Welcome

Image from ClipArt

Congratulations on reaching this blog

It is mainly about Brickwork, but also contain stuff on education, animations
and anything else that I find interesting

To view the whole Post, scroll down the screen or click on the 'read more' tag

Ken Robinson

Whoa, Education and Animation in the same post! *grin*

Walken's Dance

Screen-shot of animation

Came across this, the other day, Stick Figure Ninja

It is a great example of stick-man animation, which neatly captures Chris Walken's dancing in the video for Fat Boy Slim's Weapon of Choice

Rotating DNA

This animation was developed for The Structure of DNA

Animation for DNA Brick Sculpture

Animated Cavity Wall

The following animation shows the construction of a Cavity Wall with internal return-corner. The corners of the brickwork have been racked back for 7 courses

Fig 1. Internal Corner

Fig 2 shows how to lay the first course of a cavity-wall
with an external corner and two stopped-ends

Fig 2. First course of cavity wall

Once the first course has been laid plumb, level and to gauge, the block-work can be build, see Fig 3

Fig 3. Process of building up block-work

The brickwork is constructed by building up the corners first, and then 'running-in' the rest of the courses using
a line and pins

Fig 4. Constructing corners

Building up the corners more than about 6 courses is not efficient, because the fastest way to lay bricks is to use a
string-line

Fig 5. Building up the brickwork

When setting a corner, it is better to finish with a full brick, since it is often difficult to fix a line to a half-brick

Fig 6. Completing the wall

This project contains about 220 bricks. It is similar to the test-piece at college. An experienced worker on-site could easily finish this in one day

Animated Blocks

For a variety of reasons, this blog has been inactive recently. However, here's something I made earlier...

It's too big and the colours are a bit drab, but hey, it's only my first attempt

Have you now learnt how to bond-out a blockwork corner?
Or just watched it go up and down ... too many times...

GOLA Revision

Navigation Buttons
These are at the top of the page

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Exit – Close down the program

Quick Nav– How many questions you have completed

Refresh – Loads up the page again

Back – Previous page

Next – Next page

There will always be a Front Page
Click next to start the questions

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Click the correct answer with your mouse,
either the words or the box

To check your answer, click the I’m Done button

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If your answer is wrong, click the Show Me button
This will show the correct answer

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These tests will not give you an over-all score
You can check the answers on each page

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Error Messages

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If you get this page, just click launch course
The questions will open in a new window

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If you get the Pop-Up warning
right-click the bar at the top and select Temporarily

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If you get the following error, just click okay
don't change your settings

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If you get the System Command, click yes

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If you get the following screen, it means there is a bad link
Try again on a different computer

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Technologists

Application Form

Sometimes we hear about vacancies, but you may have to get your application in for the next week, so be prepared

The following is a pdf version. You can print it off and then hand-write your details in the boxes



I have now managed to put an electronic version into your Course Folder. It is a Word document, so once you have copy-pasted, you can type directly into the boxes



Whenever possible, an electronic version is better. You can make improvements quickly and your details can be emailed to prospective employers

Exam Revision

This seems to work, just try to ignore the watermark
Nah, it don't work at NCN
Oh well, I'll have to think of something else

Click GOLA Part 1

Part 1 contains questions on the following:

The Construction Industry
Health & Safety
Communication
Construction Technology
and Tools

AJ Library

This Library is part of the Architects Journal. It contains photos and drawings from recent British architecture

How many Bags?

My 2050 World

Screen Shot

To open in new window, click My 2050

Swing a Cat

The UK builds the smallest homes in Europe
The average room in France is 26.9 m²,
compared with 15.8 m² in the UK

Image and text from BBC

The graph above, shows how British new-builds are less than half the size of those in the United States and Australia

Click on the image for an interactive chart, which shows if there is enough room to Swing a cat

Take care, it can be noisy...

Technical Index

IHS logo

The IHS Technical Index is very useful for articles or books on Brickwork and Construction

Login Instructions

This works best from an NCN computer

To access from home, you will need to go through the NCN site

First, go to your NCN homepage

Click on the Virtual Library link in left-hand column

Click Internet Resources

Scroll down to the bottom and click Technical Index


Click on Athens / UK Federation Login


You may be asked for your location,
choose New College Nottingham


When this works properly,
you will get directed to the Single Sign-on

Type in your Username
just the number, without academic\
Type in your password
Click LOGIN


You will then be redirected to the requested site

If you get a weird error message, ask a librarian or give-up and try again latter



Scroll down to find the Search button

Your search will look like this

Click on Found Documents

The search button is now at the top of the screen

Click on the various titles, to open a new window, where you will be able to download a pdf of the article or book



Right-click on the download button and Save document

Textbook Online

This textbook can be accessed through your Course Folders

There is a seperate pdf file for each of the chapters

Digging Trenches

Think about all these different activities and then put them in chronological order. What should come first? Then what?

Aggregates

The following images are from Stone Masonry, a Training Guide produced by the United Nations for those working in the Developing Countries

Page 15

Page 16

Page 20

Robot Bricklayer

Source: Google ebooks

To open in new window, click Popular Mechanics

Gilbreth

link


History

Biography

St Pancras Station

Presenter Tom Dyckhoff tours the newly rebuilt
St Pancras station in London, just before it reopened
as the Eurostar terminal in 2007

Image and text from BBC

He gives a history of the original Gothic architectural style designed by William Henry Barlow, discovering the way design and engineering work together

The concourse is fronted by the Gothic-style Midland Hotel designed by George Gilbert Scott, an architectural marvel which was very nearly demolished in the 1960s

Image and text from BBC

A detailed look at the old and the new St Pancras illustrates the way in which both now sit happily
alongside each other

The video gives plenty of opportunity to study architectural details of the building - turrets, spires, arches, staircases, platforms and concourses

To view the video-clip, click images or Train Travel

For a Presentation by the architect, see below

Management

A description of some of the management roles involved in the restoration of London's St Pancras railway station

Image and text from BBC

It focuses on Alastair Lansley, the Chief Architect, Ailie MacAdam, the Project Director and Claire Carr, the Project Engineer

To view the video-clip, click image or Occupations

Nerves of Steel

The Forth Railway Bridge is the world's first major steel bridge. At 1.5 miles (2.5 km) in length and with gigantic girder spans of 521m, it ranks as one of the great feats of civilisation

Image and text from BBC

Dan Cruickshank explains how the 145 acre surface is currently maintained by a team of seven abseilers

In the past, the bridge was maintained by a labour intensive and highly dangerous method of traditional painting

To view the video-clip, click image or Forth Bridge

Cantilever

Dan Cruickshank demonstrates the cantilever principle used to build the Forth Rail Bridge

Image and text from BBC

The construction challenges posed by the Forth Rail Bridge were immense. The spans necessary were almost four times as large as any railway bridge previously

To view the video-clip, click image or Human Cantilever

Brutalism

Constructed in Portsmouth in the mid 1960s, the Tricorn Centre was a well-known example of brutalist architecture which was demolished in 2004. In 2001 it was voted by BBC Radio 4 listeners as the most hated building in the UK

David Adjaye shows us around the centre explaining its history. We see how the centre provided shops, car park, apartments, and a nightclub within one concrete structure

Image and text from BBC

Another structure, the London Southbank Centre, is also showcased. This is a similar example of 1960s brutalist architecture and houses the famous Hayward art gallery

To view the video-clip, click image or Ugly Concrete

Maintenance

This is critical to the survival of any building

Despite recognition that the best way of protecting and maintaining buildings is to undertake a combination of proactive and reactive maintenance, such a policy is rarely adopted or implemented, and when it is undertaken it often results in varying degrees of success

Image and text from BBC

This report looks at the damage caused by poor maintenance and also follows the work of a South London Emergency Maintenance Team. To view the video-clip, click image or Vandalism