Assessment on Selected Prefabricated Wall Construction Practices as an Alternative Materials and Technology in The Ethiopian Housing Sector
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2021-10
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Provision of affordable housing to citizens is one of the biggest concerns of governments all across the world. The cost of housing in cities of Ethiopia is very high that it is impossible for most city to afford a quality house. The government is trying to provide affordable houses with good quality and in short period of time. But the houses provided by the government are mostly substandard and timely completion of housing projects has been a challenge.
This research is about prefabricated wall construction materials and about the significance of implementing alternative prefabricated wall construction materials in the Ethiopian housing construction sector. The thesis discusses five selected wall construction materials, their property and suitability for the housing construction.
The research briefly describes five selected wall construction materials, hollow concrete block, Agrostone panel, gypsum board, and Styrofoam concrete and light weight concrete by explaining about the properties and advantages of the materials for the housing construction sector.
The research goes on to explore the housing construction sector of Ethiopia for the perception and extent of using prefabricated wall construction materials. Furthermore the research includes experimental analysis to examine the physical properties of alternative prefabricated wall construction materials and also conduct a brief preliminary cost analysis of the wall construction materials.
The findings from questionnaire, and cost analysis shows that hollow concrete block is the most cost effective material and the most available wall construction material. The other materials can be explored for their other attributes like timely finish, better quality, aesthetic and ease of transportation.
Description
Keywords
Prefabricated wall making materials, Hollow concrete blocks, Agrostone, Styrofoam, Gypsum board, Light weight concrete