BUILDING TECHNOLOGY (MIDTERM REVIEWER)
Friction Piles Type of pile foundation which depends principally on the frictional resistance of a
surrounding earth mass for support. The skin friction developed between the sides of a pile and the
soil into which the pile is driven is limited by the adhesion of soil to the pile sides and the shear
strength of the surrounding soil mass.
Composite Piles These are combination timber and concrete or steel and concrete piles. They may
be composed of timber piles with concrete coatings held in position by steel reinforcements in the
shape of expanded metal or wire netting.
Retaining wall A subsurface wall built to resist the lateral pressure of internal loads.
Spandrel wall The space between any arch and the beam over the same; or an exterior non-
bearing wall in skeleton construction built between columns or piers and wholly supported at each
story.
Cast-in-place piles These piles are constructed in the ground in the position they are to occupy, and
are often reinforced.
Tied columns These are columns with longitudinal bars and lateral ties. The ratio of the
effective cross-sectional area of vertical reinforcement to the gross column area should not
be less than 1% nor more than 8%, and should consist of at least 4 bars of a minimum size
of #5.
Dowels These are short bars used to transfer the stress at the bottom of the columns to the
footings.
T-Beams When a reinforced concrete floor slab and its supporting beam (or girder) are built
at the same time and thoroughly tied together, a part of the slab may be considered to act
with upper part of the beam in compression.
Point of inflection The section of a beam at which the bending moment changes from
positive to negative
Shallow Foundation Type of foundation employed when stable soil of adequate bearing
capacity occurs relatively near the ground surface. They are placed directly below the lowest
part of a superstructure and transfer building loads directly to the supporting soil by vertical
pressure.
Curtain wall The enclosing wall of an iron or steel framework or the non-bearing portion of
an enclosing wall between piers.
Cantilever beams The tensile reinforcement is located at top of the beam and inverted U-
stirrups are provided.
Hollow box Girders These are double reinforced beams used for long spans. In order to
reduce the dead load (the weight of the beam) it is hollowed in the center of the section.
Diaphragms are provided at intervals throughout the length of the beam.
Bearing wall A wall on which either floor or roof construction rests.
Pre-tensioning / bonded prestressing In this method the reinforcing steel is first
prestressed and then the concrete is poured. When the concrete has developed strength, the
stress in the steel is released.
Foundation wall That portion of an enclosing wall below the first tier of joists.
Two-way Slab When a floor panel is square or nearly so having beams or walls on four
sides it is generally economical to use two sets of reinforcing bars placed at right angles to
each other These bars in two directions transfer the loads to the four supporting beams or
walls.
Precast Piles These are usually moulded in a yard or at the site allowed to cure for 4 weeks
before using.
End-bearing piles Type of pile foundation which depends principally on the bearing
resistance of soil or rock beneath their feet for support. The surrounding soil mass provides a
degree of lateral stability for the long compression member.
Post-tensioning / unbonded pre-stressing In this method, tubes, conduits, or channels
are inserted in the concrete where reinforcing steel is required. After the concrete is
adequately cured, steel reinforcement is inserted in the tubes or channels, stretched to the
proper tension, and anchored at the ends to put a squeeze on the beam. Tensioning is done
with hydraulic jacks.
Spiral Columns These are columns with longitudinal bars and closely spaced continuous
spiral hooping.
Composite Columns Where structural steel columns are embedded into the concrete core
of a spiral column.
Combined Columns where structural steel is encased in concrete of at least 7 cm thick,
reinforced with wire mess surrounding the column at a distance of 3 cm inside the outer face
of the concrete cover.
Caisson Foundation These are cast-in-place, plain or reinforced concrete piers formed by
boring with a large auger or excavating by hand a shaft in the earth to a suitable bearing
stratum and filling the shaft with concrete.
Lally Columns Are fabricated steel pipes provided with flat steel plates which holds a girder
or girt, and is filled with grout or concrete to prevent corrosion.
The advantages of kiln-drying over air-drying are as stated below EXCEPT:
a.Control of moisture content to any desired value.
b.Greater reduction in weight.
c.Increase in drying time.
d.Setting the resins in resinous wood.
e.Killing of any fungi or insects.
Hardness This is measured by the compression which a piece of timber undergoes when a
weight is applied to it.
140 bd. ft. Compute the number of board feet in 10 pieces of of 2” x 6” x 14'.
Sapwood Structure or part of wood that is the softer, younger outer portion of a tree that
lies between the cambium (formative layer just under the bark.
Warp Any variation with the plane surface of the piece caused by unequal shrinkage of the
board.
Shakes These are cracks between and parallel to the annual rings of the growth.
Dimension Lumber. Pieces more than 2” and less than 5” in any dimension.
Timbers Pieces 5” or more on the smallest dimension
Checks Cracks or lengthwise separation across the annual rings of growth caused by
irregular shrinkage during drying. These are formed when the circumference shrinks more
than the interior section of the log.
Board Lumber Pieces less than 2” thick and at least 8” wide.
Nominal size This is the size of lumber when it is cut from the log. After cutting, the lumber
is dried and then planed on all four sides to achieve smoothness. The finished size is
therefore smaller.
Flexibility The amount of piece will bend before breaking .
Hardwood Classification of wood which come from the broad-leaved or deciduous trees.
Most Philippine timber are of this latter kind.
Seasoned lumber has many advantages over green lumber as stated below EXCEPT:
a.Increased strength.
b.Minimum shrinkage after the lumber is in place (thus avoids opening up of joints in doors,
windows, siding, etc.).
c.Addition of weight.
d.It lessens the liability of the wood to be attacked by the fungi causing blueing and decay,
and by some wood-boring insects.
Knots These are irregular growths in the body of a tree which interrupt the smooth curve of
the grain. The fibers of the tree are turned from their normal course and grow around the
knot at that point of the tree.
Creosotes A type of wood preservative Which is Black or brownish oil made from distilling
coal tar. Advantages are: highly toxicity to wood-destroying organisms; insolubility in water;
ease of application.
Heartwood The central core of the log, it is composed of inactive cells and serves only as a
mechanical support
Strips Lumber less than 2” thick and less than 8” wide.
Pitchpocket These are well-defined openings between annual rings containing solid or
liquid pitch.
Seasoning The process of removing moisture from green wood (wood from freshly-cut logs)
is called
Wane This is the lack of wood on the edge or corner of a piece.
6 2/3 or 7 bd. ft. Compute the number of board feet in a piece of ¾” x 8” x 10’.
Plainsawing Refers to lumber cut tangent to the annual rings or growth or, in commercial
practice, cut with annual rings at an angle 0 to 45.
Twist A distortion of the board in which one corner is raised.
Decay Defect in wood caused by the attack of fungi.
Cup A distortion of the board in which the face is convex or concave across the board.
Crook A distortion of the board in which the edge is convex or concave longitudinal.
Bow –a distortion of the board in which the face is convex or concave longitudinal.
Twist –a distortion of the board in which one corner is raised.
Softwood Classification of wood which comes from the conifers (evergreens) which have
needles instead of leaves, e.g. pine
Chromated Copper Arsenate & Ammoniacal Copper Arsenate Are dissolved in
water for pressure treating, producing a product that is clean and odorless. Both
preservatives bond with the wood after pressure treating in a chemical process known as
fixation, producing treated wood that is highly leach-resistant and safe to use in applications
with regular human contact.
