WALL AND

ROOF
Subtitle

Commercial Wall Systems

Load

Bearing Walls
Low Rise
Cast-in-Place Concrete
Tilt-up Concrete
Concrete Masonry Units

Non-Load

Bearing Walls
Curtain Walls

 Load

Bearing Wall
Supports vertical loads other than its own
weight
Often supports floors or roof above

Non-Load

Bearing
Supports only it own weight
Typically used as
Partition walls to separate interior spaces
Protection from the elements

Load Bearing Walls

Common Construction Materials
Low-rise commercial construction (three stories
or less) may be similar to residential construction

Wood

Precast Concrete

Light Gauge Steel

Other common commercial wall materials

Cast-in-Place
Tilt-up

concrete

Concrete

Concrete

Masonry Units (CMU)

Concrete

Advantages
Strength (especially in
compression)
Durable
Fire Resistant
Pest Resistant
Rot/Rust Resistant
Low Maintenance
Energy Efficient
Thermal mass stores

Pictures courtesy construction photography

Concrete is mixed at a plant . . .

. . . and transported to the site of

the pour.

LEED credits earned for

Green Concrete?
Using materials extracted,
harvested, or recovered within a
500 mile radius from the site
Using recycled aggregate
Improved energy efficiency by
taking advantage of thermal
mass of concrete
www.usgbc.org
Reduced VOCs using concrete
compared to other construction
materials
Generating less construction

Cast-in-Place Concrete
Concrete

walls are
formed, reinforced,
and poured in place.

Concrete

is reinforced
with steel bars to
improve tensile and
bending strength.

iStockphoto.com

iStockphoto.com

Cast-in-Place Concrete
Typical Construction

WEEP
HOLE
Image Courtesy masonrysystems.org

Cast-in-Place Concrete Wall

with Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF)
Concrete forms consist of insulating foam that stays
in place as a permanent part of the wall assembly.

Courtesy TexAZ Commercial Properties

CAST-IN-PLACE
CONCRETE
EXAMPLES

Courtesy Portland Cement

Association

Burj Dubai
United Arab Emirates

Tilt-up Concrete

Concrete wall sections (with

reinforcing) are poured
horizontally on site, tilted
vertically, and then anchored.
Courtesy TCA

Courtesy Greg Thiel

Courtesy TCA

Tilt-up Concrete

Can be formed into a variety of

shapes and sizes

Different surface treatments and

form inserts can be used to create a
wide variety of surface textures

Relatively quick design and

construction time

Courtesy Tilt-up Concrete Association

Courtesy Tilt-up Concrete Association

Courtesy Tilt-up Concrete Association

Form inserts give relief to the panels

Courtesy Greg Thiel

Thin bricks are set in the form

before the concrete is cast

Typical Tilt-up Concrete Wall Section

TILT-UP
CONSTRUCTION
EXAMPLES

Austin Research Center for the Homeless,

Austin, TX

Bright House Networks,

St. Petersburg, FL

Boca Village Corporate Center

Boca Raton, FL

San Diego Childrens Museum,

San Diego, California
All images courtesy Tilt-Up Concrete Association

Concrete Masonry Units (CMU)

Concrete is cast into hollow blocks that can be stacked

and grouted to form walls.

CMU load bearing walls are reinforced with steel bars

to improve tensile and bending strength.

MASONRY WALL
EXAMPLES

Courtesy Isle of Palms Recreation Center

Isle of Palms Recreation Center, SC

Courtesy Tilt-up Concrete Association

Courtesy Constructionphotographs.com

Commercial building under

construction

Tilt-up and CMU construction

RS+K Advertising
Madison, WI

Non-Load Bearing Wall

Supports only its own weight

Typically used as
Partition walls to separate
interior spaces
Protection from the elements
Materials
Wood framing
Light gauge steel framing
Concrete masonry units
Curtain walls

Curtain Walls

Non-load bearing wall attached to

the exterior of a building

Often composed of glass and

metal

Provides visual appeal, daylight,

and protection from the elements

Courtesy Lawrence C. Novak,

Portland Cement Association

Courtesy Tilt-up Concrete Association

Trump Tower

Courtesy Tilt-up Concrete Association

Wikipedia.com

 Load

Bearing Walls
Low Rise
Green Concrete?
Cast-in-Place Concrete
Tilt-up Concrete
Concrete Masonry Units

Non-Load

Bearing Walls
Curtain Walls

Stone walls

The development of wall structures

Traditional walls of dwellings and

Industrial buildings were
constructed from stone which were
found locally.
If you look carefully at the picture
shown above you will see that the
larger stones were built in courses
with small stones inter spaced. The
walls were usually very thick at
about 400 to 700mm in width.
Most had no damp proof course
included.
Lime mortar was used to bind
these stones together.

One brick thick walls were commonly

used to build rows of red brick terrace
houses in close proximity to mills.

These houses were constructed

cheaply by mill owners from brick
which were usually made locally.

These bricks were often constructed

in English Bond creating a solid wall.

The solid wall allowed moisture to

travel from the outside of the wall to
the inside causing damp patches on
the wall inside the house.

Damp proof courses were included in

some of the one brick walls.

One brick walls

Header
course

Stretcher
course

Damp proof
course

The first development Cavity

to
prevent the spread of damp
into the inside of buildings was
the cavity wall.

These walls were constructed

from two skins of brick or block
joined together by twisted
galvanized steel wall ties.

The twist was constructed into

the wall ties so that any
moisture which tried to move
across the cavity would drop
off.

walls in block construction

Wall ties
spaced at
450mm
vertically

D.P.C.

This wall is similar in

construction to the first cavity
wall, the only exception being
the inclusion of insulation.

Wall ties are now

manufactured from stainless
steel.

When cavity walls are used as

part of a cellular structure they
provide buildings which are
structurally sound.

Some of their other

advantages are
the
prevention of damp
penetrating to the inside of the

Cavity walls in brick construction

with insulation

60mm thick
insulation

Plaster

Timber framed walls

differ from those
constructed of
traditional brick and
block work because the
structural frame
members are
fabricated from wood.
They transmit their
loads onto the
foundation through a
common sole or base
plate.

Timber frame

Timber frame walls

The photograph shows curtain walling

which is cladding a leisure centre.

Curtain wall for Industrial

and commercial structures
Transom

Composite
panels for

Glass curtain
walling

Mullion

Curtain wall structures

Curtain wall structures

are a composite of
mullion, transoms and
infill panels which may
be glass or an opaque
material.

Curtain walling is often

used with rectangular
framed structures.

There is often an inner

skin of block work.

Glass infill panels represented

in green

Opaque infill
panels
represented in

Cladding

Claddings
following

can

be

headings :
Panel

walls

Concrete
Light

infill panels

Curtain

walling

considered

under

the

All types of
Claddings must fulfill the following functions.

Be self supporting between the framing members.

Having resistance to rain penetration.

Capable of resisting wind pressures

Provide necessary resistance to wind penetration

Give the required degree of thermal insulation

Provide required degree of sound insulation

Give the required degree of fire resistance

Provide sufficient openings for the admittance of natural daylight and

ventilation

Concrete Cladding Panels

1.0 Concrete Cladding Panels

Usually made of pre-cast concrete.

Concrete cladding panels comprised of a dense

concrete mix and steel reinforcement.

Lifting lugs, positions or holes to be incorporated into

the design o ensure that the panels are hoisted in
the correct manner.

Concrete Cladding Panels (Contd)

The precast concrete manufacturer designs

the cladding based on the following factors :

Specified loads,

Erection loads,

Connection details,

Weatherproofing,

performance and durability.

Concrete Cladding Panels (Contd)

One of the major problems facing by the designer of

concrete panels is one of jointing to allow for
structural and thermal movements.

Thermal insulation can be achieved when using

precast concrete panels by creating a cavity.

Infill Panels

Infill panels are lightweight and usually glazed to

give good internal natural daylighting conditions.

A wide variety of materials or combinations of

materials can be employed such as timber, steel,
aluminium and plastic.

The panels used must provide the necessary

resistance to fire, heat loss, sound penetration and
interstitial condensation.

 The

jointing problem with infill panels

occurs mainly at its junction with the
structural frame and allowance for
moisture or thermal movement is usually
achieved by using a suitable mastic or
sealant.

The

maintenance problems with infill

panels is the cleaning of the faade and in
particular the glazing.

Access

for cleaning glazed areas can be

Infill Panels

Jointing
Joints

should be designed so that they fulfill the

following requirements.

Allow

for structural, thermal and moisture movement.

Good

durability

Easily

maintaned

Maintain

the thermal and sound insulation properties

of the surrounding cladding

Jointing
Filled

can be classified as follow :

joints

Drained

joints

Filled joints (Contd)

Filled

joints :

Filled

joints are generally suitable if the

cladding panel module is small.

Filled

joints can crack and allow water to

penetrate.

The

failure is due to either the filling

materials being incapable of accommodating
movement or a breakdown of adhesion

Drained joints
Filled

joints :

These

joints have been designed and

developed
to
overcome
the
disadvantages of the Filled joint by :
i. Designing the joint to have a drainage
zone
ii. Providing an air-tight seal at the rear

Curtain Walling
Curtain

walls are a form of external

lightweight cladding attached to a framed
structure forming a complete envelope or
sheath around the structural frame.

Why
i.

used curtain walling :

Provide an enclosure to the structure which

will give the necessary protection against
the elements.

iii. Impose onto the structural frame the

minimum load in the form of claddings.
iv. Express an architectural feature.

Curtain Walling (contd)

Curtain walls to have the following requirements :

i.

Resistance to the elements

ii.

Assist
in
maintaining
temperatures.

iii.

Adequate strength

iv.

Provide required degree of fire resistance

v.

Easy to assemble and fix.

vi.

Provide required degree of sound insulation

the

designed

internal

Types of cladding

Rainscreen

Curtain walls to have the following requirements :

i.

Resistance to the elements

ii.

Assist in maintaining
temperatures.

iii.

Adequate strength

iv.

Provide required degree of fire resistance

v.

Easy to assemble and fix.

vi.

Provide required degree of sound insulation

vii. Provide

the

designed

internal

for thermal and structural movements.

LARGE SPAN
BUILDING
OVERVIEW AND TYPES

 Location

of site

Elevated

access

Safety
Assembly

and Storage Areas

Weather
Site

obstructions
GENERAL CONSIDERATION

 Large

span roofs are often used in

stadiums, halls, factories and other
building where people can assemble in
large numbers.

The

construction of industrial buildings is

ordinary and hardly attracts attention.

Others

are prestigious in nature such as

football stadiums, trade exhibition halls
and places of worship (e.g.
LOCATION
mosques
OF SITE
and
churches).

Some buildings are located in built up areas where

the original buildings on the site had been
demolished for the new building.

Such sites will face the same problems associated

with high-rise buildings in congested sites. There
will be logistic problems, restriction on the working
times, problems of trespass on neighboring
properties etc. Therefore, the project team has to
be creative in solving these problems.

Furthermore, if the building is a large prestigious

construction, then it is likely that severe cost
penalties will hit the contractor if
its completion
is
LOCATION
OF SITE
delayed because of problems that had not been
preempted

Large span roofs have

high headroom from
10m to 50 m high.

Whether the roof is

assembled complete
or in portions at
ground level and then
lifted
to
its
final
position, workers will
to work on the roof at
its
elevated
final

ELEVATED ACCESS

Elevated access such as

ladder
scaffolds
and
hoists have to be erected.
Mobile
scissor
lift
platforms have to be used
for workers to have
access to the underside of
the roof. Cranes have to
be used to lift materials to
the roof level.

ELEVATED ACCESS

In the case of suspension

structures, the workers
have to pull themselves up
to the roof and abseil
down.
Hoists
will
be
impractical because of the
large numbers of cables to
be installed and the wide
area to be covered.

They will have to balance

themselves
on
those
cables that have already
been installed so that
other cables may be
installed too.

Mountain climbing skills

are useful for such roof
installation work. Some

ELEVATED ACCESS

Working at heights is dangerous. Thus, safety

measures have to be taken to prevent accidents
and deaths due to falling objects and workers
falling off the roof.

Nets and workers safety cables have to be

installed at the roof. Heavy machinery especially
cranes have to be used properly and within their
safe operating capabilities.

Safety policy has to be implemented at site. This

includes the use of safety officers to manage the
SAFETY
safety at site.

Depending on the type of roof structure, the production

of the structure is either insitu or prefabricated.
Reinforced concrete large span roofs are still being used
especially for elevated water reservoir roofs. However
they are no longer popular for roofs of stadiums or halls.

Roof coverings have to be inspected after installation.

This means workers walking on the roof covering. Roofs
with curved surfaces are difficult to walk on especially
those made of fabric. Workers safety lines must be tied
to a suitable structural element such as the support
posts.

ASSEMBLY AND STORAGE AREAS

There are two possible approaches to erecting

prefabricated roofs.
Firstly,
the roof structure could be assembled
completely at ground level and then lifted up by crane or
jacks or winched to its final position. Thus the roof
structure has to be assembled at ground level directly
below the final position.

The second approach involves assembling the roof in

portions. Each completed portion is lifted to its final
position by crane and temporarily supported by
scaffolding, support towers or guys. Thus the roof portion
could either beASSEMBLY
on the ground
directly
below orAREAS
on the
AND
STORAGE
ground not far from the final position.

The components of the assembled roof must be able to be

transported from the factory or port by road. Thus there is a limit to
the size of the components. These components will have to be first
stored for inspection and making good defects. Thus a large storage
area on site is needed to hold these components temporarily. Hard
standing has to be provided for these components.

The roof contractor will also have to provide a suitable assembly

area. Sometimes other elements of the structure below the roof (eg.
spectators r.c. seating terraces) have been constructed first. This
may prevent the assembly area to be directly beneath the final
position.

ASSEMBLY AND STORAGE AREAS

Stadium roof
structure

Temporar
y
support
towers
for roof

Temporary support towers for new Wembley

stadiums space truss roof structure

 Rain,

wind and lightning can affect the rate of

progress of erecting the large span roof.

Rain

would soften the ground and may

prevent the transport of the components to
their respective lift off areas.

Rain

softened ground would increase the risk

of the crane falling down because the soil is
too soft to support the loads exerted by the
crane to the ground.
WEATHER

 Wind,

rain and lightning will prevent the

use of the crane and endanger workers
located at the roof levels.

The

roof structure is also vulnerable to

collapse during its construction stage
during high winds. The roof contractor
has to consider using temporary
structures that provide support against
WEATHER
such high winds.

 As

mentioned earlier, a restricted site will

create problems in terms of logistics,
providing space for assembly and storage.

It

must be remembered that the crane must

be tall enough so that a lifted roof component
may be able to clear the parts of the roof or
superstructure that are already erected.
SITE OBSTRUCTIONS

Spectato
r
terraces
structure

Propose
d
playing
field
area

Arsenal Football Clubs new stadium under construction. Note

the cranes inside the proposed field that are surrounded by
already-constructed spectator terraces

SPECIAL
BUILDING
STRUCTURE
DOME CONSTRUCTION TYPES AND
CONSTRUCTION

 The

arch is the basis of the dome system. The

arch was widely used in the ancient times to
create a large span roof.
The roof covering was placed over a row of
arches to create a large span roof. A dome can
be considered a three-dimension arch form.
Thus it is the second oldest method of
providing a roof that has a great span. Many
old buildings such as the Blue Mosque, the
Sistine Chapel and the Pantheon use the dome
as the roof. The largest dome span is 260
metres across.
Introduction

Year introduced
Ancient times

Type of structural system used for dome

Status

Masonry dome

No longer used for large

buildings

1928

Reinforced concrete dome

(no major buildings by 1980s)

1965

Steel dome

(major buildings in 2000s)

1975

Air Inflated Dome

(no new major buildings since

1990)

1983

Glue Laminated Dome

(no major buildings since 1995)

1990

Suspension Structure Dome

(major buildings in 2000s)

Introduction (contd)

Blue Mosque In Turkey

 Several

structural methods are used to

create the dome roof. The figure below
show types of dome construction
DOME
S

Ribbed

Shell
Grid

Lamella

Geodesic

 The

ribbed dome structure consists of

arrangement of rib members on a ring beam
support that converges on either a crown
connector or crown compression ring. The ring
beam support is needed to prevent splaying of
the rib members. Columns or load bearing
walls support the ring beam.

The

rib members are constructed of hot rolled

steel sections or cold rolled steel or
aluminum
Ribbed Dome
sections.

 The

framework of the rib members must

be braced to provide rigidity and thus
resist wind loads acting on the finished
dome.

Purlins

are installed on the ribs to support

the roof cover.

membrane ( steel sheet, geotextiles,

fiberglass polyester, ceramic panels) is
attached to purlins on the ribs.

 The

membrane provides the weather

proof roof cover to the dome. A false
dome ceiling is then attached to
underside of the framework for
aesthetic and acoustic reasons. An
example of a rib dome pretending to
be a shell dome is the dome of the
Capitol building in Washington, U.S.A.

Example of Ribbed
Dome Construction

This dome type is innovated from the flat grid roof

types. The grid framework is curved to provide the
dome shape. A ring beam is provided at the base of
the dome for transfer the loads of the beam to
supporting columns, walls or the foundations. The
dome can either be a single layer or double layer
grid structure.

The type of grid can be either a lattice grid or a

space grid. A roof cover membrane (steel sheet,
geotextiles, fiberglass polyesther, ceramic panels)
is attached to either purlins fixed on the grid
members or tied to directly to grid.

Grid Domes

Grid Domes

Detail of
Pin Joint
Grid Domes

 The

lamella dome is a type of grid roof. At

first sight, the lamella dome structure looks
like a grid dome. However grid dome systems
will use connector components for
assembling the longitudinal grid components
together.

The

lamella longitudinal members are joined

together without using connector
components. Its connections are generally
pin jointed. The grid network has
a diamond
Lamella
Domes
or rhombus or triangular grid pattern.

Construction of small scale dome

Lamella domes have been built for very

large indoor stadiums such as the
Astrodome of Houston, U.S.A.

This is a grid roof. It looks like lamella and grid domes

but the difference lies in the configuration of the grid
lines. The grid lines follow the pattern of points of the
intersecting geodesic lines on the dome.

A geodesic line is defined as a line that circumvents the

surface of a sphere. The points where geodesic lines
crisscross each other are called geodesic points. The
members of geodesic frame are not geodesic but the
positions of their connections are geodesic. The grid
members are either double or single layered.

The members in a geodesic dome are joined together

without using connector components. The
connections are generally pin jointed.Geodesic Dome

Detailing of Geodesic Dome

Geodesic Dome under construction and completed

This dome type is the oldest among these groups of

domes. The structural principle is that of a stressed
membrane due to its shape. Masonry was the first used
to create the membrane. The use of reinforced concrete
and then reinforced cement (ferro cement) allowed even
larger spans. A tension ring beam is located at the base
of the dome to counteract the thrusting forces of the
dome.

The thickness of the dome usually reduces as it

approaches the crown of the dome. To reduce the
weight of the dome, the crown may be a windowed hole
that is lined by a compression ring beam or the sides
can be perforated strategically to house windows. These
Shell
Domes
windows allow light to come in. This type of
dome
is less
used together as it is not as economical as the other
types of domes.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION