Bamboo As A Building Material
Bamboo As A Building Material
Bamboo As A Building Material
Intramuros, Manila
School of AR ID BE
Assignment 1
RESEARCH: BAMBOO AS BUILDING MATERIAL
Submitted by
Blancaflor, John Michael B.
2015120278
Submitted to
Arch. Maria Olivia Lengson
a. Foundation
The use of bamboo for
foundation is rather restricted. This is
mainly since like timber when in
contact with damp ground, they
deteriorate and decay very quickly
unless treated with some very
effective preservatives. However,
despite their short life considerable use
of bamboos is made as foundation or
supporting posts in case of houses built
on raised platforms.
The types of bamboo foundations identified are:
1) Bamboo in direct ground contact: Bamboo is placed either on
the surface or buried. For strength and stability, large diameter and thick-
walled sections of bamboo with closely spaced nodes should be used.
Where these are not available, smaller sections can be tied together. It
can decay within six months to two years, and hence preservative
treatment is recommended.
2) Bamboo on rock or preformed concrete footings: where
bamboo is being used for bearings, it should be placed out of ground
contact on footings of either rock or preformed concrete. The largest and
stiffest sections of bamboo should be used.
3) Composite bamboo/concrete columns: a concrete extension is
given to a bamboo post using a plastic tube of the same diameter. The
result is a bamboo post with an integral durable foundation. d) Bamboo
piles: it is used to stabilize soft soils and reduce building settlement. The
treated split bamboo piles were filled with coconut coir strands wrapped
with jute. The sections were then tied with wire. After installation of the
piles the area was covered with a sandy material.
b. Flooring
The floors may be at ground level, and
therefore consists only of compacted earth,
with or without a covering of bamboo
matting. The preferred solution is to raise the
floor above the ground creating a stilt type
of construction. This improves comfort and
hygiene and can provide a covered storage
area below the floor. The surface of earth
floor is sometimes made more stable by
paving it with crude bamboo boards made
by opening and flattening whole culms.
d. Roofing
The roof offers protection
against extremes of weather
including rain, sun and wind,
and to provide shelter, clear
and usable space beneath
the canopy. Above all it must
be strong enough to resist
the considerable forces generated by wind and roof coverings. In this
respect, bamboo is ideal as a roofing material- it is strong, resilient and light
weighted. The bamboo structure of a roof can comprise of purlins, rafters
and trusses.
1) The simplest form consists of a bamboo purlin and beams, supported
on perimeter posts. Halved culms are then laid convex side down, edge-
to-edge, spanning from the ridge to the eaves. A second layer, convex
side up, is then laid to cover the joints.
2) Corrugated sheets made from bamboo are also used commonly as
roof covering. The bamboo mats are dipped in resin, dried and heat
pressed under pressure in a specially made platen, to give strong, reliable
sheets of bamboo, which is lightweight. It has good insulation properties
too.
3) A layer of bitumen is sandwiched between two mats of bamboo
forming a semi rigid panel. The mats can be fixed to rafters at 200-250mm
center to center. A bituminous or rubberized weatherproof coating is then
applied to the finished roof.
4) Plastered bamboo: A cement plaster, with or without the addition of
organic fibers, is traditionally applied to bamboo roofs, to get stronger
roof coverings. Various forms of trusses are also adopted using bamboo
culms of diameter ranging from 40mm-100mm. The king post trusses are
the most common and the simplest.
f. Scaffolding
a. Types of Preservatives:
Coal Tar Creosote -This is a fraction of coal tar distillate with a boiling point
range above 200C and is widely used admixed with fuel oil in the ratio of
50:50. The fuel oil ensures stability to creosote against evaporation and
bleeding from the treated bamboos. Creosote has high performance; it is
non-corrosive and provides good protection from termites.
Boric Acid Borax - This has been used successfully against lyctus borers. A
mixture of 2:5 percent of each is found more suitable.
b. Methods of Treatment:
Hot & Cold process: timber is preserved in the solution and then heated to
temperature of about 900C and maintained at this temperature for suitable
period and then cooled until required absorption is obtained
V. Advantages of Bamboo
Bamboo is easy to cut, handle, repair, reposition and maintain, without the
need for sophisticated tools or equipment.
Because of its extraordinary physical characteristics, Guadua bamboo is
suitable for all types of structures and constructions.
Bamboo is non-polluting and does not have crusts or parts that can be
considered waste. Instead of adding to the problems of polluting land-fills like
conventional building waste, any part of the bamboo that is not used is
recycled back into the earth as fertilizer or can be processed as bamboo
charcoal.
Its circular form and hollow sections make bamboo a light building material,
which is easy to handle, transport and store. Therefore, building with bamboo
saves time.
Bamboo can be utilized for permanent and for temporary constructions.
In each of its nodes, bamboo has a dividing or transverse wall that maintains
strength and allows bending thus preventing rupturing when bent. Because of
this fantastic characteristic a bamboo construction offers superior earthquake-
resistance.
The composition of the fibers in the walls of the bamboo allows it to be cut
length-wise or cross cut in pieces of any length, using simple manual tools like
the machete.
The natural surface of the bamboo is smooth, clean, with an attractive color
which does not require painting, scraping or polishing.
Besides being used as a structural element, bamboo can also serve other
functions, such as: flooring, wall paneling, water pipes, drainage, and furniture.
Another advantage of building with bamboo is, that it can be used in
combination with other types of construction materials, like reinforcing materials
for foundations.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo
www.taophilippines.com/green-architecture/
permaculturenews.org/2011/03/09/bamboo-a-great-building-material-gets-
even-better/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_construction
civil-resources.blogspot.com/2010/06/use-of-bamboo-as-construction-
material.html
https://www.guaduabamboo.com/construction/advantages-of-building-with-
bamboo