95% of Lagos houses were built without a soil test, experts.
On Wednesday, Dr. Akinsola Olufemi, a construction expert, cautioned that 95% of buildings in Lagos State were built without soil assessments.
He believes that such structures are in risk of collapsing.
During a hybrid 2022 Builders’ Business Conference in Ikeja, Olufemi, Director, Applied Research and Technology Innovation (ARTI), Yaba College of Science and Technology (Yabatech), issued the warning.
“Effective Building Production Management Services: Integration of Construction Program of Works and Building Construction Methodology in Building Project Delivery in Lagos State” was the theme of the event.
The Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) organized the capacity building event for its members in partnership with Berger Paint Plc.
To avoid building collapse owing to excess weight, the expert emphasized the importance of determining the load bearing capacity of any soil through tests before to real construction.
“In Lagos, about 95% of building is done without a soil test. Make a soil test for anything you’re building.
“The importance of a soil test is that it determines the soil’s capacity and the load it can support.” So that it doesn’t have to carry any more weight than it can,” he explained.
According to Olufemi, a recent study conducted by his team indicated that 80% of Nigerians built their own homes without using the services of skilled developers.
According to him, this resulted in a number of building flaws.
“Construction of property in Nigeria 80 per cent are private individuals which will be their own houses and they don’t have consultants not to talk of engaging in soil investigations,’’ he said.
He said that only a few of the organised big developers carried out soil tests, noting that, some others cut corners to submit analysis from nearby project sites to regulators as theirs.
“A lot of buildings are collapsing today because we do not do things right in Nigeria,’’ he said.
Olufemi said that construction methodology which was the focus of the conference was a key element that all contractors required on site, adding that.professional builders must ensure compliance.
The expert, who is also President, Nigerian Academy of Facility Management, called for the political will on the part of the Lagos State Government to enforce standards.
Olufemi, also National Chairman, Nigerian Institution of Builders in Maintenance and Facility Management, said the nation’s obsolete tertiary curriculum was recently reviewed to capture the emerging trends of building production.
Lagos houses were built without a soil test
The Chairman of the Lagos chapter of Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Mr Lucky Isename, said construction methodology was part of the four important elements needed for quality construction.
Isename said it was a major aspect included in the Builders’ Document, captured in laws of Lagos which building professionals use, hence the focus on the theme at the workshop.
Senior Development Officer, Berger Paint Plc, Mrs Nike Ajayi, while making slide presentations, enumerated the benefits of using right paint specifications.
SOURCE- PULSE
