Fearing destruction from natural calamities, particularly earthquakes, many people wishing to build a house have turned to professionals to ensure that high quality materials are used in the construction.

The increase in demand for facilities to test construction material has led to several private laboratories cropping up in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, where initially there were only a few such labs being run by the government for its own construction projects.

Construction materials are tested at these facilities using machines that determine their quality according to the national standards. Three to five steps make up the entire testing process.

Before any actual construction, the construction site’s soil is tested by laboratory technicians who visit the site to determine if the soil can bear the load of construction. The soil test will also help ascertain how to lay the building’s foundation.

Next, samples of construction materials – such as cement, bricks, sand, asphalt and iron bars – are sent to check how strong they are.

Explaining what construction materials are tested for, Munir Hussain, an engineer at the Core Laboratory and Engineering Services in Westridge, said: “The thickness of the sand and crush, the duration of the cement’s dryness and its ability to grip the sand and crush, the quality of the bricks to bear the weight and the quality of the plaster by labourers.”

The third test takes place while labourers are making the cemented roof of a commercial or residential building, Mr Hussain said. “In the third step, we will go to the site to check the quality of the roof’s construction,” he explained.

He said that in most parts of the twin cities, housing societies have been established on uneven terrain and people want to have the soil tested to determine how deep they must go to lay the building’s foundation.

He said raw materials need to be checked, in order to avoid any untoward situation.

He added that because people are aware of this, they want to check the quality and consistency of the materials used in their homes.

Abdullah Sheikh, a homeowner who consulted professionals before making a three storey house in a private housing society, said: “It came to my notice that some houses were damaged in the area because the soil had moved. Filling was carried out in this area before the housing society was established, so I decided to test the soil, and the professional suggested going 20 feet deep for the foundation of a three storey home.”

He said Rawalpindi and Islamabad are on a fault line, and so construction needs to meet standards. “We spend money on houses, and it would not matter if some money is spent on professional help instead of building houses that are experiments by contractors or masons,” he said.

Published in Dawn November 20th, 2016