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    Low Cost Housing PDF

    Uploaded by

    Harsh Verma
    Low cost housing aims to reduce construction costs through using locally available materials, improved skills and technology. Costs can be cut by reducing plinth areas with thinner walls, using materials like soil cement blocks instead of burnt bricks, and energy efficient concrete blocks. Other strategies include rationalizing designs, reducing wall thicknesses, using rat-trap bond walls, and replacing wood with concrete or steel for doors, windows and frames. Roofing costs can be lowered 20-25% by using filler slabs and precast elements instead of standard RCC slabs. With careful planning and design, overall construction costs can be reduced by up to 25%.

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    Low Cost Housing PDF

    Uploaded by

    Harsh Verma
    77 views4 pages
    Low cost housing aims to reduce construction costs through using locally available materials, improved skills and technology. Costs can be cut by reducing plinth areas with thinner walls, using materials like soil cement blocks instead of burnt bricks, and energy efficient concrete blocks. Other strategies include rationalizing designs, reducing wall thicknesses, using rat-trap bond walls, and replacing wood with concrete or steel for doors, windows and frames. Roofing costs can be lowered 20-25% by using filler slabs and precast elements instead of standard RCC slabs. With careful planning and design, overall construction costs can be reduced by up to 25%.

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    Low cost housing aims to reduce construction costs through using locally available materials, improved skills and technology. Costs can be cut by reducing plinth areas with thinner walls, using materials like soil cement blocks instead of burnt bricks, and energy efficient concrete blocks. Other strategies include rationalizing designs, reducing wall thicknesses, using rat-trap bond walls, and replacing wood with concrete or steel for doors, windows and frames. Roofing costs can be lowered 20-25% by using filler slabs and precast elements instead of standard RCC slabs. With careful planning and design, overall construction costs can be reduced by up to 25%.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    77 views4 pages

    Low Cost Housing PDF

    Uploaded by

    Harsh Verma
    Low cost housing aims to reduce construction costs through using locally available materials, improved skills and technology. Costs can be cut by reducing plinth areas with thinner walls, using materials like soil cement blocks instead of burnt bricks, and energy efficient concrete blocks. Other strategies include rationalizing designs, reducing wall thicknesses, using rat-trap bond walls, and replacing wood with concrete or steel for doors, windows and frames. Roofing costs can be lowered 20-25% by using filler slabs and precast elements instead of standard RCC slabs. With careful planning and design, overall construction costs can be reduced by up to 25%.

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    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 4

    Low Cost Housing

    engineeringcivil.com/low-cost-housing.html

    Low Cost Housing is a new concept which deals with effective budgeting and
    following of techniques which help in reducing the cost construction through the use
    of locally available materials along with improved skills and technology without
    sacrificing the strength, performance and life of the structure.There is huge
    misconception that low cost housing is suitable for only sub standard works and they
    are constructed by utilizing cheap building materials of low quality.The fact is that
    Low cost housing is done by proper management of resources.Economy is also
    achieved by postponing finishing works or implementing them in phases.

    Building Cost
    The building construction cost can be divided into two parts namely:
    Building material cost : 65 to 70 %
    Labour cost : 65 to 70 %
    Now in low cost housing, building material cost is less because we make use of the
    locally available materials and also the labour cost can be reduced by properly
    making the time schedule of our work. Cost of reduction is achieved by selection of
    more efficient material or by an improved design.

    Areas from where cost can be reduced are:-


    1) Reduce plinth area by using thinner wall concept.Ex.15 cms thick solid concrete
    block wall.

    2) Use locally available material in an innovative form like soil cement blocks in place
    of burnt brick.

    3) Use energy efficiency materials which consumes less energy like concrete block in
    place of burnt brick.

    4) Use environmentally friendly materials which are substitute for conventional


    building components like use R.C.C. Door and window frames in place of wooden
    frames.

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    5) Preplan every component of a house and rationalize the design procedure for
    reducing the size of the component in the building.

    6) By planning each and every component of a house the wastage of materials due to
    demolition of the unplanned component of the house can be avoided.
    7) Each component of the house shall be checked whether if it’s necessary, if it is not
    necessary, then that component should not be used.

    Cost reduction through adhoc methods


    Foundation
    Normally the foundation cost comes to about 10 to 15% of the total building and
    usually foundation depth of 3 to 4 ft. is adopted for single or double store building and
    also the concrete bed of 6″(15 Cms.) is used for the foundation which could be
    avoided.

    It is recommended to adopt a foundation depth of 2 ft.(0.6m) for normal soil like


    gravely soil, red soils etc., and use the uncoursed rubble masonry with the bond
    stones and good packing. Similarly the foundation width is rationalized to 2 ft.
    (0.6m).To avoid cracks formation in foundation the masonry shall be thoroughly
    packed with cement mortar of 1:8 boulders and bond stones at regular intervals.

    It is further suggested adopt arch foundation in ordinary soil for effecting reduction
    in construction cost up to 40%.This kind of foundation will help in bridging the loose
    pockets of soil which occurs along the foundation.

    In the case black cotton and other soft soils it is recommend to use under ream pile
    foundation which saves about 20 to 25% in cost over the conventional method of
    construction.

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    Plinth
    It is suggested to adopt 1 ft. height above ground level for the plinth and may be
    constructed with a cement mortar of 1:6. The plinth slab of 4 to 6″ which is normally
    adopted can be avoided and in its place brick on edge can be used for reducing the
    cost. By adopting this procedure the cost of plinth foundation can be reduced by about
    35 to 50%.It is necessary to take precaution of providing impervious blanket like
    concrete slabs or stone slabs all round the building for enabling to reduce erosion of
    soil and thereby avoiding exposure of foundation surface and crack formation.

    Walling
    Wall thickness of 6 to 9″ is recommended for adoption in the construction of walls all-
    round the building and 41/2 ” for inside walls. It is suggested to use burnt bricks
    which are immersed in water for 24 hours and then shall be used for the walls

    Rat – trap bond wall


    It is a cavity wall construction with added advantage of thermal comfort and
    reduction in the quantity of bricks required for masonry work. By adopting this
    method of bonding of brick masonry compared to traditional English or Flemish bond
    masonry, it is possible to reduce in the material cost of bricks by 25% and about 10to
    15% in the masonry cost. By adopting rat-trap bond method one can create
    aesthetically pleasing wall surface and plastering can be avoided.

    Concrete block walling


    In view of high energy consumption by burnt brick it is suggested to use concrete
    block (block hollow and solid) which consumes about only 1/3 of the energy of the
    burnt bricks in its production. By using concrete block masonry the wall thickness can
    be reduced from 20 cms to 15 Cms. Concrete block masonry saves mortar
    consumption, speedy construction of wall resulting in higher output of labour,
    plastering can be avoided thereby an overall saving of 10 to 25% can be achieved.

    Soil cement block technology


    It is an alternative method of construction of walls using soil cement blocks in place of
    burnt bricks masonry. It is an energy efficient method of construction where soil
    mixed with 5% and above cement and pressed in hand operated machine and cured
    well and then used in the masonry. This masonry doesn’t require plastering on both
    sides of the wall. The overall economy that could be achieved with the soil cement
    technology is about 15 to 20% compared to conventional method of construction.

    Doors and windows


    It is suggested not to use wood for doors and windows and in its place concrete or
    steel section frames shall be used for achieving saving in cost up to 30 to
    40%.Similiarly for shutters commercially available block boards, fibre or wooden
    practical boards etc., shall be used for reducing the cost by about 25%.By adopting
    brick jelly work and precast components effective ventilation could be provided to
    the building and also the construction cost could be saved up to 50% over the window
    components.

    Lintals and Chajjas


    The traditional R.C.C. lintels which are costly can be replaced by brick arches for small
    spans and save construction cost up to 30 to 40% over the traditional method of
    construction. By adopting arches of different shapes a good architectural pleasing
    appearance can be given to the external wall surfaces of the brick masonry.

    Roofing
    Normally 5″(12.5 cms) thick R.C.C. slabs is used for roofing of residential buildings. By
    adopting rationally designed insitu construction practices like filler slab and precast
    elements the construction cost of roofing can be reduced by about 20 to 25%.
    Filler slabs
    They are normal RCC slabs where bottom half (tension) concrete portions are
    replaced by filler materials such as bricks, tiles, cellular concrete blocks, etc.These
    filler materials are so placed as not to compromise structural strength, result in
    replacing unwanted and nonfunctional tension concrete, thus resulting in economy.
    These are safe, sound and provide aesthetically pleasing pattern ceilings and also
    need no plaster.

    For more on filler materials check Filler Materials Used in Concrete

    Jack arch roof/floor


    They are easy to construct, save on cement and steel, are more appropriate in hot
    climates. These can be constructed using compressed earth blocks also as alternative
    to bricks for further economy.

    Ferrocement channel/shell unit


    Provide an economic solution to RCC slab by providing 30 to 40% cost reduction on
    floor/roof unit over RCC slabs without compromising the strength. These being
    precast, construction is speedy, economical due to avoidance of shuttering and
    facilitate quality control.

    Finishing Work
    The cost of finishing items like sanitary, electricity, painting etc., varies depending
    upon the type and quality of products used in the building and its cost reduction is left
    to the individual choice and liking.

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    Conclusion
    The above list of suggestion for reducing construction cost is of general nature and it
    varies depending upon the nature of the building to be constructed, budget of the
    owner, geographical location where the house is to be constructed, availability of the
    building material, good construction management practices etc. However it is
    necessary that good planning and design methods shall be adopted by utilizing the
    services of an experienced engineer or an architect for supervising the work, thereby
    achieving overall cost effectiveness to the extent of 25% in actual practice.

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