Lecture 4
Alternative Building Construction
Materials
TYPES OF BUILDING MATERIALS
The various building materials available can be divided into
two types.
Traditional materials
These materials serve the basic needs of the majority of the
population.
These have very useful properties, however, there is an
opportunity to modify these through appropriate changes in
the process of production as well as in the techniques of
application,
so that these are made structurally and functionally acceptable.
Conventional materials
The conventional materials are those, which have been
obtained by using the modern technologies and can be
mentioned as fruit of research and adopted to indigenous
requirements.
Cont.…
low cost construction materials
Improvement of Mud
During post earthquake reconstruction, mud houses are
most effective since they are environmental friendly,
cool in summer and warm in winter.
Mud is only a material available everywhere in
abundance free of cost and is being used as building
material from centuries.
But such types of houses are temporary in nature, prone
to erosion by heavy rains.
The disadvantages of mud can be overcome by suitable
improvement in design and construction techniques.
Cont.…
Stabilization
The strength of mud is improved by adding cement, lime,
bitumen or fibers and
it also becomes resistant to water, its main enemy.
Cement stabilized mud blocks, using 3 to 10% cement by
weight molded in mechanical machines are better than
adobe mud bricks.
Cont.…
Non- erodible mud plaster
Central Building Research Institute, India has developed an
economical but effective process to protect mud walls by applying
non- erodible mud plaster.
Non- erodible mud is prepared by mixing bitumen cutback
(Bitumen & Kerosene oil mixture) with a specified mud plaster.
Soil should consist of clay 20-25%, sand 40-45% and remaining
part may be silt, peat, loam etc., but it should be free from organic
matter.
Bitumen of 80/100 grade penetration and kerosene oil are mixed
in the proportion of 5:1 (by weight) for preparing reduction.
64 kg of cutback is required for one cubic meter of soil.
Non erodible mud plastered walls are resistant to water erosion.
Cont.…
Terra-cotta skin to mud walls (qey yeshekila afer)
Center for Science for Villages, Wardha, India has
developed technique of providing potter made tile lining
to mud-walls protecting them from rain and moisture.
In place of potter made tiles, Kiln-fired brick or tiles
may also be used to protect mud walls from rains.
These tiles/bricks can be fixed with mud mortar &
pointed with cement mortar.
Cont.…
Improved Thatch Roof (sar kidan)
An effective treatment for rendering the thatch roof fire
resistant and water repellent has been evolved by central
Building Research Institute.
It involves plastering of thatch layers by the specified mud
plasters.
Top & bottom of the thatch roof is plastered with non-
erodible mud plaster, which makes it durable &
fire resistant too.
Cont.…
Wardha Tumbler Tiles (birchiko)
These tumbler tiles are cast by potters and used as roofing.
These have been developed by Center for Science for Villages,
Wardha.
This kind of roof keeps the heat & cold out.
Life is about 50 years & requires no repairs.
Being light in weight (135kg/m2), the roof is safe even in future
earthquakes.
Cont.…
Ferro-Cement
Ferro-cement is a thin walled versatile high strength cement
based composite material made of cement mortar reinforced
with one or more layers of wire mesh closely bound together
to create a stiff structure unit with high performance.
The desired compressive strength of ferro-cement is
generally 25 N/mm2 at 28 days &
mix ratio recommended is 1:2 to 1:2.5 ;(cement: coarse
sand) and
water/cement ratio should be 0.4 by weight.
It can be used in the construction of pre cast toilet units,
water tanks cycle sheds.
Cont.…
Fly ash-sand Lime Bricks
These are produced from fly ash and sand and lime used
as binder.
These bricks are cheap, and have good crushing
strength.
Clay Fly ash Burnt Bricks
These are produced from fly ash and clay and are
stronger than conventional clay bricks.
These consume less energy, provide better thermal
insulation and solve the problem of disposal of waste
material fly ash & thus are environmental friendly.
Cont.…
Clay Red Mud Burnt Bricks
• These are produced from alumina red mud or bauxite, an
industrial waste of aluminum producing plants in combination
with clay.
Gypsum Based Ceiling Tiles, Panel Blocks and Door/Window
Shutters
• There are manufactured from calcined gypsum obtained by
processing phosphor gypsum an industrial waste of fertilizer
plants.
• The panels are strong, lightweight, resistant to fire and works as
a thermal insulative and cost of the product is cheaper.
Precast Stone Blocks
• These are of larger size than brick and are manufactured by
using waste stone pieces of various sizes with lean concrete of
1:3:6 mix.
Cont.…
Precast Hollow Concrete Blocks
• These are manufactured by using lean concrete mixes through
block making machines.
• The cavity in blocks provide better thermal protection and these
also do not need external or internal plastering.
Precast RCC Door and Window Frames
• These are cheaper, stronger fire resistant, termite resistant and
sustain temperature & humidity.
Cont.…
Rice Husk as Building Material
• India alone produces about 20 million tones of rice
husk annually.
• Rice husk ash has been found to be a
useful building material.
• It can be mixed with cement up to 20% without
affecting strength and thus cost of construction can be
reduced and problem of disposal of this ash can also
be solved by using it.
Cont.…
Precast houses
There are several designs of precast units and they
include wall panels, slab panels, columns and roofing
units.
Wall panels come in different designs ranging from
complete elevations of designed houses to discrete slab
panels.
Separate slab panels are suitable for providing cost-
effective housing units.
Cont.…
Dry building concept
• There are different types of interlocking blocks available
but
• the underlying principle is that they do not use mortar.
• Most of the interlocking blocks on the market require
special molds and machines.
• The desired compressive strength is rather high and this
means that they use high strength and costly materials
such as cement.
• However, there are other forms of interlocking blocks
such as the Hydraform type that are relatively cheap as
they are made from soil.
Cont.…
Hydraform Blocks
These blocks are made from soil and cement in a simple machine
that is run on diesel.
The amount of cement required depends on the type of soil used
but generally the most suitable types of soil to achieve economy
are clayey sands.
The molds of the machine produce a block that has vertical
interlock which allows these blocks to be used for wall
construction.
The blocks can be used with other conventional materials for
building and they are suitable for different types of buildings
such as semi-detached houses, double story or continuous units.
Cont.…
The advantages of this form of design and construction are:
• Greater savings are realized for materials such as cement
and sand.
• Significant reduction in labor costs.
• The rate of construction is high and hence housing units
can be delivered within a short period.
• The thermal quality of these walls is good and they are
ideal for semi-arid climates.
THANK YOU!!!
