Want Low Weight Construction 1

rational611 · Jul 27, 2003

I am a house owner from India. I have a question to ask but I do not know if it can be asked here. If not please tell me where I can get an answer to my question.

I own a single storied (just groundfloor) RCC roofed house.
The walls are made of mud bricks and cement. However the house has not been built using reinforced columns and so the roof rests on the walls. I want to construct the first floor. But as luck would have it the walls have developed cracks. The construction people I talk to were of the opinion that the ground floor would not be able to support a floor on it and hence any construction of the first floor would mean that the whole house would have to be demolished and the construction would have to be done from the scratch. However I am a little averse to this idea. Is there any low weight construction technology available for the construction of higher floors which can solve my problem?

rational611

Focht3 · Jul 27, 2003

Wow. I would not put any additional weight on the existing walls under any circumstances. They already have problems...

You could put new footings - and columns - inside your home to support a second floor. And you would have to support the new roof on your new construction, and make the second floor's perimeter walls of wood. (This would only work if the weight of the new second floor's wood wall exerted less force on the existing walls than the current roof system.) The design and construction of the upper floor would be tricky...

You need to talk to a local structural engineer and get his/her advice.

[pacman]

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RDK · Jul 27, 2003

Generally the live loads (due to use and occupancy) are greated than the dead loads (the weight of the building itself). Thus even low weight construction would not have many advantages in your situation.

Focht3's suggestion is a good one.

Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion

http://www.kitsonengineering.com

cvg · Jul 31, 2003

I hope your area in India is not in a seismic zone! If so, the cracked, mud brick walls will not withstand any lateral load and will likely fail during even a moderate earthquake. The reinforced columns for the second floor should have lateral bracing. Wood construction should be able to withstand the seismic forces better, but should be securely anchored to the columns.

Focht3 · Jul 31, 2003

If you discover that you are in an earthquake zone, then [blue]cvg[/blue]'s point about wall collapse is correct - and quite serious. In that case, a tear-down and rebuild should result in a much safer home...and would be strongly advised...

Put another way -

If your current home is in an earthquake zone, I'd sell it and build a new, sturdier home on a new lot. Larger, and one story. Really.

[pacman]

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Want Low Weight Construction 1

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