diordaves:


For a residential grade on slab, (concrete driveway) you do not need a wire mesh (iron) as this will not prevent cracking as normally erroneously thought. This also doesn't necessarily make the concrete driveway stronger.

But there's a reason and advantage for the use of wire mesh; the wire mesh will hold the slab together if there are cracks. Without wire mesh, with cracks, the slab will separate and come loose developing into potholes.

To prevent cracks, the slab should be minimum 4" thick with interval joints to allow for expansion.

Thanks for the info

The kind of things I see I begin to .........

aonag:


too bad.. business gone wrong?

They never ripped me off but some inadequacies reared up during some final finishing that made me ponder on their ability.

I won’t bad mouth them perse, but since they can never work for me anymore it would be criminal of me to recommend them.

EgunMogaji:


Wait a minute.

You guys are mean. You mean you just don’t pay what the artisan quotes.

How do artisans on your site survive. Are you poor or just a stingy lot?

We are not Stingy and at the same time shouldnt be foolish to throw away hard earned money in a bid to build a house , the artisans are expected to be paid for their expert judgement input (professional fees) .Professiinally and by standard procedure artisans are. Suppose to give you the list of required items for your build escorting you to the market so as to use his expert judgement to guide in buying original items and he charges you for the his service ,which may be a lump sum payment or a percentage of cost of total materials which ever is preferable.

But in this part of the divide artisans want you to give them money to buy the required materials at inflated prices and still charge you for the services that is triple profits, the sad part is after giving them the money they procure substandard materials for your build which at the long term will warrant you doing rework at your expense.so you see the reason why as a man you need to read,interact,research on some important discourse so you can have an idea or input when faced with such discourse at any point in time, so bros in summary "OUR MUMU DON DO !"

EgunMogaji:


I disagree with you.

Wire mesh absolutely helps to prevent crack by holding the concrete together. Joints only help to channel the cracks to those joints by relief.

Wire mesh don't prevent crack; that's the myth of the trade. They only help to hold the concrete together. Concrete expand when hot and contrast when cold irrespective of the wire mesh inside. It is this movement over time that causes crack. We've witnessed "decking" that cracks with all the rods inside if allowed to dry (cure) too quickly.

diordaves:


Wire mesh don't prevent crack; that's the myth of the trade. They only help to hold the concrete together. Concrete expand when hot and contrast when cold irrespective of the wire mesh inside. It is this movement over time that causes crack. We've witnessed "decking" that cracks with all the rods inside if allowed to dry (cure) too quickly.

We’ll agree to disagree.

I’ll ask you to keep an open mind though.

Flaghouse1:


We are not Stingy and at the same time shouldnt be foolish to throw away hard earned money in a bid to build a house , the artisans are expected to be paid for their expert judgement input (professional fees) .Professiinally and by standard procedure artisans are. Suppose to give you the list of required items for your build escorting you to the market so as to use his expert judgement to guide in buying original items and he charges you for the his service ,which may be a lump sum payment or a percentage of cost of total materials which ever is preferable.

But in this part of the divide artisans want you to give them money to buy the required materials at inflated prices and still charge you for the services that is triple profits, the sad part is after giving them the money they procure substandard materials for your build which at the long term will warrant you doing rework at your expense.so you see the reason why as a man you need to read,interact,research on some important discourse so you can have an idea or input when faced with such discourse at any point in time, so bros in summary "OUR MUMU DON DO !"

I agree with you of course and was just joking.

A lambastment of such was attempted on my person on such a situation recently on here. I, of course, repelled all boarders

It’s our hard earned money and we should decide how to dispense it.

EgunMogaji:


I agree with you of course and was just joking.

A lambastment of such was attempted on my person on such a situation recently on here. I of course repellent all boarders

It’s our hard earned money and we should decide how to dispense of it.

That's the way it should be , I loathe the way all these guys reap people off,me as a person can't stand it

bixton:
Chief Zebrudaiya alias 4:30.........wonderment.
Gringori, are you seeing what i am seeing.

Akpabot, I am 'saw' it too!
Just try and cordinate yourself, before you get called one big grammar.

TOKNOW:
Another one. Most of the cracks are from up to down. There are some other small small cracks.

These sort of Vertical cracks are usually the result of "ground settlement" that affect the Foundation when such foundation is not done properly in terms of depth, thickness, strength of materials (Granite/Cement/Sand mix ratio), inadequate reinforcement/iron.

As the foundatin settles, due to the weight on it (or ground movements from nearby), the raft/pad/blinding is probably breaking apart and the sheer forces are being transmitted to the block work.
Result is that if there are no "columns firmly tied to Beams" which can "break" the transmission of such forces to the blocks, it will simply start to crack like Biscuits!
(I have ssen it a few times so l am speaking from experience).

I feel very sad to say this:
It will cost you more to try and rectify this problem because it is a "foundational problem" that wont ever go-away. (I bet your soil is poor even though l have not seen it properly). There is ground movement going on (Is someone building a bigger house with very sound foundations, within 250ft radius of you? Take a look around. They are not the cause of your problem just that such buildings do 'settle' and push ground away to other areas as they 'sink to their settlment point' so that nearby buildings with poor foundations will start 'feeling the heat'. )

If you have the wherewithal, (if and only if), you need to count your loses, pull this building down, remove the broken blocks, dig a one feet down into the ground and do a thick, inverted-T raft foundation to about three/four planks (to cater for future settlement/sinking) and ensure that builders dont cut-corners on the mix-ratios and the reinforcemnt.

This is one expensive mistake the builders have caused for you.
My sincere sympathy.

abdulwastecx:


Actually, the highlighted factor is a very important factor to consider when building in Nigeria. Also, we have our own peculiar problem especially in the coast like Lagos, PH and other coastal cities across the nation.

how many builders here have in the course of their entire career ever had to compute or factor the wind pressure for a design.

by peculiar problems I'm sure you're probably referring to swampy and waterlogged soils....How much flood adaption is implemented into the design of buildings in those areas ?

twinskenny:
yes not assumption sir

You are not certain of anything Oga.

Don't comment for the sake of appearing to be in the know, you'll only be exposing your inadequacies. A few pages back someone mis-identified an MCB as something else and you were quick to Jump on the wagon and say that was correct, because he sounded to you like he knew what he was talking about. which would make me wonder..... what kind of Electrical guy cannot identify a friggin MCB!! I'm a bloody petroleum engineer but from passive learning and building, I can boast a tiny level of familiarity with some basic electrical components.

The kind of "professionals" we have in that country dey fear me.

maingain:


My sitting room is no where near 23 metres Thank you for this observation. This is more reason why one need to be paying more attention to details. I sincerely appreciate everyone contribution and will try not to get reaped off.

Dont be pushed into unneccessary paranoia.

there are four walls in your living room not one!! the dimension you speak of represents the entire perimeter of the said location which is multiplied by the height to give the total surface area to be screeded. so 23 meters will be the total length of all four (or three ) sides/walls for the living room. you dont even have to take his word for it. you have your building plans, read the dimensions for the given rooms and compare figures. what I am particularly curious about is why the height changes in some locations, and why 2.4m? thats pretty short for a ceiling. except your screeding height is less than the total height of the walls

as for execution, first and foremost make sure the guy is worth his onions before you even start stressing yourself about his quote or bargaining with him.If you are certain he can deliver the job to your satisfaction, bargain with him using the prices stated here as a general guide . but remember, these things are location specific, and quality of work and skill set also go a long way in determining prices

Flaghouse1:


The quote is very suspicious, note the following

1. What is 23.2 x2.4 =55.68sq -which unit of measurement is he using metres or feets ,what the guy just did was multiply the length of your sitting room which is 23.2 feet by 2.4metres which does not show uniformity,unless you want to tell us your sitting room is actually 23.2 metres by 2.4 metres,the implication of what he has done is to inflate the work area

2. The quantity of the materials are suspicious ,you can go to the market and sample prices of these items

Don't get reaped off !!!

Take it easy champ, no need to jump to conclusions just yet. there are atleast three to four walls in a living room, NOT "one"

an average living room easily exceeds 23m in perimeter

Commonsense101:


Take it easy champ, no need to jump to conclusions just yet. there are atleast three to four walls in a living room, NOT "one"

an average living room easily exceeds 23m in perimeter

Just pissed off with our ways of doing things here, not that I am jumping into conclusion,the thing is the unit of measurement should have been uniformed and clearly spell out with the appropriate dimension (LxBxH) for easy comprehension for the client ,this to me is a red flag.

Thanks for your contribution in calming the OP

"Dey haf" arrived. Awon Agbeborun

Flaghouse1:


Just pissed off with our ways of doing things here, not that I am jumping into conclusion,the thing is the unit of measurement should have been uniformed and clearly spell out with the appropriate dimension (LxBxH) for easy comprehension for the client ,this to me is a red flag.

Just an aside. How learned is the person? Maybe he doesn't know better.

I try to assist and educate people that come to my site when I can. Some are receptive but some are stuck in their ways of doing things.

Sometimes our gut feeling is all that we're left to go with.

EgunMogaji:


Just an aside. How learned is the person? Maybe he doesn't know better.

I try to assist and educate people that come to my site when I can. Some are receptive but some are stuck in their ways of doing things.

Sometimes our gut feeling is all that we're left to go with.

True talk, I hope these artisans would realise soon that the old ways of doing things is fast fading away,they need to be compliant with with trends eg: excel quote for clients

There is a need for them to upgrade in service delivery to complement their skill set

EgunMogaji:


I'm currently doing this in parts of my compound.

I chose to do regular concrete, not stamped but patterned, over interlock. With interlock, even if you use plastic membrane, sand can still gather on top of the membrane between the bricks and allow seeds to germinate. It will require constant maintenance.

You should consider your compound usage and amount of time you will use to maintain it.

Good luck on your decision.

he he he , my wife. you know I was definitely coming for you....

which one is "patterned" again this man wee not keeeee me with laugh!!! So what made you choose "patterned" over "stamped" abi the weed will grow through the stamped type of flooring again? stop providing silly explanations and speaking all this plenty English.
will it kill you to simply say that is what you can afford?? ...well, with all the mouth making and bragging you have been doing up and down, it probably will.
you pretend to not want attention but you crave it like air!!! who in the world posts flags up and down thier property like a f*cking parade ground, who!!??.... property wey never evn reach 50% completion. I wonder what you will post when you finally finish this your "Chateaux" lol as your friend Brrrrabus will say.

Egunmogajii be Humble , Be Humble My brother....Be Humble!!!!!!

Flaghouse1:


Just pissed off with our ways of doing things here, not that I am jumping into conclusion,the thing is the unit of measurement should have been uniformed and clearly spell out with the appropriate dimension (LxBxH) for easy comprehension for the client ,this to me is a red flag.

Thanks for your contribution in calming the OP

you're educated chief, you understand the relevance of detail and clarity. very many of these artisans arent, but they still do good work. they just try to deliver as much technical presentation as possible

EgunMogaji:


Just an aside. How learned is the person? Maybe he doesn't know better.

I try to assist and educate people that come to my site when I can. Some are receptive but some are stuck in their ways of doing things.

Sometimes our gut feeling is all that we're left to go with.

how learned are the ones you have been using on your site Tell us.

shebi you're looking for the baba that will climb the roof by himself and not some tie wearing executive.!! lmfao.

Flaghouse1:


True talk, I hope these artisans would realise soon that the old ways of doing things is fast fading away,they need to be compliant with with trends eg: excel quote for clients

There is a need for them to upgrade in service delivery to complement their skill set

Once in a while on here we'll get graduates that are seeking hands-on building experience.

I get happy and hope that they can interject some new learnings and methods on the site as they themselves become tenured.

Rome wasn't built in a day sha, and we can only hope that changes are being made.

EgunMogaji:


I'm currently doing this in parts of my compound.

I chose to do regular concrete, not stamped but patterned, over interlock. With interlock, even if you use plastic membrane, sand can still gather on top of the membrane between the bricks and allow seeds to germinate. It will require constant maintenance.

You should consider your compound usage and amount of time you will use to maintain it.

Good luck on your decision.

Hmm... You're yet to see how my interlocking was done. In fact, my contractor never saw where interlocking was done the way I did mine. I closely monitored it. I first used 90 tonnes on stone based materials rammed, soaked and compacted. Then followed with 5 inch leveling with stone dust and membrane before laying the machine made interlocking. No plant can ever spur from anywhere. Never!

FastShipping:


Hmm... You're yet to see how my interlocking was done. In fact, my contractor never saw where interlocking was done the way I did mine. I closely monitored it. I first used 90 tonnes on stone based materials rammed, soaked and compacted. Then followed with 5 inch leveling with stone dust and membrane before laying the machine made interlocking. No plant can ever spur from anywhere. Never!

I know you're fastidious and you'll put up a relentless effort for perfection.

Is your area dusty at all?

The ones I've seen with issues were in areas where dust blew and gathered in between the cracks of the interlocks. Seeds then germinated up top not from below.

But this person doesn't go home often and when he went home he was alarmed at the rate things grew.

EgunMogaji:


I know you're fastidious and you'll put up a relentless effort for perfection.

Is your area dusty at all?

The ones I've seen with issues were in areas where dust blew and gathered in between the cracks of the interlocks. Seeds then germinated up top not from below.

But this person doesn't go home often and when he went home he was alarmed at the rate things grew.

My area is dusty. I'm 100 certain no see can germinate in between my interlocking. I rammed stone based materials and leveled it with stone dust before compacting it twice. We used membrane to finally kill any hope for any germination. Trust me, no plant will survive around my interlocking. Mine is maintenance free...

Below is regular naija interlocking after a year or two.

FastShipping:


My area is dusty. I'm 100 certain no see can germinate in between my interlocking. I rammed stone based materials and leveled it with stone dust before compacting it twice. We used membrane to finally kill any hope for any germination. Trust me, no plant will survive around my interlocking. Mine is maintenance free...

Below is regular naija interlocking after a year or two.

Excellent. I'll store your recipe because I'll be doing some areas with interlocking later.

Thanks.

EgunMogaji:


Excellent. I'll store your recipe because I'll be doing some areas with interlocking later.

Thanks.

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...kai! eledumare. SMH

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jabolo:


I got N200/sq. m for mine but it was probably because it was the same guy finishing off the P-O-P so he wanted to continue on site.

I'm not one for screwing artisans to the bone in these tough times so I think N250 - N300/sq. m is probably fair.

Hope this helps.

Location - Portharcout


Edit: For further reference, my total area is about double yours but I'm getting the screeding done for just under N1m

Good Morning Sir, hope we are still in your plans ........

Good day. Pls somebody should help me with a reliable and affordable land surveyor in Abuja. Plus how much will it cost to survey an area of 100x100ft (an estimate). Thanks