Appropriate Building Materials: a Catalogue of Potential Solutions (SKAT, 1988, 430 p.): Examples of wall materials: Walls from agro-waste

DETACH

NO HIGHLIGHTING

Appropriate Building Materials: a Catalogue of Potential Solutions (SKAT, 1988, 430 p.)

Examples of wall materials

		Stone masonry blocks walls
		Rammed earth walls
		Compressed soil blocks walls
		Bamboo reinforced earth walls
		Burnt clay brick walls
		Concrete hollow block walls
		Bamboo walls
		Timber panel walls
		Sulphur concrete walls
		Walls from agro-waste

Walls from agro-waste

KEYWORDS:

Special properties	Promising use of local waste materials
Economical aspects	Low cost
Stability	Good
Skills required	Average construction skills
Equipment required	Wooden hand mould, masonry equipment
Resistance to earthquake	Good
Resistance to hurricane	Good
Resistance to rain	Depends on stabilization
Resistance to insects	Medium
Climatic stability	All except very wet climates
Stage of experience	Experimental

SHORT DESCRIPTION:

· The system described here, developed at the Forest Products Research and Development Institute, Philippines, uses hollow soil-cement blocks, which contain a certain amount of beach sand and agricultural wastes, such as rice husks, sawdust, wood chips and coconuttrunk particles.

· The blocks (10 x 20 x 40 cm with 3 rectangular holes) are made in wooden hand moulds. The raw mixture, with a moisture content similar to that for common soil cement blocks, is filled into the mould, tamped and levelled, after which the blocks can be demoulded and placed on their narrow sides for moist curing (about 10 days).

· Wall construction is the same as for concrete hollow blocks, and extremely rigid constructions are achieved by filling the cavities with steel reinforcement and concrete.

Further information: Forest Products Research and Development Institute, Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines; Bibl. 19.11.

The hand mould and finished hollow block; Construction and reinforcement of hollow block walls