spyder880:


Good morning Oga, there's nothing wrong with filling a foundation with laterite sand, but the right compaction methods must be employed to sink in the soil into all foundation crevices while achieving a compaction method which must ensure that the filling is strong enough to support the floor. Compaction of laterite filling should be done in stages, every 300mm thickness. Problem comes when people are in a hurry, and so ignore the right compaction methods. I am happy you left your filling for some time to sink better.

On the other hand, the white sharp sand which are got from the rivers serve as a better filling material. The cleaner the sand, the better. The filling sand could be coarse too. This material may not sink much under compaction but fills in more crevices and bears much more weight. The other type of sharp sand he mentioned is not clear to me, so I prefer river sharp sand.

I also know that the right materials and right procedures are most times contained in the building plans, which are site specific. The guy who prepares the building plans should visit the site and pass recommendation on the right materials and process, including type of filling sand.

abdulwastecx:


Minimum of 3m by the sides, back and 6m at the front

Dominionng:


System is very much available plus whole dry build. We create with steel not wood, since there are no *treated/insulated hardwoods* in the country anymore.

akinolaolujide:

There are pop is a very messy process except you are having it precast y do u want to spend funds cleaning a well done tiling Job or even just preventing pop from getting to it .
Also the scaffold employed by the Pop guys may end up spoiling th tiles. So why take that risk

abdulwastecx:


Sand generally are better filling sand, the sand here means soil with no cohesion. They are better because they compact readily, they don't swell or expand when they are wet and don't undergo secondary consolidation.

EgunMogaji:
Which Soil Type Is Better For Filing?

KolaShangOne:


If you're in a termite infested area with surrounding bushes, you may have to treat your foundation or wood with chemicals periodically (say every 2 months), clear and burn surrounding bushes.

If you have just mild attack, you can use salt and water solution, solignum, ravages and other chemicals..

I don't know if any plants prevents termites.

Dominionng:


I believe your question is difference between plasterboard and local precast pop. Here are few...

• Number of design patterns are possible with plasterboard

• It makes work faster, and gives a better finish

• It is far more durable than local precast board

• It is easy to repair

• Plasterboard is fire resistance, while precast can either resist fire or not depending on the material used and process in production

• Precast is in powder form which makes your ceiling work messy and take long time.

• If there will be any leakage in future, you have a better chance with plasterboard since it can absorb twice more water than the strongest produced precast pop.

KEY POINTS:

• Above points only work for European plasterboard.

• More than 90% of plasterboard in the country are either from China or India, so you know the origin of your board when issue arises.

• Plasterboard is same with gypsum board and drywall.

mavverick:
Obtaining a prepayment meter from EKDC


Since I just finished my meter installation, I thought it would be good to share the experience. Mind, they say 45 working days after payment you should have your meter, this is true in some situations and in others not so true. The truth is that you need to goto thier office to chase up the meter, promise to grease a few palms and your meter shall truly come out. Someone also told me that if I pay N10k each per meter, I can get express service. Well I didn't go down that route, so I cannot vouch for it. The 45 working day wait suited me as I needed to plan for the power installation for the project in order to ensure a smooth and hitch free installation.



The process of obtaining a meter.


1. This applies to EKDC, other electricity distribution companies might be the same or different.

2. First of all you complete the form with all the details of the property, the technical details such as the horse power etc, I left that for my electrician to complete since I wasn’t sure and didn’t want to get it wrong.

3. The form needs to be stamped by an electrical contractor, any experienced electrical contractor with the correct stamp can do this. Alternatively you can go to your nearest business unit or NEPA office and get them to do this for you. It comes at a cost of between N5k – 10K per form, depending on how well you can negotiate.

4. They do say that a MIZ inspector needs to come and inspect the property before and after the meter installation.

5. You then proceed to getting an invoice from the NEPA office, of which you will take that to your nearest Access bank branch to pay for the prepayment meter that has been requested for.

6. After payment, you should have a receipt and some form of a letter or documentation from the bank.

7. At this point onwards, it’s a waiting game. You need to ensure that you have entered your correct phone number within the form and check the slip given to you by NEPA that it has the correct phone number.

8. The phone number you provided is what they will call you on once your meter is ready.

9. Between the time of payment and getting your meter, you need to ensure that the following is in place.
A. Wiring for the house
B. Load wiring for the house, for example the cable that feeds the meters and goes to the change over boxes if you have one.
C. You also need to ensure that the location of where the meter will be is an open and accessible place, this is because the NEPA officials can come for random inspections for those who tamper with the meters.
D. Placing your meter location in a place that is locked or not accessible will not work, they will probably request that the location be changed or the meter will not be installed, this will cost you extra in terms of cabling and delays. So the planning is very important here.

10. Before the meter is installed, the installer will call you and perhaps visit the site to check that the site is ready for meter installation. If any changes are required, they will tell you. It’s a good idea to ensure that your electrician is there at this stage, so that they can state what should be done, i.e. run 10mm or 16mm cables for the load or perhaps use a recline cable or the need for a busbar to distribute to the various meters.

11. On the day of the meter installation, the installer will turn up with the meters, a top up point and also the antenna for each meter.

12. If your meter order consists of different types of meters, for example a combination of single phase and three phase then it is likely that it will not be installed at the same time or it could be different people who will do the installation.

13. Even though within the money paid per meter, there is an installation fee element, nothing as a free lunch in Nigeria, and the likelihood is that the installers will need to be settled as well.

14. Ensure that the meter is tested.

15. Ensure that the CIU, consumer interface unit is tested. This only works on mains power (NEPA) and you cannot topup using a generator.