A study into the standard of precast sandcrete blocks produced by the commercial manufacturers in Sekondi Takoradi Metropolis

Abstract

Throughout Ghana and many parts of the world precast sandcrete blocks have been and is still widely used as the main building material for wall units. The quality and importance of the usage of precast sandcrete blocks for the construction of walls therefore cannot be underestimated. The aim of this study was to ascertain the standard and quality of precast sandcrete blocks produced by commercial manufacturers in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. In order to achieve the aim, the study sought to; assess the manufacturers’ compliance with the required standard mixed ratio; assess the curing time of the sandcrete blocks. Experimental research approach was used to investigate the engineering properties of the machine vibrated precast sandcrete blocks. To achieve the research objective of assessing the compliance of the block manufacturers to standard mixed ratio and curing method, questionnaires were prepared and used to solicit information from the block manufacturers. In total ninety (90) units of the machine-vibrated precast sandcrete blocks was selected from thirty (30) manufacturers in the Skekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. Three blocks samples of size 450mm × 150mm × 225mm was selected from each of the thirty (30) manufacturers which was subjected to compressive strength test. The study concluded that Ghana Standard Authority who has to set standard for the production of blocks do not take samples of blocks from the manufacturers to test in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, crushing strength of the various precast sandcrete blocks samples tested falls far below the recommended standards in the Secondi-Takoradi Metropolis and Majority of the commercial block manufacturers operating within the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis produce precast sandcrete blocks using either the 1:6 cement to sand ratio or better. The study recommends Ghana Standard Authority should be going in for samples of blocks from the manufacturers to test in order to ensure standardization, clients/contractors to seek expert advice before they buy their blocks from recommended manufacturers for their projects and silt test should be conducted on the sand before it’s used for the manufacturing of the blocks.