CAUSES OF BUILDING COLLAPSE

Collapse of buildings is not new to Nigeria, neither is it only peculiar to Nigeria. Nevertheless, that will not stop us from taking critical look at the situation and finding a solution to it.

Collapse though can happen to any kind of building, but the casualties that usually follow the collapse of multi-storey buildings can be so terrible.

The collapse of storied buildings in Nigeria usually goes along with it, casualties which can be more up to 20.

But what really motivates multi-storey buildings?

Multistorey buildings are either built because of social status. There are places you get to, and all you would see are very high-rise buildings; so you wouldn’t want your building to be unnoticeable amongst them.

Commercial viability of a location can also make more people to build storied structures in the area because more people would clamour for space in the area.

Some locations are routes to a lot of places; so, high vehicular and human traffic is usually associated with such places, hence more commercial activities, and thus, the need for high-rise buildings.

There is always a tendency of man habiting very close to water because of the opportunity of controlling the waterways which can give opportunity for inter trade between nations. Their closeness to water naturally gave room for shipping ports in these areas, shipping port in turn promotes commercial activities, and commercial activities naturally generates heavy human traffic, and human being requires shelter for himself, his goods and services. So, buildings spring up in these places, and this brings about competition for the very few available spaces. Hence to meet with the demand, designers and building contractors will have to settle for multi-storey buildings because of the increasing unending economic value of these places.

Now, the soils in these areas are sandy and loose soil. They are not strong or compacted soils. Hence, the need for building construction professionals is usually high here. For most of these buildings, they dig long and strong piles foundation. However some few of these buildings still collapse.

 So, what causes the collapse of these buildings?

(1) The first problem is boycotting the professionals -

This issue had been over flogged both in print media and electronic media but it still persists. There is also a problem of egghead professionals that believe they know everything and are not ready to take advice from a colleague. There are known cases like that, which has turned awry.

(2) Contractors cutting corners -

Contractors trying to make gains at the expense of the lives of the users of the building are another problem that has to be tackled. There should be a check from policy makers to make sure specification is thoroughly adhered to by contractors.

(3) Human activities on building -

As insignificant as the human weight may seem to be; the moving up and down of the live loads and the dead load contributes over time in no small measure in wearing down the building. It will take long time though, but houses also expire, and in the case of the types of buildings we have in Nigeria, their lifespan is shorter than those in the civilized world.

(4) Inadequate foundation -

This is the most important part of a building. Unfortunately, a lot of people are not giving adequate attention to this and it is causing more problems. A registered Structural Engineer is very important to you if you are planning on building a strong and solid multi-storey building.

(5) Ageing Building -

Many do not know that buildings also have their life span. Most of the buildings in Lagos Mainland have spent 25 years and above; despite that, they are of shallow foundation and very low quality materials are used for them. As you lay your bed, so you shall lie on it. If you use low quality materials in building, and thereby thinking that you will cut cost, then also be expecting to park out of that building very soon.

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