Okay

Okay

Nooooooooo! I still have hundreds of stories coming, not good to push to front page now!

Spyder880, I am enjoying your write-up. It is quite revealing. Hope you will reveal more

Excel70:
Spyder880, I am enjoying your write-up. It is quite revealing. Hope you will reveal more

How I wish they didn't push this to front page now, I have many more stories to add this weekend.

Following...

Following
I'm planning for a project this September
This is a real eye opener

fabulous85:
wow am starting this stage of wiring on my building this week. The quotation I got is outrageous but I want to buy half of what he quoted. Can I get tips on how to go about this stage without getting ripped off.

Is it a bungalow?

The best you can do it to pay for the cables in full then have them supplied to you in pieces as the job progresses.

I'd like to help you on this if you wouldn't mind.

I am a student builder hoping to do my I.t this may, I could be of help to supervise and monitor work with honesty. I need someone or a company I can attach to. My catchment area for I.t is jos, kaduna, abuja.

everglaze01:
I am a student builder hoping to do my I.t this may, I could be of help to supervise and monitor work with honesty. I need someone or a company I can attach to. My catchment area for I.t is jos, kaduna, abuja.

Unilag boy

Just about starting my own 4 bedroom duplex somewhere in Sagamu, Ogun State.

This thread is an eye opener. I don't even know how to go about it. Because now this means you must be ready to supervise this yourself, along with trusted engineer with building experience to provide some guide.

KolaShangOne:


Sometimes these artisans take all the profit and even land contractors in debt.

You will hardly find honest ones these days.

A year ago, A man who said he's a Pastor was introduced to me on a site. So I told him to submit quote for wiring a 4 bedroom apartment in Adron Homes, OTA.

The man started by praying and I was already suspecting foul play. At the end, he brought 1 million naira.

I laughed. I spent only about 500k on wires (supplied by Topsy and I picked up in the factory).

*Another method you can use to catch them is to calculate the total length through the number of pipes used for piping.

*


If you go by calculating the total length of number of pipes used for both the decking and boxing then you'd have serious deficit.

Craig24:
*


If you go by calculating the total length of number of pipes used for both the decking and boxing then you'd have serious deficit.

How? Pls educate us.

Kai, Nigerian artisans could be something else even when you are trying to support them outside the work.

The site supervisor I trusted so much doctored the list of items needed for electrical piping and cabling. The total cost given by the electrician was 750k but my supervisor sent a total cost of N1.550m for the job as he told them not to communicate with me as he brought them.

I came to site and didn't see the electrician. Called him but he didn't pick. He later called me and told me that he had left the job. I asked why and he said he fought with my site supervisor. I asked what caused the fight. He said my supervisor have not given him his complete money in the previous piping work he did.

It was there that he told me to ignore the quote of N1.1550m given to me by my site supervisor and that it won't cost us up to 700k to finish what we wanted to do. The electrician told me that my site engineer told him that he wanted to make much money from this project because he wanted to travel out of the country with his newly married wife.

Note that I was even the one that gave him money to travel to his village and complete marriage rites on the lady's head as he has been living with her for more than one year.

My people, trusting those people below the economic ladder in this country is nearly impossible.

Only God and wisdow is out bedrock in this building construction business.

Yesterday I engage a carpenter to do a work for me in one of my site. He left my work and went to drink, I just called another person immediately and replaced him, he is now calling the next day to beg, I told him to continue with his drink when he is done I will call him. Most of these workers have spiritual problems.

Always looking for small small opportunity to capitalise on.

This is some private business ventures o and these fellows are not still behaving themselves.

Now imagine what is happening in high places (public and civil services).

Not only leaders that are the problem,

Nigerians themselves are also part of the problem.

VeeVeeMyLuv:
Always looking for small small opportunity to capitalise on.

This is some private business ventures o and these fellows are not still behaving themselves.

Now imagine what is happening in high places (public and civil services).

Not only leaders that are the problem,

Nigerians themselves are also part of the problem.

I swear it's hard to find a honest person in this country. Everyone wants to rip you off mercilessly.

I got a contractor to install a transformer at a remote location in Rivers state. A small work to relieve an existing transformer in a village.

Second day at work Licence Electrical Contractors task force came all the way from Port Harcourt to the site to arrest me and stop the work for not settling them then which is 20k.
But penalty is going to be 100k.

Who tipped them was the most puzzling situation of my being. Alas, it was my lead lineman because of 20% commission he will get from the default fine I have to pay from the association.

I dropped him immediately and changed crew after payment.

spyder880:


How I wish they didn't push this to front page now, I have many more stories to add this weekend.

This is the first timei am seeing your topic on front page ooo

Dealing with anyone you trust. Is there anyone to trust in this God forsaken country?

Craig24:
*


If you go by calculating the total length of number of pipes used for both the decking and boxing then you'd have serious deficit.

It's possible. You run 2 -3 wires in a pipe max, right?

On a 3 bedroom flat, roof measurements were originally 274m². Contractor said it was 474m².
Money has been paid already and roofing completed after it was discovered.
On the day for account and reconciliation, we hired another carpenter to do the measurements of the roofing before the contractor came.
He came and when asked he quoted same 474m². We said okay we doubt it so we came with our own carpenter to measure the roof.

Ọmọ as our own carpenter wanted to climb the roof na so oga contractor break bottle o. Said if carpenter climb roof or dared put a tape on his work he'll stab him to death.
Funny enough this contractor is a close person of ours.
Na so work take stop and we had to path ways with him.
Metcoppo sheets then was ₦2050 for .45mm guage. ₦2050x200= ₦410,000.
Fear these people look bros!

Focusmind:
Kai, Nigerian artisans could be something else even when you are trying to support them outside the work.

The site supervisor I trusted so much doctored the list of items needed for electrical piping and cabling. The total cost given by the electrician was 750k but my supervisor sent a total cost of N1.550m for the job as he told them not to communicate with me as he brought them.

I came to site and didn't see the electrician. Called him but he didn't pick. He later called me and told me that he had left the job. I asked why and he said he fought with my site supervisor. I asked what caused the fight. He said my supervisor have not given him his complete money in the previous piping work he did.

It was there that he told me to ignore the quote of N1.1550m given to me by my site supervisor and that it won't cost us up to 700k to finish what we wanted to do. The electrician told me that my site engineer told him that he wanted to make much money from this project because he wanted to travel out of the country with his newly married wife.

Note that I was even the one that gave him money to travel to his village and complete marriage rites on the lady's head as he has been living with her for more than one year.

My people, trusting those people below the economic ladder in this country is nearly impossible.

Na their way.
Making life difficult for themselves and others too

freshvine:
I got a contractor to install a transformer at a remote location in Rivers state. A small work to relieve an existing transformer in a village.

Second day at work Licence Electrical Contractors task force came all the way from Port Harcourt to the site to arrest me and stop the work for not settling them then which is 20k.
But penalty is going to be 100k.

Who tipped them was the most puzzling situation of my being. Alas, it was my lead lineman because of 20% commission he will get from the default fine I have to pay from the association.

I dropped him immediately and changed crew after payment.

You want to solve one problem in this country, you end up creating another one.
Sorry dear

Am learning a greet deal from these experiences

KolaShangOne:


It's possible. You run 2 -3 wires in a pipe max, right?

More than.

In a case where you'd have about 4wall(angle) light, a centre light, pop light, and maybe a fan light all passing through one 20mm pipe to a switch box(es), is a testament to not using the amount of pipes used for conduit wiring as a measurement tool for the number of wires to be used or bought for running of wires isn't accurately ideal.


In this case, you have the 4wall lights (to be controlled by two gang switches) = 2red wires of 1.5mm single core cables ,then

The centre light for a chandelier = 1red wire of 1.5mm.....

The pop round LED light = 1red wire of 1.5mm

Then a green wire of 1.5mm for fan

And a single 2.5mm wire for common(which supplies) live current to the switch box.


If you total then together you'd be having (5)1.5mm wires + (1)2.5mm wire running through one 20mm pipe to a switch box.


Now tell me how terribly wrong your calculations would be if you'd have used pipes used as a measurement tool.

spyder880:
The case of the Missing electrical cables.

On the site of one of the beautiful houses I have built in this forum, I got two electricians to wire the house for me, I had bought the very costly Cutix cables for the whole house and knowing the high cost of the cables, which makes them more prone to pilfering, I brought the cables to the site in the trunk of my car and was standing in wait, watching as the cables were being used. I wanted to see what the real cable consumption will be so I can make near accurate decisions in other sites. I had fired two of my previous electricians before hiring these two, those who were fired was because of missing items, especially electric cables.

From the start, the two electricians were not comfortable with my presence and i could see it in their attitude. They seemed to be slowing things down in the hope that i will walk away so they could "act" but I stayed put, taking notes on how many rooms the cables can run. We were working on 2.5mm single core cables.

After about 5 hours of slow work, I decided to go find something to eat, so I brought out 2 cables, and unknown to the electricians, I gave them the cables with a new wrapper, quite different from all the old ones they were using all day. I returned to site after about an hour, by that time they were calling me on phone to come back and give them more cables since they had exhausted the 3 coils I gave them before leaving. I immediately suspected foul play.

So I walked into the site and they were asking me, "is the boot open?" I replied them with "Can I see the wrapper of the cables that just finished?" Meanwhile, I was walking through the remaining rooms to see the coverage of the cables, only one additional room was wired in my absence. Something is clearly wrong here.

They went and got me the old wrappers as the ones they just used, I laughed and told them that their trap just caught a useless smelly rat today. That's how the search for the new wrapper started. Two hours, and they were still up turning everything and searching for the wrappers they just used.

They gave every reason in the book why the wrappers varnished, but I insisted that except they produce the wrappers, they are going to the nearest police station from the site. I started calling policemen in the station to come to site and make the arrest. Me and other workers all joined the search, for hidden coils of cables this time around. It took another one hour or more before one carpenter climbed into the ceiling and onto the roof, from there he found 2 brand new unopened cables, plus another 1.5mm cable all neatly hidden in the roof, away from our eyes. The electricians later admitted to hiding the cables in the ceiling. I just gave them transport money to return to Enugu same night, because I can no longer tolerate their presence in the site.

Things do happen in sites o

This is why most of these artesans have shops.

My suspicion was raised after they requested for too much pipe in my absence during piping stage. I studied the drawing and had estimated what I needed correctly.
So when, I was given an outragrous quote for electrical wires, I bought half of what they asked for (10% higher than my estimation).

On the days of drawing the cable, I stayed put at site. After the exercise, we were left with 10%-20% cables.

What would have happened if I had gone with his quote?

Edit: his Labour for cabling was very low probably because he expected to profit from theft of the wires as I never questioned him on the piping.

KolaShangOne:


Sometimes these artisans take all the profit and even land contractors in debt.

You will hardly find honest ones these days.

A year ago, A man who said he's a Pastor was introduced to me on a site. So I told him to submit quote for wiring a 4 bedroom apartment in Adron Homes, OTA.

The man started by praying and I was already suspecting foul play. At the end, he brought 1 million naira.

I laughed. I spent only about 500k on wires (supplied by Topsy and I picked up in the factory).

Another method you can use to catch them is to calculate the total length through the number of pipes used for piping.

Some pipes takes more than more than one circuit. Some takes nothing - future expansion.

Finding an honest workers this days is like finding a pin in the bottom of a pit, once they started quoting Bible and behaving like a good person... Suspect him.

valdetino:
Only God and wisdow is out bedrock in this building construction business.

Yesterday I engage a carpenter to do a work for me in one of my site. He left my work and went to drink, I just called another person immediately and replaced him, he is now calling the next day to beg, I told him to continue with his drink when he is done I will call him. Most of these workers have spiritual problems.

No time to waste time

freshvine:
I got a contractor to install a transformer at a remote location in Rivers state. A small work to relieve an existing transformer in a village.

Second day at work Licence Electrical Contractors task force came all the way from Port Harcourt to the site to arrest me and stop the work for not settling them then which is 20k.
But penalty is going to be 100k.

Who tipped them was the most puzzling situation of my being. Alas, it was my lead lineman because of 20% commission he will get from the default fine I have to pay from the association.

I dropped him immediately and changed crew after payment.

chineke! What a wicked world.