Building and reconstruction

The following technical information resources on low-cost building technologies come from members of the Building Advisory Service and Information Network (BASIN), of which Practical Action is a member. Please note that a number of these links are currently broken. Basin have recently restructured their website, and we are waiting for them to restore the links. In the meantime, you may wish to browse the Basin Knowledgebase, which gives supplementary information on some documents, and alternative contact details. Practical Action documents listed below are unaffected.

• Low-cost construction
• Micro-concrete roofing
• Clay bricks and tiles
• Stone construction
• Earth construction
• Binders
• Timber

BASIN - GATE/GTZ P. O. Box 5180 65726 Eschborn Germany   Tel: +49 6196 793095 Fax: +49 6196 797352 E-mail: gate-basin@gtz.de Website: www.gtz.de/basin

Low-cost construction

• School Buildings in Developing Countries ITDGPractical Action Technical Brief
• Prefabricated Lightweight Concrete Low-income Housing: GATE
• Western Turkey Shelter and social facilities for earthquake victims
  Horst Valentin Kreutner, Norbert Schwarzer GTZ 2002 pdf 3,2 MB
• Azerbaijan Rehabilitation of war damaged houses in the Fizuli Region on behalf of the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO)
  Michael Luffingham GTZ 1999 pdf 870 KB
• Bosnia and Herzegovina Provision of new houses and technical infrastructure for refugees returning to Gradacac Hendrik Linneweber, Verena Dittmar
  GTZ 1999 pdf 550 KB
• Albania Rehabilitation and extension of buildings to accommodate refugees from Kosovo
  Horst Valentin Kreutner, Kiran Mukerji GTZ, 2002 pdf 2,5 MB
• Sri Lanka Rehabilitation of schools and housing for returning refugees in Jaffna
  Eberhard Halbach, Horst Valentin Kreutner, Bruno Wamsler GTZ 2002 pdf 3,1 MB
• CS01 Woodless Construction – 1: An overview by John Norton (1995) (pdf 1,131 KB)
• CS02 Woodless Construction – 2: The training of trainers and builders: A case study in Filingué, Niger by John Norton (1995) (pdf 1,021 KB)
• CS03 Woodless Construction – 3 Change and adaptation to local needs: A case study in Mopti, Mali by John Norton (1995) (pdf 1,314 KB)
• Education Development Project School Infrastructure, Laos (1999) EF1-99.pdf (374 KB)
• Rural Housing: Resettlement in Peru SH4-00.pdf (1221 KB)

Temporary Shelter for Tsunami Victims ITDGPractical Action South Asia and the Centre for Housing Planning and Building Significant numbers of people displaced by Tsunami are still in refugee camps and it is likely that they will have to be accommodated for a long time, until they are provided with permanent shelter. But it is not feasible to house them in refugee camps not geared to accommodate such a large population on a continuous basis. In order to give decent temporary shelter for them, a temporary solution is proposed that can be erected using a timber frame, with GI sheets as the roofing material, and plastic sheet for wall cladding. Temporary Shelter for Tsunami Victims (PDF, 185k)

Points to consider in providing shelter to the communitties affected by the Tsunami  ITDGPractical Action South Asia Providing shelter to communities affected by the Tsunami involves considering many aspects.This information will be useful to organisations involved in relief and rehabilitation in South Asia. Points to consider in providing shelter to the communities affected by the Tsunami (PDF,112k)

Cost-effective housing technology for rehabilitation of tsunami affected areas ITDGPractical Action South Asia Low-cost housing technology featuring brick walls with "rat-trap" bond and "filler slab" roofing. read as HTML download as PDF:Cost-effective housing technology for rehabilitation of tsunami affected areas – introduction and summary (PDF, 144k) Concept note (PDF, 9k) Technical drawings (DWG format) – Option 1 (112k) | Option 2 (253k) | Option 3 (252k) | Option 4 (249k)

Micro concrete roofing

• Micro Concrete Roofing Tiles ITDGPractical Action Technical Brief
• Teaching MCR Technology The Basics of Concrete Roofing Elements
  (MCR Toolkit –Element 10) SKAT
• Product Information : Micro Concrete Roofing Equipment SKAT
• Roof Structure Guide (MCR Toolkit – Element 24) SKAT
• Roof Cover Guide (MCR Toolkit – Element 25) SKAT
• The Basics of Biomass Roofing SKAT
• TB01 FCR/MCR Sheets: Yes or No SKAT
• TB02 Brittleness of FCR and MCR tiles SKAT
• TB02 Brittleness of FCR and MCR tiles SKAT
• TB02 Brittleness of FCR and MCR tiles SKAT
• TB03 Fibre Concrete Roofing (FCR) or Micro Concrete Roofing (MCR) SKAT
• TB03 Fibre Concrete Roofing (FCR) or Micro Concrete Roofing (MCR) SKAT
• TB04 Sand Quality for MCR tiles SKAT
• TB05 FCR/MCR Alignment Tool SKAT

Clay bricks and tiles

• Village-Level Brickmaking GATE
• Preparation of clay for Brickmaking GATE
• Moulding of Clay GATE
• Utilization of Cow-Dung in Brickmaking GATE
• TB01 Brick Clamps by Tim Jones (1995) (htm 27KB)
• TB02 Bull’s Trench Brick Kiln by Henrik Norsker (1995) (htm 19KB)
• TB03 The Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln by Tim Jones (1995) (htm 21KB)
• TB04 Hoffmann Kilns by Tim Jones (1995) (htm 24 KB)
• TB05Building with Interlocking Blocks by Karl Weinhuber (1995) (htm 23 KB)
• TB10 Utilization of Bagasse in Brickmaking: R&D in Sudan by Mohammed Majzoub, Sudan (1999) (pdf 1090 KB)
• TB12 Drying of Clay Bricks and Tiles by Gerhard Merschmeyer (1999) (pdf 691 KB)
• TB13 Firing of Clay Bricks and Tiles by Gerhard Merschmeyer (2000) (pdf 683 KB)
• TB 15 Moulding of Clay by Gerhard Merschmeyer (2001) (pdf 739 KB)
• CS05 The Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln: A Problematic Introduction into Pakistan by Tim Jones (1997) (pdf 1,188 KB)
• CS06 Small and medium scale brick and tile production in Ghana - 1:An Overview by Dr. A. A. Hammond (1997) (pdf 1,356 KB)
• CS07 Small and medium scale brick and tile production in Ghana - 2:Technology Alternatives by Dr. A. A. Hammond (1997) (pdf 1,279 KB)
• CS08 Small and medium scale brick and tile production in Ghana - 3:Energy Alternatives by Dr. A. A. Hammond (1997) (pdf 1,419 KB)
• CS11 Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln - Technology Transfer - Indian Experience 1 by K.R. Lakshmikantan (1998)
  part 1 (pdf 851 KB)
  part 2 (pdf 772 KB)
• CS12 Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln - Technology Transfer - Indian Experience 2 by K.R. Lakshmikantan (1998) (pdf 1,170 KB)

Stone construction

• TB07 The Use of Natural Slabby Stone Deposits for Wall Construction by Professor Asherm Shadmon (1997) (pdf 1,191 KB)
• TB08The Boulder Concept in Buildings Walls by Professor Asher Shadmon (1997) (pdf 1,167 KB)
• TB09 Stone Walls in Mountainous Regions by Professor Asher Shadmon (1997)
  part 1 (pdf 990 KB)
  part 2 (pdf 946 KB)
• TB 14 Using Stone for Building: Facts and Fads by Asher Shadmon (2000)
  (pdf 1047 KB)

Earth construction

• Basics of Compressed Earth Blocks (pdf file 2,5 MB) CRATerre
• Compressed Earth Blocks Volume I: Manual of Production (pdf 1,862 KB) CRATerre, Vincent Rigassi Aus der Arbeit von GATE
• Compressed Earth Blocks Volume II: Manual of Design and Construction (pdf 2008 KB)
  Hubert Guillaud, Thierry Joffroy, Pascal Odul, CRATerre-EAG
• Construction Manual for Earthquake-Resistant Houses Built of Earth (pdf 3096 KB)
  Kassel University : Prof. Dr. Ing. Gernot Minke GATE, Germany 2001
• Mud Plasters and Renders ITDGPractical Action Technical Brief
• CS13 Production of red mud building materials in Jamaica:
  Production of cement stabilized red mud bricks by Dave W. McLeod (1998)
  part 1 (pdf 821 KB)
  part 2 (pdf 947 KB)
• CS14 Production of red mud building materials in Jamaica: Production of silicate bonded bricks and pozzolanic cement from Jamaican red mud by Dave W. McLeod (1998)
  part 1 (pdf 883 KB)
  part 2 (pdf 898 KB)

Binders

• Small Scale Production of Lime for Building GATE (pdf 763 KB)
• Methods of Testing Lime in the Field ITDGPractical Action Technical Brief
• Testing Methods for Pozzolanas ITDGPractical Action Technical Brief
• TB04 Pozzolanas: An introduction (pdf 851 KB) ITDGPractical Action
• TB06 Lime: An introduction (pdf 825 KB) ITDGPractical Action
• TB07 Hydraulic Lime: An introduction (pdf 768 KB) ITDGPractical Action
• TB08 Alternatives to Portland Cement: An introduction (pdf 810 KB) ITDGPractical Action
• TB09 Introduction to CAS: An advisory service (pdf 404 KB) ITDGPractical Action
• TB10 Clay as a Binder: An introduction (pdf 729 KB) ITDGPractical Action

Timber

• CS10 Solar Drying of Sawn Timber Drying in Kingston, Jamaica by Peter Viehbeck (1997). (pdf 177 KB)
• CS18 The Use of Bamboo for Building and Furniture Production in Jamaica by Dave W. McLeod, Jamaica (2001) (pdf 748 KB)