Building Foundation

"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." - Henry David Thoreau An indispensably integral structure of any construction, the foundation, carries deep implications with respect to the overall structure of a building. A lot rests on how well it is built for it is the base that supports the weight of the entire house. Commonly made from concrete for homes, it is vital that the foundation work is done carefully. It is that structure of the house that transfers the weight of the building onto the earth below and provides support for the intense weight above. The depth of the foundation varies with the size of the building structure. Small and medium homes are built upon shallow foundations whereas large construction buildings necessitate a deep foundation. There are certain factors that construction engineers must consider while laying a home foundation. Undoubtedly, building the foundation of your house is one of the most important tasks to be undertaken when building a house. A foundation can enhance the beauty of any building but if laid incorrectly it can become unstable. Here are a few pointers that you must remember while laying a house foundation.

How To Build House Foundation

• It is always better to hire an engineer to inspect and approve of the concrete foundation that has been laid. This may cost you a bit but safety is best not compromised with. You definitely need to consult an engineer if you plan to have a basement.
• You can approach a surveyor who will inspect the plot before your start footing work. This will also help get the outline of your house marked.
• Once the surveyor has marked the position of the house, you need to get the excavator to dig soil for laying the foundation. Do not forget to consult your electrician and plumber to get the required excavation for these connections done at the same time.
• The electrician will lay pipes for electrical connections, cable and telephone. The wires will be connected to the various utilities as and when required. The plumber will look after the water connections and drainage. You must get all these connections inspected by the concerned regulatory authorities.
• Depending on the quality of the soil excavated, you may need to procure the appropriate soil type like pit run or drain rock. You may also need extra soil if you have to increase the level of soil. Ensure that the soil is leveled with proper equipment before the foundation is laid.
• Contact your electrician, plumber and heating company to ask them if they want anything installed in the foundation before the concrete is poured.
• Ensure that the footings and the foundation are laid at the same time. This way the concrete can be poured simultaneously for both.
• The foundation is usually stripped a day after the concrete is poured. Place the material that is stripped in such a way that it stays clean and does not obstruct ongoing construction work.
• Waterproofing is necessary for those areas of the foundation that are below the ground level.
• You need to place drain tiles along the edge of the house if there is a basement in the house. The top of the drain tile must be placed adjacent to the footing or foundation joint. If your municipality does not allow you to connect your pipe to the sewer then you will have to run the pipe to a gravel pit.
• All the electrical and water connections that you fix must be inspected by the authorities. Once the drain tile is inspected, backfilling and grading can begin.
• The concrete part of the structure must be done thoroughly. For this, you can hire a professional concrete finisher.

To prevent your house from sinking into the ground or getting blown away, a strong foundation is a must. Use quality materials for your foundation, garage, driveway and sidewalks. Make use of steel wherever needed for strengthening and holding things in place. A robust and well-laid foundation can be your best investment.


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Construction Of The Krasnoyarsk Subway

The fact that Krasnoyarsk  has a subway or rather is under construction is not known to many. The project is underway and it is predicted to start operation in 2012 with 3 stations. The project is meant to have 3 lines and over 30 stations. The construction began way back in 1993, but due to lack of funds it was stalled. Currently, the construction has resumed and work is at full swing to meet the 2012 deadline.

This is how everything is at the moment.

The need for a subway at the growing city of Krasnoyarsk was put up in the 60s.  But the master plan came out in the 70s. In 1983-84, the decision was made and the transport scheme was created. Feasibility studies for the Krasnoyarsk subway were conducted but were halted in 1989. Design work was resumed during the Post-Soviet Russia in 1993 and by 1994, the technical project of the first phase of the first line was evaluated and approved by the State Construction Comittee of Russia.

Preparatory and capital drilling works began in 1994. Direct construction – “when the first bucket of earth was pulled out” - began on October 17th, 1995. At the “Revolution Square” station work began on January 30, 1996. By 2003 , the trunk had passed the desinged depth of 71.2 m. On the surface, temporary structures and equipment necessary for the work  had been put up. On the site, drilling and tunneling was done for the construction of a “pumping chamber” and a bypass tunnel.

The Locomotive Cab. On the dashboard were all sorts of funny and positive inscriptions. Funny how these Krasnoyarsk diggers can be.

Work on the Vokzalnaya station began on August 19, 1996. But due to inadequate funds it could not be completed by 2003. It had passed the 69.4 m design mark by then. A metering chamber and an underground bunker store were constructed. By then the tunnel boring machine was already underground!

On a lighter note, another inscription saying “let there be no subway.”

In 1998, funds became inadequate. Allocations from the city’s administration were not coming. In 1999, the situation got so critical that the CEO of the “Krasnometrostroya” – a unit of  ”OAO Bamtonnelstroy”- threatened to shut down the water suction pumps.

From the tunnel to the trunk.

On December 26, 2001, the domestic KPSCH- 12 Tunnel shield located at a depth of 60 feet on the  second shaft,  started boring leftwards towards the future station of Kupylova Street. This was done, of course, after preliminary work and construction were done. In July 2003 a factory with an automatic rotary line for the production of high concrete blocks for lining tunnels was established in Krasnoyarsk. Equipment was made available by the French firm CBE. The plant produces upto 11 units per shift. Thus reinforced concrete blocks were available for the construction of subways in Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirisk and Chelyabinsk. By this time the KPSCH -12 was already on the 242m mark on the left tunnel. After the mechanized console was installed, the excavation rate significantly increased.

Trash and stuff at the workspace.

In 2008 the Federal Government allocated over $28 million for the construction of the Krasnoyarsk subway.

Down the tunnel. There is a light at the end. Somehow the saying  is true.

Deeper.

More deeper.

In 2009, the construction of the Revolution Square station was halted. The shafts were refilled with sand.

An Intercom.

Silence! Machines at work.

Beyond the wooden boards is the earth.

On the way to the water suction.

A future heater unit. (The water suction area)

Just beyond the Suction area, the explosives storage unit.

The cleanest part of the construction site- the Transformer unit

This jail-like lift is used by workers to get into the tunnel.

In the lift going up.

The future Vysotnaya station.

It’s beautiful in the portals.

The same goes on for over 1.5 kilometers.

Location: Krasnoyarsk

New China Straddling Amazing Bus Train System

Why to build such a system? Need
The Chinese plan to blend two of the most widely used means of transportation into one, effective use of the infrastructure.

China Futuristic New Amazing Train System

Instead of creating additional railways on which trains to travel, China is planning to use the existing roads as railways, with minor touches here and there, of course. Quite ingenious and logical, the way it works pretty much speaks for itself. Using existing road networks, the train is said to eliminate congestion whilst avoiding major changes in the road and public transport infrastructure. This also heaps keep costs to a minimum.
The ever-expanding Chinese have been getting quite creative lately, especially when it comes to combating traffic and congestion issues. The country is one of the world’s highest polluters, with city congestion not helping the situation. This has provoked Shenzhen Huashi Future, the guys usually responsible for all kinds of crazy car park designs, to come up with this extremely innovative traffic straddle train system.
Far quicker and cheaper to build than a subway or monorail system, the Straddling Bus system simply requires modification to existing roads, and the creation of a network of elevated bus stops. The road mods can either comprise inlaid rails – at a 30 percent energy saving due to lack of rolling resistance – or simply a painted colored line, which the buses can be programmed to follow autonomously as they roll on regular tires. Clearly the latter would be exceptionally cheap to deploy, requiring almost no disruption to the road.
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Details of the railway system – How it will be done?
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The three-dimensional fast bus will be deploying its wheels on each side of the road, on the rails fitted there. The actual wagons will be situated way up, over 2 meters higher than the surface of the road. Through its belly, the cars can keep on driving without being in anyway stopped from doing so by the train riding above.
The buses are 6 meters wide and 4.5 meters high, so they can straddle two lanes of traffic, and yet still fit under most existing overpasses. Each bus will have a capacity of 1,200 people, which sounds like a ridiculously large number, but then it’s worth remembering that China already has 120 cities with more than a million inhabitants – and by 2030 it will have double that. You simply can’t think in normal numbers when it comes to China.
According to the company, the entire railway will take one year to build and will cost 500 million yuan ($73 million). As for the train itself, it will be capable of transporting from 1,200 to 1,400 passengers. It uses only electricity or solar power and can travel by speeds of up to 60 km/h (37 mph). The system is hoped to help cut congestion by about 20 to 30 percent.
The train’s wheels are tracked alongside the outer edges of a motor vehicle lane using rails, allowing the carriage to physically roll over the top of the ordinary traffic. Of course, the special lanes that run under the train are restricted to light vehicle motorists with specific height limits.
The fully electric buses charge themselves in a new and unique way – which is called relay charging. All along each route, there are charging stations positioned in such a way that there is always a charging post in contact with the bus. The roof of the bus is itself an electrical conductor, so as it brushes against one of these charging posts, it’s juiced up as it runs. As its main load is starting and stopping at each station, the bus runs on high-power, fast-discharge super capacitors. The remaining energy after a start can sustain the bus through to the next stop.
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What if the cars or rail has to turn to sides?
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Since the buses will need to be able to turn off one road and onto another, it’s important to warn any cars trapped beneath the bus that something’s about to happen – and to warn the bus driver or automated pilot system that there’s still cars beneath. A laser/radar system is being employed to warn drivers about a bus’s intentions, and there’s even talk of integrating the bus with the traffic lights in such a way that when the cars wish to turn the same way as the bus is turning, they’ll get a green turn light, but the traffic moving straight ahead will be stopped at a distance that allows the straddling bus to turn.
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When the project will complete
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Reports say the entire 185km railway planned will take about one year to build, costing 500 million yuan (AU$80 million). That’s not all that expensive for a major infrastructure change, especially as developers say the system will be capable of transporting up to 1400 commuters, reducing overall congestion by as much as 30 percent.

source: http://www.aboutcivil.com