THE STUDY OF BUILDING COLLAPSE USING SAINT THOMAS'S CHURCH HALL, AKURE AS A CASE STUDY

Abstract

In the last few years, there have been incessant reports of the collapse of buildings resulting in the loss of lives and properties in Nigeria. There has, however, been a dearth of information regarding any findings about the collapse of the building structures. An extensive study of causes of selected building collapse in Nigeria and abroad is carried out in the work. Questionnaires were used in the investigation. Also used were oral interviews, site inspections, appraisal of the structural drawings and laboratory tests on materials collected from the collapsed building sites. The results show that over-reinforcement and over loading contributed to the collapse of the buildings. The average concrete crushing strength of these materials was measured as 4.9N/mm2, which is much lower than the code required minimum strength of 21N/mm2 for the assumed 1:2: 4 mix proportion. In addition, the coarse aggregate used in the construction contained impurities like biotite and muscovite, which are easy oxidizing agents capable of accelerating building collapse. However, the bearing capacity of the soil measured between 140kN/m2- 260kN/m2 indicating that the soil is adequate to support the building foundations. The followings are also identified as some of the causes of building collapse: the use of inferior building materials, inadequate planning and design, poor management and workmanship, improper supervision during construction, occurrence of natural disasters such as earthquakes and improper use of explosives. Based on the results obtained through this study as well as the recommendations on them, the further occurrence of building collapse will be greatly reduced.