AngelicBeing:
l understand, l hope he truly repents and turn a new leaf or else his source of income will crash permanently on Nairaland

Problem is not repentance. It is people doing what they are not trained to do and refusing to get competent people to work with them to cover the deficiencies they have in skill, experience and competency. It is not particular to this guy.

Brabus started as a computer/IT/Graphics designer. How did he become a builder overnight? Was there any training? Did he get competent people to cover his knowledge gap?

There are many people like that. Those that move from selling tiles/sanitary wares to become builder. Those that move from doing DSTV/CCTV installation to become electrical contractors. Those that move from making windows/doors to becoming builders.

It is right to follow your passion (Spyder did). There is however the need to acquire the necessary skill or competencies. Alternatively, employ those with such skills and competencies to work with you.

Reality is that we have many 'quacks' masquerading as professionals and people get carried away with their 'packaging' or relatively 'cheap' quote. Professionals come at a premium. If you make decisions purely on 'price' you are likely to end up with quacks. That's why lowest bidder is not necessary the right person for the job.

The other problem is that some people just lack integrity. They are money driven! Unfortunately it is difficult to discover such until they show their true colors. God help us!

I have had my fair share of what I call destructive carpenter. Some dont know their onions while some will cause destruction once they know you are not giving them the cover aluminium or other covering job.

Now I ensure I let them know the covering is subject to open bid. So as soon as they finish the top 2by4 part I call the aluminium guys to check that woodwork is adequate for the type of covering and their price. Make sure you stroll around to eavesdrop on the conversation with the carpenter as often times the aluminium person might be reluctant to let you know that the carpenter has done a shitty job at that initial meeting.

In private you question the aluminium person both about the adequacy of woodwork and any conversation you heard between him and carpenter if it relates to corrective action to be taken.

I now make sure I only make everyone aware who got the job when the carpenter is at ceiling stage and call the aluminum person to come back and take final measurements a day before installation. If you notice that the carpenter goes back to woodwork please stop them to find out why. Could be your indication of sabotage.

Advantage to using a local carpenter might be that people volunteer to let you know where they had to redo his work. The first time this happened I did not take necessary action (at my peril )cos he was not the main concontractor but a support. I ended up with a leak which took 4 visits to correct and the quality of work was found wanting. I did not let such pass me by on the next job. Sentiments end up costing you a lot of money.


.

EgunMogaji:


I fell victim to this and the asshat aluminum roofer just put the damn aluminum on even though the wood underneath was shoddy. I'll be redoing the entire roofing when this was is worn out.

No pride of workmanship at all in some of this people.

One of the code on site between artisans is honour among theives. You need to question them to get answer to your own situation.

EgunMogaji:


I fell victim to this and the asshat aluminum roofer just put the damn aluminum on even though the wood underneath was shoddy. I'll be redoing the entire roofing when this was is worn out.

No pride of workmanship at all in some of this people.

gabbytabby:
I have had my fair share of what I call destructive carpenter. Some dont know their onions while some will cause destruction once they know you are not giving them the cover aluminium or other covering job.

Now I ensure I let them know the covering is subject to open bid. So as soon as they finish the top 2by4 part I call the aluminium guys to check that woodwork is adequate for the type of covering and their price. Make sure you stroll around to eavesdrop on the conversation with the carpenter as often times the aluminium person might be reluctant to let you know that the carpenter has done a shitty job at that initial meeting.

In private you question the aluminium person both about the adequacy of woodwork and any conversation you heard between him and carpenter if it relates to corrective action to be taken.

I now make sure I only make everyone aware who got the job when the carpenter is at ceiling stage and call the aluminum person to come back and take final measurements a day before installation. If you notice that the carpenter goes back to woodwork please stop them to find out why. Could be your indication of sabotage.

Advantage to using a local carpenter might be that people volunteer to let you know where they had to redo his work. The first time this happened I did not take necessary action (at my peril )cos he was not the main concontractor but a support. I ended up with a leak which took 4 visits to correct and the quality of work was found wanting. I did not let such pass me by on the next job. Sentiments end up costing you a lot of money.

.

Thank you for sharing Ma.

I've learnt a lot on the apartment garage and I won't make the same mistakes on the main house because I'm making them my lessons learned. I, in fact, was able to apply the understanding of Nigeria artisans and apply them on the power/gateman house.

Chekitaut:
Cement price is coming down soon N500 off from present price.

what is the price now? Happy Sunday.

kopell:
Guys pls stop wasting your hard earn money in my opinion, all these doors can be made locally to meet your specification, get the right guy tell him the thickness of plate you want. The can make it even in 5mm plate thickness as far you're ready to pay, if you don't mind the wight. I believe 2.5mm thickness is many then enough for a door.

The gist is about internal wooden doors and not metal doors.

diordaves:


The gist is about internal wooden doors and not metal doors.

with the internal wooden door are easier, here some locally made doors. Make them spray them to your teste.

For the Metal doors this are the 3mm thickness locally made frames, as far the have the press machine that as capacity or tonage to press the thickness SEKENA. My brothers don't be deceived. Nigerian companies are making these doors back then before the road side welders start make them. Pls don't get me wrong most of those folks that work in those companies then, took there experience to open there own work shops.
Here are the sample of the press formed frame. Those white are the only imported press face of the doors

Chekitaut:
Cement price is coming down soon N500 off from present price.

please let us know when this eventually happens

gabbytabby:
One of the code on site between artisans is honour among theives. You need to question them to get answer to your own situation.

/
Congratulations!

You guys have turned the thread into "The lamentations of prospective home owners in Nigeria: The cat and mouse game between artisans and homeowners".

It is sad albeit hilarious.
\

InvertedHammer:

/
Congratulations!

You guys have turned the thread into "The lamentations of prospective home owners in Nigeria: The cat and mouse game between artisans and homeowners".

It is sad albeit hilarious.
\

Look at the thread again.It is Discuss ANYTHING and EVERYTHING in building construction. If you term that LAMENTATION, you probably don't understand the import of what is being done here. Disagreement, dishonesty, honesty, integrity, ingenuity, creativity, castigation, reprimand, condemnation and commendation are all part and parcel of what is being celebrated here to make people make informed decision.

How do you separate professionals from quacks in the building industry if not through what is termed "Lamentation" ? Haven't you see where people celebrate creativity by people like Spyder,Segcymoor,Aventure,Skimanski,Podosci,Abdulwatecx to mention but a few? In the same light,people have condemned some other peopl here for misdemeanour. I see nothing wrong here except there are hypocrites amongst us.

koolengrtimmy:
I follow this thread closely and I commend the good people on here. Clients needs to do a background check on these contractors you want to engage, only few knows the rudiments of construction and they often do not want to heed to correction when they make errors.
Its better to give jobs to an average company that will do it better and be buoyant to make a refund than individual who will come begging. I have made mistakes as a pupil engineer that I had to pay dearly for. I cannot give you a roofing job and it has to be brought down -- haaa sorry alone cannot do the repairs. To those quacks/ artisans/ supervisors claiming site engineers up n down , your days are numbered. NB- prospective clients , get a list of materials , buy them yourself and negotiate on supervision shikena!!

/
Background check? How?
Do you see how long it took before victims exposed HSLbroker?
This is probably why his body count is very high.

The saddest part is when victims keep quiet in the face of victimization by fraudulent "contractors/hustlers".
\

Marilo:


Look at the thread again.It is Discuss ANYTHING and EVERYTHING in building construction. If you term that LAMENTATION, you probably don't understand the import of what is being done here. Disagreement, dishonesty, honesty, integrity, ingenuity, creativity, castigation, reprimand, condemnation and commendation are all part and parcel of what is being celebrated here to make people make informed decision.

How do you separate professionals from quacks in the building industry if not through what is termed "Lamentation" ? Haven't you see where people celebrate creativity by people like Spyder,Segcymoor,Aventure,Skimanski,Podosci,Abdulwatecx to mention but a few? In the same light,people have condemned some other peopl here for misdemeanour. I see nothing wrong here except there are hypocrites amongst us.

/
If you read my post one more time, you will catch the joke angle.
Moving on...all of you should share the blame for waiting this long
before speaking up. You could have saved a lot of people from misery.
\

InvertedHammer:

/
If you read my post one more time, you will catch the joke angle.
Moving on...all of you should share the blame for waiting this long
before speaking up. You could have saved a lot of people from misery.
\

I do catch the joke,i just pointed out the seriousness embellished in the joke.

We are all learning,we shall get there!

InvertedHammer:

/
Background check? How?
Do you see how long it took before victims exposed HSLbroker?
This is probably why his body count is very high.

The saddest part is when victims keep quiet in the face of victimization by fraudulent "contractors/hustlers".
\

This is the biggest disappointment for me. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing I could have saved others from grief.

https://www.nairaland.com/3148782/how-select-good-builder

When we unmasked Brabus and exposed what he was really like, has anyone else fallen victim ? Some will say because of 200k, but I hope sensible people can see that its more than that, imagine if brabus was not exposed and was still left to cause havoc !
Some i*iots who were moaning and supporting him then, where are they now ?

TLAX:


Abeg i can't stop laughing. E don do. Na only God save me from the guy hand also in 2015 after he had sent me 2 quotes. Not that i suspected he was a charlatan but i just went along with the recommendation of the engineer on the job on an alternative.

These guys should be exposed early enough. Somebody had complained about him last year i believe, but only used innuendos. As usual this caused brick bats on this thread. I just wonder the number of people that would have been spared the agony if he had been unmasked then.

I know you have written extensively over this, do you have a thread/blog with everything from A - Z, that goes to the point about incorporating this in a design from day 1 and some prerequisites that needs to have been done.

I know I said i will write a blog about building from diaspora, but your own about renewable energy I feel is more important and everyone can relate to.

abunafiu:
My best solar energy harvest in 2017.
I recorded 17.6KWH harvest today.
Fridge and freezer all frozen.
Renewable Energy rules.
Let's all include this in our building design.
Fell free to ask questions.
My house is the only one with light tonight in the hood.

mavverick:
When we unmasked Brabus and exposed what he was really like, has anyone else fallen victim ? Some will say because of 200k, but I hope sensible people can see that its more than that, imagine if brabus was not exposed and was still left to cause havoc !
Some i*iots who were moaning and supporting him then, where are they now ?

My theory is that the draining of the swap here resulted in the desperation that caused this.

https://www.nairaland.com/3496421/estate-agent-docked-over-n5m

kopell:
with the internal wooden door are easier, here some locally made doors. Make them spray them to your teste.

From the pix the doors are really looking good from start, but after the first and second harmattan seasons​, will the doors close smoothly without trouble? Will there be no split at the sims and joints? Will there be no warping and dry out? Because this is usually the arguments against locally made doors.

But I must confess, the wooden doors look really good. Where were the wooden doors made?

Here to read and learn as am still contemplating on whether to use wooden or metal doors for my internal doors.

I have coined a lot of phrases since I ventured into building from diaspora 10 years ago. Some are

Cunnyman die cunnyman bury am
Old girl manage your expectations if you no wan make 9ja artisan give you stroke.
Break it down. Eg tell carpenter how many nails to put.
Supervision is the key.
Always consider the 9ja factor.
Talk less. But make sure to listen and observe.


In the beginning I used to really get annoyed now I smile when they think them done catcha maga not knowing that level don change and I have moved on.

Keep info about your plans and your finances close to your chest cos na the ones close to you go expose you to omonile and fake local council make them hassle you for money. Nobody knew that my last project was start and give keys to all tenants in under 6 months.

InvertedHammer:

/
Congratulations!

You guys have turned the thread into "The lamentations of prospective home owners in Nigeria: The cat and mouse game between artisans and homeowners".

It is sad albeit hilarious.
\

EgunMogaji:


This is what I was able to come up with.

https://www.nairaland.com/2841505/nexthome-2016-construction-daily-updates/9#45743468

There was a link showing the guys work though.

Thank you very much for the link but diordaves has said mostly what i have as a problem. After the second or third Harmattan the doors are warped hangout out at the hinges and makes noise terribly

anochuks08:
Here to read and learn as am still contemplating on whether to use wooden or metal doors for my internal doors.

For internal doors, I went with this light metal doors. I believe that they are Chinese made though it wasn't terribly important to me being that it's interior.

They had to be white and this is the only whites that my stockist had in Ibadan.

EgunMogaji:


For internal doors, I went with this light metal doors. I believe that they are Chinese made though it wasn't terribly important to me being that it's interior.

They had to be white and this is the only whites that my stockist had in Ibadan.

how much did u get this site?

twinskenny:


how much did u get this site?

I think N30k or thereabouts, bought three.

I'll be picking another one up soon for the gateman house. It locks up at the top, middle and bottom.

EgunMogaji:


I think N30k or thereabouts, bought three.

I'll be picking another one up soon for the gateman house. It locks up at the top, middle and bottom.

good price too.. nice i believe its come with all the accessories including the frame..

wanted to patronize this guy https://www.nairaland.com/3674323/quality-american-panel-doors-quick#54637240

he want me to pay before delivery who does that?

nice door though

twinskenny:


good price too.. nice i believe its come with all the accessories including the frame..

wanted to patronize this guy https://www.nairaland.com/3674323/quality-american-panel-doors-quick#54637240

he want me to pay before delivery who does that?

nice door though

It comes with all accessories.

As you know I like to save money, the vendor that I bought from had the lowest price in Ibadan for that item. I price like for like item, I do not compare gold plated to silver plated

I went there with one of my Micras and loaded all three up, cash and carry.

I wouldn't do payment before delivery

FastShipping:



I actually fell for the bolded. He claimed to be a qualified engineer and I fell for it. He created some windows for me and he did not put lintel in any of the windows. I still have the pictures of the windows that he sent me after he finished the work. I asked him why no lintel. Whereas, I paid for lintel, he said he ran out of money. But I paid him in full for the block work and windows.

Below is proof I paid him for lintel and block work he claimed he ran out of money for.

Seriously someone did a window without Lintel, in this Y2k dispensation
IDONBELIVIT

olumz1:
Hi Guys,

Does anyone know if it's possible to buy my internal doors, kitchen cabinets and wardrobes from the UK and ship to Nigeria. Will this be allowed through customs?

Thanks

You can but the wood matter is the koko,I got a whole 40ft container of home wares from china for the Mrs and have just 10 tv stand unit made of wood inside, the customs gave us head ache, took nearly 2 months to clear.My advice if it involve wood, plz go to lagos, there are people there making doors better than the ones in the, also in Benin city.

I'm just being sentimental, I just can't get my head and then heart around using metal doors for internal finish. I have tried but internal metal door na wa. To me it just doesn't look right, it doesn't feel right Why I don't know. I've never used metal internal doors, home and away. No, I will NOT use internal metal doors, even for rental I will NOT.

olumz1:


That's exactly my point, someone already offered me 8 doors for 5 pounds . To me thats like have them for free and these doors remain solid, no matter the weather.

8 doors £5? are you sure these are strong doors? plz check the grade.
I bet you my left knot something is not right there.

AngelicBeing:
Beautiful, how about the security situation where you live?.....do you have vigilantes / Opc / or it is self protection with a gun (AK-47) or juju / jazz / otumokpor / take broom and sweep my compound

I like that take broom and sweep my compound own, where can I get that one cos I heard it does not need monthly salary