# Please help critique this plan for building a house in East Africa



## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

I had another thread in which some of you may have read about a unique project I am involved in where we are trying to come up with a house we can build in Tanzania that meets the price range we are looking for. As mentioned in the other thread, I'm still incredibly new to all this so I figured it's always good to seek advice or input to improve/learn. So far, we have settled on a few different things through trial and error that we think we are leaning towards, but I thought it would be a good idea to run the idea by lots of experienced minds to get feedback on the good/bad, and see if there's better recommendations for what to try. 

Ok, our base plan for the house is a 44x24 foundation, 3 bedroom, single floor, block house. I will include pictures of various phases from houses we've built where we tried different things that we plan to combine into one house. Also, to give some context, the climate in Tanzania doesn't get too hot or humid, and usually the coldest it will get is 65. They have extreme wet season and dry season. Concrete blocks are readily available there and can be made on site, but a reliable source of lumber isn't. The locals want concrete houses because with wood there's a termite problem due to no termite control, and there's also no fire stations there as far as putting out something that catches on fire. So our plan is a concrete block house with a metal roof. 

*The Foundation*
The local labor there for the most part can handle getting a foundation done without too much problem. We plan on getting a compaction machine there to help with compacting things better and speeding things up, but nothing out of the ordinary. The foundation will have a #3 rebar sticking up 4ft high, every 4 feet around the foundation, 4 inches in (so that it's inside a block). 










*Exterior wall*
For this, we are planning on doing all the exterior walls with their locally available blocks, which is similar to our standard 8x8x16's here in the states, except their blocks are solid rather than hallow. We will frame up the exterior walls all with the 8" blocks and are kind of undecided on if we are going to build the block walls up the gable ends as well or just add an additional truss for the gable end. We've used an additional truss + tin material to cover it and it came out OK, but would probably look better to run the block all the way up there. I'm not sure of whether a block guy can even lay blocks for that part so we may have to go with an additional truss, any input here would be great. Here's what I'm referring to:










*The Roof*
After the exterior walls are up, we will then install the roofing system which is a steel truss' system where the truss' are 4 feet apart, so if we have the gable ends as another streel truss it would be 12 total truss' and we would need to put tin over the gables like in the above picture. We are going with the steel roof system because it's easy to pack in a container and ship over, quick to assemble, light weight, and averts the use of wood as mentioned before. Am not sure yet what they do with roofs in Tanzania as far as insulation, which is something I'm going to look into. Here's pictures:



















*Interior wall framing*
For this part we were going to use 4" blocks to frame out all the interior walls with. We have not done this yet here in the states but have done it for some other construction we've done in Tanzania and it seems to be something that will not be a problem. Any issues to be aware of for using 4" thick walls? 

*Exterior wall finish*
We were planning to try out a product called Thoroseal which is a cement based coating similar to drylok except supposed to be more suited for exterior and have more durability. I ordered a small amount to test out to see if it would be thick enough to cover the block joints. If it is, we were planning to be able to roll that on with a brush since it should be very DIY friendly, and using that to cover the walls and then be ready to paint. The other option we were planning to use if the Thoroseal didn't work was to just plaster/stucco over the exterior and then paint that, as pictured above with the buff colored stucco.

*Electric/Plumbing*
In Tanzania, after the walls have been laid with block, they then go back with a chisel and hammer and break into the wall to figure out where the wiring needs to go, they put it in, and then cover it back up. We plan to get better tools for them to use like a grinder/cut off wheel for this portion. Other than that, I believe the plumbers/electricians should be perfectly suited for handling this, since they've done houses before. Again, any issues or complications with something else, would appreciate feedback.

*Interior wall finish*
The plan for these walls was the same as exterior wall finish, with either Thoroseal or plaster. The third option we were considering was to just put sheetrock right up against the block but were hoping to avoid that if possible to help keep labor and material costs down. One thing I was not sure about though was the issue of insulation/ventilation. If we thorosealed/stucco'd the exterior, and there was no insulation in the walls, would this be problematic as far as moisture/heat? Or does thoroseal keep everything sealed out? The houses were not planning on having any HVAC units there, so this is an area I was still a bit fuzzy on. 

*Floor finish*
We were planning on concrete staining the floor, which we've tried out here on some of the houses we've done so far and it seems pretty straight forward. We liked it. 










*Fascia/J channel/Soffit*
We experimented with using the same tin material for the fascia/soffit that we used for the roof since it would make it more convenient and easier to ship over one material that takes care of everything. We did a house where we used the same 1 material for the roof, fascia/soffit, and gable ends. As far as standards of aesthetics in Tanzania, it should be fine I believe:










Other than all that I think the rest is just straight forward finishing work. If anyone has any recommendations, advice, critique, etc, would be interested in hearing. Thanks.


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## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

deleted


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## CCCo. (Jul 19, 2009)

I just skimmed through this, I'll admit.
But how are you going to put rebar up through a solid block?

Maybe I missed something?

-


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## Diamond D. (Nov 12, 2009)

No problem building the gables out of block.
They can also make the beveled block.

This will save $$$ on the cost and transport of extra trusses.

What you have described, is basically how they build their houses now.
Right down to the floors. Although, they like to use the red pigment as they finish the floors.

And speaking of pigment, you can add pigment to the Thoroseal, therefore saving the painting process and the paint.

You should not have a problem finding a good labor force, including good foremen.
They know what they are doing.

I would suggest another trip over to Tanzania to observe their building practices and the availability of materials.
Then you can fine tune your plan.

I assume all your shipped materials will port in Dar-es-Salaam.
You could probably save big money, by not shipping all your material from the States. Especially the steel.
Do some research, save some money.

As I said before, you seem to have a good handle on what is going on, and what needs to be done.

Practice up on your Swahili, English is their third language, but it really helps if you know it.

Carry on,
D.


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

FYI..... I believe " www.africanconcrete.com " makes 8"x8"x16" hollow concrete blocks.


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## Diamond D. (Nov 12, 2009)

I couldn't imangin the shipping costs.
That's a long way away, no matter how you go.

D.


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## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

CCCo. said:


> I just skimmed through this, I'll admit.
> But how are you going to put rebar up through a solid block?
> 
> Maybe I missed something?
> ...


Oh, I didn't clarify in my OP, but the rebar in the blocks and filling the blocks was just for here in the states. In Tanzania with solid blocks if we use them we won't need to fill the blocks or use any rebar. We would use a grinder/blade to cut into the walls to put the electrical/plumbing wires in and then cover it back up.



Diamond D. said:


> No problem building the gables out of block.
> They can also make the beveled block.


Yeah, it would be great if the gables can be built with blocks, I'm going to talk to our guys over in TZ to see that this can happen, since that would save a good bit on material costs and make things easier as far as labor as you said.



> What you have described, is basically how they build their houses now.
> Right down to the floors. Although, they like to use the red pigment as they finish the floors.


Interesting, I've been over there 3 times now but on my previous trips I didn't get to see how they do any residential housing construction. When you say this is how they build over there right now, you mean in Dar es salaam in TZ? From what I was told, there's nobody over there building any of the lower end homes targeting the middle class market. Do you mean individuals who build their houses themselves? 



> And speaking of pigment, you can add pigment to the Thoroseal, therefore saving the painting process and the paint.


Awesome, thanks. Yeah I tried out the thoroseal this afternoon actually and my first thought was that even though it was working great, I didn't really see what different there was from plaster. I've never plastered before a day in my life, but it seemed like thoroseal was basically being applied in similar fashion as stucco/plaster would and just spread on. Is there more skill involved in applying/mixing plaster/stucco? I was able to do the thoroseal by myself but since I had nothing to compare it to I wasn't sure what benefit it offered. Going with plastering all the walls may be cheaper and make more sense. But yeah, we will definitely want to look into adding pigment/tint into stucco or thoroseal, whichever we go with. 



> I would suggest another trip over to Tanzania to observe their building practices and the availability of materials.
> Then you can fine tune your plan.


Well, my uncle has been going over there every month for the past 2 years or so, he tells me that they really have problems doing roofs and that concrete staining would be new. All the contacts I have talked to basically said the problems are the foundation, roofs, and chiseling back into the walls. 



> I assume all your shipped materials will port in Dar-es-Salaam.
> You could probably save big money, by not shipping all your material from the States. Especially the steel.
> Do some research, save some money.


Yeah, agreed. For the hotel we built, we shipped over most things from China.



> As I said before, you seem to have a good handle on what is going on, and what needs to be done.
> 
> Practice up on your Swahili, English is their third language, but it really helps if you know it.
> 
> ...


Thanks, and yeah, I was definitely planning to learn Swahili soon after getting there 



Willie T said:


> FYI..... I believe " www.africanconcrete.com " makes 8"x8"x16" hollow concrete blocks.


Will look into this, thanks. These posts are the kinds of feedback/advice I was looking for.


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## SLSTech (Sep 13, 2008)

You may want to look up what Prof. Llewellyn van Wyk has been doing over there - your house is about twice the size as there's but it is interesting seeing how they build them for right around 8k. I do have one short video of him at the end of this article which covered a presentation of his; http://blog.sls-construction.com/2010/sustainability-green-building-and-you 

If you ever get a chance to call him or meet him, I would recomend it - as he is a not only a friendly guy, but a fountain of knowledge


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## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

Yeah, will definitely look into contacting him. Any other recommendations/criticisms/ideas welcomed.


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## cleveman (Dec 28, 2007)

I'm thinking the plumbing will all be in the floor.

Regarding the electrical, maybe you could get some block ready with holes in them for a box or switch/outlet if a box isn't necessary. Then just set these in place and feed the wire from above. Maybe you could even write on them where they go/mark the floor.

They seem like very large homes.

It wouldn't be a big deal to leave the plbg and electrical exposed on the walls also. I think this is called the "commercial" look.


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

Python -

Check the South Africa Concrete Masonry Association. They have been building concrete block homes for over 20 years and even have plans and details.

Usually they use 6" solid block for the exterior and 6" hollow for interior walls. The 4" block can be tougher to lay and get a good uniform vertical wall. For some crazy reason the U.S. has a hang-up on using 8" or thicker block walls. In S.A. they usually use different colors of block for separate homes. In the dry areas, they do not coat the exterior of the block walls. - Just another source to look at for a similar climate and tradition. You will not be able to use block any distance away and that is why there are so many scattered small plants.

In south Africa, they usually used trusses (wood or steel) with a corrugated metal roof and have good ventilation.

Africa Concrete in Ghana is a very long way to rely on. They make high quality block (superior to many U.S. suppliers) and even have a load bearing concrete block floor system that used in multi-story buildings.

For utilities, you be a able to get a few special shapes with cutout areas or horizontal ledges for running wires, but that would increase the planning and complexity. Depending on the block manufacturing equipment, the cost for special mold may not be too much, but for some a new mold box could be $15,000 because of the requirements, but the block is only in the mold for 6 to 10 seconds for those type of machines.


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## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

cleveman said:


> I'm thinking the plumbing will all be in the floor.
> 
> Regarding the electrical, maybe you could get some block ready with holes in them for a box or switch/outlet if a box isn't necessary. Then just set these in place and feed the wire from above. Maybe you could even write on them where they go/mark the floor.
> 
> ...





concretemasonry said:


> Python -
> 
> Check the South Africa Concrete Masonry Association. They have been building concrete block homes for over 20 years and even have plans and details.
> 
> ...


Ahhh, thanks, gives me some more things to think about and consider.


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## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

Does anyone have any suggestions/ideas/advice as far as:

- A cost-effective, faster, or easier way to cover the block joint lines as opposed to stucco'ing over it? We do have the labor in Tanzania that has experience with stucco and it's rather in expensive, but since I talked to someone recently who told me to look into durock cement boards and acrylic finishes, I was just wondering if anyone thought that would be a viable option for this type of a project

- Any ideas for what to do with a mesh material that was custom made for us for a previous system we were using? We have a lot of metal mesh that we used for the previous system we were trying that involved shotcrete that we are no longer using, so we're looking for a way to recoup some of the money spent on it if possible. It's sheets/stacks of the mesh used in this picture:



















The silver one, not the sheets of wire mesh.

- Also, will insulation/ventilation be an issue? We were hoping to not have to furr out the walls in Tanzania and just plaster/sheetrock right over the block on the inside, but wasn't sure if this would be a problem over there? I was told that painting the exterior stucco would seal it from any water going through, but as far as heat, I was still unsure. For the roof I was told if you don't insulate that it will be extremely hot like an oven, is spray foaming it ourselves an option? Or would it be easier to just ventilate it through the ridge cap at the top or through the gables? We're not planning for the houses in TZ to have HVAC. The weather there I'm told is usually fairly stable as far as heat in the dry season and stays in a pretty stable range of 65-90, but that they get extreme wet seasons.


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## Winchester (Jun 29, 2008)

look at what the homes there have for insulation?

do they ever get earthquakes or anything?


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

Python -

It seems like you are trying to build an "American style" home in east Africa, which has a different climate, needs, readily available materials and products and different skilled trades.

If you don't need or want air conditioning, then ventilation is the obvious solution if it is controlled. Since you are probably going to use heavy materials, the thermal inertia/stability due to the mass is a great benefit. The rains can be handled with a good wall system and overhangs. This has been the pattern in most similar climates and situations.

The biggest problems will be the finishes and materials that are realistically available. Also, the lighting and appliances will have to be compatible with the electric power systems available (voltage and frequency). If you want to design a home with some reliance on technology (computers, security, etc.) you may have to make provisions for a generator or an electrical room with battery chargers and batteries for short term outages that are common in a growing area.

Seismic and wind are just minor changes and there should be available local sources since they can vary widely.

I am just commenting on what I have seen in a few different African countries and another 30 or 40 more other countries. India, despite the slightly different climate, is an example. They have unlimited technology, better education ranking than the U.S., but offices are built with electrical "rooms" to maintain the technology and computers 24/7 because the demand for reliable power has outpaced the construction. The people working in those offices probably live in apartments with two separate sewage systems - recycled gray water for sinks, showers and floors and treatable black water for toilets and garbage disposals. This understates the international phrase - "If it does not make sense in the big picture, it must be true".


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## cleveman (Dec 28, 2007)

concretemasonry's ideas on the overhang (soffit) were good.

I also think you are trying too hard to build these houses. 

Why the concern about covering the joints on the blockwork?

Just get those people a roof over their heads and don't worry so much about the aesthetics. Hopefully they can work 12 hours per day and be happy with a small piece of ass, some dinner, and listening to the radio at night before going to bed and doing the same the next day.

Otherwise, they'll end up in the same boat we are in. And one shouldn't wish that on anyone.


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

cleveman -

I think there may be a market in Tanzania for the "American style" home, but it may be limited. Generally, there are many proven systems for construction. The key is to use the proven acceptable materials that everyone is familiar with and use it to its benefits.

A material, like masonry, which is the most commonly used residential wall material in the world does have some local differences that are easily adapted to the needs. Roof structural systems vary widely depending on the needs and location/availability of systems. Roofing materials are also variable and can range from locally manufacture clay tile to lightweight fiberglass panels or cement asbestos. - You just have to adapt to the most usable materials available unless you are building the Taj Mahal (which every contractor should see and understand).

They do not listen to radio much in Tanzania since there is better satellite TV. I went to Brazil to look at residential construction and found something totally different that what I expected. They were building groups of a dozen or so apartment buildings meeting American design standards. The buildings were 10 to 20 story loadbearing partially reinforced 6" block walls with NO steel or concrete columns. The engineer said "We build the buildings to your codes, but we use them better". they had been doing it for 20 years.


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## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

> I also think you are trying too hard to build these houses.
> 
> Why the concern about covering the joints on the blockwork?


Yeah, I think just having a house over their heads would be good for most of them, but since the labor there for stucco is so cheap and the materials arent that much, it seemed like a straight forward way to improve the aesthetics for them a bit. 



> I think there may be a market in Tanzania for the "American style" home, but it may be limited. Generally, there are many proven systems for construction. The key is to use the proven acceptable materials that everyone is familiar with and use it to its benefits.


Hey Dick, thanks for feedback as always. I was under the impression this is what we were doing actually. The house we're building is all concrete specifically so that we can utilize the materials and system of building houses they are more familiar with. I thought the house more closely resembled what they currently have in Tanzania rather than American style homes due to the size, layout, materials, stucco, etc. But I think the main demand for housing in the market there stems from affordability - namely, adequate housing at an affordable price, since the supply of that is what's lacking at the moment. I was under the impression that it would be hard to lose money with any type of house though that's in the price range they can afford due to the demand, but we still wanted to build houses they desired and were accustomed to. Will see how it goes soon enough  



> If you don't need or want air conditioning, then ventilation is the obvious solution if it is controlled. Since you are probably going to use heavy materials, the thermal inertia/stability due to the mass is a great benefit. The rains can be handled with a good wall system and overhangs. This has been the pattern in most similar climates and situations.


So ventilation would be fine even with a tin roof material? Also, if we are going to ventilate it, would we just cut the openings for ventilation ourselves in the tin on the gables? Pardon my ignorance, as I said, still very new to all this. Also, when you refer to the overhang, do you mean having overhang for the gable ends? We were looking to avoid overhang on the gables to keep it simpler and less costly if possible, but it seems you're saying the overhang there would handle rain? Or do you mean overhang on front/back of house?



> The biggest problems will be the finishes and materials that are realistically available.


You mean the finishes for the walls or finishing work like trim/electric/plumbing? I know for the wall finishing the materials for that are supposed to be available, other things like fixtures for electric/plumbing I believe we were planning to ship over from China, which is what we did for the hotel we built. 



> The people working in those offices probably live in apartments with two separate sewage systems - recycled gray water for sinks, showers and floors and treatable black water for toilets and garbage disposals. This understates the international phrase


It's interesting you mention this because this is something I forgot to mention. We designed the test houses we're doing here to have this same system. Was talking to our plumber this morning about it. 

One issue we ran into recently is that our plumber said the 4" walls on the interior won't allow him to get in his pipes and stuff that he needs, so I got with my carpenter and plumber and we reconfigured the floor layout so that certain walls are 6" and 8" and moved some things around to make it so he can run a lot of his plumbing out the back of the house. Also will be leaving an opening in 2 of the walls that we'll sheetrock over and not do blocks so that it can be accessed later on and the plumbing can be ran through it as well as the electricians circuit box. Just mentioning this in case someone is familiar and has a recommendation they may have overlooked.


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## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

> lso, the lighting and appliances will have to be compatible with the electric power systems available (voltage and frequency). If you want to design a home with some reliance on technology (computers, security, etc.) you may have to make provisions for a generator or an electrical room with battery chargers and batteries for short term outages that are common in a growing area.


Yeah, this seems like a good idea. I'm starting to feel like we really need to have some new plans drawn up that incorporate a lot of the changes we've already made, as well as some add-on's such as the one you mention here. The base plans we are operating off were for a 4" thick wall and interior metal studs, whereas the house we've gravitated towards now has 8" CMU block with interior block walls. So we've lost some square footage on the house and also have moved things around like I mentioned in the previous post to accommodate the plumbing. 

So, if we're going to have new plans drawn up anyway, we would be able to make the house a bit bigger to regain the square footage as well as add in something like an electrical room. I was trying to avoid this if we could since the truss' we have so far are designed for the 44x24 dimensions, but it seems we'd benefit from just having the roof system re-engineered for different dimensions, to give us a better layout for the house in general. Do we need to just talk to an engineer about this and then once the new plans are drawn send those to our roof supplier/engineer so they can redesign?


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## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

To follow up on this concept:


> Generally, there are many proven systems for construction. The key is to use the proven acceptable materials that everyone is familiar with and use it to its benefits.


Your post on the other DIY forum actually played a role in me convincing my uncle to gear away from that shotcreting system he was considering, as well as the dome system. I don't know if you recall the thread but you posted in it, part of what you said was:



> Get a good reading on what is really the acceptible construction and what the materials are available to make the project work reasonably initially.


So I ended up contacting our engineers that worked with us on the hotel that are familiar with construction in TZ, as well as some of our other contacts, and found out that 90% of their construction there is done with the block+stucco'ing combination, which is what played a role in me deciding to go that route. Basically wanted to use that as a starting point as you said, and then try to incorporate different things to improve on it, like the steel roof (since they struggle with roofs), and concrete staining. 

Did I misunderstand/misapply what you were saying? Which parts of the house are too Americanized that you would suggest looking into changing? The insulation/ventilation issue is something I was still fuzzy on if that was the part you were talking about. Appreciate the feedback btw, thanks.


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## Rio (Oct 13, 2009)

From looking at the photos it would seem to make sense to put a lid on the ceiling joists, drywall if available, insulation on top of that and cut two nice big gable end vents on either side to keep the attic space from turning into an oven.


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## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

Yeah, I was actually talking about this earlier today with some guys at my construction store. They were suggesting essentially what you said, that we'd sheetrock the ceiling and then ventilate the roof. They were saying though to let it breathe through the soffit and then out the ridge cap. So I was thinking a combination of whatever insulation they typically have available in TZ, along with ventilating through the ridge cap of the metal roof and through the soffit. They said that if you just don't make it completely airtight and sealed when doing the soffit/ridge, that it would ventilate it without having to cut vents into the gables.


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## Rio (Oct 13, 2009)

Soffit - ridge venting is a great way to ventilate as it avoids any 'short circuiting' of the air flow. Depending on how the trusses are connected to the walls and how the roof is attached it can be more difficult to do than gable vents. Of course any penetrations have to be screened to keep out the little critters from taking up residence in the attic.

Something to consider also is that dark, ventilated and dry space is great to dehydrate certain foods in. I don't know what the situation is where these houses are being constructed but if there's a demand for that, say a home garden and wanting to preserve the extra food or buying larger amounts when the harvest is in and it's cheaper, it would be easy to provide attic access (usually done in any case, sometimes through the gable end), put down a platform over the preferably encapsulated insulation, set up some racks and boom! instant dehydrating room. This does depend on what is being dehydrated, air flow rates and humidity as some foodstuffs are more prone to molding when dehydrating than others; just another idea to think about.


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## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

Ok, just so I understand this part better since it's what I was a bit fuzzy on before, but a plan of:

Sheetrocking/mudding the ceiling and soffit/ridge venting the roof, should be adequate as far as addressing heat concerns with a metal roof? The houses in TZ aren't going to have HVAC systems if that's relevant at all. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by lid on ceiling joists (is this just sheetrocking ceiling + mudding?) and then insulating on top of that (what type of insulation? fiberglass? or is the sheetrock+mudding considered the insulation?).

Then for the walls, should the thermal mass from the concrete blocks that are filled with cement, coupled with sheetrock or plaster on the inside portion of those walls, be enough to insulate from heat? 

Anyone that can give input on these is welcomed to jump in as well with their take on it.


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## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

Does anyone have any ideas for ways to change up the exterior and make it look better that doesn't increase the cost that much? Is there a different design possible for a house of this size or exterior fixture options besides shutters to look into?

Also, does anyone think it would be worth it to ship over metal studs to do the interior walls as opposed to doing it with interior blocks? The metal studs I'm told pack together tightly and are light weight, so we'd be able to ship over the material in bulk for not that much. I'm just not sure if the additional cost for metal stud material is offset by the benefits. I know that it would be easier for the electrical/plumbing wiring for the houses by not using block but am not sure where else it would be easier/faster or save money.


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

The wrinkled tin studs have been tried many times in Africa, but were not acceptable because the building did not perform as well as what people were accustomed to. - Somilar to the experiment of making modluar homes in Finland and shipping to the Moscow area. Even though the cost was reasonable, the were not up to the security and standards experienced in the old traditional housing. The fire fighters did like the idea of promoting fires, since the number of fire fighters is low considering the population. The unclaimed "freebees" were returned.

You have to look at the local preferences for a home and the climate in the location. Also the available trades could have a bearing on the construction materials.


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

*covering joints*

PYTHON#49 As far as covering the joints in the block. You may have luck with a product by W.R. BONSAL they make a product cslled their FRP system. You will NOT need the stucco part of it (sold seperate) just the elastomeric top coat. Comes in a rainbow worth of colors, tuff as nails, cleans easy,and has expected life i believe of 25yrs.


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## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

concretemasonry said:


> The wrinkled tin studs have been tried many times in Africa, but were not acceptable because the building did not perform as well as what people were accustomed to. - Somilar to the experiment of making modluar homes in Finland and shipping to the Moscow area. Even though the cost was reasonable, the were not up to the security and standards experienced in the old traditional housing. The fire fighters did like the idea of promoting fires, since the number of fire fighters is low considering the population. The unclaimed "freebees" were returned.
> 
> You have to look at the local preferences for a home and the climate in the location. Also the available trades could have a bearing on the construction materials.


Hey, thanks Dick, yes I have been coordinating much more with the contacts and engineers we have on the ground floor in Tanzania much because of the advice you gave me a while back. I PM'd you on here and the DIY forums a few questions but never heard back, not sure if they went through but would be awesome if you checked em out when you had a chance.


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

Oython -

I haven't seen a notice of private mails on any forum.

I enjoy learning from people trying to transport construction and marketing to different markets.

Have you ever been in a restaurant in northern Michigan with a guy from Ghana that poured the first sip of wine from his glass onto the carpet in honor of his father/family? - That is what you have to understand and experience. - If it does not make sense, it must be true and has been proven in 41 (to date) countries.


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## Diamond D. (Nov 12, 2009)

Python,

Shiping the metal studs is one thing, but what are you going to use for wall coverings? That could be a problem.

The block walls serve, somwhat as climate control and it's not that big of a deal, to cut channels, to install the wiring.

I think the plumbing is a non-issue. your building one story houses, so all the plumbing comes out of the floor to the fixtures and the vent runs up the outside.

As far as the exterior goes, just go with the stucco and be done with it.
Remember, the local tradesmen have experience with this.

I agree with, Dick, go with what they know and what they are accustom to.
After all, if I recall, you said this was to be low cost housing.

I think you are making this project much more difficult than it needs to be
Don't over think it.

Relax, 
D.


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## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

Diamond D. said:


> Python,
> 
> Shiping the metal studs is one thing, but what are you going to use for wall coverings? That could be a problem.
> 
> ...


Hey David.D, yeah I agree, I think it seems like I'm over thinking it though because a lot of the very basic details for many of you took a lot of questioning and reading for me to just understand (ie; what stucco vs drywall even is, the merits behind each, ventilation vs insulation, etc). So I guess I'm just trying to make sure I'm not making any assumptions and overlooking anything that could be important  I hadn't been back to this thread but wanted to sort of update on things a bit and I just noticed what you said about cutting channels to install the wiring. I think we ended up doing this as well if this is what you're referring to:



















We used mini grinders/angle grinders, along with hammerdrills to carve out the openings to put the wiring into after having the electrician mark on the walls where his wiring would need to go. We also got with the plumber and had our block guys leave certain spots open for easier access for the plumber to get to, but the rest of his plumbing is running through the ground as you mentioned. 

As for the metal studs, they do have sheetrock there which the locals know how to use, so I was doing one house with metal studs currently just so we have something of a basis for comparison with doing all block instead. 

Also, here's some updated pics of some of the houses:































































I ran into a bit of a slowdown on the houses this past week though when going to buy the acid staining solution that I used on the first house. Ended up finding out that there were only 3 options for colors for the previous stain I had used and they were all brown, which I didn't think would match well with 2 of the houses. So I've been reading online a lot to try to find a good quality acid stain and reading a lot about sealers to find one that will give me the type of finish I'm looking for. Mainly trying to be very careful about what I chose and do my homework since you only get one chance at staining, unless you're willing to do an overlay.


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## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

*Another update*

A few changes and updates since the original post and last post I made.

I started having my block guys take the blocks up the gable end to be stucco'd and painted as well, which I think definitely looks better and worth the few additional blocks/time necessary to go up. I also much prefer the smooth textured stucco, stucco molding trim instead of shutters, as well as added overhang for gables, which is all just aesthetics value unrelated to the building process of course:



























Then for the electrical wiring in the wall, the minigrinding into the wall wasn't too bad of a process and we just stucco'd back over it smooth. For an all block house it may be a decent bit of cutting for each room but overall won't be too bad I don't think, but obviously will be interested in finding other options:



























Then for the floors, we started experimenting with learning how to do engraving and decorative concrete ourselves since I assumed (wasn't sure though) that over there, finding someone that knows how to do engravings and different colors would prove difficult. So I kind of went online myself and got the help of a local guy that did basic staining and we gave it a shot. For the homes we'll be building I think it came out pretty good and can be done pretty cheaply. Even in the US the total cost for doing the floor of the whole house was under $1k materials/labor, but more than half of that was paying the guy to help me. 
























This one's been scored but not stained yet:










Then for the soffit/ridge ventilation, we have a 2ft overhang for the soffit as discussed earlier in thread, and then did a ridge ventilation with an extra wide ridge cap to protect against water being able to get under it, in addition to the screen to keep out critters as recommended. From talking to local contacts in TZ, they don't actually do any insulation due to the difference in climate so I guess everything is kosher on that front. 

For the roofing system, I am looking into some newly formed companies located near Tanzania that may be able to help avoid shipping, transport, and assembly costs:
http://in2eastafrica.net/kenya-safal-group-set-to-make-cheaper-roofing-system/
http://www.busiweek.com/11/news/kenya/1060-hope-for-affordable-housing-in-kenya


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## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

Noticed that I hadn't posted in this thread in a while. Am currently living in Africa and getting started on the construction. Here's a couple of updated pictures from the previous houses I was working on in states and how they turned out. From getting here now to Tanzania, it adds a lot more context to the disparity in housing quality here compared to the US. If we were able to build replicas of the houses we did in the states here for a good price it would be great value for the people in that price range here. 























































The floor that was scored:


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## Rio (Oct 13, 2009)

Those floors look really nice!


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## Diamond D. (Nov 12, 2009)

Python49 said:


> Then for the floors, we started experimenting with learning how to do engraving and decorative concrete ourselves* since I assumed (wasn't sure though) that over there, finding someone that knows how to do engravings and different colors would prove difficult. * So I kind of went online myself and got the help of a local guy that did basic staining and we gave it a shot. For the homes we'll be building I think it came out pretty good and can be done pretty cheaply. Even in the US the total cost for doing the floor of the whole house was under $1k materials/labor, but more than half of that was paying the guy to help me.
> everything is kosher on that front.
> 
> [/URL]



So, what do you think now?
I "assume" you've seen a few floors by now.
They are certantly beautiful, wouldn't you say?

Best of luck and enjoy,
D.


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## Python49 (Jun 21, 2011)

Diamond D. said:


> So, what do you think now?
> I "assume" you've seen a few floors by now.
> They are certantly beautiful, wouldn't you say?
> 
> ...


Yeah I do like them, when they actually turn out right or once they can be troubleshooted and finished if issues arise :laughing:. But those floors were the biggest slowdown and issue for the houses we had. One of the houses got delayed for a month -- we weren't pros and just tried to learn ourselves. If the floors aren't prep'd meticulously and protected from mortar/sheetrock mud, then the stain may not take hold in certain parts of the floor... leaving you with grey streaks of concrete in various places that have to be fixed, or parts that look funny/bad. Or a mistake made when scoring/engraving a pattern can slow things down. 

We had a lot of issues with it in a controlled environment in the states, which makes me inclined to think it would be even harder here. Technically a floor is supposed to be cured out for 28 days before you stain it, but here they seem to do the foundation but not finish it and make it leveled until near the very end. Then there's the issue of even finding the staining materials/solutions here, which nobody seems to have heard of. 

When comparing tiles to staining, in terms of overall finished look, price, reliability, time, etc, I was feeling as though tiles would be a better choice. The tiles are available, the locals know how to do them, less complications, and I think the higher material cost for tiles will be offset by saved time. Even if staining went perfectly, it still takes longer to stain than do tile, and I think the chances of that are quite small.


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

The homes seem to be great for the climate and area and superior to the homes I saw in South Africa, that were more "skin and bones", but very affordable and functional.

I agree about the choice of tile over staining in your area. You will be using readily available material and a local work force that is skilled in installing and not trying to use a U.S.-oriented low cost alternate. Despite U.S experiences the stained floors will be more costly than tiles in the end.

The 28 day period for concrete curing is a figment of imagination that somehow grew out of the standard lab testing of concrete cylinders for compressive strength and the actual conditions can cure concrete adequately for the application of tiles on a slab because the bonding is superior early. Tiles have been used for centuries on relatively fresh concrete with great traditional results.


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