THE CHANGING FACE FOR CONSTRUCTION

The optimum utilization of space has always been a matter of great concern for this highly commercialized world. A rapid construction on top of this would certainly save a considerable time for erection of any structure. Dry construction concept is therefore steadily gaining ground as the construction mode of choice.No doubt the most common building materials for construction in Nepal are still stone or bricks in cement mortar, iron, wood, glass and very rarely steel too. These materials however have their own merits and demerits too. The major demerits with the wet construction are the mess it create at the construction site and requirement of long lead time for curing. Besides, the traditional system of construction consumes a lot of space too.As an ideal alternative for the brick wall construction and other conventional wood based material, Fibre reinforced cement sheets have just emerged in our country. They form a readymade, sandwiched panel of two fibre- reinforced cement sheets enclosing a light weight core composed of Portland cement, binders and a mix of siliceous and micaceous material aggregate. Unfortunately no such manufacturing industry exist in Nepal, and importing it from India makes it slightly expensive material.With the use of ready made Prefab panels, a 4 roomed house can be built within 3 to 5 weeks. These panels are light – weight, and can be easily dismantled and rebuilt at new site with minimum effort. The panels are fixed at the site with pre designed steel framing, and joined with each other with tongue and groove joint which facilitates the rapid construction with minimum effort. The distributors claim that the tongue groove joint make the wall resistant to earthquake too. The wall coverage, on the other hand, with this panel is minimum, with 2 inch wall thickness. These panels are both sound and moisture proof and its high U value provide necessary insulation for the thermal comfort.