Dear Spyder et al, please I now crossed between doing my German floor before doing the decking or just fill the foundation with laterite and proceed with the block laying up and even do the decking! By doing this, the already filled up foundation will become solid before the decking is completed! Then I will revisit the Germany floor after the decking is completed!
Now by concern is, what are the risk involved in doing the German floor after decking?

As usual I appreciate ur advice n cristism

^^^^^ I know this is not meant for me to answer since it was directed at the Prof  But since I have been attending class regularly I have a recollection that the issue has been visited and taught severally under the various course modules like 'BUILDING 101' and 'FOUNDATION 222'.

The general concensus is that german floor should be done before moving on to set blocks to lintel level. The reason is that it helps to hold the whole of the foundation work together.

Please do the german floor if the pepper dey now!!

@Demain,
Thanks once again, actually i did not attend class that day, Thank you for giving me the course code, i will go do some research in the library. Shei na 'BUILDING 101' and 'FOUNDATION 222'.
Thanks

@Damain, Questions are open to all oh, for a fellow student to answer a question of such magnitude and even gives a referral shows how good our teachers are!

^^^ the only disadvantage of that is the non unified nature of the German floor, and the inevitable cracks between the walls and the new German floor which can allow ants and termites to sneak in as the floor and walls contract and expand with the passage of the seasons.

^^^^ All thanks belongs to Dr. Spyder! Before the prof took over this course, I was even contemplating dropping out from the building degree altogether but thank God for giving us an authority like him. Now I am looking at making 2nd class upper. Who knows maybe 1st class sef!!!

Prof (I dey hail oo). And to think that the man no dey even use 'handout' make money    Neither does him abuse the female students AKA 'Back for ground, better marks for exams' 

@ demain-man, do you think I could have done anything worthwhile here if not for the support of you guys? I wake up daily thinking of more ways to make people's dream come true. But I am waiting to start finishing houses, thats where I intend to show some creativity, I will do all I can to make everybody to love building and the buildings.

I agree with you sir. Finishing is the make or mar of any house. I am seriously thinking to leave my house after the window goes on till my next visit home because no two people have the same taste. What I will not overlook, my folks may and will.

I will hate to come home i see the house i denied myself a lot of comfort to build not to be looking like all those lovely houses i see on Nollywood movies  having spent all my life savings on it.

A friend of mine went home while his house was being built and chose all his tiles himself while instructing the tiler on which tile should go where before going back to his base.

On his return back to naija with wife and kids what did he find? The tiler on his own decided to change all the tile designs my friend left His reason? He does not like dark colors 

On my own house, Whenever i complain that i don't like something about the house anytime i get sent pictures. The answer i get from my folks is that 'we can manage it'

I have come to hate that statement now 'we can manage it'!

How can I 'manage it' after spending serious money?

^^^^ yes, the finishing defines the house and thats why I will spend extra in the finishing stage as this is the area open to inspection everyday. Block work may have problems, floos may not be very smooth, pillars may even be bent, but good finishing works will be aimed at ammending every deficiency in the house. I will love to do the type of finish where the whole walls have neat plastering so the painting can be worn like good coat. The type of tiling where the whole surface (floor or wall) will be compliant to all engineering measuring devices, each tile must be on the same level with the next, maintaining the same space in between tiles as to look artistic and conform to international standards. The finishing stage should cost money, workers should be made to stay long on site to slowly create qualty styles. For me, I love uniqueness, styles which nobody can find anywhere else.

The quality of workers deployed to site is another thing, you cannot want hat tricks in every soccer match and continue to use Yakubu as striker, go for Higuain man! Or Messi or even C. Ronaldo. Pay for the best and you get what you pay for. There are good finishers around, I have been studying some Togolese/Ghananian workers whom I loved their work, I will deploy them wherever I have quality finishing works. I am also in contact with one guy that designs interiors, this guy is too good, his smooth finishes on wood, leather, carving works meets the high standards I demand. His colour combination is also very good. Kitchen cabinets, bed heads, wardrobes, bars and archs could be made better with his touch. The type of finishing I love is the type when the owner will come into his compound and fell fulfilled, smiling and nodding his head from room to room.

@Ogbefi 007

I have not seen a single brick home whether old or new in the U.S that is built with German Floor. I have been to brick homes in the U.S that are between 4000 sq. ft and 6000 sq. ft with no german floor. We tend to overbuild homes in Nigeria. All you need is a solid foundation before you begin to set the blocks for the house. Have your architect build pillars and solid lintels to hold the house together. I personally went to architect and structure engineer in Greensboro, North carolina because my architect insisted I build my house with a german floor after doing the foundation. The engineer and the achitect in the U.S emphatically said there was no need for all of that after viewing the plan of the house and the picture of the foundation. German floors are for buildings that are meant to last for centuries and buildings that have more that three floors or buildings with a lot of leg traffic on daily basis. For example, school buldings, large offices, commercial buildings, municipal or city halls and so on.

^^^^^ You are right sir, but also remember that in the US you don't have the type of Rats, cockroaches, termites, soldier ants and what have you to contend with. I am also sure that in naija 'My Naija!!!' there is also nothing like 'building and contents' insurance policies Abi i lie?

So my dear, the two places are not the same. In the States getting loans from the banks to do refurbishment na moi-moi whereas in Naija you are on your own AKA 'OYO'.

So in nigeria, we must build with minimum future maintenance in mind. Remember say No be BANK money oooo

@Demain_man

I understand your point. America is not what a lot of people think it is as many people understand. In U.S, we also have rats, racoons, termites, and cockroaches entering your buildings just like we have in Nigeria. There are ways to avoid those animals or insects entering your building other than german floors. All those insects and animals can still do damage in a house with german floor.

As per the loan and insurance, I totally agree with you on that.

@all I am here to learn n apply the advice given n do the right thing for myself n family , so every discussion on this subject matter is concerned golden n treasured! Explanation can never be too much it shapens us

On a more lighter mood. If you must pound yam and 'Apu' in the kitchen, then german is highly recommended

very funny! Poundo yam all the way.

This is not a laughing matter oh, I m serious about this, it's a life savings we are talking about here!

^^^ what am even looking at is, what is the cost differential of doing the German floor later, how much money are you projecting in savings?

I m actually looking at the possibility of going all the way to the decking stage by then cos of activities n work done, the laterite will be settling down gradually , with this u don't have to buy 3 tankers of water to flood the foundation n do the ramming, if at all u will buy u won't buy more than 2 tankers. And by then the laterite would have sunk in to the foundation proper, also I would have use the bulk of fund with me to have completed the decking which is another money sapping stage! But the mention of termites roaches n ant invasion if not done from the scratch is giving me concern!

They already started the laterite filling today, and I ve succeeded in beating the price of laterite to N7,000 as against initial quot of N7,500 for 2in1 trailer, So u see I only have this time to tell dem wat to do before the filling completes!

From what I understand, a good german floor is necessary in Nigeria as it also serves as a damp proof course (DPC).

In US and UK, they use damp proof felts at the base level of brick works above ground level, which makes german floor unnecessary. Also, they provide aeration/ventilation systems to protect the floorboards.

We don't use floor boards and damp proof felts in Nigeria, so I think german floor is necessary, otherwise you will find your blockworks ruined by dampness through capillary action.

It's not dat the German floor will not be done, it ll b done when I get to the decking stage, U get me? The issue is the time to do it, mind u cos or ongoing work as per block laying til lintel level the laterite wll b sinking in properly, so when the German floor will commence it ll b with lesser stress!

Whao, i love the process of building. Talking from experience, i bought a house which was built in the 80's and renovated it. i refloored everywhere and i have tiles all over the place. I noticed like three weeks ago that there are some termite and insect actions in some rooms, like in five places at present. i didnt understand how insects can bore into tiles and bring sand out. i just didnt know what to do. last week when i was going through these posts, i then understood that this is probably possible because german floor was not done on the building initially. So despite the tiles on the floor and tiles lining the floor, termites were still able to penetrate. i just finished building a house for commercial purpose without german floor. However, after this my discovery, there will not be any house of mine, ever, without german floor. So my piece of advise, do german floor. Really when you do flooring after decking, then its not a german floor again, its ordinary flooring because the space where the blocks will stand will not be covered and termites can still penetrate. Thanks all for the wonderful contributions on this post.

There's more to doing your German floor now other than pounding yam, walking or crawling on it. The first is to contain moisture from coming through the concrete slab and the second is to support the foundation.

Usually, there may be pressure to move on with the project immediately after the filling stage so as to avoid delays and possible additional costs. But this can have adverse effect on your building as soil can become very heavy and exert extreme force on the foundation walls when it is wet and left for too long.

How?
Block or brick foundation walls are pushed outward due to pressure from the filling sand as it expands due to plasticity nature of the soil. The soil will swell when it gets wet, and it will shrink when it dries. This swelling and shrinking will WORK the weight of the structure down into the ground. Over time, the foundation will remain more settled than it has risen, leaving you with an unlevelled house.

If you can maintain the moisture of the soil under the foundation at a constant level, there will be no swelling and shrinking, but this is only possible if you can take pain to do the german floor now. Although, it is not compulsory.

Think of how easy it is to knock off stack of blocks without weight on top,


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For me, I'll complete one stage before moving to the others.

Ogbefi_007:

It's not dat the German floor will not be done, it ll b done when I get to the decking stage, U get me? The issue is the time to do it, mind u cos or ongoing work as per block laying til lintel level the laterite wll b sinking in properly, so when the German floor will commence it ll b with lesser stress!

Bros, I don't understand. I don't know where you are building but if you really want to save money, 2coaches of block above the ground is idea.
You put an extra 2 coaches and now you are contemplating on whether to do or not do German floor?

My advice to you is that you should do it. If you want a solid house and don't want to be penny wise and pounds foolish,
then do it.

It is always better. Another reason why i think you should do it is that since it is a commercial building and you are building it with 6" block(6" pillars)
then please do it.

Please be "WISE"

@Amalone, pls where in Lagos can I go quality bathroom and toilet fittings? I need contacts too if possible.

Orile is Cheaper!!!
But you have to be smart!!!!
Know what you want so you don't buy fake

Am Alone:

Orile is Cheaper!!!
But you have to be smart!!!!
Know what you want so you don't buy fake

Thanks bro. I appreciate.

I was just looking at the height of your foundation and i can't but imagine the future of your building in comparism to the other buildings around!

The filling sand that will be used will be much but at the end Of the day the owner will keep on blessing you forever and ever when he sees the height the building and the drainage system of the compound.

I give it to you, Lord Spyder880, you are too much

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