In this episode and the upcoming ones, God willing, we will discuss the stages of constructing the basement ceiling in residential villas that have a basement, After completing the backfilling of the footings, the wall collars, and the area surrounding the basement walls from the outside, the backfill is saturated with water and compacted with a rammer, After that, the contractor begins constructing the formwork for the rooms and spaces located above the basement ceiling in accordance with the approved project plan, following the formwork construction steps as discussed in previous episodes. The height of the formwork is the same as the height of the basement ceiling.
The ceiling is reinforced by installing "jackets"—steel columns that support the wooden ceiling of the basement. If the ceiling height is 4 meters, it is advisable to use metal formwork. Typically, the rental costs for metal formwork are specified in advance in the contract, whether borne by the owner or the contractor.
The contractor then installs the ceiling joists, ensuring the wood is in good condition. There are two types of wood: regular wood: used to achieve a rough concrete surface, which requires subsequent plastering work; and plywood: used to achieve a smooth concrete surface, which does not require plastering. Plywood is preferred when installing suspended ceilings such as drywall or similar materials. In many residential villas, the basement ceiling height is 3 meters, which makes it impossible to install suspended ceilings due to the low ceiling height.
After the ceiling joists are installed, the contractor continues by installing the joists for the staircase. If the staircase is standard, it is built on-site; if it is a spiral staircase, the joists are custom-cut at a specialized carpentry shop. The costs of decorative wood of all types, which is custom-made at the carpentry shop, are predetermined in the contract between the owner and the contractor. If the project contract is for materials only, the costs are borne by the contractor.
Upon completion of the ceiling carpentry work, the electrician arrives to mark the locations for electrical fixtures (lighting, outlets, switches) as well as security systems, audio, and video systems, if any, according to the approved project plans. If there is an air duct in the basement ceiling, its location is precisely determined, and care is taken to ensure it does not conflict with the structural and architectural plans on both the ground and first floors.
Readers" Questions
The presence of outdoor air conditioning units (compressors) scattered across various locations on the roof prevents the full use of the roof space. Is it possible to consolidate these units in a single location?
All outdoor air conditioning units (compressors) can be placed in a single location on the roof during the structural framework (shell) phase, based on a specialized HVAC plan prepared by a company specializing in HVAC work, at the owner’s request to consolidate these units in one location. All or most of the HVAC piping is installed so that these runs terminate at the roof of the roof extension, Before beginning work on the suspended ceilings, the copper piping is pulled from the roof and run beneath the concrete ceiling on each floor until it reaches inside each room. The copper must be a single continuous piece, and no joints in the copper may be made using welding, This way, we have consolidated the air conditioning units in one location. This entails additional costs for the extra copper that will be used; the owner can determine the additional amount before the plans are approved. Some contractors run the copper piping before beginning the floor tiling work so that the copper is located beneath the tiles. The drawback of this method is that if there is any defect in the copper, we will be forced to break the floor tiles for maintenance or replacement.
