Low-cost housing construction is possible with the use of low-cost building materials and planning. Techniques for low-cost housing construction with its speedy construction is discussed in this article.
Why Low-Cost Housing Construction Required?
For any nation, whether developed or developing this is mandatory for them to make their rural areas a major priority for concern. The prosperity of a nation lies in the fact that their rural and backward areas are developed enough to fulfil the necessities of the residents living there.
So, it is more of a duty of the government and in charge, authorities to look out for them and make sure that the rural housing is developed and constructed well. With the advancements in technology and development in the construction sector, this is now possible to build Speedy and Low-Cost Housing for Rural.
Are Low-Cost Houses Safe?
There is a myth in minds of many people; they think that whenever construction is accompanied with low cost the material used will always be of a low-grade quality. Well, this is not the case always.
It depends on the intellect of the builder or civil engineer you are working with. He should have the ample amount of knowledge to take such decision which will cut the cost of the whole project.
So, you should always choose wisely when it comes to your builder or any construction company that you are trusting with the low-cost housing project for rural.
Speedy and Low-Cost Housing Construction Techniques for Rural:
Low-cost housing or building is a concept of innovative ideas of budgeting efficiently instead of degrading the quality of material you have been using. You just need the correct amount of skills, technology to aid and the best performance of the workers working on the site to achieve this goal of Speedy and Low-Cost Housing for Rural without sacrificing for the material you have been using.
So, there are some methodologies which can be adapted to cut the construction cost and still achieve the best:
Selection of Load Bearing and Framed Structures for Low-Cost Housing Construction
When we lay out our plans for the construction we should always concentrate primarily on the structure we have are going to use. So, this is the first area of concern i.e. the structure. It should preferably be Load Bearing Structure instead of using Frame structure. The Load Bearing structure has several advantages:
- Cheaper in case of normal low rise building. As the cost of construction is low because a lesser amount of concrete and steel rods are required.
- Easier to construct and also it requires much lesser time. Thus this will serve both the purposes of low cost as well as in speedy processing.
- It is flexible as well.
Foundation for Low-Cost Housing Construction
Now when we talk about the foundation of a building we really need to be very careful as it is the main basic aspect of the project. It involves 10-15% of the total building cost.
Generally, the depth or the foundation of a building is 3-4 feet deep in the soil, but we can alternatively make it up to 2 feet in depth for normal soils. This saves a large amount of total cost. In other delicate or soft soils, such a cost reduction cannot be executed very well.
To avoid the cracks in the foundation of your building it is advised to use cement mortar in appropriate ratios.
Hollow Concrete Block Load Bearing Walls for Low-Cost Housing Construction
Use of hollow concrete blocks for load-bearing walls has many advantages such as:
- They are way cheaper than stone bricks we conventionally use.
- Because they are light in weight, they are very easy to handle and to work on.
- There is a special advantage of insulation to space air void.
- A very less amount of mortar is consumed.
- The most important fact is that these are environmentally friendly.
Staircase for Low-Cost Housing Construction
Conventionally we have been using the cast-in-situ stair construction systems. But it is much more expensive. So alternatively, we can use an effective and efficient method which is also known as Precast Staircase System.
Precast staircase system has several advantages such as:
- Its construction is cheap and quick
- No laborious form of work is required to construct it.
- It can be simply supported or can be supported with a cantilever.
Filler Slabs for Ceilings in Low-Cost Housing Construction
These are the normal RCC slabs where the bottom concrete is replaced with filler materials such as bricks, tiles, cellular blocks, etc. But they do not compromise the strength of the ceiling in anyways, thus it is economical, reasonable and safe to use. They also provide various types of pleasing patterns as per your choice.
Prefabrication of Structural Elements
Prefabricated construction is a concept where all the essential elements of construction are readymade and bought. So, it is quite understood that it will save a huge amount of time and helps with concentrating on the durability of the work.
Examples of certain prefabricated materials that you can use are:
- Materials for walls
- Roof and floor slabs
- Doors and windows
Doors and Windows in Low-Cost Housing Construction
We have already mentioned above that we should promote prefabrication to be quick and innovative. But also, we can make sure that we do not spend so much on the doors and windows and just look for the maximum durability of a design which is provided to you at very less and effective cost.
Instead of following the conventional carpeting procedures we should always go by the frames for the doors. There are so many sizes and options that are available. This saves cost up to 30% and saves time.
It is now possible to build Speedy and Low-Cost Housing for Rural without making any compromises with the strengths or materials being used. All the above-stated techniques and methods also help in saving energy.
Low-cost construction is a concept which is generalized and based on three factors which are structural design, the method of budgeting & cost cutting and materials used. So, all these three factors must be optimized for low-cost construction.