The Emergence Of Dry Construction In Nigeria

Last year, a product was launched giving hope to the emergence of modern dry construction in Nigeria. Therefore, it was a welcome development when one of our correspondents spoke to a consultant with vast experience in the dry construction method of building this past week. This article captures salient points that formed the basis of the discussion.

Dry construction as the name signifies simply means construction that is dry. In this method of construction, you use very little water while erecting a structure. In dry construction method, panels, boards and frames are used to construct buildings.

The traditional system otherwise known as wet construction is the use of brick and mortar or concrete for construction. This entails that you mix water with the concrete to form the slurry. While the brick and mortar comes from the mixture of cement and sand with the addition of a good quantity of water.

Dry construction is usually perfect for a project with an impossible deadline because it takes one fourth of the time it would have taken if wet construction was to be used in construction. Due to this fact, you won’t be far from the truth to say dry construction saves cost and the materials used.

Also, dry construction is ten times lighter than block. So you can imagine if your foundation is meant to carry a building made of blocks. How much relief will it be if the foundation then carries a building ten times lighter than what it should have been if the building were to be composed of blocks?

Therefore, you won’t only be saving foundation cost; you would also be saving the cost of building too. Simply put, your entire building can come to you in a 30 tons truck and all you will have to do on site is to assemble the building. It is much lighter, faster and the finishing is better and neater with less waste on site. Unlike the traditional system where there is always waste from broken blocks, extra sand, gravel e.t.c on site.

Technically you don’t have waste at all while building with dry construction. It actually saves money for the client. It is much easier to hide your plumbing and electrical pipes, and it is easy to remodel spaces with dry construction

In as much as there are really no limitations to the use of dry construction except the one instituted by the society, hence, it becomes thought provoking why dry construction is still finding it pretty difficult to gain grounds here. If it is said by the professionals in the built industry that any structure can be erected using dry construction method then why is it still struggling for recognition?

Another fact is that dry construction is the predominant way of building abroad. In the US for instance, people hardly build with Brick and Mortar. In the UK, Europe and Russia people still build with brick and mortar in some aspect, but they do a mixture of maybe dry construction from the interior and wet construction from the exterior due to their weather

Basically, the reason dry construction in Nigeria isn’t widespread is the dearth of materials. There are simply no materials for dry construction in our part of the world.

When you are building via dry construction method you have to build with a frame and panels on both sides and have a sort of weather proof materials on the outside. These materials are not readily available here.

Timber can be used in the US when building and that’s because they treat their timber properly and can replace them when the timber is going bad. They don’t have this mindset of; my building should last for 100 years without maintaining, replacing, renovating or remodeling, albeit in Nigeria we want more permanent things.

Though we have timber in Nigeria, our timber market is terrible. Wood is not properly graded or properly seasoned in Nigeria.  Another limitation to the use of dry construction here is that we really don’t have materials that we can use for exterior purposes in Nigeria for a very long time.

However, last year Nigerite launched Kalsiboard solution which can be used for external purposes. It is weather proof, doesn’t rot or rust and it repel insects.

Albeit, does the latest innovation really mean that dry construction in is now gaining prominence here? Is the Kalsi Board Solution introduced by Nigerite enough to form a strong platform for the total emergence of dry construction in Nigeria?

The aforementioned arguments will form the core of the concluding part of this article next week…