Interesting! I am waiting for you. Blue Devils!

spyder880:

My people, its better for you to buy and use N4500 toilet seat to complete your house than to stay a day longer in a rented apartment.

Once again it shall be well with for giving hope to many!

Meanwhile if u use this less than 5k own would it not last or flush?  Pls I need to knw.

Guys, guys ,  get over this argument!
It is pointless and does not serve any purpose except to run each other down!
I think both of you have a point and the point has been made. Let us not derail this thread.
US market has both cheap and expensive but so does the Nigerian Market!
At the end of the day, it all depends on what you see and come across in your hunt for suitable items!
There are no absolutes in any of these!!!!

During the property boom, I purchased bathroom sets from Homedepot for as little as $200!! (These included Bath tub, Toilet bowl set and Sink with Pedestal!!)
In the same period I also purchased sets for another house that was in excess of $2500! - It all depends on what you are trying to achieve.

I have seen very poor, poor quality of products in Naija (, I repeat, I mean terribly poor product!!), however I have also seen fantastic bathroom sets that is fit for a king for sale in Naija stores too!! No one person can claim to have been to every store and seen every item for sale.

Sometimes Naija deals are good, some other times the quality you get for the price is pathetic. That is why you have to shine your eyes well well and do what is in your own best interest. China can make great stuff and the same china can give you your worst nightmare - depends on what you allow!

By the grace of God, when I start my own home some products will come from Nigeria and some other products will come from the US. We cannot allow that simple fact to cause us to drag each other in the mud?? Life is full of choices. One man's meat is another one's bone - that is why variety is the spice of life!

God bless

payless:

Interesting! I am waiting for you. Blue Devils!

Better to be a blue devil than a fake devil. Enough with your stupidity. Don't detract the thread!

And by the way, just in case you are wondering, the $200 bathroom sets ( I used them on several occasions in rental homes) are all doing fine! Short of someone smashing them with sledge hammers, they will stay functional for many many years (many are already 5yrs old). Sometimes we confuse luxury with quality. The absence of luxury does not necessarily mean the absence of quality! If the N5000 toilet does not break or refuse to flush - then by all means buy it! We always forget that life is in stages. If I buy N5000 toilet today becos that is all I can afford. What is stopping me from replacing it with N350,000 toilet bowl in 4 years time when I can afford it

At the end of the day, most things used in houses are all components - what is important is that you build a house!! Components can be replaced, upgraded, changed, renovated or even demolished, according to the wimps and economic status of the home owner. We shouldn't let that distract us or cause us so much aggravation!

God bless you all.

D house I currently stay has a WC called twyford dual flush. its really fantastic . D house was built in 1983. D system works perfectly. It even fell last month as I wanted to flush it, but there was no crack. Are these types of systems still available?

@ Midas,
Good one. My points exactly, people should not confuse luxury and quality. We should encourage more home ownership in Nigeria with the minimum acceptable sets of standard for safety.

@Sagewood

Oh my God! All Duke students and alumni are called Blue Devils. Are you one of us?



@Midas02

I totally agree with you. The point is that, the Chinese have flooded Nigerian markets with a lot of inferior materials. In U.S, it is absolutely not business as usual as Nigeria. That is why I prefer stuff from U.S. Our government needs to do something about it. I will be more than happy to buy an $100 bath tub as long as it is of quality.

@Payless & @Sagewood,

You guys can agree to disagree, and there is nothing wrong with that, personal insults are unnecessary! Both of you had your points, but let us move on!!

You both probably have a lot more in common than your few differences would suggest - and that is the beauty of life!! Who knows, you may both end up building homes on the same street and blowing american grammar to the same crooked contractor

@Am Alone and @Brabus started this thread at loggerheads with one another, a few pages later they became allies, and now they are both partners in crime! (That was a joke ooooo!) I no wan fight ooh!!

We are all in this fight against the vagaries of life. Let us learn to be assets to one another. God bless.

I already turned it to joke with Mr. Sagewoood anyway. You are very kind, Midas02. Thanks for the pep talk!

Chai! This midas 02 na better mediator ooo! We need to ship him to Ivory coast to settle Gbagbo and Quattara lol, anyway, am happy the war is over, lets forge ahead brothers and sisters.

Hi all,
i am a new comer on this thread. this topic is long overdue. what an incredibly eyes opening reference for those who intend to build their own house devoid of fraudulent property machants. i regret not  finding it earlier.
i have an on -going building project; a storey building of 4 flats (3bed each). i spent about 1million naira on pillar and lintel 2wks ago and I'm really upset because i thought it's was too expensive. i intend to do Decking soon. pls can people shed light on how much do experts/experience gurus in the house think i might need to complete the decking.  details re- bags of cement, laterite(tons), sand, carpenter, welder, bricklayer etc. a family member helping has given me estimate i like to confirm. i am still seeking the best quote and wouldn't mine a recommendation of proven builder. i will upload photo when i got them soon

Spyder, forging ahead is about updating us on ur project, where are u now?, have u started roofing or buying toilet and bathroom fittings?

even if u cant show pic immediately, just lets know the real cost spent so far and where it has reached, I still strongly believe thats the koko of this thread.

I also read from u that its possible to have a decent bungalow for 2.5M, bros do you really think this can be possible with a place like Lagos? (not the water logged area anyway)

materials that I feel could be cheaper in Lagos are fittings- i.e plumbing, Electrical. also Cement , Iron rods and maybe roofing sheets , but as for Labour charges and cost of buying wood for roofing, hmmm that one fit get as e be,

I would appreciate if u can break it down for a simple decent 3 bedroom bungalow in a place like Lagos vis-a-vis ur current expense in ur duplex.

@ kuntash, how was your weekend man? Hope it was as fantastic as mine. I went out with my wife and 3 kids to the site yesterday, she was overjoyed, nearly cried when she saw her kitchen, and the kids were running throughout the house and compound. I felt very fulfilled.
I am still holding on, my current stage now is this, We have completed the lintels and topped the one line of blocks on top of the lintels, all the archs and curves has been done for the downstairs unit. We are waiting to start the decking proper. My current expenses still stands around N971,200.00.
Yes I think N2.5m can complete a 3 bedroom bungalow, except for a water logged area. I will run througght the materials and labour costings and post them later.
I may have to wait till next week to commence this decking, my carpenter has gotten a contract from my friend to do his roofing for a BQ behind his house. When he is done, we can begin my deck.

ok then spyder,

but remember, just as I told u last time, when u become a commercial estate developer, and decides to sit tight in Lagos, many would patronize u, for consultancy at least, but since I be like soothsayer now, make u no charge me if I come to u o, lol

This is one of the best threads on Nairaland. Keep it Up guys especially Spyder880 for opening up this thread and AM ALONE & others for their insightful contributions.

@Midas02 – I am taking you up on your offer. I would like to know how much materials e.g Cement, Sand, Granite and water, would be needed to complete a german floor of the following area and thickness.

a. Area – 2207square foot , thickness 6 inches
b. Area – 969 square foot, thickness 4 inches
c. Area – 969 square foot, thickness 3 inches

This will be based on concrete strength of 3000 psi formula.

Spider, Am Alone and all others,

More strength. Beginning and sustaining is tough but works as we can see.  Ol' boy things are dear now ooo.

@Am Alone, roughly which part of Ikorodu is your mini-mansion? Lol.

@spyder880 what is the sizes of the rods u used for ur pillars and the one u want to use for ur decking?

i want to do the decking of a 160 square metres of 2 and 3 bedrooms flats.

(1) what type of rods can be use?

(2) how many tonnes of rods can be use?

(3) how many tonnes of gravel or granite can be use?

(4) how many bag of cements can be use?

thanks.

@ oladele, this is only a single storey building in a stable dry land Ive been using rods of 1/2" thickness throughout all my works, the one they sell for N1450 now. The decking will be a mixture of two sizes, the 1/2" will form all the beams and the engineer is telling me he will use some qty of 10mm rods to do the mat. I will go and pick up his decking estimates this afternoon and see his sizes. I will check the size with another builder before buying.
If you are building a two storey building, make sure you use the 5/8 rod, that is the recommended size for heavier buildings.

thanks so much; it is a dry land with red soil and it is one storey for now maybe 2 storeys in the future.
1/2 thickness that u used for the pillars, is it 12mm or 14mm or 16mm?

1/2" rod is also known as 12mm rods.

@Jungle007,
I will start from the least – which is 3 inches. I advise against 3 inch!(it is tricky and requires the right conditions!) The least recommended thickness is 4 inches otherwise you run a very high risk of cracking the floor under load or pressure unless you use wire mesh reinforcement or something. However, since it is your project and I do not know what you want to use it for, I will go ahead and give it to you. In achieving a 3000psi concrete mix strength, I have calculated the following figures for your enquiry:

For 3 inch thickness on 969SF (square feet) you will need:
- 40 Bags Cement
- 6 tons (6000kg) of Sand
- 6 tons (6000kg) of Crushed Stone (popularly called granite)
- 280 gallons of Water

For 4 inch thickness on 969SF (square feet) you will need:
- 53 Bags of Cement
- 8 tons (8000kg) of Sand
- 8 tons (8000kg) of Crushed Stone (popularly called granite)
- 370 gallons of Water

For 6 inch thickness on 2207SF (square feet) you will need:
- 180 Bags of Cement
- 27 tons of Sand
- 27 tons of Aggregate or Crushed Stone
- 1260 Gallons of Water

I will also go ahead and recommend that you should always purchase 10% more cement and material than you need for any project. This is the standard margin that takes care of unexpected shortcomings, loss and inaccuracies that may arise. I wish you the best of luck in your project.

some of the pics when they removed the wooden cast

some more pics

and finally,

^^^nice pics

Spyder u be Egbubedike.  AmAlone don't lose the spirit.

Midas02:

@Jungle007,
I will start from the least – which is 3 inches. I advise against 3 inch!(it is tricky and requires the right conditions!) The least recommended thickness is 4 inches otherwise you run a very high risk of cracking the floor under load or pressure unless you use wire mesh reinforcement or something. However, since it is your project and I do not know what you want to use it for, I will go ahead and give it to you. In achieving a 3000psi concrete mix strength, I have calculated the following figures for your enquiry:

For 3 inch thickness on 969SF (square feet) you will need:
- 40 Bags Cement
- 6 tons (6000kg) of Sand
- 6 tons (6000kg) of Crushed Stone (popularly called granite)
- 280 gallons of Water

For 4 inch thickness on 969SF (square feet) you will need:
- 53 Bags of Cement
- 8 tons (8000kg) of Sand
- 8 tons (8000kg) of Crushed Stone (popularly called granite)
- 370 gallons of Water

For 6 inch thickness on 2207SF (square feet) you will need:
- 180 Bags of Cement
- 27 tons of Sand
- 27 tons of Aggregate or Crushed Stone
- 1260 Gallons of Water

I will also go ahead and recommend that you should always purchase 10% more cement and material than you need for any project. This is the standard margin that takes care of unexpected shortcomings, loss and inaccuracies that may arise. I wish you the best of luck in your project.

Thanks you very much. God bless you. I was thinking that 3 inch thickness should ok for bungalow and for 1 story building 6 inches is ideal.

Spyder, ur house looks as solid as OKWUTE. damn! Ur carpenter must ve done a good job. Well done

@Jungle007,

You can save money without compromising safety on your first floor by using a method I am going to give you. However you must make sure that your contractor/foreman adheres to the instruction so as not to compromise safety. THESE INSTRUCTION IS FOR SLAB FLOOR ONLY! DO NOT USE FOR DECKING!!

1) From foundation, build up wall without constructing german floor
2) Once walls are up and above floor level you may even build to lintel if you want!
3) Fill floor voids with laterite or whatever filler sand of choice to within 4 inches of floor design level
4) Use concrete mix formula 1:3:6 for the first 2-3 inches of slab (evenly poured)
5) Use concrete mix formula 1:3:3 for the final or top 1-1.5 inches
6) Make sure all concrete pouring is done the same day per section
   ** (Remember that the advantage of building up your wall first is that you can pour slabs in sections (one room at a time!)
7) Total floor thickness should be a minimum of 4 inches.

If you use the above method, the 1:3:6 formula is called 'Lean Concrete' - it is characterized by a large ratio of aggregates and it is used for concrete filler roles and NOT for structural duties! The large aggregates ratio helps maintain a very strong compressive strength but weaken in the area of tensile strength, however since tensile strength is not the objective of a slab or german floor, you will not be needing or missing it!