^^^^^ @Spyder, I will implore you to listen to what 'lucabrasi' is saying. He has a valid point and it will do you no good in the long run to continue introducing sentiment in your opinions. You are charging your clients accordingly for jobs while trusting you capability to deliver with the charged 'Amount'.

It is called being competitive. Your ability to build of a good quality house without charging an arm and a leg is what will stand you out and win you more jobs. It is called 'turnover' isn't it?

A good builder cannot turn bad overnight. If one is having any challenge in their private life, it is ok to tell your client in time rather than do a shoddy job.

There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism whether one is a client, a potential client or an armchair computer critic.

I have learnt a lot from you guys to oversee a project to conclusion and if i see a bad job i will make noise, i tell you!!

All those your excuses of armed robbers, kindnappers, dupes etc are part and parcel of everyday nigeria phenomenon. It is not exclusive to only you builders. Even the landlord suffer the same too. Even the unemployed 'with no hope to build anything at the mo'

spyder880:

I will reply you Lucabrasi, but we better take this out of this thread, can we cross over to the 'making building quotation' thread?
The learning will continue there so we dont derail our friend's thread, thank you sir for your points. I will visit two sites to supervise work and we shall explore these points together later.

no worries will do

Demain_man:

^^^^^ @Spyder, I will implore you to listen to what 'lucabrasi' is saying. He has a valid point and it will do you no good in the long run to continue introducing sentiment in your opinions. You are charging your clients accordingly for jobs while trusting you capability to deliver with the charged 'Amount'.

It is called being competitive. Your ability to build of a good quality house without charging an arm and a leg is what will stand you out and win you more jobs. It is called 'turnover' isn't it?

A good builder cannot turn bad overnight. If one is having any challenge in their private life, it is ok to tell your client in time rather than do a shoddy job.

There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism whether one is a client, a potential client or an armchair computer critic.

I have learnt a lot from you guys to oversee a project to conclusion and if i see a bad job i will make noise, i tell you!!

All those your excuses of armed robbers, kindnappers, dupes etc are part and parcel of everyday nigeria phenomenon. It is not exclusive to only you builders. Even the landlord suffer the same too. Even the unemployed 'with no hope to build anything at the mo' 

Lucabrasi:`sir with all due respect if you don't have anything better to say i will humbly suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself.how can you advice the man to stop charging affordable fees?
would you rather he added millions to his fees,so how would that add or subtract from his standard of finish or professionalism??
no wonder nigeria is the way it is.kids in their twenties are taking over the world,in us ,uk you will find guys in their mid twenties who have several rental properties and are supervising building construction but not the same in nigeria because of people with similar mentality to yours.

spuder880:good day spider,I hope u r learning from this.I admire your courage n enthusiasm in this your lofty idea of building cheap affordable homes for d masses but do not forget to watch your back cuz this same set of pple singing your praise for cheap quotes will be d first to put u to d sword wen ever u make any little mistake.my lil advice 4 u is to charge accordingly w/o sentiment cuz u will never be afforded dat opportunity wen things go wrong. Client n contractor r trying to stay offline n look for possible ways to end d imbroglio,others dat don't even have d balls to hire a contractor r busy trying to aggravate d situation.thanks for those with their constructive criticisim,I hope Brabus learns from it n apply it to his future endeavours but for those quick to condemn others , I say keep up your good work n hope u find a career out of it n for d client,for not firing your contractor n insisting on him finishing d job, I guess u av d believe in him for capable of doing a better job.I hope u resolve your issues quickly so u cld enjoy your sweat,

@lucabrasi:Are u thick in d head or something,u r not making any sense here.u need to take a chill-pill,read and understand what i wrote b4 u start creating another unnecessary mess here.where in d above post did i suggest he shld charge millions for his fee."he should charge accordingly"
On a lighter note,i was just kinda surprised by some posters on here. One minute,they were singing brabus praises,asking people for help,gaining knowledge,saving top top $$$ on their project and smiling to d bank for huge savings.Next minute,they r attacking and spewing names like fraud,thief,embezzler and so on.You know,its kinda ironic and quite laughable.
No right thinking fraudster will come online,post pictures,prices, project updates,and answer questions pertaining to a project.
I dont know,maybe its just me,i think such people can channel such energy into offering constructive critique,profer solution so,you and I and everyone can still gain from their expert knowledge and thus everyone is presented with a win-win situation.Why revel in someone's downfall such that,that person loose confidence in his ability,go out of biz and become a ruined person.
I tell you what,most people r on here to share ideas, gain tips,reduce cost,get expert knowledge in order to build a cost-effective home from the knowledgeable experts in d house,.why then defeat that purpose- by continuing trying to run pple down instead of providing a platform for redemption and d need for them to re-believe in their ability and be a better person. Its not a rocket science to see a shoddy job but wat is not so obvious is the goal of d thread and how it plays out to d end such dat everyone win.
Potential experts who might try to share their ideas might be tempted to crawl back when they see name calling will be d order of d day in the event of a mistake they make and admit to.As such i told spyder my mind which is, when shyt goes down,he wld b all alone. I will say it again to ur face if need be.Over the course of several pages on this thread,what thing of substance has been gained by contributors regarding d goal of d thread.I will say zip. Please desist from adding incisive comment to escalate d already tense situation and let this guys reach their solution.We know hes wrong,what we need is solution,and we dont need,is your judgemental mouth-piece.

Africans and the pull him down (PhD) syndrome.
I for one still trust Brabus and Spyderman and wouldn't hesitate getting either one of them for my future projects.Through their immense contributions here, I can confidently supervise a building from foundation to the roofing stage.By following their numerous post, I have been able to save thousands of dollars on my current project without paying them a dime or even offering palm wine.And am doing this in GHANA.May God Bless you guys!! I dove my hat!

Mistakes are painful when they happen, but years later a collection of mistakes is what is called experience.
Denis Waitle

A bad circumstance or event is taken in stride, viewed as a temporary setback—not a permanent way of life. Even if something bad happens today, a positive thinker believes that good things will come again in the future.

@ahonohia, many thanks. I'll forever be grateful for bringing out this weaknesses in me.

@all, thank you. I'll just advice that instead of dwelling on the bad experiences, analyze it to figure out what good can come of it. Even if the project is deemed a failure, think about what you learned during the process.

@all the Big Aunties who stood by, I salute you.

@love-tosin, you've been a good brother. More bricks and cement to your project.

@Diordavies, your comment did it. I 'change tack'

@Spyder880, I missed you a lot. We may need to redefine as suggested. It doesn't mean charging excessively but taking things more serious.
Well done, Bro. I hope say you dey keep all my meat o.
___________

In sharp contrast to suggestions by some friends, I will prefer this thread remain like this without any post being deleted. For me, it is the catalyst that allowed me to get more serious with business.
I know we all like to remember with pride the great successes of our life but conveniently forget the failures (the times when we were expelled from the game for rough tackles.)

In moments of honesty, dwell on this experiences and you'll come to see that the fact is, there is no sinful mess of things which human beings have made that other human beings could not make too.
______________

LSPDC RENO UPDATE:

We have few newer responsibilities and the relationship is more like the way it began.

@analytical, thanks so much.

@ Lucabrasi---- you really hit the nail on the head without been sentimental, U sound professional and I surely believe you are one

@ Demain_man --- thanks for the mature analysis

@ Love-tosin ---- I do hope you won't meet your imbroglio soon, you are full of sentiment and fail to reason objectively. This phrase you used is simply for you 'sir with all due respect if you don't have anything better to say i will humbly suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself' cos you sounded like some who has been brain-washed and high on a cheap drug. Your comments are senseless

@ Nexthome --- easy does it and I like your comments above. It really shows a man who understand what change is all about. You are a great man

@ Ahonohia -- Thanks for the understanding so far

Dear Brabus,

from your latest update, I will take it positively that things are looking up between you and your client. I am happy. That is the spirit. Above all, am happy that you changed tack with positive result.

Its courageous not only to build in the public eye, make mistakes in the public eye but still stand by those mistakes and reject calls to edit, airbrush your post by deleting all negatives. This to me is the attribute of a man determined and not a dupe.

Yes, you made a mess on this occasion, so we will use one hand to "flog" you and use the other to take you back. You remember in Spyder880's thread when you asked me why I need to make it twice a year home from the UK just to supervise my project, which opened a debate about trust. Yourself and Spyder880 are really striving to show that there can be trust in the building industry. Don't rubbish that now. So please see to a good finish Ahanohai's project, and continue your transparency crusade. The nation needs it. We in the diaspora are yearning for it and in fact, there is an untapped market for a Nigerian business built on trust. So you will always get more work, this is just a hiccup.

MAY THE GOOD LORD ALWAYS YOUR STRENGTH BE!

Aks:

@ Lucabrasi---- you really hit the nail on the head without been sentimental, U sound professional and I surely believe you are one

@ Demain_man --- thanks for the mature analysis

@ Love-tosin ---- I do hope you won't meet your imbroglio soon, you are full of sentiment and fail to reason objectively. This phrase you used is simply for you 'sir with all due respect if you don't have anything better to say i will humbly suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself' cos you sounded like some who has been brain-washed and high on a cheap drug. Your comments are senseless

@ Nexthome --- easy does it and I like your comments above. It really shows a man who understand what change is all about. You are a great man

@ Ahonohia -- Thanks for the understanding so far

thanks a lot do appreciate the heads up

love-tosin:

Lucabrasi:`sir with all due respect if you don't have anything better to say i will humbly suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself.how can you advice the man to stop charging affordable fees?
would you rather he added millions to his fees,so how would that add or subtract from his standard of finish or professionalism??
no wonder nigeria is the way it is.kids in their twenties are taking over the world,in us ,uk you will find guys in their mid twenties who have several rental properties and are supervising building construction but not the same in nigeria because of people with similar mentality to yours.

spuder880:good day spider,I hope u r learning from this.I admire your courage n enthusiasm in this your lofty idea of building cheap affordable homes for d masses but do not forget to watch your back cuz this same set of pple singing your praise for cheap quotes will be d first to put u to d sword wen ever u make any little mistake.my lil advice 4 u is to charge accordingly w/o sentiment cuz u will never be afforded dat opportunity wen things go wrong.  Client n contractor r trying to stay offline n look for possible ways to end d imbroglio,others dat don't even have d balls to hire a contractor r busy trying to aggravate d situation.thanks for those with their constructive criticisim,I hope Brabus learns from it n apply it to his future endeavours but for those quick to condemn others , I say keep up your good work n hope u find a career out of it n for d client,for not firing your contractor n insisting on him finishing d job, I guess u av d believe in him for capable of doing a better job.I hope u resolve your issues quickly so u cld enjoy your sweat,

@lucabrasi:Are u thick in d head or something,u r not making any sense here.u need to take a chill-pill,read and understand what i wrote b4 u start creating another unnecessary mess here.where in d above post did i suggest he shld charge millions for his fee."he should charge accordingly"

no I'm not thick in the head,i am perfectly clear headed and you wrote your comments in plain english, you told the man to re asses his charges devoid of any sentiments,
first of all if you didn't realise, that comment or advise is extremely patronising to him.while i don't personally know spider,i believe he is old and experienced enough at his job to know what to charge so for him to have executed several projects some of which he has showcased on here shows that he knows what he is doing,so you don't have to advise him on his charging pattern or second guess him and his methods.

no one is asking you not to charge whatever you like if you are in same field,but the man made a deliberate and rational choice as to his charges so it really has nothing to do with you if he does and clients are happy with his charges. after all you are not his boss,a staff in his firm or business partners.that is my grouse with you and i will repeat my comment earlier that attitude behind such comments is the reason more than 100 million and above nigerians are still tenants with less than 20% left as landlords.

Aks:

On a lighter note,i was just kinda surprised by some posters on here.  One minute,they were singing brabus praises,asking people for help,gaining knowledge,saving top top $$$ on their project and smiling to d bank for huge savings.Next minute,they r attacking and spewing names like fraud,thief,embezzler and so on.You know,its kinda ironic and quite laughable.

sorry but in your own opinion,is this reason enough for spyder to now turn around and punish potential clients by reviewing his charges "ACCORDINGLY"
in case you didn't realise sire,its a two way street while a lot of people including yours truly appreciate the kind and in-depth advise being given on here and i must say i have ;learnt a lot which has propelled me to take the bull by the horn and start my own project,however do realise that these guys are also putting out a lot of awareness about their firms,getting free adverts reaching out to thousands/tens of thousands.do you know how many clients they have gotten through nairaland?
how much is the owner of nairaland charging them and how much commission is he/she being paid for the clients they got on here?

the issue is simple and straightforward,bra bu's conduct towards his client and the project was untoward especially as the client put up audio visual evidence,including a short written testimony and various comments which evidently led a lot of bra bus supporters/potential clients including myself to be utterly disappointed in his conduct and handling.in a forum such as this,we all have different manner of approach so while some will express their disappointment in the manner i and others have,you cannot discountenance others who are more abrasively vocal that is why its a public forum. button line people will celebrate a good project but condemn a shoddy project !

Aks:

No right thinking fraudster will come online,post pictures,prices, project updates,and answer questions pertaining to a project.

i beg to disagree with you,on the contrary a fraudster has to convince the mark(mugu)before getting anything out of them so this comment is absolutely false.i must quickly add however that i am not in any guise or form accusing bra bus or anyone for that matter of being fraudsters or charlatans just correcting a wrong impression.

Aks:

 I dont know,maybe its just me,i think such people can channel such energy into offering constructive critique,profer solution so,you and I and everyone can still gain from their expert knowledge and thus everyone is presented with a win-win situation.Why revel in someone's downfall such that,that person loose confidence in his ability,go out of biz and become a ruined person.

i think its just you,while you might be closer to these guys than i am,i have read through the whole 52 pages or thereabouts including the bra bus project gone sour, there has been a whole lot of constructive criticism as to resolving the whole issue and also advise to the client on how to patiently resolve the issue with a clear head.rather than demonising anyone on here both you and other professionals on here should commend both the client and contributors on here that the issue did not come out worse or degenerate further. i have seen nigerians arresting mechanics for payments not up to 20,000naira, i have witnessed panel beaters being arrested over less than 10,000naira.
what would you have done if the client had gone down that route?obviously both parties would have spent a lot in bribes,and relationships would have being strained if not permanently cut.
speaking as a potential client who felt let down and disappointed,i am neither reveling in his downfall or happy at the turn of events.if i did i won't spend time reading through 52 pages of comments, but i make bold to say that irrespective of how awesome he has been in the past he has damaged his  professional credibility by his handling of this issue and the only way to repair it is to build and earn the trust and accolades of his erstwhile fans. like the comment i made on the other thread a man/woman/professional is as good as his last job/project pls lets totally discard sentiments as it won't get us anywhere.

Aks:

I tell you what,most people r on here to share ideas, gain tips,reduce cost,get expert knowledge in order to build a cost-effective home from the knowledgeable experts in d house,.why then defeat that purpose- by continuing trying to run pple down instead of providing a platform for redemption and d need for them to re-believe in their ability and be a better person. Its not a rocket science to see a shoddy job but wat is not so obvious is the goal of d thread and how it plays out to d end such dat everyone win.
  Potential experts who might try to share their ideas might be tempted to crawl back when they see name calling will be d order of d day in the event of a mistake they make and admit to.As such i told spyder my mind which is, when shyt goes down,he wld b all alone. I will say it again to your face if need be.Over the course of several pages on this thread,what thing of substance has been gained by contributors regarding d goal of d thread.I will say zip. Please desist from adding incisive comment to escalate d already tense situation and let this guys reach their solution.We know hes wrong,what we need is solution,and we dont need,is your judgemental mouth-piece.

true,and we say a massive thank you to all including spyder,bra bus e.t.c however one thing you must not fail to realise is that for me to entrust my project to a total stranger i met on nairaland a random forum online without any registered office that i know of means i have reposed a whole lot of trust in them.
for anyone who met any of the contractors through nairaland and then hired them for their project, do you think they have not met other contractors and architects either through family or friends? using myself as an instance
my brother's classmate is a fully qualified architect and contractor who has handled several projects mostly on the island.
my own immediate brother and sister are both qualified architects who finished at futa
now for me to now even consider an individual i don't know from adam,have never met before,have never been to his office before but based on his thread and the knowledge i have ganered from him decide to use him do you know how high the level of trust and regard i have for such person??
that is what you should consider and i am sure if bra bus and the others consider that,it will humble them and let them realise the amount of trust,confidence a lot of people have reposed in them and their ability to deliver hence the reason a lot were disappointed and expressed it.

@Aks : Lucabrasi---- you really hit the nail on the head without been sentimental, U sound professional and I surely believe you are one

waoh, so just how someone sound,you now believe he's a professional.I bet,you will believe Paris Hilton with her blond and good look must sure sound like a professional to you. with ur reasoning its pointless exchanging banter with you.your brain is warped.

@ Love-tosin ---- I do hope you won't meet your imbroglio soon, you are full of sentiment and fail to reason objectively. cos you sounded like some who has been brain-washed and high on a cheap drug. Your comments are senseless

Are you indirectly praying for me to fall too? well am sorry to disappoint u,ur evil mind aint get shyt on me. If its still so hard for your brain-cells to take a positive out of a negative situation( even people from far away ghana have some positives to say) then you need serious help.
what is so objective to figure out. Even a kid in d forum knows a shoddy job was done,he gets scolded,he apologize,try to remedy d situation and move on to bigger things,you are proud hitting the nail on ur nose while Same client is now giving him bigger responsibilities.


@ Nexthome --- easy does it and I like your comments above. It really shows a man who understand what change is all about. You are a great man

The drums are out,the praise singers r at it again.i thought he was a fraud a few months ago,out of no where,he is now a great man.How ludicrous can you be.

@ lucas radebe: sentiment or no sentiment. I dont know why this "accordingly" is such a big deal to you.The good thing is the parties concerned are close to a resolution.Its getting to a long thing, act like this never happened.Please bury this matter and lets look to a brighter day. Though i cant read all what you wrote,i have accepted all your views so this can stop.

love-tosin:

@ lucas radebe: sentiment or no sentiment. I dont know why this "accordingly" is such a big deal to you.The good thing is the parties concerned are close to a resolution.Its getting to a long thing, act like this never happened.Please bury this matter and lets look to a brighter day. Though i cant read all what you wrote,i have accepted all your views so this can stop.

good for you,reading is my hobby hence the reason i read and replied your epistle with one of mine as well.the accordingly is such a big deal to me because i am a potential client and i take exception to an individual trying to negatively influence an honest and professional at his job. you chose to give a wrong advice where your views and advice were not sought for i am not on love tosin's thread on how to build a house i am on bra bus and spider's thread capische?
that is all we are asking for , a quick and amicable resolution which will in no small measure restore and build lost confidence hence the reason i am still subscribed to this thread

@ lucas :good for you,reading is my hobby hence the reason i read and replied your epistle with one of mine as well.the accordingly is such a big deal to me because i am a potential client and i take exception to an individual trying to negatively influence an honest and professional at his job. you chose to give a wrong advice where your views and advice were not sought for i am not on love tosin's thread on how to build a house i am on bra bus and spider's thread capische?
that is all we are asking for , a quick and amicable resolution which will in no small measure restore and build lost confidence hence the reason i am still subscribed to this thread

If you still have problem with accordingly,i will help you, here's a definition of what i meant, from merriam webster below

1(ACCORDINGLY) : in a proper or appropriate way : in a way that suits the facts, needs, or requirements of a situation


I dont know how to help you after this,you have close to 5000 post,what have you contributed,i guess when you get to 10k post,i can learn from you.I have said my own sha ,no hard feelings.I really like your analysis.

love-tosin:

@ lucas :good for you,reading is my hobby hence the reason i read and replied your epistle with one of mine as well.the accordingly is such a big deal to me because i am a potential client and i take exception to an individual trying to negatively influence an honest and professional at his job. you chose to give a wrong advice where your views and advice were not sought for i am not on love tosin's thread on how to build a house i am on bra bus and spider's thread capische?
that is all we are asking for , a quick and amicable resolution which will in no small measure restore and build lost confidence hence the reason i am still subscribed to this thread

If you still have problem with accordingly,i will help you, here's a definition of what i meant, from merriam webster below

1(ACCORDINGLY) : in a proper or appropriate way : in a way that suits the facts, needs, or requirements of a situation


I dont know how to help you after this,you have close to 5000 post,what have you contributed,i guess when you get to 10k post,i can learn from you.I have said my own sha ,no hard feelings.I really like your analysis.

in case you have not realised till now,each time you try explaining you r digging yourself deeper and deeper in the hole you have found yourself.there is no shame in retracting a negative comment.
if you read and comprehend the dictionary meaning you have posted,you are inferring that spider has not been charging appropriately and my grouse for responding is the fact that it is not your business what the man charges even if its ten naira for a year's work.he is an adult and does not need you to spoon feed him advice simple hence the word "PATRONISING"
as for my contributions,with all sense of responsibility and humility those who have learnt from me with the little i have contributed via my comments are testimonies and if you have the time to read through my posts. however having said that pls be aware that you are simply a user name to me and nothing more and i really don't think you can learn from me or anyone considering the fact that you are still trying to justify an obviously negative and insensitive comment which you even made in an offhand manner.since you made the comment has spyder replied you with a acknowledgement to take it on board?
how many comments have supported your stance since you made it?this shows you what the general people think of it even if you totally discountenance my views.
the only reason for my responding to it without ignoring it like most people have done at the risk of derailing the thread is for the benefit of non nigerians who trawl through these threads and might wrongly assume we all subscribe to this flawed notion
those i have learnt from and keep learning from i have never been ashamed to admit publicly on here ,you sire are not one of them,

diodavies: Quote from: spyder880 on June 06, 2011, 06:24 PM
Hello Nairalanders, its spyder880 once again, reaching you live and direct from Enugu. I will be reporting from a site I will be building for a client I met here on nairaland. A friend who saw my previous thread "THE REAL COST OF BUILDING A 6 BEDROOM DUPLEX" contacted me and we worked out modalities on me helping him to build his own house. I have gone to the site and taken a few pictures and right now, site clearing is in progress.
Let us gather here and make this thread great as my previous thread. I will not abandon my own house, I will be doing them concurrently, (I can even add more jobs if I get more ) As usual I will need your inputs, suggestions and criticisms from well meaning members, I dont know everything, but your suggestions have seen me come thus far, where is Am alone, brabus, kuntash, kccool, omobashua1, and all other friends too numerous to mention? Please come o we need to work together again, (I value his contributions no matter how I feel)
I will also be tracking all the costs (materials and labour) so the owner can see how we spend his money.

These are initial pictures from the site when it was not cleared.

diordavies [b]I salute your courage and confidence in opening up to public scrutiny in a serious and sometimes vexatious project like house building. Well done!. I have a few word of advice though. I am assuming your client is a Nairalander, so must be in tune with the controversy of building in public eye. If your client is a Nairalander, this is also for him.

Building in public eye and scrutiny as your case is like appointing a technical adviser to the Super Eagles; suddenly 160 million Nigerians will turn technical advisers, some will be constructive in criticizing, some will be all knowing (I know everything syndrome) and yet some other will be damn right jealous and go great length to bring the project down. Hope you guys are ready for this?

My advice to you guys, is to draw out a blue print (road map) towards the realization of the project in line with cash-flow and use this blue print to benchmark performance and digest any criticism. If your project is going according to your blue print, you will do well to grow thick skin to negative criticism and courageous enough to adopt any constructive input from the general public. The danger with such project is the bring-down-syndrome. Don't be suprise to hear calls for the sacking of "local coach" (builder) and the appointment of a foreign technical adviser. IF such time comes, do not deviate, stick to plan and resolve any bottleneck according to your blue print. May the good Lord crown your effort with success. Stay Blessed.
[/b]

You must have some form of ability to see into the future. funny exactly what happened.

My people, lets forget all these arguments and get back to the learning road. Our going round and round with these points will not help us.

(One quick question) why is it so hard for our young workmen to learn perfect finishing skills? Why is it the Ghananian, Togolese and other outside workers that are skilled enough to finish houses, what is happening to our young workmen and women?

@ Love-tosin---- At this stage of the thread and after reading some of the posts, I do believe your level of reasoning should have picked up to deter you from making negative and insensitive comments. To me, you are still posting as if you have your brain under the sole of your feet (Quote from my pastor when addressing non-sensical people).

Do continue what you know how to do best but It'll do us good if you keep mum at least for now. You can look back at all my posts, there has never been a time when I sing praise of anybody (Brabus/Spyder880) like you claimed and those who do like Fhemmy & co have a reason for doing that (It's a means of encouraging them to dish out more info) based on what I've read so far

Enjoy ur day and try to read the post over & over again to understand the valid point LUCABRASI & others of great mind are trying to make. This will be my last comment to your tantrums based on spyder880 comment above

@spyder880: "My people, lets forget all these arguments and get back to the learning road. Our going round and round with these points will not help us.
(One quick question) why is it so hard for our young workmen to learn perfect finishing skills? Why is it the Ghananian, Togolese and other outside workers that are skilled enough to finish houses, what is happening to our young workmen and women?"

Good question. I have been wondering myself and iam yet to know why but i want to guess. I do not think that our young workmen do not have the perfect finishing skills. I believe it boils down to impatience. Every young man wants to quickly make it and so when they are given a job, most of them spend the money on frivolous things (latest handset, several handsets) when the work has not yet started or finished and by the time the job is started, there is no more money to complete the work or do a perfect job, hence the poor job or poor finishing. I used to have a carpenter who was always doing good small small jobs for me. I gave him a job to do a bed for me and also recommended him to a family friend. It took him after six months to deliver the bed and this is after i threatened to arrest him with police and when he delivered it, it was terrible. The bed was more like a 4*4 instead of 6*4. He did not even deliver the job of the family friend and the lady had to look for somebody else to do it. I had wanted him to do the bed before giving him a set of settee to do. I was just passing one day when i saw a beautiful set of settee done by a carpenter and i engaged the guy and he deliver a good and perfect job within a week. My Neighbor saw it and also gave him a bigger job that was paid for by his company. After some years, i decided to change the leather on this same set of settee and engaged the same guy again paying him in full. To my horror, the job now took him 3 weeks and was always coming up with excuses. A month after the job was done, the leather has started to tear. The guy used inferior materials and the job was poorly done. I just could not understand. I have seen several cases. This complaints is not restricted to me. I have asked several of my friends and it is the same complaints. What really is the problem?. Is it the pressure of the society or what?.

LSPDC RENO UPDATE:

Its been two weeks now that we've been silent on this project and promised a new song.

Its my joy and happiness to inform my esteemed clients and friends who stood by till the end that discussions is on the way for the next phase of the project 'LSPDC Makeover 2: The Stairwell Renovation'.

Coming soon on this thread!

___________

Many thanks to my client (ahonohia) for the opportunity.

@Aks : I do believe your level of reasoning should have picked up to deter you from making negative and insensitive comments. To me, you are still posting as if you have your brain under the sole of your feet (Quote from my pastor when addressing non-sensical people).

I wasn't gonna reply you on d brabus issue again,but i need to point out something to u, cuz you have taken ur level of stupidity to another level.Cant u see,u are a joke and a complete slowpoke.
  At this point i can see clearly where ur evil thought and negative energy emanates from.No question about that. That quote was supposedly from ur pastor.Isn't his primary job to gather is erring flock,try to redeem,show them d love,understanding and d goodness of d Lord.sorry if you are been lead by such,u really need to re-examine ur head,re-evaluate ur purpose in life and say bye to such place of worship.
  Imagine,you seems so proud to post such drivel about ur pastor and went ahead to highlight it to show ur seriousness.From now on i cant take u any serious.

You can look back at all my posts, there has never been a time when I sing praise of anybody (Brabus/Spyder880) like you claimed and those who do like Fhemmy & co have a reason for doing that

FYI:no need to bring fhemmy or anyone into this,you open ur filthy mouth when i wasn't talking to u and i stuff ur garbage down ur throat.

vEnjoy your day and try to read the post over & over again to understand the valid point LUCABRASI & others of great mind are trying to make. This will be my last comment to your tantrums based on spyder880 comment aboe

no need to go back to ur filthy post. huh,  GREAT MIND, are you for real, u must be on opium or ecstacy" to even think u are one.

Staircase and entryway remodeling is all the rage these days. This is primarily because more and more people are waking up to the idea of making these areas the focal point of their homes.

A great house is really the sum of its parts.

The picture attached show what the entry/stairway looked like at present. Notice the sharp contrast between the living room and the foyer in pic 1 below. What you see is a sort of dead zone between the entryway/staircase and the living room where my client entertain his visitors, hang out, watch TV etc. We need to fix that. Follow along as we explore the possibilities.

LSPDC RENO UPDATE:

Where are we? Here's a sneak peek into the Interior Detailing of the apartment. New responsibility given to us by our client. Coordination, supervision and installation.
We won't be blogging about this for privacy reason.

^^ ATLAST
WE THANK
THE GOOD
LORD OOO

THIS IS A NEW STORY I GUESS!!!!!

@ahonohai, i would like to have a discussion with you I would need your assistance. please send your number to my email moorewatedon@yahoo.com

@ahonohai, i would like to have a discussion with you I would need your assistance. please send your number to my email moorewatedon@yahoo.com

NextHome:

@analytical, thanks so much.

Brabus/NextHome, all is well that ends well.  I am glad this has ended well, with further projects for that matter!    I was waiting for either you or Ahonohai to update us, but I guess pictures speak louder than words.  I love the interior.  At the end, lessons have been learnt.  Please endeavour to build on the experience and serve your clients to satisfaction.

Ahonohai, thanks for seeing this through to an amicable ending, with additional projects!  It says a lot about your person.  Enjoy the house.

All, thanks too for being there all the while.

Cheers.

Hiya, na Almighty God go bless you for wetin you dey do for us, friends and relatives think say the money easy for oversea, now wey you dey show us the day to day cost of building from scratch, all of them don shame, abeg my bros, tell me, to do pilla and linter for 2 flats before the decking, how much do yu think that will cost me, and please can you give me a rough estimate and the types of rod wey i need at this stage. of the rods and gravel to use.

mildred39:

Hiya, na Almighty God go bless you for wetin you dey do for us, friends and relatives think say the money easy for oversea, now wey you dey show us the day to day cost of building from scratch, all of them don shame, abeg my bros, tell me, to do pilla and linter for 2 flats before the decking, how much do yu think that will cost me, and please can you give me a rough estimate and the types of rod wey i need at this stage. of the rods and gravel to use.

Hollow block walls in residential construction don’t have much load carrying capacity or the strength needed to withstand lateral shaking. That’s why its so important that the reinforced concrete columns and the lintel beams are properly specified and constructed.

The only advice I can give here is that you should talk to your structural engineer, if you have one or post the building plan here maybe one of our experts on NL can give a professional advice.

Poor design or construction can have disastrous consequences. Do it right, my bro!

______________

Case Study: Brabus Neighbour

Mr Emeka (my site neighbour) assumed that the plans developed by his architect would ensure, if followed to the letter, that his project would result in a soundly engineered house. In some aspects, the design of the beams and columns, quantity and size of rebar, this goal was met.

He had actually looked at the way I built my house and felt it was ridiculously overbuilt. Interestingly, his builder was right in terms of concrete mixes, column and beam sizes, and quantity of reinforcing bar. They used good materials but, unknowingly, they did not always follow good engineering practices.

Why?

In many critical areas, the plans were deficient. It did not provide details that were needed to properly tie together joints for maximum strength. There were few details about critical issues such as adequately tying corners and walls together so that the building can act as a unit to resist blast-induced ground vibrations from WAPCO factory which is less than 2km to our site.

Given that there were few instructions in the plans, the workers followed their own instincts and prior experiences. While Mr Emeka was not knowledgeable about such matters, he was on the job every day until a whole section of the building fell apart. It even fell on my fence and my fence was not affected. I didnt even notice it until another neighbour told me.

Do it right Bro. It is your house.

hi people,i can see that alot has transpired since i last came here.alot of drama n infighting still persist,just like i said then,i am here to contribute n more so to learn,i just can't stand d name calling n the know it all of some,i believe a man stops learning d day he losses d breath of life,no one is too old or young to learn or even teach.some of this altitude has turned off a few ppl off this thread ike i am alone.we all need to know we r all different in our own unique ways,a forum isn't the right place to scold others for what one think is their shortcomings.we are here to learn n i hope am alone as well can get past the previous shenanigans and update us with some of his current pictures of his house.The great thing about this thread is that everyone started with good intentions and along the way we all got carried away,i can't help but conclude that alot of this is imbeded in us by way of our culture,the same thing that makes us unique among all others in the world r dividing us.I am glad spyder started this thread and he has been a very good contributor,am alone has been tremendious as well,infact i have changed alot of my house designs after seeing his.Anoher person i will like to commend is nexthome aka brabus,although i thing he might come off as aloof sometimes,he is a knowlegeable fellow n quite good at what he does,in defense of him about some customers or clients complaining,lets be real we nigerians are the hardest people to please,in was already in a losing battle b4 d fight started,all he can do is to do his best and so far i think he has lived up to that end.Am alone,i am expecting so more pics from u n i expect some more updates from spyder as well, nice one guys

sorry for for d typo errors,just clicking away guys.once again good job people

@mildred39,

I'm sorry for referring you back to your engineer. I'm not trying to pour water on your passion but what I'm trying to express here is that you need to discuss more with your engineer/architect/builders or whoever is handling the design of the project. He is the designer and you have employed him to help you create a home for you.

If you want him to do the best job for you, you will have to work together. Remember, we are not there with you.

Without a detailed drawing and site information, we will all be giving you advice based on our instincts and prior experiences with a different project which will make any calculation or estimate given to be unrealistic and inaccurate for you project.

I can understand what you are trying to do but my advice is that you allow the to do his job. I want to believe you didn't hire a quack - but if you doubt his competence, then fire him before its too late.