The Role of Construction Materials in Building Collapse in Nigeria: A Review

Abstract

Building failure or collapse happens both in the developed and developing countries but the rate of occurrence in the developing country such as Nigeria is quite alarming and therefore call concern. The menace of building collapse in Nigeria is very alarming and appalling. Building collapse in Nigeria has become the norms they are easily swept under the carpet whenever it occurs. It is rather unfortunate that both human and economic loss we record each time there is a failure or building collapse is rather humongous. There is also a lot of blame game among professional stakeholders in the industry once failure or collapse of building occur and unfortunately, there is no proper scientific investigation in most developing countries such as Nigeria to ascertain the cause of failure or collapse as the case may be in order to avoid any future occurrence. In the cause of this review, it was discovered that building materials such as reinforcing steel, cement, sand, granite, sandcrete blocks and concrete play huge important role in either the collapse or stability of buildings in Nigeria. The roles of these materials are so vital that they contribute immensely to the collapse of buildings. It was concluded that 10-25% of buildings that collapse in Nigeria are as a result of the use of poor quality building materials. The review has extensively dealt with building collapse in relation with the role of building materials during construction.