Application of Load Bearing Brick Wall for Low Rise Condominium Projects in Ethiopia and Assessment of Locally Produced Bricks
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Date
2017-07
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Bricks are one of the oldest building materials in construction. Application of bricks in
construction of Ethiopia is not new. They are used for construction of internal and external walls
in all over the country. Once more brick is commonly used building material; however, there is a
tendency to use brick masonry more as cladding and in-fill material rather than as a structural
material.
In order to solve the housing problem in Ethiopia, saving-house condominium projects, realestates,
and private residential buildings have been constructed in many regions of Ethiopia for the
past decades, there is also a bigger plan set by the government for the next GTP. From the past
experience of building projects, wastage of materials, unsafe construction process, poor quality of
output, high time and cost overrun, and risk of failure due to structural errors and mistakes made
during construction process have been observed.
The objective of this study is to assess locally produced bricks quality and availability to
recommend a load bearing brick wall construction for low rise residential building and compare
the cost with concrete frame structure building of the same plan, form and story.
Over centuries, the utilization of bricks in construction has evolved significantly. In developed
nations, bricks have emerged as the primary load-bearing system for various types of buildings,
spanning from modest single-story residences to relatively tall commercial and industrial
structures. Extensive analysis conducted on developed countries showcases the cost-related
benefits of employing bricks. Additionally, brick walls exhibit excellent thermal insulating
properties, leading to reduced fuel consumption and manufacturing energy expenditure.
The analysis establishes that a three-story load bearing building can be built from locally produced
fired clay bricks. There is also overall saving in both materials and cost when using load bearing
structure instead of reinforced concrete of the same selected apartment building. The
encouragement of the load bearing structure will result in the establishing number of modern
factories for brick and clay product in Ethiopia.