Building with Pumice

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Building with Pumice

• Introduction
• General Information on Pumice
• Precast Pumice-Concrete Building Members
• Instructions for Building Pumice-Concrete Houses
• Building with Unbonded Pumice

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This book represents a first-ever attempt to explain and illustrate how the volcanic material pumice can be processed using simple technologies suitable for developing countries.

In Germany, the first wall-building brick made of pumice and a slow-hardening binder (milk of lime) dates back to the year 1845. That marked the starting point of a local pumice-based building industry in volcanic regions of the Eifel Mountains, where pumice deposits were abundant. As time passed, the material's market area expanded steadily. Today's pumice industry in the Rhineland operates large production facilities and has enough raw material reserves to last beyond the turn of the century at the present rate of production.

Pumice, an extremely light, porous raw material of volcanic origin, can be found in many parts of the world, including various developing countries with areas of past or present volcanic activity. In some countries, volcanic ash (with a particle size of less than 2 mm), pumice (with particle sizes ranging from 2 to 64 mm) and consolidated ash (tuff) are traditionally used, on a local scale, as versatile building materials. However, the large number of inquiries received in the past few years indicate a lack of useful information on the subject of elementary pumice processing techniques for producing building backs and blocks, slabs and panels. This handbook therefore represents an attempt by its author, Klaus Grasser, to fill that gap by translating into a straightforward, easy-to-learn set of instructions and practical suggestions some of the experiences he has gathered in El Salvador, Guatemala, Ecuador and Rwanda in connection with the use of pumice as a building material.

The wall construction advisory services offered by GTZ/GATE as part of its "Building Advisory Service and Information Network (BASIN)" would be happy to provide additional information upon request.

Hannah Schreckenbach

Planning Officer, GTZ, Division 434

Deutsches Zentrum für Entwicklungstechnologien - GATE

Deutsches Zentrum für Entwicklungstechnologien - GATE - stands for German Appropriate Technology Exchange. It was founded in 1978 as a special division of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH. GATE is a centre for the dissemination and promotion of appropriate technologies for developing countries. GATE defines Â"Appropriate technologiesÂ" as those which are suitable and acceptable in the light of economic, social and cultural criteria. They should contribute to socio-economic development whilst ensuring optimal utilization of resources and minimal detriment to the environment. Depending on the case at hand a traditional, intermediate or highly-developed can be the Â"appropriate" one. GATE focusses its work on the key areas:

• Technology Exchange: Collecting, processing and disseminating information on technologies appropriate to the needs of the developing countries; ascertaining the technological requirements of Third World countries; support in the form of personnel, material and equipment to promote the development and adaptation of technologies for developing countries.
• Research and Development: Conducting and/or promoting research and development work in appropriate technologies.
• Cooperation in Technological Development: Cooperation in the form of joint projects with relevant institutions in developing countries and in the Fderal Republik of Germany.
• Environmental Protection: The growing importance of ecology and environmental protection require better coordination and harmonization of projects. In order to tackle these tasks more effectively, a coordination center was set up within GATE in 1985.

GATE has entered into cooperation agreements with a number of technology centres in Third World countries.

GATE offers a free information service on appropriate technologies for all public and private development institutions in developing countries, dealing with the development, adaptation, introduction and application of technologies.

Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH

The government-owned GTZ operates in the field of Technical Cooperation. 2200 German experts are working together with partners from about 100 countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America in projects covering practically every sector of agriculture, forestry, economic development, social services and institutional and material infrastructure. The GTZ is commissioned to do this work both by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and by other government or semi-government authorities.

The GTZ activities encompass:

• appraisal, technical planning, control and supervision of technical cooperation projects commissioned by the Government of the Federal Republic or by other authorities
• providing an advisory service to other agencies also working on development projects
• the recruitment, selection, briefing, assignment, administration of expert personnel and their welfare and technical backstopping during their period of assignment
• provision of materials and equipment for projects, planning work, selection, purchasing and shipment to the developing countries
• management of all financial obligations to the partner-country.

Deutsches Zentrum fur Entwicklungstechnologien - GATE

in: Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH

P. O. Box 5180

D-65726 Eschborn

Federal Republic of Germany

Tel.: (06196) 79-0 Telex: 41523-0 gtz d

Fax: (06196) 797352

A Publication of Deutsches Zentrum für Entwicklungstechnologien - GATE

in: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH - Braunschweig; Wiesbaden: Vieweg, 1990

Authors:

• Chapter 1-4: Dipl.-Ing. Klaus Grasser, Architect, working as a consultant for GTZ.
• Chapter 5: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gernot Minke, Director of the Research Laboratory for Experimental Building at Kassel University.

Sketches and drawings by Gabriela Thron.

Photographs by the authors.

Deutsche Bibliothek Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

ISBN 3-528-02055-5

NE: Grasser, Klaus [Mitverf.]; Minke, Gernot [Mitverf.]; Deutsches Zentrum für Entwicklungstechnologien <Eschborn>

The author's opinion does not necessarily represent the view of the publisher.

All rights reserved.

© Deutsche Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, Eschborn 1990.

Published by Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Braunschweig Vieweg is a subsidiary company of the Bertelsmann Publishing Group International.

Printed in the Federal Republic of Germany by Lengericher Handelsdruckerei, Lengerich