Sheathing, Steel Cutting and Concrete Slab Making for Corridors

This is a layer of fiber material or a board that can be applied on rafters, studs or exterior joists of a particular building to strengthen its structure as well as to act as a to serve the building. Sheathing is applied on walls, corners and the roofs of buildings.

Roof Sheathing
Installation of Roof Sheathing
Sheathings are nailed into the roof structure in a fairly straightforward procedure. The illustration below indicates how sheathing is installed. Sheathing, however, needs to conform to the ASTM standard requirements regarding the nails that are applied on the gypsum board (Build Your Own Home 1).

Installation of Roof Sheathing
Materials for Sheathing
Regarding wall sheathing, plywood, oriented strand, fiber board and the wafterboard are applied since they allow for enough bracing, and they can also resist lateral loads from the wall. Consequently, polystyrene, rigid glass fiber, fiber board and the boards coated with asphalt are used for the exterior coat. Materials for sheathing also vary based on the country since various areas have diverse building codes that are tailor-made to meet their environmental requirements. In this project, glass fiber has been selected as the main material based on the Company Teed.

Materials for Sheathing
GlasRoc Sheathing
This is a sheathing material that is made by use of glass reinforced gypsum, and the gypsum is made water resistant by placing it under a paperless polymer and an acrylic coated surface. This is aimed at enhancing its durability by helping to hinder the delamination of the glass mat-facer. The GlasRoc board is designed for use in a roofing system that is mechanically attached because it can provide limited irritation and fire resistance as compared to other gypsum boards made of glass mat.

Merits of GlasRoc Sheathing
Long-term protection to weather exposure for up to six months.
Powerful water resistant surface that can prevent the penetration of water.
Outstanding properties of fire resistance with several fire rated assemblies.
Resistance to mold and mildew.
High Compatibility with applications and the exterior wall system
It can easily conform to the requirements of building design and codes.
It is strong and flexible enough to bend over surfaces that are curved.
Handling and to installation is carried out easily without any difficulty and this is especially the case with the lightweight sheathing. The sample of GlasRoc layers and exterior cladding is indicated below.
Merits of GlasRoc SheathingMerits of GlasRoc Sheathing
Common Alternatives
Apart from the gypsum board, the fiber board can also be used; fiberboard, otherwise also called black board, buffalo board or gray board sheathing, is considered to be an engineered wood fiber product. Just as gypsum boards, fiberboard is used on the exterior of a building, and it is nailed straight into wall studs. Fiberboard is installed with a plywood panel on the corners of the building to enhance rigidity. Fiber board can provide shear strength, particularly when the requisite nails are used. Despite being good on sound isolation, fiberboard does not prevent mold growth and wood boring insects.

In conclusion, from my analysis; GlasRoc is the best choice necessary, especially in an environment characterized with rain, snow and wind.

Steel Cutting
There are various methods used to cut steel. The normal desired angle should be orthogonal to the surface of steel sheet being cut. The main objectives of sheet cutting are to narrow a cutting slit, minimize energy consumption and to maximize the quality of cut edges as well as to limit the influence of heat.

Gas Cutting
Oxy-fuel is popularly referred to as gas cutting or oxy welding. This process can be used to connect two metals at the same time it can also be used to cut metals. In both processes of cutting and joining metals, heat at high temperatures is used. The high temperatures are obtained by (acetylene mixed in some right proportion of oxygen). The range of the heat produced in this process is 5700-5800 Fahrenheit. This temperature range is hot enough to melt steel among other commercial metals (Bhatia 3).

History
The common ways in which were brazing, fusion welding, flame hardening, metalizing, soldering, stress relieving, cutting and bending (Bhatia 3). Currently, oxy-fuel processes are common in the following processes welding, brazing and cutting (Bhatia 3).

How it Works
How it Works
As pointed above, oxy-gas processes can be used both to cut and weld metals. The same apparatus shown above are used to for both processes. The only difference is that attachment. For the welding process, a welding attachment is attached but for the cutting process a cutting attachment is used. The cutting attachment is modified in such a way that it has an additional tube for high-pressure oxygen, along with a cutting tip or nozzle (Bhatia 43). The cutting attachment has more modifications as discussed below:

The tip is provided is provided with a center hole through which a jet of pure oxygen passes. Mixed oxygen and acetylene pass through holes surrounding the center holes for the preheating flames. The number of orifices for oxyacetylene flames ranges from 2 to 6, depending on the purpose for which the tip is used. The cutting torch is controlled by a trigger or lever operated valve. The cutting torch is furnished with interchangeable tips for cutting steel from less than one quarter inches to more than twelve inches in thickness. (Bhatia 43)

This is the cutting of steel using machines that can cut solids with a maximum pressure stream of water. This is aimed at keeping the spray coherent, and it was used during the ancient times. Water jet is used to cut thin and soft metals while abrasive jets can be used to cut hard metals. This operates in different modes of pressure ranging from 4.100 bars and 6.900 bars. It is available in two types namely: abrasive water jets and abrasive water suspension jets. Water jets are used in cutting the printed circuit boards, wire stripping, and food preparation, wood cutting and tool steel (Steel Cutting 1).

Advantages of Water Jet Cutting
No heat generated hence it is used in circumstances where too much heat may alter the properties of the metal.
It does not produce dust particles when inhaled unlike grinding or machining hence harmless.
Its width is small hence minimal waste of material during the cutting process.
It can be automated for maximum production.
Water cutters are much lighter than the laser cutters.
Disadvantages
Only small material can be cut economically, and the cutting rate can at times be reduced hence it can prove to be costly.
It is not applicable in cutting thick parts of the metal since it can compromise dimensional accuracy.
Taper can also be a problem when it comes to thick materials.
Slab on Grade
Slab on grade is available in two types namely: stem wall and monolithic. With monolithic foundation, you pour as a single structure with a thick perimeter. The perimeter holds the load of the exterior shirt, and it is approximately 8-12 inches thick whereas the interior of the slab is 4 inches thick. The concrete is always poured in single step unlike the stem wall that is poured in parts of three or four. Stem wall can be constructed on a concrete block and can be alternative to pour concrete. The various types of slabs are: the plain concrete slab, slab reinforced for shrinkage and temperature, the shrinkage compensation concrete and shrinkage reinforcement slab post-tensioned to offset shrinkage and slab reinforced for structural actions (Committee 58). Slab on grade is understood to be any concrete slab that is poured on a soil that is excavated as shown below.

Slab on Grade
Process of making a Slab on Grade
The first step is the preparation and the leveling of the ground area where the slab is to be constructed. The position should be attached with strings. The grid pattern of the channels is made where one of the channels lining on the perimeter of the building. The depth of the channels depends on the frost line and the opinion of the engineer. At this stage there should be an erection of a barrier that can aid in preventing moisture from tampering with the foundation. Furthermore, at this stage, plumbing pipes that pass through the foundation are laid down with a rebar that can strengthen the foundation.

The second stage is pouring the foundation: the quantity of cement poured depends on the size of the house. At this stage, a vibration tool can be used to clear away the air pockets that are applied along the foundation edge. After the pouring, the crew begins to level off the cement, and the final smoothing can be done. The ties are inserted mainly for the sake of sill plate. Tables are kept off the foundation.