Techno 2012

‘Building Clinic’ of TECHNO 2012 begins on Oct. 12

‘Building Clinic’ conducted by the Civil Engineering Sectional Committee of the Institution of Engineers (IESL) will be held on October 12 to 14 at the BMICH as part of the National Engineering and Technology Exhibition, ‘TECHNO 2012’.

‘Building Clinic’ offers free services of engineers, to people anticipating or already engaged in the construction of a house of their own. This will be the third time that the ‘Building Clinic’ will be held at the BMICH within the TECHNO exhibition. “The construction of ‘own house’ is a dream for everybody.

“Having prepared a House Plan through an Architect or in the case of a small house by a Draftsman we most often invest more than the required amount on Sand, Cement, Metal and especially Re- Bars,” an IESL official said.

“If the advice of an engineer had been obtained before starting the construction most of the cost could have been reduced. The importance of obtaining advice of an engineer in house construction by the public is therefore very clear. However the situation is such, that in a country that produces around 1,000 engineers each year through the free education system using public funds the services of an engineer, whose origins is most probably is in the village, is not available for those constructing their houses in the village. The problem is not confined to the villages. For some reason or other engineers services are limited to large constructions and residential buildings of three or four floors or more.”

The dearth of professional advice to those trying to build the house of their dreams at times leads to mistakes with them ending up in difficulties as a result, especially those obtaining housing loans for the purpose.

“There are many instances where, through lack of knowledge, owners incur unnecessary expenditures on putting up retaining walls made of large granite, cutting and filling soil, etc. Very often they spend more than the requirement on sand, cement, metal and re-bars in laying of foundations, pre cast concrete beams, putting up the slab and as a result manage only to complete the ground floor and come to occupy the unfinished house for lack of other options leading a stressful life in midst of cracking walls, water leaks and other problems. Some are paying back their housing loans throughout their life time.”

These were the observations from the experience gained in holding the ‘Building Clinic’ in the previous two years at the BMICH with the TECHNO and also at Panagoda and Kegalle-Dehiowita in collaboration with the Ministry of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities.

‘Building Clinic’ is a good opportunity for you to obtain the expert advices you need, free of charge, from professional engineers belonging to the relevant disciplines for the difficulties encountered in the house you are anticipating to build or already in occupation. Advices will also be given for house maintenance problems like water seepage, wall cracks and many more.

Visitors to the ‘Building Clinic’ and other visitors could also attend the series of short lectures to be held in the lecture hall near by. “How to Reduce Your Water Bill, Efficient use of Electricity, Low Cost and Environment Friendly House Building Methodology, Long term Survival in the Face of Global Climate Change are some of the most interesting topics that would be covered at these short lectures delivered by experts in those relevant subjects.

Visitors to the TECHNO 2012, hosted for the 27th year are advised to bring a copy of the a copy of the House Plan to obtain technical assistance.