LOW COST HOUSING

By

RISHI CHAUHAN
8TH SEMESTER
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Introduction
 Low Cost Housing is a new concept which
deals with effective budgeting and following of
techniques which help in reducing the cost
construction through the use of locally available
materials without sacrificing the strength,
performance and life of the structure.
 Of these, low cost technologies for the following
building components are discussed in this paper:
walls, roof, doors & windows, lintels &chajjas.
WALLS
Problems:
• Erosion of the soil due to rain impact.
• Loss of strength on saturation.
Preparation of stabilized mud blocks
Advantages of the stabilized mud blocks:
• Cost effective by 20-40% when compared to burnt
bricks.
• Cost on cement mortar reduces considerably.
• Plastering is not necessary.
 Cost Analysis for Walls

For Burnt Brick Masonry (for one m3) C M of 1 : 6

Bricks 500 @ 3.50 Rs / No. Rs. 1000.00

Cement 1.26 bags @ 300 Rs. Rs. 190.00

Sand 0.26 m3 @ Rs. m3 Rs. 74.00

* Total Cost / m3  Rs. 1264.00

For Stabilized Mud blocks (For one m3) Using
Stabilized Soil, Cement, Mortar of 1 : 2 : 6
Blocks 350 @ 3 Rs/ No. Rs. 875.00

Cement 0.98 bag @ 300 Rs. Rs. 147.00

Sand 0.2 m3 @ 282 Rs./m3 Rs. 56.40

Soil 0.06 m3 @ 282 Rs./m3 Rs. 18.80

* Total Cost / m3  Rs. 1097.20

Cost of Pointing – 25/m3 Total cost  1122.20 Rs.
Cost Reduction due to: *

Masonry Rs. 160.00/m3

Internal -- Rs. 60.00/m3
Plasterin
External -- Rs. 60.00/m3
g
Rs. 120.00/m3
Painting Internal -- Rs. 45.00/m3
External -- Rs. 35.00/m3
Rs. 80.00/m3
ROOF
Roof as a structural system:

The cost of the structure depends on the three factors

• Load acting on the roof.
• Efficiency of the structural system.
• Materials used for the structure.
Roof structural and covering:

The cost reduction may be achieved by three techniques

• Reduced weight of covering.
• Use more efficient structure.
• Increase size of covering unit.
 Plate floor system

Reinforcement & mould for a plate floor element Reinforced concrete floor element being lifted
off the casting platform for erection

Erection of plate elements for the roof of an building

Brick vault masonry Hollow clay Blocks roofs
DOORS & WINDOWS
Doors and windows are:
• Steel doors & window frames.
• Use of precast doors & window frame instead of timber.
• Flush doors & shutters instead of conventional wood.
• Frameless openings.
 Flush Door
Lipping using, Teak, Honne,
Sal

Back Side, Rose, or

Teak or Local wood Front Side, Rose, or
painted Teak

Hard wood

Lipping
Cost Analysis for Doors:
For a Door of: 30 mm
thickness and 0.9 x 2 mt size

Cost per Door

Type of Door
Shutter
Shutter
Rs.

Rose wood 12620.00

Teak wood 8175.00

Honne 4725.00

FLUSH DOORS

Commercial 1943.00

One side Teak 2578.00

Both Side Teak 3005.00

One side Rose 2706.00

Both Side Rose 3528.00

Steel Door 1785.00

LINTELS & CHAJJAS
RESULT:
 CONCLUSION

• Alternate materials and technologies are needed to

reduce cost of housing.
• Management of time and resources largely saves the
cost.
• Public awareness makes low cost housing acceptable.
References:
• Low cost housing by Mathur G.C. ,IBH publications.
• Modern trends in housing in developing countries by
A.G. Madhava Rao ,IBH publication.
• Advances in building materials & construction by
Mohan Rai & Jaisingh , CBRI publications.
Acknowledgements:
• Prof. Jagadish, Soil Mechanics department, IISc, Bangalore.
• ASTRA, Bangalore.
• C.N. Yadunandan, Mysore.
• K.R. Ganesh, Architect, Bangalore.
Thank You