Structural and Economic Comparisons Between the Conventional and Stacking Method of Laying Locally Manufactured Non-Load Bearing Concrete Hollow Blocks (CHBs)

Abstract

One structural element in constructing a building which requires lengthy execution is the construction of peripheral walls and partitions. If the duration of this activity is lessened, the total construction time will surely be shortened, and somehow, a cut in the construction expense due to the subsequently saved time shall also be realized. This study presents an analysis of the effects of deviating from the conventional way of laying concrete hollow blocks with the proposed stacking method using locally manufactured concrete hollow blocks. The general trend ofthe study suggests that the proposed stacking method oflaying locally manufactured concrete hollow blocks could save
an average of 39 seconds per square meter, and considerably more as the wall progresses in height. Using this statistics, a medium rise building with 1,500 sq.m. of wall area could save two man-days with the method. The test results show that the samples laid using the stacking method are generally stronger than the samples done with the staggered method in terms of the recorded higher compressive stresses by direct comparison. Then compared vis-a-vis the age, the staggered method was observed to have resisted slightly more (but insignificant) compressive
stresses than the samples in stacking method.