The laterite alternative
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Using laterite stone is one way of cutting down construction costs. But it is an option that could present users with some difficulties.
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PHOTO: H. VIBHU
EARTHY OPTION: Laterite stones can give a house an earthy look without the external plaster.
With construction costs going up sharply in recent times due to the increase in the price of materials, people are trying to innovate to prevent their budgets from going out of hand.
One way out is to find building materials that cost less but are strong at the same time. Laterite stone is perhaps one such material that is strong and relatively cheap too. One can save up to 40 per cent of construction cost by using laterite stones.
The cost factor
While a brick costs Rs.3.50 a piece, a laterite stone equal to six bricks, costs only Rs.8. For the area covered by a laterite stone, the bricks would cost Rs.21 or more.
There is a saving in the cement mix that need be applied to bind the bricks, which means less cement and less sand, both of which are highly priced. The surface area of a bigger stone is smaller than the total area of all the bricks that occupy the same area. The time taken to complete a structure is relatively less too, which in turn saves labour cost.
With machine cut stones available now, workers need not spend time on levelling the stone surface to apply concrete. It is also better to get the machine cut stones transported, since one can get more stones in one load compared to the hand cut ones.
The difficulty
But it is definitely not very easy to get a mason to build a house with laterite stones. Construction was made easy with the easy-to-handle bricks and most of the workers in the construction industry are only used to handling these. It takes a different attitude to get working with laterite. Handling bricks at the construction site is definitely easier than the heavy laterite stone.
Procuring these stones is not very difficult, but one has to know a little about their quality. "One has to become familiar with the process," said K. Ravikumar, a photo journalist, who built his two-storey house in the middle of Kochi city using only laterite stones. Transportation is difficult, especially into the city. The cost considerations and the aesthetic touch made Mr. Ravikumar stick to laterite.
Only licence holders can provide these stones and the number of such people are few. Since loading and unloading is hard, it is the people in the rural areas who prefer using the stones, said Kakkad Mohan, one of the suppliers of stone. The number of quarries is less too. Good quality stone can be cut only after removing at least two layers of earth. The quality of stone deteriorates if one goes deeper into the layers.
Minimum loss
A mason used to working with laterite stone, says that there is minimum loss to the client. Out of 100 bricks, about 20 per cent may be broken and could not be used for construction. But in case of stones, 99 out of hundred of these could be used, he said. Even the single stone that is broken can be used in some place. The walls too get extra thickness with laterite stones. However, the rooms built using lateriate might have extra height compared to those built using bricks and this might throw up certain practical problems when it comes to laying the concrete roof.
A laterite stone house can give an earthy look without the external plaster. But it would require some workmanship to get a shine on these stones. It is the Malabar area where workers have specialised in working with these stones, said Mr. Ravikumar. In fact, the contractors who manage to get workers from the Malabar area get better workmanship with laterite.
SHYAMA RAJAGOPAL
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