Visit to a construction site

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Building Site Report 1st Semester Civil Engineering 2013, UET Lahore Page 1
Construction Site Visit
Introduction:
An assignment was given to us to visit a construction site and write a
report. Following were its objectives.
Objectives:
 To get an understanding how the theoretical knowledge is fitted in practice.
 To gain experience in building material science
 To develop our report writing skills.
Building Site:
The building we chose for visiting was a mosque being constructed. We
went there thrice, Observed the work there and asked different questions there.
 Name: Masjid Anwar-e-Madina
 Type of building: A double story Masjid
 Location : Dry Port, chungi number 3, Lahore Pakistan
 Site Engineer : Muhammad Azeem
 Contractor : Muhammad Shahid
 Reason for choosing this site: The main reason for choosing this site for
observation process and to see the theoretical knowledge being fitted in
practice is that this construction site was implementing all that theory
we have gone through at this stage. E.g Use of bricks, use of different
ratio mortar and cement, use of different aggregates and concretes like
PCC, RCC etc.
 Date of start : 12 January 2013
 Completion date : August 2014
 Dates of visits: 15 January 2014
18 January 2014 19 January 2014

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Observations and Questions
As this was our first visit to any construction site as to learn something.
Though We have seen many buildings being constructed but to Observe
something as a Civil Engineer was a different experience. We observed things and
asked questions to the workers and relevant person present there. Staring from
basic construction unit i.e Bricks
Bricks:
Bricks are the basic construction material widely used in almost all the
buildings. Bricks are of different types i.e. 1st
class bricks, 2nd
class bricks, 3rd
class
bricks. The bricks being used in construction at the site was 1st
class bricks with
red cheery color, sharp and straight edges.
Mark on bricks: 5.12
Experiment/Test on bricks:
I took two bricks and struck them together, a ringing metallic sound was
heard, which confirmed the good quality of bricks.
Question: what is the cost of the bricks in the market?
Answer by site engineer: There are different rates of bricks in
the market e.g Rs 8000 per 1000 bricks, Rs 8500 per 1000 bricks,

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Rs 8300 per 1000 bricks . These bricks are of good quality of Rs.
8500.
Mortars:
Mortar may be defined as a paste formed by mixing binding material, fine
aggregate and water in specific proportions. This paste hardens on drying and
binds the bricks, stones or concrete blocks together.Mortar being used at the
construction site was cement mortar.
Question : what are different ratios of cement-sand in mortars and
why they are different?
Answer by workers: There are different types of mortars depending upon
the c/s ratio. The more the cement, the more will be the strength so that’s
why different mortars are used.

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Following are the different ratios for different purposes.
*Ratios here are in volume.
Purpose c/s ratio *
For 9’’ brickwork 1:6
For 4.5’’ brick work 1:4
For plastering 1:4
For roof plaster 1:3

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Cement:
Cement is a bonding agent used to bind various construction materials like
bricks, stones, concrete blocks, etc. cement is mixed with water and corse and
fine aggregate as needed. Cement used at the sight was norml Portland cement.
 Name of company: Maple leaf
 Type: Normal Portland cement
 Weight/bag : 50 kg
 Strength: 1000 psi
 Cost/bag: Rs.510
 Reason for choosing OPC: As the conditions there were normal,general
construction works with no special properties of the other types were
required e.g high early strength, low heat of hydration, sulphur hazards
 w/c ratio: 22.5 litres water per 50 kg bag

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Aggregate:
Aggregates are the inert materials mixed with binding material like cement,
lime or mud in the preparation of mortar or concrete. At the site we observed
different types of aggregate e.g coarse aggregate, sand and fine aggregate.
Question : which corse aggregate it is?
Answer: it is margalla crush.
Question : what is the difference between Sargodha and
Margalla Crush? Which one is better?
Answer: margalla crush is better than Sargodha crush. We usually use
margalla crush. Margalla crush requires less water as compared to
Sargodha crush.
Question : What is the ratio of aggregate in concrete?
Answer: The ratio of concrete mix is 1:2:4.

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Concrete:
Concrete is the mixture of cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and
water in specific ratios.
At the site we observed different concrete being placed. The PCC and RCC were
being used. RCC was being used in minarets of the Mosque. We asked about the
ratios and setting time of concrete and collected following information.
 Ratio of concrete mix:
1:2:3
 Type: Plain cement
concrete, reinforced
cement concrete
 Setting time: 6-8 days
for roof and 8-12 days
for reinforced concrete.
Setting time depends
upon weather condition
too.
 curing: The roof is
completely dipped with
water for 10 days for
concrete curing.
 Wood shattering: Wood
shattering of roof is
removed after 15 days
when concrete gets
strength.

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Following are the photos taken at the site of concrete.

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Efflorescence on bricks:
We noticed the efflorescence
on the brick work. The reason
of this efflorescence was salt
presence in the bricks. We
asked about this. The worker
and engineer told us that this
is for the first time only. We
have been watering the wall
and after watering it happens.
When we will water it again
for plastering there would be
no efflorescence.

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Final look of building:

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Conclusion
My Personal experience of this report and the visits to the building site is very good. We
learned a lot by seeing the building being built and how it is made in real life. I have saw the
construction of building But now I saw it in different view, like some Civil engineer which is
checking out buildings. During the visits to the building site we were taking pictures of different
parts of the building. Also we asked some questions about the construction. During these visits
to the building site we were trying to notice as much as we can.

Visit to a construction site

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