Semi-detached low-cost homes in Malaysia

1.1.
1.1.1. $

Design and construction

Layout The basic module of housing system is PANEL which is room height, 6 mm% The lay-out &lanning in grid 6 im&ossible to create lay-out for clean 6 mm wide and thic!ness can be "# or or mm is 'ery sim&le and different 'ariations can be created% (f it is mm &anel system then we can manufacture s&ecial &anels $# , )

Sample of 60 m2 low-cost link house layout in Bukit Goh, Kuantan Malaysia.

*# mm% +owe'er it is always better that less s&ecial &ieces are re,uired% (t would be best if the window width could be full &anels such as 6 mm, $mm or $. mm, and the height of the lintel also full &anel 6 mm% /rom the architectural 'iew&oint this modular system &ro'ides still a lot of freedom in lay-out design% The house layout can be also two storey% The wall &anel is load bearing u& to two storey buildings% (n the case of double storey the reinforced concrete ca&&ing beam is cast on the to& of the wall &anels%

0u&boards and other wall attachments can be freely &laced% E'en hea'y &ieces can be attached with nails or screws% 1.1.2. about ) Foundation /or the foundation, the concrete slab on grade is the fastest and most economical system% The weight of the wall is !g1m run, that ma!es the edge beam 'ery light% The ground is le'elled and the recess for intermediate mm mm wall beams and for edge beams e2ca'ated manually% The final le'elling is done with the gra'el about $ thic! layer% Steel formwor! is laid around the &erimeter of the foundation and the to& edge is le'elled% The $ thic! slab is reinforced with &refabricated mesh and the edge beams about ) finishing such as car&et% Panels are anchored to the foundation with starter bars which goes from the foundation slab into the hollow core of the &anel% The foundation drawings need to ha'e measures for anchor bar installation%

mm high are reinforced with steel

bars% The slab is &oured with li,uefied concrete which ma!es the slab le'el and already smooth enough for flooring

Structural section of thermal insulated house on the slab on grade foundation

1.1.3.

Panel erection The &anel erection starts from the out wall corner% A le'elled cement mortar bed is laid along the wall line on which the Panels are erected% The &anel is lifted on the mortar bed so that the anchor bar goes into the right hollow core, the e2act &osition and 'erticality to the both direction is chec!ed before tem&oral su&&orting of the &anel% The &anels are attached to each other with cement glue along the 'ertical edge which form the tongue and groo'e 3oint% The groo'e is filled with glue and the tongue is &ushed in% 0orners are strengthened with steel bars in the hollow cores% The hollow cores at the corner area are filled with

li,uefied concrete u& to the to& of the &anels%

Erecte wall panels of semi etache house. ! team of " men can erect panels for two houses in a ay inclu in# the oor frame an win ow frame installation. $oun ation is %00 mm thick reinforce concrete sla& on #ra e with the '00 mm hi#h e #e &eams.

1.1.4.

Doors and windows S&ecially designed door and window steel frames are installed simultaneously together with the &anels% 0ement glue is used to fi2 the frames to the &anels% 4rdinary steel or wood windows and wood door can be installed to the frames%

(he &est win ows an panel erection.

oors for the system are steel profile frames ma e accor in# to the wall panel thickness an the frame wi ths oor frames to#ether with the

are fitte accor in# to the stan ar panel ) * 600 mm. (he wall erection team install the win ow an +,)ME- can supply the pro uction line for oor an win ow frame pro uction.

1.1.5.

Roof structure 5oof trusses are wooden gang nail lattice trusses, laid c1c $mm on the wall ca&&ing beam with the steel band% Purlins are gal'anised steel &rofiles or wood battens according to the roofing sheet s&ecification% /or the ceiling board su&&ort gal'anised co'er stri&s or wood battens are attached with drill screws under the roof trusses% 5oof trusses are braced &ro&erly with diagonal studs% The roofing material is corrugated steel, fibre cement board or cement roof tiles%

Gan# nail roof trusses are installe on the loa &earin# wall panels. %"0 mm hi#h concrete cappin# &eam is caste on top of the loa &earin# wall.

1.1.6.

Electrical conduits and wiring 6efore installing the ceiling the electrical conduits are laid abo'e the co'er stri&s and guided into the designed hollow core through the ca&&ing beam% The conduit goes into the wall about $ mm% (nside the wall conduit is not needed% The holes for the switch bo2es are drilled to the wall and wires are fed in from u& to down to the switch bo2 hole% 7hen all the wires are in-&ulled, the &lastic switch bo2es are embedded with mortar into the hole%

1.1.7.

ater !i!es Plastic water &i&es are installed into hollow cores% A hole is drilled into the wall &anel surface to o&en the right hollow cores% The tubes are connected to the water mi2er units and the mi2er is fi2ed to the wall% Sin!s and wash basins are attached to the wall similar as onto the masonry walls%

1.1.".

Finis#ing All surfaces of the internal &anels will be s!im coated with ready mi2 cement based coating, manually or as s&ray gun a&&lication% Surfaces e2&osed to the weather are finished with thin --) mm ,uic! &laster s&rayed onto the surface%

The &anel is room height, 6

mm wide and "# or $

mm thic! hollow core element%

1.2.

$nstallation
The &anel is light enough for two man to lift it from the deli'ery stac! and install it by means of sim&le hand tools% A team of # men can install about -) m- wall a day% The efficiency in erection wor! is # m-1 man hour, the

com&arati'e efficiency with cement bloc! or bric!s is ,6 m-1man hour% The installation wor! is clean and dry and there is no wastage of material% The installation wor! is sim&le, e'en uns!illed wor!ers can be trained in a few wee!s to achie'e normal &erformance% The 'ertical sides of the &anels are tongue and groo'e &rofile% The groo'e is filled with cement based glue and then the tongue side of ne2t &anel is &ushed in% The erected wall needs tem&oral su&&ort until the shearing walls and the roof trusses are installed% (n case of &artition wall installation in high rise buildings, the wall need not to be su&&orted but is 3ammed against the ceiling by means of tem&oral wedges under the &anel% Panel is solid as concrete but more su&erior and 'ersatile in many as&ects as it combines the &ro&erties of concrete and wood in other material% The material characteristics of the &anel are the same as stone8s% (t is as fire resistant as stone% (t retains its sha&e and dimensions as well as stone% (t does not e2ude no2ious gases or disagreeable odours% (t feels and loo!s li!e stone% +owe'er it is highly wor!able% (t can be &ower sawed, nailed, drilled, screwed and recei'e &ro&rietary anchors and &ower actuated fastening for a wide 'ariety of fittings and fi2ture wor!% 7hen there is a need for lintel the same &anel is sawed to the right dimensions and installed onto the small shoulders which are also &ower sawed to the &anels at both sides% Any other cutting or reser'ations can be easily &ower sawed being almost as sim&le as the sawing of the wooden board% The standard width of the &anel is 6 mm and the &lanning of the units are done according to that module% (f anyhow there is a need for more narrow &anels the sawing wor! is easy and the cutting result is neat%

1.3.

Electrical

iring and Pi!ing

The hollow cores within the &anels facilitate a con'enient and easy installation of electrical wiring and &i&ing wor!s% A hole of suitable si9e for the switch bo2 is drilled at any &lace at the &anel and along the hollow core, which can be used as a conduit for the wire% 6ecause the wire is loose in the concrete hollow core there is no more need for the &lastic conduits in the wall% Also all 'ertical water and small dimension sewer &i&ing can be installed into the hollow as well%

1.4.

Finis#ing
The surface of the &anel is straight and smooth and it does not need any &lastering% /or low-cost housing only &artial smoothening and hole filling is needed and followed by &ainting% (n higher ,uality construction s&ray gun a&&lication rendering or s!im coat is re,uired before &ainting or other ordinary finishing materials% Tiling is a&&lied straight on the &anel% The tiling glue is s&read onto the surface and tiles laid on it% The tiling wor! efficiency onto the Panel is much higher than any other material% 4utside, the &anel re,uire water tight rendering% :;

1.4.1.

%eat and &ound $nsulation Light aggregates, fibres and hollow cores &ro'ide good thermal insulation &ro&erties% Still as being stone material its heat reser'ation ca&acity is 'ery high ma!ing the tem&erature alterations inside minimal% (n hot sun radiation the house is cool and during the cold night e'en below o0 the house is warm and comfortable%

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<ue to low modulus of elasticity and non homogeneity of the material the sound insulation and absor&tion &ro&erties are good% 1.4.2. eat#er Resistance The &anel is weather resistant% 4n e2&osed surfaces the weather resistance can be further im&ro'ed with thin coat of rendering or &ainting% (t is also mould, decay and termite resistant% (n the &rocess of &roduction, the fibres are mineralised which leads to its stable conditions under ad'erse en'ironmental conditions% 1.4.3. &anel of density $# test using $ Fire Resistance The fire resistant test was carried out according to 6ritish Standards, 7all constructed of "# mm thic! hollow core !g1m) achie'ed more than $,# hour resistant on stability, integrity and &enetration% A similar !g1m) achie'ed more than - hour resistant on same criteria% mm &anels of density $#

$urnace fire test of %00 mm thick skim coate ),.!-panel wall in loa &earin# situation of %0 tons loa / ' m wall. 0n the picture the test has alrea y elapse ' hours passin# the inte#rity an fire penetration test.

2. L'($&)$*
2.1. (eneral
All construction basically is logistic, materials and com&onents flow from different sources to the construction site and into the building% The more s&read u& the construction site is the more careful must be the logistic &lanning% All com&onents are to be at the right time at the right &lace and the wor!ers and re,uired tools at the same &lace accordingly% (n the low-cost housing &ro3ect it does not ma!e any good if the material is at the 3ob site somewhere in re,uired time% (t must be on the house stand deli'ered in right amounts before the wor!ers are there% (f one im&ortant small item is missing the whole system fails% More im&ortant than any technical system is the logistical system%

2.2.

+ust 'n )i,e- +')

Timing and co-ordination of material su&&lies is 'ery crucial% All necessary materials must be co-ordinated and be at the wor!ers dis&osal &rior to their wor! commencement% Precise amounts of necessary materials is also im&ortant% Any e2cess tend to be &ilfered whilst any shortage is detrimental to the logistical system% Material and com&onent su&&liers must be &rogrammed into the system% /or all the deli'ery failures there must be a hea'y &enalty clause%

2.3.

Pac.ing
(n construction there is two basic loss factors which are e'en calculated 8de facto8 by =Ss% Material loss about #.> and wor! efficiency loss about $ -$#>% /or the material loss the biggest issues are &ilfering and damages% 7hen the materials and com&onents are deli'ered bul! onto the storage area and later from there to the installation &lace, there is always a good chance for &ilfering and thefts% ?ob site transfers has always been the biggest ris! for the damages% All the com&onents and materials are to be &ac!ed in correct ,uantities into the safe bo2es @returnableA or bundled together% 7hen the leader of the wor!ers team o&en the bo2es or bundles he is res&onsible for all the materials from then on% There is nothing to steal and damages are minimal since the team leader is liable% Small items li!e screws, nails etc% are deli'ered from the 3ob site storage but also that deli'ery is in the right amount and right time% (t is 'ery normal that when a wor!er finds something amiss he sto& wor!ing and goes retrie'e the item% Easily he looses one hour in a day for retrie'ing things or finding tools% 4ne hour is $-,#> of the wor!ing time%

2.4.

*ontrol
Logistic is to be scheduled and controlled continuously% (f there is a delay in su&&lies the information must be relayed immediately to the controller% A &ro&er chec!ing system and a emergency system must be created% (f the logistics fail the whole schedule and system will fail%

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2.5.

'R1$2( &0&)E3
&yste, Descri!tion

The daily tas! system means that the whole construction wor! is di'ided into tas!s which can be &erformed in one dayBs time% The si9e of the wor!ing team is &lanned accordingly% The team &erforms e'ery day the same tas! but in different units% 7hen the tas! is chec!ed1 a&&ro'ed and the 3ob-site cleaned, the team can be dismissed% This re,uires a lot of e2&erience from the tas! controller that he can dimension the wor!ing grou& right%

6eing re&etiti'e wor!, the wor!ers @ which can be semi-s!illedA can learn fast, become more &roducti'e and &rofessionally moti'ated to achie'e a high-,uality standard in a few wee!s time% This system has been !nown to im&ro'e the &roducti'ity about * -# >%

2.6.

)as.s in Low4*ost %ousing

(n house construction the tas!s could be di'ided as followsD - ground wor! - foundation - su&er structure - roof structures and roofing - wall &anel installation - o&enings, windows and doors - facade rendering and s!im coating - &ainting, tiling, finishing - sanitation - electrical installation

2.7.

or.ing order
The house could be constructed in $ days each% /irst day the ground wor! team ma!es the ground ready for the foundation% Second day the foundation team starts with the form wor! and reinforcement and finally &our the concrete% Third day comes the su&er structure team with the formwor! set dismantling and re-erecting the formwor! and &ouring the concrete in% After that the roofing team etc%% 6asically there is always only one team in the house% As many houses as we want to build in a day determines the number of teams re,uired% /or ten houses in a day we need ten sets of teams% (f the low-cost houses are small it might be &ossible that some team can wor! on two houses simultaneously% The wor!ers are not su&&osed to do any other wor! but their own tas!s% The foremen are not allowed to assign the wor!er any other 3ob%

2.".

E,ergency )ea,
(n order to !ee& the system in o&eration there is a need for an emergency team% 7or!ers get sic!, accidents might ha&&en, su&&lies fail etc%% /or that reason there is a need for some fully trained men to be on stand-by

3. REFERE2*E P$*)5RE&

Semi- etache &un#alow co1ere with roofin# tiles. (en ifferent teams make the houses2 one for foun ation, one for panel erection, one for cappin# &eams, one for roof trusses etc.. E1ery ay the teams complete their aily task an ne*t ay repeat the same work in followin# units. (his aily task system impro1es the pro ucti1ity 30 4 "05 compare to or inary super1ise construction. (he performance an sche ule responsi&ility is ele#ate to the teams. (he lo#istic of the site an material supply is the most important task of the #eneral contractor.

6ink houses constructe with ),.! 7ousin# System in Bukit Goh pro8ect in Malaysia. 9ro8ect consist %"00 units of low cost link house units.

:all panel factory in Malaysia. (he capacity of the factory with two e*tru er lines is o1er 200.000 panels in a year. (hat means all wall panels e.#. for 3000 units of si;e 60 m2 link houses.