Strange, but true, this house could move
from place to place
from place to place
Yes, this
innovative house built by on M. Sahul Hameed (65), a class 5 dropout, was
constructed using the ‘raft foundation technology’. According to Sahul, rotating house also could
be built using the similar technology.
Mr. Hameed of Melapudukkudi near
Thirupullani worked in a construction company in Saudi Arabia for more than two
decades when he learnt making of pre-fabricated structures and various
foundation technologies for building houses.
After returning to home a few years
ago, he wanted to build a house, using ‘solid footing’ (raft foundation)
technology, but faced stiff resistance from the family, relatives and friends.
Many said the house would come a cropper, but he went ahead with the Rs.
25-lakh project.
Now the 1,080 sq ft ground plus first
floor house at Melapuduvakkudi stood testimony to his steadfastness. Six years
ago, when he laid the 1000 and odd sq ft concrete slab with 90 cm thickness and
raised pillars on it for the home’s main living, villagers pitied him for
wasting the resources.
“But I proved them wrong,” says Mr.
Hameed. His wife and five sons – three of them engineering graduates – raised
objections, but could not stop him.
“We were sceptical of the stability
of the structure, but my husband said it would be strong, and it is strong,”
his wife Sarigathul Begam says. He then proposed to build another house nearby,
using the same technology, with the full consent of his family.
The house with three bedrooms in the
ground floor and two on the first floor could be moved using iron rollers
underneath the slab, says Mr. Hameed. He, however, did not build the house with
an intention to move it. “I wanted to do something new and built the moving
house,” he adds.
The technology is suited for sandy
stretches and he is willing to share his expertise with interested people. Mr.
Hameed has also addressed civil engineering students of leading engineering
colleges in the district on his innovative technology.
Engineers
from Madurai, Devakottai, Rameswaram and other places visited his house and
applauded his innovation, he says.
What
is raft foundation?
A raft foundation consists of a raft
of reinforced concrete under the whole of a building. This type of foundation
is described as a raft in the sense that the concrete raft is cast on the
surface of the ground which supports it, as water does a raft, and the
foundation is not fixed by foundations carried down into the subsoil.
Raft foundations may be used for
buildings on compressible ground such as very soft clay, alluvial deposits and
compressible fill material where strip, pad or pile foundations would not
provide a stable foundation without excessive excavation. The reinforced
concrete raft is designed to transmit the whole load of the building from the
raft to the ground where the small spread loads will cause little if any
appreciable settlement.
The two types of raft foundation commonly used are the flat raft and the wide toe raft.
The two types of raft foundation commonly used are the flat raft and the wide toe raft.
The flat slab raft is of uniform thickness under the whole of the building and reinforced to spread the loads from the walls uniformly over the under surface to the ground. This type of raft may be used under small buildings such as bungalows and two storey houses where the comparatively small loads on foundations can be spread safely and economically under the rafts.
The concrete raft is reinforced top and bottom against both upward and downward bending. Vegetable top soil is removed and a blinding layer of concrete 50 mm thick is spread and levelled to provide a base on which to cast the concrete raft. A waterproof membrane is laid, on the dry concrete blinding, against moisture rising into the raft. The top and bottom reinforcement is supported and spaced preparatory to placing the concrete which is spread, consolidated and finished level.
(Source courtesy: The Hindu, ANI)
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