National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli

CEIR 11 Basics of Civil Engineering

Topic: Plastering, Lintel, Beam, Columns and
Roofs
Plastering
 Plastering
▪ Plastering is applying a thin layer of mortar to walls, ceilings, and other surfaces
to create a smooth and durable finish.
▪ When done externally, it's called rendering.

Objectives of plastering
➢ To protect the external surfaces against penetration of rainwater and
other atmospheric agencies.
➢ To give smooth surface in which dust and dirt cannot lodge.
➢ To give decorative effect.
➢ To protect surfaces against vermin.
➢ To conceal inferior materials or defective workmanship.
Requirements of Good Plaster

➢ Strong adhesion in changing weather.

➢ Durability and hardness.
➢ Easy to work with.
➢ Applicable in any weather.
➢ Cost-effective.
➢ Prevents moisture infiltration.
Factors for the selection of type of plaster

➢ Availability of binding materials.

➢ Durability requirements.
➢ Finishing requirements.
➢ Atmospheric conditions and variations in weather.
➢ Location of surface (i.e., exposed surface or interior surfaces).
 Types of Mortars

Lime Mortar Cement Mortar

Lime Cement Mortar

1. Lime Mortar
 1. Lime Mortar
▪ Lime mortar for plastering can be fat lime or hydraulic lime.
▪ Fat lime is preferred for its easy slaking and putty formation.
▪ Hydraulic lime slakes slowly, causing surface damage if unslaked particles
remain. It yields a harder surface.
▪ For hydraulic lime, dry grinding with sand, waiting, and regrinding are required.
▪ Mix ratios (lime: sand) are 1:3 to 1:4 for fat lime and 1:2 for hydraulic lime.
▪ Adding gugal (1.6 kg/m³) enhances binding, and chopped hemp (1 kg/m³)
improves adhesion and prevents cracks.
2. Cement Mortar
 2. Cement Mortar
▪ Cement mortar best for external plaster due to non-absorbent property.
▪ Preferred over lime plaster in damp conditions.
▪ Offers higher strength than lime mortar.
▪ Mix ratio: (cement : sand ) ranges from 1:4 to 1:6
▪ Use clean, coarse, angular sand.
▪ Ensure thorough dry mixing before adding water.
▪ Use the mortar within 30 minutes of water addition.
 3. Lime Cement Mortar
▪ Lime cement mortar combines properties of both lime and cement mortar.
▪ Lime enhances plasticity, creating a smoother plastered surface.
▪ Common mix ratios: 1:1:6, 1:1:8, or 1:2:8 (cement : lime : sand).
▪ Typically employs fat lime.
Lintel
 Lintel

A lintel is a horizontal structural member which is placed across openings such as

doors, windows, and corridors, to support the portion of the structure above it.

➢ Wooden lintel
➢ Brick lintel (Arches)
➢ Stone lintel
➢ Steel lintel
➢ RCC lintel
1. Wooden Lintels
➢ Oldest type of lintels
➢ Nowadays they are used in hilly areas
where timber is available.
➢ Only good quality timber with a coat of a
suitable preservative should be used.
➢ One piece of timber or a built-up section
may be used as a lintel.
➢ Ends of lintels rest on a mortar on the walls
for a minimum width of 15 cm.
➢ If it is used in ventilated places, it is liable
for decay
➢ It is easily liable to catch fire.
2. Brick Lintels
➢ Brick lintels are used for openings,
generally exceeding 1 m span and light
loads.
➢ Bricks used should be hard, well-burnt,
copper-colored, free from cracks and
straight-edged.
➢ The depth of the lintel varies from to 10
cm to 30 cm depending upon the span.
➢ A centering or timber supporting is
required to construct brick lintel.
➢ When lintels are constructed to span
over large opening, mild reinforcing
bars are used with rich cement mortar. It
is known as reinforced brick lintel.
3. Stone Lintels
➢ Stone lintels are used in stone masonry
structures and buildings faced with
stones.
➢ It may be constructed of a single piece
or more than one piece.
➢ Its use is restricted to monumental
buildings or in hilly areas due to high
cost and weakness in withstanding
excessive transverse stresses.
➢ The least thickness of the stone lintel is
about 7.5 cm and as a thumb rule the
thickness is taken as at least 1 mm per
one cm length of the opening.
4. Steel Lintels
➢ Steel angles are used for spanning small
openings and rolled steel joists are used
for heavy loading and large spans.
➢ Sometimes, a combination of two or
more joists is used.
➢ Tube separators are used to keep the
Rolled Steel Joists in the required
positions.
➢ The system may be embedded in cement
concrete to protect steel, from fire and
corrosion.
5. RCC Lintels
5. RCC Lintels
➢ Economical and simple in construction and are commonly used.
➢ They are more durable, strong, and fire-resistant.
➢ It consists of a rectangular or square concrete section reinforced with mild steel
bars.
➢ The depth of the lintel and the amount of reinforcement is governed by the
intensity of load, the type of support, and the span.
➢ Generally, 1:2:4 concrete is used. It can be pre-cast or cast-in-situ.
➢ Precast RCC lintels are preferred for small spans up to 2 m. It increases the speed
of the construction and quality control is better in this case.
➢ For cast-in-situ lintels, a centering is erected.
Loads on Lintels
➢ A lintel carries the weight of the wall
enclosed in a triangle with a base equal to
the effective span of the lintel and the side
angle of 60°.
➢ This consideration assumes that if a lintel
falls, the amount of brickwork which would
collapse with it would probably be
something between a semi-circular arch and
an equilateral triangle.
➢ This is only valid when the lintel is placed in
the middle of the wall.
Beam
 Beam
➢ A beam is a horizontal structural member subjected to a system of external
forces at right angles to its axis.
➢ In general, the beams can be classified as follows:
a) Cantilever Beam
b) Simply supported beam
c) Over hanging beam
d) Rigidly fixed beam
e) Continuous beam
 Types of Beam
a) Cantilever beam: A beam fixed in one end and free at the
other is called as cantilever beam.
b) Simply supported beam: A beam supported or resting freely
on walls or columns at it both ends, is known as simply
supported beam.
c) Over hanging beam: A beam having its end portion extended
beyond the support is known as an over hanging beam.
d) Continuous Beam: A beam supported on more than two
supports is known as a continuous beam. It may or may not be
an over hanging beam.
e) Rigidly Fixed Beam: A beam whose both ends, are rigidly
fixed in walls is known as rigidly fixed beam or built-in beam.
 Types of Loading on Beam
I. Concentrated or point toad
II. Uniformly distributed load
III. Uniformly varying load
IV. Arbitrary load
V. Couple loading
 Span of the Beam
➢ The horizontal distance between the supporting walls is known as clear span of
the beam.
➢ The horizontal distance between the lines of action of the supporting walls is
known as effective span.
Column
 Column
➢ Reinforced concrete columns may be
constructed in square, rectangular,
hexagonal, or circular shapes.
➢ Longitudinal reinforcements are provided
to take up the major load coming over
the columns.
➢ Lateral ties are provided to keep the main
reinforcement in position and to take up
the shrinkage and; temperature stresses.
➢ They also provide lateral rigidity which
checks the buckling of the longitudinal
bars.
➢ These ties may be provided in the form of
spiral.
 Specification for RCC column
➢ The spiral lateral ties are advantageous as they provide extra strength to the column.
➢ The longitudinal bars should not be less than 0.8 percent and not more than 8
percent of the cross-sectional area of the column.
➢ The minimum concrete cover provided around the bar is 4 cm.
➢ The pitch of the lateral ties is not more than 30 cm or the least dimension of the
➢ column or four times the diameter of the longitudinal bar.
➢ The volume of the lateral reinforcing steel should not be less than 4 percent of the
total volume of column.
➢ Minimum 4 and 6 numbers of longitudinal bars should be used for rectangular and
circular column, respectively.
Placing of shuttering before concreting
 Placing of reinforcement steel
➢ Formwork is a mold including all supporting structures, used to shape and support
the concrete until it attains sufficient strength to carry its own weight.
 Procedure
➢ Longitudinal bars and lateral ties are fixed in the position and then shuttering is
erected.
➢ With the aid of suitable fillets, the gap between the bars and the shuttering is
maintained to have a suitable concrete cover.
➢ Concrete is poured into it and well compacted.
➢ Again, the shuttering is provided for the second stage, and concreting is done as
usual.
➢ This process of casting is continued till the full column is complete, but the rate of
casting is not more than 2 meters in height per hour.
➢ The concreting in the column should be stopped a few centimeters below the level
of the beams running into the columns. This portion of the column is concreted
with the beam
Shattering removed once the concrete is set
 Steel Columns
➢ Steel columns are more dependable and safer compared to cast iron and other
metal columns.
➢ One or two angles are used as compression member in roof trusses, light towers and
lattice girders.
➢ Two or four angles starred and connected by batter plates spaced at intervals of 1 to
1.3 meters are sometimes used to support light loads.
➢ Latticed columns made up of channel angles connected by, lattice bars are often
used where light loads are to be supported on long columns.
Steel Columns
Slab
 Slab
➢ A slab is a structural element with its thickness being small (~150 mm) compared to
the other two dimensions.
➢ Most of the slabs in construction are rectangular in plan and can be divided into two
categories.
➢ One-way slabs, simply supported, cantilevered, or continuous; bending in one
direction only.
➢ Two-way slabs, simply supported, cantilevered, or continuous; bending in two
directions.
 One-way Slab
➢ One-Way Slab = (Length-to-breadth
(L/B) ratio of slab ≥ 2)
➢ One-way slabs span in one direction
only and may have simply supported
beam or edges over which the slab is
continuous.
➢ The assumption is that of unidirectional
bending in the direction of the span.
 Two-way Slab
➢ Two-Way Slab = (Length-to-breadth (L/B) ratio of slab < 2)
➢ The term two-way slab may be attributed to such cases in which the load is
carried in two directions.
 Roofs
➢ Roof may be defined as a covering provided over the top of a building to protect
the building from the adverse effect of rain, snow, sun, wind, etc.
➢ It basically consists of roof covering materials supported on structural elements
installed on the building top.
➢ Structural elements may be trusses, portals, flat slab, shell, dome or space frame.
➢ Roof covering material may be thatch, wooden singles, tiles, slates, A.C. sheets, G.I
sheets etc.
➢ Classification of roof
a. Pitched or Sloping Roofs
b. Flat Roofs
c. Curved Roofs
a) Pitched/Sloped Roofs
➢ It is the most common form of roof
➢ Cheapest alternative for covering a
structure.
➢ They are always constructed in wood or
steel.
➢ Wooden pitched roof consists of a system
of joists, rafters and purlins arranged in the
form of a triangular shaped support known
as truss.
➢ The lower ends of the rafter rest upon the
wall plates and at their upper end they are
connected to a common ridge piece.
a) Pitched/Sloped Roofs
a) Pitched/Sloped Roofs
➢ In pitched roof a slope of less than 1 in 3 is generally not considered satisfactory
from drainage point of view.
➢ In areas of heavy snow fall, steeper slopes of say 1 to ½ or 1:1 are provided to
reduce the incidence of snow load on the roof.
➢ The slope of the roof varies according to the span, the climatic conditions of the
site, the nature of the covering material and other similar factors.
➢ The selection of covering material depends upon various factors such as availability
of material, its initial cost and cost of maintenance, appearance and durability.
a) Pitched/Sloped Roofs
Roof Covering for Pitched Roofs
The various types of roof covering are:
➢ Thatch covering
➢ Shingles, Tiles, Slates
➢ Asbestos-cement sheets
➢ Galvanized corrugated iron sheets
b) Flat Roofs
➢ Where the rainfall is low, flat roofing is preferred over sloping roof.
➢ A gentle slope is given to the surface for the free flow of rainwater.
b) Flat Roofs
Advantages:
➢ The construction of roof is simplified.
➢ It is easier to make a flat roof as fireproof than a sloping roof.
➢ The roof area can be utilized for roof gardens, drying yards, etc.
➢ The terrace can conveniently be used for sleeping in hot season.
➢ The construction work of upper floors can easily be started. In case of a pitched
roof, the entire roof is to be removed and is to be replaced by a new floor under
such circumstances.
➢ A flat roof is found to be economical than a pitched roof.
b) Flat Roofs
Disadvantages:
➢ Flat roofs cannot be used for long spans.
➢ Cracks are developed on the surface of the roof, when the variation in temperature
is high.
➢ Pockets of water are formed on the surface of the roof, if slopes are not sufficient.
This leads to the leakage of the roof.
➢ At places where rainfall is heavy, flat roofs are not desirable.
b) Flat Roofs
Disadvantages:
➢ Flat roofs cannot be used for long spans.
➢ Cracks are developed on the surface of the
roof, when the variation in temperature is
high.
➢ Pockets of water are formed on the surface
of the roof, if slopes are not sufficient.
This leads to the leakage of the roof.
➢ At places where rainfall is heavy, flat roofs
are not desirable.
c) Curved Roofs
➢ These are just the modification of pitched
roofs and are frequently used to cover large
areas.
➢ Shell Roofs and Domes are the variety of
Curved Roofs.
➢ They are used in factories, and monuments.
➢ They are constructed of timber, steel or
RCC.
➢ Shell roof are of two types:
i. North light shell roof
ii. Barrel vault shell roof
c) Curved Roofs
i. North light shell roof
➢ Industrial roof, design to maximize the amount of diffused daylight reaching inside
the factory
➢ This type of roof consist of series of parallel mono-pitch roof with glazing in the
vertical edges below the ridges with usually faces north
➢ Cheap construction and provide pleasant appearance.
c) Curved Roofs
ii. Barrel vault shell roof
Green Roofs
 Green Roofs
➢ A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely
covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing
membrane.
➢ It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and
irrigation
➢ systems
➢ Container gardens on roofs, where plants are maintained in pots, are not considered
to be true green roofs
➢ Green roofs serve several purposes for a building, such as absorbing rainwater,
providing insulation, creating a habitat for wildlife, decreasing stress of the people
around the roof by providing a more aesthetically pleasing landscape and helping to
lower urban air temperatures
Green Roofs