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Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by Nobody: 9:13am On Oct 04, 2012
bisiswag:
haha,very funny mr bobo yekini a.k.a thread derailer! Move over will you
sad maddone..i was liking your siggy. not being fresh or anything ...
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by babaeko1: 12:52pm On Oct 04, 2012
Oga Brabus

I'm loving this post, spent the last 30 mins reading carefully. I happen to want to start fencing a plot in a water logged area, I knew the area was waterlogged right from the very start as that the nature of the terrain (Lekki).

My question is that whilst I'm not a millionaire that can afford to give a blank cheque to a contractor etc, what I want to do is supply materials to a builder, he builds it alongside my architect, he will build shell initially, I take a rest and gather more cash to complete the finishing 6-9 months later. My question is that whats the best way to deal with a situation where I want to supply materials, the reason why I want to do this is that there are some things that you rightly mentioned I dont want to compromise on, I want to but good quality materials irrespective of the costs and just want to pay for labour (someone to do the actual work).

I have someone who is a very good architect, he will do the supervision and drawing etc. Lastly when attemptiong to build in lagos state schemes, how do you know whether you are allowed to build what you intend to build without making so many trips to the approval people back n forth.
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by brabus(m): 9:56pm On Oct 04, 2012
@Baba Eko, You can save money, time or quality, but you can’t save all three. Decide on your approach and accept that you will have to invest something.
____________
In response to your question, I can see that the build-route you want to use is 'Self-Managed' which means you’ll be responsible for physically building the house from scratch. I can also see that you've tried to make it easier by engaging an architect to handle tasks that you won’t be able to carry out yourself. If that's the only reason you're engaging him, then he's irrelevant in the project. He should have the same power as yourself and even more to take decision without waiting for your approval.

(But make we talk true, water-logged site construction pass Architect's supervision o!)

You've also gone a step further to define roles and responsibilities such as interpretation of design drawings, ordering of materials and building inspection, taking deliveries and organising the day-to-day running of the site.
(Who will inspect the building - perform quality check?). The Architect - will double as the referee and the skipper.

This approach is very good in theory but is it practicable and economical? Read on:

Real life example: I just finished a fence project for a Nairaland client few weeks ago in a water-logged area. My budget for the project is N2.5m but we ended up spending over N3m to do the same job using 'Self-Managed' approach (ie. the owner supply the materials). We also ended up spending extra 4 weeks waiting for the gates to be delivered. Between the time we're waiting for the gates and when it was delivered, a 5 bedroom duplex project in the same area was started and finished to roofing stage using 'Contractor-managed' approach. Where did the extra fund went? Why did the work took so long? Why did we end up spending more while trying to save cost?


Cost and Cash-flow Implications: this approach is a sure way to build houses with very little budget. Cash-flow are much easier to manage using this approach than with the other routes, as the only outgoings are actual cost of materials, for which you are responsible.

However, you’ll need to factor into the equation, the losses you made when you order wrong items, incomplete materials or when delayed delivery of materials is holding up the build process.

If you must follow this route, you'll need to ensure the following (especially when building water-logged sites):

1. You must be available at all time to provide and take deliveries of materials as needed.
2. You must know more than just the basics to determine when you're overspending or under-budgeting on a particular stage. You will need to know material requirements — not just the quality you want but, more importantly, the quantity.
3. You’ll need an in-depth knowledge of the building project schedule (i.e. what trades come after each other and which work are dependent on other)
4. Research your roles very well before starting out, because your life will no longer be your own till the end of the project. (Managing suppliers, artisans, subcontractors when you have no knowledge of the subject matter may well leave you open to exploitation by unscrupulous men).
5. You need to know how to juggle the conflicting needs of your builder, architect, suppliers, subcontractors, and so on.
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by brabus(m): 4:42am On Oct 18, 2012
Construction Defects

In construction projects, the nature and type of defects can vary dramatically. So also is the point at which they become apparent.

In some cases, defects can easily be corrected before the building is handed over to the owner, while at the other extreme cases defects may occur long after the project has been completed and handed over.

Defects can arise because the work was not
carried out in a 'good and workmanlike manner' in accordance with good practice, or because wrong materials are been used. Whatever the case, the problem is usually the responsibility of the home owner, the designer, the building contractor and its supply chain.

Do it right the first time!
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by twhizzy19(m): 3:36pm On Oct 18, 2012
A man killed wife coz of child.I saw this on ncaforum.tk
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by hurricaneChris: 4:02pm On Oct 18, 2012
I will say this thread is my favorite on this forum so far. Am gonna share some lessons learnt as someone who is involved in the construction industry.

...As an IT student of architecture, Arc. Adegbite used to send me to different sites during my IT. One fateful day, somebdy came to d site and asked me hw much my boss collected for the design of dt houz (3-floor terrace houz). The man said he admired d design alot that he wudnt mind building xactly the same houz for himsef. I told him he wud be charged 550k for the design, lo and behold this man promised to gimme 200k if i cud get him (illegally) the architectural drawings of that houz from my Boss' laptop.

As an IT student, making 200k jus for giving u a drawing is like ''Living a dream''. I thought ova it and suddenly became scared because i knew it was a criminal act and also one day i wud be an Architect....somebdy wud do the same to me!!!

The next day i called this man and told him i couldnt do it! Gave him my reasons, but to my greatest surprise, this man told me that he was sent by Boss!

Today the only tin i dont do is to sleep with my Boss' wife. I eat in d same plate with him in his houz....drive his favorite jeep and even sit on his chair in his office even wen his around.

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Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by Nobody: 4:09pm On Oct 18, 2012
hurricaneChris: I will say this thread is my favorite on this forum so far. Am gonna share some lessons learnt as someone who is involved in the construction industry.

...As an IT student of architecture, Arc. Adegbite used to send me to different sites during my IT. One fateful day, somebdy came to d site and asked me hw much my boss collected for the design of dt houz (3-floor terrace houz). The man said he admired d design alot that he wudnt mind building xactly the same houz for himsef. I told him he wud be charged 550k for the design, lo and behold this man promised to gimme 200k if i cud get him (illegally) the architectural drawings of that houz from my Boss' laptop.

As an IT student, making 200k jus for giving u a drawing is like ''Living a dream''. I thought ova it and suddenly became scared because i knew it was a criminal act and also one day i wud be an Architect....somebdy wud do the same to me!!!

The next day i called this man and told him i couldnt do it! Gave him my reasons, but to my greatest surprise, this man told me that he was sent by Boss!

Today the only tin i dont do is to sleep with my Boss' wife. I eat in d same plate with him in his houz....drive his favorite jeep and even sit on his chair in his office even wen his around.
Ǎ̜̣̍Ϟd the moral of the story Iڪ?
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by Nobody: 4:24pm On Oct 18, 2012
I started out with teh intention of doing a small 3-bedroom as countryhome in my hometown, but the architect(who doubles as project supervisor) expanded the project beyond my initial plan dna budget - 3 bedroom, and 2 semi-detached 2-room BQ. Took longer than I planned and budget tripled. Still never finish it but after quarelling with my architect for expanding it beyond plan, I am happy he did.

I discussed it here.

https://www.nairaland.com/784501/building-house-kwara-state-journal#9367444

Other lesson point:

1, Just start, with as little money as you have
2, It is hardly possible that some people wont swindle you, you can only minimise it

1 Like

Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by hurricaneChris: 4:37pm On Oct 18, 2012
Most times many workers on site only undrstand d ''feet'' and ''inches'' units of measurements. When an Architect designs a houz and uses d ''milimetres(mm)'' as d unit of measuremnts, without an enlightened supervisor the bricklayers and carpenters always use the xperience of work the did 10yrs ago to interpret the present drawing......i have seen this lot of time. And its very pathetic

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Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by Philolos: 5:28pm On Oct 18, 2012
hurricaneChris: Most times many workers on site only undrstand d ''feet'' and ''inches'' units of measurements. When an Architect designs a houz and uses d ''milimetres(mm)'' as d unit of measuremnts, without an enlightened supervisor the bricklayers and carpenters always use the xperience of work the did 10yrs ago to interpret the present drawing......i have seen this lot of time. And its very pathetic

You raised the question of the level of education of our tradesmen/women or lack of, which is a topic for another thread. The west seems to do better than Nigeria in this category.

I would also like to add that most of the construction experiences and building quality/controls raised in this thread should typically be condensed into a building code, mechanical code, electrical code or standards, etc. That's how the west develops their codes based on lessons learnt in a particular country or locale over the years. I know Lagos borrows the old version of the UK building code... In some places the new BS standards are being used, but these codes/standards do not take into account building and construction experiences and lessons in Nigeria. We need to develop our own codes while learning from western codes and employing best practices. We also lack the proper oversight during building and construction. There should be inspections from LSDPC or a similar agency; inspections by a fire marshal or agency if one exist depending on the use of the building or site. These are institutions that should be created and will also create jobs while saving lives.

I also hear the pain of those whom are trying to build for residential purposes or commercial purposes. Like any venture, you have to understand that there is a lot of inflation within our system. You may have created your initial budget based on cement costing a certain amount or not considering some Omo Onile saying you have to pay up an amount before you excavate, pour concrete, fence, or roof. But it may be prudent to go into the building venture estimating that by the end of the project you may have spent between two to three times of your initial estimated budget. Now if you can’t afford this, you may have to limit your scope or quality of construction. My 2 cents.
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by phyl123: 5:36pm On Oct 18, 2012
brabus: Happy Independence Nigeria

~ Your JAMB score is 73 and you want to study Medicine to become a Doctor? That's not even enough marks to make you a NATIVE DOCTOR... Get a life! ~

~ You do not have a land and you want to purchase tiles for your dream house. That's f00lishness of highest order... Get a life! ~

~ Your house plan is for a bungalow and you want to add extra floor without due consultation? That's suicidal... Get a life! ~

~ Your build budget is N2m and you want to buy land in Festac, Lagos. That's not even enough to settle the council boys, omo onile and agents... Better look elsewhere in Mowe, Ikorodu, Siun, Agbowa, Ibeju-Lekki, Agbara, etc... Get a life! ~

~ You're 30 years old. You work in VI and you went to build your house in Agbara. That means you want to remain as a tenant till retirement age... Location is key. Nearness (to the market, church, school, work, airport, parks etc) is very important. ~

~ You just finished paying for your land and you're already bragging. Land purchase is just 5% of home ownership. In fact, shell construction (ie. Roofing stage is just 40%). Take am softly ~

Hi Brabus

Ive been a silent follower of most of your post.
I thought Ikorodu was a nice area, maybe you can advice us on the pros and cons of why you think these areas you have mentioned are not very nice, so for future home owners, we can learn because not everybody can afford to build in VI and Ikoyi. Thanks
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by peaceland(m): 6:33pm On Oct 18, 2012
nice. really nice
thank you
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by brabus(m): 7:07pm On Oct 18, 2012
THE GOOD BUILDER

You can really tell a lot about a build company by how well they treat you after they’re “done”. They are superb about following up with their clients and taking care of miscellaneous things that needed taking care of. Not only do they execute their job quickly and efficiently, but more importantly, they do it happily. A good build company stands behind their work, and they aren’t happy unless you are happy.

Lesson: Make sure the company who builds your house cares about you; not just finishing the job.
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by spyder880(m): 7:47pm On Oct 18, 2012
brabus: THE GOOD BUILDER

You can really tell a lot about a build company by how well they treat you after they’re “done”. They are superb about following up with their clients and taking care of miscellaneous things that needed taking care of. Not only do they execute their job quickly and efficiently, but more importantly, they do it happily. A good build company stands behind their work, and they aren’t happy unless you are happy.

Lesson: Make sure the company who builds your house cares about you; not just finishing the job.

Good points, and we made front page! The lessons here are simply cool.
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by Venchy: 7:56pm On Oct 18, 2012
Good thread, let the idea keep coming, very very useful.

Information is knowledge.
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by greaterlove(m): 8:03pm On Oct 18, 2012
cool thread.
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by phyl123: 8:28pm On Oct 18, 2012
Hi Brabus

You have not answered my question.
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by brabus(m): 8:47pm On Oct 18, 2012
A PERFECT HOME?

When building a house, we are always worried that any imperfection is going to end up bugging us for years. How untrue?

No matter how hard we tried to get things perfect during the build process, but there'll always be little things like imperfect alignment, imperfect tone or imperfect angles.

Lesson: Try to get everything as right as you can, but realize that nothing is ever going to be perfect and that the enjoyment of living in your house will make you forget anything that isn’t.

There are no true imperfection.

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Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by makaveli16(m): 9:17pm On Oct 18, 2012
brabus: Foundation Depth - How DEEP is deep enough?

I always wonder "What does a client need to know about foundations?" I think it is a subject that should be left for the structural engineers alone. But should we really do that? No, we need to understand the basics.

Foundation Design/Engineering is the most boring subject I've ever heard from engineers. It defies logic. I used to assume that the higher the structure, the deeper the foundation.

However, I've found out that foundation depth does not depend upon height. More height means more loads coming on the soil which means greater strength required at the width of the base rather than depth

Foundation depth depends upon various factors like:

1. Bearing capacity of the soil, which explains the reason why pile foundation is recommended in areas with insufficient bearing soil.
2. Function of the building (public carparks, auditorium, private residence, MTUs etc)
3. Wind loads
4. Depth of water table.




___________________
More updates on this topic when I gain more information.


Pic: Columns
I totally disagree with you, the higher a building goes, the deeper the foundation should go. You rightly stated Wind load as a factor to be considered. Wind loads and building heights have a direct proportionality (i.e the higher a building goes, the higher the Wind load). Pressure increases with depth, therefore the active earth pressure coupled with other factors such as Column strength, shear walls and bracing (if provided) needed to sufficiently resist such horizontal loads as wind load can only be achieved with an increase in depth. That's the width strength you were referring to.
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by brabus(m): 9:40pm On Oct 18, 2012
phyl123: Hi Brabus

You have not answered my question.

THE QUESTION:

Hi Brabus
Ive been a silent follower of most of your
post.
I thought Ikorodu was a nice area, maybe
you can advice us on the pros and cons of
why you think these areas you have
mentioned are not very nice, so for future
home owners, we can learn because not
everybody can afford to build in VI and
Ikoyi. Thanks


My response:

I never said Ikorodu, Mowe, Siun etc are not nice place to live in any of my posts, I just said they were cheaper locations to consider when you have a tight budget.

However, here are my views on assessing locations for building projects.

Note: this views are generally subjective

- Does it fulfill your personal aspirations?
- Does it provide the essential ingredients that will allow you and your family to feel comfortable? (Consider the fact that commuting time is much more important than commuting 'distance')
- Does it feel instinctively right?
- Will it be incongruous with other housing in
the neighbourhood?

Assessing 'best value' for land depends largely on your NEEDS (important matters which includes the quality of local schools, leisure facilities, shopping, health centres and, of course, access to the motorway network and to public transport), the FUNDS you have available and the PLANS you have made for the future.

If Ikorodu can meet you needs, budget and future plan - Go for it!


Lesson: Find the right balance between quantity and quality as this will help you determine what you want and where you want it.
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by brabus(m): 9:52pm On Oct 18, 2012
makaveli16:
I totally disagree with you, the higher a building goes, the deeper the foundation should go. You rightly stated Wind load as a factor to be considered. Wind loads and building heights have a direct proportionality (i.e the higher a building goes, the higher the Wind load). Pressure increases with depth, therefore the active earth pressure coupled with other factors such as Column strength, shear walls and bracing (if provided) needed to sufficiently resist such horizontal loads as wind load can only be achieved with an increase in depth. That's the width strength you were referring to.

Points noted.

The Burj Dubai Tower (at 818m or 2,684-ft height or almost exactly 1/2 a mile) has a 3.7m thick raft foundation sitting on 50m deep bored piles. I would expect the founding depth of such structure to be more deeper.
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by phyl123: 10:20pm On Oct 18, 2012
Thanks Brabus

Maybe this should be an idea for a new thread, cos i know a few people who do not live in Lagos but are interested in purchasing properties in some of these areas you have mentioned. They would be interested in certain kind of information, like the crime rate,security, noise and other kinds of polution levels, road access during the raining season and nearness to basic facilities etc such a thread will be very informative in helping to make their decision.

brabus:

My response:

I never said Ikorodu, Mowe, Siun etc are not nice place to live in any of my posts, I just said they were cheaper locations to consider when you have a tight budget.

However, here are my views on assessing locations for building projects.

Note: this views are generally subjective

- Does it fulfill your personal aspirations?
- Does it provide the essential ingredients that will allow you and your family to feel comfortable? (Consider the fact that commuting time is much more important than commuting 'distance')
- Does it feel instinctively right?
- Will it be incongruous with other housing in
the neighbourhood?

Assessing 'best value' for land depends largely on your NEEDS (important matters which includes the quality of local schools, leisure facilities, shopping, health centres and, of course, access to the motorway network and to public transport), the FUNDS you have available and the PLANS you have made for the future.

If Ikorodu can meet you needs, budget and future plan - Go for it!


Lesson: Find the right balance between quantity and quality as this will help you determine what you want and where you want it.
their decision.
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by spyder880(m): 11:01pm On Oct 18, 2012
brabus: A PERFECT HOME?

When building a house, we are always worried that any imperfection is going to end up bugging us for years. How untrue?

No matter how hard we tried to get things perfect during the build process, but there'll always be little things like imperfect alignment, imperfect tone or imperfect angles.

Lesson: Try to get everything as right as you can, but realize that nothing is ever going to be perfect and that the enjoyment of living in your house will make you forget anything that isn’t.

There are no true imperfection.


Some of the mistakes made in some houses turned out to be new innovations and new ideas which will be packaged and built as new designs by others.

1 Like

Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by Mowire: 1:44am On Oct 19, 2012
@brabus, honestly I admire your patience in packaging this thread. I'd to read from op to this vey point without break.
Nice work. You can't imagine what favour you've your professional colleagues by educating home owners who rush to this forum to learn how tackle and frustrate ("the antics" of) their Engineers.
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by kcstyle40(m): 8:02am On Oct 19, 2012
^ pls can anybody help link me to an estate developer cuz i have a land that i want to build 3bdrm flats on but i have no capital so am looking for any firm that can build for me and collect back their money via rents as the area is developed already . Pls ur asistance will be appreciated thanks
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by otunbadan(m): 10:51am On Oct 19, 2012
brabus: A PERFECT HOME?

When building a house, we are always worried that any imperfection is going to end up bugging us for years. How untrue?

No matter how hard we tried to get things perfect during the build process, but there'll always be little things like imperfect alignment, imperfect tone or imperfect angles.

Lesson: Try to get everything as right as you can, but realize that nothing is ever going to be perfect and that the enjoyment of living in your house will make you forget anything that isn’t.
There are no true imperfection.



Hello Sir,please do you have any information concerning construction of prefabricated houses in Nigeria,would you ssubscribe to the idea?
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by Jibsonified(m): 2:00pm On Oct 19, 2012
I need advice on renovating a bungalow (in half plot land) built in 1966.
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by justme8001: 3:24pm On Oct 19, 2012
I just acquired new knowledge, this is very informative, thanks
Re: Building In Nigeria: Lessons Learned by dammytex: 4:42pm On Oct 19, 2012
My first bookmarked page on Nairaland.

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