Introduction

Now a days population is increases day by day with

the time. But, the amount of land is limited. People
with the increasing population have to be merged
in the existing land however they can.

According to the global marketing rule, decreasing

availability of any thing leads to the increase in
value of the same. Here in our case, the decrement
in availability of land leads to the huge increasing
value of it.

Land is the one of the essential basic need for the

one to live, to build home, and to get themselves
sheltered. If the land would be of higher cost, then
owing the home which requires the land first would

To fulfill the dream of the common man, we have to

develop the new techniques with the modified use
of newly invented instruments and methods for
providing HOME in considerable low rates and in
that extent which can be afforded by them.
Therefore the concept of the low cost housing has
to be developed and properly responded by the
local as well as higher authorities and privet sectors
also.

Scope of the study

The main scope of study is to reduce the cost of

house and give good facilities for the buyers of that
house in low cost as compare to other developed
areas.

various factors affecting the low cost or affordable

housing process
cost of land
change of design
use of material
method of construction
Zone of construction.
satellite town concepts etc.

Aims

Reducing the cost of construction.

Introduction of improved construction

material.

Not sacrifice any element of safety or

serviceability of the house over the life cycle.

Feasibility of using the construction methods

elsewhere.

Objectives

Preserving and expanding the supply of goodquality housing units.

Making housing more affordable and more

readily available.

Promoting racial and economic diversity in

residential neighborhoods.

Helping household build wealth.

Strengthening families.

Promoting balanced city growth.

Why affordable housing is needed ?

Indian urban population in

2001 was 27.8% of the
total population.

Over 5 decades, annual

growth of urban
population ranged
between 2.7 to 3.8%.
During last decade it
increased at annual rate of
2.7%.

The process of
urbanisation is marked by
increasing concerntration
in larger cities.

It is projected that by

Expected Outcome

By the use of low cost housing we can reduce

cost of house by design, material,
construction methods etc.

Various outcome of the project expected are:

Optimized use of land
Improved functional design of buildings.
Optimized use of building materials.
Rationalized specifications.
Introduction and Utilization of New
construction materials and techniques.

We are planning for cutting the overall

cost with the following criterias.
1)

Planning

2)

Designing

3)

Material used

4)

Construction techniques

5)

Optimum use of land

6)

Zone selection

7)

Land selection

1) Planning
Fewer corners on exterior walls

Limited number of exterior corners often can be

found on homes designed with cost of construction in
mind. Corners increase cost of material and labour in
virtually every phase of the construction process.

Due diligence when hiring a general contractor

Just about everyone is concerned about pricing. It

should be noted that in the end a more skilled and
more expensive builder might reduce time, mistakes,
and unexpected overages. Builders have
subcontractors with whom they have longstanding
relationships.

Thickness of walls

Thickness of wall may drastically affect on the size

of the rooms to be provided in the house.
Generally 230mm thick walls are provided in the
conventional housing which can be reduced to
100mm and thus considerable area can be added.

More planning less guess work

Time is money! In designing and building a new home

forethought reduces lag time. Lack of information leads
to increased loan interest and increased labour costs as
workers wait for decisions to be made. You can improve
time usage by detailed planning of the project.

Build smarter with space... Smaller house,

multy-use spaces

Some of the most interesting designs are also

designs with the most creative use of space.

A dining room for many will be used sparingly except

on special occasions and holidays. Creating an
expandable plan adjoining space that might not be
used at the same time for another purpose is a great
way to minimize the footprint of the dining room,
while keeping it as a formal feature of your home. A
desk in a kitchen area is another way to keep home
organization close at hand without need a den or
office. Hiding features in behind a millwork door
allows the space to be defined and orderly when
guests are present.

Use roof trusses wherever possible.

However, the construction cost of a framed roof

can be significantly more expensive than a
trussed roof when time and materials are
considered. Trusses are pre-designed structural
components that reduce material and framing
time. Trusses usually provide a flat ceiling but
can be vaulted and customized.

2) Designing

While designing the low cost house, we can

consider the LOAD BEARING METHOD as the best
economical design method.

In load bearing method of building construction,

total load of building is taken by the main walls
from the foundation to the top floor of the building.

Wall which is going to carry all the load is inserted

below the ground level to be rested on the footing
directly.

This wall may joined with the help of the shear

walls also for transferring the loads horizontally.

Why load bearing construction method..?

Reduces the construction cost and time for the

columns of building.

Area used in construction of beam and column is

reduced.

Repetitive construction is done more fast with this

method.

Less reinforcement is used compared to

convectional method hence cost regarding to that
is reduced.

Most suitable method for affordable housing

Newly launched Concept regarding to FSI

As per the newly planned affordable housing zones,

constructors get more FSI to build up the housing
scheme in the predefined zones, rather than
designed FSI of underlying FSI.

Though FSI till some extent is free and after that

further FSI is paid, but still it is more beneficial for
constructing the low cost housing.

This concept of FSI is allowed only for affordable

housing scheme.

3) Material used
Material for walls:
)

Hollow block

Shear walls

Prefabricated walls

Economical mud bricks

Recycled waste blocks

HOLLOW CONCRETE BLOCK

The most effective material used in low cost

housing is HOLLOW CONCRETE BLOK. It is used in

place of bricks.
These CONCRETE BLOCKS are made by the

concrete with the hollow cross section in the

centre part. Which helps in reducing the total
weight and improving the insulation.
Effective durability, less maintenance, insulation

against sound and fire, economical rates are the

fascinating advantages.

Cost Difference between Brick & Hollow

Concrete Block:
Brick work construction

Hollow concrete block

construction

Brick required per cu m = 650 Hollow concrete block required

pieces
Price of 1 brick = Rs. 5=00

per cu m = 103 piece

Price of 1 hollow concrete block =

Rs. 25
Total price for 1 cu m = Rs. Total price for 1 cu m = Rs.
3250=00
2575=00
Brick work required mortar at Hollow concrete
construction.
Plastering cost

is

added

is

not

required mortar.
in Plastering is not required.

construction cost.
Material cost is high due to brick Material
cost and plastering cost.

block

cost

is

low

due

material and plastering cost.

to

SHEAR WALL

Shear wall is the concrete wall with reinforcement,

which is provided at the key points of the building
to resist the flexural stress coming on a building at
the time of earth quake.

Shear walls are located at the building such that

they make symmetry along any of two axis or along
both the axis.

Normally shear walls are adopted where there are

chances of earth quake and there is a need of
providing structure design as per ductile detailing,
though building uneconomical.

Generally shear walls are provided in L shape and

have separate shaped footing of the wall

PREFABRICATED WALLS

The most widely used form of prefabrication in building and

civil engineering is the use of prefabricated concrete and
prefabricated steel sections in structures where a particular
part or form is repeated many times.

It can be difficult to construct the formwork required to

mould concrete components on site, and delivering wet
concrete to the site before it starts to set requires precise
time management.

Pouring concrete sections in a factory brings the

advantages of being able to re-use moulds and the concrete
can be mixed on the spot without having to be transported
to and pumped wet on a congested construction site.

Prefabricating steel sections reduces on-site cutting and

welding costs as well as the associated hazards.

Prefabrication saves engineering time on the

construction site in civil engineering projects.

This can be vital to the success of projects such as

bridges and avalanche galleries, where weather
conditions may only allow brief periods of
construction.

Economical mud bricks

Following technical solutions are achieved by use of

MUD BRICKS: the mud as the main raw material,
supplemented hardener, construction waste, waste
incineration slag aggregate material is doped
materials, adding a variety of chemical and natural
raw materials constitute a modifier will silt and then
generate structural stability, non-toxic, harmless lump
wall.

Mud brick technology requirements are high

mechanical strength, good wear resistance, water
resistance strong. Curing agent added several kinds of
inorganic waterproofing agents and organic
waterproof, fungicides, etc., to make mud bricks with
high compressive and flexural strength and better
water resistance, abrasion resistance.

Recycled waste blocks

Recycled waste blocks are foamed concrete building block

made of waste residues of ceramics and a method for
manufacturing the foamed concrete building block.

Recycled waste blocks provide a powder with a ceramic waste,

waste polystyrene foam as the main raw material powder of the
ceramic waste foam concrete blocks, so as to solve the ceramic
waste and polystyrene foam waste on the environment arising
from pollution, but also to solve the ceramic waste and scrap
recycling polystyrene foam resources, turning waste into
treasure, for the benefit of victims, to achieve a virtuous cycle
of solid waste resource utilization.

It has the advantages of light weight, high strength,

environment friendliness, low cost and high benefits and is in
line with the national rules and regulations about energy
conservation and emission reduction, development of lowcarbon economy and environmental protection.

Materials for roof and slabs.

Precast RC plank

Prefabricated brick panels

Precast RC channel roofing

Precast hollow slabs

Precast concrete panels

Filler slabs

Precast RC plank roofing system

This system consists of precast RC planks supported

over partially precast joints.

There are haunches in the planks which tapered. When

the plank is put in between the joists, the space above
3 cm thickness is filled with in-situ concrete to get T
beam effect of the joists.

3 cm wide tapered concrete filling is also provided for

strengthening the whole portion during handling and
errection.

The planks have 3 numbers of 6 mm dia MS main

reinforcement and 6 mm dia @ 20 cm c-c distance with
maximum length of 150 cm and the maximum weight
of dry panel is 50 kg.

Precast RC channel roofing

Precast channels are trough shaped with the outer side

corrugated and grooved at the ends to prevent sheath
key action and transfer moment between adjacent units.

Nominal width of units is 300mm or 600m with overall

depth of 130 mm to 200 mm. The length of units are
adjusted to suit the span.

The flange thickness is 30mm to 35mm. Where balcony

is provided, the units are projected out as cantilever by
providing the necessary reinforcement for cantilever
moment.

The saving of 14% has been achieved in actual

implementation in various projects by this type of
roofing.

Precast hollow slab roofing.

Precast hollow slabs are panels in which voids are created by

earthen kulars, Without decreasing the stiffness of strength.

The hollow slabs are lighter than the solid slabs and thus saves
the cost of concrete steel and cost of walling and foundations too,
due to less weight.

The width of panel is 300mm and depth may vary from 100mm
to 150mm as per the span, the length of panel being adjusted to
suit the span.

The outer sides are corrugated to provide transfer of shear

between adjacent units.

Extra reinforcement is provided at top to take care of handling

stresses during lifting and placement.

Saving about 30% in concrete cost and all over saving is about
23%.

Filler Slab

The slab filled with lighter filler materials is known

as the filler slab.

Filler slabs consume less concrete and steel as

compared to conventional RCC slabs, due to the
use of less heavy , low cost filler materials such as
rejected Calicut tiles, clay pots and broken pieces of
cement blocks.

The saving by the filler slabs as compared to the

conventional slabs is about 22% on over all cost.

Filler slab rate analysis.

Item

Unit

Quantity

Rate

Amount
(Rs)

8mm tor
steel

1kg.

35

36.5

1277.5

Cement

1kg.

200

5.2

1040

Metal

1cft.

20

18

360

Sand

1cft.

15

13.5

202.5

Tiles

1no.

80

2.75

220

Labour &
shuttering

1sq.ft

100

10

1000

Total

=>

=>

=>

4100

Conventional RCC slab rate analysis.

Item

Unit

Quantity

Rate

Amount
(Rs)

8mm tor
steel

1kg

70

36.5

2555

Cement

1kg

300

5.2

1560

Metal

1cft.

30

18

540

Send

1cft

18

13.5

243

Tiles

1nos

100

10.2

1020

Total

=>

=>

=>

5918

CONCLUSION
30% saving is possible by replacing filler
slab in place of conventional RCC flat
slabs.

4) Construction techniques.

Cost reduction through adhoc method.

Cost reduction through noval method.

Concrete monocoque building construction.

Cost reduction through adhoc method.

FOUNDATION

Normally the foundation cost comes to about 10 to 15%

of the total building.

Adopt a foundation depth of 2 ft. (0.6m) for normal soil

like gravely soil, red soils etc., and use the uncoursed
rubble masonry with the bond stones and good packing.

Adopt arch foundation in ordinary soil for effecting

reduction in construction cost up to 40%.

In the case black cotton and other soft soils it is

recommend to use under ream pile foundation which
saves about 20 to 25% in cost over the conventional
method of construction.

Plinth

It is suggested to adopt 1 ft. height above

ground level for the plinth and may be
constructed with a cement mortar of 1:6.

The plinth slab of 4 to 6 which is normally

adopted can be avoided and in its place brick
on edge can be used for reducing the cost.

By adopting this procedure the cost of plinth

foundation can be reduced by about 35 to
50%.

Rattrap bond wall

It is a cavity wall construction with added

advantage of thermal comfort and reduction
in the quantity of bricks required for masonry
work.

By adopting this method of bonding of brick

masonry compared to traditional English or
Flemish bond masonry, it is possible to reduce
in the material cost of bricks by 25% and
about 10to 15% in the masonry cost.

Soil cement block technology

It is an alternative method of construction of

walls using soil cement blocks in place of
burnt bricks masonry.

It is an energy efficient method of construction

where soil mixed with 5% and above cement
and pressed in hand operated machine and
cured well and then used in the masonry.

The overall economy that could be achieved

with the soil cement technology is about 15 to
20% compared to conventional method of
construction.

Doors and windows

It is suggested not to use wood for doors and

windows and in its place concrete or steel
section frames shall be used for achieving saving
in cost up to 30 to 40%.

For shutters commercially available block boards,

fiber or wooden practical boards etc., shall be
used for reducing the cost by about 25%.

By adopting brick jelly work and precast

components effective ventilation the
construction cost could be saved up to 50% over
the window components.

Lintels and chhajjas.

The traditional R.C.C. lintels which are costly can be replaced

by brick arches for small spans and save construction cost up
to 30 to 40% over the traditional method of construction.

Roofing

Normally 5 (12.5 cm) thick R.C.C. slabs are used for roofing of
residential buildings. By adopting rationally designed in situ
construction practices like filler slab and precast elements the
construction cost of roofing can be reduced by about 20 to 25%.

Filler slabs
They are normal RCC slabs where bottom half (tension) concrete

portions are replaced by filler materials such as bricks, tiles,

cellular concrete blocks, etc.

Jack arch roof/floor

They are easy to construct, save on cement

and steel, are more appropriate in hot
climates.

Ferro cement channel/shell unit

Provide an economic solution to RCC slab by

providing 30 to 40% cost reduction on
floor/roof unit over RCC slabs without
compromising the strength.

Cost reduction through noval method

A method and apparatus for the construction of low-cost

building structure through the synergistic composition of
material, process, and structural design.

In a first embodiment, a specially fashioned balloon in

the shape of a house, is used as a one-sided form, and is
sprayed with a building material formulation.

The building formulation with structural material,

reinforcing material such as fibbers to eliminate or
minimize separate structural reinforcement, a gaseous
bubble material to provide thermal insulation, and other
ingredients such as fillers, strengtheners, bulk-formers,
accelerators, colouring agents and dryers. The structure
can be created rapidly, and the balloon deflated and
removed in minimum time, all by as few as two men.

The low cost of the labour and materials and

equipment used according to this method result in
a more economical method of creating a building
than any presently known method.

Concrete monocoque building construction

A

technique for forming an insulated monocoque concrete

shell house, wherein the house structure is built using
foamed plastic interlocking and non interlocking blocks.
Once the structure is built, openings can be manually cut
with ease into the wall of the structure to accommodate
windows and doors.

The inner and outer surfaces of the foamed plastic block

structure, as well as part of the foundation adjacent to the
walls of the structure, are sprayed with concrete, forming a
concrete monocoque shell house.

To form the house, a concrete foundation is formed having a ledge.

The ledge spans the periphery of the foundation and defines the
outer plan shape of the house. The external walls of the house are
built against the ledge.

The house structure is built on the foundation

using foamed plastic interlocking and no
interlocking blocks.

The walls of the house are built using blocks

selected from a set comprising double lock, single
lock, plain, hybrid, double rectangular peg and peg
support blocks. Each wall interlocks with its adjacent
walls.

The roof of the house is built using foamed plastic

blocks which interconnect using a tongue and
groove method. The roof is built from blocks
selected from the group comprising of angle edge
blocks, triangular blocks, curved rectangular and
semi rectangular blocks, and combinations thereof.