And the beat goes on. During my 3 week stay in Calabar, I decided to up the ante and tackle the challenging sloppy terrain. The foundation input was enough to build a flat.

Lesson learnt: If you do not have loads of money, dont buy a plot of land that is slopping at a steep gradient. It takes double the amount of money to level the foundation.

Check out the 8-9 coaches of block work for the foundation

more pics

erico2k2:

As Usual.I'm the monitor and here to write names of noise makers

You surely will be a good Class Monitor, for trouble-makers like us... and especially Senator EgunMogaji.

Hajji M.

LondonCool:
And the beat goes on. During my 3 week stay in Calabar, I decided to up the ante and tackle the challenging sloppy terrain. The foundation input was enough to build a flat.
Lesson learnt: If you do not have loads of money, dont buy a plot of land that is slopping at a steep gradient. It takes double the amount of money to level the foundation.
Check out the 8-9 coaches of block work for the foundation

Truly speaking... but God shall provide to balance things out. I have gone thru same thing before, but mine was not too sloppy as yours.

Hajji M.

mufutau55:


You surely will be a good Class Monitor, for trouble-makers like us... and especially EgunMogaji.

Hajji M.

mufutau55:


You surely will be a good Class Monitor, for trouble-makers like us... and especially Senator EgunMogaji.

Hajji M.

It's not troublemaking if you don't get caught

LondonCool:
Lessons learned so far (for those building from abroad)

1) Make sure you are there physically to supervise each stage of your building project (even if it takes you 4 years)- this is to prevent what happended in 1993 from happening to you.

2) Always engage professionals for your project. Ask them questions. Challenge every assumption. (the Architects on Nairaland were a good sounding board for actualising my building designs). Vicmoor sold me the idea of having a penthouse in my bungalow. Segzy14 always checked up on the progress of the building project and provided some sound advice.

3) Have at least one reliable home person on ground. I used my younger brother and my Architect friend, though they used to checkmate each other, I was getting spot-on updates on the work progress corroborated by 2 sources.

4) I bought a camera and SD card for my brother with the caveat that he had to give me weekly pictures about the work progress via Whatsapp (with his face in picture, lol). Look for a way to get visual updates about your project.

5) Get ready for other anciliary costs after purchasing your land. I paid lots of money for Land registration , Town Planning approval, Site Analysis/Charting, etc.

Man your was weekly, when I was doing my I paid a guy that as nothing to do with the project to give me daily pictures update on the site thru whatsapp. I remember one of my family member was trying to chase him way,not knowing he was doing what I paid him to do. When the discover that they stop messing with my money.

mufutau55:


Truly speaking... but God shall provide to balance things out. I have gone thru same thing before, but mine was not too sloppy as yours.

Hajji M.

Amen o! This came as a rude shock to me as it destablised my budget...but I told myself, no retreat, no surrender!

kopell:
Man your was weekly, when I was doing my I paid a guy that as nothing to do with the project to give me daily pictures update on the site thru whatsapp. I remember one of my family member was trying to chase him way,not knowing he was doing what I paid him to do. When the discover that they stop messing with my money.

@kopel,

Actually, it started as daily picture updates, before I reduced the frequency to weekly. Sometimes I couldnt find any tangible significant changes when I had the daily updates.

Foundation level

The greenery in the background is priceless to me. I rather live here than Ikoyi, VI or Banana Island.

This environment looks healthy to me.

LondonCool:
And the beat goes on. During my 3 week stay in Calabar, I decided to up the ante and tackle the challenging sloppy terrain. The foundation input was enough to build a flat.

Lesson learnt: If you do not have loads of money, dont buy a plot of land that is slopping at a steep gradient. It takes double the amount of money to level the foundation.

Check out the 8-9 coaches of block work for the foundation

Worse off, sloping and waterlogged area..

400billionman:


Worse off, sloping and waterlogged area..

I thank God, it wasnt a waterlogged area

Pls guys help me out, how many blocks can I get from a trip of sand givng 30 blocks per bag of cement. Help pls guys

LondonCool:

Amen o! This came as a rude shock to me as it destablised my budget...but I told myself, no retreat, no surrender!

Just keep it in mind that, in any project, you will encounter a lot of un-forseen expenses, don't let that deter you. It shall be well IJN.

Hajji M.

400billionman:

Worse off, sloping and waterlogged area..

That will be a double whammy!

Hajji M.

LondonCool:


I thank God, it wasnt a waterlogged area

Okay,

LondonCool:


Land around Tinapa is now at a premium price and picked up by money bags. Winners Chapel have secured acres there for their new University (for Science and Engineering). Mine is in a newly opened up area around 5 minutes from Tinapa. Its like a quiet village but surely lots of bourgeois are picking up plots here quite consistently. Once the CRS Government gets to see the rate of development here, they would most likely acquire the area, build layouts and sell the plots to Government official and their lackeys.

Thanks for the info...any idea on price range in the area and road network

EgunMogaji:


It's not troublemaking if you don't get caught

Don't worry I'm scanning in 3D

nelsonB:
Pls guys help me out, how many blocks can I get from a trip of sand givng 30 blocks per bag of cement. Help pls guys

What's the to age of the trip?what's the size of block.hollow or solid??

Congratulations Londoncool, what a lovely setting for this great looking house. Well done.

erico2k2:

What's the to age of the trip?what's the size of block.hollow or solid??

10 tone and 9 inches block

LondonCool:
I have decided to diarise my building experience involving the building of a 3 bedroom Bungalow + Penthouse at Calabar (close to Tinapa). Since i'm based in London I have decided to project manage the construction in phases by myself each time I visited Nigeria. I bought a 150 x 100 plot of land in June 2014 and visited in December 2014 to oversee the fencing of the plot. In August 2015 I visited for the excavation phase to the German floor phase before leaving. I also annexed a 50 x 50 plot next to mine during my visit (a good place to locate the 2 x 3 bedroom flat BQ, Borehole, Generator room at the back of the plot).

Features: Ground Floor
Ante-room, Lounge, Dinning room, Kitchen/ Store, 3 Bedroom (ensuite -including Visitors room), stairwell, visitors toilet.

Penthouse: Masters bedroom ensuite with balcony, Second bedroom ensuite

Most of the input came from Nairaland members here

*Original plan (5 bedroom bungalow) designed by megaplanpro
*First penthouse design-by Vicmoor
*BoQ for Fencing cost + building advice- by Segzy14
*Structural design advice by Onakomaya

Sir why two bath/wc for the master bedroom @ the pent floor?

OnetimeOnly:


Thanks for the info...any idea on price range in the area and road network

The road just passing by the entrance to the plot is a Trunk B newly ashphalt constructed road (which links straight to Tinapa) with stepped down electricity sponsored by the NDDC. I bought my three 100 x 50 plots for N900,000. I'm aware it could go lower for N800,000. Its a newly opened up area and the community is trying to sell as much plots as possbile before the State Government comes in to take over the development of the area just like othe place in Calabar that have recently opened up.

snakebeat:

Sir why two bath/wc for the master bedroom @ the pent floor?

Well spoted. Good question. I queried that too when I saw the re-design. The Engineer did recommend that one of the 2 bathrooms could be used for a Jacuzzi/Sauna room. I may have other ideas about that though.

spyder880:
Congratulations Londoncool, what a lovely setting for this great looking house. Well done.

Thanks my main man. I may have to book a hotel for you and Madam in Calabar during the Xmas carnival for the weekend to visit and so that you can come and provide some expert creative advise to my Structural Engineer who's building the house.

Cracking the sloping foundation

Cracking the foundation

nelsonB:
Pls guys help me out, how many blocks can I get from a trip of sand givng 30 blocks per bag of cement. Help pls guys

I tipped 30 tonnes of sharp sand.
I moulded 32 blocks per 50kg bag of Dangote 3X cement.
I used 50 bags of cement from the 30 tonnes and the remaining sand might not be able to mould 2 bags of cement.

Hope this helps.

LondonCool:
Cracking the foundation

Good job, sir.
I like your spirit.

More pics

more pics