CONSEQUENT upon the Government’s thrust in the housing sector to improve and provide affordable housing to all, the Guyana Chronicle, with assistance from experts at the Ministry of Housing, is continuing to provide valuable tips for new home owners.

Earlier in our columns, we outlined several guidelines to aid the new homeowner in understanding the complexities of constructing a home.

Among the areas tackled were the boundaries of the building from the front, sides and rear, the height of the window from the ground, the height of the external wall, the pitch of the roof, layout of the septic tank, types of building applications and procedures, among others.

This was done using a Developer’s Manual produced by the Planning and Settlement Development Department of the Central Housing and Planning Authority and help from staffers of the department, in particular Ms Fayola Azore

Today, on the insistence of some of our readers, we are revisiting some of those key areas with assistance of Mr Fazal Wahab, Senior Engineer, CH&PA

Getting the Foundation for Building right
In constructing the foundation of any building, there are general guidelines which must be followed. Some may however change depending on the existing conditions on the ground.

The general guideline is that you should build on solid ground. If there are any soft areas it should be removed and the area filled before building commences.

It is important to note that if you proceed to build on a soft area, or an area that is not solid, the building will eventually sink.

If the entire building sinks is not much of a problem compared to if a part of the building sinks, causing deferential settlement, as the building will be under stress.

Deferential settlement is when something settles at different levels

If the building is of concrete, the concrete under stress would crack, and if it is of timber, the timber will bend.

Addressing a Soft Spot
To address a soft spot, you first have to remove the vegetation or grass followed by the organic layer or rooting zone digging to a depth of about six inches or a foot. If you are still not satisfied, continue to dig until all of the unsuitable material is completely removed.

Backfilling
To backfill, it is advisable to use a cheap material, preferably white sand, which is relatively cheap and can be easily acquired. White sand also serves as a good building material.

Importantly, the white sand which is used to back fill must be soaked with water and compacted or tapped. The tapper can be made using 2 x 4 piece of word to which a flat piece of board is attached. Use this to compact or tap the sand on the foundation site.

For commercial buildings, the foundation is much wider, hence an electrical or mechanical compactor can be used.

Placing a binding
After compacting the area, put on a binding which is a weak mixture of cement and sand ( one cement to six sand ) about two inches thick, before pouring the foundation mixture.

For a single flat building, there is no need for a massive-size foundation because the building is flat; but as the weight of the building increases, i.e. two, three or four storeys, the binding should be strengthened to bear that.

Common sizes for foundation
For a flat building, the concrete strip to be placed around that will serve as the support for the blocks, as columns are not required, should be about six to eight inches in thickness.

If a two-storey building is being built, columns are definitely needed The size of the column depends on the distance between them. The farther apart the columns are placed, the bigger the beam should be . According to a rule of thumb, the columns should be placed about eight to 10 feet apart.

Beams
If columns are placed 10 feet apart, the beams should then be 10 inches deep.

The width of the beam on a lower flat, generally, is the width of the column. Simply keep the beam the same width as your column.

Ground level columns, because they bear an enormous weight, that of the roof, walls, beams, floor, people, furniture etc, should be 10 x10, while those for the upper flat, since the weight load is just that of the roof and not the same the ground floor, can be smaller, e.g. 6×6 or 8×8.

Flooring
If the floor is to be constructed of concrete, the common size is four inches thick with BRC reinforcement.

For a wooden floor, it is imperative that 2×4 or a 2×6 sole place is in place. This is followed by 2×4, 2×6 or 2×8 floor joist, placed roughly 18 inches apart.

(NB) The choice of any size of the floor joist listed is according to the homeowners preference or what is available on the market.

Floor boards are preferably grove and tongue which fit snuggly into each other for a perfect finish.

Walls
For the walls for wooden buildings, 1×6 lap edge wood, which fits neatly together and can withstand water and other elements, are commonly used. The ideal finish is when puttied and painted.

For a concrete wall, the standard four inches blocks is used, joined and plastered.

Plastering can be of different finishes.
When to Paint
It is recommended that a newly-constructed home should only be painted about one month after it was plastered, as cement takes about 30 days to be fully cured. It is also advised that the external wall be painted first, to prevent any moisture from penetrating.

If the inside is first painted and the rain falls, the moisture is trapped in the wall and can peel.

Positioning windows & doors
Windows must be placed three feet from ground level, It is recommended that main entrances and exits should be no less than 36 inches wide, while interior doors etc can be 30 inches wide, with a standard height of about 80 to 82 inches.