SOCIAL HOUSING

In most developing countries today, the availability of low cost housing is a key concern for NGOs and governmental institutions. It is their aim to provide homes to people living in underdeveloped areas by educating them to build their homes themselves, which also serves as a solution to unemployment.

Housing projects such as this are traditionally designed and planned with low quality building materials to make the homes affordable for low-income citizens. The disadvantages of such solutions are obvious: the houses and especially the roofs are not durable, weathertight or insulated.

In 2001 MONIER in South Africa developed a roofing system to enter this segment of social housing by offering an affordable but good quality roofing solution to the government. The system comprised a metal roof structure (trusses) and concrete tiles tailored to an average sized house of 32 – 40 sqm.

After the installation of some test roofs and presentations to the local governments, MONIER succeeded in gaining several social housing projects in South Africa. We could prove that concrete roof tiles have much better weather resistance, thermal and noise performance and durability and are price competitive compared to traditional roofing materials.