building site preparation

Hand tools

Among typical hand tools used in the site preparation operations are:

This is a portable diesel or petrol-operated motorized chain saw used in felling trees and for cutting the tree trunk into smaller lengths.

1. Matchet

This tool is used for cutting grasses, tree branches and shrubs.

Mechanical Tools/Plants

Mechanical tools, which are also very valuable in speedy operation of site clearing, tackle the bulk of the heavy jobs on the site. Among these are the following:

1. Bulldozer

This is a very powerful machine which can push down almost any obstacle on its way, scu as walls, buildings and trees and clear them from site.

The grader is used mainly for grading, that is, for leveling of excavated areas. It is also used for trimming of banks or edges of roads and for cutting ditches.

Removal of Vegetable Soil, Small Trees and Shrubs

The bulldozer is moved in to push down unwanted structures like old buildings, and to uproot trees and shrubs. This debris is moved away to the outskirts of the site where parts of the trees are later salvaged for firewood. The bulldozer then scrapes or excavates the topsoil to a depth to strip or remove the vegetable soil into grasses growing on the site so as to live the site with a reasonably hard and firm surface. To prevent weed growth, herbicide is applied/ herbicides are chemicals that are capable of preventing the growth of weeds when applied on a building site. There are many types of herbicides. ‘Round Up’ is a general-purpose herbicide and a national chemical product. ‘Grammazon’ is another trade name for a type of herbicide which can be used on the building site.

Techniques for Grubbing our Roots and Stumps

For small trees and shrubs, when bulldozer pushes them down, some of the roots are either pulled out or snapped and left in the ground. However, those left in the ground are easily moved during subsequent excavation and clearing operations by the bulldozer. But there are very big trees, like mature Iroko tree, it may not be easy for bulldozer to pull or push down the tree. If it does, it is likely that some of the roots will be exposed thus making it easier for the entire roots to be pulled out when the tree is being pulled away.

However, it is better to first fell the tree, cut the trunk and transport to the sawmill for conversion into timber. The stump left is then tackled. Some digging is done around the tree stump to expose the roots, which are then cut either with an axe of the chain saw and the stump finally pulled out by the bulldozer.

In the absence of this mechanical equipment for grubbing out the tree roots, labourers dig around the tree stump to locate the rot which are chases and uprooted.

The taproot is located and exposed after further digging, cut, and the tree stump finally pulled away.

Leveling the Site

When all the tree stumps and roots have been grubbed out, and the top vegetable soil excavated to a depth of between 150mm and 300mm, a grader is moved in, to level the site. Here, earth is cut from the higher ground and moved down to fill valleys holes and gullies. On sloping grounds, it may not be necessary to attempt to achieve one level surface, instead, terraces are provided thus allowing for buildings to be erected at different ground levels. Wall may be constructed to retain the different ground positions.

Examination of Termites and their Nests

When termites’ nests and anthills are found on the construction site, they should be destroyed. The anthill is knocked down and some poisonous chemicals like Gamaline or antitermite chemicals are mixed and poured in to the nest to kill the termites.