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Low Cost Techniques in

Construction
By : R C Ruth Grace
113AR0026
Background
The important need and everyone's dream to have there own
home with individual needs.
Since India is a developing country, the economy haves
importance. The housing is so impacted with the cost based
construction.
So, there are various cost effective techniques of
construction. Lots of them are also energy efficient and easily
adoptable.
Justification
Essential requirement to human existence is a HOME next
only to food and clothing. A breakthrough for application of
sustainable and cost effective technologies for better housing
in rural and urban areas is an urgent need considering
spiraling construction costs.

There is a need for the adoption of strong, durable,


environment friendly, ecologically appropriate, energy
efficient and yet cost effective materials and appropriate
technologies in construction.
Introduction
Ar. Laurie baker is one who worked on cost effective construction
techniques as its best.
Baker showed, in fact, that sustainable technologies when adopted
with care and creativity, could lead to a unique architectural
expression, one that moved the expert and the layman alike.
Proper materials is the basic need to develop any construction
technique.
Brick, wood, stone are three major materials which can be used in
India for any type of construction.
Factors affecting construction cost
estimation
Building Cost-
The building construction cost can be divided into two
parts namely:
Building material cost : 65 to 70 %
Labor cost : 65 to 70 %

Size-The smaller the project in terms of scope or the


number of square feet, the more it will cost per square
foot.

Type-Different types of project have different levels of


complexity and detail.
Special Construction : Complexity can greatly increase the
cost of the project. For exp-Renovation, especially if it requires
altering or moving structural components, can be costly because it
necessitates demolition as well as building.
Special construction may also be necessary to shield surrounding
spaces from noise, fire and other hazards.

Project accessibility
Labor Rates
Material Costs
General Economic Pressures
Time of Year
These were the factors affecting the
budget of making any structure but
we are here to know more about the
construction techniques- the
techniques which helps us in reducing
the cost of structure.
So, lets move towards the
techniques
Cost-effective building materials
a)Stabilized compressed earth blocks are
made of mud stabilized with 5% cement/lime
etc. and compacted in block making machine
with no burning. A good walling material as
burnt bricks and is economical, stronger,
energy saving and simple to manufacture.

b) Fly ash gypsum stabilized mud blocks are
much stronger with less water absorption and
cheaper than cement stabilized blocks. With 5
to 10% flyash- G, 30% saving in cement could
be achieved in addition to utilization of the
waste product like flyash.
c) Flyash- lime gypsum products
manufactured by blending flyash lime and
calcined gypsum for making a useful product
named Fal-G , and can be used a
cementations material for mortar/plaster and
for masonry blocks of any desired strength. It
can also be used for road pavements and
plain concrete in the form of Fal-G concrete.

d) Clay red mud burnt bricks produced from


alumina red mud or bauxite, an industrial
waste of aluminium producing plants in
combination with clay. Posses all the physical
properties of normal clay bricks and solves
the problem of disposal of the waste product
and environmental pollution. In addition, they
have good architectural value as facing bricks
due to their pleasing hues of color.
e)Precast stone blocks of larger size than
normal bricks are manufactured by using
waste stone pieces of various sizes with
lean cement concrete and enable a
rationalized use of natural locally available
materials. Shaping stones in this manner,
enables speedy construction saves on
cement, reduces thickness of stone walls
and effects overall saving by eliminating
plasters on internal/external wall surfaces.

f) Precast concrete blocks made to similar


dimension of stone blocks without large size
stone pieces, but using coarse and fine
graded cement. They have excellent
properties comparable to other masonry
blocks, are cheaper and facilitate speedy
construction and especially suitable where
quality clay for bricks making is not
available.
Cost effective appropriate
technologies
Foundation
Random rubble masonry in
mud/cement mortar placed in
excavation over thick sand bed.
Rubble pointing above ground
level in stabilized cement mortar.
Use of lean cement concrete
mix 1:8:16 for base with brick
masonry in 1:6 cement mortar
footings.
Use of lean cement concrete
mix as above for base and over
burned bricks masonry in
cement lime mortar (1:2:12)
footings.
Arch foundations in place of
spread foundations
Foundation costs
Normally the foundation cost comes to about 10 to 15% of
the total building .
It is recommended to adopt a foundation depth of 2 ft.(0.6m)
for normal soil like gravely soil, red soils etc.
It is suggested to adopt arch foundation in ordinary soils.
In case of 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.
Arch foundation
This type of foundation was used in
olden times where in spread foundation
is replaced by inverted arch .
It reduces the construction cost up to
40%
Advantage of this is-In soft soils that
the depth of foundation can be greatly
reduced; disadvantage is that the end
piers have to be specially strengthened
by buttresses so as to avoid the thrust
to arch action tending to rapture the
piers junction.
Plinth
It is recommended 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%.
Walls
Brick work in 1:6 cement mortar using bricks from
black cotton and inferior soil stabilized with fly-ash.
Rat-trap bond brick work in 1:2:12 cement lime
mortar/1:1.5:3 cement sand mortar.
Hollow concrete block masonry in cement mortar.
Compressed mud blocks masonry in mud mortar.
Stabilized mud blocks masonry (4% cement or
lime) in stabilized mud mortar.
Sand lime brick walls in 1:6 cement mortar.
FAL-G sand block with 1:6 cement mortar.
While laying bricks, the manner in
which they overlap is called the
bond.
The rat-trap bond is laid by placing
the bricks on their sides having a
cavity of 4? (100 mm), with
alternate course of stretchers and
headers.The headers and
stretchers are staggered in
subsequent layers to give more
strength to the walls.
This technology has about 25% overall-
saving on cost of a building of traditional
9" construction. The structure has proven
its strength to go up to three floors with
the support of brick columns. With this
technique there is reduction in cost of the
wall by 25% as with conventional
English bond (9thk wall) 350 bricks
are required per cu. m whereas in Rat-
trap bond only 280 bricks are required
and also the reduced number of joints
reduces the mortar consumption.
Brick Jali
The common burnt brick is one
of mans great inventions. All
over the world, with only a few
exceptions, nearly all bricks are
roughly the same shape and
size - that is about 9 x 4.5 x 3
inches.

In many of these situations


listed above a JALI is just as
effective. Far from being a lot
more costly than the basic wall,
if made of brick it can be less
costly than the house wall!
Brick jali can be used instead of parapet wall or boundary
walls...
Lets watch out for some examples....
Instead of using
regular walling system
of lintel and window
system ,jali work can
help cost estimation.

Climate consideration
and use of local
materials helps
maintaining economy
than the general rcc
practice.
More methods

Soil cement block technology


this method of construction of wall is by 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. The overall economy that could be achieved with the
soil cement technology is about 15 to 20% compared to
conventional method of construction.

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. Concrete
block masonry saves mortar consumption, speedy construction of
wall resulting in higher output of labor, plastering can be avoided
thereby an overall saving of 10 to 25% can be achieved.
Roofs
Domes and vaults in brick or
stabilized mud block with
appropriate mortar.
Upgraded thatch roof on
appropriate frame work.
Pre-cast RCC L panel
Precast RCC cored units in M15
concrete.
Precast RCC channel units in M15
concrete
Precast Waffle units in M15
concrete
Burnt clay tube roofing in vault
form.
Roofs/ intermediate slabs
Filler slabs
Partly precast RCC planks and joist in M15 concrete.
Partly precast RCC joist and brick panels
Partly precast RCC in hollow concrete blocks
Thin RCC ribbed slabs
Ferrocement channels
Brick funicular shell on edge beam
Bamboo reinforced concrete
Brick funicular shells with RCC edge beams
Brick jack arched over RCC joist
Precast RCC cored units in M15 concrete.
Precast RCC channel units in M15 concrete
Ferro cement
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.
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.
Filler slab-technique
The filler slab is based on the principle that
for roofs which are simply supported, the
upper part of the slab is subjected to
compressive forces and the lower part of the
slab experience tensile forces. Concrete is
very good in withstanding compressive
forces and steel bears the load due to
tensile forces. Thus the lower tensile region
of the slab does not need any concrete
except for holding the steel reinforcements
together.

Therefore in a conventional RCC slab lot of


concrete is wasted and it needs extra
reinforcement due to added load of the
concrete which can otherwise be replaced
by low-cost and light weight filler materials,
which will reduce the dead weight as well as
the cost of the slab to 25% (as 40% less
steel is used and 30% less concrete)
The mechanism

The filler slab is a mechanism to replace the
concrete in the tension zone. The filler
material, thus, is not a structural part of the
slab. By reducing the quantity and weight of
material, the roof become less expensive, yet
retains the strength of the conventional slab.
The most popular filler material is the roofing
tile. Mangalore tiles are placed between steel
ribs and concrete is poured into the gap to
make a filler slab. The structure requires less
steel and cement and it is also a good heat
insulator.

Conventional tests by different institutions and


laboratories has proved the load bearing
capacity of filler slab and found it no less in
performance from the conventional R.C.C.
slab. Since filler roof tiles are firmly bonded to
and covered by concrete, it does not collapse
under the impact of say, a coconut falling on
the roof.
Benefits
Saving on cost
The savings on cost can be from 15 per cent to 25 per cent. But
designing a filler slab requires a structural engineer to determine the
spacing between the reinforcement bars.
Thermal insulation
The air pocket formed by the contours of the tiles makes an excellent
thermal insulation layer. The design integrity of a filler slab involves
careful planning taking into account the negative zones and
reinforcement areas.
Patterned
ceilings

Filler slabs provide aesthetically pleasing


patterned ceilings. In most houses, the filler
material is left open without plastering to form
aesthetic design symmetry but some
residents prefer to cover the space with
Plaster of Paris coating.
Spanning elements for openings
Brick arches : Flat, semi
circular and segmented
Precast thin lintel and lintel
cum chajja
Brick arch with sand stone
chajja
Door cum window frames
Ferro cement chajjas
Precast RCC frames with
wood insert
Resin bonded saw dust frame
Polyvinyl chloride frame
Fiber reinforced plastic frame
More methods
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.

Lintels 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.
Opening in the form of Arches are an
economical and aesthetic
arch with local material means of spanning
openings. Arches can be
a cost effective
alternative to the lintels.

The traditional RCC


lintels which are costly
can be replaced by brick
arches for small spans
and save construction
cost up to 3040% over
the traditional method of
construction.
Door panels
Plantation timber styles with
particle board inserts.
Medium density fiber board doors.
Cement bonded particle board
Plantation timber style with rice
husk board inserts
Red mud polymer panel doors.
Ferrocement doors
Polyvinyl chloride doors panels.

High density
fiberboard doors
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.
Ar. Laurie baker and his works

Baker
Interior of working
living room on site

The
Surface HAMLET-
treatment By Laurie
Using Waste bakers
Materials home
Conclusion
Is the circulation space economical & functional & not wasteful? (i.e.
passages, corridors, stairs, access verandas & so on).

Study local climate & make use of wind directions (to reduce power
consumption) & aspect(To prevent unnecessary heat absorption).

Make proper use of land gradients contours, natural existing


features.
As much as possible use energy free, or energy-less materials, that
is, material, for which very little energy is used in their manufacture
(e.g. cement & lime are made from the same basic materials but
cement uses 100 times more energy) .The result for mortars &
plasters is equal.

Remember that what is good for Kerala is not necessarily good for
Kashmir. What works well in Bihar may be disastrous in Rajasthan
etc. Study local indigenous architecture & use its principles even
when using modern materials indigenous architecture represents
thousands of years of R&D.
Avoid currently fashionable gimmicks. They are almost always an
addition that may be eye-catching but are invariably an extra
expense and unjustifiable.

Use local plentifully available inexpensive (comparatively)


materials .Avoid importing (from other districts) much as possible.

Insist on accurate mixes & mixing of plasters, mortars, concretes.


Dont use over rich mixtures

Dont forget to apply common sense to all you design & do.
REFERENCES
http://www.gharexpert.com
http://www.fs.fed.us
http://www.greenstone.org
http://manajemenproyekindonesia.com/
http://sepindia.org/
http://lauriebaker.net/
Low cost housing- an analogical study of the current
practices & technologies by- vastu shilpa foundation
Thank you

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