Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
Aguwa, J.I., Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
A study of the performance of laterite-cement blocks as walling materials in relation to those of sandcrete was conducted, for the purpose of establishing a cheaper building material in Minna, Niger state, Nigeria and surrounding towns, in the present ever increasing cost of building material. An A-2-6 laterite according to the AASHTO classification system was stabilized with 0-10% cement content by weight of the soil at a constant interval of 2% to produce 20 blocks of size 100mm × 100mm × 100mm for each mix. One hundred laterite-cement blocks were produced, cured under laboratory conditions and subjected to compressive strength test at 7, 14, 21, and 28-days of age, in five applications for each cement mix ratio. The average compressive strength was determined from five blocks crushed in each mix at every age of curing and the same procedure was repeated using sandcrete blocks. At a common cement content of 6%, the compressive strengths, densities, water absorption and the cost per square metre of wall for both types of blocks were determined. The study recommends the use of lateritecement blocks as walling materials in Minna and environs because it has better engineering properties and more economical with a saving of 30% per square metre of wall when compared with the use of sandcrete blocks.