CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1   BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Nailing can be said to be the most basic and most commonly used means of attaching members in wood frame construction. Usually, nailing is used as a structural connection and appearance is not a factor. Exceptions to this are nails can also be used for cladding, decking and finish work, where care in the selection of the type of nail can lead to enhanced appearance.

The building and construction industries are fast growing especially in the Africa largest economy like Nigeria. The market demand for nail in Nigeria is on the increase daily. As a result of inadequate importation of nail, the local industry is growing bigger in the production of nail, hence, there are various type of nails in the market, the quality of some of the product are low. Nail is an important element of Nigeria’s building business sector.

Most nails made today are wire nails, machine made from mild steel wire and more or less round from specific gauges. Previously, ‘cut nails’ were more common; cut nails which are still made, are from steel or iron plate and so have a rectangular section and have holding power of about 1.5 times greater than that of wire nails of the same length, but are more expensive to manufacture (Vable, 2012).

Nails as a means of fastening wood is increasingly important, and other composite materials. Some product couldn’t function as expected, this may be due to the fact that they are new and are still undergoing testing or their design is not well studied. In addition, some product couldn’t function as expected because they aged quickly or lose value. More so, the material they are made of may be of low quality and quantity, this therefore reduces their performance.

Furthermore, the failing in the product may be due to lack of modern equipment for the processing and manufacturing. These had prompted the use of laboratory tests to standardize nails and testing procedure in this research effort.

Nail can be best described as a headed pin or spike of metal, commonly of iron. The principal use of nails is in fixing members in wooden construction, but nail are also employed in shoemaking, upholstery and saddler work. The locally produced nails in Nigeria are been manufacture from the gathering of metal wire which are been hand pick from waste composite at home and industrial waste metals.

The metal wires are put into a locally produced nail-making machine which can produce between 500 -700 nails per minute. The nails are then twisted to formed nail shape, which are cleaned, finished, and packaged.

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Nail is one of the essential materials used in building construction, apart from building construction; nail is also used for various other things within and outside our premises. In building construction industry, low quality nail production might be seen as one of the problems in constructing office roof, the number of nails that will fail to hold a joint or penetrate a wooden or composite material without deformation or fracture increases as the amount of nails used increases. Finally, most research has been carried out on construction of a roof but not even a single research has been carried out on nails used in the construction of an office roof constructed by building technology students.

1.3   AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

The main aim of the study is to examine nails used in the construction of an office roof. Other specific objectives of the study include;

1. to determine the effect of low quality nails in the building construction process.
2. to determine the effect of incompetency in the building construction process.
3. to determine if nails manufacturing companies have specific testing standards for building construction.
4. to examine the possible factors affecting nails use in building construction.
5. to proffer possible solution to the problems stated.

1.4   RESEARCH QUESTIONS       

1. What is the effect of low quality nails in the building construction process?
2. What is the effect of incompetency in the building construction process?
3. What are the specific testing standards of nail manufacturing companies for building construction?
4. What are the possible factors affecting nails use in building construction?
5. to proffer possible solution to the problems stated.

1.5   STATEMENT OF RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

H0:   Nails do not have any significant effect in construction of an office roof.

H1       Nails has a significant effect in the construction of an office roof.

1.6   SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

The study on nails used in the construction of an office roof will be of immense benefit to the entire building technology students in the sense that it will educate them on how they can identify the different types of nails and at which point it can be used. It will also enable them to differentiate between low quality nails from high quality nails. Finally, the study will contribute to the body of existing literature and knowledge in this field of study and provide a basis for further research.

1.7   SCOPE OF STUDY

The study on nails used in the construction of an office roof is limited to building technology students.

1.8   LIMITATION OF STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.9   DEFINITION OF TERMS

Nails                A nail is a pin-shaped object of metal (or wood, called a tree nail or "trunnel") which is used as a fastener, as a peg to hang something, or sometimes as a decoration.

Construction  Is the process of constructing a building or infrastructure. Construction differs from manufacturing in that manufacturing typically involves mass production of similar items without a designated purchaser, while construction typically takes place on location for a known client.

Office      A structure with a roof and walls, such as a house or factory.

Roof        The structure forming the upper covering of a building or vehicle.

Constructed    Build or make (something, typically a building, road, or machine).

Building  A usually roofed and walled structure built for permanent use (as for a dwelling).

Technology     The use of science in industry, engineering, etc., to invent useful things or to solve problems.