Strong walls will keep away burglars

By John Masaba

If you have followed the news over the last few months, you are no stranger to gruesome murders that have been common, especially in central Uganda.

In one incident that became front page news last year, a family of nine, including a pastor, was killed in Kyebe  sub-county in Rakai district.

The family was asleep when unknown thugs dug a hole and gained entrance into the house, before bludgeoning all nine members of the family to death. Earlier on, over a dozen people had lost their lives in similar circumstances, throwing many people into panic. Based on that background, engineers have started devising means of making walls stronger to reduce chances of thugs digging into houses.

How to make walls stronger

New materials which make walls stronger have hit the market. And with several available innovations, you can now secure your family. David Kireli, a fi eld engineer with the education ministry, says: “Unfortunately this means digging deeper into the pocket. But the bottom line is that no amount of money is worth your life.”

Avoid unplastered houses

Kireli says people living in unplastered houses are easy to target because thugs have to remove three bricks to access the interior. Kireli says the fi rst basic measure is to avoid moving into an unfi nished house. “In case you cannot wait, plaster the outside first.

For better results, however,  plastering should be made with the right materials,” he warns. While some use any type of sand, Kireli says you need to use both lake and white sand. “Anything above four wheelbarrows to a bag of cement should not be allowed,” he said.

Double wall

David Lubwama, an engineer with 3M Design and Construction, says the strength of a wall can also be enhanced by increasing its thickness.

“Rather than laying the bricks longitudinally, you can build it widthwise,” he says. This method is what builders of high rise buildings use. The only problem with this method of construction is that the price of building your walls will go up by 100%. “Instead of one brick, you need two. The amount of cement will also double,” he says.  To save on the costs, Kireli advises using double walls for the outside walls, leaving the single wall for interior.

Reinforce your walls with wire mesh

Although not widely used, this method can helpful against burglars. It is less expensive, compared to the double wall method. Lubwama says there are lots of wire meshes on the market, but any kind can do. “The best type of wire mesh is BRC because it is stronger,” he says.
 

According to Lubwama, this method can be used even when you have already built your house. It works by attaching wire mess on walls with special nails after which a layer of plaster is added.

In the event that your house is already plastered, the plaster should first be peeled off to avoid giving your walls a rugged look. Lubwama says for sh800,000, one can get one piece of a 2.4 by 8 metre roll of BRC wire mesh. “This is enough for an average house,” he says.

Use additives when plastering

Although mostly used by big construction firms, plasticizers come in handy if the strength of wall is your ultimate target. Eng. Charles Kamya of Bulicorn Constructions in Entebbe, says plasticizers are added to cement and sand to strengthen mortar (cement and sand). He says over time, the walls may weaken, not because of poor materials used, but the prevailing weather conditions.

“In swampy areas, the moisture causes the walls to weaken and crack. Plasticizers help to strengthen the bonding of the mortar,” he says. This makes the concrete stronger and more resistant to burglar tampering and water penetration.

Plasticizers can also be used during the construction of swimming pool beams and septic tanks.

In some countries in Europe, it is mandatory to add plasticizers when setting up a building because the mortar enables the building to withstand all weather conditions. For one bag of cement and four wheelbarrows of sand, one plasticizer packet is enough. Powdered mortar plasticizers are found in most hardware shops.

Each packet costs between sh5,000 and sh10,000. Block walls These are slightly stronger than clay bricks and are mainly used by construction companies, although they are little more expensive because they are made out of cement.

Steel reinforced walls

According to Kireli, such walls are bullet proof and offer maximum protection against burglars. In Kampala these can be found at Bugolobi Flats and the American Embassy.

The builder uses steel bars and concrete. But while this could be out of reach for many because it is expensive, you also need an experienced engineer to do the work.