NewStats: 3,262,192 , 8,176,431 topics. Date: Sunday, 01 June 2025 at 10:20 AM 4jz17

Nigerians are grappling with high costs of living including cement as the prices of 50kg are between N10,000 to N11,000.

Despite a recent agreement from cement manufacturers like Dangote Cement, BUA Cement, Lafarge Africa, and other major producers to cap the prices between N7,000 to N8,000, Nigerians are still groaning. 

Although President Bola Tinubu has called on cement companies to further review the prices, it has been difficult for Nigerians to build houses during this hardship.

In this article, Vanguard reveals four ways to build houses with little or no cement in Nigeria.

1. Container house

Building a house with container is fast becoming popular not only in Nigeria but around the globe. This undoubtedly is cheaper than building houses with cement. It only requires a few bags of cement where the container needs to be erected for foundational purposes.

Apart from its affordability, building houses with containers is durable, fast, sustainable, and reliable. The most interesting benefit is that is portable. Container houses can be moved from one place to another in case of relocation.

The disadvantage of this building is that it tends to be hot during the sunny atmosphere or dry season but adequate provision of airconditioners and other cooling gadgets can make the houses comfortable.

The containers to build houses can be purchased from steel and aluminum dealers around the country, and civil engineers can also provide excellent counsel in building this kind of shelter.

2. Wooden house

Constructing houses with wood also requires little or no cement, and Nigerians can save money in getting themselves comfortable homes. This kind of house is innovative and becoming exquisite. Different kinds of wood can be used to build houses but they have to be strong, and only a few portions of cement would be required.

It is noteworthy that wooden houses provide durability, and sustainability and are not time-consuming in construction.

The demerit of wooden houses lies in the destruction from termites but this can be tackled when the woods are adequately depurated with insecticides and other necessary chemicals, and make it well-furnished.

Wooden houses are constructed by civil and structural engineers, and they can provide quality professional services with beautiful designs.

3. Plastic-bottle house

Another important means of building houses with little use of cement is plastic bottles filled with sand. The use of plastic or pet bottles to construct shelters is less expensive compared to cement-building houses.

Using plastic bottles for buildings serves the purpose of reusing plastic bottles which is one of the means of energy conservation as climate change issues continually become a global headache. This can save embodied energy by using them instead of bricks in walls and decrease pollution in cement manufacturing by lowering the percentage of cement utilised.

This is possible when people fill the plastic bottles with sand and stack them on their sides to create a wall, which is then bound together with mud. The resulting bottle wall is said to be 18 times stronger than one made with regular bricks and can withstand earthquakes – and even bullets.

The benefits of building houses with plastic bottles include affordability due to cheap means of getting plastic bottles, preservation of natural resources, and reduction of the carbon footprint and the technology used is small and easy to implement.

4. Brick house

Building houses with bricks is both fashionable and less expensive, especially with the rising cost of cement in Nigeria. The bricks are made from clay and shale and using them to erect houses only demands a small portion of cement. Bricks absorb sounds and vibrations, and serve as a mechanism to regulate. One of the benefits is that the natural resources to make bricks are readily available.

While the use of bricks for houses is not advisable in high seismic zones, it has higher durability and reduces the risk of cracks in buildings. With the high prices of cement, building houses with bricks remains one of the cheapest and easiest ways.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/03/hardship-4-ways-to-build-houses-without-or-with-little-cement/

Nlfpmod please move to front page

Nice suggestions but these kind of buildings are built in somehow relatively secured areas or countries.

Nigeria weh everywhere Porous. No play that kind play.

First time I’m seeing house built with plastic . Broke men are really innovative

Can’t a thunderstorm heavy rain destroy this plastic house How is the foundation built

This is beautiful people are now thinking out of box, plastic bottles house is good but it could have been better if it was to eco stones.

viyon02:
This is beautiful people are now thinking out of box, plastic bottles house is good but it could have been better if it was to eco stones.

My brother! Alternative building solutions are the way forward. Limestone is abundant in Nigeria and cement is supposed to be cheap, but na another thing we dey see for market. God go help us sha!

How much can someone get that kind of container?

Thazard:
How much can someone get that kind of container?

There are construction companies in Lagos that specialise in this stuff. I think one is owned by Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.

HeatSeeker:


My brother! Alternative building solutions are the way forward. Limestone is abundant in Nigeria and cement is supposed to be cheap, but na another thing we dey see for market. God go help us sha!

wicked men are in charge of this country, i just needed little change to start my eco stone business. To hell with Dangote cement, we just needed little cement for setting of the blocks and that is all.

viyon02:
wicked men are in charge of this country, i just needed little change to start my eco stone business. To hell with Dangote cement, we just need little cement for setting of the blocks and that is all.

I pray you succeed.

HeatSeeker:


I pray you succeed.

Amen

Are all those things cheaper? To build container house na beans?

, no sin is small, sin is sin.

Repent, confess your sin, turn to God and show love to your neighbours today:

1Pet.3.8 - Finally, all of you be of one mind, having comion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;

That plastic bottle is somehow o

Abeg these are not practicable substitutes for cement houses.
How many of them have you seen in Nigeria?

Why you no mention tent house or huts.

Lol

the cost of constructing a room self contained with blocks is cheap than the container house l

Na container house cheap . Once you buy the container, you don get house. If you Dey find home inside the container gather your money for the cost

Reading…
Is weather being consider here?

Op is like you want to play with your life, wooden house for crime infested Nigeria, dey play. Most of those countries with this type of structure have a weapon for self defense with a responsive police system.

Dey play

The plastic one is a fire hazard

Dey play

Wooden house would be great. Canadia and US houses, I would say majority of them are wooden houses. The foundation is cement because of the basement but from the ground level up is mostly wood.

Jennyclay:
First time I’m seeing house built with plastic .

Can’t a thunderstorm heavy rain destroy this plastic house How is the foundation built

fire, its mortal enemy

I can use botwo to buid house

Apart from the brick system of building, if u dare attempt to use the other options listed above, it will end in tears!

Bricks 🧱 house is better and stronger than concrete houses, and wooden houses last longer than concrete ones after all most European countries and the USA houses were made of woods and they are still standing for 100 of years especially houses in London.
I prefer building my home with either bricks or wood even if cement is sold for 50 Naira.
Something is telling that the dominance of cement biz in the real estate is about to end, if Nigerians find bricks and woods as alternative then BUA and Dangote should forget about their cement biz . Nice one op

HeatSeeker:


https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/03/hardship-4-ways-to-build-houses-without-or-with-little-cement/

Don't people feel intense heat in a container house? Have been wondering

Dey never slap u before make your brain shutdown

Anyway to defend this hardship unleashed upon us by APC is welcome by their ers.

plastic bottle house For small children or adults?