Save 30% - 45% of Capital
House Building Costs

Low Cost Housing Solutions for Third World Countries

The primary purpose of LCH/RoadPacker, SEB technology is to support and encourage low cost housing in any country where there is a distinct lack of conventional housing.

Our housing technology is very simple – an interlocking clay brick system, treated with our ionic clay stabiliser formula. This alters the clay and improves its engineering properties - including compaction, density, bearing strength and safety (i.e. – fire). This provides a low cost, durable product that can meet the needs of the millions of low cost housing units required annually around the world.

We Hit the Ground Running

When typhoons, flooding, and earthquakes render thousands of people homeless - the immeasurable benefits of this system of home building really kick in. The ability of disaster rescue units to offer immediate effective assistance is dramatically enhanced because they need very few raw materials. They can move into a declared disaster area and begin to provide the rudimentary requirements for that community to return to a position of normalcy.

We Arrive On Site With Our Own Brick Making Machine

A fast, reliable and easy to handle, Stabilised Earth Brick machine is easily transported to a construction site and can immediately begin to produce high quality, interlocking bricks made from the local soil. The mobile integrated roadworthy trailer allows the movement of the Brick Machine from one part of a construction site to another without major disruption to the project.

Our Bricks are Designed to be Easy to Assemble

The Compacted Earth Bricks are firmly interlocked on the top, bottom and sides.  A wall built with Compacted Earth Bricks is extremely strong and highly isothermic. Each brick is perfectly extruded and all bricks are of the highest quality.  There is no available technology that will allow you to build as fast as with Compacted Earth Bricks at such a competitive price.

We Know How to Build That Wall

Our response is immediate. Not only can our bricks be used in the planned creation of new permanent communities - but more dynamically in the unplanned event of natural disasters.

Crush Soil in LCH Crusher

The soil is crushed in the Low Cost Housing crusher to reduce the particle size and aid the absorption and reaction to the RoadPacker Clay Brick Stabiliser.

Treat Soil with RoadPacker Clay Brick Stabiliser

You need just 0 .2 litres of RoadPacker CBS per m3 to be mixed with the soil to stabilise it.

Add Treated Soil to Brick Making Machine

The machine compacts the stabilised soil to create an interlocking, durable and waterproof brick. Finished bricks are then stacked for curing for a short period of time.

Just Fit It!

Foundations are made using the same bricks reinforced with mortar. Building then commences above the floor level by dry stacking the bricks one on top of the other.

Mortar is only used to stick the first row of bricks to the concrete base (if one was used). The bricks are then laid one by one in rows with no need for mortar or reinforced bars.

Low Cost House Completed and On to the Next One

There is a tangible benefit in this approach both in keeping costs appreciably low and in successful community development through engaging future home owners and community members in construction activities. Involving local people in the construction of the new buildings - definitely encourages 'ownership'.

FAQ

1. Can I use any soil with LCH Stabilised Earth Brick Machines?
No. Pure sand cannot be used as we must compact the mixture. We use prescribed dosage of RoadPacker Clay Brick Stabiliser to bind the soil. To achieve the compaction necessary for the strength to produce a strong brick, we need a clay soil of 10%>. If the insitu soil is too sandy, then most definitely some 'clayish' soil has to be mixed in with the existing insitu soil. A compaction test will give you a clear idea of the proper mix to work with.

2. Can I mix water with the soil?
LCH Stabilised Earth Bricks use what is called a "dry mix" which in fact uses a minimum of (10 to 15%) water . Most often the soil is wet enough to be used as is. If need be, a small amount of water can be added. The mixture must not be over wet, otherwise compaction will not be achieved.

3. Do I need a mixer?
For small projects, mixers are not used at all - but can be if so desired. We emphasise the labour intensive possibilities of LCH Stabilised Earth Bricks. If the project needs a high output of bricks, we recommend the use of a pan mixer (supplied by LCH) to improve productivity.

4. Do I have to prepare the soil before mixing in the RoadPacker Clay Brick Stabiliser?
Once again, for small projects, there is no need for mechanisation of the soil preparation. A good grid trough (into which the soil is shovelled) will eliminate stones and other big components and will produce very good results. If a higher output is required, we recommend the use of a crusher that will reduce the lumps and stones and give a very high consistent quality to the final product.

5. Can we be sure that these walls are not going to fall down?
This the most commonly asked question and where people have the most concern - who have not yet seen a LCH Stabilised Earth Brick building. The answer is simple, LCH Stabilised Earth Bricks have a patented shape that gives them the most solid interlocking feature ever. The walls are made from bricks that are interlocked with each other. It is totally impossible to remove one brick out from a wall unless a pick is used to break through it. There is no more solid wall available on the market today.

6. If there is soil movement, will the wall crack and fall down?
Here again is the very basis of the strength of the LCH Stabilised Earth Brick concept. Each and every brick in the building is interlocked to the others, but is not bonded to the them as with cement mortared bricks. Once there is a soil movement - with traditional mortar the bricks come under such strong tension that the bond eventually cracks and the wall starts a cracking process that never ends and is most difficult to correct. With LCH Stabilised Earth Bricks, each brick undergoes a minimal amount of movement and the whole wall will adjust progressively without damage or cracking.

7. How can you avoid the top bricks from being removed on a roofless structure?
If you build a wall with no top structure, then it is recommended to seal the two top layers of bricks with mortar or, better still, put a firmly fixed topping on the wall. (such as a pre-cast shaped beam, or wood trusses).

8. For a perimeter wall, how can you avoid reinforced columns?
As with any other construction method - LCH Stabilised Earth Bricks are not immune from normal external stresses and long length walls obviously have to be supported. In this case, we can very simply make a supporting column with LCH Stabilised Earth Bricks only. You still won't have to buy and transport reinforcing bars and mix concrete.

9. How can you fit the trusses for the roofs?
If simplicity and low cost is required, we can do it very easily indeed. Once the building has reached a height where there are only 3 to 4 rows of bricks to be added, then fit a flexible strapping steel and keep laying the bricks. Once the roof trusses have to be fitted, link the strapping steel with the trusses to hold them all together.

10. How do you build the corner walls?
The LCH Stabilised Earth Bricks have a top shoulder that has to be manually removed (very simply with the trowel) up to a length to allow the bricks to be cross fitted together. Alternatively, corner moulds are used.

Houses (Download PDFs)

• Low Cost Housing Using Stabilised Earth Bricks (531KB)
• Just Fit It (652KB)
• MyBrick Brochure (471KB)
• MyBrick Low Cost / Affordable Housing Projects & Disaster Relief Building Solutions (2MB)

  To view PDF documents you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.