CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The construction industry plays a pivotal role in the development and progress of
societies around the world. It is an industry that constantly seeks innovative solutions to
address the challenges of housing shortages, rising construction costs, and environmental
sustainability. One of the promising innovations in this field is the Interlocking Brick Manual
Machine. As time has passed, brick-making technology has evolved for certain purposes. Mass
brick production to meet the need for shelter development in growing economies and an
increasing population.
As explained by Bodga (2015), as far back as the 15th century houses, boundary walls
and roofs in the towns were built of mud also establish by Bodga (2015) is that utilization of
cement blocks in housing construction had its advent around the 1930s. Including the cost of
making blocks, the use of cement blocks in construction is too expensive. Interlocking brick
manual machines are devices designed to produce bricks that can be joined together without
the need for mortar or other adhesives. These machines have garnered attention for their
potential to revolutionize the construction process by simplifying brick production and
improving the quality of bricks used in building projects. Moreover, they align with the global
shift towards sustainable and eco-friendly construction practices. The application of all
materials and components used in the construction of buildings must be such that will achieve
aesthetics, durability, functionality, character and affordability (Afolayan et al., 2008; Anosike,
2011).
It embarks on a comprehensive exploration of interlocking brick manual machines,
including their historical development, technological mechanisms, applications, and the
advantages they offer over traditional brick production processes. While manual interlocking
brick machines hold significant potential for a variety of building applications, their full capacity
and impact on the industry have yet to be realized. Intend to provide a more in-depth
understanding of these machines and their significance in the context of sustainable
construction and housing development. Chandrasekhar et al (2003) argued that Sandcrete is
the main building material used for the construction of walls of most post-independent
buildings in Nigeria. This is because the general brickmaking technology employed in the
country produces poor quality bricks of poor aesthetics.
It is an undeniable reality that shelter is one of the most fundamental human needs.
Regardless of the importance of shelter, most people lack access to adequate shelter, most
especially in developing countries. The yearning need for locally manufactured building
materials has been unequivocally emphasized in many countries of the world. There is an
imbalance between expensive conventional building materials coupled with depletion of
traditional building materials. To address this situation, attention has been focused on low-cost
alternative building materials (Agbede and Manasseh, 2008).
 Interlocking bricks offer several advantages, such as enhanced stability and insulation in
construction. The manual machines are a crucial component of this technology, making it
accessible to communities with limited resources. Cost effective earth quake resistant housing
is desirable in seismically active rural areas of developing countries. These regions often suffer a
significant loss of life during strong ground motion because of lack of seismic resistant housing.
Recently, in the most developed countries, it has been verified that the traditional and
conventional technologies used for construction and maintenance of buildings are inefficient
and resource wasteful due to enormous amount of resources consumed.
This situation leads to an increasing demand for further development of their
technologies (Ghosh, 2002). Making housing more accessible to the public by using manual
machines and methods, with bricks leading the way as one of the current approaches to
obtaining affordable housing, ensures a strong foundation and provides a faster, more cost-
effective, and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional wall materials.