COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION FINAL PAPER 2025/2026
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS GUARANTEE A+
✔✔Gr 1. Car Park, Mechanical Plant room, Roadway
Gr 2. Storage Space, Electrical Plant room
Gr 3. Office/Residential/Kitchen/Nightclub
Gr 4. Archiving things of importance - ✔✔What are the uses for each basement grade?
✔✔Car parking and Mechanical plant rooms. A little bit of moisture is acceptable -
✔✔What is the 1st basement grade typically used for?
✔✔Storage and Electrical plant room. No moisture is acceptable. - ✔✔What is the 2nd
basement grade typically used for?
✔✔Offices, Residential, Kitchens, Restaurants etc. No moisture is acceptable -
✔✔What is the 3rd basement grade typically used for?
✔✔Archive storage of valuable books, art, documents. No moisture is acceptable. -
✔✔What is the 4th basement grade typically used for?
✔✔- open excavations (shallow)
- excavations with temporary support (deep)
- excavation with permanent walls (deep) - ✔✔What are the three types of basement
construction
✔✔The hole is dug first and then the construction of the floor and walls follow. this is
done when there are not close neighbouring properties because a large area is needed.
- ✔✔what is open excavation construction?
✔✔vibrate sheets into the ground, excavate the dirt out, put props up to support
temporary wall, Install real wall, remove temporary walls. Ideal for deep basements but
costly and risk of soil collapsing. - ✔✔what is excavation with temporary support ?
✔✔installing secant or contiguous piles and then excavate the ground. - ✔✔what is
excavation with permanent walls?
✔✔is the capacity of soil to support the loads applied to the ground. - ✔✔what is meant
by bearing capacity of soil?
✔✔Typically used and waterproof but it is hard to repair if it has been tanked externally -
✔✔What are the pros and cons of a tanked basement?
, ✔✔One of the most efficient ad effective forms of waterproofing as the structure itself
has been waterproofed but it is very expensive - ✔✔What are the pros and cons of a
waterproof basement?
✔✔Very simple and cost effective but it is not waterproof and needs a drain to remove
water. These are not habitable so no need for waterproofing. - ✔✔What are the pros
and cons of a drained basement?
✔✔squeezing or pushing together e.g. Gravity is the biggest compressive load -
✔✔What is compression?
✔✔stretching or pulling out. e.g. Downward load of a floor pulls on steel beams. -
✔✔What is tension?
✔✔twisting. e.g. happens with wind - ✔✔What is torsion
✔✔the ability to resist compression - ✔✔what is compressive strength?
✔✔concrete high and steel low - ✔✔what has high and low compressive strength?
✔✔- Acoustics
- Durable
- Fire resistant - ✔✔Why use concrete?
✔✔Is a steel bar or mesh of steel wires used as a tension device in reinforced concrete
and reinforced masonry structures to strengthen and hold the concrete in tension. -
✔✔Reinforced steel
✔✔is a type of steel used as a construction material for making structural steel shapes
like a beam - ✔✔Structural Steel
✔✔aim to increase the buildings energy performance - ✔✔What is the aim of the
performance framework?
✔✔1. design elements
2. occupant experience
3. building management
4. agreements and culture
5. IEQ - ✔✔What are the 5 nodes for the performance framework?
✔✔It focuses on the physical technologies and systems within the building. e.g.
lighting/hvac - ✔✔What does design elements of the performance framework refer to?
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS GUARANTEE A+
✔✔Gr 1. Car Park, Mechanical Plant room, Roadway
Gr 2. Storage Space, Electrical Plant room
Gr 3. Office/Residential/Kitchen/Nightclub
Gr 4. Archiving things of importance - ✔✔What are the uses for each basement grade?
✔✔Car parking and Mechanical plant rooms. A little bit of moisture is acceptable -
✔✔What is the 1st basement grade typically used for?
✔✔Storage and Electrical plant room. No moisture is acceptable. - ✔✔What is the 2nd
basement grade typically used for?
✔✔Offices, Residential, Kitchens, Restaurants etc. No moisture is acceptable -
✔✔What is the 3rd basement grade typically used for?
✔✔Archive storage of valuable books, art, documents. No moisture is acceptable. -
✔✔What is the 4th basement grade typically used for?
✔✔- open excavations (shallow)
- excavations with temporary support (deep)
- excavation with permanent walls (deep) - ✔✔What are the three types of basement
construction
✔✔The hole is dug first and then the construction of the floor and walls follow. this is
done when there are not close neighbouring properties because a large area is needed.
- ✔✔what is open excavation construction?
✔✔vibrate sheets into the ground, excavate the dirt out, put props up to support
temporary wall, Install real wall, remove temporary walls. Ideal for deep basements but
costly and risk of soil collapsing. - ✔✔what is excavation with temporary support ?
✔✔installing secant or contiguous piles and then excavate the ground. - ✔✔what is
excavation with permanent walls?
✔✔is the capacity of soil to support the loads applied to the ground. - ✔✔what is meant
by bearing capacity of soil?
✔✔Typically used and waterproof but it is hard to repair if it has been tanked externally -
✔✔What are the pros and cons of a tanked basement?
, ✔✔One of the most efficient ad effective forms of waterproofing as the structure itself
has been waterproofed but it is very expensive - ✔✔What are the pros and cons of a
waterproof basement?
✔✔Very simple and cost effective but it is not waterproof and needs a drain to remove
water. These are not habitable so no need for waterproofing. - ✔✔What are the pros
and cons of a drained basement?
✔✔squeezing or pushing together e.g. Gravity is the biggest compressive load -
✔✔What is compression?
✔✔stretching or pulling out. e.g. Downward load of a floor pulls on steel beams. -
✔✔What is tension?
✔✔twisting. e.g. happens with wind - ✔✔What is torsion
✔✔the ability to resist compression - ✔✔what is compressive strength?
✔✔concrete high and steel low - ✔✔what has high and low compressive strength?
✔✔- Acoustics
- Durable
- Fire resistant - ✔✔Why use concrete?
✔✔Is a steel bar or mesh of steel wires used as a tension device in reinforced concrete
and reinforced masonry structures to strengthen and hold the concrete in tension. -
✔✔Reinforced steel
✔✔is a type of steel used as a construction material for making structural steel shapes
like a beam - ✔✔Structural Steel
✔✔aim to increase the buildings energy performance - ✔✔What is the aim of the
performance framework?
✔✔1. design elements
2. occupant experience
3. building management
4. agreements and culture
5. IEQ - ✔✔What are the 5 nodes for the performance framework?
✔✔It focuses on the physical technologies and systems within the building. e.g.
lighting/hvac - ✔✔What does design elements of the performance framework refer to?
