Table of Contents

The Potentials of Earth as a Sustainable Building Material

Okpala C.C and Umeora C.O                                                                          1-14

Assessment of Fire Safety Awareness of Occupants and

Developers in Residential Buildings in Makurdi Metropolis

Elijah. A. Hime and Imborivungu, Terkimbi Emmanuel                                  15-31

Climate Change and the Increasing Risk of Flooding in the Built

Environment

Ferdinand F. O. Daminabo, Anthony D. Enwin                                                            32-43

Determination of Quality of Sandcrete Blocks Using Cost Analysis

of Material Input

Olushola Ndefo Okigbo and Abu Amos Gana                                                 44-52

Analysis of Tap Water Supply in Keffi Local Government of Nigeria

Magaji. J.I, Nasir N.M and Adana .M.Y                                                             53-59

Determination of Quality of Sandcrete Blocks Using Cost Analysis

of Material Input

Olushola Ndefo Okigbo and Abu Amos Gana                                                 60-68

DETERMINATION OF QUALITY OF SANDCRETE BLOCKS USING COST ANALYSIS OF MATERIAL INPUT 

Olushola Ndefo Okigbo and Abu Amos Gana

Department of Quantity Surveying

Federal Polytechnic Bida,

Niger State Nigeria

Email: olusholaokigbo@gmail.com, amos.abu38@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

Sandcrete blocks are the most commonly used blocks in the construction of building in Nigeria. The importance of sandcrete blocks cannot be overemphasised. Despite all the government effort to ensure good quality production of sandcrete blocks in Nigeria, many block industries are still producing blocks that are below standard. Many researches have proved this beyond reasonable doubt. In order to make this proof clearer this paper focussed on using the cost of materials input to determine the quality of the blocks produced by these block industries. In achieving this two commonly used types of blocks and mix proportions were considered. After a careful and detailed analysis it was found out that the total material cost of producing 467blocks of 150mm thick (6”) using 1:6 mix was ₦ 82,698.00 while the selling price in the market was ₦ 46,667.00. Also the cost of producing 304blocks of 225mm thick (9” size) using 1:6 mix was ₦82,698.00 and the selling price was ₦45,652.50. With this analysis the questions is how are the block industries making profit? it was concluded that, if the block industries are really producing their blocks up to the set standards, they cannot break even on the prices these blocks are being sold by the industries. It was also concluded that the blocks are not up to the standard set by standard organisation of Nigeria SON. The researcher recommended that the organisation and law enforcement agency should put more effort in monitoring the block industries so as to ensure good quality in the production of the sandcrete blocks.

Keywords: Blocks, Building, Construction, Quality, Sandcrete, Standards,

DETERMINATION OF QUALITY OF SANDCRETE BLOCKS USING COST ANALYSIS OF MATERIAL INPUT 

Olushola Ndefo Okigbo and Abu Amos Gana

Department of Quantity Surveying

Federal Polytechnic Bida, Niger State Nigeria

Email: olusholaokigbo@gmail.com,amos.abu38@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

Sandcrete blocks are the most commonly used blocks in the construction of building in Nigeria. The importance of sandcrete blocks cannot be overemphasised. Despite all the government effort to ensure good quality production of sandcrete blocks in Nigeria, many block industries are still producing blocks that are below standard. Many researches have proved this beyond reasonable doubt. In order to make this proof clearer this paper focussed on using the cost of materials input to determine the quality of the blocks produced by these block industries. In achieving this two commonly used types of blocks and mix proportions were considered. After a careful and detailed analysis it was found out that the total material cost of producing 467blocks of 150mm thick (6”) using 1:6 mix was ₦ 82,698.00 while the selling price in the market was ₦ 46,667.00. Also the cost of producing 304blocks of 225mm thick (9” size) using 1:6 mix was ₦82,698.00 and the selling price was ₦45,652.50. With this analysis the questions is how are the block industries making profit? it was concluded that, if the block industries are really producing their blocks up to the set standards, they cannot break even on the prices these blocks are being sold by the industries. It was also concluded that the blocks are not up to the standard set by standard organisation of Nigeria SON. The researcher recommended that the organisation and law enforcement agency should put more effort in monitoring the block industries so as to ensure good quality in the production of the sandcrete blocks.

Keywords: Blocks, Building, Construction, Quality, Sandcrete, Standards,

ANALYSIS OF TAP WATER SUPPLY IN KEFFI LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA

Magaji.J.I, Nasir N.M and Adana M.Y

Department of Geography,

Nasarawa State University, Keffi

ABSTRACT

The need for portable drinking water in any settlement is the concern of any government which that settlement locates; hence, it is the task of that government to adopt better technology and policies towards achieving a sustainable and secured water future. Field measurements and direct observation was collected through inspection of the water supply scheme, tap to tap water use survey, inspection of distribution system. Similarly, the primary data were collected using systematic random sampling with the aid of a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the collected data. From the result of the quantity of water supply is far below demand, water are lost through leakages and breakages due to poor connection or lining, Finally, government should call the attention of experts in construction, and maintenance of projects. The study recommends that water schemes should be funded to increase water production and on the side of the consumers, they should do more with less water, pay their bills and always notify the board whenever there is breakage or leakage of pipe.     

Keywords: Water, Tap, Technology, Survey

CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE INCREASING RISK OF FLOODING IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Ferdinand F. O. Daminabo¹, Anthony D. Enwin

Department of Architecture

Rivers State University of Science and Technology,

Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

E-mail: ferdydaminabo@yahoo.com;

ABSTRACT

The United Nations Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change (IPCC) early this year warned on the effects of Climate Change being severe globally. There are potent and new evidences emerging from the scientific world strengthening the argument on climate change, the impact of which is likely to be erratic and very harsh.  The hydrological systems in many countries and regions of the globe are going to be severely affected, just as variations in precipitation or melting ice will impact on water resources and its quality. This paper considers the potential risks of flooding in urban centres and the extended implications on rural communities and especially in the Niger Delta region. With most of the Niger Delta exposed to the coasts, the issue of submergence, coastal flooding, and coastal erosion comes to the fore because Coastal systems are significantly sensitive to changes in sea level and ocean surge.

The Urban areas and its built assets will be exposed to massive urban or coastal flooding and its large populations displaced due to land loss to rising sea levels and storm surges. With Port Harcourt in sharp focus, this paper will examine the current disposition of flooding within the urban scape, the possible causes and also look at what mitigation factors will be necessary to address the situation. With the IPCC report warning of grave danger to entire ecosystems and the built environment due to climate change, and consequent altering of hydrological systems, this paper will also consider how the fencing of properties have exacerbated flooding of properties, roads, drainages and water courses within the urban centre and remote locations in the face of anticipated extreme precipitation expected to cause both inland and coastal flooding as rivers and tributaries swell. This is based on the premise that most urban centres hold large populations and huge economic and other physical assets and this gives credence and justifies the need for this research to isolate the possible risks and proffer mediatory routes to the emerging and intractable problem.

ASSESSMENT OF FIRE SAFETY AWARENESS OF OCCUPANTS AND DEVELOPERS IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS IN MAKURDI METROPOLIS

¹Elijah. A. Hime and ²Imborivungu, Terkimbi Emmanuel

¹Department of Vocational and Technical Education, Benue State University

²University of Agriculture Makurdi, Demonstration Secondary School

Email: emmyterk@gmail.com,akaakaseh@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The study was carried out to assess fire safety awareness of occupants and developers in residential buildings in makurdi metropolis. Two research question and one hypothesis were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significant. The study adopted descriptive survey research design with the total population of 1267 for the study. The sample of 221occupants, 24 registered builders and 33 registered architects was selected using simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques respectively. A self-developed questionnaire was employed to collect data for the study and was validated by experts. Upon successful validation the instruments were trial tested in a pilot study. The reliability coefficient of the instruments was 0.78. The data collected was analyesd using descriptive statistics and t-test. The findings revealed that, the extent of fire safety awareness acquired by occupants and developers is very low and that there is a significant difference between fire safety awareness acquired by occupants and developers of residential buildings in Makurdi Metropolis (P-value 0.000 is less than 0.05 at df=357 and t=4.80). The study recommended that Fire safety awareness should be intensified by fire safety officers and other relevant agencies to improve on fire safety education of occupants and developers and also to arrest fire disasters in residential buildings in Makurdi Metropolis, developers should educate the clients on issues of fire safety in residential buildings these could be done through workshops and seminars.

THE POTENTIALS OF EARTH AS A SUSTAINABLE BUILDING MATERIAL

Okpala C.C and Umeora C.O

Department of Architecture,

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Anambra

Email: coumeora@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The recent rise in energy cost spent in modern buildings accentuates the need to harness energy saving strategies of buildings, thus, the need to go back to traditional building materials-Earth. Sustaining local development means also preserving a cultural heritage of construction knowledge natural to regions. Research methodology used in this paper was descriptive analysis. This paper looked at different aspects of earth materials construction. In order to underscore the importance of earth materials, review was made identifying some of the environmental benefits associated with it. It includes earth as a renewable resource, low waste generation, low energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions and indoor air quality. The  most  relevant  environmental  advantages  related  to earth  materials  are:  no  need  of  transportation; less energy intensive production process, lower  embodied  energy  and CO2  emissions and low  environmental  impact. Therefore, the use of earth materials as it happens with earth construction should be prioritized.