Building Failures And Collapses: A Case Study Of Portharcourt, Nigeria

Abstract

The Cases of Building failures and consequent collapse in Nigeria has reached an alarming and lamentable stage. It is a disaster comparable to flood disaster, earthquake and aeroplane clash considering the loss of life and destruction of property. Building failure are mostly observed in big cities where there are multiple number of houses, a typical example of which is Port-Harcourt. This study therefore investigates the causes of building failure and collapse in River State with particular reference to Port Harcourt. Inventories, interviews and questionnaire were used to accumulate data which were colleted and analyzed to make inference and draw conclusion. The study revealed that poor workmanship, use of cheap and inferior materials, wrong interpretation of building design, inadequate supervision, non adherence to due process in building construction, lack of maintenance culture, greedy attitude of contractors Professional in competence, the activity of the quacks, the use of plans approved for one storey building for multi, storey building and the nature of the soil are the major causes of building failure identified. Recommendations were made on how to eradicate and expunge building failures in Port Harcourt.

Keywords: building failures, collapses, Portharcourt

Journal of Technology and Education in Nigeria Vol. 12 (1) 2007: pp. 35-39