Evaluation of wall construction techniques based upon economical factors influencing labor and materials

Scope of Study. The scope of this investigation was to develop a method of sandwich construction for exterior nonload-bearing wall panels with efficient utilization of building materials. Also, the panels can be assembled on site by common labor without the use of specialized or heavy equipment. A detailed economic comparison between the proposed wall and eight selected conventional wall systems was performed. The proposed construction technique is developed to optimize building materials, labor, and equipment. The cost comparison is performed using prices obtained from three locations: Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Houston, Texas, were chosen to represent local and Gulf Coast areas in the United States; Saudi Arabia was selected as an example of a developing country, Findings and Conclusions. From the experimental investigation in the laboratory, the feasibility of constructing a sandwich wall panel with thin concrete facings has been established. A method of wall construction has been developed that achieves an efficient use of lightweight materials. The system can be constructed by labor with minimal experience in construction. In addition, the developed wall system does not require the use of special equipment for on-site construction. The analytical analysis showed a moderate first-cost economic advantage of the proposed wall system compared to the eight conventional wall systems selected for the study. However, the 30-year life cycle cost analysis showed the proposed system to be substantially superior to the selected traditional wall system due to a higher insulating R value. The developed wall systems shows the most advantage can be obtained for locations in isolated areas where equipment and skilled labor is not readily available. Thus, the proposed construction method provides a realistic approach for solving labor and material problems in developing countries.