SP 61-9

Applications of Ferrocement in
Low-Cost Housing in Mixico
By Jose Castro

Synopsis: The ferrocement applications described in this paper, devel-

oped by the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana (UAM) and Instituto
Politecnico National (IPN) of Mexico City, have been used with good
results in different towns and slum areas, through a self-help con-
struction program for low cost housing. Each of these applications
presents an economical and practical solution for improving the physi-
cal living standards of people in developing countries.

Keywords: concrete construction; concrete panels; construction

costs; domemtural forms); ferrocement; houses; industri-
alized buildings; prefabrication; residential buildings; roofs;
tanks (containers); urban development; walls; wire cloth.

143
 144 Castro

Professor Jose Castro received a Master of Science in Civil Engi-

neering from Stanford University. He spent twelve years in building
construction before joining the faculties of the National University
of Mexico and the Metropolitan University. He is currently in charge
of research in ferrocement at the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana.

INTRODUCTION

According to the Bank of Mexico, 65 to 70 percent of the existing

dwellings in Mexico are built by their owners without any technical
assistance.1 These figures include both the massive dwelling construc-
tion programs supported by the Mexican government and the ones made by
private companies or developers. In these programs, conventional
techniques have been used.

The results clearly show that the housing problem cannot be solv-
ed just by building huge projects or with industrialized construction,
as has been attempted so many times.

In Mexico, as well as in other developing countries, it is urgent

to adopt techniques which use the manpower of the owners (Fig. 1) and
local or cheap materials.2 It is necessary to realize that transpor-
tation costs can rise considerably, especially in rural areas, be-
cause of the lack of good roads, and that the use of skilled labor or
_ equipment is almost impossible because of the depressed economic con-
ditions of the dwellers. It is also necessary that proposed solutions
be flexible or adaptable enough to meet the variety of conditions
existing in the field (Fig. 2).

\ For the success of any technique, it will be necessary to con-

vince people of the benefits in order that they use them by themselves,
for solving their own problems, without any external pressure or im-
posed ideas from the government. Turner and Fichter say that "the
urgency of a basic shelter problem cannot be ignored; but neither the
shelter problem nor the manifold social problems of which it is part
can be sol ed by bureaucratically administered, politically imposed
programs. J

1 "Plan National Indicative de Ciencia y Tecnologia" CONACYT. Mexico,

1976.

2 Hassan, F., "Architecture for the Poor: An Experiment in Rural

Egypt", University of Chicago Press, 1973.

3 Turner, F. J. and Fichter R., "Freedom to Build, McMillan, New

York, 1972.
 Low-Cost Housing

FERROCEMENT RESEARCH PROGRAM? AT UAM AND IPN

The Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana (UAM) and the Instituto

Politecnico National (IPN) are fully aware of the serious problems
facing Mexico regarding both the lack of housing as well as the very
low quality of dwellings occupied by people of low income. Therefore,
a series of research projects aimed at finding solutions to this prob-
lem were initiated.

The projects of ferrocement applications were based on economic

and social criteria, by taking into account not only actual conditions
but also the mentality of the participants; in this case, members of
low income social groups who are the actual builders of their own
homes.

The main goal of the project at UAM was to develop an economical

and easy to build system for roofing with a self-help construction
solution.

Ferrocement was chosen as the material for the project because

of its physical and mechanical properties (strength in compression and
tension, impact, permeability, etc.), low cost and ease of building.

The investigation was divided into three phases: (1) a review of

available literature on the properties, application and experience
in the use of ferrocement in different Darts of the world:4 (2) the A
development of roofing units spanning up to 6 meters; and-(3j the
development of construction methods for water storage.5

Also, basing its research program on the objective of increasing

the production of housing units through self-help construction systems,
the Experimental Engineering Department of the Instituto Politecnico
National (IPN) has developed a modular ferrocement panel which can be
used as wall and roofing elements.

The following is a summary of the practical experiences resulting

from the research work carried on by both education institutions.

PREFABRICATED FERROCEMENT DOMES

The prefabricated ferrocement dome can be built very easily and

to any desired shape (Fig. 3).

It was demonstrated with several experiments that resistance to

4 Castro, J. and Mendoza, C., "El Ferrocemento y sus Posibles Aplica-

ciones en Nuestro Pais", Instituto de Ingenieria, UNAM, Mexico, May
1974.

5 Castro, J. "El Ferrocemento y sus Aplicaciones", Magazine IMCYC-78,

Mexico, Vol. XIII, January-February 1976, pp. 29-35.
 Castro

uniform loads increases with increasing slopes at the edges.6 The

domes with eliptical shape have higher resistance when subjected to
distributed loads than those with sinusoidal shapes. It was observed
that by adding curvature at the center of the domes with sinusoidal
shapes, their resistance to concentrated loads was increased.

In both cases the units can sup ort heavier loads than the ones
specified by Mexican codes (100 Kg/m B for roofs) with good safety
factors. However, it is necessary to follow the minimum depths recom-
mended in Table I to assure the required resistance, independent of
the shape of the dome and the distribution of the loads.

Reinforcement required for this kind of dome consists of only two

bars of 0.25 inch (6.4mm) in diameter at the edges and two layers of
chicken wire mesh, one prependicular to the other, for spans up to
6 meters. The average thickness resulting is about 8mm (Fig. 4) and
its weight about 22 Kg/m2. Because it is assumed that no heavy equip-
ment can be used in self-help construction methods, units of no more
than 12 sq. m. are recommended. Domes of this size can be handled
by eight people in the dismolding, transportation and erection opera-
tions (Fig. 5).

The use of prefabricated ferrocement domes is recommended for the

construction of strictly modular projects, thereby allowing repeated
use of the molds. These molds are inexpensive and simple to build
(Fig. 6).

FERROCEMENT DOMES BUILT ON SITE

To enclose areas larger than 12 sq. m., or several areas of dif-

ferent dimensions, very simple and economical ferrocement domes can
be built on site, without using molds or skilled labor (Fig. 7).

This solution has been successfully applied in the replacement

of roofs of poor quality or in deteriorated condition in different
areas of Mexico (Fig. 8).

Experience has revealed that in true self-help building projects

without any technical supervision, it is not practical to use pre-
fabricated ferrocement domes since walls are neither perpendicular nor
dimensionally accurate. Prefabricating produces units which are
either too long or too short for the existing walls.

It is interesting to mention that the bars (l/4 inch and 5/16

inch), required to obtain the shape of the dome and to hold the two
layers of chicken wire mesh, are embedded in the mortar and that their
presence increases the resistance of the dome by about 70 percent.

6 Castro, J., "Ferrocement Roofs as a Solution to Low Cost Housing",

IAHS International Symposium on Housing Problems, Atlanta, U.S.A.,
1976, pp. 1273-1289.
 Low-Cost Housing 147
With this minimum reinforcement it was possible to support niformly
distributed loads up to 10.4 tons on a 6m x 6m x 1.2m dome. 'f Some
tests showed that with a load of about 10 percent less than the ulti-
mate load, the domes inverted their shapes, changing the stresses
from compression to tension (Fig. 9).

The finish in site-fabricated domes is not as good as in the pre-

fab units and depends upon the ability of the builder. However, many
architects, as well as the owner-builders, prefer the "bad finish" be-
cause of the special atmosphere achieved (Fig. 10) by the textured
finish.

Traditionally, roof systems in many rural dwellings of the coun-

try are built using brick vaults resting on wood beams and covered i
with a layer of mud. This system is dangerous in seismic areas due to'
its weight and because all lateral thrust is concentrated on a single
wall. On the other hand, ferrocement domes are very light since
they are anchored to the supporting walls and work as a membrane. The.
horizontal thrust is distributed among them thus improving the stabil-
ity of the dwellings.

More detailed information relating to the two types of domes men-

tioned, such as construction methods, specifications, costs, physical
material properties and the influence of the shape and anchoring on
its ultimate load, is available.8

In the near future, research will,be started on the thermal in-

sulation of the enclosed areas.

MODULAR PANELS

The ferrocement panel described in reference 9 has been success-

fully used as roof and wall elements in different projects. One of
them was a group of 350 houses built by the prisoners of the Tabasco
Jail, using only these elements to form the structure (Figs. 11, 12
and 13).

The construction of these panels requires very simple molds and

no skilled labor or heavy equipment. The common reinforcement con-
sists of two or three layers of chicken wire mesh and a grid of
l/4 inch bars at 25 cm centers (Fig. 14). The usual dimensions of
these elements are about 0.50 to lm by 3.00 to 6.00m (Fig. 15).

/ Castro, J., "Techumbres de Ferrocemento Elabora-dos in Situ con

Metodos de Auto-Construction", X National Congress of Civil Engi-
neering, Mexico, 1976.

B Castro, J., "Ferrocement Roofing Manufactured on a Self-Help Basis",

$l';;al of Ferrocement, IFIC, Thailand, Vol. 7,N.I., July 1977, pp.'

9 Olvera, A., "El Ferrocemento, Material de1 Futuro Inmediato, Simpos-

io International sobre Tecnologia de1 Concrete, Instituto de Inge-
nieria Civil, UANL, pp. 417-427, Monterrey, Mexico, Marzo 1977.
148 Castro

The joints between panels are very easily connected using nuts
and bolts (Fig. 16). These joints have worked very well even in
seismic areas such as Mexico City.

The same panel has been used as supporting beams for spans up to
9m and as columns and partition walls in factories, restaurants and
storage rooms (Fig. 17).

SEPTIC TANKS AND WATER STORAGE TANKS

In rural areas and around the cities, people build their houses
on land without public services such as piped fresh water, sewage and
electricity. Because of the characteristics of ferrocement, its use
in the construction of septic tanks (Fig. 18) and water tanks (Fig. 19)
represents a very important application of the material as a comple-
ment to its applications in low cost housing in developing countries.

Several of both kinds of tanks were built of ferrocement using

traditional designs and with different capacities. Even when some
leaks appeared in the tanks, they are self-sealed after one or two
weeks of use with comnon water.

At the time of writing of this paper, well illustrated construc-

tion manuals are being prepared, so that the techniques studied at
the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana can be widely applied. Even
people who don't know how to read will be able to apply by themselves
the techniques mentioned in this paper simply by following instructions
illustrated in these manuals.

TABLE I

Minimum Short Span-Depth for Ferrocement Domes

Span Depth

0 to 3 m . 0.50 m .

3 to 4 m. 0.70 m .

4 to 5 m. 0.90 m .

5 t o 6 m. 1.10 m .
Low-Cost Housing 149
150 Castro

Fig. 4
<:<. .*,:,

Fig. 5

Fig. 6
 Low-Cost Housing 151

Fig. 7

Fig. a

Fig. g
. .. .

Fig. 10

Fig. 11
 Fig. 12

Fig. 13
 Fig. 14

DUERETARO Expendio Osscado

Fig. 15
 Low-Cost Housing 155

Fig. 16--Joints for vertical and horizontal panels

Fig. 17
 Fig. 18

Fig. 19