Meeting Notes From Call with Smart House Team

Call Date – September 16, 2021 (USA) 17 (Nauru)

On the Call:

Annalina Solomon, Director of Housing, CIE

Tim Denauga, Housing Consultant

Mark Menke, Local Builder Consultant

Waylen Capelle, Local Consultant

Alkali Thoma, Local Consultant

Ditrone Tom, Private Construction

Jora Dame, Technical Officer

Itema Moses, Project Officer

Creedence Halstead

Scott Merrill

David Colgan

T he following was discussed:

■ There were no other studies or documents besides the 2011 Census, Smart House and the Whitfield Report that the team assembled brought to our attention to shed light on Nauru precedents. If things come to light in the next few months we will incorporate any relevant examples.

■ Slab on grade foundations are common. Raised slabs on compacted fill are less common, but they are not unheard of.

■ There is currently no termite treatment available for sites or for wood. Termites are a problem in Nauru, and the team has seen wood houses ruined by termite infestations.

■ Wood walls are not a preferred building method. Grading of lumber is unreliable.

■ Concrete block is fabricated in Nauru using aggregate and sand from the NRC. Reinforced concrete block walls with a poured tie beam at the top of the wall is typical. Lime is not typically used as a component of concrete or mortar.

■ Concrete block walls are typically plastered inside and out.

■ Typical windows are jalousie, but many people use shutters in openings. Insects (mosquitos) are an issue. Screens are not in common use.

■ Insulation is not commonly used. When used batt and some rigid panels are used.

■ Plywood is not available and should not be considered an option for HGI.

■ Roof Framing is typically rafter and purlins with diagonal bracing let into the rafters

■ Metal roofing is sometimes aluminum and sometimes steel core galvanized. Material is brought in coils to Nauru and formed into panels by Eigigu Holdings.

■ Standard ceiling heights are 2.7M – 3.00m

■ Typical Room sizes were reported as 3.6m square

■ Pricing for the Smart House foundation indicated high labor costs for the foundation, owing to the form work for piers and raised slabs

■ In the context of questions about programming the Smart House, there was a discussion about housing sizes. Generally, an overall size is often determined based on affordability and then the number and sizes of rooms is backed into. There is a tradition of houses being expanded as need for space and resources converge.

■ The preference is for people to live as nuclear families but there is a tradition of houses being expanded to accommodate multi-generational families.

■ We expressed concern about differential settlement of the mediated mining sites. It was reported that differential settlement has not been an issue. But it is unclear how much construction has been built on remediated substrate to have a big enough sample or enough time to judge this.

(Note: we are trying to get plans for the immigration building, which is the only other structure that may have been built on remediated sites)