Challenges associated with Building in a Swampy land.
Why you must not build in a Swampy area.
Swamps are forested wetlands. Like marshes, they are often found near rivers or lakes and have mineral soil that drains very slowly. They have trees and bushes. They may have water in them for the whole year or for only a part of the year.
Lots of developers try to avoid constructing on swampy land because of the cost of getting it right but in some states where it is increasingly getting difficult to get dry plots of land, swamps or waterlogged plots are inevitable. Places like Lekki and Ajah were swamps that have been turned residential neighborhood with massive constructions. Sometimes, it is ignorance or naivety that gets people to spend unnecessary sum of money. Therefore, to construct on swampy land, it is important you employ the services of relevant professionals. The professional would know procedures, engineering methods and techniques to take to ensure that the development is perfect. Because the construction of houses on swamps require special attention, either the soil is removed or strengthened by suitable means known as stabilization after ascertaining its (soil) properties through thorough investigations. These investigations are done so as select the appropriate type of foundation for the structure.
A professional once advised that those who have bought swampy land should ensure that the foundations of their buildings rest on sound soil so that when the super structure (building) is completed, the weight would be evenly spread.
To effectively utilize a swampy land, building on swampy land requires thorough soil investigation as mentioned earlier, this goes a long way to reveal so many things as regards the soil properties and this is a major factor to the choice of foundation to be used. It is generally assumed that the only suitable foundation for swamp is raft. From a professional’s point of view, I can categorically say that sometimes, the swamp might be too deep that using the raft foundation will not solve the problem. In that case, you should go for a pile foundation,” which are of two types (end-bearing pile foundation and friction pile foundation.).
It is also important to be informed that the type of filling done before doing the foundation matters a great deal, the swampy land should be sand-filled so that it would become firm, but consult an expert before the choice of material is made).
A wet building site could bring you problems for years to come if the foundation is not properly laid. If any part of the foundation or septic system is below the water table for a long time, then you will definitely have problems because it is almost impossible to keep water out of a structure build below the water table.
Building on a wet ground can also raise moisture levels inside the house which leads to mold and mildew. Even if the area is filled, it will probably still have some water sources which could end up in your house.
A wet site can cause problems even with slab foundation, as the excess moisture in the soil can pass through the concrete and into your home. Homes can be safely built on wet sites, but special drainage around the house and foundation and an effective moisture barrier below the foundation will be required.
What type of foundation should be used?
That depends on the type of soil and the weight of the structure. Again, a house can be built on any type of soil, but the weaker the soil, the more difficult and expensive it is to build a suitable foundation.
This is the major reason why Landbank homes insist that the best place to invest now is Epe, because of it’s land topography.
Lands in Epe is 100% dry land, no sand-fill or whatsoever. if you want an investment that will guarantee a happier future without worrying about flood. Get a piece in WajuCity located in Ketu- Epe.
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