Structural Survey

K.K. Yuen; Eric W.M. Lee; S.M. Lo

2003 Structural Survey

doi: 10.1108/02630800310507122

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was first reported in China in November 2002 and had spread to Hong Kong by late February 2003. Initially hospitals were the main sites of the infection which was thought to be due to an airborne virus. However the spread of the virus to large residential tower blocks led authorities to suspect that the evaporation of toilet floor drain U‐traps may be a possible way of spreading the virus. The paper reports a full scale rig testing of methods to prevent the evaporation of the U‐trap water seals and concludes with recommendations for further research.

Robert Lowe; Malcolm Bell; David Roberts

2003 Structural Survey

doi: 10.1108/02630800310507131

This paper (and Part 2, to appear in the next issue) set out the results of a housing field trial designed to evaluate the impact of an enhanced energy performance standard for dwellings. The project was designed to inform the next review of Part L of the Building Regulations for England and Wales, which, following the publication of the UK government's white paper on energy policy, is expected in 2005. The project explores the implications of an enhanced standard in the context of timber frame construction. Although for programming reasons it was necessary to terminate the research project at the end of the design phase, the results suggest that the standard investigated is well within the capacity of the industry but it was clear that the whole supply chain will need to take a positive approach to the development of new solutions. The secret to a smooth and cost optimised transition is for the necessary development work to begin immediately, not when regulation changes.

M.Y.L. Chew; Nayanthara De Silva

2003 Structural Survey

doi: 10.1108/02630800310507140

Basement defects such as water seepages/leakages are tedious and expensive to rectify. Intensive research has been conducted to study the problem type, their causes and preventive measures. The study explored 987 water seepage/leakage cases in 61 buildings. Eleven significant factors leading to the occurrence of water seepage in basements were identified. The implications of six benchmarks, namely: degree of water‐tightness; safety measures for structural concrete; performance of waterproofing systems; integrity of basement structure; provision for movement and quality of compaction in concreting, for minimizing four types of water seepage/leakage problems in basements are discussed.

H.Y. Leung; R.V. Balendran

2003 Structural Survey

doi: 10.1108/02630800310507159

Use of fibre‐reinforced polymer (FRP) composite rods, in lieu of steel rebars, as the main flexural reinforcements in reinforced concrete (RC) beams have recently been suggested by many researchers. However, the development of FRP RC beam design is still stagnant in the construction industry and this may be attributed to a number of reasons such as the high cost of FRP rods compared to steel rebars and the reduced member ductility due to the brittleness of FRP rods. To resolve these problems, one of the possible methods is to adopt both FRP rods and steel rebars to internally reinforce the concrete members. The effectiveness of this new reinforcing system remains problematic and continued research in this area is needed. An experimental study on the load‐deflection behaviour of concrete beams internally reinforced with glass fibre‐reinforced polymer (GFRP) rods and steel rebars was therefore conducted and some important findings are summarized in this paper.

Joseph Kangwa; Femi Olubodun

2003 Structural Survey

doi: 10.1108/02630800310507168

This paper seeks to explore and detect underlying relationships between identifiable attributes that are influential to successful outcomes of home maintenance activities. The study's approach is to identify, from the perspective of owner‐occupiers, the attributes that are influential on the successful outcomes of home maintenance activities. The study is primarily based on 186 questionnaire responses from a stratified random sample of owner‐occupiers taken from 12 local authority wards identified on the basis of a Ward Index of Multiple Deprivation. The intercorrelations among the attributes influential to the outcomes of home maintenance activities demanded the application of principal component analysis to determine the factors perceived to dictate home maintenance outcomes. This resulted in the extraction of nine significant factors, which combine to exert their influence on the quality of the maintenance activities in the owner‐occupied sector.