Journal of Engineering and Technology ISSN: 2180-3811 Vol. 7 No.1 January – June 2016 18 INFLUENCE OF BAMBOO LEAF ASH BLENDED CEMENT ON THE ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF LATERITIC BRICKS T. O. Adewuyi 1* , A. A. Umoh 2 1,2 Department of Building, Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Uyo, Nigeria ABSTRACT Bamboo leaf ash (BLA), which is obtained by the calcination of bamboo leaves, is highly pozzolanic. This study investigates the properties of lateritic soil bricks stabilized with BLA blended cement. The bricks were prepared from a mix ratio of 1: 6 (cement: lateritic soil) as control. The cement constituent in the reference mix was replaced with varying percentages of BLA at 5% interval up to 25% by mass of the cement. Properties of the bricks evaluated were compressive strength, abrasive resistance, and water absorption. The values of the compressive strength range between 4.0 N/mm 2 and 5.3 N/mm 2 for 25% BLA content and 5% BLA content, respectively. The results also indicated that the compressive strength decreases with increase in the content of BLA but increases with curing age up to the 56 days tested. The abrasive resistance was noted to improve with increase in the BLA content, while the water absorption values range between 2.39% and 3.95%. The study concluded that lateritic soil brick when stabilized with BLA blended cement, with up to 25% BLA replacing cement, can be used for the construction of load-bearing walls. KEYWORDS: Abrasive strength; bamboo leaf ash; compressive strength; water absorption; stabilized soil bricks 1.0 INTRODUCTION Housing is one of the major problems in developing countries like Nigeria where the majority of the population live in sub-standard houses. According to Anthonio (2002), housing can be described as an essential component of human settlement that ranks comparably with the provision of food and clothing in the hierarchy of the basic primary elements required for human existence. At its most elemental level, it addresses the basic human needs by serving as shelter, offering protection against excessive cold, heat, rain, high winds and any other form of inclement weather, and also protection against unwanted aggression. The housing problem is acute especially in urban areas due to the shortage of affordable houses for low-income earners and the poor, who constitute over 70% of the urban population. The high cost of building materials has been observed to be the greatest problem besetting housing delivery in Nigeria (Okoli, 1998). This is particularly true of cement, which has conventionally been used as a binder in the production of sandcrete * Corresponding Email: timothyadewuyi@uniuyo.edu.ng