Building Houses with Locally Available Materials in Ghana: Benefits and Problems

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to empirically examine the major benefits and problems with houses constructed with local materials in a developing country. The study was a cross-sectional survey of fifty respondents using structured questionnaire. The study found promotion of cultural heritage, abundance of material in the locality, provision of cool room temperature and availability and affordability of local building materials as the major benefits of houses built with locally available materials in Ghana. However, low strength, frequent maintenance, requirement of increased labour work and easily wearing or erosion of the materials were found to be the major problems associated with houses built with locally available materials in Ghana. Recommendation for adoption and improvement of the locally available materials for building houses are made. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge in the area of building materials in developing country context.