|
|
 |
  |
| Sunday, 17 October 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
A home like no other by Ranga Kamaladasa
Don't give up hope yet. The Centre for Housing Planning and Development (CHPB) - an institution of the Ministry of Housing and Construction Industries, Eastern Province Education and Irrigation Development- along with the National Buildings Research Organisation (NBRO) has come up with a unique solution, an extremely low cost housing concept with a natural arrangement that 'cools' the interior of the house. The 'Seth Sihila Nivasa' as it's called, has been weathered by these organisations in the premises of the Centre for Housing Planning and Development, Pelawatte. It's a single storey house, 582 sqft of which 412 sqft are interior, with two verandas, one living one kitchen and one room. The total cost of the house when created from cement stabilised soil wall (without electricity, water and sanitation) is only Rs.150,000. Though the house is low in cost, it's superior in almost all other features. It is easy to construct, less skilled labour is required is spacious, extendable, healthy, it's environmentally friendly and to cap it all is strong and long lasting. The Technology The house is made out of monolithic cement stabilised soil wall constructed using the slip form technology, on a traditional rubble masonry foundation. The columns are constructed out of an interlocking cement stabilised soil block which is commercially available. No plastering is necessary as the slip form construction gives a better surface finish. A cement-based paint could be applied on the wall. The cement based paints available in the market that comes with water repellents will not only decorate the wall but also give the wall a longer life. The walls are reinforced by 'soil-cement stabilised' soil block manufactured by OS Brick. The material of this brick is compatible and has closer thermal properties to the wall. There's also a hole inside the block which could be reinforced to the foundation by means of iron. The interlocking of the block can also be fixed without mortar, by simply painting the two bonding surfaces with specially prepared putty. The Roof is done using rafters made out of 2"x1" reefers arranged as an I-section, an original idea of Dr. A.N.S. Kulasinghe. The wall plates are 2"x2" and reinforced at cantilever sections. GI Roofing sheets are used to reduce the cost but any one who wishes to go for better roofing arrangements such as roofing tiles could do so on the same timber frame with a little increase in the cost. The frame thus built is ready to carry a ceiling sheet without any additional timber elements giving a superior finish for the ceiling than any other timber frame-work can give. Pre-cast concrete doors and window frames are used with glazed panel windows and plywood doors. Those again can be changed provided the client has money. The Dream House Though this whole project was envisaged to ease the pressure on people who are planning to build a house of their own, it has been more indulging in the eyes of people who are seeking a comfortable and more luxurious house. The main reason for this is the 'naturalness' of the whole house. It's ideally made for the climate in Sri Lanka which is humid and scorching hot. The soil-walls absorb the moisture of the environment leaving the house with an 'Air Conditioning' effect. This was probably the reason why our ancestors built soil-wall houses, in the first place. The engineers at CHPB and NBRO stress that to gain the full effect of the cooling environment, it is preferable to lay clay tiles on the floor as well as clay roofing tiles for the covering. Many consumers today plaster their cement-brick walls with soil, venturing to achieve the same results, but they've only succeeded in making it complicated and a worthless effort to a tiring and expensive procedure. The 'Seth Sihila' house will prove quite an innovation for these people. In building 'Seth Sihila' sand is not used, which eliminates the great price tag and also the environmental issues that come with it. No lime is used, which no doubt is a most controversial product having a degrading effect on the environment and also the land mass of this country. No quarry dust is used, removing the hazardous radiation it inflicts. Thus 'Seth Sihila' is not only more affordable but it's also extremely eco-friendly. Implementation Minister Feriyal Ashraff has requested the CHPB and NBRO team to further cut-short the cost of the housing solution before implementing it nation-wide. But as for the technology, the CHPB is already making plans to start a special course with practical sessions for anyone who is interested in this technology. The pilot house created in the CHPB premises in Pelawatta, is open to everyone to have a look at. Furthermore anyone interested in participating in the courses conducted by the CHPB is welcome to register with the institution. One of the other advantages of this project is that the technology used can be handled by individuals with no previous mason background. Unlike building traditional walls that require up-to-the millimetre precision, the walls can be created by the slip form mould quite painlessly. The slip form can be hired from the registered contractors of the NERD. Presently they're only a few such contractors, available in the housing industry. One other constraint would be the column bricks. Whether the present limited suppliers could make this available in the short run with the surged demand for it, is the question here. This is likely to get addressed with time when other suppliers might come in to the picture to fulfil the need. To sum it all up, this low-cost housing solution is likely to facilitate a surge of business activities in the housing and construction industry, which not only will have a dramatic effect on our economy but also the health and living conditions of the country. ***** Advantages 1.) Definitely cost effective. 2.) Ideal for the Sri Lankan climate. 3.) When the correct tools are available, construction is much simpler than conventional building. 4.) Eco-friendly in countless ways. 5.) Healthy 6.) It has a natural appearance. **** Disadvantages 1.) The slip form mould costs Rs 15,000 to buy. 2.) At the moment the slip form mould can only be hired from a limited number of contractors. 3.) The soil selection, water content and degree of compression should be done at the correct level. (The courses at CHPB include these things as well) 4.) Only Single storey buildings have been tested. (multi-storey construction will be tested in the future) |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
A house of your own. No rent, no moving out when the owner says so.
Just a place where you can call 'home'. But for some of us building a
house of our own is merely a dream with the cost of living sky rocketing
spending huge amounts on a long-time project like a house can turn out to
be more of a burden than you would bargain for. But hold on.
