Timber Frame and Concrete Frames - Literature review Example

Timber Frame and Concrete Frames Timber frames and concrete frames are among the popular construction materials used today in many parts of the world. Concrete is a type of stone made artificially by mixing sand, water, cement and aggregate. One major advantage of concrete is that it is possible to mould it into different shapes (Akin 2006, 39). The popularity of concrete rose in the 19th century when Portland cement was founded. Concrete is however not very suitable because of its limited resistance to tension. This made many people to avoid using it in building construction. Concrete frames are made by molding concrete into long square or rectangular shapes which are joined together. Akin (2006, 56) shows that in order to overcome the weaknesses of concrete frames, engineers put steel bars in concrete to make reinforced concrete frames. This type of concrete frame is widely used in constructions. The production of concrete frames is cheaper compared to steel because it does not need costly manufacturing mills. Construction of concrete frames requires technology and expertise to a certain level. This is necessary when construction is taking place in the field. Reinforced concrete is widely used in developing countries because it has lower cost compared to steel. The construction costs vary from one place to another depending on prevailing local prices (Akin 2006, 41). Reinforced concrete is increasing become popular in residential constructions because of the rapid increase in urban populations. Reinforced concrete frames are commonly used in places where seismic risk is high such as Southeast Asia, Latin America, Southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Reinforced concrete frames are made of horizontal beams and vertical columns connected by firm joints. Reinforced concrete frames resist gravity and lateral forces when the beams and columns bend. There are many subtypes of reinforced Concrete frame construction. These include non ductile frames with or with no infill walls, non ductile frames with reinforced infill walls and ductile frames with or without infill walls. Akin (2006, 12) explains that the most common type of frame is the one with masonry infill walls. This type of construction exists in many areas especially in the developing world. This type of construction makes up about 75 percent of the buildings in Turkey, 60 percent in Colombia and 30 percent in Greece. Reinforced concrete frames with concrete infill walls are popular in places where earthquakes frequent (Akin 2006, 19). Advantages of concrete frames Recent cost studies have indicated that concrete framing is the cheapest method of building. Concrete structures rise faster. Several examples exist of concrete frames in multistory constructions where one floor is built in 4 to 6 days (Akin 2006, 41). Concrete framing maintains the heights of storeys to their minimum and therefore reduces the costs of services and the façade. With concrete, construction begins sooner since there is no fabrication for structural members. Concrete frames can easily be adapted to late changes because replacement members need not be fabricated. Concrete frame resist fire and therefore there is no need for costly protection. It is very easy to mould concrete and produce different complex shapes. Self finishing can be done in many different ways. The thermal behavior of concrete is increased by its greater mass. As a result the running costs of the building are reduced and quality sound insulation and damping of wind loads is achieved. Concrete frames help to cut down financial and capital costs. Cheap and fast constructions result in reduced holding charges and early returns on investment (Akin 2006, 41). Timber frames Timber is a cellular material that is organic and natural. It is among the oldest material for building and even today it is prevalent in certain areas. Timber frames were heavily used for building in England and Scotland in the past few decades. Timber goes through harvesting, sawing, drying and finishing before it is used for construction (Harris 2008, 44).Timber is either hardwood or softwood. When using timber frames for construction new designs and alternatives can be made. Timber frames vary in stiffness and strength depending on the species of the original tree. Density and the content of moisture are major determining factors. Timber frames conduct heat poorly and this quality makes them suitable for internal use. Timber frame partially conduct heat because when dry, wood has large air volumes. Timber does not respond to temperature changes by swelling and shrinking unless there is a change in the content of moisture. However, timber frames lose their toughness and strength when exposed to temperatures of over 60oC, for a long time. Timber is combustible and it burns when exposed to fire. Timber frames with higher density have a lower rate of charring while the less dense ones burn very fast (Twist & Lancashire 2008, 77). According to Law (2010, 54) timber provides different benefits of an aesthetic and structural nature when used in building. A timber frame can be used on open plan designs and provide total enclosure for insulation to conserve energy. Timber frame structures can be erected very quickly, the structure is easy to prefabricate, one can have modular constructions and mass production is possible. It allows for the frame to be re-fitted in wall or bent areas with jig alignment. This makes it possible for building to take place faster and with accurate alignments. A timber frame home could take 2 to 3 days on average. It is possible to tailor a frame to fit the taste of the client. It is also easy to apply creativity like heirloom incorporation on certain structures and carving among others. Timber frames can be recycled for use on a new or old structure. A timber frame can survive seismic waves when engineered well. Because of this, it is common to find timber structure whose foundations have caved in but they still stand. The big spaces between the frames provide flexibility in window and door relocation since there is no need for heavy lintels and worry of structural effects (Law 2010, 87). Methodology This study is a desktop research involving secondary methods of data collection. Secondary data collection was done from books, journals and other publications. The internet and media reports such as newspaper articles were also good sources of information for this paper. In order to obtain the necessary information, the researcher went for specific sub-topics on timer and concrete frames. These subtopics were therefore useful in providing focus on what to research about. Narrowing down was very crucial because timber frames and concrete frames can prove to be very wide areas of research and the information collected about them can be overwhelming (Bhattacharyya 2009, 32). Secondary data collection was cheaper compared to primary research since it did not involve a lot of movements. 100 percent of the data collected came from research and studies done by other people and recorded in the various publications and media used. The researcher was careful to select the most select literature because that has the latest information on the topic under study (Bhattacharyya 2009, 73).Since the time allocated for the study was limited, the researcher employed the services of an assistant researcher who helped in the process of gathering and analyzing the information. Analysis of the data was accomplished by qualitative means because the data collected was purely qualitative. The researchers had to scrutinize the data sources carefully to see if they qualified as data sources for this study. After all the information had been gathered, it was time to analyze it and separate the relevant from the irrelevant information. The researchers simply scrutinized the information based on the topic being investigated to tell what was needed for the report (Bhattacharyya 2009, 26). Qualitative analysis of data involved discerning, comparing, examining, contrasting and making interpretations of patterns and themes. The goals and set objectives for the study defined the meaningfulness of the data obtained. The analysis process also involved data reduction in which the researchers had to condense the information gathered. It required certain of data to be minimized, emphasized, or spared for the sake of the project. The analysts had the task of singling out particular data for description based on the principles of selectivity. This required both inductive and deductive analysis. Categorization processes were guided by study questions. Finally, the researcher had to draw conclusions based on the analyzed data. This was a process of considering the meaning of the data and assessing its implications for the topic being studied (Bhattacharyya 2009, 89).Verification was part of this process and it entailed going back to the data several times to confirm the conclusions being made. The meanings obtained from the data were then tested for sturdiness, validity and plausibility. Validity entailed checking to see if the data measured whatever it purported to measure. In validity, the researcher was specifically concerned about the credibility of conclusions made from the information gathered. The data was therefore tested for defensibility, its relevance and ability to withstand other explanations apart from the ones presented (Bhattacharyya 2009, 12). Bibliography Akin, L., A. Purdue University 2006. Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Frames with Masonry Infills in Seismic Regions. ProQuest. Bhattacharyya, D. K., 2009. Research Methodology. Excel Books. Harris, R. 2008. Discovering Timber Framed Buildings. Osprey Publishing.  Law, B. 2010. Roundwood Timber Framing: Building Naturally Using Local Resources. Permanent Publications. Twist, H., Lancashire, R. 2008. Timber Frame Construction. TRADA Technology Limited. Read More