Important Terms Used inCivil Construction & Real Estate

“A to C”:
We will now try and explain a few very important terms used in the building line and the Civil Construction and the Real Estate Industry and Working.
Quite a few of these are in the vernacular local language, but over the years have acquired a universal acceptance. Many of these words, will, one day or the other, enter the English Language, as already a number of words from our Indian languages have become accepted English Words!
And many of the terms discussed below are quite technical! No! We are not trying to make you all Civil Engineers!
It is just that better knowledge is better suited for better results.
These will mostly apply to places and the construction of houses, factories, commercial buildings, schools & colleges, hospitals, etc. In fact, the terms described here will tell of about the construction of any type of a building. But it is good to know these terms, as it will help us in our real Estate Work, tremendously.
Neither your clients, nor the builders expect you to become a “Civil Engineer” or even a “Civil Supervisor” by mastering this brief matter!!
But it will help when you are able to understand these terms, and use them correctly before your clients and the builders. Surely, they will be positively and favourably impressed with
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your knowledge. And, more important, no one will be able to fool you!!!
Yes! It has been said that, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing!” But that was said in a totally different context. And you are not treading on any danger, if you confidently talk the terms being discussed here – after you have studied them, as written down and explained here in; and after you have understood and remembered them.
And surely, please do not hesitate to ask us, if you need more clarifications for these terms, or any other ones.
And so here goes!
1.
Abrasion:
Friction is created when one surface tends to rub another; and this brings about a lot of wear and tear.
The moving items in our field of real estate are taps, lifts and vehicle parts and tyres. This is normally called wear-and-tear.
Cemented roads cause more abrasion to the tyres of our vehicles than the normal black topped ones.
Imagine a sandpaper rubbing on your cheeks!
2.
Abrasion Resistant:
Hardened concrete surfaces are designed to accept a certain amount of resistance to this abrasion. This depends upon the quality and the size of the aggregates, the grit, used in making that concrete.
You may like to read about cement concrete.
3.
Acid:
An acid is any chemical compound that promotes chemical reactions by forming salts.
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An acid tastes sour. Oranges and lemons have citric acid in them, and therefore they taste sour!
An acid is actually formed when lighting strikes, making the nitrogen and the oxygen in our atmosphere combine to create nitric acid. This when coming into contact with the surface of the earth, forms nitrates which are very useful for our plants.
Acids are corrosive. Acids are also good cleaners!
Acids must be handled very carefully.
4.
Acidic Properties:
The chemicals around us, like sand, clay, etc., are either acidic or alkaline or a mixture.
On a scale of 1 to 14, any chemical which has a factor of below pH 7 is an acid. A pH Factor is the equivalent of Hydrogen ions in any given quantity. The more the hydrogen, the more acidic will that compound be.
Acidic properties are corrosive in nature. Metal surfaces get corroded quite easily because of acidic properties.
Water, when pure is neutral, that is neither acidic nor alkaline.
We need both acids and alkalis in our work. But we have to be careful when handling both an acid and an alkali, in their purer forms, closer to one for the acid and 14 for the alkali. Moderation, as everywhere is needed here as well!
5.
Additions & Alterations:
This is a common term referred to when any interior working of a house or a flat or apartment or an office or a hotel, etc., is being re-done.
Many times, people tend to completely renew their building by doing it piecemeal, wall to wall!!!
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You need the Municipal Permissions, in Mumbai to take up any major Additions or Alterations to your place.
Many people tend to ignore it.
6.
Adobe:
This is a place of staying. Like your house.
This word came about as the rather thick and heavy clay that was used to make bricks was called “adobe” in Spain.
Don’t confuse this with the software, “Adobe Acrobat”!
7.
Aggregate:
This term refers to the pieces of stones used to make Reinforced Cement Concrete, along with sand and cement. The ratios of each of the above, as also the water to be used, are predetermined by the Engineers; and must be followed strictly.
These are also referred to as GRIT.
Both, aggregate and grit, are also used in the roads, along with bitumen and other materials.
Aggregate are small pieces of stone, but can hurt if not used properly. An error in the quantity needed to make good cement concrete will result in a poor construction job.
So, listen to your engineers, when they decide what material and how much of it to use while constructing your building.
8.
Air Handling Units:
An “Air Handling Unit”, or AHU, more often seen in large commercial or industrial buildings, is a contraction, or a machine, or a set of machines, which take up the air around us, cool, or purify it, clean it, or even heat it [in cold countries], and then send it into the various rooms of that building.
The old air in the rooms is then sucked out. And this cycle continues through the used of these AHUs.
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Basically, all AHUs are largescale Air-conditioners!
A few buildings will have one or more such Units listed in the basement on the top of the building. But onwards, it is more common to have them on every floor of a large building.
9.
Air Pockets:
Cement plaster is used as a bonding material between two hard surfaces. For example, the floor and the marble or the mosaic tiles being fixed on it.
If this plaster is not evenly applied and compacted properly, then air pockets are formed between the hard floor and the flooring material.
Similarly air pockets also get formed sometimes when concreting is going on, if the compacting is not properly done.
This is not good construction working, as these air pockets tend to weaken the structure.
Also see, “honey comb” and “vibrator”.
10.
Air Vent:
There is an old joke about this! Many people have a peculiar accent. For instance people from the Scandinavian countries pronounce “went” as “vent”. A person from one of those countries working in an electrical department of a large company was asked to go and check out the “Air Vent”.
He went and came back and told his supervisor, “The Air Went Nowhere, it is still there!”
Window air-conditioners are passe! They are noisy and inefficient. Most of us now use Split Acs, with the blower inside a room, and the amin colling apparatus, the noise-making condenser outside.
An “air vent” is like this “blower”, but on a larger scale, especially in commercial and industrial buildings.
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Pics: Curtsy, Bing.com
Pictures of “Air Vents” inside a room.
11.
Akhara:
This is word used in Hindi, and even in Punjabi, to call a place where wrestling matches take place.
Generally it is a square with lot of loos sand; and no grit. Not a single piece of stone. So that when the wrestlers fall, they do not get hurt by any hard object.
This word is also used to denote a place with a significance.
12.
Alcove:
This is a small space separated from the main room or the hall. In the olden days, especially in Europe, while they built huge halls, they learnt to build a small room attached to that hall, where people could sleep.
At first they put a curtain to keep the warmth in; then wooden partitions were also used.
You will find alcoves in Churches, Mosques and Temples.
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This is a an “alcove”.
13.
Alkaline Properties:
These are the opposite of acidic properties!
Quite a few of them are good for health. For instance, the water that we drink has more acidic properties than we know. Although it is not killing, it is advisable to drink water with an alkaline touch. Unfortunately, alkaline water filters are costly.
But they are slowly gaining popularity.
Many restaurants in Mumbai serve alkaline water.
14.
Alloy:
An alloy is a mixture of two metals that has the properties of both; and are better than alone.
Brass is a mixture of Copper and Zinc. Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon and nickel or manganese or other metals, too.
Bronze is the most famous of the alloys, even having a period in History named after it – the Bronze Age. The substance formed when Copper and Tin when combined, mostly in ratios of 85 to 15, respectively, is called bronze. It was discovered more than five thousand years go. This was the time that the first of the metals began to be used by man.
Before that we had only the Stone Ages, when people used only stones to build.
Today also, we use stones to build our fine houses. But we often throw more stones than use them properly.
People living in glass houses should not throw stones!
15.
Aluminum:
Having the chemical symbol of Al, this is a soft metal and light weight that is very useful for making molds and frames. It is soft in the sense that is not as hard as steel, but it is still a strong metal.
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Door and Window frames of Al are very popular, as they are light and easy to handle.
Al is also a good conductor of electricity.
[You may like to read about Copper, also.]
16.
Amalgam:
This is an alloy of Mercury and other substances.
Gold and silver are soluble in Mercury.
A costly combination of these can be crystallised, when the Mercury content has been reduced.
These are rich people’s new toys!
17.
Animal Hides:
None of us would like to wear an animal hide. But that is our ancestors lived ten thousand or more years ago!
The skins of the animals like sheep, goats, deer, etc., were taken out and made into a protective material against the cold climate. Tents were also made of animal hides stitched together.
We do wear leather jackets; but that is treated leather!
18.
Anvil:
Today’s children do not get to see this at all.
It is an iron block on which another piece of metal can be placed to bring it into shape by a hammer.
In the olden days, swords were made in this manner.
Nowadays our shoe-polish boys use an anvil to polish our shoes at Railway Station, mostly.
Below is a picture of an anvil.
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Credit: all-free-download, Peter Griffin
19.
Apartments:
First we all lived in the open! It was so simple!
Then we learnt to build a hut to protect us against the light and the rain. And this led to a house. And a house was a nice home.
Until the shortage of land made us go vertically. A multi-storied building gave rise to apartments, which we lived in individually and in privacy, but sharing the high land cost, as also the maintenance costs, with others in the buildings.
A cooperative movement was born.
An apartment is an independent housing unit consisting of a bedroom, or bedrooms, a drawing room that also includes a dining area, a kitchen and a bathroom or bathrooms.
An ‘apartment’ is an American term that is all-inclusive for a unit of housing, be it a one-floor or more than one.
Generally, in our context, although it is often interchangeable with the word, “flat”, it is more of a housing unit for the upper class of people!
Please see, “flats”, also.
20.
Appurtenant Land:
This is the compulsory open space around a building.
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It is necessary for the light and ventilation for, and in, the building. It is also needed for the free movement of people and vehicles around the building.
Especially an ambulance, or fire engine in an emergency!
Mostly you will find people encroaching on this. Bad! Sad!
21.
Aqueducts:
The Romans learnt this science about 2,500 years ago. They transported water from a source to the cities.
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Where this man-made stream needed to cross another river, they built a bridge over it to take this water to their cities. Such a bridge, carrying water is called an aqueduct.
Nowadays, we have pipes.
Aqueducts are good historical places to observe!
Credits: Encyclopaedia Britannica.
This is a picture of Roman Aqueduct.
22.
Arc:
An “arc” is a curve going from one point to another is a semi-circular manner.
It may not be possible to reach from Point A to Point B in a straight line. Perhaps there is a water body or a mountain in the way. Hence, a curved line will need to be taken.
This is an Arc.
Credits: Wikimedia Commons:
23.
Arch/Arches:
The concept of an “ARCH” was basically developed by the Arab Architects, now known as “Indo-Saracenic” Architecture.
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The space between two vertical columns has to be supported by a horizontal member so as to allow the use of the portion above it. Our engineers had long ago discovered the concept of a narrow stone slab to be put on it.
[pic of an old structure…]
But this had a serious limitation: stone labs did not come with a very large lengths.
The engineers of Greece, Rome and the Levant then redefined this concept by putting smaller pieces of stones next to each other, wedging them automatically between these two adjacent members, commencing from one vertical column to another. One block of stone supports the other.
An arch was now born.
Credits: a-f-d, Stux
Credits: all-free-download, werner22brigitte.
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Here is a decorative Arch, and arches above the windows.
Look at the Arches in this load-bearing structure built in 1900 in our very own Bombay, as then known.
24.
Architectural Features:
An architectural feature, as the name suggests, is nothing but an architectural feature!
But, seriously speaking, such a feature is the stamp of an individual over the design; it adds beauty to the structure. It
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may not have any utility as such, but it does definitely give character to a building.
Just look at the photos below:
Just look at the Architectural features in these two buildings built a century apart!
25.
Architrave:
An architrave is a something like a molded frame on top of a door or even a window.
26.
Ayacut:
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This word refers to land under an irrigation system, we must know about it before buying any agricultural or even supposedly non-agricultural lands.
People have purchased lands within the High Flood Level Zones, built their houses there, and then regretted it, when their homes were flooded, in good rains!
27.
Balcony:
A balcony is an extended portion of a slab, the floor, extending beyond the face of the building, beyond the last beam of the structure. As a result it juts out from the vertical edge of the building; and by definition has to be open on three sides.
Look at these balconies.
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That people tend to enclose them is another matter!
In Bhayandar (East), once upon a time, not so long ago, buildings were built very close to the edge of the plots and the roads, also. With the balconies jutting out from face of the
buildings, it was quite easy to jump out from one balcony to the other. As a matter of fact, these could be called “kissing balconies” because one could lean out and kiss someone from the other building while staying in your own balcony!
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28.
Ballast:
A “Ballast” is the “counter-weight” to a support the load to be carried, designed and used by engineers to balance something heavy to be carried, especially vertically.
These pictures show the “Ballast” being used in cranes on a construction site.
All lifts have their own ballasts which go up and down, as the lift also does.
29.
Baluster:
This is a small decorated and carved column made from wood, or stone or even metal. It is a supporting railing.
Please see “balustrade”.
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30.
Balustrade:
This is a small roof or screen covering the entrance to a house, the porch of the house, or a building supported by small columns of stone or wood, to prevent small material falling from the roof above. Or, it can also be just the support railing.
It is also a safety and support for all internal and even external staircases. Balusters were short decorative columns made to be installed on the side of a staircase, as a safety measure.
Credit: the spruce
Credits: Architectural Digest.
31.
Bamboo:
This is a grass! It is a tree-like grass, which can grow for more than 30 metres in height!
Yes! Strange as it may sound, bamboo is a grass, which become very strong as it grows and dries up!
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There are 58 types of bamboo species found in India.
Bamboo trees is grown in more than 16 million Hectares all over the country. And at 3.23 million tonnes, we are only second to China in terms of Bamboo production,
Bamboos provide the scaffolding for our buildings and the support for all repairs to them.
Bamboos are not only very useful in the Construction Industry, but are also useful in preserving our forests, as they grow quickly and release a lot for oxygen.
32.
Banister:
A banister is the hand railing on top of the staircase, to make it easier to grip it.
Over the years it has become a designer’s delight.
Credit: the spruce
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Most of the staircases in our country have a brick wall as a balustrade, and a small wooden strip as a banister.
You can also the balusters in steel, in the picture on the right.
33.
Bar-Bending Schedules:
Steel bars required for the RCC, the Reinforced Cement Concrete, have to be bent to accommodate the sizes of the rooms and the slab.
In the “good old days”, engineers prepared the calculations and the schedules to bend those bars, in advance to save a lot of time.
A good engineer also saved the precious steel in preparing a good “bar-bending schedule”
These days, computers do this work in a few minutes!
34.
Baroque Columns:
This form of architecture is associated with Europe in the 17th century, where showmanship was more important.
Grandeur and power were reflected in the buildings then. The famous palace of Versailles is the perfect example of this. The then Christian Rulers wanted to show off their religion through these buildings.
A “Baroque Column” is one that has a lot of figures on it.
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35.
Barricade:
The police use plastic cones to stop the movement of people on the roads.
Steel Bollards have been put on pavements to prevent motor-cyclist from driving over them.
This is a concrete barricade put alongside a road.
36.
Basement:
A basement is a structure excavated below the ground.
In the olden days, people constructed cellars below their houses to store the grains; and also to hide themselves!
The rulers of the olden times built basements called dungeons below their castles; and threw their prisoners in them!
Nowadays we use a basement in a more fitting manner – to park our cars safe from the sun and the rains!
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Basements are also mis-utilised by the watchmen of the building staying in them!
37.
Beach:
Ah! Which Mumbaikar does not know a beach!!
But before we can enjoy a beach we must understand its very fragile importance.
The place where the sea, or a water body, meets the land is called a shoreline. Most of it rocks, as you can see in the pictures.
But where land touching the shore of the sea or the water body consists of fine sand, that is a beach.
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Just look at a rocky coastline.
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A beach is the sandy piece of land touching the sea. It is an awe-inspiring feeling to be on a beach. The soft sands below your feet, the cool sea breeze wafting over you; and the unknown sea in front, with the waters of the sea lashing at the beach.
We should be careful not to spoil our beaches by littering them with wrappers and plastic bottle.
38.
Beams:
These are the horizontal members of an RCC Structure. They are joined from one column to another and then they support
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the slab over that top and form the ceiling for the portion below and the floor for the portion above that.
Olden houses could not go very high; as the loadbearing capacity of the walls was limited. RCC, the “Reinforced Cement Concrete”, the material that includes, cement, steel, grit, that is aggregate and sand all mixed with water, was invented about 170 years ago, in France.
The superstructure consists of the foundations, the columns and the beams. The beams are the long horizontal lines.
Just look at the Beams in the pictures, here.
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This structure, cannot call it a building, needs to be demolished! The beams are falling apart!
39.
Bedroom Hall Kitchen, BHK:
This is a most common phrase used to describe a flat. There is a bed room’ and hall and a kitchen.
The toilet and bathroom are assumed to be included!
And it is a BHK!!!!
Whether it is a 1 or a 1.5 or 2 or 2.5 or 3 or 3.5 or 4 BHK is quite another matter.
Strange! They sell a flat for several Crores of rupees, and still call a 4 BHK Flat!
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40.
Bellows:
The invention of this a couple of a thousand years ago, helped the Iron Age to expand.
Two leather flaps are joined together in such a manner that they can be opened up and the air is drawn into them. Then the push of those flaps lets out the air trapped between them through a nozzle at the spot required, chiefly a fire.
41.
Bells:
For us in real estate, a bell is what we ring when we go and meet someone; and ring his bell, outside the door!
Hawkers have bells.
Credit: Walmart.
But we don’t need one nowadays!
The sound of the bell of the cow coming home in the evening is a very soothing sound. We. Mumbaikars, will rarely get to here one, as the pace of urbanisation has pushed such farming away.
There are bats in the belfry and don’t try to bell a cat.
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42.
Berm:
A berm is a raised but level surface, which acts a barrier, too.
It can be a terraced road, or railway track, built slightly more raised than the other one.
A berm can also be verticals protection on one side or more, or earthen material only.
Below is a picture of a berm.
Credits: Ragoeser-damm2/Wikipedia
43.
Blocks:
Earlier it was bricks. They built hundreds of cities and empires.
Although cement was known to the ancient Greeks 2,000 years ago, it was not until 1756 when Portland Cement was invented in England and after the 1850s that it became very popular in civil construction. Earlier it was used mostly in erecting buildings and their structural members like the foundations, the columns the beams and the slabs.
Cement blocks became popular only after 1900, in the US; and in our country from only about 40 years ago. These are simply brick substitutes; and used as such.
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Credits: BING, goodwins.ie Credits: BING, denismay.co.uk
Bricks are quite heavy, area for area; and therefore not fit for the taller structures. Blocks are comparatively light; hence they have become popular.
However, blocks tend to leak, especially in our monsoon rains. But, better compacting and manufacturing can now produce a good, almost water-tight block.
We also have hollow blocks, which are indeed quite light; and also good insulators. But they are rather porous; and especially in the Mumbai weather walls made from hollow blocks tend to leak a lot.
Credits: Bing: The Home Depot
But with better and more controlled and quality construction hollow cement blocks are very good, especially in those areas where the rainfall is not high.
Then came the Paver blocks, for making our roads.
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44.
Blowers:
This is that part of a “Split Air-Conditioning Unit” that is inside the house/the rooms.
It just silently blows the cold air that has come from the noisy condenser attached outside the flat.
The pictures below show a blower, closed and open.
It cools the room oh so silently.
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45.
Bore:
A bore is the diameter of a tube which is its opening. The capacity of the pipe to carry the liquid, or the gas depends upon its bore.
Most pipes connecting flats to the overhead tanks have a bore of only of 25 millimetres.
46.
Box Window:
As the name suggests, a “box window” is one that juts out of the walls, like a box.
This is preferable in cold climates where the importance is for the sunlight to come inside.
Credits: celsiuswindows
This is a combo of two Box Windows in one!
47.
Brackets:
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This is a wire or a steel wire or flexible rings used to attach pipes to the surface of a building.
They are also called clips.
48.
Brass:
Copper and Zinc are combined in varying proportions, best with zinc being less than 40%, to make Brass. This combo has been known to man for thousands of years.
Brass is ideal for bolts, screws, hinges, doorknobs and faucets.
Brass is similar to bronze, in that both the materials containing copper, though in differing proportions, and with differing metals to make the alloys.
[You may like to read bronze, below.]
49.
Bricks:
Bricks have been around for thousands of years. Made from clay and fired in a brick kiln, bricks are the cubes 440 millimetres long, 215 millimeters wide and 100 millimetres in height.
The civilisations that built Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa knew how to bake some clay into bricks.
A house is built brick-by-brick!
And don’t throw a brick at anyone!
50.
Bridge:
Before man learnt how to swim, a water body, especially a river was the boundary of his empire.
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Then man learnt how to build a bridge over a river. First it was by boats stretched across sideways, called a pontoon bridge.
Credits: “Encyclopaedia Britannica”.
Then by erecting columns near the coats, and slowly going deeper into the water, a bridge was built.
Credits: a-f-d, Larisa Koshkina.
Credits: EB
Credits: EB
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This is one of the most famous of bridges in the world: the London Tower Bridge.
Credits: L & T Realty.
This bridge should be known to all of us! Yes, it is the fabulous, Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link.
A small bridge under construction!
“Cross the bridge when you come to the river.” This is the old adage. Let us make our law: “Build your bridge when you come to the river.”
51.
Brine:
Sea water is brine. A solution of common salt and water is brine.
It can be corrosive in the long run.
Bridges across the creeks are designed by the Engineers to withstand the impact of this brine effect.
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52.
Bronze:
This is an alloy of copper and tin; and has been known to man for over 6,500 years. So much so that the era when the use of bronze was very common is referred to as the Bronze Age!
It was used to make many small statues and artifacts. It is very hard and not so malleable as brass. It is very corrosion resistant.
Many items of our diurnal use like screws, door handles and cutlery are made from bronze.
Bronze items are much sought after as they bring some elegance with them. They are very popular with interior designers as they lend some elegance to the decorations inside a house.
53.
Building Corridor:
This is the area in a plot where the building can be built. We need to leave some open spaces around the building for light and ventilation, and movement, hence we need to move much inside our plot to build on it.
Normally only 40% of the plot area should be considered as the building corridor.
54.
Building Façade:
How will the actual building look like, when it is ready?
A standard matchbox design does not look nice.
Painting is fine, but that is a normal need.
We need a good façade to attract buyers.
Architects then design something unusual around the face of the building to make it look different.
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Credits: Bing, CGTrader
Some typical English Façade!
Take a look a beautiful façade of an old building in Mumabi – now spoilt by adding a lift to that!!!
55.
Bump:
Mumbai seems to have the most bumps on its roads. You cannot travel a few metres without your vehicle bumping up-and-down.
Even the joints in the roads, of the manholes, or repairs are not smoothly done. Thus they area bumps all over.
It is as if te most powerful of the Companies in India are the tyre manufacturers in that they are happy that Mumbai’s roads do not get repaired and smooth while traveling! After all the
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huge wear-and-tear of our tyres makes them richer earlier for we need to buy the tyres earlier than needed!
But to move from jocular stuff to some serious stuff, it is a fact that we do have many very excellent roads, in our country. Our National Highways, State Highways, the Expressways, the Ring Roads, and other major rods are indeed amongst the best in the world.
However, almost the entire lot of the side roads in Mumbai have been built to make us feel the bumps.
56.
Bundles:
A bundle is a group of some loose stuff tied together, or wrapped up neatly, by a string.
In our parlance of real estate, a “bundle” would, and should, imply a lot of money!
57.
Bungalow:
A bungalow is a rich man’s house!
This is essentially a ground floor structure lavishly built. And it must have lots of open spaces around it.
However, as the cost of land went up and kept going up, and maintaining large open spaces became more and more difficult, the bungalow owners could not afford to live in their own houses. Hence they had to sell them to builders who would build apartments or flats in that plot.
Now this was the real “socialization” of urban land: a bungalow where one family lived once upon a time now houses twenty-four or more families!
58.
Burm:
This is a raised surface.
Please see “berm”.
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59.
Cabinet:
This is a simple wall unit where all forms of utensils, cutlery and crockery can be kept.
Please see cupboards, also.
60.
Cable Ducts:
Built-in holes or spaces are provided in concrete members as designed and when concreted.
The electric cables, or wires, are then passed through these empty spaces, from one end to the other.
All this is part of the “Concealed Wiring”, so that they are not visible in the inside of a flat.
61.
Cables:
Electric wires taking the current from one place to the other are also referred to as cables. This will be especially so when the distance is large.
62.
Cable-Stayed Bridge:
These are bridges where the surface of the bridge, that is the road, is held up by thick and very cables of steel suspended from tall columns.
This way, there is a good clearance for the boats and ships to pass below.
Credits: EB
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This bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA, is one of earliest and most famous of suspended bridges.
Our very own Rajiv Gandhi Sea Linke is another example of a suspended bridge.
63.
Caissons:
These are huge steel box-like structure, more often round than rectangular, put in at the bottom of the sea, where a bridge has to be built.
Closed at the bottom and all round it, but open at the top, they are placed at the bottom of the sea surface, with the top above the water. Sometimes more than one unit is used at the same times as and when the depth of the sea water increases.
Construction workers can then work inside them to build the strong foundations and underwater columns and pillars for our bridges over the seas.
64.
Calibre:
This is the diameter of the barrel of a gun, or the bore of a pipe.
The discovery of very small pipes with a minute calibre has made it possible for designers to make vertical gardens, as seen in the picture.
People also measure the character of a person of good calibre.
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65.
Camp:
This a place where a marching army would halt for the night, pitching tents and putting guards around it. It would be circular mostly, as that provided the maximum security and view; and the centre was for cooking, camp fires, etc.
In certain places, like in Pune, for example, the Army just did not away; and so an entire locality there is called, “Camp”!
These days, camps are for an overnight picnic, or for a good cause, like a blood-donation camp.
66.
Camphor:
This is a solid chemical with a very unusual fragrance; and is an important ingredient in many poojas.
It also a good preservative and is used for protecting wooden furniture against termites, etc.
It comes from trees and is quite a waxy, colour-less solid. In our country the tree from where we get camphor is known as Cinnamomum camphora, also known as the “kapur” tree.
Credits: Sacredearth.com
This is a picture of a “kapur” tree from where we get camphor.
67.
Canopy:
Originally, a canopy was a piece of good quality cloth that was hung over the bed of those in the royalty or the throne, as a decoration, mostly.
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Nowadays a is a cover of any kind. The branches of a tree are its canopy.
The sky is the canopy for the earth.
In real estate, a canopy is something that will cover an open space to protect it from sunlight or rain, especially where the cars will be stopped for the people to get off or get in them.
Here is a double canopy! One is in-built into the building; and another one has been built later in steel and glass!
This is an old-fashioned canopy!
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The person sitting in the tempo above had erected his own canopy against the sun! When I complimented him while I took this photo he had a big smile!
68.
Cantilever:
This is a steel slab or projection jutting out from the main RCC structure support only one side.
69.
Capsule Lift:
This is a small lift, often just between one or two floors only.
This is an indoor lift, too, where the sides are of glass, so you can have a good look around as you are being carried up by that capsule lift.
70.
Carat:
This is used to measure gold.
And good character, too.
71.
Carbon Dioxide:
These days, this is a major problem facing our earth, and us, too. All combustion, that is, all kinds of burning releases cardon dioxide in the air.
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All animals also do that. We breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide.
This is the major “greenhouse gas” problem.
Trees breather in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen, which is a life-giving gas.
Not only must we grow more and more trees, but also reduce combustion. As in using a car only when we have to!
72.
Carbon Footprints:
A Carbon Footprint is a measure to compare the total amount of the harmful “greenhouse gases” that a country emits.
By reducing fossil fuel consumption we can reduce these.
73.
Carbon Monoxide:
This is the gas formed when we burn petrol or diesel in our vehicles. This is a dangerous gas, as a continuous exposure to it can lead to death.
This is also one of the “greenhouse gases” which are spoiling our climate. The only way to reduce the emission of carbon monoxide is to reduce the use of fossil fuels.
74.
Carbon:
This is a non-metallic element, having the Atomic number 6; and a simple symbol of “C”.
It is the 17th most abundant element, yet makes up only 0.025 of the earth’s crust, which is mostly silicon and other metals.
Carbon has its own branch of study called, “Organic Chemistry”, as it can form molecules that can stretch all the way. It is present in all life forms.
Carbon has two pure forms, as diverse as chalk and cheese. And they are a diamond and graphite.
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75.
Casement Windows:
Windows that open out from a room, and do not slide along a track are called casement windows.
Earlier windows were made from wood. And it was easy to make them open outwards.
Then Aluminum was discovered as a lightweight material that could be good for windows, and now doors, also. Sliding windows then became common, as it was easy to make track from Aluminum on which the windows could slide left or right. This also saved space, as opening a window outwards, needed that much more open and unhindered space.
Casement windows came back in use as a style statement!
76.
Cast Iron:
This is an alloy of iron with a small percent of carbon, silicon and manganese.
Although it is somewhat brittle and less tensile than wrought iron, it has a high load bearing capacity. That is why it was popular in the construction industry till about 120 years when steel replaced it, and RCC was also born!
[You may like to read about Wrought Iron in our Site.]
77.
Cat’s Eye:
These are small reflective pieces of some reflective material stuck alongside the roads. They light up and reflect bright red light as the light of a vehicle shines on them.
That way, we know the edge of the road, or any other avoidable space in the road.
This is similar to a cat’s eye which light up brightly when a torch is shone on them!
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78.
Ceiling:
When you look up inside a house, you look up at the ceiling.
This is also the proverbial “roof over one’s head”!
A ceiling is the limit of how high you can go.
Hence many limits are known as a “ceiling”, as in the now repealed, Urban Land Ceiling law, or the Agricultural Land Ceiling, which control your holding of the land.
79.
Cellar:
A cellar is a basement in Mumbai, and a cellar in Hyderabad!
Originally, people used to construct a room or more below their houses, to store their agricultural and other produce. Being below the ground, and not getting any sunlight falling on it, a cellar used to be a cool place.
People often used it in the summers to rest. But it was damp and quite musty and murky.
With the advent of fans, the need to go down to such a cooling place was mitigated.
80.
Celluloid:
This is a plastic film the invention of which gave rise to our cinema shows. And it has become not just an industry, but also an entirely composite culture of its own.
Over the time this word indicates the entire film world industry, encompassing all its gamut.
81.
Cement Slurry:
Cement without water is just a powder. They have to mix to form the cement slurry for the very strong concrete that we need for our buildings.
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You will see a thin line of cement falling from the formwork housing the newly concreted member, like a column. Small line swill jut out on that vertical face.
This shows that that formwork was leaking! And “cement slurry” has flown down from the upper portions of the columns, and which should have been in that place.
Seeing cement slurry sticking out from columns is a sign of bad workmanship.
82.
Cement, Portland/Pozzolana:
The early Greeks and Romans had discovered that lime and a volcanic ash material when mixed formed a paste and which hardened in a short while.
When they found some volcanic ash near the city of Pozzuoli in Italy, they began calling it “pozzolana cement”.
More change came in 1756 CE, when a lighthouse, near the windy and rainy and watery coast in England. But only by 1800 did people in England, France, and the USA, found out that burning some clayey limestone or “cement rock” gave a more strong form material for construction work.
But only by 1824 did the mixing of the synthetic mixture of limestone and clay gave rise to “Portland Cement”. And the rest is cemented history.
Stone chips, called cementum in Latin were used in the Roman mortar, and this word came to be called as cement.
And today the word “cement” does not mean what it originated from: stone chips, but is a mortar that binds.
And good behaviour and good workmanship cement our relationship with our clients!!!!
83.
Cemented Roads:
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Earlier, in the “bad old days”, a road was just a simple path, which was not built upon. Every time, a horse-drawn carriage or horses, and the “horseless carriage”, a motor car, went over that path, the dust would blow all over. In the rainy season this became very slushy and difficult to use.
Then the Romans discovered paving stones for making roads. And Roman roads can still be found in a few places in Europe!
A Scottish Land Owner, John Loudon McAdam, discovered the technique now commonly known as “Water Bound Macadam”.
Or, WBM, in short. This requires the road to be laid in layers of different sizes of rocks and stones, after having raised the level of the road, so that the rain water will drain off.
Applying a coat of bitumen on top, we get what is called as “Black-topped” road. Since bitumen is water resistant, such a topping gives us a road that will not be easily spoilt by regular rain.
Though this still requires regular repairs.
Sometimes the constant repairs to the BT of WBM roads are even higher than the original costs!
Cementing of such roads, though very costly, more than ten times the cost of an ordinary BT Road, is now being done at a fast level, as cemented roads last very long.
Ulhasnagar Municipal Council was one local body that had built cemented roads in its area long before the other bigger Municipal Corporations.
But Cement roads are not so good for our car tyres!
84.
Ceramics:
This is another very useful material around a house. Ceramics have been around for thousands of years.
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Once man discovered he could dig out a portion of the ground, mix some water in it, squash into some shape and then heat it for a nice long time and a very high temperature, he had made a very useful thing for him and his family.
Ceramics are basically made from the various types of clays which are ,mixed with several other materials and colours, water and hand or machine moulding into a desired shape, and heated at a very high temperatures, in a kiln.
Ceramics have a high melting point; are hard and strong; long-lasting; low conductivity and possess chemical inertness.
Ceramics are good for making crockery, flooring tiles, toilets, washbasins, and conductors.
[Please see Conductors and Porcelain, if you like.]
85.
Chabootra:
Any raised platform on the ground so that the rainwater flows away quickly is called a “Chabootra” in Hindi.
It is very good and useful for open air sit-outs and meetings.
86.
Chajja:
This is projection provided on top of external windows and doors to protect against the sun and the rain.
It could be a part of the RCC structure cast along the main frame, or a steel or aluminum sheet. But even when
It juts out at 90 degrees or less, from the vertical walls.
87.
Charcoal:
If coke, not coca cola, is to coal, then charcoal is to wood!
Charcoal is made from burning wood, and other animal and plant materials at a very high temperature with very title
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contact to the air. In this manner the water and other impurities in the wood, or like material are removed.
It is light in weight and will burn easily.
Most people who iron our clothes use charcoal in their irons.
It is the ideal fuel for barbecues, and all of the delicious tandoori cooking, of course!
Credits: a-f-d, Petr Kratochvil
This is a small charcoal fire.
88.
Chaupal:
The space in our villages where community meetings take place is called a Chaupal. It could be a building or just a designated space.
The local people will gather here in the evenings or otherwise, as the need arises.
In large urban areas we have clubs and gymkhanas for the people to gather and discuss, and enjoy.
89.
Chauraha:
This is the Marathi word for a cross-roads, where two roads meet at a point, mostly at 90 degrees.
Since this word is being commonly by a large number of people conversing even in English, it is good to know about it.
90.
Chaurasta:
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This is the Marathi word for a cross-roads, where two roads meet at a point, mostly at 90 degrees.
Since it is a commonly used word by a large number of people conversing even in English, it is good to know about it.
91.
Chavdi:
This the same as a Chaupal.
The Chaupal is referred to as the village Chavdi in Maharashtra.
A Chavdi is also the place in the village where the Talathi and other government servants can meet the villagers.
92.
Chimes:
Earlier bells used to ring. But they were very jarring to the ear.
Now we have musical chimes for that.
The Chinese hang differently cut tubes of steel to make a musical sound when the breeze blows through them.
93.
Chimneys:
This is a cylindrical shaft to let out the smoke, or the fumes, from the burning source, so that the smoke does not further interfere in the combustion that is going on.
The smoke should also not disturb the people nearby.
Factory chimneys are a symbol of atmospheric pollution.
Credits: a-f-d, Petr Kratochvil
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Credits: a-f-d, public.domain.pictures
Chimneys in homes used to be a standard aristocratic affair.
But smoke is such a problem that modern kitchen now have their own chimneys!
Credits: Pepperfry.
94.
Chisels:
These are hand tools made from steel with one sharp edge, to cut wood and other soft material.
Chisels are also used to carve wood and stone.
The exquisite carvings in our temples are the handiwork of people who were very good with working on chisels.
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Credit: marsonequipment. Credit: Stanleytools
95.
Cladding:
This is fixing some tiles or stones vertically, rather than leave that surface with plaster and paint. Cladding gives a decorative and warm look.
Earlier, cladding was used in the rooms up to 150 millimetres, so as to protect that vertical surface from the wet brooms whenever the floor is cleaned.
In most bathrooms, nowadays we have floor-to-ceiling cladding.
Credit: Bing, remstone
This is some nice stone cladding.
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Nice cladding, but not so good visible pipe!
96.
Closed Circuit Television Camera, CCTV:
This is a modern day phenomena.
Electronically operated cameras are provided in large buildings and public premises in various locations. These cameras record everything all the time. And the entire observation is recorded and monitored in a central console by a security agency.
Almost all public places, like railway stations, airports, bus stands, cross-roads, etc., have CCTVs now.
Yes. Your privacy has been compromised.
But then, culprits and murderers have been caught by these Closed Circuit Television Cameras, the CCTVs.
97.
Coke:
You will like to have a chilled coke on a hot summer’s day. But that is actually called Coca Cola.
However, for our work here, coke is a fuel.
It is made from coal, or even petroleum, heated without any air. It is a hard and porous material lighter than coal, but better than it in terms of heat efficiently. And it gives less smoke when burnt, unlike coal.
Although coke is best for the steel industry, but a few people use it to have a camp fire or heating the inside of their houses in the very cold weather.
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Credits: a-f-d, Petr Kratochvil
While coke is mostly used in the furnaces of industrial users, it is a good fuel for a nice camp fire!
98.
Columns:
Vertical members of any building.
The discovery of columns is the permit or the licence for the rise of our high-rise buildings!
An RCC Column is the vertical member of that RCC Structure. The ground floor columns rest on the foundations. And the upper columns rest on the lower columns, all the way down to the foundations.
In this manner the columns of an in the lower floors have to have a higher or better strength as they support so many more columns over them.
Likewise, the columns on the top few floors carry less weight; and are lightly designed.
People often refer columns as “pillars”. This is not correct.
A column is an integral part of the RCC building which is inter-connected with the others, like the beams and the slab. It is not a stand-alone structure.
A pillar is one such structure which can stand on its own. It will support something over it, but that is all.
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Our buildings have columns; but a metro rail runs on pillars when overhead, not on columns.
These are pillars for the Metro Rail, not Columns.
99.
Compound Wall:
“Good fences make good neighbours”. So had said a famous poet more than a hundred years ago.
An ordinary fence will show the exact boundaries of our land; but may not be able to protect the land from the dangers of encroachment. A compound wall does that.
This is fence just for show! The main compound wall is outside covering this entire bungalow scheme!
Neighbours may build a compound wall on their lands jointly, with each one contributing the costs, and the common compound wall being built on half the width from the land of both the neighbours. This is an ideal situation.
But more often than not, people just build the compound wall on their lands, a soon as they need it, and the neighbour who did not join in this activity gets a free one!
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This is a nice compound wall built using just stones.
100.
Compressive Strength:
This is the test used to measure the strength of the concrete for our buildings. It is measured by crushing a cube with measured loads applied on it.
It is also called “crushing strength”!
When the cube under test gets crushed that is the measure of the strength of that concrete. It tells engineers as to how strong the building will be and what load it can take.
The compressive strength in our country for RCC buildings has been broadly classified as M 15, or M 20 or M 25. And more, too.
The ‘M’ above signifies the word “mix”, meaning the type of the concrete mix for grit, sand, cement and water.
The ratios of materials above are:
M 15 = 1:2:4, that is 1 volume of cement, two equal volumes of sand and four equal volumes of aggregate. Water is added judiciously: not too much and not too little, when the above materials are being mixed.
M 20 = 1:1.5:3, that is 1 volume of cement, one and a half equal volumes of sand and three equal volumes of aggregate. Water is added judiciously: not too much and not too little, when the above materials are being mixed.
M 25 = 1:1:2, that is 1 volume of cement, and also one equal volume of sand and equal volumes of aggregate. Water is added
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judiciously: not too much and not too little, when the above materials are being mixed.
Nowadays you get RMC – Ready Mix Concrete – which is pre-designed by the engineers, constructed in a factory and transported under controlled conditions.
[You may like to read about the Cubes, also.]
101.
Compressors:
This is a machine to increase the pressure of a gas by reducing the volume. When you press a pump you decrease the volume of the air inside that pump.
Jet engines use the methodology of passing gas through the rotor blades and because of the speed of the engine, the corresponding increase and decrease in the pressure releases the kinetic energy that makes our jets fly.
Oh! Oh! Sorry. We are not studying aeronautical engineering.
As far we in the construction trade and industry are concerned we need these compressors to provide the energy needed for drill jackhammers, lifting and heavy handling operations.
Credit: askhmachinery.co.uk Credits: aspeneequipment.com
102.
Concealed Plumbing:
Internal plumbing of a house or a flat is of a recent origin.
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In those days of old, not so very long ago, the water carrier, called the Bhishti, used to bring the water in a goat-skin bag on his back and pour it over the containers in your house.
Or you went to the village or thew town well and pulled the out yourself and carried it in buckets.
Or, you then went to the Municipal taps and filled your individual containers.
Individual plumbing became a boon when the Municipal Authorities agreed to provide water from their sources to individual houses or buildings. It was then that an underground tank was filled with the water from the Municipal source, and pumped to your overhead tank.
And from there the water flowed in narrow pipes into your bathrooms and the kitchens.
In time the pipes began to collect dust and sand, making the whole thing look ugly and dirty.
That is when the architects and the engineers invented the concept of concealed plumbing, whereby, these pipes were placed in the walls and hidden from view. And that was what is known as concealed plumbing.
It looks nice, as it is not visible.
But, and it happens often, any repair to a pipe involves breaking apportion of the wall, also!
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Although concealed plumbing is more to do with inside the flat, just see how open plumbing, that not concealed plumbing, looks so dirty in the picture on the right.
And see how nicely this plumbing has been concealed in the building on the left.
103.
Concealed Wiring:
When electric power first came to our houses, there was no way but to take the electric wires from one point to the other, by fixing them on to the walls.
Not only did this look ugly, but it was also outright dangerous: children and pets could touch them at the lower levels and get “shocked”! People have also been electrocuted, very often.
Then the Architects and the Engineers got the idea of hiding these electric cables in the RCC member itself. This is possible
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by leaving steel or PVC pipes of a small bore, in the concrete itself BEFORE it is concreted.
Looks nice; but is a nightmare if we need to repair something in the hidden wiring!
Open Wiring is so dangerous.
104.
Concierge:
This is the French word for a simple caretaker!
You will find him when you go to a decent hotel and need to ask for some help from booking a taxi or a flight or the directions to the loo!!! And he will tell you.
Nowadays, this is becoming a very common in quite a few residential buildings, where the visitor is first confronted with a concierge upon entering the building.
But this, in both commercial and residential buildings is more to do with security than convenience!
105.
Concrete: hydraulic:
Basically this is “hydraulic cement” in liquid form, which when mixed with water, hardens and dries rapidly.
While it is used to fill cracks in individual buildings, it is ideal for building water-resistant structures like dams and ports,
106.
Condenser:
A gas becoming a liquid is called condensation. This action removes the heat and cools the surface. The contraption where
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the hot vapour is converted into a liquid is called as a condenser. This is the principal of air-conditioning.
And thank God for this discovery.
All our air-conditioners work because of this principle.
Earlier, the window Air conditioners did cool your room, but the constant whirring sound was most annoying. Then the engineers came with the idea of “Split Air-Conditioners”. The noise making condenser was split form the air blowers into the room, and bolted outside the flat. The silent blowers threw the cooled air inside.
But too many condensers bolted outside the walls of an apartment building do not make for a good sight!
Just look at the Condensers sticking out from the walls here.
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Just see how this building has avoided all the condensers sticking out its walls!
And look at all these Condensers on the roof!!!!
[You may like to read about the blowers.]
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107.
Conduits:
These are pipes and also tubes made from rubber, plastic or metal to transfer liquids from one point to another.
It is also a movement connecting two things or people!
Credits: Bing, storables.com
108.
Conical Towers:
In those days, when you had no maps, forget the Google Pin Location, people built one tall structure so that the travelers could observe them from a distance and head for those.
That is why we have the churches with tall spires; mosques with a tall minaret; and the temple itself towering in the sky.
Credits: all-free-download, public.domain.pictures.
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109. Construction Joints:
     The National Building Codes of ours require that any building
     that exceeds 30 metres in length, must have a construction joint
     between these two components of the RCC Member. That means
     that an RCC building cannot be more than 30 metres without
     any construction joints.
     This way cracks in the concrete are avoided. Concrete expands
     in the summer and retracts in the cold of the winter. A smaller
     surface of the concrete will handle this better than a large mass
     of it. Hence, the break in the concrete every 30 Metres.
     These hollow joints are then filled with some strong but resilient
     material like wood, bitumen, fibre, etc.
     The next time you drive on the Yashwantrao Chavan
     Expressway, [the Mumbai-Pune Expressway], and you come to
     the Bridge on the Patalganga River, you will hear a rhythmic
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     “Thump. Thump. Thump.” Those are construction joints in that bridge which is obviously more than 20 metres long.
     Let us know how many you hear!!!!
     110.
     Construction Lifts:
     Carrying heavy loads of the construction material and climbing more than 3 or 4 floors of a building is very back-breaking and time consuming. It is counter-productive, as it takes so much time. Machines help you doing that work faster. And Construction Lifts are one such useful invention.
     Temporary tracks are vertically raised and very firmly fixed along the edge of the tall building and then attached to different floors to secure them…
     Credits: BING, jooinn.com Credits. BING, camamach.com
     111.
     Controlled Blasting:
     We need to dig to reach the required depths for the foundations, etc. And this takes a very long time.
     This is especially true for tunnels, too.
     However, in urban areas, with other buildings surrounding the place to be dug, engineers take recourse to “controlled-blasting”
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     of the rocky portions. A lot of protective covering is given on the top of the surface, where the blast has to be made.
     This does blow up the surface, makes a lot of noise, but does not throw out portions of the rock, which can hurt people nearby.
     112.
     Copper:
     This is the 29th element and known by its symbol, Cu.
     It is a rather soft metal which is very ductile and malleable. It is important in the construction industry because it is a high conductor of heat and electricity.
     Aluminum, which is much cheaper than Copper, is also very good conductor of electricity. Kilo for filo, Aluminum weights just 30 % of whet copper does. It is preferred for these two reasons. However, Aluminum corrodes easily; and hence copper is the preferred material for use in the electrical needs.
     113.
     Corinthian Columns:
     The Greeks discovered and developer three forms of tall vertical columns that could be supported by themselves. These were the Doric, the Ionic and then, finally the Corinthian.
     Probably the architects of the city of Corinth did it first; and that is why such columns are known as Corinthian Columns.
     The top portion of the column, also called the Capital is characterized by carvings of the acanthus leaves.
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     Credit: Bing.
     The top of a Corinthian Column.
     114.
     Corner:
     Most of our house have been design in squares and rectangles. Thus, where the two walls meet we have a corner.
     A corner is also the place where you may like to sit, as you can rest on both the sides.
     The place where two roads meet is often called the corner of one of the roads. This is a good meeting point.
     115.
     Cornice:
     This is an architectural feature inside a room.
     The false ceiling around the roof is given a design to show some 3-D design, rather than just a flat joint.
     This is just an ornamental measure that adds some good visual appeal to an otherwise dull surface.
     116.
     Corrosion:
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     This is a major problem, especially near the sea coast where the salt in the water begins to spoil a metal surface like steel, or copper or aluminum.
     Slowly but surely, engineers have evolved techniques to counter that and improve the age of an RCC Building next to the sea.
     117.
     Counter:
     You just came across this word in the explanation to “Corrosion”. That would mean to delay to ward off the effects.
     But a counter to us is also many other places.
     It is the window we go to buy our railway or cinema tickets. [Those of us who can by such tickets on phone, they can count their blessings!]
     We go to a Cash Counter to pay our bills.
     And if Swiggy and Zomato have reduced or removed the chances of our going to the counter , the Swiggy and Zomato delivery boys have to that counter.
     118.
     Covers:
     We often here of a “Cover- Drive” by a good batsman.
     But in Civil Construction a cover is the protective space between the steel rods being used in the RCC Construction and the finished surface of the same.
     Small plastic clips are used to ensure that the steel rod stays away from the surface.
     Very often, round rings made from cement mortar and dried are also used. The ones in the photo below were being used by the Contractor building a Retaining Wall for the MCGM.
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     Just notice the cement rings around the steel rods above.
     119.
     Cow Dung:
     All animals need to go to the bathroom, too.
     Large bovine animals like bulls and cows, other cattle and horses, and other animals, too, also throw out waste matter from all that they have eaten.
     That is “Cow Dung”, and which is a very good manure.
     It is also used as a paste with fine sand to plaster the walls of huts by many villagers.
     Unfortunately a lot of it is burnt away as a fuel.
     120.
     Cracks, Hair-line:
     The above phots show a few “hair-line” cracks.
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     These cracks are only in the plaster; and not as dangerous as the “Structural Cracks”, but still need to be rectified. Only the plaster will peel off; and come off in some time.
     This may not sound so dangerous; but this will expose the rest of the surface to corrosion. Hence, in the long run it is not good. Therefore, it is advisable to even take care of any ordinary type of “hairline Cracks” and have the surface repaired.
     121.
     Cracks, Non-Structural:
     This is more than a “hair-line” crack; but not a structural crack.
     Still it is not a good sign.
     And these are also very bad cracks!
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     122.
     Cracks, Structural:
     If there are cracks in the structural members of an RCC Building, that is in the columns and the slabs, then the time has come for major repairs to that building.
     Maybe it should be redeveloped!
     123.
     Cranes:
     A crane is wonderful bird! It has very tall legs and can reach out to taller portions of a tree, etc.
     Inspired by this, our designers invented the Mechanical Crane.
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     This is a very useful machine to carrying heavy goods vertically!
     Almost all buildings today have a crane assembled on the site.
     124.
     Critical Path:
     A “Critical Path” is pure management concept. You look around all the tasks around you, and select only those which are most essential for the successful dénouement of the project.
     The task which will take you the longest time must first be identified, and then that must be tackled first. This is the task which is very critical for the successful completion of your project. Hence if you can tackle it successfully, you are through.
     This is somewhat like the film producer who shoots the film ending scenes first!
     In the more formal CPM, Critical Path Method, working out all the resources and time factors analysed, all pitfalls foreseen, all activities listed out so that nothing is left to memory.
     [BTW, CPM is NOT equal to the Communist Party Marxist!]
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     Now, if only the people involved had done some good CPM analyses for the Gokhale Bridge and the C. D. Barfi Wala Flyover, the havoc that has happened there of the mismatch of the height of the two side by side bridges-cum-flyovers would not have occurred!
     125.
     Crucible:
     A crucible is a small cup, or vessel, of a very hard and fire-resistant material where metals can be melted.
     Credits: EB
     Or, as we did in our chemistry classes, any other chemical action can be performed in a crucible.
     In so far as we are concerned, a “Crucible” is our work, where we are melted and tested and come out stronger.
     126.
     Cubes:
     When any concreting is being done on a construction site, samples of the cement concrete being used to pour into the columns, beams and slabs is taken out and put in cubical molds. These cubes when set are then tested for a compression strength in 7 days and 28 days.
     These cubes are 15 Centimetres long and 15 Centimetres wide and 15 Centimetres in height.
     The cement mortar from the concreting activity during the construction of a building is taken out at random and poured in the steel mould, and kept for 24 hours. After that they are taken
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     out, and kept under water for 7 days. Or 28 days – depending upon the Test.
     The Cubes are then taken to the machine and crushed.
     The tests on these cubes are done for the knowing the strength of the cement concrete being used in the construction of the RCC building are as per the design given by the RCC Designer, Engineer; and must be to his total satisfaction.
     127.
     Cube-tests:
     The cubes of cement mortar as have been taken out and kept safely are tested under a Compression Testing Machine.
     And then the load is applied gently until they get crushed. The reading of the strength when they get crushed is taken. An average of three is taken as the mean, with any reading less or more than 15 percent of the nearest reading rejected.
     These tests are then monitored by the RCC Engineer; and form the basis of all Safety Records of that Building.
     128.
     Culvert:
     Sometimes you do not need to build a bridge when you come to the river, or a small, and not very deep water body which you have to cross.
     You build a culvert over that which allows you to ply your vehicles easily over that road, and at the same time, allows for the water to flow through the spaces provided below in that road. Or the water can flow over that the road, in case there has been a huge shower!
     129.
     Cupboards:
     A cupboard is now a piece of furniture where we can store our clothes and other things and which can be locked by a door.
     Many builders are giving some “Built-In” Cupboards, especially in the bathrooms.
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     Earlier cupboards were made from wood; nowadays we have some very strong Steel Cupboards.
     Once upon a time, not so long ago, no Maharashtrian wedding was complete without Godrej Cupboard being part of the gift given to the new bride.
     130.
     Curing:
     Cement is a chemical powder, which, when mixed with water results in a chemical action that generates some amount of heat. This is an exothermic reaction, called hydration.
     Cemented surfaces also need some time to fully set to the level it has been designed to do so. This setting time varies from the strength required by the engineers in a given building. Keeping the freshly cemented surface wet, or damp, for a signified period of time is called curing. This appears to be a simple process; but is a very important one for a good building procedure.
     The most common method of curing is to use old jute bags and leave on the freshly cemented surface, and keep those jute bags moist all the time.
     Another one is to make small ponds on the flat surfaces like slabs and cemented roads. Called “ponding”, this is made by building small barriers of sand in squares and filling that area with water. Hence this is called as “Water Covering”.
     A more scientific method for curing is to use chemicals, called Plasticisers, etc., which keep the freshly cemented surfaces, cool and moist all the time it is setting. This saves a lot of time.
     Zafar Iqbal