The last time we were here, I mentioned the fact that many builders are exploring alternatives to the popular building materials and that I would’ve loved to touch on that howbeit briefly then, but opted to leave that for a later time. It appears that the latter time couldn't come any sooner. I know how financially draining it is to start the building process till the foundation is completed. You may decide to take a break afterwards to recover or continue with the zeal with which you started, with financial backing to finish what you started.

I will introduce to you today, something out of the ordinary, but is fast gaining ground and reputation with builders nationwide, which you may want to explore while building. I prefer to come at you this way so that my post won't be exactly like other posts on building or owning your home in Nigeria. This method and type of material will be largely dependent on the climate and weather though, but if things go right (and they can easily do), you will be the better for it, and by that I mean even your pocket. What I am talking about includes the use of MUD BRICKS, the advantages of which will be the body of this treatise. Those who look down on this alternative to burnt bricks or the normal sand and cement blocks do so because they lack the information required to make the informed choice on this alternative building block, especially when a BUNGALOW of say a 3-Bedroom flat is what is on your mind to build.

The advantages in no particular order of importance, are as follows:
1. It is far LESS EXPENSIVE to fabricate - You will spend almost half the cost of building with sand and cement blocks than it is to build with mud blocks. A 9-inch and 6-inch block costs about =N=150 and =N=120 respectively while to mould each mud brick/block with lateritic soil/laterite costs about =N=10, though you'd have to use about 10 trips of tipper loads of laterite to make enough blocks to carry the building to lintel level.

Now, if what is required to build a bungalow is 3,500 blocks, you will spend (3,500 x =N=120 ➡) =N=420, 000 on the 6-inch block, to carry it to the lintel.

Should you opt for mud bricks. 10 Tipper trips of laterite at =N=8,500 per trip will cost you =N=85,000, of which 3,500 mud bricks will be moulded at =N=10/block, at the cost of =N=35,000.
Therefore, the cost of building to lintel level for a bungalow using mud bricks will cost you (=N=85,000 + =N=35,000 ➡) =N=120,000 only, far less expensive than cement blocks at =N=420,000 (by about =N=300,000?). Wow!

2. A sensible option SECURITY wise - The security situation in Nigeria is such that security must now be factored into every decision one makes, and such cannot be overlooked even in building your own home. Mud bricks aren't hollow inside and like Kevlar can't be penetrated by bullets. I make mention of this because of the many cases during armed robberies as reported in Lagos, innocent citizens far removed from the scene of bank robberies have fallen from stray bullets that managed to find their way to them in the relative "safety" of their homes, of which none in recent times survived. In one sad case, a mother and her baby lost their lives in the Festac area of Lagos, when they were hit by a stray bullet of the guns of armed robbers operating at a bank in the area.

3. TEMPERATURE MODERATING Capacity - Mud blocks/bricks are popular in the rural areas of Nigeria simply because of this singular characteristics. In very hot weather as is wont to be in Nigeria, the house remains relatively cooler compared to the heat without it, and vice versa during the harmattan and extreme cold weather conditions.

Disadvantages include the following:
1. WEATHER relatedness - No sane builder will try to build using mud bricks during the rainy season, unfortunately if peradventure it rains during the dry season while the building is still being constructed, the building may collapse (especially if it is exposed to rainfall for a long period of time, even days).
Hence, apart from the fact that building using mud bricks can be done during the dry season alone, and may affect the builders plan if in the rainy season he desires to start building and therefore impatient to wait, can lead to alteration of plans. It is important that ROOFING arrangements be made once building has started such that once done, the roofing is done to protect the body from direct rainfall, before going ahead to cementing the sides, of the building amongst others. Only dry season provides the perfect condition for building using mud blocks.

2. If you need five bags of cement with sand to completely finish the sides of a three bedroom-flat bungalow, you will need seven bags of cement with sand to accomplish same with that done with mud-bricks, but even that is nothing compared to what you would have saved in total expenses.

At a time there's much talk about promoting things indigenous to us, this is definitely one time tested building material that is regaining it's pride of place amongst builders in Nigeria. It is something even the government must begin to look at if the vision of building SOCIAL HOUSING for all is to move from a fleeting illusion to reality. I shall stop here for now, let you digest this, till I come your way again with valuable tips for owning your home in Nigeria. Mazel Tov!

'kovich

OWNING YOUR HOME IN NIGERIA (2) | madukovich's cogitations https://madukovich./2015/11/28/owning-your-home-in-nigeria-2/

OWNING YOUR HOME IN NIGERIA (3) | madukovich's cogitations https://madukovich./2015/11/30/owning-your-home-in-nigeria-3/

wat determines if u use 9'' or 6'' blocks in 3bedroom bungalow?

Nothing really significant except when you consider that the 9" blocks are more expensive.

yak:
wat determines if u use 9'' or 6'' blocks in 3bedroom bungalow?

Besides, if you decide to use a 6" block to raise the building, it is trite to lay the foundation with 9" blocks for stability sakes, for instance.

madukovich:
Nothing really significant except when you consider that the 9" blocks are more expensive.



Besides, if you decide to use a 6" block to raise the building, it is trite to lay the foundation with 9" blocks for stability sakes, for instance.

thanks, am thinking that since its just bungalow, there shld not b any problems if done with 6"

yak:


thanks, am thinking that since its just bungalow, there shld not b any problems if done with 6"

Ultimately the decision on what brick size that can safely be used should be decided by the site engineer.

I did not use a site engineer for my current build and instead trust my builder and block maker.

IMHO, 9" blocks are the way to go for the entire project as it's cheaper per size.

Good luck on your project.

yak:


thanks, am thinking that since its just bungalow, there shld not b any problems if done with 6"

For a bungalow, yes you should be able to pull that off.

EgunMogaji:


Ultimately the decision on what brick size that can safely be used should be decided by the site engineer.

I did not use a site engineer for my current build and instead trust my builder and block maker.

IMHO, 9" blocks are the way to go for the entire project as it's cheaper per size.

Good luck on your project.

Thank you, I wish you same and more.

Since my last post on this series, I have been inundated with correspondence bordering on the feasibility of procuring many of the materials required for building a mud brick bungalow at the price I displayed. I must have come across as speaking with some authority as to how much these building materials costs in the market, so I will like to correct this error of judgement on my part here, by stating that what I put out though may be real costs in a case remains still, an estimate especially due to differences in time and location, and other factors such as relating to how building materials are sourced. You definitely would expect, for instance that buying building materials from the manufacturer directly as well as moulding your own blocks will be less expensive than buying from a retailer, as the case may be.

Having sorted that out, I will now go ahead to the crux of this post's matter, which is related to addressing a few issues surrounding the structure of the mud brick built three-bedroom bungalow. I had stated in my earlier instalments that one of the disadvantages (which pales heavily in comparison to the advantages as already stated in my earlier missives) of building with mud bricks is its time relatedness- the fact that it is time bound, as the perfect time to build using mud bricks is the Dry Season. Not necessarily because the rain will melt the bricks but because it may muddle up what's been done, and continuous beating of the structure by drops of rain may eventually distort it, though even that can be remedied, but it is better to avoid the embarrassment if one can help it.

Also with mud bricks built structures, there is the tendency to find different colours or shades of the mud bricks at different layers of the structure or building. For instance the earlier levels may appear darker in shade compared to the latter upper levels, in cases where the builder may have sourced earth from locations with different soil types, but as long as the bricks are of similar consistency, that shouldn't be any source of concern, as it will still be plastered (which consumes more cement mix than needed with cement blocks), even painted on afterwards.

It isn't out of place to find that most structures that have gotten to the lintel level are marked ("X" or "STOP WORK" by the agencies of government saddled with the responsibility of overseeing land matters either at local or state government levels. This is not necessarily because they are illegal structures but rather because of the peculiarities involved in the dispensing, allocating and acquisition of land in Nigeria. In the major towns and cities, under direct purview of government, it is not out of place to find people follow extant laws (like procuring the requisite Certificate of Occupancy, presenting the Plan of the House, Survey documents, and the likes) of the land concerning the acquiring of land or property to the latter, before setting one block atop another. Many of the government agencies also hide under the cover of these markings during building collapses as alibi, stating that they marked such buildings because they considered them defective, one way or the other.

In many places in Nigeria however, where government has less direct control besides delineating land into parcels for habitation, away from thoroughfare and other future spaces for social amenities, land is usually acquired through owner-families, district or village heads and the likes. One could go ahead and start work on a piece of land, with the receipt of purchase as well as a document that specifies the location and an agreement amongst the parties involved in the sale of the land in question, as proof of ownership. It is such like these that is routinely marked as stated above, as a reminder to the owner or builder to do the needful, i.e. regularization of documents before or even after completing the structure.

Back to the structure itself. To erect a mud bricks built three-bedroom bungalow will cost between a million naira and a million, five hundred thousand naira only, depending on the part of Nigeria where the structure is to be built (adjust according to inflationary trend). This amount is exclusive of the cost of acquiring the land, or that of putting finishing touches like plastering, conduit work, plumbing, wood and metal work, frames, doors, windows, painting and the likes. I will attempt to cover much of that in the next instalment. Thank you for looking in.

'kovich

N.B. The Nigerian Naira exchanges to $1 at =N=200 officially (much higher at the parallel market).

https://madukovich./2016/02/29/owning-your-home-in-nigeria-4/

na wao, u packed alot of this money before starting the project. I envy u oooo

yak:
na wao, u packed alot of this money before starting the project. I envy u oooo

With mud bricks you need to have at least that amount to carry it to lintel level and roof, one time.

You may then take a breather to go source the funds for the next stage which you may then take much slower than it took to get to where you are now to complete, because of how this method is time/weather dependent.

I had stated earlier that it is only at the non-plastered level that a mud brick built building remains what it is. However, a cement plastered mud brick building looks no different from any other where some other building material, like cement blocks were used, and you'd probably not be able to tell the difference unless you were there at the beginning, or at any period before the plastering. In some cases, it will interest you to know that plastered mud brick walls even have a more aesthetic shine to it, compared to that of cement blocks.

Plastering is a major part of the building process, because it immediately follows the incorporation of conduit pipes, plumbing pipes and other major aspects of the home to be, that must be hidden from clear view, despite their importance. It is also the point at which frames for doors, windows and other outlets/inlets are set in place, as an omission at this stage will mean breaking already plastered parts of the house to accommodate such changes in the future. An ugly state of affairs that one frequently encounters with buildings in Nigeria where masons at the plastering stage, don't work hand-in-hand with plumbers, electricians, even carpenters and others, to plaster in such a way as to accommodate the concerns of these other important workers, to turn a house into a home.

Though using mud bricks over cement blocks is less expensive, when it comes to the stage of plastering the structure you will find that it costs more (though not so expensive to tilt the cost difference in favour of cement block built bungalow), as more cement is needed to literally "soak" the mud brick walls in plaster compared to the much that would be expended on cement blocks. Attempting to plaster mud brick built walls the way you'd do a cement block built wall, will lead to an unravelling of the plastering in no time, leading to the kind of aesthetic embarrassment you sometimes find with such buildings. This is why if one decides to tow this path, then it must be properly careered or else it should be jettisoned right from the onset.

For a mud brick built three bedroom bungalow, about seventy-five bags of cement, currently at ₦1,460 per bag costing ₦109,500 will be required, with seven tipper trips of the appropriate plastering sand at ₦8,500 per trip, totalling ₦59,500, and that's without the cost of workmanship (not only for plastering, but also for incorporating the many bits and parts that must be accommodated within and without the building structure), which differs depending on location in Nigeria. A well plastered house that takes cognizance of the end product attachments and add-ons, makes the rest of the job easier to undertake, hence the need to have experienced masons, working in conjunction with plumbers, carpenters, electricians and other auxiliaries, at the stage of the building to prevent the situation I have aforementioned.

I'll let you digest this for now, hopefully the next instalment should be the last on this topic, except as will otherwise become evident. When it comes to building a house, the trick is to start, as the likelihood of finishing is almost certain, as long as time and chance permits. The urge to continue and complete a building project is akin to an addiction to any hard drug which gives a high following use, the withdrawal of which is such that the addict explores all means possible to get a fix, for lack of a more explanatory example.

'kovich


OWNING YOUR HOME IN NIGERIA (5) | https://madukovich./2016/05/24/owning-your-home-in-nigeria-5/

Madukovich my guy, why did you stop updating this thread? Have you constructed any more buildings using mud bricks, since the last time you posted an update? What was the experience like? Can you share pictures of any of those ongoing and finished projects? Please continue, so we can all learn...

(In order to build a cheaper, stronger and the same kind of house, just simply use burnt bricks instead of concrete blocks).

You will use bricks for the entire construction and later on plaster and put all your necessary wiring construction - you are simply just replacing "Block" with "Burnt Bricks". The best supplier for burnt bricks in Nigeria is a company that has its website at www.limult.com

Buy High Quality burnt bricks for building from Limult.com - they are Nigeria's no 1 online seller for Bricks and clay products.

Visit http://limult.com/product/buy-high-quality-local-burnt-bricks-l230-h125-w100-bulk-building/ to place your order.

Minimum order quantity is 4000 pieces.

Burnt bricks are the cheaper and stronger to use in constructing a building. Your building will last forever. The oldest house in the world today is still standing because it was built with burnt bricks.

My mother-in-law used burnt bricks for the laying of the foundation of her school because she said that it is stronger and it is only burnt bricks that can make the building of her school to be erected like that forever. She said that using burnt bricks will prevent the building from sinking if the area has soft grounds.

More so, when you use burnt bricks to construct your entire building, you are less likely to see cracks in your walls unlike when you use cement blocks. Burnt bricks are by far stronger.

Always visit their website at www.limult.com. You can call their customer care line on 07052446249

laudate:
Madukovich my guy, why did you stop updating this thread? Have you constructed any more buildings using mud bricks, since the last time you posted an update? What was the experience like? Can you share pictures of any of those ongoing and finished projects? Please continue, so we can all learn...

No, I haven't. This was a personal thing and I only shared my experience. It's not what I do.