FEATURES
COST EFFECTIVENESS OF ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS
According to Michael Page , a committee member at the South African Affordable Residential Developers Association ( SAARDA ), there is not much of a difference with regards to alternative building materials and cost . Page ’ s experience with more than 15 suppliers of alternative building systems over the past three years has found that most of the products realise savings on labour and time , rather than cost .
“ Let ’ s say it takes you four to six weeks to erect a normal brick and mortar house , they claim you can do it from three to seven days ,” Page explains . He also says that when it comes to costs , sometimes the use of alternative materials works out to be the same or even higher as using conventional building materials .
“ At the end of the day , the product is geared for volume . To date none of the suppliers could provide proof that there is a true material cost saving of an acceptable alternative method over traditional bricks and mortar .”
Page does however highlight that using alternative building material that saves time and labour would be effective for a project that requires the delivery of many housing units in short amount of time . For example , if you need to deliver 500 housing units monthly , then using alternative building materials and methods for that project makes sense .
ALTERNATIVE BUILDING MATERIALS AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS
There are other factors to consider when looking at using alternative building materials . One of them is the market ’ s perception around alternative building materials , as Page explains clients traditionally favour bricks and mortar to alternative materials . This is due to the market perception that bricks and mortar is a strong product , with no other to compete with it .
Another factor is the social component within a development . Page ’ s example of this is the use of less labour with alternative building materials . For an example , using alternative building materials in a low-cost housing project could employ 50 people compared with 200 plus people with bricks and mortar .
“ For the same price I would rather employ 200 plus people and put food on their tables ,” Page explains . Ultimately the only saving in Page ’ s view relates to using less labour in the construction and erection of a house during a low-cost housing project .
Page also adds that market perception is unlikely to change any time soon — unless the client and purchaser is well-informed that they don ’ t need bricks and mortar to have a strong house . He adds that costs related to alternative building material needs to be accurately re-looked .
Page concludes , “ At the end of the day , we as developers are not biased when considering the use of alternative building materials versus traditional building methods . We constantly review alternatives that may enable us to provide a cost-effective home to the market and pass on savings to buyers . We need to find synergy on cost and acceptance from all parties involved — ultimately delivering and selling a product that satisfies potential buyers ’ needs .”
The jumbo blocks from Greenlite Concrete used during the construction of a building .
REGULATIONS AROUND ALTERNATIVE BUILDING MATERIALS
Agrement architectural technical group leader , Sammy Skosana , explains that if that alternative building material has an Agrément South Africa certificate , so stakeholders can be rest assured that the product has gone through stringent tests and meets all standards and requirements .
“ To comply with the National Building Regulations , one can go the deemed-to-satisfy rule as stipulated in SANS 10400 — namely , the conventional way of construction ,” says Skosana .
An engineer can be approached to do a rational design , where they take full responsibility of the structural integrity of the building or you can approach Agrement South Africa , that will issue a certificate that is fit-forpurpose for the intended use of that innovative or alternative building technology .
Skosana also adds that there are ongoing tests and research locally and internationally by reputable research organisations to determine if recycled building rubble can be used in certain construction environments without compromising structural strength or integrity of the building .
“ Certificated alternative building materials is the way to go . These are used extensively all over the world and even in seismic conditions . Most are affordable and easy to construct as many them involves the use of an unskilled labour force and therefore provide employment and are quicker to erect . Currently there is a shortage of conventional building material exacerbated by the housing backlog ,” he concludes .
There are alternative building materials available on the market for use not only in low cost housing , but also in other areas of construction , including roads . These building materials have been found to be less labour intensive and save a lot of time , however they are not really cost effective . The market has yet to fully latch onto the use of alternative building materials for low cost housing projects .
18
MAY - JUNE 2018
AFFORDABLE
SA HOUSING