Loggias and balconies are external structures designed for recreation and other activities, which increase the value and the surface of the property. They are positioned as part of the cladding of the building. Actually, these structures are perhaps the most exposed components of a building's cladding, and for this reason, the most degraded. This is why the repairing of these structures should certainly be included in any comprehensive renovation of a building, even though it might not have any financial effect for the owners and tenants, unlike, for example, changing fillings or additional insulation.

Railings are a safety feature in buildings. They should prevent the fall of people. Their requirements are not only architectural and aesthetic, but also of mechanical resistance and stability. The current designs for the construction of railings include their anchoring to adjacent structures, which have the same requirements as the very structure of the railings. The tests on heat pumps are connected to an article on the tests of solar collectors. The basic operating principles of a heat pump is that it gathers heat from the surrounding environment and then transfers it to a higher temperature level and supplies to according the whether it will be used for heating or hot water. The advantage over collectors is that it works even if the sun is not shining.

The paper compares the floor flatness measurement methodology and requirements defined in the Czech standard ČSN 74 4505 Podlahy, společná ustanovení and the German DIN 18202 Toleranzen im Hochbau - Bauwerke. There is an example of the floor assessed by both procedures, shown in the end of the paper.

Prague building regulations currently represent debated and controversial topic among both professionals and the public. This is a new concept of law to which they are greatly implemented basic knowledge of urban theory and practice. The article summarizes the basic principles of the new regulation in the field of territorial requirements.

An overview of the development and standard types of the prefabricated wooden houses, their basic structural materials, basic mechanical timber joints, design practice for loads effects and requirements for structural elements is presented in the five-part series. In the second part basic structural materials are dealt with.

The article draws attention to situations, which are created when cracks in concrete and reinforced concrete structures are evaluated. Despite cracks being in general allowable in reinforced concrete structures as per ČSN EN 1992-1-1, only the width of cracks must be limited with respect to functionality of the structure. These limits are well defined with respect to water impermeability of reinforced concrete structures or their durability, but we are missing criteria, which would allow for evaluation of influence of the cracks on visual appearance of the structures. Therefore very frequently situation arises, when cracks are not warranty claimed as a potential static defect or a flaw, or as an aspect influencing lifespan of the structure, but solely as an aesthetic defect.

The paper describes the basic division of surface protection systems for concrete, which define standard EN 1504-2. Evaluates various parameters prescribed in relation to the requirements of the usual structures and gives appropriate use of various systems. The following are examples of inspections carried out and assessed defects.

New Civil Code enacts special type of solidary obligation to remedy the defects of building constructed under contract for works. All subcontractors (suppliers) of constructor, investor`s technical supervisors or construction project designer are solidary responsible together with the constructor in case the defect can be attributed to the performance they provided. However, these parties need not to be the parties to the contract for works itself (and usually are not) as their obligation arises by law.

The remedies that the investor can claim on these co-debtors, however, are limited to right to demand the repair of the defect. Investor may demand remedy on any of the co-debtors and all the co-debtors are obliged to perform the remedy in full.

The investor has to give notice to the debtor within a reasonable time. The notice can be sent to any of the co-debtors but we advise all investors to give notice always to the constructor first or together with the other co-debtors.

Cement-chip boards are construction elements which merge suitable wood and cement properties with the synergic effect designed for all-round use. The disadvantage of these boards remains the relatively high price. The price can be decreased by partially replacing initial raw materials. The paper addresses the option to modify the composition of cement-chip boards using alternative raw materials. Representatives of organic and inorganic materials were used (e.g., hemp, straw, waste products from production of mineral insulations and textile fibres). Alternative materials were used in the production of cement-chip boards under laboratory conditions in two various percentage ratios for the substitution of the wood component. In particular, 100 % and 50 % of wooden chips were replaced in the basic receipt of the boards. Testing bodies were produced using a mechanical press and basic properties were tested after 28 days of maturing. The results of individual board parameters – density, coefficient of elasticity and bending strength were compared with the normative requirements for cement-chip boards which are specified by standard EN 634-2.

This article describes the measuring of six different floorings´ surface temperature with floor heating system, calculation of local heat flux in according to ČSN EN 1264 standard and comparison of the obtained values.

The comparison of different calculation methods for airborne and impact sound insulation between rooms is given in this paper. Theoretical influence of flanking transmission on total sound transmission between rooms is done, based on calculation results for reference set of residential buildings. New simplified methods are also introduced for estimation of corrections for flanking transmission in common cases.

The article describes the characteristics of claims for defects from contract for work according to the new Civil Code. The new Civil Code unifies the provisions on contract for work currently contained in both Civil and Commercial Code. The article describes the defects founding the liability of a contractor, reporting the defects and warranty, the rights resulting from the defects and the specifics of claims for defects when the subject of a contract is a building.
It is important for the work to be clearly specified in the contract. Differences from the contract are considered defects. It is vital to inspect the work after the handover for any differences from the contract. The ordering party has to report the defects to the contractor without undue delay. The statute of limitations for claiming the rights from defects is 2 years. The rights resulting from sales contract defects apply analogously to the contract for work. In case of substantial breach of contract the ordering party can ask for the delivery of a new work, repairs or resolution of a contract. Unsubstantial breach of contract allows for repairs or discount.
The last part of the article concerns specifics of claims for defects when the subject of a contract is a building. The ordering party cannot refuse to accept the building for minor defects. The statute of limitations for reporting hidden defects is 5 years in case of a building. The responsibility for defects in shared between the contractor, the maker of the documentation and the construction supervisor.

In the article are described the most important physical parameters. All of them were measured on the materials SX6-B (with basalt fibers) and SX6 (without fibers). By comparison of results was made evaluation.

The article deals with a new product in the Czech market that is quickly getting to awareness of potential clients and gaining a significant place in the local real-estate market. Until recently, the inspection of immovable properties was an unknown concept. Nevertheless, in recent two years such assistance service is being more and more popular. Pertinent specialised inspection companies assist the real property buyer in eliminating potential risks that are related to selection and purchase of a given building. A competent certified inspector checks up to about 200 items of the building and compiles an expert report to help the client to correctly decide whether he should buy the given building or not. The inspector will acquaint the client with a real purchase price, precisely describe all the defects and how to correct them, and finally, he will hand over to the client a complete budget to cover the cost of necessary repairs.
In 2013 the inspection of real properties comes to one of the fastest growing segments of Czech economy. The people intending to buy any real property are more cautious and, now at the time of an economic uncertainty, they begin using the above relatively new assistance service in a large extent.

The article describes the reasons for verification of moisture content of substrate layers and draws attention to illogicality of current approach, where moisture content in only very thin surface layer of 10 to 20 mm thickness is verified, but the influence of moisture held in entire thickness of the substrate layers is fully neglected. The article recommends use of in situ methods of measurement of dynamic moisture content of substrate layers, as it is for example described in American norms ASTM F1869-11 and ASTM D4263-83. Only moisture content measured by such methods, allows the contractors and investors to avoid many times fatal consequent failure of surface treatments.

The purpose of this paper is to inform about research and development results of special composite materials with enhanced capacity to accumulate infrared radiation. The aim of this project was to create an adjustment for wall and ceiling surfaces enabling good conduction, absorption and storage of thermal radiation with subsequent slow release of heat energy stored during periods of intermittently heating. This proposed solution in conjunction with infrared heaters and air conditioning equipment provides sufficient thermal comfort in heated spaces during winter season and thermal stability of rooms in summer. The main emphasis was on cost saving and increased efficiency of heating systems and cooling units.
The article presents one possible solution and principle for increasing absorption of infrared radiation and accumulative ability. The emissivity and surface temperatures of the developed sample were measured within the frame of the experimental works on real laboratory models in cooperation with specialists from Brno University of Techology (BUT) in Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FME) and Faculty of Civil Engineering (FCI). The analysis of thermal comfort and energy balances including the assessment of the suitability in summer and winter was performed as well.

Recently, healthiness of the indoor space of buildings has been discussed more and more often. One of the points of view has been also presence of toxic substances, released into the indoor space from materials used for construction and design of the rooms, and from furniture. The most questionable materials include certain plastics, and, among them, especially polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Among other things, phthalates (used as plasticizers for PVC) may be released from this plastic. The Arnika Association commissioned analyses of 5 samples of floorings and 3 samples of wallpapers made of soft PVC. Phthalates were found in all the samples, in the range from 4.85 to 17.03 % of the product weight. In two of the samples, di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) was used as the plasticizer. DEHP will be banned in the European Union from 2015, together with 3 further phthalates. The remaining samples contained di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) and di-isodecyl phthalate (DIDP). These phthalates will not be banned, but they are also questionable from the point of view of health impacts. Four years ago, the Arnika Association took also samples of dust inside various buildings. Phthalates were found in all of them. The highest phthalate concentration was found in dust from a school dining room with flooring made of PVC. Presence of certain phthalates in dust is risky especially for young children. Phthalates are related to allergies (BBP, DEHP, and DINP) and asthma development (DEHP) in children.

The paper presented method of laboratory measurements for specifies air permeability of building board elements of wood- based. The aim of laboratory measurements was to designate value of air permeability of building board elements of wood- based. The results from measurement are in form protocols which indicate air permeability for differential pressure 50 Pa. The value air permeability decides about application and quality building board elements for airtight layer.

Forestry and forest management plays many roles in the landscape and in the socio-economic area. Forests represent a landscape stabilizer, the best preserved part of the landscape of predominantly natural character with significant application of natural, spontaneous process. It also serves as a source of material benefits to human society. The wood-producing function of forests was questuioned in this country in recent years. Above all, leaders of various environmentalist movement are demanding ever greater proportion of forests without economic activity. However, forestry is afflicted by such influences by decades and the aim of this paper is to demonstrate possible implications of these trends for forestry and subsequent economic sectors.

Setting out and control of a vertical direction belong among often solved tasks in civil engineering. In order to setting out a plumb line the optical plumbing instruments are used. The most commonly used instrument for this activity is Zeiss PZL (Zeiss Zenitholt PZL 100). This contribution describes the procedure and results of testing according to STN ISO 17123-7: 2010 Optics and optical instruments – Field procedures for testing geodetic and surveying instruments. Part 7: Optical plumbing instruments.