor is useful where a widely
spaced column grid is necessary and the floor
supports heavy load because of the use of
intermediate cross beams

The intermediate cross beam are cast on a

regular square grid that gives the underside of
the floor an interesting appearance of a waffle

The waffle grid form of the floor may be cast

around plastic or metal formers laid on timber
centering , so the smooth finish of the soffit
may be left exposed
 (Glass fibre Reinforced
Plastic)
WAFFLE FLOOR CONSTRUCTION
 WAFFLE SLAB
waffle-slab-construction without band beams

waffle-slab-construction with band beams

WAFFLE SLAB
WAFFLE SLAB
waffle-slab-
construction

WASHINGTON DC SUBWAY

waffles
WAFFLE SLAB STANDING COMMITTEE ASSEMBLY HALL FOR RAJKOT
MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

The standing committee assembly hall was

constructed as third floor of an existing two
storey office building of Rajkot Municipal
Corporation.
Roof for the hall is a two way grid waffle
slab. Plan dimension is 20 m x 20 m. Waffle
grid size is 1.8 m x 1.8 m. Slab thickness is
80 mm and beam size is 230 mm x 900 mm.
Interesting technical feature of the hall is
that it was constructed above an existing
two storey masonry load bearing structure.
DROP
FLUSH
BEAM
SLAB
AND SLAB

DROP BEAM AND SLAB FLOOR

CONSTRUCTION
 FLAT SLAB
Slabs which are directly supported by columns are called flat
slabs.
The column head is some times widened so as to reduce the
punching shear in the slab. The widened portions are called
column heads.
The column heads may be provided with any angle from the
consideration of architecture but for the design, concrete in the
portion at 45 on either side of vertical only is considered as
effective for the design.
Moments in the slabs are more near the column. Hence the slab is
thickened near the columns by providing the drops.
 FLAT SLAB
SLAB WITHOUT DROP
& COLUMN WITH
COLUMN HEAD

SLAB WITHOUT DROP & COLUMN HEAD

SLAB WITH DROP & COLUMN HEAD

SLAB WITH DROP & COLUMN WITHOUT COLUMN HEAD

FLAT SLAB
BENEFITS
Allows architect to introduce partition walls anywhere required
Allows owner to change the size of room layout
Lower storey height will reduce building weight due to lower partitions and cladding
to faade
Approx. Saves 10% in vertical members
Reduce foundation load
All M & E services can be mounted directly on the underside of the slab instead of
bending them to avoid the beams
 LIFT SLAB
Lift slab construction
A method of constructing reinforced concrete
buildings by casting the post-tensioned floor or
Campus (lift slab
roof slab on top of the previous slab or ground
construction, 1952), Trinity
and then raising (jacking) the slab up
University
with hydraulic jacks, so being cheaper and faster
as not requiring boxing and supports for casting in
situ.
Although there are various different methods, the
one that has been used most, involves steel
columns, jacks placed on top of the columns to lift
the slabs, and threaded lifting rods connected to
the jacks and to steel lifting collars cast into each
of the concrete slabs.
 LIFT SLAB
The unique features of lift slab buildings outside of
the fact that the slabs are lifted into place are the
lifting collars which also act as shear heads to transfer
forces from the slabs to the columns, and the
connections of the lifting collars to the steel columns. Hotel tower in Portland, Maine
The support of the lifting collars is provided by
wedges bearing on the edges of plates (called weld
blocks) which are welded to the flanges of the
columns. There are two connections on each column,
one on each flange. When the slab reaches its final
position, the wedges are welded to the lifting collar,
column, and weld block.
Fixing detail
 LIFT SLAB Detail at bottom of steel
lifting collar. Slab
temporarily parked.
One of two lifting rods is
shown on left.

Wedge
welded to
weld
block,
column,
and lifting
collar.

Section through lifting collar and

column flange showing connections of
lifting collar to the column flange.
LIFT SLAB
Requirements for lift-slab construction

Lift-slab construction shall be designed and planned by a registered professional engineer who has
experience in lift-slab construction.
Jacks/lifting units shall be marked to indicate their rated capacity as established by the
manufacturer(shall be capable of supporting at least two and one-half times the load being lifted).
Jacking shall be synchronized in such a manner to ensure even and uniform lifting of the slab. During
lifting, all points at which the slab is supported shall be kept within 1/2 inch of that needed to maintain
the slab in a level position.
When making temporary connections to support slabs, wedges shall be secured by tack welding, or an
equivalent method of securing the wedges to prevent them from falling out of position. Lifting rods
may not be released until the wedges at that column have been secured.
Load transfer from jacks/lifting units to building columns shall not be executed until the welds on the
column shear plates (weld blocks) are cooled to air temperature.
 cast-in-situ
CAST IN SITU
1. IN SITU CAST FRAME

REINFORCED CONCRETE FRAME

The first reinforced concrete framed building to be built in this country was the general post office building in London which
was completed in 1910.
Reinforced concrete was used in this country until the end of the second world war.
Then steel had been traditional material used for structural frames and engineers regarded the new fangled reinforced concrete
with some suspicion.
The great shortage of steel that followed the end of the second world war promoted engineers to use reinforced concrete sa a
substitute for steel in structural building frame.
At the time the conventional method of providing fire protection to structural steel frames was to encase beams and columns in
concrete that was cast in situ in framework around the steel.
The member of a reinforced concrete frame can be molded to any required shape so that they can be designed to
use concrete where compressive strength is required and steel reinforcement where tensile strength is required.
When concrete is designed cast in situ it will act monolithically as a rigid structure
 cast-in-situ

Cast in situ construction

Cast in situ piles

 stair cores
Stair Cores :
This is the space in
the building where
the stairs are
constructed. This
may require special
structural design so
that the floors
around the stairwell
do not require
structural walls and
the stairs themselves
are open to the
floors.
 precast staircase

Plan of a precast staircase

Section through a precast

staircase
 cast-in-situ staircase

Section through a staircase, cast in situ

Stair cores and Cross wall construction :
The cross-wall system generally utilizes stair cores and lift cores for overall stability, using the floors as
stiff diaphragms for the transmittal of horizontal forces into shear walls located at staircase and lift shaft
positions. The floors are made up of either hollow core, solid slab, or composite construction.