HYDRAFORM BRICK: A COST SAVING BENEFIT WITH GOOD AESTHETICS FOR HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN OSUN STATE OF NIGERIA (A CASE STUDY OF OSUN STATE PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION)
Moses A. Adejumo
[email protected],
[email protected] +2348038547296, +2348153087389 Department of Quantity Surveying, Faculty of Environmental Design and Management Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun state, Nigeria. ABSTRACT This report studied cost minimization in the use of hydraform bricks in housing development with good aesthetics appearance. Generally, it is observed that the Nigeria construction industry with the aid of the professionals in the industry are working earnestly in housing delivery for the masses at a reasonable cost, it is obvious today that the Federal government of Nigeria tends to construct mass housing across the nation but there have been a constrain for the government herself to accomplished this mission because little amount is always set aside for housing in the government annual budget, looking at 2016 budget which also revealed that about 0.56% of the total budget was set aside for works , power and housing which implies that this little percentage will be share among the three sectors that stand as a single entity. In view of this, it is clearly observed that the amount that will go for housing development will be so small compare to the total budget. It is necessary for the professionals in the industry to look for a means of making judicious use of the amount so as to make an achievement in housing sector. Findings shows that the use of hydraform bricks in housing development reduced the cost of construction and has other advantages compare to conventional blocks most especially in superstructure wall and its finishes. Keywords: Building Materials, Housing Provision, Development, Conventional blocks, Hydraform bricks, Quantity Surveyors INTRODUCTION It is obvious today that the major problem facing the construction industry is the cost of building materials; building materials make-up sixty (60) percent of the total cost of housing construction against labour cost, Arayela (2005) averred that building materials constitute 65 percent of the cost of construction, while Ogunsemi (2010) studied that 50-60 percent of housing construction cost is levied on building materials. The cost of materials for housing construction has brought a setback on housing provision by the federal government in Nigeria. Many of the materials use for housing construction today are imported materials and the costs of these materials are variants of the exchange rate of the nation’s currency. Meanwhile, Adedeji (2002) observed that one main barrier to the actualization of effective housing provision in Nigeria has been attributed to the cost of building materials; He further argued that in the early periods, shelter in Nigeria was easily affordable as building materials were sourced from man’s immediate environment at affordable cost. As a result of the advancement in technology in the construction industry, this has resulted in the use of sophisticated building materials for construction thereby rendered the locally materials obsolete. The fact about this situation is that housing is one of the main three necessities of man, it is necessary to consider the means by which this can be actualize by man during his life time, for the fact that there have been several constrain on the government side to make provision for it. Several research have made contributions to enlighten the masses on the use of these bricks in lieu of the conventional blocks to bring their necessity to reality, it is well known that a building should be able to perform its functionality and it should be noted that “The durability of a building or structure depend on the materials of construction quality and supervision”. The challenges facing housing provision in Nigeria does not exclude Osun State, being one of the States of the Federation and this has been an existing problem since the creation of the State in 1991 out of the old Oyo State. Unfortunately, despite all efforts of the State Government to achieve sustainable housing delivery to the common people, existing realities indicate the goal is far from being achieved.
The Economic Condition of Osun State Osun State is an inland State in South-western part of Nigeria with her capital situated in Osogbo, created out of the old Oyo State in 1991. It is bounded in the north by Kwara State, in the east partly by Ekiti State and partly by Ondo State, in the south by Ogun State and in the west by Oyo State. Osun State is referred to “Civil Service State”, this is because the economy condition of the state rely mainly on the civil servants in the state, although the present government is trying to improve the economy of the state through other means so that the state internal generating revenue can improve, such as implementation of tax payment by all citizens of the state, tenement rate, property tax and some other taxes that are not being paid by the citizen earlier before now but which are part of their responsibilities. Due to the inability of the state to boost her internal generating revenue compare to Lagos State and other states of the Federation was part of the major reasons why the government found it difficult to make her dream a reality in Housing provision. Housing development has being a survival of the fittest in the State because looking at the hardship condition of the country which is affecting the State also, the government of the State could not afford the payment of the workers’ salaries up to date like other States of the Federation instead the government bargained with the workers on the payment of their monthly salary. For the citizens of the state to actualize their necessity on housing development, advice opt to be sought from the professional (Quantity Surveyor) in the built environment on cost optimization in housing development at best value. Osun State Property Development Corporation: A Government Agency for Property Development The agency came into existence following the creation of the State on 27th August, 1991, the edict which established the corporation was formally signed into law on 31st April, 1991 with retrospective effect from inception. The agency was headed by Late Arc. Adeyemo after its creation and it is the agency saddled with the provision of mass housing in the state and also oversees the state landed property, as a state owned investment and property Development Corporation, OSPDC is a Catalyst for industrial and property development initiation, planning, development, implementation and realization and it can generate and attract capital within and outside the state. Some other services rendered by this agency include; Architectural and Structural Design for all types of building structures, Building Construction and Supervision, Feasibility Report and Valuation, Management of Real Estate Construction and Maintenance of Infrastructural Facilities among others. In order to fulfill its mandate and also to improve its internal generating revenue for the State, led to the purchased of Hydraform Machine in February 2010 for the production of hydraform interlocking bricks, the brick which was sought to be an alternative of the conventional block for housing development at a reduced cost. It is obvious that the superstructure walls and Building foundations are mostly constructed using blocks or bricks. Building Materials and Housing Development The process of housing development should be based on sustainability principles, which could be applied in the conception, construction and use of the buildings. The goals of the process are to decrease the environmental costs incurred by inadequate constructive systems and solutions, minimizing the impacts on natural resources, and improving users’ comfort (Amado, et al., 2007). Gilkinson & Sexton (2007) defined sustainable housing as a form of affordable housing that incorporates environmentally friendly and community-based practices. The affordability is germane to any development so that the client will not run at default or lead to project abandonment. Building materials are environmentally responsible because their impacts are considered over the complete life time of the products and should pose no or very minimal environmental and human health risks (Calkins, 2009). They should also satisfy the following criteria: rational use of natural resources; energy efficiency; elimination or reduction of generated waste; low toxicity; water conservation; affordability (Adedeji 2012). The production of building materials locally by individuals and private investors should be given a logistic support by the government so that there will be limitation in patronizing foreign materials.
JUSTIFICATION OF THE RESEARCH
From findings, the closest construction materials in our immediate environment is laterite which we use in making mud blocks and a lot of benefits are derive from the block made with laterite but due to the change in technology which rendered mud block obsolete. Upon this technology advancement, a company based in Johannesburg, South Africa twenty-eight (28) years ago made used to developed a machine that was used to modernized this block and this innovation later surface in Nigeria few years ago, although, not all masons can set this brick but proper awareness and training on how it can be set should be made.
Fig 1: M7 Hydraform Block-making Machine (Procured by Osun State Property Development Corporation) Source: Field Survey 2016
The production of these bricks are simple but involves sequential steps, the steps which include; grinding of the laterite in an hydraform pan mixer which is purchased with the machine, so as to grind the laterite lumps before it being sieve on a strong steel frame of about 2m x 1m mesh of 8-10mm thick and later poured into the compression chamber where it being compressed with the Top arm. The brick form is of 230mmx230mmx115mm in dimension and it should be noted that half of this brick can be produce. In the use of this brick on site, little or no waste are incur compare to the conventional blocks. The brick produced are stacked on a screed or concrete floor preferably under a shaded tent and covered with canopy to improve its strength for curing purpose.
Fig 2: Stacked Interlocking Bricks after production. Source: Field Survey 2016
Obviously, the appearance of this brick was satisfactory compare to the conventional block which gives it an added advantage when being use for the construction of building. During my interactive with a mason on site where the construction of perimeter fencing is on-going with other investigations, I was able to realize more of its advantages; they include;
Easily to work with Less of labor in its construction Cost is greatly reduced because there is no need of plastering and painting Mortar is not require for bedding and jointing (Only require at first course on concrete oversite) With thick enough walls, they can be used to do several floors They are a beauty to behold among others.
An observation shows that its appearance after construction is admirable if the production is properly supervised. Production can also be made for coping in fence of which concrete is used for when conventional blocks are used for fencing, in its own case; there is no need for finishes if used for coping. In other to achieve best production of this brick, the mix ratio of cement and laterite for the brick should be of ratio 1:10 and 1:8 for the one to be used for fence coping because it should be able to withstand environmental hazard such as heavy rain. Typical examples are shown in the figure below:
Fig 3: Elementary School built with Hydraform bricks at Osu, Atakunmosa west Local Government of Osun State. Source: Field Survey 2016
Fig 4: Dethatched Bungalows built with Hydraform bricks at Moremi Estate, Ile-Ife,Osun State by OSPDC. Source: Field Survey 2016
Fig 5: Secondary School Fence under Construction with Hydraform Brick, Opposite Government House, Osogbo, Osun state, Nigeria. Source: Field Survey 2016
Pictorial view of the fence completion.
COST ANALYSIS AS AT MAY 2016 (Data sourced from Osun state) The cost per metre square (m2) of wall using conventional blocks for both setting, rendering and painting as finishes (internal and external) varies between five thousand (6000) naira to six thousand (6500) naira depend on location (25 percent overhead and profit inclusive). For the fact that bedding and jointing, rendering and painting is not require when hydraform bricks are used for construction, the cost expended on it is reduce compare with the conventional blocks. From the perspectives of the cost estimate for the production of the brick as analyzed below, it is observed that the cost of producing a unit of the brick is approximately sixty-seven (67) naira ( profit exclusive) and labor cost for setting per brick is fifteen (#15) naira. The following cost and production parameters are used to derived at the production cost;
Parameters Laterite/ single load of tipper (3.81m3) No of head pan per load of tipper No of head pan per wheelbarrow No of wheelbarrow per load of tipper
#8000 120 4 30
No of bricks produce per bag of cement Cost of bag of cement Mix ratio Labor cost per bag
60 #1600 1:10 #800
Note: * Cost of wheelbarrow filled with laterite = 8000/30 = #266.67 *A bag of cement is mix with five wheelbarrows *Cost of five wheelbarrows = 5*266.67 = #1333.35 ESTIMATE OF COST/UNIT OF BRICK
cost/bag of cement cost of labour/bag of cement cost of 5 wheelbarrow Add Water 2% maintenance & fuelling 5%
cost/unit of brick
1600 800 1333.35
3733.35 74.67 186.67 3994.69 3994.69/60 #66.58
*No of bricks require per metre square =0.23*0.115=0.02645 1/0.02645=37.80718 ~ 38 Nos Increment or reduction in the cost of cement and other inputs also reduces the production cost which can also cause reduction in selling price.
In as much there are no competitions in the selling of the bricks compare to the conventional blocks, the prices as at the time of my findings varies from #70 to #80 while OSPDC sell a unit at #75. The fact about this brick is that if there are competitions in the production the price will be reduce, It was revealed that it was sold at the rate of twenty-five (25) naira per unit as at March 2007 (Adedeji 2012) if there are competitions in its selling and it is widely used in construction, it is obvious that both the selling price and the site setting cost will reduce. It should be noted that the workmanship is calculated per brick at a fixed rate and there are no waste to be incurred in the used of these bricks because the production can be made of varying sizes. Cost of bricks per square metre Workmanship at #15/unit
75*38 = 2850 15*38 = 570
Loading and offloading
5*38= 190
Transportation
5*38= 190
Internal plastering &painting Add 25% overhead and profit `
= 900 4700 1175 5875
Multiples of its difference in cost/ m2 with that of conventional blocks in a building project is of great value. In other to improve the better use of it in construction, the first two bottom courses of the bricks after the oversite concrete should be plastered at the exterior part to prevent splash of erosion and the other area of the exterior part should be painted with a water-based PVA (Polyvinyl alcohol), matt emulsion or gloss paint, the internal part of the bricks also require a cement skirting plaster to prevent furniture dragging on floor. CONCLUSION This report shown the cost and aesthetics benefit of using hydraform bricks in housing development in lieu of conventional ones, it obvious with the findings and other investigations that came to existence in the course of the report, shows preference advantages of the bricks ahead of sandcrete blocks such as design flexibility, cost effectiveness, construction time reduction, less of labour work on site, environmental friendly. Therefore, the report has provided information that could help in cost reduction for housing project. Therefore, in order to improve and promote the use of local materials in the construction industry, the professionals in the industry especially the Quantity Surveyors need to propagate its usefulness and the cost saving benefit attached to it so that the programme of “Housing for all” being propagate by the government can easily be achievable. It must be noted that this can be achievable for the fact that the said material is readily available within our immediate environment and cost of construction can greatly be reduce if there are competitions in its production which will affect the selling price and setting on site by masons REFERENCES Ogunsemi DR (2010). The use of enough quality and quantity materials for building a durable edifice. A Lecture delivered at Campus Transformation Network, Federal University of Technology, Akure. Adedeji YMD (2002). Achieving affordable housing in South-West Nigeria through Local building material. J. Environ. Technol. 1(2): 15-21, Adedeji YMD (2007). Materials preference options for sustainable low income housing in selected cities in Nigeria. Unpublished PhD Thesis, submitted to The Federal University of Technology, Akure. Oboiren MO (2007). Tendering and Estimating for Building Students Adedeji YMD (2010). Technology and standardised composite cement fibres for housing in Nigeria. J. Niger. Inst. Archit. 1: 19-24.
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