ABSTRACT

The sixth edition of The Construction of Houses builds on the success of the previous five editions. The book provides a comprehensive introduction to the principles and processes of the construction of houses and their services. As such it is aimed at providing a broad understanding of domestic building construction for students as part of their academic studies and as a useful information source for practitioners.

The existing chapters have all been updated and most of them expanded to take account of changes to dwelling house construction since the last edition and there are new chapters on ‘Modern Methods of Construction’ and ‘Regulatory controls and building standards’. Additionally, many new and/or updated photographs and diagrams have been added.

As with the previous editions, the authors have concentrated on presenting current mainstream approaches to the construction of houses. The detailed, yet accessible, text that is supported by hundreds of coloured photographs and diagrams provides clear explanations of the many complex processes that go into the building of a house. A deeper insight into modern construction is also given by the book’s consideration of historical building techniques from the 18th century onwards in order to illustrate how and why we build houses in the way we do now.

chapter 1|10 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|10 pages

Modern Methods of Construction (MMC)

chapter 3|22 pages

Regulatory controls and building standards

chapter 4|16 pages

Sustainable homes

chapter 5|26 pages

Thermal insulation

chapter 6|26 pages

Foundations

chapter 7|48 pages

External masonry loadbearing walls

chapter 8|34 pages

Pitched roof structure

chapter 9|42 pages

Roof coverings

chapter 10|22 pages

Ground floors

chapter 11|28 pages

Upper floors

chapter 12|14 pages

Internal partitions and walls

chapter 13|20 pages

Internal plastering and dry-lining

chapter 14|18 pages

External rendering

chapter 15|10 pages

Internal and external decoration

chapter 16|18 pages

System housing: timber frame

chapter 17|14 pages

System housing: concrete and steel

chapter 18|36 pages

Windows, doors and stairs

chapter 19|10 pages

Ventilation

chapter 20|16 pages

Cold water services

chapter 21|36 pages

Space heating

chapter 22|20 pages

Hot water services

chapter 23|32 pages

Drainage

chapter 24|20 pages

Electrical installations