By Kingsley Adegboye

Built environment professionals and stakeholders who have been tinkering with ways of reducing construction costs, last week, x-rayed the potentials of the dry construction method. The setting was a one-day summit with the theme Bridging the 16 million National Housing Deficit: The Dry Construction Solution organised by Redwood Consulting in partnership with Messrs Nigerite Limited.

The experts were unanimous in approving the dry construction option as the best alternative construction method to bridge the yearning gap in housing provision said to be in excess of 16 million units.

Dry construction uses composite panels or boards installed on metal or timber structures to build exterior walls, interior walls, ceilings and many other applications.

In their separate papers, the experts opined that with the enabling environment in place, dry construction process will go a long way in reducing the housing shortfall in the country. The enabling environment includes availability of land, housing finance, affordable building materials, appropriate institutional framework and sustainable construction workforce. They noted  however that dry construction process alone cannot entirely bridge the gap in housing deficit of Nigeria.

Lagos State Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Bosun Jeje stated that the need to bridge the housing gap within the shortest possible time, informed the state’s direct investment and involvement in the construction of houses. Jeje who said the state government is equally partnering with the private sector to deliver as many affordable houses as possible, declared that it is yielding positive results with housing units springing up at Gbagada, Epe, Ikorodu, Agege, Ikeja, Mushin, Lekki, Igando, Surulere.

“One of the main challenges of mass housing development in this part of the world is the issue of project cost, standard of job delivery and time constraint. There is the urgent need for us to find ways of reducing cost, maintain standard, build functional and sustainable structures with dignifying aesthetic and finishing, yet deliver within the shortest possible time, he said.

Speaking at the summit,  Head of Department, Department of Estate Management, University of Lagos, Prof. Timothy Nubi listed the advantages of dry construction method. According to him, the method will lead to reduction in building waste.

“It offers design freedom combined with comprehensive technological and infrastructure costs,” he said adding that in this construction process, building products and processed materials are transferred directly to the building site, which means less technical, logistical and infrastructure costs. Continuing, he noted that the dry construction method would lead to less energy consumption in buildings.

Immediate past president, Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria APBN, Mr. Segun Ajanlekoko regretted that “successive governments since independence have been paying lip service to the issue of housing provision”. The way forward, according to the former President of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, NIQS, is for stakeholders and governments to examine the appropriateness and socio-economic implications of low income housing provision as supportive rather than a provider approach.

Affordable housing, he said should be defined within the context of minimum wage in the country. Calling for the overhaul of the land tenure system in the country, Ajanlekoko who is also the President, Commonwealth Association of Surveying and Land Economy, CASLE  (African region), said governments should create the right platform for long and short term fund for real estate projects and infrastructure while the Federal government should establish Infrastructure Development Bank.

Explaining the comparative advantages of dry construction over wet construction method, David Majekodunmi, an architect, noted that the use of dry materials speeds the construction process and allows earlier occupancy. He added that  it is a process that involves building construction without use of plaster or mortar.  The process involves the use of dry materials such as gypsum board, plywood, steel frames, steel/metal cladding or wallboard in construction. He pointed out that cladding boards and sidings in fibre cement are light, and easy to work with and have specific technical properties.

Also speaking at the forum, President, Nigerian Institute of Building, NIOB, Mr. Chucks Omeife said in dry construction, majority of the components of the building are pre-fabricated off site and brought to site for assemblage. He added that with components already fabricated to design specifications, housing projects can be delivered faster and cheaper to required standard.