PRESENTATION ON THE PROJECT TOPIC:

A STUDY OF COMPARATIVE USE OF LIGHT

GAUGE STEEL CONSTRUCTION OVER CONCRETE
WORKS FOR PUBLIC AND HOUSING UNITS
By

BAKARE, Haneef Akinsola

13/30GB059
CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT,
UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, ILORIN, NIGERIA.
Supervised by: Prof. Y.A Jimoh
18/08/2018
 INTRODUCTION
• Housing Problem in Nigeria: Affordability benchmark,
Financing, Construction Methods, Need for
sustainability

• Concrete Construction: High cost of Material, Slow

delivery time, Sustainability

• Light Gauge Steel Building: Cold formed steel,

prefabrication, fast delivery time, sustainable and green,
light

• Prototype project: Kuje Housing Scheme, Osun

O’Schools
 Aim and Objectives
Investigate the comparative use of light gauge steel building technology
in Nigeria construction industry over the use of concrete for appropriate
promotion of housing units through research and Survey.

Justification
Its wide acceptance and positive performance in developed countries
coupled with need to develop more sustainable construction method in
Nigeria building construction industry.

Scope
Limited to Nigeria building construction industry with major focus on
housing sector. The survey areas covered Lagos, Osun, Kwara, Ogun,
and Abuja while site visits were limited to Osun State only.
 LITERATURE REVIEW
• Housing Deficit in Nigeria and Affordability
• Housing Construction Method/Techniques
• History of Light Steel Building Technology
• Structural Behaviour of Light Gauge Steel (Local Buckling, stiffening, distortional
buckling, bracing)
• Terminologies: C-section, stud, floor joists, anchor bolts,
• Construction method: Platform Method

Advantages of Light Gauge Steel

• Light yet durable and strong compared to concrete with lesser strength-to-weight ratio,
reducing foundation, dead and seismic loads (Perkins, 2009).
• Construction time up to 50% (Barnard, 2010).
• Light gauge steel is more flexible: pre-engineered from factories
• Resistant to organism attack
• Adaptable to regions prone to natural disasters
• Eco-friendly and 100% recyclable including production process
• Saves material on site, reduces environmental pollution during construction, simple and
non-heavy machines and equipment required during erection.
• Reduced foundation load
Disadvantages of Light Gauge Steel
• Thermal bridging. Thermal bridge is when the component or area of steel has
higher thermal conductivity than the surrounding materials, creating a path of
least resistance for heat transfer. Solution: creating gap in between panels
which will be filled with an insulation substance like mineral wool for heat and
sound protection. High resistance to high temperature
• Little knowledge, Low availability
Steel versus Concrete
Result of independent study, which includes costings, structural design and
programming by Davis Langdon, Arup and MACE respectively, carried out in
1993 between concrete and light gauge steel.
Building A - 2,600 square metre office in Manchester and Building B - 18,000
square metres in central London
 MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY
• Data Collection and Sampling
Conducting structured survey among the major stakeholders in the Nigeria construction
industry addressing the perception of the public on the use of light gauge steel building
technology in the Nigeria construction industry

• Questionnaire structure and administration

Manual: 50 questionnaires that covers Osun and Kwara
Online form: Open to necessary participants across the country
Sections:
Section A: Collects basic data or attributes of the respondents
Section B: Collects information on the level of participation of the respondents in the
construction industry
Section C: Collects information on the respondents’ knowledge about LGS, whether they
have used it before and why?

The data was collected randomly and the survey was interactive and dynamic, that is,
depending on a question first answered, another one will appear. Some questions were
multiple choice, single choice or short answer may be required.
 MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY CONTD
• Data Analysis
The analysis was done using statistical software package, Microsoft Excel
(version 2013).

• Research Area of Factors for the Light Gauge Steel Construction

Study of the Nigeria construction industry, its stakeholders and the environment to
obtain the necessary information about the construction materials in use, their
advantages and disadvantages and why they are using them was done.

• Research based on performance of LGS in other countries

• Site Visit: Visitation to construction sites where LGS technology is being used
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
• Survey Result:
Respondent Attributes: 95% male and 5% female
Role in the construction industry: 74% of the total respondents are engineers, while 5%
are technicians, 7% and 14% for technologists and architects respectively
Years of experience, company location and the area covered: Average year experience is
below 10yrs and area covered were: Osun, Kwara, Ogun, Lagos states including Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja.

How do you get projects?

100%
79%
80%
60%
40%
21%
20%
0%
Direct Labour Subcontracting

Implication of this is that respondents that get or do their project by direct labour have more
influence in choosing the materials and construction method(s) to be used the construction.
However, getting project by subcontracting will lower the influence of such contractor or
builder on the choice of material or construction method(s) to be used in the construction.
• Number and Type of buildings constructed per year
Survey reveals that 79% of the respondents responded that they build or designs
homes while 19% said they don’t. This has effect on the validity of the responses
provided. Respondents who said they don’t build homes however proceeded in
answering some questions relating to their experience in building. Such responses
however could cause bias in the result.
Only 74% of those who build homes build below 10 homes per year. This is a
very low value as it may reflect in the confidence in the analysis result. Their
experience in the construction industry may not be too vast. However 18% build
between 11-20 homes yearly while 5% and 3% build between ‘21-30’ and above
31 respectively. Figure 4.9 shows the distribution of number of home build per
year among the respondents who build/design homes.
What types of homes/structures do you build per year?
23
25 20
Frequency

20 15
15
8
10
5 2
0
Bungalow Container/Mobile Single family unit Multi family unit More than three
Homes storeys
 How many homes do you build per
year
80% 74%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
18%
20%
10% 5% 3%
0%
0-10 11-20 21-30 31 and above

• Influence in construction activities such as choice of materials,

construction method(s)
How do you get Do you decide or influence
architectural drawings of the material to be used in
the houses that you build constructing the homes?
82% 100% 75%
100%
18% 23% What factor(s) influence your choice of the
3%
0% 0%
material(s) you use?
38
Architect Consultant Yes No Others 40
35 26
25

Frequency
30 23 24
25 16 18
20 12 12 11
15
10
5
0
• Respondents’ knowledge about light gauge steel as construction
material and technology

Do you know what light gauge steel is? Are you familiar with light gauge steel
building technology?
50% 40%
40% 33% 50%
28% 40%
30% 40% 35%
20% 30% 25%
10%
20%
0%
Very Well Not Really No 10%
0%
Very well Not really No
What do you know about light gauge steel
building technology?
8 7
Have you used or built with light gauge steel
6 5
before in your past project(s)?
Frequency

4
4 100%
68%
2 50% 32%

0 0%
Right Average Wrong Yes No
 RECOMMENDATION
The following topics/questions are recommended for future research purpose:
• A detail cost analysis comparison of light gauge steel buildings and concrete
buildings including cost of time, materials and other trades inform in the
construction of homes in Nigeria.
• Thorough research should be conducted on the performance of traditional
methods of construction and how the major stakeholders can overcome this
tradition and go for more better and sustainable construction methods
• What other sustainable construction technologies can offer solution to the
current housing problem in Nigeria?
• A detailed analysis on light gauge steel building performance such as reaction
to temperature, thermal bridging etc.
• The owners/prospective clients’ perception on light gauge steel building
technology
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Ferguson, & Bruce. (2008). A Value Chain Framework for Affordable Housing in Emerging Countries.
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THANK YOU