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Denholm Development

Company Profile

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Table of Contents

introduction ................................................................................................................... 3

the growing need for affordable housing solutions ...................................................... 4

Denholm Development’s building process .................................................................... 5

technology ..................................................................................................................... 6

design innovation ........................................................................................................... 7

promotion of sustainable community upliftment ......................................................... 8

merits of using steel mould building technology .......................................................... 8

advantages of steel formwork over conventional construction ................................. 10

certification & patents ................................................................................................. 10

case study: Sudan......................................................................................................... 11

contact details: ............................................................................................................. 12

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introduction

Denholm Development is a South African based company that was established in

2008 with the purpose of offering quicker and more efficient patented building

solutions for the affordable housing market.

A steel mould technology was innovated in response to the needs of this market

segment. The system of steel moulds has been used widely in the construction of

residential units and mass housing projects. It is fast, simple, adaptable and cost –

effective. It produces total quality work which requires minimum maintenance and

when durability is the prime consideration.

• Denholm Development’s building technology is geared to deliver high

volume projects within significantly reduced timeframes.

• Typically a house can be completed between 2-3 days.

• The time saving translates into a cost effective housing solution.

• Quality – Our build processes ensure strict and consistent adherence

to verifiable standards.

• Denholm Development’s technology brings the benefits of a factory

assembly line onsite with high quality workmanship from unskilled

local communities.

- Job creation, training and social upliftment

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the growing need for affordable housing solutions

In 2004 the National Department of Housing developed a plan commonly known as

Breaking New Ground (BNG). Some key objectives of the BNG are to eradicate all

informal settlements by 2014.

To achieve the 2014 target the Department of Housing faces the following

challenges:

a. The backlog of housing is currently estimated at 2,2 to 2,5 Million houses

across South Africa which means that the probability of reaching this target

is low.

b. This area of development has been characterised with poor quality and

inferior workmanship. In 2009 approximately 40 000 houses (R2,6 Billion in

value) had to be broken down and rebuilt .

c. The building costs within the housing market have escalated by 25% year-on-

year due to massive infrastructure projects.

d. Lack of availability of finance has resulted in poor service delivery.

“For undertaking mass housing works, it is necessary to have innovative technologies

which are capable of fast rate construction and are able to deliver good quality and

durable structure in cost effective manner”

Denholm Development recognised the demand for quality affordable homes and

invested into producing and alternative building technology that would cast walls

and foundation in one operation at site by use of specially designed, easy to handle

(with minimum labour) pre-engineered steel moulds.

Denholm Development offers a commercially viable option to help alleviate South

Africa’s housing dilemma.

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Denholm Development’s building process

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technology

Denholm Development’s technology is suitable for constructing a large number of

houses within short time using a steel mould to construct walls in one continuous

pour of concrete. The precision machined mould of steel consists of easily

assembled interlocking panels that can be customised to fit (modular) any size

without the need for ferrels. The external walls are cast with the foundation to form

a monolithic structure with the internal walls cast on the surface bed, as per most

National Building Regulations.

The modular nature of the formwork system allows easy fixing and removal of

formwork and the construction can proceed speedily with very little deviation in

dimensional tolerances. The resulting structure has a good quality surface finish and

accurate dimensional tolerances. Further, the system is quite flexible and can be

easily adapted for any variations in the layout.

Denholm Development uses structural fibers in the concrete mix to create a

reinforced network that improves its post-cracking behavior (residual strength,

toughness and ductility). The fibers replace the normal rebar reinforcing and reduce

construction time and cost. The unique 25mpa ready mix cement is either pumped

or poured by hand into the mould.

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Early removal of the mould can be achieved by the use of accelerators to speed up

the curing process. This facilitates the aim of fast construction; a turnaround time of

2-3 days for a 2-3 bedroom house is highly achievable.

All the activities are planned in assembly line manner and hence result into more

accurate, well – controlled and high quality production at optimum cost and in

shortest possible time. The dimensional accuracy of the formwork is of a high order

therefore eliminating any possibility of errors.

design innovation

Simple, lightweight modular construction requires little skilled labour (reduction of up to

70% in comparison to conventional construction) and is easily transported and able to

be erected in less than half a day for a conventional 2 bedroom 1 bathroom home. The

individual panels are easily handled by two persons.

The Denholm Development’s technology can be used efficiently for approximately

1000 times. Quality and speed must be given due consideration along with the

economies of scale gained by the reuse of the mould.

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The Denholm Development building technology has minimal ambient temperature

variation when compared to other conventional building processes.

promotion of sustainable community upliftment

Denholm Development’s building technology requires minimal skill and can be

adapted to use mostly local labour. Labour from the community will be trained in

constructing buildings using Denholm’s methodology.

The mould can be used repetitively thus allowing members of the community to

start their own sustainable construction business in other areas.

The wide application of Denholm’s technology allows contractors to build various

sizes of building which could be used for schools, learning centres, community halls,

primary health care facilities, etc which would lead to community development.

Mining companies would benefit tremendously from Denholm Development’s

technology to build houses for their employees but also positively contribute to

surrounding communities by uplifting the general living conditions in a sustainable

manner.

merits of using steel mould building technology

In contrast to most of the modern construction systems, which are machine

and equipment oriented, the formwork does not depend upon heavy lifting

equipment and can be handled by unskilled labors.

Fast construction is assured and is particularly suitable for large magnitude

construction of respective nature at one project site.

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Construction carried out by this system has exceptionally good quality with

accurate dimensions for all openings to receive windows and doors, right

angles at meeting points of wall to wall, wall to floor, wall to ceiling, etc,

concrete surface finishes are good to receive painting directly without

plaster.

System components are durable and can be used several times without

sacrificing the quality or correctness of dimensions and surface.

As all the walls are cast monolithic and simultaneously with floor slabs

requiring no further plasters finish. Therefore the time required in the

conventional method for construction of walls and plastering is saved.

As the system establishes a kind of “Assembly line production” phase – wise

completion in desired groups of buildings can be planned to achieve early

utilisation of the buildings.

The time consuming repairs and modifications due to poor quality work

generally delay the job and cause additional financial impact on the project.

Some experts feel that housing alternatives with low maintenance

requirements may be preferred even if the initial cost is high.

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advantages of steel formwork over conventional construction

More seismic resistance: - The box type construction provides more seismic

resistance to the structure.

Increased durability: - The durability of a complete concrete structure is more than

conventional brick bat masonry.

Lesser number of joints thereby reducing the leakages and enhancing the durability.

Integral and smooth finishing of wall and slab- Smooth finish of steel mould can be

seen vividly on walls.

Uniform quality of construction – Uniform grade of concrete is used.

Negligible maintenance – Strong built up of concrete needs no maintenance.

Faster completion – Unsurpassed construction speed can be achieved due to light

weight of forms

The natural density of concrete wall result in better sound transmission coefficient

certification & patents

Denholm Development technology has been approved by the National Housing

Building Registration Council (NHBRC) and has applied for territorial patents on the

building system and the unique concrete mixture.

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case study: Sudan

The house was built for the Seminar for Alternative Building Concepts held in

Khartoum on the 20th July 2010. In attendance were the Secretary General and

Executive Director of the National Housing and Construction Fund. The house was

“poured by hand” in less than 5 days using local Sudanese labour.