UTILIZATION OF ALPM IN CONSTRUCTION - A CASE STUDY.

CBRI-developed lime-based binders have been utilized by the Rajasthan Housing Board in several projects. Experiences of one such projects are reported in this paper. ALPM, a high strength lime binder, was used in mortar, plaster and in concreting. This material was purchased as a ready-to-use bagged product. Quality control was exercised through determination of the compressive strength at the site laboratory. In all, 70 samples were tested and found conforming to specifications. The walling material was ALPM-based stone masonry blocks. Since these blocks were not available in the market, these were cast at the site of construction and were used after curing for about a month. The compressive strengths of randomly selected blocks were determined at the site laboratory. The utilization of these blocks resulted in decreasing the wall thicknesses and consequent increases in floor areas. The speed of construction increased markedly. Considerable economies in the costs were achieved. The houses have been in occupation for several years now and have been performing satisfactorily.