Eccentric Problems of Hydraform Building System for Low Cost Mass Housing Construction: Evidence from Some Sites in Northern Nigeria

Abstract

Hydraform building system is gaining recognition and is increasingly used in most developing countries like Nigeria for the provision of low cost housing due to its numerous benefits including environmental friendliness, better thermal insulation, aesthetic value, faster construction and cost efficiency. These benefits embolden the use of hydraform blocks in the provision of mass housing especially in the Northern part of Nigeria to deal with cost and the issues of weather. The study explores through field observation and questionnaire survey the problems associated with the use of Hydraform interlocking blocks for the construction of low cost housing in some selected sites in Borno and Yobe States in Northern Nigeria. The study revealed that the fundamental problems are poor quality of blocks produced on sites, delay in the production process when large volume of work is involved, high rates charged on laying hydraform blocks as compared to conventional sancete blocks and indiscriminate use of unskilled personnel for construction. The study recommends that before embarking on mass housing projects personnel involved on such schemes should be trained and total quality management practice should be adopted to ensure improved performance.

Keywords: Hydraform building system, stabilized blocks, low cost housing, Nigeria.