Advisory Center for Affordable Settlements & Housing

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Document Type General
Publish Date 16/06/2010
Author
Published By Eindhoven University of Technology, Kenya
Edited By Tabassum Rahmani
Uncategorized

Low- cost Housing Improvement for Nakuru Town Kenya

Nakuru, Kenya suffers from a lack of decent and affordable houses. The high costs of decent housing can be attributed to the use of expensive materials and the rising material prices. A solution for this problem could be found in the use of alternative locally available materials and new designs. For the walling, there are several “new” designs working with alternative materials. Interlocking stabilized soil blocks is an upcoming technique favorable for its use of locally available materials and the need for relatively unskilled Labor. For the roofing, there is the choice between expensive roofing tiles and cheaper corrugated sheets (in terms of purchasing costs) which are not appropriate and are becoming more expensive due to the rising wood prices. This thesis deals with this problem by introducing a design for an alternative roofing solution. This solution is based on the Timbral vaulting technique and the use of stabilized soil, improving sound and heat insulation. Costs are minimized while the lifespan is stretched greatly. The roofing method is tested through a full scale load test complemented with further calculations.

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