Construction Services: Building Construction Types

By Author: James Mcnellis
Total Articles: 5
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Construction Services: Building Construction Types

Building construction is one of the most important things firefighter needs to be aware of. For every customer, it is essential to know what type of building your house belongs; most of people do know not only what type their house is made of, but also they are not knowledge with their workplace’s building type. It is important to know building construction type to know the buildings fire rating to know how long a building would last. Construction services El Paso Texas, would introduce you to the different building types and what it differs from one another.

What is Construction?
In the field of civil engineering and architecture, construction is a method consists of assembling, building and improving infrastructures. This type of work is managed by project manager or a general contractor. There are many types of construction projects such as building construction, industrial construction or civil construction. Part of the building construction is the addition of small or big infrastructures to a property or to a land. Remodeling or renovation is considered ...
... as part of construction however, the building construction jobs may include several elements in financial and legal consideration and usual design.

Types of Construction
Buildings are broken down into five categories, ranging from the stoutest of construction to that which would most likely fail rapidly under certain fire condition. Each building type has different characteristics that ladder companies must be familiar with. Types of building construction are distinct features that help firefighters identify the building type as they pull up on the scene.

Type 1 construction – these are construction where the building elements are made out of noncombustible materials like concrete and steel and considered as fire-resistant. Types 1 structure is high-rise and considered as the stoutest of all construction types when exposed to fire. These buildings are high-rises defined as building with more than 75 feet tall, though; there are some amendments for buildings that are 35-55 feet tall. These types of structures are constructed of concrete and steel that is coated with fire-resistant material and design to hold fire for an extended amount of time in order to keep the fire bay in the room.

Type 2 Construction – this type construction are commonly used for new buildings and remodel of commercial structures. The walls and roofs are constructed of non-combustible materials. The walls are reinforced masonry or tilt slab, while the roofs have metal structural members and decking. These buildings they are up to code and include fire suppression systems.

Type 3 Construction – this is a type of construction where the exterior walls are made from noncombustible and interior building elements are of any material permitted in the code. They are considered as the “ordinary” type of building. These are the building type where the roofs systems include paralleled cord truss and panelized roof systems. These types have wooden roof where it is used for old type of construction. These buildings ventilations are feasible and can be very effective. Sounding and diagnostic cuts are effective ways to ensure the location of the structural members.

Type 4 Construction –considered as the construction type made out of heavy timber and utilizes large dimensional lumber for structural members and for interior elements. These buildings are commonly built before 1960.This is a type of construction where the exterior walls are made out of noncombustible materials and the interior building elements are solid or laminated wood without concealed spaces. These buildings hold up well under fire condition, but these buildings are often poorly maintained or have termites or weathering issues that contribute to an earlier than expected collapse.

Type 5 Construction – type of construction where the structural elements, exterior walls and interior walls are of any material permitted by code. It is also known as the wood-framed type of construction that could be found in many modern homes, where the walls and roofs are made of combustible materials particularly with the large usage of timber products. Houses with rooftop made from ceramic tile or asphalt shingles placed over lightweight trusses are part of this building type.

Building construction types are the building blocks where the firemen operate on the fire ground. It does not only operate on the fire ground, it is important for every citizen to know the five different building types in case of fire they would know and not panic on the building collapsing for a specific time.