COST EFFECTIVE HOUSING TECHNIQUES COST EFFECTIVE HOU UNIT - k- DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION OF LOW COST HOUSING TECHNOLOGY: Introduction - Adoption of innovative cost effective construction techniques ~ Adoption of precast elements - Adopting of total prefubrication of mass housing in India~ General remarks on pre caSt footing flooring systems -Economical wall system - Single Brick thick loading bearing wall - 19cm thick Joad bearing masonry walls - Half brick thick load bearing wall - Fly ash gypsum thick for masonry Stone Block masonry — Adoption of precast R.C. plank and join system for rooffloor in the building future safety TEXT BOOKS Hand book of Low Cost Housing by A.K.Lal - New Age International Publishers. Low cost Housing - G.C. Mathur. IBH publishers. India by Francis Cherunilam and Odeyar D Heggade. Himalaya Publishing House,COST EFFECTIVE HOUSING TECHNIQUES Introduction: Most of the developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America share the problems of poverty, large population growth and acute housing shortage alike. The formidable challenge of providing housing to masses at affordable cost is a colossal task which most of governments ip these countries are hardly in a position to cope with Meagre economic resources of such countries necessity adopting appropriate building technology which could lead to economic as well as speed in onstruction. Prefabrication is the obvious choose to meet the ever-increasing demand of housing in these countries, However because of the prohibitive initial capital investments, total pre fabrication does not sound to be a pragmatic proposition in majority of the developing countries. For encouraging speed and ‘economy construction, the only practical solution to the problem of meeting housing requirements of masses in the present context will be go in for adoption partial prefabrication employing the use of pre fabricated building component of such size and weight which could be fabricated at construction site or in industrial production units: economical walling system and single stack system of plumbing, etc. Premier R&D institutions engaged in the field of building technology like the central building research institute (CBRI), Roorke: the Structural engineering research centre (SERC), Madras: the national council for cement for building materials (NCB), ballabhgarh: and the regional research laboratories etc. Have played important role in the development of cost effective construction techniques and materials. On the other hand organisations like the national building organisation (NBO), New Delhi; HUDCO and the national network of Nirmiti Kendras (Building Centres) have been instrumental in the promotion of the innovative construction have been instrumental in the in the innovative construction techniques evolved by the aforesaid research institutions in the country. Adoption of Innovative Cost — Effective Construction Techniques: In order to convert the know — how in the field and experimental housing scheme was initiated under the agencies of the NBO by the government of India in 1962. Under the scheme, innovative construction techniques and improved building materials which were evolved as product of basic and applied research were tried out under the field conditions in proto type experimental buildings for the technical and economical evaluation successful techniques were subsequently propagated for winder adoption. Beneficiary of schemes included the central/state government constructions Departments Housing boards, technical Universities. Research institutions public sector under takings of the government of India and semi-Government/autonomous bodies has sponsored demonstration projects under the experimental scheme. In all 59 experimental projects were sponsored by as many as 42 construction departments/ agencies in different geo-climatic regions of the country in which 60 innovative cost effective construction techniques and materials are successfully tried out. Adoption of precast Elements in partial fabrication: Brief details of some of the popular precast building components, namely, precast RC roofing/flooring elements, precast thin RC lintels, precast RC door and window frames, which have been successfully tried out under the NBO experimental projects and their subsequent large scale utilisation in several housing projects under taken by various construction departments/agencies in India are mentioned below.EFFECTIVE HO! Precast Roof system: Roofing accounts for up to 25% cost of construction of a house. By using precast roofing components, 20 to 30% economy could be achieved in the cost of roof construction. Some of the popular precast roofing/flooring techniques promoted by the NBO which have manifold advantages of saving in cost, consumption of cement and steel and increased pace of construction are described below. All these systems make use of components which are fabricated on the ground, ready in all respect for erection in building. In-situ concreting work is minimised in these systems so that the speed of construction is not affected. The necessity for putting up centring and shuttering as in the case of cast-in-situ reinforced concrete (RC ~ Slab completely) is eliminated under these roofing systems. The provision of cantering and shuttering is a time consuming process and elimination of the same leads to considerable saving in erection time. Precast RC Channel U ae nsoRce went aS See oese™ PINSITY CONCRETE steer gives Cement Bem sah ori as Pun DESiCN: fon vt aten (aos Ly croove om Cement SAN Precast channels units are reinforced concrete structural members which possess a channel or through shape. The sides of the unit are corrugated and grooved at the ends to provide shear key action between the adjacent units. The normal units of the widths of the units is 300 or 600 mm and the depth is 130 mm, The length of the units will depend upon the span to be converted and is generally kept between 2.5 m to 4.2 m. the units have a minimum flange/ web thickness of 25 mm and weights about 36 kg/m length for a width of 300 mm and about 54 kg/m length for width of 600mm.COST EFFECTIVE HOUSING TECHNIQUES these units are cast in well-seasoned timber moulds with M-15 concrete with 10mm and down aggregate. The concrete is consolidated using plate vibrate to prevent any honeycombing, The units are ured for 14 days keeping through filled with water then air cured for another 14 days before placing it in position, The units are then placed side by side in the wall and joints are filled with M-15 concrete ‘which is compacted properly. Negative reinforcement is placed in the continuous spans before fill the joints between the units. Electrical conduits fan hooks etc. are embedded in the cast in-situ joint Concrete. The system provides an overall saving to the extent of 20% over the traditional RC slab. With this system of roofing there is as well saving in construction time which is generally of the order of 20%. Precast RC Plank and joint System This system of roofing is based on the use of precast RC planks and partially precast RC joints. Planks are 60 mm thick in the centre 30 mm edges. The size of the planks is depending up on the size of the room. However the maximum size of the plank is restricted to 1500mm X 300 mm with 3 numbers of 6mm dia. Bars as main reinforcement. The planks are placed on partially precast RC Joints of size 1500 mm X 150 mm. Cast-in-situ concrete laid over the joints and haunches of the plank after placing 6 mm dia. Bars in both directions to make a monolithic structure illustrate connections of pre cat RC plank and pre cat brick panel floor/ roof with tie beam. rosie conceere P08 Hi pig Rt ye | = Pers -earcast aod case WA gy Bena SECTION OF FLOOR All dimeavions ia tallietres. (ENF ORC KMENL OF TIE REAM ‘ 3 8. foie atau nefonceuen PRECAST RC PLARK Deck concrete, BREcAs! amen sere, DOEGAS! ame WALLA. PRECAST ALC. JOIST KOE AN EAM/WALL Al dlemesions in millimetre. heen of the beams helps ensure structural stability in the event of earthquake. Such beam extends 10 the depth of the precast components plus the thickness of structural deck concrete. The planks and joints are cast either in well-seasoned mi r good quality timber moulds 4 Vv is or steel moulds. Curing is done for 1E HOUSIN TECHNIQU This system in results in saving ‘of the materials and costs to the extent of 20 to 25% in comparison to traditional RC roof. There is also a saving in construction time of the order of 25% in lying Such as roof as compared to the conventional in-situ RC slab, CTIV Precast brick panel system: in india, the technology to be adopted for housing components should be such that the production and rection technology be adjusted to suite the level of skills and handling facilities available under metropolitan, urban and rural conditions. ‘The reinforced brick panel is such an option for your roof/floor construction. This ‘technology uses brick panels with reinforcement bars as fillers between the partially precast joists and deck concrete over it. The roofing panels can be easily prefabricated at the site. This technique of roofing has been utilised in the construction of thousands of affordable and energy efficient (wrt. conventional system) houses all a crndia. Not only itself itis a cost effective technology for roofing but saves on the cost and time of form erection and rebar requirement may also reduce for the deck slab. ‘The construction of the slab is similar to other beam and composite panel systems compnling of deck Concrete laid over distribution reinforcement. Brick being lighter than concrete it makes the structure light and the stab exhibits similar live load carrying capacity as of in-situ slab. The precast brick panel of sie 1150 x $30 x 75 mm weighs 75 kg and the partly precast joist about 15 kg/m. prefabricated brick panels are made by a combination of concrete, bricks and rebars. These prefab brick panels are placed on partially precast RC joists supported on walls/beams. Here the RC joist acts as a T- beam. The system consists of 1. Prefab brick panels. 2. Partially precast RC joists. 3. Topping/screed concrete. B. MATERIAL SELECTION Prefab brick panels «© Bricks confirming to IS: 2180 and having compressive strength >40 N/mm2 to be used. «Length: Maximum panel length to be 1.2 m. For further economising your structure, panel length to be decreased to 0.9 m. + Width: to be 530 mm for conventional burnt clay bricks (230x110x75) and 450 mm for panel of modular bricks (190x110x75) ‘+ Longitudinal joints: thickness to be 40 mm to accommodate 6 dia rebar with adequate cover. ‘+ Transverse joints: thickness to be 15-30 mm depending on the brick size.— COST EFFECTIVE HOUSING TECHNIQUES Partially precast RC joist The joist shall be designed as a composite T-beam with 35 mm thick flange concrete. ‘The width of the joist shall support two successive spans of brick panels. Width: minimum 130 mm, which can be increased as per required for structural strength. Depth: minimum 100 mm for a joist span upto 4200 mm. Reinforcement bars Precast Brick panel: Reinforcement conforming to IS: 432 to be used for designing the panel. Conventionally for brick panels, 2 bars of 6 mm embedded in the longitudinal joints Precast RC joist: Reinforcement conforming to IS: 14142 to be used for designing the joist. Cover: minimum 15 mm for the brick panel and 25 mm for joist rebar’s to be maintained. Moulds for precast elements + Mould to be made on site of seasoned good quality timber for small applications. For mass housing projects, it is recommended to have steel/FRP which are non-absorbents and non-corrodible materials. These also saves the fabrication time and construction time is shortened. C. CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURE e@ec@6 o @.0-€ Fig 1: Construction procedure: RC joist and brick panel slabs expen eteee _— COST EFF IV. HOUSING TECHNIQUES. p. ADVANTAGES: «By adopting this method of roof construction, you can save on approx 20-25% of your total slab concrete cost. Also the centring and the shuttering costs also eliminated giving a total saving of approx. 25-35% on the overall slab cost. «Time is saved by the use of precast elements which are casted off-site during the course of foundations being laid, The finishes and services can be done below the slab immediately. While inthe conventional in-situ RCC slabs, due to props and shuttering, the work cannot be done, till they are removed. Thus, saving of time attributes to saving of money: « inconventional methods, the shuttering gets damaged due to its repetitive use because of frequent cutting, nailing etc. On the other hand, the mould for the precast components can be used for large number of repetitions thereby reducing the cost of the mould perunit «Inthe panel and joist system, similar types of components are produced repeatedly, resulting in increased productivity and economy in cost too. It results in faster execution, more productivity and economy. «+ Inppanel and joist system, the work at site is reduced to minimum, thereby, enhancing the quality of work, reliability and cleanliness. s Efficient utilization of natural resources/raw materials which are energy intensive and thus adding an attribute in the list of Green and sustainable building technologies. «Service's installations should be planned during the construction if not exposed. | pecrease in high energy consuming materials also helps to reduce the Embodied Energy of virgin materials and save the production of Green House Gases (GHG's) into the atmosphere. E. IMAGE GALLERY: RAT TRAP BOND COURSES Image 1: Partially precast RC joists (picture taken from BMTPC website)‘en from BMTPC website) ym BMTPC website) image 2: Prefab brick panels. (picture take Image 3: Laying of panels over the joists (picture taken fro Image 4 Ceiling view of RC joist and prefab brick panel slab (picture taken from BMTPC website) Thin precast RC lintel Tr wall with beam and masonry above, the two components act together in supporting the load. This phenomenon of composite action has been established by many research workers. Studies seat ad out atthe Institute on thin precast HC.C. lintels in brick walls during 1964-65 has also shown that they act together, tension being taken by the lintel and compression by the brickwork Based on these Ttodies 75 em thick and 23 cm wide precast A.C. lintels with 3 Nos. 10 mm dia ms. bars as main srnforcement were recommended for spanning openings up to 1.8 m, provided the bricks used have Trinimum compressive strength of 10 N/mm2, the mortar is not leaner than 1:6 cement: sand mortar and height of masonry above the lintel is at least 45 cm. Based on these recommendations, such thin precast lintels are being adopted by many construction departments. However, in most parts of the country. bricks of strength 10 N/mm2 are not available. The institute had been receiving queries from several agencies regarding the use of thin lintels in such situations. So, the feasibility of adopting thin lintels with low strength brickwork was studied and this Bui Iding Research Note is the outcome of the study. Factors Affecting Composite Action Composite action of lintel with masonry above is a complex phenomenon and the following are the major factors affecting it.COST EFFECTIVE HOUSING TECHNIQUES (a) Bond/friction at the interface of lintel and masonry: The masonry above the lintel acts like an arch and transmits the load to the supports of the lintel and the lintel acts like a tie for the arch. For the lintel to act asa tie, it is necessary that the bond or friction between the masonry and lintel near supports is more than the horizontal shear stress caused by the thrust of the arch. (b) Crushing strength of masonry The arch action developes near supports When this stress exceeds the crushing strent (c) Shear strength of masonry: Once the shear stress developed in masonry near masonry, failure sets in, (d) Masonry bond: For better composite action stretcher bon (h) Height of masonry above lintel: If the height of masonry above the lintel is too little, to be formed in the masonry and hence composite action will be less. (f) Whether the masonry is already stressed to limit or not: In case the masonry is already stressed to the limit, accommodating the peak vertical stresses demanded by composite action (g) Reinforcement in lintel: Normally, this is not a controlling and the masonry above is comparatively strong. fai lure reinforcement could be expected. Studies carried out: Brick strength mortar proportion and height of masonry above lintel were the three Para meters of the study carried out at the Institute. Bricks having three different strengths, viz., 3 N/mm2 4 N/mm2 and 6 N/mm approximately were used in the tests The cement: sand mortar proportions used in the tests were 1:6 and while 1:8 the height (a) Crack pattern and mode of failure: The first cracks started at the top of the masonry above the edges of the opening and extended downwards and outwards at an angle of about 70° to the horizontal. The development of these cracks appeared to be mainly due to the intensity of shear stress developed in brick-work near edges of openings being more than the shear strength of brickwork. As the load was increased, cracks also extended and in almost all cases, the failure occurred by the’ extension of these cracks to the full depth of brick-work and separation of horizontal joint between lintel and brickwork near the supports. In all the tests, shear strength of brickwork governed the failure. (b) Loads at first crack, failure and allowable working loads: The ultimate load increased with the height of brickwork. For the same height, the load carrying capacity decreased with masonry strength. The lan at first crack varied from 45% to 75% of the ultimate load. The al low able load was calculated taking a ejector of safety of 2 against load at first crack and a factor of safety of 5 against failure load. The present know ledge indicates that the load acting on a lintel in a multi-storeyed load bearing wall is that from one storey above. The allowable loads were found to be more than the loads acting in cases, where the brick strength is not less than 3 N/mm2, mortar is not leaner than 1:6 cement: sand mortar and the height of brickwork above lintel is not less than 45 cm. {c) Comparison of failure loads: pane, ansdeing therm armored Bick beams. Ths nests tht leas prt a the feed ansiatted iy ae action’ . This indicates that at least part of the load is the masonry causes vertical stress concentration in the masonry igth of masonry, fail ure sets in. the support exceeds the shear resistance of \ds are preferred to header bonds. physically it may not be possible for an arch then there will be no reserve strength left for factor. If the area of reinforcement provided is extre: mely low ‘of composite action by yielding ofCOST EFFECTIV HOUSING TECHNIQUES (d) Variation of vertical and horizontal stresses in panels: The average vertical com; to be 1.75 times the uniformly a more than half the vertical st {e) Deflection: The maximum deflection to 1 in 381 of the span. Thi above lintel (f) Stress developed in reinforcement: The stress developed in the r Permissible stress in steel. This indicates that a major portion of the load ls transferred te the supports Pressive stress developed adjacent to the supports of lintels was found Pplied stress. in general, the horizontal stress intensity was found to be ress intensity recorded at the penultimate stage of loading was found to be 1 in 232 ‘ variation in deflection is due to difference in strength and height of masonry to W1/344 where W is the total load and L is the span. In general, panels having higher strength of masonry and more height showed lesser bending moments. Conclusions (a) There is composite action of lintel with brick-wwork above, even when the brick masonry is of low strength and the height of brickwork above lintel is 45 or 30 mm only. (b) For a given masonry, the load carrying capacity increases with increase in the height of brickwork above lintel. (c) For a given height of brickwork, the load ca rrying capacity increases with strength of. masonry above lintel. (d) When the height of brickwork above lintel is less than 0.37 span and the masonry is of low strength, failure occurs by shearing of masonry over supports, {c) Compared to deep panels, vertical stress concentration in brickwork less in case of shallow panels. Recommendations: The composite action of lintel with brickwork above is governed by a number of parameters. The design of composite lintel is somewhat complicated and not easily amenable to calculation, For the ready use of site engineers, design chart for thin precast lintels in brick walls of normal residentisl buildings is given in Table 1. It is applicable only when the load on the composite lintel is a uniformly distributed one. The brickwork over the lintel shall be not less than 45 cm in height and shall be constructed in a mortar not leaner than 1:6 cement sand mortar. Thin lintels shall not be used in brick walls made in mud mortar. It shall be noted that there is no composite action in continuous lintels at intermediate supports, where the top portion of the Lintel is intension. The thickness of the lintel shall be the thickness of the brick i e, 7 mm in case of modular bricks and the lintel shall preferably have a bearing of 23 cm/20 mm on either supports. Details of a thin precast lintel in a single briekwall over an ‘opening of span 120 cmCOST EFFECTIVE HOUSING TECHNIQUES LC anes.t0mm gms bors Bros onms Loneuomat section ‘CROSS SECTION Lintels can be cast over a concrete topped shall be spaced @ 30 cm c/c above the main reinforcement and tied with it wires. Casting platform, finished level and smooth after applying a coat of used engine oil or any other the concrete used shall be of grade M 15 with bond-breaking material. Simple timber/steel coarse aggregate of 20 mm and down size and mould duly oiled can be used for the casting. Shall be compacted by vibrators. The top of the main reinforcement as given in Table 1 lintels shall be finished rough with chequered shall be placed at the centre of the thickness of lines while the bottom and sides shall be finite lintel and 6 mm dia distribution bars shed smooth . The lintels shall be water cured for two weeks and air dried for another two weeks before using them in any construction. During construction, in case the lintels are not resting on door/window frames, they shall be supported to a length of 30 cm at the mid span, before the wall above is built and for at least a week's time after the wall is completed. In case, the lintel is having a chajja projection, both may be precast together. A detail of lintel with chajja is shown in Fig . 2. Alternatively, the lintel portion may be precast with the reinforcement for the chajja projecting out. The chajja portion can be cast-in -situ. In either case, the chajja projection has to be kept propped up till the wall above is built to provide sufficient counterweight against overturning. Where two lintels cross each other at the bearing portion, the lintels may be precast up to the bearing portion only with the reinforcement for the bearing portion exposed This portion shall be cast- in-situ. Alternately, both the lintels may be cast completely in-situ Lintels have to be kept propped in either case. till the concrete and masonry attain strength. Advantages Use of precast lintels speeds up the construction of walls, besides eliminating shuttering and centring. Adoption of thin lintels results in about 50 per cent saving in materials and overall cost, compared to lintels based on conventional designs. Material and Labour Requirement The labour and ‘material for casting, curing site transportation, hoisting and placing in position thin precast lintels 23 x 7——— COST EFFECTIVE HOUSING TECHNIQUE: cm for a clear slo ect 320 Em and lintel-cum-chaija for the same span with a chaija projection of 45 cm are given below. From this basic data, knowir ing the rates for labour ani ard infeteurp eh ¥ the rates for labour and materials, the cost of the lintel and i iia can be worked out for any place. Contractor's profit and over heads are to be te, Of PE mtr feu tin _sen ASB Fagen secnow Precast RC Frames for Doors and Windows: With fast deletion of the forest timber has now become a scare material. This has necessitated search for substitute material for making frames for doors and windows. Reinforced concrete frames Provide an answer to the problem. Precast RC frames are alternate to traditional timber frames for doors and windows and economical compared to frames made out of traditional timber like teak and deodar. They are more suitable than timber frames in wet areas like lavatories, bathrooms and kitchens and are resistant to termite attack and growth of fungus. The RC frames are better resistant to fire as compared to wooden frames. Precast RC frames are recommended for maximum opening of 2.25 m with cross section 60 X 120 mm. ‘or 70 X 75 mm for single shutter doors and 60 X 120 mm for double-shutter doors. Three bars of 6mm. dia. Are provided as minimum reinforcement which are firmly held by means of 3 mm dia. Steel bars spaced at not more than 20 cm ¢/c. the frames are cast in M-15 concrete. Various. methods of fixing shutters to the frames have been tried out. But the most successful and durable method appears to be use nuts running through the frame. Hold fasts, M.S. plates receiving the towers bolt, aluminium sleeves for fixing shutters are embedded in the frame during castinghinges.COST EFFECTIV! HOUSIN: HNIQUES, | seit | Fig. S12 Precast RC (rames for doors/ windows Adoption of total prefabrication for mass housing in Indi: In India, too, prefabrication technology for mass housing has come of age. Prefabrication increasingly being adopted for large-scale housing programmes in the country. Brief description of some popular prefabrication systems adopted for mass housing programmes in India is given below: Hindustan prefab limited: Hindustan Prefab Limited (HPL), one of the oldest CPSEs, functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation. Pioneer of Prefab technology in India - HPL was established as a Department in 1948, for meeting the housing needs of people who were migrated from Pakistan. Later HPL was incorporated as a company in the name of Hindustan Housing Factory Limited in 1953 and became a CPSE in 1955. On Sth March 1978, name of the company was changed to Hindustan Prefab Ltd (HPL). Over the years, HPL has built a wide range of civil engineering structures besides supplying pre- fabricated components for the building industry and Indian Railways, HPL was amongst the pioneers which introduced PRC railway sleepers, a technically feasible substitute to wood and steel railway sleepers. HPL was the first to produce pre-cast pre stressed concrete railway bridges girders for building railways bridges. HPL is credited with building large number of residential, industrial, and institutional structures using pre-cast concrete and prefabrication technique. Standing on the landscape of Delhi are structures made by HPL namely the, Ashoka Hotel, Palam Air Port Terminal Building, East and West Block in R.K. Puram, Vikas Bhawan in IP Estate to name a few, all using prefab building components. The Hotel Oberoi Intercontinental, the flagship Hotel of the Oberoi Group used precast concrete components manufactured by HPL. The HPL complex is located on a 28.639 acre plot of land in Jangpura, New Delhi. There is a railway siding inside the factory to facilitate HPL to ship with ease its products to the end user's sites. However,