SOIL-CEMENT HOUSES

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28399, 4 October 1957, Page 7

SOIL-CEMENT HOUSES

Construction Near Wellington

“Thp Press*’ Special Service WELLINGTON. October 3.

Six soil-cement houses are being erected at Wainui-o-mata for the Housing Division of the Ministry of Works. The contract is an experimental one, and the houses will be let on a State rental basis.

Reinforced concrete piers are constructed together with the foundations to take the outside walls, which will consist of a mix of one part of cement to 12 of t fairly sandy soil found in a large deposit more than a mile from the township towards the coast. The special properties of the soil-cement mixture allow the use of machinery to replace costly boxing and formwork usually associated with the building of earth-material houses. The builders, who have already built eight houses of similar material, have developed machinery which eliminates the costly manual ramming process, and permits the use of shutters in construction.

In the present contract the outside walls only will be constructed of the cement-mix. Window openings will be cut out after the wall has been built. The foundations also include a concrete floor sitting on a norma] base filling. The advantages of soil-cemen’ construction are that it is resistant to fire, is extremely durable, has low maintenance costs, and has the advantage of being cool in summer and warm in winter. Up till now, it appears, the problem has always been one of cost in building earth-material houses. The contractors aim now to build a three-bedroom house of 1000 sq. ft. at a cost of £2700.