Bamboo As A Sustainable Material For Building Construction in Nigeria
Bamboo As A Sustainable Material For Building Construction in Nigeria
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Abstract
Bamboo as a material for building construction was assessed for its sustainability using data from secondary
sources. It is a well-known fact that a sustainable material for building construction must be environmentally
friendly, affordable, flexible in usage, and durable, which makes bamboo one because of these characteristics it
possesses. Also, due to its rapid growth and adaptability to most climatic conditions as well as its properties and
superiority to most rapidly growing plant in Nigeria, bamboo emerges as a sustainable material for building
construction in Nigeria. Bamboo has numerous unique advantages like the ability to grow fast with a high yield,
environmental friendliness, lightness in weight, and matures quickly for harvesting. Additionally, bamboo can be
grown abundantly at a lower cost than other building materials, which makes it more economical. This study,
therefore, deals with the main properties and significant uses of bamboo and also identifies some of the challenges
faced in the use of bamboo as a sustainable material for building construction. The study concluded that bamboo
could be used as a building material for various construction purposes such as foundations, floors, walls and
ceilings, doors, and windows, scaffolding, trusses, and roofing. It also suggests the various preservation techniques
to be adopted in order to enhance its durability and lifespan for building construction purposes. The study
consequently recommended that since bamboo is readily available in Nigeria, it is therefore proposed for use as a
sustainable material for building construction. However, the various problems which are associated with the usage
of bamboo as a building material such as attack by insects and fungi can be improved with the use of chemical and
non-chemical preservative treatments that enhances durability and life span.
Keywords: Bamboo, Sustainable, Building Material, Construction, Nigeria
DOI: 10.7176/CER/11-8-03
Publication date:September 30th 2019
1. Introduction
Bamboo is a renewable resource that is versatile and characterised by its high strength and low weight, as well as
its ability to be readily worked using simple tools. It is generally acknowledged to be one of the most important
non-timber forest resources due to the tremendous socio-economic benefits derived from bamboo-based products.
With over a 1000 species and classified in roughly 90 genera which grow in diverse climates throughout the world.
Most bamboo is harvested from the wild with only about 50 to 100 of the useful species domesticated and
cultivated for commercial use around the world (Paglione, 2003). Bamboo is also considered to be the fastest-
growing woody plant in the world with an approximate growth height of 7.5 to 40cm a day as stated by Wong
(1995), with the world record being in Japan with an approximate growth of 1.2m in a day. Bamboo is a woody
plant which grows about three times faster than most other species. Commercially significant species of bamboo
usually mature in four or five years, after which continuous harvests are possible every subsequent year, for up to
120 years in some species and indefinitely in others. Bamboo cultivation and harvesting serve as a source of
livelihood for millions of rural inhabitant in many developing countries, and in particular women and children who
do most of the harvesting. Several species of bamboo grow in Sub-Saharan Africa, most notably Nigeria, but their
uses have been limited to constructing traditional houses, irrigation systems, handcrafts, fuel, and food. However,
Nigeria’s abundant bamboo resource is virtually unexploited in any significant way. In the last few years, several
researchers and organisations have been promoting its potential as a sustainable material for building construction,
but their success is yet to be acknowledged. Today, advocates of bamboo as a building material perceive it as an
attractive and sustainable building material for construction use while its antagonists opine that it is unreliable for
construction purposes. However, Andreas (2005) believes that construction professionals are only limited not by
the material but their knowledge of how the material works.
Aim and Objective
This study aims to assess the potential of bamboo as a sustainable material for building construction in Nigeria.
To achieve this aim, the objectives of the study are as follows:
i.To study the properties of bamboo as a building material.
ii.To examine the sustainability of bamboo as a building material.
iii.To study the challenges of bamboo as a material for building construction.
iv.To propose recommendations that will enhance the use of bamboo as a building material for construction in
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Nigeria.
3. Properties of Bamboo
3.1 Tensile Strength
Bamboo has strength properties which are excellent, particularly with regards to the tensile strength (Wakchaure
& Kute, 2012; Moroz et al., 2014). Most strength properties of bamboo depend on the species and the climatic
condition in which they grow (Sekhar and Gulati, 1973). The Strength of bamboo varies along with the height of
culm. The compressive strength of bamboo increases with its height while bending strength has an opposite trend
(Liese, 1986; Espiloy, 1994; Kabir et al., 1991, 1993). An increase in the strength of bamboo is believed to occur
between 3 to 4 years, and after that decreases (Espiloy, 1994). The outer zone of bamboo has a highly elastic
vascular bundle, which also have high tensile strength while the fibre of bamboo run axially, making it more
resistant to tension than compression. The high tensile strength of this bamboo fibres is usually higher than that of
steel but has a disadvantage of not being possible to construct connections that can transfer this tensile strength.
3.2 Shrinking
Bamboo has a property which makes it shrinks more than timber as it loses its water content. The canes of the
bamboo can tear apart at the nodes making it shrink in the cross-section ca. usually between 10-16%, and wall
thickness ca. of between 15-17% (Rehman and Ishaq, 1947). Therefore, when using bamboo as a material for
building construction, it is necessary to take precautionary measures aimed at preventing water loss.
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with the elastic modulus like it does for the tension, shear, and bending strength of bamboo. The higher the elastic
modulus of bamboo, the higher the quality. This enormous elasticity of bamboo makes it an advantageous material
for building construction in areas with very high risks of earthquakes.
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e)Bamboo piles: Bamboo piles are used to reduce settlements of building and stabilise soft soils. This is done
through the use of bamboo poles that are split into sections and treated by filling them with coconut coir strands
wrapped with jute and tied with wire. Sandy materials are used to cover the area after installation of the piles.
ii.Floors
Bamboo can be used as a building material for flooring due to its wear and tear resistance as well as the resilience
properties it possesses. The floor covering is done using bamboo boards, mats, etc. employing wire to the frame.
The various construction processes of bamboo flooring include:
a)Small bamboo culms: Bamboo culms are directly tied and nailed together.
b)Split bamboo: Bamboo culms are spitted into strips of several centimetres wide along their length
c) Flattened bamboo: They are produced by splitting bamboo culms and removing the diaphragms, then rolling
and flattening the bamboo culms so that the resulting board is laid and fixed by nailing or tying them across the
joists. After that, they are screeded with cement mortar to make it easy to clean.
d) Bamboo mats: Thin strips of bamboo which vary in size between 5-6mm or 10-15mm and thickness between
0.6-1.2mm are woven into mats of different sizes according to construction demand and specification.
e)Bamboo plastic composites: It is an innovative bamboo flooring technology which combines bamboo fibre and
plastic as a core material for flooring. It has the advantage of higher water resistivity and dimensional stability
than other types of bamboo floorings.
iii.Walls and Partitions
The most common use of bamboo for building construction is for the walls and partitions. Bamboo as a building
element is used for columns and beams, which generally constitute the structural framework. They are used to
carry the self-weight of building and the imposed loads exerted by the building occupants. An infill between
framing members is necessary to protect the wall against rain, wind, and also to offer privacy. The infill in-wall
aims to provide in-plane bracing and ensure the overall stability of the overall structure when subjected to
horizontal forces.
iv.Doors and windows
Bamboo is also used for doors and windows in buildings. The use of bamboo frames usually replaces the
conventional timber frames often used for doors. Bamboo mat shutters are then fixed to the bamboo frame to serve
as the door when hinged to the wall. Also, Small bamboo frame can be used to serve as windows when hinged to
the top of a wall.
v.Scaffolding
The use of bamboo has for scaffolding has been in existence for centuries in Asian countries like China and Hong
Kong and, despite competition with many metal-scaffolding systems, it remains one of the most preferred systems
(Fu, 1993). Also, due to the low construction cost of bamboo and its high adaptability, it can be constructed any
layout to follow various irregular architectural features of a building within a relatively short period (Chung et al.,
2003). They are used in construction sites in Nigeria to provide temporary access, working platforms for site
workers and supervisory staff, and to prevent construction debris from falling onto passers-by. They are either
used as Single Layered Bamboo Scaffolds (SLBS) for light work or a Double Layered Bamboo Scaffolds (DLBS)
for heavy work. Therefore for Bamboo scaffolding like any other, scaffolding must be laterally stable and must
possess integrity.
vi.Trusses
One prominent use of bamboo for building construction is the fabrication of roof trusses. Bamboo has a high
strength/weight ratio, which makes it an excellent material for roof framing. Achieving any span of truss is possible
with bamboo because of its lightweight property alongside its strength and stiffness. The use of bamboo for trusses
also results in considerable savings due to the non-use of heavy lifting equipment.
vii.Roofing
The roof of buildings serves as protection against weather of varying conditions including sun, rain, and wind, and
also functions as a shelter for the usable space underneath the roof canopy. The roof should be able to withstand
the tremendous forces generated by wind and roof coverings. This makes bamboo a suitable roofing material
because of its lightweight and durability. The structure of the bamboo roof can be made of bamboo trusses, rafters,
and purlins.
Other uses of bamboo for building construction include:
i.Disaster Mitigation
The lightness and availability of bamboo abundantly as well as the possibility of using bamboo to construct shelters
from modular units lead to its use for post-disaster shelter construction. An example is a project by the UNHCR
in which temporary shelters are fabricated from A-shaped bamboo frames and supported with horizontal members
at the apex and mid-height of the A-shaped frame. A waterproof sheet is then used as draping over this frame for
covering.
ii.Bridges
Bamboo materials are also used for the construction of bridges. The bamboo used for such construction purposes
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requires specific constructional techniques, which limit vibration, bending, and twisting due to its property of being
much more elastic than solid timber. Such bridges, when constructed with bamboo, are usually covered to reduce
their exposure to severe weather conditions. According to Jayaneti and Follet (1998), the various bamboo bridges
construction consist of:
a.Footbridges: They are simple bamboo cross-braced frames with the walkway formed at the crutch. Bamboo
lashings bind the culms of diameter between 50 to75mm. These bridges are suitable for rivers with sandy or muddy
base where the height above bed does not exceed five (5) meters. A typical crossing of the bridge might be as long
as 20m.
b.Handcart Bridge: The construction of this bridge is more elaborate, having abutments and pilings. These
abutments are formed from pairs of culms of bamboo that are staked to the ground while the bridge assembling is
stabilised by horizontal culms which form the pile cap and diagonal braces. Three longitudinal bamboo beams of
100mm diameter which are lashed to the caps and tied together at the centre of each bay with a cross-member are
used to form the roadway.
5. Conclusion
Sustainable building materials are those building materials that are environmentally friendly, readily available,
durable, maintainable, and versatile in usage. Bamboo, as a building material, possesses all these qualities and
performs better when compared with other commonly used building materials in Nigeria. Therefore, the use of
bamboo as a sustainable building material in Nigeria is highly encouraged due to its environmental sustainability,
physical and aesthetic qualities, workability, and flexibility of space arrangement, its dry construction, and
comparative cost-effectiveness. These properties make it a sustainable building material, which can be used for
various construction purposes like foundations, floors, walls and partitions, doors and windows, scaffolding,
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trusses, roofing, as well as other purposes like disaster mitigation and bridge construction. The guiding factor in
selecting the appropriate bamboo for a specific construction work includes the detailed knowledge of the functions
of the structural unit as well as the specific properties of bamboo with regards to the structural unit and the rate of
loading. Adequate information on the magnitude of the load and the duration of the load to be applied should be
ascertained in order to develop an informed decision on the appropriate bamboo to be used. Also, appropriate
technical knowledge of bamboo, its properties as well as its preservation and treatment techniques is necessary for
its use as a sustainable building material for construction. Hence, in order to avoid attacks by insects and fungi,
biodegradation, and possible failure and collapse of bamboo structures. It is necessary to subject bamboo to either
chemical or non-chemical treatments. These may be in the form of non-fixed preservatives or preservatives of the
fixing type which are applied to the bamboo to reduce instances of attack from insects and fungi as well as the
distortion of the structural member in service. This subsequently increases the natural durability and lifespan of
the bamboo.
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