Nigerite’s Kalsi boards lift dry construction system

CONCERNED with the shortage of houses and challenges facing construction industry in Nigeria, a foremost building materials manufacturer, Nigerite Limited, has unveiled a new product known as KALSI performance cement boards solutions.

  The product comes with some advantages over the traditional masonry construction, Dry Construction method (Dryco), another name for Kalsi is a modern building system, which tends to translate the building process into an industrial process.

   The system is a more versatile and faster construction method, allowing up to 70 percent construction time saving possible when compared with the traditional wet construction that involves using of bricks and blocks.

 Unlike the traditional brick and block method, the system, requires minimum use of water and it generates minimum construction waste, preserves room temperature and provides energy efficiency.

  The use of timber associated with the traditional construction is avoided with dryco, thus, the system impacts positively on reducing deforestation. Lower construction load impacts on minimum excavation, less soil disturbance; the system is better off compliment the green building idea for modern construction world over.

  The Managing Director, Nigerite Limited, Mr. Frank Le Bris, who addressed a press conference on the forthcoming launch of the Dry Construction System, recently, noted that whatever the design idea the architect can conceive, Kalsi boards could achieve.

    “Dryco,” as the product is popularly called, has been domiciled within Etex Group, which Nigerite is a member, to proffer solution to the Nigerian construction market for application for both internal and external ceiling solutions, over-cladding on existing masonry wall, facades applications, suspended floors and integrated building solutions- which implies a building systems”, said Le Bris.

    The product is made up of cement, quartz sand, cellulose, natural silicate and water. They are processed by auto-calve, that is, drying process under high pressure and temperature to ensure durability and dimensional stability.

    Le Bris stated that new Dryco solution essentially utilizes Kalsi boards, which are high performance autoclaved cement board, including siniat plasterboard. This, he said, include high quality gypsum boards, galvanized steel framing and other component finishing accessories.

  According to Le Bris, to strengthen its dry construction solution offer, Etex Group acquired siniat, the plasterboard giant in Europe into the group, adding that the product comes in various sizes, ranging from 1.22 metres by 2.44 metres, and 1.22 metrsby 3.00 metres, with thicknesses from 6mmto 20 mm.

“Enumerating the advantage of the new product, Nigerite Quality control Manager, Mr. Ogungbe, listed absence of corner cutting that usually happens in wet construction, such as using inferior materials, or non usage of appropriate volume and numbers in materials as the case maybe and using incompetent workers, among others.