Mr Denis Ndegbu had the choice of buying a plot of dry land in Agbara, a Lagos suburb but rather opted to buy a water-logged land near Ijanikin, a nearby neighbourhood. Two factors influenced his decision – the cost of the two plots and their proximity to the road. The water-logged parcel of land was by far cheaper than the dry land and closer to the road. Without doing any soil tests or engaging the services of any built environment professional, Mr. Ndegbu started to work on the site. He later discovered that he made a wrong decision after-all as the cost of sand-filling the land alone could have taken him far, if he had bought the dry land. When Mr Ndegbu ran out of funds, he decided to abandon the project. The plight of Mr. Ndegbu is synonymous to what many Lagosians go through on regular basis because most parts of the city are water-logged and marshy. Some of those who succeeded, erected shanties that are at best, good for the habitation of wild animals. Swamps are forested wetlands. Like marshes, they are often found near rivers or lakes and have mineral soil that drains very slowly. But unlike marshes, they have trees and bushes. They may have water in them for the whole year or for only part of the year. Experts posit that the construction of houses on swamps require special attention. Either the soil is removed or  strengthened by suitable means after ascertaining its (soil) properties. Building houses in challenging terrain and swamps requires special attention when compared to construction in ordinary soil. This is because  swampy or marshy lands are periodically and at times permanently inundated by water. Against this backdrop, the CEO of Ethical Business and Management Associates EBAM, Mr Afolabi Adedeji, a Civil Engineer, advised those who have bought swampy land to ensure that the foundation of their buildings rests on sound soil so that when the super structure (building) is completed, the weight would be evenly spread.

One of the first steps to take, according to Engr Adedeji is to sand-fill the swampy land so that it would become firm. When this is done, you should put a raft foundation to carry the building. The EBAM chairman was quick to point out that it is not in all cases that raft foundation will be effective. “Sometimes, the swamp or what we call potopoto will be too deep that using the raft foundation will not solve the problem. In that case, you should go for a pile foundation,” he said, adding that there are two types of pile foundation – end-bearing pile foundation and friction pile foundation. Adedeji who stated that it is preferable to look for virgin land that is firm because it costs less, however noted that in a place like Lagos where it is becoming increasingly difficult to get dry land to build, you   cannot run away from building on swamps. “What we should do is to apply engineering methods and techniques to get nature to suit our purpose,” he said, adding that most of Lekki and Ajah were swamps that have been turned into highbrow residential neighbourhood. Also speaking on how to effectively utilise a swampy land, past chairman, Nigerian Institute of Building NIOB Lagos State Branch and National Publicity Secretary of the Institute, Mr. Kunle Awobodu explained that building on swampy land requires soil investigation. He noted that where the water table is high, one needs to determine its capacity. Once these have been determined, the builder would now be left with the choice of the type of foundation that will be suitable on the land. The choice, he said, is between the raft foundation and piling. Awobodu advised builders on swampy soil to equally take the future level of the road around the premises into consideration. He pointed out that if the level of the road is higher than the level of the foundation, the house will have drainage challenges. Explaining that water from the ground will also pose a challenge to the building, he said this is why from the onset, the developer should use water resisting membrane to check dampness of the walls. According to him, the type of filling done before doing the foundation matters a great deal. He advised developers on such land to avoid clay materials or soil when filling water logged areas. This is because when the water table diminishes, the clay will shrink thereby creating a space underneath the slab and causing cracks on the building in future. He further noted that in constructing the fence round the building, concrete must be used on the lower part of the fence above the proper floor level. Finally, Awobodu said  painting of the external walls of the structure shouldn't be done with premium quality paint to prevent moisture on the building.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/how-to-build-on-swamp/

Learning

Next time consult before you buy

Sand filling?? Raft foundation?? Are all this stuff still not expensive??....

Raft foundation comes to mind

Ko

hw much will it cost to build a 4 flat(1 story
y building in 3 bed room. pallor n masters)am reside in d east..pls engineer in d house..

Oshe








K

Nothing is impossible when we hire the right hands to the job, Quality speaks and not quantity!

SERIOUSLY

German floor simply is not enough


Oh and sand fill ? You are sitting on a looong thing , you don't sand fill swamp , you either dregde it or reinforce it with boulder and compact it


But that's way too Expensive for Nigerian Landlord to be

Experts in the house, I don't want to create a topic for it.

Please can 6million naira build a standard 4 bedroom flat all en-suite? Excluding the land cost.

Cybertext:
Sand filling?? Raft foundation?? Are all this stuff still not expensive??....

You don't have to worry about sandfilling if you buy from a real estate company cos dey would hav done dat already

sinking sand

iykejohn:
hw much will it cost to build a 4 flat(1 story
y building in 3 bed room. pallor n masters)am reside in d east..pls engineer in d house..

get a well detail plan and visit a quantity survey for near precised estimate.

trust me nairaland won't give you the answer

Kesmakveli:
Nothing is impossible when we hire the right hands to the job, Quality speaks and not quantity!

Love ur spirit brotha!!

For swampy lands. You need to do combination of foundation types. Pile, Pad and raft.

Viktoreze:
Love ur spirit brotha!!

Thank you Sir! Happy sunday and God bless.

Kesmakveli:

Thank you Sir! Happy sunday and God bless.

amen!!and you too *singing in Patoranking's voice*blessing follow you....lol

A plot of land located at Akesan Lagos state Along Lasu iyana iba going for 1.5m negotiable

Direct seller...

Serious buyer should call/whatsapp 08085310359,



Hello Nairalanders, i have this land facing Lasu iba express way all round fenced for sale at rate of 70million Naira Negotiable,

Available document: Family Receipt, survey plan,

Side attract: facing expressway, close to Lagos state university, close to Iba New site estate and alot more

NOTE: This is dry Land...

Good for filling Station, churches, shopping mall,event center,schools and lot more..

Serious Buyer should contact Whatsapp 08085310359 For inspection or call 08033588797

Plots of land are still available at Havilla County estate(Elerangbe) going for 1.2m per plot...buy 2 at 1.5m and get one free..call Victor on 08158961762 for more details

For amazing dry land offers starting from 675k and with very budget friendly instalment payment plans call Victor on 08158961762

Good info. The owner should be ready to spend money on having a "solid" foundation.

Check out this 5 bedroom duplex if you are interested: https://www.nairaland.com/3075906/construction-5-bedroom-duplex-ibadan

nice

iykejohn:
hw much will it cost to build a 4 flat(1 story
y building in 3 bed room. pallor n masters)am reside in d east..pls engineer in d house..

I need to see the plan.

lonelydora:
Experts in the house, I don't want to create a topic for it.

Please can 6million naira build a standard 4 bedroom flat all en-suite? Excluding the land cost.

Yes it can and will depend on management, planning. U'll need a cost estimate of d building from a seasoned professional to pull dis one of if u want to manage the project properly as well as save money, u'll need planning from conception to actuallization which may include drawings, work schedules and a realistic estimate. Email fredocheli@yahoo.com for more info.

reidkrugger:


Yes it can and will depend on management, planning. U'll need a cost estimate of d building from a seasoned professional to pull dis one of if u want to manage the project properly as well as save money, u'll need planning from conception to actuallization which may include drawings, work schedules and a realistic estimate. Email fredocheli@yahoo.com for more info.

Will contact you. I reside in Ph.