Determination of the Extent of Usage of Timber as a Construction Material in Kirinyaga County (Kenya)

Abstract

Worldwide it has been established that demand of construction timber far outstrips supply. Kirinyaga County has not been an exemption to this phenomenon. The demand of construction timber persists in the County and especially the hardwood species, the problem of demand outstripping supply informed the decision to carry out this study. The objective of this study was therefore to determine the extent of usage of timber as a construction material in Kirinyaga County. In order to achieve the objective, descriptive cross –sectional research design was used. Data was collected through careful observation and documentation to determine the frequency with which timber was used in comparison to other building materials such as steel. Different aspects of timber such as timber category and types were analyzed. The results show that there was no evidence of availability of bulk volumes of hardwood timber enough for construction purposes save for small quantities which probably entered the market through theft from government forests. Larger sections of timber could also not be traced. The most available timber sections ranged between 150mm in width and 12.5mm in depth. It was also evident that the longest lengths were utmost 3600mm. Some timber samples contained moisture contents of up to 104.3% (dry basis) hence confirming the view that due to demand, timber is being used as fast as it is converted due to a higher demand. This is an indication that most of the times construction timber is used in its green state. To counter the shortage of timber in the county and the country at large, there should be a sustained and deliberate effort to increase tree cover to around 10% which is in line with the country’s economic blueprint of the Vision 2030.