Week 03: BIM to CryEngine

To Do List:
-Present Back Brief
-Extensive Construction research
-Research and develop final construction stages and phases
-Arrange Builders meeting
-upload dropbox files (including BCA, standards and construction information.


Draft Construction and work stages breakdown

For our project, we will be modelling and showcasing two different construction types including Brick Veneer and Timber Frame construction. As these two construction methods are relevant to Sydney and are most frequently used.

Basic Construction Stages:
Base Stage (sub-floor, foundations, concrete, under-slab plumbing, initial electrical, site survey and building setout etc)
Frame Stage (frames (walls), trusses are erected – roof is sometimes installed along with guttering and fascia)
Lockup Stage (pre-wire electrical completed, plumbing rough-in completed. External walls completed with all external doors fitted.
Pre-Paint Stage (internal walls and doors are completed, plastering finished, and the house ready to be painted.)
Completion (finishings including kitchens, tiling, electrical, plumbing fit-off, floor coverings etc)

Brick Veneer Construction
- The brick facade is anchored to the timber frame of the house with metal brick ties. 
- The brick veneer does not support the roof loads as all structural loads are supported by the timber frame. The Brick wall acts as a cladding. 
- There is a 50 mm cavity space between the timber frame and the brick walls. This air gap helps stop water from damaging the timber frame and the internal linings.

Three main stages.
Stage one:
This stage is the footings or slab for the floor. The ground and site are prepared and the drainage pipe laid in place. Then the concrete slab is laid down over and around the pipe and waterproof barrier. If the house was to be a timber floor the footing would be laid and then the brick work laid to floor height. Then the timber floor constructed.
Stage two:
The next stage is to construct the main timber frame complete to the roof. The eaves, windows and electrical box installed. The interior linings are not fixed until the roof is covered, and internal plumbing and electrical are completed.
Stage three:
The brick veneer can now go ahead and be laid right up to the eves and roof. As the brick work is laid a damp course and weep holes will be added. As the brick work is laid it is essential that the gap between the timber frame and the brick wall is kept clean. Also the weep holes must be kept clean and open. If it rains during construction the water will run down the walls and out of the weep holes until the roof is complete. As the brick veneer is constructed the brick layer will attach metal brick ties to the timber frame at set intervals. These brick ties help keep the brick veneer braced to the timber structural frame.
Problems and tips
One of the main problems to brick veneer is ground movement. Often the footings are not constructed well enough to cope with the movement of the ground. This is seen more and more in times of drought or high rain fall where the ground expands and contracts more than normal. Also because of cost and bad building practice not enough brick ties are put in and if cracks form the wall can become unstable.
Tips:
For new construction have your brick layer insert filters into the weep holes to exclude pests and vermin.
Make sure all garden beds allow for an air gap between the brick walls and the garden bed. This stops excessive moisture comings into your home and help stop mould forming in your walls.
concrete pad footings for the structural steel beams and columns. As well as the dry wall 50mm off the concrete block wall.

BIM modelling
Upon research on construction methods I have started modelling with Revit Architecture and modifying the Revit Sample Project to be Brick-Veneer construction.

Image01: I have redesigned the strip footings according to The Acceptable standards of domestic construction.

Image02: After initial meeting with the builders, they gave me feedback for the foundations. To have a concrete strip footing, Block retaining wall, thickened edge beam and concrete slab. I have modelled the footings according to

Image 03: The natural ground level is sloped down the site. This is an issue as the walls on the ground floor are retaining soil. As the sample model is constructed out of solid concrete with a timber cladding that is beneath the ground line this will need to be adjusted.

Image04: As a standard from of retaining construction used in Sydney is Reinforced concrete block walls. I have chosen to use this construction and take the level of the retaining walls up to level 2. This will make the connection details easier to construct.

Image 05: In this image I have adjusted all internal stud walls to stop under the floor construction. In the sample model the walls were constructed up to the timber floorboards. As I have had much discussion about the purpose of the strip footing in which the site will need to be over excavated to actually construct this as well as the foundation wall acting as a continuous pier, where instead a slab on ground and footing sub-floor would be more realistic. 

Image 06: The walls have been constructed out of reinforced concrete blockwork up to level 2 for retaining and waterproofing issues. The blockwall starts at the Ground floor slab level.

Image07: The Concrete walls completed without the existing windows, these need to adjusted as two were obstructed by the natural ground line (NGL). 

Image08: All internal stud walls are adjusted to suit.