The Application of Second-hand Building Materials from Suan Kaew Foundation in Low-income Housing Construction

Abstract

In Maslow's theory (Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs), human beings are motivated to fulfill their basic needs. to develop other needs according to their potential. When considering the above theory in terms of housing, it was found that most of the low-income residents were still in the first level, just living and sleeping, but when some low-income groups were ready and had the ability to pay more. As a result, there is an increasing need for security and safety more. However, with funding constraints, these low-income people Look for alternatives to different building materials. The researcher is therefore interested in studying alternative sources for bringing construction materials for residential development. considering the ability to pay for low-income. The study found that there are many alternatives to procure cheap construction materials. One of them is second-hand materials from the "Suan Kaew Foundation" which has brought materials from donations received to be sold at a low price for low-income earners could build a stable and strong housing. The researcher followed up the second-hand materials in the construction and renovation of twelve houses. It was found that there were two types of construction is self-construction and built by a contractor. Researchers collected data from surveys and interviews with residents and contractors.            The results of the study found that used construction materials in The Suan Kaew Foundation It is categorized into five types: wood, tiles, doors-windows, sanitary and miscellaneous. From the case studies of twelve houses, it was found that second- hand building materials were divided into two categories: using the right type of material and using the wrong type of material. From the results of the study found problems from construction such as, a house that uses waste materials, there will be a problem with the strength of the material. And a house that use second-hand materials, there is a problem with increasing time from preparing materials before use. Including having different solutions for example, some houses with a leaky roof will use vinyl labels to cover the leak. But for some houses, it may be repaired with glue or silicone to fill the roof. Which varies according to the ability to pay for each household. Therefore, although the use of second-hand materials can help solve problems for low-income people to some extent. But it is still necessary to find a way to solve the problem of sustainable housing.