IzunnaOkafor:

By Izunna Okafor, Awka


In a rather unconventional move, a yet-to-be-identified man in Ụmụdiala village, Ezinifite, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State, has taken a unique approach to construction by using bamboos in place of irons, to cast the decks and pillars for his two-storey building. The builder has gone against the conventional style, shunning traditional materials such as iron, in favour of bamboo in the ongoing construction.

A concerned resident of the area, Chief CKC Obiekwe, drew the attention of this reporter to the bizarre construction through a video currently trending on the social media — a testament that the first-of-its-kind bamboo-based construction in the area has gone viral online.

The video shows that while bamboos had been used in place of irons to cast pillars and lintels of the ground floor of the two-storey building, some portions of the first deck have also been cast with bamboos in place of irons, while the remaining portions of the deck and pillars for the second deck are also already constructed with bamboos, waiting to be cast with concrete.

Commentator on the viral video also revealed that this was not the first time the builder had employed such a method in the construction of his house. He is said to have previously constructed similar bamboo-reinforced buildings in Abuja and Lagos before bringing it down to his hometown.

Although sources described the builder as a wealthy man, this reporter, Izunna Okafor, could not reach him to confirm the prime motivation and reason behind the bamboo-centric construction. Some locals, however, quoted him as saying that using irons to construct house is not only expensive, but also a waste of money, given the present-day economic realities in Nigeria.

Howbeit, while some applaud the man's ingenuity and thriftiness, others express concerns about the long-term structural integrity of a bamboo-reinforced building, describing it as a death trap and a very risky adventure.

Reacting another resident of the area who pleaded anonymity said, “With this unconventional approach to construction now in the spotlight, it calls for attention from the relevant agencies to ensure that the buildings comply with the standard building codes.

“This oversight is critical to avoid any occurrence of building collapse, which could lead to another unnecessary waste of innocent lives, because the builder himself may not even be there when the building will collapse.

“The safety and structural integrity of such construction methods should be a top priority for all stakeholders in the building industry, especially given the high rate building collapse in the society today.”

A lot of research has been carried out using bamboo in place of iron rod , and bamboo has proven to be very effective

shogotermies:
This is not new.
Always educate your self with information.

This is commendable and probably good.
But I’d rather suggest this for a one storey building or bungalow.

Funny enough, the tensile strength of bamboo is more than that of steel.
Let’s just see how everything goes at the end of the day .

Crenzywilliams:
I hate it when people start giving insights into things they know nothing about. FYI, bamboo have a higher tensile strength than iron rods and it is actually a very good replacement for it. It's very unconventional, agreed, but using bamboo does not affect the integrity of the structure, it actually is a very good alternative. That's coming from a material science engineer, that also took time to do the research before he made this comment.

Material engineer wey dey hawk Gala for Onitsha 🤣🤣🤣

hahaha.....he must have got that idea from the peter obi of anambra!
we all know he is stingy and likes cutting costs!the man that is well known as #yesdaddy or #nochichi man!!

KosiGee:


You are the one with no insights about what you are saying.

Bamboo have higher tensile strength than iron rods?? You should be arrested for this? Your certificate if you’ve got one need to be withdrawn. The man constructing this building should be banned from building sites.

But you can travel out of Nigeria and comfortably live in houses made of woods and bamboo. Bamboos itself are very strong and reliable, but I just feel we are too comfortable with the iron trend. Bamboo don't break even when it gets old, now imagine it has been casted with cement, it durability and tenacity can actually be compared to Iron. But we ain't ready for this!!

Foolish endeavor that will likely end up in killing people.
If you're doing this for a bungarlow, you may be excused but the moment it involve a cast overhead, then it obviously becomes A DANGER WAITING TO HAPPEN. The durability of such building is questionable and tenants should watch out what kinda shelter they go for.

Jewessgratitud3:
Nice move. Bamboo sticks are very strong and durable. It will last. House na house. After all na pako oyinbo take dey build their house.

Not really, there is rhyme and reason to the buildings. Inspections after every phase before another phase. Dem no just dey lay bamboo, cun pour cement.

Pako is way safer than this!

Jewessgratitud3:
Nice move. Bamboo sticks are very strong and durable. It will last. House na house. After all na pako oyinbo take dey build their house.

HardBishop:

You too ndi almajeri
Omo touts

lol bullet hit you

KosiGee:


You are the one with no insights about what you are saying.

Bamboo have higher tensile strength than iron rods?? You should be arrested for this? Your certificate if you’ve got one need to be withdrawn. The man constructing this building should be banned from building sites.

But what he said is quite true.

There has been much research and discussion conducted on this concern which stated that bamboo can provide good strength to concrete structure. But the bamboo has to be treated to ensure durability , and protect it from after effect of moist & termite etc.

Apart from the energy and environmental crisis, using bamboo can be an alternative for lightweight structures.
Stop the hate and do your research.

Do not act like a female graduate of California University.

tolue42:


Most US house are build all through with wood. But the load this Nigerian man want to put is concrete and blocks. Will he also use the bomboo as columns all through

God is his strength oooo

I see your point.
Some suggested he should have left it at one storey. Let's see what happens over time.

yarimo:
But everyone is millionaire and billionaire in that side na

Must you make mockery of your linage, instead of commenting on the topic, you bring your tribalistic manner to spoil the topic. Can we see you side .

CoronaVirusPro:


Asiwaju just started work, He will fix. Be patient.

Na from mess we dey know the smell of shit

The same rubbish you guys spoke about Buhari till he destroyed Nigeria to this point and handed over to BAT.

Alex Otti started the same day but the difference is clear

Local government officials on buildings no there dia, if iron rod dey collapse wetin be bamboo

Cowbell521:
Material engineer wey dey hawk Gala for Onitsha 🤣🤣🤣

Are u minding the ignorant chewbacca claiming materials engineer. An engineer that says bamboo ultimately has higher tensile strength than steel without considering their different grades and the mean. Doesn't even know the difference between iron and steel. Hubris is worse than alcohol.

yarimo:
But everyone is millionaire and billionaire in that side na

who told you ?

That side are now spending wisely

Nyceguy92:


I see your point.
Some suggested he should have left it at one storey. Let's see what happens over time.

Exactly 💯.

yarimo:
But everyone is millionaire and billionaire in that side na

e dey pain you abi eeya sorry Pele ma binu

Nawaoooo...see what APC and Tinubu has caused...made people to be broke 🙄

AfroBeatDiary:
The tension of those bamboo may not be as strong to iron but they will reinforce the concrete which will suffice for the structure. The man must be a structural engineer because you can't conviñce any one to try this if they person does not understand the science behind it.

in no time, the bboo will rotten and crate vacuums in the concrete...

KosiGee:


You are the one with no insights about what you are saying.

Bamboo have higher tensile strength than iron rods?? You should be arrested for this? Your certificate if you’ve got one need to be withdrawn. The man constructing this building should be banned from building sites.

You're the actual person without insight.

Yes! Bamboo tensile strength is actually higher than that of Steel but using bamboo for construction needs a lot of factors to be considered, reason why it hardly adopted in construction sites.

1. Size
2. Joining
3. Concrete gripping.

Which I'm sure such were never considered for the said project.

KosiGee:


You are the one with no insights about what you are saying.

Bamboo have higher tensile strength than iron rods?? You should be arrested for this? Your certificate if you’ve got one need to be withdrawn. The man constructing this building should be banned from building sites.

... Thank you very much for quoting that inexperienced nairalander... I don't know where he/she carried out the analysis that, bamboos tensile strength is more than that rods... Bs .8110 which is civil engineering code or practice has never mentioned bamboos as any reinforcement materials .... The government should demolish that structure as soon as possible. Rubbish

yarimo:
But everyone is millionaire and billionaire in that side na

Ewure and his dumb followers

yarimo:
But everyone is millionaire and billionaire in that side na

You believe the things you are not suppose to believe and disbelieve the things you are suppose to believe.

If you like use iroko tree, the most important thing is did he get approval ?because we can't afford to witness any building collapse in this critical period.

sisisioge:
Hmmmm....my only issue is that he is adding concrete to it. Wont that be too heavy for the bamboo to reinforce? Structural engineers where una dey?

Nigeria no get practicing engineers...just copy and paste

yarimo:
But everyone is millionaire and billionaire in that side na

I can quote you, u , your papa and other siblings still live in Ur grand pa ould thatch house till this very day . Do I know how much cement is in the market

Death trap.

Death trap.

Death trap.