Building Construction Materials and Methods

Flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture notes on building construction materials and methods, including sustainability, project delivery, and construction processes.

Sustainability

Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Sustainable Buildings

Using less energy, consuming fewer resources, causing less pollution, reducing waste, protecting natural environments, providing healthier interiors, and minimizing adverse social impacts.

Type I Ecolabels

Independent, third-party certifications of environmental performance, ensuring unbiased, relevant, and reliable information.

Type II Self-Declared Environmental Claims

Environmental claims provided directly by product manufacturers, without independent verification, requiring users to exercise their own judgment.

Type III Environmental Impact Labels

Comprehensive assessments of products and their environmental impacts on a life-cycle basis, requiring user interpretation of the data.

Embodied Carbon

The total carbon-related greenhouse gas emissions associated with a building material.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

A rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council to evaluate building sustainability.

Living Building Challenge

A more ambitious sustainability standard that aims for buildings to do no environmental harm or even provide benefit to the environment.

Zoning Ordinances

Legal restrictions that govern the types of activities, building coverage, setbacks, parking, floor area, and building height on a given piece of land.

Building Codes

Regulations that protect public health and safety by setting minimum standards for construction quality, structural integrity, durability, and fire safety.

Occupancy

Classifications that establish different levels of life-safety hazard in buildings based on their use.

Construction Types

Categorizations of buildings based on their fire resistance, ranging from Type I (highly fire-resistant) to Type V (least fire-resistant).

Fire Resistance Rating

A measure of the ability of a building element to withstand fire, typically measured in hours.

MasterFormat

An outline used for organizing information about construction materials and systems, created by the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI).

UniFormat

A standard that organizes building systems information into functional groupings rather than by work tasks.

OmniClass Construction Classification System

An overarching scheme that attempts to incorporate multiple existing building information organizational systems into one system.

Design/Bid/Build

A project delivery method where the owner hires an architect/engineer team and a general contractor separately.

Design/Build

A project delivery method where one entity is responsible for both design and construction.

Construction Management

A project delivery method where a construction manager participates in the project prior to construction to provide construction expertise.

Turnkey Construction

A project delivery method where the owner contracts with a single entity that provides design, construction, and financing.

Fixed-Fee (Lump-Sum) Compensation

A method of paying for construction services where the contractor is paid a fixed amount regardless of their actual costs.

Cost Plus a Fee Compensation

A method of paying for construction services where the owner pays the contractor for the actual costs plus an additional amount for overhead and profit.

Surety Bonds

A legal instrument used to protect an owner from the risks of default by the contractor.

Performance Bond

A bond that assures completion of the construction.

Payment Bond

A bond that assures full payment to suppliers and subcontractors.

Sequential Construction

A construction approach where each major phase is completed before the next begins.

Phased (Fast Track) Construction

A construction approach that aims to reduce project time by overlapping design and construction phases.

Gantt Chart (Bar Chart)

A chart that represents the duration of various tasks in a project using horizontal bars.

Critical Path

The sequence of activities that determines the least amount of time in which a project can be completed.

Critical Path Method

The technique for analyzing activities and optimizing the project schedule to minimize duration and cost.

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD)

A collaborative project delivery approach where key parties share responsibilities, decision-making, and financial risks and rewards.

Lean Construction

Construction methods that aim to reduce complexity, eliminate wasteful activities, and structure the supply of materials for quicker workflow.

Building Information Modeling (BIM)

The computerized, three-dimensional modeling of building systems that links geometric and spatial representation with data describing component properties.