After a building collapsed in Kenya last week, killing at least 33 people, experts look at some reasons why such incidents occur in Africa.
The six-storey residence in Kenya's capital Nairobi came down in heavy rain, with more than 80 people still missing.
While investigations are still underway into the cause of this collapse, we look at some common problems.

1. The foundations are too weak
Adequate foundations can be costly.They can cost up to half the price of a building, observes professor of civil engineering Anthony Ede at Covenant University in Ota, Nigeria. He says two things should be considered when you are building the foundations - the solidity of the soil and the heaviness of the building and its contents.

In the commercial capital of his country, Lagos, the swampy ground requires strong foundations. Far stronger than solid ground.
But he says developers save money that should be spent on foundations when building on the city's swampy ground and many buildings have collapsed in Lagos as a result.

Even on solid ground, foundations need to be strong enough for the load.
Inadequate foundations for a four-storey building was one of three reasons given by investigators for a building collapsing in northern Rwanda in 2013 and killing six people.


2. The building materials aren't strong enough
Materials that just aren't strong enough to withhold the load are used, says Hermogene Nsengimana from the African Organization for Standardisation, whose organisation met last month in Nairobi to discuss why so many African buildings collapse.

He suggests there is a market for counterfeit materials - going as far as to say that sometimes scrap metal is used instead of steel.
When a six-storey building in Uganda's capital Kampala collapsed in April, the director of the city authority suggested it had been constructed with counterfeit materials, reports Ugo news site.

Mr Nsengimana says there are even cases of counterfeiters faking authentification certificates. But he suggests contractors also knowingly use the incorrect materials to cut costs. So they may use concrete intended to bear the load of a one-storey building in a four-storey building.
Mr Ede adds that this is something regulators are not policing.


3. Workers make mistakes
Even when workers are given the right materials to make the concrete, they mix them incorrectly, says Mr Ede. This results in concrete which is not of the sufficient strength to hold the load.

He accuses developers of cutting costs by employing unskilled workers who are cheaper than trained builders.
This is one of the reasons put forward by civil engineers Henry Mwanaki Alinaitwe and Stephen Ekolu why a building in Uganda collapsed in 2004. Their research shows that the workers misunderstood the mixing ratios of the concrete. It suggested that people used wheelbarrows instead of measuring gauges to measure cement. The five-storey BBJ new hotel collapsed in construction and 11 people died.

"You find bricklayers and even technicians calling themselves engineers," cautions the president of the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers Oreoluwa Fadayomi in Nigeria's The Punch news site.

To those who want to save money on professionals, he advises: "One should not be penny wise and pound foolish".


4. The load is heavier than expected
Mr Ede says a building collapses when the load is beyond the strength of the building. He gives the example of asking a baby to carry a heavy box: "The baby will not be able to withhold the strain."

Even if the foundations and the materials are strong enough for what they were originally built for, that purpose may change.
So, Mr Ede says, if a building was designed to be a home and is then turned into a library where boxes and boxes of books are piled up, the building may strain under the weight.

He says another reason why the load is often heavier than the original design is because extra storeys are added.
In March an upmarket apartment block which had more storeys than planned collapsed in Lagos, killing 34 people the Guardian reported.
This came two years after a church accommodation for the famous preacher TB Joshua collapsed, also, authorities said, because it had more floors than it could hold. In that case more than 100 people lost their lives.


5. The strength isn't tested
At all points of construction the strength of the building should be tested, says Mr Ede.
"You have to be strict," he says, about policing building.
"The law says you must test. It's the enforcement of the law which is the problem," he says.

That's a big problem, he says, when at every stage of construction there is someone with a strong motivation to save money or take money.
There are many physical reasons a building can collapse but only one driving motivation for that to happen, says Mr Ede. That's money.
And for him this is the real reason buildings collapse - corruption.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36205324?SThisFB

True. I mean how can a contractor use 6 inches block all through in a building with little concrete.

So on point.
And corruption.

All to save money

Take note

That's vry true most xpecially dat foundation of a thing

It's hight time we stopped building with low standards. We have a long way to go but we can get to where the likes of Dubai are and even surpass their kind of development.

Quack Engineers mostly

Bad architectural layouts.

6.GREED

we don hear

An expose.
A lot of these facts dwell on the shoulders of incompetence.
Nigeria has too much bricklayers posing as 'contractors'


How To Give Your Home A Fresh Look In 10 Minutes

Alas! Most Bricklayers are professional only in stealing materials and managing what is left just to enrich themselves. Oh corruption...oh africans

Strucural error

The primitiveness of the tribes of africa, I guess?

Buildings collapse for similar reasons all around the globe. No need naming a continent of 55 countries.

I was amazed when I saw Egyptians laying foundation of a building in Egypt. A hole as big as a bungalow was opened then filled with iron rods, Cement and Granites.... The cement alone go reach Naija Engineers build 5 duplex.

Secondly I noticed their cement is about N350 per bag and once mixed it gets dried in not more than 30mins.

G

Cribpark:
After a building collapsed in Kenya last week, killing at least 33 people, experts look at some reasons why such incidents occur in Africa.
The six-storey residence in Kenya's capital Nairobi came down in heavy rain, with more than 80 people still missing.
While investigations are still underway into the cause of this collapse, we look at some common problems.

1. The foundations are too weak
Adequate foundations can be costly.They can cost up to half the price of a building, observes professor of civil engineering Anthony Ede at Covenant University in Ota, Nigeria. He says two things should be considered when you are building the foundations - the solidity of the soil and the heaviness of the building and its contents.

In the commercial capital of his country, Lagos, the swampy ground requires strong foundations. Far stronger than solid ground.
But he says developers save money that should be spent on foundations when building on the city's swampy ground and many buildings have collapsed in Lagos as a result.

Even on solid ground, foundations need to be strong enough for the load.
Inadequate foundations for a four-storey building was one of three reasons given by investigators for a building collapsing in northern Rwanda in 2013 and killing six people.


2. The building materials aren't strong enough
Materials that just aren't strong enough to withhold the load are used, says Hermogene Nsengimana from the African Organization for Standardisation, whose organisation met last month in Nairobi to discuss why so many African buildings collapse.

He suggests there is a market for counterfeit materials - going as far as to say that sometimes scrap metal is used instead of steel.
When a six-storey building in Uganda's capital Kampala collapsed in April, the director of the city authority suggested it had been constructed with counterfeit materials, reports Ugo news site.

Mr Nsengimana says there are even cases of counterfeiters faking authentification certificates. But he suggests contractors also knowingly use the incorrect materials to cut costs. So they may use concrete intended to bear the load of a one-storey building in a four-storey building.
Mr Ede adds that this is something regulators are not policing.


3. Workers make mistakes
Even when workers are given the right materials to make the concrete, they mix them incorrectly, says Mr Ede. This results in concrete which is not of the sufficient strength to hold the load.

He accuses developers of cutting costs by employing unskilled workers who are cheaper than trained builders.
This is one of the reasons put forward by civil engineers Henry Mwanaki Alinaitwe and Stephen Ekolu why a building in Uganda collapsed in 2004. Their research shows that the workers misunderstood the mixing ratios of the concrete. It suggested that people used wheelbarrows instead of measuring gauges to measure cement. The five-storey BBJ new hotel collapsed in construction and 11 people died.

"You find bricklayers and even technicians calling themselves engineers," cautions the president of the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers Oreoluwa Fadayomi in Nigeria's The Punch news site.

To those who want to save money on professionals, he advises: "One should not be penny wise and pound foolish".


4. The load is heavier than expected
Mr Ede says a building collapses when the load is beyond the strength of the building. He gives the example of asking a baby to carry a heavy box: "The baby will not be able to withhold the strain."

Even if the foundations and the materials are strong enough for what they were originally built for, that purpose may change.
So, Mr Ede says, if a building was designed to be a home and is then turned into a library where boxes and boxes of books are piled up, the building may strain under the weight.

He says another reason why the load is often heavier than the original design is because extra storeys are added.
In March an upmarket apartment block which had more storeys than planned collapsed in Lagos, killing 34 people the Guardian reported.
This came two years after a church accommodation for the famous preacher TB Joshua collapsed, also, authorities said, because it had more floors than it could hold. In that case more than 100 people lost their lives.


5. The strength isn't tested
At all points of construction the strength of the building should be tested, says Mr Ede.
"You have to be strict," he says, about policing building.
"The law says you must test. It's the enforcement of the law which is the problem," he says.

That's a big problem, he says, when at every stage of construction there is someone with a strong motivation to save money or take money.
There are many physical reasons a building can collapse but only one driving motivation for that to happen, says Mr Ede. That's money.
And for him this is the real reason buildings collapse - corruption.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36205324?SThisFB

in africa? if I may BBC, is India also in Africa? t

Laws should be passed in states. If your building collapses, you lose your land, pay 10 million per head for each casualty,treat the injured plus you lose your land and other properrties you have. We csnt continue in the name of greed put others lives at risk.

all these cement, rods are not up to standard if test is carried ouut ..... attimes u would see some cement mixed with ashes because they are refilled...

again client bring wahala because his friend told him he uuse 100 bagz of cement to cast hiis suspended slab(decking ) now think he too would use small amount not minding d area to b cover

hensben:
True. I mean how can a contractor use 6 inches block all through in a building with little concrete.

Are u saying 9 inches will be better? I thought that if u want to reduce load, that 6 inches is usually better

Phonefanatic:
I was amazed when I saw Egyptians laying foundation of a building in Egypt. A hole as big as a bungalow was opened then filled with iron rods, Cement and Granites.... The cement alone go reach Naija Engineers build 5 duplex.

Secondly I noticed their cement is about N350 per bag and once mixed it gets dried in not more than 30mins.

No thanks to the dangotes and their monopoly

cornel994:
in africa? if I may BBC, is India also in Africa? t

Don't bother about India......we have a serious problem with bad buildings here in Africa....and if this article makes African countries take serious action on building standards....then everyone here wins.

Quakertellicus1:


Don't bother about India......we have a serious problem with bad buildings here in Africa....and if this article makes African countries take serious action on building standards....then everyone here wins.

if u say so

Bede2u:

Are u saying 9 inches will be better? I thought that if u want to reduce load, that 6 inches is usually better

u use 9 if the structure is not frame structure.... But most Nigeria house ,the wall aare load bearing wall...meaning they help in carry in coming loads..
normally structure supposed to transfer loads in this sequence...

from suspended slab. (decking ) to beam to column then to foundation ...meaning u don't need block wall to carry anything ...

the best structure is frame structure.... u would just build without wall But. later u can introduced those partition walls since they are considered in the structural design

Some clients no de help matters oooo. If you like explain give them from now till tomorrow, they will tell you how their brother built their own house with Y12 rods. I for one won't do a design if the price doesn't go down well with me.

zuchyblink:
No thanks to the dangotes and their monopoly

Cement is just too expensive here. And I'm yet to know why we abandoned building with bricks.

Bede2u:

Are u saying 9 inches will be better? I thought that if u want to reduce load, that 6 inches is usually better

6" Block May Not Be Able To Bear The Weight Of Those Modern Roofs Expecially If It Is A Multiple Storey Building.