Working Conditions in Construction

 

Construction offers more opportunities than most other industries for individuals who want to own and run their own business such as remodeling and maintenance projects. The rate of self-employment varies greatly by individual occupation in the construction trade. Most of the workers in construction are skilled craftsworkers or laborers, helpers, and apprentices who assist the more skilled workers. Most construction workers generally are classified as either structural, finishing, or mechanical workers.

Structural workers include carpenters; construction equipment operators; brickmasons, blockmasons, and stonemasons; cement masons and concrete finishers; and structural and reinforcing iron and metal workers.

Finishing workers include carpenters; drywall installers, ceiling tile installers, and tapers; plasterers and stucco masons; segmental pavers; terrazzo workers; painters and paperhangers; glaziers; roofers; carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers; and insulation workers.

Mechanical workers include pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters; electricians; sheet metal workers; and heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers. Other workers, called hazardous materials removal workers remove hazardous materials such as asbestos, lead, and radioactive and nuclear materials from buildings, facilities, and the environment to prevent further contamination of natural resources and to promote public health and safety.

The greatest numbers of construction craftsworkers are carpenters; electricians; pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters; construction equipment operators; painters and paperhangers; sheet metal workers; drywall installers, ceiling tile installers and tapers; cement masons, concrete finishers, segmental pavers, and terrazzo workers; brickmasons, blockmasons, and stonemasons; and roofers.

The construction industry employs nearly all of the workers in some construction craft occupations—such as plasterers and stucco masons; roofers; structural and reinforcing iron and metal workers; and drywall installers, ceiling tile installers, and tapers.

In other construction craft occupations—for example, electricians; painters and paperhangers; plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters; and carpet floor, and tile installers and finishers—large numbers also work in other industries. Other industries employing large numbers of construction workers include transportation equipment manufacturing; transportation, communication, and utilities; real estate; wholesale and retail trade; educational services.

Many persons advance to construction craft occupations from related, less skilled jobs as helpers or laborers. They acquire skills while they work. They are first hired as laborers or helpers, performing a variety of unskilled tasks and providing much of the routine physical labor needed in construction.

They erect and dismantle scaffolding, clean up debris, help unload and carry materials and machinery, and operate simple equipment. They work with experienced craftworkers, learning the basic skills of a particular craft. After acquiring experience and skill in various phases of the craft, they may become skilled craftworkers.

To develop their skills further after training, construction craftworkers may work on many different projects, such as housing developments, office and industrial buildings, or highways, bridges, and dams. Flexibility and a willingness to adopt new techniques, as well as the ability to get along with people, are essential for advancement.

Those who are skilled in all facets of the trade and who show good leadership qualities may be promoted to supervisor. As supervisors, they oversee craftworkers and helpers and ensure that work is done well. They plan the job and solve problems as they arise. Those with good organizational skills and exceptional supervisory ability may advance to superintendent.

Superintendents are responsible for getting a project completed on schedule by working with the architect’s plans, making sure materials are delivered on time, assigning work, overseeing craft supervisors, and ensuring that every phase of the project is completed properly and expeditiously. They also resolve problems and see to it that work proceeds without interruptions. Superintendents may advance to large projects as general managers and top executives. Some go into business for themselves as contractors.

 

TEXT EXERCISES

 

16. Find in the text the words or phrases which mean the same as:

 

· самозанятость	· монтажник
· подмастерье	· штукатур
· рабочий-отделочник	· стекольщик
· трубоукладчик	· кровельщик
· сантехник	· электрик
· загрязнение природных ресурсов	· поддержание общественного здоровья и безопасности

 

17. Give Russian equivalents to the following words and word combinations:

 

steamfitter, construction equipment operator, paperhanger, sheet metal worker, drywall installer, ceiling tile installer, taper, cement mason, concrete finisher, segmental paver, roofer, craft occupation, steamfitter, real estate, wholesale and retail trade, unskilled tasks, to dismantle scaffolding, to clean up debris, to operate simple equipment, basic skills, all facets of the trade, to resolve problems

 

18. Translate into English:

 

Масштабы строительства в нашей стране огромны: строятся новые сооружения, крупные комплексы, целые города. В результате влияния технического прогресса строительство превратилось в развитую индустриальную отрасль.

Строительные материалы сейчас после заводской обработки покупают на строительные площадки в виде готовых крупных элементов - конструкций и деталей (фундаментных блоков, панелей стен, плит перекрытий, колонн, лестниц, балковых плит и т.д.), а строительные площадки превращаются в монтажные. Одна такая конструкция заменяет сразу сотни кирпичей, а устанавливается она на место за несколько минут.

 

15. Read the Texts 3, 4 from THE SUPPLEMENTARY READING to learn more about the process of construction.

UNIT 3

 

BUILDING MATERIALS

1. Remember the following words:

timber – строевой лес, древесина plastics – пластмассы purpose – цель softwoods – мягкие породы дерева valuable– ценный	brick – кирпич to provide – обеспечивать, снабжать to divide – делить, разделять, подразделять hardwoods – твердые породы дерева
to employ – использовать, применять veneer– фанера, шпон mortar – строительный раствор marble– мрамор	plywood – фанера hollow – полый, пустотелый, пустой construction – строительство sandstone– песчаник
limestone – известняк brass– латунь, медь to resist - сопротивляться gravel – гравий	alloy– сплав to insulate –изолировать cement – цемент sufficient – достаточный
to mix - смешивать, mixture – смесь slag – шлак	pebbles – галька, голыш, булыжник load– груз, нагрузка
abrasion – трение, истирание, износ property – свойство	to reduce – сокращать compression – сжатие, уплотнение, компрессия
stress– давление, напряжение	beam– брус, балка
plain– простой, обыкновенный weight – вес to sag – оседать, обвивать, падать	to span – перекрывать to cause – быть причиной, вызывать, причинять tension – напряжение, растяжение
to incorporate – соединять, смешивать, встраивать	to prevent – предотвращать tensile – растяжимый

2. Read and translate the text below:

 

Text 3 A

Building Materials

 

Some of the most important building materials are timber, brick, stone, concrete, metal, plastics and glass.

Timber is provided by different kinds of trees. Timbers used for building purposes are divided into two groups called softwoods and hardwoods. Timber is mostly used in railway engineering, in mining and in the chemical industry where it provides a number of valuable materials. However, it is employed as a building material in the form of boards. For the interior of buildings plywood and veneer serve a number of purposes.

A brick is best described as a “building unit”. There exists a variety of bricks for different purposes: ordinary, hollow or porous, lightweight, multicolour bricks for decorative purposes, etc. Bricks are usually laid in place with the help of mortar.

Natural stone is used for foundations and for the construction of dams. The main varieties of building stone are basalt, granite, marble, sandstone and limestone. Marble, granite and sandstone are widely used for decorative purposes, especially with the public buildings.

Metals. Aluminium, principally in the form of various alloys, is highly valued for its durability and especially for its light weight, while brass is frequently used for decorative purposes in facing. Steel finds its use in corrugated sheets for roofing, for girders, frames, etc. Various shapes are employed in construction.

Plastics are artificial materials used in construction work for a number of purposes. Nowadays plastics can be applied to almost every branch of building, from the laying of foundation to the final coat of paint. Plastics have some good advantages as they are lighter than metals, not subjected to corrosion, they can be easier machined. Besides they are inflammable, they can take any colour and pattern, and they are good electrical insulators. Moreover, they possess a high resistance to chemical action.

Laminate is a strong material manufactured form many layers of paper or textile impregnated with thermosetting resins. Then it is pressed and subjected to heat. Laminate has been developed for both inside and outside use. It resists severe weather conditions for more than ten years without serious deformation. As a structural material it is recommended for exterior work.

Foamed glass is a high-porosity heat insulating material. Foamed glass is widely used in house building to ensure heat insulation of exterior wall panels, and in industrial construction. Foamed glass is distinguished by moisture, vapour and gas impermeability. It is non-flammable, offers resistance to frost, and possesses a high sound adsorption.

Concrete is perhaps the most widely spread building material used nowadays. Concrete is an artificial stone, made by thoroughly mixing such natural ingredients or aggregates as cement, sand and gravel or broken stone together with sufficient water to produce a mixture of the proper consistency. It has many valuable properties. It sets under water, can be poured into moulds so as to get almost any desirable form, and together with steel in reinforced concrete it has very high strength, and also resists fire. Prestressed concrete is most widely used at present while prefabricated blocks are employed on vast scale for skeleton structures.

 

Notes on the text:

 

to serve a number of purposes – использоваться для многих целей

the final coat of paint – последний слой краски, покрытия

subjected to – подвергающийся чему-л.

and they can be easier machined – и их легче обрабатывать

impregnated with – пропитанный, насыщенный, дополненный чем-л.

impermeability – непроницаемость, герметичность

 

TEXT EXERSICES

 

3. Find English equivalents in the text

 

различные виды деревьев, железнодорожный транспорт, в виде досок, отливка и обжиг, прямоугольное твёрдое тело, для декоративных целей, держать кирпич с лёгкой уверенностью, восьмичасовой рабочий день, предохраняет кожу от грубого кирпича, основные разновидности строительного камня, ценится за долговечность, отрасль строительства, принимать любую форму, много слоёв бумаги, для использования и снаружи, и внутри помещения, теплоизолирующий материал, морозостойкость, шлаковая вата, площадь поперечного сечения, выдержать напряжение растяжения

 

4. Add the missing parts of the sentences from the text:

 

1. ___ for building purposes are divided into two groups called softwoods and hardwoods.

2. However, timber is still employed ___

3. ___ ordinary, hollow or porous, lightweight, multicolour bricks for decorative purposes, etc.

4. ___ they use natural stones such as marble, granite, basalt, limestone and sandstone.

5. ___ while brass is frequently used for decorative purposes in facing.

6. These materials are sufficiently rigid to stand ___.

7. ___ severe weather conditions for more than ten years without serious deformation.

8. ___ to ensure heat insulation of exterior wall panels, and in industrial construction.

9. It is non-inflammable, offers resistance to frost, ___.

 

5. Match the words with their definitions:

 

1) timber	a) a long thin flat piece of wood used for making floors, walls, fences etc:
2) brick	b) a mixture of cement or lime, and sand and water, used in building for holding bricks or stones together
3) clay	c) a metal that consists of two or more metals mixed together
4) board	d) a strong beam, made of iron or steel, that supports a floor, roof, or bridge
5) veneer	e) a hard block of baked clay used for building walls, houses etc.
6) mortar	f) a type of rock that contains calcium
7) sawdust	g) something that you hold in your hand and use to do a particular job
8) alloy	h) a thick sticky liquid that comes out of some trees
9) girder	i) wood prepared for use in building and carpentry
10) raw material	j) very small pieces of wood that are left when you have been cutting wood
11) tool	k) the work or industry of getting gold, coal etc out of the earth
12) resin	l) a type of heavy sticky earth that can be used for making pots, bricks
13) limestone	m) a thin layer of wood or plastic that covers the surface of a piece of furniture made of cheaper material, to make it look better
14) mining	n) an unprocessed natural product used in manufacture

 

6. Act the dialogue in pairs:

 

Customer: I would like to order a countryside house. Here is the project.

Foreman: Let’s see. A two-storey house with a garage. Ten rooms and two staircases. What will the foundation made of? Concrete?

C: Yes, ferro-concrete.

F: And what about the walls?

C: I want red brick walls. The windows are large. By the way, the panes should be airtight. I want them to be double-glazing.

F: We’ll make them hermetic with patty. We put it in the grooves, and then fix the panes.

C: Excellent. The hinges and handles should be bronze.

F: Ok. What type of roof would you like?

C: I want the roof to be flat, with a small garden.

F: Do you have an interior designer?

C: Yes, but the drafts aren’t ready.

F: What idea does he have?

C: There will be a mantelpiece in the hall and the walls will be decorated with panels.

F: Plastic panels?

C: Oh, no. Panels must be of wood.

F: What wood do you prefer?

C: I think oak is the best.

F: How do you pay the construction?

C: I’ve got the mortgage for 25 years from the bank.

F: So we’ll make oak panels then.

 

7. Read and summarize the information below:

 

Wood has been a highly used building material since prehistoric times. Among other highly used construction materials there are concrete, steel, brick, stone, and plastics. They all differ in their properties and in the methods of usage. Construction materials are known to differ in strength, hardness, fire- and corrosion-resistance durability, and, naturally, cost.

Being the oldest building material, wood is also known to be the only naturally growing organic material. Is wood strong? Hardly so, because wood always contains some water which decreases its strength.

But after the wood is cut, the water content starts to evaporate and as the water content decreases the strength of the cut wood and its hardness start to increase. It is a well-known fact that the drier is the cut wood the greater is its strength and hardness.

Trees are known to grow naturally, which makes wood a constantly renewable natural resource. Among other advantages of wood there are its low cost, low weight, and high workability. But, as any other construction material, wood has its disadvantages. The main ones are the following - it is not fire-resistant, it easily burns. Besides, it easily decays.

 

8. Read the information below to find answers to the questions:

 

1. What properties make concrete a highly used construction material?

2. What two types of aggregate are used for producing concrete?

3. What ingredients does the quality of concrete depend upon?

4. How long does the process of hardening the mixed components last?

 

Concrete is considered to be a universal material for construction. Different kinds of concrete can be used practically for every building purpose. The raw materials for producing concrete can be found in every part of the world.

The main property that makes concrete so popular is that it can be formed into strong monolithic slabs. Another good quality is it’s relatively low cost. Besides, concrete is known to be fire- and decay-resistant.

Concrete is produced by combining coarse and fine aggregates, Port­land cement, and water. Coarse aggregate is generally gravel or crushed stone, and fine aggregate is sand. Cement, sand, gravel, and water are taken in proportional amounts and mixed.

The quality of concrete depends mostly on the quality of the cement used. The process of production consists in pouring the mixed components into forms and holding them there until they harden. The process of hardening generally lasts for about 28 days.

 

9. Translate into English:

 

Строительные материалы - это материалы и изделия, используемые при строительстве и ремонте зданий и сооружений. В зависимости от назначения и условий эксплуатации вашего будущего дома при выборе строительных материалов, будут определяться и требования к ним из всего обширного разнообразия.

По степени готовности их можно разделить на собственно строительные материалы (лесоматериалы, металлы, цемент, бетон, кирпич, песок, строительные растворы и т.д.) и строительные изделия - готовые детали и элементы, монтируемые в здании на месте строительства (сборные железобетонные панели и конструкции, санитарно-технические кабины, дверные и оконные блоки и т.д.).

По происхождению строительные материалы подразделяют на природные и искусственные.

§ Природные материалы – получают путем переработки природного сырья. Данным материалам придают определенную форму и соответствующие размеры, но не изменяют их внутреннего строения и состава. Чаще всего из природных материалов используются лесоматериалы и каменные материалы и изделия. Также, в готовом виде или при простой обработке можно получить битум и асфальт, озокерит, казеин, некоторые продукты растительного происхождения, например, солому, камыш, торф, лузгу и другие.

§ Искусственные материалы - производят из природных сырьевых материалов, реже - из побочных продуктов промышленности, сельского хозяйства или сырья, получаемого искусственным путем. Вырабатываемые строительные материалы отличаются от исходного природного сырья как по строению, так и по химическому составу, что связано с коренной переработкой сырья в заводских условиях с привлечением для этой цели специального оборудования и энергетических затрат. К ним относят кирпич, цемент, железобетон, стекло и другие.

В строительстве большее распространение и разнообразие имеют искусственные материалы, но и природные материалы продолжают находить широкое применение с приданием им необходимых внешних форм и размеров.

 

from: Строительные материалы // http://

projects.ru/materialy/stroitelnye-materialy

 

10. Read the Text 5 from the SUPPLEMENTARY READING to learn more about the building materials.

11. Read and summarize the text below:

 

Text 3 B

Aggregates for Concrete

 

By the simple definition from the dictionary “aggregates are the materials, such as sand and small stones, that are mixed with cement to form concrete”. In other words aggregates (or cushioning materials) can be defined as a mass of practically inert mineral materials, which, when surrounded and bonded together by an active binder, form the rock. This rock is denoted by the general term concrete.

Aggregates have three principal functions in the concrete: they provide a relatively cheap filler for the concreting material, or binder; they provide a mass of particles which are suitable for resisting the action of applied loads, of abrasion, of percolation of moisture through the mass, and of climate factors; they reduce volume changes resulting from the action of the setting and hardening of the concrete mass.

All aggregates, both natural and artificial, which have sufficient strength and resistance to weathering, and which do not contain harmful impurities may be used for making concrete.

As aggregates such natural materials as sand, pebbles, broken brick, gravel, slag, cinder, pumice and other can be used.

Prestressed concrete is not a new material. Its successful use has been developed rapidly during the last two decades, chiefly because steel of a more suitable character has been produced. Concrete is strong in compression but weak when used for tensile stresses.

If, therefore, we consider a beam made of plain concrete, and spanning a certain distance, it will at once be realized that the beam’s own weight will cause the beam to “sag” or bend. This sagging at once puts the lower edge of the beam of tension, and if the cross-sectional area is small, causes it to break, especially if the span is relatively large.

If, on the other hand, we use a beam of similar cross-section, but incorporate steel bars in the lower portion, the steel will resist the tensile stress derived from the sag of the beam, and thus assist in preventing it from breaking.

In prestressed concrete steel is not used as reinforcement, but as a means of producing a suitable compressive stress in the concrete. Therefore any beam (or member) made of prestressed concrete is permanently under compression, and is consequently devoid of crack under normal loading, or so long as the “elastic limit” is not exceeded. Prestressed concrete is not only used for beams but is now employed extensively for columns, pipes, and cylindrical water towers, storage tanks, etc.

 

TEXT EXERSICES