By John Lam Asset Enhancement • Building Law • Building Technology • Uncategorized • • 0 Comments

Coring the rock stratum engineering our pile foundation

Site investigation is a term to cover a lot of aspect about the site. For the Engineer in construction site, it means the process to find out the soil and rock condition. From the project management perspective, we see the most essence is whether the quality control system is working well in place . This control system involves sampling , inspection, recording and counter-check. Although the PNAP has imposed a lot of restrains in the site investigation, the entire controlling mechanism still heavily rely on the professional site staff. The sample taken will be inspected the the engineer. This inspection is to be fed back to the Designer to confirm the design assumption of piling coincide well to what happens on site. This is the feedback loop essentially important in the entire QA process.

I witness the coring process and I can say the coring of soil / rock is not a pleasant job. Sometimes, the sample was damaged in the process, sometimes, the sample was dropped in pieces. Thus , a good sampling and coring process did demand patience by labour, right machine set up, on-site engineer inspection and recording.

 

 

By John Lam Building Technology • 0 Comments

Surveying technique to the structural opening found in the RC beam

Professional Building Surveyors are always called on board to do structural survey. There is one situation where the RC beam is cored with the opening and this caused a lot of anxious to the occupier about its structural safety. Usually , the surveying to this kind of damaged structural elements are tricky and professional. It needs to review the original structural frame ; RC beam rebar details , slab thickness and the exact position of opening being formed on the beam section

Details of infrastructure – Construction worker hands securing steel bars with wire rod for reinforcement of concrete

Since the reinforced concrete beam is composed of the rebars configured in designated position to achieve different structural purpose, thus , the inspection to the opening . To ensure a complete and proper visual inspection to the rebar is in place , we adopt the endoscope to inspect also the inside view of the opening . It is to technically identify whether any rebar has been damaged. Also , it helps to ensure the opening was not backfilled with undesirable materials.


Once the visual inspection is done and recorded , we need to cross check with the original design and identify the fall-short and assess the physical damage. Sometimes, we need the input from Structural Design to advise the structural loading capacity effect from the physical damage

Since the portal frame can be either fixed joint or pin joint in nature , thus the beam may exhibit different bending moment . The opening formed on the beam may diminish much the bending moment capacity of beam if the opening were wrongly poised and erred sized

By John Lam Building Technology • 0 Comments

Maintenance Problem from “Party Wall” in Urban area

According to the Land Surveyor “Word Press” 16, Aug 2012 “by Edmond Cheung,  “Party wall” is the physical separating wall of two adjoining building. It functions to divides houses of two different owners buildings but the wall is in shared ownership. In the DEVB(PL-CR) 2/15-08 dated 29th Mar 2010,

A party wall is an integral element, and it is unlikely that half of the same can be removed with the other half remaining intact. Therefore, the removal of the party wall is subject to heavy control stated in Buildings Ordinance Cap 123. To the very least, the lot looking for removal of his own part of “party wall” must have the consent from the rest of owners of the “party wall”. To ensure the integrity of remaining half , we usually apply the structural strengthening by in the steel bracing bolted and mounted to the structural element of the building.

This remains of party wall structure , i.e usually the half of its original wall, becomes some maintenance issues attributed to the already aged cement mortar in brick and rusting of the steel bracing by weather. The steel members sometimes become rusty and decomposed to have lost its strength and also becomes bittle . This also creates the problem of water seepage through the bolt hole path to the interior space. Owners also need to aware that the thickness of party wall is GFA consumable. Since the problem of maintenance is impairing much the integrity of wall and also poses the water seepage problem , it is important to pay attention to it maintenance and to carry out routine inspection.

The steel bracing is bolted to the structural frame of the RC building and this bracing to strengthen the integrity of the “party wall”

By John Lam Uncategorized • 0 Comments

Revitalizing and unlock the potential in Asset

GBE <> KPDO is teammed to give a touch to turn around the simple corner becomes seductive and eye-catching art piece . Apart from aesthetic pleasure, the new architectural design regenerates the lobby and enables the vertical transportation to the podium levels. The capex and the technical-know-how are low and simple, but the magical effects is profoundly sharp.

By samsontam@me.com Building Technology 0 Comments

WFH – Network Router Selection For Your Home

WFH is an acronym for “work from home” which describes work being done remotely, instead of at an office. The acronym “WFH” is used as a nickname for the concept. Many organizations transitioned their employees from the office to WFH during the Coronavirus global pandemic.

Source: https://www.walkme.com/glossary/wfh/#:~:text=WFH%20is%20an%20acronym%20for,during%20the%20Coronavirus%20global%20pandemic.

Online meeting tools become the most important tool for connectivity with colleagues, clients, and bosses for updating the work status, progress, and so on. However, a smooth video conference and clear images and presentation may involve a lot of data during the meeting. Network connectivity becomes a key issue that may need to consider in order to provide a suitable and efficient environment for WFH activities.   Most of the homes in Hong Kong nowadays use wireless networks for their network connection. Therefore, the WiFi router has played a key role in the wireless network connection between all mobile devices, computers, and also many electrical appliances with home automation control functions.

Undoubtedly the wifi data is profoundly important to all mankind worldwide. Whilst every effort is spent to develop the mobile connectivity, few have been concerned with the indoor wifi connection, particularly in reinforced concrete partitioned apartments like Hong Kong where the wifi is hard to cover the entire apartment due to the building material in Hong Kong are mainly concrete and brick wall.

Source: https://eyenetworks.no/en/wifi-signal-loss-by-material/

According to eyenetworks.no, Concrete, with and without metal reinforcement, is one of the worst building materials for wireless signals to pass through, but masonry blocks and bricks can also be serious barriers for Wi-Fi. Plywood and drywall come close to zero signal loss in tests.

Source: https://support.batrium.com/article/94-wifi-troubleshooting

The selection of the router system becomes a critical issue for most of the home users which may need to plan it carefully and understand the home condition in order to choose the best wireless network solution.

 

The above example shows what WiFi signal strength would look like with and without building walls. The red colors represent a signal strength too low for good WiFi connectivity. To achieve a good connection, WiFi has to overcome barriers and obstacles – some of which can’t be eliminated by simply purchasing a new wireless router.

Source: https://www.metageek.com/training/resources/dead-spots-slow-zones.html

Nowadays, many router manufacturer has develop their own mesh system and app for easy setup and config in order to meet the specific usage of users. Like Asus from above diagram which shows the new Ai Mesh system which can be used widely in their new router system which may able to set up easily in one entire SSID for login and config.

“AiMesh is an innovative feature that connects multiple compatible ASUS routers to create a whole-home WiFi network. It’s a flexible and scalable solution that enables you to mix different ASUS router models, so when it’s time to upgrade your network, there’s no need to get rid of your existing hardware. Whenever you need more coverage or want new functionality, just add another compatible router to your AiMesh network at any time.” -https://www.asus.com/Microsite/AiMesh/en/

Other manufacturers like Tp-link which has still developed the HomePlug system which can transfer up to 1300Mps. Homeplug network system is a good network system especially in the situation of the thick walls which may not easy to let the WiFi signal pass through. However, the HomePlug network system mainly relies on the strength of your electrical cabling system which the performance can be impacted by home power usage.

Some organizations like airports or shopping malls, they install the “AP” access point for widening the coverage but the wifi speed is doubtful and diminishing. GBE sees these issues and enhances our tenancy experience by enriching the wifi coverage INSIDE the apartment with the latest technology like mesh WiFi system and HomePlug network system which sounds common but tricky to utilize. This does demand some local and in-field commissioning and testing for gearing toward most satisfaction coverage to each corner like bathroom, walk-in closet, powder room, and the most important is to cover the maid room too.