The Condition Survey of the Hotel - Case Study Example

 Project Management for Construction, Technology Studies Results of the Hotel Condition Survey After the condition survey of the hotel, it was found out that there are signs of wear due to age and maintenance neglect. There is an indication that damp is rising to the ground floor walls. Penetrative damp to the upper external walls is also very visible. There is a very strong indication that woodworm is present in the woodworks of the building. Wet and dry rot also appears to have infested to the timber materials of the hotel. Damp is one of the most common problems that is being encountered in homes and other dwelling places. It is no surprise that damp was one of the main problems of the hotel maintenance department because UK copes up with around 25,000 gallon of water every year. Most damp problems are much less serious than they actually look. Damp can be very bad for our health. It can aggravate respiratory problems and even invites mites and moulds. The effects of damp can be very serious, and even makes the whole surroundings cold and unappealing. Damp can be anywhere. It could be on the roof, the walls, floors windows, doors and pipe works. Oftentimes, the presence of damp can be detected. An example of which is if a wet patch is seen on top of a wall, the cause can be due to a leaking gutter outside. The cause of a rising damp is water soaking up through porous materials like concrete hollow blocks into the floors and walls of the property, and it usually occurs in buildings which did not have any waterproofing in the course of its construction. Thus, rising damp can be detected easily. If the walls feel damp and cold to touch, or if there are stains on wall decorations or if the wall is in contact with the ground, then we can conclude that there is rising damp in the area. However rising damp rarely goes up above one meter on the wall. Penetrating damp is usually caused by the building plumbing. The problem comes in when water is allowed to enter the property. Symptoms of rising damp usually becomes visible during the wet weather. It normally affects roofs, ceilings and walls. Water marks appear it water continues to enter the house. It can be caused by gutter or roof problems which had allowed rainwater to spill in and saturate area of walls. This is often seen in old houses, that has solid wall. Penetrating damp is very difficult to locate, and may require professional help. There are several method in treating damps. Rising damp is worse at the bottom of a wall than at the top. Aside from blocked airbricks, the most common cause is “bridging”, this is when soil from the garden climbs up directly on the house wall, and trapping moisture. This problem is common and can be easily done. Dig away the soil from the house, so that the soil can no longer butt in the walls. A method used in old properties is the injection of chemical in the problem areas. If the damp is rising through the floorboard, a damp-proof membrane may be torn so it is best to have a refitting. Penetrating damps usually forms when water gets in the property. It will be best to check everything inside and around the property. Examine in details gutters, downpipes, flashings, and window frames. Make sure that there are no blocks. Check the sealing of window frames to make sure that there must be a drip groove to shed rainwater. If there are blocks, clear them thoroughly. An ill-fitted roofing on a flat roof will likely cause damp, and a cracked wall can let in water. Repair a cracked wall with filler and fit insulation rubber to all door frames. Application of exterior water proofing fluid will be useful if the exterior brickwork is already porous, A damp proof course is also one method of avoiding rising damp. This is a method wherein two layers of bricks with a space between can prevent damp. This is usually installed at the bottom of the wall. The presence of woodworm was also noted in the condition survey that was conducted. Woodworm is the larvae of any wood-boring beetle. This is one of the most common problems met in UK. Wood can be infected with larvae without you noticing its presence. It may take several years before you will discover the infestation. A misconception that woodworm affects only old properties is wrong. It cause damage to newly built properties as well. There are ways or symptoms from which we can detect the presence of woodworms. Woodworms in woodwork includes the presence of small round holes. There are fine powdery dust around the holes (known as frass). Edges to boards and joist are crumbly or rough. Presence of adult beetles around the house or emerging from the holes is also a very strong sign that woodworms are present in the woodworks. Finding frass from back or underside of furniture is an indication of the presence of woodworm. Treatment of woodworms can be done in order to save the timber. First the identification of the species is needed. Determine also if the infestation is still in progress. Next consult a timber specialist to determine which timber are to be replaced and those can still be treated. Timber that is totally infested needs to be replaced with pre treated one. Other woodworks will also need treatment. Professional consultation is recommended for the treatment of a bigger scale of infestation and for the removal and replacement of woodworks. The percentage of damaged woodworks in the hotel is very impressive. Fumigation and total replacement of the timber materials in the hotel is strongly recommended. There are several ways of preventing the infestation of woodworks. Keeping the levels of low humidity and ensuring that the wood is well-ventilated. Check and remove pieces of furniture or timber that are infested to avoid the spread of woodworms. Wet and dry rot were also seen in the in the survey. These are the two types of fungal decay. Dry rot is a fungus species that infects buildings and requires less moisture than the wet rot. It can spread very fast in all direction throughout the building fabric. The wet rot is of several species. It was found in the building and had caused damage. Symptoms found were the crackling of timber and red dust. Fruiting bodies were present and a very strong arcid mushroom smell. The presence of mycelium is noted. They were found in the external joints of bleached wood, and they are stringy fibrous in appearance. These are due to the high humidity rate and defective paintwork. Strong recommendation for the renewal and replacement of timber is necessary. The cause of this type of timber infestation must be studied and cured. Again, the professional consultation of the removal of the wet and dry rot is recommended. Results of Borehole investigation Another aspect to be considered is the investigation of the boreholes present in the complex. Some of the boreholes are directly located where the proposed sports complex and the apartments are to be erected. Boreholes are used to pump water from the ground. It was found out in the investigation that the boreholes were used to pump water from the ground. There were seven boreholes investigated, three of which falls directly in the site where the apartments were to be built. Accordingly, in the profile report of the boreholes, boulder clay rocks are the earth materials found under the infill material. The design of the foundation of the apartment may not be affected, although the setting of the foundation may be affected. Since the twelve unit apartment is divided into four building units, the boreholes can be avoided. Building units can be build beside the boreholes. Therefore the foundation design of the building is not affected. Depth of foundation for a two storey apartment building would range from 2.0 meters to 2.0 meters. The result of investigation proves that the depth of the foundation is not affected by the nature of earth material under the infill. The proposed site of the apartment buildings falls on a rolling terrain. The topography of the area proves this. The apartment buildings can be designed that the buildings would not be on the same elevation. This aspect would add beauty to the apartment buildings. The other four boreholes are on the exact location where the leisure sports complex is to be erected. As noted in the topography, boulder clay rock is found under the infill earth material. Boreholes that are directly affected in the construction of the sports complex must be relocated. Relocation site could be set not far from the building. The foundation of the sports complex must be deeper that that of the apartment building since it will carry a much heavier load. It would be safe to have a 3.0 meters depth of the foundation. Boulder clay rock, as the earth’s material where the foundation of the sports complex will rest, the 3.0 meters recommended depth of the foundation would be very safe. The workmanship that may affect the durability of the flat roof design and patio area The durability of the flat roof design and patio area depends on the concreting of the building. First, the design load of the foundation must be analyzed and the design data must be computed very carefully. Since the design requires that the basement will house the plant room, filtration, the pool base and a retaining wall on the east side, a design layout must be in such manner that the plant room is located in the north side of the building. The ground floor will be the pool area on the south side and directly under the flat roof and patio area. The squash, the trainer gym, the sauna and the changing and reception area will be set on the north side of the building in a glazed section. The first floor will have the patio and sun area with pool viewing. The north section will be a restaurant and the kitchen, including the administration offices. Since the sun area is above the pool, two viewing pyramid will be constructed. The support system of the flat roof must be of careful analysis because concrete columns that would carry its load will be stand exactly in the middle of the pool. The concrete post can be made more appealing rather than an obstruction to the pool users. The architect will be able to come up with an idea of how to give value to the centre concrete post. Additional features of the flat roof will include a tiled pitch roof, all external walls will have stonework to match the hotel. All windows and external doors must be made of hardwood. Contractors Temporary site services and Material Handling Since it had been agreed by the board, that the apartment building had to built first, along side with the refurbishment of the old hotel building, a temporary site for services and material handling is necessary to have. The best location of a temporary warehouse/office will be between the apartment units and the leisure sports complex. This way, traffic flow of incoming deliveries of construction materials will not be an obstruction to the apartment units to be built. Furthermore, the temporary office is just a stone away from the apartment site, thus making it very accessible for the project engineer to visit the construction project. On the west side of the temporary office is the hotel building. Since work on the hotel building and the apartment units are to be done simultaneously, accessibility of daily inspection of the progress of work on both buildings is very relevant. The leisure sports complex will be constructed after the apartment building is completed and occupied. I would like to suggest that the construction of concrete road leading to the luxury apartments be done simultaneously with the construction of the sports complex. Some unforeseen problems may arise. One, the noise that the construction equipment will produce will irritate the occupants. The deliveries of construction materials may also cause anxiety to them. Other aspects would be that the construction of the complex could be an eye sore to the occupants. In cases like this, it would be best that a perimeter fence must be temporarily build around the hotel area and sports complex. Construction materials must then be placed on the south side of the proposed building so that it won’t be an obstruction to the vehicles of the occupants going to and from their homes. Performance Requirements for the Windows and Doors of the Leisure complex Since the windows and external doors are to be made of hardwood materials, it would be a very good idea to have the sports complex and the hotel building to have the same kind of windows and doors. To maximize the performance of the timber materials to be used in the buildings, the timber must first be treated for the prevention of woodworm infestation. Thorough checking of all timber material before the installation of window frames and door frames is to be done. Network Analysis Program The concept of the construction project will take about three months. This will include the different stages to undergo before the actual construction would start. The first step is the conceptualizing the ideas of the owner and relating all of what he want to the engineer and architect who will draft the design of the structure. After all the working drawings are drafted, The electrical engineer, the sanitary engineer, the master plumber has to take a look at the plan before they sign on it. The engineering office of the locality must study the plan for approval, Next is the fire and safety regulation must also do a hand in the approval of the said projects. The start of the project will depend on the approval of the engineering department of the locality. All these steps will consume the three months allotted for these steps. The actual construction will then take its course. Assuming that the manpower services are already available. The preparation of the site will consume the first week of the construction period. The arrival of the materials for perimeter fencing comes first. Then, the arrival of the construction materials and equipments according to its use comes next. Since there are two projects to be done at the same time, two project engineers must be employed. One will take care of the refurbishment of the hotel, and the other one will be for the construction of the apartment buildings. While the hotel building is being repaired, the apartment building will have a different activity. The first step is the laying of the building foundation. The next step is the slab flooring of the ground floor of the structure, the setting of exterior walls while the concrete column are being prepared for concrete pouring. After these steps are done the concrete beams are being prepared, together with the preparation of the slab floor of the next floor. Concrete pouring for the slab comes next. Setting of the exterior walls of the upper floor is next while the preparation of the concrete columns on the upper floor are being done. After the concrete columns are done the beams are prepared and concrete pouring takes place. Trusses for the roof are now being prepared. After trusses had been set in place, the roof work comes next. All these steps completes the first part of the building. The next part is the finishing stage. The electrical works, the plumbing works the masonry works and the carpentry works and the painting will finish the construction of the apartment building. As roughly estimated all the steps will amount to a three to four months hard work. Almost the same processes are to be encountered in the construction of leisure residence and the leisure complex. The only difference in the construction of the swimming pool. The concrete pouring of the base and the walls of the swimming pool takes a longer time. This is because the contractor will have to have the drying of the concrete pool base and walls take a longer time. The concreting of the base and walls of a swimming pool is more complex to avoid cracks in the pool when it becomes operational. Both construction will take about four months to complete. The construction of the parking lots the road concreting and the final landscape can now be performed. Drying of the concrete of the parking lot would take about 15 days. All in all the construction project will take a course of 9 months. The turn over ceremonies will be the final and last activity after the completion of the project. Value Engineering Value engineering is a method used to improve the “value” of goods and services. It is a systematic organized effort directed at analyzing the function of systems, equipments, facilities and supplies for use in the project. It is also deals with the analysis of materials, processes in which they are related to cost and a selection may be made to achieve the desired function at the lowest overall cost that is consistent with performance. This is a cost control technique which uses a creative and systematic approach to identify and focus on high costs in a particular project in order to arrive at a cost saving without any sacrifice made on the reliability and efficiency of the project. A multi-stage job plan is followed systematically. “Value analysis job plan” was the original system of Larry Miles. The system was a six-step process. Depending on the application. The modern version now has eight steps. They are preparations, information, analysis, creation evaluation, development, presentation and follow up. There are also four basic steps in the job plan. Information gathering is one. This first step asks what requirements are for the object. Function analysis is usually done in this stage. Alternative generation (creation) is two. Value engineering at this point, would have to identify the various alternative ways of meeting the requirements. Next is the evaluation. At this stage the alternatives are assessed how well the requirements are met and how great the cost saving is. Presentation in the final stage is choosing the best alternative and presented to the client for final decision. In all considerations, a successful management exercise would then depend on the value engineering factors that were mentioned. Sequences of operations for the refurbishment of the hotel. Since the refurbishment of the hotel is health hazard, the overall design process need not be dominated by the concern to avoid all risks during the refurbishment process. The health risk that the involved workers will encounter is the possible inhalation of dangerous chemicals to be sprayed or applied to the enfested timber with woodworms. The methods that are to be considered in the illumination of damp is also quite risky.Having wet and dry rot in the area is no excuse for fumigation. Therefore health and safety of the workers must be emphasized.However weighing up one consideration against the other means that cost is counted not just in terms of finances but also in terms of aesthetics, buildability and the impact on the environment. In order to avoid or reduce the risk during the refurbishment, a number of design considerations will allow a number of equally valid design solutions. With the design and the method of repair that I have made recommendations of, There are certain points that you must be aware of. Health and safety is the prime objective in the design work. Adequate information about the health and safety risks of the design to those who need it. There must be cooperation with the planning supervisor and the others who are involved in the refurbishment. During the coarse of the repair of the hotel, there would be risks on health and safety that would pop up. These are risks which are not reasonably practical to avoid. Information needs to be given out with the design to give warnings to the workers. These are the risks which they are not expected to know. This step is very important to the parties who have to follow the design information. Since the basic design would affect health and safety, or health and safety risks, the information should include a broad indication on precautionary actions in dealing with the risks. The information needs to be explained very clearly. Inclusion of the information on the working drawings is necessary or even written in the specifications. Still in the process, the health risk and safety must be explained to the concerned verbally. Lastly, knowledge of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations of 1994 aims to improve the overall management and coordination of health, safety and welfare throughout the different stages of a construction project and reduces fatal accidents and cases of ill-health which occurs in the construction industry. The Construction Design Management places awareness to those who can contribute to the health and safety in a construction project. References Construction (Design and Management) Regulations1994 SI 1994 No 3140 The Stationery Office 1995 ISBN 0 11 043845 0 Construction (Design and Management) (Amendment)Regulations 2000 SI 2000/2380 Stationery Office 2000 ISBN 0 11 099804 9 Cooper, R. and Slagmulder, R. (1997). Target Costing And Value Engineering Fungal Decay. Dry Rot and Wet Rot – Causes and Solutions. 6, March 2009 ‹http://www.bwtse.co.uk/fungal-deacy.htm›. Heywood, Anna. “Guide to Woodworm Problem”. Damage to Property of Woodworms. 4, June 2008. ‹http://www.ourproperty.co.uk/guides/woodworm_cotact-p1.html›. Home Sites. Construction Process. 10, March 2009. ‹http://www.vermontbuilt.com/site/sites.htm›. Markin, Sacha. “The Causes of Damp, how to Prevent, Monitor and Treat Damp Links.” How to Spot and Deal with Damp. 27, May 2008. 5, March 2009 ‹http://www.channel4.com/4homes/dry-self-build/diy-build-advice./a-zofdiybuilding guides/how-to-spot-and-deal-with-damp-08-05-27_p_1.html›. Mastering Cash Flow. Value Engineering Definition and Cash Flow Forecasting. 10, March 2009. ‹http://www.coggar.com./value.engineering.definition.html›. Miles, Laurence D. “What is Value Ingineering? LaurenceD. Miller Value Engineering Reference Center. 10, March 2009. ‹http://wendddt.library.wisc.edu/miles/index.html›. Value Engineering. 10, March 2009. ‹http://www.gulfknight.net/GME/Dictionary/V.htm›. Value Engineering Definition. Business Planning + Execution. 10, March 2009. ‹http://www. Bridgefieldgrow.com./glos9.htm›. Value Engineering. 10, March 2009. Justia U.S. Laws. 10, March 2009. ‹http://www.justa.com/us/cfr/titled 40/10-1.0.1.2.32.4.143.4.html›. Water Resource Development. Boreholes for Water. 6, March 2009. ‹http://www.ubadmorgan.co.uk/›. R Read More