Making Low Cost Housing a Reality

Gyan Maharaj, Director of DS Maharaj, believes that with proper planning and preparation “a house a day” is not an unrealistic goal and is of the view that it can work.

At the company’s housing symposium, held at their warehouse at Point Lisas recently, Maharaj allowed foreign housing firms to show just how it can be done. Forsa, for example, represented by Miguel Dominguez, is a Columbian company, that  manufactures aluminium, that threatens to make bricks obsolete. Attached to each another and erected in the shape of the desired structure, these aluminium panels form a mould which allows poured cement to create one solid earthquake-resistant unit.The cement is reinforced by wire mesh. Forsa is currently using this process to complete a variety of projects in fourteen Caribbean states. The technology has been around for over thirty years and is responsible for the creation of houses which are virtually fire-proof and hurricane-proof, Dominguez said. The result is that less time is spent putting up the structure and  direct and indirect costs are reduced. The bottom line, the Forsa official said, is that a relatively simple house can be constructed in just one day. The hand-crafted panels are themselves quite manageable and economical, the company said. One panel is light enough to be carried by one person, rendering cranes and heavy duty equipment redundant. If cared for properly  they can be re-used over 1,200 times. In fact, for a house between 30 and 70 square metres only fourteen workers are needed on site to manage the system.

The average cost for such a venture is approximately $130 per square foot. Also, cost per unit dwindles as usage increases. Financing can be accessed through Colombian Export Bank and financing costs are also diminished by roughly 10%. Cabillas Del Caroni, a rebar fabricator based in Venezuela and another contributor to the symposium, was represented by Jose Muxi. Muxi indicated that Cabillas Del Caroni has fabricated over 40,000 tons of rebar in the past 30 months. They offer clients the security of a fixed cost, charging only for what they prepare and ship. The benefit of using them to supply rebar is that one eliminates redundant personnel and so reduces cost. Additionally, storage cost, wastage, inaccuracies and theft is minimized, Muxi said. They can guarantee speed and reduces the waste of material, he said, noting that in Venezuela, for example, the company had only had 2% waste.This factor is contingent upon design, however, and varies according to the specifics of each structure. Muxi promises, too, that their machines can adjust to accommodate any standard.Caribbean Steel Mills (CSM) representative Anthony Licorish, explained the advantages of his company’s All Steel Roofing Solution (ASRS). Ease of installation, requiring only small tools like drills and no heavy lifters is a key benefit. Significant, too, is the fact that only one skilled worker and three labourers are needed. Another benefit is speed of installation - only five days are needed for a 1,500 square foot roof. As a result, there is also less bulk for transporting. This roofing solution being offered by CSM  is compatible with the Forsa mould in that the roof can be attached while the mould is being set, or it can be attached after.