Cost Effective Walling Materials For Piecemeal Construction In Developing Economies

Provision of adequate housing for mankind has been an age old problem for many governments. Many households cannot afford the huge capital commitment to build a house and therefore are left with no alternative than to adopt the piecemeal/ incremental construction. A challenge of piecemeal construction is that, structures are often exposed to varying weather conditions especially in instances where no roofing material has been put in place. It is thus expected that, much importance is placed on walling materials that can stand the test of time. This research assesses and identifies the most suitable walling materials for housing in piecemeal construction. The study analyses the suitability of four walling materials namely sandcrete blocks, bricks, hydraform and landcrete for incremental housing in Ghana.Primary data was gathered using questionnaires and interviews whiles existing literature on the topic provided the needed secondary data for the study. The sample includes 50 workers each from the informal and formal sectors and individual developers and companies. The research also examined 3 unroofed structures constructed with different walling materials that have been exposed to the same climatic conditions for between 14 to 16 years in Kumasi, Ghana. The results show that; (a) Most Ghanaians finance their housing projects themselves partly due to the difficulty in accessing alternative sources of finance. (b) Sandcrete blocks although comparatively expensive are the most widely used material for piecemeal construction in Ghana.(c) Most respondents had no knowledge of Hydraform as an alternate construction material to sandcrete blocks.Construction in piecemeal has come to stay and it is important for developers to ensure that walling materials for construction can withstand weather conditions and ensure value for money.