The construction of buildings depends on the contributions of professionals from diverse fields, including architecture, construction management, civil and structural engineering, and more. All of these professionals, however, must understand the principles and materials that underlie the construction process in order to fulfil their roles in the project.
After more than a generation, Fundamentals of Building Construction continues to be the essential introduction to this subject for students in all construction-related fields. Highly readable and based on extensive pedagogical practice, it represents decades of experience in architecture and the building trades. Now updated to reflect the latest methods and industry practices, it promises to remain foundational for another generation of students.
Readers of the eighth edition of Fundamentals of Building Construction will also find:
- Significantly expanded treatment of the newest practices for mass timber construction
- Expanded discussion of the principles of enclosure design, along with an all-new case study illustrating the practical application of these principles
- Continued emphasis on sustainable construction and carbon emissions, extensively updated images and diagrams, and updates through all chapters of the text
Fundamentals of Building Construction is the ideal learning tool and resource for every architect and construction professional to help build a successful career.
The construction of buildings depends on the contributions of professionals from diverse fields, including architecture, construction management, civil and structural engineering, and more. All of these professionals, however, must understand the principles and materials that underlie the construction process in order to fulfil their roles in the project.
After more than a generation, Fundamentals of Building Construction continues to be the essential introduction to this subject for students in all construction-related fields. Highly readable and based on extensive pedagogical practice, it represents decades of experience in architecture and the building trades. Now updated to reflect the latest methods and industry practices, it promises to remain foundational for another generation of students.
Readers of the eighth edition of Fundamentals of Building Construction will also find:
- Significantly expanded treatment of the newest practices for mass timber construction
- Expanded discussion of the principles of enclosure design, along with an all-new case study illustrating the practical application of these principles
- Continued emphasis on sustainable construction and carbon emissions, extensively updated images and diagrams, and updates through all chapters of the text
Fundamentals of Building Construction is the ideal learning tool and resource for every architect and construction professional to help build a successful career.
Fundamentals of Building Construction: Materials and Methods
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Fundamentals of Building Construction: Materials and Methods
928Hardcover(8th ed.)
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Overview
The construction of buildings depends on the contributions of professionals from diverse fields, including architecture, construction management, civil and structural engineering, and more. All of these professionals, however, must understand the principles and materials that underlie the construction process in order to fulfil their roles in the project.
After more than a generation, Fundamentals of Building Construction continues to be the essential introduction to this subject for students in all construction-related fields. Highly readable and based on extensive pedagogical practice, it represents decades of experience in architecture and the building trades. Now updated to reflect the latest methods and industry practices, it promises to remain foundational for another generation of students.
Readers of the eighth edition of Fundamentals of Building Construction will also find:
- Significantly expanded treatment of the newest practices for mass timber construction
- Expanded discussion of the principles of enclosure design, along with an all-new case study illustrating the practical application of these principles
- Continued emphasis on sustainable construction and carbon emissions, extensively updated images and diagrams, and updates through all chapters of the text
Fundamentals of Building Construction is the ideal learning tool and resource for every architect and construction professional to help build a successful career.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781394220120 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Wiley |
| Publication date: | 09/10/2025 |
| Edition description: | 8th ed. |
| Pages: | 928 |
| Product dimensions: | 8.80(w) x 10.90(h) x 1.80(d) |
About the Author
Joseph Iano is a practicing architect, author, and photographer. He has taught design and technology in schools of architecture throughout the United States and is the founder of a Seattle-based firm that provides technical and quality management consulting to the design and construction industry.
Read an Excerpt
Fundamentals of Building Construction
Materials and Methods By Edward Allen Joseph Iano
John Wiley & Sons ISBN: 0-471-21903-7 Chapter One
Making Buildings
Choosing Building Systems: Information Resources
ASTM, CSA, and ANSI
Construction Trade and Professional Associations MasterFormat
Choosing Building Systems: The Work of the Design
Professional
Sustainability
Making Choices
Recurring Concerns
Designing Buildings
Choosing Building Systems: Constraints
Zoning Ordinances
Building Codes
Other Legal Constraints
Designing Buildings
A building begins as an idea in someone's mind, a desire for new and ample accommodations for a family, many families, an organization, or an enterprise. For any but the smallest of buildings, the next step for the owner of the prospective building is to engage, either directly or through a hired construction manager, the services of building design professionals. An architect helps to consolidate the owner's ideas about the new building, develops the form of the building, and assembles a group of engineering specialists to help work out concepts and details of foundations, structural support, and mechanical, electrical, and communications services.
This team of designers, working with the owner, then develops the scheme for the building in progressively finer degrees of detail. Drawings and written specifications are produced bythe architect-engineer design team to document how the building is to be made and of what. A general contractor is selected, either by negotiation or by competitive bidding. The general contractor hires subcontractors to carry out many specialized portions of the work. The drawings and specifications are submitted to the municipal inspector of buildings, who checks them for conformance with zoning ordinances and building codes before issuing a permit to build. Construction may then begin, with the building inspector, the architect, and the engineering consultants inspecting the work at frequent intervals to be sure that it is carried out according to plan.
Choosing Building Systems: Constraints
Although a building begins as an abstraction, it is built in a world of material realities. The designers of a building-the architects and engineers-work constantly from a knowledge of what is possible and what is not. They are able, on the one hand, to employ any of a limitless palette of building materials and any of a number of structural systems to produce a building of almost any desired form and texture. On the other hand, they are inescapably bound by certain physical limitations: how much land there is with which to work; how heavy a building the soil can support; how long a structural span is feasible; what sorts of materials will perform well in the given environment. They are also constrained by a construction budget and by a complex web of legal restrictions.
Those who work in the building professions need a broad understanding of many things, including people, climate, the physical principles by which buildings work, the technologies available for utilization in buildings, the legal restrictions on buildings, and the contractual arrangements under which buildings are built. This book is concerned primarily with the technologies of construction materials-what the materials are, how they are produced, what their properties are, and how they are crafted into buildings. These must be studied, however, with reference to many other factors that bear on the design of buildings, some of which require explanation here.
Zoning Ordinances
The legal restrictions on buildings begin with local zoning ordinances, which govern the types of activities that may take place on a given piece of land, how much of the land may be covered by the building or buildings, how far buildings must be set back from each of the property lines, how many parking spaces must be provided, how large a total floor area may be constructed, and how tall the building may be. In many cities, the zoning ordinances establish special center-city fire zones in which buildings may be built only of noncombustible materials. Copies of the zoning ordinances for a municipality are available for purchase or reference at the office of the building inspector or the planning department, or they may be consulted at public libraries.
Building Codes
In addition to its zoning ordinances, each local government also regulates building activity by means of a building code. The intent of a building code is to protect public health and safety, primarily against building fires, by setting a minimum standard of construction quality.
Most building codes in North America are based on one of several model building codes, standardized codes prepared by national organizations of local building code officials. Canada publishes its own model code, the National Building Code of Canada. In the United States, building codes are enacted and enforced at the state and local levels. At this writing, more and more local code jurisdictions throughout the United States are adopting as a model the International Building Code(r) (IBC), the first unified code in U.S. history, first published in March of 2000. Many jurisdictions, however, still base their codes on three earlier model codes that competed with one another: In the western United States and parts of the Midwest, most codes have been modeled after the Uniform Building Code (UBC). In the East and other areas of the Midwest, the BOCA National Building Code (BOCA) has been the model. The Standard Building Code (SBC) has been adopted by many southern and southeastern states. The IBC was written and issued by the cooperative efforts of the three organizations that formerly published these competing codes.
The establishment of a single model building code for the United States was welcome news to architects and engineers, who were weary of having to work to different standards in different parts of the country. However, their relief was not to last long, because the National Fire Protection Association, for reasons that are difficult to appreciate, issued the first edition of its own model building code in 2002, raising the possibility that it will be adopted in many code jurisdictions and thereby create a situation even more chaotic than before.
Building-code-related information in this book is based on the International Building Code (IBC). The IBC begins by defining occupancy groups for buildings as follows:
Groups A-1 through A-5 are Assembly occupancies: theaters, auditoriums, lecture halls, night clubs, restaurants, houses of worship, libraries, museums, sports arenas, and so on.
Group B is Business occupancies: banks, administrative offices, higher-education facilities, police and fire stations, post offices, professional offices, and the like.
Group E is Educational occupancies: schools for grades K through 12 and day care facilities.
Group F comprises industrial buildings.
Groups H-1 through H-5 are various types of High Hazard occupancies in which toxic, combustible, or explosive materials are present.
Groups I-1 through I-4 are Institutional occupancies in which occupants may not be able to save themselves during a fire or other emergency, such as health care and geriatric facilities and prisons.
Group M is Mercantile occupancies: stores, markets, service stations, and sales rooms.
Groups R-1 through R-4 are Residential occupancies, including apartment buildings, dormitories, fraternities and sororities, hotels, one- and two-family dwellings, and assisted-living facilities.
Group S-1 includes buildings for Storage of hazardous materials, and S-2, low-hazard storage.
Group U is Utility buildings. It comprises agricultural buildings, carports, greenhouses, sheds, stables, fences, tanks, towers, and other secondary buildings.
The IBC's purpose in establishing occupancy groups is to distinguish various degrees and qualities of need for safety in buildings. A hospital, in which many patients are bedridden and cannot escape a fire under their own power, must be built to a high standard of safety. A warehouse for masonry materials, which are noncombustible, is likely to be occupied by only a few people, all of them able bodied, and can be constructed to a lower standard. An elementary school requires more protection for its occupants than a university building. A theater needs special egress provisions to allow its many patrons to escape quickly, without stampeding, in an emergency.
These definitions of occupancy groups are followed by a set of definitions of construction types. At the head of this list (Type I) are highly fire-resistive kinds of construction such as masonry, reinforced concrete, and fire-protected steel. At the foot of it (Type V) are kinds of construction that are relatively combustible because they are framed with small wood members. In between are a range of construction types with varying levels of resistance to fire.
With occupancy groups and construction types carefully defined, the code proceeds to match the two, setting forth in a table which occupancy groups may be housed in which types of construction, and under what limitations of story height and area per floor. Figure 1.1 is reproduced from the International Building Code. It gives the maximum height in stories and the maximum area per floor for every possible combination of occupancy group and construction type. The maximum total floor area of a building under the IBC is three times the maximum area permitted for one floor. If the floor area for a single floor is unlimited, of course, the maximum floor area for the building is also unlimited.
This table concentrates a great deal of useful information into a very small space. A designer may enter it with a particular occupancy group in mind-an electronics plant, for example-and find out very quickly what types of construction will be permitted and what shape the plant may take. Under the IBC, an electronics plant belongs to Occupancy Group F-1, Factory, Moderate-Hazard Occupancy. Reading across the chart from left to right, we find immediately that this factory may be built to any desired size, without limit, using Type IA construction.
Type IA construction is defined in nearby tables in the IBC, one of which is reproduced here as Figure 1.2. Looking down the columns of this table under Type IA construction, we find a listing of the required fire resistance ratings, measured in hours, of the various parts of either a Type IA or a Type IB building. In a Type IA building, for example, we find on the first line that columns, girders, and trusses must be rated at 3 hours. The second line mandates a 3-hour resistance also for bearing walls, walls that serve to carry floors or roofs above. Nonbearing walls or partitions, which carry no load from above, are listed in the third line, which refers to Table 602, which gives fire resistance rating requirements based on the building's distance from other buildings. (Table 602 is included in Figure 1.2.) Floor construction and roof construction standards are defined in the last two lines of Table 601.
Looking across Table 601 in Figure 1.2, we can see that fire resistance rating requirements are highest for Type IA construction, decrease to 1 hour for Type VA, and finally to zero for Type VB.
Fire resistance ratings of many common construction components and assemblies are found in Section 7.19 of the IBC. Ratings for many more assemblies are tabulated in a variety of catalogs and handbooks issued by building material manufacturers, construction trade associations, and organizations concerned with fire protection of buildings. In each case, the ratings are derived from full-scale laboratory fire tests of building components carried out in accordance with Standard E119 of the American Society for Testing and Materials, to assure uniformity of results. (This fire test is described more fully in Chapter 22 of this book.) Figures 1.3-1.5 reproduce small sections of tables from catalogs and handbooks to illustrate how this type of information is presented.
It is not possible in this volume to reproduce a comprehensive listing of fire resistance ratings for every type of building component, but what can be said in a very general way (and with many exceptions) is that the higher the degree of fire resistance, the higher the cost. In general, therefore, buildings are built with the least level of fire resistance that is permitted by the applicable building code. The hypothetical electronics plant could be built using Type IA construction, but does it really need to be constructed to this high standard?
Let us suppose that the owners want the electronics plant to be a two-story building with 20,000 square feet on each floor. The table in Figure 1.1 makes it clear that it can be built of Type IB and Type IIA construction, but not of Type IIB, which permits only 15,500 square feet per floor. It can be built of Type IIIA or IV construction, but not of Type IIIB, VA, or VB.
Other factors come into play in these computations. If a building is protected throughout by an approved, fully automatic sprinkler system for suppression of fires, the IBC provides that the tabulated area may be quadrupled for a single-story building, and tripled for multistory buildings. A one-story increase in allowable height is also granted for most occupancies if a sprinkler system is installed. If the two-story, 20,000-square-foot electronics plant that we have been considering is provided with an approved automatic sprinkler system, a bit of arithmetic will show that it can be built of any construction type shown in Figure 1.1.
If more than a quarter of the building's perimeter walls face public ways or open spaces, an increase in area is granted in accordance with a simple formula. Additionally, if a building is divided by fire walls having the fire resistance ratings specified in another table (Figure 1.6), each portion of the building that is separated from the remainder of the building by fire walls may be considered as a separate building for purposes of computing its allowable area, which effectively permits the architect to create a building many times larger than Figure 1.1 would indicate.
The IBC also establishes standards for natural light; ventilation; means of emergency egress; structural design; floor, wall, ceiling, and roof construction; chimney construction; fire protection systems; accessibility of the building to disabled persons; energy efficiency; and many other important factors.
The building code is not the only code with which a new building must comply.
Continues...
Excerpted from Fundamentals of Building Construction by Edward Allen Joseph Iano Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Preface to the Eighth Edition xvAbout the Companion Website xvii
1 Making Buildings 3
Learning to Build 4
Buildings and the Environment 4
Other Sustainable Building Programs and Standards 8
The Work of the Design Professional 12
The Work of the Construction Professional 20
Trends in the Delivery of Design and Construction Services 27
2 Foundations and Sitework 33
Foundation Requirements 34
Earth Materials 35
Sustainability and Foundations and Sitework 41
Earthwork and Excavation 42
Foundations 50
Foundations as Building Enclosure 63
Sitework 70
Designing Foundations 74
Foundations and the Building Code 74
3 Wood 79
Trees 80
Sustainability and Wood 84
Lumber 84
Wood Fasteners and Adhesives 96
Wood Product Adhesives and Formaldehyde 102
Manufactured Wood Components 103
Protecting Wood from Decay and Fire 112
Chemical Wood Preservative Treatments 113
Factory Prefabrication 114
Case Study 121
French American School
4 Heavy Timber and Mass Timber Construction 125
Building with Large Wood Members 126
Calculating the Fire Resistance of Wood Members 130
Heavy Timber and Mass Timber in the Building Code 130
Connecting Large Wood Members 132
Sustainability and Heavy Timber and Mass Timber Construction 134
Connecting Mass Timber Panels 139
Heavy Timber and Mass Timber Floors and Walls 142
Lateral Stability 144
Accommodating Building Services 145
Mass Timber–Concrete Composite Construction 145
Constructing Mass Timber Buildings 147
Long Spans with Mass Timber Construction 147
Preliminary Design of Heavy Timber and Mass Timber Structures 151
5 Wood Light Frame Construction 155
History 157
The Platform Frame 158
Sustainability and Wood Light Frame Construction 160
Foundations for Wood Light Frame Structures 160
Building the Frame 169
Variations on Wood Light Frame Construction 194
Preliminary Design of Wood Light Frame Structures 203
Wood Light Frame Construction and the Building Codes 204
Uniqueness of Wood Light Frame Construction 206
6 Exterior Finishes for Wood Light Frame Construction 213
Protection from the Weather 214
Roofing 215
Windows and Doors 221
Paints and Coatings 224
Siding 228
Exterior Trim 235
Sealing Exterior Joints 235
Sustainability and Exterior Finishes for Wood Light Frame Construction 237
Exterior Painting, Finish Grading, and Landscaping 237
Protection from Wildfire 237
Exterior Construction 238
7 Interior Finishes for Wood Light Frame Construction 243
Completing the Building Enclosure 251
Sustainability and Insulation Materials for Wood Light Frame Construction 258
Wall and Ceiling Finish 261
Millwork and Finish Carpentry 261
Proportioning Stairs 270
Fireplaces and Stoves 272
Flooring and Ceramic Tile Work 272
Finishing Touches 276
8 Brick Masonry 281
History 282
Mortar 284
Sustainability and Brick Masonry 287
Brick 288
Earthen and Bio- Based Material Construction 294
Brick Masonry 297
Masonry Wall Construction 312
9 Stone and Concrete Masonry 321
Stone Masonry 322
Sustainability and Stone and Concrete Masonry 336
Concrete Masonry 337
Other Types of Masonry Units 347
Masonry Wall Construction 348
10 Masonry Wall Construction 353
Types of Masonry Walls 354
Preliminary Design of Loadbearing Masonry Structures 362
Spanning Systems for Masonry Bearing Wall Construction 362
Detailing Masonry Walls 366
Special Problems of Masonry Construction 369
Movement Joints in Buildings 372
Masonry Paving 376
Masonry and the Building Codes 378
Uniqueness of Masonry 378
11 Steel Frame Construction 383
History 384
The Material Steel 386
Preliminary Design of Steel Structures 389
Joining Steel Members 397
Details of Steel Framing 402
The Construction Process 412
Fire Protection of Steel Framing 426
Longer Spans and Higher- Capacity Columns in Steel 430
Fabric Structures 437
Steel and the Building Codes 440
Sustainability and Steel Frame Construction 441
Uniqueness of Steel 441
12 Light Gauge Steel Frame Construction 447
The Concept of Light Gauge Steel Construction 448
Sustainability and Light Gauge Steel Framing 449
Light Gauge Steel Framing 450
Other Uses of Light Gauge Steel Framing 459
Preliminary Design of Light Gauge Steel Frame Structures 461
Insulating Light Gauge Steel Frame Structures 461
Finishes for Light Gauge Steel Framing 462
Advantages and Disadvantages of Light Gauge Steel Framing 462
Light Gauge Steel Framing and the Building Codes 462
Metals in Architecture 464
Case Study 470
Camera Obscura at Mitchell Park, Greenport, New York
13 Concrete Construction 475
History 476
Cement and Concrete 477
Sustainability and Concrete Construction 480
Making and Placing Concrete 483
Formwork 487
Reinforcing 488
Concrete Creep 502
Prestressing 502
Concrete Standards 507
Innovations in Concrete 507
14 Sitecast Concrete Framing Systems 513
Casting a Concrete Slab on Grade 515
Casting a Concrete Wall 520
Casting a Concrete Column 524
One- Way Floor and Roof Framing Systems 525
Two- Way Floor and Roof Framing Systems 534
Sitecast Posttensioned Framing Systems 541
Other Types of Sitecast Concrete 542
Cutting Concrete, Stone, and Masonry 548
Longer Spans in Sitecast Concrete 550
Designing Economical Sitecast Concrete Buildings 552
Preliminary Design of Sitecast Concrete Structures 553
Sitecast Concrete and the Building Codes 553
Uniqueness of Sitecast Concrete 553
15 Precast Concrete Framing Systems 559
Precast, Prestressed Concrete Structural Elements 561
Preliminary Design of Precast Concrete Structures 563
Assembly Concepts for Precast Concrete Buildings 563
Manufacture of Precast Concrete Structural Elements 564
Fastening to Concrete 570
Joining Precast Concrete Members 572
Composite Precast/Sitecast Concrete Construction 584
The Construction Process 584
Precast Concrete and the Building Codes 584
Sustainability and Precast Concrete Framing Systems 585
Uniqueness of Precast Concrete 586
16 Designing the Building Enclosure 595
Requirements of the Building Enclosure 596
Keeping Water Out 600
Sustainability and the Building Enclosure 603
Controlling the Flow of Heat 605
Controlling Air Leakage 608
Controlling the Diffusion of Water Vapor 611
Control Layers in the Building Enclosure 615
Sealing Joints 615
Case Study 622
Developing Mass Timber Curtain Wall Systems
17 Roofing 627
Low- Slope Roofs 629
Sustainability and Roofing 634
Steep Roofs 648
Cool Roofs 662
Green Roofs 663
Dissimilar Metals and Galvanic Corrosion 664
Photovoltaic Systems 667
Roofing and the Building Codes 669
18 Glass and Glazing 673
History 674
The Material Glass 677
Sustainability and Glass 677
Other Types of Glass 687
Glazing 687
Glass and Energy 690
Glass and the Building Codes 697
Case Study: 702
Skating Rink at Yerba Buena Gardens
19 Windows and Doors 707
Windows 708
Plastics in Building Construction 715
Sustainability and Windows and Doors 721
Doors 721
Other Window and Door Requirements 727
20 Cladding with Masonry and Concrete 735
Brick and Other Clay Masonry Curtain Walls 736
Stone Curtain Walls 743
Precast Concrete Curtain Walls 747
Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems 750
Case Study 754
Seattle University School of Law
21 Cladding with Metal and Glass 759
Aluminum 760
Sustainability and Cladding with Metal and Glass 765
Aluminum and Glass Framing Systems 766
An Outside Glazed Curtain Wall System 772
Other Metal and Glass Cladding Systems 775
The Curtain Wall Design Process 775
Metal Panel Cladding 776
22 Selecting Interior Finishes 785
Installation of Mechanical and Electrical Services 786
Sustainability and Interior Finishes 788
The Sequence of Interior Finishing Operations 788
Selecting Interior Finishes 789
Other Surface Flammability Criteria 793
Long- Term Trends in Interior Finish Systems 796
23 Interior Walls and Partitions 799
Interior Walls and Fire Criteria 800
Partition Framing 801
Sustainability and Gypsum and Other Wall Covering Products 804
Plaster Partitions 805
Gypsum Board Partitions 815
Plaster Ornament 816
Masonry Partitions 825
Wall and Partition Facings 826
24 Finish Ceilings and Floors 833
Finish Ceilings 834
Types of Ceilings 835
Sustainability and Finish Ceilings and Floors 843
Finish Flooring 844
Finish Flooring Materials 846
Appendix 862
Glossary 864
Index 895
What People are Saying About This
"In the new fifth edition of Fundamentals of Building Construction, Allen and Iano set a new benchmark by incorporating sustainability issues into a mainstream construction textbook, section by section, as in this concise overview from the first chapter. We also look forward to a future edition of their outstanding book in which appropriate sustainability considerations have penetrated every topic and page." (ArchitectureWeek, April 13, 2009)