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Building Preliminaries

SITE SELECTION

When choosing the location of the planned building, the responsible builder will strongly advise his

client to avoid building on valuable farm land, if possible.

Most Rural Builders come from farming communities; they are building for farmers, and they also

do farming themselves. Thus they are very conscious of the land and know that good land should

never be wasted by building on it.

Moreover, the Rural Builder is aware that there are a number of advantages in building on higher,

stony areas not suitable for farming.

Some of the advantages are:The higher the building is situated, the healthier and more comfortable It will be to live in,

because of the better ventilation and the reduced danger from dampness rising from the ground.

Building materials such as stones and laterite are often available on the spot, and do not need to

be brought from far away.

The soil in higher areas is more likely to be the desired type to form a firm base for the house.

This makes the construction of the foundations easier, and reduces the amount of building

materials required, keeping the costs lower.

Some disadvantages are:

Excavations will require more effort.

Be aware of sliding soil in case of a slope.

NOTES: Foundations should be on soil of rock of the same nature to avoid differences of 

settlement.

LOCATION PLAN

When building a house or any other structure one must have certain information available, in

order to arrive at the best and most economical result.

The most basic information is the location, size and nature of the plot. This is contained in the

location plan, which shows the plot and the immediate surroundings in scale. The scale can be

from 1:200 up to 1:1000, depending on the size of the project.

The plan outlines the shape of the plot and the dimensions of its boundaries, as well as the

location of the future building. It should also show the nature of the area, because it is very

important to know whether the site is sloping or if the ground is uneven.

Roads, drive ways and the positions of the bigger trees are also marked on the location plan (Fig.

1).

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In Rural Building, location plans are often not available, so in order to get the necessary

information, both the client and the builder have to examine the plot thoroughly. Important

matters such as the best position for the future building are discussed and decided on the spot.

When the site has been examined thoroughly and all the measurements and particulars have bee

. obtained, the drawings for the house can be prepared.

- NOTE: Before the building can be started, all the required drawings have to be ready, and at the

disposal of the foreman. Before you can prepare any drawings, you need to have all the

particulars of the site.

 WORKING DRAWINGS

The working drawings are the drawings which the builder uses before the construction starts and

during the construction; to plan for materials requirements, to plan the work; and finally to carry!" !"$

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out the construction according to the directions contained in the drawings.

The drawings include "plans", "cross sections", "elevations", and "detail drawings". They are all

prepared in scales which art suitable to the particular drawing. The first three types of drawing

have a scale of between 1:50 and 1:20.

PLANS:

A plan is a view that shows a certain layer or horizontal section of a building as if it were looked atfrom above. The plans usually include the "floor plan", which shows the walls, positions of the

doors and windows, etc.; the "foundation plan" gives the dimensions of the foundations and

footings; and the "roof plan" which shows the shape of the roof ind its dimensions. The floor plan

and the foundation plan are often combirad into one drawing.

CROSS SECTIONS:

A cross section is a drawing which shows the inside of the structure; as if the building were cut

into two (see the Drawing Book, pages 61 and 62. The exact position where the cross section is

taken has to be shown on the plan.

ELEVATIONS:

These are the views of the building as it would look from the outside (see pages 59 and 60 in the

Drawing Book).

DETAIL DRAWINGS:

These show members or portions of the structure in a larger scale than the other drawings; such

as 1:10, 1:5, 1:2,5, etc.

Detail drawings are made when:

There is not enough space in the other drawings to clearly indicate all the requiredmeasurements.

The member of the structure is too small to be properly shown in the other drawings.

The member has a complicated shape and more views or cross sections are needed toexplain it .

Important construction hints have to be pointed out.

The member is built up from several different materials.

The working drawings have to show the various materials used in the structure. This enables the

builder to make a list of the materials that will be required and the amount of each material.

When this is done the builder can estimate the cost of the building and order the materials he will

need. Ordering materials has to be done in advance so that the materials are there when they are

needed.

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PLOT AND SITE CLEARING

Once the planning work has been completed, the plot and site both have to be prepared for the

setting out. The location plan shows exactly from which areas the trees, bushes, grass and stones

must be removed. The ground is levelled. The part of the plot which is cleared will be the actual

site that the future building will occupy, including a space of about 5 m au around the building.

One very important measure is to remove all the tree roots from the site area. If the roots

remain, they will sometimes grow again and might damage the structure.

Clearing does not mean that all the trees on the whole plot are removed. Beyond the 5 m dear

space, as many trees as possible should be allowed to remain, because they will provide shade for

the people using the building or living there.

SITE ORGANIZATION

The first step in organizing the site is deciding where to make the driveway.

Next, choose the area where the building materials will be stored and arrange the storage

facilities. Certain materials like sand and stones may have to be located, excavated, and

transported to the site. This can be done as soon as the storage areas are located.

The building materials should not be stored too far away from the working place, nor should they

be too close.

Space has to be provided for making blocks, and for mixing concrete and mortar. This also should

not be too close to the future building.

The same applies to any temporary work sheds or storage sheds that are erected.

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 WATER SUPPLY

Any kind of building would be impossible without water. Therefore one of the main tasks of the

builder is to provide a guaranteed supply of clean water.

Usually piped water is not available, so it is advisable to build a simple water tank, or else dig a

well (http://autonopedia.org/crafts-and-technology/water-technology/understanding-water-wells/) If this is

possible.

The water tank should be located so that after construction is completed it can be used to store

rain water collected from the roof. The best site will be close to either gable end of the house so

that the rainwater from the gutters can be fed into the tank directly.

Investigate the possibilities for digging a well, as this would eliminate the need to transport water

and thus cut down on unnecessary effort and cost.

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